The Brief: April 9, 2010
Gay Jesus benched again, Johnson makes it official and the rebate program from Hell. Full Story
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Gay Jesus benched again, Johnson makes it official and the rebate program from Hell. Full Story
Austin is hoping the next big thing comes in a tiny car: It's the first North American city to pilot a car-sharing program promising the possibility of less congestion and lower emissions. Full Story
The mayor of El Paso on how the drug war raging in Juárez is affecting his city (and the national media's perception of it), whether violence is really spilling over and how state and federal leaders are doing at addressing the problem of border security. Full Story
Every candidate vying for a legislative seat knows what lies ahead in 2011: a budget shortfall of at least $11 billion, probably higher, and state agency cuts to save as much of that amount as possible. But new revenue is a possibility as well, even if lawmakers are expert at the old sleight of hand, employing creative accounting and semantic trickery to avoid stepping on that political third rail, the tax hike. Full Story
The sound of clanging and banging construction equipment may interrupt the tranquil noises of nature for Texas campers this spring and summer. Full Story
Your afternoon reading. Full Story
Sales tax revenues are still down, Mexico needs more help and a former U.S. senator weighs in on Chet Edwards' House seat. Full Story
Inmates serving time in Texas prisons and state jails can buy certain “free world” goods provided that people outside unit walls send them money. During the last fiscal year, they spent about $95 million at prison commissaries. The most popular items? Instant soup, stamps and soft drinks, according to data obtained under the Texas Public Information Act. Full Story
Ninety minutes of back-and-forth on Wednesday between a House committee and representatives of the Texas Forensic Science Commission — but not its chairman — covered the besieged agency’s nonexistent enforcement power, lack of written procedural guidelines, and public records policy. Oh, and the late Cameron Todd Willingham. Full Story
U.S. officials claim that most firearms used in crimes in Mexico are flowing south from Texas — with Houston, Dallas and the Rio Grande Valley as the top sources. Full Story
Voters in Central Texas, Dallas and Plano will get to vote for the third month in a row in May, in special elections for the Texas House and Senate. Three officeholders — Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, and Reps. Terri Hodge, D-Dallas, and Brian McCall, R-Plano — resigned before their terms were up. Today was the deadline for candidate filing. Full Story
A theater student's production of Terrence McNally's play Corpus Christi — canceled amid protest at Tarleton State University — will see the stage after all, at Fort Worth's Rose Marine Theater, according to The Dallas Morning News. Full Story
Your afternoon reading. Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign is set to begin turning left. Full Story
Can an energy regulator who’s on the board of an entity he oversees make a play for the top job there? Industry and government sources say that’s what Barry Smitherman, the chairman of Texas’ influential Public Utility Commission, is doing, though Smitherman won't say whether he's in the running. Full Story
Only three states — Louisiana, New Mexico and Alaska — are returning the census form at lower rates than Texas. But two dozen Texas counties are outperforming the national average, according to our interactive map. Full Story
Bill White and Rick Perry fought over the hotly contested high school drop-out rate on Tuesday. Is it 30 percent (White)? 10 percent (Perry)? Or, more likely, somewhere in between? Full Story
The 31-member body spent nearly $16 million last fiscal year on travel, staff and office expenses, according to records from the office of the Secretary of the Senate. Overall spending by individual senators ranged from $206,000, by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, to $637,000, by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston. Full Story
More than five years after Katrina, a long-term Texas Education Agency study finds that Louisiana students in Texas schools — many who came from among the nation’s worst campuses — have generally thrived here. Full Story
The uncertainty over the Congressional healthcare bill has incited fear among some small business associations in Texas. They gathered with U.S. Chamber of Commerce representatives on Tuesday to say they're worried about ripple effects from the national healthcare reform — and unintended consequences for small businesses. Full Story