Bill White says Perry land deals influenced grant from governor's Texas Enterprise Fund

Drew:
AUSTIN – Democratic candidate for governor Bill White charged today that Gov. Rick Perry gave special consideration to a grant request from a company whose investors included a businessman linked to the land deals that enriched the governor.
http://dallasne.ws/aPwNG9

Texas schools' accountability ratings jump dramatically in TEA report

AUSTIN – The number of school districts and campuses earning higher state ratings jumped dramatically this year thanks in part to a now-questionable boost in their test results that increased scores for failing students based on future projections. Stutz reports:
http://dallasne.ws/9wfiDJ

Troy Fraser and real estate disclosure

Drew follows up:
The state legislator who bought two parcels in the Texas Hill Country resort of Horseshoe Bay and then sold one to Gov. Rick Perry in 2001 didn't disclose the transactions for several years on his annual financial disclosure statements.

http://dallasne.ws/deDsxV

3 Dallas executives give $1 million each to target Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, other Democrats

Slater:
Rees-Jones is helping bankroll a group spearheaded by Karl Rove and funded largely by Texans to air TV spots attacking Reid and other Democrats.
http://dallasne.ws/d7wpJd

Obama to visit Dallas during Texas fundraising trip

Gillman:
President Barack Obama will visit Dallas during a fund-raising trip to Texas next month, a Democratic official said this morning.


The White House previously announced that Obama would travel to Texas on Aug. 9. However, detailed itineraries for such trips, which can change up to the last minute, are usually not disclosed much in advance.
http://dallasne.ws/aCuYpQ

Man who helped put Green Party on Texas ballot was working at same time for Perry camp

Slater: AUSTIN – A local Republican operative who helped put the Green Party on the Texas ballot was working at the time for Gov. Rick Perry's re-election campaign. Perry spokesman Mark Miner said Tuesday, as he has before, that the governor's campaign was not involved in the Green Party petition drive. But finance reports show that the campaign paid Stuart Moss for mileage while he was doing political research for the Perry camp in November, the same time he was helping the Green Party field candidates.
http://dallasne.ws/aeEnD7

Dewhurst: New federal health care law will bust Texas' budget

Gillman reports:
WASHINGTON – Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst warned this morning that the new federal health care legislation will bust Texas’ budget – saddling state taxpayers with $27 billion in extra costs over the next decade.
http://dallasne.ws/dBK19P

With Texas budget crisis, odds may be in gambling's favor

Hoppe reports:

AUSTIN – Horse racing backers have put their money on a different kind of race this season, betting millions on candidates with some hope of expanding gambling at Texas tracks. The state's scramble for new revenue to fill its expected $18 billion budget hole has given gaming interests their best chance in a decade to overcome legislative opposition. And that's drawn an interesting mix of donors trying to bankroll election day winners.
http://dallasne.ws/aKhYcO

Bill White questions Texas Gov. Rick Perry's ethics in lake lot deal

McGonigle: FORT WORTH – Democratic candidate for governor Bill White questioned Monday whether Gov. Rick Perry acted ethically when he bought and sold a Hill Country lake lot that enhanced his investment by almost $500,000.
http://dallasne.ws/9dz4zE

Former San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Vikings owner Red McCombs to be lead investor in Austin Formula One track

AUSTIN – San Antonio businessman Red McCombs, a former owner of the NBA San Antonio Spurs and NFL Minnesota Vikings , announced Tuesday that he will be the key investor in bringing a Formula One racetrack to southeast Austin by 2012. Mulvaney reports:
http://dallasne.ws/dgleWJ

Check up on Texas kids' well-being: Just so-so.

