by Matt Stiles, The Texas Tribune
 Gov. Rick Perry appointed Houston appellate court justice Eva Guzman to the Texas Supreme Court, making the 48-year-old the first Latina to serve on that court.

Guzman, now a member of the 14th Court of Appeals, will replace Scott Brister, who left the bench last month to return to private practice.

[Her bio is online here, and you can find a copy of her application with the governor's appointments office here.]

One of at least 26 applicants for the job, Guzman is Perry's first female appointment to the panel. The governor has selected at least seven other justices since March 2001.

"Justice Guzman is known throughout legal circles as a strict constructionist with an unmatched work ethic, and has demonstrated a proven record of sound jurisprudence," Perry said in a written statement. "I am proud to appoint this principled, conservative judge as the first Hispanic woman on the Supreme Court of Texas."

Guzman is married to a police sergeant and graduated from Austin High School in Houston in 1979. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Houston before attending the South Texas College of Law, where she graduated in 1989.

She has been a state judge since 1999, first at the 309th District Court before being appointed by Perry to the appellate post in 2001. She won re-election in 2002 and 2004.

Storm Clouds

Democrats are expected to be in the hunt, but Eva Guzman will have a primary opponent even though she's got Perry's seal of approval.

Rose Vela, who had already said she'll be running for that seat in next year's Republican primary, followed the Guzman announcement by saying she'll stay in the race. That could be lively, what with a noisy governor's race that could increase attention on politics and on other races like this one. She was a district court judge and has been on the 13th Court of Appeals since 2006. She's also going to be in mid-term next year; if she wins, she's on the Supreme Court, and if she loses, she keeps her current job.

Only the Guv knows why he picked a Latina from Houston instead of one from South Texas, but here's one bug in the soup: Vela's husband, Filemon Vela Jr. (his dad was the late and well-known federal judge), gave $4,000 in two installments to the gubernatorial campaign of one Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is running against the guy who was in charge of the appointment. It couldn't have helped.

Put a marker here for analysis later. If the two judges stay in, and if they're tied — by their own or by other hands — to the gubernatorial candidates, their fates could rise or fall with Perry and Hutchison. That's an insider game, but this is, after all, a primary election.

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a... Dirigible?

by Brandi Grissom, The Texas Tribune El Paso district Judge William "Bill" Moody plans to float his Texas Supreme Court campaign message to Texans next year.

Literally.

Moody, who is making his third run for the state's highest civil court, said Thursday he plans to use a bright orange blimp in his campaign to become the first Democrat elected to statewide office in more than a decade.

"Our plan is to fly across Texas stopping in dozens of counties to listen and talk to the voters... and impress upon them the importance of the Texas Supreme Court," Moody said.

It won't be Moody's first unorthodox campaign.

Moody — father of state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso — ran twice before for the court.

He lost a conventional campaign in 2002 to now Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson.

Then, in 2006, he walked more than 1,000 miles, from one end of the Lone Star state to the other, in his campaign against Justice Don Willett.

Moody said the idea for the blimp campaign came to him when he saw a dirigible overhead as he trekked through Central Texas in 2006.

"I said, 'You know, there might be an easier way to do this,'" Moody recalled.

Moody lost the 2006 race, but he was the best performer on the Democrats' statewide ticket that year, with nearly 45 percent of the vote.

This time, Moody plans to run against Justice Paul Green for Place 5 on the court.

He said he thinks his chances for success are better in 2010 because recent elections have been trending toward Democrats in Texas' largest urban counties.

Moody said he doesn't plan to launch the blimp until then end of the campaign, because renting a blimp isn't cheap. Moody said he estimates it will cost $400,000 to $500,000 to use one for just a month or two, and said he's still looking for a pilot to fly the thing.

The blimp, he said, is just a tool to help get out his message of reform for the court.

Big campaign contributors have too much sway in the court's judicial decisions, Moody said, and justices should be chosen in non-partisan elections separate from the primary and general elections.

"Justice is not Democrat or Republican, and the people who come before the courts do not want political judges," Moody said.

The Moody blimp will launch from El Paso and head to points eastward next fall.

Farm Bureau Deserts Perry

The Texas Farm Bureau's political action committee — called AGFUND — endorsed Kay Bailey Hutchison over Rick Perry in the 2010 race for governor, saying they split with the governor over eminent domain and the Trans-Texas Corridor.

Perry has won the group's endorsement almost every time he's run for statewide office — the exception coming in 1998, when the group endorsed Democrat John Sharp over Perry for lieutenant governor. Perry won that race and the group endorsed him the first two times he ran for governor.

They've endorsed Hutchison every time she has been on the ballot since 1990, when they were encouraged — by Perry — to back her bid for state treasurer. Their strategy was to endorse everyone running against a Hightower, for impact. Perry beat Democrat Jim Hightower and Hutchison defeated Democrat Nikki Van Hightower that year.

