The Evening Brief: Dec. 4, 2012
Your evening reading: Bush calls for compassion in immigration debate; Armey leaves FreedomWorks with $8 million payout; Texas Nationalist Movement says membership has swelled Full Story
Your evening reading: Bush calls for compassion in immigration debate; Armey leaves FreedomWorks with $8 million payout; Texas Nationalist Movement says membership has swelled Full Story
At the Trib's November 29 symposium on higher education at Texas A&M University, I talked tuition deregulation, changing demographics and other hot-button issues with state Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, the new chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee. Full Story
At a conference in Dallas, former President George W. Bush urged the nation’s leaders to debate immigration reform with compassion and kindness. Full Story
House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, has at least one opponent in his bid for a third term in that job, but the circumstances that undid his predecessors in the post don't exist now. Full Story
For this week's nonscientific survey of insiders in government and politics, we asked about big-ticket infrastructure issues — whether lawmakers will approve any of them and where they might look for money. Full Story
Ask the Texas public a question, and then ask the insiders in Texas politics and government the same question. The gaps are huge. Full Story
Rep. Eric Johnson, D-Dallas, is leading an effort to create the Texas Young Legislators Caucus, a bipartisan group that plans to focus on issues that affect Texans under 40 and hopes to engage young people in the legislative process. Full Story
State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, and a union that represents prison employees hope to make more history in 2013, suggesting the potential closure of two privately run prison facilities in Dallas and in Mineral Wells. Full Story
Two bills filed by lawmakers recently seek to restrict the actions of federal agencies in Texas. Lawmakers say the bills are meant to stand up for Texans' freedom, but federal agencies say practices targeted by the bills keep people safe. Full Story
The race for speaker of the House may have just gotten a lot more interesting. Full Story