Garrett reports:
Texas, starting from a pretty low position, gets a so-so report card in the latest measurement of child well-being called KIDS COUNT. Texas improved in four categories, and it got worse in four others, according to the annual compilation of government data about children by the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation. This time, the study looked at how things changed between 2000 and either 2007 or 2008, depending on the category.
http://dallasne.ws/9SBllK

State to oppose 'The Alamo' trademark sought by Daughters of the Republic of Texas

Benning reports The state of Texas has decided to oppose the Daughters of the Republic of Texas' attempt to trademark the phrase "The Alamo." In a five-page brief filed Friday with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the state argues that it is the rightful owner of the trademark and that the Daughters' application would likely cause confusion.
http://dallasne.ws/cR6DVs

Petland in Austin closes as city steps up scrutiny of pet stores

Mulvaney follows up last week's puppy mill story:
AUSTIN -- The lone franchise here decided last week to close because of a proposed city ordinance aimed at stores that might sell puppies and kittens from unscrupulous breeders. 
http://dallasne.ws/9d31wA

With payday loans, poor get the loans, firms get the payday

Brendan Case reports:

On July 2, a 74-year-old Dallas widow named Yvonne Sands received her monthly Social Security check of $1,360. Shortly after 7:30 a.m., she withdrew money from the bank and drove off to renew four payday loans with annual percentage rates of about 250 percent to more than 300 percent.



Sands can't afford to pay back the loans all at once, and they come due every month. So each month, she takes out new loans to pay for the old ones, shelling out nearly $400 in fees in the process.
http://dallasne.ws/9AISvu

Slater: Democrat Bill White must win votes from heavily Republican East Texas

Analysis from the Austin Bureau's Wayne Slater:
PALESTINE — Democrat Bill White talked about a lot of things this past week as he campaigned for governor: public education, toll roads, a looming budget deficit, bringing jobs to Texas.

And this being East Texas, guns.
http://dallasne.ws/9BxI4n

Murky land deals mark Gov. Rick Perry's past

Jim Drew, Steve McGonigle and Ryan McNeill report:
Three years after Gov. Rick Perry's biggest real estate score, questions persist about whether the governor benefited from favoritism, backroom dealing and influence-buying.


The Dallas Morning News found evidence that Perry's investment was enhanced by a series of professional courtesies and personal favors from friends, campaign donors and the head of a Texas family with a rich history of political power-brokering.
http://dallasne.ws/chZrjY

State board votes to tap Texas' public education fund to help build charter schools

Stutz reports:

AUSTIN – A sharply divided State Board of Education opened the door today to tapping the state's education trust fund for charter school facilities, despite warnings that the action could harm the fund. Pushed by the board's social conservative bloc, the decision could allow up to $100 million of the Permanent School Fund to be used to construct or purchase buildings that would be leased to some of the state's 460 independent charter schools.
http://dallasne.ws/b1giNx

Bill Clements recovering from a stroke

Hoppe:
Former Gov. Bill Clements is at home resting after suffering a stroke and being briefly hospitalized last month, WFAA, Channel 8, is reporting.
http://dallasne.ws/atwij0

Education commissioner defends Texas Projection Measure

AUSTIN – Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott defended a policy Thursday that has allowed schools to boost their state ratings by counting some failed students as passing, saying politics has driven many of the complaints.
http://dallasne.ws/aDOEG9

Eight Texas lawmakers join U.S. House Tea Party Caucus

Melanie Mason reports:
WASHINGTON – Eight Texas GOP members, including three from North Texas, have joined the House Tea Party Caucus, which made its Capitol Hill debut Wednesday.


Reps. Joe Barton , R-Arlington; Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville ; and Pete Sessions , R-Dallas, are among the 35 Republican House members in the group, spearheaded by Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota.
http://dallasne.ws/9dlABe

Texas gubernatorial candidate Bill White tries to distance himself from Obama

Slater reports:
JACKSONVILLE, Texas – Bill White put distance between himself and Barack Obama on Wednesday, saying he and the president don't come from the same place or share some of the same views.
http://dallasne.ws/afAzwP

Radnofsky defends $1,000 gift to Abbott's '02 campaign for attorney general

Kim:
Democrat Barbara Ann Radnofsky, who is challenging Republican Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, has spent the past few months blasting Abbott from every conceivable angle. So it is surprising that campaign records for Abbott's first election for attorney general in 2002 show a $1,000 political contribution from Radnofsky.
http://dallasne.ws/9NEft8

