Revenue from Texas red-light cameras soared in 2009, with cities collecting more than $62 million from motorists, newly released state records show. We’ve taken that revenue data to create an interactive visualization that shows how the traffic camera revenue, expenses and profits vary from city to city, along with the proportion of the money that goes to the state.
Houston
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
Energy
Crude Concerns
In the wake of the Gulf spill, anxiety is building about a proposed pipeline that would run through East Texas, ferrying Canadian oil to Port Arthur and Houston for refining.
Posted inState Government
White Fires Back Over “Profiteering” Claims
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White denies claims that he financially benefited from an investment in a company that helped in Hurrican Rita cleanup. Video courtesy of Tribune news partner KHOU-TV in Houston.
Posted inState Government
2010: Perry: White Should Resign [Updated]
Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday that Democrat Bill White should leave the governor’s race it’s true that he owned part of a company that got taxpayer money to deal with Hurricane Rita while White was mayor. White’s campaign responded by saying Perry is lying about White’s record to avoid debating the Democrat before the November election.
Posted in
Health care
Forced to Fight
Workers at a center for distressed children in Manvel provoked seven developmentally disabled girls into a fight of biting and bruising, while they laughed, cheered and promised the winners after-school snacks. The fight was one of more than 250 incidents of abuse and mistreatment in residential treatment centers over the last two years, based on a Houston Chronicle/Texas Tribune review of Department of Family and Protective Services records.
Posted in
T-Squared
T-Squared: Partnering with the Chronicle
Coming this Sunday, the first of hopefully many joint projects between the Tribune and the Houston Chronicle will see publication — both on our site and on the Chron’s front page.
Posted in
Demographics
Visas for Victims
The federal government has more than tripled the number of visas granted to undocumented victims of such crimes as domestic violence and rape. The policy change is designed to aid prosecutors in securing witnesses and convictions, but some fear the incentive of legal status will spur false accusations.
Posted in
Health care
The Workers’ Comp Whistleblowers
Former employees of the Division of Workers’ Compensation at the Texas Department of Insurance say their higher-ups have failed to sanction or remove dozens of physicians accused of fraudently overbilling and overtreating patients, costing insurers millions of dollars. The allegations of stalled enforcement action have sparked an inquiry by the State Auditor’s Office, records show.
Posted inState Government
HuTube: What’s Happening Yao
KPRC-TV in Houston took the “Why Yao” question straight to Gov. Rick Perry.
