Politics
At least 15,000 people cheer Barack Obama in Austin
By W. Gardner Selby and David Rauf, Austin American-Statesman, 02/24/07
Barack Obama excited at least 15,000 people at Auditorium Shores on Friday with vows to unify the United States behind high hopes for change, including bringing U.S. combat troops home from Iraq by March 2008.
Obama reels in Austin crowd
By WAYNE SLATER, Dallas Morning News, 02/24/07
AUSTIN -- Thousands of people jammed a lakeside venue used for rock concerts to hear Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama promise Friday to "galvanize a movement for change" in American politics.
Obamamania comes to Austin
By JOHN MORITZ, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 02/24/07
AUSTIN -- Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama received a rock star's reception Friday at his first public appearance in Texas since declaring his candidacy as about 20,000 people crowded into an Austin park to hear him rail against the war in Iraq and take two subtle digs at his chief rival for his party's nomination next year.
They came 'Ready to Barack and Roll'
By EMILY RAMSHAW and KAREN BROOKS, Dallas Morning News, 02/24/07
AUSTIN -- Call it Obamapalooza. In a campaign rally that bore more resemblance to a Rolling Stones concert, an estimated 20,000 supporters and curious onlookers converged on the shore of Town Lake to get a glimpse of presidential hopeful Barack Obama.
Obama gets warm welcome in Austin
By R.G. Ratcliffe, San Antonio Express-News, 02/24/07
AUSTIN -- About 20,000 mostly young people traveled from across Texas to stand on the shores of Austin's Town Lake on Friday and hear Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama vow to end the war in Iraq.
Rep. Paul of Lake Jackson mulls presidential bid
By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT, Houston Chronicle, 02/24/07
WASHINGTON -- One of Congress' most politically unorthodox members, Rep. Ron Paul, dipped his toe in presidential waters this weekend, trekking to New Hampshire in his first out-of-state trip to take the pulse of key primary voters.
Surveying ’08 Field, Governors Urge Moderation
By ROBERT PEAR, The New York Times, 2/26/7
WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 -- Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is the front-runner and will probably win the Democratic presidential nomination. Rudolph W. Giuliani could do well in Mississippi. And the length of the presidential campaign is insane.
Govs. Perry, Rendell say they are not interested in No. 2 spot on 2008 ticket
By Associated Press, Houston Chronicle, 02/25/07
WASHINGTON -- Governor or vice president? That's an easy choice, say two state leaders who have been talked about for a possible spot on the 2008 ticket.
Perry spearheads fundraising dinner/Republican Governors Association reception expected to raise at least $9.2 million for the organization
By Suzanne Gamboa, ASSOCIATED PRESS, Austin American-Statesman, 2/24/7
WASHINGTON -- Gov. Rick Perry will get a break from some testy times in his home state when fellow GOP governors laud him next week for his fundraising prowess.
Government
Perry muscle flexing falls flat
By R.G. RATCLIFFE, Houston Chronicle, 02/25/07
AUSTIN -- Gov. Rick Perry has time and again tried to increase his powers either through legislation or executive fiat.
Perry OKs higher limit on spending
By CHRISTY HOPPE, Dallas Morning News, 02/24/07
AUSTIN -- The state's constitutional cap on government spending was officially broken Friday when Gov. Rick Perry signed a measure that raises the state limit to offset property tax cuts approved last year.
HPV vaccine bill heading to House
By Desiree Evans, Brazoria County Facts, 02/24/07
State Rep. Dennis Bonnen expects his measure to override a mandate that all girls in the state be vaccinated against a virus linked to cervical cancer to pass the full Texas House of Representatives and then receive strong support in the Senate.
3 families sue Perry over HPV mandate
By Brandi Grissom, El Paso Times, 02/24/07
AUSTIN -- Three Dallas-area families sued Gov. Rick Perry this week, seeking to stop the state from carrying out his mandate that schoolgirls get vaccinated against a cancer-causing sexually transmitted disease.
N. Texas families file lawsuit to block Perry's HPV order
By Associated Press, Dallas Morning News, 02/24/07
AUSTIN -- A group of North Texas families have filed a lawsuit seeking to block Gov. Rick Perry's executive order to vaccinate Texas schoolgirls against the virus that causes cervical cancer.
Downright eerie how Perry's people talked about Merck product on same day Merck gave Perry money
By JOHN KELSO, Austin American-Statesman, 02/25/07
I wonder how many people actually believe it when the governor's office says it was just a coincidence that the drug company Merck donated $5,000 to Rick Perry's campaign on the same day Perry's people discussed Merck's HPV vaccine.