Rep. Harper-Brown leads Democratic opponent in fundraising for Texas House seat

Garrett:
AUSTIN – Rep. Linda Harper-Brown, recently embroiled in an ethics dispute, still enjoys a decided money edge over her Democratic rival, thanks largely to last-minute help from House Speaker Joe Straus.
http://dallasne.ws/cD4Cvr

North Texas planners kick it into high gear with only 200 days to go before Super Bowl XLV

Jeff Mosier has the details -- and there are LOTS of details!
http://dallasne.ws/bFogIi

George P. Bush and GOP leaders push for Hispanic vote

Mulvaney:
Republicans rolled out a new group to attract Hispanics that counts among its leaders George P. Bush, who attracted a lot of attention during his uncle's presidential run in 2000.
http://dallasne.ws/dmhkuQ

Survey: 4 in 10 Texas teachers moonlight to make ends meet

AUSTIN – Four in 10 Texas teachers had to moonlight during the past school year to make ends meet, according to a new study. That's the highest percentage in 30 years. The survey of Texas teachers, by researchers at Sam Houston State University, found that the number who took second jobs was up nearly 50 percent from two years ago, when 28 percent said they moonlighted during the school year.
http://dallasne.ws/d50XbX

Perry, White camps accuse each other of lying or hiding profits

AP:
FORT WORTH – Gov. Rick Perry and his Democratic rival, Bill White, accused each other Monday of lying about or trying to hide their profits in the oil and gas industry, the latest spat in an increasingly nasty race.
http://dallasne.ws/b8nd5c

Staples draws fire over broadband map contract

Meyers:
At an unveiling last month, the Texas Department of Agriculture touted its map of broadband Internet availability as the first step in closing a "digital divide" that denies rural Texans critical services. But a political divide has opened instead, as critics question the tool's accuracy and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples' relationship with the organization that created it.

http://dallasne.ws/a1r3iJ

Rick Perry and HPV mandate in new TV ad

Hoppe:
The Back to Basics PAC is using a 2007 vaccine mandate to take a shot at Gov. Rick Perry.


The new TV ad criticizes Perry's executive order that young women be given Gardasil, a vaccine that could prevent most forms of cervical cancer and also protects against some sexually-transmitted diseases. The move was rescinded by the Legislature after a lot of push back and anger over Perry's overreaching.
http://dallasne.ws/anxmNX

Rick Perry in Aspen: boots, guns and Marshall Law

Slater:
Rick Perry showed up at the famously intellectual Aspen Institute in full Texas persona -- jeans, a black sports jacket and a black T-shirt reading "Marshall Law has been declared." The shirt was a reference to a South Texas rock and country band that played at a recent Perry fundraiser. Said Perry: "They told me I couldn't wear the one that said 'Secede."
http://dallasne.ws/dcRKA3

Coppell murder-suicide unraveled web of deception surrounding mayor, daughter

Formby, et al. tell the story:

The shocking crime unleashed a torrent of secrets that had been hidden behind Jayne Peters' almost-perfect public façade.
http://dallasne.ws/bdzAwE

George P. Bush starts group to recruit Hispanics

Gromer Jeffers reports:

George P. Bush, the nephew of former President George W. Bush , is one of the co-founders of the Hispanic Republicans of Texas. The group officially launches Tuesday at a news conference in Austin. With Republicans George Antuna Jr. and Juan Hernandez, Bush hopes to use the Hispanic Republicans of Texas to "recruit, elect, support and defend" officeholders and candidates.
http://dallasne.ws/da66RP

Drinking in UT spirit will benefit students

Mulvaney:

AUSTIN – Water is unlikely to be the beverage of choice at University of Texas tailgating parties, but the H2Orange water bottle introduced Monday could be a cool reminder for fans who bleed orange.
http://dallasne.ws/dgBIb8

Official: IBM failing to give Texas agencies basic help under contract

Garrett reports:

AUSTIN – Agencies that help Texans renew their automobile registration, draw unemployment benefits and apply for food stamps and Medicaid face crushing demands, even as their technology contractor can't provide mundane services, a top state official said Monday.
http://dallasne.ws/9oFF9T

