When the recession hit and people stopped shopping, sales tax dollars dried up quickly, contributing to the multibillion-dollar shortfall that lawmakers will soon face. What to do? Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune contemplates a hugely unpopular alternative.
The Ditch: Not the I Word!
Posted in
Energy
Fort Stockton vs. Claytie
A West Texas town is challenging an oil tycoon and former GOP gubernatorial nominee over the depletion of its municipal water source. Whether David defeats Goliath is up to an 11-member groundwater conservation district.
Posted in
Demographics
TribBlog: Border Rep. to Congress: “We Are at the Tipping Point”
Border lawmakers are asking Congress for hundreds of millions of dollars for border security before “the violence unfolds across the Rio Grande.”
Posted in
Health care
Dewhurst: “Dramatic” Increase in Taxes Possible
Lt. Governor David Dewhurst says the state will have to “dramatically increase taxes” or undergo major cut backs in programs like public safety or education as a result of federal health care reform.
Posted inState Government
The Brief: April 20, 2010
As Bill White continues to drill Gov. Rick Perry over the state’s education record, poll numbers show the former Houston mayor is gaining some traction against the decade-long incumbent.
Posted inState Government
FCC’s McDowell: Convergence
Federal Communications Commissioner Robert McDowell visited Austin to talk with the Texas Public Policy Foundation and agreed to an interview on net neutrality — whether people who use more internet bandwidth should pay more for the service, like they do now for greater speed — the recent court decision preventing FCC restrictions on “information service” providers like Comcast, and other issues before his agency and the industries it regulates (and unregulated companies that compete with regulated ones).
Posted inState Government
FCC’s McDowell: No Place for State Regulation
Federal Communications Commissioner Robert McDowell visited Austin to talk with the Texas Public Policy Foundation and agreed to an interview on net neutrality — whether people who use more internet bandwidth should pay more for the service, like they do now for greater speed — the recent court decision preventing FCC restrictions on “information service” providers like Comcast, and other issues before his agency and the industries it regulates (and unregulated companies that compete with regulated ones).
Posted inState Government
FCC’s McDowell: Better for Grandma
Federal Communications Commissioner Robert McDowell visited Austin to talk with the Texas Public Policy Foundation and agreed to an interview on net neutrality — whether people who use more internet bandwidth should pay more for the service, like they do now for greater speed — the recent court decision preventing FCC restrictions on “information service” providers like Comcast, and other issues before his agency and the industries it regulates (and unregulated companies that compete with regulated ones).
Posted inState Government
FCC’s McDowell: Unleash the Internet
Federal Communications Commissioner Robert McDowell visited Austin to talk with the Texas Public Policy Foundation and agreed to an interview on net neutrality — whether people who use more internet bandwidth should pay more for the service, like they do now for greater speed — the recent court decision preventing FCC restrictions on “information service” providers like Comcast, and other issues before his agency and the industries it regulates (and unregulated companies that compete with regulated ones).
