Aides to Gov. Rick Perry’s re-election campaign have accused his Democratic challenger, Bill White, the former mayor of Houston, of running a “sanctuary city,” where officers don’t inquire about immigration status during routine patrols and investigations. But Houston’s policy is remarkably similar to that of Texas DPS under Perry. If Houston is a sanctuary city, why isn’t Texas a sanctuary state?
Houston
Posted in
Energy
TribBlog: AG Takes Action on Oil Spill
The Gulf oil spill that currently spans almost 50 miles wide and 80 miles long is “growing worse by the day“ with “no end in legitimate sight,” Attorney General Greg Abbott said at a press conference this morning.
Posted inState Government
Bill White Ad: “Man on the Move”
Bill White commercial, originally caught in the wild, but later released by his campaign. The Democratic gubernatorial candidate is running this in the Houston area starting tomorrow, May 3.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
On the Records: Mapping U.S. Attorney Vacancies Nationwide
President Obama and the U.S. Senate haven’t yet installed U.S. Attorneys in any of Texas’ four federal court districts. As our national map shows, more than half of the country is in the same situation.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
The Case of the Missing Prosecutors
Texas has more unfilled U.S. attorney positions than any other state — and that isn’t going to change soon. Currently, none of the four Texas districts have “presidentially confirmed” federal prosecutors, who are responsible for enforcing federal laws. Last week, John B. Stevens, a state district judge in Beaumont who was Barack Obama’s only nominee in Texas, withdrew his name from consideration, citing the protracted confirmation process. And that means we risk being left out of the administration’s inner circle on criminal and civil justice issues.
Posted in
Demographics
HuTube: Border Cameras on TV
A multi-million-dollar plan gone bust? That’s how our television partner in Houston, KHOU-TV, describes the governor’s virtual border watch program, which has cost $4 million but has netted only a handful of arrests.
Posted in
State Government
Texas Sees Red
The Port of Houston Authority is poised to make the Lone Star State the top U.S. trade partner with communist Cuba after gaining permission for its container vessels to sail there.
Posted inState Government
TribBlog: Coleman on Continental
Amid reports that a merger deal might soon be struck between Houston-based Continental Airlines and United Airlines, with the latter as the surviving company headquartered in Chicago, state Rep. Garnet Coleman discusses Houston’s long-standing relationship with Continental.
Posted in
Public Education
On the Records: Mapping Texas Education
We’ve created three new maps for visualizing district-level demographics in Texas schools.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
The Senate’s Biggest Spenders
The 31-member body spent nearly $16 million last fiscal year on travel, staff and office expenses, according to records from the office of the Secretary of the Senate. Overall spending by individual senators ranged from $206,000, by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, to $637,000, by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston.
