31 Days, 31 Ways: Iconic Sugar Land Prison Closes
DAY 19 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: Sugar Land's historic, art deco-style prison is closing. Full Story
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![Texas Department of Criminal Justice Central Prison Unit in Sugar Land, TX. Amid budget cuts, Texas is closing a prison unit for the first time. The historic Central Unit will close at the end of August.]()
Credit: Justin Dehn -
Despite Job Growth, Texas Unemployment Rate Worst in Decades
Gov. Rick Perry — touting the state's job growth on the campaign trail — got some bad news this morning: The state's unemployment rate is the worst in nearly a quarter century. Full Story
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![More jobs in Texas...but more people looking too.]()
Credit: Ben Philpott -
31 Days, 31 Ways: UT Southwestern Loses $31M in State Funding
DAY 10 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: Losing $31 million in state aid leads UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas to lay off more than 100 employees and eliminate 250 vacant positions. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
31 Days, 31 Ways: Budget Cuts Force Downgrade of Trauma Center
DAY 7 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: The East Texas Medical Center will downgrade its trauma center in Athens from Level III to Level IV. Full Story
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![During the 2011 legislative session, lawmakers voted to reduce reimbursement rates to hospitals around Texas. As a result, East Texas Medical Center in Athens plans to downgrade its trauma center from Level III to Level IV.]()
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31 Days, 31 Ways: Budget Cuts Final Straw for Air Ambulance
DAY 5 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: The Rio Grande Valley’s longest-running helicopter ambulance will be permanently grounded this fall — and state budget cuts were the final straw. Full Story
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Credit: South Texas Emergency Care Foundation -
Adan Muñoz: The TT Interview
Adan Muñoz, executive director of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards talks with The Texas Tribune about budget cuts and the challenges of running a jail. Full Story
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Adan Muñoz: The TT Interview
The director of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards on the agency's budget cuts, jail overcrowding and eroding facilities. Full Story
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Credit: Justin Dehn -
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Aaronson examines the Texas jobs "miracle," Root on how Rick Perry built his financial portfolio, Tan and Wiseman on Perry vs. Ron Paul, Philpott on how budget cuts will affect a mental health provider, yours truly on a House freshman who was less than impressed with his first legislative experience, M. Smith on public schools charging for things that used to be free, Hamilton on a new call to reinvent higher education, Grissom on a rare stay of execution, Galbraith on the end of a Panhandle wind program, Aguilar on the increase of legal immigration into the U.S. and Texas: The best of our best content from July 25 to 29, 2011. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Local Texas Governments Could Face Ratings Downgrades
Nine Texas government borrowers including Dallas, Bexar, Tarrant and Travis counties could face costly downgrades in their bond ratings if the federal government doesn't quickly resolve its debt ceiling problems. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
At Mental Health Center, Smaller Cuts Still Sting
Mental health service provider Bluebonnet Trails escaped budget cuts that would have shut off services to more than 2,000 people. That number turned out to be less than 500, but as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the cuts still hurt. Full Story
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![Karen Godfrey and her two sons Timothy Godfrey, and Zachary Munn draw and play together with Ishele Graves and her daughter Mikaela Massey at Bluebonnet Trails Community Services in Round Rock, TX.]()
Credit: By Daniel Reese for KUT News -
Visualizing Days of Debate: The Budget
Use the visualization and transcript highlights provided below to find what lawmakers said during the tensest days of budget negotiations as lawmakers worked to cut $15 billion in spending for 2012-2013. Full Story
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Video: Ron Paul On Not Running for Re-election, Debt Ceiling Debate on CNN
U.S. Rep. Ron Paul just appeared on CNN to discuss why he's giving up another run for his congressional seat and his view on the debate over raising the debt ceiling. Full Story
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![Post GOP debate interview with U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, on June 14, 2011.]()
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Video: The Week In Texas Politics: June 27 - July 1, 2011
Want a quick recap of some of the happenings this week in the Texas Legislature? We've made it easier for you with our weekly video rundown of the action under the dome. Full Story
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Video: Rep. Dawnna Dukes on a Difficult Session for Democrats
State Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, talked Wednesday about the tough battle Democrats waged this session, why she believes the budget outcome is not the success portrayed by the GOP and how this session may affect the next. Full Story
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Sine Die Report: What Survived, What Died
The Trib's been keeping track of the key issues throughout the special session. From budget measures to school finance, health care and airport groping, here's our final rundown of bills that passed, and the ones that died. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Rick Perry: Deft Leader or Teflon Governor?
Attribute it to a Teflon coating, to his decisive win in a divided primary last year, or to luck, but Gov. Rick Perry is coming out of the 82nd legislative session without many bruises. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Video: Harless Explains "No" Vote on SB 1
State Rep. Patricia Harless, R-Spring, explains why she voted against the budget measure SB 1 this afternoon, and why she thinks the Tea Party may have influenced legislators. Full Story
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Updated: House Adjourns, May Take Up TSA Bill Tomorrow
The House has adjourned for the evening, and the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee has voted out the Senate version of the TSA "anti-groping" bill. Lawmakers will reconvene and attempt to pass that measure tomorrow morning. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Amazon Offers Jobs for Tax Breaks, and Lawmakers Balk
Lawmakers aren't buying Amazon's latest pitch for a sales tax break in Texas. But Rick Perry is. Full Story
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Credit: Kati Drisc -
The Last Seven Days: Special Session Update
The Tribune counts down to the end of the special session with updates on where the major issues added to the agenda by Gov. Rick Perry stand. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
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