Politics
Presidential candidates fill coffers with Texans' dollars
By ANNA M. TINSLEY, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 July 2008
FORT WORTH – Texas is very important to presidential hopeful John McCain.
Obama campaign strives to unify Texas Democrats
By W. Gardner Selby, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 26 July 2008
AUSTIN – A month before the Democratic National Convention, Texas supporters of Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton for president can seem as though they hail from different planets.
Paul's Minnesota rally proves to be a hot ticket
Houston Chronicle, 25 July 2008
HOUSTON – Supporters of failed presidential candidate Ron Paul snapped up more than 6,000 tickets to a two-day alternative to the National Republican Convention.
Nader supporters give him $7,000
By JENNIFER LATSON, Houston Chronicle, 27 July 2008
HOUSTON – It didn't matter that he had, as one supporter put it, "a snowball's chance in hell" of being elected.
Nader prepares to campaign in Austin
By David Shieh, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 26 July 2008
AUSTIN – It's hard being ignored.
Democrat hopes to be Texas' 1st Hispanic U.S. senator
By Brandi Grissom, El Paso Times, 27 July 2008
AUSTIN – Democrat Rick Noriega is trying this year to become the first Hispanic U.S. senator from Texas, good news for some El Pasoans eager to see one of their own in the august chamber.
Crider decides not to challenge Conaway
By TRISH CHOATE, San Angelo Standard-Times, 25 July 2008
WASHINGTON – The Rev. Floyd Crider of San Angelo has opted not to challenge the Republican from Midland who represents the Concho Valley in Congress.
Large donors dominate District 32 race funds
By Dan Kelley, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, 27 July 2008
CORPUS CHRISTI — Big donors writing big checks dominated the campaign finance reports of the candidates in the Texas House District 32 race, offering the public a glimpse into the interests swirling around the two candidates.
Libertarians want to be kingmakers in legislative races
By Laylan Copelin, AUSTN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 28 July 2008
AUSTIN – The Libertarian Party of Texas is not ready to be king, but it expects to be kingmaker — or spoiler, depending upon your point of view — in the state's most competitive legislative races this fall.
McCain rallies in Texas
By Enrique Rangel, Amarillo Globe-News, 28 July 2008
AMARILLO – Sen. John McCain has millions of reasons to like Texas.
Government
Small group of legislators came up with public schools fund plan
By Enrique Rangel, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, 28 July 2008
AUSTIN – The state panel coming to Lubbock has heard plenty of suggestions on improving property tax collections for public schools.
Failing Texas schools face dwindling options
By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News, 28 July 2008
AUSTIN – Fixing the worst schools in Texas is about to get harder.
Texas ordered to revamp bilingual education
El Paso Times, 26 July 2008
DALLAS – A federal judge on Friday gave the state of Texas until the end of January to come up with a plan to improve education programs for secondary school students with limited proficiency in English, criticizing the state education agency for "failing to ensure equal education opportunities in all schools."
Bible classes? Guidelines, please
By John Ferguson, Waco Tribune-Herald, 28 July 2008
WACO – Since the 1960s, public schools across the country have offered and been sued over Bible classes.
Law and reality in different slots
By Michael A. Smith, Galveston County Daily News, 27 July 2008
GALVESTON – Even if it has to rent some, the Texas Legislature needs to finally assemble enough courage to resolve a contradiction between the law and the reality of video slot machines.
Drug tests will help drug problem in schools advertising
Victoria Advocate, 24 July 2008
VICTORIA – Thanks to a $178,290 grant from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, drug testing of students in the Victoria school district will be increasing, and we’re all for it.
Steroids testing not worth the time
By Will Wright, New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung, 25 July 2008
NEW BRAUNFELS – The state’s high school coaches fired off against the University Interscholastic League’s figures on steroids testing, which on Wednesday revealed only two student-athletes in over 10,000 sampled throughout the state had tested positive for unauthorized substances.
News
Family resolves to take fight over exorcism to Supreme Court
By MAX B. BAKER, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 July 2008
FORT WORTH – Laura Schubert Pearson was an impressionable 17-year-old when friends in her church youth group thought demons possessed her.
