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  • The Ex Files

    By Ross Ramsey

    How many former state officeholders are registered to lobby in Austin? The answer: 65, or a little less than 5 percent of the 1,475 lobbyists on the rolls at the Texas Ethics Commission, according to a Texas Tribune analysis. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Jacob Villanueva

  • 2010: Perry: White Should Resign [Updated]

    By Ross Ramsey

    Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday that Democrat Bill White should leave the governor's race it's true that he owned part of a company that got taxpayer money to deal with Hurricane Rita while White was mayor. White's campaign responded by saying Perry is lying about White's record to avoid debating the Democrat before the November election. Full Story 

    Rick Perry, Bill White
    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller, Callie Richmond

  • TribBlog: Watkins Plays Self-Defense

    By Emily Ramshaw

    Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins, under fire at home for his handling of an investigation into Democratic county constables, played defense before an Austin crowd this morning in a TribLive interview with the Tribune's Evan Smith. Full Story 

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    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • Michael Barnes: The TT Interview

    By Ross Ramsey

    "Since when is zero-for-29 a winning record?" asks the South Texas schoolteacher who wants to replace Boyd Richie as chair of the Texas Democratic Party. He talked with the Tribune on Monday about why he's running — and how Barack Obama has let his supporters down. Full Story 

    Michael Barnes
    Credit: Ross Ramsey

  • Solar Opposites

    By Brandi Grissom

    In the West Texas outpost of Marfa, Malinda Beeman is waging war. Her target: a company that plans to erect at least 1,000 three-story mirrored satellite dishes designed to harness energy from the blisteringly bright desert sun. Full Story 

    Malinda Beeman displays a map of the area where Tessera Solar plans to install 1,080 solar discs here to generate power for the city of San Antonio.
    Credit: Brandi Grissom

  • The Brief: June 8, 2010

    By David Muto

    Efforts to contain the oil still gushing into the Gulf of Mexico finally seem to be making headway, but the government is now warning that the remaining slick may have a mind of its own. Full Story 

    This photo from a NASA satellite shows the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico on April 25, 2010.
    Credit: N.A.S.A.

  • Speaker's Race, Anyone?

    By Ross Ramsey

    Nobody's openly campaigning right now, but there's talk of who might succeed Joe Straus if he stumbles before January. Attribute the speculation to inertia: The House's top job was in play for at least four years before Straus won it 17 months ago, and members and the lobby and the press and other gawkers have been trained to study every new complaint, slight, reward and compliment for signs of a coup. While he appears to be on solid ground going into his second session behind the podium, don't erase the possibility of a contest. It's an uncertain environment: It's an election year, Straus is green and the Capitol is full of people who are constantly looking for a better deal than the one they've got. Full Story 

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    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • The New Tenthers

    By Morgan Smith

    Conservatives in Texas are invoking the 10th Amendment at every whistle-stop. But what rights does it actually protect? Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Jacob Villanueva

  • TribBlog: Governor Responds to "Fight Club" Abuse

    By Emily Ramshaw

    Gov. Rick Perry's office said this evening that it has ordered the Department of Family and Protective Services to review its investigation and sanction policies in light of a Houston Chronicle/Texas Tribune article on staffers who forced young girls to fight at a Houston-area residential treatment center for foster children. Full Story 

    The Daystar Residential Inc. campus, in Manvel, photographed on Saturday, June 5, 2010.
    Credit: Spencer Selvidge

  • TribBlog: Campaigns Sound Off Over 'Fight Club' [Updated]

    By Emily Ramshaw

    The day after the Texas Tribune and the Houston Chronicle collaborated to expose a fight club — this one involving young girls at a Houston-area residential treatment center for foster kids — gubernatorial hopeful Bill White's campaign sounded off on it, blaming Gov. Rick Perry for not being aware of the abuse. Full Story 

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    Credit: Nick de la Torre / The Houston Chronicle

  • Going the Distance

    By Reeve Hamilton and Grant Derigo

    Increasing numbers of college students are attending classes, and even completing some degree programs, online — an innovation that could be welcome in an era of rising enrollments and shrinking budgets. But virtual higher ed has its critics, who say the distance learning model will never match what one lawmaker terms the "interpersonal Aristotle style" of education. Full Story 

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  • Navigating "Navigable"

    By Kate Galbraith

    Congress is known for having arcane battles, but the biggest fight these days in water law is over a single word in a 1970s-era measure designed to reduce pollution in America's waterways. Texas environmentalists and ranchers are anxiously awaiting the outcome. Full Story 

    Collapsed bridge structure on the Double Mountain Fork Brazos River viewed from U.S. Route 83 at Rath City, Texas.
    Credit: Wikipedia