Lead Stories

U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE GROWS INTO A POLITICAL FORCE

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is building a large-scale grass-roots political operation that has begun to rival those of the major political parties, funded by record-setting amounts of money raised from corporations and wealthy individuals. The chamber has signed up some 6 million individuals who are not chamber members and has begun asking them to help with lobbying and, soon, with get-out-the-vote efforts in upcoming congressional campaigns.

REVIEW FINDS TEXAS LOTTERY OPERATOR DIDN'T GAIN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE IN BIDDING

Bidding on a lucrative new Texas lottery contract should move forward because there's no evidence that state consultant Gartner Inc. and the lottery's current operator GTECH Corp. improperly shared information about the process, a lottery official said Tuesday. A review of the two companies' relationship found "no evidence of any actual conflict of interest," executive director Gary Grief told lottery commissioners. He said bidding would proceed on the timeline he laid out last month. Companies will have until May 27 to submit proposals.

TEXAS GAINED HALF AS MANY JOBS IN JANUARY AS WAS THOUGHT

Texas gained 14,800 jobs in January, not the 30,300 reported Friday, the Texas Workforce Commission said Tuesday, citing technical problems with data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Professional and business services, which have a lot of temporary hiring, showed the biggest difference between the initial and revised numbers, adding 4,200 jobs in January, not 20,900. "It's a whole different set of data than what they sent us on Friday," said Ann Hatchitt, a Workforce Commission spokeswoman.

TEXAS HOUSE CANDIDATE BURCH MAY SUE FOR 'REVOTE'

Last week, Bill Burch was mulling whether to request a recount in the primary race he lost by 111 votes to former Arlington City Councilwoman Barbara Nash. Now Burch said he may push for a "revote," alleging that the results from Tuesday's primary are tainted. Burch said he is considering filing an election contest lawsuit in district court due to several irregularities with the results in District 93, which stretches across much of Arlington, Mansfield and Grand Prairie.

National Stories

AS BAG FEES HIT A MAX, NEW AIRLINE CHARGES ARE TAKING OFF

Baggage fees, the golden goose for airlines desperate for more cash, are bringing in billions of dollars in revenues for U.S. airlines. But evidence may be mounting that that particular goose can't be plucked much more than it already has. Consultant Andrew Watterson said an operations executive at a large airline told him Monday that customers are carrying on many more bags and checking far fewer. As a result, it was taking his airline more time to unload and load an airplane as the staff deals with the issue of too many carry-on bags.

ROVE SAYS WH COULDN'T GET TIMELY INFO ON KATRINA. ANYBODY TURN ON THE TV?

As he launches his book-promotion tour, Karl Rove has sought to deflect and deny responsibility for a host of problems that bedeviled the Bush years. A lot of it is complicated -- weapons of mass destruction, the CIA leak scandal -- and Rove is adept at navigating thickets of information to invoke plausible deniability. But sometimes, a single question can reveal a lot. Such was the case today on NBC's Today show where Matt Lauer quizzed Rove on why the White House was so slow to respond to Katrina.

MADOFF VICTIMS JOIN STANFORD INVESTORS TO LOBBY FOR PAYBACK

Victims of Bernard Madoff and accused Ponzi schemer R. Allen Stanford are banding together to lobby Congress for a law that could require Wall Street firms to pay billions of dollars to cover some of the losses they suffered. As the groups’ leaders walked the Capitol halls separately over the past several months, they learned how to find the Senate’s Dirksen Office Building and to call their proposal “revenue neutral,” meaning no cost to taxpayers. They also gleaned another lesson: The broader the geographic base of support, the better the chance of legislative success.

BROAD PLAN URGED TO BATTLE NEW YORK’S FISCAL CRISIS

New York could borrow billions of dollars to address its urgent budget shortfall and a financial review board would be established to impose new discipline on future spending under a five-year financial rescue plan that Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch will present Wednesday. The plan would also require significant spending cuts and abolish some of Albany’s much-criticized budgeting practices, forcing lawmakers and the governor to account for how they will pay for spending expansions when they are approved.

DEMOCRATS: NO THANKS TO NEW 'GANG OF 14'

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) wants to revive the bipartisan Gang of 14 — this time for health care reform, not judicial nominees. But most of his moderate Democratic colleagues aren’t rushing to R.S.V.P. Graham said Tuesday that a coalition of Republican and Democratic senators could rescue the Senate from an institutional disaster brought on by the use of the parliamentary maneuver known as reconciliation to finish the health care bill.

GOP PLAN: PLAY ON BLUE DOGS' NERVES

It’s not that the Senate minority leader imagines himself to be E.F. Hutton, but he’s very much part of a newly launched Republican shadow war to block health care reform by playing on the nerves of wavering Democrats across the Capitol. Speaking on health care Monday, McConnell suddenly switched gears, for example, and threw in a line about the high cost of the Senate’s $100 billion-plus jobless benefits bill, heading soon to the House.

State Stories

WHITE DECLINES TO MATCH PERRY ON PERSONAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has filled out the Senate's personal financial disclsoure statements since she became a senator in the 1990s, and after entering the governor's race she released her income tax returns back to 2001. So it made sense while talking to Democratic gubernatorial nominee former Houston Mayor Bill White today that I would ask him for his income tax returns during his tenure as Houston's chief executive. White pointed out that he has filed the city of Houston financial disclosure forms, but he declined to promise to release his income tax returns as Perry has done.

TEXAS BORDER OFFICIALS LOBBY FOR $6 BILLION FOR INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS, MORE PERSONNEL

A year after Texas ports of entry were ignored in the federal stimulus package, a coalition of Texas border officials lobbied lawmakers Monday for $6 billion for infrastructure improvements and more personnel. Texas led all states in trade with Mexico last year, but a General Services Administration report found that land ports of entry need repairs. Border mayors and other officials say the federal government has failed to provide money for upgrades and staff. "It's important that they keep their eye on the ball," said the mayor of McAllen, Richard Cortez.

REP. ALLEN VAUGHT HAS ROLE IN NEW MATT DAMON MOVIE

Purple Heart recipient and Democratic state Rep. Allen Vaught of Dallas is up on the big screen in the movie Green Zone in theaters on Friday. An Iraqi war veteran, Vaught was interviewed by The Washington Post reporter Rajiv Chandrasekaran in 2003 about operations in Fallujah. Chandrasekaran went on to write the book upon which the movie is based. He got back in touch with Vaught in 2007 and asked for help with technical points about uniforms and historical aspects of the war.

NEW TWIST TO THE AVERITT RESIGNATION -- DAVID SIBLEY SOUNDS INTERESTED

Lobbyist David Sibley, the former state senator who Kip Averitt replaced, isn't exactly beating back speculation that he might be interested in the spot. Averitt said, as explained in an earlier post, that he will resign his seat because of health reasons. Sibley, a lawyer and an oral surgeon, is also a former mayor of Waco. Here's Sibley's statement: "Kip Averitt has been an outstanding State Senator and he remains a friend. I understand his health concerns and support him in making the changes he needs over the coming months and years."

BILL WHITE SAYS HE'S THE REAL DEAL

Bill White knows what's coming from the Rick Perry campaign and thinks his down-to-earth, earnest (albeit a little dull) straight-talk is waht voters want to hear. In his first extensive interview with The News since the primary, White said Perry will try and hang labels on him, the biggest one being liberal, but he sees himself as a fiscal conservative, businessman who has won elections by huge,bipartisan margins in a large and diverse city by being Mr. Fix-It. "People want somebody who will shoot straight. Not just somebody who is the voice of one wing of one party, or who is using the governor's office to run for some other office," White said.

AVERITT ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION, SIBLEY CONSIDERING SEEKING FORMER SEAT

State Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, announced Monday he will be resigning March 17, setting the stage for a May special election to fill out the remainder of his term. Last week, Averitt won his Republican primary with 60 percent of the vote, despite a decision in January to shutter his campaign because of recent health concerns. In a statement, Averitt said he was “humbled” by the outcome of that election, adding that “I will now work on maintaining a healthy lifestyle and spending time with my children.”

DEFEATED REPUBLICAN U.S. HOUSE CANDIDATE WILSON ENDORSES FLORES FOR RUNOFF

Recently defeated U.S. House hopeful Chuck Wilson on Tuesday came out in support of former opponent Bill Flores, a Bryan Republican locked in a runoff with Waco’s Rob Curnock. Three GOP candidates failed to make it to the April 13 runoff. Timothy Delasandro endorsed Curnock last week, citing Curnock’s long history of work for the local Republican Party. National security expert Dave McIntyre has said he won’t be picking sides.

NORTH TEXAS HOME SALES DROP AGAIN

North Texas home sales dropped 5 percent in February, the third month in a row that sales by area real estate agents were down from a year ago. The local home market had rallied in the fall as first-time buyers scrambled to take advantage of a federal tax credit. The federal incentive program was extended through April and broadened but hasn't caused a similar uptick in year-over-year home sales.

STUDENTS SUPPORT UT SYSTEM TUITION HIKE

While tuition hikes at UT caused some students to take to the West Mall in protest, student reactions to increases at other UT System universities were mostly mild — and even optimistic about what additional funds could bring. Presidents and student representatives from the System’s nine universities each spoke about tuition increases at their respective schools at the UT System Board of Regents meeting March 3. The regents unanimously passed the tuition-increase recommendations for the next two school years during the meeting but said they could revisit the issue next year depending on the state’s economic situation.

MILLSAP: DNA TESTING WORKS, BUT NOT IF WE FAIL TO UTILIZE IT

Last week, Gov. Rick Perry granted the state's first posthumous pardon to a man who was innocent of a crime for which he had spent 13 years in prison. DNA testing cleared Tim Cole of a rape he did not commit, but unfortunately it came too late — nine years after he had died in prison. The state must do everything it can to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening again. On March 24, Texas plans to execute Henry Watkins Skinner even though untested DNA evidence could show we've got the wrong man. DNA testing could resolve doubts about Skinner's guilt in the 1993 Pampa slayings of his girlfriend and her two sons, but the state inexplicably has blocked that testing for more than a decade.

CASEY: WE AREN'T COLBERT -- VOTERS HERE SEE COLOR

When interviewing black guests on his show, comedian Stephen Colbert is fond of saying, “I don’t see color.” It's a joke. But it wasn't a joke when Victor Carrillo, head of the Texas Railroad Commission, last week charged in a letter to friends and supporters that he had been defeated by a little-known opponent in the Texas Republican primary because he is Hispanic. “Early polling showed that the typical GOP primary voter has very little info about the position of Rail Road Commissioner,” Carrillo wrote, adding that “the Hispanic surname was a serious setback from which I could never recover although I did all in my power to overcome this built-in bias.”

PERRY NAMES ANDRADE AS "CENSUS AMBASSADOR"

Gov. Rick Perry today announced he is naming Secretary of State Hope Andrade as the "Census Ambassador" to promote U.S. Census participation in Texas, which he said is important for hauling down federal dollars. "It is in the best interest of our state for every Texan to be counted in the census, in terms of representation and our tax dollars flowing back to Texas," Perry said. "I am thankful to Secretary Andrade for her dedication to ensuring all Texans understand the importance and value of participating in the 2010 Census."

BILL WHITE'S AVIAN BLING

Remember the infamous "swan dress" the Icelandic singer Bjork wore to the Oscars one year -- a blizzard of feathers down one side of her small frame, the orange-beaked head, sadly expired, down the other? That's the image that came to mind when I read a reader's comment in response to my Bill White story on Sunday. The reader, searingly skeptical of hizzoner's chances in November, reminded me that Rick Perry will drape Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama around White's neck. ("Like an albatross," I expected him to say, but I don't think I've ever seen an albatross, so it was the swan image I saw.)

TEXAS ED BOARD SET TO TAKE 1ST VOTE SINCE PRIMARY

Texas' state education board, rocked by primary elections that may push the influential panel's far-right leanings toward the center, is set to take its first vote on a new social studies curriculum that could reverberate in classrooms nationwide. The board — long led by social conservatives who have advocated for ideas such as teaching Texas children more about the weaknesses of evolutionary theory — has worked on, and squabbled about, the social studies standards for months. The board's ultimate decisions affect the textbook content around the country because Texas is one of publishers' biggest clients.

THE AMAZING RACES

The primaries are over. Some runoffs still lie ahead. But some political eyes are already focused on the November races for federal and state legislative seats. The targets: Thibaut, Maldonado, Harper-Brown, Bohac, Bolton, Homer, Kent, Turner, Miklos, Edwards. Waco's a wildcard. Just one congressional race is likely to attract money and attention from outside the state. There's not much to watch in the state Senate. And the number of state House seats in the target zone is skinny — fewer than a dozen. It's a low-stakes election, as such things go. It still matters, and the local races involve local issues of great importance to some voters. But in the greater scheme of things, the Texas races for Congress and the state Legislature seem unlikely to shake the balance of power in Washington and Austin.

CENSUS AND SENSIBILITY

All across Texas, households are theoretically preparing to participate in the 2010 Census, which begins next week. Just how important is it that everyone get counted? "It’s very critical," says Steve Murdock. Murdock, a professor of sociology at Rice University in Houston, has twice been listed among the most influential Texans — by now-defunct Texas Business in 1997, and by Texas Monthly, which dubbed him “The Prophet” in 2005. He was appointed the first State Demographer of Texas in 2001. In 2007, George W. Bush tapped him to be the Director of the U.S. Census Bureau.

RANCHERS TEAM UP WITH FEDS TO CLEAR CEDAR, BOOST WATER SUPPLY

Last June, she and her husband, John Reagor , started a partnership with the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service to clear the water-sucking cedar, plant native grasses and restore open space. They hope the range management improves cattle production since there will be more grass for livestock to forage. Already, new draws have appeared, with water coursing through the land. That water flows into the Pedernales River, which eventually contributes to the Highland Lakes, the main drinking source for Central Texas. In short, as Texans prepare for the next big drought, squeezing as much water from the land as possible is becoming a necessity not only for ranchers, but also for city folk.

TABC BOSS’S TEXAS-STYLE NEGOTIATION

It began as a simple service call: Alan Steen, the top official at the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, had arranged for a repair team to come to his Williamson County ranch to fix some fixtures on a sink in his parents’ RV. On the evening of February 8, Irvin King and his son Robert showed up and got to work. The labor was performed and a bill presented. A misunderstanding arose; words were exchanged. The promise of an ass-whipping was raised. Soon after, 911 was dialed. A sheriff’s deputy arrived. Spoiler alert: It wasn’t the administrator of the state’s alcoholic beverage regulatory agency who called the police.

WASP MEMBERS FROM AUSTIN AND TEXAS HONORED IN WASHINGTON

The bill to recognize the women was proposed in 2009 by U.S. Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and was signed by President Barack Obama in July. About 300 WASP members are still living; 31 of them are from Texas. Federal officials said about 2,000 WASP members and their families have headed to Washington for the festivities, which are being hosted by the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation. There will be one gold medal made by the U.S. Mint. That medal will be revealed at the ceremony and then will be donated to the Smithsonian Institution. More than 1,000 bronze replicas of the medal will be awarded to each WASP member and to a family member of those who have died. Additional duplicate bronze medals will be available for purchase from the Mint.

LOTTERY OFFICIALS MOVE AHEAD WITH BIDDING

Bidding on a new lucrative Texas lottery contract should move forward because there's no evidence that state consultant Gartner Inc. and the lottery's current operator, GTECH Corp., improperly shared information about the process, a lottery official said Tuesday. A review of the two companies' relationship found "no evidence of any actual conflict of interest," Executive Director Gary Grief told lottery commissioners. He said bidding would proceed on the timetablelaid out last month. Companies have until May 27 to submit proposals. Whichever company wins the new contract could reap as much as $100 million per year in payments from the state.

PHILLIPS: GOP'S MESSAGE OF ADIOS IS NOT LOST ON CARRILLO

Thank you, Victor Carrillo, for speaking truth to power. There are many folks who want you to walk quietly into the sunset. But you won't go gentle into that goodnight. You have broken the silence surrounding an ugly political truth about GOP elections. And you have issued a challenge to the party to create a fairer system that respects Hispanics. Carrillo is pointing out that bias again prevailed over qualifications. And frankly, there is little else that can explain last week's defeat of Carrillo, chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission and the highest-ranking Hispanic in state government.

TEXAS STATE SEN. KIP AVERITT RETIRING FOR HEALTH REASONS

State Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, officially announced his retirement Monday, less than a week after winning the primary. No Democrat had filed to challenge him in November. Averitt said in January that he would not serve another term, citing health concerns. But it was too late to take his name off the March 2 primary ballot, and he easily outdistanced his only challenger, Burleson insurance agent Darren Yancy. Averitt's decision to step down, effective noon March 17, clears the way for Gov. Rick Perry to call a special election May 8 to fill the post.

FUTURE ROLE OF NATURAL GAS DISCUSSED AT HOUSTON ENERGY CONFERENCE

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and ConocoPhillips CEO James Mulva made clear Tuesday that they have sharply contrasting views on the role of natural gas in helping meet the world's long-term energy needs. In an address at the CERA Week 2010 energy conference, Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, characterized natural gas as a significant "bridge" or "transition" fuel in coming decades as the world shifts toward renewable energy and a lower-carbon environment less reliant on fossil fuels. Mulva, in a subsequent speech, scoffed at such a limited view of the potential of natural gas, which he said will be a prime energy source in 2050, when the world's population is projected to reach 9.2 billion people, or roughly one-third more than today, putting continued upward pressure on energy demand.

FWST: DEATH PENALTY IS THE RIGHT TOPIC, BUT THE JUDGE'S RULING IS THE WRONG DEBATE

State District Judge Kevin Fine in Houston succeeded in starting a debate about Texas' death penalty. Trouble is, people are arguing about whether he's a judicial activist -- instead of about the system's injustices. Last week, defense lawyers presented Fine with boilerplate pretrial motions in the case of John Edward Green Jr., a 25-year-old charged with killing Huong Thien Nguyen, 34, during an early morning robbery outside her home. Fine rejected claims that jurors can't assess a defendant's future dangerousness and that lethal injection is cruel and unusual. But he ruled unconstitutional the state law that lays out procedures in a capital case: what evidence can be presented at sentencing; what instructions the judge must give jurors; what questions jurors must answer in choosing death or life imprisonment.

KENNEDY: AN ELECTION WHEN CANDIDATES' ETHNICITY BECAME A LIABILITY

Hurst Republican Lenny Lopez figured he'd get an earful from voters when he ran against a popular Tarrant County justice of the peace. But there was one word he never expected to hear: "Mexican!" Born in Brooklyn to parents from the U.S. commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Lopez is as American as Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor or -- no relation -- Jennifer Lopez. Yet when he campaigned outside Young Junior High School in Arlington, he says, a tall voter walked up to him with a loud message: "I would not vote for a Mexican from south of the border!"

