Jan
24
In the News – January 2012
Filed Under In The News | Leave a Comment
ABORTION
- Opinion: Can anything new be said about abortion?
- Reversal of sonogram law not likely in Sparks’ court, he says
- Court clears immediate enforcement of abortion law
- Court clears way for immediate enforcement of Texas’ sonogram law
- Federal court panel allows sonogram law to proceed
- Judges: Texas Can Enforce Sonogram Law Now
- Sonogram Law Must Be Enforced Immediately, Court Says
- Texas can enforce sonogram law, appeals court says
- Texas sonogram lawsuit returns to federal court
ALCOHOL | ADDICTION
- Dartmouth president leading campaign against binge drinking
- Parents held responsible for underage drinking
BUDGET
CHILDREN
- Report: Texas 38th, up from last, in homeless kids
- In Travis County, Aging Foster Children Find Aid (AUDIO)
- Higher Tax On Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Could Prevent Obesity And Diabetes Cases, Study Says
- Rachael Ray Supports No Kid Hungry Campaign
- No Child Left Behind Turns 10 Facing Mixed Results And Uncertain Future
- Public Pre-Kindergarten Programs Slowed, Even Reversed, By Recession
- Salvaging disposable children
CHURCH/STATE
- BJC lauds High Court decision protecting religious entities’ right to hire ministerial personnel | In unanimous decision, justices rule ‘ministerial exception’ grounded in First Amendment
- ‘Ministerial exception’ to employment discrimination laws upheld
- Religious Groups Given ‘Exception’ to Work Bias Law
- Power(less)-brokers
- Nativity scene dispute puts focus on Texas town
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
- Texas juries choosing life without parole
- Capital punishment ‘on the defensive’
- Texas executions reach new low
- Texas executions, death sentences continue to decline
- Three Decades of Capital Punishment in Texas
- Executions, Death Sentences Drop in Texas, Nation
- On the Records: Texas Exonerations
- Salvaging disposable children
- Thanks to less crowding, overflow inmates staying in Harris
- Inmates a receptive audience to Apostle Paul’s epistles
EDUCATION
- Legislature continues its pattern of crisis management over public schools | Editorial Board
- Largest school finance lawsuit in Texas takes shape
- Navigating the Texas School Finance Lawsuits
- Houston, Cy-Fair among latest school districts to sue state
- MALDEF sues Texas over school finance
- Public Pre-Kindergarten Programs Slowed, Even Reversed, By Recession
- No Child Left Behind Turns 10 Facing Mixed Results And Uncertain Future
- State higher education commissioner addresses financial aid, in-state tuition and more
- Higher-Ed Czar: Balance Academics, Job Training
- UT System Launches Online Route to Degree Completion
ENERGY
- Editorial: Energy rate hikes would go too far
- Austin Energy unveils final rate-increase proposal
- Electric rate increase proposal blasted at hearing
- Mayor, 2 council members pan proposed electric rate increase
- Price Caps at Center of Texas Energy Debate (Audio)
- Is Austin Energy trying too hard to be green?
- Fayette plant at center of debate over coal
- Household electricity bills skyrocket
- San Antonio takes key solar step; will Austin follow suit?
ENVIRONMENT
- EDITORIAL: Separating facts from fiction in fracking
- Opinion: Let’s get fracking right (it’s important)
- Texas Fracking Disclosures to Include Water Totals
- Fracking Report Reverberates in Texas
- Texas Could Feel Effects of Wyoming Fracking Study (Audio)
- Greenhouse Gas Wars to Restart in Texas
- Sierra Club files suit over coal plants’ emission permits
- Is Austin Energy trying too hard to be green?
- Evangelical group links climate change and poverty
- NAE releases paper on climate, poverty
GAMBLING
- CLC honored for anti-gambling efforts
- Part I: Critics call video sweepstakes a bad bet
- Part II: Questions raised about charity linked to North Texas video sweepstakes company
- Numbers for lottery were up last year
- Texas Lottery proved popular last year
- Obama, the TX lottery, and the racetrack industry
- Border states’ casinos draw Texans during the holidays | Gambling Texans visit after Christmas Day, officials report
- Tribe moves ahead with casino amid protests
- Proposed Broken Arrow casino draws opposition
- Oklahoma tribe defends proposal for new
- Okla. tribe defends proposal for new casino
- Indian casinos struggle to get out from under debt
- APNewsBreak: NJ senator pushes online bet bill
- Online gambling fight now about when, who – not if
- Online gambling fight now about when, who – not if
- Collapsed deal poses new threat to NJ horse racing
HEALTH
- Texas Health Care 2011: What Has Happened and the Work that Remains
- Health overhaul lags in many states, including Texas
- Was Federal Ruling Good for Family Planning Providers?
- Feds Approve One Texas Health Waiver, Reject Another
- State Releases Reduced List of Women’s Health Clinics
- State Settles Largest-Ever Medicaid Fraud Suit
- Lawmakers Revisit Texas Medicaid Waiver
- Texas’ Move to Managed Care Comes With Strings Attached (Audio)
- US obesity epidemic shows no hint of shrinking
- Higher Tax On Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Could Prevent Obesity And Diabetes Cases, Study Says
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
- WMU leads in advocating for children victimized by trafficking
- Human trafficking: 21st century slavery
- Analysis: Mexican poverty creates climate for exploitation and trafficking
- Analysis: Churches, ministries provide refuge to victims of human trafficking
- Google donating $11.5M to fight modern slavery
HUNGER & POVERTY
- Interactive: The Demographics of Poverty in Texas
- Rachael Ray Supports No Kid Hungry Campaign
- Evangelical group links climate change and poverty
- NAE releases paper on climate, poverty
IMMIGRATION
- Opinion: Engaging the stranger
- Immigration Centers Spark Fears of Family Detentions (AUDIO)
- Bill could help, hurt immigrants waiting for green cards
- Immigration courtrooms silent during ICE review
- Drug Seizures Increase as Immigrant Apprehensions Drop
PAYDAY LENDING
- Texas Payday Lenders Face New Rules, Scrutiny
- Texas is ringing in the New Year with some new laws
- Laws coralling short term lenders are a warning shot
- Payday loan: The gift that keeps taking
- Payday loan defenders try intimidating churches
REDISTRICTING
- Updated: Courts Moving Too Slow for April Primary Elections
- Texas primary may be delayed by high court ruling (UPDATED)
- High court’s redistricting maps ruling mixed victory for Texas
- Supreme Court Nixes Judge-Drawn Redistricting Maps
- U.S. Supreme Court Says Federal District Court Erred in their Drawing of Interim Redistricting Plans for Texas
- Supreme Courts rejects Texas’ interim district maps
- Judges to offer guidance to party leaders after Supreme Court blocks
- Redistricting maps take spotlight in Supreme Court
- Supreme Court Hears Texas Redistricting Case
- Supreme Court hears thorny Texas redistricting case
- Supreme Court to hear Texas redistricting case | Court expected to rule on which map to use, discuss Voting Rights Act.
- Court says redistrict plans may be discriminatory
- If the Courts Take More Time, So Will Texas Primaries
- Long day in court, no resolution in redistricting case
- Texas Primaries Await U.S. Supreme Court Ruling
- Texas redistricting case goes before fed court
- Updated: Political Parties Agree to April 3 Primaries
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
- BJC lauds High Court decision protecting religious entities’ right to hire ministerial personnel | In unanimous decision, justices rule ‘ministerial exception’ grounded in First Amendment
- ‘Ministerial exception’ to employment discrimination laws upheld
- Religious Groups Given ‘Exception’ to Work Bias Law
- Supreme Court upholds ‘ministerial exception’ to employment discrimination laws
- President proclaims Religious Freedom Day
VOTER ID
- Texas Files Suit Seeking Swift Enforcement Of Its Voter Identification Law
- Texas Voter ID law still languishing at the U.S. Justice Department
- Voter ID Still Languishing at the Department of Justice
- New laws Jan. 1 won’t include voter ID
- AG Eric Holder: We Must Uphold Voting Rights Act
- Supreme Court to hear Texas redistricting case | Court expected to rule on which map to use, discuss Voting Rights Act.
