state government

On the Records: Bonus Round

by Matt Stiles

Eleven employees in the state's treasury division got $360,000 in bonuses last year. Full Story

Photo credit: flickr.com/photos/dborman2
TribBlog: Texas Spends $1.4 Million to Friend Facebook (Updated)

by Brian Thevenot

The Texas Enterprise Fund will dole out money to the social networking site for new operations in Austin. Full Story
TribBlog: Kinky, Willie, and the Price of Friendship

by Reeve Hamilton

Country music legend Willie Nelson's voice in your radio ad: $5,000. Willie Nelson's friendship: Priceless. Full Story

Photo credit: Bob Daemmrich
TribBlog: Judges Gone Wild [Updated]

by Morgan Smith

In an unexpected reversal, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has thrown out Charles Dean Hood's death sentence on the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court appeal and national media attention. Full Story

Photo credit: Supreme Court of the United States
The Buck Stops Where?

by Emily Ramshaw

Three of the biggest social services messes of Rick Perry's ten-year tenure — the sexual abuse scandal at the Texas Youth Commission, fight clubs at state institutions for the disabled and deaths of children on Child Protective Services’ watch — have been noticeably absent from the campaign trail. Is it because Texans don't hold him accountable for these tragedies? Or because his opponents think GOP primary voters simply don't care? Full Story

Photo credit: Bob Daemmrich
Primary Color: HD-36

by Julián Aguilar

Embattled state Rep. Ismael “Kino” Flores is quitting, and two Democrats are vying to replace him in one of the state's poorest and least-educated districts — where old-school border politics rule, where no Republicans bothered to file for the general election. After all, this is the Rio Grande Valley. Full Story

Photo credit: Julian Aguilar
Talking Back to the Feds

by Brian Thevenot

"Teachers should be chasing us around," the Texas high school senior told the official from the U.S. Department of Education. "We shouldn't be chasing them. But that doesn't always happen here." Full Story

Photo credit: Brian Thevenot
2010: A Small Number, Doubled

by Ross Ramsey

Through the close of business on Monday, 119,195 Texans had voted early in the big counties, a 98 percent increase over four years ago. GOP primary voting was up 146 percent, to 86,179; Democratic primary voting was up a mere 52 percent, to 33,016. Full Story
2010: "Reform" War in El Paso

by Brandi Grissom

It's a battle of the "reformers" — Texans for Lawsuit Reform and Texans for Insurance Reform — out in El Paso, and the two are neck-and-neck. Full Story

Photo credit: Brandi Grissom
2010: Guns, God, and the GOP Primary

by Morgan Smith

March 2 picks from the Texas State Rifle Assocation (yes to Dora, no to Delwin) and Texas Right to Life (no to Kays). Full Story
The Brief: February 23, 2010

by Morgan Smith

There’s plenty for Texas-focused Supreme Court watchers to gnaw on today. Also, there’s this election going on, and people really want to vote in it. Full Story

Photo credit: Supreme Court of the United States
2010: Spending Spree [Updated]

by Ross Ramsey and Matt Stiles

The five major candidates in the governor's race spent $24 million from Jan. 22 to Feb. 20. Full Story

Photo credit: Jacob Villanueva
Primary Color: SD-5

by Brian Thevenot

Forget about issues. The GOP primary for this Senate seat in Central Texas is all about honesty and integrity. Incumbent Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, says of his challenger, Ben Bius, "I can't remember the last time he said something truthful." Bius says of Ogden, "I can forgive a man a policy difference if he keeps his word." Full Story

Photo credit: Bob Daemmrich and benfortexas.org
Look Back in Anger

by Ben Philpott, KUT News

With only a week to go before the GOP primary for governor, Debra Medina is pressing forward with her insurgent candidacy — despite the controversy over 9/11 truthers that temporarily upended her campaign. Her core supporters remain strongly with her, unfazed by and miffed at the media's scrutiny. How the whole thing ends is anyone's guess. Ben Philpott, covering the 2010 elections for KUT News and the Tribune, spent Monday on the trail with Medina and her flock and filed this report. Full Story

Photo credit: Justin Dehn
Primary Color: HD-105

by Andrew Kreighbaum

North Texas Democrats see GOP state Rep. Linda Harper-Brown's Irving seat as theirs for the taking in 2010 — the top target in their battle to take back the majority in the House. But first they have to settle on a candidate. Full Story
TribBlog: AG's Office Fires Back At Blood Spot Attorney

by Emily Ramshaw

The Texas Attorney General's office is throwing its own punches at the attorney who sued the state over its storage of infant blood samples, saying all he wanted was the headlines. Full Story

Photo credit: Rodolfo Clix
2010: A Crash of RINOs

by Ross Ramsey

Republican candidate Milton Rister says he's got nothing to do with the speaker-bashing in an email making the rounds in Georgetown. Full Story
TribBlog: More "Federal Takeover" of Texas Schools?

by Brian Thevenot

As Texas education officials predicted when objecting to federal Race to the Top grant rules, the feds may now be moving to tie billions more in federal funds to the adoption of national curriculum standards, according to an Education Week report. Full Story

Photo credit: Elise Hu
On the Records: 10 Days, Give or Take

by Matt Stiles

Did it just get easier for governmental agencies in Texas to delay releasing public information? Full Story
2010: Newspaper Endorsements: Chron for Gilbert

by Evan Smith

"[S]omeone who began working at age 10 on the family cattle ranch." Full Story

Photo credit: Gilbert campaign