state government

The Weekly TribCast: Episode 45

By Elise Hu Sept. 8, 2010

In this week's TribCast, the regular podcast gang is back to talk about the start of campaign season, the latest polls in the race for governor, and the political effect of that $18 billion budget hole. Full Story

On the Records: Mapping Foreign Investment

By Matt Stiles Sept. 8, 2010

Texas.gov, the state's clearinghouse for services like driver's license renewals and vehicle registrations, has launched a new page featuring numerous raw government data sets — including a list of foreign companies doing business here. Full Story

Larger bubbles represent more companies from those countries doing business in Texas. — Credit: Graphic by Google Fusion Tables

Battle Lines: Fighting the Power

By Kate Galbraith Sept. 8, 2010

Texas already harvests more wind power than any state in the nation, bringing the promise of clean energy to millions of homes and businesses. Trouble is, getting that power from remote, windy West Texas to the big cities requires a massive, $5 billion network of transmission lines — which property owners in the Hill County and elsewhere don't want in their back yards. As construction gets under way on the new lines, an army of lawyers and angry landowners is working to stymie the state's renewable energy plans. Part one of a three-part series. Full Story

An Accurate Reading

By Ben Philpott, KUT News Sept. 7, 2010

Rick Perry asserts the Texas economy is one of the strongest in the nation. Bill White eagerly points out what he says are the problems the governor conveniently overlooks. Who's right? Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune looks at how we stack up compared to other states — and our own history. Full Story

And They're Off!

By Ross Ramsey Sept. 7, 2010

The start of the 2010 election sprint finds Texas Republicans feverish: Even the sober ones think they could snatch up to 10 more state House seats. Democrats maintain they can still wrest majority control away from the GOP. Full Story

TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

By Ross Ramsey Sept. 4, 2010

I hit the campaign trail with Rick Perry, E. Smith starts off the fall TribLive series by interviewing Attorney General Greg Abbott, Stiles on the most congested roads in Texas, Ramshaw's interview with former Dallas Mayor Laura Miller, Grissom on the perils of talking too much if you're the head of the state's jail standards board, M. Smith on Congressman Chet Edwards' fight for political survival in a Republican year, Philpott on counties worried the state's budget woes will trickle down, Hamilton on whether Texas should be in the movie-vetting business, Aguilar on a Mexican journalist seeking asylum from his country's drug violence, Galbraith on green energy and Texas college football, and excerpts from former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby's new book, How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics: The best of our best from August 30 to September 3, 2010. Full Story

TribBlog: The Bus Fuss

By Brian Thevenot Sept. 3, 2010

After a 2006 bus accident in Beaumont that killed two students and injured several more, parents and legislators successfully demanded the state finance seat belts in school buses. Today, four years later, the Legislative Budget Board finally gave approval for a grant program — but the rules the board set likely will exclude the Beaumont area from getting the money, even though the grassroots movement started there. Full Story

Man, Oh, Mandates

By Ben Philpott, KUT News Sept. 3, 2010

State lawmakers facing an estimated $18 billion budget shortfall will soon wield their knives, but who or what will sustain deep cuts? As Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, county officials are among those waiting to see how the legislative slice-and-dice could affect things back home — and they're particularly nervous about unfunded mandates. Full Story

How I Became Lieutenant Governor

By Bill Hobby and Saralee Tiede Sept. 3, 2010

"I always wanted to run for office," Bill Hobby writes. "And I grew up in a family that had been part of state government for a couple of generations." An excerpt from the forthcoming How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics. Full Story

Flipping the Switch

By Mose Buchele, KUT News Sept. 2, 2010

The Public Utility Commission is poised to pass new rules that could prohibit some Texans from switching from one electric company to another. But as Mose Buchele of KUT News reports, advocates for the elderly and infirm are concerned about the impact of the proposal on some of the state's most vulnerable ratepayers. Full Story

No Pass, No Play: The Back Story

By Bill Hobby and Saralee Tiede Sept. 2, 2010

As chairman of the Select Committee of Public Education in the '80s, Ross Perot took on high school athletics hammer and tongs: “If the people of Texas want Friday night entertainment instead of education," he said, "let’s find out about it." An excerpt from the forthcoming How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics. Full Story

Reopening the Gaps

By Reeve Hamilton Sept. 2, 2010

Nothing has helped Texas "close the gaps" of higher education achievement more than financial aid for low-income students. But with coming budget cuts, tens of thousands of students could lose out on the state's largest and most generous financial aid program. Full Story

2010: No Replacement

By Ross Ramsey Sept. 1, 2010

David Swinford's seat in the Texas House will apparently remain empty for the next four months. Full Story

State Rep. David Swinford, R-Dumas — Credit: Lubbock Online

Coal Hard Facts

By Matt Largey, KUT News Sept. 1, 2010

The Environmental Protection Agency is considering new regulations for coal ash — the waste left over from coal-fired power plants. As Matt Largey of KUT News reports, those new rules could have a big impact in Texas, the nation’s number one coal consumer. Full Story

The Sting of the Killer Bees

By Bill Hobby and Saralee Tiede Sept. 1, 2010

The rules of the Texas Senate are designed to create an orderly process that respects the rights of individual members. They have lasted this long because they do the job well and consider the need for compromise in the legislative operation. Trampling the rights of the minority is never a good idea — and yet it has happened over and over again. An excerpt from the forthcoming How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics. Full Story

2010: The Return of Term Limits

By Reeve Hamilton Aug. 31, 2010

Taking a page out of the Kay Bailey Hutchison handbook, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White called for gubernatorial term limits today. Full Story

Bill White at the Texas Association of Broadcasters. Austin, Texas on August 12, 2010. — Credit: Bob Daemmrich

Iraq to the Future

By Erika Aguilar, KUT News Aug. 31, 2010

President Obama is in El Paso today, visiting Fort Bliss before tonight's White House address on the draw-down in Iraq. Against that backdrop, about 800 men and women of 36th Infantry Division of the Texas Army National Guard will ship out for Fort Lewis, Washington, to prepare for a nine-month tour in Iraq and the role they'll play in bringing the U.S. presence there to a close by December 2011. Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports. Full Story

The Smoke Clears

By Ben Philpott, KUT News Aug. 31, 2010

Harris County — home to the largest city in Texas — will be without all 10,000 of its voting machines on Election Day after they were destroyed in a fire. County commissioners held an emergency meeting this week to figure out how to move forward. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune has this report. Full Story

A Big Dam Issue

By David Martin Davies Aug. 31, 2010

The fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina has people thinking about whether the state and coastal cities are prepared for another big storm — especially with peak storm season again upon us. As Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies reports, there’s concern in particular over the sturdiness of dams. Full Story

The Huddled Masses

By Reeve Hamilton Aug. 30, 2010

Five years after Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana exiles have fundamentally changed Houston, and vice-versa. The uneasy arrangement was a shotgun marriage: Many evacuees had no choice in whether or where they went, and Houstonians had no choice, for humanity's sake, but to take them in. Full Story