In the first of a four-part series for KUT Radio, Douglas Wissing reports on the team’s mission in Afghanistan’s complicated war zone.
State Government
Stay informed on Texas state government with The Texas Tribune’s in-depth coverage of the governor, Legislature, state agencies, and policies shaping the future of Texas.
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Health care
DNA Destruction
In the weeks before state health officials incinerated more than 5 million baby blood samples that they stored without consent, privacy advocates, parents and legislators reached a last-ditch accord to save them but couldn’t convince the Department of State Health Services to sign on. A Texas Tribune investigation found that the agency had turned hundreds of such samples over to a federal Armed Forces lab to build a DNA database — and hadn’t been upfront about it with lawmakers or the public.
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State Government
2010: Averitt Resigns
Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, resigned from office Monday, a week after winning the GOP primary for reelection to a seat he no longer wants to hold.
Posted inState Government
HuTube: WFAA Asks White About That Carney Email
The Democratic nominee takes on charges from Gov. Rick Perry’s top consultant on television airwaves over the weekend. “That’s a real shame,” he says.
Posted inState Government
The Brief: March 8, 2010
Counting, apparently, is not quite as easy as it seemed in school. With the primaries over, cities and counties are turning their attention to the upcoming U.S. Census.
Posted inState Government
General Dynamics
In the run-up to last Tuesday’s primary, gubernatorial candidates of both parties courted activists by talking about topics that were near and dear to their hearts. For the general election campaign, as they compete for the votes of a broader electorate, Rick Perry and Bill White will likely shift the substance and tone of their stump speeches. Ben Philpott, covering the governor’s race for KUT News and the Tribune, filed this report.
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State Government
Potties, Pickups and Preparedness
Local governments, Native American tribes and nonprofit groups in Texas hauled in more than $298 million in federal homeland security grants from 2003 through 2008 and made more than 30,000 purchases, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of a Texas Department of Public Safety database. Much of the money has gone to improve local emergency response and to beef up police and fire departments — critical safety measures that taxpayers might not have been able to afford without assistance from Washington. But it’s unclear how some of the expenditures have made the state, or the nation, more resistant to terror attacks.
Posted inState Government
Sorting It All Out
The governor’s race is just what you expected: Republican Rick Perry and Democrat Bill White. Perry starts with the power of incumbency and the state’s 16-year-old preference for Republicans over Democrats in statewide office. White starts with the advantage of non-incumbency — don’t snort at that — and the ability to run a more serious and well-financed campaign than anyone in his party has run in some time. Five independents have signed up, and the Libertarians will choose their candidate in June.
Posted inState Government
2010: On Twitter, Bill White Created NASA
The Democratic gubernatorial candidate also “kicks it” with Chamillionaire and does trigonometry — “IN SPANISH.” If only his smile could bring “a puppy back to life.”