THE INSIDER: Perry's TLPs - 3-letter problems
By Anna M. Tinsley, Aman Batheja, Maria Recio and John Moritz, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 02/25/07
For Gov. Rick Perry, trouble has come in threes recently. First was Perry's order that 11- and 12-year-old girls be vaccinated for HPV, or the human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease that causes cervical cancer.
Lottery can become a game of no chance
By LISA SANDBERG, Houston Chronicle, 02/24/07
AUSTIN -- There are long odds and there are impossible odds. The Texas Lottery Commission is striking it rich selling impossible odds.
Villarreal says his measure will give cities more control
By Ron Wilson, San Antonio Express-News, 02/25/07
With a nearly treeless, dynamite-blasted hillside as a backdrop, state Rep. Mike Villarreal said Saturday that he was taking a small step that could have a profound impact on developers who hoist the banner of "vested rights" while paying scant attention to the rights of others.
AG's privacy ruling puts onus on county clerks
By Polly Ross Hughes, San Antonio Express-News, 02/24/07
AUSTIN -- County clerks could spend six months in jail and be fined $1,000 for releasing records historically accessible to the public that contain Social Security numbers, according to the state attorney general.
Border security programs have mixed results
By Associated Press, Houston Chronicle, 02/25/07
EL PASO -- Gov. Rick Perry's border security programs showed mixed results in their first year of operation, with crime decreasing about an average of 8 percent in border counties but increasing by as much as 38 percent in some of the region's more populated counties, the El Paso Times reported today.
Bills allow gambling's return to Tigua casino
By Mark Muecke, El Paso Times, 02/26/07
El Paso's Tigua Indians are hoping that lady luck will finally shine on them this year at the Texas Legislature.
Auditors expose holes in TTC-35
By Clay Robison, Houston Chronicle, 02/24/07
The state auditor's office issued a sharply critical report on the Trans-Texas Corridor on Friday, concluding that taxpayers may never know how much they could end up paying for a toll road that would parallel Interstate 35 from San Antonio to Oklahoma.
Auditor scolds agency for corridor project/Texas Department of Transportation downplayed costs, withheld information, audit says
By Ben Wear, Austin AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF, 2/24/7
The Texas Department of Transportation has downplayed the potential costs of the Trans-Texas Corridor and potentially inflated expected gains for the project, state auditors said in a report released Friday.
Road Kill
by Eileen Welsome, Texas Observer, 2/23/7
Although the current Legislative session is only a few weeks old, Ric Williamson, the embattled chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission, has already incurred the wrath of numerous state lawmakers intent on curbing the Department of Transportation’s plans to pave the state with toll roads and a network of superhighways known as the Trans-Texas Corridor.
Kolkhorst bill would halt highway proposal
By Staff, Huntsville Item, 02/24/07
Two bills have been filed by state Rep. Lois W. Kolkhorst of Brenham which would terminate the state's controversial Trans-Texas Corridor highway proposal.
State will consider plan for Inner Loop this week
By Chris Roberts, El Paso Times, 02/25/07
The Inner Loop project -- a seven-mile freeway designed to connect El Paso's Loop 375 with the Patriot Freeway -- is scheduled for consideration by the Texas Transportation Commission on Wednesday, and some El Paso officials say approval is overdue.
Cautionary Tale/A history lesson for Gov. Perry's benefit
By BILL HOBBY, Houston Chronicle, 2/25/7
Gov. Rick Perry doesn't like the way higher education is funded. He wants to micromanage it. He doesn't care that higher education is poorly funded. (Texas ranks 50th in percentage of high school graduates, 27th in college graduates.) The issue is neither higher education nor funding, issues about which he knows little and cares less.
Tackling the thorny top 10% law
By CLAY ROBISON, Houston Chronicle, 2/25/7
AUSTIN -- Hundreds of high school students who have worked hard to graduate in the top 10 percent of their classes so they could win a ticket to the University of Texas at Austin soon may be in for a big disappointment.
GOP lawmaker, Hispanic caucus at odds
By GARY SCHARRER, Houston Chronicle, 02/24/07
AUSTIN -- The only Hispanic Republican lawmaker in the 181-member Texas Legislature has so far declined to join the House Mexican American Legislative Caucus.
Cornyn asks churches for help to stem tide of gangs
By DAVID ELLISON, Houston Chronicle, 02/24/07
In addition to providing more funds for law enforcement to fight gang violence, the federal government has to get the faith-based community involved in prevention and intervention programs for youths, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said Friday.
