This story about City Council delaying a vote on the "consent agreement" with Metro seems to me to be less bad than it sounds.
Among council members' concerns were sidewalks, street beautification, the impact of construction, the danger of trains operating in residential neighborhoods and uncertainties about routes. After more than two hours of discussion, committee chair Sue Lovell adjourned the meeting."When we have votes, I like for them to be informed votes," she said. "We have some work to do to go back and get some answers."
A May 13 meeting on the agreement also ended without a vote. Lovell said private meetings would be set up next week so committee members can put their questions to Mayor Bill White and Metropolitan Transit Authority CEO Frank Wilson.
The proposed agreement could come back to the committee for a vote in June or go directly to the full council if members' concerns are addressed, she said.
[...]
"Some of us feel that this is our last shot," [Council Member Peter] Brown said. "Once we sign the consent agreement, the partnership may crumble. Metro may not listen."
Councilwoman Melissa Noriega agreed, saying, "We have leverage to impact this."
That's about the size of it. Council has one chance to affect what Metro does from here, and they're quite reasonably going to make the most of it. When all is said and done, I believe Metro will accommodate them as best they can, and I will be very surprised if the agreement is not ratified by a wide margin.
Back in 2006, the city of San Antonio filed a lawsuit against online hotel bookers, claiming that they were paying an insufficient amount of hotel taxes. Basically, sites like Travelocity book a boatload of rooms at a fixed discount price, say $75 a night for a room that would normally go for $150, then resell them in between, say at $125. They pay taxes based on the $75 price. Their customer doesn't pay the tax, since they don't do business directly with the hotel. The city claims that the broker should pay the tax based on the $125 price that the customer pays.
In 2007, the city of Houston filed a similar suit. Now the original suit has been given class-action status, though for now Houston will continue to pursue its own claim.
On Tuesday, a federal judge granted San Antonio's motion for class-action certification in its lawsuit against 16 companies, including Hotels.com, Expedia.com, Priceline.com and Orbitz. The San Antonio suit, like Houston's, claims the online companies collect the hotel tax at the retail rate but only pay taxes on the bulk wholesale rate that they are charged. Galveston will not seek inclusion in the San Antonio suit, a city official there said Thursday.The companies argue they do not control occupancy and only provide a service for consumers and should not have to pay the difference.
The suit, they argue, could wind up hurting tourism.
"It just doesn't make sense that increasing the costs of travel won't decrease the amount of travel," said Paul Chronis, Orbitz's lawyer. "That's pretty basic stuff."
Randy Pourteau, a senior assistant city attorney for the city of Houston, disputed the claim. He said the rates the online companies charge would not have to be raised. The issue pertains to the smaller amount in taxes the companies are paying local governments.
At the time this suit was first filed, I thought the cities would lose - it seemed to me there was a genuine loophole in the law. They've progressed far enough now that I'm not so sure. Any lawyers out there care to venture an opinion?
I've hit on the theme of budgetary priorities and choices many times in recent weeks, and I see that Rick Noriega has given me a nice opportunity to hit it again.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rick Noriega lashed Republican incumbent John Cornyn at a Houston news conference today over Cornyn's recent vote against a bill to expand benefits for military veterans.Cornyn, however, said he favors what he calls a more effective version.
"We should be appalled and enraged as Texans and as patriots at his behavior on the Senate floor," Noriega, a state House member from Houston, said on the main campus of the University of Houston, which he attended.
Noriega recalled that veterans lived in trailers on the UH campus many years ago while getting a college education funded by the GI Bill.
Cornyn and presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain last week were on the losing side fo a 70-22 Senate vote for the benefits package, which would pay education costs for National Guard and miltary reserve veterans who serve active duty and meet other requirements.
Cornyn, citing a study by the Congressional Budget Office, said the bill was irresponsible because the offer of such benefits would encourage military personnel to use them rather then re-enlist in armed forces units. The Bush administration has branded the bill as too expensive.
Noriega, a National Guard lieutentant colonel who served in Afghanistan, said he, rather than Cornyn, knows from working with reservists that any new benefits have nothing to do with their re-enlistment choices.
Instead, he said, the personnel choose to end their service because they already have served multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and want to ease the toll on their families.
Noriega said Cornyn supports a "half-step, double-talk" version of the bill that would not give reservists full educational benefits after serving active duty.
[...]
Noriega, standing on the campus with six war veterans of various generations, said it was "an absurd statement" that the bill costs too much while Cornyn and other senators vote for $165 billion in continued funding for the war.
That's it in a nutshell. You can't claim one thing is unaffordable when you support spending much more money on something far more irresponsible. The occupation of Iraq, which is something we've chosen to do for more than five years now (Happy Suck On This Day, by the way), is an unsustainable expense that people like Sens. Cornyn and McCain choose to incur, despite overwhelming popular demand to not do it any more. In this case, following the will of the people would not only allow for much-needed spending on direly needed priorities such as the Webb bill Cornyn and McCain voted against, but would also mitigate against its cost by allowing us to finally reduce the number of active service members we require. In every way, it's a win-win situation, but some people insist on choosing the loser option. Thankfully, we can do something about it this November.
I should note, by the way, that the Cornyns and McCains of the world are aided in this pursuit by a small but persistent group of House Democrats, who perversely oppose various forms of spending out of a misguided sense of fiscal prudence. I'm sorry, but you cannot simultaneously be a deficit hawk and a war hawk. Pick one or the other, because the two together do not mix.
Since the subject of public universities and tuition costs have been in the news lately, this would be a good time to direct you to the just-released Legislative Study Group Analysis and Recommendations on State of Higher Education in Texas - Part 1, which you can find in PDF form here. Topics covered within are:
-Repealing tuition deregulation
-Cutting and freezing tuition rates, lowering costs by at least $500/year
-Creating a new statewide scholarship system based on merit to help students and their parents achieve a higher education without becoming burdened by debt.
-Expanding and increasing the number of top tier institutions of higher learning, from 2 to at least 6. This would help Texas compete with states such as California and New York while expanding the opportunities for excellence for Texas students. Such development would also yield great returns to the state in the form of economic and jobs development.
The last bit is something that should be easier to remedy than you might think. From the report:
As the state with the second highest population total in the nation, there are only two tier one universities in Texas. California has 10 tier one universities, New York has eight, Massachusetts five and Illinois four. Proportionally, Texas should have six to seven total top tier universities to maintain competitiveness.Investment by the state serves as seed money. To qualify as tier one, a school needs to spend $100 million on research. After initial investments by the state, additional funding is drawn from federal and private grants as a return on the investment. Investment in research and development yields a 20 to 30 percent rate of return to the state in terms of jobs and economic stimulus. Money begets money, and the state's additional investment in institutions of higher education would not only greatly expand the possibilities for students, resulting in a better educated populace, but would help the state maintain a competitive economic edge in technology and human capital in the 21st century.
[...]
The University of Houston needs $24 million to reach that [$100 million on research] threshhold, Texas Tech needs $49 million, UT-Dallas needs $57 million, UT-El Paso needs $58 million, UT-Arlington needs $65 million, UT-San Antonio needs $68 million and UNT needs $84 million in additional funding. An investment of $405 million could yield seven additional Tier One Schools in Texas, bringing the total to nine. An investment of $188 million could bring in four schools to Tier One status (Tech, UH, UTD & UTEP).
In the context of the state's budget, and the projected surplus, that's really not a lot of money to achieve a result that would have great long-term benefit. As the report notes elsewhere, the amount of money currently allocated for the gubernatorial piggy bank known as the Texas Enterprise Fund would more than cover the lower-cost investment cited above, and would surely get a better return as well.
The one thing that isn't really discussed here is a stable funding source for these needs. We have surpluses now, but we won't forever - indeed, the Comptroller is already warning that the 2008 revenue numbers are softer than the 2007 figures were. And while we do have a big surplus projected for this year, the reality is that most of it is already spoken for, with the property tax cut from the 2007 legislative session being a big part of that. We could try to establish a revenue source like a local sales tax as proposed by Sen. Royce West, but there are many problems with that, and frankly, it's not really needed. Having better priorities would do it, or at least would get us most of the way there. Needless to say, that will take a change in the state's leadership to have any hope.
Part II of this report, which will include a discussion of the cost and income differential between four year colleges and community colleges; workforce needs and innovation for a more competitive Texas; student transition from community colleges to four year institutions; and the demographics of Texas higher education, will be forthcoming. In the meantime, it should be noted that all of this we can and did see coming. Click on for a reprint of an editorial Rep. Garnet Coleman wrote in 2004 that predicted where we'd be now.
From January 17, 2004:Tuition deregulation pushes education out of reach
by Garnet Coleman
The passage last session of legislation deregulating tuition marks the end of an era of accountability and affordability in Texas public higher education.
For the first time, the Legislature has abdicated its responsibility for setting the maximum tuition rates that state-supported colleges and universities are allowed to charge students and their families. Instead, university system regents - not elected officeholders - now have complete autonomy to set the rates as high as they desire with no direct accountability to the taxpayers.
Gov. Rick Perry and House Speaker Tom Craddick exerted unyielding political pressure to compel the tuition deregulation bill's passage, using Texas' $10 billion budget shortfall as the rationale. While top state officials were patting themselves on the back for not raising taxes, they were saddling Texas college students and their families with staggering hikes in tuition rates.
Perry claimed in his State of the State address that education represents the greatest investment we can make in a future of prosperity. He then agreed to slash general revenue funding for higher education by $259 million, which includes his veto of $55 million for excellence in research funds. Yet, the governor simultaneously fought for and received $295 million for a new, unproven economic development fund that allows him to hand out financial incentives to businesses he is attempting to lure to Texas.
According to Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, "Every dollar invested in our state's higher education system pumps more than five dollars into our Texas economy." Our leaders chose to prioritize their experimental pet project over a proven economic investment - the education of our children. These aren't just tough economic times that challenge the ability of state officials to balance the state budget. These also are daunting economic times for Texas families and individuals, many of whom have experienced the devastation of losing a job, a reduction in employee benefits or spiraling health care costs.
Knowing that it would further strain the ability of many students to pursue a college education, our short-sighted leaders forged ahead with their plan to deregulate tuition. Students holding jobs to pay for their college education will be required to work longer hours or take out additional student loans to cover the costs of unchecked tuition increases.
For example, tuition rates are set to rise by an average of approximately 12 percent this spring at the University of Texas System's institutions. A student taking a 15-hour course load at the system's flagship institution, the University of Texas at Austin, faces an even greater increase of 26 percent. By fall, the same student will pay 52 percent more for tuition than he did the previous year.
One major flaw of tuition deregulation is its affect on older students. Proponents of this policy failed to consider the fact that not every Texas university is a flagship and not evey student is a fresh-faced recent high school graduate. At the University of Houston at Victoria, for instance, the average attendee is 33. Increased costs are especially devastating to these nontraditional students who already have jobs, families and other responsibilities. Many cannot afford the extra burden.
Tuition deregulation also has serious consequences for two popular state programs, the Texas Guaranteed Tuition Plan and the Texas Grants Program. Parents and grandparents who were planning on securing a college education for their children and grandchildren by locking in tuition rates through the Texas Guaranteed Tuition Plan (formerly the Texas Tomorrow Fund) will no longer have that opportunity. Recent tuition spikes and uncertainty about future tuition costs have forced that program to close its doors to new enrollees.
Additionally, fewer Texas students will receive grants from the state to offset tuition costs. Without even taking into account the impact of deregulating tuition, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board already projects a 12 percent decline in Texas Grants recipients by 2005. Tuition hikes across the state will further diminish the number of new recipients.
At a time when we should be opening doors to more students and making higher education more accessible, we ultimately may be locking out more Texans with this disastrous change in public policy. The solution is for parents and students to demand that their governor and elected state officials take back responsibility for controlling tuition costs at public colleges and universities and commit to funding them adequately.
Is new TxDOT Chair Deirdre Delisi, whose appointment to replace the late Ric Williamson was not very well received due to her close ties to Governor Perry, trying to take the agency in a new direction regarding toll roads? Maybe, maybe not.
The commission unanimously agreed that all Texas highways will be owned by the state, not private developers; that the state may buy back the interest of a private road developer; that only expansions to existing highways will be tolled and existing free lanes won't be reduced; and that "non-compete clauses" will be banned, meaning no state contract will limit improvements to nearby existing roads.The order also calls for an attempt to minimize disturbing private property and to consider using existing rights of way.
The clarifying statement came in response to public criticism during the early planning stages of the Trans Texas Corridor, Perry's plan to contract with private companies to build toll roads throughout the state.
Opponents remained skeptical. Terri Hall, director of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom said that if TxDOT expands or builds a competing road, the toll contractor could require compensation from taxpayers for any resulting loss in toll revenue.
David Stall, who operates the CorridorWatch.org with his wife, Linda, said the state had always intended to own the toll roads that it leased to private operators.
The new rules also call for only new lanes to be tolled, but Stall said that if TxDOT continues to rely on toll financing for new projects, it means "that they are not intending to expand existing free highways beyond the current expansion plans."
The devil's in the details. It's too early to say if this is cosmetic or substantive. There's no evidence that I'm aware of to indicate a change of heart on Perry's part, so it's hard to imagine Delisi advocating any real changes. But perhaps they've at least admitted defeat about some aspects of the TTC. That would be a start. Eye on Williamson has more.
I'm watching a bit of the Women's College World Series - I quite enjoy NCAA softball, which is a very different game than baseball. After UCLA walked Arizona State slugger Kaitlin Cochran to start the fifth inning and she came around to score, ESPN showed her in the dugout with the caption that she had been walked intentionally 10 times in the postseason, and scored 6 runs as a result. I'm thinking maybe that's not the best way to approach her plate appearances, you know? Someone needs to tell Joe Sheehan about this, I sense a column opportunity for him.
KTRK political reporter Tom Abrahams has a long interview with DNC superdelegate and Rules and Bylaws Committee member Jaime Gonzalez, Jr., in which they discuss issues such as what to do with Florida and Michigan. Those of you who can't get enough of that stuff - and you know who you are - check it out.
The State Supreme Court has upheld the earlier ruling by the Third Court of Appeals that the state of Texas overstepped its bounds in the case of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the removal of children from its compound.
The Third Court ruled the state didn't have enough evidence to order into foster care every child who lived at the Yearning for Zion Ranch, instead of just the teenage girls who child welfare officials said were at risk of being sexually abused by marriages to older men."On the record before us, removal of the children was not warranted," said the court in an unsigned opinion.
It was not clear exactly when the children will be returned and restrictions can be placed on their living arrangements.
CPS attorneys will have to decide whether to go back to court to try to regain custody of some of the children, particularly the underage girls, whose safety has been at the heart of this case.
"It is a victory as to returning the children to the families, but it does not mean the case is over," said Laura Shockley, an attorney who represents some of the children. "It doesn't mean that re-removal of some of the children couldn't occur again."
Six justices agreed entirely with the decision. Three justices, Harriet O'Neill, Phil Johnson and Don Willett, said they would keep pubescent girls in state custody but return younger girls and boys.
The court ordered District Judge Barbara Walther to withdraw her order giving the state custody of all the children, who are scattered around the state in group homes and shelters. But it noted that she can place conditions on their return, including requiring them to stay in West Texas and removing alleged abusers from their home.
University of Texas Law Professor Jack Sampson said the ruling gives Walther broad discretion to provide greater protections to teenage girls, and that she can make sure CPS has access to children who are returned to the ranch.
"She has the power to ensure that the kids aren't going back unmonitored," he said.
[...]
Returning the children will likely make it much more difficult for child welfare authorities to continue their investigation into whether children were abused on the remote compound owned by members of a breakaway Mormon group known for its polygamist practices. Agency officials said they were unable to get clear information from the children when they were still with their mothers in temporary shelters in San Angelo.
CPS is awaiting the results of DNA tests which Walther ordered to match children with their parents. A criminal probe also is continuing as investigators sift through more than 900 boxes of material removed from the ranch during the weeklong raid that began April 3.
"They're going to have to return the kids, but this is going to be a fiasco," said Shockley, an attorney whose FLDS clients include a 26-year-old mother whom CPS insisted was an underage girl until a week ago.
The Dallas attorney said it's not a clean win for FLDS parents. "Yes, they have to return the children, but they -- CPS -- can put provisions in an order that requires all sorts of monitoring and home studies and that sort of thing."
As you know, I agree with this ruling, and I hope CPS has learned its lesson in jurisprudence. The ruling itself is here for those of you who want to read it. Grits has more.
Harvey Korman, one of my favorite comic actors of all time, has passed away at the age of 81.
A natural second banana, Korman gained attention on The Danny Kaye Show, appearing in skits with the star. He joined the show in its second season in 1964 and continued until it was canceled in 1967. That same year he became a cast member in the first season of The Carol Burnett Show.His most memorable film role was as the outlandish Hedley Lamarr (who was endlessly exasperated when people called him Hedy) in Mel Brooks' 1974 Western satire, Blazing Saddles.
"A world without Harvey Korman -- it's a more serious world," Brooks told the AP on Thursday. "It was very dangerous for me to work with him because if our eyes met we'd crash to floor in comic ecstasy. It was comedy heaven to make Harvey Korman laugh."
On television, Burnett and Korman developed into the perfect pair with their burlesques of classic movies such as Gone With the Wind and soap operas like As the World Turns (their version was called "As the Stomach Turns").
Another recurring skit featured them as "Ed and Eunice," a staid married couple who were constantly at odds with the wife's mother (a young Vickie Lawrence in a gray wig). In "Old Folks at Home," they were a combative married couple bedeviled by Lawrence as Burnett's troublesome young sister.
Korman revealed the secret to the long-running show's success in a 2005 interview: "We were an ensemble, and Carol had the most incredible attitude. I've never worked with a star of that magnitude who was willing to give so much away."
Burnett was devastated by Korman's death, said her assistant, Angie Horejsi.
"She loved Harvey very much," Horejsi said.
As wonderful as he was in "Blazing Saddles", I think you have to watch some episodes of "The Carol Burnett Show" to really get a feel for it. One of the things about that show that always struck me is how much the performers were able to crack each other up - Burnett and Korman in particular were always trying to stifle laughs, usually at something ridiculous Tim Conway was doing. Here, Greg has a clip for you. And be sure to check Mark Evanier soon, as he has promised some Korman stories, which I've no doubt will be a hoot.
Rest in peace, Harvey Korman. As Mel Brooks said, the world is a more serious place without you.
Look out, Lloyd Kelley and the Ibarra brothers are suing the Sheriff's Office again, this time alleging that the HCSO retaliates against people who file complaints against it.
"There is a pattern and a practice of abusing civil rights and basically terrorizing people who have filed complaints," Kelley said shortly after filing the suit against Sheriff Tommy Thomas and the county. "The basic remedy is for a federal judge to put the sheriff's department under a court ordered decree and basically take it over."Kelley, who also asks for unspecified punitive damages, alleges that in addition to the Ibarras, the Sheriff's Office has retaliated against April Walker, a law professor and part-time municipal court judge, who was arrested early on New Year's Day on charges of impersonating a public official.
The charges were dismissed two days later, but Walker claims that her superiors at Texas Southern University have been pressured to get her to drop her complaint against the deputies who arrested her, or else she would face new charges.
Walker received a subpoena May 21 to appear next month before a grand jury that claims to be investigating her conduct in spite of the dismissal of the charges. The subpoena is signed by Assistant District Attorney Joe Owmby, who also headed and closed without action his department's investigation into the Ibarras' complaint. Owmby could not be reached for comment.
"The state cannot use a subpoena to retaliate," Kelley said. "This fits in with a pattern of retaliating against people who file complaints."
Thomas declined to comment in person. A spokesman for the Sheriff's Office said all the incidents were investigated in accordance with department procedures. He would not discuss any of them individually.
The impersonation charges against Walker were dismissed at the first court hearing on Jan. 3, but she was so incensed by the actions of the deputies that she filed a complaint with the Sheriff's Office. In early May, she said, a colleague informed her that he had been told if she did not drop the complaint, the District Attorney's Office would seek to indict her for assault on a police officer.
"If I had done something wrong, I would have stood up and acknowledged it," Walker said Thursday. "I don't want to do this. This is not fun. I don't like this, the attention. I'm a very private person. But this has to stop."
Business owner Lloyd Henderson and his wife, Loretta, also are plaintiffs. He filed a complaint with the Sheriff's Office after a deputy handcuffed him and threw him on the ground on Oct. 19, 2007. Henderson had called the department after someone broke into his store. He was not taken to jail.
The lawsuit claims that when the Hendersons later complained of their treatment they "were harassed and an attempt was made to intimidate them."
Well, I just hope that this time the Harris County Attorney has a more realistic view of its odds of winning, so that we get a faster and less expensive resolution. And of course that there won't be any more "routine" surveillance done of the plaintiffs.
One by one, representatives of the state's universities were called before a Senate subcommittee Wednesday to explain why they have raised tuition 50 percent or more during the past five years."It was done after much anguish," said Welcome Wilson Sr., chairman of the University of Houston's board of regents, of the decision earlier this month to increase tuition by almost 6 percent.
Senators weren't moved, suggesting legislators have grown weary of ever-rising costs in the years since they gave regents the power to set tuition and raising the question of another way to pay for higher education.
Wilson and representatives of eight other universities -- including the University of Texas, Texas A&M, Texas State University, Texas Southern University and Texas Tech -- appeared before the Senate Finance Higher Education Subcommittee to discuss the issue and possible solutions.
"I supported (deregulation)," said Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock. "I still do. ... But I get concerned that boards of regents, in justifying their increases, say the Legislature has not kept up. I don't think that's fair."
State spending on higher education has increased. But it hasn't kept pace with inflation and growing enrollment, so per-student state spending has dropped. Regents across the state say that has forced them to increase tuition.
[...]
Everyone agreed with the need to recruit top faculty. But that may require new funding sources, said Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas.
He suggested a local sales tax. Another option could be to require universities with endowments of at least $5 million to spend some of that money to keep costs in check.
Several regents predicted voters would not approve a sales tax for a state university.
"There would be competing interests for that money," said Glenn O. Lewis, chairman of the board of regents at Texas Southern University and a former state representative.
[...]
The subcommittee will meet throughout the summer and fall to prepare for the next session. In the meantime, [committee Chair Sen. Judith] Zaffirini asked regents to determine what will happen if deregulation is rolled back, as well as how much state money they would need to put an end to the annual tuition increases.
"It isn't enough to talk about the problem," she said. "We have to come up with some solutions."
With all due respect to Sen. West, a local sales tax option is not a viable solution. Putting the regressive nature of such a tax aside, localities like Houston already have a high sales tax, and that's before any further efforts to swap property taxes for more sales taxes. Suck it up and find the funding to keep Texas' public universities affordable, or watch as the rest of the world passes us by. That's all there is to it.
As someone with a degree in - and a love of - math, I'm always interested in stories about better ways to teach math to kids.
"Most people can't imagine a 'beautiful proof' or an 'elegant theorem,' but in fact, math -- if a good curriculum is used -- is full of such things," said George Khachatryan, now a 23-year-old math graduate student at Cambridge University.Together, the family decided to harness their strengths to create a nonprofit program called Reasoning Mind, designed to get elementary students excited about math.
Based on the Russian curriculum written in the 1930s and '40s, Reasoning Mind has won financial backing from Exxon Mobil and political backing from HISD influentials such as union leader Gayle Fallon and 2007 bond political action committee co-chairman Michael Dee.
An independent evaluation of the program completed in January showed that students who used Reasoning Mind scored 20 to 29 percent higher on an achievement test than students at the same two schools who weren't in the program.
[...]
Even with the early indications of success, schools are slow to abandon traditional teaching methods. So far, about 1,800 students in 25 Texas schools use the Reasoning Mind curriculum, which was first piloted in 2003. Unlike other computer-based programs, students use Reasoning Mind every day, not just as a supplemental activity.
According to their website, one such place they piloted this was in my neighborhood, at Hogg Middle School.
Unlike a traditional classroom, Reasoning Mind classes allow students to work at their own pace. One child can be practicing subtraction, while another has moved on to fractions. Children don't have to be embarrassed if a certain lesson trips them up and requires more remediation.Children are forced to master one lesson before they try another.
"The prevailing view in this country is that mathematics is not for everybody," Alex Khachatryan said. "Elementary math is for everyone. Everyone can and should be able to do it. Failure is not an option."
Well, I definitely agree with that. I wish I could have gotten a better feel for the actual methodology here, but neither the article nor a cursory glance at their web page gives me a good indication. I may dig through some of their published articles to see what I can learn, but for now, I'm glad to hear that HISD is trying something like this. I wish them much success with the endeavor.
Those of you interested in immigration matters, here's a new blog for you: The Sanctuary. Their mission statement:
The Sanctuary is a grassroots effort of pro-migrant, human-rights, and civil-rights bloggers and on-line activists dedicated to the enactment of meaningful immigration reform that is practical, rational, fair and most of all humane.The mission of The Sanctuary is to create a broad community of on-line activists, and translate digital activism into real-world, practical action.
By working in cooperation with mainstream organizations and advocacy groups involved in the struggle for immigrant and human rights, an issue-focused on-line community that facilitates direct communications and coordination between on-line activists, the new media, and those working daily in Washington, and on the ground to effect change, can be established.
Our goal is to allow all those working towards meaningful reform and migrant-rights to interact, share ideas, and coordinate their efforts to better facilitate change.
The Sanctuary is officially affiliated with no specific political party or organization, yet is unequivocally a pro-migrant endeavor, and as such, supports all efforts to work towards meaningful immigration reform ... both legislatively and at the ballot box.
It's a Soapblox site, so you can create an ID and add your own content. Check it out.
Since the release of the Texas Observer poll of new and crossover voters in this year's Democratic primary, a somewhat strange narrative has taken hold. Here's Burka:
The voting pattern-a huge spike in turnout combined with little interest in downballot races-indicates that the presidential race was the main motivating factor for 2 out of 3 Democratic voters. No surprise there. The question is, Can the D's reap the benefit of this huge turnout in the U.S. Senate race and in local races for courthouse positions and for legislative and congressional races? Two-thirds of the primary voters showed little interest in these races. The problem for Democrats is twofold: First, can they raise the money to educate these voters about the downballot races? and, second, can the enthusiasm that new voters exhibited on March 4 be sustained over the eight months between the primary and the general election?
And here's Wayne Slater:
Beatty notes that 25 percent of the primary voters quit after voting for president. One third stopped at the first statewide race, Texas Railroad Commission. And 40 percent of the voters stopped before getting to their local legislative candidate. In March, we reported about this falloff - and its implications. Obama supporters were more likely to vote in the presidential race and then skip the other contests than Clinton supporters, who tended to continue voting down the ballot. More than 80 percent of Democratic voters in the Texas counties where Clinton had her largest victory margins went on to vote in the U.S. Senate race, the leading statewide contest on the ballot after the presidential race. By contrast, only 71 percent of voters in Obama's strongest counties did.That means if Obama's at the top of the ticket, as it appears will be the case, the Democratic Party will have to convince the Obamamaniacs in November to keep voting down ballot, not just stop with their star.
Okay, so the dropoff in voting from the Presidential primary to the other primaries - which, you may recall, was once cited by Royal Masset as evidence of massive Republican mischief voting - is a problem for the Democrats in November. Seems logical enough. Only one problem: The dropoff rate for 2008 looks remarkably like the dropoff rate for 2004. Observe:
Office Total votes Pct of Pres
========================================
2004 President 839,211 100.00
2008 President 2,874,986 100.002004 RR Commish 605,675 72.17
2008 RR Commish 1,951,295 67.872004 Sup Court 585,927 69.82
2008 Sup Court 1,736,732 60.41
2008 Sup Court 2,025,442 70.45
2008 Sup Court 2,008,917 69.882004 CCA 605,789 72.19
2008 CCA 1,719,103 59.80
2008 CCA 1,747,217 60.78
The difference between the first 2008 Supreme Court primary and the other two is that one primary, for Chief Justice, was uncontested; the other two were not. Note that in those two races, the dropoff rate was slightly less than it was in 2004.
Now, none of the 2004 primaries were contested, whereas the 2008 RR Commish race was along with those two Supreme Court races, so perhaps this is a bit unfair. But come on. In 2004, when John Kerry had wrapped up the nomination, only the hardiest of the hardcore came out for the primary, and they quit after the Presidential race at a rate very similar to this year's crowd of mostly newbies. Given that, would someone please tell me what exactly it is that I'm supposed to be worried about this year? Because I'm just not seeing it.
Leland Beatty takes a look at all those new folks who voted in the Democratic primary.
[W]e surveyed 2,500 voters, half of whom had never participated in a primary until 2008 and the other half voters who participated in previous Republican primaries but this year voted in the Democratic primary. We asked them whom they support now, and whether their feelings have changed since the March primary. We also sought their feelings about the presidential campaign and about issues of concern to Texas.
Looking at the charts, 72.4% of first-time primary voters say they support either Obama (37.6%) or Clinton (31.8%), compared to 13.7% for McCain and 13.9% undecided. Nearly half of Republican crossover voters (25.1% Obama, 21.7% Clinton) support one of the Democrats, while 33.1% are with McCain and 20.1% undecided. Beatty summed up these findings as follows:
Beatty said that his survey -- which singled out 1,500 first-time primary voters and 1,500 voters who had previously voted in a Republican primary -- suggests a strong realignment is underway in Texas as more voters become "persuadable" to Democratic candidates, provided the aspirants have a positive message and enough campaign money to get it across.Beatty, who has a background in farm issues, summed up this way: "It's going to take some irrigation on that wheat to get a crop out of it."
For reasons not quite clear to me because he doesn't elaborate, Burka thinks this poll is "bad news for Democrats". I suppose if you assume they won't have the money to "irrigate the wheat", you could read it as demonstrating the big primary turnout as being more illusory than tangible. I'm not sure why the resources won't be there - at least, enough to make an impact - and I'm not sure why Texas' experience with new voters in the Democratic primary will be any different from all the other states that experienced the same huge surge in turnout; perhaps Burka will go into more detail in a subsequent post. For now at least, I lean towards Matt Glazer's assessment that while this may not be a realignment, it is a de-alignment. If nothing else, it's a way better position to be in than it used to be.
It may be just one email, but the sheriff's office is trying to explain why it was trying to destroy a key piece of evidence, which has now been subpoenaed by a grand jury investigating that office.Remember when the sheriff defended that mass deletion of 750,000 emails in the midst of the Ibarra lawsuit? High ranking commanders testified under oath that emails being deleted detailing investigations had been saved.
"Don't worry judge, it exists somewhere else and now we know it doesn't," said Judge David Bernal of the 281st Civil Court in a hearing.
Judge Bernal was reacting to our stories last week. It was our discovery of an email detailing surveillance of the brothers who had sued the sheriff's office for civil rights violations. It is the only written evidence of a surveillance operation now under criminal investigation by a grand jury.
"It was going to be deleted with all these other 750,000 emails if we hadn't stepped in and that's a fact," said KTRK attorney John Edwards.
Previously, KTRK had reported:
We have every report or document the investigative support unit created in the last two years - that doesn't concern an ongoing investigation. And there's nothing, not even a single document or email, on the Ibarra surveillance. So whatever they found they never passed it on, leading to the still unanswered question - why were they doing it and what did they find?
KTRK subsequently raised the question about the relevant email being deleted in the March purge. Background on the email deletion issue is here, here, and here.
The county's explanation was it was the only email being destroyed that should have been saved. The judge wasn't buying it."I can't take the representation that it's the only one," said Judge Bernal. "It appears to be is that the more time we spend on this, we get another one."
The sheriff's office also sought for days to keep the email a law enforcement secret.
"That email was produced for lack of a better word not voluntarily," the judge said.
I think it should be clear by now that the Sheriff's office doesn't deserve any benefit of the doubt here.
We have the latest claim from the sheriff's office that his secret squad didn't document surveillance or use of surveillance equipment.Of course the elected sheriff still refuses to answer these questions as his department was chastised for failing to live up to court orders.
I suppose if I were engaged in such scurrilous behavior, I wouldn't want to take responsibility for it, either. Video of the story, which should have more updates soon now that Judge Bernal has ordered a faster pace to the investigation, is here. What's next, Sheriff Thomas?
The last countywide office that I will examine in my Early Overview series is one that I would normally call the most obscure office in Harris County. That would be the office of Harris County Department of Education trustee. In my years of following local elections, I cannot recall a single instance of even being consciously aware of these races, let alone having an active interest in who was running. But this year is different, both in terms of the profile of the office and the level of interest in the races.
Before I get into that, here's a brief description of what the HCDE does, for those of you who never had any idea.
[The HCDE] is a nonprofit tax-assisted organization dedicated to the equalization of educational opportunity and to the advancement of public schools. HCDE has been serving the county's public schools for 115 years. The organization impacts the educational community through visionary leadership, shared resources and innovative programs.
Basically, they administer federal Department of Education grants for various programs, and they have the power to levy a tiny tax to fund some other services. In short, not very exciting for most people.
So why is this year unlike other years for the HCDE elections? Two words: Michael Wolfe, whose ongoing clown show has had the HCDE in the news more in the past year than they've likely been in their previous 114 years of existence combined. Wolfe, who could give Orlando Sanchez a run for the title of Least Hardest-Working County Official, managed to get a pair of his cronies elected in the GOP primary for the two seats that are up this year, knocking off a pair of longtime trustees (including HCDE President Ray Garcia) in the process. One of those cronies is Mike Riddle, husband of State Rep. Debbie "Pit of hell" Riddle; obviously, a great fit for an elected office that administers public education funds.
In doing so, Wolfe's gambit changed the nature of these two races. The Democratic candidates - former CD07 candidate Jim Henley, who recently retired after a long career as a champion debate coach at Lamar Middle School; and special education specialist Debby Kerner - are both well qualified for the positions, but in a race against two longtime incumbents, that would have been somewhat of a wash. I would have expected that kind of race to be of less interest, lost amid the other high-profile races and largely determined by Presidential coattails. But against a couple of unqualified, hostile to education Republican hacks who owe their spots on the ballot to Michael Wolfe, that's a different story. All you need is the money to do a couple of compare-the-candidates mail pieces, with a little of Wolfe's greatest hits thrown in, and you've got a compelling case for the Democrats.
That's an optimistic scenario, but not an unrealistic one. Mentioning the Riddle name on the campaign trail ought to loosen some purse strings for Henley and Kerner, though the competition for contributions is fierce. Wolfe might cooperate by doing something silly and getting HCDE back in the news as a result. Riddle and his fellow Republican candidate Stan Stanart will get their share of love from the Republican base, but supporters of ousted trustees Garcia and Robert Peterson might not be too thrilled about voting for them. In the end, these may be the invisible races for obscure offices that they were originally destined to be, but at least they have a chance of breaking out. That's more than you could have said a year ago.
PREVIOUSLY:
Introduction
District Attorney
County Judge
Sheriff
Tax Assessor
County Attorney
District Clerk
Rick Perry's pollster Mike Baselice has released a poll showing John McCain with a significant lead over either Democratic candidate for President in Texas - he pegs McCain with a 52-36 advantage over Barack Obama, and a 51-36 edge over Hillary Clinton. You can read his poll memo here (PDF) for the crosstabs; Baselice says another poll done four weeks ago got a similar result.
I'll just say two things. One is that Baselice's numbers are pretty far removed from what other pollsters have found; see TPM Election Central, for instance, which notes a Rasmussen result from early May that had McCain up by five and six over Obama and Clinton. That could mean some movement in public opinion, though given Baselice's report of near-identical numbers from earlier in May, that seems unlikely. I think it's probably the case that Baselice is making different assumptions about the electorate; he has the partisan breakdown at 48R/40D, with a 6R/4D split among the remainder. I think that overstates the case - I don't think Republicans have a ten-point advantage any more. But maybe he's right and it's the other outfits that are wrong. Some numbers from a Democratic source would be interesting to see for comparison purposes.
One more item: On June 2 of 2004, Rasmussen released poll numbers showing Bush over Kerry by a 55-38 margin in Texas. That's about the same spread as McCain currently enjoys in this poll (17 points versus 16 or 15), presumably with fewer undecideds. I don't know about you, but I have a hard time believing that John McCain is doing about as well in Texas in 2008 as George W. Bush was at the same time in 2004. You can make of that what you will, but I've got my doubts about Baselice's results.
U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay issued a permanent injunction barring the city from implementing Ordinance 2903, which voters approved 2-to-1 in May 2007.But the newer version of the effort, Ordinance 2952, remains and is slated to go into effect 15 days after a final judgment is issued on Ordinance 2903.
Though the judge Wednesday issued his opinion, he has not technically issued the final ruling, which an attorney for the city said would wrap together all the rulings in the case.
When it does come, it's likely to trigger a flurry of activity in the courts, as attorneys who sued the city over Ordinance 2903 try to keep Ordinance 2952 from taking effect.
Judge Lindsay said in a summary judgment - without allowing the case to go to trial - that Ordinance 2903 was unconstitutional.
He declined a request by the city to issue a summary judgment finding Ordinance 2952 constitutional. In that opinion, he criticized the city, saying the new law was an attempt to circumvent his earlier, preliminary, findings that 2903 was unconstitutional.
[...]
Ordinance 2952 differs from 2903 in that the city government, using a federal database, would be responsible for determining a prospective tenant's status. Also, it would apply to rental houses, as well as apartments.
Judge Lindsay said the city "put the cart before the horse" in asking for an opinion on the newer ordinance when it has not drawn a legal challenge.
I presume a lawsuit challenging Ordinance 2952 will follow, and I also presume the plaintiffs will receive a temporary injunction prohibiting its enforcement until that matter is resolved. My guess is that it too will ultimately be struck down, though it's not as clearcut as Ordinance 2903 was.
On a side note:
The ruling came as testimony concluded in an unrelated lawsuit in which three Hispanic residents are trying to force Farmers Branch to elect City Council members by district rather than citywide.The three contend that the current, at-large system dilutes the voting strength of Latinos. Although Farmers Branch was 37 percent Hispanic at the time of the 2000 census, the plaintiffs say history has shown that a Hispanic cannot win a Farmers Branch election.
They contend that if the city were divided into districts, one with a Hispanic voting majority could be created, increasing the chances that a Latino could win a council seat.
"All they want is to be able to elect a candidate of their choice," plaintiffs' attorney Rolando Rios said.
Bob Heath, an attorney for the city, said federal law requires those who want to force such a change to show that they can draw a district in which a majority of the voting-age U.S. citizens are Hispanic.
"The problem in Farmers Branch is they cannot," he said. "The Hispanic community cannot draw a Hispanic citizen voting-age majority."
No clue about this one. I think single-member districts are more democratic, but that doesn't mean they're a requirement. As before, I'm rooting for the plaintiffs.
You'd think a story headlined Critics question White's motives for environmental push would feature some criticism of Mayor White. This is what you got:
In his third and last term, White has backed up his eco-friendly rhetoric by purchasing wind-powered electricity, weatherizing old homes and adding hybrids to the city fleet.White also has used the bully pulpit to confront the chemical industry over its emissions of cancer-causing air pollutants, such as benzene. All of which has earned high marks from environmental groups and some business leaders.
"To me it's a public health issue and also an ethical issue of stewardship of our national resources," White says.
Some critics, however, suggest White has a different goal in mind: furthering his political career, possibly with a run for governor in 2010. Despite all the mayor's talk about global warming and green space, it is easy to point out that the city's curbside recycling program does not even reach every house or apartment.
[...]
White said last week that he planned to challenge the permits of nearby plants to force the TCEQ to limit the levels of benzene. He previously had threatened to fine plants outside Houston up to $2,000 a day for emitting the pollutant into the city's air.
White's saber-rattling has been more about political points than true progress, say lawyers for some of the chemical companies, who refused to be named because of business pending before the city. But environmentalists and public officials say he has brought urgent, much-needed attention to the issue.
"It had not really been one of the top priorities of prior mayors," Councilwoman Sue Lovell says.
"Industry, the regulatory agencies and the Legislature are now watching him closely," says Jim Blackburn, an environmental lawyer. "He has their attention."
[...]
White has fought battles, too. He pushed through an ordinance that requires developers to set aside funds for open space. He tightened the energy code for commercial buildings, and plans to do the same for residential homes.
But many residents have complained that the mayor has neglected a basic environmental precept: recycling. The service is available to only 162,000 homes, though 50,000 will be added in the next budget year. A quarter of a million homes are on the waiting list.
White acknowledges that the city is behind with recycling.
But he resists implementing citywide recycling simply because it looks good. Recycling trucks use gas, and some neighborhoods that do get the service barely participate. So he's attacked the problem by pulling out the largest recyclable from the city's trash cans -- wood waste -- and creating a program to recycle it. The program begins in the fall.
But the benzene battles may be the crux of White's environmental legacy.
Politically speaking, White is in a seemingly no-lose situation: He either gets emissions cut and takes the credit, or blames industry for unhealthy levels of air toxics. But industry lawyers say his position makes the city's air seem worse than it is.
For example, the city's benzene plan aims to lower the chemical's concentration to a level that could cause one additional cancer case per one million people. That's 10 times stricter than the state's benzene goal and a level that the entire city exceeds, not just in areas by the big plants.
White's approach "tended to be putting all the blame on industry," says John Manlove, former mayor of Pasadena, home to several large chemical plants and refineries. Most benzene and smog-forming pollutants come from automobile tailpipes, so "it's not fair" to concentrate on smokestacks.
Still, Manlove and others doubt the air pollution battles will hurt White should he run for higher office in a state that emits more heat-trapping carbon dioxide than California and Pennsylvania combined.
Boy, pretty harsh, huh? Maybe this is why they say that good policies make for good politics.
I don't know if this was a case of the headline writers having their own take on things, or if the story would have been more substantive about the alleged criticism if more than one critic had been willing to be named. Either way, I figure Mayor White isn't too unhappy with the result.
Putting the peculiarities of the story aside, the substance of the criticism is pretty weak. I consider myself a passionate supporter of curbside recycling, but given the abysmal participation rates, I can't see justifying an expansion of the program, especially given the cost of running the pickup vehicles. I'd love to see the city do some kind of PR campaign aimed at boosting the curbside recycling numbers, but that's no small undertaking, and if such a thing isn't in the works right now, I see no point in complaining about it. It's pretty small potatoes in context of the Mayor's overall record on environmental issues - it's not like recycling and harassing chemical plants were his only options, after all.
As far as Manlove's complaint about the poor plants being singled out, I say cry me a river. How many years have we been fighting this battle, and how many ways have the polluters found to stall, obfuscate, and deny the issue? Sure, automotive emissions are a chunk of the problem, but what exactly would you have the Mayor do about that? Focusing on the plants is something the Mayor can do something about, and so he is. Disagree with the action he's taking if you want, but I see this particular argument as little more than a distraction. KUHF has more.
