A new phone scam has highlighted the possible trouble ahead for Texans who had their personal information exposed — and, as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, for Comptroller Susan Combs, whose office mistakenly leaked the data.
Austin
Posted in
Economy
Senators Look for Money Without Saying “Taxes”
State senators have unveiled a list of almost $5 billion in cash-flow tricks, property sales and fees that could be used to ease cuts in the state budget, but it’s not enough to completely close the gap between what they have available and what they hope to spend.
Posted inState Government
Update: President Obama Gets Testy With WFAA Reporter
Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA-TV was one of four TV stations to interview President Barack Obama. Toward the end, the president got testy with reporter Brad Watson.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Comptroller Offers Help After Data Mishap
Frustrated state employees continue to search for help — and answers — after the comptroller’s office accidentally left sensitive personal data on an open server for anyone to see.
Posted in
Economy
Interactive: How Would You Close the State’s Budget Gap?
Solving the state’s 2012-13 budget woes is a hard job and perhaps the best way to show that is to let you decide for yourself how the $27 billion shortfall should be closed. Use our interactive budget shortfall app to see what you’re willing to give up to close the gap.
Posted in
Politics
Doggett Dismayed by Redistricting Plan
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, reacts to the proposed split of his current district.
Posted in
Economy
A Budget Problem Deferred — to Now
The 2006 tax swap — lowering local school property taxes and creating a new business tax to make up the difference — is at the center of Texas’ current budget troubles. The architects are still pointing fingers over what and whom to blame for the state’s “structural deficit.”
Posted in
State Government
Texas House Redistricting Maps Debated
There are 101 Republicans in the Texas House. But according to the map released by Redistricting Committee Chair Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, not all of them will get re-elected.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Board Approves Report on Willingham
Members of a state forensic board today accepted an amended version of a report on convicted arsonist Cameron Todd Willingham’s case, but won’t rule on professional negligence until the attorney general says whether they have jurisdiction to do so.
Posted in
Economy
At Nursing Homes, Fears of a Budget “Armageddon”
The Texas Legislature is faced with a budget challenge that pits the Republican majority’s desire to cut government spending against a vulnerable target: the frail and the elderly covered by Medicaid and housed in nursing homes.