Steve Pringle, the group's legislative director, said Perry's support of the Trans Texas Corridor and his 2007 veto of an eminent domain bill sealed the deal. They'll back Hutchison, primarily through contact with their 400,000 member families. That includes people who joined the Farm Bureau for traditional reasons and those who are its insurance customers; Pringle said there are about a million voters in the families that get the association's publications.

The Farm Bureau didn't endorse in the Democratic primary. "We generally pick one candidate and stay with them as long as they're standing," Pringle said.

Hutchison Calls for Limits on Donors

Standing in the stables of a ranch in Waco gave Hutchison the
 opportunity to take on "Austin insiders and lobbyists."

In a new twist 
to her stump speech, Hutchison added a call for a cap on campaign 
contributions and an end to the "revolving door" of lawmakers becoming
 lobbyists. Currently, there's no limit for campaign contributions in
 governor's races Texas.

This year Hutchison's campaign accepted more than $2.3 million in individual contributions of more than $25,000, according to her July state campaign-finance report. That total included six $100,000 donations, records show. But her average donation amount during the first half of the year was $860.

Hutchison didn't suggest where to set the limit.

"There have to be some details worked out. But I do think that there 
should be some amount beyond which we don't go. There shouldn't be the impression that people can buy their way in order for the governor to 
meet with people," she said.

—Elise Hu in Waco and Matt Stiles in Austin contributed to this story.

What's in a Name?

by Julian Aguilar, contributing writer, The Texas Tribune 
In a place where a surname could carry with it perks that range from getting out of a speeding ticket to a landslide election victory, a newcomer from the Rio Grande Valley with name recognition is insisting he is his own man.

His opponent, a two-time candidate married to a former elected official, is also taking steps to be an independent voice despite the benefits that come with name-dropping in Texas politics.

Sergio Muñoz, Jr., 27, is the son of former Rep. Sergio Muñoz. He will face Sandra Rodriguez, the wife of former state District Judge Fernando Mancias, in his bid to replace embattled Rep. Ismael "Kino" Flores, D-Palmview.

Flores announced last month he would not seek reelection for another term in HD-36 following his indictment by a Travis County grand jury for allegedly failing to disclose required information on personal finance statements.

In the world of Texas border politics where patronismo — the long-standing tradition of bully politics and quid-pro-quo campaigns — runs rampant, Muñoz Jr. realizes he is prone to attacks accusing him of being from the old guard. Not so, he said.

"The decision to run was made on my own and I am thankful to have the support of my family," he said from his law office in Edinburg.

Rodriguez could be considered the savvy veteran in the race after losing the 2008 Democratic Primary to Flores by less than 1,000 votes, or about four percent.

The former school-board trustee for the Pharr-San Juan Alamo Independent School District said that one aspect of patronismo politics has taken a back seat this time, with Flores out of the running.

"People are not intimidated anymore," she said. "People will sit down and talk to me."

Rodriguez' experience as a candidate has at least one Rio Grande Valley heavyweight predicting she will be part of 2011's freshman class.

"While he (Muñoz) has some name recognition, it's his first time running and so he's going to have to get organized pretty quickly," said State Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen. "The additional plus is that she's a woman," he added.

"Here in Hidalgo County women tend to vote for women," Hinojosa said. "It's just a trend that's taking place here in South Texas. You look at the (Thirteenth) Court of Appeals. Out of six judges, five are women."

He stopped short of endorsing anyone and said he would support the eventual Democratic candidate. He cautioned, however, against leaning too much on the "double-edged sword" of a familiar political name.

"It could be positive or it could be negative, but my take is that people will associate Sergio Muñoz Jr. with his dad," he said. The perceived allegiance in the district between the Muñoz and Flores families might not bode well for the younger candidate either, he added.

"They could be very loyal to Rep. Flores and probably follow his lead but at the same time, as we all know, Rep. Flores has some issues," said Hinojosa.

Muñoz said he plans to reach out to state Reps. Eddie Lucio III, the San Benito Democrat and son of Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., and Solomon Ortiz Jr., D-Corpus Christi, the son of U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz Sr. Those lawmakers have been able to make their own paths, he said.

Married to a former state district judge, Rodriguez also could depend on a proven ballot name. She's chosen not to, using her name instead of his.

"Going back to the patrón system, there were men who had a hard time supporting me to run with the Rodriguez last name," she said. "They kept telling me, 'You need Mancias to win. You need Mancias.' I've been out there and I've always been Sandra Rodriguez."

Next year's primary election will likely determine the seat, despite a new effort by Republicans to convince Hispanics in traditionally Democratic districts to look its way.

Texas GOP Executive Director Eric Opiela, a native of South Texas, conceded the party could be more proactive, particularly on the border, and that putting forth a winning Republican candidate in HD-36 next year was more than a long shot. But fans of Spanish-language media outlets should expect to hear more messages from the GOP that it is the party that best represents Hispanic values.