It's official - State Sen. Kyle Janek has handed in his resignation letter to Governor Perry. Perry now has to set a special election date, which I'd guess will be November 4, same as the regular election. He can always declare an emergency and set a date sooner than that, but I don't see why he would, unless he thinks it'd give whoever his favored Republican candidate is an edge.
As it happens, Rick Casey wrote today about the possibility of Chris Bell running for the seat, and includes a poll tidbit that I'd heard about:
Now a group of trial lawyers who provide considerable Democratic funding is pushing former congressman and gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell to run.The group funded a poll of the district a couple of weeks ago which provided some enticing numbers in a race between Bell and Furse, whom the poll identified as a conservative Houston businessman who served as a policy advisor to the first President Bush.
The poll results: Bell 43, Furse 29.
Furse's dismal showing is partly the result of lack of name recognition, which would be cured by a well-funded campaign. If the trial lawyers generously funded Bell, the business community, including Texans for Lawsuit Reform, could be counted on to be at least as generous for Furse, or for some other Republican on the ballot.
Bell says he is looking closely at the race.
He would have the advantage of being the only Democrat on a ballot in which several Republicans would split their vote. (It's not a matter of Democratic party discipline, traditionally an oxymoron, but because Democrats know their only shot in a district still clearly Republican is to have only one candidate on the ballot.)
Another advantage Bell would have, and this would be true whenever the election is held, is that straight-ticket voting would not apply. That would help to dampen whatever edge the Republicans may have in numbers, even if only a bit. At this point, I think there's a decent chance Bell will run, and if so I think he'd at the very least be able to raise the resources he'd need to make a strong challenge. But first we need to know when the election is, and then when the filing deadline for it is. Your move, Governor.
Good news, from the Lone Star Project:
Events unfolded in dramatic fashion today in Marshall, TX. As the case was set to go to trial, the Plaintiffs, including the Texas Democratic Party and Democratic activists, were approached by lawyers for the State of Texas offering a settlement agreement. After negotiations, a settlement was reached that included the following terms:
- The Texas Attorney General has agreed to rewrite prosecution guidelines to reflect that voters who merely possess the ballot of another voter with that voter's consent will not be investigated or prosecuted unless there's evidence of actual fraud. Prosecutions will be limited to cases exists such as when a person illegally votes a ballot for another person or causes a person to vote for a different candidate than they wish.
- By agreeing to this settlement, the Texas Attorney General has essentially acknowledged that those who have been prosecuted to date for hypertechnical violations of failing to sign a mail ballot envelope did not commit any fraud, as he has falsely claimed for years.
- The Attorney General's filings in the case also revealed that two of the plaintiffs, Gloria Meeks and Rebecca Minneweather, were no longer under investigation, a point the Attorney General had failed to tell these voters.
- The Attorney General also agreed that the Secretary of State would change instructions to voters who vote by mail in 2008. The Secretary of State had already made changes to the ballot envelope and instructions to voters, acknowledging that such changes were made as a result of the lawsuit. The Attorney General and Secretary of State also agreed to consider additional revisions to voter instruction language that make it clear to voters, and those who assist them, the proper procedures for voting by mail. The Plaintiff will also help the Secretary of State's office create training materials and guidelines so those who help their neighbors vote will do so in accordance with the law.
- Plaintiffs agreed to drop all pending claims except for the pending challenge to the State's restriction on a person's acting as a witness on only one mail ballot application."
Sounds pretty good to me. There's more at the link, including some choice quotes about Abbott and his anti-voter crusade. PoliTex is the first news outlet to have anything about this, including Abbott's somewhat bizarre claim of victory. Check it out.
This story about commercial property valuations rising is no surprise, but there's a staggering piece of baloney in it that really needs a response.
Commercial property values in Harris County increased an average of 34 percent this year amid a strong local economy and pressure from the state comptroller to increase appraisals, Tax Assessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt said Tuesday.The average appraised value of commercial property increased from about $981,000 to a little more than $1.3 million, Bettencourt said. Ten ZIP codes, including all of downtown Houston, saw average appraisal increases of more than 50 percent.
Bettencourt called it the highest one-year increase in at least a decade and said the cost will be passed on to consumers as businesses raise their prices to pay the bills.
"It's a hidden tax that people don't really understand," he said.
OK, let's mention again that taxes are always too high as far as Paul Bettencourt is concerned. If there is some level of taxation that is acceptable to him, he's never specified it. It would be more honest for him to simply come out and say that he thinks property taxes should be abolished and not replaced by any other revenue source, since that's the ultimate conclusion his logic leads to, but he knows that would never fly so instead he plays the tax cut game for all it's worth. I don't even know why anyone bothers quoting him on this any more; he could save himself and the reporters some time and effort if he simply recorded all his sound bites as MP3s and made them available for download whenever a tax-related story was in the paper. It's not like he's ever going to change his tune, after all.
But that "hidden tax" bit is such BS that it just takes your breath away. Given that we're not living in Paul Bettencourt's fantasy world, in which county government would stop spending vast sums of money on such frivolities as roads, drainage, the criminal justice system, and so forth, the money to fund those things has to come from somewhere. If it's not coming from the "hidden tax" of commercial property taxes, where will it come from? Why, residential property taxes of course, where at least the amount you're being chaged is right there for you to see. I'm sure that would be a great comfort to all of us every December when we get our tax bills.
Anyway. We can certainly argue about whether or not commercial properties are being taxed too little, too much, or just enough - I happen to think that despite that 34% hike in appraisals, they're still being undervalued - but let's not pretend that burden isn't going to be placed on someone, one way or another.
Significant sales of downtown buildings, plenty of new commercial construction and a low vacancy rate among office buildings played a strong role in pushing values up, said Jim Robinson, chief appraiser for the Harris County Appraisal District.But he also blamed some of the increase on the county's ongoing tug of war with Comptroller Susan Combs, whose office studies property values throughout Texas to ensure school districts are receiving the appropriate amount of state funding.
Combs has argued that HCAD under-appraises commercial and apartment property in several area school districts, including Houston and Cypress-Fairbanks, shifting the tax burden away from businesses and onto homeowners.
Undervaluing commercial property also allows districts to capture more than their share of state aid, since districts with lower property values receive more funding than their wealthier peers.
HCAD contends the comptroller is not properly accounting for the values set by the appraisal review boards that rule on protests filed by taxpayers.
The comptroller's office is expected to release its final report on 2007's tax rolls in July after an administrative hearings officer rules on appeals from districts and taxpayers.
"It's a difficult proposition," Robinson said. "We've had significant increases each of the last two years, and they have not been enough for us to get a finding from them that we're appraising commercial property at full market value."
Robert Wood, director of local government assistance and economic development at the comptroller's office, said it would be premature for him to comment on HCAD's preliminary appraisals.
But he said the comptroller's role is being vastly overstated. Instead, he insisted, the comptroller only wants to inform the Legislature of the values being assigned so it can determine whether school funding is being equitably distributed.
"That's our goal," he said. "It's not to have a particular county or city or school district raise values or lower values."
Bettencourt and Combs have had this argument, at least publicly, since last year - see here and here for some background. The dispute is over the interpretation of the relevant state law, and Combs has conceded that Bettencourt's reading may be the correct one. In fact, this quote here makes it sound like they're backpedaling some more. I hope that's not the case, but as I don't expect Susan Combs to be a crusader on this issue - she wants to be Governor some day, and this wouldn't exactly be a winning issue in a GOP primary for her - I won't be surprised to see the Comptroller's office see things Bettencourt's way when that report comes out.
So last week, as I was about to chase Olivia off to bed, Tiffany stopped me and said "No, wait, there's stargazing on the Esplanade tonight. Why not take Olivia out for a few minutes and let her look through one of the telescopes?"
(I'll pause for a minute to explain that our neighborhood contains some amateur astronomy buffs, and when conditions are favorable they sometimes gather on the esplanade on our street and set up their equipment to look heavenward. This was one of those nights.)
Olivia, of course, was amenable to this - hey, anything to delay going to bed for a few minutes. We got outside, and I pointed out the big telescope to her, and she was excited about looking through it. Her preschool class had been talking about the solar system that week, and so she could name a couple of planets, one of which was Saturn, which just happened to be visible that evening.
We were the first people to wander over and ask about using the scope, so Olivia was able to get a crack at it right away. There was a stepladder that we moved over for her to climb up so she could peer into the eyepiece, and once it got good and dark, she had a great look at Saturn, which she thought was very cool. She chattered about it quite a bit afterwards.
Oh, and did I mention that there was a reporter for the Houston Chronicle there as well, doing a feature story on neighborhood "star parties" like that one? And that she had a photographer with her? And that they and the telescope dude just about fainted at the prospect of photographing a cute little girl in her pink Minnie Mouse nightgown as she looked at Saturn through a big telescope?
Here's the story. Scroll down a bit to see the picture.
I should note, by the way, that the Chron reporter asked me a few questions as well, but none of that made it in. Obviously, we can tell who has the real star power in this family.
Are you going to be in Austin for the Texas Democratic convention next week? If so, then this is the party to attend while you're there:
The Texas Progressive Alliance
Proudly Presents
The Third Biennial Blogger's Caucus
Thursday, June 5, 2008
8:30 p.m. - Midnight
The Cedar Door
2nd and Brazos
Austin, Texas
Meet and drink with your favorite bloggers. What more do you need to know? The 2006 party was a big hit, and this one will be bigger still. See you there!
From the inbox:
METRO is conducting an Open House and a Public Hearing to receive comments on the Southeast Corridor Supplemental Final Environmental Impact Statement (SFEIS), which was released for public review May 9, when METRO announced the availability of this document to its stakeholders. This document is available online, at select branch libraries and at METRO Headquarters at 1900 Main St.What: Open House and Public Hearing
Date: Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Time: Open House, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Public Hearing, 6:30 p.m.
Location: Texas Southern University
Science and Technology Building
Atrium and Auditorium
Address: 3100 Cleburne St., Houston, TX 77004
(near Eagle and Ennis)
In 2006, the METRO Board of Directors selected Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)-Convertible as an interim Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) for the Southeast Corridor with the ultimate goal of implementing Light Rail Transit (LRT) when corridor growth and ridership warranted. A Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) was prepared to document this decision. The FTA issued environmental approval for the project in a Record of Decision (ROD) on February 2007. In October 2007, following further analysis of forecasted ridership and costs, the METRO Board of Directors modified the LPA mode and selected LRT as the initial technology for the Southeast Corridor. In November 2007, FTA determined that the modified LPA required the preparation of a SFEIS and the issuance of a new ROD.
METRO will be receiving comments through June 11, 2008.
Metro has made some changes to the alignment of the Southeast and Harrisburg lines, and while it's better than before, there's still room for improvement. Go and be a part of the discussion if you can, so we get the best system we can get.
I took Olivia to see the Comets' home opener last night at Reliant Arena. We only stayed for the first half, which is going to be the norm for night games, but we had a good time while we were there. I have to say, though, that I wish the Comets were still at the Toyota Center, which is closer to where we live and a better facility overall. I can understand why the Comets moved to Reliant, but I still wish they hadn't.
Reliant Arena holds 7,261, and although it's missing some of the bells and whistles Toyota Center offers, [Comets owner Hilton] Koch believed it would be more fan-friendly."I think it suits us better," he said. "Everyone will be closer to the floor, it will be full for games, and I think it will really be the right fit."
[...]
Jeff Gaines, assistant general manager of Reliant Park, said the Comets fit the mold of entertainment -- sporting events, concerts, circuses, etc. -- the complex wants to host.
"There are obvious advantages, starting with the financial situation. We are a little more cost-effective," Gaines said. "But we have a lot to offer to fans in the ways of good seats, good parking and less traffic."
The Comets, Reliant Park and Toyota Center can't comment on the amount of money spent to house a team, but Gaines said the team pays a lot less at Reliant than it did downtown.
Reliant Arena's concession stands don't offer as much as Toyota Center's, the scoreboards don't list game stats, and there won't be a jumbotron in the middle of the court. But Gaines said Reliant will strive to meet the needs and expectations of Comets fans.
"This team has a loyal fan base, and I hope we can do everything to make them feel at home here with their team," he said.
I would hope that it is costing the Comets considerably less to play at Reliant. Now that they're no longer a part of the Rockets portfolio, I suppose this was inevitable. I hope they're not taking that loyal fan base for granted by providing lesser concessions - in my experience, Comets fans are not shy about spending a few bucks at the game on food and drink - or amenities like stats and Jumbotron video. I didn't see anyone handing out program sheets like they did at Toyota, and between the lack of scoreboard info and the inferior sound system - I could barely hear the courtside announcer - I had little idea of who was actually in the game at any time. That's not very fan-friendly, if you ask me, but it is fixable if the Comets care to address it.
One more thing: Though the game was announced as a sellout, the place looked maybe 60% full - I'd guess there were 4000 to 4500 actual butts in seats. Chron reporter Jenny Dial called it "a packed house of 7,261". I think she either needs a new thesaurus or her vision checked. The crowd noise and atmosphere was decent enough, thanks to Reliant's smaller dimensions, but I don't see how that attendance level can be sustainable for the franchise. If that's the turnout they get for a sellout, what will we see for a lesser draw? If the franchise isn't worried about this, it ought to be.
I hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day holiday-shortened week. Here's your still-full-length weekly roundup from the Texas Progressive Alliance:
refinish69 at Doing My Part For The Left is trying to understand why John Cornyn is such a.....
McBlogger takes a look at an email from Republican Chair TinaFish begging for money.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wonders how the Webb County elections administrator can claim one recount where the votes didn't change vindicates their work on the Sheriff's recount where 160 votes flipped.
BossKitty at BlueBloggin tell us how truck owners and operators are delving into long-ignored gas saving subjects like aerodynamics, slower cruising speeds and all the snake oil scams to increase mileage. This could lower your food prices and consumables; Ten mpg is now feasible ... may save you money!
Lightseeker of Texas Kaos applies his powers of analysis and persuasion to the question of What Can Be Done to Keep the Momentum for Change Going? What's going on in your precinct to organize for November?
WhosPlayin's grbtexan posted some "rules" guaranteed to invite feminine wrath.
State Rep. Myra Crownover wants West Texas to have their very own radioactive waste dump. North Texas Liberal has the story.
Vince at Capitol Annex notes that the word around Austin is that Rick Perry is planning on calling a Special Session of the Texas Legislature prior to the November elections. You won't believe why.
Chris Bell is widely rumored to be considering a run for the Texas Senate seat being vacated by Kyle Janek, and PDiddie at Brains and Eggs joins the call to encourage him to do so.
Social wing nuts are up to their old tricks, as the TX State Board of Education give the finger to teachers and parents alike this past week. On a 9-6 vote, your kids get a decade's worth of grammar lessons etched on a napkin.
Gary D at Easter Lemming Liberal News last week blasted Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Michael Williams, Texas Monthly Blogger Paul Burka and Senator John 'Forget the Alamo' Cornyn because he is not bitter but sometimes he gets angry.
Off the Kuff continues his look at the Harris County races with an early overview of the District Clerk campaign.
Given that at least our last three Attorneys General made runs for higher office - it may be more than that, but that's as far back as I can recall offhand - it should be no surprise that our current AG, Greg Abbott, has higher ambitions and has been socking away the cash to fuel whatever they may eventually be. My guess would be Lt. Gov. in 2010 if David Dewhurst runs for Governor, or Senate whenever KBH steps down. Or who knows, maybe Rick Perry will successfully psyche them both out of challenging him for the Governor's mansion, and Abbott will aim for that instead. He intends to go someplace, it's just a matter of when and where. And I don't think he intends to wait till 2014, when the state's demography will be that much less GOP-friendly.
In the meantime, after you've read that rather complimentary piece towards Abbott, here are a couple of recent editorials concerning his highly partisan vote fraud efforts to balance things out a bit. From the Statesman:
After a two-year investigation of voter fraud, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has only 26 minor cases of voting irregularities to show for his expenditure from a $1.4 million grant. Some of that money also was spent on other cases.All of those cases involved Democrats and 18 of them were instances where lawful voters cast proper ballots that were collected and handled by someone else. That's technically illegal unless the carrier's name and address is on the envelope, but it's a petty prosecution.
Actually, the paltry results of Abbott's initiative are a good thing. It shows that vote fraud is hardly the "persistent problem" Abbott claimed it was when he announced the investigation in January 2006. The outcome of Abbott's efforts was published by The Dallas Morning News this week.
Republicans in the Legislature have been pushing for a more stringent voter identification law in Texas. Although the issue died in the chaos at the end of the 2007 session, it is sure to return in January. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who has made tougher voter identification a cornerstone of his administration, will see to that.
Nationally, tougher voter identification laws are favorite issues for Republicans, though there is little evidence of widespread voting fraud. Democrats contend that the GOP effort is a way to suppress turnout, since many of the voters who lack sufficient identification are the poor and elderly and minorities - who tend to vote Democratic.
Abbott's misguided investigation lends credence to the Democrats' argument. Several of the cases prosecuted by the attorney general's office involved people helping homebound senior citizens get and mail absentee ballots.
Is this the great voter fraud that Abbott said triggered an investigation into "a dramatic increase in indictments for voter fraud" in his initial press release? If so, it wasn't worth the time or the money.
And from the Dallas Morning News:
The hunt goes on. And on. And on.Still, proponents of adding new personal identification requirements at Texas polling places haven't produced evidence of an Election Day problem that needs fixing.
Attorney General Greg Abbott tried but came up short, despite months of investigating. As detailed recently by Dallas Morning News senior political writer Wayne Slater, Mr. Abbott documented scattered cases of familiar methods of ballot fraud - schemes involving mail-in ballots, false registrations and manipulation of elderly voters.
These despicable acts undermine the democratic system and should be prosecuted based on state and federal laws already on the books.
But warnings from self-styled voting reformers have focused on other kinds of perceived threats to clean elections - patterns of voter impersonation at the polls and massive fraud using illegal immigrants.
Were those threats real, Mr. Abbott most certainly would have provided proof, helping Republican state lawmakers make their case for new laws requiring a photo ID at the polls to go along with the traditional Texas voter registration card.
He didn't.
No, he didn't. That won't stop him or any other Republican bent on passing a voter ID law from lying about the need for it, but then that's another place ambition can take you.
By the way, the Chron story mentions that a federal lawsuit filed against Abbott over his vote fraud prosecutions will go to trial starting tomorrow in Marshall. The Lone Star Project has all the details about that case.
You hate mosquitoes, right? Of course you do - everybody does. So do I, but like most people I also hate having to apply mosquito repellant. It's unplesant stuff that smells bad, but it's a necessity of life in places like Houston. The good news is that a better way appears to be on the horizon.
When it comes to evading mosquitoes, DEET can't be beat.That's been the refrain among bug experts for half a century, but it hasn't stopped scientists from looking for something better than the pungent repellent. Now, a research team from Florida, another state thoroughly infested by the biting bugs this time of year, is reporting some success.
After scanning libraries of chemicals, the scientists found seven promising candidates significantly more potent than DEET. In tests, the chemicals, after application to cloth, repelled mosquitoes for up to 10 weeks.
In similar experiments, DEET remained effective for less than three weeks.
"I'm optimistic that we will have something come to the market that's better than DEET," said research chemist Ulrich Bernier of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "These are the best candidates I have seen in the 15 years that I've been testing repellents."
Well, that's the best news I've heard this week; the coda at the end of the piece saying the stuff they're testing has no scent is just icing on the cake. There has to be some bad news, though, right?
The most effective chemicals were found in a group of compounds related to the active ingredient in black pepper. In their lab tests, the chemists tested the compounds against the female Aedes aegypti, or yellow fever mosquito. They now are trying the compounds, known as N-acylpiperidines, against other mosquitoes.Following these tests, the chemists will have to conduct toxicology tests to determine whether the compounds are safe for human use.
"If the stars are aligned, and everything goes well, we could bring this to market in four or five years," Bernier said.
Hmph. Please don't get my hopes up just to dash them. I hope what this is saying is that the less-sunny, more-realistic scenario is, say, six to eight years to get a product to market, and not that they need everything to go right to get something produced at all. All I can say is that I'll be anxiously awaiting future developments.
While I was out last week, the case of the state of Texas versus the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints took a turn against the State when the 3rd Court of Appeals issued a ruling saying, in effect, that Child Protective Services did not follow the law in ordering the emergency removal of some 400 children from the polygamist sect's compound. (The state has since appealed the ruling.) You can read a good media account of the ruling from GoSanAngelo.com, a very lucid description of the court's ruling (and the depth of CPS' manifest failures) from RickG at Lone Star Times, a bunch of "now what?" questions in the wake of the ruling from Grits, and a big roundup of other related links also from Grits. I'm going to quote a bit from RickG's piece, since it encapsulates pretty well my thinking on this case:
The State painted with too broad a brush, imposing its considerable force on every member of the community based on facts involving only a few, along with the State's determination to proceed on the concept of guilt by association, which is not condoned in the law. The Court rightly rejected the implicit notion that because there may have been wrongdoing by a few, the State could, through clairvoyance or otherwise, justify action against everyone.The Court added that the State did not even make "reasonable" efforts to prevent unjustified removals. Instead, based upon five pregnant minors and a belief system that allowed minors to marry and become pregnant, the State removed all children - including infants - from their homes and separated them from their parents.
Note the "five pregnant minors". The overstatement of how many underage mothers there were at the FLDS compound is something Grits has been hammering away at. Now we find, as Brooke Adams reported:
Here's a question: The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services had all the power in the world to structure status hearings held this week in any order it wanted. It kept telling us, the media and the public, that there were 31 girls between the ages of 14 and 17 who were pregnant, mothers or both.Now we know the truth: There are only five girls in that group. All but one are or will be 18 this year. One gave birth when she was 17, three when they were 16. One is pregnant.
I kept asking the state for a breakdown by age of the 31 girls, the 60 percent, it claimed were pregnant or mothers. They refused weeks ago and still haven't done it.
Now we know why.
And that in a nutshell is why I had serious problems with this case. Again, it's not a matter of the FLDS lifestyle and dogma. If Olivia or Audrey were someday to fall under the sway of a group like that, I'd do everything in my power to get them out of there. But that's not a justification for the state to trample these folks' constitutional rights. Due process exists for a reason: To protect the innocent from the awesome power of the government. This is just another example of why we have due process, and why we need it. Otherwise, the state can declare you pregnant when you're not and drag you to court based on that declaration. If it can happen to them, it can happen to you.
It's a good thing I'm tanned and rested from my weekend vacation, or else this Clay Robison column might have caused me to faint.
How much college tuition would $1.4 million cover?The simple answer, of course, is not nearly as much as it would have before Gov. Rick Perry signed the tuition deregulation law five years ago, and not even as much as last year, as tuition continues to rise at most state-supported universities.
Why $1.4 million?
That's the amount of political contributions Perry has collected during his administration from the university regents who accepted his invitation to attend a higher education summit with the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation in Austin last week.
The Perry-friendly, business-oriented audience (tort reformer and mega-donor Richard Weekley also was there) kicked around some ideas -- some controversial, some perhaps worthy -- about improving higher education in Texas.
But legislators, the people who can make or break the governor's agenda, weren't invited.
"Dog bites man." "Sun rises in East." "Rick Perry puts his financial supporters above everyone else." You get the picture.
Some Democratic House members plan to respond to the governor's summit within the next few days by unveiling higher education proposals of their own, including a freeze on tuition and repeal of the deregulation law.These are among the real "bread and butter issues" for Texas families, said Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston.
And on Wednesday, a Senate higher education subcommittee chaired by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, has scheduled a meeting on student financial aid and the "effects (that) continued tuition deregulation will have on college enrollment and accessibility."
Perhaps without the Governor and his sycophants in attendance, we can get some real work done to try and solve this problem.
This Chron story asks a provocative question: If a Harris County jury declines to give the death penalty to Juan Quintero, is it the case that a taste for the death penalty is on the decline here?
The jury decided to spare him, despite the brutal killing of Houston police officer Rodney Johnson, which raises the question of whether any death case -- even in the nation's death penalty capital -- is a slam-dunk anymore.[...]
Quintero's jurors also had the benefit of a sentencing option not available in Texas until 2005: life without parole. Criminal justice experts, especially those focusing on capital punishment, say the landscape has been altered in recent years, in part by life-without-parole options in 35 of the 36 states with the death penalty and in part by shaken confidence arising from the significant number of people removed from death row after DNA testing.
It's not so much that juries are eschewing death, as they did with Quintero, but that prosecutors are pursuing fewer death cases, reserving those for their most heinous murders.
"There are fewer of these cases going to trial," said John Niland, director of the Capital Trial Project for the Texas Defender Service, which assists indigent defendants in capital cases. "I think there's a willingness to plead cases that, just from a statistical standpoint, wasn't there before."
[...]
Over the past few years, death sentences have declined by almost two-thirds in Texas and the rest of the country. There is no pat explanation for the drop, said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, an information clearinghouse opposed to capital punishment.
"I wouldn't attribute it to one reason," Dieter said. "Life without parole has to be included. The emergence of DNA testing and innocence cases has been a factor, maybe even a bigger factor. So many cases were highlighted in the media and on television shows and movies. There has been quite a pronounced effect that has given some skepticism to jurors when they are asked to impose a death sentence."
I agree that the items suggested here - the life-without-parole option, and the recent spate of DNA exonerations - have had an effect. My unscientific opinion is that LWOP satisfies the main condition that the death penalty used to - ensuring that the killer never gets out to kill again - without the defendant's condemnation being on anyone's conscience. You can debate, as AHCL and Grits do as to whether death or LWOP is "worse" (see also here), but I don't think anyone would deny that it's a generally fitting sentence. I'm not at all surprised by this, and will not be at all unhappy if it's a trend that continues.
From the "Headlines That Write Themselves" Department last week: Lack of evidence stalls investigation of UFO sightings. Never would have seen that one coming!
Whether a UFO visited two Central Texas towns will remain a mystery - at least for now."All the video that we've analyzed hasn't provided substantial proof," Ken Cherry, Texas state director of the Mutual UFO Network, said [last] Sunday. "Without definite evidence, we're left with the word of our witnesses."
I don't think I can add anything to that.
We are back from a lovely Carnival cruise from Galveston, which was a lot of fun except for the long wait to debark followed by the 90-minute trek through Customs. You haven't lived till you've done that with two small children, let me tell you. But we're all home and happy now, and things are coming back to normal. Which includes my blogging, which will resume its usual schedule starting tomorrow. My thanks as always to my excellent co-bloggers, in whose talented hands I always feel comfortable leaving the place for such breaks.
In the meantime, here's a Chron op-ed from Rick Noriega, which I'm reprinting beneath the fold, to tide you over. Have a happy and safe Memorial Day!
Texas needs two senators who will back our veterans
John Cornyn failed to stand up for our troops -- I willBy STATE REP. RICK NORIEGA
Last Thursday, the U.S. Senate passed Sen. Jim Webb's, D-Va., expanded version of the GI Bill, ensuring educational benefits for all service members, including activated National Guard and Reservists who serve at least three months of active duty after 9/11.
Called the bipartisan Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Act, this legislation is of vital necessity for the brave men and women who protect our nation every day, and I applaud the Senate's decision to support the bill. I was able to attend the University of Houston largely due to the assistance of a scholarship provided by the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), so I understand firsthand the importance of providing higher education funding for our troops. My experience with ROTC began my three-decade-long career of serving this country in our nation's armed forces, and every moment of those years has been an honor and a privilege.
Today is Memorial Day, and I can think of no more fitting tribute to commemorate those who serve in the armed forces than the ratification of this new GI Bill.
As a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, I have seen countless acts of valor and heroism performed by our troops. They risk their lives for us daily, asking nothing in return but the benefits they have been promised. The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Act was proposed by Sen. Webb as a means of protecting and increasing the educational benefits for those who have served in the military since Sept. 11, 2001. Like the GI Bill enacted after World War II, this 21st century GI Bill will ensure that our soldiers are able to pursue the American Dream for which they have put their lives on the line to defend.
One of the most important economic policies of the 20th century was the original GI Bill. That first bill has been credited with creating the modern middle class. With the educational benefits offered to them, millions of returning war veterans were able to become doctors, teachers, scientists, engineers, lawyers and artists. The Post- 9/11 Veterans Educational Act will restore benefits to what they once were, boost the economy for everyone and allow another generation of American soldiers to achieve their goals.
Today's veterans deserve the same sort of benefit that World War II veterans enjoyed. It's not only good for the troops and their families, it's good for our nation as a whole, strengthening our economy and our military recruitment.
Unfortunately, my opponent, Sen. John Cornyn, failed to stand up for our troops. Cornyn was one of only 22 senators to vote against the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Act, continuing his history of turning his back on veterans. Adding insult to injury, Cornyn went so far as to condone and encourage a presidential veto of the bill. Webb's GI Bill passed with the support of 75 senators, including Texas' senior Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Texas needs two senators fighting for our veterans and our families. It is reprehensible that Cornyn supports keeping our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan but refuses to provide for our soldiers once they return home. As a public servant, as a soldier and as a Texan, I am ashamed of Cornyn's continued efforts to deny our troops the benefits they earned defending the United States.
Sen. Cornyn argues that financing higher education for veterans would encourage soldiers to leave the military to attend college. The notion that we should limit benefits to force our troops to stay in the military is morally repugnant. The knowledge I gained while attending college is instrumental in the work I do as a member of the Texas House of Representatives and as a lieutenant colonel in the Texas Army National Guard. I believe that higher education should be a reality for any American who wants it, and I am disheartened by Cornyn's desire to deny this valuable right to the honorable men and women of the armed forces. A stronger GI Bill will help military recruitment, attracting America's most capable and gifted volunteers to the military during a time when we need more troops than ever.
While we take today to honor the sacrifices made by the American soldiers who put their lives on the line to protect this nation, let us not forget their dedication and sacrifice every day of the year. Our armed forces deserve our support while they are in service to America and after they return home.
We call these young men and women the "next greatest generation," and given the opportunity to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate, I will do everything in my power to make sure they are treated that way.
Noriega, a Democrat who has represented his eastside Houston district in the Texas House since 1999, is running for the U.S. Senate seat held by John Cornyn.
Scott Henson had the chance to speak to Danalynn Recer, one of the atrtorneys for Juan Quntero, whose life without parole sentence for the murder of HPD Officer Rodney Johnson has generated a lot of anger. I found this to be the most interesting bit:
Recer said they'd tried unsuccessfully to convince the state to agree to a plea and avoid an expensive, drawn-out and unnecessary trial. She was roundly criticized for releasing that information to the media, which reinforced her inclination, she said, simply to tell the press nothing at all. Recer said the proffer had been discussed in open court as well as written pleadings, and the fact it had been made wasn't privileged.In any event, the time came when Quintero's lawyers got a meeting with the Harris County DA's Office, where they hoped to present most of the mitigation evidence that later went to the jury. She was amazed, she said, the state's lawyers didn't just shut up and listen to their opponent's case, even if they intended to go to trial. After all, the defense presentation amounted to "free discovery." But Chuck Rosenthal, himself representing the office at the meeting, was openly dismissive that anything could mitigate the crime, shutting down discussion before she'd even laid out her evidence. If he'd let the meeting continue, she said, at least they "would have known what's coming."
Recer believes the verdict reflects changing public attitudes generally toward the death penalty, as well as changes in the law. The Legislature's decision to make LWOP the only alternative to a death sentence played a big role in the jury's verdict, she thinks. But their experience in voir dire makes her believe the pendulum may be swinging away from more punitive public attitudes in the '90s.
Food for thought. As Recer hasn't spoken to the press about any of this, Scott's post is your only source for this information. Check it out.
The "charm offensive," that is. An editorial in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times calls out Rick Perry on schmoozing with our legislators now that, you know, he might need them for something:
But Perry would have been a better governor if he had worked as hard then at establishing working relationships with legislators and political leaders as he seems to be now. The political writer for the AP, Kelly Shannon, wrote that Perry has traveled across the state to meet with legislators, often in their hometowns. The trips are done in conjunction with promoting his book on Boy Scouts, "On My Honor," or to make an appearance at a local event, such as the groundbreaking in Fredericksburg for an expansion for the National Museum of the Pacific War. In Fredericksburg, he met over lunch with Rep. Harvey Hildebran, a Kerrville Republican, and Doug Miller, a New Braunfels Republican running in November for a House seat. In Laredo, Perry attended a merienda hosted by State Sen. Judith Zaffrini and ate burgers with legislators in San Antonio. He's managed to work in discussions about higher education funding, about border security, the state budget, and roads and water. These conversations are all to the good ahead of what some consider a coming tough session. But there is also political context here.Perry has already announced he's running for a third term. It is possible that Perry would find himself in a high-powered Republican primary race in 2010 against U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, or Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, or both. That means that Perry, who was elected with about 39 percent of the vote in a six-candidate race in 2006, would find it helpful to have a legislative success that he could claim as his own. That kind of success means schmoozing with other politicians, establishing relations and setting up lines of communication. In other words, the kind of things that a governor who wants to be effective should have been doing.
I wonder how hard any of these legislators might fall for Gov. Perry's "charm offensive." Even if it translates into meaningful cooperation come legislative session (which is at least a little bit doubtful), he still doesn't show up to the 2010 race with the most impressive record, and everyone can still ask where he's been for the last eight years.
Like Ezra, I'm curious about the governor to the east, Bobby Jindal. Republicans have been excited about him and he's allegedly on McCain's short list for VP. But I can't really figure out why, besides being young and ethnic, he's different than any other run-of-the-mill Republican. The demographics are there, but that's about where any Obama comparison might end. In terms of speaking skills, charisma, etc. he doesn't do much for me. I wonder if Republicans think demographics are enough to go up against Obama? Especially with a guy who should be sounding off the "inexperienced" alarm, which might explain why it's hard for those of us outside Louisiana (and maybe Louisianans too) to figure him out.
The best thing about a McCain/Jindal ticket is that it could highlight the post-hurricane problems that Louisiana is still dealing with. Ezra posted an interview with Gov. Jindal on Jay Leno that did a little bit to tell his story but not that much to talk about his politics. This video of Jindal on Chris Matthews last year addresses some of those problems that might be brought up during the general election if Jindal is the VP nominee.
This is the least surprising news item of the week.
Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday urged university regents to consider several potentially controversial changes in policy, including merit bonuses for some teachers and state grants of scholarships, or "vouchers," directly to students."We have to take these reforms, we have to put them in place and we have to be responsible for them," said Perry, who co-hosted a wide-ranging higher education summit with the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Rising tuition, which has strained the budgets of many Texas students and their families since Perry signed a tuition deregulation law in 2003, was barely mentioned all day.
But the governor said his proposed reforms, which also include separating universities' research and education budgets and changing how tenure is determined for some professors, would make higher education "more accessible."
As with the so-called "education reforms" that were passed during the 2006 special session on property tax cuts - you know, the session that once upon a time was supposed to be about fixing school finance - what we have here was an ideological wish list plus a studied avoidance of the actual problem. I suppose you have to admire the single-mindedness and dedication to purpose, if nothing else. I still think they should have invited me.
Guest-blogger: Greg Wythe
Your intrepid blogger, Charles Kuffner, is literally adrift at sea this weekend. In his absence (of the physical sort), he's turned the keys over to others like myself (which may well represent an absence of good judgment).
With that, it seems only appropriate to mention the recent McCain bout of "Renounce and Reject" with his own pastor problems. Note the plural.
» NYT: McCain Cuts Ties to Pastors Whose Talks Drew Fire (Neela Banerjee, Michael Luo)
Senator John McCain on Thursday rejected the endorsements of two prominent evangelical ministers whose backing he had sought to shore up his credentials with religious conservatives.Mr. McCain repudiated the Rev. John C. Hagee, a televangelist, after a watchdog group released a recording of a sermon in which Mr. Hagee said Hitler and the Holocaust had been part of God's plan to chase the Jews from Europe and drive them to Palestine.
Later in the day, he also rejected the endorsement of the Rev. Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church of Columbus, Ohio, whose anti-Muslim sermons were broadcast on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Thursday.
Controversy has dogged the Hagee endorsement since Mr. McCain announced it at a February news conference, and just last week Mr. Hagee issued a letter expressing regret for "any comments that Catholics have found hurtful."
I'm not sure there was a win in this anywhere for McCain, so his best bet may very well have been to dump the duo over a holiday weekend, along with his medical records and the fact that he's actually considering Mitt Romney for the VP spot. Some things, you just have to get over and done with.
Likewise, I'm not certain that this does away with Obama's own issues. Not because there's a some sort of difference in Obama having been in Jeremiah Wright's church for two decades and all John McCain did was flip-flop on that whole "agents of intolerance" thing and crawl according to the whims of Falwell, Hagee, and Parsley. It's just that I think the Obama/Wright side of this cuts into another divide altogether - namely race and the incorrect suspicion that Obama might be Muslim even though he says he's Christian.
For McCain's sake, he loses if he sticks with his once-prized endorsees and he loses if he demonstrates his complete lack of knowledge about treading the political church circuit. That might just be the type of decision set he's going to get used to for the rest of the campaign.
What's most troubling is a point that Kevin Drum makes, however. It wasn't the airing of whacknuttery on the part of Parsley (70 days ago, in this case) and Hagee that seemed to trouble McCain. It was merely the fact that it was getting run by the MSM. What that says about McCain may be the most damaging - that as long as he can get away with coddling the most rightwing elements of his party without any attention being paid to it, there's no price too steep that he's willing to pay for the White House. It ought to make for a very entertaining campaign season, if nothing else.
Mayor White has a new plan to target chemical plants that have dragged their feet about reducing benzene emissions: Contesting their permit renewals with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ):
The plan represents a shift in White's focus from the chemical industry to the state's clean-air officials. It comes after the mayor promised to use a city nuisance ordinance to punish plants, many of them outside the city's borders, that did not reduce emissions of benzene within six months."This approach both takes into account some concerns that the city of Houston not act unilaterally and it will be effective in accomplishing our purposes of trying to reduce the amount of benzene in our air," White said.
The city already has challenged the permits for one of Lyondell Chemical Company's nine Houston-area plants, hoping the protest would lead to an administrative hearing before a judge, White said.
The mayor said the city notified TCEQ that it would use the hearing to publicly call on the agency to create an air quality standard that contains an acceptable limit for benzene. Currently there isn't one in Texas, though other states have them.
The city's stance is that TCEQ cannot regulate benzene from individual plants without having some limit on the total amount of the air pollutant.
"I do not understand how somebody could permit a particular amount of benzene from a particular source, without taking into account the amount of benzene that is in the atmosphere, basically in the same air current," White said.
[...]
Andy Saenz, a TCEQ spokesman, said he had not seen the city's letter contesting Lyondell's permit, but denied that the agency is not doing enough to regulate benzene.
"We have volumes and volumes of data that show we're making progress all over the state," Saenz said. "We're throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the problem in Houston."
Given that the TCEQ chose to side with the polluters in their lawsuit to overturn that city nuisance ordinance, I'm not surprised by their reaction here. One may wonder if they'll manage to be impartial when they review the city's protests of the permits. Whatever the case, I'm glad to see the spotlight on them. The TCEQ could stand to have a little pressure applied to them for a good cause.
There is a way out for the plants here:
White issued his challenge to plant operators in November, after a task force composed primarily of industry members called for voluntary measures to limit chemical emissions and clear Houston's air.Industry officials said they needed a year to see results from the plan, which the Greater Houston Partnership endorsed. But White said he would give them only six months before trying again to enact a nuisance ordinance, which would enable the city to cite facilities outside its borders that contribute to pollution in Houston.
Plants found violating the ordinance faced fines of up to $2,000 a day.
White acknowledged some reductions recently in benzene concentrations on air-quality monitors around Houston, according to data collected by the TCEQ and analyzed by the city. But none of the plant operators provided plans for future cuts in emissions, as called for by the task force, he said.
"Nobody will tell us what those plans are," White said.
White said the process for challenging a plant's permits could take up to a year and that the city plans to set aside up to $500,000 for expert witnesses. But the whole thing could be avoided, White said, if industry helped create a multiyear benzene reduction plan.
If the plan that the task force came up with is more than a lame attempt to stall and obfuscate, then following through on its own recommendations shouldn't be too hard. The ball is in their court. Mayor White has made his position clear. It's just a question of how they want to go about resolving the differences.
The Harris County District Attorney's Office acknowledged Wednesday it is investigating the sheriff's office surveillance of two brothers who filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the department over their 2002 arrest.The prosecutor's office released a letter from District Attorney Ken Magidson declining an offer from the Texas Attorney General's Office to help investigate or prosecute the matter. Five state lawmakers asked the attorney general to investigate Monday.
In the letter sent Tuesday, Magidson told Deputy Attorney General Eric J.R. Nichols that his office opened an inquiry after the media reported the surveillance last week.
"At this time, I have no reason to believe that this office will need the Attorney General's assistance in conducting a fair and thorough investigation into those allegations," Magidson wrote in response to Nichols' offer earlier Tuesday.
[...]
Sean Ibarra said he had not been contacted by the district attorney's office or the grand jury, but he was pleased to hear an investigation was under way.
"It's about time," he said.
State Sen. Rodney Ellis said he normally would be concerned that the close relationship between prosecutors and the sheriff's office would color the investigation. But he said he had no worries this time because Magidson is an interim district attorney with nothing to prove and no incentive to protect anyone.
"I think he's a very independent guy," said Ellis, D-Houston, who spearheaded the request for an investigation.
I'm glad to see that DA Magidson responded so quickly to the calls for an investigation, and I too have no worries about his abilities to do so in a fair manner. I hope we get a speedy resolution.
The story also has news on a different matter regarding the Sheriff's office, which is apparently related to this as well:
An attorney representing investigative reporter Wayne Dolcefino of KTRK (Channel 13) said Wednesday that he and his client believe an e-mail discussing the surveillance of the brothers exists and has been improperly withheld by the department.Dolcefino has been battling the department for access to 750,000 e-mails erased from employees' in-boxes in a mass deletion between Jan. 12 and 19. The purge was executed a day after the reporter requested e-mails from the sheriff's office.
A judge ordered the department to hand over the e-mails but allowed them to withhold some information, such as messages that would interfere with the detection, investigation or prosecution of crime. Dolcefino's attorney, John Edwards, said he believes that exemption is being applied too broadly.
He said he asked the county attorney's office about the e-mail in question and was told it had been subpoenaed by a grand jury.
State District Judge David J. Bernal has scheduled an emergency status hearing on Dolcefino's complaints for Tuesday.
Barnhill said the county attorney's office already had agreed to review the e-mails being withheld by the sheriff's office to ensure the exemptions are being applied properly.
Edwards also accused the sheriff's office of dragging its feet in releasing the e-mails. The department pledged in April to turn over the e-mails on a rolling basis during the next six months. Since then, only 38,000 e-mails have been released. At that rate, it would take two years to finish the job, Edwards said in his request for the hearing.
