Grenades sold to undercover authorities overshadow human bones found at San Juan property

SAN JUAN — Federal authorities arrested a 38-year-old man on felony weapons
charges at a house where investigators said he manufactured scores of grenades
and performed occult ceremonies with human bones.

Ruben Ambrosio Fonseca
Jr. had his initial appearance in U.S. District Court on Thursday after
undercover agents posing as drug cartel members purchased 183 grenades from him
that he allegedly manufactured at a San Juan house, law enforcement officials
said.

They believe the residents at the house had been worshipping Santa
Muerte, Spanish for the Death Saint, and were adherents of Palo Mayombe, a form
of black magic that incorporates skeletal remains and animal sacrifice.

Police confirmed Thursday that a resident at the house had purchased a
catalog and the bones from Skulls Unlimited and that they believe the human
bones came from the company.

City's defense for not paying up sounds familiar

The city has avoided paying county toll road fines using a defense it does
not want motorists to use when contesting red-light camera violations.

Earlier this week, city officials again asked Harris County
Commissioners Court to help them collect millions by blocking the registration
of vehicles involved in red-light camera violations in which the fines have not
been paid. Meanwhile, Harris County Toll Road Authority lawyers were continuing
a fruitless effort to make the city pay tolls racked up by more than a hundred
non-emergency city vehicles.

Toll Road Authority spokesman Eric Hanson
said there are 552 violations involving unpaid tolls for 122 different vehicles
owned by the city. To date, the city owes $13,851 in unpaid tolls, fines and
collection fees, he said.

“HCTRA has hundreds of photographs of City
vehicles using the Toll Road system without paying,“ Bauer wrote, adding, “For
years, HCTRA has been sending violations notices to the City of Houston but the
City has failed to pay.“ Bauer said some fines have been sent to a law firm for
collection.

No one knows for "whom the bell tolls."

Proposition 4 — Good for state's higher ed, but good for South Texas?

Proposition 4, which would establish a $500 million fund for Tier 1
universities, could have a significant impact on South Texas even though none of
the local universities would be designated as Tier 1, also known as an emerging
research university.

The additional seven universities — University of
Texas-Arlington; University of North Texas; University of Texas-Dallas; Texas
Tech University; University of Houston; University of Texas-San Antonio and
University of Texas-El Paso — were chosen based on student enrollment, research,
and doctoral and professional programs.

“South Texas below San Antonio,which has been underserved by doctoral and professional schools, will be locked out from significant growth in these kinds of programs for decades to come if the state makes this commitment to create essentially seven more UT-Austin/Texas A&M-College Station national research or Tier 1 institutions,” Phaup said.

“It is going to leave all the institutions not included in this list
high and dry when it comes to obtaining adequate funding, much less when it
comes to serious expansion of programs,” Phaup said.

The "powers that be" have made yet again everything south of San Antonio invisible.

Teacher allegedly lured teens for sex

A 37-year-old teacher accused of creating a “secret society” to lure
teenage girls into having sex with him was arrested Monday evening after a girl
he allegedly wanted to recruit into the group complained to police, authorities
said.

Robert Louis Rosseau taught Bible classes — among other subjects — to
eighth-graders at Christian Academy of San Antonio, a private school on the West
Side.

The affidavit states Rosseau would read Bible passages to the two girls “to
legitimize his believed ability” to have sex with them.

Who needs Halloween? This is scary enough.

Police say dozen people watched teen girl gang raped

RICHMOND, Calif. (AP) — Police believe as many as a dozen people watched a
15-year-old girl get beaten and gang-raped outside her high school homecoming
dance without reporting it.

Two suspects were in custody Monday, but
police said as many as five other men attacked the girl over a two-hour period
Friday night outside Richmond High School.

"She was raped, beaten,
robbed and dehumanized by several suspects who were obviously OK enough with it
to behave that way in each other's presence," Lt. Mark Gagan said. "What makes
it even more disturbing is the presence of others. People came by, saw what was
happening and failed to report it."

The victim remained hospitalized
with non-life-threatening injuries.

Bush makes debut as motivational speaker at Fort Worth Convention Center

FORT WORTH — Joining the ranks of Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins and several past
leaders of the free world, former President George W. Bush made his first foray
into motivational speaking Monday at the Fort Worth Convention Center.

"Every single day, I was honored to be your president by bringing honor
and dignity to the office," Bush said to more than 11,000 people as the premier
guest of the Get Motivated business seminar.

A spokesperson for Get Motivated would not say how much the company pays its
speakers, but personal finance disclosure forms filed by Giuliani in 2007 during
his presidential campaign showed that he was paid $100,000 per Get Motivated
speech in 2006.

What a joke. . . he should be ashamed, oh wait, it's Dubya.

Residents told to leave while leak is fixed

FREEPORT — Dow Chemical Co. officials went door to door Monday evening in a
small section of northernmost Freeport advising residents of 65 homes they
should leave for the next three to five days.