DEFEATED REPUBLICAN U.S. HOUSE CANDIDATE WILSON ENDORSES FLORES FOR RUNOFF

Recently defeated U.S. House hopeful Chuck Wilson on Tuesday came out in support of former opponent Bill Flores, a Bryan Republican locked in a runoff with Waco’s Rob Curnock. Three GOP candidates failed to make it to the April 13 runoff. Timothy Delasandro endorsed Curnock last week, citing Curnock’s long history of work for the local Republican Party. National security expert Dave McIntyre has said he won’t be picking sides. Chuck Wilson (left) argued that Bill Flores (right), while a new face to many in the Waco area, shares a common, rural experience with local residents.

County Stories

OFFER OF FREE FOOD TO DALLAS COUNTY VOTERS DRAWS CONTROVERSEY

Last month, supporters of Dallas County commissioner candidate Elba Garcia set up a table outside an early voting polling place with free food. State law says you can't buy votes by offering something of value such as free food. But an undercover operative caught what appears to be Dallas city councilwoman Delia Jasso (shown here with her husband, Justice of the Peace Juan Jasso) telling someone they could only get free food if they voted for Garcia.

City Stories

FBI INFORMANT'S FIRM FILES CIVIL SUIT OVER DALLAS CITY HALL CORRUPTION CASE

The first civil suit seeking millions in damages as a result of the bribery and extortion in the Dallas City Hall corruption case has been filed in a county civil court. Odyssey Residential Holdings LP is seeking millions in damages from developer Brian Potashnik and his wife, Cheryl, and their former firm, Southwest Housing, for bribing former Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill and his plan commissioner, D'Angelo Lee, to get lucrative affordable housing tax credits.

DALLAS DIVERTS TRINITY BOND FUNDS TO LEVEE REPAIRS

Dallas has shifted tens of millions of dollars in Trinity River bond funds to study and repair its substandard levee system but so far has declined to use money set aside for the stalled Trinity toll road project. Instead, $27 million has been diverted from the reconstruction of a critical floodwater pumping station along the river to form the bulk of funds for a major study of the levee system.

DALLAS-AREA WOMEN AMONG WORLD WAR II PILOTS TO RECEIVE NATION'S TOP MEDAL TODAY

Long before their faces became wrinkled and their hair turned gray, they were the young, daring women of World War II. Daring because they defied tradition, overcoming discrimination to become the first female pilots to fly military planes in the U.S. Betty Jo Reed was perhaps one of the boldest. After high school, she worked as a sales clerk, devoting half her paycheck to flying lessons.

GALVESTON COUNTY EYES URBAN-RURAL TRANSIT DISTRICT

A Houston-Galveston passenger train will be a step closer to reality Wednesday if Galveston County commissioners begin the process of creating a county-wide transportation district as expected. The creation of a Galveston County urban and rural transit district would potentially pull together all 13 municipalities in the county, providing a single voice to negotiate with Houston Metro, the federal government and other entities, Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough said.

BUDGET WOES HIT ROUND ROCK - CITY PROJECTS $9.2 MILLION SHORTFALL AS SALES TAXES SINK

Six months before the City Council will vote on next year's budget, Round Rock department heads are already scouring their own budgets to offset a projected $9.2 million shortfall in the city budget. The revenue loss comes mostly from a decrease in sales taxes, said Cheryl Delaney , the city's finance director. Delaney said she has estimated that next year the city will lose $6.8 million in sales taxes from Dell Inc., $1.5 million from decreased city sales taxes and $900,000 from other kinds of revenue, including property taxes, city park and recreation center fees, and interest income.

AAS: POLICE CHIEF'S WORK IN AUSTIN NOT DONE

When he took over the Austin Police Department in 2007, Chief Art Acevedo was an instant hit. Around here, we nicknamed him "Batman" because it seemed that he was everywhere. Like the Dark Knight, Acevedo made his share of enemies. Some were enemies just because he was police chief;others took a little longer to get cross with him. It should come as no surprise that other departments would come knocking, but Austin residents should expect City Manager Marc Ott — backed by the City Council — to make a vigorous effort to keep him. Austin might not be able to hold on to the chief until he's ready to retire, but it would be foolish to let him go so soon. His brand of discipline made him unpopular with some members of the police union, and his high profile and charismatic presence made some elected officials envious. There is no denying, however, that the high-energy, high-profile chief put a positive face on a department that badly needed it.

S.A. IS URGED TO LOOK TO GULF FOR MORE WATER

A desalination plant on the Gulf of Mexico is the solution to San Antonio's future water needs, a longtime member of the Texas Water Development Board said at a forum Tuesday. All of the San Antonio Water System's initiatives to get more water and reduce its total dependence on the Edwards Aquifer have failed so far or were unfortunately rejected, said Weir Labatt, who also served on the San Antonio City Council from 1986 to 1993 and was on the Edwards Aquifer Authority board.“I think SAWS ought to crank up and put a plant on the coast,” he said, adding that he was not speaking for the state board.

FORT WORTH RESIDENTS OBJECT AS CITY APPROVES AIR-TEST PANEL

For months, state regulators, neighborhood groups and the natural gas industry have gone back and forth about the level of air pollution produced by natural gas drilling in the Barnett Shale. The industry has maintained that drilling is generally safe. State officials have sent mixed messages, which prompted Fort Worth officials to pay for their own tests. But now, even that effort has bogged down. The City Council voted 8-1 Tuesday to appoint a committee to choose the contractor for the tests, only to be met with protests from neighborhood groups that think the committee designing the study has too much input from the gas industry.

Lead Stories

SLATER: FORMER TEXAS GOP CHAIRMAN TOM PAUKEN BLASTS BUSH, ROVE IN NEW BOOK

As Karl Rove makes the rounds this week with his memoir burnishing the Bush legacy, another book by another Texas Republican offers a decidedly different view. Former state GOP chairman Tom Pauken, a Dallas lawyer and foot soldier in the Reagan revolution, offers a sober counterpoint to Rove's full-throated defense of his former boss. In Pauken's view, the former president and "Bush's Brain" not only hijacked conservatism, they nearly destroyed it.

TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY TO RETHINK CUTS FOR PREGNANT, PARENTING TEENS

Crucial funding for pregnant and parenting teens will be re-examined for cuts after concerns were raised during a legislative committee hearing Monday in Austin. All state agencies were told to cut budgets by 5 percent as Texas faces a shortfall of $10 billion to $20 billion going into the next session of the Legislature in 2011. The Texas Education Agency proposed $135.5 million in cuts last month that include reducing or eliminating various state grant programs. TEA had recommended cutting about $10 million from the Life Skills Program for Student Parents, which pays for services for pregnant or parenting teens. TEA suggests that many dropout prevention services funded through that grant could be available through other means, such as federal Title I funds aimed at helping low-income students.

ECONOMY IN TEXAS SHOWS BETTER STATS

Texas job creation and sales tax revenues may be inching in the right direction, experts said Monday, but state budget writers still face a massive shortfall expected to be swelled further by higher-than-projected Medicaid caseloads. Preliminary figures show sales tax collections were down 8.8 percent in February compared with the same month a year ago, said John Heleman, chief revenue estimator for State Comptroller Susan Combs. While a drop, it's smaller than the double-digit decreases that have plagued Texas for months. “One month certainly doesn't make a trend, but it's encouraging,” Heleman told the House Appropriations Committee.

SPLIT AMONG LOCAL GOPS SPILLS OVER INTO FACEBOOK

A local Republican Party debate over whether to abide a range of views on abortion and homosexuality has flared up as voters prepare to elect a county chairman in a runoff election next month. County Judge Ed Emmett sparred with conservative activist Terry Lowry on Facebook over whether people Lowry described as “pro-choice/pro-homosexual” should be allowed to serve as precinct chairs, the party's grass-roots organizers. “The spirit of the devil wants to divide the Harris County Republican Party,” Lowry wrote on his page, and charged that GOP liberals seek to remove the party's anti-abortion platform plank.

National Stories

CONVERSATION ABOUT GROWTH IN GLOBAL ENERGY DEMAND BEGINS WITH CHINA

As a panel of experts pondered the energy world of the future at a posh downtown hotel Monday afternoon, one word persistently cropped up. That, of course, was China, which has the world's largest population and an emerging economy with wildly surging energy demand that not even the global Great Recession has reined in. China, with more than 1.3 billion people, is already the world's largest producer of heavily polluting coal and the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, blamed for global warming. But the Asian giant also "could well become the world's largest market for clean energy," said Rob Barnett of IHS CERA, based in Cambridge, Mass.

NANCY PELOSI'S GRIP ON HOUSE SLIPS

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is not accustomed to the word she’s been hearing far more frequently in recent days: “no.” Over the past two weeks, Pelosi has faced a series of subtle but significant challenges to her authority — revolts from Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Blue Dog Coalition and politically vulnerable first- and second-term members.

SHOWDOWN LOOMS FOR FINANCIAL REFORM

If there were any question that the stakes are high for financial reform, consider this: Even the Defense Department is getting into the fight. Pentagon brass want a new consumer watchdog agency to regulate auto dealers so they don’t rip off troops with predatory sales and shady financing deals. Democrats are hoping it’ll be hard for Republicans to oppose something Pentagon leaders want, at a time when troops are in harm’s way.

PUBLIC PENSION FUNDS ARE ADDING RISK TO RAISE RETURNS

States and companies have started investing very differently when it comes to the billions of dollars they are safeguarding for workers’ retirement. Companies are quietly and gradually moving their pension funds out of stocks. They want to reduce their investment risk and are buying more long-term bonds. But states and other bodies of government are seeking higher returns for their pension funds, to make up for ground lost in the last couple of years and to pay all the benefits promised to present and future retirees. Higher returns come with more risk.

POLL: U.S. HAS LOST GLOBAL STANDING UNDER OBAMA

A majority of Americans say the United States is less respected in the world than two years ago and believe President Obama and other Democrats fall short of Republicans on the issue of national security, according to a poll by two left-leaning groups. The Democracy Corps-Third Way survey released Monday finds that by a 10-point margin — 51 percent to 41 percent — Americans think the standing of the United States has dropped during the first 13 months of Mr. Obama's presidency. "This is surprising, given the global acclaim — and Nobel peace prize — that flowed to the new president after he took office," the pollsters said.

BIDEN CALLS TIES BETWEEN U.S. AND ISRAEL ‘UNSHAKABLE’

Calling Washington’s ties to Israel “unshakable,” Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. opened talks with Israeli leaders on Tuesday, part of a concerted American effort to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and keep Israel focused on sanctions against Iran’s nuclear program rather than unilateral military action. On a five-day visit to the Middle East, Mr. Biden is also expected to meet Palestinian and Jordanian leaders and give a speech at Tel Aviv University expressing American solidarity with Israel — a theme that was apparent from the beginning of his discussions here.

HOUSE DEMOCRAT SAYS PARTY DROVE HIM FROM OFFICE

Representative Eric J. Massa, a Democrat from upstate New York accused of sexually harassing a male aide, charged in a radio interview over the weekend that Democratic Party leaders were behind an effort to drive him out of office and that the White House chief of staff was the “son of the devil’s spawn.” In the interview, on Sunday, Mr. Massa also provided his first detailed account of an interaction he had with a male aide who appears to be at the center of the complaint being investigated by the House ethics committee.

State Stories

HEALTH CARE COSTS OPEN $1.7 BILLION HOLE IN TEXAS BUDGET

Lawmakers have been thinking ahead to a massive shortfall, topping $10 billion, that's probably coming when they write the next budget in 2011. But state officials told them Monday that they'll have to fix a hole in the current budget, too. Rising health care costs have dug a hole of about $1.7 billion, the officials said. Texas has about 350,000 more poor people on government health insurance than it did last year, and health care costs also are skyrocketing for state employees and prison inmates, several agency heads told the House Appropriations Committee.

AVERITT TO LEAVE STATE SENATE

State Sen. Kip Averitt, a Waco Republican who won nomination to a new term last week even though he told voters he didn't want to serve, announced Monday that he will resign his seat March 17. The resignation won't affect his spot on the November ballot, but he is expected to formally withdraw soon to make himself ineligible for the race. Lobbyist David Sibley, who held the seat before Averitt , said Monday evening that he is "seriously considering" entering a May special election to finish the rest of Averitt's term. He's also looking at trying to be the Republican nominee in November. "I've started meeting with county chairmen and supporters around the district," Sibley said.

POLITIFACT: GILBERT SAYS STAPLES TRIED TO WOO RIGHT WING WITH PROPOSAL TO CUT FOOD AID PROGRAM

Just before extinguishing Kinky Friedman’s political cigar in the Democratic primary for agriculture commissioner, Hank Gilbert lit into his November opponent, incumbent Republican Todd Staples. In a March 1 news release, Gilbert accused Staples of using some of the state’s most vulnerable residents for political purposes. “Todd Staples recently tried to woo his supporters and right-wing base by suggesting the agriculture commission cut programs intended to feed the elderly and disabled, many of whom are veterans,” the release said.

AAS: APPOINTMENT, TASKS ARE MOMENTOUS FOR NEW CHAIR OF TEXAS REGENTS

Certainly there is reason to celebrate the historicselection of Colleen McHugh, who this week became the first woman elected to chair the prestigious University of Texas System Board of Regents. She is qualified in every way. As vice chairman since April, she has proved capable of leading the governing board for the state's largest public university system. We congratulate McHugh and her fellow regents, who elected her to the post. Our enthusiasm is curbed, however, by the fact that it has taken so long for a woman to break that glass ceiling. Men have held the chairmanship for 129 consecutive years — since 1881 — when the UT system's board of regents began operating.

MISTRUST OF CENSUS PROCESS BY SOME PEOPLE IS MISPLACED, OFFICIALS SAY

The anti-government sentiment that sparked the Tea Party movement is brewing a backlash of sorts against the upcoming census by people who say it asks too many questions and intrudes on their privacy. Such census resisters say the Constitution only empowers the Census Bureau to count the number of people in a household. They say that's the only inquiry they'll respond to when the 10-question census forms are mailed to 130 million households in mid-March. Gabriel Sanchez, the Dallas-based regional census director, says the claim is wrong.

FWST: FORT WORTH RAIL BOTTLENECK ENDANGERS YOUNG LIVES

Fort Worth missed out on a $60.9 million federal economic stimulus grant that was supposed to be combined with money from the BNSF and Union Pacific railroads to help clear a crippling rail bottleneck southeast of downtown. Local transportation experts and railroad executives are trying to figure out what to do next. Meanwhile, a couple of miles to the north, children walking to and from Nash Elementary School sometimes crawl under rail cars or climb between them because the path to classes frequently is blocked by stalled trains. Seriously, now. Can there really be a question about what to do? Fix this problem!

DOES STATE BOARD NEED A HISTORY TEST?

This is what can happen when you ignore experts, don't fully know your history, and are responsible for approving textbooks for Texas schoolchildren, according to critics worried about the State Board of Education: You might delete someone recognized by Ladies' Home Journal as one of the 100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century — citing her membership in a socialist organization. You could ban a popular children's author from textbooks because his name is the same as a professor who wrote favorably about Marxism.

BORDER MAYORS LOBBY TO IMPROVE CUSTOMS, PORTS

A year after Texas ports of entry were snubbed in the federal stimulus package, a coalition of border officials lobbied lawmakers Monday to provide $6 billion for infrastructure improvements and more personnel. Texas led all states in trade with Mexico last year, but a General Services Administration report found land ports of entry need repairs. Border mayors and other officials say the government has failed to provide the money for upgrades and staffing. “It's important that they keep their eye on the ball,” said McAllen mayor Richard Cortez, who joined other Texas border officials in Washington to press for the funding. The Texas Border Coalition is seeking $6 billion and 5,000 additional customs agents for both the southern and northern U.S. borders. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, have filed companion bills seeking the funds.

RUSSELL: PERRY IS VULNERABLE, BUT WHITE HAS WORK TO DO

Given Gov. Rick Perry's skillful evisceration of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Republican primary last week — and the anti-Obama sentiment in Texas — conventional wisdom suggests that the November governor's race is Perry's to lose. Former Houston Mayor Bill White's chance to oust Perry depends on several factors: Can he persuade Republican moderates who are angry with Perry for vilifying Hutchison to cross over? Can White make the case that Perry, a 10-year incumbent, needs to be replaced and that White, a moderate Democrat, is the one to replace him? Can White raise enough money to compete against Perry? And, finally, a single statistic: 39 percent.

LAWYERS STAKE CLAIM OVER RECALLS

Standing at the bottom of the sunny Houston courthouse steps last week, lawyer Mark Lanier called a news conference largely to mark his legal turf and to try for a stake in what's expected to be multibillion-dollar litigation against Toyota. In the weeks since the Japanese carmaker's January recall of millions of cars to fix a mechanical problem with the accelerators, lawyers in Texas and around the country have smelled Toyota's corporate blood in the water and mustered. There have, in the past few weeks, been dozens of class-action lawsuits filed on behalf of Toyota owners for lost car value and mental anguish. Dozens of other lawsuits have been filed by those who blame injury or death on acceleration problems, with three death cases filed in the Houston area alone. And lawsuits on behalf of shareholders and dealerships are expected next.

TEXANS CAN EXPECT CUTS IN LIGHT OF STATE'S PROJECTED $11 BILLION SHORTFALL

The Texas economy is apparently rebounding, but the recession of the last two years was so deep that the turnaround won't be good enough to prevent a shortfall of at least $11 billion for the next two years, a legislative panel was told Monday. "It looks like we have turned the corner on our employment picture," John Heleman, chief revenue estimator at the State Comptroller's Office told the House Appropriations Committee, the 27-member panel that writes the state budget. In addition, tax collections, though still low compared to last year, showed an improvement in February compared to previous months, Heleman told the committee.

LEACH RETURNING TO TESTIFY

Former Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach is scheduled to appear Friday in Lubbock to testify under oath about his ongoing legal battle with the university. Leach, who moved to Key West, Fla., after being fired by Tech in late December, has been asked to give a videotaped deposition in front of both legal teams at 9 a.m. in the office of his attorney, Ted Liggett. Several other key players in the Leach saga - including Tech Chancellor Kent Hance - are also scheduled to give formal testimony in Lubbock this week as a part of the pretrial discovery process, Liggett said. "That's standard procedure within the lawsuit," he said. "Everyone's agreed. Nobody is being forced to do anything they don't want to do."

MISS CAPTIVE BEAUTY 2010: 22-YEAR-OLD CROWNED IN CERESO PRISON BEAUTY PAGEANT

Cecilia Juarez, 22, incarcerated for drug trafficking, was crowned Miss Captive Beauty 2010 during a pageant for the women inmates at the Cereso prison in Juárez. Municipal authorities organized the pageant, dubbed "Belleza Cautiva," or captive beauty, as part of the International Day of the Woman. The jury chose the most beautiful inmate among 15 participants.