Six deputies are working full time to review the e-mails and determine whether they can be released or must be withheld, [sheriff's office spokesman Capt. John] Martin said. He said he and three clerks, the special assistant to the sheriff and the network administrator are spending a good deal of their time on the project as well.
"It would be an understatement to say we have made a good faith effort to comply with the court's order," he said.
Given how much trouble the Sheriff's office has gone to not release these emails, it's hard to avoid the conclusion that there's something there they really don't want to let Dolcefino see. If that's true, you have to wonder what might be worse than what we already know. This could of course be plain bureaucratic or ideological intransigence on Thomas' part, with the emails being nothing more than a principle, but they sure do give the picture of having something worth hiding.
OK, I admit it. Even I can't think of a scenario under which the race for Harris County District Clerk makes it onto the public's radar. It's a low-profile, clerical office. There are no scandals surrounding it that I know of. Neither appointed incumbent Theresa Chang nor Democratic challenger Loren Jackson are likely to raise a significant amount of money. Basically, I see this as an extension of the judicial races, where there will be some variation from the base partisan preferences, but not that much. For the most part, the Presidential race will be the determining factor in this one.
Which is not to say that Chang and Jackson are helpless to affect the outcome. As with judicial races, their main opponent is voter apathy. Whatever they can do to make themselves known to their partisan colleagues, and to work with the countywide efforts to get likeminded folks to push their respective straight-ticket buttons should be their main task. Both should tap into whatever personal networks they have to reach people who may be persuaded to vote for a friend or friend of a friend. Chang ought to derive some benefit from her Asian heritage, as she will likely collect the endorsement of nonpartisan groups like the local 80-20 Initiative. Jackson had had his eye on the Justice of the Peace seat now held by Hilary Green, so he's been a candidate in some form for longer than Chang and is already reasonably well known and well liked by Democratic activists, which ought to be helpful to him. The Democratic countywide coordinated campaign will be a boost for him as well.
Beyond that, I've got nothing. I'll be interested to see what kind of fundraising totals they post, to see if either might have an advantage in getting their name out there. I expect each of them to have the resources to at least do some targeted mail; if one can do more than that, he or she will be in a stronger position.
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Dick Sutcliffe, creator of the classic stop-motion children's show Davey and Goliath, has died at the age of 90.
Along with Gumby creators Art Clokey and Ruth Clokey Goodell, Sutcliffe created the Sunday-morning series to spread a religious message without losing younger viewers with overly complicated concepts, his daughter, J.T. Sutcliffe, told The Dallas Morning News.Church leaders approached Sutcliffe about using television to reach young people when he was director of Lutheran radio and television ministry in New York. He chose a format that would offer sound theology while being entertaining, his daughter told the newspaper.
Confession time: I did watch "Davey and Goliath" as a kid. As that Wikipedia article notes, it was aired by three different stations in New York back then. Around the time I figured out that every episode had a religious message, I lost interest and stopped watching. Guess the formula didn't work on everyone.
Be that as it may, it was a creative and lovingly done show, with a gentle and tolerant message. You could do a lot worse to introduce a kid to Christianity. Rest in peace, Dick Sutcliffe.
Don't like the proposal to turn the Astrodome into a hotel/convention center? Well, how does turning it into a movie studio grab you?
Transforming the Astrodome into a huge production studio would preserve the landmark, create jobs and pull revenue from other parts of the country, say Elise Hendrix and Cynthia Hand Neely, the brains behind the latest idea for the aging sports venue.As a production studio financed by independent investors, they argue, the Astrodome could be used 24/7, rain or shine.
"Hollywood has these huge soundstages, and we have some soundstages in Texas, but none are big enough to build a whole city in or to create an entire neighborhood," says Neely, who sits on the board of directors of the Texas Motion Picture Alliance and is president of Women In Film & Television Houston. "There could also be periphery support outside the building for equipment rental, costumes and a number of individual businesses."
So far, though, this is a dramatic proposal waiting to attach itself to some big investors and architects.
"We don't want to name names," Hendrix, a freelance makeup artist who has also acted and modeled, said Tuesday. "But we're close to securing funding and moving on to the next phase of development, which is bringing in designers and engineers."
I'm perfectly fine with this plan, just as I'm perfectly fine with the Astrodome Redevelopment plan. As long as it's private investors spending the money, I say let 'er rip. If these folks can demonstrate that their scheme is more viable, give them the prize.
The idea to turn the Dome into a production studio came to Hendrix about a year and a half ago. The Houston native had been living and working in Louisiana, regularly flying off to do jobs in Los Angeles. When she moved back to Houston in 2005, she was shocked at the city's limited opportunities in her line of work."My friends and I thought it was asinine that Houston didn't have the kind of film and production industry it was capable of having," Hendrix said. "It all boiled down to organization. So we opened a nonprofit, Houston Association for Entertainment Professionals (houstonaep.org), for all the people behind the camera."
[...]
Hendrix said her Astrodome plan has three parts. An umbrella group that she has set up, Greater Houston Global Management Group LLC, would oversee the three divisions:
- Astrodome Productions Studios would be a full-service site, with a large sound stage, 24-hour film processing labs, carpentry and equipment rentals, and more.
- An event-productions group would be set up to serve the southern region. In theory, it would be comparable to International Management Group, the group that produces Fashion Week in New York and Los Angeles.
- The Reel Stars of Texas Museum would honor actors, singers, writers, directors and behind-the-scenes players from the Lone Star State.
I have no idea how realistic any of this is, or if there's enough demand to make this venture worthwhile. But again, if someone with deep pockets does think it can fly, and they're willing to put their money where their mouth is, then I'm happy to give them the chance.
In the meantime, local preservationists are happy that there are still new ideas swirling around the Astrodome. Any plan to keep the Houston landmark from being plowed under is worth entertaining, they say."If ever there was a Houston structure that must be saved, it's the Astrodome, a building known around the world for everything from the first indoor baseball game to sheltering Hurricane Katrina refugees," said Madeleine McDermott Hamm, chair of Greater Houston Preservation Alliance's "Save Our Astrodome" campaign. "GHPA favors any plan that will meet historical guidelines and bring the Astrodome alive again as a public attraction that will benefit Houston."
I too would rather see the Dome preserved as something useful and beneficial to Houston. But whatever the merits of this and the Dome hotel scheme, it's possible that no such concept will work, or at least that no such concept can find the funding to try and make it work. If that happens, then we will have to come to grips with the idea of tearing the Dome down and doing something else with the land it occupies. I hope the old boy still has some life in him, but I know that may not be enough.
This was something I didn't expect.
The U.S. discriminates against blind people by printing paper money that makes it impossible for them to distinguish among the bills' varying values, a federal appeals court ruled today.The ruling upholds a decision by a lower court in 2006. It could force the Treasury Department to redesign its money. Suggested changes have ranged from making bills different sizes to printing them with raised markings.
The American Council for the Blind sued for such changes but the Treasury Department has been fighting the case for about six years.
"I don't think we should have to rely on people to tell us what our money is," said Mitch Pomerantz, the council's president.
The U.S. acknowledges the design hinders blind people but it argued that blind people have adapted. Some relied on store clerks to help them, some used credit cards and others folded certain corners to help distinguish between bills.
The court ruled 2-1 that such adaptations were insufficient. The government might as well argue that, since handicapped people can crawl on all fours or ask for help from strangers, there's no need to make buildings wheelchair accessible, the court said.
[...]
While the government has been fighting to overturn the lower court ruling, it has been taking some steps toward modifying U.S. currency for the visually impaired.
The most recent currency redesign of the $5 bill introduced in March features a giant "5" printed in purple on one side of the bill to help those with vision problems distinguish the bill.
The appeals court also ruled that the U.S. failed to explain why changing the money would be an undue burden. The Treasury Department has redesigned its currency several times in recent years, and adding features to aid the blind would come at a relatively small cost, the court said.
Other countries have added such features, the court said, and the U.S. never explained what made its situation so unique.
I think the court's reasoning is sound, and its analogy apt. For those who are inclined to grumble about "activist judges", whatever that means, bear in mind that the disabled are a class of folks which one may unexpectedly join at any time. If the day comes when you cannot easily distinguish between a fiver and a double sawbuck, you may have a different opinion of this ruling. I hope the Treasury accepts it and declines to pursue a needless appeal to the US Supreme Court. The sooner we do the right thing and fix the problem, the better.
For some reason, I wasn't invited to this august gathering to discuss the matter of rapidly rising college education costs, but no worries. I can save them a bunch of time and solve the problem from here.
Gov. Rick Perry, concerned that higher education is "becoming out of reach" for some Texans, has summoned an unusual meeting today of regents from all the state's public university systems.Tuition isn't the only issue on the wide-ranging agenda, but the meeting comes as students and parents continue to be hammered with a series of tuition increases stemming from a deregulation law that Perry signed five years ago.
The governor, in an interview Tuesday, said he wants to make a college education "as effective, as efficient and as affordable as it can be."
"I think we all have considerable concern that higher education is becoming out of reach for some of our citizens, and that is not good for the future of the state of Texas," Perry said. "So we need to look for every way that we can to make these schools accessible, affordable and as efficient users of the people's tax dollars as they can."
He said he believed much of that goal can be accomplished by boards of regents without new mandates from the Legislature.
[...]
Perry and other speakers or panelists, including a number with business ties, are scheduled to participate in the meeting, dubbed a conference on "Myths, Truths and Breakthrough Solutions for Higher Education in Texas."
The Texas Public Policy Foundation, an Austin-based conservative think tank, recommended participants to the governor's office.
Among those invited were former congressman Dick Armey, who is now affiliated with Freedom Works, a free-market advocacy group; Houston developer Richard Weekley; Houston businessman Charles Miller, who is a former University of Texas regent; Texas A&M University Chancellor Mike McKinney; and Texas Tech University Chancellor Kent Hance.
Boy, that's a panel full of diverse viewpoints, isn't it? It runs the gamut from A to at least B.
Perry supported the tuition deregulation law, which freed tuition from legislative control, to help bridge a $10 billion revenue shortfall in 2003 without raising state taxes.Since then, tuition has soared. University governing boards, whose members Perry appointed, have said the increases are necessary because state appropriations haven't kept pace with increasing enrollment and other needs.
Black said Perry still supported the deregulation law but believed other steps can be taken to assure higher education is affordable.
[...]
Even before the latest round of increases, tuition and fees at state-supported universities had jumped an average 39 percent during the first three years after the 2003 deregulation law was enacted.
So, the problem only occurred after tuition deregulation, which came about in conjunction with a decrease in funding to public universities. That was done at a time of budget woes, which last I checked is no longer the case. Yeah, I think I see a way out of this. Give me a call, fellas, and I'll give you the answer. I promise to speak slowly and use little words, so everyone can understand. No chargem either - I'm just happy to do my part for the people of Texas.
So the main justification for the raid on the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints polygamist compound was allegations of underage girls being married illegally and getting pregnant. Problem is, more and more of these "girls" are actually adults.
Ten "girls" taken into custody by Texas Child Protective Services have convinced the agency they are really adults and more are expected to be similarly reclassified this week, weakening the agency's claim that dozens of underage girls were forced by a polygamist sect to have sex with older men.On Tuesday, six more "girls" were deemed adults, including 27-year-old Leona Allred, whose lawyer insisted CPS knew from the beginning that her client was an adult.
"My client showed them the same documents they showed them from the beginning: a valid Arizona driver's license and a birth certificate," said Andrea Sloan.
Twenty-seven? Seriously? I don't know how much faith one can have in CPS' efforts here if they can't tell the difference between a 27-year-old and a 17-year-old.
Two others, Merilyn Jeffs Keate and Sarah Cathleen Jessop Nielsen, were reclassified as adults Monday as five judges began sifting through the cases of all the children taken from the Yearning For Zion Ranch in West Texas.Last week, the agency acknowledged that two "girls" who were among the more than 460 children they removed from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' ranch were really 18 and 22.
The revelations about the true ages of some sect members are coming to light during custody status hearings being held at the Tom County courthouse over the next three weeks.
Grits observes that at the rate things are going, the FLDS compound will have had a lower rate of underage pregnancy than the state of Texas as a whole. Not exactly the image we've been getting from the authorities so far, is it?
My last post on this generated a couple of dissenting comments, so let me clarify a couple of points. The FLDS folks' lifestyle is not of particular interest to me, at least for the purposes of observing and critiquing what is happening to them. I agree that polygamy based on fundamentalist religious beliefs can and does lead to abusive situations for both girls and boys. It's certainly possible that the FLDS folks have these issues, and where they do exist, they should be dealt with. My problems with what has happened to these folks have to do primarily with the way the government has conducted itself. We know the initial call to CPS was a hoax, and we know that CPS should have known this as well. We know that a lot of the initial media reports about the scope of the alleged abuse - including, as we see here, the number of actually underaged girls - were exaggerated or wrong. We know that CPS has acted questionably by both serving as an advocate for children who are being questioned by police while simultaneously being an agent for the police.
All of these things should raise big red flags for anyone who cares about protecting the rights of the accused. One's personal feelings for who the accused are and what they are accused of doing shouldn't come into it. If the government isn't playing by the rules for them, it won't feel the need to play by the rules for anyone else. That's what matters to me, and so I feel it's important to hold them accountable for it. I don't see that as being in conflict with a desire to see justice for any abused children done; indeed, if the authorities may be tainting evidence by not following accepted procedures, it's very much in concert with such a desire. That's not so much to ask, is it?
Things got a mite testy at the Commissioners Court meeting yesterday.
Commissioners Court blasted a report critical of Harris County's lease-purchase deals on Tuesday before voting unanimously to accept its recommendations to more closely analyze all major real estate transactions in the future.During the fractious meeting, various court members defended the deals and blistered media reports that questioned the propriety of the controversial arrangements and their link to indicted Houston developers Andrew Schatte and Michael Surface.
The roughly hour-long debate abruptly ended when Commissioner Jerry Eversole stormed out of the meeting after angrily denouncing a TV story on the report and chiding County Judge Ed Emmett for comments he made about the need for transparency in government.
"All of us are being painted as being crooks by the local TV station because we did what at that time was revolutionary or new or whatever," Eversole said, adding later, "I have spent 17 years going on 18 years trying to do (business) above board and I still get nailed for it."
After the meeting, Emmett said Eversole had to leave to deal with a family emergency. Eversole said just before he walked out that he still has "complete trust and faith" in Emmett.
Miya was there, and she has a picture of Eversole looking very pouty.
The report criticized by the court centered on seven deals in which Harris County has leased property developed by Schatte and Surface and been given the right to buy it for a nominal fee at the end of a lengthy contract. Such arrangements allow the county to buy property without issuing bonds, which appear on the books as debt and can require voter approval.According to the report by the county's budget management office, Harris County spent at least $4 million more through the deals than it would have spent to buy the properties. The report also raised questions about hundreds of thousands of dollars in monthly administrative fees the county has paid without any explanation of what the charges cover.
Lawyers for Schatte and Surface last week defended the deals as good for county taxpayers and noted that each transaction was reviewed and approved by Commissioners Court.
[...]
Emmett, who requested the study, called it "fundamentally flawed." Since the county could not afford to buy the properties when the deals were reached, the report should have taken into account what a traditional lease would have cost, he said.
The Chron ran a story on that report on Sunday, which doesn't give a whole lot of detail about which properties are affected. I'll stipulate there's a certain amount of hindsight-is-20-20 to this, but so what? I don't see the point in getting upset about it now that we do know better. Let's just learn what there is to learn from this and get on with it, okay? Thanks.
I realize that House Speaker Tom Craddick always has a plan for things, but I wonder when he started the "ghost worker" dustup he truly anticipated this much blowback.
The chairman of the Texas House committee whose employment practices helped trigger an ongoing investigation into so-called ghost employees -- full-time, low-pay employees who are seldom seen at work -- appointed a special subcommittee Monday to investigate the issue.The surprise move was quickly criticized as overstepping the authority of the committee and having the potential to compromise the criminal investigation by the Travis County district attorney's office. Under state law, people who testify or provide evidence for a legislative inquiry can receive immunity from prosecution for misdeeds. So, if the committee investigates itself, its members could derail any case by prosecutors.
[...]
House Civil Practices Committee Chairman Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, said he made the move in response to disclosures by the American-Statesman that some legislative staffers were classified as full-time employees even though they worked only a few hours a month -- including Cook's committee law clerk, who lives and works in Denver.
Cook and other House members have insisted that there is nothing wrong with the practice of hiring part-time workers and putting them on the payroll as full time so they can receive benefits. They say the use of what they call "on-call" employees has been going on for years.
Cook said his committee's investigation, which will be led by state Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, will "explore employment law as it relates to the House and House rules."
"Though I firmly believe the agenda behind these inquiries is political and in my case, in retaliation to my challenging the speaker ... I also feel the ethical and legal questions posed as to the benefit status of state employees must receive fair scrutiny rather than witch-hunts in the press," Cook said in announcing the inquiry during a committee meeting.
Cook has said he will challenge House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, for his leadership post, as have several other House members.
Craddick called Cook's decision to launch an investigation "inappropriate."
That would be a suitable word for Craddick's actions as well. Look, it's obvious to everyone that Craddick's ploy was strictly politics, designed to make his enemies look bad. If that's your game, then you've got no grounds to whine when they fight back. Elise Hu and Eye on Williamson have more.
Francisca Medina, wife of Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina, pleaded not guilty to an arson charge in the matter of the fire that destroyed their house.
Francisca Medina is charged with first-degree felony arson and first-degree felony criminal mischief, as well as a state-jail felony charge of criminal mischief in connection with a fire that burned down the couple's Spring home last summer.She is free on a total of $42,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court again on June 24, according to court staff.
If convicted of a first-degree felony, Medina faces a sentence ranging from probation to life in prison. A state-jail felony carries a maximum punishment of two years behind bars.
I suppose this is as good a time as any to mention that many arson convictions in years past were based on investigative methods that have since been discredited. The state of the art in arson investigation is much better now than it once was, but it's useful to remind oneself every now and then that real life is not like "CSI". This is not meant as a judgment of the merits of the case against Mrs. Medina; I have no way of evaluating the evidence against her. I just thought it was worth bringing up.
Get ready, Austin. The red light cameras are coming soon.
Red-light cameras at some of the city's busiest intersections will begin helping enforce traffic laws beginning May 23, when more motorists are on the road for Memorial Day weekend, Austin officials said Monday.The first camera will be at the intersection of 11th Street and the northbound frontage road of Interstate 35, but crews will continue installing the cameras at eight other intersections across Austin during the next several weeks.
[...]
Authorities said there will not be a warning period once a camera is at an intersection. They have instead developed public service announcements to warn motorists against running red lights. The announcements are being distributed to local media outlets.
You can see video of the PSA here, and a list of camera locations here. Not having a warning period is different - it's unique to Austin as far as I know. The warning signs will be there, but I suppose if you're going fast enough to blow through a red light, you might not see it in time anyway. So, consider yourself warned. Thanks to The Walker Report for the heads up.
Some stories are so goofy that all you can do it sit back and marvel at them.
The dossier spills over into two drawers of files full of hand-scribbled notes, maps marked with sharp black dots -- and snapshots of a shadowy figure, scattering bird seed. This is Laura Dodson's nemesis.There was a time when Dodson went after the crack dealers in her Hollywood neighborhood with such a vengeance that city officials honored her with a plaque. Now, she has declared war on another urban scourge. For three years, she has enlisted snitches, set up overnight stakeouts, appealed for help from city leaders and the police.
Her quarry? Pigeon lady Susie Kourinian, the furtive form in the photos.
Kourinian is no ordinary bird lover. She earns her seed money as a seamstress to the stars; she appeared in InStyle magazine tweaking Cate Blanchett's hem, and is said to keep actresses such as Megan Mullally in finery.
That glittery occupation gives Kourinian the wherewithal to make a lot of pigeons happy. Kourinian once told police she spends $65,000 a year on bird feed -- enough to dump 500 pounds of birdseed every day.
She has been doing this for a decade, police say, but neither they nor Dodson's small band of pigeon patrollers -- dubbed "Citizen Pigeon" -- have been able to stop her.
"When you realize how many hours and manpower it takes to catch her ... ," Dodson said. "She's got the perfect crime because who else would have the resources to do this?"
Just read the whole thing, because there's nothing I can add to the sheer bizarreness of it all. Well, okay, there is one thing I can add:
That's about right, wouldn't you say?
Clay Robison mentions a possibility for the Dems in SD17.
Democrat Chris Bell, who lost a race for governor two years ago, is being encouraged by some Democrats to run for the District 17 state Senate seat soon to be vacated by Republican Kyle Janek. He says he is thinking about it.A recent poll commissioned by Texans for Insurance Reform, a trial lawyer-backed PAC, indicates the Houston-area district has become more Democratic.
According to the survey by Opinion Analysts Inc. of Austin, 60 percent of the residents disapprove of Perry's job performance and 53 percent disapprove of President Bush's performance.
Bell, who used to represent part of the district in Congress, has higher name identification than Janek, the poll determined.
Austen Furse, the Houston money manager who is the favorite of Janek and many business lobbyists and Republican mega-donors, is mostly unknown.
Postcards (via BOR) has more.
Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, who won election to the 31-member body in 2006 after being his party's nominee for attorney general in 2002, has called Bell to offer encouragement."I've known Chris a long time, and was excited about the prospect he might consider it. I talked to him on Saturday," Watson said.
"He would be a formidable candidate in that district because of his length of service in the Houston area," Watson said, referring to Bell's background as a one-term U.S. House member and before that as a member of the Houston City Council who ran for mayor.
"My guess is he'd start that race with the sort of name ID that an incumbent usually enjoys, maybe even better than an incumbent," Watson said.
Bell told me he's not decided to make the bid, but he's considering it.
A potentially significant wrinkle: Bell has resolved nearly $42,000 in outstanding bank loans he reported on his gubernatorial campaign committee finance report filed in January.
"We negotiated a settlement of the amount of interest owing with the bank," Bell said. "We will pay $26,000 as full and final settlement of the amount owing and that will be the end of it." The money will be paid from his gubernatorial campaign kitty.
I think Chris Bell would make a fine candidate, especially for a November special election, as that would surely preclude State Rep. Scott Hochberg from jumping in. I will also note that I mentioned it first. Bell would have the credentials and should have no trouble getting full support from Dems. The only issue would be fundraising, as this has got to be a million-dollar race. At least on that score, there's more than a few traditional Democratic donors who owe him one for their regrettable backing of Carole Keeton Strayhorn in 2006.
Commissioners Court wants to make it easier for builders to be green.
Companies that build environmentally friendly facilities in Harris County could get a sizable property tax break under a proposal to be considered by Commissioners Court today.The plan would offer up to a 100 percent tax abatement for 10 years on whatever amount a builder spends to become certified under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, program.
[...]
Commissioner Sylvia Garcia said the county really wants to encourage "green" building.
"Providing the incentive will go a long way to get more people on board with doing more that's environmentally friendly and more efficient for everyone," Garcia said Monday.
The environmental tax abatement would apply only to new commercial construction that meets the national green building council's certification standards. It is meant to compensate companies for the added cost of meeting those standards.
The council awards a series of points based on issues such as how the building site works with its surrounding environment, the use of recycled materials, its energy efficiency and the environmental quality of the interior workspace. It then assigns ratings ranging from "certified" to "platinum."
Companies that construct buildings meeting the lowest rating would be eligible for a tax abatement on 1 percent of the construction costs. Buildings with higher ratings would get bigger discounts, with the top receiving credit for 10 percent of construction costs.
For example, a $10 million new building that was built to platinum standards would be eligible for a $1 million tax abatement, he said. At the county's current property tax rate, that could save $6,300 per year.
"If a company spent an extra million dollars to make a building green, then we feel that they should not have to pay taxes on that million dollars," said David Turkel, director of the Harris County Community Services Department.
I don't know how much incentive a $6300 property tax cut would represent for a builder who would undoubtedly be spending a lot more than that to qualify for it. On the other hand, being able to market the building as being LEED certified ought to be a plus. In either case, I approve of the idea, and hope it makes a difference.
Is there a magic ticket for getting out of a camera-generated red light violation?
Attorney Randall Kallinen said drivers should appeal their tickets because the affidavits that back up the video images are "conclusory," instead of based on evidence. "Conclusory" is a legal term for an assertion that is not backed up by facts."Anyone challenging a red-light camera ticket under this should have their case dismissed," Kallinen said. "The affidavits are not sufficient to take your hard-earned money."
Kallinen used that argument to get two red-light tickets dismissed in early May for a client, Sara Smith.
Kallinen is a frequent critic of the cameras. I mention that because the story didn't.
The affidavits are sworn written statements by officers who have viewed the photos or videos on the red-light cameras. They can be used by the administrative judge in lieu of having the officer testify in person.City Attorney Arturo Michel said the affidavits are fine and that they are backed up by the evidence in the digital images.
"The officer reviewed the tape, they saw it, and identified the vehicle's license plate number and observed the vehicle not stopping at a red light," Michel said. "I think that's enough."
Bonita Tolbert, assistant director of municipal court, said Smith's case was an isolated one.
"That was one argument that somebody presented in front of a judge, and he just happened to be successful at his," she said.
[...]
Smith's affidavits said "the motor vehicle ... was operated in violation of the traffic control signal that appears in the said images."
"It doesn't say what happened. It's an opinion," Kallinen said. The affidavit says nothing about which intersection, what the officer saw on the video, or who was driving, he explained.
[...]
Michel said Kallinen's argument probably would not work for other ticket-holders, since each appeals case is handled separately. He said the city would make sure a prosecutor was present at future red-light hearings to argue the city's case.
Maybe Kallinen is right about this. I'm not a lawyer, so I couldn't tell you if his argument has merit or if he just got lucky. To my layman's mind, it feels a little weak. For one thing, while the affidavit may not specify the intersection, the photo itself does. If the officer's statement about what he saw on the video is insufficient, that's easily addressed. As for the matter of who is driving, one of the prescribed defenses for a red light camera ticket is to claim you weren't the driver. If the ticket recipient doesn't make that claim, are we to assume that fact is not in dispute for the purposes of the case? (I'm asking because I don't know the legalities here.) This seems like an awfully rickety foundation, one that requires a lot to go your way to work.
But hey, what do I know? I may not be an attorney, but if other attorneys out there agree with Kallinen, we'll see the effect soon enough. If it is a sure thing, this won't be an isolated case for long.
One more thing:
Smith got three tickets on three different days for not coming to a full stop before turning right on a red light. All three tickets originated when she was turning right onto Westheimer from the West Loop South feeder road.
As it happens, the LA Times has a story about right-turn violations caught by red light cameras, which may foretell Houston's experience:
In Los Angeles, officials estimate that 80% of red light camera tickets go not to those running through intersections but to drivers making rolling right turns, a Times review has found. As London realized that day in court, her turn was illegal because she did not completely stop before turning.One of the most powerful selling points for photo enforcement systems, which now monitor 175 intersections in Los Angeles County and hundreds more across the United States, has been the promise of reducing collisions caused by drivers barreling through red lights.
But it is the right-turn infraction -- a frequently misunderstood and less pressing safety concern -- that drives tickets and revenue in the nation's second-biggest city and at least half a dozen others across the county.
Some researchers and traffic engineers question the enforcement strategy.
"I've never . . . seen any studies that suggest red light cameras would be a good safety intervention to reduce right-turning accidents," said Mark Burkey, a researcher at North Carolina A&T State University who has studied photo enforcement collision patterns.
Some county cities with photo enforcement opt not to target right turns. Others limit camera use for those citations.
"We're kind of very leery about right turns. . . . They're not really unsafe per se," said Pasadena's senior traffic engineer, Norman Baculinao. Only one of that city's seven camera-equipped intersection approaches is set up to monitor right-turn violations, he said.
"This is intended to be a traffic safety program. People who make right turns generally are going at a low speed," and resulting accidents tend to be a "sideswipe at most," he said.
[...]
Officials in Los Angeles and other cities that cite large percentages of right-turn violators -- Covina, South Gate, Lancaster, Baldwin Park, Walnut and Montebello -- say the infractions increase hazards, particularly for pedestrians. "People have this misconception that it's OK to whip a right turn on a red light," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Jon White, with Lancaster's photo enforcement program.
Right turns at red lights have "always been associated with some danger," said transportation researcher Richard Retting of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "Enforcing against drivers who don't stop at all has the potential to make intersections safer."
I don't know what it's like in El Lay, but I can't count the number of times I've had to hit the brakes to avoid some idiot who's zipped through a right on red without even an apparent pause to see if some other vehicle is about to proceed through the intersection as well. Speaking from that experience, I don't have any problem with enforcing this law with the cameras. If people have been in violation due to ignorance, that's just too bad.
Given that many people in Houston - Ms. Smith apparently excepted - have begun to adapt their driving habits at the camera-enabled intersections, it seems to me that in the long run, LA will see the number of these infractions drop as well. I suspect that at some point, Houston will be where LA is now. If the cameras make themselves obsolete some day, I'll consider that a good thing; if we need to have a debate before then about whether it's worth keeping them when they no longer pay for themselves, I'll be happy to engage that, too. In the meantime, the fewer people making rights on red as though they were the ones with the right of way, the better. LAT link via Kevin Drum.
Today we find out if we're getting another Super Bowl.
[Texans owner Bob] McNair and the Houston Super Bowl committee, which is chaired by John Nau III, will present their bid to the NFL owners in a meeting today in Atlanta. With Indianapolis and Arizona the primary competitors, McNair hopes Houston is ultimately awarded the 2012 Super Bowl."Everyone is assuring me that we're very competitive and we're in the running," McNair said. "Of course Indianapolis is trying to sell their city on the basis that, 'We just built a new stadium and you owe it to us.' Of course I remind them, 'If that's the case, you owe Houston because you didn't give us the Super Bowl because we built a stadium. You gave us a Super Bowl because I paid you.'
"People have heard what Indianapolis is saying, and it's been repeated quite a bit. But everybody that was here in 2004 thought the city did a great job. They love our stadium. We have the facilities here. And I think there's no city that is better prepared to put on a Super Bowl and to do it properly than Houston."
Indianapolis, which will open the Colts' new home, Lucas Oil Field, this season, is considered the front-runner. The NFL has looked favorably on voters who have approved revenue for new stadiums.
The Texans hope to overcome that with the complete package they have to offer. Two weeks ago, they received praise from NFL senior vice president of events, Frank Supovitz. He was hired in 2005 to oversee events such as the Super Bowl.
I feel like I've seen this movie before, and I know how it ends. Houston will have put together an impressive package, but the NFL owners, who are highly susceptible to bribery, will be more interested in what's in it for them. Which means, in the absence of another great yacht giveaway, will mean the team with the newest publicly-financed stadium will win. Go ahead, NFL, prove me wrong.
The one thing we can all take heart in if Indianapolis wins the bid is that Bill "The Sports Wimp" Simmons will freeze his LA-softened rear end off while there. Between that and the amenities in Arlington, he'll be begging to come back to Houston in 2013.
UPDATE: I'm sooooo shocked.
There were no surprises today when NFL owners voted to give the 2012 Super Bowl to Indianapolis.Houston and Arizona were the other finalists in voting at the league's summer meetings in suburban Atlanta.
As had been predicted, the owners awarded Indianapolis the Super Bowl because the Colts are moving to the new Lucas Oil Field this season. Ninety-five percent of the stadium was financed with public money.
As it did with Houston, Detroit, Arizona and Dallas, the league awarded a Super Bowl with voters approving public money for new stadiums.
The Houston contingent, led by Texans owner Bob McNair, can now make a run at the 2013 Super Bowl.
Yeah, good luck with that. Though at least as far as I know, there are no other publicly-financed stadia in the queue at this time, so maybe there's hope. Go ahead, Sisyphus! Push that rock again! You might make it all the way this time!
While all the negotiations over Dynamo Stadium drag on between the city and the team, Houstonist reports on a grassroots action by fans hoping to move the process along.
A group of supporters calling themselves "Home for the Dynamo" have recently begun a grassroots effort to raise money from the private sector -- primarily from Dynamo fans -- in an unusual bid to provide some of the funds for the stadium themselves. At their website, fans are encouraged to both donate money to the organization as well as contact Mayor Bill White to voice their support for the construction of a stadium for the two-time MLS Cup winners. A donation of $4.99 nets patrons an orange "Home for the Dynamo" bumper sticker.It is unclear how much money would need to be raised in order for this ambitious project to be considered successful, but the estimated total cost for the construction of the stadium is currently at $105 million, which is an increase from the initial estimate of $80 million, due to rising materials costs.
I rather doubt that there's any way they can raise enough cash to have any material impact on this issue, but I wish them luck anyway. I respect the passion that's driven them to undertake the effort.
The light rail plan for Austin has run into that oldest of snags, the committee to study alternatives.
When Austin Mayor Will Wynn used his annual "state of the city" speech in October to plant the seed of rail, what he hoped would sprout was a November 2008 referendum on a central city streetcar or light rail system.As recently as a month ago, Wynn enthusiastically served as emcee for the unveiling of the outlines of such a project, arguing that it is crucial to build a rail line connecting the airport, downtown and other "activity centers" in Central Austin.
But what bloomed from Wynn's initial effort was a "decision tree," a multibranched set of questions that supporters of any future Central Texas rail project will now have to answer as a starting point.
Momentum for the public vote that Wynn and Council Member Brewster McCracken were looking for has gone dormant, both admit.
"I don't want to predict when the election would be," McCracken says now.
As recently as late April, McCracken (rumored to be eyeing a 2009 mayoral run) was still pushing for a November vote on the light rail project, which would follow a 32-mile commuter line between Austin and Leander that is set to open late this year or early next year.
"The first principle is that we have to get the details right. ... That takes precedence over any election deadline," McCracken says now.
In short, downtown rail is once again in political limbo.
It's a long story, one that may end with a referendum this year, next year, or 2010. The good news, at least, is that the political climate will be different this time around than it was in 2000.
"I've been pushing for two years to have an election immediately," said state Rep. Mike Krusee, R-Williamson County, a member of the transit working group and a former rail skeptic who now supports it. "We're two years too late. Our downtown is literally in crisis."I think any specific, reasonable plan that moves people around downtown Austin efficiently would pass. Absolutely, no doubt in my mind."
If Krusee is on board, things have got to be looking up. Good luck getting a plan to the ballot box, Austin.
From the "You never know what may come back into style" department, the high cost of gasoline is making Geos and Hyundais the new hot cars.
Early-1990s econoboxes such as Ford Festiva, Hyundai Excel and Geo Metro -- once the punch line of jokes -- have seen their used car prices climb from giveaway levels as low as $1,100 a few months ago to upward of $6,000 today, Kelley Blue Book says."Remember that nerds will rule the world someday," says Phil Skinner, collector car market editor for KBB, the popular used car price-tracking service.
He says prices have risen up to 30% for the low-end 15-year-old jalopies.
As AAA pegged gas prices Wednesday at a record $3.758 a gallon nationwide, some of those old tin cans get gas mileage equal to today's best and pricey hybrids.
A 1993 Geo Metro XFI, a subcompact imported by General Motors, is EPA-rated at a 46 miles per gallon average. That's the same as a 2008 Toyota Prius gas-electric hybrid, which starts at $21,500.
Festiva, Excel and the others get mid-30s mpg or better on the highway. Enviable gas mileage was made possible by smaller engines: The Metro had three cylinders.
The cars were also lighter than today's models, sometimes lacking air bags and other safety features that add weight.
Experts advise taking the safety trade-off into consideration.
"What is your life worth for that extra 10 miles per gallon?" asks Jon Linkov, managing editor for autos for Consumer Reports.
OK, the safety issue is a valid concern, but it's not something that should necessarily hang you up about getting a smaller car, perhaps as a second vehicle for running errands and whatnot. One way to look at it is that a reason why smaller cars are more dangerous is the preponderance of bigass gas guzzlers. If they start to go extinct as gas prices climb, the smaller cars will be in less peril from them. The roads may look a lot different in five or ten years' time.
One more thing: Though the story doesn't mention it, the reverse is true for SUVs. Better keep those Expeditions and Suburbans in good running condition, because right now at least you're not going to get your money back when you trade them in.
Can you believe how nice the weather has been in Houston lately? About the only nicer thing I can think of is this week's Texas Progressive Alliance blog roundup. Click on for a cool breeze of the bloggy kind.
WhosPlayin took a look at the Daisetta Sinkhole and wonders what part the saltwater disposal well on the site exceeding its licensed capacity might have played.
Boadicea of Texas Kaos has a clue for hapless Congresscritter John Culberson, who had his ass handed to him on the floor of the House this week.Memo to Cubby-Read the Bill BEFORE You Speak.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme joins the chorus criticizing the border patrol's plan to use hurricane evacuation as a means to find undocumented residents.
Refinish69 has a little talk with progressives over at Doing My Part For The Left about how Tomorrow never comes.
Not all of the countywide offices up for election in Harris County this year are high profile, but some of them should be more prominent on the public's radar. Off the Kuff takes a look at one such office with his early overview of the County Attorney race.
In response to the Mainstream Media's declaration (or whitewash) that the March 29 county and senate district caucuses were perfect, Vince at Capitol Annex says otherwise in the first of several pieces that looks at individual challenges to the conventions.
$422 Million. That is what most oil companies settle out of court for with Dallas super law firm Baron & Budd this past week. But the Texas Cloverleaf asks why is Exxon the lone holdout to want to go to trial in an election year?
Harry Balczak over at McBlogger takes look at a new website that's really nailed Chris Matthews and Tim 'Gotcha' Russert.
North Texas Liberal's Texas Toad explores the GOP's tarnished brand.[Also, please note that NTL has a new home: northtexasliberal.org.]
WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on Speaker Tom Craddick giving up his number one job, protecting members of the Texas House in Lots Of Smoke, Little Fire, But Lots Of Ire.
State Sen. Rodney Ellis and other lawmakers today said they have asked the Texas attorney general to investigate the Harris County Sheriff's Office's surveillance of two brothers who successfully sued the county and the Sheriff's Office.Ellis, D-Houston, said the recent disclosure that sheriff's deputies were assigned to watch Erik and Sean Ibarra amounts to Gestapo tactics.
"We are all concerned that our Sheriff's Office is putting private citizens under surveillance," Ellis said at his downtown law office.
He was flanked by the brothers, as well as other Houston-area lawmakers.
Tom Kelly, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, said the agency has not received the lawmakers' letter but "will give it full weight and gravity" when it arrives.
[...]
Ellis said he could understand the need for surveillance if the Ibarra brothers had been charged with a crime, but they weren't.
Sean Ibarra said the surveillance was "totally wrong."
[...]
County officials have said the surveillance was part of preparation for the trial and was not illegal.
The brothers and their attorney, Lloyd Kelly, are threatening another lawsuit.
"We believe an independent outside investigation is necessary to ensure that the Sheriff's Office is not routinely violating the civil rights of the very citizens he has sworn to protect," Ellis and other lawmakers wrote to Attorney General Greg Abbott.
The letter was signed by Ellis, state Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, and state representatives Ellen Cohen, Garnet Coleman and Ana Hernandez all Democrats from Houston.
The group said they want to know whether the Sheriff's Office "investigative support unit" has made it a habit of putting private citizens under surveillance without cause.
I'm very glad to see this. I hope that there is constant pressure applied on the Sheriff's Office over this, and on the County Judge and County Attorney as well to exercise some oversight of that office, since it seems incapable to policing itself. This stuff needs to stop.
Here's KPRC's story, with video.
More to come on this, I'm sure.
The Morning News has a nice writeup on the efforts by Attorney General Greg Abbott to root out "vote fraud" in Texas.
More than two years ago, Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott pledged to root out what he called an epidemic of voter fraud in Texas.He established a special unit in his office, tapped a $1.4 million federal crime-fighting grant and dispatched investigators.
Since then, Mr. Abbott has prosecuted 26 cases - all against Democrats, and almost all involving blacks or Hispanics, a review by The Dallas Morning News shows.
The cases usually have resulted in small fines and little or no jail time, and for all the extra attention, Mr. Abbott has not unraveled any large-scale schemes with the potential to swing elections.
[...]
The cases his office pursued largely have involved mail-in ballots. In 18 of the 26 cases, the voters were eligible, votes were properly cast and no vote was changed - but the people who collected the ballots for mailing were prosecuted.
State law makes it a crime to carry someone else's filled-out ballot to the mailbox, unless the carrier puts his or her own name and address on the envelope.
Matt Angle of the Lone Star Project, a group that supports electing Democrats in Texas, said Mr. Abbott mostly has pursued "technical violations" against people who have assisted neighbors, often the elderly or disabled. He said the few ballots involved undercuts Mr. Abbott's claim that vote fraud is epidemic.
"Nobody is disputing that from time to time people in both parties, based on a desire to win, might cheat," Mr. Angle said. "But for these people to be prosecuted so aggressively is really just an exercise in intimidation. They are trying to send a message to a much larger community that voting is a risky business."
Most of what's in this story is familiar to anyone who's followed the work of the Lone Star Project or who read this recent Observer article. It's still nice to see it get some mainstream media attention. The point that I've been trying to make about all this is not that there isn't any such thing as vote fraud, but that 1) Abbott is a partisan hack whose primary interest is in suppressing Democratic turnout and bolstering the case for voter ID; and 2) despite his fervent efforts to root out fraud, he still has not found a single example where the kind of voter ID bill he supports would have made any difference.
Virtually all of the 26 voter-fraud cases Mr. Abbott pursued involve absentee ballots. None would have been prevented by requiring a photo ID at the polls.
Beyond the nakedly partisan agenda at work with voter ID, the problem I have with it is that the proposed "solutions" would do nothing at all to deter the frauds that are known to take place. If there were a serious effort to deal with that, as well as a sincere effort to ensure that people who have voted all their adult lives wouldn't suddenly find themselves declared ineligible because they don't drive or were born at home or whatever, then I'd be willing to discuss possible legal remedies. But it should be clear to all that what's actually being proposed is nothing more than a scheme to make it hard for certain people, who not coincidentally happen to vote Democratic as a general rule, to cast ballots. That ain't right, and I'll fight it every day if I have to. Which seems like as good a reason as any for mentioning the TexBlog PAC, which is within a few bucks of having raised $10K online. Please help us help those who will push back against Abbott's shenanigans.
Maybe it's because my high school didn't have any modern athletic facilities while I was there - our "home games" for baseball, basketball, and football were all played someplace else, and all these years later I still have no idea where that was - but I've never been the least bit enamored with high school sports. So while I can't say I'm surprised that there is such a thing as a booster club for high school sports teams, one whose main function is fundraising, I am a bit surprised at just how much funds some of these groups are able to attract.
Financial data reviewed by the Chronicle in response to a Freedom of Information Act request shows booster clubs continue to further the financial divide between urban and suburban high schools.Katy High School, which budgeted $244,065 for athletics in 2006-07, received an additional $372,444 from its booster club. The club serves all Katy High School sports.