Boots required in muddy race for Texas agriculture commissioner

Jessica Meyers wades in: With nearly four months until Election Day, the campaigns of Republican Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples and his Democratic opponent, Hank Gilbert, have gotten especially vicious, with personal attacks flooding Twitter and allegations of law-breaking and corruption plastering websites.
http://dallasne.ws/92qeze

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White profited from failing oil and gas company

Gwynne, Jacobsen:
In response to questions from The Dallas Morning News, White now says that, based on his sales of Frontera stock since 2006, he actually made a $1.1 million net profit on his investment.
http://dallasne.ws/bVkG3g

Puppy mills spur call for new legislation in Texas

Mulvaney reports: AUSTIN – Animal rescue officials are scrambling to combat commercial dog-breeding farms, saying that as surrounding states clamp down on puppy mills, Texas risks becoming a haven for a largely unregulated industry.
Police and animal officials have entered barns and sheds around the state to find hundreds of dogs stacked in cages, many malnourished and diseased.
http://dallasne.ws/clj12I

Coppell mayor wrote she and her daughter 'were lost, alone, and afraid'

Formby tells the sad story:
http://dallasne.ws/dCfj6e

Texas' Department of Information Resources, IBM dispute service contract

AUSTIN — Texas’ Department of Information Resources accused IBM on Friday of severe shortcomings on a huge contract to centralize state agencies’ computer services and data storage. IBM immediately fired back, saying it has done everything required under an $863 million contract. It called the department’s warning letter “unnecessary and unjustified.” Garrett has the story: http://dallasne.ws/9v8Q6m

Perry campaign settles lawsuit charging he hid $1 million contribution

The Rick Perry campaign has paid $426,000 to his 2006 Democratic opponent to settle a lawsuit accusing the governor of trying to hide a $1 million contribution from Houston homebuilder Bob Perry (no relation). Democrat Chris Bell filed the lawsuit claiming the money was illegally funneled through the Republican Governors Association in the final days of the 2006 campaign. Voters didn't know the full extent of the funding arrangement until after the election. Slater reports:
http://dallasne.ws/cIxTbZ

Texas' Department of Information Resources may end IBM technology contract

AUSTIN – Texas' Department of Information Resources plans to tell IBM today that it could begin a legal process to end the company's $863 million technology contract if long-requested fixes aren't made in 30 days, two officials confirmed Thursday. Garrett reports:
http://dallasne.ws/aLKoTa

Early money is like, Straus!

Garrett:
You've heard the expression: early money is like yeast. The abbreviation for that, e-m-i-l-y, was seized on some years back by the pro-legal abortion group Emily's List.

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, also believes in early money. He's handed out nearly $260,000 of it to fellow House Republicans and GOP wannabes running for state rep. So maybe we should talk about an Emil's List -- early money is like, Straus. But we'll have to wait for his report to be published online to see who's on it.
http://dallasne.ws/duphLS

Texas to get biggest share of $60 million in grants to strengthen security on border

Weber from The Associated Press reports:
LAREDO – Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Thursday that she was "firm" rather than testy with Gov. Rick Perry recently while he was again hammering the federal government over security along the Texas border.
http://dallasne.ws/cam2x4

White has $3 million advantage over Perry in Texas governor's race

Slater:
AUSTIN – Democrat Bill White beat 10-year incumbent Rick Perry in the latest round of fundraising and goes into the fall campaign with a $3 million advantage. In his bid to unseat Perry, White raised $7.4 million since the March primary. The Republican governor collected $7.1 million.
http://dallasne.ws/bDJMwH

Texas employers add 14,000 jobs

Melissa Repko reports:
Texas employers expanded payrolls by 14,000 jobs in June, according to preliminary data released today by the Texas Workforce Commission.
State unemployment also dropped slightly to 8.2 percent in June from 8.3 percent in May. That was well below the national average of 9.5 percent. Texas employers have boosted payrolls for six consecutive months.
http://dallasne.ws/amHw9b

