Perry Grants Eight Pardons
As is custom around the Christmas holidays, Gov. Rick Perry announced a list of pardons today. The list is made up primarily of Texans who committed rather petty crimes at a young age. Full Story
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Perry Rival Wants Probe of Retirement Pay
An old Republican rival of Gov. Rick Perry is calling on state and federal officials to investigate whether he broke the law when he began collecting his lucrative pension without actually leaving his job. Full Story
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![Former gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina on Sept. 22, 2011, at a press conference on cronyism in Texas politics]()
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Texas Counties Object to April 3 Primaries
In papers filed in federal court today, officials who administer the state's elections said the April 3 primaries — agreed to by the Democratic and Republican parties and ordered by a panel of federal judges — create an impossible situation. Full Story
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Texas Greens Cheer New EPA Mercury Rules
The Environmental Protection Agency announced a new rule on Wednesday aimed at reducing the amount of mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants. It is unlikely to improve Texas officials' low opinion of the federal agency. Full Story
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![Steam rises from the stacks at the Martin Lake Coal-Fired Power Plant in Tatum, TX March 30, 2011.]()
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Courting Voter Confusion
The election experts in the room were a beehive of nonverbal communication. Their reaction was on their faces: “Is this a drill? They’re kidding, right?” Full Story
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Inside Intelligence: About Splitting Primaries...
For this week's nonscientific survey of governmental and political insiders, we asked about the mess with the Texas primaries — whether split primaries are a good idea and who might benefit. Full Story
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Critics Question Perry's Move to Collect Pension
Gov. Rick Perry has sparked a wave of criticism, and some unanswered questions, after filing paperwork this week revealing that he is collecting both a salary and a pension from the state of Texas. Critics say there are rules designed to prevent such arrangements. Perry and his aides say its perfectly legal. Full Story
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![Gov. Rick Perry in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Dec. 14, 2011]()
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TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Root's scoop on Rick Perry's working retirement, Aaronson maps poverty in Texas, Aguilar on a voting rights warning shot from the U.S. Attorney General, Galbraith on the disclosure of chemicals used in fracking operations, Grissom on the drop in executions, Hamilton and M. Smith on UT-Austin President Bill Powers' rough year, Murphy and Tan and Dehn on the shortage of psychiatrists and Ramshaw on the federal refusal to exclude operators like Planned Parenthood from family planning programs: The best of our best content from December 12 to 16, 2011. Full Story
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Updated: Political Parties Agree to April 3 Primaries
Texas Democrats and Republicans agreed to hold unified primary elections on April 3, avoiding the costs and confusion brought on by litigation over new political maps for congressional and legislative districts. Full Story
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In Redistricting Fight, a Comfort Zone for Abbott
The attorney general is in the happy position of defending redistricting maps that benefit his allies and punish his foes — all in the name of official state business. Full Story
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Anti-Cockfighting Law Could Aid Enforcement
Animal welfare activists are hoping for a renewed crackdown on illegal cockfighting now that laws passed last legislative session are in effect. Forcing the birds to fight was already illegal; now, it's also against the law to breed the birds or attend a fight. Full Story
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![The Humane Society of the United States supplied key information that led to the raid of an alleged cockfighting breeding facility in Santa Fe, Tex.]()
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Timing is Everything
When is a filing deadline not a filing deadline? When you don't have maps. Full Story
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Splitsville
If you can't hold congressional and legislative primaries on March 6 — because you don't have maps in time — what happens next? Full Story
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Inside Intelligence: Primary Concerns
The state doesn't have maps for its congressional and legislative districts, throwing the date what was going to be a March 6 primary into question. It seemed like a good time to ask the insiders about this. Full Story
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Executions, Death Sentences Drop in Texas, Nation
Leading a national downward trend in the use of the death penalty, Texas has executed just 13 prisoners so far in 2011, the lowest number in more than a decade. And juries meted out only eight new death sentences. Full Story
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Video: Texas' Critical Shortage of Psychiatrists
The Tribune's Thanh Tan speaks with a Texan living with anxiety and depression, the executive director of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health at UT-Austin, and the head psychiatrist for Austin Travis County Integral Care to find out the reasons behind the state's shortage of mental health providers. Full Story
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Campaign Roundup: The Week's Political News
When will the elections be held? Sometime next year. The dates for the congressional and legislative elections won't be certain until maps have been approved. But candidates are filing, and endorsements haven't stopped. Full Story
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Attorney General Holder: We Must Uphold Voting Rights Act
The warning from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was polite but firm: The U.S. Department of Justice will not stand idly by if it feels Texas intends to halt or reverse gains for minority voting rights. Full Story
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![U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder speaking at the University of Texas LBJ Presidential Library on Dec. 13, 2011.]()
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More Time, But No Maps or Election Dates for Texas Candidates
The Texas primary elections are still set — precariously — for March 6 but a panel of three federal judges extended the filing deadlines for candidates to Monday. Full Story
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Fracking Disclosure to Start in February
Rules requiring the disclosure of chemicals used in the controversial hydraulic fracturing process will take effect in Texas in February, the Texas Railroad Commission decided on Tuesday. Full Story
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