The athletic department at Lamar received $285,345 from its booster club in the same period, while Clements received $181,614.
However, 19 of 22 Houston Independent School District high schools (Kashmere was unavailable) either don't have athletic booster clubs or have clubs that provided less than $25,000 in support. Four of the six clubs in the Katy ISD earned more than $50,000, while eight of the 10 in Fort Bend ISD brought in more than $32,000.
"We aren't suffering to support our athletic programs right now, but we are definitely always in need," Furr football coach Cornell Gray said.
[...]
For the Katy booster club, the football game program is the biggest moneymaker. The club earns most of its money from the sale of ads in the program and the sales of programs at games.
"We are in a fortunate situation where everyone wants to be a part of Katy football, so every business will buy an ad and every parent and fan will buy a program," Katy booster club co-president Ken Sumrall said. "Not every school is going to be in that situation."
Take Wheatley, for example. While the Wildcats also feature a rich tradition, they do not have the resources of Katy. With more large corporations inside Houston proper, Wheatley lacks some of the support Katy gets from mom-and-pop businesses. As a result, Wheatley, with a basketball program that has made 25 state-tournament appearances, has a booster club that earned less than $25,000.
"We aren't lacking success in our athletic programs -- look at track and baseball and softball right now," Wade said. "We aren't lacking the tradition. It's just the financial support."
Some booster clubs don't need the support of local businesses. Instead, they count on benefactors. The Lamar High School athletic booster club made more than $284,000 of its $285,345 in total revenue from direct donations and contributions -- including alumni and parents -- to the school.
I don't know what, if anything, could or should be done about this. It strikes me as inherently unfair, but I can't think of any justifiable reason to put limits on donations to such clubs. The best answer would be to ensure that all schools have a sufficient level of funding to cover all the basic needs with enough extra to allow for variety and experimentation, but we all know what the odds are of that right now. So read this as an educational experience, and marvel at how well the Wheatleys can do with so much less than some of their peers.
A gentleman named Dean Becker of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition just published interviews with Harris County DA candidates Clarence Bradford and Pat Lykos. The subject is primarily the "war on drugs" and its effects, but there's some more general stuff in there as well. Both are available as MP3s and written transcripts. For Bradford, here's the MP3 file, and here's the transcript. For Lykos, here's the MP3 file, and here's the transcript. I'll give a brief highlight of Bradford's interview to whet your appetite:
Dean Becker: Have we made any progress on this drug war, say in the last five years?Clarence Bradford: I think that we must understand that dealing with drugs, the enforcement component, the interdiction--we've worked hard there and we've spent a lot of resources in that area but we've done very, very little when it comes to prevention and education. You cannot be effective in the drug war, in my view, if you don't have a effective education component and rehabilitation component to the strategy. And that's where we failed.
Dean Becker: It is my hope that, my gosh, there's growing public awareness even within the legislature and so forth and our fiscal resources are being drained and we can't afford to lock up the world's largest amount of prisoners here in Texas anymore. Do you think there's any chance the legislators will make some changes in the next five years?
Clarence Bradford: I think that if we look at Harris County, the last election, we had five Harris County bond proposals on the ballot. They all passed except one and that was to build a new 2,500 bed jail facility. The voters said no, they're not going to do that. And I think they said 'no' because, not that they want criminals loose on the streets, they want criminals held accountable by means other than locking everyone up. In the news now, we are shipping hundreds of prisoners, Harris County prisoners, over to the State of Louisiana, paying companies to house Harris County prisoners. I think that's not the thing we should be doing. We should be looking at the precious bed space we have and exercising good fiscal stewardship of the resources we currently have to keep people in Texas, house people in Texas and reduce the number of people that we are incarcerating. Again, not to allow violent criminals or repeat offenders or anyone who poses a threat to the community, don't let those people go free, that's not what I'm an advocate of. I'm not soft on crime but I do believe that we must use the precious bed space that we have.
[...]
Dean Becker: You know the crime lab here has been shut down for the fourth time in six years for incompetence, corruption, you name it, and you were police chief during one of those shut downs but you're not some CSI scientist and by virtue of the fact that it keeps on failing long after you left I'm not assigning blame to you. My good friend Attorney Jeff Blackburn and his Texas Innocence Project keep getting people released from prison because of bad lab work done all over this state. And I'm asking you, sir, what can we do to protect the innocent from false evidence and lazy dry labbing techniques?
Clarence Bradford: Thank you. When I became police chief, Mayor Bob Lanier appointed me police chief in 1996, I continued to rely on the same crime lab, the DNA section supervisor who two previous police chiefs have relied on because I don't have a science or biology degree, so I relied on that person. Now we've learned subsequently that that person had been doing a poor job all along and was doing a poor job then. The crime lab has been a problem, it has been documented since 1980. It continues to be a problem today, in my view, and it will continue to be a problem until we establish an independent process, a process that the crime lab is independent of the police department, independent of the district attorney's office and where scientists are allowed to do their work and evidence speaks for itself. It must be independent, in short, for this reason. To get the proper resources that are needed for the crime lab and the proper scientific oversight, we need to have a laboratory that is independent of the police department and the district attorney's office.
Good stuff, so check it out. Found via Becker's Chron blog.
There's been so much bad news for preservationists lately that it's nice to hear about a win every now and then. Like this story, about reusing a historic building instead of tearing it down.
"What the heck is that?"That was Scott Tycer's first reaction to the Oriental Textile Mill that has loomed in the Heights since 1894.
He was startled in a good way: Struck by its size and its smokestack and clock tower.
He first laid eyes on it in October when he was searching for a bigger space for Kraftsmen Baking, his wholesaler of artisan bread.
Immediately, he felt the then-gutted space would make a great new home for Kraftsmen, and he inked a deal.
For a business moving into a historic building in need of renovation, there are pros and cons.
The downside: Getting a 114-year-old building into shape can be costly.
The upside: Creating civic good will and an enhanced reputation for your company adds to the daily pleasure of working at a place with distinctive architecture.
Besides, given the spiraling costs of construction materials, renovating a historic structure may cost less than building something new, builders note.
In some cases, when the building is on the National Register of Historic Places or considered a local landmark, there are tax breaks to be had.
In Tycer's case he is spending "a good amount of money" to bring the building up to code, he said.
But $250,000 is worth it, he said.
"The building fits in with our mission statement: sustainable local artisanship," Tycer said. "I'd rather take something with a psychological imprint on the community and recycle it."
I applaud the sentiment, and I hope others emulate it. The point about the rising cost of construction materials may help push a few in that direction. Whatever the motivation, the end result is what matters. Nicely done, Mr. Tycer.
The colossally ineffective TIERS system has been given the go-ahead to expand in Texas, though not by very much.
The federal agency that oversees food stamps this week agreed to let Texas expand a new computer enrollment system in a limited way.The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service had warned the state Health and Human Services Commission that it had concerns about the computer system known as TIERS, in part because the state has struggled to process food stamp cases as quickly as required. Processing time for cases in TIERS has lagged significantly behind cases processed in the state's older computer system.
This week, William Ludwig of the Food and Nutrition Service told Hawkins in a letter that Texas may expand use of TIERS, but only to 22 percent of food stamp cases. About 13 percent are in TIERS now, according to commission spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman.
Ludwig wrote that although the state has made efforts to improve customer service, "far too many approvals remain untimely and call center performance needs to be more constant."
Call me crazy, but I'd think the proper response for a system that doesn't work is to fix it or throw it out, not force it on more people. But what do I know? Well, I know there will be more problems, that's for sure. I just hope it's not as bad as I think it will be.
Not exactly a single-serving site, but sort of one in spirit: Things Younger Than John McCain. Like, for instance, the Golden Gate Bridge. And Cheerios, and the shopping cart, and the concept of an area code, and...you get the idea. Honesty compels me to report, however, that Abe Vigoda is not among them.
The day before his scheduled court date, now-former State Rep. Nathan Macias has dropped his lawsuit to overturn the result of the GOP primary in HD73.
Macias had sought to overturn his 17-vote defeat to [Edwards Aquifer Authority Chairman Doug] Miller in the election and ensuing recount."As you can imagine, to try any case in the court system is not only a matter of the facts or truth, but also includes matters judgment, matters of procedure and quite frankly resources," said Macias in a Friday press release. "So my family and I have determined it best for all parties involved to no longer pursue this election in the courts."
With a Republican nominee in place after more than three months of recounts and litigation, Miller now will face Democrat Daniel Boone in the November general election.
"I'm elated," Miller said. "It's been a long process. I think people were tired of hearing about the Republican primary. On behalf of all the voters in District 73, I'm glad this is over."
The incumbent's lawsuit claimed a number of factors had led to the election results being invalid, including illegal double-voting, clerical errors by election officials and possible fraud across the four-county district.
Macias said in the release that an ongoing criminal investigation is being done by the state attorney general's office to determine if anything illegal took place on election night.
"After awhile I felt like had to defend the people of District 73," Miller said. "They're good people. Nobody cheated or did anything illegal."
That's not what matters. What matters is that this was a Republican primary, so there was never any chance that AG Greg Abbott would file any charges against anyone.
Be that as it may, I'm glad for this. Macias was a wholly-owned subsidiary of James Leininger, so his departure means that the voucher man got even less bang for his five million bucks in 2006. And given Macias's incredibly whiny and petulant statement upon his concession, which Karen Brooks reprints, I doubt too many people will miss him now that he's gone.
Rep. Lon Burnam wrote a letter (PDF) to House Investigations Chair Larry Phillips in the matter of the so-called "ghost workers" and asked a question: What about Terry Keel?
As you know, the House Parliamentarian, Terry Keel, is a "permanent full-time" employee of the Texas House earning nearly $140,000 a year. If Speaker Craddick is going to use taxpayer dollars to investigate three of his foes for employees earning a few hundred dollars a month, the importance of ensuring taxpayers that a $140,000 a year employee -- a substantially higher cost to the state -- is actually dedicating 40 hours per week tot the Texas House over and above his own criminal defense firm cannot be overstated.Additionally, I would greatly appreciate assurance that whatever system Speaker Craddick currently uses to track work time of his employees, including those with outside employment and those running for elected office, will be included in your investigation.
Perfectly reasonable, I think. For those of you in and around Austin, BOR would like for you to help Phillips with his investigation by keeping an eye out for Keel. Let's all do our part to help ensure compliance.
Swamplot notes an earlier version of the Chron story about the new Whole Foods coming to West Dallas and Waugh, which says that the accompanying residential high rise will be at West Dallas and Montrose. See this photo, which Swamplot helpfully included in his post, for the location. That changes things, as it makes the scope here a lot bigger. I hope the developers have noticed just how dense and urban this area is becoming and build accordingly, instead of the typical suburban-style tract with a huge parking lot that this HAIF thread worries about. If ever there was a place in Houston where it would be convenient for a large number of people to walk or bike to the grocery store, this would be it. Please don't screw it up.
On a related note, here's a look at the revised plans for Regent Square, the still-to-come development on the site of the old Allen House apartments. The eastern portion of that property, which hasn't yet undergone demolition, will be a mere block or two away from the Dallas/Waugh intersection. Which is to say, easy walking distance. Are you listening, Whole Foods and Marvy Finger?
I grew up with The Electric Company - it was one of my favorite shows as a kid. I've got the "Best Of" DVD, which I can't wait to start watching with Olivia and Audrey. So I'm pretty excited to hear that a new version of the show is in the works.
Steady work has been scarce for actors in gorilla suits since "The Electric Company" went dark in 1977.But all that changes this week as shooting begins in Washington Heights and the Lower East Side on an ambitious reboot of the PBS literacy series that turned on a generation of schoolchildren to the rudiments of reading. The first graduates of "Sesame Street" found in "The Electric Company" a companion piece that relied on pun-filled sketches, Spider-Man cameos, and lots of primate shtick, all backed by a Motown beat.
Refitted for the age of hip-hop and informed by decades of further educational research on reading, the 2009 version of "The Electric Company" is a weekly, more danceable version of its former daily self. The series, which is expected to make its debut in January, faces challenges the original never did (trying to stand out amid so much children's programming and to shake the stigma of educational television) as well as familiar ones (trying to make reading a positive experience for youngsters).
"It's the old one mixed with 'High School Musical' and a Dr Pepper commercial," said Linda Simensky, senior director of programming for PBS Kids, a block of children's shows that will include "The Electricity Company." There's a touch of "Fame" to it, given its cast of culturally diverse city kids who sing and dance, as well as nods to the original series. (A cameo has been offered to Rita Moreno, a regular on the original "Electric Company," remembered for her show-opening exultation, "Hey, you guyyyyys!")
[...]
In keeping with the original show's ties to theater (many in the cast, like Morgan Freeman, had stage backgrounds), the new head writer is a Tony-Award-nominated playwright and lyricist, Willie Reale, with experience in children's theater ("A Year With Frog and Toad").
In the first episode Mr. Reale establishes the show's conceit: Somewhere in the big city lies a natural-foods diner that is headquarters to a not-so-secret society known as the Electric Company. The four semi-superheroes who meet there -- Keith, Jessica, Lisa and Hector -- have pledged not only to use their powers for good but also to eat sensible portions of healthy meals. The gang ranges in age from 13 to 20 and can scramble, recall, project and animate words in astounding ways.
Plotting nefariously is a clutch of comical misfits and poseurs known as the Pranksters. "They're villains without being villainous," said Scott Cameron, the show's research director, "just neighborhood kids who cause chaos."
The show will join an expanding lineup of reading-readiness shows on PBS Kids. It will differ from the original in that each episode will emphasize vocabulary from five "conceptual domains" (animals, the body, weather, ecosystems and the solar system) and tell a story in multiple acts, interspersed with splashes of animated and live-action lessons in phonics. As the last of the Pranksters was being cast in late April, taping had begun in a small studio near Lincoln Center in Manhattan on short segments. They will carry the show's educational load, a curriculum forged over two years of research and testing. As has been done with previous Sesame Workshop series, "The Electric Company" will undergo extensive testing during production and after its first season's 26 episodes have been broadcast.
I suppose I have some of the same reservations about the show morphing from sketch comedy to something plot-driven, but I think that's reflective of today's tastes. I'm going to TiVo it when it airs and see if I can get Olivia into it, and if I'm successful, we'll delve into those DVDs for a little comparison testing. Those of you who remember the original, what do you think about this?
When Obama Wins fortune cookies really win end with "in bed". Among other things. Remember that post on single-serving sites? When Obama Wins is your new bicycle. That is all.
It's always funny how there's never any money in the budget for some things, while for others the sky is the limit. For example, the polygamist sect raid, for which the costs are mounting every day.
Last month's raid of a West Texas polygamist sect's ranch and the removal of the more than 460 children living there has cost the state at least $10 million in sheltering and legal costs, according to estimates provided by state offices Friday.Records released by Gov. Rick Perry's office show $7.5 million in estimated costs for April, including expenses related to the weeklong search of the Yearning for Zion Ranch, run by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a breakaway Mormon sect.
The costs of sheltering the children and some of their mothers for three weeks in San Angelo city facilities added to the offices' estimate. The period covered ends April 23, after the state had won temporary custody of the children based on arguments that underage marriages at the ranch put all of them at risk of child abuse, and was moving them to foster facilities around the state.
Additionally, the state's Office of Court Administration estimated legal costs associated with the custody wrangling has been $2.3 million.
The legal costs to the state include $226,820 for court costs, expert witness and consulting fees; $865,917 for court personnel and visiting judges; and $1.16 million for copies and travel for the hundreds of lawyers donating their time to represent the children as court-appointed attorneys ad litem.
Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, who represents a city where about 40 percent of the sect's children are now in foster care, said the state can't put a price tag on protecting children.
"On its face, it seems like a high number," he said. "I'm just glad we're erring on the side of caution when it comes to children."
I admire Sen. Uresti, but he's wrong about this. We're not erring on the side of caution, we're just simply erring (large PDF file).
It is clear from the recently unsealed Colorado Springs arrest warrant affidavit for Rozita Swinton that Texas authorities were well aware of the fact that the two telephones utilized to make numerous calls to the New Bridge Family Shelter "Crisis Hotline" in San Angelo were registered to telephone numbers outside the State of Texas. This information, together with the determination that the alleged perpetrator, Dale Barlow, was not present on the premises prior to initiation of the search, warranted further investigation.Both of these telephones had Colorado Springs, Colorado area codes (area code 719). Upon calling the Colorado Springs Police Department (Sergeant Mandel) Texas authorities were immediately advised that one of these telephone numbers was associated with an individual who had made numerous "false reports of sexual abuse to police agencies" in the Colorado Springs area. All-in-all the investigation reveals that Rozita Swinton has been linked to false allegations of sexual abuse to over ten different child protection and law enforcement agencies, dating back to 2005, in cities across the country from Monroe, Washington to Ft. Meyers, Florida.
That's via Grits, who's owned this story, and who points out that there are questions of legal procedure being raised that may taint any evidence gathered anyway. Between the provably bogus phone tip, the lack of any real evidence of abuse, and the trauma that's being inflicted on these children by separating them from their families, it's really hard for me to see how any of this, not just the cost, can be justified. I hope Sen. Uresti and all of his colleagues will take a more skeptical view of this situation.
There are other considerations as well. Such as the state basically telling these folks to renounce their faith if they want their kids back.
In advance of court hearings that begin Monday, Child Protective Services has drafted 10 goals and 14 tasks that parents will have to work toward to regain custody of their children.CPS is proposing to give parents until next April to "provide a home free of persons who have or will abuse" children and "demonstrate the ability to protect the child[ren] from sexual abuse." The children will remain in state custody until a judge is satisfied that the parents have complied.
On Wednesday, CPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins stressed that the guidelines - known as service plans - are silent about plural marriage and religious beliefs of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
"This is not about polygamy and it is not about religion," Mr. Crimmins said. "It is about child sexual abuse and our commitment to protect children."
He said, though, that youngsters were removed from the ranch because "children could not be safe there. We are trying to determine what acceptable living arrangements the parents can develop so the children are safe and protected."
[...]
Susan Hays of Dallas, a court-appointed lawyer for a 2-year-old girl removed from the sect's ranch, said many of the women lack job training and would have a hard time making it in modern society as single mothers.
University of Texas law professor Jack Sampson said that under national and state welfare reform laws, which spell out time limits and other requirements, cash assistance to the mothers wouldn't last long.
Ms. Hays said some mothers "certainly could" have to choose between their religious beliefs and their children.
"Child rape is not part of their faith," Ms. Hays said of the group. "Polygamy is. Somewhere in between there is where faith ends and abuse begins. The state needs to articulate how they see it."
Mr. Sampson, an expert on family law, said there's no infringement on freedom of association and religion when the state must save children. He said state laws "do not recognize this as an exercise of religion" because underage sect girls have been sexually assaulted and teenage boys abandoned.
"Religion does not give you the right to sacrifice virgins as the Aztecs used to do. These people sacrifice virgins," Mr. Sampson said.
Ms. Hays countered: "These people are very Old Testament and they believe that God didn't come back and say, 'Never mind' to polygamy. Like Jews, Christians and Muslims, they're children of Abraham. And I believe Abraham was a polygamist."
For all the blathering we get from certain politicians about the need to respect people of faith, this doesn't seem very respectful of the FLDS faith. If the evidence in this case were stronger and less tainted, I'd have more sympathy for the government's actions here. But given how screwed up it all is, I'm very reluctant to see this go any farther. And the next time there's a big kerfuffle over public expressions of Christian belief, keep this in mind. It's not about religion, it's about a particular flavor of religion.
One last point, from Introspections of a Plural Wife:
Very interesting interview on the Today Show this morning (May 12, 2008), with two couples and Willie Jessop of the YFZ ranch, discussing their efforts to see their children.One mother said that she has a daughter in state custody who is 23, but who the state of Texas insists is 15 or 16 years old. She says her daughter has a birth certificate and a driver's license, and that she herself submitted her own driver's license and attested to her daughter's age, but the state will not accept any of the identification as legitimate.
Emphasis mine. If this is true, then why are we about to have a debate about voter ID? I mean, if some random agent of the state can dismiss your driver's license and birth certificate as not being a legitimate form of identification, then what's the point of being required to display them? Again, just something to keep in mind.
Your moment of Science! for the weekend.
[T]he population of Texas wild pigs -- now topping 2 million -- is exploding thanks to high reproductive rates and few natural predators.The Texas AgriLife Extension Service estimates the hogs cause $50 million in damage each year.
But the answer may be coming from a lab at Texas A&M University, where a team of researchers is testing an oral contraceptive for the hogs and other pests. It may even become applicable for pets like cats and dogs.
Duane Kraemer, a professor of veterinary physiology and pharmacology who heads the team at Texas A&M, said ranchers and farmers who hear about his research want to know more, "but development of an oral contraceptive for an animal that people eat and is to be released into the environment is a complex issue, no question about it."
The contraceptive, called a phosphodiesterase 3 inhibitor and in development for about a year and a half, is now in a capsule form and has been fed to captive pigs at the university's research facility.
"It does appear to be effective," Kraemer said, in preventing the females' eggs from maturing.
"The animals can continue to cycle and breed," Kraemer said. "Their behaviors are the same, except they don't get pregnant."
[...]
He estimates it could be three to five years before the Pill for pigs is readily available. The next step in the research is to get some experience outside the lab, where the test pigs have gobbled up the drug mixed with Oreo cookies.
Clearly, some other delivery system for the drug other than cookies will be required in the field. Already, he said he's got offers from "quite a few people" eager to participate in the testing on their land.
Among hurdles yet to be overcome are how often the drug will be dispensed, how to get it only to the animals that need to be controlled and assurances that long-term environmental damage won't result from any drugs not consumed or left behind in animal waste.
"It's got to be effective, it's got to be specific, it's got to be acceptable to meat consumed by humans ... and it's got to be environmentally safe," Kraemer said.
Good luck with that. It's the part about getting the wild pigs to eat it that will be the most interesting to test, I suspect. And let's please keep studying this after it's finally released to monitor for unintended consequences, OK? Thanks.
The fight over the border fence moves to a new front.
Texas mayors and business leaders filed a class-action lawsuit Friday alleging Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff hoodwinked landowners into waiving their property rights for construction of a fence along the Mexican border.Members of the Texas Border Coalition said Chertoff did not fairly negotiate compensation with landowners for access to their land for six-month surveys to choose fence sites. The coalition of mayors and business and community leaders is seeking an injunction to block work on the fence.
They also want a federal judge to rescind all the agreements with landowners and to order Chertoff to start again. The department has sought and won access from hundreds of landowners to determine where to build the fence and other barriers to illegal border crossings.
The coalition's attorney, Peter Schey, said Chertoff violated a 1996 immigration law that requires fair negotiation with landowners.
The lawsuit also names Robert Janson, director of Asset Management at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as a defendant.
It was filed with U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton, a Bush nominee who presided in the criminal case of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff.
"They hoodwinked property owners" into waiving their property rights, Schey said.
"This whole thing has been built on a foundation of lawlessness," he said.
The Rio Grande Guardian lays out the specifics:
The lawsuit asserts that DHS and CBP have violated:* Border landowners' statutory right to negotiation over a "reasonable" price prior to the taking of property for the purpose of constructing segments of fence along the 1,200-mile stretch of Texas-Mexico border.
* The due process rights of property owners by failing to issue and make public any rules, regulations, or directives on how negotiations should take place or how the government will determine a "reasonable" price for the property it wishes to seize.
* The equal protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment by giving certain politically well-connected property owners a pass on having the border fence built on their property.
* The 2008 DHS Appropriation law and the due process rights of property owners by failing to issue and make public any rules, regulations, or directives on how required "consultation" with property owners will take place and how the concerns of property owners will be considered.
In addition, the lawsuit contends that the Secretary of Homeland Security has unlawfully failed to exercise his discretion as required by the 2008 DHS Appropriation Act to select the most practical and effective locations to build the border wall, rather than the locations set in the now-repealed provisions of the Secure Fence Act of 2006.
[...]
In the legal complaint, TBC charges that Chertoff failed to clearly define the interest he sought in South Texas landowners' property under the Declaration of Taking Act, and did not attempt to negotiate with the lawful owners a fixed price for the land.
"Federal laws require that DHS and CBP negotiate with property owners to arrive at a reasonable price for their property and consult with them to minimize adverse consequences of the planned border wall," said Schey, lead counsel for TBC. "Yet, DHS and CBP have failed to issue any publicly available rules or regulations to implement these obligations, and failed to inform property owners that they have rights under these federal laws.
"DHS and CBP either have no rules and are proceeding from the seat of their pants, or they have rules and have illegally failed to share them with property owners who are forced to proceed in the dark. No one supports building a border wall on a foundation of lawlessness," Schey added.
The complaint also alleges that DHS and CBP failed to comply with new mandates in the recently enacted Consolidation Appropriations Act of 2008, which requires consultation with private property owners, cities, and other stakeholders to "minimize the impact on the environment, culture, commerce, and quality of life" in communities where the border wall is to be constructed.
[...]
The lawsuit cites at least one media report indicating that DHS and CBP plans to build the border wall through city and county-owned land, while bypassing property owned by such wealthy, and politically connected Texans as Dallas billionaire Ray Hunt, a close friend of President George W. Bush. Hunt recently donated $35 million to Southern Methodist University to help build Bush's presidential library.
Foster said he has never received any logical answers from DHS and CBP as to why certain areas in his city have been targeted for fencing over other areas. "I puzzled a while over why the fence would bypass the industrial park and go through the city park," he said.
The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief requiring DHS and CBP to comply with the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 as amended in 2008 and the taking clause and due process and equal protection guarantees of the Fifth Amendment.
That media report would be this Texas Observer story. I'd love to see that get explored in more detail. The Monitor has more on the lawsuit, which you can view for yourself here (PDF). I wish the plaintiffs much good luck with it.
Stories like this really amuse me.
It's hard to imagine The Woodlands Waterway as a drainage ditch, but that's exactly what it was more than 30 years ago.Today, the 1.25-mile linear park and pedestrian/transit corridor is the heart of a growing urban center.
Such urban centers -- high-density places where people like to gather -- are a burgeoning trend, particularly in suburban areas across the country.
''People in the suburbs are desperate for an interesting urban experience, a sense of community or civic place," said Alan Ward, principal of Sasaki Associates, an international urban design and planning firm based in Boston and San Francisco.
It's fortunate I wasn't drinking anything when I encountered that quote. To sum up the silliness of this enterprise, let me quote some Rush lyrics at you:
"Any escape might help to smooth the unattractive truth
But the suburbs have no charms to soothe the restless dreams of youth"
Or, apparently, of not-so-youthful people, either.
Look, I'm happy that the Woodlands found a way to bring a little city charm to its suburban paradise, even if it's kind of a Disneyland "Main Street USA" thing. Who knows, maybe some folks there will eventually figure out that there's nothing like the real thing. In the meantime, have fun pretending you're in the city, Woodlanders.
The Domino Effect. Totally awesome.
The Academy Awards needs to have a category for this sort of thing. Thanks to Mike McGuff for the link.
KTRK's Ted Oberg advances the ball on the Big Sheriff Is Watching You story.
It's no surprise that when Sheriff Thomas was sued, the county's lawyers wanted to know who was suing. That's pretty standard in any lawsuit. To do that background work, the county attorney has 10 investigators on his staff. You pay those investigators - nearly $721,000 a year in salary alone, but in this case - with the sheriff being sued himself - his office didn't call the county attorney at all.Instead the surveillance instead was done by the sheriff's investigative support unit - a group of detectives led by Major Juan Jorge.
Jorge is the one according to the sheriff's office who ordered and supervised the surveillance mission and he isn't returning our calls.
If his detectives came up with anything they certainly didn't write it down or even document their trip to the house. We checked.
We have every report or document the investigative support unit created in the last two years - that doesn't concern an ongoing investigation. And there's nothing, not even a single document or email, on the Ibarra surveillance. So whatever they found they never passed it on, leading to the still unanswered question - why were they doing it and what did they find?
My guess? They found nothing, because if they had found anything remotely unsavory, they'd have found a way to publicize it, or to use it in the trial. But they got bupkis, so they did what they could to bury the whole thing. Thankfully, they were as effective at that as they were at digging the dirt.
Your County government at work:
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett in his first comments on the issue admits he's talked to the Sheriff about the surveillance.Ted Oberg: Have you asked the sheriff why he did it?
Judge Ed Emmett: No.
Oberg: Have you asked any questions about the surveillance?
Emmett: We had a brief conversation.
Oberg: Have you asked the sheriff any questions about whether he knew it was going on or why?
Emmett: No I did not.
Oberg: What questions have you asked the Sheriff?
Emmett: That's between me and the sheriff.
Oberg: You're also the leader of county government and we'd like to know what you are doing to address this issue?
Emmett: I think what I am doing is very public.But he's not doing anything on the surveillance issue. It is in his mind a settled legal case and he is leaving it the sheriff to decide if anything needs to be done now or in the future.
Ted Oberg: In this instance, is it right or wrong?
Judge Ed Emmett: In this circumstance, I will not talk about it. It's a settled case.
As Oberg notes, the Ibarras are talking about filing another suit, which would make this case rather unsettled right now. Last month, the question was asked by blogHouston when "some grownup in Harris County government [would] insist to Sheriff Thomas that he's wasted enough of the public's money". Apparently, Judge Emmett is not interested in being that grownup. Note also that Sheriff Thomas isn't speaking about this, so as yet, we have no answers as to why this surveillance, which should have been conducted by the County Attorney's office, was done in this fashion. Any more questions about why it's time for a change in Harris County?
Not too surprisingly, small businesses are complaining about the new margins tax even though it still hasn't been officially collected yet.
Small businesses launched a fresh push to change the revamped franchise tax Thursday, saying they're facing huge increases that will force them to raise prices and put off hiring people or making planned purchases."It's a boondoggle that's nailed small business to the wall," said Kurt Summers, an Austin businessman with the National Federation of Independent Business/Texas.
He spoke at a meeting of the coalition, which includes NFIB/Texas, the Independent Electrical Contractors of Texas, Air Conditioning Contractors of America Texas Chapter, Associated Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors of Texas and Texas Courier & Logistics Association.
There was a suggestion of a ballot-box backlash based on the tax, which hasn't yet been collected. Tax reports had been due Thursday, but State Comptroller Susan Combs pushed that back to June 16.
Asked if the issue would affect how he votes in November, Jason Miller of San Antonio-based Dependable Express didn't hesitate: "Absolutely. I'm definitely going to look out for those that are going to look out for us."
His wife, Shelly Miller, said their company, because it was organized as a limited liability partnership, didn't have to pay the previous franchise tax. She said figures are being worked on but that she can already tell that the new tax bill will be higher than they'd expected.
"The money we had set aside to hire another person and purchase another large truck -- we're not able to offer that position and not able to buy" the vehicle, she said.
Rod Steinbrook of Supershot Delivery Service in Houston said he's expecting an increase from about a $500 bill under the old franchise tax to either $11,000 or $15,000 under the new tax, depending how it's figured.
"We'll have to raise prices," he said. "We're hampered with the fuel costs, also."
I have some sympathy for these folks. This tax is the sort of public policy you get when you have unwieldy restrictions like the constitutional ban on a state income tax and a shortsighted head-in-the-sand political environment that forbids any rational talk about the appropriate level and distribution of taxation. One reason why this tax made it through was the lack of opposition from the big corporations, who knew they'd make up the difference in property tax cuts. The smaller guys got shafted, and I can't blame them for being upset and wanting to do something about it.
But the sympathy only goes so far. The fact was that the old franchise tax was a joke, and was in dire need of replacement. Whether the margins tax is the best we can do, given current conditions, is certainly debatable, but what shouldn't be debatable is the idea that some form of business tax, one that actually gets levied on most businesses, is a requirement for a tax system in today's economy. Simply repealing it doesn't solve anything, especially given that this tax was imposed to (partially) pay for the massive property tax cuts of 2006. In an ideal world, we'd burn the whole thing down and start over from scratch, but since that will inevitably lead to verboten topics like an income tax, that ain't gonna happen. All I'm saying is that in the absence of a complete reboot, we need to accept the idea that the tax burden needs to be shared more broadly if we're serious about offering relief to anyone who really needs it.
We may finally have an agreement for what to do with the Astrodome.
Entrepreneurs seeking to reinvent the Astrodome as an upscale convention hotel have reached a proposed lease agreement with the Harris County Sports and Convention Corp., county officials said today.But before the deal can become a reality, the sports corporation will enter into what are expected to be thorny negotiations with the Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo over whether the convention hotel would violate their rights.
"We expect that when the rodeo gets this, they will have questions, and there will be negotiating and compromising," said County Attorney Mike Stafford.
The proposed lease was expected months ago, but it took the sports corporation longer than expected to work out details because the county attorney's office has been reviewing it carefully, Stafford said.
The last update I have on this was February 20. I sometimes forget it's still out there, in need of some form of resolution. The last real news had to do with the quarrel between County Judge Ed Emmett and the rest of Commissioners Court over whether or not to give Astrodome Redevelopment more time to negotiate a lease. I'm not even sure what deadlines were still in effect, if any.
Commissioners Court will have final whether the convention hotel goes forward.The court could decide to approve the deal without getting the Texans and the rodeo to sign off on it. But a top rodeo official has threatened to file a lawsuit if the rodeo believes that its rights are violated.
Whether the deal happens "depends on the will of Commissioners Court," Stafford said. "If their will is strong enough, I think this (proposal) will be carried out."
It's been six months since the Texans and the Rodeo first voiced their complaints. You'd think there could at least have been some back-room negotiations going on with them. I think in the end, this is likely to go forward regardless. But it would be nice if we could avoid another lawsuit.
The proposed 50-year lease calls for Astrodome Redevelopment to pay the county $2.5 million in rent, plus 2 percent of adjusted gross revenues annually. Astrodome Redevelopment has estimated the county could receive about $6 million annually from rent and its share of adjusted gross revenues.The rent would rise 3 percent every fifth year. And the county would receive 3 percent of adjusted gross revenues annually starting the hotel's sixth year of operations.
I've said before that I'm basically okay with this concept. If some private company wants to spend its own money trying to make a successful go at a hotel/convention center from the Dome, I say knock yourselves out. This ought to relieve the County of its ongoing expenses with the Dome, and who knows, it might even work. As long as we won't be left holding the bag in the event it doesn't work, I see no harm in this.
Seems to me if you're going to go on the record to condemn a bill for containing pork-barrel provisions, you ought to be able to name at least one such provision in said bill if asked to do so. You know, to demonstrate that you've at least read the bill that you're condemning. Otherwise, this may happen:
John Culberson (R-TX): ...it contains provisions that have nothing to do with our troop's survival and safety in the field. To burden our troops with pork, with tax increases, with special provisions that have nothing to do with the war, adds to, I think, the obvious misuse of the process and I urge members to vote against the pork and support our troops.David Obey (D-WI): I yield myself 30 seconds...I'd like the gentleman from Texas to point out a single piece of member pork in this bill.
Culberson: Does the gentleman yield?
Obey: Yes.
Culberson: Mr., Mr. Chairman, there's a number of un-un-unnecessary provisions in this...
Obey: Name one.
Culberson: Well, why are we separating out, sir, why aren't we just passing...
Obey: (nearly yelling) Name one.
Culberson: Why are we...
Obey: (yelling, finger pointing) Can you name one or can't you? The fact is there is not a single piece of member pork in this bill. You ought to...
(pounding gavel, "time expired")
Culberson: (inaudible)...why are we passing provisions in this bill with tax increases?
There's video as well, so go see for yourself. Sometimes it's just too easy, you know? Oh, and support Michael Skelly. Among other things, he won't do that.
Imagine if instead of building more highways we got rid of some of them, or at least relocated them.
Oklahoma has a radical solution for repairing the state's busiest highway.Tear it down. Build a park.
The aging Crosstown Expressway -- an elevated 4.5-mile stretch of Interstate 40 -- will be demolished in 2012. An old-fashioned boulevard and a mile-long park will be constructed in its place.
Oklahoma City is doing what many cities dream about: saying goodbye to a highway.
More than a dozen cities have proposals to remove highways from downtowns. Cleveland wants to remove a freeway that blocks its waterfront. Syracuse, N.Y., wants to rid itself of an interstate that cuts the city in half.
[...]
In the 1950s and '60s, mayors, governors and planners thought downtown highways would help keep cities alive by paving the way for suburban commuters to get in and out. Today, many of those same groups view downtown highways as a plague, wrecking neighborhoods, dividing cities and blocking waterfronts. Many big cities have long-term plans that call for eliminating some downtown highways or reducing their scale.
The future of many of these highways will be decided in the next few years because the old roads are nearing the end of their life expectancies. The federal, state and local governments must decide whether it's smarter and cheaper to renovate highways or to build new routes.
Some cities want traffic routed around downtowns. Others want tunnels or highways that pass under streets. A number of cities want to close highways and replace them with -- nothing.
In Oklahoma City, the interstate will be moved five blocks from downtown to an old railroad line. The new 10-lane highway, expected to carry 120,000 vehicles daily, will be placed in a trench so deep that city streets can run atop it, as if the highway weren't there.
The old highway will be converted into a tree-lined boulevard city officials hope will become Oklahoma City's marquee street.
By tearing down the Crosstown Expressway, the city hopes to spur development of 80 city blocks stretching from downtown to the Oklahoma River -- an area that contains vacant lots, car repair shops and a few small homes.
"We've always been a good place to live, but we've never had a city we could show off," Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett says. "Moving the expressway makes it possible for a day to come when hundreds or thousands of people will live downtown."
Imagine what Houston's downtown might look like if the elevated highways that bound it had been built as tunnels instead. Midtown, south of the I-45 Pierce Elevated, might not have been the blighted wasteland that served as post-apocalyptic Detroit in the Robocop movies back in the 80s. The just-beginning-to-gentrify areas immediately east of US59 might have been a part of downtown all along instead of being spoken of as an extension of its boundaries. Obviously we can't know what things might look like now, but it's an interesting thought experiment.
And it's something we should think about, because there's clearly value to be added by not situating highways where they will detract from the surrounding areas.
Many unpopular highways run along rivers or lakes. The path made sense when they were built because the route was flat, in existing rights-of-way and connected highways and busy ports.Now, especially in old, industrial cities, waterfronts are often vacant, leaving the prettiest scenery blighted by highways carrying traffic passing through.
Cleveland wants to convert its West Shoreway, next to Lake Erie, from a 50-mph freeway into a tree-lined boulevard. "There was less appreciation for the scenic value of waterfront when the shoreway was built," says Cleveland Planning Commission director Robert Brown. "We need to connect the city to its parks and lakefront again."
That's not our problem in Houston, but our highways still pack an awful lot of ugly in them. Think about how I-45 from Intercontinental Airport into downtown looks now, and then consider the vision presented by the I-45 Parkway. Which looks better to you? Sure, that vision costs more, but the aesthetic has value, and that value should be taken into account when considering the costs of each alternative if we want to make a fully informed decision.
In other cities, highways cut cities in half. "It's our very own Berlin Wall," Syracuse, N.Y., council member Van Robinson says of I-81.Like many urban interstates, I-81 demolished a black neighborhood. The interstate has created a tale of two cities: thriving Syracuse University on one side, struggling downtown on the other.
I-45 did that, too, to the Fourth Ward and Freedmen's Town. Those neighborhoods are revitalizing now, but in doing so they are pricing out the folks who were there before it was cool. And, as is typical for Houston, the rebuilding of those neighborhoods wipes out much of its history. Some of that can and will be preserved, but no matter what happens, the people who were displaced, and the people who wound up on the "wrong side" of the metaphorical tracks can't ever be compensated enough for what they lost.
Anyway. I don't ever foresee Houston seriously considering these options - we recently spent a ton of money renovating the Pierce Elevated, so even if we would consider them, it wouldn't be any time soon - but it's worth thinking about, if only to imagine what it might be like.
After being rebuffed by interim DA Ken Magidson on the existence and/or status of an investigation into Chuck Rosenthal's email activities while he was in office, Rick Casey turns to the feds Attorney General's office and finds them much more loose-lipped.
I asked Magidson because Bert Graham, who served as acting district attorney for a month before Gov. Rick Perry appointed Magidson to replace Rosenthal, had told me that the attorney general's office had offered assistance in a criminal investigation of the disgraced DA.The attorney general's office had dropped an earlier investigation when Rosenthal had resigned, but that investigation was to determine whether he should be removed, not indicted.
"We are not going to comment on whether there is an investigation," Magidson declared forcefully. "It would be unethical and improper."
[...]
I suggested to Magidson that the Rosenthal controversy was a matter of public concern. The evidence that he had used his staff computer for his political campaign had emerged from court records made public in a federal lawsuit.
Some citizens might believe Rosenthal had paid enough of a price by losing his job and his reputation. But others might take the position that a district attorney, of all people, should be prosecuted if he committed a crime. Either way, the public has an interest in the decision and the reasons behind it.
"I don't care what the public thinks," Magidson retorted. "I will do what is right."
I think Casey raises a reasonable point here. The things that Rosenthal did that would lead to an investigation of him are well known. He resigned his office over them because of their possible illegality as well as their impropriety. The AG's office was involved initially to see if there were grounds to force him to resign, before he finally spared them the trouble. Frankly, I think most people have been assuming all along there's an investigation, because that possibility has been part of the discussion from the beginning. Given all these circumstances, I don't think it would compromise Chuck Rosenthal's privacy to confirm or deny the existence of a formal investigation. At the very least, I don't think the question is as clearcut as Magidson makes it to be, however honorable the sentiment behind it is.
A few minutes after our conversation, a spokesman for Attorney General Greg Abbott returned the call I had placed to him asking for information on any Rosenthal investigation."What's your fax number?" he asked.
A few minutes later I had copies of an exchange of letters between Magidson and Eric J.R. Nichols, deputy AG for criminal justice.
[...]
So it appears Magidson is, indeed, conducting an investigation. His use of the assistance offered by the attorney general will spare his staff from the awkwardness (and possible conflicts) of assisting in the investigation of their former boss.
I think it is appropriate that there is an investigation, and though I don't think much of our Attorney General, it's better for that office to be handling it. I look forward to seeing the result of their efforts.
Another top ten list, though I don't feel as strongly about this one's contents. It feels a bit too oriented towards modern phenomena, as such lists often are, but I'd have to do a little research before I could do more than just quibble about it. I will say, it's a shame that the potato-powered server doesn't work. Check it out. Link via Beyond Bones.
The California Supreme Court decided today that same-sex couples should be permitted to wed, ruling that gay unions must be given the "respect and dignity" of marriage.In a 4-3 vote, the court became the first in the country to apply the constitutional protections reserved for race and gender to sexual orientation. The Massachusetts high court struck down bans on same-sex marriage in 2003, but under a different legal theory.
The court held that people have a fundamental right to marry the person of their choice and struck down marriage laws limiting matrimony to opposite-sex couples as a violation of the state constitution's equal protection guarantees.