And in a move reiterating that name-dropping is not just enlisted by Hispanic Democrats, Opiela said the Texas GOP has recruited George Prescott Bush, grandson of Bush (41) and nephew of Bush (43) to deliver Spanish-language messages on Univision stations across the state.

Add to that a small list of "shining stars" already in the Rio Grande Valley, like Cameron County Judge Carlos H. Cascos, and GOP prospects are improving along the border, Opiela said.

Hinojosa sees no cause for alarm.

"I think Republicans have shot themselves in the foot," he said. "When they criticize the immigration policies their shots are so broad that they don't differentiate between Hispanics who are here legally and those who are not."

A year before the 2000 General Election, Bush held a slight advantage – about 2 percent – among Texas' Latino voters over Vice President Al Gore, according a poll conducted by the Willie C. Velasquez Institute. At the ballot box during the General election, however, Bush landed only 33 percent of that vote to Gore's estimated 66 percent. Later, Bush's support for construction of the border fence enraged many Texas Hispanics and contributed to the president's plummeting approval ratings his second term.

Party People

Cathie Adams, head of the Texas Eagle Forum and a prominent endorser of Gov. Rick Perry, says she's running for chairman of the Texas Republican Party. Tina Benkiser, the Houston attorney who had that job, left to work directly for Perry's campaign. Adams says she wants the job now and for a full term after the party's convention in June, and says simply that she wants to bolster Republicans' chances of winning elections.

Tom Mechler of Amarillo is running for party chair at the GOP convention next summer. That's the regular election time for the spot and it's open to both genders, so long as the vice chair is not the same gender as the chair. Mechler is on the State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) and says in his pitch that the party is in a time of "crisis" because its "ranks are being fractured" — that'd be a reference to the race at the top of the ballot — and because of "a lack of a consistent message being offered to the voters." He's also a Perry appointee, serving as vice chairman of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice.

Melinda Fredricks, a former SREC member from Conroe, wants to run and serve only until the June 2010 election. " I have worked for decades to build a Republican Majority, and I am deeply concerned the work many of us have done is in grave danger after two poor election cycles," she said in an email to the SREC members who'll pick someone to finish Benkiser's term. She's a Perry appointee, too, to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission now, and previously to the Texas Medical Board.

Running Shoes

Democrat John Sharp picked up an endorsement from Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, in his bid for U.S. Senate. That's a slap to Houston Mayor Bill White, who's also in the hunt. Whether they actually get to run is up to U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who has said she'll quit that post to concentrate on her campaign to knock off Gov. Rick Perry. Sharp and White are, so far, the only Democrats to express serious interest in her job. Van de Putte leads the Democratic caucus in the Texas Senate and has been involved in Party affairs at the national level, too.

• Maverick County Judge Jose "Pepe" Aranda Jr. told the Rio Grande Guardian he might challenge Rep. Tracy King, D-Batesville, in next year's Democratic primary. He's in his second term as judge and has said he won't seek a third term. He's also a former mayor of Eagle Pass. He hasn't made a final decision. King said he takes all comers seriously, "especially county-wide officeholders from counties in my district," but says he's not sure yet what Aranda will finally do. This isn't the first time the challenger has looked at challenging King. And, for the record: King says he'll seek an eighth term in HD-80.

• Republican Lisa Luby Ryan says she'll have the support of former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach if she runs for the Texas House in HD-108. That's the Park Cities seat held now by Republican Dan Branch. He's interested in running for attorney general if Greg Abbott doesn't seek reelection; if he does, Luby Ryan would run for his spot. That's four stops on the political bus line: If Kay Bailey Hutchison resigns, and if Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst quits to run for that, and if Abbott decides to go after the Lite Guv job, and if Branch goes for AG, then Luby Ryan, a high-end interior designer, will run for the House.

• Stephen Thomas has named a treasurer, resigned from the Cedar Park City Council and plans to run for the HD-20 seat in Williamson County. Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown, is giving that up to run for the Texas Senate (where Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, decided not to run again). Thomas will join Milton Rister and Charles Schwertner in the GOP primary. One other tidbit: Thomas picked up the endorsement of local businessman Jarrod Weaver, significant because Weaver was thinking about running himself.

• Barry Cooper, a former cop running for Texas attorney general on what he calls a "pro-family, pro-gun, pro-pot platform," has an offbeat fundraiser coming up in Austin. The main act? Hip-hop artist Devin the Dude, described as "a brilliant oddball with a spaced-out flow."

• Gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina claims to have raised $111,000 in one day last week — part of a Ron Paul-style "Money Bomb." The campaign said the money — which doesn't get officially reported until January — came from all over the country.

Political People and Their Moves

Gov. Rick Perry appointed:

• Jeff Rose of Austin to the 353rd district court, replacing the late Scott Ozmun. Rose is deputy first assistant to Attorney General Greg Abbott.