- Updated: Political Parties Agree to April 3 Primaries
- Updated: Courts Moving Too Slow for April Primary Elections
Dec
19
In The News – December 2011
Filed Under In The News | Leave a Comment
CHILDREN
CHURCH/STATE
- Faith leaders don’t see an Obama war on religion
- Supreme Court won’t review NYC ban on worship in schools
- School district settles suit with Tennessee ACLU
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
- New Youth Agency Taking Shape as Two Close
- UTMB gets $45 million to continue prison health care
- Harris County inmates get job training
- Hoping to Reform Justice System, Groups Eye Sunset Review
EDUCATION
- Measuring the Impact of Historic Texas Education Cuts
- Super Committee’s Failure Will Spur Hefty K-12 Cuts Without A Congressional Fix
- Texas Schools Face New Rules on Financial Hardship
- Texas Teachers Say Classes Growing, Layoffs Widespread
- High-School Dropout Rates Are Highest Among Hispanics
- More students taking college entrance exams, but few hit state performance goals, TEA says
- Second school finance lawsuit filed
- Robin Hood an Accepted Reality for Texas Schools
- School Districts Shortchange Low-Income Schools
- Low-Income Schools Less Likely To Have Daily Recess
- Get Involved-Spotlight: Literacy Coalition of Central Texas
- Dozens rally against district plan to host charter program in East Austin
- Democratic Party rolling the dice on education
ENERGY RATE CASE
- The Baptist General Convention of Texas is speaking out against a proposed 80% Austin Energy rate increase on houses of worship
- The City Council will soon vote on a proposed Austin Energy rate increase (Audio)
- Austin’s faith community braces for potential utility hike
- Churches not happy with proposed energy rate hikes
- Austin Energy: We Were Affordable (Before the Proposed 23% Rate Increase)
ENVIRONMENT
- Austin eyes West Texas for solar power
- EPA: Fracking may cause groundwater pollution
- Interactive: Areas Exceeding EPA Ozone Air Quality Levels
- Ozone Pollution Spiked in Texas This Year
GAMBLING
- Democratic Party rolling the dice on education
- Texas lottery sales hit record
- Tiguas’ tribal leaders, members work to improve future
- Special report: Jack Abramoff’s regrets fall short for Tigua officials
- Special report: Tigua casino closure timeline
- Corruption in Mexico casinos takes a toll in the US, too
- Hearing airs tribes’ issues with Internet gambling
- Oklahoma tribe to be granted reservation between Las Cruces and Deming
- Indian claim over Park City land set in Kansas
HEALTH
- State to cover meningitis vaccine for college students
- New study shows health insurance premium spikes in every state
- Safety-net programs insure more Texas children
- Texas may cut Medicaid reimbursements to healthcare providers
- Column: Don’t take the ‘medi’ out of Medicaid
- Health care law changing behavior
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
- HSU Global Awareness Week highlights Fair Trade
- Texas gets a ‘B’ in fighting sex trafficking of minors | It’s one of 4 states getting the highest grade awarded
- Trafficking: False promises, desperation lure woman
- Two Sex Traffickers Convicted in State, County and Federal Probe
HUNGER & POVERTY
- States Hungry for Revenue Leave Billions in U.S. Food Assistance on Table
- More schoolchildren in Central Texas living in poverty
- Midlanders work to end food insecurity through Food Planning Association
- Updated: Interactive Map of Food Stamp Distribution and Economic Impact
- USDA focuses on small neighborhood stores as it fights food stamp trafficking
- Can the Cans | Why food drives are a terrible idea
- Congress Pushes Back On Healthier School Lunches, Fights To Keep Pizza And Fries
- Editorial: School lunch guidelines lose to cooks in Congress
IMMIGRATION
- Immigration Falls as Campaign Border Rhetoric Soars
- Feds offer new guidance on when to dismiss immigration cases
- U.S. to Review Cases Seeking Deportations
- Lawmakers Want Defense Technology on Border
- Immigration Report Raises Doubts About Obama-Backed Visa Program (Audio)
- Arizona Immigration Law Faces Supreme Court Ruling
PAYDAY LENDING
- Why We Spend, Why They Save
- OKC New Baptist Covenant takes aim at payday lending
- Reed pushes amendment to protect military families from abusive financial practices
- Birmingham, Alabama Announces a Temporary Ban on Payday Loans
REDISTRICTING
- Court issues new state legislative maps for Texas
- Court Releases Congressional Maps
- Court shouldn’t reject redrawn map
- Federal Judges Propose Maps for Texas Legislative Races
- Redistricting Orders Throw Texas Politics Into Disarray
- U.S. Supreme Court to hear arguments on Texas’ redistricting maps
- Texas AG Abbott accuses federal court of “undermining the democratic process” with redistricting map
- Texas attorney general accuses the U.S. of dragging its feet on redistricting maps
- Greg Abbott to challenge judges’ interim state districts map
- Attorney General Abbott Seeks Emergency Stay, Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Overturn Interim Redistricting Maps
- Abbott: Elections Should Use Legislature’s Maps
- State’s lawyer taking redistrict battle to Supreme Court
- State, feds argue over cause of delays in redistricting case
- State objects to court-drawn legislative maps
- Attorney general’s office has harsh words for court’s redistricting maps
- Speaker criticizes court redistrict map
VOTER ID
- Time running out for voter photo ID law in March primaries
- DOJ Tells State It Needs More Data on Voter ID
- Feds hold up Voter ID law, want more information
Nov
18
In the News – November 2011
Filed Under In The News | Leave a Comment
ALCOHOL | ADDICTION
- Dr. Nora Volkow: New Brain Research Helps Explain Drug Addiction (VIDEO)
- Underage Alcohol Usage: Soaking Gummy Bears In Alcohol Is Newest Trend For Teens
BUDGET
- Budget Cuts Threaten Food Safety Research Center
- Federal budget cuts to WIC could shorten reach of aid for moms, kids
- Pharmacies Feeling Pressure of Reduced Medicaid Fees
- Planned Parenthood Struggles After State Budget Cuts
- State funding doesn’t cover prisoner health care costs, officials say | Prison officials say UTMB funding running $2 million short each month
- Survey: More cuts to school jobs expected next year
CHILDREN
- Federal budget cuts to WIC could shorten reach of aid for moms, kids
- Despite Reforms, Abuse Continues at Texas Institutions for Disabled
- Despite Reforms, Abuse Continues at Texas Institutions for Disabled, Part 2
CHURCH/STATE
- Group says IRS should investigate church for endorsing Rick Perry
- Opinion: Jeffress flap illustrates wisdom of ‘no religious test’
- Judge won’t throw out school-prayer lawsuit
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
- State funding doesn’t cover prisoner health care costs, officials say | Prison officials say UTMB funding running $2 million short each month
- UTMB proposes transferring prison health care to corrections agency | Letter says university would retain hospital and specialty care but give up prison clinics
- UTMB set to halt prison health care
EDUCATION
- Suit challenges Texas public school funding
- Texas school districts sue state over fairness of funding
- Texas schools sue state, saying funding is unfair
- Again, education woes fall to courts
- Civil rights attorney urges Texas to find ‘political will’ to fund education
- Districts struggle this year with class sizes
- Survey: More cuts to school jobs expected next year
- New state test raises concerns for teachers, educators
- Editorial: The cost of high dropout rates is troubling
- How could a rewrite of NCLB scrap teacher evaluations? (Editorial Board Opinion)
- Learning fair provides resources for Spanish-speaking parents
- Poor history curriculum threatens Texas’ future
- Texas’ minority, poor students still lag in reading
- SBOE Could Give Schools More Control Over New Exams
- Texas trails most states, many countries in young adults with degrees
- Texas Higher Ed Coalition Forms Student Group
- Wind Farm Money Fuels Spending in West Texas Schools
ENVIRONMENT
- EPA Issues First Texas Greenhouse Gas Permit
- EPA gives green light to Horseshoe Bay power plant
- Fracking Wastewater Disposal To Be Regulated, EPA Says
- Texas takes its case against revised EPA emissions rule to the agency
- Houston-Area Plant Has History of Emissions Violations (Audio)
- Refineries Surround Corpus Christi Community (Audio)
- Texas System Allows Some Plants to Skirt Pollution Laws (Audio)
- Despite Rocky Start, Texas’ Weatherization Program Thrives
- Proposed electric rate increases target poor, could hamper conservation, critics say
- Wind Power Transmission Lines Rise Across Texas
- Wind-power industry holds breath over the future of federal subsidy
- Energy UT Professor Debunks Climate Change “Myths”
- Researchers object to agency’s edits to paper on sea level rise
- Editorial: TCEQ censorship is out of bounds
- Averitt: Dire warnings from Texas utilities overstate impact of new EPA rule (Editorials & Opinions)
- Wind Farm Money Fuels Spending in West Texas Schools
GAMBLING
- Dog-racing struggles to keep pace
- Horse notebook: Lone Star bets off limits, says TRC
- Parent company of Retama in trouble again | Call Now’s latest action comes as it seeks buyer for local horse track
- Interior official blasts 2009 tribal land ruling
- Cost of Powerball will rise, and so will prize amounts
HEALTH
- Editorial: Medicare fraud must end
- Editorial: States are pushing it on Medicaid cuts
- Pharmacies Feeling Pressure of Reduced Medicaid Fees
- Planned Parenthood Struggles After State Budget Cuts
- Budget Cuts Threaten Food Safety Research Center
- Nutrition rating, labeling system proposed
- Study: Texas Ranks Last in Mental Health Spending
- Despite Reforms, Abuse Continues at Texas Institutions for Disabled
- Despite Reforms, Abuse Continues at Texas Institutions for Disabled, Part 2
- Still no solution for illegal immigrants’ long-term care costs | Practice of helping some go back home stirs debate
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
- HSU students learn more about how to help poverty in other countries | Group helps people sell goods at a fair price
- Police: Man held smuggled immigrants hostage | Investigators looking into possible connection with drug cartels
- Texas prep coach charged with human trafficking
- Three sentenced to prison in forced labor case
HUNGER & POVERTY
- New measure shows record number in poverty in U.S.
