The Evening Brief: April 15, 2013
Your evening reading: Perry calls for $1.6 billion in business tax relief; George P. Bush jabs at Obama in new campaign video; Perry launches ad campaign targeting Illinois businesses Full Story
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Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
The Brief: April 15, 2013
Bob Perry, a behind-the-scenes titan in the Texas political world, has died at the age of 80. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Texas Weekly Newsreel: School Vouchers, Gambling, Drug Testing
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 Evening Brief: April 12, 2013
Your evening reading: Perry talks re-election, backs dedicated car sales tax for transportation funding; Stockman bumper sticker stirs controversy; Railroad Commission chairman apologizes for retweeting noose image Full Story
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![Gov. Rick Perry at a State Board of Education meeting on Feb. 1, 2013.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Tackle Redistricting or Wait for the Courts?
Texas could trim the size of its court fights over redistricting by endorsing maps drawn by federal judges, but legislative leaders fear the harmony of the current session would evaporate in the process. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
Railroad Commission Chairman Apologizes for Retweeting Noose Image
UPDATED: Railroad Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman apologized on Friday for retweeting an image that showed a noose beside the names of Republican U.S. senators who had voted down a gun-control filibuster. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
House to Feds: Pressure Mexico to Release Water
The Texas House on Thursday voted to formally ask the U.S. State Department to apply pressure on the Mexican government to release water owed to Texas under the terms of a treaty signed in 1944. Full Story
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![The Rio Grande is the ending place of many high-speed pursuits. People escape consequences by driving their vehicles into the water and swimming to Mexico.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond -
Polling Center: Education Cuts Mattered at the Ballot Box, if Not in the Polls
Polls might show a low interest in public education cuts made by lawmakers in 2011, but some of the candidates who ran in 2012 found a very receptive electorate. Full Story
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The Polling Center: Cruz Registers Tea Party Embrace of Gun Rights
Attitudes about gun control proposals among Texas Republicans provide a foundation for understanding Sen. Ted Cruz’s resistance to the apparent compromise taking shape in the U.S. Senate. Full Story
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![Guns at McBride's Guns Inc. in Austin on Mar 26, 2013.]()
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The Brief: April 11, 2013
With gun and immigration bills gaining new momentum in Washington, the spotlight has again fallen on Ted Cruz. Full Story
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The Polling Center: Texans Conservative on Concealed Carry
It's no shock that Texans tend to be more conservative when it comes to federal gun control measures. But Texans are also conservative in another, more literal sense when it comes to proposals seeking to reduce the requirements to carry a concealed handgun. Full Story
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Carona Sets the Stage for Hearing on Gambling Measure
"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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At Newspaper Conference, Powers Deflects Talk of UT Conflict
UT-Austin President Bill Powers addressed the future — and turbulent present — of the University of Texas System at the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors convention on Saturday. Full Story
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![University of Texas at Austin President, William Powers - Dec. 14, 2011]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Texas Weekly Newsreel: Medicaid Expansion, the Budget and CPRIT
This week in the Newsreel: Gov. Rick Perry says no again to Medicaid expansion, the Texas House starts debate on a new state budget and the Senate approves CPRIT reform legislation. Full Story
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Agenda Texas: Campbell Reflects on Session So Far
On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: What's it like being a freshman lawmaker in the Texas Legislature? We talked to state Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, about her first session under the dome. Full Story
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![Freshman Sen. Donna Campbell, R-San Antonio, listens to Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston on January 9, 2013.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Slideshow: A Divide Over a Proposed El Paso Power Plant
This slideshow shows various images from a far east El Paso community where a proposed power plant near a colonia has spurred some residents to mobilize in opposition. Full Story
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A House Less Susceptible to Political Stampedes
In 2011, state lawmakers fresh from a Tea Party election surge were hypersensitive to the opinions of and instructions from conservative activists. But as Thursday's House budget debate showed, this session isn't quite the same. Full Story
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TribLive: A Conversation With the Castro Brothers
Full video of my 4/2 TribLive conversation with San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro and U.S. Congressman Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin. Full Story
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El Paso Power Plant Draws Opposition
Citing the need for more power to meet the demands of a burgeoning community, El Paso Electric plans to build a natural gas power plant. But a legislator has joined forces with a coalition of residents intent to fight the project. Full Story
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![Seen is the Longhorn Pipeline petroleum tank storage terminal in the Montana Vista community in far East El Paso, Texas on April 1, 2013. El Paso Electric plans to build a natural gas power plant that will be able to provide electricity to 80,000 homes in the area.]()
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Budget Amendment Pits Arts Against Firefighters
State Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, has reprised an effort from last session to remove funds from the Texas Commission on the Arts and dedicate them to assisting volunteer firefighters. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich
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