Tag Archives: New Braunfels

That’s an awful lot of tunnels

I’d say the over/under for the number of these that actually gets built is 1, and I’d bet the under. On Monday, May 30, Bloomberg reported that it had obtained documents that showed Elon Musk’s Boring Company had pitched eight plans for … Continue reading

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Schlitterbahn sold

End of an era, as another iconic family-owned Texas business is sold to a non-Texas firm. Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts — which has dealt with a gruesome death, indictments and financial troubles in recent years — is selling a chunk … Continue reading

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Schlitterbahn indictments dismissed

Some good news for the company, following the worst thing that ever happened at a Schlitterbahn water park. A Wyandotte County judge on Friday said that the Kansas Attorney General ‘irreparably tainted’ a grand jury with prejudicial evidence to obtain indictments … Continue reading

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New Braunfels hits pause on scooters

Swimming against the tide here. New Braunfels police on Wednesday issued a 90-day ban on commercial electric scooters in the city and will cite anyone caught using one with a Class C misdemeanor, city officials announced. The temporary order was … Continue reading

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The Schlitterbahn story

Texas Monthly does its thing on Schlitterbahn co-owner Jeff Henry and the criminal charges that stemmed from the death of an 11-year-old boy on the biggest ride at the park in Kansas City. Investigators and detectives from the Kansas City … Continue reading

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The Schlitterbahn indictments

I’m still stunned by this. Three Schlitterbahn Waterparks officials now have been swept up in a criminal probe into the 2016 decapitation death of a 10-year-old boy at the company’s Kansas park. An indictment unsealed Tuesday in Kansas reveals for … Continue reading

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New Braunfels can ban is back

A blast from the past. New Braunfels officials plan to resume enforcement of the “can ban” and limits on coolers on rivers on Wednesday even as opponents of the controversial municipal codes continue to pursue a legal challenge to them. … Continue reading

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Lone Star Rail faces Council vote in San Antonio

It’s a big step. While there is little opposition to the idea of a commuter rail line (the LSTAR) between San Antonio and Austin, the City takes serious pause when confronted with the yearly costs of operation and maintenance. But … Continue reading

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Lone Star Rail District update

Haven’t heard from these guys in awhile. According to [Lone Star Rail District], the [proposed rail line] will provide essential relief from the I-35 highway congestion. The express trip from downtown Austin to downtown San Antonio would take 75 minutes. … Continue reading

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New Braunfels can ban is now officially canned

Pending appeal, of course. A permanent injunction issued Friday bars the city from enforcing its controversial ban on disposable containers and cooler-size limits on the Guadalupe and Comal rivers inside the city limits. “You can start drinking from cans and … Continue reading

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Oh, Buc-ee’s

Ugh. Convenience-store chain Buc-ee’s Ltd. has garnered lots of attention for its clean restrooms. But this week, it’s the owners’ endorsement of tea party favorite Dan Patrick, who faces incumbent David Dewhurst in the Republican runoff for lieutenant governor, that’s … Continue reading

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New Braunfels can ban gets canned

Pack your coolers, y’all. The beer can flow again on the Comal River. Opponents of New Braunfels’ prohibition of large coolers and disposable containers — loosely described as a “can ban” on rivers that can host tens of thousands of … Continue reading

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Maybe there’s a problem with building roads where there are no drivers

The high speed toll road keeps having problems relating to not having enough paying customers. SH 130 has not been the immediate success story its backers had hoped. Last week, lower-than-expected traffic revenue prompted credit ratings firm Moody’s Investors Service … Continue reading

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Tubing along in New Braunfels

Time for another can ban update. River tourists poured into waterways here Saturday, slathered in sunscreen and toting drinks in a variety of vessels, as the summer tubing season finally hit full stride. “We didn’t have a (strong) spring because … Continue reading

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How’s that can ban going?

