Root and Galbraith on a Dallas billionaire’s radioactive waste dump victory, Grissom on the passage of eyewitness ID reform, Hamilton on the old grudges bedeviling the debate over higher ed, Philpott on the status of congressional redistricting, Ramsey on Rick Perry’s un-campaign for president, Ramshaw on why medical schools are the scorned children of the state’s education budget, my session-wrap interview with three veteran Democrats, M. Smith on why Rob Eissler can’t pass mandate relief for school districts and Stiles on who’s giving what to which Texas candidates in 2011-12 congressional races: The best of our best content from May 16 to 20, 2011.
Immigration
In-depth reporting on border issues, policies, communities, and the impact of immigration across the state, from The Texas Tribune.
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Demographics
Sanctuary Cities Legislation Back on Track
Sanctuary cities legislation was revived today and will be sent to the Texas Senate for consideration. A Senate committee reversed course, approving the legislation.
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Demographics
TribLive: Three Veteran Democrats on the 82nd Session
At Thursday’s TribLive conversation, I interviewed three veteran lawmakers — state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, state Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, and state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio — about how they and their Democratic colleagues fared this session.
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Demographics
TribLive: Ellis and Van de Putte on Sanctuary Cities
At last Thursday’s TribLive conversation, state Sens. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, and Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, explained why controversial sanctuary cities legislation may not make it out of the Texas Senate.
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Demographics
VIDEO: Ellis, Turner and Van de Putte at TribLive
At last Thursday’s TribLive conversation, I interviewed three veteran lawmakers — state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, state Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, and state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio — about how they and their Democratic colleagues fared this session.
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Demographics
Williams Explains Move That Gutted HB 12
He may have pulled the plug on “sanctuary cities” legislation yesterday, but Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, said today he still supports it — even if he considers his own homeland security legislation a higher priority.
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Demographics
Sanctuary Cities Bill Gutted by Senate Committee
In a surprise move that could effectively kill the sanctuary cities bill that Gov. Rick Perry declared an emergency item, a Senate committee today replaced the immigration language with a homeland security bill by state Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands.
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Demographics
Will the Sanctuary Cities Bill Survive the Senate?
They won’t give names, nor will they engage in a game of hypothetical vote counting, but Senate Democrats will say the coalition forming against the state’s proposed sanctuary cities bill isn’t what observers would expect.
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Demographics
Audio: Todd Staples at TribLive
At last Thursday’s TribLive conversation, I interviewed Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples about the impact of drug-fueled violence on border farmers and ranchers, what he thinks about the Senate’s two-thirds rule, his nascent campaign for lieutenant governor in 2014 and more.
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Demographics
TribLive: Staples on Border Violence, the 2/3 Rule and More
At last Thursday’s TribLive conversation, I interviewed Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples about the impact of drug-fueled violence on border farmers and ranchers, what he thinks about the Senate’s two-thirds rule, his run for lieutenant governor in 2014 and more.