The state’s top alcohol administrator received “hazardous duty” pay while in Hawaii. And the TABC brass has gotten trained as police officers, which allows them to get take-home cars, free gas and an array of weaponry, according to records and interviews.
Jay Root
Jay Root is an award-winning journalist who reported for the Tribune from 2011 to 2020. He covered the dramatic collapse of Gov. Rick Perry’s 2012 presidential campaign and went on to write an ebook about it called “Oops! A Diary from the 2012 Campaign Trail.” Root also broke the story that put the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, on the path toward criminal indictment, co-wrote an exposé that brought an end to privately funded prosecutions in Travis County, and authored a series of watchdog articles that prompted a wave of firings and resignations at two major state agencies.
In 2017, Root co-directed “Beyond The Wall,” a film exploring border politics in the age of Trump, which won a national Edward R. Murrow award for best news documentary. Root’s latest film, “Border Hustle,” was released in early 2019 and reveals how desperate migrants have become cash cows on both sides of the border.
Previously, for a dozen years, Root was Austin bureau chief of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he chronicled the rise of then-Gov. George W. Bush, wrote about cartel violence in Mexico and covered Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. During a three-year stint at the Associated Press, Root was twice named AP Staff Reporter of the Year for his watchdog reporting, including a story that sparked felony charges against a sitting state representative.
Posted in
State Government
House delivers rebuke to TABC, cuts travel budget
The Texas House on Thursday voted unanimously to cut the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission’s travel budget and restrict its use of money from outside groups.
Posted inState Government
Jet setting liquor regulators could see wings clipped by lawmakers
All the jet-setting and partying by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, as depicted in an internal flier the agency produced, would come to a screeching halt under budgetary amendments filed Tuesday by state Reps. Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Springs and Ramon Romero, D-Fort Worth.
Posted inState Government
Bills would shine light on potential conflicts of interest
A House committee on Thursday discussed ethics reforms including measures that would give the public better and more easily accessible information about their elected representatives’ potential conflicts of interest.
Posted in
Bordering on Insecurity
Beyond the wall: A Texas Tribune documentary on immigration and border security
No issue stirred more passion in the 2016 elections than border security and immigration. In Beyond The Wall, a Texas Tribune documentary, we look past the heated rhetoric to explore why people and dope keep pouring across the border.
Posted inState Government
Liquor regulators acknowledge Rangers haven’t cleared them
Texas liquor regulators claimed this week that an investigative report about its sale of alcohol at a state convention had been turned over to the Texas Rangers. That story fell apart Friday, a day after the Texas Tribune reported on TABC lavish spending practices at out of state conventions.
Posted in
State Government
Liquor regulators partying on taxpayers’ tab
Texas alcohol regulators know how to party: records show they’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars to travel to swanky resorts where liquor flows and industry lobbyists abound.
Posted in
Health care
Gov. Greg Abbott’s top health appointee draws bipartisan fire at hearing
Both Republican and Democratic members of a key legislative oversight committee unloaded on Gov. Greg Abbott’s top health appointee Thursday, putting him and others on the hot seat for hours about alleged contracting abuses.
Posted in
State Government
Lawmaker blasts Abbott appointee, health agency over contracting; agency fires back
State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione is demanding to know why dozens of large Texas Health and Human Services Commission contracts don’t appear in the state’s budget watchdog’s database. The agency says it isn’t responsible for the problem.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Businesses line up against Dan Patrick’s high-priority insurance bill
Legislation that would make it harder for people to recover damages after an insurance claim has hit a wall of opposition from business interests.
