State purchasing in Texas is among the largest in the U.S., with purchasing teams awarding and managing hundreds of contracts on behalf of over 200 state agencies and 1900 local government CO-OP members. The state of Texas is actively seeking for new business and encourages all vendors to become suppliers to the state, providing excellentRead… Read more »
As Pinterest gains in popularity on the Internet, government is taking notice; Pinterest is already the 3rd most popular social networking website, behind only Facebook and Twitter. It specializes in allowing users to create their own pin boards and share photographs they find interesting with their followers. The Military has taken advantage of Pinterest, andRead… Read more »
Texas Earns a Poor Grade for Integrity State Government Doing a Poor Job Delivering Transparency and Accountability to Citizens Investigative Report by Kelley ShannonPosted Monday, March 19, 2012 1:30pm In Texas politics, money flows freely, lobbyists enjoy a powerful presence at the state capitol, and governors are propelled into the national spotlight. Citizens who wantRead… Read more »
The Texas Declaration of Independence was initiated at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the Brazos on March 1. Very similar to the United States Declaration of Independence, it echoes the contentions of Thomas Jefferson and John Locke when discussing governmental philosophy, and includes complaints against the governing nation and a call for independence. The declarationRead… Read more »
Okay, so we weren’t going to publish a Round Up this week since several of us are on vacation, but here are three stories I didn’t want to sit on since they are long and you might want to read them during leisure moments during your holiday vacation! This is a detail-rich case study ofRead… Read more »
Everyone knows they should call a cab when they’ve had a few too many drinks. In a big city, it’s easy to walk to the nearest corner and hail a cab, but what if you’re in a more suburban or rural area? In order to combat one of the highest drunk driving fatality rates inRead… Read more »
Increasing obesity rates in the United States in recent years have caused health and nutritional issues, especially those regarding children, to gain additional attention across the nation. This issue is currently being addressed in the 82nd Texas Legislature in a series of bills that focus on altering nutritional standards and physical education programs in theRead… Read more »
As anti-bullying legislation begins to be introduced in Austin, it is interesting to look at what other states have done in the area comparatively. Anti-bullying legislation is relatively widespread throughout the United States, with 45 states having passed measures. Hawaii, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota are the 5 states that do not haveRead… Read more »
Though most of the focus involving education during the 82nd Texas Legislative Session will be on spending, some advocacy groups and legislators are pushing for education reform in the area of school bullying. School bullying entered into national exposure as a possible rationale behind the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. Since then, most statesRead… Read more »
The Texas Gov 2.0 Camp has been happening yesterday and today and I was lucky enough to be on an email string where I learned from Steven Polunsky, Director of the Senate Committee on Business and Commerce for (Texas State) Senator John Carona that they are engaged in some innovative transparency initiatives in the TexasRead… Read more »