Politics
Pelosi pushes Edwards as Obama's VP
Killeen Daily Herald, 4 August 2008
WASHINGTON – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is behind a dark horse in the Democratic veepstakes: Rep. Chet Edwards of Texas.
Paul supporters vow to fight
Washington Times, 5 August 2008
LAS VEGAS – Dueling delegations pitting Ron Paul's Nevada supporters against those of John McCain vow to take their fight to the Republican National Convention.
Jones on list of possible U.S. Senate candidates
By R.G. RATCLIFFE, Houston Chronicle, 4 August 2008
AUSTIN — Texas Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones of San Antonio is the latest state political figure added to the list of possible candidates to replace U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Eliot Shapleigh says deals with wife OK by law
By Brandi Grissom, El Paso Times, 5 August 2008
AUSTIN – After a report this weekend raised questions about the ethics of his campaign spending, state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh said Monday the business arrangements he has with his wife are perfectly legal.
Libertarians meet with speaker's staff
By Laylan Copelin, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 5 August 2008
AUSTIN – Libertarians continue to enjoy overtures from Republicans who, at least in some circles, worry that third-party candidates could be a factor in close legislativeraces this fall.
Pols Pay
By Lynn Ashby, Humble Tribune, 4 August 2008
Our next-door neighbor, Louisiana, has been in a twit because its brand new, reforming Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, came into office this year on a vow to “prohibit legislators from giving themselves pay raises.”
Government
Parole board rejects Mexican inmate's last-minute reprieve request
By DAVE MONTGOMERY, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 August 2008
WASHINGTON — The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Monday unanimously recommended against a reprieve for Jose Ernesto Medellin, a Mexican national who faces execution today for the rape and murder of two teenage girls in Houston 15 years ago.
State board denies Medellin reprieve
By Kristin Edwards, Huntsville Item, 5 August 2008
HUNTSVILLE – The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles announced Monday that it would not recommend a commutation of sentence or a reprieve for the Mexican-born Jose Medellin.
Bush, courts object to man's execution
Bryan-College Station Eagle, 5 August 2008
HOUSTON – The planned execution this week of a man convicted in one of Houston's most brutal murder cases in a generation has become among the most contentious in the state that has the nation's busiest capital punishment system.
Interview with Ted Houghton
By Sito Negron, Newspaper Tree, 4 August 2008
EL PASO – Ted Houghton is one of three members of the Texas Transportation Commission, which oversees the Texas Department of Transportation.
Tell them how you want to move
By Sito Negron, Newspaper Tree, 3 August 2008
EL PASO – El Pasoan David Marcus, who is vice chair of a state committee tasked with creating a report on long-range transportation needs for the state, is bringing one of the group's meetings to El Paso this week.
Conaway, Heflin predict public will force oil vote
By Bob Campbell, Midland Reporter-Telegram, 5 August 2008
MIDLAND – Staying in Washington after last week's adjournment to protest congressional inaction on offshore oil and gas drilling, U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway said Monday the pressure on U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may intensify enough by Labor Day to compel a vote.
Teacher quality in Texas inequitable, study says
By GARY SCHARRER, Houston Chronicle, 4 August 2008
AUSTIN — Texas is headed for big problems if state lawmakers don't fix serious inequities in teacher quality and experience between rich and poor schools, a noted education researcher warned Monday.
Experienced teachers not in neediest schools, report shows
By Kate Alexander, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 5 August 2008
AUSTIN – Teachers at Texas schools serving largely minority and low-income students tend to have less experience and less expertise than their counterparts at wealthier, low-minority schools, according to a study released Monday.
Education panel weighs measures for success
By Zahira Torres, El Paso Times, 5 August 2008
EL PASO – Public school accountability, the efficiency of current strategies and enforcement measures were among the topics discussed Monday at a meeting that drew state lawmakers and education officials to the University of Texas at El Paso.
Will top-tier be Texas' top priority?
By LISA FALKENBERG, Houston Chronicle, 4 August 2008
HOUSTON – Let's assume, as I did in a column last week, that the University of Houston is laps ahead of the pack in the race to become Texas' third nationally competitive public research university.
News
Abbott files brief in moment-of-silence lawsuit
By MARK AGEE, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 August 2008
FORT WORTH – A lawsuit challenging the state law that requires a moment of silence in schools is an attempt to "turn the First Amendment on its head," the Texas attorney general wrote in a brief filed last week in federal court.
Both sides gear up for appeal of 'moment of silence' law
By JANET ELLIOTT, Houston Chronicle, 5 August 2008
AUSTIN — A legal appeal over a 2003 Texas law mandating a moment of silence for schoolchildren is heating up.
People
Justice, at last, for the ‘TSU 3’
Denton Record-Chronicle, 4 August 2008
DENTON – All William Hudson, Justin Jordan and Oliver Brown had wanted to do back in 2006 was find out if lax security at Texas Southern University had been partly to blame for the shooting death of a female student.