"One of the core elements embodied in the state constitutional right to marry is the right of an individual and a couple to have their own official family relationship accorded respect and dignity equal to that accorded the family relationships of other couples," wrote Chief Justice Ronald M. George, joined by Justices Joyce L. Kennard, Kathryn Mickle Werdegar and Carlos Moreno.
State laws that have limited gay unions to domestic partnerships "impinge upon the fundamental interests of same-sex couples," George wrote.
To me, this is a no-brainer. From a civil perspective, marriage is a contract that confers certain benefits on each partner, like inheritance rights and various tax breaks. It has nothing to do with morality or religion. If the Catholic Church or John Hagee or whoever want nothing to do with marrying same-sex couples, this ruling changes nothing about that. Isn't that how it should be?
The question, as Stace puts it, is whether this restores gays to the spot of #1 target for Republican candidates, or if immigrants remain in place as the new gays, politically speaking. Personally, I think the message of the special Congressional elections this year is that the voters aren't paying a whole lot of attention to this kind of campaigning - bigger issues, like the war and the economy and the price of food and gas, are higher priorities in their minds. Have the Republicans learned that lesson, or will they lean on old familiar ways? I wouldn't put it past them, that's all I know.
I have statements from Equality Texas and Freedom to Marry beneath the fold. Let's enjoy this win; it's well-deserved. E.J. Graff has more.
Statement of Paul Scott, Equality Texas Executive DirectorToday's decision in California is a victory for all Americans who cherish fairness, due process, and equal protection under the law. The Court rejected the State's argument that domestic partnership law was an equal substitute, noting that marriage-like rights without marriage smacks of a concept long rejected by the courts: separate but equal.
While Texans are legally unaffected by this ruling, we are hopeful that same-sex couples in Texas will one day have the same opportunity to solidify and legally protect their families.
According to a January, 2008 study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, approximately 50,000 same-sex couples were living in Texas in 2005. About 20% of these couples are raising an estimated 17,444 children. They deserve the same opportunity to legally protect their family relationships as all California couples now have.
Equality Texas will continue its ongoing efforts to help build strong Texas families, including those with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender family members.
Earlier today, the California Supreme Court handed down a historic decision upholding the freedom to marry in In Re: Marriage Cases. The second state high court to rule in favor of ending the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage said, "in view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship, the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right [marriage] to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples.""This righteous decision of this most respected state high court will give Americans the chance to experience what they've begun to see for the last few years in Massachusetts, South Africa, Canada, Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands - the lived reality that ending exclusion from marriage helps families and harms no one," said Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry and author of Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality and Gay People's Right to Marry. "California's sun will illuminate the nation."
The milestone California ruling comes as the country marks the 60th anniversary of another historic ruling, Perez v. Sharp. In Perez, the California Supreme Court became the first court in the country to strike down race restrictions on marriage, also by a vote of 4-3, at a time when polls showed 90% opposing interracial marriage. Wolfson noted, "Today, the justices of the California Supreme Court again lived up to their oath to uphold the Constitution for all, and as with their courageous past stands against discrimination in marriage, we will all be the better and history will vindicate them."
Noting that opponents of equality have submitted signatures that may trigger a November vote on an anti-gay measure aimed at amending the state constitution to bar committed same-sex couples from the equal freedom to marry, Wolfson said, "Thanks to the Court's just decision, voters will get to make an informed decision, having the chance to see actual married couples and realize it is wrong to put obstacles in their path."
Freedom to Marry salutes the leadership of National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, Heller Ehrman LLP and the Law Office of David C. Codell, and the City of San Francisco, who represented fifteen same-sex couples, Equality California, and Our Family Coalition in this case.
In what sounds like a really low-budget horror film, voracious swarming ants that apparently arrived in Texas aboard a cargo ship are invading homes and yards across the Houston area, shorting out electrical boxes and messing up computers.The hairy, reddish-brown creatures are known as "crazy rasberry ants" -- crazy, because they wander erratically instead of marching in regimented lines, and "rasberry" after Tom Rasberry, an exterminator who did battle against them early on.
"They're itty-bitty things about the size of fleas, and they're just running everywhere," said Patsy Morphew of Pearland, who is constantly sweeping them off her patio and scooping them out of her pool by the cupful. "There's just thousands and thousands of them. If you've seen a car racing, that's how they are. They're going fast, fast, fast. They're crazy."
The ants -- formally known as "paratrenicha species near pubens" -- have spread to five Houston-area counties since they were first spotted in Texas in 2002.
The newly recognized species is believed to have arrived in a cargo shipment through the port of Houston. Scientists are not sure exactly where the ants came from, but their cousins, commonly called crazy ants, are found in the Southeast and the Caribbean.
"At this point, it would be nearly impossible to eradicate the ant because it is so widely dispersed," said Roger Gold, a Texas A&M University entomologist.
The good news? They eat fire ants, the stinging red terrors of Texas summers.
That's a relief, because apparently they're hard to kill, can cause problems due to their attraction to electrical charges, and stack their dead to cross safely over places that have been sprayed with pesticides. Did I already say "ew"? Because I think I need to say it again.
Remember this?
Amid his election campaign and a wave of ethics controversies in county government, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett christened an ethics task force Wednesday with the aim of placing new restrictions on officials' on-the-job behavior and relationships with business friends."It's clear we need some improvements," Emmett said, "and it's a shame that the work of 16,000 county employees could be tainted by scandals involving a few."
After studying government ethics guidelines across the nation, the task force will report to Emmett in three months on rules changes that can be adopted by the county or would have to be approved first by state lawmakers. Then the county judge will try to get backing for the changes from the four county commissioners.
That was reported on February 14, meaning it's now been three months since then. Which led David Mincberg to wonder where that report is.
"I'm surprised Ed Emmett failed to follow through on this promise," Mincberg said in a statement. "He's simply dropped the ball. We need an independent Board of Ethics that is both free of politics and gets the job done."Emmett did not specifically remember setting a 90-day deadline, but he acknowledged he may have said that at the press conference. Still, he did not sound concerned about the delay.
"I have purposely set up the task force to go do their work without interference from me or any other politician," he said.
Emmett spokesman Joe Stinebaker said the panel is working on a broad outline of changes they'd like to see, such as what should be disclosed, who they can require to disclose it and who they actually want to require to disclose it. The recommendations should be ready by the end of the summer, he said.
In other words, about three months later, assuming no further delays, of course. Has no one ever explained the concept of underpromising and overdelivering to Ed Emmett? He even got a little reminder about the report's due date a couple of weeks ago. Gotta do better than that. Mincberg's full press release is beheath the fold.
On February 13th, Ed Emmett publicly announced the creation of an ethics task force. The task force, according to Emmett, was to provide a report within three months. However, today marks the end of those three months and a report has not been produced, bringing into question Emmett's dedication to cleaning up corruption at the county."After all that has happened in Harris County - the corruption and pay-to-play deals, it is clear we need a County Judge who is going to act," said David Mincberg. "I'm surprised Ed Emmett failed to follow through on this promise. He's simply dropped the ball. We need an independent Board of Ethics that is both free of politics and gets the job done."
Since February 13th, Harris County has been rocked by scandal after scandal, whether it's improper real estate deals by former county officials, surveillance of its citizens or wasteful spending. The county leadership response has been to not comment and sweep it under the rug.
"Harris County taxpayers deserve a County Judge who provides leadership and does what he says he's going to do," Mincberg stated. "As a successful businessman, not a career politician, I know how to run things honestly and efficiently. I have created jobs, opportunity, growth, and success. I'll bring that same hands-on approach to Harris County government."
It's to be built near where I used to live, on the last open plot of land in what's now a pretty dense corridor.
Whole Foods Market plans to build a store between downtown and River Oaks as part of a 13-acre development that will include apartments and shops.The Austin-based natural and organic grocery chain will lease the northeast corner of West Dallas and Waugh from the Finger Cos., the firms said Tuesday.
Alongside the market, the Houston-based developer is preparing to build a six-story, 445-unit apartment complex on the property. Construction will start early next year.
"It's a great intersection," president and CEO Marvy Finger said. "It's very exciting."
Plans for the site, along West Dallas between Montrose and Waugh, call for additional retail space and possibly a high-rise residential tower.
Finger said the project will tie into the AIG office complex, to the north of the site.
Years ago, when I lived on Van Buren just off of West Dallas, there was a little family-owned cafeteria where this is now - I can't remember the name any more, but it had been there for decades. It closed in 1994 or so and was eventually torn down, leaving the now-vacant lot that is to be built on. Most of the south side of West Dallas, from Waugh where the CVS and Pei Wei now are all the way down to LaRue, across the street from Nino's and Vincent's restaurants, was vacant as well. It made for some good places to let your dog run around back then, but it's all townhouses now.
"That whole corridor is getting very urban," said Scott Shillings, senior vice president of Staubach Retail.Area land prices are more than $100 per square foot, according to David Cook of real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.
No kidding. You can see what some of the neighboring area looks like in my Montrose Density photo essay. There are still the lots at Montrose to develop, but once this and the new development on the site of the old Allen House apartments are built, pretty much all of West Dallas from Shepherd to I-45 will be a very dense, very urban corridor. It's a huge change from even ten years ago.
Back in 2006, I blogged about a battle between Pam Robinson, the owner of Walter's on Washington, and some neighbors - the Pevetos - who apparently don't like the noise. (She's had this problem before at a previous location on Durham - see here and here for details.) Now according to John Nova Lomax, she's fighting back.
[Robinson] filed suit against the Pevetos for tortious interference with contract, private nuisance, harassment, business disparagement, abuse of process and actionable civil conspiracy. They are asking for a temporary restraining order, a permanent injunction against the noise complaints, and damages.The Pevetos aren't backing down -- last month, they returned Robinson's volley by taking their tale of woe to the mayor and city council at a hearing in City Hall. A few days later, Robinson told that same august body her side of the same story.
"It was very frustrating," Robinson says. "I don't like hypocrites, and I sat there for over an hour listening to people go on and on about false burglar alarms. The council and the mayor were saying that someone needs to pay for this, that it was a waste of police time and resources. And I went, 'Oh boy, wait till I get up there and I tell them about my 212 false alarm noise complaints. They should pay, and the only one paying is me.'"
That's right. There have been 212 noise complaint calls about Walter's, and so far, according to Robinson's attorney, only one has resulted in a citation, and even that one was dismissed. (Robinson says that three were made when the club wasn't even open.) Additionally, both Walter's and the Peveto residence are mere blocks from one of the busiest rail-freight terminals in America. Why don't all those long trains running bother the Pevetos?
"At what point is enough enough?" asks Robinson, in Bob Dylan mode. "I think [city council] did understand my plight, that yes, it does interfere with my business when the police show up, even though we're not doing anything wrong. We're not squirming when they come; we meet 'em, we greet 'em, we shake their hand. We don't scatter like rats!"
"I should just be deemed not a nuisance and left alone," she says.
I've said before and I'll say again, I sympathize with Robinson here. She and her bar were there first. I don't know how you can move into a locale like the Pevetos did and not have any idea about what goes on there. And I think Robinson raises a good point about the number of police calls the Pevetos have made. One way or another, the city should do something to solve the underlying problem, either by charging the Pevetos for false alarms, or trying to shut Robinson down for being a persistent violator. The current situation is clearly untenable.
The Observer has a nice story on the history of the Pig Stands, which sadly went into bankruptcy in 2006, thus causing the Houston location on Washington to close.
The year was 1921, and America was crazy for bathtub gin, hot jazz, and Henry Ford's Tin Lizzie, which sold a million that year and ruled the roads.In North Texas, two far-sighted entrepreneurs opened a modest eatery on the busy Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike that would change the way Americans ate.
Upsetting convention, their tiny "Pig Stand" had no dining room. Instead, it offered speedy curb service to hungry motorists, allowing them to grab a quick bite behind the wheel.
"People with cars are so lazy, they don't want to get out of them," was the sentiment attributed to Jessie G. Kirby, one of the Pig Stand founders.
The somewhat unflattering insight rang true.
[...]
"It was an early, pioneering effort to bring fast food to the motorist. As the first drive-in, it introduced a lot of new elements that later became popular," says historian Dwayne Jones, now executive director of the Galveston Historical Foundation.
"They really started it: the image building. The use of the pig. The use of neon. And very quickly, they adopted a corporate building form, the pagoda, which would be the image of the Pig Stand for the next 20 years," says Jones, who has written a brief history of the chain.
Along the way, the Pig Stand introduced such gastronomical innovations to the national menu as Texas toast, deep-fried onion rings, and a regional tour de force: the chicken-fried steak sandwich.
[...]
Crazy as it sounds, the once-mighty, pioneering chain could make a comeback if the right pieces fall into place, according to [Vincent] Liuzza, the [bankruptcy] trustee.
"I grew up in the restaurant business, and this is a real unique thing. It has a lot more value than the numbers we're talking about today if someone can use the history," Liuzza says.
"I believe there is some restaurant company that will pay several million dollars for the brand. They could build a chain on that name and be the oldest drive-in in the world," he says.
Then, perhaps, this pig could truly fly.
We can only hope. Check it out.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office acknowledged Tuesday that deputies were assigned to watch two brothers who filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the department over their arrest during a 2002 drug raid.Sheriff's Capt. John Martin said one or two members of the department's investigative support unit conducted surveillance on Erik and Sean Ibarra for five or six hours over a three-day period last October.
While Martin and First Assistant County Attorney John Barnhill said the unit did nothing illegal, the Ibarras are threatening to sue.
South Texas College of Law professor Adam Gershowitz said the department's actions may have opened the door for a harassment or invasion of privacy lawsuit.
"It certainly doesn't make it good policy or acceptable just because it's not criminal," Gershowitz said.
I think "vindictive" might be a good descriptor here. The only possible reason to be doing this is to hope, however vainly, that you can catch them doing something illegal - moderately suspicious or embarassing will do in a pinch if you're doing video surveillance - and use it at trial to attack their character. Does any of that sound like a good use of public resources?
Lloyd Kelley, the brothers' attorney, said he was preparing to sue on behalf of the Ibarras and other people who sued the department and believe they were trailed by deputies."I just don't see how the sheriff's department can continue this kind of reign of terror," Kelley said.
Martin dismissed Kelley's accusations, describing the surveillance as a routine step in preparing for trial.
He said he was not sure what the deputies were looking for, other than "background information." Nothing useful came from the surveillance, beyond confirmation of the Ibarras' address, he added.
Oh, spare me. I just said what they were looking for. You can call it "background information" if you want, but that doesn't change anything.
He said the unit has conducted similar operations in the past for the county attorney's office, usually in workers' compensation cases. He said he could not say how much was spent on surveillance of the Ibarras because it was part of the unit's normal operations."We're not talking about some long, drawn-out, resource-intensive operation," he said.
Barnhill said the county attorney's office did not request the surveillance in this case. He said the office has 10 investigators who handle that work, though the sheriff's department may have assisted once or twice.
Translation: Mike Stafford, who has enough problems of his own to worry about, wants no part of these shenanigans. You're on your own, bubba.
Gershowitz said it was normal for attorneys to gather background information before trial, but it would be unusual for the person or entity being sued to do the spying."It just sort of looks bad," he said. "They may have had the best of intentions, although it's hard to see that, but it looks inappropriate."
Houston City Councilman Adrian Garcia, who is running for sheriff as a Democrat, said the department abused its authority.
Garcia is holding a press conference this afternoon, so I imagine he'll have a lot more to say about this. Here's KTRK video about this story, from Monday and yesterday. You can count on there being more to this as well.
The Mayor's proposed budget for 2009 has something for everyone, which no doubt also means something for everyone to complain about.
Mayor Bill White unveiled a record $4 billion budget proposal Tuesday, calling for a sharp increase in spending on public safety while cutting the property tax rate by a half-cent.The mayor's fiscal 2009 budget also would, if approved, create a dedicated set-aside of tax revenues to pay for drainage improvements, fund the addition of 150 police officers and add 50,000 homes to the curbside recycling program.
"Because we've enjoyed strong economic growth, and because we're running City Hall more efficiently, we can afford a tax rate cut of half a penny per $100 of valuation to bring our tax rate down," White said.
City revenue is projected to be $4.07 billion in the new fiscal year, which begins July 1. That would be an increase of 6.7 percent over the current fiscal year.
For the first time, the general fund -- the part of the budget paid for by property and sales taxes, fees and fines -- will top $2 billion. The remainder of the budget is made up of user fees for water, sewer, the airports and entertainment facilities.
"It's a big budget we have, but the citizens can be sure we have gone through it with a fine-toothed comb," White said. "Wherever we can find savings, we try to squeeze out savings, which is one reason we are able to deliver far more services with a lower tax rate."
The budget would provide an additional $105 million for police, fire and EMS. Public safety spending makes up 58 percent of the general fund.
I can't wait to hear the complaints from certain factions that both the tax cut and the increase in spending on police are too small. Why, if only we'd budget like the federal government has been doing these past few years, we could have more of each and have enough money left over to fund an invasion and occupation of Galveston. You just have to think outside the box a little, and not worry too much about what will happen after you're term-limited out.
New to this year's budget is a dedicated funding source for drainage improvements. Subject to council approval, 0.3 cents of every $100 in property value would be dedicated to flooding projects.The rate would rise gradually, reaching 0.75 cent by 2017.
Next year, the set-aside could raise $2.6 million.
The city has scheduled $211 million in capital drainage improvements in its current five-year capital plan.
In his Looking Forward to 2008 essay, Noel Freeman called for the city "to set the budget for drainage infrastructure maintenance and improvements at no less than $100 million for FY2009 and to set a five year plan to increase that number to $150 million by FY2013". I don't know about the first part of that, but it would seem that the second condition has been more than met. Putting more resources into drainage improvements, especially as the city continues to densify, is a very good thing in my book.
Question: What ever happened to municipal Wi-Fi?Answer: Not much.
Unless you want to count Earthlink's announcement today that it will discontinue its municipal wireless network in Philadelphia, an experiment once touted as a new model of low-cost, public wireless access in cities.
After it became clear that the project would cost more than Earthlink had originally anticipated, the company sought to sell the $17 million network to a nonprofit group.
That effort fell through "due to unresolved issues among the city, Wireless Philadelphia and the nonprofit," Earthlink said. Wireless Philadelphia is the organization in charge of managing the network. Earthlink did not say which nonprofit it had approached.
Earthlink said it would ask a federal judge to allow it to remove its equipment from city streetlights and cap its liability for the failed project at $1 million.
Well, with Houston out of the picture, this is more of academic interest than anything else. Sort of the end of an era, really. Glenn Fleischmann sums it up.
If someone offered you $17m of outdated equipment on a network that never worked to specification that wasn't completed, and that already had known high annual costs, and which a private firm gave up as a bad job that they couldn't turn a dime on--would you take that deal? No. EarthLink will ultimately have to pay much more than $1m, I predict, and I suspect some of the settlement will leave gear in selected neighborhoods behind for more modest networking purposes. It's not going to be as easy as releasing a press release, although I haven't read the contract's provisions for this set of circumstances, and I'm not a lawyer.The failure in Philadelphia, and EarthLink's exiting the entire muni-Fi business, represents the end of a bad model in which a company agreed to assume all risk and costs associated with building a public access network. When the assumptions were that networks would be cheaper and easier to build in 2005, and that citizens in many larger cities had few affordable broadband options, it made some sense to build a network on spec.
Three years into this, however, it's clear that that capital investment is 2 to 3 times higher than what was anticipated to reach a level of service quality that people will expect; that, when presented with potential competition, DSL and cable operators will slash prices and offer cheap 1-year or "lifetime" rates with long-term contracts; and that wireless broadband delivered via Wi-Fi isn't the best of ideas for indoor service.
If it contributed even in some small way to getting DSL and cable operators to slash prices and offer cheap longterm rates, then this was not a complete failure, though I suppose that's not of much comfort to EarthLink. Whether wi-fi was the best way to deliver this or not, I still think it's a worthy goal to make ubiquitous connectivity a reality. Dwight always thought it should be considered by cities to be a utility and delivered as a public service for free. Maybe that would have been a better way to go, assuming a reasonable cost model was possible. Maybe that will still happen in some form some day. For now, we've got some bubbles and that's about it. Thanks to Mr. Crap on Twitter (see, I told you this thing was more useful than you'd think) for the heads up.
I know this will be a shock to everyone who drives in Houston, but so far the high price of gasoline does not appear to be having any effect on how fast people drive.
If drivers are slowing down to save money in response to soaring gasoline prices, the evidence was hard to find on the road last week in Houston.Despite the fact that fuel efficiency for most automobiles drops sharply at speeds above 60 mph, a two-day visual survey showed sports cars, luxury cars, clunkers, motorcycles -- even a school bus -- motoring along at speeds that were neither economical nor environmentally friendly.
[...]
"You have to get where you're going," he said.
To check whether fuel costs had lightened motorists' feet as well as their wallets, a pair of Chronicle reporters and a photographer gassed up ($3.60 a gallon, regular) and hit the road Wednesday and Thursday afternoons with the cruise control set at 60 mph.
We covered all but two of the radial freeways, driving between downtown and Beltway 8, plus all of Loop 610, much of Texas 225 and half of the Sam Houston Tollway.
The tally: 1,021 vehicles passed us, and we passed 16, a ratio of about 64-to-1. On Thursday we were skunked 478-to-0.
We chose 60 mph because, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, most cars get their best mileage between 30 mph and 60 mph and because the legal speed limits on most of the area's freeways and tollway system are 60 mph and 65 mph.
[...]
About half the drivers seemed to be going only a little faster than we were, but the other half were really flying, so the average probably was around 70 mph.
Many of those in the biggest hurry drove some of the least thrifty vehicles, including pickups, SUVs and 18-wheelers.
Boy howdy is that even less of a shock. Knock me over with a feather, ya know?
Just a guess here, but I'd bet that a lot of people really haven't internalized the concept that increased speed means worse gas mileage. According to the government, which provides a handy if somewhat generic chart, "you can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.20 per gallon for gas". That's based on gas at $3.51 a gallon, so with prices already higher than that, you're sailing past $4 a gallon as well. I think people know at some level that faster driving means less fuel economy, but I doubt many of them have numbers in their head to make it tangible. You tell me - does putting it in these terms change your perception?
By the way, if anyone out there drives an RV, the effect is even more pronounced for those vehicles. You'll see your fuel economy cut in half as you go from 45 MPH to 70. Ouch.
For those who didn't hear -- or believe -- him the first time, Gov. Perry said again today that he is running for reelection in 2010.He told reporters at a public event in Fredericksburg that he is like the chief executive of a successful corporation and definitely planned to seek a third full term.
"I look at it like this, is that if Texas were a corporation -- and we would be one of the most efficient, most successful corporations in the world -- and if you're a stockholder in that corporation, why in the world would you want to change your CEO when things are going well?" he said, according to the Associated Press.
I like Brown Bess' comment that at the 2006 shareholders' meeting, 61% of them voted for a different CEO. Perry was fortunate that his opposition that year was fractured. He won't be so lucky next time.
By the way, not that I consider these things to be representative of anything, but it's still amusing to see that no one defended Perry in the comments to that post. I know he claims not to pay attention to things like his approval ratings, but you have to figure his advisers are aware of them. I wonder how they plan to deal with it if he really is serious about ginning it up again in 2010. Do they believe his "successful CEO" schtick? I have a hard time imagining it, but stranger things have happened.
When I snapped a picture of David Adickes' latest installation, on I-10 just north of downtown, I assumed (Adickes being a Presidential-sculpture guy and all) that all four of the giant heads on display belonged to US Presidents. I see now that this was a wrong assumption. Page 53 of the May edition of 002 Magazine has the explanation:
These four men are nicknamed "Mount Rush Hour," Adickes tells us, "but its real title is Tribute to American Statesmanship. I define a statesman as someone who cares more for the country than his/her own political career. And Lawd knows, we need some. The four figures: Washington, Lincoln, Houston, and Stephen F. Austin were truly statesmen."
OK then. My identification of the two on the left as Franklin Pierce and Martin Van Buren didn't make much sense from that perspective, so I'm glad to have this cleared up. And a tip of the hat to Jeff N for not being as blinkered as I was and calling the Sam Houston bust correctly.
Yet another story in the Chron about the effect of the bad economy and higher prices on ordinary Americans.
Amid a tottering economy, rising inflation, increasing unemployment and a housing market meltdown, waiters, beauticians and pet groomers report that customers are growing tightfisted.It is hard to determine just how much people are cutting back on tipping, but the stakes are huge.
The restaurant industry in the U.S. employs 13.1 million people, making it the nation's third-largest employer, behind the federal government and the health-care industry, according to the National Restaurant Association, a trade organization.
Many others work for carwashes, nail salons, taxi companies and in other jobs in which tips play a role in their wages.
The slowdown in tips is another blow for increasingly squeezed service workers who often don't have much of a cushion to fall back on when times get tough. Some restaurants have closed in recent months or have begun scaling back and laying off employees.
[...]
On a typical Saturday night, Brian Best once earned as much as $200 in tips as a server at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. at Universal CityWalk in Hollywood. Since the fall, Best's tip take has slid to about $120 on a weekend night.
"People just don't have the money. They will go out to eat, but won't tip as much," Best said.
He now receives 10 percent to 15 percent of what his customers spend at the eatery, down from 15 percent to 20 percent before the economy's nose dive.
"I am hanging out a lot less at clubs and bars. I don't have the money," Best said.
Remember the "Trickle-Down Effect"? It would seem to be at play here. I just hope we all can hold on till January 21, because we're not going to get any help before then.
This is encouraging news.
In a sign that Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama is not prepared to concede Texas to the Republicans in the fall, his campaign announced an intensive voter registration effort beginning [Saturday] in the state's four largest media markets -- Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio.The kickoff will be a training effort for volunteers to seek out the unregistered Texans who fit the profile of a Democratic voter. The effort could affect several down-ballot races, including a couple of Tarrant County state House contests, Democratic analyst Kelly Fero said Friday.
"Texas is definitely in play, more so down the ballot in state Senate and House races than in the presidential," said Fero, who's not aligned in this year's presidential sweepstakes. "But the presidential race will significantly shape some of the down-ballot races and create a tide that could sweep incumbents out of office and challengers into office."
The smart money back in March held that once the Democratic primary ended, whoever got the presidential nomination would need Texas only for its deep-pocket donors. The drive to register new Democratic-leaning voters, being conducted in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, might mean the GOP can't have Texas' 34 electoral votes that easily. But state Republican Party spokesman Hans Klingler brushed aside the notion that any Democratic presidential nominee has achance to take Texas this year. The state has been rock-solid Republican in every presidential race since 1980.
"As [then-Democratic gubernatorial candidate] Tony Sanchez showed in 2002, you can spend millions of dollars on voter registration in Texas and still come up double-digits behind the Republicans in Texas," Klingler said.
Hey, if the state GOP wants to act as if it's still 2002 out there, they are more than welcome to be my guest. The rest of us know better.
The downballot race issue is one worth keeping in mind. My concern is that whatever new voters Obama will turn out in November will primarily be people who are there to vote for him, and don't have much interest in other races. The big dropoff in the primary from the Presidential race to the Senate and other statewide races is a potential danger sign. I don't think it's necessarily going to be a problem - at the very least, I know there will be money spent in Harris County to push the straight-ticket-Democratic message - but it is something to pay attention to. A boost in turnout is only beneficial if it helps all candidates.
Speaking of turnout boosts, this BOR diary, which builds off the models created by Poblano, shows how various turnout scenarios radically change the landscape for Obama. I'm hesitant to invest too much in this - we all remember how new voters were going to carry Kinky Friedman to the Governor's mansion in 2006, right? - but it's hard to see record-breaking primary turnouts in state after state (Indiana, like Texas, had more Democratic votes cast in their primary than John Kerry received in the 2004 general election) and not believe that this time it's different. Read it and see what you think.
Finally, check out Matt Stoller on the network Obama has built nationwide. There's a lot there to feel good about, and more than a little to be queasy about. Either way, there's a lot to think about.
Farmers Branch. Irving. Now Carrolton.
A newly elected mayor near Dallas says his top priority will be ridding his suburb of illegal immigrants, the same focus that has drawn national attention in a neighboring city.But Ron Branson said Carrollton will not simply copy the blueprint of Farmers Branch, where an ordinance barring apartment rentals to most illegal immigrants has been put on hold by a federal judge.
"I do not want to rubber-stamp what they did," Branson said in today's editions of The Dallas Morning News. "We want to make sure we're not profiling, we're following the law, and take advantage of ordinance opportunities."
The victory by Branson in Saturday's election gives Dallas neighboring suburbs with mayors who share a common goal of driving out illegal immigrants in their cities.
Is there something in the water up there? I just don't understand the obsession with this issue. And I know it's all tied up in anxiety about the war and the economy, because we had about the same number of undocumented immigrants in 2004 and 2005, back when the nation was still obsessed with gay marriage. But that "issue" ran its course, and we needed some other scapegoat for these more uncertain times, and so here we are, at least until the next batch of undesireables come along.
I hope some economist or sociologist is keeping track of these immigrant-hostile towns and doing a study on how they fare in the wake of these policies. It seems likely to me that their immediate effect will be to make their demographics older and whiter, as non-immigrant Hispanics who rightly perceive these policies to be threatening to themselves leave along with the undocumented folks that they hope to drive out. That doesn't strike me as being a good thing for the local economies, but who knows, maybe they'll draw new white-flight residents to counterbalance that. Like I said, I hope someone is studying this to see what happens with these places.
It should be noted that even though the anti-immigrant candidate won in Carrolton, it wasn't necessarily about that issue.
[Carrolton Mayor Becky] Miller had led by 9 percentage points in early voting, but those ballots were cast at least a day before a Dallas Morning News story delved into her background. She wound up losing by 9 percentage points.[...]
Mrs. Miller had accused Mr. Branson of "dirty politics" for questioning her statements to colleagues that her brother died in Vietnam.
The mayor, who is white, gave Mr. Branson a soldier's name, but a check showed the young man was black and had been born within four months of her, so he couldn't have been her brother.
Mrs. Miller later said she deliberately misled Mr. Branson out of anger over his prying.
After her father said there was no brother who had died in Vietnam, she said her father has Alzheimer's disease. Later, she said the "brother" was actually an unrelated young man raised by her family. She declined to provide his name, citing painful circumstances.
Checks then raised questions about Mrs. Miller's statements that she sang professionally for Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne, had ties to the Eagles frontman Don Henley and attended Western Kentucky University.
Spokesmen said the three singers didn't know her, and a Western Kentucky official said the school had no record of her attendance there.
Mrs. Miller has since said she's not surprised the singers didn't remember her after 30 years. She insists that she did attend the college briefly.
Uh, yeah, sure. If you haven't figured out by now that being a public official with a phony resume is a recipe for disaster, I will have no sympathy for you when you lose. Even if it's to a xenophobe.
I've gone and drunk the Twitter Kool-Aid, so those of you who can't get enough of me and want to know what sort of thing I consider too trivial to blog about, there you have it. It's oddly addictive, and more useful than I'd have thought. Ginger has some good thoughts on what makes Twitter worthwhile.
Anyway, the URL is http://twitter.com/kuff if you want to follow me. I'll probably put one of their widgets on the sidebar at some point, and I'm open to suggestions as to what else might be useful - maybe even this, if I get motivated. Let me know what you think.
From the home office in Orlando, Florida, home of the 2008 BlackBerry Wireless Enterprise Symposium, I bring you the best of the Texas Progressive Alliance for the past week. Click on for the goodies.
McBlogger has some advice for State Delegates aspiring to a seat on the floor in Denver.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme says all the fuss over 'wrongful' healthcare benefits in Brownsville, Corpus Christi and the Texas House is misplaced. Universal healthcare makes that problem disappear!
John Coby at Bay Area Houston reported on Bob Perry's attempted take over of a local City Water Authority in order to develop on our golf course. The developers lose big in Clear Lake
Off the Kuff continues his series of countywide race previews with a look at the race for Harris County Tax Assessor.
The Texas Cloverleaf looks at right wing blowhards on tour, coming to a local amphitheater near you.
Doing My Part for The Left is thrilled that Another Poll Shows Rick Noriega just 4 points behind Box Turtle.
WhosPlayin notes that along with many more Republicans, Michael Burgess (TX-26) voted AGAINST supporting Mothers Day.
Dembones at Eye On Williamson has the latest on Rick Noriega's run for the US Senate with this post, Republican machine grinding for Cornyn.
The sinkhole in Liberty County catches PDiddie's attention -- not literally, thankfully -- and he blogs about it at Brains and Eggs in "Rural Texas finally collapses from GOP 'Leadership' ".
Vince Leibowitz at Capitol Annex ponders the civil liberties thicket that Texas AG Greg Abbott could wander in to if he allows the Texas Lottery Commission to use the electronic strip on Texas driver's licenses to verify the age of gamblers at lottery vending machines.
nytexan at BlueBloggin points out Racism In The Secret Service and asks how can the Secret Service perform their jobs when supervisors write and send racist emails to one another regarding interracial sex, killing Jessie Jackson and his wife and ridiculing African American slang.
Gary at Easter Lemming Liberal News talked to a friend of his that received a GOP Push-Poll against local Democratic judges in GOP running Scared in Harris County. He also wondered if this picture is of a Pasadena neighbor who can't spell.
Lightseeker takes a look at What Rick Perry Promised, What the Republicans Delivered over at Texas Kaos.
Three words: Unassisted triple play!
Indians second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera turned the 14th unassisted triple play in major league history, accomplishing the feat Monday night in the second game of a doubleheader against Toronto.Cabrera made a diving catch on a line drive by Lyle Overbay, touched second base and then tagged out Marco Scutaro to quickly end the fifth inning.
Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki made the last unassisted triple play in the majors, on April 29, 2007, against Atlanta. Oakland second baseman Randy Velarde last turned the trick in the AL, on May 29, 2000, against the Yankees.
This was the record third unassisted triple play by a Cleveland fielder.
Indians shortstop Neal Ball made the first one in history, in 1909. Cleveland second baseman Bill Wambsganss turned the only one in the World Series, in 1920 during a Game 5 win over Brooklyn.
The Indians also have been victimized three such times. The last player to pull an unassisted triple play against them -- Ron Hansen, in 1968 for Washington -- is now an advance scout for Philadelphia and was at Progressive Field to see Cabrera's feat.
"First one I've ever seen from the stands," Hansen said. "That kid is a real good fielder and has a great future.
"On a play like that, it's just reaction and he reacted right."
Awesome. It's stuff like this that makes you remember what a great game this is. Way to go, Asdrubal!
As we know, school districts are sounding the alarm about their rising costs and the lack of capability they've been given to deal with those costs. Here's more about this problem.
Unless a fix is enacted during next year's legislative session, school districts will be faced with difficult choices, including closing campuses and firing teachers, said Mike Falick, president of the Spring Branch school board."It's an untenable system. No business in the world would be able to survive with fuel, health insurance and salary increases and a flat revenue source," Falick said. "It's not sustainable.
Some school districts eventually will face "insolvency, some in a shorter time than others," he said.
Humble Independent School District is about two years away from insolvency, Superintendent Guy Sconzo said. It will cover a $7 million budget deficit this year and a projected $23 million deficit next year by dipping into its $53 million reserve fund.
Humble ISD has cut spending by $17.5 million since 2002, Sconzo said, but is struggling with inflation and enrollment growth. Each new student costs the district about $6,800, but it gets only $4,937 from all sources to educate that student, he said.
"As we reduce more, we get on the road of becoming Minimum ISD. We will be able to comply and meet state laws and regulations, but we can't do anything more than that because we can't afford to," Sconzo said.
It's going to take pressure from places like Humble to make something happen on this. People move to the suburbs for the schools. They're not going to like being told that those schools can't afford to do things they expect them to do.
House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, said inflation has had a significant impact on public schools in his home district, especially in transportation and energy costs."For more than 60 years we have generally required school districts to cut spending or raise taxes to deal with inflationary pressures," he said. "I continue to believe that a long-term solution for public school finance will require updating the distribution formulas and re-evaluating these long-standing practices."
Craddick appointed a special legislative panel to explore education problems and said he expects they will be a high legislative priority in 2009.
[...]
Money for public schools is pegged on what districts were getting per student in 2006, called "target revenue" in school finance jargon, and officials complain those amounts are arbitrary, punishing some districts and rewarding others without rhyme or reason.
School officials also are miffed that the state benefits from rising property values. Instead of school districts keeping extra revenue from appraisal increases, the state subtracts that amount from its education funding to those districts. The only extra money for school districts goes to cover student enrollment increases.
Developing a permanent cost-of-living index to help schools cope with annual inflation will be a top priority next year, said Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, chairman of the House Select Committee on Higher and Public Education Finance.
Lawmakers also will consider allowing tax revenue from property value increases to stay in school districts, he said.
Some school officials contend the state should spend at least $4 billion of a projected $10.7 billion budget surplus next year on public education.
Yes, remember the surplus? Some of that is fueled by increased sales tax revenue, some by taxes on oil, and some by rising property tax revenues. In a system that wasn't designed to fail, the schools would be able to benefit from this. Speaker Craddick may say that he recognizes the schools' need for ways to deal with inflationary pressures, but he's never been a friend to the public schools, and I have serious doubts about his willingness to actually fix what's broken here. It would be much better to have another Speaker in place so we don't have to depend on whatever largesse he may have.
The parade was over, and Tom Jones had parked his eye-catching ride, Swamp Mutha, inside the Art Car Museum.He and two friends sat on the curb in front of the museum, reveling in the afterglow of their pet public art exhibition -- Houston's Art Car Parade.
As they shot the breeze just after 2 a.m., a speeding Pontiac crested the railroad tracks on Heights Boulevard. The driver was going so fast when he hit a parked Toyota Camry 50 feet away that Jones' friend Dion Laurent only had time to think one word.
"No."
The parked car launched into them, flinging Laurent against the fence and pinning Jones and his other friend.
"They were in agony," Laurent said, shuddering.
Jones, a pillar of the Art Car community and curator for the Art Car Museum, died Sunday morning from internal injuries. The other two men survived.
What a tragic end to Art Car Parade Weekend. A memorial for Tom Jones on Flickr is here. My sincere condolences go out to Tom Jones' family and friends, along with my thanks to Jones for everything he did to make these weekends the special and unique experience that they are.
At this point in the overviews, I've basically covered the races where I think the candidates have a good chance to affect their vote totals in a significant way. The remaining races, for County Attorney, District Clerk, and Harris County Department of Education Trustee, will I believe primarily be determined by the Presidential vote. Not completely, of course - as we saw in the introduction, even the judicial races have a certain amount of variance. No race is beyond at least some measure of control by the candidates, but some have more than others.
And of those "others", I believe the County Attorney race has the greatest potential for breaking away from the pack. Democrat Vince Ryan, who served in the County Attorney's office in the 80s and who unsuccessfully ran for County Judge in 1994, has some name recognition for being a three-term City Council member, from 1987 to 1993. (He was also in the news last month for suing his former employer; that may or may not be to his ultimate political benefit, but it did get him in the news, which other candidates in these races will have a hard time doing.) He should be able to do enough fundraising to get his name out there more. As the trick to these races is making sure that the voters who should be supporting you go far enough down the ballot to find you, that will help him.
Ryan also has a couple of decent campaign issues to work with, thanks in part to Sheriff Tommy Thomas. I mentioned before that Harris County Judge candidate David Mincberg sent out a press release criticizing County Judge Ed Emmett for the amount of money that was spent defending the Sheriff's office in the Ibarra lawsuit. That same criticism can and really should be made against County Attorney Mike Stafford, since the issues that were singled out by Federal District Judge Kenneth Hoyt were about how Stafford handled the case. Similarly, it was Stafford who signed off on Sheriff Thomas' 14-day email retention policy, which State district Judge David J. Bernal ruled violated state law. Both of those incidents give Ryan the opportunity to question Stafford's judgment and competence, while tying him to Tommy Thomas and Chuck Rosenthal, two of the biggest albatrosses in county politics this year.
For a normally low-profile office for which there usually isn't much competition - Stafford was unopposed in 2004 after winning a special 2002 election to fill the unexpired term of his predecessor, Michael Fleming, who himself was unopposed in 2000 after winning a close race against Sylvia Garcia in 1996 - that's good news for a challenger. As for Stafford, let me take a moment to explain what the County Attorney does:
The Harris County Attorney's Office was the first County Attorney's Office in the State of Texas to be created solely to serve a major urban county's civil law needs. The Harris County Attorney's Office represents the County and its elected officials in all civil matters and also serves as the legal representative for several separate legal entities that operate within Harris County, including the Harris County Hospital District, the Harris County Flood Control District, the Harris County Appraisal District, the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, and the Greater 911 Emergency Network.
If I'm Michael Stafford and I can't get someone from, say, the Flood Control District or the 911 Network to say something nice about me and what my office did to help them that I can put on a mailer, then I deserve to lose. Ryan may have issues to club Stafford with, but those issues aren't "his" in the public's mind right now; they're mostly Tommy Thomas' problems. Assuming his unopposed campaign last time didn't make him complacent about raising and hoarding contributions, he ought to be able to get a head start in defining himself to the voters and give them a positive impression before Ryan can make him look bad. I'll be surprised if he doesn't try something like that.
Basically, I think if this race gains a higher profile through Mike Stafford being in the news, or through successful fundraising on Vince Ryan's part, it's good for Ryan. If the race remains obscure, it's better for Stafford. None of it may matter - the Presidential coattails may well be the determining factor - but I think there's a decent chance that we'll hear some things from this campaign. As with many of these countywide races, that will be the first time in awhile for the County Attorney. If nothing else comes out of this year's election, being able to focus even a little more than we normally do on those offices is a net positive.
PREVIOUSLY:
Introduction
District Attorney
County Judge
Sheriff
Tax Assessor
The folks in the food business are feeling the pinch.
Restaurants across town are facing the same problem this Mother's Day, one of the busiest dining-out days of the year: a reluctance to pass on their higher costs to customers who themselves are dealing with higher food and fuel costs.Instead, they tighten their belts and get innovative: bake their own bread, grow their own eggplant, use fewer high-end ingredients, reward employees for being less wasteful and buy smarter.
Wholesale food prices have shot up about 8 percent in the last year, the highest jump in three decades, according to the National Restaurant Association.
The rising cost of fuel, corn and soybeans are among the reasons. Chicken and pork prices are expected to spike soon.
All this has chefs, cooks and owners improvising.
Three weeks ago, Mia Bella owner Youssef Nafaa began baking his own bread, after watching his wholesale bread prices rise.
And Patrenella's executive chef, Ryan Hildebrand, is growing more of his own vegetables.
When he came to the Heights-area Italian restaurant a year ago, a vegetable garden already was in place.
But with the price of some vegetables shooting up, Hildebrand is making the garden a more integral part of the restaurant.
