Former Rep. and utility lobbyist Curt Seidlits is starting a new public affairs firm he says will combine traditional lobbying and consulting with the Internet and new media tools. The firm — Focused Advocacy — will be based in Austin. Seidlits was at the former TXU for more than a decade.

Becky Moeller was elected president of the Southern Region of the AFL-CIO and keeps her gig as president of the Texas AFL-CIO. The new duties include serving on the union's general board.

Robert Peeler joins the Austin office of the El Paso-based Kemp Smith law firm, where he'll work on legislative and regulatory issues. The former UT football player was chief of staff to Sen. Mike Jackson and has had his own law practice for the last couple of years.

Getting hitched, no date set: Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Patricia "Trish" Bivins, the ex-wife of former Sen. Teel Bivins of Amarillo.

Recovering: Former First Lady Barbara Bush, after heart surgery in Houston. Doctors replaced her aortic valve and expect to let her out of the hospital in a week or so.

Deaths: Jamie Hager Clements, billed as the youngest pol ever elected to the Texas House (at age 20), and a former mayor of Temple, and the top attorney for Scott & White, at age 78.