News Ticker: June 11

Rosemary Lehmberg struggles with popularity, Rick Perry deals a bummer in the summer, and Debbie Riddle gives it another go. Spirals are on the News Ticker.

• Gov. Rick Perry has involved himself in the Rosemary Lehmberg kerfuffle, allegedly threatening to cut funding from the Public Integrity Unit unless the D.A. resigns. For those keeping score, the list of Texans who have not weighed in on Lehmberg-gate now only includes Sen. Ted Cruz, actress Sandra Bullock, and a Scurry County Pool lifeguard that prefers to remain anonymous.

• Progress Texas thinks Perry's threatened veto may have less to do with Lehmberg and more to do with the ongoing CPRIT investigation. Still, all this attention must make Lehmberg feel really special.

• Meanwhile, a date has been set for the Lehmberg removal jury trial. We're accepting casting ideas for the Lifetime movie. Is Nancy Grace too wide-eyed?

• Today in guns, the Georgetown Eagles Football Boosters are raffling off a Bushmaster AR-15. There have been murmurs that they are considering changing the school colors to safety orange at the request of a very nervous mascot.

• Frankly, we don't understand the uproar over the raffle. It's not like anyone in Georgetown is aware of any inappropriate uses of guns.

• All passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight to Austin are safe after a bomb threat grounded their plane in Phoenix. We know we give the Statesman plenty of grief, but we'll give credit where it is due for this story. It really amps up the drama. The blood has yet to return to our knuckles.

• The Travis County Tax Office is now offering paperless billing. We're not sure why the decided to go with sliced bologna instead. Maybe it has something to do with the environment.

• Like a camp counselor who blows his whistle just as the pillow fight is starting to get fun, Gov. Perry has bummed out everyone by adding more items to the special session.

• Garishly decorated cornhusk dolly Rep. Debbie Riddle announced today on Facebook that she is planning to run for re-election.