M. Smith on the frailties of electronic voting machines, Hu on the big bump in early voter turnout, Chang talks to the national coordinator of Health Information Technology, Hamilton on why the nondiscrimination policies of state university systems don’t include sexual orientation, Aguilar on the prospect of high school football referees on strike, Stiles updates our government employee salary app to include 20 more public agencies, Philpott on where the candidates in HD-52 stand on fast growth, Galbraith on damage to Texas roads caused by heavy truck traffic, Grissom interviews the first Hispanic sheriff of Harris County and my one-hour sit-downs with Rick Perry and Bill White: The best of our best from October 18 to 22, 2010.
Transportation
Reporting on roads, transit, infrastructure, and policy shaping travel and mobility across the state, from The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
State Government
TribBlog: DPS Commission Approves Surcharge Changes
The Texas Public Safety Commission today approved a slate of rules meant to allow thousands of drivers to get their licenses back.
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Energy
The Trouble With Trucking
Heavy truck traffic, some of it related to the wind industry, has increased sharply across the state in recent years, and it’s taken a heavy toll on rural roadways. To its chagrin, the Texas Department of Transportation has little prospect of recouping repair costs.
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Energy
TribBlog: Texas Drops in Efficiency Rankings
An annual state-by-state ranking of energy efficiency policies, compiled by a Washington-based advocacy group, shows Texas slipping the fastest.
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State Government
Where They Stand: HD-47
In House District 47 — which sits entirely within Travis County — incumbent Democrat Valinda Bolton is locked in a tight race with Republican Paul Workman. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune looks at where the candidates stand on the issue of transportation.
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Energy
American Idle
Each year in the United States, idling trucks and cars burn several billion gallons of fuel, emitting various pollutants without driving a single mile. The Texas Legislature passed legislation in 2005 limiting big trucks to five minutes of idling time, but local governments aren’t obligated to enforce the law, and the debate over exemptions continues to roil.
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Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
I hit the campaign trail with Rick Perry, E. Smith starts off the fall TribLive series by interviewing Attorney General Greg Abbott, Stiles on the most congested roads in Texas, Ramshaw’s interview with former Dallas Mayor Laura Miller, Grissom on the perils of talking too much if you’re the head of the state’s jail standards board, M. Smith on Congressman Chet Edwards’ fight for political survival in a Republican year, Philpott on counties worried the state’s budget woes will trickle down, Hamilton on whether Texas should be in the movie-vetting business, Aguilar on a Mexican journalist seeking asylum from his country’s drug violence, Galbraith on green energy and Texas college football, and excerpts from former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby’s new book, How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics: The best of our best from August 30 to September 3, 2010.
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Public Education
TribBlog: The Bus Fuss
After a 2006 bus accident in Beaumont that killed two students and injured several more, parents and legislators successfully demanded the state finance seat belts in school buses. Today, four years later, the Legislative Budget Board finally gave approval for a grant program — but the rules the board set likely will exclude the Beaumont area from getting the money, even though the grassroots movement started there.
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Transportation
The 100 Most Congested Roads
A new Texas Department of Transportation study names Texas’ 100 most congested roadways, which are heavily concentrated in Houston and the Dallas Metroplex; Bexar is the only one of the big five counties without a top-10 trouble spot. Policymakers hope the study will focus the public and lawmakers on the state’s problem areas.
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State Government
TribBlog: Driver Debt Debate
On Tuesday, a House committee heard arguments over the future of the controversial Driver Responsibility Program — which pits outrage over heavy traffic fines on the poor against the state’s need to finance trauma care in hospitals, which benefit from the fines.