- Are the state’s biggest universities open to change? – Bill Murchison, Dallas Blog
Entrenched education bureaucracies generally are not. See Burka’s rejoinder (such as it is). - Bill Ames defends history standards – Chron Texas Politics
- An Unexpectedly Important Bloc on Budget: Freshmen – Ross Ramsey, Texas Tribune
Those freshmen might be resolute, but they’re also inexperienced. And with almost half of the legislative session to go and the final votes on the budget two months away, they’ll soon be learning much about lobbying, both from professionals and from civilians. Their opposition to new spending has made them targets, both for those who want to change their positions and those who want them to hang tough.
They’ve already been targeted by the state’s political media in the form of their infatuation with the “faces-of-budget-cuts” horror-story reporting. So far, they seem to be holding up fine. - Texas' top business lobbyist becomes crucial voice in debate about school funding cuts – Laylan Copelin, Austin American-Statesman
- Tax cut comes at 'high cost' – Patricia Kilday Hart, Houston Chronicle
There is certainly a rationale for the state to promote natural-gas exploration, given our reliance on gas for electricity generation. We agree with Hart that there seems to be less justification for making the incentive permanent. We think that’s true of most government programs (but would bet Hart doesn’t). - The eyes of Texas are sparkling in the 2010 census – Michael Barone, DC Examiner
Will the state’s political media jump on this article as quickly as they seem to jump on anything that portrays Texas negatively? - King Street Patriots aim to recruit 1 million volunteers to monitor 2012 elections; Speakers condemn liberals at True the Vote summit despite group's disavowal of partisanship – Mary Tuma, Texas Independent
The second part of that headline is rich coming from Texas Independent, also technically a nonpartisan group but in reality a liberal, Colorado-model “newsish” organization aimed at influencing the political narrative. Nonpartisan nonprofits frequently have ideological orientations, which is perfectly permissible under the law. - PoliTex: Perry gets more ink with magazine cover story – Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The Startlegram arrives to this about a week later than other MSM outlets. - Dewhurst’s leading senators, then might become one – Joe Holley, San Antonio Express-News
- Can Fox be as Fair to Obama as I am to Governor Perry? – Scott Braddock
- Republican lawmakers from Texas praise state's air pollution permit program – Aman Batheja, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
- Capitol Digest: Speed limit change proposed – Austin American-Statesman
- Texas State Rep. Past Due On School Taxes After Receiving Over $1.4 Million From Houston Independent School District – Yvonne Larsen, Big Jolly Politics