It could take years before the seven emerging research universities in Texas (Texas Tech University, the University of Houston, the University of North Texas, the University of Texas at Dallas, the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of Texas at San Antonio and the University of Texas at El Paso) transform themselves into top-tier research campuses — if they do at all. But the state now pays them for demonstrated progress toward that goal, pitting them against one another in competition for limited funds. Officials from all seven will appear before a joint hearing of the House and Senate higher education committees today, seeking to show off progress to lawmakers and to size up where they stand against their peers.
Houston
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TriBlog: Harris County Jail Controversy to Be Continued
It wasn’t so much a grilling as a polite discussion this morning between Harris County officials and members of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. Despite continued overcrowding at the county’s four facilities and ongoing concerns about inmate conditions, the county is expected in November to ask the commission for permission to continue filling the jails with hundreds of so-called “variance beds” — beds beyond the capacity for which the buildings were designed.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
The Big House Isn’t Big Enough
At today’s hearing of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, Sheriff Adrian Garcia will be grilled about efforts to control overcrowding at Harris County’s four jail facilities, which have seen a dramatic population spike. At the urging of Houston lawmakers, Garcia will be pressed to explain why he wants to keep housing more inmates than the facilities can accommodate, and why some recommendations by the county’s own consultant for ways to reduce its jail population have gone unheeded.
Posted inState Government
2010: Perry and White Bicker Over BTEC
For the second time, Gov. Rick Perry is calling on his Democratic opponent, Bill White, to drop out of the race.
Posted in
State Government
Mark Jones: The TT Interview
The chairman of the political science department at Rice University recently ranked Texas House members’ partisanship based on their 2009 legislative votes. Our interactive chart highlights what he describes as Texas’ increasingly polarized political environment.
Posted in
Health care
High Prescribers
A Houston psychiatrist who uses clinically controversial brain scans to diagnose everything from anxiety to marital discord. A Plano music therapist who believes his Peruvian pan flute tunes cure mental illness. And a Beaumont child psychologist reprimanded for continuing to prescribe to a proven drug abuser. These physicians have written more prescriptions for potent antipsychotic drugs to the state’s neediest patients than any other doctors in Texas.
Posted in
Demographics
Fred Lewis: The TT Interview
Harris County has a voting problem, and the ethics reform lobbyist and campaign finance lawyer aims to do something about it. As he told the Tribune last week, he’s behind a new nonpartisan voter registration drive that targets what he calculates are the 600,000 unregistered adult citizens there.
Posted in
Public Education
State Board of Landlords?
Hoping to tackle the long-standing challenge of financing charter school facilities, the State Board of Education is considering taking on a novel and controversial role: landlord. SBOE member David Bradley, R-Beaumont, wants to use $100 million from the $23 billion Permanent School Fund to buy properties and then lease them back to charter schools, which have historically struggled with capital costs. Critics say the elected board can’t possibly fulfill the mandate of the Fund — to invest for maximum return — while at the same time cutting charters a good deal.
Posted in
Transportation
Red-Light Camera Cash
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.
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.
