Your afternoon reading.
The Midday Brief: December 14, 2009
Posted in
State Government
Kinky Exits Governor’s Race
Humorist and author Kinky Friedman is setting his sights on a new prize: the agriculture commissioner post.
Posted in
Politics
The Brief: December 14, 2009
Kinky Friedman’s song “Before All Hell Breaks Loose” begins, “Time to resign from the human race.” Today, we will find out if he thinks it’s time to do the same in the governor’s race.
Posted in
Economy
It’s Still the Economy, Stupid
Sales taxes are down and the recession in Texas hasn’t bottomed, so financial concerns will almost certainly factor into the governor’s race. Ben Philpott, covering that contest for KUT News and the Tribune, takes a look.
Posted inState Government
An Interview with Dan Patrick
The full twenty minutes with the Republican state senator from Houston, who talks power, politics and why he loves life in the Lege.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Mapmaker, Mapmaker
Think like the political pros and your mind will go to the long game instead of the short one. The short game is the elections of 2010. The long game is redistricting in 2011, when maps are drawn that corral the voters into the districts that will elect legislators for the next ten years.
Posted in
Economy
Economic Campaigning
Texas budget writers are hoping December will ring in stronger retail sales — after getting the news Friday that sales tax collections were down 14 percent from this November to last. The state’s economy is always a hot topic in the governor’s race. Ben Philpott is covering the Texas governor’s race for KUT News and the Texas Tribune. He takes a look at how the economy’s playing so far.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
USDA Approved: Jail Construction
Some Texas sheriffs are looking to an unlikely source to get them out of the hole as private prisons win away federal contracts for inmates and put the financial squeeze on county jails.
Posted in
State Government
Advice for Annise Parker
Congratulations, Mayor-Elect. Now you get to govern a great city — Houston — that’s much bigger than the electorate and much more complicated than the campaign. Perhaps you’d like some aspirin? Or a re-count?
Posted in
Public Education
Does Texas Pre-K work?
One education model — with unproven results — serves almost a third of pre-kindergarteners in Texas. Its grade? Incomplete.
