Ramshaw on the state’s quiet sharing of infant blood samples with the military and on the things Rick Perry’s opponents aren’t saying about him, Grissom on Farouk Shami’s surprising popularity in El Paso, Philpott on the political advantages of a job creation fund and how Debra Medina’s supporters are reacting to her “truther” comments, Hu on Debra Medina in the latest installment of Stump Interrupted, Thevenot on how the kids feel about the federal option of closing bad high schools, Rapoport on the newest mutation of the state’s pay-as-you-go transportation philosophy, and our roundup of party primaries in the last week before the election: Rapoport on HD-7, Ramsey on HD-11, Aguilar on HD-36 and HD-43, Philpott on HD-47, Thevenot on HD-52 and SD-5, Kreighbaum on HD-105 and one Supreme Court race, M. Smith on another, and Hamilton on the colorful Democratic candidates for Agriculture Commissioner. The best of our best from February 22 to 26, 2010.
Texas Department Of Transportation
Posted in
Transportation
TribBlog: Acceptable Road Conditions
The North Texas Tollway Authority board just accepted the Transportation Commission’s deal for building State Highway 161 by a vote of eight to one. The state commissioners offered the deal on Wednesday that allows NTTA to effectively borrow TXDOT’s credit rating in making deals.
Posted in
State Government
TribBlog: Texas Spends $1.4 Million to Friend Facebook (Updated)
The Texas Enterprise Fund will dole out money to the social networking site for new operations in Austin.
Posted in
Transportation
Road Conditions
Sensible people in the Metroplex may have given up long ago on Southwest Parkway and State Highway 161, two huge projects first proposed back in the 1960s. Now they’re toll roads — one incomplete, one not yet started — and the money to build them may finally be available. There is, of course, a catch.
Posted in
Economy
TribBlog: Road Warriors
Introducing the House Select Committee on Transportation Funding.
Posted in
State Government
Primary Color: HD-98
State Rep. Vicki Truitt, R-Southlake, has won and won easily since wresting the district from a GOP incumbent in a 1998 runoff. But this year is different. She’ll face three opponents and voters who might be in an anti-incumbent mood.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Thevenot on the abysmally low community college graduation rate and higher ed’s coming budgetary winter. Ramshaw on Terri Hodge’s guilty plea and hasty exit. Grissom on the Department of Public Safety’s use of dreaded federal stimulus funds to plug a hole in the state’s border security budget. Hu on the first of the intraparty face-offs in our Primary Color series. Ramsey and Stiles on the congressional candidates with the most money on hand. Ramsey on whether Farouk Shami’s accent and name are an obstacle to his election. Aguilar on the fever-tick epidemic overwhelming South Texas. Rapoport on TxDOT’s hard road and the State Board of Education’s lack of finance expertise. Philpott on how Barack Obama’s budget will impact Texas. M. Smith on whether lawyers giving to judges is a good thing. Hamilton on the latest transportation innovations on the drawing board. The best of our best from February 1 to 5, 2010.
Posted in
State Government
A Hard Road
Lawmakers are still perturbed at TxDOT, but the state’s transportation agency is trying to do better. The first step, says one commissioner: Figure out how to meet the transportation needs of Texas citizens — which it’s not doing.
Posted in
Transportation
Interview with Bill Meadows
Transportation Commissioner Bill Meadows talks about what the Texas Department of Transportation needs to do to repair relations with the State Legislature.
Posted in
Transportation
Up in the Air
Feeling blue over paltry federal funding for high-speed rail? Forget about it. Two Austin visionaries are already looking ahead to the next transportation innovations.