STATE'S BUDGET DEFICIT MAY HIT $15B

Texas may be slowly adding jobs and sales tax revenues might be improving slightly, but lawmakers could still face a budget deficit of up to $15 billion next year, state officials said Monday. John Heleman, the chief revenue estimator for the Comptroller's Office, said the state added about 30,000 jobs in January, mostly through temporary agencies. Preliminary estimates also show that sales tax collections were down 8.8 percent in February compared with a year ago, he said. But that is an improvement from the double-digit declines of the past several months. "One month certainly doesn't make a trend, but it's encouraging to see that we've now begun to move in the right direction," Heleman said.

DATA APP: HOMELAND $ECURITY

Loving County has sure gotten its money's worth in federal homeland security grants. The remote West Texas county spent $48,000 from 2003 to 2008 on radio equipment, government records show, but that amounts to more than $1,100 for each of its 42 residents — a per-capita ratio much higher than any other local government in the state. Compare that with Harris County, for example, which received less than $6 for each resident. The purchases came from more than $298 million in grants given to local governments during that time, according to data compiled by the Center for Investigative Reporting and the Center for Public Integrity and analyzed by the Tribune.

DNA DESTRUCTION

In the weeks before state health officials destroyed more than 5 million newborn blood samples they had stored without consent, privacy advocates, parents and lawmakers reached a last-ditch accord to save them — but couldn’t convince the Department of State Health Services to sign on. The agency agreed in December to destroy the blood spots, after a civil rights attorney and several Texas parents sued the state for storing them for research purposes without permission. But after the court settlement was signed, privacy advocates lobbied the agency for an alternate solution: a research database that would keep the blood spots intact while seeking electronic consent from parents.

STARVING FOR REFORM

Inmates in a South Texas detention facility began a series of staggered hunger strikes in January, hoping for better conditions and fewer transfers, as advocates pleaded for the federal government to come through on failed promises to reform the immigrant-detention system. Those failings, they argue, prompted inmates at the facility, which sits less than 50 miles from Harlingen, to refuse food in protest of what they allege is mental and physical abuse, lack of medical care and near-nil access to legal resources. The government said on Friday that only two prisoners remain on what it calls “voluntary fasting” at the Port Isabel Detention Center. But the inmates have staggered their fasts, advocates of detention reform say, so that someone fasting this week might be replaced next week by another protester. Advocates allege that hundreds of inmates have taken part since the strike's inception to protest a detention system steeped in failure, secrecy and alleged human rights abuses.

SEN. JOHN CORNYN SAYS TEXAS ONLY 'MARGINALLY' REPUBLICAN

Sen. John Cornyn called Texas only “marginally” Republican this morning, less than a week after a primary that drew the most GOP voters in at least 30 years. Cornyn offered that analysis of the Texas political landscape as he fielded questions about the possibility of a special election in the event Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison resigns before her full term ends in 2012. "Texas is still a marginally red state, although that will be tested by Bill White, who is a serious contender for governor," he told reporters.

LOTTERY OFFICIALS REVISIT CONTRACT QUESTION TODAY

Texas lottery commissioners are again taking up the question of whether there was a conflict of interest between a company that consulted for the state while working for the lottery's main vendor, GTECH Corp. Commissioners are meeting today. For two months questions have lingered over whether there was any improper information sharing between GTECH and Gartner Inc. So far, lottery officials say they see no impropriety. But competitor companies say Texas should start all over with its bidding to eliminate even the appearance of a conflict.

NORTH TEXAS HOME SALES DROP AGAIN

North Texas home sales dropped 5 percent in February, the third month in a row that sales by area real estate agents were down from a year ago. The local home market had rallied in the fall as first-time buyers scrambled to take advantage of a federal tax credit. The federal incentive program was extended through April and broadened but hasn't caused a similar uptick in year-over-year home sales.

County Stories

BEXAR DEMOCRATS' DEBT PAYBACK NOW UP IN AIR

A plan to pay off more than $202,000 of Bexar County Democratic Party debt — allegedly stemming from theft — has hit a roadblock: The woman with the plan lost her race last week. Local party leaders had banked on Choco Meza, a behind-the-scenes party operator and longtime aide to former Mayor Henry Cisneros, to win her race for chair of the Bexar County Democratic Party. They believed Meza's three-pronged plan would've wiped out the debt by Labor Day — and at least begun the process of restoring public confidence in the financially troubled party ahead of November elections. But she lost to longtime activist Dan Ramos.

COUNTY OFFICIALS URGED TO TAKE FURLOUGH

The Commissioners Court on Monday urged top county officials to take two days off without pay to help shrink a $10 million budget deficit. Furloughs by elected officials could save about $14,000, which prompted county officials to call the idea largely symbolic. "I think it's important for morale. I think it's important to show that everyone's in this together," said County Commissioner Veronica Escobar. Two unpaid days would cost Escobar about $340. The commissioners cannot require elected officials to take furloughs. Still, they will ask all county-funded elected officials from the county clerk to the county judge to take days off without pay in observance of César Chávez Day on April 1 and the Fourth of July. Most county workers already have those as unpaid holidays.

City Stories

ARLINGTON RECORDS TENFOLD INCREASE IN TOURIST SPENDING DURING THE FISCAL FIRST QUARTER

Football, basketball and rock concerts at Cowboys Stadium led to a dramatic increase in tourism dollars in Arlington, making it the best fall tourism season in recent history, officials said. Tourists spent an estimated $14.3 million on hotels, restaurants, shopping and transportation in the city during the first quarter of the fiscal year -- October to December 2009 -- which is up drastically from $1.4 million spent during the same period last year, according to the latest Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau report. "The answer is the stadium. We are seeing a lot more room nights booked than we normally would this time of year," said Fiona Allen, an Arlington deputy city manager.

PLANS FOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY IN FORT WORTH STIRRING CONCERNS

City leaders are examining potential locations for a wastewater treatment facility, which has some neighborhoods growing uneasy. In July, the city appointed an advisory committee to rank possible sites, and three, all on the west side, were selected as finalists. Now, some neighbors are raising concerns to one another and to city officials about plans for the Mary's Creek Water Recycling Center to be on one of the sites. The plant, expected to be in operation by 2018, would cover 45 acres, with an additional 55 acres for a buffer area, future uses and room for expansion. The plant's capacity would be 5 million gallons a day initially and 25 million gallons a day by 2060. Cost estimates are $50 million to $60 million.

GROUP: LUBBOCK'S WATER FINES A DROP IN BUCKET

Lubbock water rates offer its biggest consumers some of the weakest penalties in the state, two conservation groups said Monday. The National Wildlife Federation and the state chapter of the Sierra Club found Lubbock's water pricing had the weakest incentive for conservation out of 19 cities studied across the state. Steep monthly base costs, which the city charges to cover the cost of existing and new water infrastructure construction, meant that the city's most frugal customers pay more per 1,000 gallons of water than heavy customers. Lubbock moved to more regressive pricing almost a year ago after forecasts showed that rates discouraging high-use customers could fail to cover the city's cost of delivering water.

CITY SEES FEW TAKERS FOR ELECTION

The race to represent Central Lubbock at City Hall won't be much of a contest. Councilman Todd Klein did not draw a challenger for the May election to represent Lubbock's District 3 for another two years. But all Lubbock residents will still have at least one election battle in which they can cast a vote. Richard Quade, a former Texas Tech physics professor, and Cody Smart, who said he would soon graduate from the university with a master's in business administration, have filed to run against Mayor Tom Martin in his re-election bid.

LAST-MINUTE FILERS HELP FILL BALLOTS IN DALLAS-AREA COUNCIL RACES

Monday was the last day to file for area city and town council races, and a number of candidates squeezed in just under the deadline for the May 8 election. Last-minute filers included candidates running for elections in Irving, Flower Mound, Frisco, Sachse and other cities. Irving will have its first City Council election under a new mixed system of single-member and at-large seats. Two men filed late Monday for the single-member District 1 seat that is the result of a voting rights lawsuit the city lost last year. Estimates show the majority of the district’s voters are Hispanic.

DALLAS OFFICIAL URGES PULLBACK ON POLICE HIRES THROUGH '11

Dallas wants to scale back plans to hire 191 additional police officers this year in an effort to curb costs in a time of slumping revenue. City Manager Mary Suhm told a City Council committee Monday that she thinks the city should hire an additional 120 officers this fiscal year. That will save the city $1 million but will delay indefinitely a longtime council goal of hiring an additional 200 officers per year until the police force has a ratio of 3 officers per 1,000 residents. Last year, that ratio stood at 2.77 officers per 1,000 residents. The added positions could be the last for some time.

Lead Stories

DEMS' ROSIEST OUTLOOK IN YEARS FOR GOV SEAT

Attorneys general, former lawmakers and a slew of lawyers have ascended to the Texas Governor's Mansion, as have a flour manufacturer, a housewife and a couple of oilmen. Bill White, if he beats Gov. Rick Perry in November, would be the first mayor to make that triumphant trek to Austin. “Local politics is designed to piss everybody off, so it's never been a very good entrée for career building,” said James Riddlesperger, a political scientist at Texas Christian University. Still, a big-city mayor who was re-elected twice by huge margins would seem to have a leg up in his quest for higher office, even as his opponent's oppo-research team truffles for “sanctuary city” pronouncements, budget problems, ties to Washington and other nutritious campaign fodder.

MR. JUSTICE GREEN?

It’s a curious second act for a former lawmaker who was last in the public eye on Election Day 2006 for cold-cocking his successor, three years after he wrapped up a stint in the Texas House punctuated with charges of ethics breaches. But Rick Green has resurfaced, and he’s running for Texas Supreme Court. Don’t let his lack of a judicial background or minimal experience practicing law fool you: Green is a “constitutional scholar” with a law degree from the University of Texas. And in last week’s Republican primary, he clambered to the top of a six-candidate pile-up for the seat soon to be vacated by Harriet O’Neill, who decided not to seek another term. In a runoff on April 13, Green will face Fort Worth family district court judge Debra Lehrmann, who finished about 8,000 votes behind him.

FARM BUREAU UNWORRIED ABOUT PERRY PAYBACK

The Texas Farm Bureau bet on the losing horse in the race for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, but it neither regrets its support for U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison nor worries about reprisals from Gov. Rick Perry. In fact, said spokesmanGene Hall, he doesn't know if the bureau will endorse Perry, Democrat Bill White or neither in the general election. It's up to the board that governs its political arm. The group has supported Perry twice before for governor. “Our most recent endorsement of him was followed by the veto of the eminent domain reform bill, which is the most important property rights legislation in the last 20 years,” Hall said. “Supporting him and not supporting him seems to be very similar.”

PADILLA: CUNNINGHAM DOESN'T CUT IT AS A CANDIDATE FOR THE SBOE

If anybody knows the secret of Tony Cunningham's election night success, please clue me in. To say Cunningham's victory was a shocker is an understatement. Anyone who has ever had a conversation with this man or listened to him being interviewed knows he is an unqualified candidate, and that is being kind. Here's a guy who pays a $300 filing fee to run for the District 3 State Board of Education seat, does little or no campaigning, can't answer a straight question, stays home election night and learns of his victory in a phone call from his mother. In an interview with radio talk-show host Adam McManus on AM 630 KSLR this week, Cunningham said he filed for the SBOE post because he thought it was a paid position.

National Stories

NO NEED TO GET TIED DOWN YET

Texas governor Rick Perry’s impressive primary victory over Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is a signal. After the midterm election this November, the field of candidates for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 (or later) is going to get bigger and possibly better. The list is long: Mitch Daniels, John Kasich, Meg Whitman, Bobby Jindal, Haley Barbour, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, and Jim DeMint. And Perry. To qualify as a serious national candidate, Perry must defeat Democrat Bill White—and not in a squeaker—this fall for a third term as governor of the nation’s second most populous state.

WALLACE: HEALTH CARE AND THE NEW WHITE FLIGHT

There is a new "white flight" happening.This time it is not Caucasians fleeing the city for the suburbs, but American citizens are leaving their home country. A complete displacement results, whereby Latinos are moving into formerly white neighborhoods and becoming the American majority. "Foreign- and native-born Mexican Americans in the United States will amount to 49 percent of the total Mexican population by 2030," prize-winning Mexican demographer Roberto Ham-Chande said last month at a joint World Health Organization (WHO) and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Conference.My jaw dropped.Granted, I shouldn't have been so surprised, considering that I was sitting as the sola gringa in a room full of brilliant Latino academics.

IRAQIS DEFY BLASTS IN STRONG TURNOUT FOR PIVOTAL ELECTION

Defying a sustained barrage of mortars and rockets in Baghdad and other cities, Iraqis went to the polls in strength on Sunday to choose a new Parliament meant to outlast the American military presence here. “Iraqis are not afraid of bombs anymore,” said Maliq Bedawi, 45, defiantly waving his finger, stained with purple ink, to indicate he had voted, as he stood near the rubble of an apartment building in Baghdad hit by a huge rocket in the deadliest attack of the day. Insurgents here vowed to disrupt the election, and the concerted wave of attacks — as many as 100 thunderous blasts in the capital alone starting just before the polls opened — did frighten voters away, but only initially.

DEAL TO SAVE EVERGLADES MAY HELP SUGAR FIRM

When Gov. Charlie Crist announced Florida’s $1.75 billion plan to save the Everglades by buying out a major landowner, United States Sugar, he declared that the deal would be remembered as a public acquisition “as monumental as the creation of the nation’s first national park, Yellowstone.” Standing amid the marshes at the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in June 2008, Mr. Crist said, “I can envision no better gift to the Everglades, the people of Florida and the people of America — as well as our planet — than to place in public ownership this missing link that represents the key to true restoration.”

PROGRAM WILL PAY HOMEOWNERS TO SELL AT A LOSS

In an effort to end the foreclosure crisis, the Obama administration has been trying to keep defaulting owners in their homes. Now it will take a new approach: paying some of them to leave. This latest program, which will allow owners to sell for less than they owe and will give them a little cash to speed them on their way, is one of the administration’s most aggressive attempts to grapple with a problem that has defied solutions. More than five million households are behind on their mortgages and risk foreclosure. The government’s $75 billion mortgage modification plan has helped only a small slice of them. Consumer advocates, economists and even some banking industry representatives say much more needs to be done.

OFFICIALS STEP UP ENFORCEMENT OF RIGHTS LAWS IN EDUCATION

Seeking to step up enforcement of civil rights laws, the federal Department of Education says it will be sending letters in coming weeks to thousands of school districts and colleges, outlining their responsibilities on issues of fairness and equal opportunity. As part of that effort, the department intends to open investigations known as compliance reviews in about 32 school districts nationwide, seeking to verify that students of both sexes and all races are getting equal access to college preparatory curriculums and to advanced placement courses. The department plans to open similar civil rights investigations at half a dozen colleges.

REPUBLICANS SCOLD LIZ CHENEY

A group that includes leading conservative lawyers and policy experts, former Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr and several senior officials of the last Bush Administration, is denouncing as “shameful” Republican attacks on lawyers who came to the Obama Justice Department after representing suspected terrorists. Senate Republicans have demanded details of the lawyers' past work and Liz Cheney’s group “Keep America Safe” has questioned their “values." A drumbeat of Republican criticism forced the Justice Department to reluctantly identify seven of them last week. But the harshness of the criticism – Keep America Safe labeled a group of them the “Al Qaeda Seven” – has provoked a backlash from across the legal establishment.

GROUP WANTS SAME MILITARY BENEFITS FOR GAY SPOUSES

A leading gay rights group says married gay service members should have the same rights as straight couples once President Obama ends the military's ban on open homosexuality in the ranks. Equal treatment of legally married gays has emerged as an issue in the debate in Congress, as some Republicans are asking whether the military will deny housing and medical benefits to gay spouses and potentially create morale and readiness problems.

ECONOMISTS SEE FED RATE HIKE IN 6 MONTHS

Most U.S. business economists expect the Federal Reserve to raise benchmark interest rates within six months by between a quarter and a half percentage point, according to a survey released on Monday. A majority of economists in the National Association of Business Economists' semiannual survey found the Fed's current stance of rates near zero percent is appropriate. A growing number, however, believe the U.S. central bank's policy's are too stimulative, according to a poll of 203 members taken February 4-22. "A majority believes that a rise in interest rates is both likely and appropriate in the next several months," said NABE President Lynn Reaser.

State Stories

TEXAS' NASA FIGHT SOARS EVEN AS STATE'S CLOUT FADES

Texas' hard-charging campaign to save NASA's back-to-the-moon Constellation program may have star-struck optimism on its side, but the political and historical realities could prove too daunting to overcome. For one, gone are the days when House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, could protect Texas' interests during the Bush presidency, or Democrats such as Lloyd Bentsen could watch out for the Lone Star State as a powerful Senate committee chairman or treasury secretary for Bill Clinton.

HOUSTON LAWYER STAKING CLAIM IN TOYOTA LITIGATION

Standing at the bottom of the sunny Houston courthouse steps last week, lawyer Mark Lanier called a press conference largely to mark his legal turf and try for a stake in what's expected to be multibillion-dollar litigation against Toyota. In the weeks since the Japanese car maker's January recall of millions of cars to fix a mechanical problem with the accelerators, lawyers in Texas and around the country have smelled Toyota's corporate blood in the water and mustered. There have, in the past few weeks, been dozens of class action lawsuits filed on behalf of Toyota owners for lost car value and mental anguish.

ZHENG: STATE BLAMED FOR SCHOOL FINANCES; NOW WHAT?

During the last workshop several weeks ago, officials depicted a dismal picture of the district’s finances and placed the blame entirely on the state. State Rep. Charlie Howard attended that meeting and didn’t disagree with the assessment when he talked to me after the workshop. However, he saw no easy way of changing the state's funding formula. A major overhaul would be unlikely in the upcoming legislative session, he said.

HC: HOUSTON WILL BE UNDER SPOTLIGHT IN RACE FOR GOVERNOR

Now that the November gubernatorial contest between incumbent Republican Rick Perry and former Houston mayor Bill White is a reality, we can expect to hear a lot from both candidates about our metropolis, both negative and positive. White has already showcased his performance running City Hall for six years in campaigning to a runaway victory in the Democratic primary. Perry’s campaign will no doubt amplify long-standing conservative criticisms of city government under White, including the municipal hands-off policy of city police enforcing federal immigration laws.

DALLAS-AREA HOUSING STIMULUS EFFORT SLOW TO SPEND $25 MILLION

North Texas received more than $25 million in federal stimulus funds last fall to move homeless people into apartments and prevent others from losing their homes because of the tough economy. But so far, only a fraction of the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program money – about $2 million – has been spent, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees the program. The amount may be slightly higher because of a lag time for reporting the expenditures to the federal government. The program was designed to provide temporary relief to people who need help with rent or utilities because of circumstances such as job losses or medical crises.

