Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

The Drug War raging in Juarez is just the open manifestation of a low-level conflict border residents have lived with for years, said one panelist at a UTEP forum that was organized by the student newspaper "The Prospector" and the Sam Donaldson Center for Communication Studies earlier this week.

College has become so unaffordable, and graduation rates so stubbornly low, that America's great higher education engine may be sputtering, according to Measuring Up 2008, the latest report by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, a San Jose, Calif.-based nonprofit.

Called UnitedHealth Continuity, the product is not actual medical insurance, but is aimed at people who may have insurance now but are worried they may lose it — and may not be able to obtain replacement insurance on their own. They may expect to retire early, for example, before they qualify for Medicare. Or they are worried about the possibility of losing their job and their health coverage.

The experts’ report, issued by the Institute of Medicine on Tuesday, focused on the grueling training of medical residents, the recent medical school graduates who care for patients under the supervision of a fully licensed physician. The medical residency, which aims to educate doctors by immersing them in a particular specialty and all aspects of patient care, is characterized by heavy workloads, 80-hour workweeks and sleep deprivation.

State Senator Eliot Shapleigh introduced three bills this month that promote the education of financial literacy. Ideally, Senator Shapleigh would like to implement a state-wide Kthrough-12 financial literacy program by 2013.

Public school finance has always been a major issue facing Texas. But within the school finance debate, there has been the question of how to ensure that all Texas children are well-educated while funding that education mainly through a local property tax. Because property wealth is not evenly distributed across the state, some school districts have the advantage of taxing a larger tax base than others. This has led to some school districts being able to provide a more comprehensive and rigorous education for their students than others.

Officials said higher-than-anticipated sales, oil-and-gas and cigarette tax collections will more than make up the gap — but lawmakers also face new demands, including costs associated with damage from Hurricane Ike and the impact on Texas from the national economic downturn.

With Congress ready to spend $700 billion to prop up the U.S. economy, enacting health-care reform may seem about as likely as the Dow hitting 10,000 again before the end of the year. But it may be more doable than you think, provided we dispel a few myths about how health care works and how much reform Americans are willing to stomach.

With no fewer than 10 legislators running for speaker and a Republican majority of only 76 to 74, some freshmen are keeping quiet about whom they might support. And they're the ones getting the most pressure.

State Rep. Rick Noriega, of Houston, the unsuccessful U.S. Senate candidate who served in Afghanistan and on the Mexican border as a Texas Army National Guard officer, met with President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday as Obama worked on filling leadership positions in his administration, confidential sources said.

Texas highways were once the pride of the state — and justifiably so. Our extensive infrastructure allowed generations of farmers and ranchers to feed the state and the world, and it turned our cities into economic powerhouses. Our transportation networks allowed generations of Texans to charge into a prosperous future without having to catch up with the present.

Preparing for a new administration in Washington, Gov. Rick Perry said Tuesday that regulating greenhouse gas emissions would have "devastating implications" for Texas' economy and energy industry. Although the Bush administration has rejected such regulation, President-elect Barack Obama is believed to be more receptive to clamping down on the gases that have been blamed for global wanning.

Gov. Rick Perry warned the Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday against expanding federal clear-air legislation to include greenhouse-gas emissions, saying it would come at an "irreparable cost" to the economy. Perry said at a news conference that regulating one of the suspected causes of global warming would put an unnecessary burden on large parts of the economy, including commercial buildings, churches, small farms, hotels, hospitals and large homes.

Federal Pell grants have covered his tuition so far. He plans to transfer in the spring to Tarleton State University in Stephenville, about 135 miles northwest of Austin, on a one-semester scholarship. Then he plans to move on to the University of Texas or Texas A&M University, where he'll likely take out a federally subsidized Stafford loan.

With little more than a month remaining before the start of the next state legislative session, Commissioners Court on Monday could finalize the issues it wants to push for El Paso County.

With incoming freshman Wendy Davis of Fort Worth expanding their roster by one, Democrats in the state Senate are feeling energized and assertive as they head toward the 81st Legislative session in January. With Davis, they now have 12 members — one more than the 11 votes needed to block legislation in the 31-member Senate — and hope to expand to what they would consider a lucky 13 if Chris Bell wins a runoff for a Houston-area seat.

Some Texas lawmakers have promised a big push to rein in tuition and fees, which have jumped an average of more than 50 percent at public, four-year universities since the Legislature gave regents full authority to set tuition rates in 2003.

The Texas House of Representatives, responding to a public outcry over lawmakers voting for one another, is installing 10 voting stations activated by lawmakers' fingerprints, allowing them to vote while they're away from their desks' electronic voting stations but still in the House chamber.

A tally of mutual fund performance for the year by Lipper Inc. found that one of the broadest mutual fund categories – large-cap U.S. growth funds – had an average return of 14.9 percent for the year, despite a tiny 0.55 percent return for the difficult fourth quarter.

Estimates by fiscal watchdog groups vary, but between 37 and 41 states are dealing with shortfalls this year or will face a budget gap in 2009. While California, New York, Florida, Michigan and Ohio make painful choices – higher taxes, spending cuts – Texas has a surplus topping $11 billion.