• Former Plano Mayor Jeran Akers to the Texas State Affordable Housing Corp.'s board.

• Robert "Rob" Kyker of Richardson to the Credit Union Commission. He's the owner of R&D Sales and Leasing.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst named Charles McMahen and Sens. Glenn Hegar, Joan Huffman, Robert Nichols, and John Whitmire to the Sunset Advisory Commission. Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa will remain on that board, and Hegar, who was also on the board before, will chair it.

Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples added two seats to the Texas Agricultural Finance Authority Board and named Will Coward of Coryell County and John Paul Dineen III of Waxahachie to that panel. Coward is a rancher. Dineen is a farmer.

When Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, married Joyce Feinberg, a few days ago, the name of the biggest celebrity in the deal got left out. Sandra Day O'Connor, the former U.S. Supreme Court justice and an El Paso native, performed the ceremony.

Tom DeLay bailed out of Dancing with the Stars. The former U.S. House Majority Leader, a Sugar Land Republican, had stress fractures in his feet that he said forced him out.

Texas Railroad Commissioner Victor Carrillo is recovering and waiting for a diagnosis after feeling ill enough to go to the hospital for three days last week.

Deaths: Jessica Hobby Catto, journalist and conservationist daughter of a Texas governor, William P. Hobby; a cabinet secretary and first leader of the Women's Army Corps, Oveta Culp Hobby; and brother to former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby, after a struggle with cancer. She was 72.

Quotes of the Week

Former Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill, asked by The Dallas Morning News whether he considers himself a tragic figure after his conviction on public corruption charges: "Oh, I don't know, I'm going to have to think that through a little bit, but it's a good question."

State Board of Education member Pat Hardy, quoted in the Houston Chronicle about questions over the SBOE's choice of an investment firm that allegedly had ties to a board member: "I have never had anything in my whole life shake my faith worse than this, because [some board members] claim to be such goody two-shoes. We have people on the board who are using that as a conduit to advance themselves."

State District Judge John McCraw Jr., hoping to conclude a long-running property fight involving SMU and the George W. Bush Library, in The Dallas Morning News: "This case is five years old and I’m retired. I can't go another five years."

One of the Texas Department of Transportation's five appointed leaders, at a press conference announcing the death of a Trans-Texas Corridor route that would have paralleled I-35: "I am Ted Houghton, the most arrogant commissioner of the most arrogant state agency in the history of the State of Texas.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, asked by The Atlantic how he addresses "birthers" and conspiracy theorists at public gatherings: "When I go to town-hall meetings, say, 'You're crazy.' In a respectful way."

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Texas Weekly: Volume 26, Issue 38, 12 October 2009. Ross Ramsey, Editor. Copyright 2009 by Printing Production Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. One-year online subscription: $250. For information about your subscription, call (512) 302-5703 or email biz@texasweekly.com. For news, email ramsey@texasweekly.com, or call (512) 288-6598.

Political types are talking into microphones this week, while bloggers take notes on every word. Also making headlines are gubernatorial contenders, other campaigners and folks who don't have to run in order to take office. The final section includes posts on a controversial canine columnist and other subjects.

* * * * *

Is This Thing On?

Gov. Rick Perry went on the Hugh Hewitt radio show last week, and his Texans for Rick Perry posts a transcript. Topics: Hutchison voted for the federal bailout; Texas is a "haven" during the recession; Texas is better than California; the Guv's five-point plan for economic success (including the importance of investing in public education); the dangers of Obamacare and cap-and-trade; plus, Pery's take on the state's prevailing bipartisan climate. Perry says, "We're a Republican-controlled state, but we've worked well together, and we've created, again, at the end of the day, this is about Texas. It's not about Republican or Democrat parties."

KUT's Notes from the Lege teams up with a couple of Austin American-Statesman reporters to produce a joint podcast on Texas politics. The "Political Babble On" is supposed to take place every Friday morning from now on. Meanwhile, after being denied access to a meeting of the "secretive" Council for National Policy in Austin last week, the Statesman's Postcards got their hands on a video from said meeting, featuring remarks by Focus on the Family's James Dobson upon receiving a lifetime achievement award.

Refuse the Juice picks on GOP Congressional candidate Tim Besco (he's taking on U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso) for going on a local radio show that only has "three listeners and they are certified as the dumbest people in town." (We wonder who the other two listeners are, in addition to the blogger.)

As part of their weekly podcast, the Houston Chronicle's Texas Politics sits down with two folks running for Texas GOP chair, Cathie Adams and opponent Melinda Fredericks. Pondering Penguin isn't a supporter of the Texas Eagle Forum's Adams. "This is not a voice Texas Republicans need to be heard on a national stage," the blogger says. However, Adams does have her fans, including Ellis County Observer.

Brains and Eggs isn't swayed by U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert's videotaped argument that protecting homosexuals under the hate crimes bill would crack the door open to immunity for bestiality, necrophilia and pedophilia. And ABC13's Political Blog had a camera handy when Houston Mayor Bill White received an award in Houston.

