New federal student loan reforms, passed along with controversial health care reform legislation, will shore up Pell Grants for tens of thousands of college students in Texas — and save the feds a projected $68 billion by cutting private banks out of financial aid.
Austin
Posted inState Government
Rick Perry on George W. Bush
“I think George W. Bush will go down as a very, very good president. Approaching great? I don’t know yet…”
Posted in
T-Squared
T-Squared: Elections, Overtime Edition
Thrills! Spills! Live Runoff coverage tonight!
Posted inState Government
There Will Be Blood
Perhaps it was inevitable: In the closing days of the run-up to runoff day, two of the Central Texas races — in House districts 47 and 52 — have turned ugly. Ben Philpott filed this report for KUT News and the Tribune.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
The Inquisition
Ninety minutes of back-and-forth on Wednesday between a House committee and representatives of the Texas Forensic Science Commission — but not its chairman — covered the besieged agency’s nonexistent enforcement power, lack of written procedural guidelines, and public records policy. Oh, and the late Cameron Todd Willingham.
Posted inState Government
HuTube: Inside TribLive
We have a busy month of TribLive events ahead, featuring lengthy chats with the likes of Karen Hughes, Deirdre Delisi, and Francicso Cigarroa. To mark the occassion(s), our latest HuTube vlog entry features footage of our dress rehearsal for the very first TribLive.
Posted in
Environment
Something in the Air
The Clean Air Force of Central Texas is warning a five-county area that it’s in danger of failing to meet federal requirements for ground level ozone. New EPA standards that went into effect this past January, and this may be the most challenging ozone season in the region’s history. Julie Moody of KUT News filed this report.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: California Shuns Texas Textbooks
A Golden State senator says our State Board of Education can put its conservative spin on U.S. history where the sun don’t shine.
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Public Education
TribBlog: Bilingual Ed Decision Overturned
A 2008 federal court decision that ordered the state to restructure its bilingual and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs was overturned by the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans today.
Posted in
Public Education
TribBlog: SBOE vs. the Media
The State Board of Education accuses unnamed “media” of “erroneously” reporting its removal of Thomas Jefferson from state world history standards. Trouble is, the board statement is guilty of the same alleged lack of context, and it follows a pattern.