After a crackdown a few years ago in Laredo, gaming halls are on the rise again. But local officials aren't quite on the same page about whether to enforce the gambling laws or to try to change them. Full Story
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The legislative session is in its last month and most bills will die. But setbacks for the big stuff — water, transportation and the like — are usually temporary. Full Story
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This week in the Newsreel: An effort to legalize casinos is under way in the Texas Senate, Attorney General Greg Abbott wants a redistricting bill, and some lawmakers want to give drug tests to recipients of unemployment and TANF benefits. Full Story
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The effort to open casinos in Texas got a hearing from a Texas Senate committee Wednesday, but opposition remains strong and charitable groups that benefit from other games of chance have some concerns, too. Full Story
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On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: In the past, bills pushing to expand gambling in Texas have either had the support of casinos or race tracks, not both. But this year is different. Full Story
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"You never really know when a major issue like this will find a break or an opportunity to be passed," state Sen. John Carona said Monday of proposed legislation that could lead to the legalization of casino gambling in Texas. Full Story
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It's not so much what Texans think about gaming in Texas — they're generally for it — but about how strongly they feel. And the people who don't want expanded gaming feel more strongly than proponents. Full Story
Despite strong resistance inside and outside the Legislature, groups representing gambling interests hope that a collaborative approach can help them make a breakthrough this legislative session. Full Story
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For this week's nonscientific survey of government and political insiders, we asked about tax reform, swapping local property taxes for something else, and whether voters and legislators are on the same page on casinos. Full Story
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The former prosecutor, state lawmaker, Texas Tech chancellor and AT&T executive talks about his latest initiative to make casino gambling legal in Texas. Full Story
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The former lobbyist on how to regulate lobbying in Washington, why he thinks the system is essentially corrupt, when money in politics is a problem and when it's not, and why anyone should listen to someone like him. Full Story
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Animal welfare activists are hoping for a renewed crackdown on illegal cockfighting now that laws passed last legislative session are in effect. Forcing the birds to fight was already illegal; now, it's also against the law to breed the birds or attend a fight. Full Story
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Behind every politician there are men and women working in the wings, who can make calls, fix problems, raise money, punish enemies. In Rick Perry’s world, one man stands above them all: Mike Toomey. Full Story
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The system is meant to kill legislation: That’s the old line often heard around the Capitol. As the session's end slams the coffin door on a slew of bills, more than a few lawmakers are taking solace in the fact that their dead bills have lots of company. Full Story
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Attention, gamblers. A Texas House committee surprised the casino lobby Friday night when it voted out legislation that would allow video lottery terminals — slot machines — at state racetracks and Indian reservations. The casinos were left behind. Full Story
The president and chief operating officer of the Sam Houston Race Park on legislation that would allow slot machines at horse and dog tracks in Texas, why she believes that's a good idea, and why it has a chance this year. Full Story
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House Speaker Joe Straus was interviewed eariler this week by Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, government prof and half of the Tribune's polling team, about the session so far, the budget, gambling, rewriting state taxes, federal stimulus money and what he thinks about the tempest over research and teaching at the state's top universities. Full Story
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For our most recent TribLive conversation, I interviewed state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, about gambling, how Democrats can regain their mojo and whether being black and being Republican are incompatible. Full Story
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At last Thursday's TribLive, State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, made the economic development case for legalized gambling in Texas. Full Story
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No time to follow every twist and turn of the Texas Legislature? We've made it easier for you with our weekly recaps of the action under the dome. Full Story
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