* * * * *

Kay v. Rick

The Statesman's First Reading mused on the timing of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's resignation. His take, in brief: The candidate filing period runs from Dec. 3-Jan. 4; Candidates can't take their names off a primary ballot after Dec. 30; if Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst puts his name in for re-election, then is appointed to the U.S. Senate (or decides to run for U.S. Senate) after Dec. 30, his name will remain on the primary ballot; if Dewhurst wins the March primary for Lt. Gov., then the State Republican Executive Committee gets to choose the new GOP nominee; if the SREC chooses someone's who's already been nominated for another office, they get to pick that person's replacement; and so on.

BurkaBlog thinks it's weird that few legislators have picked sides in the Perry-KBH throw-down and that neither has been on TV yet. His speculation: Money is tight; Hutchison will get more endorsements than Perry; and, both campaigns will sprint to the finish after New Year's. In the meantime, Attorney General Greg Abbott appears to be playing it conservatively, according to Postcards, relaying a video by the Abbott campaign that's been floating around.

The Dallas Morning News' Trail Blazers talks about the politics being played in Austin and Washington concerning Hutchison's prison cell phone jamming bill. Elsewhere, Kinky Friedman and Hutchison ran into each other at Houston Hobby airport, and paused for a photo together (she's the one who's smiling), the Houston Chronicle's Texas Politics reports. Long story short, Dog Canyon thinks Friedman should bow out of the gubernatorial race.

* * * * *

Poli-my

Blue Dot Blues breaks out Texas Association of Business scores for Austin-area legislators. The scores range from 40 percent for Rep. Valinda Bolton to 67 percent for Sen. Jeff Wentworth. The Houston Chronicle's Texas on the Potomac analyzes the strength of U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards' perch in the 17th District, while A Capitol Blog peruses a list of elected officials with Twitter accounts.

The Texas Cloverleaf attended a Stonewall Democrats rally in Denton. And former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove is backing Marco Rubio for Florida governor over incumbent Charlie Crist, Trail Blazers says. (In Texas, Rove likes Hutchison over Perry.)

* * * * *

Making Appoint

It's been a good 2009 for Perry's newest appointee to the Texas Supreme Court, Houston judge Eva Guzman. Apart from her new job, Tex Parte reports that she won judge of the year awards from the Hispanic National Bar Association and the Mexican American Bar Association of Texas.

Tex Parte Blog has the dish on the dueling U.S. Attorney recommendations from Texas Republicans and Democrats. (The only appointee the two sides agree upon is San Antonio's Michael McCrum for the Western District, FYI.) And TFN Insider takes a red pen to reports by the state school board's designated social studies experts, circling errors that include misspellings, misstatements and mis-identifications.

* * * * *

Man Bites Dog

Headline of the Week award goes to the Texas Observer's The Contrarian for an article titled, "Gone to the Dogs," which pokes fun of a Waco Tribune-Herald column written, purportedly, by the new publisher's pooch. "These are dark days for newspapers," the blogger says. "We can only hope this experiment continues," the Houston Press's Hair Balls comments wryly.

Brazosport News is paying attention to a Twitter spat between Sports Illustrated's Peter King and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. (King didn't know what HDNet is. Cuban, who also owns that, took offense.)

Regardless of whether the Trans-Texas Corridor still exists, Burka says a relief route to I-35 "has to be built." Texas Watchdog lets readers in on a database of federal grants to airports. "Abilene, Brownsville, Amarillo, Harlingen — your airports all got money. Go on and take a look," they say.

Postcards lists the slowest food stamp offices in Texas. And Rhymes with Right is concerned about new Federal Trade Commission rules on blogs.

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This edition of Out There was compiled and written by Patrick Brendel, who hails from Victoria but is semi-settled in Austin. We cherry-pick the state's political blogs each week, looking for news, info, gossip, and new jokes. The opinions here belong (mostly) to the bloggers, and we're including their links so you can hunt them down if you wish. Our blogroll — the list of Texas blogs we watch — is on our links page, and if you know of a Texas political blog that ought to be on it, just shoot us a note. Please send comments, suggestions, gripes or retorts to Texas Weekly editor Ross Ramsey.

By Emily Ramshaw, The Texas Tribune Emergency medical technicians and entry-level nurses could be cut out of the telemedicine equation under a proposal the Texas Medical Board is considering.

The change would prohibit anyone but doctors, physicians' assistants and advanced practice nurses from presenting patients for care via long-distance videoconferencing – a move rural hospitals and prison doctors adamantly oppose.

It's an effort that appears to be designed to ensure telemedicine patients are receiving high quality care on both ends of the video camera — though officials with the Medical Board declined to comment Tuesday on their motivation.

Telemedicine advocates say it would hinder use of the technology in rural health centers, where licensed vocational nurses and emergency medical technicians are often the only health care providers available.

