Texas State Government: Governor, Legislature & Policy Coverage

The Brief: December 8, 2009

By Reeve HamiltonDec. 8, 2009

For a campaign that is all about creating jobs, Farouk Shami was very quick to end some.

Dr. Tamiko Kido checks out Benjamin Ligums' sutures at Baylor's Transition Medicine Clinic in Houston, as his mother, Ann Ligums, looks on. Ben was given 18 months to live when he was born with a degenerative brain disease. He's now 26.

When kids with disabilities transfer from children’s Medicaid to the adult program, they lose services, health care and medical expertise. A few committed doctors and social workers are stepping in to ease the transition.

Higher Education

Caven’s Quest, Part One

By Brandi GrissomDec. 8, 2009

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 Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, passed away on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012.

State Government

Show Us the Money

By Matt StilesDec. 8, 2009

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.

State Government

Guest Column: Elections Don’t Win Themselves

By Harold CookDec. 8, 2009

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.

State Government

Wallace Jefferson on That Exxon Case

By Evan SmithDec. 8, 2009

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.

State Government

TribBlog: Texas’ Charter School Law Gets a “D”

By Brian ThevenotDec. 7, 2009

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.

Health care

TribBlog: Room to Breathe

By Emily RamshawDec. 7, 2009

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.