Morning Roundup: Searching the big checkbook edition

Good morning, Houston. Have you ever been lounging around on the couch, curious about how the state of Texas spends its money but frustrated because you can't hop online and find out? Well, cheer up: Now you can, thanks to a new feature on the state comptroller's website. The database allows users to search the $74.5 billion in expenditures from fiscal 2007 by agency, payee and spending category. For folks with the ability to sift through the information, it should be great — now, does anyone want to help Houstonist balance our checkbook?

>> What's going on in HISD schools?: We've all heard about the problems at HISD's Key Middle School: What the CDC calls a "damp building" apparently caused faculty, staff and students to fall ill, and the campus may not be cleaned up until early next year. But KTRK also found that 18 schools in the district have complained about mold this academic year — and it looks like a lot of those problems might be the result of improperly maintained HVAC systems. "Risk management has recommended in several previous investigations that the air conditioners be adjusted, but the problem still persists," an HISD report on conditions at Chatham Elementary — where a dozen classrooms had to be professionally cleaned to remove mold — read. "It is believed units are not being properly maintained and operated." According to Channel 13, HISD is performing maintenance on some air-conditioning units and is still working to dry the Key campus out.

>> Wrong-way driver causes big accident: Police say a man driving the wrong way on Shepherd near Little York caused an 11-vehicle accident that killed him and injured eight people Saturday. Officials aren't sure why the man, who they describe as an older man with medical problems, was going the wrong way, but one thing is clear: The crash was awful. Some of the vehicles involved in the accident were stopped at a traffic light and others were approaching the light; witnesses said the man's car flew into the air and hit several vehicles, including an ambulance. Eight people, including two paramedics and a child, were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries; the identify of the wrong-way driver wasn't released because his family had not yet been notified.

>> This week's weather: Well, despite the weather we had at the end of last week, fall isn't quite here yet — the next few days, in fact, will be pretty late summer-like, with temperatures in the upper 80s and lots of humidity. Today, look for a high of 86 with a 40 percent chance of showers; tonight, temperatures should drop into the low 70s, but the rain chance will probably stick around. The good news: The heat and humidity should break again Thursday, leading to a pretty good run of seasonal weather. Hang in there.

And while you're hanging, why not catch up on today's headlines?