On Friday, Gov. Rick Perry named Thomas Suehs to head the state’s Health and Human Services Commission. Suehs, who has served as deputy executive commissioner for financial services since 2003, will replace the retiring Albert Hawkins. As executive commissioner, Suehs will be responsible for overseeing five agencies, 50,000 employees and an annual budget of $30 billion.
Republican Thomas Latham announced that he will run for House District 101, a seat currently held by Rep. Robert Miklos (D-Mesquite). Latham represented District 101 from 2007 to 2009.
Rep. Helen Giddings (D-Dallas) announced that she would seek re-election to House District 109. Giddings had been rumored to be considering a run for Dallas County Judge.
Have you ever experienced the “dead zone” in the underground Capitol Extension where calls were repeatedly dropped or signals were unattainable? AT&T announced yesterday that it has upgraded its 3G mobile broadband service in the Capitol Extension with the installation of a distributed antenna system — also called DAS. The company assures us this will make a difference when many users gather in the building at one time, like legislative sessions. Get those tablet computers ready for 2011!