Only 10 days out from Labor Day — the unofficial start of the campaign season — we bring you a scouting report on the 21 Texas House races to watch. We based our picks on dozens of interviews with politicos and our own analysis of district voting patterns, campaign coffers, the relative strength of the candidates and issues that could turn each contest. Most of the vulnerable incumbents are Democrats, which is no surprise in a Republican year. But a few veteran R’s are at risk, thanks to alleged ethical lapses that could swing voters against the national mood.
East Texas
Posted in
Demographics
The Road to Candelaria
State lawmakers looking for guidance on how to draft immigration legislation that can withstand legal challenges may not have to wait for resolution of the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Arizona. A case now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court could light the path.
Posted in
Demographics
TribBlog: Legalize It? You Must Be High
Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske laid out the case against legalizing marijuana and other drugs today at a border security conference.
Posted in
Congress
HuTube: Texas Lawmakers and Terror Babies, Cont.
In today’s must-watch video, the Texas congressman who first brought up the “terror baby” claims on the U.S. House floor isn’t taking too kindly to being challenged about it.
Posted in
Demographics
“We Need Your Help Here”
A government report finds the U.S. has been too slow to aid Mexico and other crime-ridden countries at a time when drug-related violence is escalating. Efforts to combat alien smuggling have also fallen short.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Weed All About It
For nearly a decade, advocates of expanded use of medical marijuana have been spurned by the Texas Legislature — but giving up isn’t how they roll. So they’re trying again with a limited proposal.
Posted in
State Government
On the Records: Sheriffs’ Endorsements Similar to Obama-McCain Map [Updated]
Most of the gubernatorial endorsements today by Texas sheriffs — though not all — map to the 2008 presidential election results.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
On the Records: How Public Servants Make Their Money
The Texas Ethics Commission recently released more than 3,000 personal financial statements — documents that detail state officials’ financial interests and liabilities. Read, download or embed them with our new application.
Posted in
Economy
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Ramshaw and the Houston Chronicle’s Terri Langford on incidents of abuse and mistreatment at residential treatment centers, M. Smith on the state Republican Party platform and 10th Amendment embracers, Galbraith on a pipeline project raising crude concerns and the most important word in water law, Ramsey on former officeholders who are now lobbyists and the possibility of a speaker’s race, Grissom on a fight over solar power in Marfa, Hamilton and Aguilar on the TxDOT audit, Philpott on budget cuts affecting school districts and my conversation with Dallas County D.A. Craig Watkins: The best of our best from June 7-11, 2010.
Posted in
Health care
Quite an Undertaking
When a family member dies, accessing bank accounts and collecting on insurance policies requires proper paperwork. Despite a state mandate to process death certificates in a timely fashion, however, doctors are dragging their heels, funeral directors say, leaving survivors in the lurch.
