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The latest Governor's Office news from The Texas Tribune.

  • TribBlog: Perry Takes a Knee [Updated]

    By Emily Ramshaw

    Gov. Rick Perry's having knee surgery on Friday. In an e-mail sent out this afternoon, Dana Parish, deputy finance director for Texans for Rick Perry, notified supporters that a campaign event had been rescheduled because of the impending surgery. Full Story 

    October 19, 2008. Gov. Rick Perry before the IBM Uptown Classic road race in Austin, TX.
    Credit: Mohammad Khursheed

  • The Workers' Comp Whistleblowers

    By Elise Hu

    Former employees of the Division of Workers' Compensation at the Texas Department of Insurance say their higher-ups have failed to sanction or remove dozens of physicians accused of fraudently overbilling and overtreating patients, costing insurers millions of dollars. The allegations of stalled enforcement action have sparked an inquiry by the State Auditor’s Office, records show. Full Story 

    Dr. Ken Ford and attorney Cathy Lockhart, who until recently investigated medical fraud for the state Division of Workers' Compensation, say the agency has failed to properly sanction unscrupulous doctors over the last half decade.
    Credit: Nathan Lindstrom, Jacob Villanueva

  • HuTube: Border Cameras on TV

    By Elise Hu

    A multi-million-dollar plan gone bust? That's how our television partner in Houston, KHOU-TV, describes the governor's virtual border watch program, which has cost $4 million but has netted only a handful of arrests. Full Story 

    A live surveillance camera view from a BlueServo camera
    Credit: BlueServo

  • Spies Like Us

    By Ross Ramsey

    Sign up for state agency e-mail alerts from, say, the Comptroller or TCEQ and they'll let you know when meetings are being held and when proposed rules are ready for review. But click a link in those e-mails and they have the ability to see who looked at which rule and which web page and who didn't look at all. Full Story 

    What the user sees on the screen is a link to the "Consumer Confidence Index" for March. But clicking on that link actually goes through a tracking system that can be used to identify the email address where this notice was originally sent.

  • TribBlog: Drop-Out Throw-Down!

    By Brian Thevenot

    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 

    Rick Perry, Bill White
    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller, Callie Richmond

  • TEF = Texas Election Fund

    By Ben Philpott, KUT News

    Facebook is opening up a satellite office in Austin — the first one in Texas for the California-based social media giant. The move, which will create 200 jobs, was sealed with $1.4 million from Gov. Rick Perry's Texas Enterprise Fund. The governor on Thursday also announced 100 new jobs for the small town of Cuero, thanks again to the TEF. Ben Philpott, who's covering the 2010 elections for KUT News and the Tribune and KUT News, reports on how the job-creating fund can be a pretty effective campaign tool as well. Full Story 

  • Look Back in Anger

    By Ben Philpott, KUT News

    With only a week to go before the GOP primary for governor, Debra Medina is pressing forward with her insurgent candidacy — despite the controversy over 9/11 truthers that temporarily upended her campaign. Her core supporters remain strongly with her, unfazed by and miffed at the media's scrutiny. How the whole thing ends is anyone's guess. Ben Philpott, covering the 2010 elections for KUT News and the Tribune, spent Monday on the trail with Medina and her flock and filed this report. Full Story 

    February 21, 2010. Debra Medina, flanked by supporters at an event at Texas Pride BBQ in Adkins, TX.
    Credit: Justin Dehn

  • The Loyal Opposition

    By Ben Philpott, KUT News

    On Monday, I tagged along with GOP gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina on the campaign trail. Despite the controversy over 9/11 truthers that momentarily upended her momentum more than a week ago, her strongest supporters remain with her. Full Story 

  • No Knockout

    By Ben Philpott, KUT News

    At the second debate between the three Republicans running for governor, the incumbent was on the defense, while his challengers tried their best to score points without making mistakes. Ben Philpott, who’s covering the race for KUT News and the Tribune, reports on how the hour-long event could affect the final month of campaigning. Full Story 

  • Mapping the Money Race

    By Matt Stiles

    To better understand the geography of the money race, we mapped the candidates' contributions by city, using graduated symbols to highlight their most lucrative areas. The bubbles in the maps get larger based on the percentage of a candidates' total take. Full Story 

    This map of 2009 fundraising by all the major candidates in the governor's race shows proportional bubbles based on the percentage of contributions collected from a city.
    Credit: Matt Stiles

  • 2010: See Alma Run. For What?

    By Rachel Kraft

    Alma Aguado is running for Governor of Texas and, if Kay Bailey Hutchinson retires, for the U.S. Senate. While she says she would rather be governor, her Facebook page for politicians still reads, “Alma Aguado for U.S. Senate.” Full Story 

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  • TribBlog: Nullification Now

    By Morgan Smith

    For the disgruntled ultraconservative, nullification may be the new secession. But as one prominent legal scholar puts it, “If you believe in nullification, you don’t believe in the constitution.” Full Story 

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