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Elise Hu
Elise Hu was a political reporter at the Tribune, focusing on multimedia projects, from 2009 to 2011. She previously worked as the state political reporter for Austin's ABC affiliate, KVUE-TV, from 2006 to 2009. She was recognized by the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters three years in a row for her beat reporting on state politics and was named Best TV Reporter Who Can Write by The Austin Chronicle. Before arriving in Austin, she held reporting positions at television stations in Waco; Greenville, S.C.; and Columbia, Mo. She's an evangelist for social media and multimedia journalism — her Political Junkie blog was listed as one of WashingtonPost.com's top Texas political blogs. A native of Plano, she has a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
The Weekly TribCast: Episode 48
Our topics this week include the renewed debate over concealed handguns on campus, the advantages of not debating or talking to the press and the hotly contested battle between Congressman Chet Edwards and Republican Bill Flores in CD-17.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Judge Orders TWIA Settlement Kept Private
In an issue that’s sparked a nasty political fight, attorneys for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association and attorneys for the homeowners who sued them appeared at a Monday hearing to argue whether the legal fees in a record $189 million Hurricane Ike settlement should be kept private. Judge Susan Criss ultimately sided with homeowners’ attorney Steve Mostyn and granted a new temporary restraining order that keeps TWIA from releasing settlement details, at least for now.
Posted inState Government
Mostyn and Nixon: No Love Lost
Decorum broke down on Monday before a hearing began in Galveston County Court concerning a case involving plaintiffs’ attorney Steve Mostyn, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA), and state Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood. Mostyn — one of the state’s leading trial lawyers and Democratic donors — confronts Taylor’s attorney, Joe Nixon, who in his former life as a legislator authored a 2003 tort reform bill limiting lawsuit damages. Mostyn berates Nixon about how he offered his services unsolicited to Taylor, who has sought to make public the fees earned by Mostyn and other lawyers who sued TWIA. Mostyn compares it to oft-criticized client recruitment by plaintiffs’ lawyers (ambulance chasing, in other words).
Posted in
State Government
Wind Storm
In a courtroom Monday, a Galveston County judge will decide whether to release details of millions of dollars in fees earned by attorneys in the largest class-action settlement paid out by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association.
Posted inState Government
HuTube: Perry and White Uncut
In lieu of a face-to-face debate, Rick Perry and Bill White are separately sitting down with the press between now and Election Day. This morning, WFAA-TV in Dallas aired back-to-back interviews with Perry and White discussing immigration, insurance and the coming budget crisis.
Posted in
Public Education
HuTube: The SBOE Debate on Islam in 70 Seconds
For our latest HuTube post, we picked out memorable testimony from Friday morning’s five-hour State Board of Education debate. SBOE members ultimately approved a resolution instructing publishers to limit a perceived “pro-Islamic, anti-Christian bias” in Texas textbooks.
Posted in
State Government
Full Audio: Linda Chavez-Thompson at TribLive
Raw, unedited audio from Linda Chavez-Thompson’s Wednesday morning appearance at our TribLive breakfast series. Features questions from Evan Smith and the audience.
Posted inState Government
The Weekly TribCast: Episode 47
In this week’s TribCast, Evan, Ross, Elise and Ben discuss Linda Chavez-Thompson and the other lesser-known statewide candidates, the impact of Libertarians at the polls and the choice between paper and plastic when Harris County voters cast their ballots.
Posted in
State Government
TribBlog: Wind Claims
If the Larry Taylor-Steve Mostyn battle over windstorm insurance payouts wasn’t a proxy war for the tort reformists and the trial lawyers before, it certainly is now.