POTTIES, PICKUPS AND PREPAREDNESS

The City of Corpus Christi hasn’t used the $188,000 video screen it bought with homeland security funding in 2008. But when a hurricane strikes, city officials will be ready to watch footage from surveillance cameras around the area — if the storm doesn’t knock them out, of course. If nature calls for firefighters in the middle of a 10,000-acre West Texas blaze 15 miles from the nearest facilities, they’ll be able to answer in privacy. That’s thanks to a $441 portable toilet local governments bought with homeland security dollars. And you never know when terrorists might attack the nuclear power plant in the second-smallest county in the state. That’s why Somervell County used nearly $180,000 in homeland security money to buy a military-grade armored truck to protect the county’s 7,900 residents.

TWO CANDIDATES WHO LOST IN PRIMARIES MAKE ENDORSEMENTS FOR RUNOFFS

Two candidates who got knocked out of their primary races Tuesday have moved quickly to endorse former opponents in their runoffs. Timothy Delasandro, one of the three candidates who didn’t make the runoff in the Republican U.S. House primary race, pledged Thursday to support Waco’s Rob Curnock, who came in second with 28.7 percent of the vote. Bill Flores, a former oil and gas company executive from Bryan, placed first with 33.1 percent — not enough to avoid a runoff.

POLITIFACT: PERRY SAYS TEXAS IS THE FASTEST GROWING STATE WITH THE MOST FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES

After Gov. Rick Perry won the 2010 Republican nomination for governor Tuesday, he thanked voters in a cinematic Web video posted on his campaign site. The "Leader" video, set to rock music, shows stampeding horses, standing ovations and a glamour shot of Perry. More than 20 proclaimed accomplishments flash by on the screen including two claims PolitiFact Texas hadn't previously checked — that Texas has the "most Fortune 500 companies" and that it's the "fastest-growing state." Superlative claims often draw our attention; sometimes they stretch reality.

TEXAS' U.S. SENATE CANDIDATES PLAY A WAITING GAME

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison hasn't announced whether she will resign, as she has said she would after the GOP gubernatorial primary, but that's not stopping most of those who want her U.S. Senate seat. They are campaigning and raising money for the race. "We've always looked at the fact that we need to be ready when there's an opening," said former Secretary of State Roger Williams, one of several Texans who have announced that they'll run for the Senate seat when it is open. "Really, nothing changes for me. We'll continue to do what we're doing."

WHAT IMPACT DOES BEING A MINORITY HAVE FOR CANDIDATE WHEN IT'S TIME TO VOTE?

On paper, experts agree that Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Victor Carrillo seemed destined for victory over a little-known opponent in Tuesday's Republican primary. As chief of the state's oil and gas regulatory agency, Carrillo outspent spent rival David Porter by 12-to-1 and had the power of incumbency. Outside oddsmakers had him pegged as an easy pick for re-election. They were wrong. As the returns poured in, Carrillo, the state's highest nonjudicial Hispanic official, not only lost, but lost big: 61 percent to 39 percent. Now, as he looks back on the results, Carrillo believes his downfall may have caused by a factor that has nothing to do with his record and qualifications: his last name.

JOB SEEKERS CHALLENGED TO FILL CENSUS POSITIONS

Even with San Antonio's unemployment rate at its highest level in at least 20 years, recruiters for the U.S. Census Bureau are desperate to fill thousands of temporary job openings as the once-a-decade head count gets under way. A lackluster response to the bureau's pleas for applicants is blamed in part on the requirements for the jobs, but officials hope an enrollment effort this week will fill many of the openings. Census recruiters will conduct a three-day event beginning Tuesday at the Alamodome with a goal of hiring at least 4,500 temporary workers locally. Prospective employees must take a challenging skills assessment that measures reading, numerical, clerical, organizational and other skills. They also must pass a background check and be fluent in English.

STROUD: GOP PRIMARY SIGNALS A CHANGING OF THE GUARD

Speaking to supporters in Driftwood after his resounding Republican primary win last week, Gov. Rick Perry declared it “a very important moment in our party's history.” That may be the truest thing he said all night, although we won't know for sure for quite a while. Both Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison talked about conservative Texas values that evening. So did former Houston Mayor Bill White, for that matter, in his Democratic victory speech. A key difference between Perry and Hutchison, though, was that the senator began by thanking Republican dignitaries who had endorsed her: former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara; former Vice President Dick Cheney; and former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and James Baker — whom she referred to as “Jimmy.”

MUENCH: QUEEN BULLY NORMA CHÁVEZ FIGHTS TO KEEP SEAT IN STATE HOUSE

There couldn't be a better way to keep political action exciting than watching a bully queen fight for her political life. It's the April 13 runoff election against the little girl who lives at home and supports her mother and grandmother. It lacks only a ring announcer. "In this corner ..." Oh, and a referee. "No head-butting, kidney punching or biting off the other dame's ear ..." For seven two-year terms in Austin, Chávez has been talking big, living like a queen and growling down peers and rivals alike. She's a terror on El Paso lobbyists. There's the story of Norma having some guy in a headlock in front of everybody. All the while she's boasted of being the candidate for the people. She says she gets things done for El Paso.

CANDIDATES SAY SENIORITY, TRUST MAY HOLD KEY IN TEXAS HOUSE RACE

It was virtually tradition for El Pasoans to re-elect their veteran legislators. Recently, though, a political newcomer and a veteran campaigner who has never won a general election defeated two of the El Paso delegation's most-senior members. In 2008, Democratic newcomer Marisa Marquez defeated state Rep. Paul Moreno, who in 40 years as representative of District 77 became the most-senior Democrat in the Texas House. The same year, businessman Dee Margo defeated Republican state Rep. Pat Haggerty in the District 78 primary election. Haggerty had been a state legislator since 1989. Margo lost in the general election that fall to Democrat Joe Moody, then just 27 years old. It was Margo's second defeat in a legislative run. With the defeat, El Paso lost its only Republican voice in Austin.

EPT: UTEP TUITION - INCREASE UNPLEASANT, BUT NECESSARY

Tuition will be going up 4.5 percent this fall at the University of Texas at El Paso. For the next academic year at UTEP, tuition will rise from $6,288 to $6,568. Still, that's pretty good when compared with other Texas schools. While unpleasant, it is, as student government president Alex Muñoz said, "a necessary evil." Raising tuition when the economy is so precarious might seem unwise. However, it is the tough economic times that are dictating the increase. UTEP isn't getting all the money it expected from the state. But worse than that, state officials are talking about cutting $8 million from UTEP's budget over two years.

LEGISLATURE STUDIES BUDGET CUTS

Gov. Rick Perry and Texas Legislature leaders have asked all state agencies to cut their budgets by 5 percent to offset a shortfall of at least $12 billion, and possibly as high as $19 billion, expected in next year's legislative session. "Your plan should represent prudent, efficient reductions that minimize the impact on direct services," a Jan. 15 letter that Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus signed advised directors of agencies and commissions as well as presidents of public universities.

County Stories

CASEY: MELODRAMA AT METRO

Two years ago when attorney Lloyd Kelley, the flamboyant former city controller, sought some e-mails from a government agency, it touched off a soap opera that ended up bringing down longtime District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal. Rosenthal resigned in disgrace after his e-mails turned out to include love notes to his secretary and racist jokes, and after he was found to have erased a couple thousand more e-mails in defiance of a federal judge's order. Fallout from that case, in which the county paid $1.7 million in a settlement to two brothers who had been abused by deputies and another couple of million in legal fees, also helped lead to the defeat at the polls of veteran Sheriff Tommy Thomas and County Attorney Mike Stafford.

HAGGERTY TO ASK FOR SALARY CUTS TO REDUCE DEFICIT

County Commissioner Dan Haggerty is proposing that the county government cut most employees' salaries by 5 percent to solve a $10 million budget deficit. But his four colleagues on the County Commissioners Court seemed unwilling to accept his idea, saying it was too drastic and perhaps premature. Haggerty said Friday that sa lary reductions could be the best and only way to get the county's finances back on track. The 5 percent cut, which Haggerty thinks would save just about $10 million, would apply to all 1,600 civilian employees. Employees with collective bargaining agreements, such as sheriff's deputies, would be exempt.

City Stories

CONTESTED ELECTIONS SHAPING UP ACROSS DALLAS AREA

City council and school board hopefuls have until this evening to file for the May 8 election. Contested races are shaping up throughout the area, with voters in several cities deciding ballot measures including bonds in McKinney and Richardson, charter changes in Frisco and Irving and a local-option alcohol election in Red Oak. In many areas, open seats are creating a flurry of activity. Late last week, two filed for the Dallas school board’s District 7 seat, being vacated by trustee Jerome Garza: Eric Cowan, a hotel management executive, and Olegario Estrada, an attorney. Camille D. White, who works in public relations, will challenge incumbent Nancy Bingham in District 4. So far, only incumbent Lew Blackburn has filed in District 5.

AAS: I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN ... ON MARCH 22

This is a pivotal time for Capital Metro. If all goes as expected,the next few weeks will bring favor on the beleaguered transit agency as the public previews the long awaited Red Line passenger rail system. Finally. This is momentous because it means that Capital Metro will keep a key promise it made last year to open its Red Line in spring 2010. That promise will be kept or missed if the Red Line starts up on March 22. With that, Capital Metro can recoup much of the credibility it squandered over the past two years by delaying the start of passenger rail. And it finally has received the blessing of the Federal Railroad Administration.

COLLEYVILLE LIQUOR VOTE AMONG LOCAL REFERENDUMS

Northeast Tarrant County residents usually head to Fort Worth or beyond when in need of a good bottle of scotch. The options, outside of a liquor store in Westlake, are limited. But that could change if Colleyville residents approve liquor sales May 8. Liquor sales, school bonds, crime control, street improvements and revamped city charters are among issues that will be decided by voters in area cities and school districts. School board and city council elections will also be held, and the filing period ends today.

KENNEDY: A TALE OF TWO CITIES — AND A 'CULTURAL BATTLE'

By Super Bowl time next year, Fort Worth and Dallas will be united as one Kum Ba Yah-singing marketing opportunity named “North Texas.” But no less than National Public Radio reminded us this week that Fort Worth and Dallas didn’t always get along. In a report on the local “Battle for Cultural Supremacy,” NPR’s All Things Considered recycled our cities’ 160-year rivalry, which has spread from baseball diamonds to airports and now the arts. Reporters John Burnett and Wade Goodwyn teasingly debated whether Dallas’ new performing-arts halls have brought that city up to match Houston and Fort Worth, particularly with the new Michelangelo painting and coming $70 million addition at the Kimbell Art Museum. One sound bite rekindled the rivalry.

Lead Stories

MALPRACTICE AWARDS CONTINUE TO FALL, EVEN AS HEALTH COSTS RISE, REPORT SAYS

As doctors and their supporters urge Congress to revamp medical malpractice as part of a health care system overhaul, payments in malpractice cases continue to go down — even as health care costs rise, says an analysis this week by Public Citizen. “The number of medical malpractice payments made on behalf of physicians in 2009 was the lowest since the creation of the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), which has tracked medical malpractice payments since 1990,” the report says. “The cumulative value of malpractice payments in 2009 was the lowest since 1999 in actual (unadjusted) dollars. If adjusted for inflation, payments were … either the lowest or the second lowest on record.”

JANUARY BROUGHT JOB GAINS TO TEXAS, BUT STRONG RECOVERY MAY TAKE MORE TIME

Texas employers expanded payrolls by 30,300 jobs in January, the third time in the last four months the state has gained jobs, according to preliminary information released Friday by the Texas Workforce Commission. Employers added more net jobs in January than in any month since February 2008. But the figure is subject to revision, and analysts cautioned that a strong job market turnaround is probably some ways off.

RANGEL: DID ETHNICITY PLAY ANY PART IN ELECTION OUTCOME?

By most accounts, Amarillo’s restaurant owner Victor Leal already had one strike against him in the Republican race for Texas House District 87 because there were doubts about his residency in the district, which the Amarillo Globe-News detailed in a front-page story. Leal, who had lived in neighboring District 86, said he had moved to the Amarillo portion of Potter County on Oct. 7 and qualified to run for the seat incumbent David Swinford, R-Dumas, is vacating. But as the Globe-News reported there were no signs Leal was living in the house. However, for a good number of people, mainly Austin watchers, Leal had a second strike against him in his losing race against Walter “Four” Price IV: His ethnicity.

TOP HOME-SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS DISMISS DARWIN, EVOLUTION

Christian-based materials dominate a growing home-school education market that encompasses more than 1.5 million students in the U.S. And for most home-school parents, a Bible-based version of the Earth's creation is exactly what they want. Federal statistics from 2007 show 83 percent of home-schooling parents want to give their children "religious or moral instruction." "The majority of home-schoolers self-identify as evangelical Christians," said Ian Slatter, a spokesman for the Home School Legal Defense Association. "Most home-schoolers will definitely have a sort of creationist component to their home-school program."

National Stories

FEDERAL LAWMAKERS RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR FACE ANTI-WASHINGTON ATTACKS

Tagged as a creature of Washington, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Gov. Rick Perry in this week's Texas Republican primary -- a contest that Hutchison was once favored to win, until Perry rode a wave of anti-Washington sentiment to victory. The Texas results aren't encouraging for the nine U.S. lawmakers who are seeking the top office in their home states this year, when being linked to Washington is like wearing a scarlet letter. Financial bailouts. Record high federal deficits. A sluggish economy. And runaway federal spending intended to spark an economic revival. All these issues have a fed a populist anger and the Tea Party Movement and given ammunition to gubernatorial candidates who don't have day jobs in Washington.

SUN SETTING ON HARLEM

The New York Amsterdam News, the creaky weekly newspaper that is the voice of Harlem's political establishment, is making the best of a bad week. "Paterson demands facts," reads the headline over a defiant picture of New York's sinking governor. Below that, "Rangel requests leave of absence from chairmanship." The active verbs did little to conceal what a difficult winter made clear: The sun is setting on Harlem as the seat of New York's black political elite, and the symbolic national center of black politics.

LEFT GEARS UP TO FIGHT MEDIA WARS

From a glitzy new office in downtown Washington, the ideological war over the media is fully engaged. Six years after its founding to counter what it said was “conservative misinformation,” Media Matters for America employs a staff of 70 that spends 19 hours a day monitoring newspapers, magazines, broadcast and cable television, talk radio, and the Internet to counter reporting or commentary it deems to be inaccurate or biased. Lou Dobbs recently described the group as part of “the vast left wing conspiracy,” an ironic twist on Hillary Clinton’s famous description of the conservative infrastructure arrayed against her husband when he was president and fighting off attempts to impeach him.

VA. COLLEGES CAN'T BAN GAY DISCRIMINATION

Virginia's attorney general has advised the state's public colleges that they don't have the authority to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, saying only the General Assembly has that power. The letter sent by Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli to state college presidents and other officials Thursday drew swift criticism from Democrats and gay rights activists. Cuccinelli said the legislature has repeatedly refused to exercise its authority. As recently as Tuesday, a subcommittee killed legislation that would have banned job discrimination against gay state employees.

SEBELIUS: BID FOR GOP HELP SLOWED HEALTH BILL

Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of health and human services, said Sunday that health care reform would have been "dead on arrival" if the White House had sent a finished proposal to Congress last year. She said the drawn-out debate on overhauling the system grew out of President Obama's so-far failed effort to gain bipartisan backing for extending coverage to millions more Americans. Mrs. Sebelius said "conversations will continue" if necessary to overcome the objections of a key House Democrat, Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, over abortion funding.

STEELE: GOP SHOULD FOCUS ON ISSUES

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele said Saturday the GOP should focus on issues such as jobs and education and not on scare tactics. Mr. Steele made the remarks to reporters before he gave a speech Saturday at a Shelby County, Tenn., Republican Party fundraiser. Mr. Steele also said he has launched an internal review into why a 72-page Power Point presentation to GOP fundraisers in Florida last month included a direct call to exploit "extreme negative feelings" toward Democrats.

PRUDEN: NO FLIP-FLOPPERY, JUST FLIM-FLAMMERY

If someone is determined to embrace suicide, there's not much someone else can do about it. If a gun isn't handy, a knife will be, or a bottle of sleeping pills, or even a video of a speech by Joe Biden. If you're Barack Obama in a vengeful mood, you just shove a health care "reform" that nobody wants at reluctant congressmen in your party. It's just as effective and just as quick. Mr. Obama is loath to say the word "reconciliation," because he knows "reconciliation" is this season's synonym for suicide. So he warns of the danger of flip-floppery. His health care "reform" passed the House by only five votes, and deaths and resignations have reduced the margin.

AL-QAEDA ON ALLEGED FORT HOOD KILLER: 'IDEAL ROLE MODEL'

Al-Qaeda's American-born spokesman on Sunday called on Muslims serving in the U.S. armed forces to emulate the Army major charged with killing 13 people in Fort Hood. In a 25-minute video posted on militant websites, Adam Gadahn described Maj. Nidal Hasan as a pioneer who should serve as a role model for other Muslims, especially those serving Western militaries. "Brother Nidal is the ideal role-model for every repentant Muslim in the armies of the unbelievers and apostate regimes," he said.

OBAMA PLEDGES BILLIONS TO DEVELOP CLEAN ENERGY

President Obama is ramping up efforts to promote clean energy. He's made repeated speeches on the topic, and in the last month, he's pledged $10 billion in federal loan guarantees for solar, wind and nuclear power as well as energy-efficient windows. Consider the last week alone. On Tuesday in Savannah, Ga., Obama unveiled details of his HomeStar plan to give people rebates worth up to $3,000 for making their homes more efficient. He's asking Congress to fund the program, estimated to cost about $6 billion.

EXPLOSIONS HIT BAGHDAD AS IRAQIS VOTE IN PIVOTAL ELECTION

A concerted wave of attacks struck Baghdad and other cities across the country on Sunday as Iraqis voted to elect a new parliament and possibly a new prime minister. Explosions reverberated across the capital moments before the polls opened and continued through the morning haze for the first hours of voting. At least 38 people were killed and dozens more wounded in Baghdad alone by the time polls officially closed there, the Interior Ministry reported. Insurgents in Iraq had vowed to disrupt the election, and the attacks appeared timed to frighten voters away from polling sites. If that were the intent, it did not succeed entirely.

U.S. ENRICHES COMPANIES DEFYING ITS POLICY ON IRAN

The federal government has awarded more than $107 billion in contract payments, grants and other benefits over the past decade to foreign and multinational American companies while they were doing business in Iran, despite Washington’s efforts to discourage investment there, records show. That includes nearly $15 billion paid to companies that defied American sanctions law by making large investments that helped Iran develop its vast oil and gas reserves. For years, the United States has been pressing other nations to join its efforts to squeeze the Iranian economy, in hopes of reining in Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

State Stories

POLITIFACT: PERRY SAYS TEXAS HAS INSTALLED MORE WIND POWER THAN ALL BUT FOUR COUNTRIES

Federal regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? "Don't tread on us" sums up the reaction of GOP Gov. Rick Perry, who's running for reelection. In February, the state filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency to prevent the regulation of carbon dioxide. Perry has resisted the EPA's finding last year that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health — a verdict that sets the stage for federal regulation. State officials say such curbs could jeopardize jobs and threaten businesses in Texas, which leads the nation in carbon emissions.