University of Texas regents vote to remove Ku Klux Klan leader's name from dorm

New Austin bureau reporter Mulvaney's 1st byline:

AUSTIN – University of Texas regents voted unanimously Thursday to strip the name of a former law professor from a 55-year-old building because of his ties to the Ku Klux Klan.
Simkins Hall will be renamed Creekside Residence Hall, marking one of the first times a Southern university has responded to sensitivity concerns over a building's name. UT President William Powers asked the regents last week to rename the dorm.
http://dallasne.ws/9f4ogo

Coppell mayor's use of city-issued credit card raised questions

Brandon Formby (w/Hoppe, Munsil and Nielsen) reports:
Hours before Coppell Mayor Jayne Peters and her 19-year-old daughter, Corinne, were found fatally shot in their home, City Manager Clay Phillips asked the city attorney to investigate Peters' use of her city-issued credit card.
Phillips said late Thursday that he tried unsuccessfully for months to get receipts from the mayor that would corroborate the legitimacy of several charges. Phillips said the mayor always politely promised to provide the receipts but never followed through.
http://dallasne.ws/9IJZvK

Plano Rep. Sam Johnson pushes for Social Security changes at House hearing

Gillman reports from D.C.

WASHINGTON – Plano Republican Sam Johnson joined a growing number of prominent lawmakers today pushing for changes to Social Security in light of the nation's exploding financial problems.
Johnson made his case early in a House subpanel hearing to commemorate the upcoming 75th anniversary of Social Security. He didn't offer specific proposals in his opening statement – other than that taxes shouldn't be raised – but he said the entitlement program's teetering financial future demanded bipartisan action.

http://dallasne.ws/dDi8o0

District Attorney investigating GOP/Green Party scandal

Slater:
The Travis County District Attorney's Office is investigating a GOP-backed petition drive that put the Green Party on the November ballot.
http://dallasne.ws/aODq7n
Dems say quit, Greens:
Democrats lost their bid to keep the Texas Green Party off the fall ballot. So while the lawsuit goes on in district court to get to the bottom of who bankrolled a GOP-backed petition drive for the Greens, Democrats are trying to shame Green Party candidates into quitting the race - even if they don't have to.
http://dallasne.ws/azoRty

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst announces new leadership for several Texas Senate committees

Stutz:
AUSTIN – Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst announced new leadership for eight Senate committees Wednesday, saying the moves will help prepare the Senate for what many expect to be a difficult legislative session. One of the key changes affects Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, who will shift from chairman of the transportation committee to head of the business and commerce committee. A spokeswoman for Carona said the senator welcomes the assignment and looks forward to dealing with business issues facing the state.
http://dallasne.ws/auadyH

Deaths of Coppell mayor, daughter ruled murder-suicide

Brandon Formby has the story:
Coppell Mayor Jayne Peters apparently fatally shot her college-bound daughter in their house and then killed herself, city and county officials said today.
http://dallasne.ws/axJGWn

Cornyn says he'll oppose Elena Kagan's Supreme Court confirmation

Todd Gillman reports:
WASHINGTON – Texas Sen. John Cornyn announced today that he will vote against confirming Elena Kagan for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.
http://dallasne.ws/bT2GR1

President Obama appoints first federal judge in Texas

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has appointed his first federal judge in Texas, naming a Laredo federal magistrate Wednesday to one of four trial court vacancies in the state. Diana Saldaña, 39, will need Senate confirmation for the lifetime post. She already enjoys support from Texas’ GOP senators and its Democratic House members, who have feuded over nominations.
http://dallasne.ws/9SHCAK

Expect Perry to take aim at White's lack of hunting license

Slater:
"...White got the license last year to take his youngest son, Stephen, bird hunting. That was also the year he began running for statewide office.

