Texas Headlines, Sept. 9, 2010

News from around the state

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Perry on debate: ‘Texas Aggie against that Harvard boy’
FORT WORTH — Republican Gov. Rick Perry still won’t agree to debate Democratic challenger Bill White — at least not until White releases tax returns from when he served in the Clinton administration — but he said Wednesday that he sure would like the opportunity.

Texas Politics: Will Claytie haunt Bill White?
The Rick Perry camp says it’s figured out why Bill White won’t release his tax returns from the mid-1990s. It’s because he didn’t pay any taxes in 1995 while serving as deputy secretary of Energy.

Dallas Morning News: Standoff over White’s tax returns still threatens fate of debate
In the matchup between Rick Perry and Bill White for governor, the most vocal, unrelenting conflict has centered not on policy differences but on three years’ worth of White’s tax returns.

Texas Politics: Democratic pollster: White could beat Perry in a different year
Democratic pollsters for Public Policy Polling released a new survey in the Texas governor’s race today that says Democrat Bill White could defeat Gov. Rick Perry — in a different election cycle.

Rick Perry vs. The World: Exclusive numbers from the Hill Research Consultants poll
I asked Hill Research Consultants about who their sample was for the Texas Watch poll everyone is talking about.

BurkaBlog: A cornucopia of polls!
The latest is from Public Policy Polling, a Democratic firm, which shows Perry ahead of White by 48% to 42%.

Associated Press (San Antonio Express-News): White gives Perry grief over budget management
HOUSTON — Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White on Wednesday accused Republican Gov. Rick Perry of hiding from an anticipated $18 billion state budget deficit and promised to provide monthly updates of the state’s financial condition if he’s elected.

Austin American-Statesman: Report: Texas Enterprise Fund falls short on jobs
The Texas Enterprise Fund, which backs major economic development projects in the state, has fallen short of the job creation targets Gov. Rick Perry claimed for it, according to a report released Wednesday by watchdog group Texans for Public Justice.

Dallas Morning News: Study shows majority of Texas companies given taxpayer money to create jobs failed to meet goals
AUSTIN – Two-thirds of the companies given taxpayer money from a job-creation fund that Gov. Rick Perry has touted for helping Texas’ economy failed to meet their promises last year.

TX Capitol Report: Mayor says Democratic candidate for governor has best plan for border
Mayor John Cook has joined sheriff Richard Wiles in support of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White’s border security plan.

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock native Barron hopes to win Nov. 2 gubernatorial election
AUSTIN — Third-party candidates usually have a tough time getting votes. Write-in candidates have an even tougher time.

Texas Tribune: A&M System Examines Professors’ Revenue Generation
Like a conglomerate auditing balance sheets, the Texas A&M University System has for six months been dissecting the financial contribution of every faculty member on its 11 campuses, subtracting the salary of each from the tuition and research money he or she brings in.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Don’t lose momentum in the push for Tier One universities
This much is known for sure: An $18 billion funding shortfall will make for a painful time in Austin when the Legislature convenes Jan. 11 for its 140-day session.

TFN Insider: Beck’s ‘Black Robe Regiment’
Fox News talk show host Glenn Beck has clearly climbed aboard the religious right’s campaign to organize fundamentalist clergy in support of its political agenda.

Austin American-Statesman: Candidate turnout is real election issue
When political types engage in a discussion about candidate debates, they break the first rule of debate by talking around the topic. Political debates are discussed in tactical rather than practical terms.

Austin American-Statesman: Will national wind reverse Democratic gains in the suburbs?
It could be an important question in the race for governor this year, and it will certainly be critical to the fight for control of the Texas House: Will Texas suburbs continue to inch toward Democrats?

Waco Tribune-Herald: Flores, Edwards trade jabs over campaign TV ads
Republican Bill Flores’ congressional campaign fired a legal threat at incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards about an Edwards television advertisement Wednesday.