"It definitely saves us money," he said. "It's not big enough to supply all the volume we go through, but it supplements us. I try to make all the specials garden-driven."
[...]
Tracy Vaught, owner of Backstreet Cafe, Hugo's and Prego and co-operator of Trevisio in the Texas Medical Center, said her crews are updating cost sheets and holding themselves more accountable for errors in cooking, service and administration.
"Mistakes cost a lot of money," she said.
In January, Vaught launched a profit-sharing program for her managers tied to them saving her restaurants money, and "it's working like a charm," she said.
Vaught has raised some menu prices "in targeted ways, but not across the board and very modestly."
Open City will raise its menu prices very gradually, 3 to 5 percent, every few weeks, Aly said.
"We tell owners not to be afraid of a menu price increase if it's done correctly, and the perception of value and quality is still there," said Chris Tripoli, president of A'La Carte Foodservice Consulting Group.
It's easier for a customer to accept a somewhat higher price than a smaller portion or lower quality, he maintained.
I'm not sure I agree about the portion size issue. I suppose it depends on the restaurant and the portion size in question. I think there's plenty of places that could serve ten percent less food with each entree, and nobody would notice or have much grounds for complaint. Not cutting back on quality I agree with, but quantity? Maybe this will finally be the solution to America's obesity problems. Hey, you never know.
While I mostly agree with this list of the Top 10 Worst Sports Franchises, I can't really take seriously any list that would overlook the Philadelphia Phillies. The Twins, for all of Calvin Griffith's penny-pinching, have had far more postseason success, including two World Series titles since 1987, than the Phils may ever have. The Boston Bruins may be a lousy hockey team now, but any organization whose description includes the words "Up until 1997, the Bruins made the playoffs in 30 consecutive seasons" just doesn't make the cut in my mind. Not a bad effort overall, but with that one big glaring omission.
Ever wonder why your feet hurt? Apparently, shoes are the problem. Not just stiletto heels, mind you - pretty much all shoes, including and especially shoes designed to cushion the feet, are problematic.
Last year, researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, published a study titled "Shod Versus Unshod: The Emergence of Forefoot Pathology in Modern Humans?" in the podiatry journal The Foot. The study examined 180 modern humans from three different population groups (Sotho, Zulu, and European), comparing their feet to one another's, as well as to the feet of 2,000-year-old skeletons. The researchers concluded that, prior to the invention of shoes, people had healthier feet. Among the modern subjects, the Zulu population, which often goes barefoot, had the healthiest feet while the Europeans--i.e., the habitual shoe-wearers--had the unhealthiest. One of the lead researchers, Dr. Bernhard Zipfel, when commenting on his findings, lamented that the American Podiatric Medical Association does not "actively encourage outdoor barefoot walking for healthy individuals. This flies in the face of the increasing scientific evidence, including our study, that most of the commercially available footwear is not good for the feet."Okay, so shoes can be less than comfortable. If you've ever suffered through a wedding in four-inch heels or patent-leather dress shoes, you've probably figured this out. But does that really mean we don't walk correctly? (Yes.) I mean, don't we instinctively know how to walk? (Yes, sort of.) Isn't walking totally natural? Yes--but shoes aren't.
"Natural gait is biomechanically impossible for any shoe-wearing person," wrote Dr. William A. Rossi in a 1999 article in Podiatry Management. "It took 4 million years to develop our unique human foot and our consequent distinctive form of gait, a remarkable feat of bioengineering. Yet, in only a few thousand years, and with one carelessly designed instrument, our shoes, we have warped the pure anatomical form of human gait, obstructing its engineering efficiency, afflicting it with strains and stresses and denying it its natural grace of form and ease of movement head to foot." In other words: Feet good. Shoes bad.
[...]
Here's another example: If you wear high heels for a long time, your tendons shorten--and then it's only comfortable for you to wear high heels. One saleswoman I spoke to at a running-shoe store described how, each summer, the store is flooded with young women complaining of a painful tingling in the soles of their feet--what she calls "flip-flop-itis," which is the result of women's suddenly switching from heeled winter boots to summer flip-flops. This is the shoe paradox: We've come to believe that shoes, not bare feet, are natural and comfortable, when in fact wearing shoes simply creates the need for wearing shoes.
Okay, but what about a good pair of athletic shoes? After all, they swaddle your foot in padding to protect you from the unforgiving concrete. But that padding? That's no good for you either. Consider a paper titled "Athletic Footwear: Unsafe Due to Perceptual Illusions," published in a 1991 issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. "Wearers of expensive running shoes that are promoted as having additional features that protect (e.g., more cushioning, 'pronation correction') are injured significantly more frequently than runners wearing inexpensive shoes (costing less than $40)." According to another study, people in expensive cushioned running shoes were twice as likely to suffer an injury--31.9 injuries per 1,000 kilometers, as compared with 14.3--than were people who went running in hard-soled shoes.
Fascinating stuff. Check it out.
The rising price of gasoline has many effects.
Soaring gasoline and food prices and the nation's housing crisis have local sports fans reconsidering how they will spend their money this summer.For now, most fans aren't ready to part with season tickets, but the threat of $4-a-gallon gasoline has some rethinking how many times they will visit the ballpark this summer, the peak of the baseball season.
"When fuel goes up, so does everything else," said John Heyde of Montgomery, who is retired from the U.S. Coast Guard. "My pension stays the same. I have to cut someplace, so I watch more games on TV. Other people like me that are retired aren't going to games like we used to. We used to be diehard all the time."
To offset the price of going to games, fans say they are willing to make sacrifices elsewhere, including cutting back on what they spend once in the ballpark. Others, like the McKee family, are getting creative by using the city's mass transportation system, carpooling in groups to save on fuel and parking, and searching for discount tickets.
Good thing the various stadia are all easily accessible by the city's mass transit system, no? That's something that Sugar Land could not have offered the Dynamo.
When it comes to sports, consumers often have an open-wallet policy, said Dr. Merrill J. Melnick, a sports sociologist at The College at Brockport (N.Y.)."When fans decide where they want to cut costs, denying themselves access to sports events might be real low on their list," Melnick said. "The real identified fan isn't going to let the pump determine whether they root for their favorite team. It seems to me that's one area they are less likely to cut corners. The identification between a fan and a favorite team is a very strong bond."
But, Melnick added, if gasoline reaches $4 a gallon, "that might put a fans' loyalty to the test."
I forget who said it, but someone on the Baseball Prospectus noted that a feature of modern stadia is their smaller capacity. They're designed to cater more towards high-end customers and less towards the bleacher bums; thus the explosion of luxury suites and field-level seats with extra amenities like waiters for refreshments. You'd think this sort of season-ticket holder would be less sensitive to the price of gasoline, since they're already paying a fortune to be at the game. If so, then I figure baseball at least will mostly weather this storm, though it may cause attendance figures to level off or decline a bit.
The fear of a slowdown in consumer spending hasn't affected the city's four major professional teams, with the Astros, Texans, Rockets and Dynamo reporting increases in season-ticket sales. The Dynamo, coming off back-to-back Major League Soccer titles, had a 25-percent increase from 2007 to this season, team president and general manager Oliver Luck said.Luck credits affordable tickets -- the average price to watch a game at Robertson Stadium is $18 -- for the increase.
"We're fairly inexpensive," he said. "I think the fact we are affordable is a blessing for some families."
Cheap seats will always be a draw. And as noted, assuming the downtown stadium ever gets built, being a stop on two rail lines won't hurt them, either.
Despite a bad review from the Government Accounting Office, the so-called "virtual fence" managed to impress some Congressfolk recently.
Sections of Texas' border with Mexico eventually could be secured by the same kind of high-tech "virtual fence" that's been deployed in Arizona, key legislators said Friday after touring the state-of-the-art surveillance network.The comments by two subcommittee chairmen with the House Homeland Security Committee -- Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, and Christopher Carney, D-Pa.-- followed an inspection tour Friday of the $20.6 million virtual fence near Sasabe, Ariz.
The project links high-tech surveillance towers, cameras, radar, ground sensors and unmanned aerial drones along a 28-mile section of the 1,947-mile international border.
"In Texas, there is an outcry and a great deal of conflict over installing physical barriers along the border," said Jackson Lee, chairman of the panel's subcommittee on transportation security and infrastructure protection. "What I have seen here today can be a very effective 21st century tool to secure our borders."
Carney, the chairman of the panel's oversight subcommittee, called the virtual fence "a tremendous concept" that's ready for eventual deployment elsewhere along the border "once we make sure the bugs are ironed out."
Carney, who toured the area with Jackson Lee and five other lawmakers, said the virtual fence was best suited for sparsely inhabited stretches along the border. "If we can ever get the technology to match the dedication of the Border Patrol personnel here, we'll have an impenetrable border," he said.
[...]
Jackson Lee said the lawmakers' inspection tour turned her from a skeptic into a believer that the blend of high-tech surveillance and targeted deployment of Border Patrol agents could intercept illegal immigrants and drug traffickers.
Flaws in the system have been slashed from 53 to just four, she said.
"I've changed my assessment because the technology did not work -- and now it does," she said.
I remain skeptical for now. I'll say again that given a choice between this and a physical fence, this "virtual" concept is a million times better, and likely to be a lot cheaper as well. It's still not a fix for what's actually broken with our immigration system, and as such I think it's a mis-prioritization of our resources. But if it helps to appease the fence fetishists out there, it's less objectionable than some other options. That's the best I can say about it at this time.
I love stories about demographics.
By 2050, the area between Houston, San Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth will become a single "mega-region" containing 70 percent of the state's population, city planning experts said at a national forum on Friday.Experts attending the Washington conference, dubbed America 2050, said the Texas mega-region, which will be one of 10 in the U.S., will house 24.5 million of the state's projected 35 million residents.
I wish the definition of this region were more precise. I presume it really means the Houston, San Antonio, and D/FW metro areas; if it does, then ten of the state's 15 most populous counties, accounting for a bit more than half of the total population, are in it. And that doesn't include runnerup counties like Brazoria, Bell, McClennan, Ellis, and Wichita (see here for an Excel spreadsheet with populations by county as of 2004). My guess is we're already at about 60 to 65% of the whole enchilada as it is.
[Regional Planning] Association president Bob Yaro said the Texas Triangle is different from the nation's other regions.Large swaths of undeveloped land, he said, exist between the metropolitan areas in Texas, unlike Southern California or the Northeast.
Because the distances between the Texas cities are too great for automobile commuting and too small for cost-effective air links, he said, high-speed rail should be an important new approach.
If there's some way that private companies could make money off of it, they would be interested in building a high-speed rail network, said Thomas Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. But he added that the prospect of profit seems unlikely unless the firms are allowed to use existing rail lines. That, he said, "ain't going to happen because we're having enough trouble moving freight."
True enough, though of course there is another option, that of government investment in such a rail network. Wasn't the Trans Texas Corridor supposed to have a rail component? I'm not sure if that's gotten lost amid the shouting over toll roads or if it's been quietly dropped; the point I'm making is that just as investing in roads is an asset to managing growth, so may investing in alternate forms of transportation be. It doesn't have to be all or nothing.
Yaro said he was impressed by Metro's light-rail project."The fact that Houston's there, moving ahead with this thing in what has been until recently the most automobile-dominated place in the country is really a big step forward," he said.
Some of us certainly think so. We still have a long way to go with it, though.
You don't need subtitles to enjoy this pro-bike-riding ad from Hungary:
But if you really want to know what they're saying, Ezra has a translation.
Now here's the real question: What kind of a reaction do you think an ad like this would get in Houston?
The Chron had a story yesterday about an "Innocence Summit", which focused on matters of wrongful convictions and what can and must be done about them. The first thing to remember here is that this isn't an abstract issue:
Nine wrongfully convicted men who spent a collective 148 years in Texas prisons met with a select group of prosecutors, judges and police chiefs in the Senate chamber Thursday to urge the state to establish a commission to investigate claims of innocence."I'm crying out for mercy today for someone who may still be in prison," said James Curtis Giles, who served 10 years in prison for rape before DNA testing proved him innocent.
[...]
Alejandro Hernandez said he spent 13 years in prison for murder based on a faulty police photo lineup. He said some innocent people could avoid conviction if a person not involved in the investigation handled photo lineups so they would not know which person was the suspect.
Billy Smith fought for five years to have the DNA test that exonerated him and prompted his release from prison after serving 19 years of a life sentence for rape that was based solely on a bad eyewitness identification. He said the state needs to provide better compensation for people who have been wrongfully convicted.
"I'm a victim. Make no mistake about that," Smith said.
Grits has two informative reports from the summit, which offer some hope for movement on the issue, plus a post of changes to lineup procedures in Dallas, which will help prevent future injustices.
New York criminal defense lawyer Barry Scheck, who directs the Innocence Project that has represented many of those freed in Texas, said "enormous progress has been made" in Texas.Scheck praised Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt for making major improvements in the Houston crime lab. But Scheck said every police department in Texas needs to be improving its handling of eyewitness identifications as well as the collection of DNA evidence.
Hurtt said the state should consider funding regional crime labs so that the police are not in charge of them and they can be run on a more professional and efficient basis.
It always comes down to money - or really, given our current state of surplus, to how we prioritize spending that money - doesn't it? If we devoted one tenth of the resources to things like independent regional crime labs that we did to building more prisons, we wouldn't need to hold Innocence Summits. We'd finally be able to say that we really are doing the best we can to prevent these tragedies. And by the way, an independent crime lab has been a campaign theme of Clarence Bradford since he first announced his candidacy.
Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins said efforts by his office to review innocence claims have restored confidence in the criminal justice system locally. Watkins said that several years ago drug dealers knew Dallas juries would not convict them because of a police evidence-planting scandal.Watkins said one of his prosecutors recently was worried he could not get a conviction in a murder case because of publicity surrounding the wrongful-conviction release of 27-year inmate James Lee Woodard. But he said the jury took only five minutes to convict because confidence in the Dallas criminal justice system has been restored.
Maybe you have confidence in the criminal justice system, but if you've noticed that the vast majority of the people who are now being released from prison after being exonerated by DNA evidence are people of color, you might understand why not everyone shares that confidence.
State Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, has been leading the effort to have an "innocence commission" formed in Texas. Ellis told the gathering that he has asked Gov. Rick Perry and other state leaders to establish such a commission but has not heard back from them.Perry's top criminal justice adviser, Mary Anne Wiley, said the governor shares Ellis' concerns on issues such as improving the legal defense for people on trial and separating control of crime laboratories from the control of police departments. But she said he does not want to create another layer of government in the criminal justice system.
I'm sorry, but if the best Rick Perry can do is wring his hands and fret about "another layer of government", whatever that means, then it's a lie to say he shares Sen. Ellis' concerns. If he actually did share those concerns, he'd want to do something about them. Until such time, he remains part of the problem. And if you read through Grits' posts, you'll see that the Governor's intransigence is putting him increasingly at odds with members of his own party. Ensuring that the guilty are convicted and the innocent are not is not and should not be a partisan issue.
We have a second announced candidate for State Sen. Kyle Janek's soon-to-be-open seat.
Houston lawyer Grant Harpold has announced that he will run to replace outgoing State Sen. Kyle Janek.Harpold, a Republican precinct chairman, said if elected, he will pursue GOP stances on lower taxes, smaller government and immigration.
He has lived in the district since 1992 and never has held public office.
"I feel I can have some new ideas on these issues," he said. "Perhaps, new ideas and new ways."
Houston money manager Austen Furse, a Republican, also has started to campaign for the seat.
Furse seems to have lined up a fair amount of establishment support so far. I don't see Harpold being more likely to win than he is.
State Rep. Charlie Howard, R-Sugar Land, and Gary Polland, former Harris County Republican Party chair, are two others who have expressed interest in the race.On the Democratic side, State Rep. Scott Hochberg, of Houston, is among possible contenders.
"I would expect one or more will surface by the end of the month," said Gerry Birnberg, chairman of the Harris County Democratic Party. "We will have a viable candidate for that position."
For all the speculation about this race so far, the only Democratic name I've heard has been Hochberg's, and I think it's safe to say he will only run in a non-November election, so he doesn't have to give up his House seat unless he wins. I'm sure there are other people thinking about this, but no chatter about them has reached my ears or Inbox.
Jay Aiyer, who is an immigration attorney, has a suggestion for the process of verifying eligibility to work.
The reality is that the overwhelming numbers of businesses never knowingly hire anyone they believe is here illegally. They are required by law to inspect employment authorization and to determine if a person can legally work. One problem is that there is no realistic way to verify the authenticity of documents.A possible solution would be to invest in a workable national database that can accurately determine the work authorization of workers. Instead, the government has decided to step up arrests and detention that cost millions more.
Programs like the "E-Verify" program are still too error-prone to be of assistance, and current law doesn't even require such verification. Moreover, while businesses must visually inspect documents, they run the risk of being accused of discrimination if they ask too many questions. Additionally, the documents themselves often can be easily duplicated and forged, making it even more difficult.
Businesses have a duty to inspect work authorization documents and maintain an "employment eligibility verification form" known as an I-9. For the most part, the majority of employers try their best to comply. But the federal government should not place the entire burden of enforcement on them. Instead the government needs to bring employers in as partners.
We all recognize that there are some employers out there who collude with document vendors to their advantage. That is where ICE's resources should be targeted -- not in random raids.
All businesses should conduct regular audits of their own hiring policies and procedures to make sure that all employees are properly filling out I-9 documents. However, federal authorities need to recognize that businesses ought to be encouraged and applauded for a self-audit process without potential penalties from ICE.
I'm a lot more skeptical of self-enforcing processes for businesses these days, given how things have been with the Bush administration. Still, there's a lot here that makes sense, and I do agree that the random-raids method of keeping businesses in line is not helpful. At the very least, I'd like to see more of the debate be along these lines. It's about finding practical solutions that can garner support across the spectrum.
And now for a little weekend frivolity: The Top 10 Feathered-Hair Wearers Of All Time. I might try to work up an argument for including some other people on this august list, but I'm laughing too hard at the pictures to muster the strength. Those of you who are too young to remember this era, all I can tell you is that you had to be there. It's amazing what can seem like a good idea at the time. Enjoy!
Kelly Siegler, a longtime prosecutor at the Harris County District Attorney's Office who lost her bid for the top job there in April's primary elections, resigned today.Siegler, 45, who had worked at the office since 1987, submitted her resignation letter to District Attorney Ken Magidson early this afternoon. It takes effect immediately.
Siegler said she is looking forward to working as a special prosecutor, trying a capital murder case in Wharton County this summer.
Siegler will work alongside Wharton County District Attorney Josh McCown as they prosecute an illegal hunter in the shooting death of Texas Parks and Wildlife game warden Justin Hurst, 34, following a car chase and shootout last year.
"This opportunity came up to work on the case in Wharton County, which is basically home to me," said Siegler, a Matagorda County native. "It's what I love doing. It's what I'm good at."
Siegler has no plans beyond that just yet. She said she would love to work as a special prosecutor on other cases. She has also received job offers from civil law firms and other district attorney's offices, she said.
Asked if she could pursue a career as a criminal defense lawyer, Siegler said, "Never say never."
Siegler's resignation came as a surprise, said Scott Durfee, general counsel and spokesman for the district attorney's office.
It's not a surprise to me, anyway - I'd have thought it would be too uncomfortable for her to stay after losing the primary, regardless of what happens in November, and once you realize that, why wait? As for Siegler becoming a defense attorney, I'll let Mark Bennett handle that. I can't say I'm sorry that Kelly Siegler won't be our next DA, but I do respect the work she's done, and I wish her well in whatever she does do next. Good luck to you, Kelly.
The Chron hits all the right notes on the Harris County jail overcrowding problem.
Holding 10,245 inmates as of midnight Tuesday, the Harris County Jail is so crowded that Sheriff Tommy Thomas has already sent 600 inmates to a lockup in Louisiana and will be sending 1,130 more to facilities in that state.The Texas Commission on Jail Standards recently found the Harris County Jail in compliance with all applicable standards. However, the jail is certified to hold only 9,400 inmates, almost 2,000 fewer than have been recently crowded into its four facilities.
The overcrowding endangers inmates' health. Recently 80 inmates contracted chickenpox or shingles, which share a common virus. The prisoners were quarantined for 21 days and denied visitors. The spread of tuberculosis is a constant worry.
For about 17 inmates per year, detention in the Harris County Jail is a death sentence. They die most often from the failure to receive medication and treatment for illness in a timely fashion.
Some die during violent encounters with their jailers, who are frequently understaffed. Others are badly beaten but survive. Most of the deceased were never convicted of the crime with which they had been charged.
A large part of the jail overcrowding problem resides with the elected judges here. They don't make good use of pre-trial release and other jail diversion programs that allow minor, nonviolent offenders to return to their jobs and families while awaiting trial.
Some judges set up defendants to fail, making the terms of their probation so onerous that successful completion is unlikely. A minor infraction can send a probationer back to jail and then to prison to serve a long sentence.
The Legislature is also to blame. Over the years it has made too many minor offenses felonies. Judges are allowed to set high, unattainable bail, dooming many indigent inmates to months or years of jail time before they have a chance to make their case in court.
Voters in November rejected a bond issue to expand the jail by 2,500 beds, rejecting the notion of placing more Harris County residents needlessly and pointlessly behind bars. That leaves the criminal justice system here with the duty to reduce jail overcrowding by decreasing the number of inmates.
The only thing that needs to be added is that just as the voters took corrective action last year by rejecting the jail bond, they have that chance again this year in November, when many of the judges who are a big part of the problem are up for re-election. I hope that when the Chron gets around to doing its endorsements this fall, the editorial board will remember what it said in the spring.
UPDATE: Grits has more.
On the heels of that Rasmussen poll showing him within four points of Sen. John Cornyn, a second poll has confirmed that Rick Noriega is running a close race.
Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 5/5-7. Likely voters. MoE 4% (9/24-26/07 results)Cornyn (R) 48 (51)
Noriega (D) 44 (35)
That is nothing short of astounding. And lest anyone worry that it's an outlier, these numbers confirm a Rasmussen poll from earlier this week:Rasmussen. 5/1. Likely voters. MoE 4% (No trend lines)
Cornyn (R) 47
Noriega (D) 43
I also pitted McCain against both Obama and Clinton, and here, the results are a little less encouraging:McCain (R) 52
Obama (D) 39McCain (R) 53
Clinton (D) 38
The crosstabs are very interesting, and offer some tantalizing suggestions for this year's election. The first thing to notice is that Noriega does as well among Democrats as Cornyn does among Republicans - indeed, he does a smidge better (Dems go 82-11 for Noriega, Repubs 81-13 for Cornyn) - while independents are split evenly. This is further evidence of the hypothesis that the GOP's built-in advantage in Texas has eroded from about nine points to perhaps half that. That's a gap that can be bridged.
This Presidential poll is the best showing I've seen yet for McCain in Texas; his previous high-water mark was a 51-42 lead over Obama in March. The crosstabs tell an interesting story there, too, as McCain does significantly better among Republicans (83-6 versus Obama, 84-5 against Clinton) than either Democrat does among Dems (79-15 for Obama, 79-16 for Clinton). I believe that will even out once the nomination is finalized. McCain also does better among independents, which he is likely to continue to do, though if the Dems spend some money portraying McCain as four more years of Bush (whose approval rating among indies in this poll is 31-69), that ought to get narrowed.
So we now have two polls showing a close race. The more national interest in this matchup, the better. The next step is closing the fundraising gap. Here's the ActBlue page if you want to help with that.
UPDATE: Noriega liveblogs on Kos. And here's more reaction to the first poll.
Christof brings news of an update to the downtown alignment of the Harrisburg and Southeast rail lines, which have undergone some major alterations and solved a lot of previously noted problems, though in doing so made numerous compromises that will still cause concern. A couple of points:
One good thing about this alignment is that it works well for westward expansion. The tracks will join over Buffalo Bayou, at I-45 between the Hobby Center and Bayou Place. For now, this is where trains will change direction. But these tracks will point directly towards the city courts and Houston Avenue, where the future Inner Katy Line (also authorized by voters in 2003) could head towards Washington Avenue and/or the Heights on its way to the Northwest Transit Center.
That's exciting to hear. It's time to start talking about expanding the system in that direction. I've got some ideas about where I'd like to see the eventual Inner Katy line go, which I'll present in a later post. For now, I'm just glad to see that it would naturally tie into the existing east-west line in downtown, which as we can see from Christof's map would make Minute Maid, the Toyota Center, the (if it ever gets built) Dynamo Stadium, and Discovery Green all easily rail-accessible.
Another compromise: the Main Street line is relatively fast and very reliable because the trains have their own lanes and have traffic signal priority. That won't be true for this line. Like buses do now, the trains will share the curb lanes with cars, both turns and through traffic. [update, prompted by a question from Highway6 in the forums: the track will be on the south side of each street, that is, in the left lane of Capitol and the right lane of Rusk] And the signals will be operated as they are on Capitol and Rusk today: trains will find the lights are sometimes green and sometimes red, and they will stop or go accordingly. There is no doubt that this will slow trains down and throw off schedules: for example, a line of stopped cars in the left lane on one block would force the train to hold in the previous block until the cars moved. It might also be a safety issue, but that's not as clear. In theory, the trains would act like buses, obeying traffic laws and mixing with cars. That avoids accidents that occur because motorists don't expect a train that moves differently than they do, and it does not require unusual turn restrictions. But motorists not used to the area -- like suburbanites going a ballgame or festival -- could get unnerved and drive unexpectedly.
Not having dedicated right-of-way for this part of those lines is disappointing but understandable - I figure it'll be cheaper this way, if nothing else. It's a short enough stretch that the hit on schedule reliability won't be that bad - the vast majority of the time, that trip will have a duration within a reasonably tight range, making it predictable enough. Having the train share a lane with vehicular traffic isn't a big deal - Portland's light rail line does the same thing in places. It's not optimal, but for the relatively small fraction of the route that this represents, it's not a showstopper.
So what we have now may the best we can do, but it deserves scrutiny. Since this exact alignment wasn't included in the previous Draft or Final Environment Impact Statements, it will be included in an upcoming Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, with a public hearing to follow. In other words, there's still time to have a say, and you can start in our forums.
So if you don't like what Metro has done here, you can tell them so, and maybe get them to do a little further tinkering. Speak up, or lose the right to bitch about it later. A more comprehensive updated map of the entire system can be found in Christof's previous post.
As we know, one of the arguments for abolishing the penny (and the nickel) is the high cost of manufacturing them, due to the rising prices of zinc and copper. Congress has tried but not succeeded in passing a law to give the US Mint more flexibility to change the composition of these coins, and now they're trying again.
Surging prices for copper, zinc and nickel have some in Congress trying to bring back the steel-made pennies of World War II, and maybe using steel for nickels, as well.Copper and nickel prices have tripled since 2003 and the price of zinc has quadrupled, said Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., whose subcommittee oversees the U.S. Mint.
Keeping the coin content means "contributing to our national debt by almost as much as the coin is worth," Gutierrez said.
A penny, which consists of 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper, cost 1.26 cents to make as of Tuesday. And a nickel -- 75% copper and the rest nickel -- cost 7.7 cents, based on current commodity prices, according to the Mint.
[...]
On Tuesday, the House debated a bill that directs the Treasury secretary to "prescribe" -- suggest -- a new, more economical composition of the nickel and the penny. A vote was delayed because of Republican procedural moves and is expected later in the week.
Unsaid in the legislation is the Constitution's delegation of power to Congress "to coin money (and) regulate the value thereof."
The Bush administration, like others before, chafes at that.
Just a few hours before the House vote, Mint Director Edmund Moy told House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., that the Treasury Department opposes the bill as "too prescriptive" in part because it does not explicitly delegate the power to decide the new coin composition.
The bill also gives the public and the metal industry too little time to weigh in on the new coin composition, he said.
"We can't wholeheartedly support that bill," Moy said in a telephone interview. Moy said he could not say whether President Bush would veto the House version in the unlikely event that it survived the Senate.
Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., who is retiring at the end of the year, is expected to present the Senate with a version more acceptable to the administration in the next few weeks.
I guess I'm not sure why a President would care so much about how the Mint does its business. Perhaps the Allard bill will help me understand once I see the differences. Anyone know more about this?
BOR has a nice roundup of editorials from state newspapers about the recent voter ID ruling by the Supreme Court and the sure-to-follow effort by the State Lege to pass a similar law here. For the most part, they get it (though as Vince noted, not all of them do). One in particular to highlight is the Lufkin Daily News, which makes the case against about as succinctly as one can:
There are plenty of real problems to tackle - including a severe shortage of prison guards, an alarmingly high drop-out rate among high school students and inadequate funding for highway maintenance and construction, to name just three.
Yes, yes, and yes. The nature of Texas' biennial Legislative season ensures that there are too many worthy (and unworthy) agenda items fighting for a very limited window of opportunity to become law. Time spent on voter ID legislation is time not spent - time that cannot be spent within the 20 weeks of the session - on real problems that should have a higher priority. That the Republican leadership in Texas will choose to put voter ID over more pressing matters like those named by the Lufkin paper tells you a lot about what they stand for. And I'll say it again, if that strikes you as a bad thing, you can do something about it. It's our choice, just as it's their choice.
If I were still living on Staten Island, this guy would be my soon-to-be-former Congressman.
Speculation on the political future of Rep. Vito Fossella (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) is running rampant today after he acknowledged that he is the father of a 3-year-old daughter with divorcee Laura Fay, the retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who picked him up from an Alexandria, Va., jail last week after he was busted for DWI."I have had a relationship with Laura Fay, with whom I have a three year old daughter," the married Fossella said in a prepared statement e-mailed to reporters by consultant Susan Del Percio. "My personal failings and imperfections have caused enormous pain to the people I love and I am truly sorry."
Ms. Del Percio said Fossella would not personally address the media today.
Fossella and his wife, Mary Pat, have three children.
Former GOP Borough President Guy Molinari, who has been among those advising Fossella since the scandal broke exactly one week ago, said that confronting the issue of the child he has with Ms. Fay had been "overwhelming" for Fossella.
"He's in a very difficult mood," said Molinari, who used to hold the congressional seat that Fossella sits in. "He's just in a period of trying to do the right thing."
I'm guessing the right thing would have included not driving drunk, not fathering a child out of wedlock, and not lying about it after getting busted, but it's a tad late for all that. I'll have to ask my dad what he's hearing about this from his buddies back home.
Anyway. Chalk up another tough-to-defend open seat for the Republicans, as if they didn't have enough of those. Daily Kos and Julia, who like me has roots on the Island, have more.
Christine has now been blogging for eight years. In Internet time, that's approximately since the dawn of the Paleocene epoch. Speaking as someone who's been at it for a mere 6.5 years, all I can say is "We are not worthy". Happy blogiversary, Christine!
One possible option for dealing with the overcrowded jails, at least until a more permanent solution can be implemented: Ship some inmates to Galveston.
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said he planned to speak with Galveston County Judge James Yarbrough about using his empty 500-bed lockup."If we've got a jail next door, it sure would make a lot of sense if we could do it," Emmett said.
[...]
Galveston County vacated its old jail in 2006, after building a new one as part of a $99 million criminal justice complex.
Yarbrough said the old facility was in fine shape and met all state standards when it was operational, but was too small for the 900 to 1,000 inmates that Galveston County had been holding in recent years.
Both county judges said it was too early to estimate what it would cost to lease and staff the Galveston jail. Yarbrough said he probably would not be able to provide detention officers, so Harris County would have to use its own guards or pay a private contractor. But he said he would offer the best deal he could arrange.
"We can't just give it to them, but certainly Harris County's been a good friend on a whole number of fronts," Yarbrough said. "We certainly would, hopefully, make a fair deal for everybody."
Note that this is only a solution if jailers are provided by Harris County. Given that the county has had problems hiring enough jailers for its own lockups, that may be an obstacle. Or it may just make it too damn expensive. In any event, it's just another Band-Aid fix that doesn't address the root cause of the problem. It's better than outsourcing to Louisiana, but it's still not the right answer.
The TSU-Dynamo Stadium marriage is inching closer to reality.
Two weeks after he first expressed interest in the project and a couple of meetings and phone conversations later, newly appointed TSU athletic director Charles McClelland said the school is willing to invest in the construction of the 22,000-capacity stadium in exchange for the rights to use it."My understanding of the proposal is that the Houston Dynamo and Texas Southern University would share the use of the stadium, including some signage, so it would be the home of Texas Southern University athletics and football program," McClelland said Wednesday, two days after meeting with a city official involved in the stadium negotiations. "We're interested and understand that there has to be a financial commitment from the university, but we are very pleased with the direction of the talks and hope to be able to come to a resolution in the near future."
While McClelland declined to disclose the size or range of the financial commitment because of the ongoing nature of the talks, he is confident the range that has been discussed is "within the capability of the university."
Andy Icken, the city's deputy director of public works, who is heading negotiations on a stadium deal, said he discussed TSU's interest in entering the soccer stadium deal at a meeting Monday.
TSU's proposal makes sense because the Tigers could use the stadium for their football games and the city could rely on TSU's financial participation as a way to keep additional tax dollars from being spent on the facility, Icken said.
"If we can make it happen, we will," Icken said. "We have nothing other than discussions going on at this point."
As I said before, I think this makes a lot of sense, and would be a win for everyone involved. I hope they can make it happen.
The first thing you have to come to grips with in discussing the race for Harris County Tax Assessor is that Paul Bettencourt got almost 25,000 more votes than George W. Bush did in Harris County in 2004. No other candidate in a contested race did that; indeed, no other candidate in a contested race topped the President. Bettencourt, more than any other candidate on the ballot, was successful at getting people who otherwise voted Democratic to push the button for him.
For that reason, I believe he'll be the hardest candidate for the Democrats to knock off this year. He's already got a history of getting crossover support, which despite Harris County's long-term Republican tilt is likely going to be necessary for survival. While he's been about as visible as his colleagues in countywide executive offices, he doesn't have the baggage that Chuck Rosenthal had and Tommy Thomas has. Despite his outspokenness on various partisan issues and his position of leadership within the Harris County GOP, he has somehow managed to maintain some distance between his party identity and his elected office.
It stands to reason, then, that one of the keys for Diane Trautman if she hopes to beat him in the election is to narrow that gap. If being a Republican is a liability this year, as evidence suggests it is, then she needs to make sure the voters know he's a Republican. In particular, to make sure Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters know that Bettencourt stands against them on matters like voter ID, and that he stands with Dan Patrick on matters of taxation, which in turn means shifting the burden to those who are less well-off. If she can limit him to mostly Republican support, she can work on getting her own crossovers. At the very least, she can begin to hope that the expected Democratic wave will lift her to victory.
Trautman may be able to benefit from some synergy with other campaigns as well. David Mincberg has identified reforming the Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD) as an issue for his campaign. That will give Trautman an opportunity to note that while Bettencourt is forever complaining about appraisal increases for average homeowners, HCAD (and, to be fair, pretty much every other appraisal district in the state) does a terrible job of fairly assessing the value of commercial properties, which in turn lets them shoulder a disporportionately small share of the overall tax burden, and that this is something Bettencourt never talks about. Matters of ethics that will be and have been raised by Mincberg and the other camapaigns will dovetail nicely with her professional background. Having a coordinated campaign for the county will benefit her.
And if I were in charge of that coordinated campaign, I'd do what I could to boost Trautman's profile and ensure her campaign has the resources it needs. Not so much from a strategic viewpoint - of the races discussed so far, I expect this one to drive the discourse the least - but from a public policy perspective. Taking out Bettencourt would reap sizable rewards; it would deal a big blow to the appraisal caps movement, and would put a much friendlier face in charge of Harris County's voter rolls, one who might put more effort into registering voters than purging them. That's got to be worth some kind of investment in her candidacy. I've mentioned this in conversation with various people, but I have no idea if anything will happen along these lines.
As for Bettencourt, I presume he'll keep doing what he's always done, which among other things has consistently gotten him a decent amount of generally positive press. Of the incumbents who have been elected to their office before (Tommy Thomas and Mike Stafford are the others), he has the least baggage and the best justification for simply running on his record. I don't think I'd do anything too fancy if I were him, just keep my name out there and tout my accomplishments as often as possible. If that's going to work for anyone this year, it will work for him.
PREVIOUSLY:
Introduction
District Attorney
County Judge
Sheriff
Last Friday the Statesman wrote a story about Capitol employees who earn a part-time wage but are listed as full-time and receive the same health insurance and pension benefits as full-time employees.
Capitol insiders say that hiring employees as full-time workers while paying them part-time salaries is a longstanding practice at the Legislature, a way to get benefits for workers who otherwise would not qualify for them.It costs taxpayers a minimum of $284 a month for health insurance for a full-time worker, according to calculations from the Employees Retirement System of Texas. And it costs much more to pay higher retirement benefits that the additional years of service can bring.
Even so, some lawmakers argue that the practice is legal and that any questions about it are off-base. Under House rules, each lawmaker is allowed to hire whom they want on whatever schedule they want. Thirty-three of the House's approximately 700 employees make less than $600 a month -- the amount lawmakers earn, according to House payroll records for February.
House Speaker Tom Craddick said he has ordered the House General Investigating and Ethics Committee and the state attorney general to look into the practice. Last week, subpoenas went to House officials for personnel records as part of a preliminary investigation by the Travis County district attorney's office.
"If some legislators are paying employees with taxpayer dollars who are performing little or no work, that is an egregious misuse of state money," Craddick said in a statement to the American-Statesman. "It must be stopped immediately and with full restitution made."
Lawmakers who have made such hires defend them, saying it is difficult to hire good workers for a part-time Legislature, which meets only five months every other year. Furthermore, they said, they have limited budgets with which to hire professional staff.
"That was part of the discussion when I hired him," Rep. Craig Eiland, D-Galveston, said of his deal with Zbranek. " 'I can't pay you too much. It's just $300 a month. The insurance and benefits make up a little more.' "
At least one lawmaker chalked up the inquiries to House politics, a charge Craddick's office denies.
Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, who hired Fazio, challenged Craddick's leadership a year ago as part of a power play that continues now with several announced candidates to unseat him. The issues concerning the employees are likely to fuel that dispute.
"If there's a target here, it's me because of the issues I've had with the leadership," Cook said, referring to Craddick. " This is generated by one source and one source only, and that has to have come in a whisper from the speaker's office.
"I have nothing to hide."
Other lawmakers said the blame rests with House administration officials.
"If there was anything wrong ... the House Administration Committee should have told me. They review everything we do," said Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, who has three full-time, low-paid workers on his staff, including Wise. Dunnam also said he hired former state Rep. Dale Tillery in a similar case several years ago.
But Rep. Tony Goolsby, R-Dallas, who chairs the House Administration Committee, which oversees personnel issues, said lawmakers -- not his committee or House officials -- are responsible for running their offices according to state rules.
"That's up to them," he said. "That's the way the rules are written at present."
In case it's not clear from this excerpt, all of the lawmakers cited for this practice are opponents of House Speaker Tom Craddick, whose letter to the Statesman led to the article. This has, not surprisingly, caused a huge fight to break out. Phillip Martin, who worked as a House staffer in 2007, gives some context:
1. There's nothing illegal or unethical about any of this. All hires of House employees are public record. The Speaker's office -- though they deny it -- receives copies of each and every one of these hires. This practice has been long-standing and well understood; for Craddick to feign surprise is total crap.2. There's nothing fiscally irresponsible about any of this. The $284 monthly cost of paying for health benefits for these hires doesn't amount to squat in the face of a $10-billion surplus. And considering that the children of state employees -- including Craddick's own daughter -- also receive health benefits, then I don't see any monetary significance to this alleged "revelation."
3. Craddick is responsible for the oversight of all House employees. Moreover, the Speaker ultimately oversees the office of House Administration -- at least, if he wants to claim responsibility that Denise Davis was an employee of the Speaker's office, then the same thing applies to the employees in the Payroll and Personnel department of House Administration. Either Craddick is responsible for this, or he's not. Or, he's just a political hypocrite waging war because...I don't even know why.
4. Staffers are paid meager wages. Like all state employees (except State Senate staffers), House staffers barely get paid what they deserve. They accept 50-70% of their "market value" in order to help serve the people of Texas, and part-time workers will accept even less. Craddick and Mike Ward may have cherry-picked some admittedly extreme examples, but there are dozens more who are hard-working, barely getting-by staffers just trying to help out. Waging war on them is going to backfire.
The obviously political nature of Craddick's actions is laid out clearly by Harvey Kronberg:
In his press release on May 2, General Investigating Committee Chairman Larry Phillips said, "On April 7, 2008, Speaker Tom Craddick's office notified the House General & Investigating Committee..."Three weeks later, the Speaker's office apparently formally notified the three members referred to the General Investigating Committee of their problem with an Austin American Statesman story by Mike Ward.
The speaker's office apparently elected to ignore the more traditional House practice of notifying members about possible improprieties and offering the members an opportunity to cure any problems. Instead, these "issues" that Phillips knew about in early April went public in a May news story along with referrals to the Travis County District Attorney's office.
We have asked the Speaker's office if they can cite any precedent where House resources were used by a Speaker to publicly damage sitting House members. Development of this story required co-ordination between the House Business Office, House Accounting and possibly even the Legislature's law firm, the Legislative Council.
Kronberg got a reply that didn't actually address the question, which he subsequently published. He continues:
It appears that Chairman Goolsby has also taken some liberties with "part time" employees.For instance, lobbyist Jennifer Shelley Rodriguez appears as a full time employee on Goolsby's Monthly Financial Statement from January to March of 2004. In January and February, her full time status earned her $500 a month. In March, she pulled down only $326.09. Rodriguez, the daughter of former Senator and current lobbyist Dan Shelley appears to have been a registered lobbyist in 2004 with at least 14 clients.
Again, according to the Monthly Financial Statement received by each House member, another full time employee making $500/month was Jennifer Fein. She held this status from September 2005 to January 2006.
In 2003, before SB1370 was passed, Goolsby had Eric Goldberg as a full time $500 month employee from January 20, 2003 to May 10 of the same year.
And finally, Ernest Stromberger, former executive director of Independent Insurance Agents of America shows up for 20 hours a week from December 2, 2002 to January 8, 2003.
We identified these issues and requested comment from Goolsby but had received none as of press time.
The point is not that Tony Goolsby did anything malevolent. The point is that if the chair of House Administration did not know he was acting improperly according to the Speaker's standards, it is silly to presume that members submitting their vouchers to him for approval would know they were doing anything improper.
Frankly, it is doubtful whether most of Mr. Craddick's leadership team can survive the same coordinated scrutiny directed towards Dunnam, Eiland, Cook and Coleman. If their cases are to be referred to the General Investigating Committee and the Travis County District Attorney, then so should Goolsby and other names that are already finding their way to this observer.
