After his son and two others died in a horrific car wreck in 2004, former UT Regent Scott Caven Jr. set out to prove that his namesake, Scotty, wasn’t to blame. He eventually persuaded the Texas Department of Public Safety to change its accident report — a rare feat: In the last five years, DPS has changed the final reports in fewer than 1 percent of fatal crash investigations.
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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State Government
Show Us the Money
The Texas Ethics Commission wants candidates and elected officials to come clean about their spending, and it’s adopted new rules that require them to do just that.
Posted inState Government
Guest Column: Elections Don’t Win Themselves
It’s not an accident that Democrats have been winning races in Republican-held urban and suburban districts, and narrowing statewide Republican margins. That Democrats are attracting A-team candidates like Mayor Bill White is testimony to years of hard work, not coincidental political evolution.
Posted inState Government
Wallace Jefferson on That Exxon Case
The Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court on the not-quite-settled case that has everyone talking: Exxon v. Emerald, or, as you might prefer to think of it (we do), the biggest oil and gas company on earth vs. one of the state’s most mythic ranching families.
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State Government
TribBlog: Texas’ Charter School Law Gets a “D”
The pro-charter National Center for Education Reform cites state’s lack of financial support for facilities, a cap on the number of charters and a restrictive regulatory environment.
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Health care
TribBlog: Room to Breathe
The Texas Departments of Family and Protective Services and State Health Services are launching a “Room to Breathe” campaign to educate parents about the dangers of co-sleeping, a controversial subject that they appear to be approaching with caution.
Posted inState Government
2010: Medina Makes it Official
As she files to run as a Republican for Governor, Debra Medina’s campaign says, “Texans are one step closer to freedom!”
Posted inState Government
KBH on Filing for Governor, Facing White
Full remarks and Q and A after Kay Bailey Hutchison officially got on the ballot for Texas governor.
Posted inState Government
Combing Over Shami’s Voting Record
Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Farouk Shami is counting on your votes to put him in office, but records show his own voting history is inconsistent. There’s no evidence that he’s ever voted in a Democratic primary — but he did vote in the Republican primary in 2000.
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Criminal Justice
On the Records: A Data Challenge for Texas
What are state and local governments in Texas doing to make raw data available to the public? Not much.