02/19/2010

It's official: Drought is thing of past in Texas
Drought conditions are officially gone in Texas, ending a brutally dry period that forced millions of residents to limit water use, evaporated waterways and shriveled up crops.

Other technical professionals oppose tax law pilot detested, lawyer says
In the anti-government letter he posted on the Internet before flying his plane into an Austin IRS office, Andrew Joseph Stack III cited a 1986 tax law as a major motivation.

Shooting divides small Louisiana town
HOMER, La. – For the past year, many residents of this tiny town in the northern Louisiana hill country waited in anger.

Dick Armey calls Obama 'shallow,' 'incompetent' in speech at Conservative Political Action Conference
WASHINGTON – Dick Armey, former House majority leader and a force in the Tea Party movement, issued a scathing critique Thursday of President Barack Obama.

02/18/2010

Man who crashed plane into Austin building targeted IRS offices

AP/Austin American-Statesman

Officials investigate the crash scene Thursday.

In a note posted online, Joseph Stack cited run-ins with the IRS and wrote that violence "is the only answer."
See the note | Photos
Video from KVUE-TV
Austin American-Statesman coverage
Map:See the location
Updates on Twitter
DMN Investigates blog: Send your tips

02/19/2010

Texas & Southwest briefs
$8.6M awarded in injury case

Galveston hopes census count hits 50,000
GALVESTON – Galveston residents were cautiously hopeful Thursday that this year's U.S. Census count won't mean more bad news for their island community, which lost thousands of residents after Hurricane Ike battered the city in 2008.

Pilot spent months on diatribe that became his suicide note

AP/Austin American-Statesman

Officials investigate the crash scene Thursday.

Andrew Joseph Stack III focused his rage on the U.S. tax system, accusing the IRS of damaging his career.
IRS office targeted
See the pilot's note
Crash photos
Austin American-Statesman coverage
More on Joseph Stack
Blog: DMN Investigates

02/18/2010

Texas Energy blog: Health department studies impact of natural gas facilities on Dish residents
The Texas Department of State Health Services collected blood and urine samples from residents in the Dish area to test whether natural gas activity is affecting their health.

Prosecutors seek to revive case against Texas judge
SAN ANTONIO – Prosecutors urged a state panel Wednesday to punish a Texas judge for refusing to keep her court open past 5 p.m. to hear a last-minute appeal by a death-row inmate, and to ignore a key report that says she had been humiliated enough.

University of Texas task force proposes 10-semester time limit on most bachelor's degrees
AUSTIN – Jokes about being on the five-year plan to complete four years of college could become a reality.

Roving retirees get free camping space for volunteering at parks
ROMA, Texas – A cold wind whipped down the Texas plains on the night last month that Sharon Smith, 68, and her husband, Bill, 73, arrived here to be work-campers.

Texas briefs
2 from Amarillo die in twin-engine plane crash

More of Shami's campaign staffers quit, citing 'strategic differences'
AUSTIN – Houston businessman Farouk Shami's bid to be governor saw another day of turmoil Wednesday, with yet another shuffling of campaign staff.

Texas governor Perry won't say if he'd seek 4th term
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday that he wouldn't address yet whether the four-year term he's seeking would be his last as governor.

With population lowered after Ike, Galveston worries census could bring funding drop
GALVESTON – Nearly 1 ½ years after Hurricane Ike battered Galveston, this southeast Texas island community fears the natural disaster could land another harsh blow.

02/16/2010

Agency budget cuts small in face of Texas' gaping shortfall
Lawmakers and state leaders face a daunting task to close the budget gap, and few have offered substantive ideas for dealing with the state's structural deficit.

02/17/2010

New Baylor president Kenneth Starr eager to move beyond past as Clinton prosecutor
WACO – Baylor University's new president, Kenneth Starr, said Tuesday that he is excited to promote the world's largest Baptist university and pleased that his time as an independent prosecutor investigating the Clinton White House is long past.

Family requests pardon for man wrongly convicted of rape
Attorneys for a man who died in prison after he was wrongly convicted of rape have filed for a pardon with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Issues Watch: Gubernatorial candidates on the budget shortfall
Where the major candidates for governor stand on the state budget shortfall:

Texas universities identify possible budget cuts
Texas' public universities and colleges have already taken financial hits from declines in endowments and in private giving. Now, they have been asked to identify cuts that make up 5 percent of the state-funded portion of their budgets. Here are some campuses plans.

Clements throws support to Perry despite sponsoring a Hutchison fundraiser
Former Gov. Bill Clements is backing Gov. Rick Perry in the Republican primary, even though he sponsored a fundraiser for Kay Bailey Hutchison last year.