Company officials discovered a leak in a urethane pipe that will require
the line to be dug up, and the residents are being asked to evacuate as a
precaution, Dow spokeswoman Tracie Copeland said. Dow will pay for the residents
to stay in a hotel, shelter for their animals and transportation for kids to
school until it is deemed safe to return.

“We’re being very proactive and this is a safety precaution,” Copeland
said. “We believe everything is fine, but we just want to make sure. We don’t
want to risk anything, especially the well-being of our neighbors. We are going
to do everything we can to keep the community safe.”

Urethane is used in the production of mattresses, pillows and other
cushions, Copeland said.

Go figure. . . a leak is dangerous, but we can sleep on this stuff?

Some ICE agents run afoul of law

EL PASO — One immigration agent was accused of running an Internet
pornography business and enjoying an improper relationship with an informant.
Another let an informant smuggle in a group of illegal immigrants. And in a
third case, an agent was investigated for soliciting sex from a witness in a
marriage fraud case.

According to documents obtained by The Associated
Press under the Freedom of Information Act, ICE agents have blundered badly in
their dealings with informants and other sources, covering up crimes and even
interfering in a police investigation into whether one informant killed another.

At least eight agents have been investigated for improper dealings with
informants since ICE was created in 2003, and more than three dozen others have
been investigated for other wrongdoing, the records show.

Kelly Nantel,
an ICE spokeswoman in Washington, said in an e-mailed statement that the agency
“works with confidential informants in accordance with established best
practices and guidelines of federal law enforcement agencies.”

If this is the best then what's the worst?

Hotel owner tells Hispanic workers to change names

TAOS, N.M. (AP) -- Larry Whitten marched into this northern New Mexico town
in late July on a mission: resurrect a failing hotel.

The tough-talking former Marine immediately laid down some new rules. Among
them, he forbade the Hispanic workers at the run-down, Southwestern adobe-style
hotel from speaking Spanish in his presence (he thought they'd be talking about
him), and ordered some to Anglicize their names.

"It has nothing to do with racism. I'm not doing it for any reason other
than for the satisfaction of my guests, because people calling from all over
America don't know the Spanish accents or the Spanish culture or Spanish
anything," Whitten says.

Martin Gutierrez, another fired employee, says he felt disrespected when he
was told to use the unaccented Martin as his name. He says he told Whitten that
Spanish was spoken in New Mexico before English. "He told me he didn't care what
I thought because this was his business," Gutierrez says.

"I don't have to change my name and language or heritage," he says.
"I'm professional the way I am."

Oh yes, let's keep the customers happy!

Dallas police gave 38 improper no-English tickets

DALLAS - Police officials say they have uncovered 38 cases where Dallas
officers improperly cited drivers for not being able to speak English.
Chief
David Kunkle said Friday the discovery came after a woman was pulled over
earlier this month for making an illegal U-turn and was given a ticket for being
a "non-English speaking driver."

Kunkle said his department's computer
system for citations has a pull-down menu that includes a law requiring drivers
of commercial vehicles to speak English.

The chief said it was a federal
law that was misapplied to local drivers of private vehicles.

Kunkle
says at least six officers wrote the citations. He said the officers and their
commanders are under investigation.

Federal, state, what's the difference?

Attorney says he made mistakes in law practice

CORPUS CHRISTI — A local attorney under indictment and facing an unrelated
pending disbarment said Friday he has made mistakes and intends to repay those
affected.

David Bonilla, whose disbarment goes into effect Nov. 29, had
a news conference Friday at his law office to address allegations of wrongdoing
against him.

A Nueces County grand jury last week indicted Bonilla, 55, on allegations
that he misapplied and stole tens of thousands of dollars belonging to six
clients in separate instances in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Legalese...these are crimes, not mistakes!

Mexican activist calls U.S. detention unfair

EL PASO -- Chihuahua human-rights investigator Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson
feels betrayed and disappointed.

One day after being released by U.S.
immigration authorities, Hickerson said Thursday that he felt betrayed by the
Mexican government for not coming to his aid after he was taken into custody
against his will last week.

And he said he was disappointed in a system
in the United States that allows immigration officials to take someone into
custody for his or her own safety without legal recourse.

"I was in prison five days without a legal cause to process me -- why?
Because the only thing I did was to say I was afraid to be in Juárez," Hickerson
said at a news conference.

Detention or protection?

Arlington couple targeted by racist graffiti faces arrest on misdemeanor warrants

ARLINGTON — Police issued arrest warrants Thursday for the Arlington couple
who made headlines after their northwest Arlington home was spray-painted with a
racial slur in 2007.

Broderick Gamble and Kay "Silk" Littlejohn failed
to show up in Arlington Municipal Court this month for Class C misdemeanor
citations they received in 2008 and this year, Arlington police and court
officials said.

