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The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.

  • One Man, Two Votes

    By Ross Ramsey

    State Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, voted in the November 2004 presidential election twice, choosing between George W. Bush and John Kerry in Tarrant County, Texas, and again in Prince William County, Virginia, according to election records in the two states. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • TribBlog: A Teen Debtor's Prison in Hidalgo?

    By Brian Thevenot

    The ACLU has sued Hidalgo County for jailing an estimated 150 impoverished youths for failure to pay fines racked up on school-related tickets. Such sentences amount to running a "debtor's prison" and violate the Constitution and Texas law, ACLU attorneys argue. Full Story 

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    Credit: Bob Daemmerich

  • Whooping It Up

    By Ben Freed

    Cases of whooping cough spiked in Texas last year to their highest level since 1962. Ben Freed of KUT News reports on what's being done to prevent the spread of this disease. Full Story 

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  • TribBlog: Suing for Access

    By Emily Ramshaw

    Statewide disability group ADAPT of Texas and the Texas Civil Rights Project commemorated the 20th anniversity of the Americans with Disabilities Act today by filing more than 20 lawsuits across the state — targeting inaccessibility in restaurants and municipal buildings. Full Story 

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    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • A Fine Mess

    By Brandi Grissom

    Efforts to salvage the problem-plagued Driver Responsibility Program ultimately may not shield it from the wrath of its many detractors, including at least one lawmaker who believes we "shouldn't hesitate in getting rid of it." Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Ross Ramsey

    Ramshaw's question about an insurance company denying coverage for an infant vaccine prompts a reversal; Stiles' new app lets you poke through mid-year campaign reports on donations and spending; Ramsey finds foreshadowing of the state's big fall races in the campaign finance reports; Aguilar interviews Henry Cisneros about current politics; Dawson finds Texas environmentalists getting advice from an unexpected place; Galbraith on "demand response" that might cut the need for power plants and on the next wave of electric cars; Aguilar on increasing trade through Texas ports of entry; M. Smith on affirmative action battles in higher education; Titus on Mexican college students' drift from border universities to UT-Austin and Texas A&M; and Hamilton on controversy over private, for-profit colleges: The best of our best for the week of July 19 to 23, 2010. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • TribBlog: Not Who, But What?

    By Ross Ramsey

    Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst made some new committee assignments last week to cover the resignation of state Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco. But the rejiggering created as many questions as it answered: Not about who went where, but about what went where. For instance: What committee will have legislative oversight of electric utility companies? Full Story 

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    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • TribBlog: In Reversal, SBOE Passes Charter Financing [Updated]

    By Elizabeth Titus

    After getting shot down in committee, SBOE member David Bradley, R-Beaumont, and other members succeeded Friday in pushing through a plan to purchase school buildings and lease them back to charter schools in a split vote, with two Democrats absent. The decision, however, is contingent upon a favorable attorney general's opinion on the legality of the controversial move — which would pull money from the Permanent School Fund. Full Story 

    Cynthia Dunbar and Don McLeroy
    Credit: Jacqueline Mermea

  • TribBlog: A Matter of Jurisdiction [Updated]

    By Morgan Smith

    While delivering their report, members of the subcommittee charged with reviewing the Cameron Todd Willingham case said that though they believe the science used to convict the Corsicana man was flawed, they aren't prepared to say the fire investigator, whose testimony was used to convict him, committed professional misconduct. Full Story 

    John Bradley, left, is the new chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission. Cameron Todd Willingham, right, was executed for setting a house fire that killed his three daughters.
    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • Texas Schools Have a Math Problem

    By Matt Largey, KUT News

    A new study suggests that while the state's English curriculum is among the best in the nation, our math curriculum doesn't measure up to a set of new national standards. Matt Largey of KUT News reports. Full Story 

  • The Weekly TribCast: Episode 38

    By Elise Hu

    Evan returns for this week's TribCast, in which the podcast gang takes up campaign finance, the Hispanic Republicans of Texas, Gov. Rick Perry's taxes and the committee shakeup in the Texas Senate. Full Story 

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  • TribBlog: He's All That

    By Brandi Grissom

    House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, did not have to win a formalwear or swimwear competition to land the title of Mr. South Texas. Full Story 

    House Speaker Joe Straus is named Mr. South Texas 2011.
    Credit: George Washington Celebration Association

  • The "Career" Path

    By Reeve Hamilton

    Private, for-profit colleges, which offer professional certificates at a steep cost, have come under fire for peddling big student loans to vulnerable Texans in exchange for credentials of dubious value. Full Story 

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