POLITIFACT: WHITE SAYS ALMOST 1 MILLION PEOPLE ARE UNEMPLOYED IN TEXAS — A STATE RECORD

Former Houston Mayor Bill White, who won the 2010 Democratic nomination for governor Tuesday, wasted no time attacking Gov. Rick Perry's legacy. Hint: White doesn't think it's shaping up so well. "Rick Perry and his consultants and his insiders will take credit for all the good times in Texas," White said. "But they won't take responsibility for the fact that today, there's almost 1 million Texans who are unemployed and that's an all-time record number in our state."

FLYNN: FAITH LEADERS PUSH FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM

We, as a nation, are stressed. The economy has derailed lives and careers. We are torn over the health care debate. We are sending our young people off to war. We are worried about national security. And as we grapple with our own problems, we are still trying to do our part for disaster victims overseas. As the Rev. Thomas Reese, a Jesuit priest, admitted in a column just after the Haiti earthquake, many of us are suffering from compassion fatigue. But the interfaith chorus for immigration reform is gaining volume anyway. The voices are diverse: Catholics and mainline Protestants, evangelicals and emerging Christians, Jews, Hindus and Muslims. And the message is clear: Congress must do something now. Families are being torn apart by deportations and detentions and an inadequate visa system.

IN EAGLE PASS, DIVIDED VIEW OF BORDER FENCE

As the sun dips toward the horizon, Shelby Park becomes an idyllic place, a rare patch of manicured green along the Texas-Mexico border. Kids practice soccer on the expansive sports fields, and joggers make their afternoon revolutions. A couple of Border Patrol trucks hover in the parking lot alongside the dense stands of cane that hide the Rio Grande from view. Above, two international bridges funnel traffic between Eagle Pass and its Mexican counterpart, Piedras Negras, Coahuila . Jose Luis Zuniga, watching his two sons practice soccer kicks, takes in the park's newest addition: an $11 million, 14-foot-tall black metal fence.

AAS: IN TEXAS, LONE RUNOFF TOO EASILY BLOWN OFF

The chances that the Republican runoff race for a seat on the Texas Supreme Court will capture widespread attention are slim. The race warrants attention, but judicial races lack the pizzazz of legislative or executive office races. So Texans, who insist on voting for their judges, paradoxically pay scant attention to judicial races. Even less attention is paid to a statewide judicial race that is the lone item on the April 13 GOP ballot. The runoff winner will meet Democrat Jim Sharp, a Houston appeals court judge, and Libertarian William Bryan Strange III, a 24-year lawyer from Dallas, in the November general election.

GARCIA: POLITICIANS SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS

On Wednesday, most involved with Texas politics slept late, per chance to dream of what was, what is, what could have been or what will never be. At one time, Kay Bailey Hutchison dreamed of being governor, and that tantalizing possibility prompted her to say some things she probably regrets now that a GOP electorate crushed that dream by sticking with incumbent Rick Perry. The senator drove herself into a rhetorical cul de sac by declaring she would resign her Senate post win or lose after the primary.Now, Hutchison isn't talking about what she'll do next. Obviously, breaking her word has a lot of downside, but so does keeping it. If she stays in the U.S. Senate — as she is being urged to do by a variety of national and state voices, including Perry's — her credibility takes a big hit.

HERMAN: THE TRUTH ABOUT EARLY VOTING

I've made a discovery. As soon as somebody gives me the number, I'm going to give the Nobel folks a heads-up about this so I can get to work on my acceptance speech. But first I want to share it with my good friends in Central Texas. (This is a category that does not include those of you whose idea of an e-mail salutation is "Hey, dumb guy.") And now, the discovery: The approximately 1.3 million of you who cast votes on primary day were wasting your time. Thanks for participating in democracy. It's very important. As you know, blood has been shed to preserve your right to wear a nifty little "I Voted" sticker.

CHUBB: STATE OVERSIGHT OF GROUNDWATER DISTRICTS NEEDED

Asher Price's recent article about local groundwater resources (Feb. 28, "State seeks to unify local handling of groundwater") was written by someone outside looking into the world of groundwater. I am writing this article as someone inside looking out. We are experiencing a modern-day "water rush"in Central Texas, where the greed for oil has been replaced by the greed for groundwater. I own about 90 acres in Milam County, where, as Price describes it, the "fiefdom" of the Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District reigns.And as a freelance journalist, I have reported about Post Oak for local newspapers since 2004.

CONSERVATIVE TEXANS WANT MORE THAN PHOTO-OPS

When the 2009 regular session of the Texas Legislature concluded, Gov. Rick Perry came to San Antonio to affix his signature to a major property rights measure. In front of the Alamo, Perry appeared to sign legislation putting a constitutional amendment on the November 2009 ballot that sharply restricted the circumstances under which state and local government could exercise eminent domain. The ceremony presented a great photo-op: a conservative governor affirming an essential right, drawing a line in the sand on eminent domain in the shadow of the Cradle of Texas Liberty. The ceremony was also deceptive.

GILLMAN: WHAT IF HUTCHISON HAD PIPED UP EARLIER?

Let's talk for a moment about the importance of speaking up when it might make a difference. One thing striking about Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's failed effort to oust an incumbent governor was that until she began running against Rick Perry, she never piped up about cronyism, mismanagement of the state budget, the cervical cancer vaccine mandate, the Trans-Texas Corridor or most of the other shortcomings she hammered for the last 13 months.

VOTER ID AMONG GOP RESOLUTIONS

Texas Republicans rallied behind resolutions on voter identification, spending and other issues in their primary last week. The resolutions, including perennial GOP priorities that have failed in the Legislature, were chosen by the State Republican Executive Committee to send a message to elected leaders. One resolution says lawmakers should "protect the integrity" of elections and require a valid photo ID to vote. That issue was among the most contentious in last year's legislative session. It ultimately failed, but is expected to re-emerge next year.

NELSON: FOR FAROUK SHAMI, LOSING BIG DIDN'T COME CHEAP

Defeated Democrat Farouk Shami made good on his promise to spend millions on his bid for governor. Nearly $12 million in expenditures netted Shami a paltry 12.8 percent of the vote. Matt Stiles at the Texas Tribune crunched the numbers, calculating the cost per vote for primary candidates. Not surprisingly, Shami tops the list, spending an eye-popping $135 for each vote. As Matt wryly notes: For that price, Shami could have given each supporter one of his pricey hair straightening irons. Considering that I saw little evidence of Shami's millions out on the street, that might have been a better strategy.

LEGISLATORS PREPARE TO CUT BUDGET

Gov. Rick Perry and Texas Legislature leaders have asked all state agencies to cut their budgets by 5 percent to offset a shortfall of at least $12 billion, and possibly as high as $19 billion, expected in next year's legislative session. "Your plan should represent prudent, efficient reductions that minimize the impact on direct services," a Jan. 15 letter that Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus signed advised directors of agencies and commissions, as well as presidents of public universities. And though the agencies have begun cutting costs, starting Monday some lawmakers will start getting involved in the process as well.

RICK PERRY IN 2012? NO SO FAST, THE TEXAS GOVERNOR FIRST HAS TO WIN A TOUGH RACE IN NOVEMBER

Before Rick Perry can parlay his tea party-powered victory in the Texas governor’s primary into something bigger — a 2012 Republican presidential ticket, perhaps — he’ll have to actually win a record-setting, third four-year term. Doing that will require beating Bill White, the former Houston mayor who might be the only Democrat with the cash and base of support to counter Perry’s Texas swagger and cutthroat campaign style and end his undefeated streak at the ballot box. “This will be the toughest race that Rick Perry has ever been in,” said Craig Varoga, a Houston-based political consultant who has known the mild-mannered White for years.

ANTI-ABORTION ADVOCATES READY TO KEEP FIGHTING FOR PERRY

After rallying behind Gov. Rick Perry in his Republican primary fight against U.S. Sen Kay Bailey Hutchison, anti-abortion advocates are now preparing for round two as they get ready to help Perry in his days-old general election battle against Democratic nominee Bill White. "There's only one candidate with a pro-life record," says Kyleen Wright of Mansfield, president of the Texans for Life Coalition. "I expect that abortion will be a key factor in the race." Perry is a staunch foe of abortion while White, a former mayor of Houston, supports abortion rights. "I expect to see abortion advocates pushing hard for Mayor White, and we plan to make sure our friends know where each candidate is on the issue."

MONTGOMERY: WHAT IMPACT DOES BEING A MINORITY HAVE FOR CANDIDATE WHEN IT'S TIME TO VOTE?

On paper, experts agree that Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Victor Carrillo seemed destined for victory over a little-known opponent in Tuesday's Republican primary. As chief of the state's oil and gas regulatory agency, Carrillo outspent spent rival David Porter by 12-to-1 and had the power of incumbency. Outside oddsmakers had him pegged as an easy pick for re-election. They were wrong. As the returns poured in, Carrillo, the state's highest nonjudicial Hispanic official, not only lost, but lost big: 61 percent to 39 percent.

PERRY HOLDS NARROW 6-POINT LEAD OVER WHITE

The first poll of the days-old general election race between Rick Perry and Bill White shows the Republican governor with a 6-point lead over his Democratic challenger, supporting predictions that unfolding Texas gubernatorial battle could be one of the most competitive in years Perry led White 49 percent to 43 percent in the latest Ramussen Reports survey of likely Texas voters. Three percent prefer som other candidate and six percent are undecided.

ANTI-ABORTION ADVOCATES READY TO KEEP FIGHTING FOR PERRY

After rallying behind Gov. Rick Perry in his Republican primary fight against U.S. Sen Kay Bailey Hutchison, anti-abortion advocates are now preparing for round two as they get ready to help Perry in his days-old general election battle against Democratic nominee Bill White. "There's only one candidate with a pro-life record," says Kyleen Wright of Mansfield, president of the Texans for Life Coalition. "I expect that abortion will be a key factor in the race." Perry is a staunch foe of abortion while White, a former mayor of Houston, supports abortion rights. "I expect to see abortion advocates pushing hard for Mayor White, and we plan to make sure our friends know where each candidate is on the issue."

IF TEXANS INSIST ON ELECTING JUDGES, JOB REQUIREMENTS SHOULD MATTER

It looks like the deep-pocketed law firms and industry PACs that usually influence Texas Supreme Court races didn't determine who'd make it to the Republican runoff for a chance to succeed Justice Harriet O'Neill. Why, then, is the result so dissatisfying? Could be because my fellow voters, in their infinite "wisdom" about judicial races, demonstrated how little many of them know about the court's job requirements. From a field of six candidates, the top vote-getter was by far the least qualified.

TRIBBLOG: RELIEVING DRIVER DEBT

Today, the Texas Department of Public Safety released proposed new rules that would make it easier for poor Texans with traffic tickets to get right with the law. Texas adopted the so-called Driver Responsibility Program in 2003. Under the program, drivers who get certain kinds of tickets have to pay huge annual surcharges to the DPS in order to keep their driver's licenses. Only what was happening was that thousands of Texans weren't paying and they were losing their licenses, winding up in already crowded courts and jails. So, last year, lawmakers told DPS to revamp the program to make it easier for poor people to pay off the fines and stay out of the hoosegow.

BAYLOR MEDICAL SCHOOL WORKS TO GET BACK ON TRACK

Baylor College of Medicine has four months to repay $100 million of the debt on its suspended hospital unless it reaches an agreement with another hospital to either finish or operate or to instead serve as its adult-care home. The hospital-in-limbo has saddled Baylor with $600 million in debt since the medical college began selling bonds to pay for it in 2007. Beset by financial difficulties, Baylor halted construction last year, leaving it without one obvious future revenue stream for bond repayment. When merger talks with Rice University broke down in January, Baylor's lenders required it to hire a restructuring officer to develop a plan for repaying the debt.

STATES TRY TO BAN CREDIT CHECKS ON JOB SEEKERS

It's hard enough to find a job in this economy, and now some people are facing another hurdle: Potential employers are holding their credit histories against them. Sixty percent of employers recently surveyed by the Society for Human Resources Management said they run credit checks on at least some job applicants, compared with 42 percent in a somewhat similar survey in 2006. Employers say such checks give them valuable information about an applicant's honesty and sense of responsibility. But lawmakers in at least 16 states from South Carolina to Oregon have proposed outlawing most credit checks, saying the practice traps people in debt because their past financial problems prevent them from finding work.

DISTRICT 76 RACE DRAWS BIG MONEY

The median household income in state House District 76 is $23,400 a year, a little more than half the national average. Almost half of the voters do not have a high-school diploma. About 12.4 percent of the adults are unemployed, more than 2 percentage points higher than in El Paso as a whole. But these days, big-money lobbyists from across Texas are courting the district's 73,174 registered voters.

PERRY NO LONGER A LIGHTWEIGHT

Rick Perry once was written off as a lightweight, a handsome “Gov. Good Hair” who got the state’s top job only because George W. Bush handed it to him. Not anymore. Perry proved this week that he can do more than show up at the right place at the right time. In this case, Perry didn’t just catch the anti-establishment, anti-Washington wave of the nascent Tea Party movement. He saw it coming, then helped shape it and might now even be considered one of its leaders.

County Stories

GOMEZ LOSES 78704 ZIP CODE, BUT WINS PRECINCT 4

Voters in the South Austin neighborhoods of Bouldin and Travis Heights turned out in large numbers for Raul Alvarez on Tuesday. But in contrast to past elections, those neighborhoods did not hold the key to victory in the Democratic primary race for Precinct 4 county commissioner. Alvarez, a former City Council member, could not overcome strong support for Margaret Gómez, running for a fifth term, in heavily Latino areas, including the southeast neighborhood of Dove Springs.

VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY FLEXES POLITICAL MUSCLE IN COUNTY RACE

The Vietnamese-American community in central Tarrant County has its own radio station, grocery stores and restaurants. And if they turn out April 13 in the same kind of numbers they did in last week's primary, they may have their own county commissioner. Andy Nguyen was the surprise top vote-getter in the Republican primary for Precinct 2 county commissioner with 42 percent of the vote.

LOCAL DEMOCRATS HAVE A RUN-OFF TOO

Tarrant County Republicans will decide on four runoffs on the ballot on April 13. Democrats will have one: Justice of the Peace, Precinct 8. The precinct covers part of southwest Fort Worth. Four Democrats vied for the seat. Charlotte Hogan-Price, a Tarrant County probate auditor, attracted 43 percent of the vote. Lisa Woodard, a court manager for the precinct, earned 40 percent support. No Republican filed for the position.

City Stories

SUICIDE PILOT JOE STACK HAD HISTORY OF SHUTTING DOORS ON PEOPLE

For many years, Andy Stack, as he was known to his classmates at the Milton Hershey School, was among "the lost." "We don't know where they are, and we don't have a forwarding address for them," said Mike Macchioni, the alumnus representative for the class of 1974 of the famed Pennsylvania orphanage. And then, one day, maybe 10 years ago, Macchioni tracked Stack down in California. "Among the lost, you don't know what to expect," he said. "Maybe not everyone had a positive experience. But he had people closer than sisters and brothers here."

TRINITY TOLL ROAD FACES LEVEE WORK DELAYS

The prospects for the Trinity Parkway are dimmer now than they have been in years. A top city official said last week that the toll road again will be delayed by problems with the Trinity River levees. Work to shore up flood protection will push the road's schedule beyond the mid-2012 start date that Mayor Tom Leppert set last year when worries first surfaced about the integrity of the 80-year-old levees downtown.

ENERGY EXEC REPORTED MISSING IN NEW ORLEANS

Executives of a Houston energy company spent Saturday searching New Orleans' French Quarter area for their leader, 54-year-old Douglas Schantz, who disappeared early Friday morning. Schantz, head of Houston-based Sequent Energy Management, was last seen wearing a blazer and tie at 2 a.m. in the 500 block of Bourbon Street, according to the New Orleans Police Department. “This is exceptionally unusual,” said Mark Homestead, Sequent's vice president of trading and marketing. “We are a business where we are all on call 24/7 and we all carry BlackBerrys. He usually responds within 10 minutes with phone calls and e-mails.”

DALLAS SCHOOL DISTRICTS SEEK TO SET OWN START DATES

School districts have begun to chafe under the state's mandatory late-August starting date, saying that it makes it nearly impossible to accommodate the needs of students, parents and teachers. The Texas Association of School Boards said that statewide complaints about the start date are growing and probably will cause the group to lobby lawmakers to change it when the session resumes next year. "We've heard from all regions of the state that school districts have real problems with the start date," said Dax Gonzales, a TASB spokesman. "It's hard enough to come up with a school calendar without this obstacle."

Lead Stories

FLOYD: DALLAS COUNTY JUDGE MAY BE HEADED OUT, BUT TROUBLE ISN'T

Cue the rooty-toot kazoo music: It's time for a final round of slapstick pie fighting over at Dallas County Commissioners Court! Voters have extended the vaudeville hook to yank poor, befuddled County Judge Jim Foster off the public stage. Still, he's vowing in the twilight of his tenure to bring the mustachioed villains to justice. His soon-to-be-former party colleagues, ignoring his blustering exhortations, are hosing him down with seltzer water. Lotta yuks!

RON KIRK IS NOT AMUSED BY SECESSION TALK

U.S. Trade Representative and former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk tore into the Texas GOP fringe's flirtation with secession Wednesday, comparing such comments to a return to "the Jim Crow South." "I know what it means for my parents' generation," Kirk, a black Democrat, said when asked about the issue. "And we fought too hard to get me to this point for me to be amused even a little bit by any of this states' rights, secession stuff."

POLL: PERRY, 49 PERCENT; WHITE 43 PERCENT

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in Texas finds Perry leading White, the popular former mayor of Houston, by just six points, 49% to 43%. Three percent (3%) opt for some other candidate, and six percent (6%) are undecided.

STATE POLLS SHOW GATHERING STORM

Congress, it turns out, isn’t the only institution held in low esteem by voters this year. According to a POLITICO review of publicly available polling data, numerous state legislatures are also bottoming out, showing off-the-charts disapproval ratings accompanied by stunning levels of voter cynicism. It all adds up to a toxic election year brew for legislators inside and outside Washington.

National Stories

TEN PEOPLE WHO COULD DECIDE HEALTH CARE REFORM

At this point, a yearlong health reform effort will live or die in Congress by a few votes that go one way or the other, all in the next few weeks. President Barack Obama knows this as well as anyone, which is why on Thursday he invited a mix of House Democrats — some of the most liberal, and some of the most conservative — to the White House, where he told them to do whatever they can to rally support among their fellow members.

