He worked before for company that won bid for transit corridor
PETE SLOVER and TONY HARTZEL | The Dallas Morning News
Once again, Gov. Rick Perry’s former liaison to the Legislature is working for the Spanish company that won the rights to develop the $7 billion Trans-Texas Corridor.
Lobbyist Dan Shelley worked for the [...]

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Michael Linden | The Wonk Room
Here’s something I bet you didn’t know. If we let the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Americans expire at the end of this year as scheduled, everyone still gets a tax cut. Yes, everyone.
Right now, the entire panoply of massive Bush tax cuts is [...]

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Kelley Shannon | The El Paso Times
AUSTIN — Democrat Bill White blamed Republican Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday for failing to persuade the federal government to provide enough money to secure the Texas-Mexico border and accused him of making an irresponsible statement by saying bombs are going off in El Paso.
“Rick [...]

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Texas Civil Rights Project called for former official to be brought quickly to trial, nearly six years after officials say he molested at least four teenage boys.
Mike Ward | The Austin American-Statesman
The advocacy group Texas Civil Rights Project on Wednesday called for a former Texas Youth Commission official to be brought to trial [...]

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RICHARD WHITTAKER | The Austin Chronicle
Gov. Rick Perry’s diversion last year of federal stimulus cash aimed for schools has prompted Congress to pass a measure that would prevent him from raiding education funds again. Perry says this means the federal government is trying to deprive Texas students of more cash, but his [...]

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JOE HOLLEY | The Houston Chronicle

Homing in on what he sees as a potential Rick Perry weakness, Bill White unveiled an ethics-reform package on Wednesday that he said would clean up the appointments process, place a two-year prohibition on lobbying by former government employees and increase financial disclosure from the [...]

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Chris Roberts | The El Paso Times

EL PASO — Healthy populations and gainful employment are the fundamental keys to protecting the nation’s borders, experts said Wednesday at the 7th Annual Border Security Conference.
Health care, especially with the expected U.S. reforms, can provide an engine to boost economic activity and create jobs [...]

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Jason Embry | The Austin American-Statesman
I come to you this morning from the Renaissance Hotel, where both Gov. Rick Perry and Democratic challenger Bill White will address the Texas Association of Broadcasters. Separately. The program starts early, so FR will be shorter than usual.
But we’ve got an exclusive: Perry will not [...]

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Jim Abrams | The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
WASHINGTON — Determined to show a commitment to stopping the flow of illegal immigrants, the Senate convened a special session Thursday and passed a $600 million bill to put more agents and equipment along the Mexican border.
The voice vote in the nearly empty Senate chamber [...]

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Max Bergmann | The Wonk Room
The flooding in Pakistan is an immense catastrophe and has overwhelmed the ability of the Pakistani government to respond. As the Progress Report today explains, “massive monsoonal flooding continues to ravage the country, leaving one-fifth of Pakistan underwater. After weeks of flooding, about 14 million people have already [...]

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Melissa Ludwig | The San Antonio Express-News
Less than a year ago, Texas universities and medical schools were clinging to a sliver of hope they may be able to gain ground on competitors in other states.
With other state budgets in the toilet — especially California’s — universities touted Texas’ relatively stable [...]

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Caylor Ballinger | THE EL PASO TIMES
EL PASO — Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White released an ethics reform proposal to bring “transparency and openness in government.”
White arrived in El Paso on Wednesday afternoon from Fort Worth, where he first released his proposal for ethics reform.
White’s plan has eight points involving rules [...]

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JORDAN SMITH | The Austin Chronicle
If Sen. Robert Deuell, R-Greenville, has his way, Texas’ Planned Parenthood clinics won’t be allowed to contract with the state to provide family planning and preventative health services to thousands of low-income and uninsured women through the successful Women’s Health Program, a Medicaid-waiver project; the move would threaten [...]

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Quality of educational experience would decline, president warns.
Ralph K.M. Haurwitz | The Austin American-Statesman
Six hundred staff and faculty jobs would have to be eliminated during the next two years or so and the quality of the educational experience would decline if the state Legislature cuts funding for the University of Texas by [...]

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TOM BENNING | The Dallas Morning News
WASHINGTON – Texas would have to preserve its current education spending levels through 2013 to qualify for more than $830 million in federal aid under a Texas-specific provision signed into law Tuesday [...]

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Houston lawyer pays for latest ad from Democratic group, Back to Basics PAC.

Jason Embry | The Austin American-Statesman
Houston trial lawyer Steve Mostyn will open a new front in his election-year war against Gov. Rick Perry today by launching a television commercial that criticizes Perry’s pursuit of the Trans-Texas Corridor.
Mostyn is fast becoming the [...]

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Katherine Haenschen | BurntOrangeReport
Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed a state aid package that will help 160,000 teachers keep their jobs, and also provide funds for more cops and firemen. Despite strong Republican objection, our Democratic Congress passed aid to help protect the jobs of these professionals who do so much [...]

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Katherine Haenschen | BurntOrangeReport
Yesterday, the U.S. House approved legislation that will reduce the budget shortfall in Texas by $850 million. Now, granted, that’s a fraction of the $18 Billion dollar deficit created by Rick Perry’s decade of failed leadership. Specifically, Texas will receive $850 million for its Medicaid program. An additional $813 million [...]

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Katherine Haenschen | BurntOrangeReport
Two major teachers’ unions in Texas released comments yesterday about the $813 million appropriated for our schools, thanks to the hard work of Congressman Lloyd Doggett.
Linda Bridges, president of the 65,000-member Texas AFT (the statewide affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers), released the following statement, urging Rick [...]

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WAYNE SLATER | The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry’s appointee as chairman of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is soliciting contributions for the governor’s re-election campaign from the owners of bars and restaurants he regulates.
In an e-mail to hundreds of restaurants that serve alcohol, José Cuevas [...]

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