Forecasters pegging a looming state budget shortfall at $18 billion don’t have Gov. Rick Perry particularly worried.
Texas Legislature
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Ramshaw on geriatric care in state prisons, with Miller’s photo essay inside those walls; M. Smith interviews the state’s newest Supreme Court justice, Debra Lehrmann; Aguilar finds fewer Mexicans seeking asylum in the U.S; Galbraith sorts out the politics of pollution and whether our air is dangerous to breathe; Thevenot discovers authorities writing tickets for misbehavior to elementary school kids; Philpott reports on early hearing about political redistricting; Kreighbaum examines fines levied against polluters and finds they’re often smaller than the economic benefits of the infractions; and Stiles and Babalola spotlight some of our data projects from our first seven months online: The best of our best from May 31 to June 4, 2010.
Posted in
State Government
The Weekly Tribcast Episode 31
In this week’s TribCast, Ross, Evan, Ben and Reeve discuss the summer political fundraising season, TxDOT’s audit, how population projections will impact into redistricting and the politics of pollution.
Posted in
Economy
TribBlog: A Taxing Problem
The state’s tax on corporations could end up half a billion dollars shy of Comptroller Susan Combs’ predictions, officials with her office say.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
The Brief: June 2, 2010
The Fort Hood shooter made his first courtroom appearance Tuesday, but a trial, the military court decided, won’t happen until October.
Posted in
Public Education
Tickets for 10-Year-Olds
With the rise of get-tough juvenile crime policies across Texas, the municipal courthouse has become the new principal’s office for students who fight, curse their teachers or are generally “disorderly” — even in elementary schools. Campus police in the Austin, Houston and Dallas ISDs, among others, write thousands of citations per year, with young students tickted egularly and minority students targeted disproportionately. Fines of $250 or $500 are not uncommon, court officials say.
Posted in
State Government
Sh*t My Texas Legislator Said: Answers
The following are the answers to our special end-of-session quiz game, Sh*t My Texas Legislator Said.
Posted in
Economy
TribBlog: The 10 Percent Solution
Fresh off of asking for five percent cuts from state agencies and actually approving $1.2 billion of what was proposed, the state’s top three leaders are asking for ten percent cuts in the amounts the agencies will be seeking next time the Legislature meets.
Posted in
University of Texas/Texas Tribune Polls
We Like It Better Here
A majority of Texans believe the state is on the right track, while a plurality thinks the country is on the wrong track, according to a new University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.
Posted in
State Government
Here Comes the Sun
The state Division of Workers’ Compensation has uncovered “tens of millions of dollars in unnecessary medical care” in the last several years, but its commissioner failed to sanction the doctors involved, a key former employee told members of the Sunset Advisory Commission on Tuesday night.