Depends who you ask. The so-called can ban doesn’t prohibit alcohol, but that message hasn’t been sticking. “People are calling saying, ‘You can’t drink in New Braunfels, so why am I coming?“’ said Shane Wolf, general manager of Rockin’ R … Continue reading

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Can ban lawsuit moves back to Comal County

From last week: Travis County District Judge Scott Jenkins removed two state agencies from a lawsuit filed against New Braunfels by a coalition of businesses over the law banning disposable containers on the rivers — popular tubing routes. Jenkins dismissed … Continue reading

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Can ban lawsuit moves to Travis County

Some new plaintiffs, too. A group of river-related businesses has sued the City of New Braunfels, Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson and Mark Vickery , executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, over a ban on disposable containers … Continue reading

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Another Lone Star Rail update

From the Statesman: Commuter rail between San Antonio and Georgetown, at least as a legislatively sanctioned policy goal, will have its 15th birthday this spring. The tiny government agency created later to make it a reality is almost 9 years … Continue reading

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One can ban backer will face recall

The can ban battle in New Braunfels is not over yet. New Braunfels city councilman Bryan Miranda, who supported a hotly debated container ban on the Comal and Guadalupe rivers, will face a recall election in May after voters signed … Continue reading

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No recall for New Braunfels Mayor

Looks like the can ban battle is over for now. A petition for an election to recall New Braunfels Mayor Gale Pospisil failed when organizers submitted an insufficient number of valid signatures. City Secretary Patrick Aten said that of the … Continue reading

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Election results elsewhere

Results of interest from elsewhere in Texas and the country… – Three of the ten Constitutional amendments were defeated, with Prop 4 losing by nearly 20 points. It drew strong opposition from anti-toll road activists, and I daresay that was … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

It’s about the referenda

This Statesman story about the can ban battle in New Braunfels illustrates something I was getting at in my post about Houston turnout rates in the 90s. Voters have flocked to the polls in early voting, with more than 4,800, … Continue reading

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The can ban battle is getting ridiculous

Meanwhile, back in New Braunfels… The two sides in the Nov. 8 container ban election are talking trash. Or, to be more precise, they are quibbling about amounts of trash. Along the way, the normally tranquil political landscape in the … Continue reading

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Can Ban lawsuit filed

Opponents of the New Braunfels disposable container ban are already seeking to overturn the ordinance via referendum, and now some of them have also filed a lawsuit against it as well. Tourist businesses filed a lawsuit against the city Wednesday, … Continue reading

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The can banners fight back

I’ve blogged before about New Braunfels’s new ordinance that bans disposable containers on the Comal River. Since then, those who oppose the ban have gotten organized and have succeeded in putting a referendum to repeal the ordinance on the November … Continue reading

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Can Ban opponents get their vote

Impressive. [New Braunfels] City Council, confronted Wednesday by a petition challenging a controversial new law, called for a Nov. 8 election to let voters decide whether disposable containers will be banned from local rivers. The “Can the Ban” coalition gathered … Continue reading

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Petition drive to “can the ban”

The backlash against New Braunfels’ ban on disposable containers on the rivers has begun. The New Braunfels “Can the Ban” petition drive, up and running days after the City Council banned disposable containers on the city’s rivers, slowed to a … Continue reading

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New Braunfels bans disposable containers on the river

Despite some talk that they might wait awhile to take action, the New Braunfels City Council has voted to ban disposable food and beverage containers – think cans and bottles – on waterways within its city limits. The law covers … Continue reading

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New Braunfels may delay new river regulations

Looks like the preliminary approval they gave to banning bottles and cans from the Comal River may be put off for awhile before implementation. Grassroots opposition to a proposed prohibition on disposable containers on the Comal River has persuaded the … Continue reading

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New Braunfels bans bottles and cans

On the river, that is. City Council gave preliminary approval on Monday to a controversial rule prohibiting disposable containers — bottles and cans — from the ecologically sensitive Comal River. The first reading of the proposal, amending an existing ordinance, … Continue reading

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San Antonio and New Braunfels

The San Antonio metro area has grown again. New Braunfels, the second-largest city in South Central Texas, now is part of the newly expanded and renamed San Antonio-New Braunfels Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has grown from four to eight counties. … Continue reading

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Get those tubers out of your truck!

It’ll be summer before you know it, and if you’re contemplating a trip to New Braunfels for a ride on the river, be aware of some new changes to the law there regarding tuber transport. Tubers who enjoy an exhilarating … Continue reading

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New Schlitterbahn planned

To be built in Cedar Park, which is northwest of Austin. The park would be built on about 95 acres on RM 1431, about halfway between U.S. 183 and Interstate 35, according to a Cedar Park Economic Development Corp. meeting … Continue reading

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Lone Star Rail

We’ve talked a number of times in this space about the possibility of building a commuter rail line between Houston and Galveston, possibly connecting to another line that would run out Highway 290 to College Station. That effort is just … Continue reading

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