ETHICS CONFIRMS PROBE OF REP. ERIC MASSA

The House ethics committee confirmed it has launched a subcommittee to investigate allegations involving Rep. Eric Massa. In a one-line statement, the panel Thursday evening announced it is “investigating and gathering additional information concerning matters related to allegations” against Massa (D-N.Y.). Massa, a cancer survivor, announced Wednesday afternoon that he would not seek re-election because he is once again fighting a battle with cancer.

HOUSE APPROVES $15 BILLION JOB-CREATION PACKAGE, 217-201

The House passed the Senate's $15 billion jobs bill in a 217-201 vote on Thursday. Lawmakers voted to approve the package, which provides a series of tax credits for job creation and other stimulus measures, after Democrats struggled to pass a rule for the legislation. Thirty-five Democrats opposed the bill while six Republicans supported it.

CLIMATE SCIENTISTS PLOT TO FIGHT BACK AT SKEPTICS

Undaunted by a rash of scandals over the science underpinning climate change, top climate researchers are plotting to respond with what one scientist involved said needs to be "an outlandishly aggressively partisan approach" to gut the credibility of skeptics. In private e-mails obtained by The Washington Times, climate scientists at the National Academy of Sciences say they are tired of "being treated like political pawns" and need to fight back in kind. Their strategy includes forming a nonprofit group to organize researchers and use their donations to challenge critics by running a back-page ad in the New York Times.

OBAMA LOBBIES WAVERING DEMOCRATS ON HEALTH CARE

President Obama and top Democrats set out Thursday to thwart defections and solidify support for their health care overhaul bill, focusing on skeptical rank-and-file House Democrats antsy about voting for the unpopular measure and then having to fend off Republican attacks in the midterm elections. A dozen House Democrats who supported the bill in the House said they'll vote against Mr. Obama's plan unless strong abortion restrictions are inserted. Others question whether the Senate bill, the basis of the president's plan, will do enough to stem rising health care costs or address regional disparities on Medicare rates.

RASH OF SCANDALS TESTS DEMOCRATS AT SENSITIVE TIME

The ethical woes facing Democrats are piling up, with barely a day passing in recent weeks without headlines from Washington to New York and beyond filled with word of scandal or allegations of wrongdoing. The troubles of Gov. David A. Paterson of New York, followed by those of two of the state’s congressmen, Charles B. Rangel and Eric J. Massa, have added to the ranks of episodes involving prominent Democrats like Eliot Spitzer, Rod R. Blagojevich and John Edwards.

IN TESTIMONY, BROWN SAYS IRAQ WAR WAS ‘RIGHT DECISION’

Challenged over his record as Britain’s finance chief for most of the Iraq war, Prime Minister Gordon Brown appeared on Friday before a high-level inquiry into the conflict, defending the decision to invade alongside American troops but questioning United States’ planning for the aftermath. “I believe this is the gravest decision of all, to make a decision to go to war,” Mr. Brown said. “It was the right decision made for the right reasons.” But, addressing a panel of four knights and a peer in London’s Queen Elizabeth II Conference Center, he offered veiled criticism of the preparations to rebuild Iraq after the invasion, when the country descended into lawlessness, terrorism and sectarian strife.

SUSPECTED GUNMAN IN PENTAGON SHOOTING ACTED ALONE, OFFICIALS SAY

The California man who calmly opened fire on two police officers at an entrance to the Pentagon Thursday appears to have acted alone and was not connected to any terrorist plot, Pentagon police chief Richard S. Keevill said. The shooter, identified as 36-year-old John Patrick Bedell, was dressed in a business suit and carried two 9-millimeter semi-automatic weapons and "many magazines" of ammunition, Keevill said at a 6 a.m. news conference Friday. "He walked very directly to the officers and engaged," Keevill said. The officers, identified as Jeffrey Amos and Marvin Carraway, were superficially wounded, one in the shoulder and one in the thigh. Both were treated at George Washington University Hospital in Northwest Washington and released.

State Stories

TEXAS WIND PROJECT'S STIMULUS FUNDS MAY STALL OVER CHINESE PARTS, JOBS

A group of Democratic senators may seek to halt stimulus funding for wind-energy projects over concerns that the program is subsidizing jobs overseas. The dispute was prompted by a proposed wind farm in West Texas, whose investors planned to use Chinese-made turbines and seek a $450 million stimulus grant. The senators insist that stimulus funds shouldn't go to projects that get most of their materials from abroad and create "the bulk of their jobs" in other countries.

PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION ORDERS TESTS OF SMART METERS

The Texas Public Utility Commission agreed Thursday to hire a company to independently test the accuracy of new smart meters, in an attempt to ease concerns that the meters cause bills to jump. The three commissioners agreed during an open meeting to engage a third party to test meters installed by Oncor and Centerpoint Energy. The PUC staff will try to hire someone within two weeks for the tests. The program would extensively test meters in the Bell County area, where the commission has received many complaints, and allow any customer to request testing of his new digital meter.

PERRY URGES HUTCHISON TO FINISH SENATE TERM

Gov. Rick Perry, who spent the past year bashing Kay Bailey Hutchison’s record in the U.S. Senate, said Thursday that he hopes she does not resign and serves out the rest of her term. In a radio interview with Mark Davis on WBAP-AM, Perry said he hoped the two might campaign together for his re-election, and that meanwhile he hopes that “the senator stays and continues to fight the good fight” against the Obama administration.

TEXAS UNEMPLOYMENT RATE HOLDING STEADY

The Texas unemployment rate stood at 8.2 percent in January, the Texas Workforce Commission said this morning. That's the same as the December rate, which was revised to 8.2 percent after a preliminary reading of 8.3 percent announced in January. "The Texas unemployment rate held steady over the past two months at 8.2 percent and remained lower than the national rate of 9.7 percent," said Tom Pauken, chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission. What about payroll employment? Those data are delayed, as we warned might happen in today's front-page story.

PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS NOT LIKELY TO SHIFT LEADERSHIP IN TEXAS LEGISLATURE

While voters rejected five House incumbents in Tuesday's primaries, every senator who filed to run for re-election was renominated – even one in Waco who stopped campaigning. Experts said Wednesday that the primary election is unlikely to force changes in the Legislature's leadership. Republicans have an edge of 77-73 in the House. But Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, may have increased his chances of winning a second term as the chamber's leader, one Republican consultant said.

TEXAS PRIMARY TURNOUT IS HIGHEST IN 20 YEARS

The high-profile Republican race for governor helped draw the most voters to a Texas primary election in 20 years – and perhaps set a record for a GOP primary. The Texas secretary of state's office said Wednesday that slightly more than 2.1 million, or 16.5 percent of registered voters, cast ballots in the Republican and Democratic primaries.

BILL WHITE, ON THE HOT BUTTON ISSUES

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill White says he's for the death penalty, isn't a 911 truther, is "a full supporter of 2nd Amendment rights" and took "a more aggressive approach" on immigration while mayor of Houston than did counterparts in practically every other U.S. and Texas city. "With the possible exception of Farmers Branch," White said moments ago on KRLD-AM in Dallas.

DMN: STATE ED BOARD SHAKEUP COULD LEAD TO STABILITY

State Board of Education races rarely rise to the top of the political heap, even in Texas. But Mount Pleasant Republican Thomas Ratliff's election to the 15-member panel definitely qualifies as a "wow" event. His defeat of incumbent Don McLeroy in Tuesday's GOP primary creates the potential for a tectonic shift in the board's politics. We welcome that, since Texas students could benefit from stability on this board. McLeroy, a Bryan dentist, has been a ringleader of the socially conservative faction that questioned the teaching of evolution, warred over reading comprehension standards, argued for social studies students to learn more about conservatives than liberals, and generally saw the board as a place to extend fights about culture.

WOOLLEY: WHY HUTCHISON NEEDS TO RESIGN

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is living under the cloud of a solemn promise. When she announced for governor, she told us she would resign the Senate – win or lose. Turned out that "lose" is the operative word – she won only 30 percent of the vote. That means that if Hutchison has a political future, it's right where she is now – in the U.S. Senate. But what about the promise? She told WBAP radio's Mark Davis in late July 2009 that she'd step down in October or November to concentrate on her run for governor.

JUDGE DECLARES DEATH PENALTY UNCONSTITUTIONAL

A Houston judge on Thursday granted a pretrial motion declaring the death penalty unconstitutional, saying he believes innocent people have been executed. “Based on the moratorium (on the death penalty) in Illinois, the Innocence Project and more than 200 people being exonerated nationwide, it can only be concluded that innocent people have been executed,” state District Judge Kevin Fine said. “It's safe to assume we execute innocent people.”

CASEY: VOTERS NOT SWAYED BY SLIMY ADS

In the past few weeks I have railed against two political candidates for targeting their opponents with sensationalistic and misleading ads. I'm delighted to report that both campaigns failed. Actually, the mailings and radio ads run by Houston appellate Justice Leslie Brock Yates weren't exactly sleazy. They were just flagrantly unjudicial. Yates accused her opponent, Republican State District Judge Sharon McCally, of being the tool of Democratic plaintiff's lawyers who were “trying to buy a seat on the 14th Court of Appeals.”

A MEDICAID MESS

Baptist Memorial Retirement Community can't afford more financial strain. The only nonprofit senior care facility in San Angelo — already struggling to retain a quality nursing staff — faces major Medicare provider cuts in the health care reform bill on life support in Washington. But last month, Baptist Memorial and other senior and long-term care facilities learned they may be hit at home too: Medicaid provider rate cuts under consideration by the state's Health and Human Services Commission. “We can’t afford to serve as many people as we have historically,” says Baptist Memorial Executive Director Patrick Crump, whose facility — home to 200 residents at any given time — will lose 40 Medicaid beds over the next four months. “We can’t afford to take another cut from where we are right now and continue to provide to the same number of people at the same level.”

DATA APP: HOW MUCH VOTES COST

For the amount of money he spent in Tuesday's primary, Farouk Shami could have purchased each of his 87,268 voters, say, haircuts for about six months — or, perhaps, a high-end model CHI, his signature hair straightener. The Houston Democrat and hair-care executive spent $135 per voter, records show, more than any other candidate on Tuesday's primary election ballot — and, by far, the most of any losing candidate.

U.S. HOUSE DISTRICT 15 REPUBLICAN PARTY PRIMARY

Two old hands are set to square off in a Republican runoff in what has become a perennially South Texas matchup. It will be the second time 73-year-old Paul Haring and 47-year-old Eddie Zamora have competed head-to-head for the chance to take on longtime incumbent U.S. Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, for the state’s District 15 seat in the U.S. House. Each of the two challengers failed to garner more than 50 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s three-way Republican primary, which also featured newcomer Daniel Garza.

VICTOR SAYS HE WILL BE 'VOICE OF REASON' ON STATE EDUCATION BOARD

There was little time on Wednesday for George Clayton to bask in his Republican primary victory over longtime State Board of Education member Geraldine Miller. He had to give his students the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. A high school administrator in Dallas, Clayton stunned board-watchers with his defeat of Miller, who has been on the board since 1984. The race drew little attention until late Tuesday when Clayton took a decisive lead that held through the final count. Clayton said he realized the board needed a "voice of reason" last year when members became mired in the discussion of the teaching of evolution in the science curriculum.

PERRY SAYS HUTCHISON SHOULD STAY IN U.S. SENATE

After months of attacking U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday that she's fighting "the good fight" against the Obama administration and should stay in the Senate. "I think it would be in Texas' best interest for the senator to stay there, to continue to fight the good fight and, you know, finish her term out, frankly," Perry said in an interview with Dallas-area radio host Mark Davis two days after fending off Hutchison's challenge in the GOP gubernatorial primary. Perry's comments — and those of U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who said Wednesday that Hutchison should stay put — could give Hutchison political cover if she decides not to resign.

POLITIFACT: WHITE SAYS TEXAS DEBT HAS DOUBLED UNDER PERRY

Race for governor, Round 2. Gov. Rick Perry bested U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and underdog Debra Medina in the Republican primary while former Houston Mayor Bill White walloped businessman Farouk Shami for the Democratic nomination. Celebrating separately Tuesday night, both candidates rallied their respective supporters. For Perry, that meant warning Washington to "stop messing with Texas," a tenet of his primary campaign. White, meanwhile, started to niggle his new opponent — suggesting Perry and his consultants point to national debt to distract voters from Texas' record. "Debt has almost doubled in Austin under Gov. Perry," White said. "They think you will not notice this!"

PERRY LEADS WHITE BY 6 POINTS IN FIRST POLL OF NOVEMBER GUBERNATORIAL RACE

The first poll of the November general-election race between Rick Perry and Bill White shows the Republican governor with a 6-point lead over his Democratic challenger, supporting predictions that the Texas gubernatorial battle will be one of the most competitive in years. Perry led White 49 to 43 percent in the latest Ramussen Reports survey of likely Texas voters. Three percent of respondents prefer some other candidate, and 6 percent are undecided. The two candidates seized their parties' nominations in Tuesday's primaries and a day later began exchanging volleys at the outset of an eight-month race that will end with the Nov. 2 general election.

REPORT OF TAKS CHEATING IS INVESTIGATED IN HOUSTON

Two employees at a campus in the state's largest public school system have been reassigned as administrators investigate a report of cheating to prepare for the TAKS. Security was tightened Wednesday as some fourth-graders took the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. Teachers at Jefferson Elementary School said last week that they were given the writing topic ahead of time, leading to the reassignment of the pair Wednesday, the Houston Chronicle reported. In January, six employees were reassigned after reports of TAKS cheating at Key Middle School.

BURCH MULLING RECOUNT

The Republican primary race in House District 93 may go to a recount. Former Arlington City Councilwoman Barbara Nash won Tuesday night against Bill Burch, a real estate investor, by 112 votes out of 5,354 cast. Burch said today he may ask for a recount. "We haven’t made a final decision yet," Burch said. "I’ve had lots of calls from people who have said that I should do a recount."

FWST: DON'T WRITE U.S. SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON'S POLITICAL OBIT YET

The most unpleasant thing for U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison this week must have been her inglorious loss to Gov. Rick Perry in Tuesday's Republican gubernatorial primary. Second to that has to have been reading and hearing what various people had to say about what she did wrong. Some were already writing her political obituary. "She took a ... beating," said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, in Thursday's Star-Telegram story by Washington reporter Maria Recio. "The only way for her to salvage the last paragraphs of her political biography is to stay on" to complete her term as senator, which runs through 2012.

SANDERS: UNT REGENTS MAKE A DRASTIC MISTAKE IN LETTING BATAILLE LEAVE

Perhaps if the year were 1890 and the University of North Texas was still housed in leased quarters above a hardware store in Denton's town square, I would understand what just happened at my alma mater, the region's largest and arguably most prestigious public institution of higher learning. Back then, the school was known as Texas Normal College and Teacher's Training Institute. It's had six other names since then. But even if this were 120 years ago, there would be nothing "normal" about the closed-door, perhaps closed-minded and now-closed-mouthed maneuverings that forced (my word) the resignation of the school's dynamic and revered president, Gretchen M. Bataille.

TEXAS JOBLESS RATE STAYS SAME AT 8.2 PERCENT, BUT JOB LOSSES ARE REVISED UPWARD

Economy watchers trying to divine the direction of the Texas job market continued to get mixed signals from the latest set of numbers. The state's jobless rate remained at 8.2 percent in January, the Texas Workforce Commission said Thursday. The state's civilian labor force continued to swell, reaching a record 12.1 million workers. The jobless rate in Fort Worth-Arlington, not adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, was 8.7 percent, compared with 7.1 percent a year ago. "The Texas unemployment rate held steady over the past two months ... and remained lower than the national rate of 9.7 percent," Tom Pauken, the Texas Workforce Commission chairman, said in a release.

HISPANICS WHO LOST CAMPAIGNS COMPLAIN OF BIAS

Hispanic candidates ran strongly in many Republican primary races across Texas this week, but two candidates are blaming their losses to Anglos on racially polarized voting. Election returns and political consultants, however, say the losses of Railroad Commissioner Victor Carrillo and Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Leo Vasquez probably had more to do with personal issues and poorly run campaigns than ethnicity. Carrillo's father and half brother died last year, and Carrillo underwent surgery for a benign brain tumor, all cutting into the time Carrillo spent campaigning for re-election.

ANALYSIS: ARE TEXAS REPUBLICANS PREJUDICED AGAINST LATINOS?

The number of Texans who could identify Victor Carrillo, or describe what he does as the chairman of the three-member Railroad Commission, is no doubt far smaller than the turnout in Tuesday's Republican primary. But Carrillo believes his name nonetheless provoked a strong reaction -- a prejudice against Hispanics that cost him his bid for reelection. By all rights, the incumbent should have crushed his even-lesser-known and ill-financed opponent David Porter, an accountant from Midland. Instead, Porter won in a landslide, hauling in 60 percent of the vote.

JOB PINCH STINGS LAW GRADUATES

Graduates from American law schools this year will confront an anemic job market as the recession continues to hobble the legal industry. Now that it’s dipped into just about every corner of the economy, the downturn has prompted lawyers’ once flush clients to fend for their own bottom lines. That means less money for legal expenses. Graduates from American law schools this year will confront an anemic job market as the recession continues to hobble the legal industry. Now that it’s dipped into just about every corner of the economy, the downturn has prompted lawyers’ once flush clients to fend for their own bottom lines. That means less money for legal expenses.

City Stories

METRO ISSUES: FROM WEDDING TO SHREDDING

An executive of the Metropolitan Transit Authority's light-rail contractor is married to a high-ranking Metro official, a relationship that prompted the transit agency to try to isolate the official from the lucrative contract. That relationship, and a request for executive Sallye Perrin's correspondence and travel records are among the issues that may arise in a hearing scheduled today on a judge's order forbidding Metro from destroying documents in an open records request. Perrin is married to Metro official John Von Briesen. Metro attorney Gene Locke asked state District Judge Al Bennett this week to invalidate the temporary restraining order obtained by Houston attorney and former City Controller Lloyd Kelley.

AAS: HARD FOR AUSTIN SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT TO FIX BUDGET WITH HANDS TIED

When Austin school trustees hired Superintendent Meria Carstarphen last year, they issued strong directives: Raise academic standards, turn around failing schools, reduce the dropout rate, give gifted and talented students more challenging subjects, pay teachers competitive salaries, and recruit and retain talented people. Trustees told Carstarphen not to dither. After raising taxes in 2008 and passing a $519 million bond package in 2004, trustees directed Carstarphen to hold the line on taxes. So why are trustees dithering? The district faces a $7.1 million shortfall in an economy that has flat-lined. Two schools, Reagan High and Pearce Middle, face closure because of chronic failures. And the posse is not coming, either from the Legislature or the federal government. Some even seem to be contemplating another tax increase before tightening the district's large elastic belt.