- The Census Bureau Releases Supplemental Poverty Measure for U.S.
- Number of Texans Receiving Food Stamps Up Sharply Amid Recession
- Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell Join Texas Hunger Initiative and Share Our Strength to Kick Off ‘Texas No Kid Hungry Campaign’
- Texas Launches No Kid Hungry Campaign
- New initiative tackles child hunger in Texas
- Texas No Kid Hungry campaign kicks off in Austin
- Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson Hosts Texas No Kid Hungry Dallas Summit, Bringing Together Local and National Child Hunger Thought Leaders
- We can end child hunger in Texas
- Shore and Everett: Ending child hunger begins with breakfast
- United Way Spotlight: Helping feed the hungry
- Children are at real hunger risk in Texas
- Nutrition rating, labeling system proposed
- Abilene ISD ahead of the curve in curbing students’ hunger
- Editorial: Ever More Homeless Families
- Face of poverty is often a child’s, charities report
- Safe Water and a Toilet — Is That Too Much to Ask… for 2.5 Billion People?
- Judge blocks Fla.’s new welfare drug testing law
- HSU students learn more about how to help poverty in other countries | Group helps people sell goods at a fair price
- Proposed electric rate increases target poor, could hamper conservation, critics say
IMMIGRATION
- Two DREAMers ponder their futures
- Baptist film on immigration seeks to get churches talking, helping
- ICE Removes Record Number of Immigrants in FY 2011
- Record number of illegal immigrants deported
- Border Patrol busing more illegal immigrants
- Court blocks Ala. from checking student status
- Attorney General Abbott Halts “Notario” Scam in Potter County
- Guest Column: Call Them “Unauthorized”
- Guest Column: Call Them “Illegal”
- Still no solution for illegal immigrants’ long-term care costs | Practice of helping some go back home stirs debate
- Texas Cities Step Up Prosecutions of Wage Theft
PAYDAY LENDING
- Farias honored for leadership
- REPORTER WATCHDOG: Financial experts urge caution when turning to high-interest payday lenders
- EZCORP Again Named One of FORTUNE’s “100 Fastest-Growing Companies”
- Shares Rise for Pawn Shops and Firms Offering Payday Loans as More Borrowers Head Their Way
- Wisconsin one of last states to reform payday lending
REDISTRICTING
- Editorial: Texas redistricting’s bumpy road
- Redistricting court battles to heat up this week
- Texas had “discriminatory purpose” in adopting redistricting maps that harmed minorities, Justice Department charges
VOTER ID
Oct
13
In the News – October 2011
Filed Under In The News | Leave a Comment
ABORTION
CHILDREN
- Economic & policy factors make life tough for Texas children
- New Texas Law on Student Fitness Data Faces Obstacles
CHURCH/STATE
- Editorial: Teacher tests separation of church and state
- Opposing view: Government shouldn’t pick ministers| Editorial: Teacher tests separation of church and state
- Opinion: The separation of politics and pew
- Opinion: Running on faith
- 2nd Opinion: U.S. politics still running on faith
- Supreme Court hears arguments in important church-state case
- Coalition asks Obama to clarify remarks on faith-based hiring
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
- Opinion: Calling for the end of capital punishment
- State Agencies Texas Youth Commission Report: Texas Youth Justice Better, but Can Improve
EDUCATION
- Texas Still Undecided on No Child Left Behind Waiver
- Local districts join fight against school finance system
- Texas Facing at Least Two School Funding Lawsuits
- Upcoming school finance lawsuits loom
- New law allows more local control in textbook picks
- Editorial: More Texas students eying college as their future
- Higher Ed Officials Tout Student Loan Amendment
- Higher Ed Oversight Committee Revisits “Solutions”
- Joint Higher Ed Oversight Committee Gets to Work
- Budget Woes, Calls for Efficiency Imperil Physics
ENVIRONMENT
- Editorial: Natural gas makes natural sense
- Solar panels to help power Pflugerville water plant
- WHO: Air pollution kills more than 2 million annually
- Texas Latinos face greater health risks from pollution-related diseases, study finds
- EPA rolls back air rule, Texas gets most leeway
- Texas not satisfied with EPA changes to cross-state rule
- Texas Officials Unmollified by Pollution Rule Changes
- EPA rule proposal stirs bad air at Texas Capitol
- Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott Challenges EPA’s Flawed Cross-State Air Pollution Rules
- Oil and gas group resists EPA proposed rules on fracking
GAMBLING
- Opinion: Playing games with gambling rooms
- Could Texas greyhound case affect WV governor’s race?
- Poker Inc. to Uncle Sam: Shut Up and Deal
- Commentary: What really is the cost of a casino?
HEALTH
- Facing payment cuts, half of Texas doctors surveyed say they’d consider leaving Medicare
- New Texas Law on Student Fitness Data Faces Obstacles
- Texas Latinos face greater health risks from pollution-related diseases, study finds
- WHO: Air pollution kills more than 2 million annually
- Texas, 25 Other States Ask U.S. Supreme Court to Hear the States’ Legal Challenge to the Federal Health Care Law
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
- Baptists seek to cover I-10 with prayer about human trafficking
- Opinion: The face of hope
- Tracking factory slaves across Asia
HUNGER & POVERTY
- States Adding Drug Test as Hurdle for Welfare
- Study finds more Latinos growing up poor
- Texas Hispanics Going Hungry at an Alarming Rate
- More than 1 in 5 Austin residents live in poverty, new census data show
- Editorial: The poor academics and poverty cycle
- Fighting hunger makes economic and political sense, Christian activist says
- First Choice Power’s Food First Program Reaches Milestone of Providing 1 Million Meals in Texas
IMMIGRATION
- ICE paints bleak picture of detention system | Abuses continue despite agency’s documentation
- Federal task force urges changes to immigrant fingerprint program
- Immigration bill progresses, draws criticism | Latinos protest proposal tied to E-Verify check
- E-Verify Bill Moves Out of Congressional Committee
- Smith Pushes to Mandate Use of E-Verify Nationwide
- Judges review Texas immigrant housing ban
- Video: An “Undocumented” Texas Student’s Story
- A Texas DREAM Act success story
- Panel Busts Immigration Myths, Questions System
- A tough new Alabama law targets illegal immigrants and sends families fleeing
- Alabama Immigration Law: Key Parts Remain, Churches Lose Fight
- Advocates urge Perry to deal with sanctuary cities
- Tea Party Presses Perry on Immigration
PAYDAY LENDING
- Payday lending bankrolls auto racer’s fortune
- Race car driver Scott Tucker drew an elaborate facade around his payday loan businesses
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
- In Focus: Religious liberty a cherished freedom
- White House condemns death sentence for Iranian Christian
VOTER ID
- Voter ID laws could hamper more than 5 million, study says
- Feds: Proposed Texas Maps Undermine Minority Vote
- Feds Hold Off Approving Texas’ Voter ID Bill
- Judge: Texas’ new political maps on hold
- Justice Department refuses to pre-clear new Texas districts
- Texas Secretary of State Responds to Feds on Voter ID
- Texas redistricting maps on hold until federal OK
- New State Rules Raising Hurdles at Voting Booth
- Editorial: The Myth of Voter Fraud
Sep
19
In the News – September 2011
Filed Under In The News | Leave a Comment
ABORTION
- Day 11: Abortion Sonogram Law Takes Effect
- Updated: Judge Rules Abortion Sonogram Law Can’t Take Effect Yet
- Judge strikes down key provisions of sonogram law | Attorney general says he will appeal ruling on law requiring women to receive procedure before an abortion.
