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.
Immigration
In-depth reporting on border issues, policies, communities, and the impact of immigration across the state, from The Texas Tribune.
TribBlog: Promises Broken? [Updated]
Texas border leaders on Friday unleashed a diatribe at the interim director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection for postponing a planned pay raise for federal agents and failing to beef up protection of the state’s border region.
TribBlog: Border Leaders on Drone Bandwagon
A group of elected officials and business leaders from the Texas-Mexico border today joined Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar in calls for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to deploy unmanned aerial surveillance drones to monitor the border.
“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.
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.
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.
Starving for Reform
For two months, inmates in a South Texas immigrant detention facility have been on a staggered hunger strike — what the government calls “voluntary fasting” — to protest alleged abuse, lack of medical care and near-nil access to legal resources.
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.
TribBlog: DPS to Spring Breakers: Ten Cuidado
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw issued a warning today to spring breakers planning to travel to Mexican border cities like Juarez or Nuevo Laredo: Don’t.
Sup. Ct. 9: Guzman Keeps Her Seat
Eva Guzman hung on to her recently secured spot on the Texas Supreme Court with a robust lead over Rose Vela, her challenger from the 13th Court of Appeals.