"In towns like Turkey, Texas, if you limit an EMT's ability to provide telemedicine, people there will have to drive 80 miles for any kind of health care," said Don McBeath, the former head of Texas Tech's telemedicine program who now advocates for the Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals. "It's creating a huge barrier to the growth of telemedicine in rural areas."

And they say it would force prisons, which have limited nursing staffs, to transport more inmates long distances for care — a security risk and drain on manpower.

"We do 4,000 telemedicine visits a month in the criminal justice system alone," said Dr. Ben Raimer, senior vice president at the University of Texas Medical Branch, which provides medical care for much of the state's prison system. "This would be a very unfortunate setback for telemedicine in Texas, and result in a huge increase in cost for health care."

It's not Texas doctors instigating the change. Brent Annear, spokesman with the Texas Medical Association, said many of the organization's doctors do participate in telemedicine, and don't advocate doing anything that would curb its use.

Telemedicine experts say they think the proposal is a result of good intentions run amok. They say lawmakers made broad policy changes to improve Medicaid telemedicine care in 2007 — and that, as a result, the Health and Human Services Commission released its own set of recommendations on the technology. They think the Medical Board took those recommendations one step further and excluded EMTs and certain types of nurses, without realizing the potential consequences.

Medical Board officials didn't clarify Tuesday. A public hearing on the rule change is scheduled for Nov. 5.

"We are receiving a large number of comments so it's uncertain exactly what will be adopted," said Medical Board spokeswoman Jill Wiggins. "...We'd prefer to wait until after the November meeting and see what comes out of that."

Advocates of the technology say another tweak the Medical Board is suggesting — one that would limit telemedicine to medically underserved areas — wouldn't affect rural health care, but could affect its spread into impoverished urban communities.

eramshaw@texastribune.org

by Brandi Grissom, The Texas Tribune Advocates for legal immigrants who want Texas driver licenses appealed to a panel of judges in Austin on Wednesday.

The Texas Department of Public Safety has broad power to prevent some legal immigrants from getting driver's licenses, attorneys for the state told the 3rd Court of Criminal Appeals.

"DPS does have a large grant of authority to determine how licenses are given out in Texas," assistant attorney general Erika Kane told the three-judge panel.

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund this year sued DPS over rules that prevent noncitizens from getting driver licenses if their legal status in the U.S. expires in fewer than six months. MALDEF argues that legislators have not given DPS authority to implement the rules.

State District Judge Orlinda Naranjo earlier this year issued a ruling that agreed with MALDEF and granted a temporary injunction to halt the new rules.

DPS appealed the ruling and has continued to use the new rules.

Under the DPS rules adopted last October, those whose legal status expires in fewer than six months are denied licenses (even if they expect to renew their legal status). The department also started printing "TEMPORARY VISITOR" in bright red capital letters on vertically oriented licenses for all noncitizens.

Judge Naranjo said DPS overstepped its authority by implementing the rules without guidance from the Legislature.

Kane, the state's lawyer, told the appeals court that the rules were adopted to prevent undocumented immigrants from obtaining licenses and continuing to stay illegally in the country.

Since lawmakers during the recent legislative session did not pass any laws preventing the new rules, she said, there was no indication DPS should change course.

The justices asked Kane repeatedly to site a specific statute that gave DPS authority to deny licenses based on immigration status.

"I don't read (the law) as a limitless grant of authority to adopt rules," said Chief Justice Woodie Jones.

Kane said DPS was allowed broad discretion to determine drivers' eligibility, including residency status.

MALDEF attorney David Hinojosa told the court allowing DPS to continue implementing the new rules would give other state agencies a green light to adopt rules without legislative direction.

"They are essentially expanding their powers to determine who is eligible and who is not under the mask of these rules," Hinojosa said.

MALDEF filed the lawsuit on behalf of immigrants who were unable to obtain licenses and a Dallas landscaping company whose employees were prevented from getting their licenses renewed.

The rules, Hinojosa said, prevent legal immigrants from working and getting pay raises, and hurt businesses that need employees to drive.

The MALDEF suit is one of two filed against DPS over the new rules. The Texas Civil Rights Project filed a similar suit in federal court, arguing the rules are unconstitutional. A ruling is pending in that case.

Hinojosa said he was unsure when the appeals court would rule on MALDEF's case.

