TribBlog: The (Very) Skinny
Comptroller Susan Combs says the state will have $77.7 billion in general revenue for the current budget, which calls for $77.6 billion in general revenue. Full Story
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The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
Comptroller Susan Combs says the state will have $77.7 billion in general revenue for the current budget, which calls for $77.6 billion in general revenue. Full Story
How much of Bill White's federal war chest could be used in a race for governor? Most of it. Full Story
Two legislative ABCs — Anybody But Craddicks — back the Republican moderate challenging Christian conservative member Don McLeroy. Full Story
Who is this bald, wonkish, moderate Democrat, where’d he come from, and why’s everyone talking about him? Full Story
Houston Mayor Bill White hasn't even announced yet that he's running for governor. But state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, is endorsing him. Full Story
The Dallas church community has vowed to forge 25 partnerships with high-poverty public schools and push for 700 units of housing for the homeless — a down payment on a larger effort to heal wounds left by racism and injustice. Full Story
No snowbirds here. A growing number of state employees are retiring and coming straight back to work, padding — and in some cases nearly doubling — their state salaries with pension pay-outs. Full Story
The number-crunchers among the Republicans and the Democrats in Texas use election results to get a feel for the political environment in each legislative district. They start with statewide races and then bake in some assumptions about what might happen if they put the right candidates in place. We and other political watchers need the same thing, without the partisan ingredients. So we cooked up the Texas Tribune Index. Full Story
He can "can blow bubbles with beef jerky"? Full Story
Multi-part stories from Ramshaw and Grissom and Stiles on mental health services for detained immigrants and on payday lenders who provide exorbitantly priced credit to people with nowhere else to turn... Twitter, word clouds and the race for governor — a Stiles joint... Farouk Shami is in and Hu was there to watch... Philpott went to Bastrop for a gather of Republican governors... Rapoport finds a State Board of Education that's trying to control itself... and we have the skinny on legislative races that are likely to be competitive (only about 5 percent of the races on the ballot). It's the best of The Texas Tribune from November 14 to 20, 2009. Full Story
The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 8.3 percent in October, up from 5.2 percent a year ago. Full Story
Groups that offer high-interest, short-term consumer loans and want to avoid state regulation contributed more than $1.4 million to Texas politicians over the past nine years, Texas Ethics Commission records show. Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry won't grant clemency to Robert Lee Thompson, who was sentenced to death under Texas' controversial "law of parties." Full Story
Republicans Kay Bailey Hutchison and Rick Perry have started their air war, and Democrat Farouk Shami — new to the race — starts on TV at the same time. Full Story
Speaker Joe Straus has given committees their assignments for the next year. Full Story
El Paso Republican businessman Dee Margo said today he will run for the Texas House again, taking on Democrat Joe Moody. The campaign will be Margo's third try for a seat in the Texas Legislature. Full Story
The State Board of Education, which has showcased some intense philosophical fights, has drawn scrutiny for becoming a partisan battleground. For now, members are just trying to get along — but the rifts are as big as ever. Full Story
Desperate Texans who get crosswise with payday lenders quickly find they get no help from the state, which hasn't regulated the industry since 2005. Full Story
With 198 legislators on the ballot next year, there ought to be more fear in the air. But only a few are in obvious political trouble. Who's on the list, and what makes them vulnerable? Full Story
The Republican Governors’ Association has come to Texas for its annual conference. They’re upbeat from its fresh wins in Virginia and New Jersey. And the group wants to build on those wins heading into the 2010 elections. Full Story