Congressman: Rio Grande needs cleanup to avert future floods
By ASSOCIATED PRESS, Austin American-Statesman, 02/25/07
EL PASO -- U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes took his bid for federal funds to fix problems with the Rio Grande flood plain and levees to the border Sunday, after reports that FEMA plans to declare large swaths of El Paso a flood zone.
States try to kick the cigarette tax habit
By Associated Press, Houston Chronicle, 02/25/07
BLOOMINGTON, MN -- Roland Henkel quit smoking in September and has been doing the math ever since: A week added to his life. More than 2,100 Marlboro Lights he hasn't smoked. And more than $400 he didn't spend on cigarettes.
Court rulings could affect uninsured motorist coverage
By Chuck Lindell, Austin American-Statesman, 02/25/07
A little-noticed Texas Supreme Court decision, released three days before Christmas, could make it far more difficult for drivers to collect on their uninsured motorist coverage, plaintiffs lawyers warn.
TYC worker cites backlash after reporting possible abuse
By DOUG J. SWANSON, Dallas Morning News, 02/25/07
Bill Hollis was a caseworker at a state juvenile prison in West Texas, and he had suspicions. He believed the prison's No. 2 official spent far too much time behind closed doors, late at night, with young male inmates.
State money helped smaller counties most
By Louie Gilot and Brandi Grissom, El Paso Times, 02/25/07
Jeff Davis County is a diamond-shaped expanse of desert, larger than El Paso County but much less populated and much less policed.
Sales tax income not what cities banked on
By IAN McCANN, Dallas Morning News, 02/24/7
Sales tax receipts are running below expectations this fiscal year in Rockwall, leading to a hiring freeze at City Hall and possibly further cuts or delays in spending.
News
TXU sale a go, buyers to cut prices
By ELIZABETH SOUDER, Dallas Morning News, 02/26/07
The TXU Corp. board accepted an offer on Sunday to sell the company for around $45 billion in a deal that would take the power company private and kill plans to build eight coal-fired power plants, according to people familiar with the situation.
TXU deal scraps plans for 8 plants
By SCOTT STREATER, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 02/25/07
Eight of the 11 power plants proposed to be built by TXU Corp. will be scrapped as part of a groundbreaking deal between national environmental groups and two private equity firms trying to buy the Dallas-based energy company, ending what has been perhaps the biggest environmental battle in the state's history.
TXU bidders would cut 8 of 11 proposed plants
By ELIZABETH SOUDER, Dallas Morning News, 02/25/07
The companies that want to buy TXU Corp. would build only three of the 11 coal-fired power plants TXU has proposed, and would cut retail electricity prices, addressing two issues that fueled public outcry against the power company.
Offer for TXU scraps 8 coal plants
By FELICITY BARRINGER and ANDREW ROSS SORKIN, New York Times via Houston Chronicle, 02/25/07
Under a proposed $45 billion buyout by a team of private equity firms, TXU Corp., a Texas utility that has long been the bane of environmental groups, would abandon plans to build eight of 11 proposed coal plants and commit to a broad menu of environmental measures, according to people involved in the negotiations.
TXU board recommends accepting buyout offer, sources say
By J.B. Smith, Waco Tribune-Herald, 02/25/07
TXU Corp. directors have recommended that shareholders approve selling the electric company to two private-equity firms, in an agreement that will kill plans for coal-fired power units in McLennan County and several other sites in Texas, sources close to the deal said.
Mega-deal may quash proposed coal-fired power plants
By J.B. Smith, Waco Tribune-Herald, 02/25/07
TXU Corp. will abandon its controversial plans to build three coal-fired power units in McLennan County and several others around the state under a proposed $45 billion buyout by a team of private equity firms, according to people involved in the negotiations.
TXU directors approve sale to private-equity firms
By DAVID KOENIG, AP, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 02/25/07
DALLAS -- Directors of TXU Corp., the largest electric producer in Texas, gave tentative approval tonight to sell the electric company to two private-equity firms, according to a person close to the situation.
How the Texas' primary energy-efficiency program works
By TOM FOWLER, Houston Chronicle, 02/25/07
Consumers and companies alike can get some help on conservation projects from a program they help pay for.
Two shouldn't die over one bullet, appeal says/Joseph Nichols' defense team says state misled jury
By ALLAN TURNER, Houston Chronicle, 2/24/7
The morning rush-hour business was tapering off that mundane October Monday almost three decades ago when two men stepped into Joseph's Grocery and Delicatessen, a gritty vendor of chips, cigarettes and sodas on Fannin south of downtown.