Austin American-Statesman: Justice Alan Waldrop resigns from 3rd Court of Appeals
Justice Alan Waldrop has left the Austin-based 3rd Court of Appeals, submitting a vaguely worded letter of resignation to Gov. Rick Perry.

San Antonio Express-News: Reid rallies local Democrats on brief visit
With Democrats worried about losing control of Congress in November’s general elections, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid kept his message Wednesday locked on George W. Bush’s policies during a short speech in San Antonio to rally the party faithful.

Texas on the Potomac: Joe Barton, Democratic poster child (continued)
Well, Labor Day’s come and gone, and the fall campaign season is definitely on.

Marshall News Messenger: Railroad commissioner candidate Weems says experience sets him apart
Jeff Weems, Democratic candidate for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, shared with members of the Harrison County Democratic Party Wednesday, why he considers himself the best candidate for the job.

Austin American-Statesman: Texas sex offender registry in danger?
In the Texas Department of Public Safety’s proposed budget for the next two years, officials warn that if they must reduce spending by 15 percent, a high-profile public registry of sex offenders will have to go away.

San Antonio Express-News: More work is required to offer transparency
After notorious scandals eroded public trust in Texas governmental institutions in the 1970s, the Legislature adopted important reforms on open records and the public’s right to access official information.

Texas Watchdog: Financial transparency praised by comptroller, but some government designees falter on open records
The Texas comptroller’s office hands out awards for municipalities that make strides of some sort regarding financial transparency.

Texas Watchdog: Austin Energy among poorest performers in Texas’ stimulus program to fix up low-income homes
Of all the local agencies set for a windfall from a $326 million federal stimulus program to weatherize homes in Texas, none seemed in a better position to use the money wisely and quickly than Austin Energy.

Austin American-Statesman: Food stamp sign-up system has been inhumane, official says
Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Tom Suehs told lawmakers today that Texas’ system for enrolling people in programs such as food stamps and Medicaid “has not always been humane.”

Texas Politics: Texans are getting fatter and fatter
When it comes to obesity, Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville, says she feels like Indiana Jones trying to desperately outrun a large boulder rolling toward him.

Austin American-Statesman: Senator: Request for more benefit workers may be too high
A key state lawmaker on Wednesday said it might not be necessary to approve all 1,547 new workers that the Health and Human Services Commission has requested to enroll Texans in food stamps and Medicaid.

Texas Tribune: Fighting the Power Lines to Protect Hill Country Vistas
As Robert Weatherford’s Ford Expedition climbs and dips through the Hill Country, over creeks beds and past oak-covered slopes, he explains the sensitivities of the residents who populate this rugged yet placid area of Central Texas.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Statewide smoking ban being prepped for next legislative session
AUSTIN — Undaunted by failure in last year’s legislative session, supporters of a statewide smoking ban are gearing up to resurrect the measure to combat what they say is a public-health menace caused by secondhand smoke.

Austin American-Statesman: Fire marshal backs arson finding in man’s execution
The State Fire Marshal’s Office stands behind its controversial conclusion that Cameron Todd Willingham started the house fire that killed his three children in 1991, contradicting arson experts and scientists who insist the agency relied on bad science in its investigation.

Texas Tribune: Lawmakers Urge a Change in How Inmates are Counted
Though she represented her Dallas district in the Texas House for more than a decade, former state Rep. Terri Hodge could have been counted as a resident of Kentucky during this year’s decennial census.

TFN Insider: Texas Eagle Forum: Anti-Net Neutrality?
Texas Eagle Forum’s home page today links to this post on the Eagle Forum blog, which claims that net neutrality is a “big liberal cause.” The post seems to argue that government should not bar companies that provide Internet service from favoring or disfavoring certain content available on the web.

In the Pink: Trading Spaces
Three years ago this guy named Evan Smith (no relation) took a chance on an urchin blogger like me and hired me to become the first editor of texasmonthly.com.

(Photo: Flickr Creative Commons/Matt Callow)