The Trib staff on the sweeping cuts in the proposed House budget, Grissom on what’s lost and not found at the Department of Public Safety, Galbraith on the wind power conundrum, Hamilton on higher ed’s pessimistic budget outlook, Stiles and Swicegood debut an incredibly useful bill tracker app, Ramsey interviews Rick Perry on the cusp of his second decade as governor, Aguilar on a Mexican journalist’s quest for asylum in the U.S., Ramshaw on life expectancy along the border, M. Smith on the obstacles school districts face in laying off teachers and yours truly talks gambling and the Rainy Day Fund with state Rep. Jim Pitts: The best of our best from January 17 to 21, 2011.
Demographics
Explore population trends, diversity, and data shaping Texas communities, politics, and policy.
TribBlog: Ruling on Asylum Case Delayed
The asylum hearing for Mexican journalist Emilio Gutiérrez ended Friday afternoon in El Paso without a ruling from a U.S. immigration judge. Gutiérrez has been seeking asylum since June 2008, when he fled the small Chihuahua town of Ascensión after receiving death threats for his reporting on alleged corruption in the Mexican military. The hearing is scheduled to resume Feb. 4.
Exile on Main Street
There are two paths to asylum in the United States. Mexican journalist Emilio Gutiérrez, whose life was threatened by the Mexican military, may have taken the wrong one.
Michael Williams Sizes Up Senate Race
Michael Williams is leaving the Railroad Commission in April and preparing to announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. In an interview today with the Trib’s Ross Ramsey, he talked about the 2012 race and about his confidence that minorities don’t face any special hurdles in Texas GOP primaries.
Rick Perry on “Sanctuary Cities”
Gov. Rick Perry says cities shouldn’t require police officers to do immigration checks but shouldn’t prevent it, either.
Back to Basics
As be begins his second decade as governor, Rick Perry’s plan is to deal with the basics: to make sure the state is on a smooth economic path, to pass a balanced state budget, to coax the federal government into loosening its purse strings and tightening its security on the Mexican border.
Gimme Shelter
Gov. Rick Perry’s focus on sanctuary cities — cities that don’t allow their police officers to enforce federal immigration laws — could offer him safe passage through the contentious immigration debate. But it will be tricky.
TribBlog: Abbott Blasts Feds After West Texas Shooting
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott accused the federal government of putting U.S. citizens’ lives at risk following a reported cross-border shooting Thursday in Hudspeth County. During the incident, first reported by the El Paso Times, at least one Mexican gunman allegedly shot toward Hudspeth County workers in rural West Texas who were doing maintenance on a desolate road.
Molly Molloy: The TT Interview
The New Mexico State University librarian and professor on why she painstakingly keeps a daily tally of the killings in Juárez, which surpassed 3,100 in 2010.
The Weekly TribCast: Episode 62
In our session kickoff edition of the TribCast, Ross, Elise, Ben and Reeve discuss the state’s budget morass, so-called “sanctuary city” legislation and their impressions of the newly sworn-in Texas Legislature.



