  We discuss the simultaneous determination of m_s and V_us from
flavor-breaking hadronic tau decay sum rules, focussing on weight choices
designed to better control problems associated with the slow convergence of the
relevant integrated D=2 OPE series. The results are found to display improved
stability and consistency relative to those of conventional analyses based on
the ``(k,0) spectral weights''. The results for m_s agree well with those of
recent strange scalar sum rule and strange pseudoscalar sum rule and lattice
analyses. Results for V_us agree within errors with those of
lattice-input-based K_{ell 3} and Gamma [K_{mu 2}]/\Gamma [pi_{mu 2}] analyses.
Very significant error reductions are shown to be expected, especially for
V_us, once improved strange spectral data from the B factory experiments
becomes available.