FAMILY SUES FORT WORTH BAR OVER FATAL WRECK

The lawsuit was filed under the state's Dram Shop Act, which allows those who sell alcohol to an obviously intoxicated person to be held liable for resulting damages. "Obviously, there is absolutely no amount of money that could replace the loss of life that this family has suffered," Rasansky told reporters as he sat next to Baker's mother, Stella Lopez. "This is not about the money. ... It is sending a message to these bars and establishments like this to ensure that this does not happen again," he said. The suit, filed in the 236th District Court in Tarrant County, names as defendants the Pour House, an assumed name of Aventura Hospitality, LLC, bar owner Eric Tschetter and Pueri Inc., another related business entity.

IRAQI IMMIGRANTS CAN VOTE IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION IN IRVING

Hundreds of Iraqi immigrants from Texas and surrounding states are expected to head to an Irving hotel starting today to cast out-of-country votes in Iraq's second democratic election. Irving is one of eight U.S. polling sites -- along with Chicago, Detroit, Nashville, Phoenix, San Francisco, San Diego and Washington, D.C. -- where Iraqis may cast ballots for the election being held Sunday in their homeland. Voters will choose from more than 6,500 candidates for 325 parliament seats. To be eligible to vote, Iraqis must show American identification and proof of Iraqi citizenship.

Lead Stories

TEXAS LOST AN EXTRA 50,000 JOBS, DALLAS FED FINDS

It might turn out that Texas lost some 50,000 more jobs last year than current data indicate. And according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, most of the extra job losses appear to have been in the Dallas area. The Texas Workforce Commission is expected to release a monthly jobs report for January as early as today, plus a comprehensive annual revision of last year's jobs numbers. While monthly reports are based on surveys of employers and households, the upcoming "benchmark revision" of payroll employment is based on tax records provided by employers.

THE FIX: WINNERS AND LOSERS IN THE TEXAS PRIMARY

On its face, the analysis of last night's Texas primary is pretty straightforward: Gov. Rick Perry won (big time), Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison lost (also, big time). But, here at the Fix we like to go behind the headlines to bring you some of the less obvious winners and losers from the night that was. Perry for President: Perry proved that he, perhaps better than any other Republican politician in the country, understands and connects with the Tea Party movement. (In an interview back in May 2009, Perry had this to say about the growing anger on the right: "There is a real movement afoot in our country There is a legitimate tempest that is brewing across this country.")

LACKLUSTER SHOWING PUTS DAMPER ON TEA PARTY

Helena Brown of Houston is not pleased. A lifelong Republican — and a precinct chair at that — she also identifies with the Tea Party movement and was a Debra Medina supporter. Now she and her fellow Tea Party Republicans must decide whether GOP candidate Gov. Rick Perry is worthy of their support or perhaps look for an independent write-in candidate. (Brown says she thinks actor Chuck Norris might be interested.) Although Medina's 18 percent of the Republican primary vote was much more than most observers expected her to get when the campaign season got under way, the champion of the Tea Party/libertarian insurgents failed to force a runoff.

GREEN, LEHRMANN AN INTRIGUING SUPREME COURT MATCHUP

Who could've guessed that one of the GOP's most intriguing primary races featuring a nail-biting finish, unconventional candidates and the only statewide runoff for either major party would be for an open seat on the traditionally staid Texas Supreme Court? Rick Green, a former Dripping Springs legislator who based his campaign on an appeal to religious and social conservatives, shocked the state's legal community by leading a field of six candidates in Tuesday's primary, scoring a narrow but significant victory over five better-funded opponents. His runoff opponent will be Fort Worth state District Judge Debra Lehrmann, the only other candidate in the race without appellate court judicial experience, in a match with several captivating plot lines for the six-week sprint to the April 13 Republican runoff.

National Stories

ANALYSIS: OBAMA THE 'OUTSIDER' FROM INSIDE DC

The throw-the-bums-out mentality is so strong in American politics that even the ultimate insider — the president of the United States — is running against Washington. Casting yourself as an outsider from inside the White House is no easy trick, especially when your party controls both houses of Congress. But that doesn't stop Barack Obama from trying. "At stake right now is not just our ability to solve this problem," Obama said Wednesday, referring to the U.S. health care system, "but our ability to solve any problem. The American people want to know if it's still possible for Washington to look out for their interests and their future."

MICHELLE OBAMA: NO LONGER A 'CARICATURE'

Michelle Obama said Wednesday that her year as first lady has allowed people to finally get to know her after the combat of a bruising campaign turned her into a “caricature” to some voters. “As first lady, people see me more often, and they see me. They don’t see a caricature of me; they don’t see a sound bite of me; they see all of me. And even if they see a piece of me, they will see many pieces over the course of time, and that will fill out their view,” Obama said in an interview with POLITICO.

W.H. WARNS DEMS: DON'T FLIP-FLOP

Two senior administration officials said the White House is telling Democrats reconsidering their support for health care reform that they will pay the price for their original vote no matter what happens, so they should reap the political benefits of actually passing a law. There are 59 senators and 216 House members who put themselves on the record in support of the Democratic plan for health care reform. And the way the White House and Democratic leaders see it, they have little choice but to vote for it again: Think John Kerry, and his immortal words about an Iraq war appropriations bill – that he was for it before he was against it.

NEW ISSUES PUSH IRAQ OFF RADAR FOR OBAMA, PRESS

Despite persistent violence and a critical election coming up, President Obama hardly ever mentions the war in Iraq - where more 110,000 U.S. troops remain - and leading American news outlets have drastically scaled back coverage of the conflict, moving on to domestic issues such as health care and the troubled economy. In 2009, 149 American troops died in battle in Iraq - a higher loss rate than all but two of the 10 years U.S. forces have been in Afghanistan. But in 2010, Mr. Obama has mentioned the Iraq war just three times during formal speeches - twice in a single sentence during back-to-back events in early February for the Democratic National Committee and once in his Jan. 27 State of the Union address.

IN D.C., GAY COUPLES LINE UP TO MAKE IT LEGAL

Sinjoyla Townsend was at a courthouse and in tears Wednesday morning. And she wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Ms. Townsend and her partner, Angelisa Young, were the first same-sex couple in line to apply for a marriage license at the H. Carl Moultrie Courthouse. The tears rolled down Ms. Townsend's face as the resident of the District of Columbia basked in silent joy, overcome by the emotion of the day.

U.S. FEARS ELECTION STRIFE IN IRAQ COULD AFFECT PULLOUT

The deadly suicide bombings in Iraq on Wednesday highlight the central quandary facing President Obama as he tries to fulfill his campaign pledge to end the war there: Will parliamentary elections, scheduled for Sunday, throw the country back into the sectarian strife that flared in 2004 and delay the planned American withdrawal? Senior Obama administration officials maintained in interviews this week that Mr. Obama’s plan to withdraw all American combat troops by Sept. 1 would remain on track regardless of who cobbles together a governing coalition after the election.

DARWIN FOES ADD WARMING TO TARGETS

Critics of the teaching of evolution in the nation’s classrooms are gaining ground in some states by linking the issue to global warming, arguing that dissenting views on both scientific subjects should be taught in public schools. In Kentucky, a bill recently introduced in the Legislature would encourage teachers to discuss “the advantages and disadvantages of scientific theories,” including “evolution, the origins of life, global warming and human cloning.”

GAMBIT IN TEXAN’S BATTLE TO UNSEAT THE GOVERNOR

The confetti had barely settled at the victory parties after the Texas primaries on Tuesday when the Democratic nominee for governor, Bill White, took off the gloves and went after Gov. Rick Perry. As he accepted his party’s nomination, Mr. White, the former mayor of Houston, called Mr. Perry a “career politician” who had cynically distracted voters from the problems Texas faced by complaining about Washington. Mr. White’s effort to define the governor is the gambit in what promises to be an uphill battle against an entrenched incumbent whose party has enjoyed a 10-point advantage in statewide races for more than a decade.

ULTIMATE BUSH INSIDER LIFTS VEIL ON PRESIDENCY

Karl Rove, the chief political adviser to President George W. Bush and architect of his two successful campaigns for the White House, says in a new memoir that Mr. Bush probably would not have invaded Iraq had he known there were no unconventional weapons there. Mr. Rove adamantly rejects accusations that the administration deliberately lied about the presence of such weapons in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. But he acknowledges that the failure to find them badly damaged Mr. Bush’s presidency, and he blames himself for not countering the narrative that “Bush lied,” calling it “one of the biggest mistakes of the Bush years.”

OBAMA CALLS FOR RECONCILIATION TO PREVENT FILIBUSTER ON HEALTH-CARE REFORM

President Obama's endorsement Wednesday of a risky legislative maneuver to complete health-care legislation sent Democratic leaders scrambling to settle policy disputes and assemble the votes necessary for passage in the coming weeks. In a speech at the White House, Obama urged Congress to "finish its work" on health care and indicated support for a strategy that includes the budget maneuver known as reconciliation, which would protect the final product from a Republican filibuster in the Senate. Obama told an audience of medical professionals that Congress "owes the American people a final vote on health-care reform." But completing the job would require weeks of complicated parliamentary tactics that Republicans have pledged to challenge at every turn. Although Obama has reached out to GOP lawmakers in recent days, hosting a bipartisan health summit last week and offering to include conservative proposals in his plan, Republicans remain unified and resolute in their opposition.

REPUBLICAN FUNDRAISING DOCUMENT PORTRAYS DEMOCRATS AS EVIL

Democrats on Wednesday sharply criticized a Republican National Committee fundraising document that caricatured President Obama as the Joker, while Chairman Michael S. Steele sought to distance himself from it. Also depicted were House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.), presented as Cruella de Vil and Scooby-Doo, respectively. The three Democratic leaders were gathered under the heading "The Evil Empire."

FOUR DEMOCRATIC SENATORS AIM TO HALT STIMULUS WIND PROJECT

A group of Democratic senators called Wednesday for the government to halt a federal stimulus program aimed at building wind farms and other clean-energy projects, arguing that too much of the money spent so far has gone to create jobs overseas. The Obama administration and wind-energy advocates strongly disputed the criticism by Sen. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) and three other Democrats, saying that most of the jobs under the Energy Department program have been created in the United States, despite the dominance of foreign manufacturers in the green-technology sector.

State Stories

SAVVY CONSERVATISM, COUNTRY CHARM LED PERRY TO WIN

Rick Perry was once written off as a lightweight, a handsome "Gov. Good Hair" who got the state's top job only because George W. Bush handed it to him. Not anymore. Perry proved this week that he can do more than show up at the right place at the right time. In this case, Perry didn't just catch the anti-establishment, anti-Washington wave of the nascent tea party movement. He saw it coming, then helped shape it and might now even be considered one of its leaders.

HUTCHISON'S PLANS AFTER DEFEAT STILL 'THE MILLION-DOLLAR QUESTION'

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison lay low on Wednesday after her decisive rejection in the governor's race, taking advice about her future from friends as those waiting for a shot at her job bided their time. Hutchison has kept pundits and rivals guessing for a year about the potential timing of her resignation. The day after voters dashed her ambitions, Senate GOP colleagues offered some political cover, publicly urging her to keep her seat, and adversaries in Texas generally avoided pressuring her. "I know that she's disappointed with the outcome," said Texas' other senator, John Cornyn. "My pitch to her would be that I do think it's in the best interest of the state, and the best interest of the Republican Party, and in her best interest, to stay in the Senate for a while.

PRIMARIES ARE OVER FOR PERRY, WHITE: LET THE BARBS BEGIN

The campaign between Bill White and Rick Perry began even before the barbecue hit the plate at the Tuesday night primary parties. The former Houston mayor and the 10-year governor, with resounding primary victories behind them, used their victory speeches not only as messages for the upcoming campaign, but also to test-drive some stump speech lines. The Perry camp made it clear that the governor will ride his anti-Washington message to November, tailoring it to rebuke President Barack Obama and Democrats like White who are trying to suffocate the uniqueness of Texas until it mimics the failures of Washington.

GOP INCUMBENT VICTOR CARRILLO BLAMES LOSS ON "HISPANIC SURNAME"

Here's a post about Tuesday's GOP primary for a seat on the powerful Railroad Commission of Texas. In a true shocker, unknown challenger David Porter trounced incumbent Victor Carrillo despite being outspent by 20 to 1. In a lengthy email to supporters and some news media this afternoon, Carrillo blamed his loss largely on the fact that he is Latino.

WACO DOCTOR ON HAND AS OBAMA USES THE BULLY PULPIT TO DEMAND HEALTH CARE VOTE

President Barack Obama is making the case from the East Room for giving a health care overhaul an up-or-down vote. Among those on hand as he tries to turn up the heat on Republicans is the president-elect of the American Academy of Family Physicians, Dr. Roland Goertz, a family physician in Waco. "No matter which approach you favor," Obama said, "I believe the United States Congress owes the American people a final vote on health care reform. We have debated this issue thoroughly, not just for a year, but for decades. Reform has already passed the House with a majority.

HOUSE RACES: MIXED BAG FOR JOE STRAUS

Speaker Joe Straus saw one of his "cardinals," Longview Republican Tommy Merritt, go down to defeat Tuesday night. But another, Rep. Todd Smith, R-Euless, escaped unscathed from a primary assault. And party switching Rep. Chuck Hopson, R-Jacksonville, won 61 percent of the GOP primary vote against two challengers in his East Texas district. Straus, R-San Antonio, had put his prestige on the line by strongly backing Hopson. But another "cardinal," longtime Rep. Delwin Jones, R-Lubbock, couldn't break 40 percent in a three-way GOP primary. He faces Charles Perry in an April runoff.

MCKENZIE: A ROADMAP FOR THE GOVERNOR'S RACE

Now that primary day has come and gone, what should Texas voters consider? Here are three suggestions as we evaluate the gubernatorial candidates and what we want Texas to become. Democrats unquestionably have their best nominee in 16 years. Former Houston Mayor Bill White is a pro-business Democrat with the valuable experience of running America's fourth-largest city. We know from his ads that his parents were teachers. What we don't know is where he falls in his party's educational divide. The answer matters immensely because governors influence schools through their policies and the people they select to head the Texas Education Agency. And Democrats are split.

DMN: HERE'S HOPING HUTCHISON FINISHES SENATE TERM

Political attention spans being what they are, is it any surprise that no sooner had we put "the battle of Texas' Republican heavyweights" in our rear-view mirror, we were debating what should happen to the winner and loser? We'll leave the Rick-Perry-for-president-in-2012 boomlet for another day. Our immediate concern is what's next for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. This newspaper was not alone in suggesting that Hutchison's vision and record of coalition building in the Senate made her the superior choice in this Republican primary. Voters disagreed, handing Perry a runoff-proof victory.

SURPRISE!

Not every race turned out the way political insiders — or the candidates themselves — anticipated. Here are a dozen primary races that defied conventional wisdom, stunned incumbents and shocked long-shot contenders. Railroad Commissioner Republican incumbent Victor Carrillo got his race handed to him by challenger David Porter, losing by more than 20 percentage points. Gov. Rick Perry hand picked the petroleum geophysicist for the commission in 2003 — replacing Tony Garza, who was named U.S. Ambassador to Mexico by George W. Bush — and helped elect him to a six-year term in 2004.

THE ELEFANTE IN THE ROOM

The number of Texans who could identify Victor Carrillo, or describe what he does as the chairman of the three-member Railroad Commission, is no doubt far smaller than the turnout in Tuesday’s Republican primary. But Carrillo believes his name nonetheless provoked a strong reaction — a prejudice against Hispanics that cost him his bid for reelection. By all rights, the incumbent should have crushed his even-lesser-known and ill-financed opponent David Porter, an accountant from Midland. Instead, Porter won in a landslide, hauling in 60 percent of the vote.

ONCE MORE, WITH FEELING

The post-election euphoria that infused Wednesday morning could be short-lived for a handful of candidates who, though victorious, won by margins narrow enough to prompt recount requests from their closest challenger. According to the Texas Secretary of State's office, any race in which an electronic voting system was used may be subject to a recount. The federal Help America Vote Act mandates that every polling place make available at least one voting device accessible to persons with disabilities, which is often an electronic voting machine. Also triggering a recount: any race in which the margin of victory between the winner and loser is less than 10 percent of the votes the winner received. After Tuesday’s primary election, there are a few close races in which a recount might be requested.

STARTING OVER

The real gift to Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday wasn't the win over Kay Bailey Hutchison and Debra Medina in the GOP primary, which was foretold in the polls. It was the quick win. A runoff would have gobbled six weeks and something like $10 million and might have left the winner bruised on the way into a battle with Democrat Bill White, a serious opponent who easily bested six others in his party's primary. So how does the November election shape up? "We've been targeted since day one on general election issues," says Dave Carney, Perry's chief political consultant.

REPUBLICANS CHOOSE CAIN

Erwin Cain of Como won a decisive victory over Holland Harper of Paris Tuesday in a highly contested race for District 3 state representative. Cain will face six-term Democratic incumbent Mark Homer in the November General Election. Democrats from Lamar County have held the District 3 position for decades. “I am deeply humbled and encouraged by the outpouring of support,” Cain said Tuesday night. “I offer a deep and heartfelt thank you to all my supporters and a thank you to Mr. Harper for running a spirited campaign that helped crystallize the issues.”

REPUBLICANS SWAMP POLLS IN STATEWIDE PRIMARY

For the first time in modern Lamar County history, Republicans outnumbered Democrats at the polls Tuesday with 4,566 votes cast in the GOP primary compared to 2,285 in the Democratic primary. Along with the rest of the state, Lamar County Republicans gave Gov. Rick Perry a majority vote, turning back U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and avoiding a run off election. Perry will face Democrat Bill White of Houston in the November General Election.

STATE SEN. AVERITT PLANNING ANNOUNCEMENT ON FUTURE

A day after defeating Burleson Republican Darren Yancy, Waco state Sen. Kip Averitt and his staffers were firming up details of a major post-primary announcement that would break more than a month and a half of silence from the senator. Averitt didn’t comment or release a statement on election night, even after it became clear he’d won the primary. And his office remained mum Wednesday, leaving open questions of whether the senator would resign and what such a resignation might mean for the Senate district and its constituents.

SBOE: WITHOUT DARKNESS, THERE CAN BE NO LIGHT

Progressive and centrist Texans hoping to sweep the religious right wing out of the State Board of Education – and to end the recent national laughingstock headlines that wing has made lately – got a mixed bag of results Tuesday. On the upside, GOP voters in District 9 (central East Texas) finally got embarrassed enough by former board Chair Don McLe­roy – and his pro-creationist, anti-evolution crusade – to turn him out of office (barely).

FLORES-PANIAGUA: VOTER INATTENTION SET UP AN UNLIKELY SBOE CANDIDACY

The District 3 State Board of Education race in the GOP primary reminds me of the 1992 Eddie Murphy comedy “The Distinguished Gentleman.” In the film, Murphy's character, Thomas Jefferson Johnson, is elected to Congress, in part through deception but largely thanks to the inattention of the electorate. What passes for comedy in the movie really is a cynical view of politics, one that presumes voters are easily manipulated. It's hard to fathom any other explanation for the Tuesday election of Tony Cunningham to represent Republicans in the November race against Democrat Michael Soto.

