The Tribune has announced the inaugural Texas Tribune Festival, taking place September 24-25 on the University of Texas campus. The event will gather hugely influential names in politics and public policy together to discuss a variety of topics like energy, environment, education, immigration, health and more. General admission will give folks access to "two full days of interactive events, lively panel conversations and absorbing lectures." Local food truck vendors will be on hand. Tickets are on sale July 11 and are $125, but the Texas Tribune member price is $100, and $50 for students. more ›

Representing Texas in the Senate since 2002, our state's junior Senator John Cornyn will participate in a conversation with Texas Tribune editor-in-chief Evan Smith early Monday morning, April 18 at the Austin Club. Some of the topics likely to be discussed: the budget showdown, the upcoming race for KBH's seat, and Sen. Cornyn's role as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. A Q & A will follow, so you might be able to address any burning questions to him at that point. Attendance is free, but you must RSVP (before tomorrow afternoon). [Texas Tribune] more ›

• The infamous abortion sonogram bill has passed the Texas House and is on its way to the Senate.
• With all the brouhaha over school district budgets, you might like to see the rundown of salaries for Texas district superintendents.
• Over the weekend, the Texas Nationalists rallied for secession at the Capitol.

Resigning Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams (R) sat down with Texas Tribune editor Evan Smith yesterday to offically announce that he will be running for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's seat in 2012. A staunch conservative, Williams was already a Tea Party darling before the 2010 election cycle, and Slate named him one of their ten conservatives who will define 2011. more ›

Texas Congressman Allan Ritter (D-Nederland) announced Saturday that he will be crossing the aisle to join the Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives. Ritter's shift moves the GOP one seat away from a supermajority—and another Democrat is already considering his options. more ›

Texas Democrats had cause for celebration earlier this week. Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin) was able to hold off her Republican challenger, Dan Neil, by a mere 16 votes in the final tally. more ›

Fresh off its wall-to-wall coverage of the 2010 statewide elections, political online news site The Texas Tribune has announced the hiring of former Newsweek editorial director Mark Miller. more ›

Last night the renovated Arthouse at Jones Center hosted a diverse crowd of politicos, scenesters, and people just looking for a good time to commemorate the first birthday of the non-profit and non-partisan Texas Tribune. more ›

• Cell phone use + jaywalking on SMU campus = an accident with one person in the hospital.
• Election night traffic crashed the Texas Tribune servers!
• BBC story on San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro.

Celebrate election night with Jimmie Dale Gilmore, a few surprise politicians and the Texas Tribune at Arthouse next Tuesday. We love the Texas Tribune for their incisive political reporting, but they really know how to throw a party. more ›

"There is nothing more offensive to the public than a candidate for office who is presumptuous," said Greg Abbott to Evan Smith last week at the first Texas Tribune talk of the season. It was one of his more telling statements in the conversation between the incumbent Texas Attorney General and the Trib's CEO and editor-in-chief. Democratic AG candidate Barbara Ann Radnofsky has already pounced on Abbott's refusal to confirm whether he, like Perry, will avoid a public debate with his challenger. It was clear from the way Abbott lobbed back Smith's probing questions that the Republican candidate for office presumes nothing—particularly a yes or no answer. more ›

• Our prayers have been answered: there’s now fried beer at the State Fair of Texas!
• We’re shocked! A BP exec is "astonished" at a mistake in the failsafe device for the oil well that caused that oil spill in the Gulf. Next, will they reveal that they were expecting unicorns to come in and clean up the mess?
• If you aren’t ready to pile in the car and go to this Houston sushi joint immediately after reading this review, you might be suffering from a defective sense of yummy.

For a fledgling nonprofit effort still in its first year, the Texas Tribune has done a stellar job covering Texas politics with a mix of online reportage, data porn and offline events—and it appears that people are paying attention. more ›

“I wanted to make law enforcement work, for everyone,” said Craig Watkins, District Attorney of Dallas County (Ft. Worth) during Texas Tribune's TribLive talk, hosted at the Austin Club. more ›

• Doh! Don’t rob the mayor of a small town! He won’t be happy about it, and he’ll really want the cops to catch you.
• Do you know a real, no-nonsense girl who rides horses, and who is between the ages of 12 and 16? If so, you might want to tell her about this casting call for the lead role in a Coen Brothers movie. Squee!
• Pitchfork covers Fun Fun Fun Fest! (They liked it, they really liked it!)

• This is the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the event that signaled the end of the Cold War. The “Wall of Change” project at UT marks this historic moment.
• President Obama to attend a memorial service at Fort Hood on Tuesday.
• The New York Times has a detailed story about the background of the Fort Hood shooter. It’s part of their larger package on the tragedy.

As they've been promising, the Texas Tribune officially launched its site this morning. With the debut comes a plethora of content, including the results of the first-ever University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll (we'll report on this later), almost a dozen downloadable databases of stuff from gubernatorial appointees to Texas campaign expenditures, and a nifty page that lists all elected officials and what party they belong to. more ›

Over beers at TRIO last Tuesday, we had a chat with former Texas Monthly president and editor-in-chief Evan Smith about his new nonprofit media project, the Texas Tribune. more ›

The Texas Tribune, a high-profile journalism startup, has received $750,000 in grant money from a pair of foundations. more ›