The Mighty Quinn
Without Houston lawyer John O'Quinn, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell wouldn't be on television during the last three weeks of this election cycle. Full Story
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Ten Questions
Answers, we'll get on November 7. Questions and speculation, we've got now. Full Story
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A Half-Penny for Your Thoughts
A half-cent increase in the sales tax could be used on a local option basis to lower property taxes, according to the head of the governor's task force on appraisal reform. Full Story
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Purple Fingers
Old School: Politicians complain about the "filter" of the news media, a gripe usually leveled when they had something good about themselves or nasty about the opposition that they couldn't convince anyone to run. Full Story
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The Field, Five Weeks Out
Start this look at Texas House races with the usual caveats: Partisans — the people who tell us about this stuff — are always wrong about some of the races on their "hot" lists. Some won't pan out. Some might pan out when nobody's looking. It's a head vs. heart thing. Full Story
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Minority Report
A new poll of registered voters done for the Texas Credit Union League has everybody in the governor's race well below the 50 percent that would give them a majority. Gov. Rick Perry is at the front of the pack, with 42 percent, followed by Democrat Chris Bell at 20 percent, independent Carole Keeton Strayhorn at 18 percent, independent Kinky Friedman at 12 percent, and Libertarian James Werner at 2 percent. Full Story
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Bigger Than Life
Former Gov. Ann Richards, an iconic Texas Democrat known for her lashing wit, her crown of white hair, and her sheer charisma, succumbed to the esophageal cancer her doctors discovered earlier this year. She was 73. Full Story
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Houses of Representatives
Rep. Gene Seaman and his wife have houses in Austin and Corpus and have homestead and elderly tax exemptions on both of them. Rep. Rob Eissler pays rent from campaign funds for a condo in Austin he purchased years before he became a legislator to house his sons while they were students at the University of Texas. Sen. Kim Brimer and Rep. Vicki Truitt each use campaign funds to rent Austin living spaces from their spouses. Full Story
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Experimental Politics
This is your last weekend to watch television without sorting through shouting, finger-pointing, and showboating from politicians. Full Story
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It's Not Easy Being Green
Though their agency went through the "exercise" of writing a shrunken budget, the board at the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department is unanimously backing an $84 million annual increase in state funding. Full Story
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The Dinner Bell and Other Ethical Dilemmas
Ethics police are baking up a list of things they want changed or clarified by the Texas Legislature next year, and in the meantime, it has become dangerous for lobbyists to split the tab on officeholder meals and gifts. Full Story
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Refund, Rebuke, Rebuttal
A huge tax refund to Texas Instruments has rekindled questions about the conflicts that arise when tax consultants make political contributions to the tax collectors who decide their cases. Full Story
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Tax Collector's Remorse
A state sales tax refund to "a large direct pay taxpayer" will cost the City of Stafford over $2.5 million — a stunning bit of news for a municipality with an annual budget of about $20 million. Full Story
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Suit Up
Political hacks all over the state are huddling over computers loaded with mapping software, finishing their federal court filings on congressional redistricting. Full Story
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No Exit
Tom DeLay can't get off the ballot. Full Story
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Back to the Maps
Texas and other states can redraw their political maps when they want to, according to the U.S. Supreme Court, but they can't dilute the strength of minority voters just to protect an incumbent those voters oppose. Full Story
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Everybody In!
Kinky Friedman and Carole Keeton Strayhorn both got enough valid signatures to get onto the gubernatorial ballot in November. Full Story
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Picking Up the Pace
He's still mostly ignoring Kinky Friedman, but Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell has trained his sights on Republican-turned-independent Carole Keeton Strayhorn, emphasizing what she's got in common with incumbent Gov. Rick Perry. Full Story
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Whoever Makes the Rules Gets the Gold
Republican Comptroller candidate Susan Combs is raising the stakes, saying if she's elected she will trash Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn's rulemaking work on the new school finance package as soon as she takes office. Full Story
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General Election: The House
More than half of the members of the next House -- 79, to be precise -- have already been determined, barring accidents, bizarre upsets, or other side effects our doctors haven't told us about. We count only 20 races that, on paper, could be competitive (including 13 where the incumbent's success has been a clear exception to local voting patterns). Full Story