- Day 14: Texas Lawmakers Give Extra Support to Anti-Abortion Centers
ALCOHOL | ADDICTION
BUDGET
CHILDREN
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
- Prison officials to christen seminary for inmates
- Pioneering woman minister seeks glimpses of holy as prison chaplain
- Summer camp behind bars: Program connects kids, incarcerated dads | Children and their fathers spends their days doing arts and crafts together at three prisons in the U.S.
- More medical school help for prison health care examined by state TDCJ
- Cheering for Death
- Day 19: Sugar Land’s Prison a Casualty of Budget Cuts
- Day 23: Prison Schools Lose Classes, Teachers
- Despite Risks, County Lockups Continue Late Releases
- State moves to deport foreign convicts now in prison | Long-awaited move comes after federal assurances
EDUCATION
- Some Texas Teachers Left to Clean Up Budget Cut Mess
- Perry Leaves More Children Behind as Cuts Squeeze Texas Schools
- State faces challenge in helping underprepared students graduate from college
- SAT reading scores fall to lowest level on record
- Day 13: Textbook Affordability Measures Kick In
- Achievement gaps for Texas college students still a challenge
- Day 21: Lawmakers Refuse to Lift Cap for New Charters
- Teachers Trusted More Than Their Unions, New Survey Shows
ENVIRONMENT
- Could EPA Rule Turn the Lights Off in Texas?
- Energy providers want more time to meet EPA rules
- Federal panel: Fracking chemicals should be revealed
- Controversial Pollution Rule Still On Track for Texas
- Biden calls for new clean energy policy for US
- Study: Climate change little affected by shift from coal to natural gas
GAMBLING
HEALTH
- Editorial: Bleak News on Health Insurance
- Health care falters in state
- Texas Universities Prepping for New Meningitis Law
- Austin-area clinics scramble to fill gap from Legislature’s family planning cuts
- Day 15: Texas Family Planning Funding Slashed
- Day 22: State Cuts Mean Fewer Residency Slots in Texas
- Day 31: Texas Nursing Homes Brace for Higher Costs, Sicker Patients
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
HUNGER & POVERTY
- Hunger and Children in America: a Slow and Steady Starvation
- U.S. Poverty Rate, at 15 Percent, Is the Highest Since 1993
- In Texas, 18 percent are facing hunger | The state’s rate of ‘food insecurity’ is 2nd-worst in U.S.
- Texas ranks second nationally in food insecurity
- Report: 1 in 4 Texas children lives in poverty | Child advocate says study shows state’s priorities
- Texas Hunger Report outlines food insecurity across Texas, resources to solve it (Your Valley Voice.com)
- Texas Hunger Report Outlines Food Insecurity Across Texas, Resources to Solve it (Irving, TX (PRWEB)
- Texas Hunger Report Outlines Food Insecurity Across Texas, Resources to Solve It (PR-USA.NET)
- Taylor County residents leave $15.5 million in hunger aid untapped
- Schools Restore Fresh Cooking to the Cafeteria
- Carrots for carrots, Let’s build grocery stores where they’re needed
- More retailers say yes to food stamps
- Advocates Lobby To Save Hunger Programs From Budget Ax
- Churches offer ‘Soul Food,’ encouragement to the unemployed
- Garden kicks off initiative to end hunger locally
- Federal Report Illustrates Low-income Texans Struggle to Afford Good Nutrition
- Sewing Her Way Out of Poverty
- Poverty rate rises in America
IMMIGRATION
- Day 30: Border Security Funding Will Increase Over the Next Biennium
- The Border is Safe, Federal Officials Say
- A chance to avoid being deported | U.S. will review 300,000 illegal immigrant cases for those seen as ‘low priority’
- DHS to Review, Possibly Halt Some Deportation Cases
- State moves to deport foreign convicts now in prison | Long-awaited move comes after federal assurances
- Editorial: Secure Communities: A program designed to deport criminal aliens needs sharper focus
- Children Of Immigrants Face Hardship To Keep Families Together
- Attorney General Abbott Charges Houston Family With Providing Unauthorized Legal Services
- State’s enforcement action cites Yolanda Perez and related defendants for operating an unlawful immigration consulting firm
- Alabama immigration law blocked
PAYDAY LENDING
- Uptick in Crimes Against Elderly, Payday Lenders Tarnish Some Locals’ Golden Years
- Payday lender limits may be borrowing trouble
- Council starts limits on payday lenders | Restrictions limit location and lending amounts
- Austin City Council weighs clamping down on payday loans
- Austin City Council in discussing payday lenders.
- Austin-based EZCorp backs off deal with Australian company because of planned new lending rules
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
VOTER ID
- Updated: Groups Urge Feds to Stop Voter ID Bill
- Comparing Texas’ Voter ID Law to Other States
- Day 12: Driver’s License Policy Becomes Law
- Day 24: Stringent Voter ID Law Means Changes at Texas Polls
Aug
16
In the News – July 2011
Filed Under In The News | Leave a Comment
ALCOHOL | ADDICTION
BUDGET
- Schools shouldn’t be painted as winners in budget debate
- Good and bad state budget news for people with disabilities
- With closing of agency, worries about services for rural Texans
- Editorial: Texans should be steamed about lawmakers’ money tricks
- Texas lawmakers raid electric bill assistance fund
- Austin-area care providers brace for state cuts
- Do Americans understand the debt crisis?
- Visualizing Days of Debate: The Budget
- DAY 1: Thousands of Texas teachers will not have jobs to return to in the fall
- Day 5: Budget Cuts Final Straw for Air Ambulance
- Day 6: Some Texans Will Lose Mental Health Funding
- Day 7: East Texas Hospital Will Downgrade Its Trauma Center
- Episcopalians stand up for ethical behavior and justice in the financial world
CHILDREN
- Single father sees adoption, foster care as part of God’s plan
- Fostering isn’t for everyone, but everyone can play a part
- Not called to foster? Here are other ways to help
CHURCH/STATE
- Baptists should understand, teach church-state separation
- One Nation Under God
- EDITORIAL: What about Perry’s big prayer rally?
- Opinion: Responding to The Response
- Opinion: Separating church and schools
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
- Texas first: Prison is closing
- Welcome change to prison system
- Visualizing Days of Lege Debate: Criminal Justice
- Day 3: Exonerated Texans Receive Compensation
- From locked in to locked out of public housing | They’re out of prison and ready to resume life, but find themselves banned from public housing
- Women in ministry pioneer seeks glimpses of holy as prison chaplain
- Prison Chaplains A Common Victim Of State Budget Cuts
EDUCATION
- Visualizing Days of Lege Debate: Education
- School finance heading to court | Legislature’s failure to solve problems forcing yet another lawsuit
- Schools shouldn’t be painted as winners in budget debate
- DAY 1: Thousands of Texas teachers will not have jobs to return to in the fall
- Day 8: Texas Students Switch to STAAR Testing| Armed with fewer resources, teachers prepare students for rigorous new STAAR test
- STAAR Rollout May Bring More Duties for Counselors
- Teachers in middle of debate over immigrant kids
- State Board of Ed member: Charter school investment no longer needed
- State Board of Education delves again into science textbook debate
- Texas education board to rekindle evolution debate
- State education board chair already in hot seat | Efforts to push conservative ideas drawing fire from colleagues and critics
- Will Budget Cuts Mean Higher Tuition?