CHAVEZ-THOMPSON GEARS UP FOR NOVEMBER SHOWDOWN

Linda Chavez-Thompson struck a note of self-deprecation Tuesday night as she celebrated her first-ever primary election victory. Chavez-Thompson, 65, a retired labor leader who is now the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, said she turned to her campaign workers and told them she had “caught the car.” When they looked befuddled, she explained that her situation is akin to that of the dog that chases down a car and must then figure out what to do with it. All joking aside, however, these days Chavez-Thompson no longer sounds like the reluctant candidate drafted by party leaders two months ago for the lieutenant governor's race.

PERRY AND WHITE GEAR UP FOR A FIGHT

Going into March 2, the smart money was all on Republican Gov. Rick Perry and Demo­cratic former Houston Mayor Bill White winning their respective primaries. The real question was whether they could reach the magic 50%-plus-one vote required to avoid a run-off. Neither had an easy path: Perry faced two aggressive challengers – Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and former Wharton County GOP Chair Debra Medina – while White faced the sheer numbers battle of a seven-way primary.

HUTCHISON FEELING GOP PRESSURE NOT TO RESIGN

Republican U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is getting some GOP pressure to change her mind about resigning her seat, but a close friend predicted Wednesday that her decision will hinge on whether she can balance her service with what is best for her young children. Hutchison was not talking Wednesday, the day after losing her GOP primary challenge of Gov. Rick Perry. A spokeswoman, who turned down a request to interview her, said she was in Dallas. Hutchison's future was a hot topic in political circles: Her decision will affect the fate of ambitious politicians and come into play as the GOP maps its strategy for gaining more U.S. Senate seats this year. It also could hand a juicy plum to Perry, who would appoint her successor pending a special election.

FALKENBERG: THE OTHER BIG TEXAS ELECTION

Turns out, pragmatism is not dead in the Texas Republican Party, no matter what you read about the Perry-Hutchison matchup. And Thomas Ratliff is proof. “Shh, don't tell anybody,” Ratliff joked in an interview Wednesday. His one, narrow victory is just about enough to restore a person's faith in voters' ability to put reason and fresh ideas before politics and ideology.

CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE CITED FOR FIGHTING

Just hours after Miguel Ortiz was soundly defeated by Rep. Ciro Rodriguez in the District 23 congressional Democratic primary, the local attorney was one of two men arrested in connection with a downtown brawl. Both men involved in the fight were immediately released and issued a citation for disorderly conduct. By signing the citations, the men agreed to appear in court, police said. Ortiz, 42, admits he and about 10 friends were involved in a disturbance but claims the fight started when four men “came out of nowhere” and began to verbally harass the women in his group.

HC: TUITION INCREASES THREATEN AFFORDABLE PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION

The Texas Legislature's ill-considered deregulation of state university tuition in 2003 was a blunder that just keeps on taking from the state's students and their families. Because Texas lawmakers subsequently have failed to adequately fund higher education, regents at the University of Houston and other state systems are caught in a fiscal squeeze. They must choose between damaging academic quality with layoffs and program cuts or passing along the pain to students. One exception: Texas Tech imposed a tuition freeze this past year. But for the most part it is the students who are paying more to shore up Lone Star universities.

PERRY SOUNDS NATIONAL THEMES BUT SAYS HE'S ROOTED IN TEXAS

When Gov. Rick Perry addressed supporters in Driftwood at his victory party Tuesday night, he sounded a lot more like a candidate for a national office than for a state one. Perry, who fended off a primary challenge from U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison by hammering an anti-Washington message, has repeatedly said he is not running for president in 2012. But if he changes his mind, Perry, a proven fundraiser and effective campaigner with close ties to key Republicans around the country, could be well-positioned to do so — unless voters around the country suffer from Texas fatigue. On Tuesday, Perry, who won the three-way GOP gubernatorial primary without a runoff, told supporters his win was about sending a message to Washington to "quit spending all the money." He talked about how some saw the 2008 elections as "the final nail in the coffin of American conservatism."

EMBRY: WHITE-PERRY MATCHUP PUTS NEW ISSUES ON THE TABLE

Bill White can beat Rick Perry. Let's be clear: Now that Republicans have nominated him for a third term as governor, Perry is the heavy favorite. But White, the Democratic nominee and former Houston mayor, can pursue a number of strategies that vanquished Republican candidate Kay Bailey Hutchison chose to ignore. And if they work, Perry will have his hands full. The Hutchison campaign asked a focus group last fall about the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, whom the state executed in 2004 for killing his family in a house fire. When the state's Forensic Science Commission was about to hear a report in October that concluded that Willingham's conviction was based on bad science, Perry upended the panel, creating a controversy that lasted for several weeks.

SHIFT IN EDUCATION BOARD'S IDEOLOGY?

The ideological fault lines on the State Board of Education could shift a bit next year after some jarring shocks in Tuesday's Republican primaries. But the 15-member board, which adopts curriculum standards and textbooks for Texas public schools, will probably remain sharply divided once all the players are in place. Two incumbents on the board's competing factions were toppled in the wee morning hours Wednesday.

RAILROAD COMMISSIONER SAYS HISPANIC SURNAME A 'SERIOUS SETBACK' IN RACE

The day after he suffered a crushing upset at the polls, Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Victor Carrillo loosed a sharp indictment of the Republican electorate and his own opponent. Carrillo had outspent his opponent, David Porter, a virtually unknown candidate from Giddings, by a margin of 12 to 1 and enjoyed the backing of the Republican brass. But he had a Hispanic name, dooming him in the Republican primary, he said in a letter to supporters Wednesday. "Early polling showed that the typical GOP primary voter has very little info about the position of Railroad Commissioner, what we do, or who my opponent or I were," he wrote. "Given the choice between 'Porter' and 'Carrillo' — unfortunately, the Hispanic surname was a serious setback from which I could never recover although I did all in my power to overcome this built-in bias."

FROM ONE SENATOR TO ANOTHER: STAY

Sen. John Cornyn, the other Republican U.S. senator from Texas, said in a conference call with reporters this afternoon that he believes Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison should return to the Senate - at least until the end of her term. “I do think it is in the best interest of the state and the Republican Party,” he told reporters. Later in the call, the junior senator said that the characterization of Hutchison during the campaign was “unfair.” Using passive language (e.g. not blaming Perry for actively saying so), Cornyn: “She got painted as being part of the problem, rather than part of the solution.”

POLITIFACT: PERRY SAYS CONGRESS HIKED DEBT LIMIT TO $14 TRILLION AND FEDERAL BUDGET UNDER PREPARATION HAS OVER $5 TRILLION IN DEBT OVER FIVE YEARS

After winning the 2010 Republican nomination for governor, Gov. Rick Perry told supporters Tuesday that energized voters are upset at congressional spending. In a wide-ranging speech, Perry specified two factors, saying: “Washington cannot hide from the fact that Congress hiked the national debt ceiling to $14.3 trillion. They cannot hide from the fact . . . that the budget that they’re going forward with has more than $5 trillion in debt in it over the next five years.” Do those debt numbers hold up?

POLITIFACT: MONTFORD SAYS IN MAILER PLUS A DOOR HANGER THAT SHE'S HAD OVER 100 JURY TRIALS IN TRAVIS COUNTY

Austin lawyer Mindy Montford, seeking the Democratic nomination for a state district judgeship, says she’s got vast courthouse experience, much of that from eight-plus years as a Travis County assistant district attorney, which followed her job as a Harris County prosecutor. Montford, running for judge of the 299th state district court, says on her campaign Web site that she’s had over 100 trials and handled thousands of cases, a claim that seems possible considering she worked nearly a decade as a prosecutor. We were exploring those claims when we came across a more dramatic Montford mailer that reached voters in mid-February. It states that Montford “has tried over 100 jury cases in Travis County courts.”

AAS: VOTERS NOT SINGING PRAISES OF EXTREMIST BLOC

The State Board of Education bloc that pushes an extreme fundamentalist Christian agenda took a hard hit to its solar plexus in Tuesday's balloting, but while down, they're not completely out. The bloc is usually referred to euphemistically as "social conservatives." In reality, they are religious extremists bent on injecting their worldviews into the public school curriculum. Don McLeroy, a Bryan dentist who is a leader of the bloc and who served two yearsas board chairman, was defeated in the Republican primary by Thomas Ratliff of Mount Pleasant. McLeroy's views brought him great notoriety in Texas — andelsewhere. The dentist declared, for example, that dinosaurs co-existed with humans, and he insisted on whitewashing the record of the disgraced Sen. Joe McCarthy, whose hunt for Communists in the 1950s whipped the nation into a paranoid frenzy. McCarthy saw Communists everywhere — even in the Army.

PERRY, WHITE CAMPAIGNS FIRE OPENING SHOTS

Gov. Rick Perry and former Houston Mayor Bill White fired the opening volleys in their race for governor Wednesday as they embarked on what analysts said could become one of the most competitive Texas gubernatorial campaigns in more than a decade. With the dust barely settled from their victories in Tuesday's primaries, both sides quickly outlined the themes that will define the eight-month-long race leading to the Nov. 2 general election. Perry's camp depicted the Democratic nominee as a liberal who is out of step with much of red-state Texas. White, in turn, escalated his portrayal of Perry as a divisive career politician who has failed to respond to some of the state's most pressing problems.

HUTCHISON'S SUPPORTERS, PEERS URGING HER TO REMAIN IN SENATE

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said she would retire after the gubernatorial primary win or lose, but after the shellacking she got Tuesday night from Gov. Rick Perry, her friends, colleagues and analysts bet she'll stay in the Senate -- perhaps even completing her term, which runs through 2012. "This has got to be an incredibly emotional day for her," said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University. "She took a ... beating. The only way for her to salvage the last paragraphs of her political biography is to stay on." Hutchison won only 30 percent of the vote against longtime Republican Gov. Rick Perry -- in office since succeeding George W. Bush in 2000 -- who won 51 percent, enough to avoid a runoff. Tea Party favorite Debra Medina trailed with 19 percent.

BIG-BUCKS RACE IN RUNOFF: GONZALEZ, CHÁVEZ SPEND $43, $56 PER VOTE

District 76 state Rep. Norma Chávez spent $56 for every vote she received Tuesday, but the seven-term legislator could not win the Democratic primary election outright. Her challenger, Assistant County Attorney Naomi Gonzalez, spent $43 for every vote she received and forced Chávez into a runoff election. A total of 4,124 people cast ballots for Gonzalez, giving her nearly 48 percent of the vote. Chávez had 3,988 votes, for 46 percent.

GOP RUNOFF SLATED FOR TEXAS SUPREME COURT

When Debra Lehrmann went to bed Tuesday night, she was in fourth place in a six-way Republican primary race for the Texas Supreme Court. When she awoke Wednesday, the Tarrant County family court judge had moved into an April 13 runoff with former state legislator Rick Green for the seat now held by retiring Place 3 Justice Harriet O'Neill. "It was a very exciting night," Lehrmann said. "I was just thrilled about getting the message out to people about my qualifications." If Lehrmann wins the runoff -- and a November race against Democrat Jim Sharp -- she would be the first Supreme Court justice from Tarrant County in 55 years.

TEA PARTY, 912 ACTIVISTS SAY DESPITE LOSSES, ELECTION WAS SUCCESS

Despite limited success in Tuesday's Republican primaries, activists in the 912 and Tea Party organizations in Texas say the election was a big success for them because they helped spark record turnouts in Tarrant County and statewide. They say the turnout is proof that the conservative grassroots movement -- which protests federal spending and big government -- that swept through the state and nation is alive and well in Texas. They also say they resent media reports suggesting that Tuesday was a disappointment. Their true goal, they say, was not to oust sitting officeholders, but to get more Texans involved in the political process.

FORMER DALLAS MAYOR ANGRY OVER REPORTERS' QUESTIONS ON SECESSION

Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry's Tuesday night primary win in his re-election bid prompted chuckles in the nation's capital over his past remarks favoring the Lone Star State's secession from the United States. One person not laughing, however, is Ron Kirk. At the end of an hourlong lunch with Washington journalists, the former Dallas mayor and current U.S. trade representative was asked jokingly about Perry's win. He didn't pull punches, suggesting that he found no humor in the question.

MERRITT STUNNED, LOSES TEXAS HOUSE SEAT

Challenger David Simpson won the Republican nomination for District 7 state representative over incumbent Tommy Merritt on Tuesday. Simpson, the former mayor of Avinger, received 2,849 votes or 53.58 percent, in Gregg County. In the portion of Smith County that is part of District 7, Simpson was leading Merritt with 53 percent of the vote with 11 of 14 precincts reporting. Merritt, 61, has held the office since 1997. There is no Democratic candidate for the position, although the Libertarian Party has indicated it intends to nominate a candidate.

CARRILLO CITES 'BUILT-IN BIAS' IN ELECTION LOSS

It’s a political upset with few precedents, and Abilene native Victor Carrillo thinks his Hispanic surname cost him crucial votes. As a result of Tuesday’s Republican primary election, Carrillo lost his bid for another term on the Texas Railroad Commission, the agency that shapes oil and natural gas regulatory policies for the state. Despite a tremendous advantage in funding and several endorsements, Carrillo lost to little-known David Porter, an accountant from the rural Giddings area, who will now face Jeff Weems, the Democratic candidate.

HOPSON WINS REPUBLICAN NOMINATION

A hard-fought race paid off for State Rep. Chuck Hopson (R-Jacksonville). The incumbent won the Republican nomination for the seat Tuesday night — his first victory as a member of the GOP. “It feels great,” Hopson said of the win. “Anytime you do a new venture you worry, but I thank all the Republican primary voters for allowing me to join the Republican party and supporting me.”

JONES, PERRY GEAR UP FOR DISTRICT 83 RUNOFF

It won't be exactly David taking on Goliath, but the ever-optimistic Lubbock accountant Charles Perry thinks he can defeat longtime state Rep. Delwin Jones in the April 13 runoff. Perry's strategy is simple: Portray the Lubbock Republican - who has served in the Texas Legislature for 29 years - as part of what's wrong with Austin and Washington. As for Jones, his strategy is just as simple: Emphasize why it's important that voters in Texas House District 83 give him another two-year term. With redistricting and a projected state budget shortfall now estimated to be at least $15 billion coming up in next year's session, this is no time for West Texas to have too many rookie legislators, he said.

CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES URGE UNITY WITH TEA PARTY MOVEMENT

Rebel conservative Republicans who attempted to topple incumbents on election night stressed unity in Lubbock the morning after. Only one local candidate aligned with the Tea Party, a conservative movement whose national tagline advocates freedom from a two-party system, had hopes for a place on the November ballot on Wednesday. Charles Perry, an early member of the Tea Party-allied Americans for Integrity in Government, bested a far-better-funded Zach Brady campaign to face Rep. Delwin Jones in a House District 83 runoff. But the movement's frustration with incumbents did not extend to local leadership, and Lubbock Republicans seemed to absorb, rather than isolate, the Tea Party influence.

LEAL TO BACK PRICE IN DISTRICT 87 ELECTION

Two opponents are now on the same side in the race to become the next state representative for District 87. Walter "Four" Price IV stayed ahead of Victor Leal all night in the Republican primary returns on Tuesday, finishing the count with 55.1 percent of the vote after a hard-fought campaign. "It was very interesting," said David Rausch, Bivins professor of political science at West Texas A&M University. "Mr. Leal had all the endorsements - David Swinford, Larry Combest, Warren Chisum, and he had Bob Price's money (contributing $65,000) - he should have won."

County Stories

REPORT: DALLAS COUNTY CONSTABLE MAY HAVE BROKEN LAW

Dallas County Constable Derick Evans may have abused his office by requiring his deputies to fund his re-election campaigns by selling raffle tickets or buying the tickets themselves, according to a report by the county's special investigator. The 16-page preliminary report, released by County Judge Jim Foster, cites statements from numerous employees who said they were intimidated into providing security without pay at several community events.

DALLAS COUNTY DEMOCRATS REGROUP FOR FALL

Dallas County Democrats, propelled suddenly into power four years ago, used Tuesday's primary election to retool their image, nudging aside controversial, perhaps weaker, contenders in favor of stronger candidates with broader appeal. At the top of the ticket, the party is headed into the November general election with a new candidate for county judge, either Clay Jenkins or Larry Duncan. And Elba Garcia, a polished, well-funded candidate with solid endorsements, will challenge incumbent Republican Kenneth Mayfield for the District 4 seat on the Commissioners Court.

CAMPAIGN ROUNDUP: RACE STILL ON FOR CANDIDATES IN RUNOFF ELECTIONS

After Tuesday’s Democratic Party primary, the race for some Cameron County candidates might be over, but for others, it is back at the starting line. In the following four election contests, none of the contenders managed to get more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff on April 13: Cameron County Precinct 2 commissioner, Cameron County judge, Precinct 5 Place 2 justice of the peace and precinct chair Precinct 62. Two of the most heavily contested races are those for Cameron County judge and Cameron County Precinct 2.

City Stories

SUGAR LAND WANTS TO BE SITE OF NEXT GENERATION INTERNET PROJECT

Sugar Land is making a pitch – called Think GIG – to be a part of an experiment to make universal, ultra high-speed Internet access possible. According to Google, the company plans to test ultra-high speed broadband networks in one or more trial locations across the country. “Our networks will deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today, over 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections,” reads an online statement from Google. Google intends to create the infrastructure needed for the pilot project at no cost to the selected community. The company plans to choose a community with a population of at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people and expects to announce their decision by the end of the year.

299TH DISTRICT COURT: MONTFORD AND SAGE EYE NEXT STAGE

It was all but inevitable: In the race to replace retiring Judge Charlie Baird, Travis County voters will be looking at a run-off between two top vote-getters. With four contenders in the race – defense attorneys Leonard Martinez and Eve Schatel­owitz Alcantar, assistant district attorney-turned-defense attorney Mindy Mont­ford, and Assistant District Attorney Karen Sage – there was little chance any candidate could punch above the 50% needed to capture the race flat. Instead, the two early frontrunners, Montford and Sage, have done exactly what was expected – advancing to round two in the race, to take place April 13.

FORT WORTH HAS QUIETLY BECOME A HUB FOR MILITARY INTELLIGENCE

It is an unremarkable beige-brick building known by its military acronym, the JRIC. Behind several secure doors requiring top-secret clearance sit analysts who conduct counterterrorism investigations in the Philippines, analyze military buildups in Venezuela, and dissect confrontations between China and Taiwan in the strait that separates them. Hard to believe, perhaps, but beyond the rows of tactical aircraft and acres of runway at Naval Air Station Fort Worth is a rather small and publicity-shy unit of intelligence analysts overseen by the Navy Intelligence Reserve Command. "We've tended to like it that way," said Lt. Dan Eckles, who oversees the computers on-site for the Defense Intelligence Agency based at the Pentagon.

Copyright March 11, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved