The Obama administration’s “drug czar” on the federal drug control strategy, curbing drug addiction in the United States, helping to end drug-related violence in Mexico — and why legalizing illicit drugs is not the answer.
Gil Kerlikowske: The TT Interview
Posted in
State Government
TribBlog: Voter ID Advances
Late Tuesday, in what was a foregone conclusion, the Texas Senate passed its version of voter ID legislation out of the chamber’s committee of the whole.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: LBB Makes Criminal Justice Recommendations
Criminal justice in Texas got a fourfold performance review from the Legislative Budget Board today. From incarceration projections to the cost per bed for prisoners, the board broke down the state’s public safety performance in cold, hard numbers.
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Health care
John Zerwas: The TT Interview
John Zerwas: The TT InterviewTexas Tribune donors or members may be quoted or mentioned in our stories, or may be the subject of them. For a complete list of contributors, click here.
Posted inState Government
The Midday Brief: Jan. 25, 2011
Your afternoon reading: traffic ticket amnesty, Burka on Kelso, and voter ID rages on
Posted in
Guides
Texplainer: Is It Raining Yet?
The Texas Constitution says that money from the Rainy Day Fund can be spent to “prevent or eliminate a temporary cash deficiency in general revenue.” With the state facing a budget shortfall estimated somewhere between $15 billion and $27 billion, some say if it ain’t raining now, it ain’t ever going to.
Posted in
State Government
TribBlog: DPS Giving Drivers a Break
Some of the 1.2 million Texas drivers whose licenses have been suspended because they failed to pay expensive traffic ticket surcharges can catch a big break right now from the Department of Public Safety.
Posted in
Energy
The Power Puzzle
When Texans turn on lights or plug in iPads, they are getting an increasing amount of power from the wind — and from coal plants. Last year, nearly 8 percent of the power on the state’s electric grid was generated by wind, far above the national average. And coal plants produced more power than any other electricity source. The big loser was natural gas.
