Texas Democratic governor hopeful White duels with Houston critic over bonds [1]

By ROBERT T. GARRETT, The Dallas Morning News, March 11, 2010

A longtime critic testified that during White's six years as mayor, Houston masked an operating deficit by issuing hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of pension bonds.

White avoids tax promise, just as Perry did [2]

By Jason Embry, Austin American-Statesman, March 10, 2010

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White won't rule out using a tax increase to fix the looming state deficit, and Gov. Rick Perry's team can hardly contain its glee.

Texas’ social studies fight in national spotlight [3]

By Gary Scharrer, San Antonio Express-News, March 11, 2010

Scores of Texans brought their conflicting versions of history before the State Board of Education on Wednesday, and before national news media drawn to the board's months-long struggle to define how religions and human actors shaped the nation and world — or shaped them enough to mention in public school textbooks.

An election when candidates' ethnicity became a liability [4]

By BUD KENNEDY, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 10, 2010

n an election where Railroad Commission Chairman Victor Carrillo, an Abilene Republican, was upset by little-known Midland accountant David Porter, and where District Judge Ruben Gonzalez Jr., a Fort Worth Republican, lost to lawyer Tom Zachry, Texas Republicans seemed to vote against Hispanic surnames.

State Board of Education nears vote on social studies revisions [5]

By TRACI SHURLEY, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 10, 2010

The State Board of Education neared the finish line on its revision of social studies curriculum standards Wednesday, but not before hearing from several people urging it to retain references to Judeo-Christian influences on the Founding Fathers, while others accused it of ignoring minority contributions.

Sideshow takes center stage in social studies fight [6]

By Kate Alexander, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, March 11, 2010

The actual debate over social studies curriculum standards at the State Board of Education on Wednesday could not compete with the sideshow.

State revokes accreditations of San Marcos school, Houston district [7]

By Laura Heinauer, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, March 10, 2010

The state is revoking the accreditation of a San Marcos charter school and has warned an Austin charter school that its accreditation is in jeopardy, Texas Education Agency announced Wednesday.

State Board of Education continues debate over standards for social studies [8]

By TERRENCE STUTZ, The Dallas Morning News, March 11, 2010

State Board of Education members resumed their volatile debate over social studies standards Wednesday as the panel neared its first vote on what Texas students will be taught in U.S. history, government and other classes over the next decade.

Mayor doubts funding for Uptown, University rail lines [9]

By BRADLEY OLSON and MIKE SNYDER, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, March 10, 2010

Mayor Annise Parker cast doubt Wednesday on whether the Metropolitan Transit Authority has the money to pay for two planned light-rail lines that proponents say are critical to the success of the agency's plans.

City's budget woes may mean furloughs, layoffs [10]

By BRADLEY OLSON, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, March 10, 2010

Mayor Annise Parker raised the possibility of furloughs and layoffs for city employees for the first time Wednesday, saying the city's dire budget outlook will require City Council to consider all available options for closing roughly $110 million in budget gaps during the next two years.

Education board hears plea to stick with Christian standards [11]

By April Castro, ASSOCIATED PRESS, March 11, 2010

The politically shifting State Board of Education opened discussion of new social studies curriculum standards Wednesday with a plea that the Christian "heritage from which our nation was founded" be reflected in the new standards.

House bans misleading census mailings [12]

By HOPE YEN, Associated Press, March 11, 2010

The House passed legislation Wednesday that would ban misleading mailings designed to appear they're from the Census Bureau, following criticism that Republican groups were sending fundraising letters using the census name.

Texas sales tax deduction is extended [13]

By MARIA RECIO, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 10, 2010

The Senate vote Wednesday approving a bill extending numerous tax breaks included a provision important to Texas that continues the deductibility of state sales taxes on income tax returns for another year.

Sales tax rebate picture brightens [14]

By Doug Myers, Abilene Reporter-News, March 10, 2010

A string of 10 consecutive months of decline in the city of Abilene’s sales tax rebate has been broken

2010 CENSUS: 10 questions toward getting accurate count [15]

KENNETH L. STEWART & LAURENCE F. JONES, San Angelo Standard-Times, March 10, 2010

The questionnaire does not ask anything of a very personal nature. It does not ask about immigration status, driver’s license and Social Security number, whether you pay your taxes or not — not even your income level.

