The Brief: June 30, 2014
Did Wendy Davis peak with the filibuster? Full Story
The latest health care news from The Texas Tribune.
Did Wendy Davis peak with the filibuster? Full Story
When Texans get hurt or killed on the job, they have some of the weakest protections and stingiest benefits in the country. Texas is the only U.S. state that doesn’t require any private employer to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Full Story
In light of a recent surge of undocumented immigrants crossing the state’s southern border, the state health department has sent 2,000 state-purchased flu vaccines to a federal shelter housing unaccompanied minors in South Texas. Full Story
On the eve of the Democratic state convention, Wendy Davis and friends commemorated the event that put the gubernatorial candidate on the national map. Full Story
Lawmakers considered a proposal to shutter six of Texas’ 13 state-supported living centers over two days of public hearings, renewing a long-simmering debate over the future of the state’s institutions for the disabled. Full Story
The state is considering a proposal to integrate its Division for Blind Services with other rehabilitation services. While lawmakers are largely supportive of a consolidation, advocates for the blind are voicing concerns. Full Story
Texas is considering doing away with the licensing of X-ray technicians and 11 other types of health professionals. Some say that would put patients at risk. A Sunset Commission hearing Wednesday is set to address the issue. Full Story
Dozens of Texas hospitals that receive Medicare dollars will likely be penalized for their rates of complications and infections during inpatient stays. Use our interactive map to see those hospitals and their ratings. Full Story
The Tribune's Reeve Hamilton has dropped the first in a three-part series tackling the timely topic of lawmakers writing recommendations on behalf of applicants to the University of Texas at Austin. Full Story
As the state's top elected officials debate how to halt a surge of immigrants across the border, health officials and volunteer doctors are voicing concerns over what they say is the more serious challenge: a looming medical crisis. Full Story
Unaccompanied children from Mexico and Central America who cross into Texas are evaluated by the U.S. Border Patrol and placed temporarily at detention centers. This is a list of the Office of Refugee Resettlement shelters that operate in Texas. Full Story
Texas politicians from across the political spectrum are weighing in on the surge of unaccompanied minors crowding detention facilities. Full Story
On Monday, 15 years after a U.S. Supreme Court decision that paved the way for some people with disabilities to move out of institutions, advocates for Texans with disabilities called on state lawmakers to speed up that process. Full Story
The discovery of a mass grave in Brooks County containing unidentified immigrants already has a couple of state lawmakers calling for an investigation of what happened. Full Story
State authorities are supposed to maintain a bilingual, 24-hour hotline for workers to report safety violations. Officials acknowledged Friday that the hotline has been inoperative after hours. Full Story
Once again, the state's care for mental health patients is under legislative scrutiny, and county sheriffs and other local officials are hoping the state will fix a problem that has spilled into their domains. Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry spent his lunch hour Thursday with a couple dozen reporters in Washington, D.C., in an attempt to turn the page on last week's controversial remarks on homosexuality and to once again stoke talk of a 2016 presidential run. Full Story
Texas ranks third-worst in the nation on quality of long-term care for elderly and disabled people, according to a new AARP report released Thursday. Full Story
Despite the fact that Texas didn't expand its Medicaid program to cover poor adults, low-income parents are increasingly obtaining the coverage through an unlikely route — the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Full Story
Texas' top leadership on Wednesday evening gave orders to boost spending at the Texas-Mexico border by $1.3 million a week through at least the end of the calendar year. Full Story