Your afternoon reading.
The Midday Brief: July 6, 2010
TribBlog: Uribe’s Glamour Shot
“I don’t know whether to be flattered or to be creeped out.”
On the Records: How Public Servants Make Their Money
The Texas Ethics Commission recently released more than 3,000 personal financial statements — documents that detail state officials’ financial interests and liabilities. Read, download or embed them with our new application.
The Brief: July 6, 2010
Two was company in the first general-election debate of the governor’s race.
What Do Mexican Elections Mean for Texas?
How will a shift in Mexican political power impact border violence or U.S./Mexico relations?
All Tea-ed Up
If the rainbow flavors of the Tea Party feature a common taste, it’s that of fiscally restrained government — and the anti-Washington and pro-state fervor that comes along with it. Not coincidentally, that was the overwhelming theme of the GOP’s recent convention, setting the tone — as the Democrats did in their state gathering — for the November general election.
Brad Levenson: The TT Interview
After a series of investigative reports revealed serious problems with the quality of legal representation for indigent defendants on Texas death row, lawmakers created the Office of Capital Writs. California lawyer Brad Levenson will be moving to Texas to open the new office and attempt to restore some confidence in the state’s busy system of capital punishment.
The Lobby Wars
HillCo’s lawsuit against two of its departing partners is threatening business as usual in the insular world of the Texas lobby, raising the specter of open combat in an industry that prefers to settle its fights behind closed doors. But as its allegations make plain, HillCo believes that two rogue employees are the ones who crossed the line, turning competition for clients into espionage and biting down hard on the hand that fed them.
Same As the Old Boss
Ciudad Juárez’s mayoral election has Texas’ economic leaders intrigued as the border city plans to bid its current mayor farewell in October. For residents in the city plagued by cartel violence, little change is expected, and many brace for continued bloodshed.
Rice Poli Sci Chair Mark Jones on House Partisanship
Mark P. Jones, political science chairman at Rice University, recently ranked Texas House members’ partisanship based on their 2009 legislative votes. The study, which we’ve used to create an interactive chart, shows Texas’ increasingly polarized political environment, Jones says in an interview.