The Lone Star Project has more on Goolsby's part-time-pay, full-time-benefit hires, and QR has a letter from Eiland to Goolsby that asks some pointed questions. For instance:
Among myriad other issues, he pointed out that no mechanism is in place to log workers' hours and with their bosses, i.e. the lawmakers, often away from the Capitol, Eiland wondered how staffers' hours would be verified. Would staffers be forced to punch a time clock or swipe a badge when they enter the Capitol parking garage, he asked? How was lunch to be treated?Another problem is that Capitol staffers often have uneven work demands throughout the year, Eiland wrote. During session, staffers often rack up well more than 40 hours a week. Would enforcement of a 40-hour week extend to creating a comp time system to account for the overtime accrued, he asked?
So anyway. Consider this all to be the opening salvos of the 2009 fight over the Speakership. If you thought 2007 was ugly, just wait. And as always, if you want to have an effect on the outcome of the Speaker's race, please consider donating to TexBlog PAC. Thanks very much.
The Houston Politics blog flags a fundraising letter and accompanying clip sheet (both PDFs) from the Clarence Bradford for DA campaign, which prominently feature Chuck Rosenthal's follies, and ask the question "Is Rosenthal still a campaign issue?" To which my answer is Yes, though perhaps not quite in the manner intended by this question. As I wrote in my overview of the DA race, I believe that Rosenthal's resignation, combined with Kelly Siegler's loss in the GOP primary and the appointment of Ken Magidson as the interim DA has largely created the perception that the "Rosenthal era" is over, and problems associated with it are gone with him. I don't necessarily agree with all that, but there's certainly a lot less turmoil now than there was a few months ago. So to some extent, Rosenthal is diminished as an issue. He's not there, continuing to screw things up and generally be a distraction. For good reason, people are forgetting him and moving on.
That said, there are two ways in which Rosenthal will keep on being an issue. There is a new guy in place, and he is doing some things differently, but the people and policies there are largely Rosenthal's, and will be so until a new DA is elected. Both candidates are campaigning on how they will change the way the office is run, and you can't have that conversation without talking about what Rosenthal did, for good or bad. Unless Ken Magidson decides that being an interim manager is no obstacle to making sweeping changes - something I think is extremely unlikely - Bradford or Lykos will inherit more or less the same office from him that they would have from Rosenthal. They can and will talk about how their office will differ.
That's largely operational in nature - things like transparency, ethics, and not doing stupid things with email. There's also the matter of philosophy and judgment. Both candidates will argue that their judgment is better than Rosenthal's on pretty much everything, but philosophy will be an interesting point. Bradford is definitely staking out a new direction for the office, in the mold of Dallas DA Craig Watkins, which would represent a very big change from Rosenthal. Pat Lykos hasn't really talked about this sort of thing as yet, mostly because I think she doesn't substantially differ from Rosenthal on these matters. Here, I think the two candidates will speak more directly to and at each other, but whether Lykos differentiates herself from Rosenthal on some or all of this or not, they'll still be talking about him. And if Lykos sticks with Rosenthal philosophically, then in some sense the election will be about whether the voters liked the way Rosenthal ran things but had had enough of him personally, or if they were tired of how he conducted business as well.
On this score, I feel confident that Lykos will prefer it if Rosenthal's name doesn't get mentioned too much. Even if she won't change a thing in how the office carries out prosecutions, she'd rather not be associated with him in any way. It therefore makes sense for Bradford to keep bringing Rosenthal up, because it will allow him to make the case that Lykos doesn't represent a real change but he does. So yes, Rosenthal is and will be a campaign issue.
I give these candidates a lot of credit for guts.
Hispanic residents making their first run for office are on Saturday's ballot for City Council in Farmers Branch and Irving, where illegal immigration is a major issue.[...]
Farmers Branch became a front in the anti-illegal immigration movement nearly two years ago when the City Council voted to bar landlords from renting apartments in the city to illegal immigrants. Lawsuits filed by opponents have prevented the ordinance from taking effect.
Irving made headlines when police began screening arrestees for possible referral to federal immigration officials. The city's policy has resulted in the deportation of about 2,700 people since September 2006.
[...]
The Hispanic candidates say they can see the tension when they campaign.
"It's unfortunate that it's gotten ugly -- threatening calls and things like that," said Ruben Rendon, 58, a school psychologist running in Farmers Branch. "People said, 'I'm not talking to you.' And you don't even know anything about me. You just assume."
The Hispanic candidates say immigration is not their only issue. Irving City Council candidate Nancy Guadalupe Rivera, 21, a student at the University of Texas at Arlington, said she wants to improve park and recreational services. Irving mayoral candidate Rigo Reza, 37, said he wants to ensure that police have the equipment and training they need. Rendon wants more open government. And Claudia Villarreal, 21, a Brookhaven College student, bank teller and candidate for Farmers Branch City Council, said she wants to clean up trash in the commercial areas.
On immigration, the four disagree with their cities' tough stances.
Reza and Rivera said only serious criminals suspected of illegal immigration -- not people arrested on suspicion of minor crimes, such as traffic offenses -- should be turned over to federal authorities.
"I feel like [Irving has] been doing racial profiling, and that's not right," Rivera said.
[...]
Farmers Branch's mounting legal fees are a major issue. Rendon said the city is wasting money defending the rental ban in court. He said immigration enforcement should be left to the federal government.
"We just can't keep spending money like there's no tomorrow," said Rendon, who served on the city's Planning and Zoning Commission for nine years.
I wish these folks well, though it seems unlikely any of them will win. Maybe someday, when Farmers Branch has single member Council districts, there will be a place at the table for them. Link via South Texas Chisme.
At least, they're good for the budget.
The nation may be on the verge of a recession, but the Texas economy is doing well enough for Comptroller Susan Combs to predict Tuesday that the Legislature will have a $10.7 billion surplus when it convenes in January.Much of the extra money can be attributed to record oil prices. While motorists are being socked with ever-increasing gasoline costs, oil and gas employment in Texas has been booming, the comptroller's office reported.
If Combs' early forecast holds up, Gov. Rick Perry would like to return part of the money to the taxpayers in the form of tax cuts or rebate checks, spokesman Robert Black said. But those steps would need legislative action.
[...]
"With a surplus of this magnitude, I know the governor believes we need to look at some sort of tax relief, whether it be on property taxes, business taxes or some type of actual rebate, like the federal government can do but we haven't been able to," Black said.
The last installment of school property tax cuts ordered by Perry and the Legislature in 2006 went into effect last year, but much of the savings already has been eroded by rising property values and appraisals.
An expanded business tax, enacted to help pay for the property tax reductions, is still untried and under fire. Companies had until May 15 to file their first reports under the new levy, and Combs recently extended that deadline by 30 days.
Perry floated the tax rebate idea in the 2007 session, but it went nowhere. It would require a constitutional amendment, including a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate plus approval by Texas voters.
Black acknowledged that there will be a need for increased spending on crucial needs, such as Medicaid and public education, including higher fuel costs for school buses, and the Legislature will have to balance those demands.
But, he added, the governor wants to keep Texas' economic engine "going and growing."
In budget-preparation instructions this week, the governor's office and the Legislative Budget Board asked agencies to submit zero-growth spending requests plus options for reducing spending by 10 percent.
I'm glad to see that the need to spend more on things like education, if only to cover rising costs, has been acknowledged by the Governor's office. Let's just say that I'm skeptical about the words getting translated into actions, however. I think there's going to be a lot of pressure to cut or even abolish the business margins tax, and I fear that will be given priority. As always, the best way to ensure that education isn't given the shaft is to make sure we have a Speaker who actually cares about it. You know what that means.
I suppose this is reasonable enough.
On the heels of unprecedented scrutiny of the Harris County District Attorney's Office, interim District Attorney Ken Magidson won approval from Commissioners Court on Tuesday to create a public information office at a cost of about $270,000 a year.In documents submitted to the court, Magidson said the office's current policy of allowing investigators and assistant district attorneys to talk directly with the media has become difficult to supervise. He described his plan for a public information attorney and public information officer to serve as the "face and voice" of the office in his absence and said they would serve as the liaison between the news media and the staff.
Magidson insisted Tuesday that the change would not restrict the flow of information, even as his general counsel, who is acting as the office's spokesman until the division is created, said access to assistant district attorneys would be limited.
"We're just trying to alleviate a problem in the office, and that is, we're not able to get the kind of responses in a timely and professional manner I want," Magidson said. "That's all."
[...]
In Harris County, reporters currently can contact assistant district attorneys directly to ask them about cases they are handling. After a trial ends, prosecutors often hold impromptu press conferences in the hallway of the courtroom to discuss the verdict.
Scott Durfee, the general counsel for the district attorney's office, said the new policy would route reporters' questions through the public information office, and prosecutors' post-verdict comments would be carefully crafted by the media specialists in consultation with the district attorney. In some instances, only a written statement would be provided, he said.
"It's not going to be the prosecutors' call any more as to what gets said or not said," Durfee said. "It's going to be the district attorney's call."
When told that Magidson said prosecutors would be free to comment, as long as they observed all ethical and legal guidelines, Durfee deferred to his boss.
"Obviously, this is a work in progress," he said.
Maybe that proves Magidson's point about the need to streamline communications. As long as this really does improve things and allows equal or better transparency, I'm okay with it. Both DA candidates seem to like the idea, for what it's worth. At this time at least, I've no objections.
I am a member of the TexBlog PAC board. The following email was sent to our supporters list yesterday. Please donate to Diana Maldonado and TexBlog PAC!
Diana has been elected here before. In 2003 she was elected President of the Round Rock ISD Board of Trustees with 60.12% of the vote.
She is running for State Representative in District 52 because she understands we need leadership that represents people, not special interests. After twenty-two years as an award winning government efficiency expert in the Texas Comptroller's Office and a track record of success in building diverse coalitions and achieving specific goals, she is ready to represent the people of Texas and bring balance and common sense back to the people's house.
The Numbers
In 2006, incumbent Republican Mike Krusee barely won reelection. Under-funded Democrat Karen Felthauser spent a mere $16,000 and held Krusee to an unimpressive 50.4% of the vote.
In the 2004 Presidential election an impressive 43,903 Texans voted in House District 52. In the 2008 Democratic Primary Maldonado earned 16,870 votes, identifying more than enough Democrats to be competitive during this historic election.
The Vision
As a Trustee and former President of the Round Rock School Board, Diana has the hands-on experience needed to represent the people of Williamson County. Her campaign is focused on making sure our classrooms are fully funded and staffed with terrific, professional teachers. Diana will look for equitable solutions to funding Texas schools.
Diana knows that making healthcare accessible and affordable is fundamental to all Texas children and families. She has pledged to pursue federal matching funds that will ease the price of healthcare to Texas taxpayers and to restore the Children Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and enroll all eligible children.
As a single mother who worked her way through college, Diana understands first-hand how tough it is for Texas families to afford higher education. That's why she wants to increase access to public universities, technical schools, and community colleges for working families and young people. As a full-time manager at the Texas Comptroller's Office, Diana has a wealth of experience that will make her a great State Representative for House District 52.
We proudly join, Annie's List, Education Round Rock, AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, Texas State Teachers Association, and many more in endorsing Diana Maldonado for House District 52.
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The state's strip clubs had thought they'd won an injunction against the $5/person fees imposed by HB1751, but that victory was short-lived when the Attorney General ruled that the fee was still in place while the state appealed the ruling. Now they're trying their luck with the Supreme Court.
An association representing strip clubs asked the Texas Supreme Court on Monday to stop the state from collecting a new fee that a trial court has ruled unconstitutional.The state has already received $3.3 million in payments from the clubs in their initial quarterly payments due last month.
The emergency petition is designed to prevent clubs from having to remit the fee while the state appeals a March ruling from a Travis County state district judge.
The Texas Entertainment Association has attempted to stop collection of the fee, arguing that some clubs would be forced into closure by the expense. The group was turned down last month by the Third Court of Appeals.
In the ruling on the constitutionality, a judge said the $5-per-patron fee is unconstitutional because the state failed to link the First Amendment-protected activity to the programs being funded by the tax. He halted collection of the tax at that time, but his ruling was automatically stayed when the state appealed.
OK then. We'll get this all sorted eventually.
I identified one simple fix for the Harris County jail overcrowding problem yesterday, but there is another, hopefully more permanent solution, one that can be implemented in six months' time. As Grits puts it:
As long as Sheriff Thomas, Chuck Rosenthal, and Houston's current crop of ex-prosecutor judges runs the show, however, such a review would be pointless. The problems were identified years ago, the solutions all proposed, but if the elected people currently in charge won't embrace them, what can you do?
Rosenthal is gone, though his philosophy will remain until someone with a different perspective is elected. The judges are a big part of this problem, probably the biggest. But no one in county government has held them responsible for their actions, choosing instead to throw money at it. Now the voters can and hopefully will do that job this fall.
Via JK On the Phone, here's a story that's close to my heart.
CANADIAN bureaucrats' use of BlackBerry mobile devices and similar gadgets has become so prevalent that their union today called for extra wages for workers connected 24/7 to their office."We have old clauses in our collective agreement that cover standby pay, but these clauses have to be updated because these devices have changed the definition of work and being called after-hours,'' said Ed Cashman, regional vice-president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).
"If you have a BlackBerry, you are essentially available 24 hours, seven days per week,'' he said.
"If you want that degree of availability, you have to pay people for it.''
[...]
The federal government has told the union that "they're willing to talk to us about this issue,'' Mr Cashman said.
But pundits warned the union may get more than it bargained for, as workers could be expected to check their BlackBerry when they should be relaxing or spending time with family.
"These people are interrupting their lives,'' Carleton University professor Linda Duxbury told the Ottawa Citizen newspaper.
"I wouldn't want to legitimise it by (having employers) say, 'We are entitled to send them (staff) messages because they are being compensated for it.
"How can you compensate someone for their divorce, the fact that their kids hate them or don't know them?''
I suppose it's a matter of what the expectation is now. If such an employee puts the BlackBerry in his nightstand on Friday afternoon and ignores it till Monday morning, does he get dinged on his evaluation for not being sufficiently in sync with team goals or some similar nonsense? In other words, is it already a de facto expectation that regular email checking during off hours is a part of the job description? If it is, then you may as well make it official and be properly compensated for it. Or at least you can know what the job really entails and choose to avoid it because of that.
I'm a BlackBerry server admin in my civilian guise, so I do keep an eye on the handheld over the weekend and whatnot. I have a lot of customers in Asia, so a quick email check before bedtime can save a lot of time on certain correspondences. It's not particularly onerous for me, but I've received enough email at bizarre hours from other folks to know that it can be much worse. I don't know enough about the particulars here to offer advice to these Canadians, but I think in general it's something that depends a lot on the job, the corporate culture, and the boss. I'd review my situation very carefully before I made a decision.
I nominate these ladies as the poster children of the voter ID debate.
About 12 Indiana nuns were turned away Tuesday from a polling place by a fellow bride of Christ because they didn't have state or federal identification bearing a photograph.Sister Julie McGuire said she was forced to turn away her fellow sisters at Saint Mary's Convent in South Bend, across the street from the University of Notre Dame, because they had been told earlier that they would need such an ID to vote.
The nuns, all in their 80s or 90s, didn't get one but came to the precinct anyway.
"One came down this morning, and she was 98, and she said, 'I don't want to go do that,'" Sister McGuire said. Some showed up with outdated passports. None of them drives.
They weren't given provisional ballots because it would be impossible to get them to a motor vehicle branch and back in the 10-day time frame allotted by the law, Sister McGuire said. "You have to remember that some of these ladies don't walk well. They're in wheelchairs or on walkers or electric carts."
As we know, vote fraud by nuns is rampant in Texas. Thank God we have David Dewhurst and Greg Abbott on the job to root it out. Link via Swampland.
The only government-funded needle exchange program in Texas was quashed before it could even begin, after Attorney General Greg Abbott said today that the law wasn't clear enough for a new Bexar County pilot program to move forward.The decision means that San Antonio prosecutors are likely to move forward with their case against a 73-year-old chaplain, Bill Day, who was ticketed for passing out needles earlier this year.
Prosecutors have said that drug charges against Mr. Day, who is also living with AIDS, and two others might be dropped if Mr. Abbott decided that legislation creating the program - which passed with support from both Republicans and Democrats - was strong enough to bypass the Texas Controlled Substances Act, which outlaws paraphernalia.
Abbott's opinion is here. I'm in agreement with Grits:
I'm not a lawyer, but I find the stance ridiculous. The Legislature authorized a needle exchange pilot in Bexar County, which by definition involves allowing needles to be exchanged with addicts. But according to Abbott, because:
the Legislature has expressly demonstrated its ability and willingness to exclude otherwise criminal acts from prosecution under the Texas Controlled Substances Act--but did not do so here--this office can neither assume nor legislate such an intent.
So in other words, Abbott believes the Legislature intended to allow a needle exchange program in San Antonio but simultaneously intended for participants - both addicts and government employees - to be prosecuted for engaging in it. That's angeringly stupid, but there's little to be done about it until the Legislature gets back to town.
It's also sadly typical of our Attorney General, who has a nasty habit of putting politics ahead of pretty much everything else he does. The needle-exchange bill was a bipartisan effort and is a proven lifesaver. Not that any of that matters to him.
What a waste. Both Abbott and Bexar County DA Susan Reed should be ashamed of themselves. I hope fixing this petty problem is a top priority for the next Lege. Read on for a press release from State Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, who was one of the authors of the needle exchange bill.
State Representative Ruth Jones McClendon (D-House District 120) announced today that Attorney General Greg Abbott has issued his official opinion concerning the Bexar County disease-control and prevention pilot program, which would have authorized a ground-breaking needle exchange pilot program in Bexar County. The Opinion stated that the pilot program could proceed without the needle-and-syringe exchange component, although it had been authorized in the enabling legislation; however, if the County proceeds with the safe needle exchange program, the opinion states that participants in the program "would appear to be subject to prosecution."Representative McClendon said, "Obviously, I am terribly disappointed that the safe needle exchange project cannot roll out this year as part of the overall disease-control pilot program, because the outcome would have been much more effective in saving thousands of lives and saving millions of taxpayer dollars at the same time. The concept of rehabilitation and restorative justice needs to be promoted as a meaningful part of our criminal justice system. This next Session, one of the first Bills I will file will be legislation allowing Bexar County and other Texas communities to implement safe needle exchange programs to prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV-AIDS and Hepatitis C, for which there are, unfortunately, no vaccines available."
McClendon also said, "I want to offer my sincere thanks publicly to Senator Jeff Wentworth for taking the lead on this matter and submitting the opinion request. Controlling the spread of infectious diseases such as Hepatitis C and HIV-AIDS obviously would benefit the public at large, the medical community, the courts, and the taxpayers of Bexar County. I also want to thank Judge Nelson Wolff, the County Commissioners and community development staff, Senator Bob Deuell, the Texas Medical Association and Dr. Janet Realini, Dr. Bill Martin, the volunteer consultants, and the many other persons and organizations who advocated and worked so diligently to promote legislative and community approval for this program."
Senate Bill 10, known as the Omnibus Medicaid Bill, authorized a disease-control pilot program in Bexar County, specifically targeting infectious diseases such as hepatitis C and HIV-AIDS, which cost the state around $110,000,000 per year. The pilot program arose from a successful amendment to Senate Bill 10 by Representative McClendon. S.B.10 passed the Legislature and was signed by the Governor, enabling Bexar County to operate a safe needle-exchange outreach effort. The law was scheduled to take effect September 1, 2007, but public implementation was put on hold after District Attorney Susan Reed raised objections in August, saying that it would be illegal to conduct such a program because, in her opinion, the law was defective. The County Commissioners decided to fund the planning phase and engage a coordinator for the program while awaiting the opinion from the Attorney General.
Senator Jeff Wentworth, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee (R-Senate District 25) had submitted the request for the AG opinion in regard to part of S.B.10. The issues raised against the needle exchange challenged the meaning and effect of the pilot program statutory language in regard to trial procedure matters and the legal defenses that could be presented in court. As Chair of the Senate Jurisprudence Committee, Senator Wentworth submitted the opinion request, to determine whether this program could go forward as intended by the Legislature.
It's the same old story.
With the Harris County Jail already filled to the brim and an influx of inmates expected this summer, the sheriff's department is asking Commissioners Court for permission to send another 1,130 more inmates to Louisiana facilities.Harris County already incarcerates 600 inmates at a private detention center in northeast Louisiana at a cost of $9 million a year.
The proposal on today's agenda calls for sending 130 more inmates to that facility and negotiating with other lockups for another 1,000 beds on an as-needed basis. At $38 per inmate per day, those additions could bring the annual cost for incarcerating inmates outside Harris County to $24 million.
For purposes of comparison, that token property tax cut from last year is costing the county $25 million a year.
As of Monday, a little more than 11,000 inmates were being housed in the jail's four facilities, sheriff's department spokesman Capt. John Martin said.The Harris County Jail is certified to hold a maximum of 9,400 inmates. The state jail commission temporarily has authorized the detention of 2,000 more inmates on so-called "variance beds," nonstandard metal frame bunks on the floor. The county originally was granted permission for 1,000 extra bunks last year, but has had to ask for increases several times in the past year, Martin added.
[...]
The county began shipping inmates to the West Carroll Detention Center in Epps, La., last summer in what was described as an emergency measure for dealing with a seasonal surge in the inmate population.
But the population never declined, as it typically does in the fall and winter, Martin said, forcing officials to scramble for space as another summer approaches.
To meet staffing requirements, the Sheriff's Office spent $29 million for overtime at the jail in the fiscal year that ended in February. Most guards are working double shifts more than once a week, Martin said, raising concerns about their health and safety.
"It's a huge concern for us the number of hours that people can physically work without just becoming burnt out or before they get to a point where they're not really as aware as we need for them to be on the job," he said.
[...]
Commissioner Sylvia Garcia said the proposal appears to be the only viable option. But she said she also thinks there needs to be a full-scale review of the criminal justice system, from arrest and booking to prosecution and sentencing.
"That's a lot of money for short-term solutions," she said.
I think we've covered this subject pretty thoroughly, so I'll try to avoid giving that dead horse any more lashes. But if Commissioners Court decides it really does want to take these out-of-control costs seriously, here's a recent reminder from the Chron as to one step that could have been taken all along:
Over the past 15 years, the use of personal bonds has all but disappeared in low-grade felony cases. Most Harris County district court judges say they would consider them for the right defendant, but the numbers suggest the "right" defendant rarely appears.It has not always been this way. In 1994, personal bonds accounted for the release of almost 9,000 people from the Harris County Jail, including more than 1,800 facing low-grade felony charges, frequently drug possession.
A decade later, only 109 felony defendants were let out of jail without posting a cash bond. By 2007 that number was up slightly -- to 153 -- which translates into less than one half of one percent of the 36,176 people in jail interviewed by pretrial services officers.
That right there would be enough to solve the problem and save us all millions of dollars. We can still do something about it, so as to ensure this expensive outsourcing of inmates really is a short-term solution and not an ongoing occurrance. The answers are well known. We just have to apply them.
Mildred Loving, one-half of the Virginia couple whose Supreme Court case struck down laws against interracial marriage, has died at the age of 68.
Loving and her white husband, Richard, changed history in 1967 when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld their right to marry. The ruling struck down laws banning racially mixed marriages in at least 17 states.''There can be no doubt that restricting the freedom to marry solely because of racial classifications violates the central meaning of the equal protection clause,'' the court ruled in a unanimous decision.
Her husband died in 1975. Shy and soft-spoken, Loving shunned publicity and in a rare interview with The Associated Press last June, insisted she never wanted to be a hero -- just a bride.
''It wasn't my doing,'' Loving said. ''It was God's work.''
Mildred Jeter was 11 when she and 17-year-old Richard began courting, according to Phyl Newbeck, a Vermont author who detailed the case in the 2004 book, ''Virginia Hasn't Always Been for Lovers.''
She became pregnant a few years later, she and Loving got married in Washington in 1958, when she was 18. Mildred told the AP she didn't realize it was illegal.
''I think my husband knew,'' Mildred said. ''I think he thought (if) we were married, they couldn't bother us.''
But they were arrested a few weeks after they returned to Central Point, their hometown in rural Caroline County north of Richmond. They pleaded guilty to charges of ''cohabiting as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth,'' according to their indictments.
They avoided jail time by agreeing to leave Virginia -- the only home they'd known -- for 25 years. They moved to Washington for several years, then launched a legal challenge by writing to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, who referred the case to the American Civil Liberties Union.
As Rick Perlstein notes, what this obit doesn't mention is that Mildred Loving understood that freedom to marry is something that should transcend more than just racial barriers. Read on for her statement in favor of true marriage equality. Rest in peace, Mildred Loving.
Loving for AllBy Mildred Loving
Prepared for Delivery on June 12, 2007,
The 40th Anniversary of the Loving vs. Virginia AnnouncementWhen my late husband, Richard, and I got married in Washington, DC in 1958, it wasn't to make a political statement or start a fight. We were in love, and we wanted to be married.
We didn't get married in Washington because we wanted to marry there. We did it there because the government wouldn't allow us to marry back home in Virginia where we grew up, where we met, where we fell in love, and where we wanted to be together and build our family. You see, I am a woman of color and Richard was white, and at that time people believed it was okay to keep us from marrying because of their ideas of who should marry whom.
When Richard and I came back to our home in Virginia, happily married, we had no intention of battling over the law. We made a commitment to each other in our love and lives, and now had the legal commitment, called marriage, to match. Isn't that what marriage is?
Not long after our wedding, we were awakened in the middle of the night in our own bedroom by deputy sheriffs and actually arrested for the "crime" of marrying the wrong kind of person. Our marriage certificate was hanging on the wall above the bed.
The state prosecuted Richard and me, and after we were found guilty, the judge declared: ""Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix." He sentenced us to a year in prison, but offered to suspend the sentence if we left our home in Virginia for 25 years exile.
We left, and got a lawyer. Richard and I had to fight, but still were not fighting for a cause. We were fighting for our love.
Though it turned out we had to fight, happily Richard and I didn't have to fight alone. Thanks to groups like the ACLU and the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund, and so many good people around the country willing to speak up, we took our case for the freedom to marry all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. And on June 12, 1967, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that, "The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men," a "basic civil right."
My generation was bitterly divided over something that should have been so clear and right. The majority believed that what the judge said, that it was God's plan to keep people apart, and that government should discriminate against people in love. But I have lived long enough now to see big changes. The older generation's fears and prejudices have given way, and today's young people realize that if someone loves someone they have a right to marry.
Surrounded as I am now by wonderful children and grandchildren, not a day goes by that I don't think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the "wrong kind of person" for me to marry. I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people's religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people's civil rights.
I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard's and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That's what Loving, and loving, are all about.
Boy, Monday's Chron sure was full of head-slappers, wasn't it? Suburbs have traffic! Professors are people! Tort "reform" hasn't done squat about the high cost of medical insurance!
In 2003 doctors, insurance companies and state leaders sold the voters on a constitutional amendment putting new restrictions on medical malpractice claims filed by "greedy" trial lawyers. That supposedly has improved the health care climate for doctors.But their patients, including the physicians' own employees, continue to get whacked with rising health care premiums.
Just last week, a new report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that Texas ranked third among the states in health insurance premium increases -- 40 percent -- from 2001 to 2005. Small wonder that Texas continues to lead the nation in the percentage of residents -- about one-fourth -- without health insurance.
There is little state regulation of health insurance in Texas, but the Legislature will get another opportunity to do something about it next year, when the Texas Department of Insurance is up for sunset review.
Expect a big fight, with doctors and insurers, former allies in the so-called "tort reform" coalition, squaring off against each other.
Better start stocking up on the popcorn now. That's going to be fun to watch.
The health insurance squeeze hit close to home for the Texas Academy of Family Physicians when it received a policy renewal notice for its 11-member administrative staff in Austin.Its insurer, a leader in providing group coverage in Texas, raised the academy's premiums by 23 percent, prompting the medical group to pick a plan (with higher employee deductibles) from a competing company.
Tom Banning, the academy's CEO, said frustration worsened when administrators learned that only 74 percent of premiums they had paid to the former insurer had been spent on medical care.
The remainder went to the insurer's administrative costs and profits.
gasp! You mean the insurance companies are a bunch of greedy bastards? Nobody could have foreseen that! I'd ask for smelling salts, but I can't afford the copayments on them.
Seriously. This would be hilarious if the joke weren't on the rest of us.
There's slow news days, and then there's slow news days.
Texas university professors overwhelmingly favor Democratic candidates in their campaign contributions, a Houston Chronicle study of Federal Election Commission records has found.Faculty members have contributed $406,384 to Democratic candidates or committees in the 2008 campaign season -- 71 percent of their political donations. Republicans have received $135,216, or 24 percent, of donations through the end of March. University personnel gave $27,915 to nonpartisan political action committees or third party candidates.
The professors' top pick was Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton. She received $129,721 in contributions, ahead of fellow Democrat Barack Obama with $104,911. Republican nominee-presumptive John McCain lagged far behind, in third place with $25,130 in college contributions.
The professors favored Democratic organizations, such as the Democratic National Committee, over Republican groups by more than a 3-to-1 margin.
Gosh, now whyever might this be? Might the fact that the DCCC and the DSCC are crushing their Republican rivals by more than a three-to-one edge have something to do with it? How about the fact that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have combined to raise five times as much as John McCain through the first quarter of 2008? Is there anything remotely newsworthy about the fact that this demographically tiny group of people is acting very much like the greater population as a whole? I guess "Professors reflect society's preferences" doesn't sell papers. Doesn't even fill a news hole. So we get this instead. I feel so much better informed now.
Still pondering what this year's NBA playoffs might have been for the Rockets with a healthy Yao Ming? I can't help you with that - I'm right there with you, in fact - but I can tell you that politics without the TPA weekly roundup would be a lot less fun. Here are this week's highlights.
CouldBeTrue from South Texas Chisme notes Republican-run government favors crony money over Texans' health. Asarco, a proven polluter, is given a permit to start polluting again and Abbott says lead poisoning landlords have a right to privacy.
John Coby at Bay Area ouston, thinks Bob Perry should go to hell.
Doing My Part For The Left's Refinish69 joins Austin high school students in Breaking the Silence.
WhosPlayin writes about the disturbing trend for hospitals to require payment up front for expensive services like chemotherapy. Even "non-profit" hospitals like U.T.'s M.D. Anderson are doing this, even while reducing free care and racking up huge surpluses.
Off the Kuff looks at the race for Harris County Sheriff and foresees immigration issues playing a big role.
The Texas Cloverleaf wonders why Governor 39% appointed a policy nerd to chair the Transportation Commission, rather than someone who knows anything about roads. Cronyism perhaps?
In the wake of the SCOTUS decision approving voter ID legislation last week, PDiddie of Brains and Eggs fact-checks the need for it.
North Texas Liberal's Texas Toad takes a look at the new Republican culture war over something just as useless: allowing guns in national parks. Thank you, John Cornyn.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson has this post on the Reaction To Perry's TxDOT Appointments.
McBlogger take a moment to talk about the state of the TTC and 39%'s appointments to the Transportation Commission.
Lightseeker shares his opinion On Trusting Free Market to Regulate Government over at Texas Kaos.
Vince at Capitol Annex shows another example of Voter ID Idiocy, this time highlighting an editorial from the Texarkana Gazette's pseudo-ivory-tower-intellectual editorial board and explains why such thinking is typical of suburban newspaper editors.
This is a pleasant surprise.
It's time to add United States Senator John Cornyn to the list of potentially vulnerable Republican incumbents in Election 2008. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state find Cornyn leading Democratic state legislator Rick Noriega by just four percentage points, 47% to 43%.[...]
Noreiga leads among voters earning less than $40,000 a year. Cornyn leads among those with higher incomes. Cornyn leads among Evangelical Christian voters and other Protestants. Noreiga leads among those with a different faith background. Both candidates do well within their own party and are fairly evenly matched among unaffiliated voters.
The key question for this year is what exactly is the partisan mix in Texas these days. The old wisdom of 50R/35D/15I would seem to me to not be operative any longer. There's plenty of evidence - election results from 2006 in which Democrats won or were competitive in districts that were not thought to be friendly to them, the unprecedented turnout in the Democratic primary, and so on - to suggest that there's more Ds and fewer Rs than there were just an election cycle or two ago. We can also expect, for the first time since 2002, the Dems will have enough money to run a real statewide campaign, and to get voters out in a way that hasn't happened recently. Pollsters are going to have to make some different assumptions about who is a likely voter, and what the ratio of Ds to Rs is, and I figure we'll see some conflicting results because of that.
Thirty-four percent (34%) of voters say the state's Republican Governor, Rick Perry, is doing a good or excellent job. Twenty-eight percent (28%) say he is doing a poor job.President George W. Bush doesn't do as well. Just 39% of voters in his adopted home state say that the President has done a good or an excellent job. Forty-five percent (45%) rate his performance as poor.
That paragraph about Governor Perry is a bit misleading. They left out the fact that another 36% rate his performance as fair. Put another way, his favorability ratings are 34/64. In Bush's case, it's 39/60. Yes, 60% disapproval in Texas. It isn't 2002 any more.
Speaking of the Presidential race:
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey found McCain leading Clinton 49% to 43%. Against Obama, McCain attracts 48% of the vote while the Democrat earns 43%.
Sweet. If the poll numbers stay in this range, we can hope for even more involvement from the national folks. All it should take is the belief that this year is unlike any other. I don't see why anyone wouldn't be open to that idea by now. Kos, who has his own poll for Texas in the field, has some crosstabs.
UPDATE: The newly-launched Noriega campaign blog has a roundup of blog reactions to this good news.
I keep trying not to say "DUH!!!" as I read this story about suburban traffic woes, but it's hard not to react that way.
Traffic congestion, long the bane of downtown workers and residents living near the city center, afflicts nearly all Houston area suburbs.Many city residents lured to suburbs by spacious homes, good schools and the prospect of less stress are increasingly finding themselves on clogged streets linking highways to new subdivisions.
The congestion's causes are many: soaring numbers of residents, a lack of a traffic grid giving them options to get to highways and stores, funding shortfalls to carry out all needed road projects and simple neglect.
"We have focused on the congestion on our freeways. But, really, we have congestion everywhere," said Pat Wascowiak, planning and program manager at the Houston-Galveston Area Council, which seeks solutions to transportation and other issues facing 13 area counties. "We don't have good local mechanisms for responding to problems on these other roads."
[...]
Dreadfully congested suburban roads include FM 529, Louetta, Spring Cypress and FM 2920 in northwest and north Harris County; Bay Area Boulevard and NASA Parkway in the Clear Lake area; Texas 36, FM 762 and FM 359 in formerly rural and semi-rural areas west of Sugar Land; and Woodlands Parkway and Lake Woodlands Drive in The Woodlands.
Texas 6 serves as a wide main street for fast-growing areas in west Harris County. Packed with vehicles, traffic often moves fitfully along a 20-mile stretch from FM 529 to Bellaire Boulevard.
Commuters use it to circle the area, locals to reach stores. "The road was designed to handle 30,000 cars a day. It's handling 60,000," Wascowiak said.
The design of many subdivisions is contributing to suburban traffic woes, she said. Subdivisions typically feature secluded streets and cul de sacs and no major arteries.
Many areas consequently lack a grid of streets that would allow drivers to find alternate ways to the highway, supermarket, schools and day care.
"If you only have one road coming out of a subdivision going to the highway, you're going to be sitting in traffic," said Robin Holzer, chair of the Citizens Transportation Coalition, an area traffic watchdog group.
FM 518 in Pearland and Fry and Mason roads in Katy are good examples of streets being asked to do too much because drivers don't have other options, Wascowiak said. Long stretches of Fry and Mason are handling more than 46,000 vehicles daily -- nearly 20,000 vehicles above the number for which they were designed.
The question I always have is didn't anyone see this coming at the time these suburbs were being built? If there's only one way in and out, sooner or later traffic is going to be a problem, and then what are you going to do? It's hard for me to sympathize with the folks who are afflicted by these problems now, because I feel it should have been obvious from the beginning. I used to attend a weekly meeting out on Westheimer and Highway 6 about ten years ago, and it was obvious then. The interchange from I-10 to Highway 6 was horrible - and that was the reverse-commute direction - and the drive along 6 was almost as bad. It's got to be a lot worse now; thankfully, I have no reason to be out there seeing it for myself.
It should be noted, too, that widening these roads only helps so much. No matter how many lanes there are, you're still going to have huge backups at the freeways, where everyone is squeezing into the outer lanes to turn onto the service roads. You're still going to need to have traffic lights at every cross street, and at some entrances to strip centers. I suppose you could try adding in a limited-access option, either elevated or depressed, as an express route, but that has its own set of problems and is way expensive to do, not to mention disruptive. I think the only truly viable solution is to build a time machine, go back to 1970, and pass laws that would prevent developers from building subdivisions in this myopic manner. Let me know how that goes.
Having successfully wrung a settlement out of Harris County in the Ibarra case - making a nice piece of change in the process - you'd think Lloyd Kelley would be done making headlines for awhile. You'd be wrong about that.
The lawyer who brought down District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal is setting his sights on Sheriff Tommy Thomas.Rosenthal's demise came from deleting more than 2,000 e-mails after being ordered by a federal judge to produce them. Attorney Lloyd Kelley had sought the e-mails in connection with a suit that accused five of Thomas' deputies of violating the civil rights of two brothers.
Thomas was a defendant in that case because of the deputies were his employees. But now Kelley says he's researching a lawsuit based on the sheriff's own actions.
"He took (county jail) prisoners apparently and used them to build his fence out at his ranch," Kelley said, referring to Thomas' 80-acre ranch in Colorado County.
The allegation is similar to those that aired on Channel 13 by Wayne Dolcefino. But Kelley said he has been approached by a former inmate who did not talk to Dolcefino.
"He has very detailed information," Kelley said of the former inmate.
Kelley said such private use of prisoners for private service is illegal and may even violate a Supreme Court slavery ruling.
He said he has some more research to do, but expects to file the suit "before long."
"The slavery lawsuit will probably go forward," he said.
Remember how I said Adrian Garcia would have plenty of ammunition in his campaign for Sheriff? This won't hurt him any, either. Given what we know Kelley can dig up, this ought to be a doozy.
Grits says that now that the number of innocence-related cases for which DNA evidence still exists are rapidly declining, the next frontier may be arson convictions:
[Jeff Blackburn of the Innocence Project of Texas] predicted that beyond DNA cases, which are increasingly few and far between (because most cases have no DNA evidence, and most DNA evidence collected wasn't preserved), arson cases could constitute the next wave of exonerations in Texas. More than 800 people are in Texas prisons over arson convictions, he said, and dozens if not hundreds were convicted based on forensic science that's no longer considered valid.
He goes on to cite an example of a Texas man who was executed on what would now be considered junk science. Give it a read, it's pretty sobering. These cases won't be anywhere near the slamdunk that DNA exonerations have been because of the complexity involved, but they deserve the same level of examination because the underlying problem is the same. We have more and better information now than we did at the time, and that must lead us to question the results we got back then.
I've spent a lot of time cheering for the expansion of wind energy in Texas, but that's far from the only renewable energy source out there. There's other forms out there, and they deserve support as well. The HMNS blog tells us a little about geothermal energy. Some advantages of geothermal that the blog notes:
It's everywhere if you go deep enough into the earth.It's continuous, unlike the wind which takes a break occasionally or the sun, which is often hidden. I did learn that a form of energy that is continuous is called a BASE LOAD RESOURCE, verses wind or solar energy which is dependent on the elements.
It doesn't have to be stored.
It has very little negative visual or environmental impart.
It has a small carbon footprint.
It won't run out, at least while the core of the earth is molten radioactive heat.
Cost is reasonable (4-8 cents a kWh) and cost competitive with other fuel. If there was a carbon tax to gas and coal, the cost of geothermal energy is even more viable.
There's also solar. My blogging colleague Refinish69 went to the Texas Solar Forum at the state Capitol a week ago, and filed this report.
I was intrigued to see Bob Manning, Director of Engineering for HEB, there. Bob brought home a lot of points about why Texas and a lot of Texas businesses are not jumping at the chance to use solar power. It is still cost prohibitive. A member of the audience asked what type of price would make it feasible and Mr. Manning said "It would have to pay for itself in 5 years. Currently, with no incentives from the state or local municipalities, the price was not one a company can absorb as they deal with higher prices and lower profits."I know we have all seen the newspaper stories where companies such as Starbucks have started adding solar panels to their drive through windows to help save energy. Starbucks is based in California where the state does give huge incentives for for companies that go green.
This is where the Texas Legislature(and other states)and US Congress have to catch up.
Lots of good information there, so check it out. I don't really have a point to make here other than to say that I approve of all explorations of renewable, non-polluting energy resources. Maybe as the price of oil continues its relentless march upwards, we'll see some real advances in the marketplace for these options. All I can say is the sooner, the better.
Great article in Salon about how our current obsession with border security is damaging our relationship with Canada, and directly harming businesses on both sides of the US-Canadian border, which for years have thrived on easy crossings.
If the tighter border were just an inconvenience for strip-club patrons, sports fans and gamblers, its effect on international relations might be no big deal. But it's disrupting everyday life in Ameri-Canadian communities, where residents have always thought of themselves as neighbors, not foreigners. The Champlain, N.Y., fire department has a mutual-aid pact with a nearby town in Quebec. Last year, the Canadians were late for a blaze because Homeland Security stopped a truck to inspect the crew's papers.Automakers that shuttle parts between plants in the United States and Canada now stockpile them in warehouses because truck inspection times have tripled since 2000. The delays cost $11.5 billion a year, according to a report by the Brookings Institution. Indian tribes are outraged about the prospect of having to carry passports to visit relatives and sacred sites across the border that divides their traditional lands. In January, trips from the United States to Canada hit their lowest mark since record-keeping began in 1972.
It's more difficult to measure the impact on American business because our weak dollar makes the border hassle worthwhile for many Canadian shoppers. Canadian visits are up 10 percent since last year, but an official with the Binational Tourism Alliance says that "15 years ago, when the exchange rate was last where it is, the numbers were three times what they are now." Overall, between 1995 and 2005, annual crossings from Canada dropped by half. Perhaps the stay-at-homes include a gentleman I met in Kingston, Ont., who told me he never goes to the states because "I don't want Uncle George looking up my butt."
In her day job as New York's junior senator, Hillary Clinton has pleaded with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to cancel the passport regulations, fearing they'll damage upstate New York's already sickly economy. "I've been a leader on the [Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)] issue," Clinton told Salon during a campaign stop earlier this year. "I have been opposed to what they've been trying to do. It'll interfere with recreation and tourism. I've spoken to Secretary Chertoff opposing the regulations requiring passports at the northern and southern border."
The new rules aren't just aimed at preventing another 9/11. They're also part of a crackdown on illegal immigration. But Canadians are not swimming across Lake Erie to escape socialized medicine and sane mortgage-lending laws. According to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, the "vast majority" of people lying about their citizenship are trying to cross the southern border. And yet, the DHS is applying the same rules to the Canadian border as it is to the Mexican border, despite our vastly different relationships with the two countries.
