Ramsey and others on Bill White and the changing state of the race for governor; Thevenot’s two-parter on what Dallas churches are doing to combat social ills and racial division; Ramshaw on the use of force by school district police departments (and why parents don’t know about it); Grissom’s two-parter, abetted by Stiles, on unregulated payday lenders; Aguilar on Mexican immigrants who play against type; and Rapoport on those missing extra checks for retired public employees. The best of the best from November 21 to 25, 2009.
state agencies
Posted in
State Government
The Checks Aren’t in the Mail
Sorry, retired teachers and other public employees: You’ll have to do without that extra $500 you were expecting. And you shouldn’t count on any additional benefits next year — not if the state pension fund continues to be, in the words on one state senator, “actuarially unsound.”
Posted in
Public Education
Hidden Force
School district police departments use tasers, pepper spray, dogs and drawn handguns to control crime on campus. But most don’t keep data on the incidents, leaving parents no way to track them. Many even refuse to turn over their “use of force” guidelines, saying parting with their policies could create a security threat.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: Texas Sidelined in Race for the Top?
Texas will not adopt national school curriculum standards, risking its ability to get a $700 million federal grant.
Posted in
Economy
TribBlog: The (Very) Skinny
Comptroller Susan Combs says the state will have $77.7 billion in general revenue for the current budget, which calls for $77.6 billion in general revenue.
Posted in
State Government
The $4.2 Million Question
How much of Bill White’s federal war chest could be used in a race for governor? Most of it.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: State Board of Education and the ABCs
Two legislative ABCs — Anybody But Craddicks — back the Republican moderate challenging Christian conservative member Don McLeroy.
Posted in
State Government
Retired, Rehired
No snowbirds here. A growing number of state employees are retiring and coming straight back to work, padding — and in some cases nearly doubling — their state salaries with pension pay-outs.
Posted in
Demographics
Soul Search: Dallas churches unite to right historic wrongs
The Dallas church community has vowed to forge 25 partnerships with high-poverty public schools and push for 700 units of housing for the homeless — a down payment on a larger effort to heal wounds left by racism and injustice.
Posted in
Demographics
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Multi-part stories from Ramshaw and Grissom and Stiles on mental health services for detained immigrants and on payday lenders who provide exorbitantly priced credit to people with nowhere else to turn… Twitter, word clouds and the race for governor — a Stiles joint… Farouk Shami is in and Hu was there to watch… Philpott went to Bastrop for a gather of Republican governors… Rapoport finds a State Board of Education that’s trying to control itself… and we have the skinny on legislative races that are likely to be competitive (only about 5 percent of the races on the ballot). It’s the best of The Texas Tribune from November 14 to 20, 2009.