"We're hoping sooner rather than later," he said.

bgrissom@texastribune.org

by Brandi Grissom, The Texas Tribune Texas should create a committee to promote participation in the 2010 U.S. Census, state Rep. Mike Villarreal told Gov. Rick Perry in a letter Tuesday."The stakes are high," Villarreal, D-San Antonio, wrote. "Promoting participation in the census will improve our state's chances of attaining the federal funding and political representation that our growing population deserves." Like more than a dozen other states have done, Villarreal said Texas should establish a Complete Count Committee. Villarreal, who is vice chairman of the House Redistricting Committee, also urged Perry to use state agencies to reach minorities, the poor, the elderly and others who might not otherwise be counted. Many state agencies already work with those populations and send them materials about public benefits. Villarreal said those agencies should use their contacts to let people know that the census is safe and that participating is important. Billions in federal aid for health care, schools and roads depend on Texas residents being accurately counted, he said. The census count also has huge political ramifications. Texas expects to grab three or four more congressional seats because of population growth, which has largely been fueled by Hispanic Texans. Whether those new districts are drawn in a way that accurately reflects the state's population is tied to who gets counted in the census and where they are. Villarreal said Perry hadn't responded to his letter yet (or even sent him flowers recently, he joked). Perry spokesman Chris Cutrone said via e-mail that the governor appreciated Villarreal's letter. "We understand this is an important issue, and we're looking into how best to serve the state on this issue," he said. bgrissom@texastribune.org

Gov. Rick Perry vigorously defended the state's execution of Cameron Todd Willingham, calling him "a monster" and telling reporters they've fallen under the spell of death penalty opponents.

Willingham was executed for killing his children by setting fire to his house while they were trapped inside. He professed his innocence until he died, and recent reports have brought attention to an arson expert's findings that the fire wasn't intentionally set.

Perry's not buying it.

"Willingham was a monster. He was a guy who murdered his three children, who tried to beat his wife into an abortion so that he wouldn't have those kids. Person after person has stood up and testified to facts of this case that quite frankly you all aren't covering," Perry told a gaggle of reporters after a speech to the Texas Association of Realtors.

Perry recently replaced members of the state's Forensic Science Commission on the eve of hearings into that arson report. But that's not the story, he said.

"You're all being tied up in a process-driven story here, with all these sideshows. Look at the details of the case... we have a system in this state that has followed the procedures and they found this man guilty every step of the way. You have one piece of study that everyone is glomming onto and saying, 'Aha!'"

Perry said Willingham's own lawyer has come to believe Willingham was guilty.

"The facts of this case clearly showed that this was a heinous individual who murdered his kids," Perry said.

His Republican opponents both support the death penalty, but took issue with Perry on this case.

"While I will agree that there are some crimes so heinous the death penalty is the only just punishment, we must protect innocent human life," said Debra Medina, in a press release. "... If the governor cared about justice, he'd work hard to insure that the panel's work is completed in all due haste, that all the evidence is considered."

And U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison told the Associated Press that Perry should have left the commission to its work. "I don't have the facts. I'm not taking up for Mr. Willingham because I have no idea. I'm taking up for the process, for the criminal justice system in our state," she said.

It's hard to believe the governor saw this coming. When Rick Perry decided — on the eve of a hearing about the evidence that sent a Texas man to the executioner — to swap the members of the board with a new group, he couldn't have been thinking the story would grow legs and run all around his bid for reelection.

He got testy with reporters this week, taking a question about Cameron Todd Willingham and turning it into a critique of the media, of death penalty opponents, and taking the opportunity to say again that the convicted murder deserves no sympathy.

It's a weird issue for a Republican primary (or for the state's whole electorate, for that matter). Voters in Texas favor the death penalty. GOP voters favor it more than average. But Perry's two Republican challengers — U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Wharton activist Debra Medina — found ways to work the story. Hutchison said Perry is giving liberals ammunition against the death penalty. Medina said he should be protecting innocent lives, though she didn't say Willingham was innocent. She said Perry should go ahead with the state's review of the case and, if something was wrong, that he ought to fix it before it happens again.

Willingham was accused of setting his house on fire with his three kids trapped inside. The question now is whether the fire was set intentionally. Willingham professed his innocence until he died. The Forensic Science Commission was about to look at the arson evidence when Perry named new appointees instead of holding over the old ones. Since then, he's answered questions about the case every day.

He's not the only candidate whose plans got scattered. Hutchison went on WBAP-AM in the Metroplex to talk about an endorsement (from U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Flower Mound) and stepped in a hole when asked about resigning early to spend full time on the governor's race. Hutchison, who told the same station earlier this year that she plans to resign in October or November, now says she's not sure what she'll do or when she'll do it.

The takeaway quote: "I am going to leave. I think it's important that I do everything I can when there are such huge issues, and I haven't been able to set that deadline, which I know is something a lot of people are looking at to determine what other possibilities there might be... I can't say anything right now because I don’t know. Every day in Washington some new bad thing is coming up."

Ben Bius is finished exploring and now says he'll definitely run for the Texas Senate in SD-5, where Steve Ogden decided not to seek reelection.