"The U.S. government has been insulting in the way it's handled the border without consulting the Canadians," says Andrew Rudnick, executive director of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, a business association of U.S. and Canadian companies. "They've been insensitive to life here."
In a weird way, I'm actually a bit gratified to hear. It's nice to know that DHS' complete lack of sensitivity, empathy, and common sense on this issue isn't limited to the Rio Grande Valley. At least we haven't been singled out for this kind of special treatment.
Way back in 1990, some buddies of mine and I won a bridge tournament called the Grand National Teams. (It was for Flight C, the lowest level, so don't be too impressed, but it was still pretty cool.) As the prize for our victory, we won plane tickets to the ACBL summer tournament to compete for the national championship. (We wound up losing in the semifinals to an inferior team, but that's another story.) The tournament that year was in Toronto, and it was a blast - the weather was gorgeous, the facilities were awesome, we all had a ton of fun - but I had a small problem. See, up till that point, every foreign trip I'd ever taken (one each to Europe, Canada, and Mexico) had been a school-arranged trip, which is to say ones where all of those fussy details had been taken care of for me by someone else. Nobody told me what kind of documentation you needed to get into and out of Canada from the US. I knew I didn't need a passport, which I'd had but hadn't been required to bring when I made the previous trip. That passport I'd had was expired by 1990, and I didn't have a copy of my birth certificate. (Actually, I did have a copy - my parents had sent it to me after I'd graduated college in 1988 - but it had gotten lost somewhere along the line. Which a few years later required me to navigate a cumbersome phone menu to request a new copy from whatever bureau handles that sort of thing in New York City so I could get a new passport for my honeymoon trip, but that too is another story.) And frankly, I didn't give the matter much thought. Hey, I was a citizen, right? I had photo ID, right? What could possibly go wrong?
So anyway. The day comes to fly to Toronto, and airline ticket agent asks me if I have a passport or birth certificate or something similar with me, and I said no. She gave me a funny look, advised me to lay hands on something better than my driver's license and Social Security card if I wanted to return home, and gave me my boarding pass. I got a similar look and piece of advice from Customs in Canada. Thinking that maybe they knew something that I didn't know, I called my dad from the hotel and explained my situation. After sighing heavily and reminding me that he'd already sent me my birth certificate, he said he'd think of something. And he did: A day later, I received a fax containing a sworn affidavit, written on official New York State Supreme Court stationery (Dad was a judge back then) swearing that I was his son and that I'd been born on Staten Island. He also included a copy of my baptism certificate, which was the next best thing he could find.
And when I arrived back in Houston and showed those documents to the Customs agents here, they had a good laugh at my story and let me in. One agent said the affidavit was more persuasive to him than the baptism certificate, but in any event, it worked. Needless to say, the kind of benign stupidity that I exhibited back then would exact a higher price these days.
Anyway, I hope that people can read this article and come to realize that all this focus on "sealing the borders" imposes high costs on the people and businesses who live and operate near those borders. It's entirely possible to me that an honest accounting of those costs would show them to be comparable to the ones supposedly being imposed by illegal immigrants, and that's before we consider what we're losing in good will and friendly relations with countries that are and should be close allies and trading partners. Unfortunately, I don't know what it's going to take to make people see it that way.
David Crossley uses the recent Houston Area Survey results on attitudes towards city planning as a starting point for this op-ed about a favorite topic of his, form-based codes.
[T]he question that has stirred debate was "Are you in favor or opposed to zoning in Houston -- that is, citywide control over the uses of the land in different areas?" Fifty-four percent favored this idea, 29 percent did not. Almost twice as many favor zoning as oppose it.In response to the story on the survey, former Mayor Bob Lanier, a co-founder of the anti-planning, anti-regulation Houstonians for Responsible Growth, sent a letter to the Chronicle worrying about "calls for prescriptive land-use restrictions on every piece of Houston property."
Guess what? We already have those, and have had them since 1982.
Land use is heavily controlled in the city's Code of Ordinances. In fact, scholarly papers suggest Houston has an unusually large number of rules governing development. The biggest is Chapter 42, entitled "Subdivisions, Developments, and Platting." Chapter 42 has the greatly redeeming value of having proved for more than a quarter of a century that it is perfectly legal in Houston, Texas, to use form-based code to control development throughout the city. Before going forward into a discussion of form-based code, just keep in mind that Houston already has it.
[...]
A 1999 rewrite of the ordinance divides the city into two zones: urban and suburban. This would be a very good start, except that it then defines "urban" as everything inside Loop 610 and "suburban" is everything outside the Loop. This means that the small suburban neighborhood of Afton Oaks is treated as urban and, just across the Loop, the enormous city of Uptown/Galleria is suburban, even though it has more jobs than downtown San Diego or Miami and 30,000 residents.
So our regulations differentiate between urban and suburban as different geographic areas rather than different forms. But Houston is growing very fast, residential neighborhoods are constantly under siege by residential density increases and commercial surprises, and it's time to fix that problem.
Regardless of those definitions, though, 42 greatly favors suburban-style development. Fabulous urban projects like Post Midtown on West Gray at Bagby required "variances" from the city Planning Commission because many elements of these projects are illegal everywhere in the city (except the central business district, which is an exceptional case of long-term civic wisdom at work).
Almost everyone's common sense said that the 23-story Ashby development is a wonderful project planned for an inappropriate location. Situated in, say, the Binz area at the Museum rail stop, it would be a real improvement to the area, a source of ridership for the substantial investment in transit, and a sustainable use of land. Decent form-based code would have made that obvious and prevented the controversy.
This is a ridiculous, but common, situation with a straightforward solution -- and it's not zoning. Klineberg's question suggests that zoning is the only option for "control over the uses of land." People are grasping at straws when they answer this question in the affirmative. What they want is some rational citywide control over the uses of land.
Instead of zoning, the solution lies in a fundamental redefinition of urban and suburban in Chapter 42 that is simple in concept, followed by a major overhaul of the regulations themselves.
If any of this sounds familiar to you, you've probably read Crossley's longer piece on form-based codes in Houston, which I've linked to a time or two. Obviously, I think there's a lot to recommend this approach, and I hope to see the revisions to Chapter 42 that Crossley references come about. At the very least, I'd like to see more discussion about the possibilities, rather than obsessing about what constitutes "zoning". Let's fix the problems we all agree that we have - I feel confident there's room for common ground here.
When I blogged about the new light rail proposal for Austin, I noted that an argument being made in its favor by one of its proponents on Austin City Council was that as gasoline prices continued to climb, they had a responsibility to offer alternatives to driving. That point hasn't been specifically raised in Houston yet, but after seeing today's front page story, I'm thinking it will.
Area residents, who otherwise would never part with their cars, now feel compelled by record fuel costs to look at alternatives, such as carpooling or telecommuting. Many also are turning to mass transit.Several who were riding Metropolitan Transit Authority Park & Ride buses last week said they were saving wear and tear on their nerves at the same time. The rides are a time to escape with a book, listen to music or catch up on some Zs.
Traffic jams are other peoples' worries.
Last fall, the Chronicle examined two years' worth of monthly boarding data from Metro and monthly gasoline prices in Houston, but found no clear link between them. Both numbers went up and down, seemingly at random. That has changed.
Ridership counts for October through March are up nearly 3 percent compared to the same period 12 months earlier. Metro officials put the actual increase at more than 6 percent when adjusted to reflect more accurate counts made by sensors in the bus and train doors, starting in October.
The price of regular gasoline rose 35 percent during the same period. Boardings for the six months on Park & Ride buses, which travel the long routes that eat deep into commuters' wallets, increased 13 percent over the previous year.
Metro's April data are not out yet, but in March, when gas prices here averaged $3.15 a gallon (32 percent higher than in March 2007), Park & Ride boardings were up 16 percent compared with a year ago.
Metro attributes about 40 percent of that gain to the opening of two new Park & Ride lots in Katy and Baytown, but says the rest is because of higher gas prices.
Metro also saw its boardings shoot up after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Much of that reflected the influx of evacuees to Houston. But there also was a nationwide increase in transit use sparked by the higher fuel prices after the storm, American Public Transportation Association spokeswoman Virginia Miller said.
Fuel prices approached $3 in 2006, then dipped during the summer. But transit use did not go down.
"People had changed their travel habits and were staying with it," Miller said.
She said there may be a "tipping point" at which large numbers of motorists will shift to mass transit, at least for their daily commutes to work, but it is not clear where that point is.
"For a lot of people across the country, $3 and just over $3 was a tipping point, since both 2006 and 2007 were record ridership years," she said.
"It may be that $3.50 is a tipping point for a whole other level of people," Miller continued.
The story focuses on park-and-ride service and doesn't mention light rail, though according to Metro's blog, rail service is up 7.3%; I presume that's compared to last year. But the same calculations about cost work even for shorter in-town trips as they do for the woman from Cypress and her 76-mile round trip to work at the Medical Center. During each of Tiffany's pregnancies, I rode the train from where I work (Smithlands station) to where her ob-gyn practices (Downtown Transit Center) to be with her for checkups. According to Google Maps, it's a six-mile drive each way. If I get 20 miles to the gallon, and if gas is $3.50 a gallon, that 12-mile roundtrip cost me $2.10. That's more than the train fare, and I saved $2 in parking on top of that. Make it a 14-mile round trip and 18 MPG, and you're looking at $2.73 for the cost. And at $4 a gallon, unless you're driving something really fuel-efficient, rail will be more economical for a whole lot of relatively short trips.
So keep this in mind when you hear people say that Houstonians will never change their driving habits, and that the costs of building transit are just too high. Those habits are already changing, and with that the value of more transit increases. We can't afford not to build more.
The president of CityPass wasn't convinced there was much to do in Houston.Mike Gallagher had been to Houston 25 years ago on business, and as far as he could tell, about the only attraction was Johnson Space Center.
But local boosters pestered him into coming back. Surprised to see Houston's array of museums, a quality zoo and the Downtown Aquarium, Gallagher added Houston to his CityPass network of cities, which includes the more touristy San Francisco, New York and Seattle.
It was enough to convince him that Houston was a viable market, and the area's own CityPass goes on sale May 13.
"It says to the world, 'There is a tourist destination, and you should visit,' " said Greg Ortale, president and chief executive of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The bureau hopes to sell 30,000 passes a year, aiming them at Latin American tourists who visit to shop and go to appointments at the Texas Medical Center as well as to regional visitors and even locals looking to save money.
[...]
The Houston pass, which provides admission to six attractions, will cost $34 for adults and $24 for children.
The price is nearly half what visitors otherwise might pay if they bought tickets at individual ticket counters.
Four of the attractions are fixed: Space Center Houston, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Houston Zoo and the Downtown Aquarium.
Pass holders also can choose two options from among four other offerings: George Ranch Historical Park or the Health Museum; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston or the Children's Museum of Houston.
The passes, which can be purchased from any of the attraction sites, are good for nine days from the date the first ticket is used.
One point to note is that other than Space Center Houston and the George Ranch, all of the featured attractions are accessible via the Main Street rail line. If you're staying at a Medical Center or downtown hotel, the City Pass will be a desirable thing to have. I've said before that one of the underrated benefits of the rail line is in helping to make Houston more attractive to visitors. This is an example of what I'm talking about.
According to an ad I saw in the Houston Press the other day, this place opened for business last Friday.
There are rumors circulating about changes at Zula restaurant, Capitol at Main, Houston.Wondering if there was any truth to what we'd heard, we went right to the owner of Zula, who wishes to remain unnamed, to ask about the rumored changes. They had also heard the same rumors.
Here is what they told us in a couple of emails:
. "Zula has a new concept, with a more sexy look and feel for our diners.
. We are not changing to a strip club or topless waitresses, as I have heard from rumors.
. The new concept is: Going to Zula is about fun, lifestyle & youth. It's going to be sexy without being sexual.
[...]
. Zula restaurant will appeal to women who want to feel sexy, exciting and edgy.
. Zula is expecting to host more live shows such as Las Vegas shows, bikini shows, model contests, fashion shows, and the list goes on, every Friday and Saturday night after 10 PM.
. Our girls are dressing in tight uniforms (similar to Hooter's) but more upper class.
. Our guests will be comfortable going in there, but they are going to get a Girls Gone Wild experience. However, don't expect anything too wild. There will be no stripping, topless waitresses or filming in the restaurant.
Well okay then. Has anybody here paid a visit to this place? I doubt I'll ever have a reason to go, but as one of the beautiful things about blogging is that I can learn from my readers' experiences, I figure I may as well ask.
So I've been thinking about this whole "free-range kids" thing - see the Newsweek column that started it all, and the accompanying blog for background - and I think there's nothing shocking about it. As I think back on it, I was pretty free-range as a kid. I was walking myself to school - about a quarter mile away - starting in third grade; that became a one-mile walk in middle school. I walked myself to swim and judo lessons at the YMCA (also about a mile), and to my buddy Anthony's house - pretty much wherever I wanted to go, I walked it, because my parents weren't into being chauffeurs. In high school, I commuted from Staten Island to Manhattan, which meant a bus, the ferry, the subway, then a half-mile or so walk, leaving the house at 6 AM and coming home at 4:30, which was after dark in the winter. I survived, and I think I'm a more self-reliant person because of it.
"So," I hear you say, "how are you going to be with Olivia and Audrey?" Well, it's not as easy to get around here on foot as it was on Staten Island, and the neighborhood elementary school is too far away for them to reasonably walk it, so I'm sure we'll be chauffeuring a lot more than my parents did. As with many aspects of parenting, we'll be figuring it out and making it up as we go along. Philosophically, we're more in line with the free-range idea than we are with the so-called "hovercraft" concept. How we will implement that is yet to be determined, but that's the direction I expect we'll choose. Ask me again in a few years and I'll let you know how it's going.
Remember how I said the County Judge race would be high-profile? And so it is.
The Democratic candidate for chief of Harris County government criticized the Republican incumbent's approach to ethics reform Friday in a demonstration of how Democrats plan to wage campaigns from multiple angles well ahead of the Nov. 4 election.Democrat David Mincberg focused on the fact that an ethics task force appointed by County Judge Ed Emmett is considering recommending the establishment of a county ethics board to monitor government officials' conduct.
"Having Harris County investigate its own ethical problems is a bit like bringing in the foxes to guard the hen house," Mincberg wrote to the news media. "We need an independent board of ethics free of politics. We need real reform, now more than ever."
[...]
The Democrat said that unlike Emmett, he would appoint a panel of experts to investigate all Harris County government real estate deals to determine if executives gain county contracts by contributing to the campaigns of elected officials.
Two-and-a-half months ago, Emmett appointed a task force to recommend ethics reforms in three months. The task force was created in response to scandals in county government such as the one that led to District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal's resignation after the disclosure of lurid material and campaign communications on his county government computer.
Couple of points here: One, Mincberg is taking a more direct approach by focusing on conflicts of interest in real estate deals - he first called for this back in March. Emmett is taking the tried-and-true path of appointing a task force, which will eventually write a report, whose recommendations may or may not be adopted. You either have faith in this kind of effort and the person spearheading it, or you don't.
As for the matter of who monitors the county's ethics, it's a question of independence. It's not impossible for a county-appointed board to be insulated from interference from the folks they'd be watchdogging, but it has to be set up that way from the beginning, or you're wasting your time. And as anyone who's ever observed the Texas Ethics Commission can tell you, if there isn't an enforcement mechanism that has real teeth to it, it will quickly become a joke. If the consequences for violating ethics standards are inconsequential, don't even bother going through the motions. It'll just breed cynicism.
On a tangential matter:
Also this week, Mincberg criticized Emmett over the county's unsuccessful legal strategies -- in a case related to the Rosenthal scandal -- in which the county must pay more than $1.4 million in fees to the opposing side's lawyers.
I've got both of Mincberg's press releases beneath the fold if you're interested. I'll note here that this same criticism can, and really should, be leveled at County Attorney Mike Stafford as well, since the defense of the Ibarra lawsuit was his responsibility. Emmett probably doesn't bear as much of the blame for holding Stafford accountable for his decisions as former Judge Robert Eckels, given how long that lawsuit had been litigated, but Emmett's the man in charge now, so the buck stops with him.
Mincberg calls for an Independent Ethics BoardEmmett wants internal board to keep business as usual in Harris County.
Houston, Texas, May 2nd, 2008 -- In March, David Mincberg called for an independent, outside investigation of all Harris County's real estate deals over the last decade. The only response from the current Harris County Leadership - we can police ourselves. Now Emmett is considering creating an internal ethics board.
"After all that has happened in Harris County - the indictments, convictions, and pay-to-play deals, it is clear we need more than an ethics task force," said David Mincberg. "It's typical that the leadership of Harris County's call for ethical conversion coincides with the upcoming election cycle. Having Harris County investigate its own ethical problems is a bit like bringing in the foxes to guard the henhouse. We need an independent Board of Ethics free of politics. We need real reform. Now, more than ever."
Federal Judge Questions Harris County LeadershipEmmett's lackluster leadership cost Harris County taxpayers at least $5.4 million ... and counting.
Houston, Texas, May 1st, 2008 -- On Tuesday, Federal District Judge Kenneth Hoyt faulted Harris County for refusing to settle the Ibarras case, even though its own legal experts were telling them it was in the county's best interest. In his decision Judge Hoyt talked about "the absence of leadership in the handling of Harris County's business" and ruled that Harris County must pay an addition $1.4 million in lawyers fees to Ibarras attorneys. That's on top of the $1.7 million the county paid to the Ibarra brothers."A Federal Judge is telling Ed Emmett that business as usual needs to come to an end in Harris County," said David Mincberg. "At a time when Harris County government is facing political scandals, indictments, ethics violations, and resignations, the last thing we need is a lack of leadership. What we don't need is more wasteful spending."
The Ibarra brothers sued Harris County in 2004 after their civil rights were violated when sheriff's deputies stormed their house and arrested them after they filmed a raid on the next door property. Harris County used 26 attorneys on the Ibarras case costing taxpayers nearly $2.3 million in billable hours. According to Judge Hoyt, two to four attorneys would have been "more than sufficient."
"Harris County taxpayers deserve a County Judge who provides leadership and doesn't mismanage their money," Mincberg concluded. "As a successful businessman, not a career politician, I know how to run things honestly and efficiently. I have created jobs, opportunity, growth, and success. I'll bring that same hands-on approach to Harris County government."
While it's true that some officials may be shocked to see the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality (TCEQ) come out in favor of the big polluters in their lawsuit against the city over its air quality ordinance, I don't think anyone who knows anything about the TCEQ can honestly claim it's a surprise.
The Texas Commission for Environmental Quality contends that the city ordinance requiring businesses to pay registration fees for various sources of air pollution is inconsistent with state law.The agency's general counsel, Les Trobman, made the assertion in an April 24 letter to the Harris County District Court judge weighing the Business Coalition for Clean Air Appeal Group's lawsuit against the city over the ordinance.
The position came as a surprise to city leaders, who said Friday that they have met several times with agency officials in recent months without mention of the ordinance in dispute.
"It's quite strange that the state's pollution control agency would meddle in the city's lawsuit on behalf of the polluters," said Kathy Patrick, an attorney with the Houston law firm Gibbs & Bruns, who is representing the city in the case. "It's a complete puzzlement."
In a statement, the TCEQ said the letter was sent to the court to provide information that already had been relayed to the city.
[...]
In the letter to the judge, Trobman argued that "requiring a regulated entity to separately register a fee is inconsistent with state law." What's more, it's the role of the state Legislature to grant regulatory authority, making it the best place to resolve the dispute, he wrote.
If the Legislature is the most appropriate venue for the fight, said Elena Marks, the mayor's health policy director, the industry group should drop the lawsuit. "They can't have it both ways," she said.
I agree that in an ideal world, the Legislature would be the place to resolve this. Unfortunately, as we well know, the Legislature is part of the problem. (So's the Governor's office, but we can't do anything about that until 2010.) In the meantime, regardless of what happens with the lawsuit, the TCEQ's actions will serve as yet another reminder of who's really being served by our government.
We already knew we had bad air quality in Texas. The reason for it is simple: There's very little incentive for the polluters to clean up their act.
Texans cannot count on existing state and federal laws to protect them from risky concentrations of cancer-causing chemicals in the air, according to a report released Thursday.With 14 "toxic hot spots" across the state, the report's authors, representing four environmental groups, called for lawmakers and regulators to establish stricter and more enforceable standards for those compounds known as hazardous air pollutants. What's more, they said, industry leaders should make pollution reduction their top priority.
"Solutions to the problem exist," said Ramon Alvarez, an Austin-based scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund, one of the groups participating in the report. "But we are lacking leadership."
[...]
Texas, meanwhile, does not have its own regulatory caps for toxics. The state uses health-based guidelines during the permitting process but does not treat them as enforceable limits.
As a result, Corpus Christi and Port Neches have exceeded the state's guidelines for air toxics for a decade or more, according to the environmental groups.
"If anyone thinks the federal government or state government is cleaning up these toxic hot spots, think again," said Ilan Levin, an Austin-based attorney for the Environmental Integrity Project, one of the report's authors.
To reduce ambient toxics, the environmental groups want regulators and industries to improve monitoring and want state and federal lawmakers to require the clean up of areas with unsafe levels of chemicals in the air.
They also call for industries to support "reasonable regulatory proposals" instead of fighting them with lobbying firms and trade associations.
Last year the Legislature introduced at least 15 bills relating to stricter regulations of air toxics, but none of them passed.
"It's up to the will of the Legislature," said Michael Honeycutt, the chief toxicologist for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which is responsible for regulating air pollution.
I've harped on this theme before, and I'm going to harp on it again here. This situation isn't going to change until Texas' government changes. The first step in that process is ensuring a Democratic majority in the House so that Rep. Dennis "I Love Bad Air" Bonnen isn't made the Chair of the Environmental Regulations Committee again. As the Texas League of Conservation Voters noted in its 2007 Legislative Scorecard (PDF):
Fifteen separate bills were filed in the House addressing toxic air emissions, all by Democrats, but Environmental Regulations Committee Chair, Dennis Bonnen, refused to hear a single one. He also threatened to kill his own clean-air bill rather than allow a floor vote on toxic air amendments.
The problem is clear. So is the solution. Here's how you can help.
The wife of Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina, accused of burning down the couple's Spring home and damaging two others, surrendered to authorities Thursday and was released on bail, her attorney said.Francisca Medina posted $42,000 bond and will appear in state District Judge Brian Rains' court for arraignment on May 20, records indicate.
"She's upset -- the whole family's upset," said John Parras, one of her attorneys. "To a large extent, we believed this was behind us."
I sympathize, but given the bizarre circumstances of this case, I wouldn't have rested easy. I'm still a little surprised that Justice Medina didn't get reindicted this time around.
I don't actually care that much about the former Patriots coach reaching a deal with the NFL to talk about whether or not he spied on other teams, though if it turns out that they're a bunch of cheating cheaters, I'll enjoy a little schadenfreude at the expense of their fans. What I do care about is that the NYT quoted my friend Stephanie Stradley, also known as the Texans Chick:
Stephanie Stradley, a legal expert who has written and lectured on contractual indemnification law and writes a sports blog for AOL, reviewed the agreement Wednesday."It does a nice job of protecting each party from the worries each has," she wrote via e-mail. "It's very reasonable."
Stradley said that Walsh still had legal risks, but that they were greatly reduced by the agreement. She said part of the agreement protected the N.F.L.
By having Walsh turn over all his evidence and allowing his lawyer, Levy, to keep a copy, the league protects itself from any of the tapes leaking to the news media; otherwise the agreement is void. The agreement also says that any money Walsh makes from telling his story first goes to cover legal expenses included under indemnification.
Stradley added that companies with deep pockets who indemnify those with fewer assets, as in this case, run the risk of plaintiff lawyers' searching for an inviting target.
"The N.F.L. will defend Walsh, but they reserve the right to claim that Walsh wasn't working with the course and scope of his employment as it relates to losses, and the burden is on Walsh to prove it," Stradley said.
Someone once said that real fame is being the answer to five-across or seventeen-down in the New York Times crossword puzzle. I think as a blogger, being sought by the Times as an expert for a story like this comes pretty close to that. Nicely done, Steph!
The School Zone blog has a nice account of the marathon Harris County Department of Education meeting at which HCDE Trustee/bad boy Michael Wolfe was censured and asked to resign (the official letter of censure can be found here). This may be my favorite bit:
Two speakers, both Republican activists, speak in favor of Wolfe. Things get testy. Dorothy Olmos, who used to work under Wolfe in the Republican Party, describes the board's movement against Wolfe as a "personal vendetta." She continues: "Our tax dollars are being spent by wasting time on something that is very immature and irrational to the constituents."
I refer you to the censure document, which contains these particulars:
WHEREAS Mr. Michael Wolfe has failed to notify the Department or other board members of his whereabouts for over three months. Board agenda and other official Department information mailed to the address he identified have been returned to the Department unread. Phone calls, emails, and other attempts to communicate with him have been met with non-response; and,WHEREAS Mr. Michael Wolfe while publicly criticizing the Board and the Department for lack of fiscal responsibility has failed to participate responsibly in HCDE fiscal matters such as the budget development process, the tax rate setting and the associated audit activities. Of the critical, three-month series of meetings leading up to these vital fiscal decisions, Mr. Wolfe attended only the 35 minute wrap-up budget committee meeting; and
[...]
WHEREAS Mr. Michael Wolfe had not attended a board meeting since November 2007 (absent without prior notification from meetings on December 18, 2007; January 22, 2008; February 26, 2008); and
WHEREAS Mr. Michael Wolfe, as a board elected representative, has not attended a meeting of the Harris County Department of Education's Public Facilities Corporation Board since September 2007 (absent without prior notification from meetings in August 2007, December 2007, February 2008); and
[...]
WHEREAS Mr. Wolfe threatened Board Members during an Executive Session and when asked to confirm the threat, he did not deny that it was a threat against the Board members;
There's immaturity and irrationality aplenty here, but I don't think it's the Board that's responsible for it.
School Zone also answers a question that I was unable to determine by Googling around: What is the HCDE tax rate, which Michael Wolfe wants to set to zero?
I just got some numbers from Paul Bettencourt, the Harris County tax assessor-collector who had a run-in with Wolfe earlier this year. The department's tax rate is $0.005853, or less than half a penny per $100 dollars of valuation.The bottom line: The owner of an average home in Harris County pays $6.62 a year in taxes to the department (with exemptions taken into account). In all, the department gets about $15 million a year in local tax dollars, Bettencourt said. Over seven years, he said, the tax bill has gone up 46 percent. For other entities, the average is about 50 percent.
That's approximately the amount of a combo meal at your favorite fast food restaurant; super-sizing may or may not be within that budget, depending on which sandwich you choose. Whoop de doo.
Just so we're clear, I have no connection to these guys. I mean, they're Mets fans, for crying out loud. Having said that, "Kuff and the Buttheads" is now my favorite band name of all time. In the absence of a Friday Random Ten this week, please tell me: What's your favorite band name? Not your favorite band necessarily, but the name you like the best. Bonus points for links to cheesy videos by said band on YouTube.
Pittsburgh overtook Los Angeles in the category that measures short-term particle pollution or soot. Los Angeles, the country's longtime soot and smog leader, has enacted aggressive measures to tackle sources of pollution, resulting in a substantial drop in particle pollution levels, said Janice Nolen, the [American Lung Association]'s assistant vice president of national policy and advocacy."It's not that Pittsburgh has gotten worse; it's that Los Angeles has gotten better," Nolen said. "If the trend continues, Pittsburgh will top two lists, and L.A. will only be leading the nation in ozone."
Still, Los Angeles held its own in two other categories measuring year-round soot levels and smog. And statewide, 26 of California's 52 counties with air quality monitoring stations got failing grades for having either high ozone days or particle pollution days.
The association's "State of the Air: 2008" report, being released today, was based on air quality measurements reported to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by state and local agencies between 2004 and 2006. The study looks at three key pollution measures.
The eight metropolitan areas considered to be the nation's most polluted by every measure were Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Fresno, Visalia-Porterfield and Hanford-Corcoran, all in California; Washington-Baltimore; St. Louis; and Birmingham, Ala.
The cleanest cities were Fargo, N.D., and Salinas, Calif.
Well, at least Houston/Harris County didn't make the bottom ten, even if we did get a failing grade. You want clean air, go move to Hays County. At least for now, they get an A.
A little cheery news for your morning.
Spring Branch ISD Superintendent Duncan Klussmann said recently that every school district in the state faces bankruptcy in three to seven years unless the Legislature makes changes when it convenes next year.Klussmann said the Legislature stripped school districts of the means to cope with normal inflation when it froze revenues at 2006 levels. As a result, school districts are being forced to deplete their reserve funds to balance budgets beset with mounting deficits.
"Duncan is correct that the financial situation is going to become dire unless the Legislature takes action," [HISD spokesman Terry] Abbott said. "School districts are indeed frozen -- they can raise almost no additional revenue.
"We have a very strong and healthy reserve fund, thanks to good, long-term policy and planning. But the state's current finance system doesn't afford school districts increases in revenue for pay raises for teachers or steadily rising fuel bills or utility bills or health care costs," he said.
Don't forget to include food costs in this discussion as well. Between food, fuel, and electricity, schools across Texas have been hit with enormous cost increases lately, without being given extra money to absorb them. And the only thing the Lege accomplished in those 2006 special sessions relating to schools was to cut property taxes and replace the lost revenue with an inadequate and widely hated business tax. It's a fine mess they're in, one mostly not of their own making, and as long as Tom Craddick is the Speaker of the House, it's a mess that can only get worse, because Craddick has shown that he has no interest in actually fixing it. Which is to say, it's yet another good reason to support TexBlog PAC and work to get a Democratic majority in the House.
Much of the rest of the article is given to "solutions" to this looming crisis as expounded by Sen. Dan Patrick. Which in his world means a massive shift of the financial burden to lower-income folks by raising sales taxes, with some blame for undocumented immigrants thrown in. The latter is a shame, given that Patrick has shown he is capable of discussing the topic in a rational manner, but I suppose he just can't help himself. While it's always illuminating to know what the Patrick wing of the party plans to do if given the chance, it seems to me that if only as a sop to that oft-elusive ideal known as "balance" it might have been nice to try to get a few words as well from a real expert on education and school finance, like Rep. Scott Hochberg. Alas, we have no such luck.
With the news of yet another innocent man being released from prison in Dallas, this announcement from John Terzano of The Justice Project is timely.
A large part of our work involves educating citizens and criminal justice stakeholders about the serious problems and common-sense solutions in a way that creates an environment for reform. People need to know that these problems are not rare or isolated incidents. Stories like the one mentioned above are reported every day around the country, but all too often they reach a limited audience or wind up lost in the shuffle of other news coverage.This is why we have helped launch The Justice NewsLadder, a new web site designed to make staying on top of developments in criminal justice reform easier. The Justice NewsLadder pulls together daily news articles, blog posts, videos and other media so that real-time information is readily accessible with the click of a mouse.
On The Justice NewsLadder, you'll find information about the problems of unreliable witness identification, false confessions, junk forensic science and more. You'll also find stories of people taking on the difficult work of making the system better.
In addition, we are launching a state-specific NewsLadder - the Texas Justice NewsLadder to provide information about Texas, where we are actively engaged in improving the state justice system.
If you have an interest in following criminal justice news stories, this should be a useful resource for you. Check it out.
Behold the dark side of prosperity.
As recently as the 1980s, young people had to leave Ireland to find work and millionaires were as rare as hen's teeth, as the Irish say. But by 2005, according to the Bank of Ireland, the country of 4 million people had 30,000 residents worth more than a million euros, or about $1.5 million. A year later, the number of millionaires had jumped another 10 percent.Ireland's per-capita income is now among the highest in the world, surpassing those in the United States, Sweden and Japan, according to the World Bank.
Wealth has given the Irish more options and less time -- a bad combination for the local pub. More people are spending sunny weekends in Spain rather than evenings of "craic," as good times and conversation are known, down at the pub.
Fewer people are farming the valuable rolling green hills around Carney's, about 50 miles south of Galway, and more are commuting long distances to better-paying jobs. And all over the country, when the weary commuters return home, many now prefer to stay in their comfortable homes with a glass of chardonnay in front of their flat-screen TVs.
The Vintners' Federation of Ireland, which represents rural pubs, said the number of pubs outside Dublin has dropped from 6,000 to 5,000 in the past three years. Some estimates suggest the number may soon dwindle to 3,500.
That's just wrong. I suppose if I ever want to experience a real Irish pub, I'd better get a move on before it's too late.
Time for another update on Michael Wolfe, Harris County's wackiest Department of Education trustee. Previous installments are here and here. After months of talking about it, his fellow HCDE Trustees have made it official: They want him to resign.
After voting to censure Wolfe, the board then voted to retain an outside attorney to research possible legal moves if Wolfe does not step down.In their written censure, trustees said Wolfe skipped meetings, ignored communication from the board, wasted employees' time, distorted information and expressed support for eliminating the department's property tax rate.
The department, funded mostly through grants and fees from school districts, assists area districts by running adult education, preschool and special-education programs.
Supporting elimination of the department's property tax rate may or may not be good public policy, but it's at least a matter of policy. The other stuff is just amateur night shenanigans that don't speak well of Wolfe - reread this letter (PDF) that was sent to him last fall by HCDE Superintendent John Sawyer for the full flavor of that. I have no idea if the rest of the Board can actually force Wolfe out, but the fact that they've gone as far as hiring an attorney to research it says a lot.
Wolfe, a local GOP activist, described the board's move against him as politically motivated. All the trustees are Republicans, but Wolfe acknowledges supporting two candidates who defeated incumbents in the primary election.Raymond Garcia, the board president who was one of those defeated, rejected the claim that the act was personal. Other trustees and even the board's superintendent, John Sawyer, raised concerns about Wolfe's performance last October.
"I do need to say, there is no personal vendetta involved here," Garcia said at the beginning of Wednesday's six-hour meeting, which mostly took place behind closed doors.
There may have been no vendetta, but I'm sure there was a little extra motivation. And who could blame them for that? The two victorious Republican challengers are cronies of Wolfe's, which will make him more powerful next year if they win in November. If that doesn't sound like such a good thing to you, then remember the names Jim Henley and Debra Kerner, because they're the Democrats running against Wolfe's buddies. Having them on the Board instead will maintain a level of professionalism that would be otherwise lost.
Tonight at 7:30 PM Central time, those of you who get KNCT, the PBS station in Central Texas, can see me on your TV - once again in a suit and tie - as a guest on Mary Beth Harrell's talk show Insight Texas. The good news - or bad news, depending on your perspective - is that even those of you who don't get KNCT can still watch me do my talking head act, as the show will be shown on the Insight website - look here for that; it may not be there immediately, but I presume it will be there eventually. In addition to that, there's a behind the scenes webcast, which now has a brief discussion on how the lighting for the show is done but will later show us panelists eating donuts and answering more questions.
The other panelists on this episode were Lynn Woolley, who played the Evil Conservative to my Bearded Liberal, and the fabulous Karen Brooks of the Dallas Morning News. It was fun, and as it was filmed several weeks ago, before my local PBS appearance, technically would count as my first TV gig. So tune and say that you knew me when.
Unlike the DA race and the County Judge race, both of which feature candidates that have a number of similarities, the race for Harris County Sheriff has two contenders with vast differences. Incumbent Sheriff Tommy Thomas has been around forever, while his Democratic opponent, Adrian Garcia, is a part of the new generation in county politics. In style and substance, it's the good old boy versus the new kid.
This race also has the clearest roadmap for a challenger to wage his campaign, as the incumbent's record has a lot of targets at which to aim. While most Democrats running will be talking in broader and more general terms about a change of direction, Garcia can home in on a bunch of specifics from Thomas' career, including but not limited to:
- The Ibarra lawsuit, and the millions of dollars it has cost the county.
- The newly-instituted email deletion policy, which was announced at a time when former DA Chuck Rosenthal's emails were being closely examined.
- The continuing problem of jail overcrowding, which is partly to blame for the jails failing to meet state standards.
- A high rate of inmate deaths going back numerous years.
- Admitted negligence in allowing a death row inmate to escape.
- Trigger-happy deputies.
- And a sweetheart deal for Sheriff Thomas on his ranch house construction, which was designed by the guy whose architecture firm is now designing a new jail.
There's more, but you get the idea. Garcia's biggest problem may be in deciding which of these many warts and blemishes on Thomas' record he wants to feature most prominently. Whatever parts of his own agenda Garcia will want to focus on, he's almost certain to have a hook to some failure of Thomas' to tie it to. That's a pretty strong position for any campaign to be in.
This would be a tough year for any longterm Republican to run on his record to begin with; when you actually consider Thomas' record, you realize his problems are even worse. So how does he hope to hang on? What can he emphasize to minimize the negative aspects of his service and put Garcia on the defensive?
In a word, immigration. A couple of recent news articles highlight this possibility:
Training will help Sheriff's Office ID illegal immigrants
[Sheriff Tommy] Thomas has authorized selected Sheriff's Office personnel assigned to Harris County's Inmate Processing Center to receive 287(g) training from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said sheriff's spokesman Capt. John Martin.The program - named for the section of 1996 immigration law that created it - has trained state police in Arizona, Alabama and Colorado as well as sheriff's departments in California's Los Angeles and Orange counties and Arizona's Maricopa County to identify, process, and detain immigration offenders encountered during regular law enforcement activity.
About six to 12 deputies and detention officers will receive the initial training, Martin said.
"Illegal immigration continues to be an important topic for Harris County, and a lot of people want to know what law enforcement is doing about it," he said. "This is just something that's going to supplement our efforts to identify people at booking who are in this country illegally."
The training would give employees the ability to interview inmates more thoroughly about their immigration status and authorize them to detain those determined to be in the country illegally, Martin said.
ICE training for jails praised
In Phoenix, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said ICE trained 100 deputies and 60 jailers at his county facilities. The officers are not only checking immigration status of jail inmates, but assisting in ICE criminal investigations, the sheriff said."Since the cops won't ask where they're from, we ask," said Arpaio, referring to local police who don't check the immigration status of those they arrest. "We check everybody who comes in, about 300 or 400 a day, and we have determined over 8,000 illegals have been booked into our jail. It's been successful."
This is certainly a reasonable issue for the Sheriff candidates to debate, and it's one that a sizable portion of the electorate will be interested in. It also draws a contrast between the county and the city of Houston and HPD, both of which Garcia is associated with. The question is whether that debate will be conducted in a substantive manner, or if it will devolve into demagoguery. Seeing the name Joe Arpaio in one of these stories makes me fear for the latter, for he's a hero in the nativist wing and isn't shy about it. Here's a recent story about his antics from Phoenix:
Phoenix mayor: Arpaio raids are 'made-for-TV stunts'
After weeks of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio criticizing Phoenix for not taking a harder stance against illegal immigrants, Mayor Phil Gordon struck back Friday, saying the sheriff's "made-for-TV stunts" could endanger police and spur violence among protesters.Speaking at a luncheon at the Phoenix Convention Center honoring civil-rights leader Cesar Chavez, Gordon blasted Arpaio's latest roundup of illegal immigrants in northeast Phoenix, saying that the sheriff acted in a way "that deliberately sets the stage for shouting matches, confrontations or worse."
"That's not acceptable behavior for anyone, let alone someone whose job is to help make our community safer," Gordon said.
If Thomas adopts Arpaio's playbook, I expect this race to get very ugly. Even if Thomas himself plays fair, other folks like Rep. Ted Poe, he of the bogus homicide statistics, can act as surrogates. Garcia needs to be prepared for this, or he'll be running the campaign while back on his heels. If he can fend this off, or make it too costly for Thomas to pursue this line of attack, he ought to have clear sailing. If not, he'll be in for a long summer of trench warfare.
I hope this series has been useful to you so far. Please let me know what you think. Next up will be the Tax Assessor's race.
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Introduction
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There's something deeply ironic about this:
U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., introduced the hearing, titled "Walls and Waivers," as a forum on the expedited construction of the border fence and its affect on the environment along the border. During the five-hour hearing, the conversation shifted to a more general evaluation of the barrier's merits."To examine the history, culture, economics of the border and then to decide the only solution is a 700-mile fence," Grijalva said in opening remarks, "is simply a failure of leadership."
U.S. Reps. Tom Tancredo, R-Col., and Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., both former 2008 presidential hopefuls, disagreed with Grijalva. Hunter referred to the success of a double fence in his district, on the border between San Diego and Tijuana.
"Our fence put the border gangs out of business because they lost their ability to move back and forth," said Hunter, who authored the Secure Fence Act of 2006.
Tancredo took issue with what he called "landowners' multi-culturalist views on the border."
"If you don't like the idea (of a fence), maybe you should consider building the fence around the northern part of your city," Tancredo said amid jeers from the audience.
Who needs to worry about the "reconquista" when you've got Tom Tancredo proposing to cede land to Mexico? It would be funny if it weren't so pathetic. Blogging All Things Brownsville and South Texas Chisme have more on this and on some hearteningly strong words from House Intelligence Committee Chair Rep. Silvestre Reyes. Story link via PoliTex.
Looks like the San Antonio Mayor's race for 2009 has gotten underway.
District 8 Councilwoman Diane Cibrian announced her intent to run for Mayor of San Antonio on WOAI's San Antonio Living Show with Host Leslie Bohl Jones, April 23rd, Wednesday morning during a 10:30 segment on Fiesta.
Or maybe not.
District 8 Councilwoman Diane Cibrian clarified that she did not announce her candidacy this morning on the "What's Happenin" segment of SA Living with Leslie Bohl Jones."I would never make that announcement without my daughter by my side," Cibrian told me by phone about five minutes ago.
Cibrian said she had no plans to make any announcement on the show this morning, "But Leslie asked me about my medal."
Well, technically.
As Jones pins Cibrian's medal onto her own lapel, Cibrian says coyly, "And I'll tell you, some folks have been talking about my medal, Leslie."
Jones asks, "Okay, what's going on?"
Cibrian points out that her medal says "Diane Cibrian in '09" across the bottom, and says (haven't we heard this one before?) that she ain't running for Rey Feo.
"So what does that mean?" asks the probing reporter.
"I'm thinking about running for mayor!" Cibrian exclaims, a huge grin on her face.
That sure sounds like an announcement to me. The clip is here, so you can judge for yourself. All I know is that under a saner system of city governance, current Mayor Phil Hardberger would be running for a third term, but San Antonio's ludicrous term limits law doesn't allow that. Dig Deeper Texas has more.
The Morning News has added a new blog to its stable, this one focusing on Dallas City Hall and other aspects of local government. It's called, prosaically enough, the Dallas City Hall Blog, and that tells you pretty much what you need to know. Those of you who follow this sort of thing, check it out.