Supporters of Dallas arts magnet will meet tonight to discuss district budget...
Friends and supporters of the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing & Visual Arts are meeting tonight to talk about how the arts magnet might be affected by the budget crisis that...
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“What we’re attempting to do is provide women all available information and allow them adequate time to digest this information.” – Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, the sponsor of a bill that would...
View ArticleGovernor declines to comment on appointee who profited in office
Gov. Rick Perry loves to talk about how to fix what’s broken in Washington. He even wrote a book on the topic. But when asked to comment on this story by Staff Writers James Drew and Steve McGonnigle,...
View ArticleWith a hefty pay hike, Duncanville’s school chief is doing way better than most
After writing about Duncanville School Superintendent Alfred Ray’s recent 16.5 percent raise (which, the school board president says, was not a raise, but a contract restructuring “for a job well...
View ArticleIn praise (again) of the tollway rescue crews
This morning, my 17-year-old had a flat tire while driving to school on the Bush Turnpike. It was the second time this has happened since he got his driver’s license just over 18 months ago. (The...
View ArticleLive chat coming up: Dallas school board hears update on budget woes
Beginning at 11:30 a.m., trustees of the Dallas Independent School District will hear details of an updated plan to cut spending by about $150 million, in anticipation of dramatically reduced state...
View ArticleTexas Senate likely to OK expanded use of state tax fund for big events at...
On our Trail Blazers blog, Senior Political Writer Wayne Slater writes that the Texas Senate is fast-tracking a bill to help bring the Country Music Awards or a future national political convention to...
View ArticleQuote(s) of the day
“If you’re a business that depends on a lot of intellectual talent and a well-educated workforce, we win that fight,” – Bill Lockyer, California treasurer “If you want to go somewhere where they’ve...
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Yet another proud Texan hopes to wrest Alamo flag from Mexico
Staff Writer Tom Benning reports: Houston Rep. John Zerwas knows he’s only the latest in a long line of Texas politicians … [visit site to read more]
View ArticleHouse Appropriations chief says Gov. Perry has signed off on tapping...
UPDATE 3:27 p.m.: Bob Garrett has posted details of the agreement on Trail Blazers. === A week ago, during a stop in Dallas, Gov. Rick Perry was adamant that legislators should not dip into the...
View ArticleIn Austin today, House panel takes up bills to permit guns on college campuses
On our Trail Blazers blog, Staff Writer Erin Mulvaney reports that the House Homeland Security & Public Safety Committee will hear several bills today that would permit licensed Texans to carry...
View ArticleBooker T. student takes to song in protest over budget
Thanks to Arezow Doost of CBS 11 News for pointing this out. When students, parents and other supporters of the Dallas arts magnet got together earlier this month to protest potential deep budget cuts...
View ArticleDallas area has lost clout in Legislature — see our district-by-district...
Staff Writers Robert T. Garrett and Theodore Kim have a front-page story saying North Texas has lost influence in the Texas Legislature, largely because of “key retirements and an infusion of tea...
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Mrs. Caraway: No comment
Karen Brooks in our Austin bureau had the unenviable assignment of asking the Dallas mayor’s wife, State Rep. Barbara Mallory Caraway, about the newly released police tape from a domestic-disturbance...
View ArticleQuote of the day
“I’ve never had anybody except reporters bring it up.” – Texas Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth. Geren, the chairman of the House Administration Committee, said he’s not bothered by the widespread...
View ArticleBREAKING NEWS: Texas Senate halts debate on bill to permit guns on campus
The Associated Press reports: AUSTIN, Texas — The sponsor of a bill to allow guns on college campuses abruptly withdrew the bill because he apparently did not have enough votes to move it forward....
View ArticleQuote of the day
“You can read, just like I can read the speedometer, I can read a bumper sticker or a billboard. I’m reading all the time while I’m driving.” – Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, arguing to amend a...
View ArticleTexas Senate committee approves bill requiring sonograms before abortions
From the Associated Press: AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry’s emergency legislation requiring doctors to do a sonogram before performing an abortion is moving forward. The Senate State Affairs Committee...
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The Texas Legislature isn’t afraid to take on the tough issues
The state budget is a wreck. Don’t worry, though — the Texas Legislature will get to that. In the meantime, rest assured that other vital business isn’t being ignored in Austin. There’s visit site to...
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Quote of the day
“In the Texas Legislature right now, it’s like Lakers and Mavs, game four, fourth quarter. It’s pretty ugly — flagrant foul on the way to the layup.” – Bill Miller, Republican consultant and lobbyist,...
View ArticleTexas House slaps down bill to restrict spanking in schools
Over on our Trail Blazers blog, Staff Writer Erin Mulvaney reports that the House has defeated a bill that would have required parental consent before a teacher could administer corporal punishment to...
View ArticleSupporter of sonogram law says women who’ve had abortions are forgiven...
Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed a bill into law last week that will require women seeking abortions to undergo a sonogram first. On Tuesday, the governor signed the bill a second time, in a ceremony...
View ArticleNew DISD budget plan cuts $90 million in spending — much less than earlier...
Staff Writer Matthew Haag reports on our DISD blog that Dallas school trustees today will discuss a proposed budget that cuts spending by about $90 million. “Although $90 million is a lot — about 6...
