Dozens of Texas border counties now check the immigration status of anyone who ends up in jail, removing thousands of criminal suspects from the country. But detainees are also being deported for minor infractions — including some who are never formally charged.
Austin
Posted inState Government
TT Interview: Dave Carney 2/8
An interview with Dave Carney, the general political consultant to Gov. Rick Perry.
Posted inState Government
2010: Andrea White Speaks Out
Andrea White, wife of the Democratic nominee for governor, Bill White, has been traveling around the state drumming up support for her husband’s campaign — one living room at a time
Posted in
Energy
TribBlog: Grading the Grid
A consulting firm’s report on the Texas grid operator, ERCOT, includes comments about “dead wood” among the workforce. It recommends staffing cuts and an independent board.
Posted in
State Government
TribBlog: Capitol Cleared After Bomb Threat
Capitol staffers report that they’re being evacuated. Staffers say state troopers notified them that there was a possible bomb threat about 30 minutes ago.
Posted in
Economy
Face-Off: The Shortfall
While the right and left don’t agree on much, both sides stipulate that the state’s budget mess is a multibillion-dollar problem. In the debut of our new video series, the executive director of the progressive Center for Public Policy Priorities, former state district judge Scott McCown, and the director of the Center for Fiscal Policy at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, former state Rep. Talmadge Heflin, debate the best way to dig us out of the hole — and how we got into it in the first place.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
On the Records: Mapping U.S. Growth by County
See how Texas’ fastest-growing areas compare with the 3,000 other counties across the country.
Posted inState Government
Waiting to Exhale
The Environmental Protection Agency will roll out new air quality standards for the entire country in August. That means cities like Austin — which knows it’s out of compliance — have very little time to get their improvement plans in place. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune filed this report.
Posted in
Energy
TribBlog: New EPA Rules Could Put More Cities Over Pollution Limits
The ongoing battle between the EPA and Texas got a little hotter today, and it could get even more intense as the TCEQ works on a plan to comply with stricter ozone regulations.
Posted in
Health care
TribBlog: Renaissance Talks Valley Carve-Out
In a hearing before House budget-writers today, officials of Doctors Hospital at Renaissance conceded they’ll move toward Medicaid managed care in the Rio Grande Valley, so long as it’s done with lots of local input.
