In Texas and nationwide, controversy is escalating over the practice of shooting water, sand and chemicals underground to retrieve natural gas. Some companies have responded by using less dangerous chemicals.
A Toxic Issue
Posted in
State Government
The Map: The State of Politics
This week, the Tribune and the El Paso Times collaborated on a three-part series examining the Texas political map.
Posted in
Health care
TribBlog: Warren Jeffs Headed For Texas?
The Utah Supreme Court’s decision on Tuesday to reverse polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs’ felony rape convictions has opened the door for his prosecution here — and has likely made it easier to extradite him to Texas.
Posted in
Health care
TribBlog: Wait Times Drop In Texas ERs
Wait times in Texas emergency rooms dropped by 14 minutes between 2008 and 2009, but it still takes just over 4 hours to be seen by an ER doctor, according to a new study by the health care research group Press Ganey.
Posted in
Demographics
TribBlog: Border Sheriff Standoff
Two county sheriffs are helping Bill White and Gov. Rick Perry launch a fresh new wave of attacks, even if they don’t know it.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: A Teen Debtor’s Prison in Hidalgo?
The ACLU has sued Hidalgo County for jailing an estimated 150 impoverished youths for failure to pay fines racked up on school-related tickets. Such sentences amount to running a “debtor’s prison” and violate the Constitution and Texas law, ACLU attorneys argue.
Posted in
State Government
TribBlog: Audit Finds Trooper Pay Lags
State auditors might have found a clue about why Texas has a hard time hanging onto new state troopers: The pay stinks.
Posted in
Health care
TribBlog: How Much Do Kids Count?
Texas ranks 34th nationally in childhood well-being, has the third highest teen birth rate and is experiencing a rapid increase in child poverty, according to new numbers released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS Count data center.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: Testing the Texas Projection Measure
The Texas Education agency plans to release school accountability ratings for every campus in the state on Friday. For the second year, the rankings will be filtered through the controversial Texas Projection Measure, which critics fault for inflating the school scores.