At A Glance: State agencies' proposed cuts
State agencies offered potential budget cuts of 5 percent Tuesday, at the request of state leaders who are worried about a big budget shortfall when lawmakers convene in January. Here are some highlights:

02/16/2010

Posthumous pardon requested for Texas DNA exoneree Tim Cole
Cole, an Army veteran, died behind bars in 1999 at age 39. But a 2008 DNA test cleared Cole and implicated convicted rapist Jerry Wayne Johnson in the 1985 rape of a Texas Tech student in Lubbock.

Man arrested at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport after scuffle on Continental flight
Robert Wade Prince of Alabama is accused of inappropriately touching a female passenger and assaulting an air marshal during a flight from Amsterdam to Houston.

Texas challenges EPA ruling on greenhouse gas threat
The state accused the federal government in a lawsuit Tuesday of using "tainted data" to declare that heat-trapping gases are a threat to the public, warning that Texas' economy could suffer as a result.

Austin retiree returns to Haiti to supervise U.S. relief effort
AUSTIN – When Haiti's devastating earthquake hit Jan. 12, Lewis Lucke, 58, was in his Austin home, enjoying retirement from a 27-year career with the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

02/15/2010

Ex-Clinton prosecutor Kenneth Starr named Baylor president
The 63-year-old, whose work as a prosecutor led to President Bill Clinton's impeachment, has been the dean of Pepperdine University's School of Law since 2004.
Blog: Education Front
Link: Baylor University
More Kenneth Starr news, information

02/16/2010

El Paso and Juarez - peace and war, five minutes apart
EL PASO – At the foot of a bridge that helps bind El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, a U.S. Border Patrol officer warns two pedestrians not to stray once they reach the Mexican city. Stay on the main road. Avoid side streets. Very, very dangerous city. OK?

02/15/2010

Early voting for March primaries starts today
The early voting period ends on Feb. 26

Poll: Texas voters favor cutting highway funds first

With up to a $16 billion budget shortfall facing the state next year, 41 percent of Texans said in a new poll they would slice highway spending. The answer could be a minor setback to Gov. Rick Perry.
Voter Guide: Compare candidates
Early voting starts Tuesday
Blog: Politics
Poll: Perry leads Hutchison

Memorial attendees remember Charlie Wilson with laughter
Former Rep. Charlie Wilson was remembered Sunday as a man who helped change history in Afghanistan after the Soviet Union invaded but at the same time didn't take himself too seriously. The memorial service brought dignitaries from around the state to Angelina College for a service that celebrated the one-of-a-kind congressman.

02/14/2010

Perry leads in poll, has shot at avoiding GOP primary runoff
Rick Perry's anti-Washington message has mired Kay Bailey Hutchison for the Republican primary race for governor, according to a new Dallas Morning News poll.
Poll results: Texas political matchups
Perry leads Democrat White in poll, but not by a lot
Graphic: Issues Watch
Graphic: Inside the poll

Texas & Southwest briefs
Loftin named president of A&M

Houston-area truck maker loses appeal to keep Army contract
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Army has rejected a Texas company's appeal to keep its combat truck production contract and instead will go ahead with a Wisconsin firm to do the work.

Charlie Wilson served in a party-hard, work-hard time
WASHINGTON – In Charlie Wilson's heyday, it was possible for a congressman to cavort with playmates and dictators, snort cocaine, broker side deals with arms merchants, circumvent elements of the CIA and change the world.

Perry leads Democrat White in poll, but not by a lot
AUSTIN – While Gov. Rick Perry is leading in the polls, some potential storm clouds lie ahead in the fall general election if he's the Republican nominee.

Arizona woman indicted in case of missing baby
PHOENIX – A Scottsdale woman who wanted to adopt an Arizona baby missing since late December has been indicted in the case, authorities say.

Environment, agriculture get larger campaign play
Environmentalists' favorite buzz words – green energy, biofuels, sustainable development – are fast becoming the jargon of agriculture workers and the politicians who support them.

Poll results: Respondents' answers to questions about Texas political matchups
Here's how respondents to a poll conducted for The Dallas Morning News and other major Texas newspapers answered questions about political matchups:

02/13/2010

Perry leads Democrat White in poll, but not by a lot
While Gov. Rick Perry is leading in the polls, some potential storm clouds lie ahead in the fall general election if he's the Republican nominee.

Shami says whites unwilling to take on jobs in factories
Democratic candidate for governor Farouk Shami said Friday that white people are not willing to work in factories and as a result, Hispanic labor is essential to the Texas economy.

02/12/2010

River otter may be making comeback in Texas
River otters are popping up in Texas waterways where they haven't been seen in decades, giving wildlife officials hope that the rarely seen critter is on the comeback.

Most Popular Stories