The longtime El Paso state senator, who said last month that he would not run for reelection, hasn’t revealed his statewide ambitions, but his public and private remarks leave little doubt that he's seriously considering a gubernatorial bid. Full Story
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Plano City Councilwoman Mabrie Griffith Jackson is telling supporters she will resign that city job as early as Monday to put her name into the race to replace Rep. Brian McCall, R-Plano, who has decided he won't seek an 11th term next year. Full Story
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Brian McCall, a key member of House Speaker Joe Straus' leadership team, won't seek reelection next year Full Story
I must put what's best for my campaign aside and do what is best for Texas. That is why I must stay in the Senate while running for the Republican nomination for governor. I cannot walk away while this fight is being fought by our fellow Republicans. I must stay and fight with them. Full Story
KBH resigns herself to staying in the Senate, Grissom investigates the broken border, Ramshaw outs IT contractors who make gigabucks from state agencies, Hu gives Hutchison and Perry the Stump Interrupted treatment, the new head of the Foresenic Science Commission faces his critics, Stiles posts a searchable database of fines levied by the state ethics commission, and Hamilton discovers the consequences of party switching (none): The best of the best from November 9 to 13, 2009. Full Story
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Districts prepare to go to court with the TEA over minimum grades policies, prompting the question: How much should schools emulate the real world? And how many second chances should students get? Full Story
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Typically, Texas Child Protective Services experiences sky-high employee and caseworker vacancy rates, but as unemployment has soared, staffing numbers have blossomed — stabilizing child abuse caseloads. Why the bad economy is good news for one state agency. Full Story
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Tired of waiting for the state to provide swine flu vaccine locations, The Dallas Morning News took matters into its own hands. Full Story
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Should the state set limits on political contributions? Depends on which candidate you ask. Full Story
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Should the Texas Forensic Science Commission meet in private? The new chairman, John Bradley, says there's a good argument for it. Full Story
Rick Perry's campaign spokesman says the governor opposes limits on contributions and thinks the solution is transparency, so that voters know who's backing whom. Full Story
The federal government is giving away $4.35 billion to state education systems through Race to the Top. But is Texas already out? Full Story
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In some places, the governor's border security efforts have led to a reduction in crime — in rural counties, for instance, where there aren't many people and there wasn't much crime to begin with. But in large urban counties like El Paso and Webb, it's a different story. Full Story
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State contractors – many of whom get paid top dollar to advise Texas agencies – are largely immune from reporting conflicts of interest. Full Story
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"It’d be like someone standing at the Alamo going, ‘I’m not gonna survive this thing,’ and all of a sudden he jumps up and starts speaking Spanish!" says Rep. Mark Homer, D-Paris. Maybe so, but switching parties usually works out. Full Story
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State schools chief Robert Scott recently failed to get the Legislature to increase the cap on charter schools — then found a legal way to do it anyway, much to the dismay of state Democrats and teachers unions. Full Story
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Republican Brian Walker, who lost a close race to Democrat Chuck Hopson in 2008, endorsed Hopson's reelection bid next year — now that Hopson has switched to the GOP. Full Story
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State agencies are spending tens of millions of dollars every year on information technology contract workers, employees who aren’t on the state payroll – but whose pay often dwarfs those who are. Full Story
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John Bradley, the Williamson County District Attorney and the newly-appointed chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, spent his morning answering a steady stream of questions from Texas lawmakers. At issue, if and when his panel will re-open the investigation into whether faulty science led to the arson conviction of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed by the state in 2004. Full Story
Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley expected some verbal jousting today at the Senate Criminal Justice Committee about his plans for the Texas Forensic Science Commission. He was right. Full Story
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