- Texas’ progress on higher education goals mixed, officials say
- Cuts in college grants to hurt poor students, official says
- Paredes: “We Need to Reinvent Public Higher Ed”
- State urges adults to finish degrees | Project aims to build college culture
- Day 4: Less Financial Aid for Texas Students
- Fees for Students Redefine “Free” Public School
- Obama Education Waiver Plan Could Result In Individual State Accountability Systems
- Overriding a Key Education Law | No Child Left Behind Act
ENVIRONMENT
- Rooftop solar, backyard wind turbines catching on in the suburbs
- Grid operator warns that brownouts may be in Texans’ futures
- End of an Era for Panhandle Wind Program
- CPS Energy ratchets up investment in solar | Utility notifies its bidders that project will be eight times larger
- 136 Texas plants to get new permits | State officials, industry groups challenge EPA actions in court
- EPA announces emissions cuts for power plants | Texas plants say regulations will raise costs of generation
- Texas Challenges EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Regulations, Argues “Timing” and “Tailoring” Rules Violate Federal Law
- EPA Chief, in Texas, Calls Pollution Rule “Not Onerous”
- Texas Files Challenge to EPA’s “Tailpipe Rule” Regulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- EPA Issues New Standards for Hydraulic Fracturing
- EPA says all Texas plants will get new air permits
- More Studies Approved for Proposed Nuclear Plant Site
GAMBLING
- What our gambling problem is really costing us | The country’s growing dependence on gaming is destroying more lives than ever. And I should know: I’m an addict
- Coastal Bend lawmakers say its time to roll the dice on legalized gambling
- Funding is big flaw in Hilderbran’s plan | Texas Derby series lacks its $5 million purse
- Texas Derby could hear starter’s gun by 2015 | Horsemen skeptical that big race will save sport in state
HEALTH
- Austin-area care providers brace for state cuts
- Day 5: Budget Cuts Final Straw for Air Ambulance
- Day 6: Some Texans Will Lose Mental Health Funding
- Day 7: East Texas Hospital Will Downgrade Its Trauma Center
- Obesity weighing more on Texans | Nearly 1 in 3 adults here obese as rate almost doubles since 1995
- Texas 12th Most Obese State, Study Finds
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
- Texas’ Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force Convenes In Houston | Law enforcement, advocacy groups briefed on laws recently enacted to combat human trafficking
- Prosecutors find glitches in human trafficking, sexting and domestic abuse laws
- Gov. Perry signs laws on human trafficking
- Regaining trafficking victims’ trust, one interview at a time | For ex-sex slaves, freedom is just first step in recovery process, caseworkers say
- Enslaved In America (Video Report on Human Trafficking)
- The sex slaves next door: New form of trafficking invades US | Latino residential brothels adopt sophisticated camouflage to elude authorities
- Victims of the ‘unimaginable’ speak out | Women rescued from Atlanta brothel recount trauma and abuse, caution others
- Mexican cartels move into human trafficking
- Pimps feed on twisting Californian dream
- Potent weapon to stem sex slavery often left unused | Visa program aimed at persuading victims of forced prostitution to finger tormentors undercut by fear and ignorance of some in law-enforcement
HUNGER & POVERTY
- Dallas-area Baptists help with food bank’s Full on Faith initiative
- Mission Arlington marks 25 years of helping people and changing lives
- Food that’s touched by an angel | Program offers faltering families cut-rate groceries
- Red Tape, Catch-22s Impede Progress in Texas’ Colonias | Part one of a two-part series
- Conditions, Health Risks Sicken Colonias Residents | Part two of a two-part series
- Video: Health and Conditions in Texas’ Colonias
- Fee meant for poor is used to aid GOP cause
IMMIGRATION
- Visualizing Days of Lege Debate: Immigration
- Teachers in middle of debate over immigrant kids
- Push for DREAM Act bill continues despite defeat | Children brought to U.S. illegally could get residency
- U.S. Rep. Hinojosa, Hispanic Tea Party: Pass the DREAM Act
- Guest Column: Immigration, Perry and a Divided GOP
- Opinion: Carrying Rosa
- Proof of Legal Status Now Required for State IDs
- Legal Immigration Increases in Texas, U.S.
- Change in Mexico make illegal immigration less appealing
- Factbox: State crackdowns on illegal immigration
- Faith leaders join challenge to Alabama’s immigration law
- Feds challenge Alabama’s tough new immigration law
PAYDAY LENDING
- Borrowers, lawmakers grapple with payday loan services
- Latino debt deepens with out of control payday lending
- Lawsuit Filed Over Dallas Payday, Title Loan Rules
- Dave Ramsey took on payday lending in his radio program (To listen, go to Archive, June 28, 2011; Payday is covered about 1 hour, 30 minutes into the program)
- General’s Wife Wages War against Predatory Lenders
VOTER ID
Jul
14
In the News – June 2011
Filed Under In The News | Leave a Comment
ABORTION
ALCOHOL | ADDICTION
- Updated: Senate Committee Votes Out Smoking Ban
- Smoking ban and all that it saves
- Statewide smoking ban is back
BUDGET
- Sine Die Report: What Survived, What Died
- This Time, Texas Budget Bills Sail Through Senate
- House gives early OK to key budget bill
- Choice between tax exemption and school funding symbolic of budget debate
CHILDREN
- Study: Preschool benefits last into adulthood
- Keeping Full Day Public Pre-K Alive, With Fees
- Amid School Finance Scuffle, Pre-K Measure Returns
CHURCH/STATE
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
- Professional prison chaplaincy remains fully in state budget
- Youth commission board votes to close 3 lockups
- House OKs privatization option for prison health care
- House Tentatively Approves Prisoner Health Care Fee
- Capitol Digest: Prisoner health care bill gets panel’s OK
EDUCATION
- Poll: Education overtakes economy, immigration as Texans’ top concern
- Updated: Where Do Education Bills Stand In Special?
- Special Session Revives Texas Class-Size Debate (Audio File)
- Keeping Full Day Public Pre-K Alive, With Fees
- Study: Preschool benefits last into adulthood
- Amid School Finance Scuffle, Pre-K Measure Returns
- Austin ISD to launch pre-K for students ineligible for state programs
- Amidst Two Major Losses, Education Advocates See Small Victories in School Finance
- Teachers continue call to stop school cuts
- Teachers say school flexibility comes at their expense
- As legislators slash budgets, teachers worry about the future of the work they love.
- GOP caucus enacts school cuts
- Choice between tax exemption and school funding symbolic of budget debate
- Capitol Digest: House OKs school flexibility bill
- House Approves Key Education Bills
- Texas House OKs lower pay, furloughs for teachers (Houston Chronicle)
- House approves lower pay, furloughs for teachers (Austin American-Statesman)
- Senate OKs teacher furloughs, pay cuts | Proposal would give school districts discretion to cope with state budget cuts (Austin American-Statesman)
- Texas Senate OKs teacher pay cuts, furloughs | Educators protest bill to help districts deal with slashed funding (Houston Chronicle)
- House approves new system for school materials
- Texas schools could get extra cash | House OKs contingency plan to tap the state’s rainy day fund
- Democratic senators say they’ll support bill if Howard’s rainy-day amendment stays
- Capitol Digest: Senate Democrats to support bill if rainy day plan remains
- Measure Providing Extra Money For Schools Dies
- Republican tries to undo education amendment by Austin rep
- Higher Ed “Coalition for Excellence” Formed in Texas
- Switch to Outcomes-Based Higher Ed Funding Taking Time
- Latinos Lag in College Completion, Report Says
- Updated: Investigation of charter schools set
- Students, Federal Memo Complicate “Sanctuary Cities”
- Editorials: In-state tuition for illegal immigrants
- Facing State Cuts, Will Schools Raise Local Taxes?
