TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
by Ross Ramsey
Stiles and Thevenot collaborate on the salaries paid to superintendents, and even compare them on price per student… Ramsey’s look at redistricting and next year’s elections… Aguilar’s report on jails, brought to you by the federal agency that’s in the ag business… Rapoport’s peek at the power behind Texas pre-kindergarten programs… Smith’s conversation with Dan Patrick, in three parts… Grissom’s narrative on a circular immigration and deportation route financed by two governments… Ramshaw finds doctors agreeing on public policy and split on strategy and tactics… Hu’s latest Stump Interrupted puts the camera on Farouk Shami… Hamilton’s story on two retired cops who are taking on cargo theft in Texas… And Kreighbaum and Stiles pop open the itineraries of your folks in Congress. The best of our best from December 12 to 18, 2009.
Full StoryGuest Column: The Texas Political Atlas
by Bill Hobby
On the eve of a noisy election year, the former lieutenant governor of Texas takes us on a tour through voting and demographic statistics.
Full StoryNever Can Say Goodbye
by Ross Ramsey
Texas voters won't be offered a real chance at change in the Legislature and Congress next year. Four out of five state and federal lawmakers face no real competition in their primary or general elections.
Full StoryMapmaker, Mapmaker
by Ross Ramsey
Think like the political pros and your mind will go to the long game instead of the short one. The short game is the elections of 2010. The long game is redistricting in 2011, when maps are drawn that corral the voters into the districts that will elect legislators for the next ten years.
Full Story2010: The Texas Tribune Index
by Ross Ramsey and Matt Stiles
The number-crunchers among the Republicans and the Democrats in Texas use election results to get a feel for the political environment in each legislative district. They start with statewide races and then bake in some assumptions about what might happen if they put the right candidates in place. We and other political watchers need the same thing, without the partisan ingredients. So we cooked up the Texas Tribune Index.
Full StoryTribBlog: Latinos and Redistricting
by Reeve Hamilton
Guess which demographic group is calling dibs on new congressional seats?
Full StoryKeeping Count
by Brandi Grissom
Texas should create a committee to promote participation in the 2010 U.S. Census, state Rep. Mike Villarreal told Gov. Rick Perry in a letter Tuesday.
Full Story