Members of the Texas House General Investigating and Ethics Committee heard testimony today on whether or not a lawmaker used redistricting to threaten a member into supporting Speaker Joe Straus. Their conclusion: We can’t tell.
House Committee Can’t Confirm Misconduct
Posted inState Government
The Midday Brief: Nov. 23, 2010
Your afternoon reading: No help for the Tom DeLay jury, and the speaker’s race threat source is revealed
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State Government
House Ethics Panel on Speaker’s Race Threats
In a House Ethics Committee meeting Tuesday, state Rep. Chuck Hopson, R-Jacksonville, revealed that state Rep. Larry Phillips, R-Sherman, is the man behind an alleged threat that lawmakers who fail to support Speaker Joe Straus for re-election could face retribution through redistricting. Hopson named Phillips before the panel went into a closed executive session to discuss the allegation.
Posted inState Government
The Brief: Nov. 23, 2010
Speaker’s race got you a little lost? We’re here to help.
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State Government
State of Overdose
Deaths from accidental overdoses increased in Texas by more than 150 percent from 1999 to 2007, according to a recent report from the Drug Policy Alliance. Accidental poisoning during that time was the third-leading cause of injury-related deaths statewide, behind only car crashes and suicide.
Posted inState Government
DeLay of Reckoning
Jury deliberations have begun in the money-laundering trial of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land. Matt Largey of KUT News reports on what happens now — and how long it could take.
Posted inState Government
Interactive: The Speaker’s Race!
We’ve reached a point in the soap opera known as the House Speaker’s Race at which it’s tough to track all the characters and their connections. To keep his post, current Speaker Joe Straus is actively campaigning for the votes of House members who will elect him — or his replacement — in January. In recent weeks, two of his fellow Republicans have emerged as challengers, and the involvement of sundry outside interests make for an increasingly tangled web. As the House General Investigating and Ethics Committee prepares to hold a hearing today about alleged threats made against one minor player in the drama, we present this handy interactive to help make sense of it all.
Posted inState Government
2010: Big Solomon Concedes
Politico is reporting tonight that U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, has finally conceded his 2010 race to his Republican challenger, Blake Farenthold, who finished nearly 800 votes ahead on Election Day.
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: AG to TWIA: Make Numbers Public
The Texas attorney general’s office is weighing in on the back-and-forth between the Texas Windstorm Insurance Agency and Democratic attorney Steve Mostyn, who has been fighting in the courts to keep Hurricane Ike settlement details private.
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Health care
Dr. Deborah Peel, Founder of Patient Privacy Rights
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