Thevenot on the non-stop wonder that is the State Board of Education and its latest efforts to set curriculum standards, E. Smith’s post-election sit-down interview with Bill White at TribLive made some news and got the November pugilism started, Ramshaw on whether it makes sense for the state to call patients and remind them to take their pills, and on the state’s botched attempt to save baby blood samples for medical research, Hamilton’s interview with Steve Murdock on the state’s demographic destiny, M. Smith on whooping cranes, fresh water, and an effort to use the endangered species act to protect them both, Grissom on potties, pickups, and other equipment purchased with federal homeland security money and Stiles’ latest data and map on where that money went, Aguilar on the “voluntary fasting” protesting conditions and treatment at an immigrant detention facility, Kreighbaum on football, the new sport at UTSA, and Philpott on Rick Perry and Bill White retooling their appeals for the general election. The best of our best from March 8 to 12, 2010.
Health care
In-depth reporting on public health, healthcare policy, hospitals, and wellness issues shaping communities across Texas, from The Texas Tribune.
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Health care
TribBlog: Court Says Vaccine Preservative and Autism Not Linked
The new rulings could result in a decrease in the number of lawsuits surrounding vaccines.
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Health care
Disease Mismanagement?
Texas has spent tens of millions of dollars on “disease management” — phone calls and check-ins with Medicaid patients designed to control costly chronic illnesses and save money. The jury’s still out on whether it worked, but the state’s preparing to rebid the contract anyway.
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Demographics
“The Texas of Today is the U.S. of Tomorrow”
That’s what former state demographer Steve Murdock says about the dramatic population shifts happening throughout the state and the country — and why they matter.
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Demographics
Census and Sensibility
“You want a good count both because you want to have your representation and because you want to get the resources your community needs,” says demographer Steve Murdock.
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Criminal Justice
On the Records: Visualize Texas’ Growth
Yesterday, Google formally announced its public data explorer, a cool new tool allowing anyone to make visualizations of government records and post them as embeds online.
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Health care
DNA Destruction
In the weeks before state health officials incinerated more than 5 million baby blood samples that they stored without consent, privacy advocates, parents and legislators reached a last-ditch accord to save them but couldn’t convince the Department of State Health Services to sign on. A Texas Tribune investigation found that the agency had turned hundreds of such samples over to a federal Armed Forces lab to build a DNA database — and hadn’t been upfront about it with lawmakers or the public.
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Criminal Justice
On the Records: The Census. It’s Happening.
This week, most mailboxes across Texas will get a notice from the U.S. Census Bureau. The message: Participate in the decennial count, which begins next week.
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Health care
A Medicaid Mess
Texas’ senior care industry — still reeling from federal Medicare cuts — may face another financial blow, as the state considers reducing Medicaid provider rates to balance the budget in the face of a $10 billion-plus shortfall.
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Health care
HD-20: AP Calls it for Schwertner
The AP calls the HD-20 race for state Rep. Dan Gattis’ seat for orthopedic surgeon Dr. Charles Schwertner, who outspent the three other candidates.
