The results of the first UT/Texas Tribune poll, which was in the field from October 20-27 and sampled 800 Texans who identified themselves as registered voters, shows Texas slowly turning their attention to the 2010 elections. Perhaps more to the point, they have become extremely skeptical about the direction of the federal government. Today we’ll focus on the election match ups and what they tell us about the state of play a little less than six months out from the March primaries.
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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T-Squared
T-Squared: Day One
For those of us who willingly quit good jobs with big media companies to join an untried journalism start-up with an untested business model, this site, this thing, is the expression of our ideals, the realization of our dreams, and the validation of our faith. We’re enormously proud, every one of us, of what we’re doing and why. We’re awed and cowed by what we’ve been able to produce so quickly and on a relative shoestring (relative, that is, compared to the budgets we lived within and among just a few months ago). And we’ve barely gotten started.
Posted inState Government
The Chairman Speaks: Why We’re Nonprofit
The provider of most public goods is government. But even though the U.S. ranks somewhere between Burkina Faso and Uranus in our per capita federal spending on public media, Congress will not come rushing to the aid of capital-j journalism anytime soon. There are simply too many competing priorities, and the deficit hawk in me recoils at proposing another one. Besides, obvious fox-in-the-henhouse issues arise—to mix animal metaphors—from government watchdogs funded out of government coffers. So with both commercial and governmental fixes in serious question, maybe that leaves you and me.
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Health care
Disabled students restrained, injured in public schools
Texas educators routinely pin down students with disabilities to control them, according to state data. Disability rights advocates say the restraints point to a crisis in special education, and that teachers are resorting to physical violence because they aren’t properly trained.
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Public Education
TribBlog: Permanent School Fund Rebounds. But Will Schools Benefit?
The state’s permanent school fund, which spins off money for textbooks and the like each year, has recaptured billions of dollars after a frightening downward spiral this spring. Trouble is, the increase in the fund may produce no increase at all in education spending. The real beneficiaries of the fund often are the state legislature and its priorities outside education.
Posted inState Government
Welcome to The Texas Tribune
What we intend to accomplish with the Trib — what we mean to do on an ongoing basis — is right there in our stated mission: to promote civic engagement and discourse on public policy, politics, government, and other matters of statewide concern.
Posted inState Government
Introducing The Texas Tribune
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCnXdR0SmDQ Credit: Elise Hu Texas Tribune donors or members may be quoted or mentioned in our stories, or may be the subject of them. For a complete list of contributors, click here.
Posted inState Government
A conversation with Dan Bartlett
Former White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett sits down with the Tribune’s Evan Smith to talk about Rick vs. Kay, what Texans should think about health care reform and troop levels in Afghanistan, and the GOP’s missed opportunity to reach out to Hispanics.
Posted inState Government
Hu Tube: 3-2-1…
In the spirit of multi-platform journalism, the posts here at Hu Tube will be highly visual. If I don’t have a new video for ya each day, I’ll throw up photos and do some live photoblogging during the election cycle and legislative sessions. Stay tuned.