Rep. Branch greeted members of the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber to a legislative briefing at the group's July meeting.

July 14, 2010

AUSTIN (KXAN) - State Representative Dan Branch and the Texas Department of Transportation will unveil new highway signs to be placed on Austin area toll roads Wednesday, July 14.

The signs will be used to denote interoperability between toll tags and toll facilities in the Austin Metro Area. The signs will allow users of Houston’s EZ Tag, Austin’s TxTag, and Dallas’s Toll Tag to be easily informed of which roads accept all three tags.

All are invited to attend the unveiling at the TxDOT Austin District Headquarters at 7901 IH-35 North. Visitors should report to Building 1 for directions to the unveiling site.

July 19, 2010

By Mike Hailey

Capitol Inside Editor

The candidates that the major political parties have nominated in Texas House battles in 2010 have raised more than $14 million combined during the current election cycle with the GOP's nominees accounting for almost 53 percent of the total.

With Democrats in striking distance of a House majority and Republicans hoping to widen the four-seat advantage they have now, a Capitol Inside analysis found that the GOP's nominees for the lower chamber in the general election have generated more than $7.4 million collectively compared to nearly $6.7 million that their Democratic foes have raised during the past 18 months.

July 20, 2010

Reeve Hamilton

Dallas personal injury lawyer Julie Johnson’s foray into the fight against private, for-profit colleges began with a handful of would-be interior designers.

A few years ago, a group of students had come to Johnson for help: They had forked over thousands of dollars at a private, for-profit school, but their non-accredited course work didn’t pass muster for an interior design license. Since then, Johnson has devoted most of her practice to hounding “proprietary” or “career” colleges for failing to make good on their claims.

She’s not alone in her focus. Career colleges find themselves in the hot seat this year, as U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, leads federal hearings on the need to regulate for-profit recruitment practices and the warnings of hedge-fund manager Steven Eisman (who famously

Baylor Proud

July 22, 2010

We’ve often used this space to shine a spotlight on Baylor alumni excelling in various fields, from sports to business, but Baylor has heroes in a variety of areas. Wednesday, the Board of Regents celebrated a group of state lawmakers who have carried on the long tradition of Bears serving Texas through careers in the state and national legislature.

As part of the Board’s July meeting and annual retreat, the majority of the 17 current state lawmakers who are Baylor grads gathered at a dinner in Waco honoring the “Pro Texana” part of Baylor’s mission. (See photos from the event here.) Regents Chair Dary Stone, JD ’77, publicly thanked the Baylor contingent for their active and dedicated service to the people of Texas and for so effectively and responsibly wielding the power invested in them by the citizens of the state — power that not only played an important role in preserving the Big 12 Conference in recent weeks, but that daily impacts the lives of Texans across the state in every decision they make.

Rep. Dan Branch celebrated Independence Day riding in the Park Cities Parade and sharing in the festivities at Goar Park in University Park. Later, Branch hosted neighbors and friends at a patriotic picnic lunch.