Unregistered high school umpires will keep their stripes on, for now. A U.S. district judge granted an injunction today requested by the Texas Association of Sport Officials, halting a University Interscholastic League mandate that all high school sports officials register with the agency. Some officials were refusing to register, risking a lockout.
East Texas
Posted in
Higher Education
Friday Night Lights Out?
The drama of the gridiron has found its way into a federal courtroom in a standoff between the Texas Association of Sports Officials and the University Interscholastic League. With the threat of a lockout of referees and their ilk, the result could be the hiring of scabs to replace them — or even the halting of games — just weeks before one of the year’s most eagerly anticipated moments in Texas: the start of high school football playoffs.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
ICE Under Fire
A year after Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced it would reform immigration detention, advocacy groups say the agency has fallen short on a few key counts: addressing alleged human rights violations and expanding alternatives to incarceration.
Posted in
T-Squared
T-Squared: A Time of Renewal
Six weeks and counting: November 3, 2010, is the day when we reset the Trib membership clock to zero, when anyone who’s been with us for a year or more needs to stand with us again to remain an active member. There are a bunch of good reasons to re-up.
Posted in
Demographics
TribBlog: Los Libertarios
Libertarians launch a new political action committee, Texas Libertarios, to show Latinos they have more choices than just Republicans and Democrats.
Posted inState Government
Gubernatorial Debate, R.I.P.
That deadline set by Rick Perry has come and gone. The governor gave his Democratic challenger, Bill White, until midnight last night to release tax returns from his days as Deputy Energy Secretary in the Clinton administration. So, for now, it looks like Texas voters will not get to see the two men duke it out on the same stage. Ben Philpott KUT News and the Tribune has this report.
Posted in
Health care
TribBlog: Magistrate Says Tort Reform Not Unconstitutional
A federal magistrate says the medical malpractice caps Texas lawmakers instituted in 2003 should withstand a constitutional challenge.
Posted in
State Government
And They’re Off!
The start of the 2010 election sprint finds Texas Republicans feverish: Even the sober ones think they could snatch up to 10 more state House seats. Democrats maintain they can still wrest majority control away from the GOP.
Posted in
Demographics
TribBlog: Illegal Immigration Down in U.S.
The number of undocumented immigrants entering the U.S. has declined considerably in the past few years when compared to the first half of the previous decade, according to a new study by the Pew Hispanic Center.
Posted in
State Government
21 House Races to Watch
Only 10 days out from Labor Day — the unofficial start of the campaign season — we bring you a scouting report on the 21 Texas House races to watch. We based our picks on dozens of interviews with politicos and our own analysis of district voting patterns, campaign coffers, the relative strength of the candidates and issues that could turn each contest. Most of the vulnerable incumbents are Democrats, which is no surprise in a Republican year. But a few veteran R’s are at risk, thanks to alleged ethical lapses that could swing voters against the national mood.