The News Finally Tells the Truth on the Toll Road, But Where's the Gotcha? [16]

By Jim Schutze, Dallas Observer, March 11 2010

In last Sunday's Page 1 story by transportation reporter Michael A. Lindenberger, the News was forced to reveal that every single thing Dallas City Council member Angela Hunt ever said about the toll road has turned out to be true, while Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert has engaged in marvelous and stunning untruths about the project.

Galveston to look at spending freeze [17]

By Rhiannon Meyers, The Galveston Daily News, March 11, 2010

Facing sharp declines in sales tax revenues, city officials might be forced to freeze spending.

Houston gets biggest slice of the state's cancer grants [18]

Houston Chronicle, March 10, 2010

Houston received more than half of $6.8 million in cancer prevention grants announced in Austin on Wednesday, the second round of the state's $3 billion assault on cancer.

Study: Texas quakes linked to post-gas drilling process [19]

By Angela K. Brown, Associated Press, March 11, 2010

A wastewater disposal process done after natural gas extraction — and not the drilling itself — is a plausible cause for the surprising series of minor earthquakes in north Texas, according to a study released Wednesday.

WWII’s WASPs get congressional medals [20]

By Tom McIlroy, Hearst Newspapers, March 11, 2010

More than 1,110 women pilots were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal on Wednesday to salute their World War II service when they flew military aircraft in noncombat missions.

Economists predict steady rise in cotton prices over coming decade [21]

By Alyssa Dizon, LUBBOCK AVALANCHE-JOURNAL, March 11, 2010

Agriculture economists looking ahead at the next decade predict good news for the South Plains' cotton producers, the local economy and your closets.

Juárez officer slain; mayor gets threat: '2 weeks left to live' [22]

By Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times, March 11, 2010

Police officer Luis Alberto Adame Rubio was off duty when his car was sprayed with gunfire by men with assault rifles Wednesday afternoon in the Jilotepec area, a Juárez city spokesman said. Adame died at the scene.

El Paso gas bills may rise [23]

By Gustavo Reveles Acosta, El Paso Times, March 10, 2010

The City Council should not approve the entire rate increase sought by Texas Gas Service, but it should try to reach a compromise, the Public Utility Regulation Board recommended late Wednesday.

SMU researchers say injection well is 'plausible cause' of small earthquakes by D/FW Airport [24]

By MIKE LEE, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 10, 2010

A team of university researchers has concluded there's likely a link between a series of small earthquakes at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport and an injection well used to get rid of wastewater from natural gas drilling.

Murderer of two set to die in Texas [25]

By MICHAEL GRACZYK, Associated Press, March 11, 2010

On Thursday, Maxwell was set to be executed in Huntsville for the sheriff's officer's murder. The U.S. Supreme Court last week refused to review his case after a federal appeals court rejected his attorneys' attempts to get his sentence overturned by arguing that the jurors were given improper instructions.

BP to pay $7 billion for exploration rights [26]

The Associated Press

Oil company BP PLC said Thursday it will pay $7 billion to acquire exploration rights in Brazil, Azerbaijan and the Gulf of Mexico from Devon Energy Corp.

At least one killed in Reynosa shootout; bodies found in other border towns [27]

By JARED TAYLOR, The McAllen Monitor, March 10, 2010

At least one man was killed in a shootout among civilians on the city’s west side Wednesday morning — the latest in a string of fatalities reported this week.

Terror suspect left a faint trail in San Angelo [28]

By Michael Kelly, Jennifer Rios, San Angelo Standard-Times, March 10, 2010

Colleen LaRose, the woman indicted in Pennsylvania on allegations that she plotted an assassination with an Islamic terrorist group, left a faint but discernible trail in San Angelo, where she lived for many years before moving elsewhere in Texas and later to Pennsburg, Pa.

Tech legal team claims Leach not playing fair [29]

By Matthew Mcgowan, LUBBOCK AVALANCHE-JOURNAL, March 11, 2010

Texas Tech's legal team is calling foul on former football coach Mike Leach's attempts to obtain records from a local school district about his successor's children.

Mexico's Slim named 'world's richest' person [30]

The Associated Press, March 10, 2010

The son of an immigrant shopkeeper has become the first person from a developing nation, and the first from Latin America, to be named the world's richest person.