Already weary, Democrats in the Legislature stand to lose one of their last remaining bulwarks.
The Brief: Nov. 10, 2010
Posted in
Public Education
Going Head to Head
Whether reconditioned football helmets sufficiently protect young players from concussions and other serious injuries has become a subject of fierce debate. Texas parents are torn between the desire of their kids to play and increasingly hard-to-ignore studies about the relationship between football and long-term brain damage. Coaches struggle to balance safety with fans’ cries for harder hits, bigger players and crushing wins. And at least one upstart manufacturer is contributing to the public’s unease by challenging the industry’s long-standing practice of refurbishing old helmets.
Posted in
State Government
The Most Unpopular Fraction
Whatever the size of their majority in the Texas House, Republicans in the Texas Senate have to contend with the rule requiring two-thirds of members to agree to bring a bill up for vote. That’s 21 out of 31 — and there are only 19 Republicans in the upper chamber. As Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, some in the GOP want the rule changed.
Posted inState Government
The Midday Brief: Nov. 9, 2010
Your afternoon reading: Tom DeLay, Sharon Keller and a dose of higher ed news
Posted in
Higher Education
TribBlog: The Once and Future UNT President
Today, University of North Texas System Chancellor Lee Jackson announced his intention to nominate V. Lane Rawlins as the sole finalist for the presidency of the University of North Texas.
Posted inState Government
The Brief: Nov. 9, 2010
The hottest new thing in Texas politics? Prefiling.
Posted in
State Government
TribBlog: Rick Perry on Jon Stewart
In case you missed it, here’s the complete, unedited appearance Monday night by Gov. Rick Perry on The Daily Show.
Posted in
Demographics
A Tsunami of GOP Bills
Monday was the first day that state lawmakers could file bills for the 2011 session. As Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the substance of the legislation is a reflection of conservative success on Election Day.
Posted in
Higher Education
Surrendering to the Giant?
After a month of contentious debate, the future of a partnership between the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College that has flourished for the last two decades remains up in the air.
Posted in
State Government
A Death at Daystar
The same Houston-area residential treatment center where staffers forced disabled girls to fight each other — prompting child welfare officials to halt admissions and hire a safety monitor — is now under fire for the asphyxiation of a 16-year-old boy who died Friday after a restraint was applied by a staffer in a closet.
