The Brief: Oct. 27, 2010
In the run-up to the big day, money's flowing. But does it matter? Full Story
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In the run-up to the big day, money's flowing. But does it matter? Full Story
The state's political economy hummed with $43.5 million in contributions to and between candidates and political action committees between Sept. 24 and Oct. 23, according to the most recent reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission. The biggest contribution: $3 million to Rick Perry's re-election campaign from the Republican Governors Association. Full Story
Marvin Brown is a convicted sex offender who was released from jail in 1999. Today, he's ill and elderly, suffering from diabetes, stage-four renal disease and congestive heart failure. He's had three mini-strokes in the last two months alone. On good days, he walks with a cane. Other times, he gets around with a walker or an electric wheelchair. But according to Gov. Rick Perry, he poses such a threat to society that he has to wear an ankle bracelet so he can be continuously monitored. Brown says that's a violation of his civil rights, and on Tuesday he filed suit in federal court. "They can't give you freedom and then take it away," he says. Full Story
NASA lost two shuttles, Challenger and Columbia, during the space shuttle program’s 30-year history. After each accident, the agency was never quite the same. Jennifer Stayton of KUT News recently talked about those tragedies with Pat Duggins, who reports on NASA for NPR and is the author of Final Countdown: NASA and the End of the Space Shuttle Program. Full Story
The political editor of the respected and influential Rothenberg Political Report on how Washington insiders view the Texas governor's race, who's at risk in the state's congressional battles, what redistricting could mean for the major parties and why Republicans are likely to be happy campers one week from today. Full Story
Inspired by Jon Stewart’s Washington, D.C., “Rally to Restore Sanity,” the nonprofit group Restore Sanity Austin will host a satellite rally on the Capitol's south steps this Saturday at 11 a.m. Full Story
In her latest ad, state Rep. Diana Maldonado, D-Round Rock, fires back at Republican challenger Larry Gonzales after he accused her of supporting higher property taxes. Full Story
Immigration is the focus of Democrat Bill White's latest television spot, which accuses Gov. Rick Perry of "making Texas less safe." Full Story
Governing magazine has recognized two Texas lawmakers in its 2010 class of Public Officials of the Year. Full Story
A Democratic PAC closes the HD-3 race with heavy advertising accusing a Republican challenger of dealing illegal drugs when he was younger. Full Story
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct isn't giving up on its attempt to reprimand Sharon Keller — in an unexpected move today, it appealed a court's dismissal of its sanction against Keller, the presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Full Story
So how to create a likely voter model? Campaign pollsters typically use a combination of past voting history — available off the registered voter list — and current interest and engagement. Those who have voted in the past, as well as those who are jazzed about voting this year, tend to get into the likely electorate. Full Story
Your afternoon reading: more trouble for Sharon Keller, Paul Burka on vulnerable Democrats, and Stephen Broden on those "violent overthrow" comments Full Story
A week out from Election Day, things — not surprisingly — aren't quieting down. Full Story
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White has spent plenty of time reaching out to the Hispanic voting bloc as part of his strategy to oust Gov. Rick Perry. Republicans have launched their own PAC focused on bringing Latinos under the GOP tent. But as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the soon-to-be-majority population doesn't appear to be rushing to the ballot box. Full Story
The economy, unemployment and jobs are the most important issues facing the country, according to the new UT/Texas Tribune poll, while immigration and border security top the list of the biggest problems facing the state. Full Story
Operators of the state’s electric grid are about to flip the switch on what could be the most significant change to the Texas energy market in a decade. The change to what’s called a “nodal” grid system happens on Dec. 1, but as Matt Largey of KUT News reports, it’s not clear what happens after that. Full Story
The soft-spoken and — until now — media-shy presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals sat down with The Texas Tribune last week to talk about capital punishment in Texas, what she was doing on the afternoon she closed her office at 5 p.m. to a last-minute death row appeal, the flaws in the way the state sanctions judges, what it's like to be known as Sharon “Killer” Keller and the "ridiculous" idea that she doesn't care about defendants or indigent defense. Full Story
Discovery is on the launch pad and prepped for a Monday blast off — the second-to-last confirmed mission. For many Americans, the finale of the space shuttle program is poignant and yet somewhat suspenseful. What comes next? In part two of our week-long series on what the shuttle has meant to Texas, KUT’s Mose Buchele reports that, despite its lofty goals, the program has always had a down-to-earth side. Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry outraised his Democratic challenger, Bill White, by roughly $5 million in the last month, according to the latest reports with the Texas Ethics Commission. Full Story