Relief Denied?/Two new Supreme Court justices control the fate of Texas' condemned
by Anthony Zurcher, Texas Observer, 2/23/7
At least three lives, and possibly another 44, hung in the balance when Texas Solicitor General R. Ted Cruz stood before the U.S. Supreme Court in mid-January. As much as the state would like to execute Jalil Abdul-Kabir, Brent Brewer, and LaRoyce Smith, it cannot do so until the court is satisfied that the three convicted murderers were fairly and legally sentenced to die.
Strangeness afoot in Willacy County
Fernando Del Valle, The McAllen Monitor, 2/22/7
RAYMONDVILLE -- State district Judge Migdalia Lopez on Wednesday ordered Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra to proceed with cases after a two-week absence from court. A day after she told Guerra to “be ready” with his cases, Lopez ordered him to proceed. But Guerra claimed an investigation that led to his Feb. 11 arrest “tainted” his case files.
Willacy County prosecutor's crusade gets him in hot water/Firebrand questioning state senator's consulting deal with prison contractor
By Lynn Brezosky, ASSOCIATED PRESS, Austin American-Statesman, 2/26/7
RAYMONDVILLE -- The engine of the old, borrowed camper chugs away in the parking lot of the county jail alongside three goats, a rooster and a horse. It is the temporary home and office of Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra, the Mexican-born firebrand who is at odds with the rest of the county justice system.
Willacy DA wants to be jailed -- again
John MacCormack, San Antonio Express-News, 2/22/7
RAYMONDVILLE -- With a statute of Don Quixote on the table and a picture of Pancho Villa on the wall, Juan Guerra was in appropriate company this week during a bizarre protest outside the Willacy County Sheriff's Department.
LCRA urges users to conserve but still sells water
By Asher Price, Austin American-Statesman, 02/25/07
Two weeks ago, Joe Beal, the head of the agency that manages the Colorado River, stood on the exposed banks of Lake Travis and warned that more than 1 million people might be forced to cut their water use if the Central Texas drought doesn't break.
Rising N. Texas land costs pose challenge for Habitat
By JENNIFER EMILY, Dallas Morning News, 02/25/07
Rising land prices could force Habitat for Humanity to change its strategy and mission after 30 years of building homes for the working poor.
Price of gas up in U.S., Texas
By ELIZABETH SOUDER, Dallas Morning News, 02/24/07
Gasoline prices are rising across the nation and in Texas as consumers continue to demand more fuel.
Brown bag lunch to focus on water issues
By Staff, San Antonio Express-News, 02/26/07
The League of Women Voters will host a lunch meeting "Aquifer Issues Confronting the State Legislature" at noon today at Edwards Aquifer Authority, 1615 N. Saint Mary's St.
People
Youth prison director steps down after abuse reports
By DOUG J. SWANSON, Dallas Morning News, 02/24/07
The executive director of the Texas Youth Commission abruptly announced his retirement Friday after coming under intense criticism for his handling of a sexual abuse scandal at a West Texas juvenile prison.
Head of Texas Youth Commission resigns
By Jim Vertuno, AP, Austin American-Statesman, 02/24/07
The head of the Texas Youth Commission resigned Friday amid allegations that high-ranking officials at an isolated state juvenile prison molested young male inmates.
Reyes names a new legislative director
By Erica Molina Johnson, El Paso Times, 02/26/07
U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, has promoted El Pasoan Philip LoPiccolo to be his legislative director in Washington, D.C.
Writing history -- and living it
By W. Gardner Selby, Austin American-Statesman, 02/25/07
Just before Rep. Brian McCall publicly stabbed at history last month by trying to unseat the speaker of the Texas House, the Plano Republican quietly plowed gubernatorial history to earn a doctorate in humanities from the University of Texas at Dallas.
State Rep. Menendez to speak at town hall
By Staff, San Antonio Express-News, 02/26/07
There will be a District 6 town hall meeting at 7 p.m. today in the cafeteria of John Jay High School, 7611 Marbach Road.
More than paycheck for new staffers
By ALYSHA N. HERN¡NDEZ, Houston Chronicle, 02/25/07
AUSTIN -- Thousands of politicians, visitors, lobbyists and legislative staffers bustle beneath the star-crested dome in the state Capitol every day.
Ex-El Pasoan helps shape legislation in state Capitol
By Brandi Grissom, El Paso Times, 02/25/07
AUSTIN -- When Elizabeth Tschudi packed up her Volkswagen Rabbit and drove from El Paso to the Texas capital, she didn't think she'd make it here long.