ENVIRONMENT
- Does where you live affect how well you breathe? | Data for Houston region find higher asthma hospitalization rate in rural areas
- Texas Passes Bills Promoting Energy Efficiency
- States Cannot Bypass E.P.A. on Power Plant Emissions, Justices Rule
- Texas Challenges EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Regulations, Argues “Timing” and “Tailoring” Rules Violate Federal Law
- With Little Help, Texas’ Solar Use Grows — Slowly
- Legislature turns down lights on solar incentives, as Austin Energy project moves forward
- Prospects For Reaching CO2 Benchmark And Curbing Global Warming Grow Dimmer
- The C-Word “climate change”
- Greenhouse gas emission rules unlawful, Texas official says
- New tack to speed drilling permits | Regulators hope checklists will eliminate many do-overs
GAMBLING
- Barton’s bill would license poker websites
- Bill allowing states to OK online poker introduced
- Holy Rollers: Faith Groups and Gambling
HEALTH
- In-Home Nursing Companies Facing Cuts Again
- Health care savings bill heads to governor
- House OKs Bill to Seek Federal Medicaid Waiver
- Texas House approves Medicaid changes
- Lawmakers Renew Push to Take Over Medicaid, Medicare
- Health Reform Bill Alters Family Planning Funding
- House Gives Early Nod to Health Care Compact
- Health Bills in Legislative Committees, Again
- Perry Rejects “Obamacare,” but State Agency Pushes On
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
HUNGER & POVERTY
IMMIGRATION
- ID measure passed quietly, while sanctuary cities bill died noisily
- One Immigration Bill May Have Bucked the Trend (Audio File)
- Editorials: In-state tuition for illegal immigrants
- Opinion: Scapegoating behind anti-immigration laws
- Opinion: Wondering about immigration — sunset in Alabama?
- Students, Federal Memo Complicate “Sanctuary Cities”
- Hispanic Evangelicals Take Aim at Gov. Perry (Video File)
- Hispanic evangelicals protest Perry’s support for ‘sanctuary cities’ ban
- Conservative pastors oppose sanctuary cities legislation
- Critics raise doubts over ‘sanctuary cities’ bill
- GOP Boosters Urge a “No” Vote on Sanctuary Cities
- Republicans – Sanctuary cities bill agrees with federal law – The Lone Star Report.pdf(pdf)
- After debate, Texas Senate panel OKs ‘sanctuary cities’ bill
- Sanctuary Cities Bill Clears Texas Senate
- Sanctuary Cities Moves Out of Senate Committee
- Sanctuary Cities Bill: Comply or Lose State Money
- New rules, new outcome as Senate OKs sanctuary cities bill
- Texas Moves Ahead With Secure Communities Program
- Feds: Secure Communities Under Review
- Senator Files Sanctuary Cities, Secure Communities Bill
- Lawmakers make another run at immigration bill
- Perry adds sanctuary cities issue to lawmakers’ agenda
- Lucio Asks Perry to Add Checkpoints to Agenda
- Border security: Huge costs with mixed results, study finds
- Senators debate student immigration DREAM Act again
- Southern Baptists support path to legal status in immigration reform
- Report: Feds downplayed ICE case dismissals | Documents show agency had approval to dismiss some deportation cases
PAYDAY LENDING
- Texas lawmakers approve payday lending bills
- Texas Pay-Day Lenders Dodge Caps as Bills Put Industry on Watch
- Dallas City Council Passes Strict Rules for Payday Lenders | “They are like the devil.”
May
31
In the News – April/May 2011
Filed Under In The News | Leave a Comment
ABORTION
- Perry heralds sonogram law
- Family Planning Programs Face Steep Cuts, Elimination
- Budget conferees prepare to cut more family planning money
- Women’s Health Program Circling the Drain?
ALCOHOL | ADDICTION
- Coleman Passes Bill Banning Synthetic Drugs (.pdf)
- Senate Approves “Bath Salts” Ban
- House Approves Four Loko Ban
- K2 One Step Closer to Being Outlawed
- Texas House Tentatively Approves Salvia Ban
- Texas should ban smoking
- CDC: Southern States Lag in Smoking Bans
- CDC predicts smoking bans in every state by 2020
BUDGET
- The Texas Budget Cycle
- 50 facts about the House’s proposed state budget
- 50 facts to know about the Senate’s proposed budget
- Combs adds $1.2 billion to revenue estimate
- Thousands protest deep spending cuts in education, human services
- Some Cuts to Texas Budget Actually Cost Money
- State, Local Government Look to Curb Unfunded Mandates
- Guest Column: A Last-Minute Plea to Minimize Harm
- Dewhurst appears torn between activists and senators
- Guest Column: Of Course We Can Cut the Budget
- House Democrats Applaud Senate’s Budget Delay
- Dewhurst questions senators’ move toward using rainy day fund
- Senate: We need $3 billion from rainy day fund for budget
- Senators tend budget gap with rainy day reserves
- Ogden: Still No Budget Deal
- Ogden: We’re going to fight for this budget
- Senate Budget Debate Stalls Over Vote Count
- Senate still lacking votes to debate budget bill
- Senate considering broad array of revenue ideas | Closure, sale of Austin State Supported Living Center among possible ways to raise revenue.
- Senators Look for Money Without Saying “Taxes”
- Senators roll out not-so-new revenue ideas
- GOP senators use legislative rule to pass budget
- Senators ready to fight for their plusher budget
- House Budget Shrinks Spending, Slashes Services
- House OKs spending plan | Second day of debate brings few major changes to $164.5 billion bare-bones budget bill
- House Sets Budget Negotiating Rules
- Is an Incomplete Budget Better Than a Shrunken One?
CHILDREN
- Insurers Drop Child-Only Plans, Blame Health Reform
- Many Texas schoolchildren fail fitness evaluation
- Texas Ban on Sugary Drinks at Schools Gets Early OK
- Children’s Hospitals Face Brunt of Medicaid Cuts
CHURCH/STATE
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
- Restorative justice focuses on life transformation
- Opinion: Capital punishment is sin
- Supreme Court sides with Texas in case involving prisoner’s rights (Religious Liberty)
- Ellis Urges Lawmakers to Act on Innocence Bills
- Death Row inmates’ families find refuge at Hospitality House
- Finding jobs a challenge for ex-inmates in Texas | Pay leaves many below poverty line
- Texas ex-offenders are denied job licenses | Blocking access to career fields sometimes seems to have little public benefit yet can hinder return to society
- Sweeping new prison plan would save state millions
- House Lawmakers Propose Privatizing All State Jails
- Lawmakers chafe as push continues to privatize prison health care
- Lawmakers Target Texas Prison School for Makeover
- Report: Texas prison health costs even higher than thought
- Senate panel signs off on surprise prison health care changes
- House panel eyes more criminal justice changes to save money
- House Tentatively OKs New Juvenile Justice Agency
- Juvenile Justice Merger Heads to Governor
- Senate OKs Merging Juvenile Justice Agencies
EDUCATION
- Once-Stalled Education Bills Live On as Amendments
- What $7.8 Billion Less Means for Your School District
- Interactive: What $830 Million in Federal Funds Means for Your District
- Texas may get $830 million in federal education money
- What if Texas Doesn’t Pass a School Finance Bill?
- Budget talks come up short on education | Key negotiator sees possibility of special session
- Education funding may force special session of state Legislature
- School finance inaction may impede budget compromise
- House Committee Tackles School Finance
- Problems appear as lawmakers redraw state education board districts
- SBOE Members: Why Not Use the Permanent School Fund?
- Senate committee approves more charter schools
- Time to reform curriculum adoption
- SB 4 Sparks Quarrel Between Shapiro, Teachers Groups
- House Finally Kills Class Size Bill
- Attempt to Lift Class Size Ratio Stumbles Again (Texas Tribune)
- Efforts to raise state cap on class sizes hit snag (Austin American-Statesman)
- Technicality Slays House Bill on Class Sizes — for Now
- Senate Passes TEXAS Grants Priority Model
- House Tentatively Passes TEXAS Grants Bill
- Raymund Paredes: $10,000 Degrees “Entirely Feasible”
- Budget cuts have pre-K programs on chopping block
- Bill May Boost Bond Rating for Charter Schools
- Guns on campus proposal gets stuck | Senator temporarily withdraws bill after some colleagues seek changes
- Senate OKs bill for guns on campuses | Lawmakers also grant themselves broader rights on carrying weapons
- Birdwell Tries, Fails to Hike Tuition for Undocumented
ENVIRONMENT
- This is a TV program Perry should love
- One year later: a coated coastline | The reality of the rush to tally the oil spill’s toll is that it may be years before we know
- A year after the oil spill | What’s changed, and what hasn’t
- State Of The Air 2011: Air Quality Report Reveals High Pollution Levels In U.S. Cities
- Even in Texas, Concerns Grow About Gas Drilling
- Gulf spill raises questions about Arctic drilling
- Senate takes different path from House on environmental permits
- House passes TCEQ sunset bill but softens agency’s bite
- Texas Solar Advocates Hope for Legislative Boost
- Texas’ Energy Lessons From the 1970s
- Scientists: Climate change takes a toll on crops | Farmers urged to develop strains that will thrive in a warmer world
- Texas Files Opening Brief In Challenge To EPA’s Unlawful Endangerment Finding
GAMBLING
- Lawmaker wants to create premier horse race, the Texas Derby
- Is gambling really a good bet for Texas?