Texas Supreme Court's ruling didn't settle raging debate on exorcism
By MAX B. BAKER, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 July 2008
FORT WORTH – When the Texas Supreme Court tossed out a lawsuit against a former Colleyville church involved in a traumatic exorcism, did the justices properly defend everyone’s religious freedoms or simply get it all wrong?
Texas Death Row inmate gets OK to appeal verdict
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 July 2008
FORT WORTH – A Death Row inmate from San Antonio has won permission to move forward with an appeal to argue that his trial lawyer failed him during jury selection.
Judge divides FLDS child cases
By Paul A. Anthony, San Angelo Standard-Times, 25 July 2008
SAN ANGELO – Nearly four months after the largest child-custody case in U.S. history commenced, Texas 51st District Judge Barbara Walther has broken it up, leaving 234 separate cases involving the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
State cancels interview on sect raid
By Corrie MacLaggan, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 26 July 2008
AUSTIN – State child welfare officials, in anticipation of a possible lawsuit from a polygamous sect, are carefully watching what they say about an April raid on the sect's West Texas ranch.
Judge splits polygamy cases by mother
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 July 2008
SAN ANGELO – The judge who had her custody decision reversed on more than 400 polygamist sect children has ordered the cases divided by mother, creating 234 separate child welfare cases from the Yearning For Zion Ranch.
Judge separates polygamist sect cases by mothers
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 July 2008
SAN ANGELO — The judge supervising the child welfare cases stemming from the April raid on a polygamist sect’s ranch signed orders this week that divide the cases by mothers, meaning that there are now 234 cases.
Austin Energy plans $2.3 billion biomass plant
By Katie Humphrey, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 26 July 2008
AUSTIN – Austin Energy is planning to spend $2.3 billion to build, operate and pull electricity for 20 years from a biomass power plant in East Texas.
Austin considering $2.3 billion biomass contract
Waco Tribune-Herald, 27 July 2008
AUSTIN — Austin's municipal power company is considering a $2.3 billion, 20-year deal to build and draw electricity from a biomass plant in East Texas.
Pickens pitches plans to shift U.S. away from oil
By Dean Calbreath, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 25 July 2008
SAN DIEGO – Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens became one of the world's richest people by drilling for petroleum.
Minus evacuation order, Border Patrol checks for documents
BY EMMA PEREZ-TREVIÑO, Brownsville Herald
BROWNSVILLE – On the day that Hurricane Dolly slammed the Rio Grande Valley, civil rights groups conferred via a conference call with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security but failed to secure a commitment that the immigration status of people fleeing a disaster would not be screened for immigration status at checkpoints.
UT banking on profit from oil land deals
By JANET ELLIOTT, Houston Chronicle, 25 July 2008
AUSTIN — The University of Texas System is looking to trade on high oil prices — and potentially raise up to $1 billion for its endowment — by selling future production from land it manages in West Texas.
People
Austin man offers $1 billion for breast cancer cure
Houston Chronicle, 27 July 2008
DALLAS — Mike Dewey has a plan to eliminate breast cancer: He's offering $1 billion to the person who discovers the cure.
Subpoena won't keep Karl Rove from El Paso
By Diana Washington Valdez, El Paso Times, 25 July 2008
EL PASO – A congressional committee's subpoena for former White House official Karl Rove should not interfere with Rove's planned fundraiser in El Paso for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a spokesman for the Cornyn campaign said Tuesday.
Montford eyed for UT chancellor
By Enrique Rangel, Amarillo Globe-News, 28 July 2008
AUSTIN – Three months ago Gov. Rick Perry told four state legislators from San Antonio that John Montford would be a good choice to become the next University of Texas chancellor.
Cisneros says he's out to pasture
Austin American-Statesman, 26 July 2008
AUSTIN – Cisneros doesn't aspire to work under the dome Former U.S. housing secretary and former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros, the perennially prospective Democratic candidate for statewide office, rules himself out as a candidate for governor in 2010.
