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Archive of Texas on Wednesday May 07, 2008
Silver Alert helps rescue lost seniors
When an elderly person with dementia is lost, seven states can trigger a Silver Alert to let the community know. Proposals in Congress would expand the successful missing persons program to all 50 states. Read More
Hard times for U.S. giving Texas an economic cushion
The nation may be on the verge of recession, but the Texas economy is doing well enough for Comptroller Susan Combs to predict Tuesday that the Legislature will have a $10.7 billion surplus when it convenes in January. Read More
Texas House battle over 'ghost workers' continues
State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, said he hired Twee Nguyen last fall as his liaison to the burgeoning Asian community in his southeast Houston district, listing her as a full-time employee with full state insurance and benefits, even though she worked only a few hours a week. Read More
AG to assist in polygamist ranch criminal cases
SAN ANGELO, Texas - The judge who last month ordered 463 children from a polygamist sect into state custody says the state attorney general should help with any criminal cases. Read More
TCEQ helps plants in suit
Some Houston plant operators are getting help in their fight to block the city's efforts to regulate air pollution from an unlikely but important ally ? the Texas agency responsible for clearing the skies. Read More
More people with Hispanic last names registering to vote
DALLAS - Voter registration among Dallas County residents with Spanish surnames climbed in the first four months of 2008, records show. Read More
Legal experts say what FLDS can do now is cooperate
Two prominent Utah legal minds say there is little members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church can do to stop the momentum of Texas' investigation. In other words: The train has left the station. Read More
Texas boosting attempts to rout feral pigs
Texas is increasing efforts to get rid of hundreds of thousands of feral hogs that are mangling the state's pastures, crops and waterways. Read More
AG's office to prosecute FLDS cases
The judge handling the massive custody case involving children taken from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch has ordered the Texas Attorney General's Office to prosecute any potential criminal cases involving the polygamous sect. Read More
Parents likely to face charges after taking children
ALGOA, Texas - Galveston authorities are determining whether an Alvin couple violated the law after four children were reported abducted from an Algoa foster home in defiance of a court order. Read More
Texas AG office to prosecute polygamist sect cases
A judge at the center of the largest custody battle in U.S. history has approved a request to bring in the Texas Attorney General's office to prosecute any future criminal charges in the case. Read More
Oil prices help Texas rake in $10.7 billion surplus
The nation may be on the verge of a recession, but the Texas economy is doing well enough for Comptroller Susan Combs to predict Tuesday that the Legislature will have a $10.7 billion surplus when it convenes in January. Read More
No division as segregation law Texas town forgot is abolished
EDCOUCH, Texas - A South Texas town this week abolished a segregation law seven decades after it was enacted. Read More
Texas AG to prosecute criminal cases from polygamous ranch raid
SAN ANGELO, Texas -- A judge has ordered the Texas attorney general's office to prosecute any future criminal cases connected to last month's raid on a polygamous sect's Eldorado ranch. Read More
Justice recounts cases on Commandments
In 2005, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer wrote a concurring opinion with the majority in ruling that Ten Commandments displays in two Kentucky courthouses were unconstitutional -- yet one at the Texas Capitol was not and could stay. Read More
Will states fix 2012 primary process?
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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
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
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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