Perry, on the other hand, has the grandly named, Texas-sized "Super Combo Hunting and Fishing" license, plus the federal duck stamp. He also has a concealed weapon permit, which allowed him to shoot a coyote with a laser-scope pistol he carries while jogging."
http://dallasne.ws/b4qroK

Citing higher medical costs, State Farm to raise auto insurance rates by an average 2 percent

Stutz:
AUSTIN – State Farm is raising auto insurance rates an average 2 percent next month for the nearly 3 million drivers it insures in Texas, citing rising medical costs as the primary factor.
The company's largest auto insurance subsidiary, State Farm Mutual, has notified the Texas Department of Insurance that the rate hike will be effective on renewals and new customers as of Aug. 16.
http://dallasne.ws/9hB9M2

Texans want teachers and scholars - not state board - writing curriculum

Nearly three out of four Texans want to see curriculum standards for public schools written by teachers and scholars - not the State Board of Education - according to a new poll released Tuesday. Stutz reports:
http://dallasne.ws/bqUZSL

Texas, hospitals work to address nurse shortage

Jason Roberson reports:
The state is facing a shortage of 71,000 nurses by 2020 as demand continues to outpace supply, the Texas Department of State Health Services says.
Tens of thousands of qualified applicants have been turned away from nursing schools for at least five years because there aren't enough teachers to conduct classes or enough clinical sites where students can get hands-on experience.
http://dallasne.ws/d16dSp

Texas Gov. Rick Perry says he'll skip border governors meeting if it's moved out of Arizona

Hoppe:
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry said Monday that he won't attend a meeting of border state governors if it isn't held in Arizona, which some of the participants are boycotting in protests of the state's tough new illegal immigration law.
http://dallasne.ws/dBdyKO

Mexico's intense urbanization spurs social, economic trends

Corchado, Villagran offer a close look:
According to the latest demographic data, more Mexicans are living in cities today than ever before, and the country's major urban centers are swelling.
http://dallasne.ws/b9Loke

Texas doctors threaten to drop Medicaid, fear cuts

Garrett reports:
AUSTIN – Doctors in the Dallas area and across Texas are threatening to opt out of Medicaid because of payment cuts, which would further damage the state's already uneven delivery of health care to the poor.

The 1 percent trim to provider fees that starts Sept. 1 sounds modest. But doctors, insurance industry officials and health care experts widely see it as the first of many hits coming to doctors' wallets as Texas' fiscal woes deepen.
http://dallasne.ws/beKzMn

TEA may suspend 'Texas Projection Measure'

AUSTIN — State Education Commissioner Robert Scott is considering elimination of a policy that allowed hundreds of schools to boost performance ratings last year by factoring in projections of students’ future performance on tets.
http://dallasne.ws/a4c6X0

No candidate's an island: But Perry allies in Green Party case own one

Slater takes us to Lake Winnipesaukee!
Democratic lawyers are trying to serve former Rick Perry chief of staff Mike Toomey with a subpoena to find out what he knows about the Green Party petition case. Word is that Toomey is on vacation, possibly on an island that he owns with the governor's chief political strategist Dave Carney.
http://dallasne.ws/co0upk

On the Border/ The American Journalism Review

Despite the danger, the Dallas Morning News’ Alfredo Corchado investigates violence and corruption along the border between the United States and Mexico. http://ajr.org/Article.asp?id=4890

By Karen Carmichael

Karen Carmichael is an AJR editorial assistant.

Cowboys Stadium post-game drives

Hoppe:
Legislators looking into the state's drunk driving laws pointed their flashlight into the face of Arlington Deputy Police Chief Loretta Hill, asking pointed questions about how carefully Cowboy Stadium patrons are checked for possible intoxication after the games.


Hill was in Austin to testify and ask lawmakers to give the police more tools in preventing drunk driving. She mentioned that one of her baliwicks was special events and "Jerry World," prompting Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, to ask questions about post-game interviews between fans and police. He was curious because a drunk driver leaving an Astros game recently was involved in a Houston tragedy.
http://dallasne.ws/9N07MT

Rick Perry denies knowledge of the Green Party petition effort

Slater:
Gov. Rick Perry made his first public comments on the Green Party petition scandal. Democrats say a GOP-backed effort to put the Greens on the November ballot is aimed at helping Perry by siphoning votes from Democratic challenger Bill White. Asked about the petition drive -- in which several Perry associates have been linked -- the Republican governor pleaded ignorance. "I have no knowledge of that at all," he told reporters.
http://dallasne.ws/9JN26l

