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The runoff battle for lieutenant governor took off today with Dan Patrick’s campaign saying incumbent David Dewhurst might as well give up.

In 1989, former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes joined a group of investors hoping to develop a bullet train system in Texas. The company, Texas TGV, planned to build a 200 mph line between Dallas and Houston and then expand to Austin and San Antonio. After four years and more than $70 million in investments, the project collapsed.

“It’s the closest any state has come to having a high-speed train,” Barnes said. “I’ll spend the rest of my life asking what if.” 

More than two decades later, Texas Central Railway is trying to revive a part of that earlier project, a privately financed bullet train connecting Dallas and Houston.

The Texas unemployment rate slipped to 5.7 percent in January and became the state's lowest jobless figure since November 2008.
 
The Texas Workforce Commission on Friday reported the seasonally adjusted rate for January is the sixth straight month of declines in statewide unemployment.

The nationwide jobless rate stood at 6.6 percent in January.
 

Texas Independence Day is March 2. (On that day, back in 1836, the Texas Declaration of Independence was adopted at Washington-on-the-Brazos.) So, to celebrate, the KERA News staff figured we’d come up with a list of quintessential Texas experiences – a bucket list of things you should do in the Lone Star state before you kick the bucket.

We know we’ve missed some important places. What should we add to the list? Submit your suggestions in the comments below.

Pack your bags, fuel up your car, and come take a tour with us across the state …

For three decades, Gloria Campos has been like a member of the family to thousands of North Texans. In today’s Friday Conversation, the 59-year-old WFAA-Channel 8 anchor talks about her career as the first Latino anchor on local TV news and about how she’ll say goodbye tonight.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: A little festival starts today in Austin; say "so long" to Gloria Campos; the wildflower forecast looks pretty good; and more:

Gloria Campos, the longtime WFAA-TV news anchor, has announced she is retiring. Her last newscast will be at 10 p.m. Friday.

Campos, WFAA’s first Hispanic anchor, started at the station in 1984. For many years, she anchored both the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts. She anchored her last 6 p.m. newscast in 2012. (Scroll down to watch videos of Campos through the years on Channel 8.)

Campos spoke about her career with Rick Holter, KERA's vice president of news, in the Friday Conversation.

The forecast is calling for colorful displays of wildflowers in the parts of Texas that received ample fall and winter rains.

The University of Texas at Austin's Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center said Thursday that while cooler-than-usual weather might delay the wildflower season in some parts of Texas, many areas should have full blooms and the first stirrings of spring can already be seen.

Two more Texas abortions clinics are closing because of new restrictions placed on the facilities by the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Ten clinics have already closed because of a new law, which strictly limits where, when, how and from whom women can obtain abortions.