Texas educators forcibly pinned down students with disabilities as many times in 2009 as they did in 2008, despite efforts to curb the practice.
Austin
TribBlog: Access Granted
Should reporters wear muzzles when they’re around politicians? Some states seem to think so, but not, thankfully, Texas.
Attack of the Ads
Rick Perry’s and Kay Bailey Hutchison’s ads seem pretty tame so far, but in an everything’s-contested campaign cycle, even what constitutes an “attack ad” is grounds for debate.
TribBlog: So Long
Family and friends of Austin political consultant Kelly Fero, who died unexpectedly at age 57 this week, said goodbye at a memorial event this morning.
2010: Class is In
Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson invited both of the Democrats running for his job to stop by for a crash course on what the General Land Office does.
TribBlog: AG Says Posthumous Pardons Possible
A posthumous pardon is possible after all, according to an opinion from Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office. This clears the way for the possible post-death pardon of Tim Cole, who was exonerated of a sexual assault conviction in a Travis County court last year, but had died in prison many years prior.
T-Squared: Texas 33, Alabama 27
That’s my prediction; what’s yours? Correctly guess the outcome of tonight’s game and you could win a Texas Tribune hat โ perfect for beating Ben Philpott about the head and face.
TribBlog: Tejano Monument Finally Coming to the Capitol
The State Preservation Board today approved installation of a Texas Tejano Monument on the south lawn of the Capitol. The project has already taken nearly a decade.
2010: A New Chief at the Texas GOP
Jesse Lewis will be the new executive director of the Texas Republican Party, starting next week.
Meet Linda Chavez-Thompson
She was born into a family of eight children near Lubbock, worked on cotton fields in her teens and later became a Hispanic labor leader. Now she’s running for lieutenant governor. We’ve packaged resources (in various media platforms) on the latest entrant to the race.