That'll pit Bius against Rep. Dan Gattis of Georgetown in the GOP primary. Bius will do a series of campaign events and came out swinging at Gattis, referring to him as "a personal injury trial lawyer" and to himself as "a businessman who supports putting an end to junk lawsuits." Gattis countered that with an endorsement from the Texas Civil Justice League — an Austin-based foe of the trial bar — that was announced by Red McCombs, the head of that PAC and a big Republican funder in his own right. Gattis has a jump — he's been organizing the district longer — and a geographic advantage. Williamson County, where Gattis is domiciled, has far and away the biggest voting population in the district. Bius is serious, though: He's claiming $100,000 in pledged contributions for an event this weekend.

• Every little bit helps, but none of these Democratic Houston endorsers lives in Rep. Dora Olivo's Rosenberg district: Sen. Mario Gallegos, and Reps. Alma Allen, Carol Alvarado, Ellen Cohen, Garnet Coleman, Harold Dutton Jr., Jessica Farrar, Ana Hernandez, Scott Hochberg, Kristi Thibaut, Senfronia Thompson, Sylvester Turner, Hubert Vo, and Armando Walle.

• The Texas Association of Realtors endorsed Gov. Rick Perry for reelection over his two challengers in the GOP primary. That's a significant nod because of the group's numbers and the size of its political action committee. The Realtors have two of the top committees in Texas for political finance. And the group has members all over the state — handy when it's time to turn out votes in February and March. U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison got something of a heads-up; TAR didn't have any reasons not to stick with the incumbent and told her so before the announcement. He was in Austin developing a tight relationship with the group while she was in Washington.

• Jeff Brown picked up a couple of endorsements in his bid for the Texas Supreme Court. Brown, a state appellate judge in Houston, is one of five Republicans running for an open seat. Former GOP Chairman George Strake Jr. and former GOP National Committeewoman Penny Butler, both from Houston, will be on his side. TSC Justice Harriett O'Neill isn't seeking reelection. Others in that primary right now: Debra Lehrmann of Fort Worth, Jim Moseley of Dallas, Rebecca Simmons of San Antonio, and Rick Strange of Eastland. All five Republicans are judges.

• Department of Corrections: We bungled a number in a story last week about Bill Moody. He got 44.9 percent in his race against Don Willett in 2006, not 46.9 percent. Sorry, sorry, sorry.

The state's unemployment rate hit 8.2 percent in September, up from 8 percent in August and 5.1 percent in September 2008.There were 996,000 people unemployed last month, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Three areas of the state have unemployment levels over 10 percent: McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, at 11.6 percent; Beaumont-Port Arthur and Brownsville-Harlingen, both at 10.8 percent. The lowest rate in the state, according to TWC, was Lubbock, where 5.7 percent of labor force was out of work.

Houston Mayor Bill White raised $1.5 million in the third quarter of the year, and hopes to spend that money running for the U.S. Senate. His campaign says that brings the total contributions so far to about $6 million. White's campaign didn't total their spending for the three months ended September 30, or how much money they had in the bank at that point (and the full report was not yet posted on the Federal Election Commission's website. White had $3.7 million on hand at mid-year. Fellow Democrat John Sharp had $3.1 million at that point, and everyone else in the race lagged far behind.

State Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, has raised $1 million for a U.S. Senate race, including $254,020 raised during the third quarter and a total of $110,000 she loaned her own campaign. She ended the period with $555,693 in the bank. And she said in a press release that the money will be there if there's a special election for the U.S. Senate, or if she has to wait until Kay Bailey Hutchison's current term ends in 2012.

Former Secretary of State Roger Williams says he leads the declared Republicans in the U.S. Senate race, with $1.3 million raised and almost $900,000 on hand. Exact numbers will be available when his report is.

The reason we stuck "declared" in that last bit is because Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst could hop into the race and change the money rankings. Hutchison hasn't resigned and so Dewhurst has said he'll run for reelection and will reevaluate if anything else opens up. That preserves his current position, since nobody seems eager to run against the richest guy in state office. But it keeps out of some things, like a U.S. Senate candidate forum in Frisco this month. The Texas Medical Association invited all of the declared candidates, a list that doesn't include Dewhurst.

Not all of the federal candidates' third-quarter reports are posted online yet (keep checking here, as we will), but there are some numbers worth noting. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Surfside, got to the end of September with $2 million in his bank account. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, had $1.8 million on hand. Former Rep. Jim Turner, D-Crockett, had $1 million on hand. Only Barton in that group has said he might be interested in running for U.S. Senate, but they've all got more money than most of the people who've said they are running. Of the Texas candidates whose reports are online, only Barton raised big money during the quarter. He raised $1 million in 90 days.

Ken Levine will take over management of the Sunset Advisory Commission for the time being, filling the spot left by Joey Longley's resignation from state government. The new interim director has been the deputy there for 14 years and has worked for the agency for 28 years.

Deaths: William Wayne Justice, a federal judge in Texas for 41 years and a major voice from the bench on the state's treatment of prisoners, mentally disabled and mentally ill citizens, minority students in public schools, immigrants, and children seeking state health benefits for the poor. He was 89.