Foreclosures Rise 7 Percent in July

The number of U.S. households on the verge of losing their homes rose 7 percent from June to July, as the escalating foreclosure crisis continued to outpace government efforts to limit the damage. Foreclosure filings were up 32 percent from the same month last year, RealtyTrac Inc. said. More

El Paso Housing Market Stable

Here's a statistic that says a lot about how real estate markets have changed. El Paso now has virtually the same median, or market midpoint, price for used single-family homes as the Phoenix area. El Paso's median sales price was $131,800 in the second quarter, while the Phoenix area's median sales price was $131,100, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors. More

Fed More Hopeful on Economy, Holds Record Low Rate

The Federal Reserve delivered a vote of confidence in the economy Wednesday, saying it would slow the pace of an emergency rescue program as the recession appears to be ending. The central bank also held a key banking lending rate at a record low near zero and again pledged to keep it there for "an extended period" to nurture an anticipated recovery. More

How Much Was Your Raise? Houston's Increases Lead Nation

Houstonians got bigger raises than workers in most other parts of the nation, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For the year ending in June, workers in Harris, Montgomery, Fort Bend and Galveston counties, along with eight surrounding counties, received an average 2.1 percent wage increase. Nationwide, the average was 1.6 percent. More

Texas Unveils $25 Million Technical Training Program

Texas Comptroller Susan Combs has introduced a new workforce development initiative designed to raise the level of technical education in Texas. Combs released details Tuesday on Every Chance Funds, a $25 million initiative that will provide grants and scholarships over the next biennium. More

Plan for Guard Troops on Border Stalls Over Money

A government plan to use National Guard troops to help stem Mexican drug violence along the southern border is stymied by disagreements over who will pay for the soldiers and how they would be used. Ordered by President Barack Obama in June to help secure the border with Mexico, the Pentagon and the Homeland Security Department drafted a $225 million plan to deploy temporarily 1,500 Guard troops to supplement Border Patrol agents. More

Perry Gives Up Tax Break, Will Refund Money

Gov. Rick Perry gave up his claim of residency in College Station on Wednesday - and the tax break that went with it. Perry has lived in Austin for nearly two decades. In a statement, Perry spokesman Mark Miner says the governor has withdrawn his homestead exemption in College Station, where he owns a house. More

Former Perry Aide Derides Hutchison, Defends Toll Road Plan

If U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison doesn't like how Gov. Rick Perry and the state transportation department are building highways, then she should come up with a better idea, the state's top transportation official - and former Perry aide - said. Deirdre Delisi, Perry's former chief of staff whom he tapped last year to oversee the 13,000-employee transportation agency, defended one of her old boss's most controversial legacies as necessary if Texas is to build the roads its growing population requires. More

Kinky, Willy, and Bloody Marys

Not sparing the superlatives, Kinky Friedman supporters are planning what they call "one of the most historical, spontaneous and not-to-be-missed events of a lifetime" to help the author-musician-humorist in next year's race for governor. Texans for Kinky is inviting "Fellow Texans, friends of Texans, and everyone else who wishes they were" to "a Bloody Mary Morning with Willie Nelson" on Wesdnesday, Sept. 16, at Gleneagles Country Club in Plano. More

Schieffer Blasts Hutchison's Vote Against Sotomayor

Both Texas senators opposed Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, but Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Schieffer of Fort Worth confined his criticism to his potential opponent in the governor's race, Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison. More