I wrote my column for the April issue of TEXAS MONTHLY about Governor Perry's plans for reforming higher ed. These involve seven "breakthrough solutions" developed by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a number of which have already been implemented at Texas A&M and, if everything stays on course, will likewise
The House Homeland Security committee will consider several bills today relating to the right to bear arms on college campuses. This is likely to be a heavily attended, contentious hearing. The fact of the matter is that handguns are no stranger to college campuses; concealed handgun license holders can tour
Just last night I was hearing a veteran member quote a Perry staffer saying that Perry didn't want this really budget. No, he wanted one that was even worse. And he got it. Perry steamrolled the House. He limited the spending of the Rainy Day Fund to 3.2 billion, all
Thanks to Bob Garrrett of the Morning News for informing me that a budget deal appears to be imminent. As I reported yestereday, Pitts thought he had a deal. It involved using the Rainy Dav Fund to pay for the shortfall in the current biennium and allowing some of it to be
I keep looking for the plan that will get us out of the budget mess, and I have come to the conclusion that there is no plan--at least, not in the House. What needs to happen is that conservatives have to vote on a budget that has a lot of
Everybody knows about the Rainy Day fund. What few folks realize is that the state actually has a whole bunch of rainy day funds--little cubbyholes where the state squirrels away money for that very rainy day when the comptroller must certify the budget. Here is the list of de facto
On February 11, Comptroller Combs released a report on the cost of state tax exemptions. The results are eye-opening: --Revenue from major taxes (sales, franchise, gasoline, motor vehicle sales) in fiscal 2010: $28.1B. --Estimated value of exemptions from these taxes in fiscal 2011: $32.2 billion. --The exemptions exceed the value
Having worked closely with writer-at-large Patricia Kilday Hart through the past ten legislative sessions, with never a cross word passing between us, I had come to assume that, if it was an odd-numbered year, Patti and I would be spending yet another spring working together on the Ten Best &
At his first meeting as chairman of the Board of Regents of the University of Texas System, Gene Powell made some statements that were quite remarkable. Traditionally regents support the agenda of university leaders and try to keep politicians from interfering with the academic mission. Powell's remarks, quoted by
Who cares how the sausage gets made? We’re back in Austin this week, and Man Bites Dog’s beef franks, brats, and sausages are so scrumptious that you’ll soon find yourself shoveling them in as if you’re part of a one-man hot dog eating contest. The front-runner was
In his memoir, "How Things Really Work," Former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby compared education finance reform to a Russian novel. He contended: “the story line runs across generations, the plot is complex, the prose is tedious, and everybody dies in the end.” Rep. Scott Hochberg, Vice Chair of the House
Last month, the Statesman’s Jason Embry reported that Governor Perry had turned to Colorado to find his newest University of Texas regent, energy executive Alex Cranberg. Now the regents have hired Rick O’Donnell, the former executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education, as a special advisor. O’Donnell, who
From Lincoln Park Strategies: With speculation growing that ESPN announcer Craig James will soon announce his campaign to replace Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, a new survey shows the Celina Republican will have a tough time earning the support of West Texas voters. The survey was conducted by Lincoln Park Strategies,
Gabrielle Hamilton owns Prune Restaurant, in New York. You might have even eaten there. A tiny, awkward place in the East Village. Very much a stop on the food-lover’s circuit. Well, now she’s written a passionate, pull-out-the-stops, utterly intense memoir of her life as a chef, and I cannot
Last week we took a little road trip to a place called Bizarro Austin, otherwise known as Portland. While we’re out on the highway, let’s meander down to San Antonio and see what they’ve got going on in the world of trailers. Word on the street is that the new
A giant billboard on MLK Blvd in Austin on the periphery of the University of Texas campus essentially offers students a job: "Want to teach? When can you start?" Apparently the organization paying for the message hasn't heard about the drama unfolding a few blocks away at the State Capitol,
No knock on Tim Byres of Smoke restaurant, in Dallas. He’s great. He certainly is a worthy “people’s choice” for Best New Chef in the Southwest, which is a recent nationwide online competition dreamed up by Food & Wine magazine. (The winner was announced today.) But here’s my problem:
The former Texas Teach coach has retained Capital Alliance, formerly known as the Eppstein Group, to oversee the filing and passage of a bill giving Leach permission to sue the state. Bryan Eppstein confirmed the facts to me in an interview earlier today.The suit is the result of what Leach
I don’t usually review cookbooks in this space. I mean, hello, I eat out for a living. But every now and then a cookbook comes along that is such a great read and has such dazzling photography that I can’t put it down. Uchi, the Cookbook is one of those.
Mike Ward reported this development in the Statesman. He quotes Dewhurst as saying, “I know John Bradley and know him to be a very effective DA.” That’s debatable, but, effective DA or not, Bradley is not seeking reappointment as a DA. He is seeking reappointment as chair of the
The Star-Telegram yesterday ran a Bloomberg wire service story that began with this paragraph: A hedge fund claims that Dallas-based Energy Future Holdings, the former TXU Corp., is in default on a big loan, which the company denies. How big is a "big" loan? Try $23.9 billion. Here are the
Hayes Carll on songwriting.
Blackburn is the founder of the Magick Circle, in Brownsville, where he offers card readings, cleansings, and spiritual healing.I first learned about folk healing from an elderly woman in my neighborhood named Rita. None of our neighbors in Brownsville liked her much. They called her la bruja. The witch. I
Wild horses, which can cover up to twenty miles a day, wouldn’t think of having their hooves done, but leave it to humans to change all that. “When we domesticated the animal, ten thousand years ago, we restricted its movement,” says John Burgin, the owner of the Texas Horse-shoeing School,
Four filmmakers to watch in 2011.
Read an excerpt from a new book by Maurice Sherif.
Read an excerpt from a new book by Rhonda Lashley Lopez.
Read an excerpt from a new novel by Mat Johnson.
Read an excerpt from a new novel by Taylor Stevens.
Bum RushTrue to his Arkansas hillbilly roots, Jerry Jones has become little more than a buffoon, sporting bad toupees for the national television cameras that are recording his weird mannerisms and spasmodic antics during his team’s games. And now you crown him and his roster of overpaid underachievers Bum Steers
Austin
Tango & Malbec and Seasons 52.
Animal cruelty, greasy handshakes, offerings of meat, and Texas toasts—the spoken kind.
Dan Winters, H. W. Brands, and Pamela Hastings.
Big moments call for big efforts. This year marks the 175th anniversary of the victory of Sam Houston’s ragtag band of volunteers over the Mexican army, which led to the creation of the sovereign Republic of Texas. In the almost two centuries since then, much has changed. Texas is now
A new album by Lucinda Williams.
A new album by Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears.
Read a Q&A with Brian D. Sweany.
Robert Duvall, the Steve Miller Band, the Whooping Crane Festival, and “The Thrill of the Chase” . . .
The Rothko Chapel, the Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Mardi Gras! Galveston, and the North Texas Farm Toy Show . . .
A new project in San Antonio marries urban redevelopment and local flavor with a quest for culinary greatness.
The San Antonio Living History Association, the Texas Ballet Theater, Dai Due, and SXSW . . .
Honk! TX, Luminaria, the Texas Steel Guitar Jamboree, and the Buffalo Bayou Regatta . . .
Throw your plans out the window. We scoured the state in search of the top events and offerings, from the opera in Houston and Friday night lights in Odessa to surfing along the coast and hiking in the mountains. Here’s our super select guide to the things you absolutely
SXSW Style X, the Tolbert Texas State Chili Championship, Bayou City Noir, and the Texas Ghost Show . . .
