April 2009
GEO Group silent for Texas Watchdog report on... →
In our story this week about how two Texas lawmakers have financial ties to the GEO Group, we tried to call the private prison company’s spokesperson Pablo Paez, particularly because we detailed the…
Former Travis County DA Ronnie Earle contemplates... →
Recently retired Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, whose old office has come under siege by two House Republicans he named in an indictment, is considering a run to be the top lawyer in…
State Rep. Charlie Geren promises to block new law... →
It’s deja vu. Remember last session when the proposal to build a new publicly-funded law school in downtown Dallas sailed through the state Senate before crashing on the rocky coast of the state…
Who should prosecute crimes of public corruption? →
Perhaps you read yesterday’s story by Matt Pulle outlining plans in some GOP quarters to diminish the power of the historically Democrat district attorney’s office in Travis County. That office…
GOP lawmakers aim to weaken Travis County DA’s... →
Reps. Wayne Christian, Sid Miller aim to shift power away from historically Democratic post. Texas Watchdog outlines lawmakers’ ties to former GOP standard-bearer Tom DeLay. An indictment against him…
Rep. Sid Miller proposes similar measures →
Continued from page 2.
Christian is not the only House member aiming his legislative pistol at the prosecutor’s office in Austin. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, has proposed two bills that are similar…
‘People’s Republic of Travis County’ →
Continued from page 1.
Although Earle named Christian in his indictment against the Texas Association of Business (TAB), he didn’t accuse the lawmaker of any wrongdoing. The veteran prosecutor merely…
Take a gander at Mayor Bill White’s e-mails; if... →
Texas Watchdog is publishing today 99 pages of e-mails and various corresponece between Mayor Bill White and a downtown developer. (Hit the link, go to the bottom of the story, check out the links…
‘Images are precious’ and other tidbits from reams... →
Mayor Bill White has released communications with One Park Place developer Marvy Finger following a public information request by Texas Watchdog. Readers can take a rare look into White’s…
Lawmakers’ relatives work for GEO Group prison co.... →
Brownsville state Sen. Judith Zaffirini and Rep. Rene Oliveira, of Laredo, have legislative power over the company’s work for Texas. Meanwhile, the private prison firm pays Zaffirini’s husband and…
Riots, deadly beating, filth plague GEO Group... →
Continued from page 1, which outlines state Sen. Judith Zaffirini and Rep. Rene Oliveira’s connections to the GEO Group prison company.
(Story continues below map. Click here to jump down.)
Geo Group…
GEO Group’s business would be limited, scrutinized... →
Continues from page 3.
Lawmakers have proposed stiffer regulations for private prisons following the Youth Commission’s closure of the GEO Group’s Coke County facility.
House and Senate Democrats…
Carlos Zaffirini: Wife would not let private life... →
Continued from page 2. Of course, it wasn’t just Zaffirini’s ties to the company that came under scrutiny. Oliveira’s 15-member law firm, Roerig Oliveira & Fisher, has represented the GEO Group in…
Records unearthed by Texas Watchdog show that... →
At first glance, it looks like the documents we asked for back in January contain interesting reading concerning Mayor Bill White’s relationship with Houston developer Marvy Finger.
From the Houston…
DNA to free another inmate in Harris Co., DA says →
This time, it’s Gary Richard, who has been in prison for 22 years. He’ll have a court appearance on Thursday, where prosecutors will agree to allow him to be released on bond. Here’s the full presser…
Tastes Great..No Billing: Beer lobby poised to... →
Three bills that would allow microbreweries to sell beer where they brew it appear under the influence of special interests as one of the most powerful and well-funded lobbies in the state, the Texas…
Mesquite mayor cheers in public over cutbacks at... →
Mesquite mayor John Monaco can’t defend his city’s epic waste of money–now coming to light–in which council members and staff enjoyed glitzy restaurants, luxury hotels and Broadway shows in New York…
Legislators would have to disclose financial... →
Lawmakers profiting off state contracts would have to disclose such business relationships under a plan passed today by the Senate, the Associated Press’ Jay Root writes:
(Republican Sen. Steve)…
Mayor Bill White kept his calendar, correspondence... →
Mayor Bill White should have made public at least some information following a request for his calendar and certain correspondence, an Austin freedom-of-information attorney says. The mayor has…
Energy coalition pumps millions into Texas... →
A new report by the nonpartisan National Institute on Money in State Politics — they’re the people who run FollowtheMoney.org — breaks down the money put into Texas’ political sphere by groups…
Personnel files in alleged ‘fight club’ case show... →
Government employees sometimes don’t like it that the public can nose through their personnel records. But the recent reporting on the alleged “fight club” run by employees at a state facility for…
Freedom of Information foundation’s new director... →
Longtime Austin newsman Keith Elkins looks to harness the power of social media to fight for freedom of information in Texas. Meanwhile, the legislature’s efforts to close public records keep him…
Elkins: ‘I’m not afraid of change’ →
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An Austin resident since 1981, Elkins has been a newsman his entire adult life, except for about 10 years, during which time he did stints as communications director for the…
Elkins a presence at the statehouse →
(Continued from page 1)
His work at the Capitol, trying to win passage of bills that would open more records and defeat those that would close them, takes up a majority of his time these days as the…
Texas Watchdog thanks the Fort Worth Chapter of... →
Texas Watchdog would like to thank the Society of Professional Journalists’ Fort Worth Professional Chapter for honoring our Jennifer Peebles with its prestigious Open Doors Award.
