Bringing a Top University to the Valley
by Cindy Casares / Posted on | 1 CommentThe proposed merger of three University of Texas campuses in the Rio Grande Valley has far-reaching financial implications.
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Payday Loan Reform Faces Uphill Battle in House
by Forrest Wilder / Posted on | No CommentsLate into the night, the payday loan industry strutted its stuff before a very friendly House committee. The hearing came just a week after the Senate passed a surprisingly tough bill that the industry insists would shut down most of Texas’ 3,400 payday and auto-title storefronts. Even though the legislation aired last night is a faint shadow the Senate bill, it got a rough treatment from six of the seven committee members.
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Uneasy Money: An Observer Panel On Reforming Texas’ Payday and Auto-Title Loan Industry
by Jen Reel / Posted on | 2 CommentsTexas Observer Staff Writer Forrest Wilder hosted a public panel on reforming Texas’ payday loan industry.
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Senate Makes It Rain (Drizzle, at Least) for Public Education
by Forrest Wilder / Posted on | 1 CommentThe Texas Senate proposal to spend $5.7 billion out of the Rainy Day Fund on roads ($2.9 billion), water infrastructure ($2 billion) and schools ($800 million) was unanimous: 31-0.
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Texas Senate Passes Surprisingly Tough Payday Loan Reform
by Forrest Wilder / Posted on | 2 CommentsAfter a dramatic false start on Thursday, the big payday loan reform bill—tediously-negotiated by Sen. John Carona (R-Dallas)—easily cleared the Senate. But not before senators agreed to changes that would more or less kill the payday and auto-title industry in Texas.
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