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  • TribBlog: Mostyn Wins a Round

    By Elise Hu

    Democratic donor Steve Mostyn wins his latest round in a battle with state Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood. A judge has blocked the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association from giving Taylor information about Mostyn's payouts in a massive windstorm settlement this year. Full Story 

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  • TribBlog: Lax Labs

    By Emily Ramshaw

    The state's public health laboratories are in financial disarray, according to a report released by the state auditor's office this morning. Full Story 

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    Credit: Reuters File Photo

  • Guest Column: Stop Discouraging Innovation

    By Kent Grusendorf

    We have thousands of great educators. We should set them free, allow them to be more entrepreneurial and hold them accountable for results. Instead, we make decisions in Washington and Austin that unfortunately have the effect of discouraging innovation. Full Story 

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  • The Chisum Trail

    By Ross Ramsey

    The route to toppling House Speaker Joe Straus is littered with big obstacles and high hurdles. But it's not completely impassable, which is why state Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, is considering a challenge. "I'm sticking my toe in the water and seeing if there's any temperature there," he told the Tribune on Friday. "Seems to be some temperature." Full Story 

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  • Perry by 6 in Volatile Race

    By Ross Ramsey

    Gov. Rick Perry leads Bill White 39 percent to 33 percent in the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll, whose most interesting finding is a restless electorate dissatisfied with conventional choices up and down the ballot. In the governor's race, 22 percent of respondents said they were undecided about which candidate to support with only seven weeks to go in the fall campaign. Third-party candidates are capturing enough of the vote to affect the outcomes of some statewide contests. And 31 percent of respondents — nearly one in three Texans — consider themselves part of the Tea Party movement. Full Story 

    Results of the September 2010 University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll in the general election for governor.

  • Joe Jaworski: The TT Interview

    By Reeve Hamilton

    The mayor of Galveston on the consequences of Hurricane Ike two years later: what was lost, why the island is worth rebuilding, the city's newfound sense of regionalism, how worried residents should be about the next storm and why the coast needs an “Ike Dike.” Full Story 

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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