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  • Speaking Openly

    By Ross Ramsey

    Warren Chisum didn't actually come out and say he's running for speaker of the Texas House — you have to file papers with the Texas Ethics Commission to do that, and he hasn't. But in an interview with the Associated Press, he left open the possibility that he'll run, just to keep the conversation going. Full Story 

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Evan Smith

    Galbraith's three-parter on the battle over wind power transmission lines, Grissom on a convicted killer who got probation, Aguilar on how the U.S. census counts inmates in the Texas prison system, Stiles launches a new interactive tool tracking the candidates for governor, Hamilton on the Texas A&M University System's latest accountability measure for faculty, Hu's interview with Democratic megadonor Steve "Back to Basics" Mostyn, Philpott on how the Texas economy compares to that of other states and Ramsey on the start of the 2010 election sprint: The best of our best from Sept. 6 to 10, 2010. Full Story 

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  • On the Records: Mapping Lottery Sales

    By Matt Stiles

    Earlier this week, the Austin American-Statesman published an interesting series about the Texas Lottery. We mapped the data, which the paper's editors graciously released, to visualize fiscal year 2009 sales and residents' income characteristics by zip code. Full Story 

    Statewide lottery sales in 2009 by zip code.
    Credit: Texas Lottery

  • TribBlog: Taylor vs. Mostyn?

    By Elise Hu

    The co-chair of the House Committee on Insurance, state Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, is asking the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association for details on a massive settlement paid out to 2,400 homeowners and their lawyer, Steve Mostyn. Mostyn, a prolific Democratic donor, says Taylor is targeting him for political reasons. Full Story 

    Steve Mostyn and state Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood.
    Credit: Justin Dehn/House Photo

  • Battle Lines: Panhandle Power

    By Kate Galbraith

    While West Texas has become the nation's wind-power hub, the Panhandle's ferocious winds go largely untapped. That could change with a slew of proposed transmission line projects that could, in turn, enable forests of turbines — if landowners can be soothed. Part three of a three-part series. Full Story 

    New turbines tower over an old windmill at the Whirlwind wind farm, near Floydada
    Credit: Kate Galbraith

  • Getting Away With Murder

    By Brandi Grissom

    Tow truck driver Steven Hardin was shot and killed in April 1998 by Houston firefighter Barry Crawford during a dispute over a parking space. At the end of a high-profile trial, a jury found Crawford guilty of first-degree murder but sentenced him only to probation. A judge required the convicted killer to comply with various terms, including the payment of child support to the victim's family, but he failed to do all he was ordered. Nonetheless, a few months ago, he was released from his probation, leaving Hardin's mother with no recourse but to lobby for a change in state law. Full Story 

    Steven Hardin's parents, photographed near his burial plot.
    Credit: Callie Richmond

  • Greg Abbott vs. Google

    By Nathan Bernier, KUT News

    The Texas Attorney General is investigating suspicions that the Internet giant is gaming search results to harm competitors. Nathan Bernier of KUT News reports. Full Story 

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    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • Charles Miller: The TT Interview

    By Reeve Hamilton

    The former chairman of the UT System Board of Regents on why demography is destiny, why higher education isn't necessarily the key determinant of the state’s economic future, why Texas doesn't need more tier-one schools and how colleges abuse the financial aid system. Full Story 

    Charles Miller, chairman of the University of Texas Board of Regents, conducts a regular meeting on August 6, 2003 in San Antonio.
    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • Counting Convicts

    By Julián Aguilar

    Almost 157,000 inmates in the Texas prison system were counted by the U.S. Census Bureau as living where they're incarcerated and not as residents of their home counties — a policy that some opponents argue has dire political and economic consequences. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • Battle Lines: Electrifying the Hill Country

    By Kate Galbraith

    The epicenter of the fight over the state's wind power transmission lines is the Hill Country, where landowners are spending lots of money and time to keep the lines from being built. They're trotting out every conceivable argument, and they may just succeed. Part two of a three-part series. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jim Nix

  • Accountability U.

    By Reeve Hamilton

    Like a conglomerate auditing balance sheets, the Texas A&M University System has for six months been dissecting the financial contribution of every faculty member on its 11 campuses around the state, subtracting the salary of each from the tuition and research money he or she brings in. The resulting metrics present in stark detail exactly where the system gets the most and least bang for its payroll buck — and have raised the hackles of professors at all levels, who liken the approach to grading assembly-line workers on widget production. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • 2010: Poll-Land

    By Ross Ramsey

    A new political survey says Gov. Rick Perry is beating Democrat Bill White in the governor's race, but also shows the incumbent is unpopular with half of likely Texas voters and that the same percentage of voters support a two-term limit for governors. Full Story 

    This plot of polls in the Texas governor's race shows more variance when multiple surveys are performed around the same time.
    Credit: James Henson/UT