Get out your streamers and sparkles and red, white and blue (oh, and your cowboy boot raffle ticket, too). It’s the state Republican convention!
The Brief: June 11, 2010
Fewer Sex Offenders in the DPS Database?
There are more than 61,000 registered sex offenders in the Texas Department of Public Safety’s database. Some think the list includes people who aren’t a threat to society and that the stigma of being on it hurts them more than it helps the greater community. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune has this report.
The Party Line
This weekend, some 14,000 true believers will congregate in Dallas for the state Republican convention, the largest such gathering in the nation. Other than electing a chairman, the main event will be developing a platform — a manifesto meant to be the ideal vision for the future of the Texas GOP. Just don’t ask them all to agree to it. If they did, “it’d be a very dull convention and a very short document,” says Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson.
TribLive: Craig Watkins
Evan Smith’s 35-minute interview with Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins, from the Tribune’s TribLive event series.
Crude Concerns
In the wake of the Gulf spill, anxiety is building about a proposed pipeline that would run through East Texas, ferrying Canadian oil to Port Arthur and Houston for refining.
TribLive: Craig Watkins, Full Audio
Full, unedited audio from Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkin’s appearance at the Tribune’s TribLive conversation series on Wednesday. Audio includes questions and answers from the audience.
A Conversation with Craig Watkins
For the 11th event in our TribLive series, I interviewed the Dallas County district attorney about why and how he’s worked to exonerate the wrongfully imprisoned and whether he’s dragging his feet on a controversial corruption case involving county constables.
2010: Hold Your Green Horses [Updated]
The Texas Democratic Party won Thursday’s battle against the Green Party — but the war isn’t over yet.
White Fires Back Over “Profiteering” Claims
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White denies claims that he financially benefited from an investment in a company that helped in Hurrican Rita cleanup. Video courtesy of Tribune news partner KHOU-TV in Houston.
TribBlog: Remote Vote
Texas could face legal action if it doesn’t comply with new federal regulations for voters overseas.



