The latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll seems to capture neatly the ascendance of Tea Party heroes Ted Cruz and Dan Patrick over the first half of this year, a phenomenon captured as well at last weekend's GOP state convention.
Full StoryAlso, Perry makes all sorts of headlines in California.
Full StoryThis week in the Newsreel: UT/TT Poll finds GOP candidates with big leads over Democratic rivals; Perry and the GOP take hard lines on immigration and homosexuality.
Full StoryFor this week’s nonscientific survey of insiders in politics and government, we asked about the effects of the state Republican Party’s convention.
Full Story
Key meetings and events for the coming week.
Full StoryWendy Davis campaign manager Karin Johanson was replaced by state Rep. Chris Turner, D-Arlington, in a significant shake-up at the top of the gubernatorial hopeful's organization. Johanson's national experience was highlighted when she was brought on board. In Turner, Davis now has a campaign manager with experience in waging Texas campaigns in territory unfriendly to Democrats.
A new audit shed new light on the scope of the problems with wait times at VA facilities nationwide with more than 57,000 patients waiting three months or more for an appointment. Specialty clinics in Harlingen and McAllen had the worst wait times in the nation.
Attorney General Greg Abbott has asked the Obama administration for $30 million for state-based border security operations in response to a recent influx of minors entering the country illegally and overwhelming facilities on this side of the border.
The League of United Latin American Citizens filed suit against the state and a couple of school districts, alleging that not enough has been done to help English language learners. The action is a continuation of a legal battle over the quality of language instruction programs begun in 2006.
The Texas Racing Commission cast a preliminary vote in favor of historical racing, which would allow tracks to introduce betting on already conducted races transmitted on video terminals. The tracks have long been asking for something that could help boost their sagging revenue but critics said the devices are just slot machines going by another name and are illegal.
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst was awarded the French Legion of Honor, Chevalier Rank, at a ceremony on Utah Beach commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day landing in Normandy. Dewhurst's father, a WW II bomber pilot, led the last D-Day bombing on Utah beach.
Carol L. McDonald will step down as the president of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas on Sept. 30. A former staffer for Lt. Bill Hobby, McDonald led the ICUT for 32 years. Ray Martinez, currently the chancellor of the online Western Governors University Texas, has been named to succeed McDonald.
Veronica "Ronnye" Vargas Stidvent has been named the new chancellor of WGU Texas, succeeding Ray Martinez, who is leaving to head the Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas.
Jo Cassandra Cuevas is stepping down today as executive director of the House Democratic Caucus to take a position on the public affairs team at AT&T.
Don Baylor is leaving the Center for Public Policy Priorties at the end of July to take a position with the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., in the fall. Baylor joined CPPP in 2004 and founded the think tank's economic opportunity team. In addition, he serves as a Consumer Advisory Board member at the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Deaths: Jack R. Woolf, who was president of the University of Texas at Arlington from 1959-68 and oversaw its move from the Texas A&M System to the UT System. He was 90.
Disclosure: AT&T, Texas A&M University and the University of Texas are corporate sponsors of The Texas Tribune. Veronica Stidvent is a donor to the Tribune and a Tribune board member. A complete list of Texas Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.
