Whether you call it a wave, a rout or a tsunami, one thing is clear: Republicans in the Texas House won a massive mandate for conservative bills — and budgeting — in the coming legislative session.
education
Posted in
Public Education
Mike Feinberg: The TT Interview
The co-founder of the KIPP charter school network on why its approach to education reform has flourished in Texas, whether the model can work for any kid or any family and if teachers’ unions are really the villain they’re made out to be in Waiting for Superman.
Posted in
Demographics
An Hour With Bill White
On Friday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White sat down with me for an interview co-presented by the Tribune and Austin’s public broadcasting stations, KUT and KLRU. We talked about whether the big bucks he’s raised from appointees qualifies as “government for sale,” how he’d cut the shortfall, how he feels about Barack Obama, the health care reform he’d prefer, those lawsuits against the feds and more.
Posted in
Demographics
2010: Rick Perry Interview Highlights
Watch highlights from Gov. Rick Perry’s interview with Evan Smith on Friday. In the clips, Perry discusses whether Texas is a sanctuary state, and the effectiveness of abstinence education.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
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.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
2010: The Wages of Sin
If the state needs money to balance its budget, it should look first to sin taxes on gambling, alcohol and marijuana.
Posted in
Higher Education
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Thevenot on the fastest-growing charter school chain in Texas, Hu on the continuing legal fights between tort reformers and trial lawyers over the state’s windstorm insurance pool, Hamilton on the push for accountability in Texas colleges, Philpott on legislative skirmishing over federal education funds, Grissom on misdemeanor convicts choosing jail time instead of probation that’s more expensive for them but cheaper for the state, M. Smith on Bill Flores’ challenge in what’s billed as the hottest congressional race in the country, Ramshaw looks at scandals that have put some otherwise safe statehouse incumbents in deep electoral trouble, yours truly on the closest and ugliest race on the statewide ballot and Galbraith and Titus on pollution from idling vehicles and why it’s so hard to control: The best of our best from September 27 to October 1, 2010.
Posted in
Economy
A Schoolyard Brawl
Tension between Texas and the federal government has been a major focus of Rick Perry’s re-election campaign. But on Monday, two top Democratic leaders in the Texas House ganged up on Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott and, by proxy, the governor over the recent federal education funds fight. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports.
Posted in
Public Education
HuTube: The SBOE Debate on Islam in 70 Seconds
For our latest HuTube post, we picked out memorable testimony from Friday morning’s five-hour State Board of Education debate. SBOE members ultimately approved a resolution instructing publishers to limit a perceived “pro-Islamic, anti-Christian bias” in Texas textbooks.
Posted in
Public Education
Guest Column: Stop Discouraging Innovation
We have thousands of great educators. We should set them free, allow them to be more entrepreneurial and hold them accountable for results. Instead, we make decisions in Washington and Austin that unfortunately have the effect of discouraging innovation.