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Archive of Texas on Monday May 05, 2008
Oh say, is that banner made in the U.S.A.?
Lawmakers in 10 states have taken steps to require that American flags bought with state funds be manufactured in this country. While not all the legislation has passed, one state’s new law even bans the sale of foreign-made American flags in that state. Read More
Dallas man exonerated after 27 years in prison
James Lee Woodard walked out of a Texas prison last week after 27 years behind bars. The state now agrees that Woodard was wrongfully convicted in 1981 of killing a girl he had been dating. Read More
After hiatus, states set wave of executions
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Here in the nation's leading death-penalty state, and some of the 35 others with capital punishment, execution dockets are quickly filling up. Read More
Reports show systemic abuse at Texas' psychiatric hospitals
Patients with severe mental illness are committed to Texas' state psychiatric hospitals to be protected from themselves. Instead, some are suffering vicious abuse from the very caregivers hired to look after them. Read More
CPS limits caseloads over sect children
As Child Protective Services caseworkers track the progress in foster care of children removed last month from a polygamous sect's ranch in Eldorado, they'll work on just 15 cases at a time. Read More
Texas professors donate more to Dems than to GOP
WASHINGTON - Texas university professors overwhelmingly favor Democratic candidates in their campaign contributions, a Houston Chronicle study of Federal Election Commission records has found. Read More
States divided on approach to polygamous sect
PHOENIX - It was a showdown, of sorts, over how far states should go to keep tabs on the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints, the group known to endorse multiple wives for men and motherhood for underage girls. Read More
Former prisons chief finally free of scandal
Now that a federal judge has given him back his life, Texas' former top prison official soon will decide what to do with it. But first he has to get used to the fact that the very real possibility of a prison sentence -- which hung over his head for more than a decade -- is gone. Read More
House to lawmakers - Get 'ghost' workers off the payroll
Reacting to disclosure about so-called ghost employees working for the Texas House of Representatives and a preliminary criminal inquiry into the practice, House leaders issued orders Friday to immediately get them off the payroll. Read More
No-question policy at hearing draws criticism
The testimony by Commissioner Carey Cockerell of the Department of Family and Protective Services before a Senate panel Wednesday was unusual -- and not just because the topic was the largest child welfare operation in state history. Read More
Hispanic evangelicals hold potent votes, experts say
Hispanic Pentecostals, some experts say, can become an important swing vote in the 2008 elections in key demographic battlegrounds such as Florida, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and North Carolina. Read More
Public pushing ethics changes for lawmakers
At least 20 Texas lawmakers were fined in recent months for hiding the details of their officeholder spending -- paid with political donations -- behind vague credit card bills, even though they had been warned about the 1981 credit card law for years. Read More
Newcomer learns the politics of compromise
Politics has a way of making even the best-intentioned candidates and office-holders compromise. Read More
Fairness of death-penalty panels questioned
Death-penalty supporters are raising questions about the fairness of state commissions charged with studying how capital punishment is carried out in Maryland and Tennessee, claiming the panels will issue reports that ignore their views. Read More
WORTH NOTING: Voters' guide promotes phone sex
An Oregon voters’ guide lists a very wrong number. California’s governor insults rural legislators. And Pennsylvania considers selling wine in vending machines. In case you missed those stories this week, “Worth Noting” fills you in. Read More
Parents turn to states for autism help
(UPDATED 4 p.m. EDT, Thursday May 1) One of the toughest problems facing autism patients, their families and policymakers is paying for treatment. Families are increasingly relying on states to help them cope with the financial, medical and educational needs. Read More
With justices' OK, voter ID moves ahead
A decision Monday (April 28) by the U.S. Supreme Court to let Indiana demand photo identification from voters paves the way for other states to do the same during November’s presidential election, experts say. Read More
More states offer choice in long-term care
More states are poised to offer a successful alternative to traditional Medicaid plans that allows elders and the disabled to avoid moving to a nursing facility by hiring friends, neighbors or family members to look after them in their own homes. Read More
Credit crunch hits states' college loans
(Updated 11:55 a.m. EDT, April 23, 2008)
The credit crisis has led some state lending agencies to suspend their federal and private student loan programs, forcing thousands of students to search elsewhere for money to pay for college. Read More
Legislators prod Congress on Medicaid, Real ID
As some states tumble into what they fear is a recession, state lawmakers from across the country are pushing Congress for relief from impending federal rules that would force states to pick up more Medicaid costs and spend billions to make drivers’ licenses more secure. Read More
'Don't forget us,' PA candidates tell voters
As Pennsylvanians prepare to go to the polls tomorrow to cast ballots in the April 22 presidential primary, experts wonder how the surge in registered voters will affect little-noticed state legislative races, particularly those in the House, where Democrats cling to a one-seat majority. Read More
Partisan mix in R.I., Conn. poses challenges
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Will Democrats grow legislative edge in '08?
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Gay marriage decisions ripe in Calif., Conn.
More than four years after its historic court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, Massachusetts stands alone in blessing gay marriages — more than 10,000 to date — and its example has spurred no imitators but lots of backlash. All eyes now are on the highest courts in California and Connecticut. Read More
'Purple' states turn a little more 'blue'
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Governors pitch ambitious programs
Billion-dollar deficits in California, New York and Arizona haven’t stopped governors there and elsewhere from proposing big-ticket items for 2008. Stateline.org looks at proposals from governors’ 2008 "state of the state" speeches and provides an exclusive summary of all the addresses so far.
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Obama's friends in unlikely places
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Commentary: Govs beat White House hopefuls as agents of change
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Iraq casts shadow on 2008 state races
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Democratic mid-term gains affecting policy
So complete was the Democratic rout in the 2006 midterm elections that the party even gained legislative influence in Alaska, Idaho, North and South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming – states long dominated by the Republicans. And those gains, though small, are translating into policy achievements. Read More
WORTH NOTING: Illinois gov runs up travel tab
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s commuting costs start to add up. South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds settles a dispute with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over a cranky game warden. Read More
Embryonic stem cell research divides states
President Bush’s second veto of a bill to allow federal funding of stem cell research puts the ethical issue squarely in states’ hands. So far, seven states have moved to fund the research, six have banned it, three have affirmed its legality but do not fund it and a handful of others continue to debate the issue. Read More
States outpace feds on minimum wage
When the new federal minimum wage takes effect July 24, 30 states will require employers to pay hourly workers more than federal law requires. Read More |
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