Gov. Rick Perry wants an end to “sanctuary cities,” but in a press conference Wednesday morning, he didn’t name specific cities he wants Texas lawmakers to target. Nor did he address whether the Department of Public Safety’s policy of state troopers not inquiring about the immigration status of people they pull over should be changed.
Griffin Perry
Posted in
Demographics
He Sells Sanctuary
Gov. Rick Perry has designated the elimination of “sanctuary city” policies as one of the 82nd legislative session’s emergency items — but as the Tribune has noted repeatedly in the last year, the state’s in no position to throw stones.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: Doggett Pops Perry on Education
On the letters page of Wednesday’s New York Times, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, slams Gov. Rick Perry for failing to take $830 million in federal money that Perry and other Republicans complained had strings attached but that Doggett says would have prevented “anti-education ‘smoke and mirrors’ budgeting” by the state.
Posted in
State Government
On the Records: Visualizing Today’s Speeches
Our new transcripts of House and Senate floor proceedings, which we’re planning to continue all session, give everyone the ability to search what elected officials say — but also to visualize their words.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Case “Undetermined”
The Texas Forensic Science Commission heard testimony from four fire experts today to gather evidence about the reliability of the arson investigation that led to the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham. Half said investigators got it right, and half said they were wrong.
Posted in
Demographics
Now What?
Texas alternates election years with governing years, with legislative sessions set in the odd-numbered years after voters choose their leaders. There are variations, but it’s got a rhythm: Choose them, watch them govern, choose, watch. The elections behind us, it’s time to see what this particular bunch will do.
Posted in
State Government
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Galbraith on why the Lege meets only every two years, Hu picks the year’s best political moments on video, Ramsey on the personalities who mattered in 2010, Stiles on lobbyists with conflicts of interest and what the census means for redistricting, yours truly on the new Cameron Todd Willingham documentary, Grissom on cockfighting and Trillin on Sissy Farenthold: The best of our best from Dec. 23 to 27, 2010.
Posted in
State Government
Face Time
2010 didn’t turn out like it looked a year ago. Unexpected people showed up. The political environment bloomed red instead of blue. The Tea was strong. And big shots turned into paper tigers. Here are some of the political personalities who mattered.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
An Exclusive Excerpt from “Incendiary
An exclusive excerpt from “Incendiary,” a forthcoming documentary about the Cameron Todd Willingham case.
Posted in
State Government
A Sneak Preview of “Incendiary”
Filmmakers Steve Mims and Joe Bailey Jr. are putting the finishing touches on a new documentary about the Cameron Todd Willingham case that focuses almost entirely on forensics — on the science behind arson investigations like the one that led to the Corsicana man’s arrest, conviction and execution following the death of his three small children in a 1991 house fire. Mims and Bailey aren’t political activists; the former lectures in the University of Texas’ Department of Radio-Television-Film, while the latter is a graduate of UT’s law school. But they were so moved by an article about the Willingham case in The New Yorker that they decided to tackle one of the most controversial topics in the modern era of state’s criminal justice system. Well in advance of the film’s release, they’ve carved out this excerpt of about eight minutes exclusively for the Tribune.