Combs: Economic recovery 'not yet in evidence'

Garrett:
Comptroller Susan Combs just announced that Texas' sales tax receipts for last month were up by 2.2. percent over a year earlier. The state's 6 1/4-percent sales tax generated $1.61 billion in June, compared with $1.57 billion in June 2009. "Total sales tax collections have now slightly exceeded year-ago levels for a third consecutive month," Combs said, citing the 1.4 percent increase posted in April and the negligible 0.1 percent uptick in May.
http://dallasne.ws/bO6OBd

State official says expanded gambling in Texas won't help budget shortfall

Stutz has the story:
AUSTIN – Expanded gambling in Texas – such as resort casinos or slot machines at racetracks – wouldn't provide much help when lawmakers grapple with a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall next year, the state's chief revenue estimator told a House committee Thursday.

http://dallasne.ws/cdWBkf

Slater: Perry tries to make up with farmers, while White reminds them why they're mad

SAN MARCOS, Texas — Clearly, Rick Perry had some fences to mend with the farmers.
In the Republican primary, the Texas Farm Bureau endorsed Kay Bailey Hutchison over the incumbent governor because of his land-consuming Trans-Texas Corridor project and his 2007 veto of an eminent domain bill favored by farmers but opposed by business.
It didn’t help that the Perry campaign dismissed the Farm Bureau as “an insurance company that supported the [federal bank] bailout.”
http://dallasne.ws/cIa7lS

Texas legislators explore changes to 'broken' drunken-driving enforcement

Hoppe reports:

AUSTIN – The state's system for battling drunken driving is in disarray, lawmakers and local officials lamented Thursday, as heavy-handed punishment laws overwhelm courts, thwart treatment and do little to prevent alcoholics from returning to the streets.
In testimony before the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, an array of experts from judges to victims agreed that the state needs a smarter, more streamlined system to remove Texas as the nation's leader in alcohol-fueled traffic deaths.
http://dallasne.ws/aqmXKE

UPDATE: Johnson, McCaul favor 'repeal & replace'

Garrett:
Some follow up information on yesterday's post about health care and our state's congressional delegation -- or at least the 65 percent of it that's Republican:


U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Plano (right), has signed the so-called "repeal and replace" discharge petition of Rep. Wally Herger , R-Calif. -- not the repeal-only discharge petition push by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa. Although both would force and up or down vote by the House on repealing much of the Democrats' health care overhaul, Herger's would keep insurance reforms that protect people with pre-existing conditions.
http://dallasne.ws/csAN89

Gulf of Mexico hides 27,000 abandoned wells

Jeff Donn and Mitch Weiss, The Associated Press:


More than 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells lurk in the hard rock beneath the Gulf of Mexico, an environmental minefield that has been ignored for decades. No one – not industry, not government – is checking to see if they are leaking, an Associated Press investigation shows.
http://dallasne.ws/cAEMK9

More car drama in politics: Staples campaign denies accusations of vehicle misuse

Meyers:
Car controversy continued today as Democratic agriculture commissioner candidate Hank Gilbert accused incumbent Todd Staples of buying an SUV with campaign funds and driving it for personal use.
http://dallasne.ws/bDXE4f

Most of Texas' GOP congressional delegation signs repeal-health-bill discharge petition

Garrett reports:

Most -- 80 percent -- of the Texas Republicans in the U.S. House have signed a discharge petition supporting almost complete repeal of the health care overhaul approved by Congress and President Barack Obama.


If you click here , you can see that as of Thursday, 109 House members had signed a petition by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, to force an up-or-down vote on a measure repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which Obama signed on March 23. There was a reconciliation measure that also was passed, and it would be left standing -- though gutted in many ways, presumably. A discharge petition needs 218 signatures to be binding. So nothing will happen until after the Nov. 2 election, though the GOP's had an internal debate over tactics.
http://dallasne.ws/cLl2R6

Another GOP operative's name comes up in Texas Green Party ballot case

Slater:
AUSTIN — A Republican consultant with ties to Gov. Rick Perry is the latest in a growing number of GOP operatives described in court documents as helping the Green Party get on the Texas ballot.

