Michael Gerber resigned as head of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, according to Texas Watchdog, and the governor moved to the General Land Office the responsibility for Hurricane Ike funds that have gone unspent in the years since that storm.

The Secretary of the Texas Senate, Patsy Spaw, was elected staff vice chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures, a position that automatically leads to the chairmanship after a year.

Jim Moore and Jason Stanford are teaming up for what Stanford calls "a snarky take on Rick Perry" in book form. Moore co-authored "Bush's Brain" — a book on Karl Rove — with Wayne Slater. Stanford is a political consultant who managed Democrat Chris Bell's unsuccessful challenge to Perry in 2006.

Press corps moves: The Texas Observer named Dave Mann as editor, replacing Bob Moser, and Susan Smith Richardson as managing editor, replacing Mann.

Deaths: Former state Rep. Paul Ragsdale, D-Dallas, who served for 14 years in the Texas House after winning election in 1972 and co-founding the Texas Legislative Black Caucus. He was 66.

Lobbyist Gaylord Armstrong left the McGinnis Lochridge & Kilgore law firm after four decades after a disagreement over checks he wrote himself from a client's account, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The firm, after paying back the client (the Texas Consumer Finance Association), said it would report the details to the State Bar of Texas, which licenses lawyers. Armstrong resigned on July 1 and agreed to repay the firm.