E. Smith interviews Gov. Rick Perry for the Trib and Newsweek, Philpott dissects the state’s budget mess in a weeklong series, Hamilton looks at whether Bill White is or was a trial lawyer, M. Smith finds experts all over the state anxiously watching a court case over who owns the water under our feet, Aguilar reports on the battle between Fort Stockton and Clayton Williams Jr. over water in West Texas, Ramshaw finds a population too disabled to get on by itself but not disabled enough to get state help and Miller spends a day with a young man and his mother coping with that situation, Ramsey peeks in on software that lets the government know whether its e-mail messages are getting read and who’s reading what, a highway commissioner reveals just how big a hole Texas has in its road budget, Grissom does the math on the state’s border cameras and learns they cost Texans about $153,800 per arrest, and E. Smith interviews Karen Hughes on the difference between corporate and political P.R. — and whether there’s such a thing as “Obama Derangement Syndrome.” The best of our best from April 19 to April 23, 2010.
Environment
Coverage of climate, conservation, natural resources, and environmental policy shaping the state, from The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
Energy
TribBlog: Claytie Responds [Updated]
An attorney for Clayton Williams Jr.’s Fort Stockton Holdings details how the company plans to mine even more water out of the Rio Grande watershed than the billions of gallons it already takes out.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
A Watershed Case
On the surface, it’s about an oat-and-peanut farm and two South Texas men who wanted enough water to operate it. But underneath lies a century-old tug-of-war over who really owns the water beneath the land.
Posted in
Energy
Fort Stockton vs. Claytie
A West Texas town is challenging an oil tycoon and former GOP gubernatorial nominee over the depletion of its municipal water source. Whether David defeats Goliath is up to an 11-member groundwater conservation district.
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Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Grissom on the fall of Norma Chávez; M. Smith and Ramsey on the runoffs, the results, and the aftermath; Hu on the Tea Party’s birthday party; Thevenot and Stiles on the path between schools and prisons; Ramshaw on prosecutors’ reaction to helping hands from Austin; Hamilton on self-appointed lawyers; Galbraith on property rights and power lines; Aguilar and Grissom sit down with the mayor of Juárez to talk about his crime-ridden city; Kraft on telling the stories of Texans and other Americans who died in Vietnam; Ramsey on slots and horses and casinos; and Hamilton goes on a field trip with Jim Hightower to hear the history of populism. The best of our best from April 5 to 9, 2010.
Posted in
Energy
HuTube: Patterson, Uribe Fly the Friendly Skies
It’s hard enough to travel with people you love – imagine traveling with your rival in a statewide race.
Posted in
Energy
TribBlog: PUC Chairman Won’t Seek ERCOT Job
Smitherman says while it’s probably legal for the state’s top energy regulator to seek the ERCOT chief executive job, “it just doesn’t feel right to go forward.”
Posted in
Energy
TribBlog: Car2Going Public
Car2Go is a pilot program no more. The innovative Austin-based car-sharing cooperative is opening its memberships to the public starting on May 21.
Posted in
Energy
Wind in the Wires
Many Texans like wind power. Few want electric transmission lines running through their ranches. Herein lies the problem.
Posted in
Environment
Go On a Ride With Car2Go
Leaders in Austin are hoping the next big thing in transportation comes in a tiny Smart car. Watch as an Austin Car2Go user demonstrates how the program works.