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If Politico is right, Tom Leppert’s U.S. Senate campaign may be about to hit...
The Washington political journal, citing unidentified sources, says Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst “is … [visit site to read more]
View ArticleRick Perry says public office is his ‘pulpit … to do His will’
On our Trail Blazers blog, Senior Political Writer Wayne Slater talks about a transcript, making the rounds on the Internet, of Gov. Rick Perry speaking in May to a group in Longview about his Aug. 6...
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Quote of the day
“Maybe people would want to lock me up. … Isn’t it just the height of intolerance to say you can’t gather together in public and pray to our God?” – Gov. Rick Perry, visit site to read more]
View ArticleTax-free weekend in Texas is Aug. 19-21
Not sure if this is as big a deal as it once was to families and other back-to-school shoppers, but the state’s annual Sales Tax Holiday is Friday, Aug. 19 through Sunday, Aug. 21. Texas Comptroller...
View ArticleReminder: Tax-free back-to-school shopping is this coming weekend
Friday through Sunday is the annual Texas sales tax holiday, intended to help families stretch their dollars as they shop for back-to-school supplies and clothing. Details are here, including a link...
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BREAKING NEWS: Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, is calling it quits
UPDATE, 3:45 p.m. Here’s more from Terry Stutz, who has covered the Texas Senate and state education issues — an area of … [visit site to read more]
View ArticleQuote of the day
“Trepidation is really the best word. They’re all fearful of the unknown.” – Melissa Lloyd, who spent the summer giving seminars to prepare teachers for the state’s new standardized tests, known as …...
View ArticleQuote of the day
“I have always questioned why you would take the worst criminal we have and cater to him or her. …It’s just nuts.” Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, whose pointed letter to Texas prison officials brought...
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Former inmate who cooked last meals volunteers to resume; state says no thanks
A former Texas prison inmate who achieved a degree of celebrity as the guy who cooked last meals for people on death row says he’s appalled that the state has decided to end the custom. Brian Price,...
View ArticleFormer Texas death row cook talks about last meals on NPR
I mentioned earlier that Michael Graczyk of The Associated Press had tracked down Brian Price, the onetime Texas prison inmate who used to cook the last meals for condemned inmates. National Public...
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‘Jew them down’ was a poor choice of words, Texas lawmaker acknowledges
UPDATE, 6:26 p.m. Christy says Taylor apologized on the phone and in writing to the Anti-Defamation League — and that a southwestern regional officer of the league accepted the apology. ==== Don’t...
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Some papers aren’t running Doonesbury this week. We are. Here’s why.
As our Austin bureau chief, Christy Hoppe, wrote on Sunday, some American newspapers are declining to run Doonesbury this week because it deals with the incendiary subject of abortion — more...
View ArticleQuote of the day
“I’m not saying that school districts did the wrong thing in cutting back on technology. They had tough choices to make, and you’re always going to cut expenses for technology and equipment before you...
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4 things happening today that you might care about
Tim Brown of the Oakland Raiders in a game against the Tennessee Titans in 2002. (JED JACOBSOHN/Getty Images)visit site to read more]
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Love them or hate them, red-light cameras have dramatically cut accidents,...
Here’s an understatement: Not all Texas drivers are fans of red-light cameras. The Houston City Council voted last fall to turn off that city’s cameras, which had been installed at 50 intersections....
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Jail opponents, state politicians agree: It’s time to close the Dawson State...
The city of Dallas has long hoped to seize control of the land presently occupied by the Dawson State Jail, at bottom right (Michael Ainsworth/Staff photographer) Once again the Jesse R. Dawson State...
View ArticleTexas drought and water conservation discussion on tap Thursday night in Dallas
It might be rainy today, but Texas is still in a record drought, water demands are rising, and most scientists who have studied it say global warming will make it worse. A public discussion Thursday...
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Texas has the nation’s highest incidence of repeat teen pregnancies. Surprised?
The good news is that the incidence of babies born to teenage mothers has been on the decline for two decades. The bad news, according to a recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...
View ArticleAbortion rights bus tour makes stop at Dallas City Hall
About 150 abortion rights supporters gathered with Senate Democrats and Planned Parenthood officials at Dallas City Hall Plaza this morning for the Stand with Texas Women bus tour’s latest stop. The...
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Vehicle inspection stickers: things that will be antiques in a couple of...
Endangered species: a Texas vehicle inspection sticker (Texas Department of Public Safety) Starting March 1, 2015, the annual trip to a mechanic for a safety and emissions inspection won’t result in a...
View ArticleJudge for yourself if fingerprint taking is necessary for Texas driver’s...
I wrote a Watchdog column about Texas’ new program that requires all driver’s license applicants to submit a full set of 10 fingerprints before getting their license. Read it here. But I’d like you to...
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Texas expected to reject Houston lawyer’s proposal to give industries a break...
Dallas smog, seen here on a bad day, is a health risk, but whose job is it to clean it up? (G.J. McCarthy/Staff photographer)visit site to read more]
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Parkland seeks state permission to expand board size
The new Parkland Memorial Hospital will open in August. (DMN/Photo) State Rep. Cindy … [visit site to read more]
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