With the rise of get-tough juvenile crime policies across Texas, the municipal courthouse has become the new principal’s office for students who fight, curse their teachers or are generally “disorderly” — even in elementary schools. Campus police in the Austin, Houston and Dallas ISDs, among others, write thousands of citations per year, with young students tickted egularly and minority students targeted disproportionately. Fines of $250 or $500 are not uncommon, court officials say.
Austin
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Memorial Data
Since our November launch, we’ve published more than 30 web applications made from government records, including the most comprehensive public payroll database in the state, an interactive database with all 160,000 inmates serving time in the 100-plus state prison units, rankings of more than 5,800 public schools, a comprehensive list of every red-light enforcement camera in Texas, and databases with state-level fundraising and spending for members of the Legislature and statewide elected officials. Readers have viewed these pages more than 2.3 million times — more than a third of the site’s overall traffic.
Posted in
Politics
The Polling Center: Bill White’s “Everywhere Else” Problem
Bill White’s problem is an “everywhere else” problem, which is only partly rural in nature.
Posted in
State Government
Here Comes the Sun
The state Division of Workers’ Compensation has uncovered “tens of millions of dollars in unnecessary medical care” in the last several years, but its commissioner failed to sanction the doctors involved, a key former employee told members of the Sunset Advisory Commission on Tuesday night.
Posted inState Government
Collared Greens
Texas has among the most restrictive ballot access laws of any state, which is why the Green Party hasn’t put its candidates before voters here since 2002. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports that party activists hope to end the dry spell this year.
Posted in
State Government
TribBlog: TAB Joins Workers’ Comp Debate
The state’s largest business group is opposing proposed recommendations to change up the review process for unscrupulous workers’ comp doctors, a process at the center of the controversy over how the Division of Workers’ Compensation operates.
Posted in
Health care
TribBlog: Workers’ Comp War of Words
As lawmakers on the Sunset Advisory Commission prepare to publicly review the Division of Workers’ Compensation on Tuesday, the Commissioner and his former physician fraud investigator are waging a war of words in their letters to lawmakers.
Posted in
Economy
TribBlog: Gambling 101
Coming soon to a large pink state capitol building in this very state: A day-long seminar on slot machines and casinos and all that, especially as it pertains to the state budget.
Posted inState Government
A Conversation with Kirk Watson
For the 10th event in our TribLive series, I interviewed the state senator from Austin about the budget shortfall, the road funding hole, why Barack Obama is unpopular in Texas and the prospect of Bill White beating Rick Perry.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: SBOE’s Last Laugh
You know that prayer that before today’s State Board of Education meeting, which some found so inappropriate? It was read by arch-conservative Cynthia Dunbar, R-Richmond — but not written by her. In a gag on her detractors, she lifted the text from U.S. Supreme Court Justice and liberal icon Earl Warren.