- Gambling and the Lone Star State
- Pro-gambling ads on Austin airwaves
- Gambling Attorney Indicted in Bribery of FW Cop | Cop allegedly tipped off lawyer about secret raids
- Capitol Digest: Gambling bill may be close to finish line
- Gambling, no way to fund government
- Every Hand A Loser For Taxpayers
- House Committee Advances Gambling, Without Casinos
- UPDATED: House committee OKs gambling measure
- New gambling panel sparks dissent in Senate
- Slots rally draws hundreds of people to Capitol, singer Lyle Lovett joins the effort
- Casinos face long odds as state legislative session winds down
- Bill in Texas Legislature could result in luxury casino at Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas)
- Could Casinos Come To Houston?
- Strip-mall casinos multiply across nation | States, municipalities wrestle with growing number of ‘sweepstakes’ joints
- Owner application takes next step | Penn National wants to acquire half of SHRP
- Racing Commission approves sale of Lone Star Park
HEALTH
- State Efforts to Take Control of Medicaid Struggling
- Women’s Health Program Circling the Drain?
- Senate Approves Bill on Health Reform Costs
- Ogden Revives Key Piece of Federal Health Reform
- Senate Approves Health Payment Reform
- Rising number of overweight soldiers causes Army to revamp menu options
- Insurers Drop Child-Only Plans, Blame Health Reform
- Many Texas schoolchildren fail fitness evaluation
- From Texas to D.C., Medicaid Funding Debate Rages
- Senate Approves Medicaid Savings Bill
- Elderly could lose big in Medicaid cuts
- Despite Uproar, TX Lawmakers Pursue Medicare Overhaul
- At Nursing Homes, Fears of a Budget “Armageddon”
- Children’s Hospitals Face Brunt of Medicaid Cuts
- Health care cuts will leave state in critical condition, foes say
- Study: Health Reform’s Effects On Texas
- Senate panel votes to spend additional $4.3 billion on human services
- Hospitals to Budget Conferees: Cuts Hit Us Too Hard
- House Gives First OK to Medicaid Waiver Plan
- Lawmakers seek to crack down on junk food as obesity epidemic worsens
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
- Attorney General Abbott, Gov. Perry, Sen. Van De Putte, Rep. Thompson Announce Human Trafficking Prevention Legislation | SB 24, HB 7 seek to enact statewide human trafficking prevention task force’s legislative recommendations
- Human trafficking awareness: People being bought, sold
- Human-trafficking bill on way to governor
HUNGER & POVERTY
- New FRAC Report Unveils Extent of Food Hardship in the U.S.
- Survey Uncovers Perceptions of Hunger in U.S.
- Border hunger issues now political football
- Fabens serves as distribution point for Hunger Plus
- Think about this…Food and energy prices are driving millions more into hunger. It’s time to act
- Lawmakers seek to crack down on junk food as obesity epidemic worsens
- Lawmakers to review food policy bills
- Local Producers Pushing for Changes in Texas Food Laws (Audio File)
- Rising number of overweight soldiers causes Army to revamp menu options
IMMIGRATION
- Guest Column: Mary and Joseph Were “Undocumented”
- Attorney General Abbott Supports Signing Of Human Trafficking Prevention Legislation
- Senate approves southbound checkpoints at border
- House members from Mexico come down on different sides of sanctuary city debate
- Texas Senate Blocks Sanctuary Cities Bill
- Democratic senators say they’ll fight sanctuary cities bill
- Sanctuary city bill gets stuck
- Texas House approves ‘sanctuary cities’ ban
- Senate Approves Major Homeland Security Bill
- El Paso Commissioners decry immigration bill’s burden
- Birdwell Tries, Fails to Hike Tuition for Undocumented
- House panel starts grappling with immigration measures
- Eight arrested in Austin-based immigrant smuggling ring
PAYDAY LENDING
- Pay day loan bill lands on cutting room floor
- Payday lending bill wins preliminary House approval
- Payday lending measures advance
- Payday lending reform dies on the vine
- “Conflict of interest” a basic concept, right?
- Editorial: Local and state officials must act now to fix payday lending
- The Payday Scam
- House eyes rules for payday lenders
- Let’s help vulnerable by regulating payday loans
- More Disclosure for Payday Lenders
- Religious leaders bring new urgency to payday loan reform
- Tightly regulated or not, payday lenders learn to stay profitable
Apr
11
In the News – March 2011
Filed Under In The News | Leave a Comment
ALCOHOL | ADDICTION
- Senate Passes K2 Ban
- Texas budget crisis threatens anti-smoking program | Rep. Alvarado wants to raise the state cigarette tax to save campaign
BUDGET
- How will budget cuts affect the local religious community?
- Short of Funds, Texas Eyes School Reserves
- Senate’s treasure hunt on the trail of $5 billion | Special panel ordered to find ‘non-tax revenue’ to take sting out of budget cuts
- Texas senators begin hunt for cash to plug budget gap | Selling surplus state property an option
- Texas lawmakers mining for revenue | As deadline to submit bills nears, legislators pursue quicker tax collection, deferred payments, but no hikes
- House panel OKs budget that spends less than current budget | Committee approves $164.5 billion budget that implements deep cuts, uses no new taxes
- Perry seeks to slow move toward rainy day fund | Governor, who previously ruled out use, now says fund should be last resort
- Texas House begins budget battle | Debate starts today on bills to plug current deficit with spending cuts and the rainy day fund
CHILDREN
- Federal lawsuit: Texas’ foster care system is broken
- TEXAS HUNGER INITIATIVE: Group aims to keep community fed
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
- New details of TYC-TJPC merger emerge
- Senate: Cut $34 million from prison schools
- Effort to eliminate prison chaplains met with criticism
- Report: Hundreds of Youths in Adult Prisons
EDUCATION
- Short of Funds, Texas Eyes School Reserves
- After another teacher rally, Texas GOPers promise smart cuts for schools
- Cy-Fair Superintendent on Education Cuts
- EDITORIAL: Will desperation breed dumbness?
- Pressure mounts for Texas curriculum redo | GOP legislators urge state board to revisit social studies standards
- State curriculum for U.S. history flunks evaluation | Research group slams structure, coherence, positive tilt of Texas curriculum
- Rural schools, communities suffer in the face of Texas’ budget cuts | $10 billion proposed reduction in direct school aid could drive small, rural school districts out of business
- Texas Community Colleges Leery of Guns on Campus
ENVIRONMENT
- Texas in Top 10 Solar States, Report Says
- Texas Environmental Regulators Face Deep Budget Cuts
- On the back-burner, environmental bills come to low boil | Proposals claim to have no cost in tight budget season
- Texas Republicans vow to fight EPA in Congress
- Texas Task Force to Battle EPA Regulations
GAMBLING
- Gambling Opponents Confident They Can Kill Casino Proposals in Texas| Baptist General Convention of Texas says tax numbers being raised by gambling supporters are flawed
- Texas lawmakers to hear new arguments on expanding gambling
- Supporters: Gaming Would Generate Needed Revenue
- Lawmaker has eye on gambling superbill | Chairman of panel that’s hearing many proposals says he’ll wrap them into one
- Jack Pratt chairman of the Texas Gaming Association: The TT Interview
- Cloverleaf Kennel Club track will be razed | Bids sought for demolition
HEALTH
- Opponents of Medicaid cuts warn of devastating ripple effect | Reductions will send more people into nursing homes, which also are at risk of shutting down, advocates say
- Zerwas: Texas Health Insurance Exchange May Be Dead
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
HUNGER & POVERTY
- Missouri Baptists join support for Texas world hunger offering projects
- TEXAS HUNGER INITIATIVE: Group aims to keep community fed
IMMIGRATION
- Texas Religious Leaders’ Statement on Immigration Legislation 3/8/11
- Peña’s Guest-Worker Bill Draws Praise, Criticism
- Texas Lawmakers Prepare for Sanctuary City Battle
- Bill Would Prevent Immigration Inquiry by Officer
PAYDAY LENDING
- The Payday Lenders’ Come-to-Jesus Moment | A strange-bedfellows coalition goes after predatory lenders
- Religious leaders bring new urgency to payday loan reform
- Texas religious leaders want tighter regs on payday loans
- Payday lending battle brews
- Legal loan sharks | Beware: Predatory lenders lurk just around the corner. (But help may be on the way.)