The photo above…
Bill that would create a new law school in Dallas... →
Dating back to the 1970s, the legal and business establishment in Dallas, aka the ruling class, has pushed for a publicly-funded law school. Well, it took a while, but they may once again be on the…
Texas Watchdog’s own Jennifer Peebles wins SPJ... →
The Texas Watchdog crew is taking a road trip tomorrow to Arlington, Texas, where our very own Jennifer Peebles will be accepting the Open Doors Award from the Fort Worth Chapter of the Society of…
Judge: State environmental agency must turn over... →
A judge has ruled in favor of state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, the El Paso Democrat, in his fight to get access to Texas Commission on Environmental Quality records about the agency’s meetings with folks…
Measures by Texas lawmakers Helen Giddings, Robert... →
Rep. Helen Giddings, D-Desoto, has proposed legislation that would remove birth dates from state employee records in a well-meaning attempt to safeguard private information. But the bridge to Cuba is…
Police probe indicted Brownsville mayor’s trip to... →
The Brownsville Herald, through the Texas Public Information Act, has some of the details of Mayor Pat Ahumada’s trip to Tampico — like the cost of the private jet he chartered — though two other men…
New additions to Texas Watchdog: Rosanna Ruiz and... →
We’re thrilled here at Texas Watchdog to announce new freelance additions to our team covering state and local government and politics.
Former veteran Houston Chronicle scribe Rosanna Ruiz is joining…
Coming to the blogger meetup? We’re on the patio … →
… at The Coffee Groundz, 2503 Bagby.
Texas Watchdog’s roadmap of TxDOT’s stimulus... →
If you haven’t yet, check out our package on TxDot’s stimulus spending. This is our first effort at trying to get a better understanding of what’s going to be coming to Texas from the federal…
AG: Mugshot release is at sheriff’s discretion →
Our friends at the Somervell County Salon blog, whom we profiled in March for Sunshine Week, wanted to get mugshots from the county sheriff’s department. The sheriff’s department declined to release…
Houston-area blogger meetup tonight at coffeeshop... →
Greetings, Houston-area bloggers. Please join us at 5:30 tonight at The Coffee Groundz, 2503 Bagby, for a conversation about using public records to report on government and publishing your findings…
University of Texas Medical Branch open meetings... →
An open-meetings lawsuit filed by University of Texas Medical Branch against the UT Regents has been settled. Chron.com has the story and a copy of the lawsuit.
The Faculty Association and three…
The (McAllen) Monitor highlights federal stimulus... →
The (McAllen) Monitor says road crews will begin work on highways in Hidalgo County by next month — courtesy of the federal stimulus plan aimed at jumpstarting the national economy:
More than 17…
Dunnam pushes for online posting of lawmakers’... →
State Rep. Jim Dunnam wants legislators’ personal financial disclosure forms posted online. Now, let’s see how many of his fellow lawmakers will vote to take this step in the right direction for…
Stimulus could help lay groundwork for I-69 →
Continued from page 1 The projects in Brooks, Live Oak and Armstrong counties are just a fraction of the $2.2 billion for Texas transportation coming out of the nearly $800 billion Congress has…
How Texas Watchdog did its TxDOT stimulus analysis →
Continued from page 2 For its analysis, Texas Watchdog created a database of all the TxDOT stimulus projects that have been approved by the state transportation commission. That’s three lists — one…
TxDOT stimulus database search →
Use this search form to search Texas Watchdog’s database of TxDOT stimulus projects that have been approved by the state transportation commission. The “county” search is the best option — the…
Interactive map shows where TxDOT will spend... →
South Texas is on the road to cash in, thanks to $100 million in federal stimulus money that could aid the creation of what some have called the “NAFTA Superhighway.” See our interactive map and…
Bloggers in the Houston area, you’re invited to... →
It’s at 5:30 p.m. at The Coffee Groundz, 2503 Bagby. If you’re approaching on Bagby, you may not see the coffeehouse sign, but look for the building with two green awnings on the Bagby side.
The…
State Rep. Randy Weber of Pearland, who wants to... →
After accepting thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from energy-related interests last year, freshman state Rep. Randy Weber has introduced House Bill 4012 that would weaken public checks…
Amarillo paid 34 workers $100K or more in 2008 →
As part of our ongoing series on government worker pay, we turn to Amarillo, where City Manager Alan Taylor was the city’s most well-paid employee last year, making $256,000. See our spreadsheet of…
Dallas Morning News takes a look at Indiana voter... →
As the Texas House begins to debate legislation to require photo ID at the polls, which the Senate approved after a lengthy and testy debate, Dallas Morning News‘ special contributor Bill Ruthhart…
Venue for next week’s Houston-area blogger meetup:... →
Houston-area bloggers, we have a venue for our blogger meet-up next week: The Coffee Groundz, 2503 Bagby, Houston TX 77006.
Date: Tuesday, April 14
Time: 5:30 p.m.
We’ll be talking about how to file…
Chronicle profiles Sen. Rodney Ellis, a taker of... →
The Houston Chronicle’s Matt Stiles has a great profile today of state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston. A snippet:
The jovial, raspy-voiced Ellis has pursued an ambitious legislative agenda for nearly…
Sunshine Review finishes 3,100-county Web site... →
Sunshine Review, a wiki on government transparency issues, has reached quite a milestone: It has finished reviewing and ranking every county Web site in all 50 states on a 10-point transparency…
American Journalism Review profiles Texas Watchdog →
We’re awfully grateful to the folks at American Journalism Review for taking time to write a short story profiling Texas Watchdog in their latest issue. The piece, by Lindsay Gsell, is a short…