Anthony Holm, whose political-consulting firm represents Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign and the state GOP, said Tuesday that he talked with Green Party officials numerous times in recent months about fielding candidates.
http://dallasne.ws/dyCAwj

Post office announces 2-cent rate increase

AP:
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The post office wants to increase the price of a stamp by 2 cents to 46 cents starting in January. The agency has been battered by massive losses and declining mail volume and faces a financial crisis.
http://dallasne.ws/9SWw6z

Texas may have utilities replace steel gas lines to prevent explosions

Elizabeth Souder reports:
Natural gas utilities might have to dig up neighborhoods across Texas to replace hundreds of thousands of steel service lines to prevent explosions.

Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams will propose today that the commission require Atmos Energy and other utilities to replace the lines, which bring natural gas from pipelines under neighborhood streets to homes. Texas has at least 525,000 steel lines, maybe a million, he said.
 http://dallasne.ws/buvREL

Doggett's spending bill measure aims to protect Texas education funds, but Perry's office protests

Melanie Mason reports:
WASHINGTON – A spending bill approved by the House this week includes a rare Texas-specific provision that would establish strict requirements for the state to get almost $820 million in federal education funds.
http://dallasne.ws/ce2m0W

Perry fix-it man, Kimbrough, has new TxDOT gig

Garrett:
The Texas Transportation Commission today approved an interagency contract with the Texas A&M System's Texas Transportation Institute to borrow Kimbrough to work on modernizing TxDOT under the direction of former Houston corporate securities lawyer W. Howard Wolf.
http://dallasne.ws/9JswYr

Ramshaw profiled Kimbrough back in November of 2007: http://dallasne.ws/afXnsk

Texas Supreme Court clears way for Green Party while it reviews case

Slater clarifies:
AUSTIN – The Texas Supreme Court kept the Green Party's hopes alive Friday, allowing the party to certify candidates while it reviews whether illegal corporate money was behind a petition drive to get on the ballot.
http://dallasne.ws/a9cuTX

Fitness tests show Texas high schoolers falling short of healthy benchmarks

Stutz and Bermea report:
Despite a renewed emphasis on physical fitness in Texas schools, an annual study shows high school students are even more out of shape than last year, and most students are still short of the state's "healthy zone" benchmarks.
http://dallasne.ws/blEV2w

UPDATED: TX Supreme Court keeps Green Party hopes alive for fall ballot

Slater:
The Texas Supreme Court says it wants to hear more about the Democrats' claim that the Green Party used an illegal corporate contribution to get on the state ballot. In the meantime, the Green Party moved ahead this afternoon and certified its candidates to the secretary of state for the fall election.
http://dallasne.ws/bMJzhD

Finally, an honest political TV commercial

Slater: So Patrick Rose/Dan Branch walks into a bar and Mark McKinnon has a video camera. I'm Just saying ...
The irrepressible Harold Cook, political consultant to the stars, points us to perhaps the most honest political spot in history. Finally, a candidate speaking truth to the voters!
http://dallasne.ws/bNsXWr

Cuts may be ahead for AIDS program

Garrett:
AUSTIN – While some states cut a program that helps provide life-sustaining drugs to low-income people with HIV or AIDS, Texas has avoided trims – so far.
http://dallasne.ws/abvIHB

The latest from our Texas Heat Index: Bill White flubs a bit of Texas history

Rusak:
Bill White's speech to the Texas Democratic convention last Friday included a claim that hit our ears funny: That Sam Houston served as Texas governor longer than Rick Perry.
http://dallasne.ws/cVo6RA

Heat Index: http://dallasne.ws/bCMay5

Environmental group blasts Green Party in GOP-petition scandal

Slater reports:
A leading state environmental group says it can't support Green Party candidates because the Greens used out-of-state corporate money to get on the Texas ballot.
http://dallasne.ws/a1mueN