Politics
Campaigning in the Valley, Democrat Bill White blasts Rick Perry's record
By ROBERT T. GARRETT, The Dallas Morning News,25 February 2010
Bill White dashed through seven cities in the Rio Grande Valley on Thursday, trying to lock down votes for Tuesday's Democratic primary but already looking ahead to a fall contest against incumbent Gov. Rick Perry.
Early voting concludes today
By Daniel Borunda / El Paso Times
Today is the last day of early voting in the primary election that has several high-profile races, including for Texas governor and El Paso County judge.
With Hodge still on ballot, mail votes could be key in House Democratic primary
By GROMER JEFFERS JR., The Dallas Morning News,26 February 2010
Dallas County elections officials have issued 940 mail ballots for the Texas House District 100 Democratic primary, an indication of the high-stakes politics being played to win the seat.
State district court candidate Christine Pacheco returns $3.5K in contributions
By Adriana M. Ch·vez, El Paso Times, 25 February 2010
A candidate for a state district court judgeship said Thursday she had returned almost $3,500 to a law firm after discovering that its contributions to her campaign might have exceeded state limits.
Shami cuts a rug in South Side campaign stop
By Josh Baugh - San Antonio Express-News
Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Farouk Shami pledged to South Side residents Thursday that as governor he would donate his salary to "education for children," and give the state $10 million of his own money if he fails to bring 100,000 jobs to Texas ó and then he danced.
Unions back county hopefuls in Pct. 2 race
By Guillermo X. Garcia - Express-News
While organized labor in Texas doesn't have the political clout it used to, it's front and center in the Bexar County commissioners race in Precinct 2 ó with the largest, most influential labor group in county government backing former Councilwoman Delicia Herrera and the AFL-CIO backing incumbent Paul Elizondo.
Activists planning a loud tea party in Texas
By R.G. Ratcliffe, San Antonio Express-News, 26 February 2010
Taking a page from the playbook of social conservatives, the tea party movement is trying to change the Republican Party of Texas from the ground up.
Agriculture commissioner candidate Hank Gilbert would make people think Texas when they eat beef
By JESSICA MEYERS, The Dallas Morning News, 25 February 2010
It's not so much a question of what's for dinner as where it came from. Chances are that pricy New York strip isn't really from that state's grasslands. And the Omaha steak in the freezer may just as easily be from Texas as Nebraska.
The Chosen One. Why Linda Chavez-Thompson wants to be lieutenant governor.
By MELISSA DEL BOSQUE, Texas Observer, 25 February 2010
In a nondescript strip mall tucked between used-car lots and fast-food restaurants in southwest San Antonio, Linda Chavez-Thompson is plotting the course of her latest improbable journey: becoming Texasí first Latina lieutenant governor.
Government
Rep. Silvestre Reyes legislation making torture a crime up for vote today
By Darren Meritz, El Paso Times, 25 February 2010
U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes on Thursday introduced legislation that establishes criminal penalties for intelligence officers and federal contractors who use torture to gain information.
E-Verify system to check worker status inaccurate, misses half of illegal workers
SUZANNE GAMBOA, Associated Press, 25 February 2010
The system Congress and the Obama administration want U.s. employers to use to help curb illegal immigration is failing to catch more than half of the unauthorized workers it checks, a research company has found.
Veterans Affairs to review files of thousands of Gulf War veterans denied disability benefits
KIMBERLY HEFLING, Associated Press Writer, 25 February 2010
The Veterans Affairs Department will re-examine the disability claims of what could be thousands of Gulf War veterans suffering from ailments they blame on their war service, the first step toward compensating them nearly two decades after the war ended.
Former Dallas mayor pro tem, 2 others to receive corruption sentences
By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News
Former Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill and two others convicted last year of bribery and extortion will be sentenced today for their part in the massive City Hall corruption investigation that began more than five years ago.
Castro pushes for nuclear loan guarantees
By Gary Martin, San Antonio Express-News, 26 February 2010
San Antonio Mayor Juli·n Castro made a whirlwind swing through the nation's capital Thursday to lobby White House and Energy Department officials for loan guarantees for the South Texas Project nuclear plant.
Heated talk, little agreement
The Associated Press, 26 February 2010
After a day of debate and disagreement, President Barack Obama concluded Thursday's unprecedented live talkfest on health care with the bleak assessment that accord between Democrats and Republicans may not be possible. He rejected Republican preferences for seeking a step-by-step solution or simply starting over.
News
Texas Transportation Commission OKs loan to North Texas Tollway Authority for State Highway 161
By MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER, The Dallas Morning News,25 February 2010
The North Texas Tollway Authority has been fighting for nearly three years to build the State Highway 161 toll road, and on Friday its board members will finally have to decide whether it really wants to.
Door to door: Residents of colonias will be counted first in census push
By Adriana Gomez Licon, El Paso Times, 25 February 2010
Residents of colonias typically are hesitant to answer questions, and many do not understand English or have not assimilated the culture, census workers said.
Dallas-Fort Worth foreclosures took a step back in 2009
By STEVE BROWN, The Dallas Morning News 26 February 2010
Dallas-Fort Worth area home foreclosures for 2009 fell to their lowest level in three years.
Ambassador: DEA agents not embedded in anti-drug units in Juarez
By Adriana Gomez Licon, El Paso Times, 25 February 2010
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico denied news reports that the U.S. government is embedding agents in Mexican anti-drug units in Ju·rez.
Spanish names do carry clout
By Dave McNeely, Corpus Christi Caller Times, 25 February 2010
Political prognosticators and demographers alike figure that Hispanics are the growth industry in Texas politics.
A Utility Will Help Homeowners Go Solar
By Todd Woody, 25 February 2010
TXU Energy, a Texas utility with two million customers, is making it possible for homeowners in the Dallas area to lease or buy rooftop solar-power systems in one of the first programs of its kind.
People
Student killed on road was high achiever
By Jenny LaCoste-Caputo, San Antonio Express-New
Word spread through Premier High School fast. In the close-knit charter high school of only 160 students, everyone knows each other, and classmates feel like family.
Crash survivor mourns rescuer who died
By Stephanie Sanchez, El Paso Times, 25 February 2010
Cecilia Marquez and Liz Gonzalez tragically crossed paths on a cold and icy highway Tuesday morning.
Who Gets Wrongly Convicted and Why
By Dave Mann, Texas Observer, 25 February 2010
On Feb. 4, Freddie Peacock was cleared of his wrongful conviction for rape 33 years ago in New York state. Heís the 250th innocent person exonerated in the United States by DNA testing, according to the New York-based Innocence Project. To mark the occasion, the Innocence Project released a report that details each of the 250 cases