Ramsey on whether Bill White at the top of the ballot helps Houston-area candidates, Aaronson and Stiles present a treemap of Texas political ads, Stiles and Ramsey on the latest campaign finance filings, Aguilar on the Laredo mayor’s race, Hamilton on anonymous tweeters who make mischief, Ramshaw interviews a disability rights activist with a thing for iPads and bibles, Hu on the accidental release of Rick Perry’s “secret” schedule, M. Smith on the bitter back-and-forth over a voter registration effort in Harris County, Philpott’s micro-debate on education between two House candidates, Grissom on this week’s twist in the Cameron Todd Willingham investigation and, in our latest collaboration with a big-city Texas newspaper, Stiles, Grissom and John Tedesco of the San-Antonio Express News on what kind of Texans, exactly, are applying to carry concealed handguns: The best of our best from Oct. 4 to 9, 2010.
Donna Howard
Where They Stand: HD-48
Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune looks at where the candidates running in House District 48 stand on the issue of education.
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Hu compares and contrasts the official schedules of four big-state governors (including Rick Perry) and picks the 21 Texas House races to watch, Ramshaw on a 19-year-old with an IQ of 47 sentenced to 100 years in prison, Stiles on Perry’s regent-donors, Galbraith on a plan to curb the independence of the state’s electricity grid, Thevenot on the turf war over mental health, Grissom on whether the Texas Youth Commission should be abolished, Aguilar on a crucial immigration-related case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, Ramsey’s interview with GOP provocateur Debra Medina and M. Smith on how changes to campaign finance law will affect judicial elections in Texas: The best of our best from August 23 to 27, 2010.
Howard 1, Neil 0
A local battle over politics and access to the media has led one candidate to leave his weekday spot on sports radio. Dan Neil had been a co-host of ESPN Radio’s morning show in Austin. But the Republican’s bid for a State House seat will leave him on the sidelines because of equal access rules. Ben Philpott is covering this November’s elections for KUT News and the Tribune.
And They’re Off!
It’s time to harvest the political speculations of the last several months: Democrats and Republicans have until January 4 to put their names on the ballots, or not, in anticipation of the March 2 primaries.
The revolution will not be televised
It may not be Mad Men, but the State Board on Education will begin broadcasting its meetings online on Wednesday.

