New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said he is investigating whether the athletic departments steered students to lenders in exchange for kickbacks, as well as how team names, mascots and colors may have been used to suggest the company was a school's preferred lender.
At [the University of Houston], the athletic department's Web site features a prominent advertisement for University Financial Services.
With a red and blue border, the ad encourages "Cougars" to consolidate their student loans at a lower monthly payment. The lender identifies itself as "a proud paying sponsor of University of Houston Athletics."
The student loan industry has grown substantially over the past few years, in large part because the skyrocketing cost of tuition. Incidentally, since 2003 when the GOP legislative leadership passed tuition deregulation, the cost of tuition and fees at state-supported universities in Texas has shot up 39%.
The New York Times reports on a "fast spreading, Velco-like aquatic fern" that, in 1950's horror-movie fashion, seems to be taking over Caddo Lake. Any East Texans have any first hand experience they'd like to share in the comments?
The House of Representative passed a reauthorization and expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) yesterday, which since 1997 has provided affordable health insurance for millions of children whose parents can't afford to buy insurance on their own yet make too much money to qualify for Medicaid. Vince at Capitol Annex is all over the House floor debate from yesterday, including some unfortunately predictable shenanigans from Texas Republicans.
Starting this fall, the pledge to the Texas flag will have a little more God in it, thanks to a bill Rep. Debbie "Pit of Hell" Riddle authored and passed this session. This was little reported, but Rep. Scott Hochberg and she had a pretty good exchange during debate on the legislation:
HOCHBERG: Tell me why you picked out, you said last night that you were trying to essentially conform our pledge to the national pledge, and if I'm misstating what you said, please clarify that for me.
RIDDLE: No, that, I think, is what I made very clear, that in our national pledge, we say, "one nation under God." I felt like it was altogether right and appropriate for us to have in our state pledge, that we would say, "one state under God."
HOCHBERG: We also, in the national pledge, if I'm not mistaken, say, "with liberty and justice for all." You didn't include that in your bill, I don't believe. Was there some reason that you didn't include that, but you did include the "under God" part?
RIDDLE: No.
HOCHBERG: No? Would you take a third reading amendment to add, "with liberty and justice for all?"
RIDDLE: No.
The whole exchange (which you can read here) was pretty funny; Riddle seemed stunned by the question, and ended up saying she wanted to mirror the national pledge without explaining why she didn't want "liberty and justice for all." Apparently "liberty and justice for all" doesn't deserve repeating in Texas, but "under God" does. Go figure.
(We are lucky to have elected officials like Rep. Coleman. - promoted by Matt Glazer)
"Now, in 2003, I guess you could say a 20 foot hole was dug and the needs of the State of Texas were reduced by that 20 foot hole, the money that pays for those needs. Since then, there's been a little bit put back, and a little bit more put back there, and a little bit more put back there and now the hole is only 10 feet deep [. . .] I don't believe that it is the measurement of what's good for the State of Texas to still have us in a hole in the ground."
- Rep. Garnet Coleman on HB 1, the state budget for 2008-09
You'll find the full text of my remarks below the jump. Be sure to check my website for more updates on state government in Texas.
If you want to take action on this (send a fax, email, or testify, make sure you check below the jump.
Evidently, there simply aren't enough roadblocks to accessible high education in Texas.
Now, State Rep. Vicki Truitt (R-Keller) wants every student enrolling in an institution of higher learning in Texas to have medical insurance before they enroll. Those who don't will have to purchase it through the school.
This is insane. While many families are fortunate enough to have insurance coverage that will cover dependent children through their college years, many low- and middle-income Texas families aren't this fortunate.
