Texans have always been far better at making energy than saving it. But if a proposal before the Public Utility Commission gets approved this year, buildings and appliances would need to become much more energy efficient by 2014. Electric providers across the state would be required to offset 50 percent of their customers’ growth in usage with energy-efficiency measures — well above the current 20 percent requirement set by the Legislature.
state agencies
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Grissom on the 1.2 million Texans who’ve lost their licenses under the Driver Responsibility Act and the impenetrable black box that is the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, Ramshaw and Kraft on nurses with substance abuse problems and rehabilitation that can get them back to work, M. Smith finds it’s not easy being Rick Green, Stiles on counting Texans (and everybody else), Rapoport on the State Board of Education’s war with itself and the runoff in SBOE District 10, Thevenot’s revealing interview with a big-city superintendent on closing bad schools, Aguilar on the tensions over water on the Texas-Mexico border, Hamilton on the new Coffee Party, Hu on Kesha Rogers and why her party doesn’t want her, Philpott on the runoff in HD-47, Ramsey on Bill White and the politics of taxes, and E. Smith’s conversation with Game Change authors Mark Halperin and John Heleimann: The best of our best from March 15 to 19.
Posted in
Health care
TribBlog: Cuellar Still on the Fence
Laredo Congressman Henry Cuellar is one of the last undecided House members mulling over the federal health care bill. He still has a few concerns.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
The Secret Pardon
Barring the intervention of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles is Hank Skinner’s last hope for reprieve from the poison-filled syringe he is set to meet on Wednesday. The board makes life-or-death decisions, recommending to the governor whether an execution should be delayed, called off or carried out, yet it’s one of the least transparent agencies in state government.
Posted in
Public Education
The Runoffs: SBOE District 10
One candidate touts her education policy expertise; the other, his conservative political credentials. This race for retiring incumbent Cynthia Dunbar’s seat on the State Board of Education may come down to campaign money vs. Christian grassroots muscle.
Posted in
Demographics
A Border Runs Through It
At the heart of America’s symbiotic relationship with Mexico is a long-standing and sometimes tense agreement over an issue more far-reaching than homeland security and immigration: water.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: AZ Lab Offers Free Testing for Skinner
Chromosal Laboratories, a DNA testing lab in Phoenix, Ariz., told Gov. Rick Perry that it will test evidence in the Hank Skinner case for free and within 30 days if he grants a reprieve of the convicted murderer’s March 24 execution date.
Posted in
Economy
Ranking the Recession
A new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas compares the 2008-09 recession to other downturns — and puts it at the top of the list. Ben Philpott filed this report for KUT News and the Tribune.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: History with Chuck Norris!
“Don’t mess with Texas … textbooks,” Norris orders liberals.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: Colbert on the State Board of “Edjukashun”
The Colbert Report joins the media fray over Texas history standards, joking “You see, Jefferson coined the term ‘separation of church and state.’ So Texas has coined the term, ‘separation of Jefferson and history.’”
