DeLay appears headed for trial [1]

By Laylan Copelin, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 24 August 2010

Tom DeLay is headed to trial on money laundering charges, his lawyer conceded Tuesday, after the conclusion of the first full day of a pre-trial hearing, including several hours behind closed doors.

DeLay trial may be at hand [2]

By R.G. Ratcliffe, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 24 August 2010

After five years of his case floating in the ether of Texas appeals courts, former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay will go to trial sometime soon on ethics charges, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Slater: Tom DeLay still defiant as his day in court nears [3]

By Wayne Slater, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 24 August 2010

Tom DeLay was back in court Tuesday in a case that’s had more turns than a season of Dancing With the Stars.

'No movement' on job for state senator at Texas A&M System [4]

By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 24 August 2010

The chancellor of the Texas A&M University System all but offered a high-level position to state Sen. Jeff Wentworth last month, according to correspondence obtained by the American-Statesman through an open records request.

Texas politicians keep war chests stocked [5]

By Sarah Kleiner Varble, ABILENE REPORTER NEWS, 24 August 2010

Political scientists and a state campaign contribution watchdog say cash is a safety net that discourages potential candidates from signing up to challenge a well-funded incumbent.

Libertarian candidate for governor makes West Texas visits [6]

By Kathleen Thurber, MIDLAND REPORTER-TELEGRAM, 24 August 2010

With plans to decrease the state budget by 50 percent and keep Texas sovereign from over-reaching federal laws, Libertarian candidate for governor Kathie Glass said she's working to offer people a choice.

Feds moving to dismiss some deportation cases [7]

By Susan Carroll, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 24 August 2010

The Department of Homeland Security is systematically reviewing thousands of pending immigration cases and moving to dismiss those filed against suspected illegal immigrants who have no serious criminal records, according to several sources familiar with the efforts.

Texas Youth Commission still plagued with problems, advocacy groups say [8]

By Mike Ward, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 24 August 2010

Nearly four years after the Texas Youth Commission was overhauled after a sex abuse and cover-up scandal, four leading advocacy groups for incarcerated youths said Tuesday that little has changed. Widespread unsafe conditions and various forms of abuse and mistreatment continue to plague the agency, they say.

Advocate: Abolishing TYC Could Be Best Fix [9]

By Brandi Grissom, THE TEXAS TRIBUNE, 25 August 2010

Conditions remain unsafe and unhealthy in Texas Youth Commission facilities, according to four advocacy groups that are urging the U.S. Department of Justice to launch yet another investigation of the scandal-plagued agency. “What we’re seeing may be a result of facilities where the culture is so entrenched it’s just really going to be difficult, if not impossible, to eliminate the problem,” says Deborah Fowler, the legal director of Texas Appleseed, a public interest law center.

Proposed budget cuts tough on Texas' destitute, mentally ill [10]

By Robert T. Garrett, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 25 August 2010

Some of Texas' most vulnerable residents – the very poor, the mentally ill, those suffering from birth defects, and children from troubled families – would lose state support and services under several new budget-cutting proposals.

Public-Private Turf War Consumes Mental Health Reform [11]

By Brian Thevenot, THE TEXAS TRIBUNE, 25 August 2010

The intent of the 2003 law seemed clear: The state’s 39 Mental Health and Mental Retardation authorities would, wherever possible, stop offering direct medical services and start managing networks of private providers. But a slow-motion bureaucratic scrum has delayed the privatization of care, with the providers accusing local and state officials of obstructionism and those officials complaining that there aren't enough quality providers willing to guarantee a full menu of services at meager rates.

Travis County, Arizona [12]

By Mose Buchele, KUT NEWS, 25 August 2010

Undocumented immigrants are more likely to be deported from the Travis County jail because of their immigration status than from any other jail in the country, according to federal data obtained by the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law. Mose Buchele of KUT News reports.

Justice plans to appeal injunction on stem cell work [13]

By Lauran Neergaard, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 24 August 2010

The government will quickly appeal a court ruling that undercut federally funded embryonic stem cell research, the Obama administration declared Tuesday, but dozens of experiments aimed at fighting spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's disease and other ailments probably will stop in the meantime.

School districts drop fight over Texas' truth-in-grading law [14]

By Terrence Stutz, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 24 August 2010

A group of school districts that sued the state over its truth-in-grading law has decided not appeal a court ruling in June that upheld the law and barred Texas districts from requiring teachers to give minimum grades on student report cards.

School districts drop fight against Texas grading law [15]

By Ericka Mellon, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 25 August 2010

The group of Texas school districts that lost a court battle in June over a new grading law has decided not to appeal the judge's decision that bars them from forcing teachers to give students grades they didn't earn.

Dallas County commissioner's plan to post license photos of those with unpaid fines online still on hold after AG's ruling [16]

By Diane Jennings, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 24 August 2010

If you owe a fine or fee to Dallas County, Commissioner Mike Cantrell wants to put your picture on the county's "Wanted" website. But it's still not clear, even after a recent ruling by the Texas attorney general's office, whether public posting of the license photos is an acceptable use of that information.

Sen. John Cornyn: Balance threats, commerce [17]

By Daniel Borunda, EL PASO TIMES, 25 August 2010

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said he was concerned about bullets that hit El Paso possibly fired from Juárez during a gunbattle between police and assailants last weekend.

Cornyn: Osprey a 'safe bet' [18]

By Kevin Welch, AMARILLO GLOBE-NEWS, 25 August 2010

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, toured the Bell Helicopter assembly plant Tuesday and expressed optimism the expanding facility will continue to be important to Amarillo and the nation.

Improved roads cited as fatalities drop 11% in Texas [19]

By Gordon Dickson, FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 24 August 2010

Since 2004, the Texas Department of Transportation has installed barriers on 1,030 miles of highways, including several in Tarrant County. And because of those and other safety improvements, the fewest people since 1993 are dying on Texas roads, officials said.

North Texas congressional delegation seeks more troops along border [20]

By Anna M. Tinsley, FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 24 August 2010

Several North Texas congressional members are calling on President Barack Obama to help secure the Texas-Mexico border by sending more troops.

Red-light camera foes get green light [21]

By Bradley Olson, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 24 August 2010

City Council voted Tuesday to let Houstonians decide whether to ban red light cameras when they go to the polls in November, ratifying a petition of more than 20,000 voters despite strenuous opposition from some council members and camera supporters.

iTunes Texas education channel launched [22]

By Sarah Portlock, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 24 August 2010

Texas students can now download podcasts, videos and other multimedia lessons directly from iTunes through a new online program aimed at providing free, supplementary coursework that can be accessed anywhere, state officials announced Tuesday.

Bedford school turns away student because of parents' lesbian relationship [23]

By Jessamy Brown, FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 24 August 2010

Administrators at a private Christian school have denied a girl admission because they do not agree with her parents' lesbian relationship.

Border Patrol agent who shot boy is back on duty [24]

By Ramon Bracamontes, EL PASO TIMES, 25 August 2010

The U.S. Border Patrol agent who shot across the Rio Grande into Mexico in June and killed a 15-year-old Mexican boy has been on regular duty for the past two months, officials said this week.