Politics
DeLay trial set for Travis County
By Laylin Copelin, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 25 August 2010
DeLay, who faces money laundering and conspiracy charges, said he was "very disappointed" but ready to tell his side to a jury.
Judge denies request to move DeLay trial out of Austin
By Kelley Shannon, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 26 August 2010
A judge denied former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's request Wednesday to have his money-laundering trial moved from Austin, after DeLay's attorney said his client couldn't have a fair trial there.
DeLay to be tried in Austin despite concerns on fairness
By R.G. Ratcliffe, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 26 August 2010
A visiting district judge Wednesday rejected former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's efforts to have his political money laundering trial moved out of Travis County because of potential Democratic prejudice against the one-time national Republican leader.
Governor Talks Government In Tyler
By Adam Russell, TYLER MORNING TELEGRAPH, 26 August 2010
Voters should send Wash-ington D.C. a strong message, regarding its defense of the border, Perry said, by electing strong conservative candidates Nov. 2. They should also send the same message when considering federal intrusion on state's rights, over-bearing implementation of school curriculum and industry regulation and the continuing spending spree which he said will saddle generations of Americans with debt, he said.
Government
SCOTUS Case Could Be Immigration Law Road Map
By Julian Aguilar, THE TEXAS TRIBUNE, 26 August 2010
State lawmakers looking for guidance on how to draft immigration legislation that can withstand legal challenges may not have to wait for resolution of the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Arizona. A case now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court could light the path.
Lawmakers want hearings on Texas Youth Commission
By Mike Ward, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 25 August 2010
Amid new allegations of abuse in some Texas Youth Commission lockups, the architects of sweeping reforms almost four years ago called Wednesday for expedited hearings to investigate and curb any continuing problems.
Testimony: Blowout preventer's history a muddled tale
By Tom Fowler, Brett Clanton and Sharon Hong, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 25 August 2010
The blowout preventer on BP's failed Macondo well had hydraulic leaks, was modified without documentation and didn't comply with federal regulations, but that doesn't mean it caused the deadly Deepwater Horizon disaster, according to testimony in government hearing Wednesday.
State oversight ends for Austin school district
By Laura Heinauer, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 25 August 2010
The Texas Education Agency has ended the assignment of a state management team to the Austin school district a decision that will mean less state oversight of struggling schools and financial savings for the district, officials said Wednesday.
Two Dallas ISD trustees ask whether consultant is worth it
By Tawnell D. Hobbs, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 25 August 2010
Two Dallas school trustees question whether a consultant who has received more than $600,000 from DISD since 2003 is reaping too much district money with no proof that his work has improved student achievement.
Lubbock council's support for tax increase shrinks ahead of public hearing
By Elliott Blackburn, LUBBOCK AVALANCHE-JOURNAL, 26 August 2010
Support for steeper tax increases withered ahead of the city’s first public hearing on a plan charging taxpayers full price for bond projects a year before the projects would start construction.
News
Obama at Fort Bliss: President to address troops Tuesday to mark end of Iraq war
By Zahira Torres, EL PASO TIMES, 26 August 2010
President Barack Obama will take his first trip to El Paso on Tuesday to meet with Fort Bliss soldiers then return to the Oval Office to deliver a televised speech on the drawdown of troops in Iraq.
Obama to visit troops at Fort Bliss, Texas
By Todd J. Gillman, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 26 August 2010
President Barack Obama will visit troops at Fort Bliss on Tuesday before delivering an Oval Office address to the nation on Iraq that night, a White House official said Wednesday.
Obama to travel to Texas to meet troops
By Gary Martin, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 26 August 2010
President Barack Obama will meet with troops from a Texas military installation next week and address the nation about ongoing operations in Iraq and Tuesday's deadline to withdraw troops from that war-torn country, a White House official said Wednesday.
Project to Connect Grids Raises Questions
By Kate Galbraith, THE TEXAS TRIBUNE, 26 August 2010
Texas has always operated its own electricity grid, separate from the two other grids that span the rest of the nation. But a project quietly emerging in eastern New Mexico could curb that independence — and affect energy prices here in ways that remain much in dispute.
Drilling Moratorium Hasn't Hit Oil Jobs in Texas
By Matt Largey, THE TEXAS TRIBUNE, 26 August 2010
Halfway through a controversial six-month hold on deep water oil drilling, Matt Largey of KUT News reports, energy sector jobs in Texas appear relatively unaffected.
UTMB criticized for turning away charity cases
By Harvey Rice, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 25 August 2010
The University of Texas Medical Branch, an institution with a long history of taking care of indigent patients, is drawing condemnation for dramatically reducing its level of charity care and putting increasing pressure on nonprofits that help the uninsured.
Survivor of Mexico slaughter details immigrants' final moments
By Dudley Althaus, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 25 August 2010
The one known survivor of a massacre on a Mexico ranch 85 miles south of Brownsville trudged into a Navy checkpoint Monday -- a bullet wound in his neck -- with a tale almost too gruesome even for a country locked in the throes of a vicious and bloody drug war.
UTEP students with Juárez ties show stress-disorder signs
By Chris Roberts, EL PASO TIMES, 26 August 2010
Some UTEP students spending significant time in Juárez are developing symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, a new study says.
Texas approves sale of new vanity license plates
By Melanie Mason and Erin Mulvaney, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 25 August 2010
Texas drivers got the go ahead Wednesday to spruce up their bumpers with a new batch of commercialized plates, stamped with Ford’s Built Tough logo, NASCAR race colors and even a loaded cheeseburger.
People
Mentally Challenged Teen Faces 100 Years in Prison
By Emily Ramshaw, THE TEXAS TRIBUNE, 26 August 2010
He can't read or write, struggles to speak, and at age 19 has an IQ of 47: the mental capacity of a kindergartner. Yet a judge in the northeast Texas town of Paris still sentenced Aaron Hart to 100 years in prison for performing sexual acts on a 6-year-old neighbor. An appeals court overturned Aaron's conviction this spring, ruling that he pleaded guilty only because his court-appointed attorney told him he would be eligible for probation. (He wasn’t.) Now he sits in jail facing the same charges a second time, and his family is praying for a different outcome.
Former legislator, activist Anita Blair dies
By Alex Hinojosa, EL PASO TIMES, 26 August 2010
Former state representative and community activist Anita Blair died Wednesday. She was 93. Blair became the first El Paso woman elected as a state representative, in 1952. She was also the first blind woman to serve in an elected position in the state of Texas, according to El Paso Times archives.