- Bill in Texas House threatens ‘predatory’ lender businesses
- In Texas House, Rep. Truitt of Keller seeks to restrict payday loan practices
VOTER ID
- Emotional voter ID bill debate ends in passage | Alleging bias, Democrats offer series of defeated amendments
- Voter ID Passes House After Long, Emotional Debate
- House vote opens door to voter ID | Bill gets tentative OK, but ultimately must pass Justice Department’s scrutiny
Feb
28
In The News – February 2011
Filed Under In The News | Leave a Comment
ABORTION
- Senate committee moves sonogram bill on, with amendments | Requirements softened in anti-abortion measure after day of testimony, tinkering by senators.
- Senate panel to consider abortion law requiring women to view sonograms
ALCOHOL | ADDICTION
- Retailers divided on proposed Sunday liquor sales
- Bill proposes deferred adjudication in Texas DWI cases
- Bill would change way state punishes first-time DWI offenders - Proponents say plan would ease court backlog and make it easier to jail repeat offenders
- Texas lawmakers move to ban synthetic marijuana
- Bill Would Outlaw Synthetic Marijuana
- New Poll Shows Support for Indoor Smoking Ban
BUDGET
- Voters want schools and health care spared from cuts, poll finds | Public wants two major areas of budget protected
- Texas PTA rallies for rainy day funding, other new revenue
- Texas Lawmakers Begin Spirited Debate Over Budget
- Some Eying Sales Tax Increase to Plug Budget Hole
- Spartan budget plan calls for broad cuts | Public schools, universities, health care providers take major hits as Texas proposes to balance two-year budget without raising taxes or using rainy day fund
- Proposals show fat-trimming alone won’t balance the budget
- How do you cut $25 billion from Texas’ budget?
- ABCs of budget bill show cost of proposed cuts
- Perry: Texas budget cuts likely ‘across the board’
- Consumers, watch your wallets | Lawmakers eschew tax hikes, but they’re looking at other ways to raise revenue
- Faith-Based Groups Brace for Brutal Budget Cuts
- Lawmakers sobered by budget reality as details on impact emerge
CHILDREN
- Texas budget cuts may scuttle plan to help region’s most-traumatized children
- Bill would overhaul Texas foster care | Proposal would keep children closer to home, change contracting, reimbursement procedures
- A Report on the Bottom Line: CONDITIONS FOR CHILDREN AND THE TEXAS OF TOMORROW (.pdf)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
- Sunset Advisory Commisson says Texas Youth, Juvenile Probation commissions should be merged
- Sunset panel: Merge TYC and TJPC
- Prison agency proposes 1,000 layoffs, less drug treatment, fewer convict meals
- Lege leaders: Revised prison cuts okay
- A Texas Tribune Interview With Prisons Expert Michele Deitch
- Jail Officials: Mental Health Cuts Hurt Everyone
EDUCATION
- Texas slips in per-pupil education spending among states
- Rural schools, communities suffer in the face of Texas’ budget cuts | $10 billion proposed reduction in direct school aid could drive small, rural school districts out of business
- Pre-K Programs Vulnerable as Schools Confront Cuts
- Fewer college students to get financial aid under House and Senate proposals | Number of Texas Grant recipients would drop from 86,830 to 27,135
- Texas Has a $10,000 Degree — But for How Long?
- Key Education Mandates Could Be Cut to Save Money
- Legislative fight looms on class-size limit in elementary schools
- Central Texas school districts prepare for state funding cuts
- Ed Commissioner: Don’t Lose Cool Over Cuts
- Education: Public Education Senators Grill Texas Education Agency Over Cuts
- New State Board of Education a lot like old board
ENVIRONMENT
- Share of Wind on Texas’ Electric Grid Keeps Rising
- Texas OKs New Wind Power Transmission Lines
- Federal Court Denies Greenhouse Gas Stay for Texas
- Texas leads states’ attack on EPA’s climate-change rules
- Texas Challenges EPA’s Unlawful Attempt To Take Over State Air Permitting Program
- House Republicans, Abbott criticize EPA | GOP lawmakers, Texas attorney general take EPA chief to task over greenhouse gas rules
- How faith-based organizations can protect the planet
- Offer to Austin: Swap coal for nuclear power | City leaders mum on whether they support such a deal with South Texas Project owner
GAMBLING
- Say goodbye to slots gravy train?
- Perry reasserts opposition to expanding gambling in Texas
- Ghosts of gambling lingers on Arlington hilltop
- Gambling interests hope Texas budget deficit will help their cause
- Expanded gambling pushed to ease budget
- Bingo in Texas: Lots of cash, little regulation | Critics say bingo – a $700 million gambling industry – is subject to lax laws and inadequate state enforcement
- Casino Gambling Mulled to Help Close Texas State Budget Gap
- Corpus Christi City Council to consider pro-gambling resolution | Panel expected to vote Tuesday in pursuit of legislation allowing slot machines at race tracks
- Should Galveston roll the dice on gambling?
- Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Casinos in Texas | Slot machines at existing race tracks
HEALTH
- Texas agency says new health care law will help families get coverage
- Suehs Warns Lawmakers on Health Cuts
- Health Group Says Cuts More Like 33 Percent
- Medicaid cuts could lead to higher taxes, insurance premiums | State lawmakers have proposed reducing entitlement, but health care experts warn maneuver could backfire
- Are Payment Reform, Texas Budget in Conflict?
- As State Fights Reform, Some Seek to Implement It
- Health Care Advocates Offer Emotional Pleas
- Opinion: Lessons from a cough
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
- Reagan: Human trafficking is as much a part of Texas as cowboys and oil
- North Texas Law Enforcement, Attorney General’s Office Prevent Human Trafficking Surge At 2011 Super Bowl | Attorney General Abbott credits enforcement, public awareness, and deterrence
- Dallas-area police watch for sex trafficking ahead of Super Bowl
- Authorities struggle to combat human trafficking in Texas
- Opinion: Why should Christians care about human trafficking?
HUNGER & POVERTY
- San Angelo summer meals program to continue | Initiative feeds children during summer
- Report: Cost of Obesity Rising
- With praise from Michelle Obama, Wal-Mart announces healthy food campaign
- Restaurant Nutrition Draws Focus of First Lady
- Scouts plan hunger drive
IMMIGRATION
- Report: Illegal immigrant levels in USA remain the same
- Political Battle on Illegal Immigration Shifts to States
- New bill targets employers who hire illegal immigrants | Crime would carry penalty of state jail time
- Texas Lawmakers File Far-Ranging Immigrant Bills
- Advocates: Immigration legislation would devastate Texas | Bill authors say Texans want secure borders
- Amid talk of ‘sanctuary cities,’ Austin police, other agencies say immigration enforcement not their job
- E-Verify Battle Could Soon Greet Texas Lawmakers
- Illegal immigration by Asian Indians on the rise | South Texas authorities find more and more Indians crossing Texas border
- Undocumented Population in Texas Increasing
- Students in Legal Limbo After Immigration Fight
- Dr. Romero To Present Immigration Seminar
PAYDAY LENDING
- February 22, 2011 Senate CSO Hearing News Coverage (.pdf)
- Legal loan sharks | Beware: Predatory lenders lurk just around the corner. (But help may be on the way…)
- Christmas future | For next year, we wish better protection for those who must use payday lenders
- Closing ranks to close loophole
- Editorial – It is time to close the payday lending loophole
- Tribal Land Helps Payday Lenders Skirt State Laws
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