News of the warrants surprised Gamble and Littlejohn,
who said they went to court this month to reschedule their hearings but were
never given a new court date.

Gamble said that he has also requested a
new trial for his assault conviction but that his request has been repeatedly
denied. The couple said the warrants are another example of harassment by the
city that they’ve experienced since their home was vandalized.

Victimized twice.

Sabal Palm Audubon Center to remain closed due to budget constraints

The Sabal Palm Audubon Center isn’t seeing the green it needs to keep the sanctuary open.

The 557-acre property was to re-open to the public last week, but funding problems and the ongoing construction of the border fence have given officials no choice but to keep the sanctuary closed for the time being, said Audubon Texas Executive Director Bob Benson.

The financial crisis earlier this year affected the foundation’s revenue, officials said. Then the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced plans to construct a border fence just north of the center’s property, potentially sealing it off from the public.

Damn fence!

Juan Guerra Files Suit Against Lucio, Gonzales, et al

RAYMONDVILLE, Oct. 20 - The Guardian’s media partner, KGBT-TV, is reporting
that former Willacy County DA Juan Guerra has filed a federal lawsuit against
state Sen. Eddie Lucio and 28 others.


Also sued, Action 4 News is
reporting, is former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former U.S.
Attorney for Southern District of Texas Donald DeGarbrielle, and state District
Judges Migdalia Lopez and Janet Leal.


Among the accusations are
engaging in organized criminal activity, accepting of an honorarium, abuse of
official capacity, official oppression, murder and manslaughter, Action 4 News
reports.

Just before leaving elected office last year, Guerra famously got a Willacy
County grand jury to indict then-Vice President Dick Cheney, former U.S.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Lucio and others. The case was quickly thrown
out. He told the Guardian at the time that his top secret investigation was
known as Operation Caca Grande.

So, does this qualify as Caca Chica?

Advocacy Groups Oppose Public Housing Plan

Both David Miller, president of the Galveston branch of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and Leon Phillips, president
of the Galveston Coalition for Justice, want the housing authority to rebuild
all of the housing demolished after Hurricane Ike on the four properties the
agency owns north of Broadway.

Harish Krishnarao, housing authority executive
director, on Monday recommended rebuilding 340 apartments, row houses and
duplexes on the old public housing sites and scattering 229 throughout other
island neighborhoods. But people who don’t want public housing residents back on
the island certainly aren’t going to welcome families getting government
assistance into their communities, both Miller and Phillips said.

Both Miller and Phillips want people displaced by the storm brought back as soon as possible. The fastest way to do that is to rebuild on property the agency already owns, they said. Making people wait any longer than necessary is a form of
stress-induced genocide, Miller said.

Business as usual. . .

Board Member Calls for Athletic Dept. Probe

A member of the BISD Board of Trustees is calling on the Cameron County
District Attorney’s Office to investigate allegations of wrongdoing against
Athletic Director Joe Rodriguez.
The allegations are contained in two leaked
BISD reports released last week by the Dallas-based Hispanic action group Accion
America. The reports are the subject of a public information request by The
Brownsville Herald, but the Brownsville Independent School District has not
officially released them.
Trustee Catalina Presas-Garcia on Thursday hand
delivered the reports to the district attorney’s office and met for about an
hour with an investigator. At a news
conference afterward in the lobby of the DA’s office, she said she was
fulfilling her fiduciary duty as a trustee to take the reports to the district
attorney.
“It bothers me that we are suppressing these reports,”
Presas-Garcia said. “These reports were given to us back in March or April and,
if the allegations are true, it is the DA’s responsibility to investigate. To
ignore the audit report is to abdicate our fiduciary duty as board
members.”

Immigration Question on Census Blasted

House Democrats, Latino rights organizations and liberal advocacy
groups voiced their opposition Tuesday to a Senate amendment that would require
U.S. census forms to include a question about citizenship and immigration
status.
The amendment by Sen. David Vitter, R-La., would freeze the Census
Bureau's budget if more than 425 million forms aren't changed before the 2010
decennial count.
Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus task force
on civil rights, said Vitter was trying to politicize the census over the
hot-button issue of unauthorized immigration.
“Basically, it's a political ploy creating attention for an issue that he knows plays to a certain base,” said Gonzalez, D-San Antonio. “As a practical matter, you cannot implement it without destabilizing the census.”

Who is "counting?"

Our new blogger quizas will be holding down the fort

I won't be blogging until November 8th at the earliest.

Guess who's featured on the "Republicans for Rape' website?

Our very on John Cornyn was one of 30 white Republican males to vote for allowing contractors to force rape victims into arbitration instead of having access to the courts. I guess these Republican men think rape is just a cost of doing business. Apparently, the Department of Defense agrees.

What a world. What a world.

Cuero city manager fired

Marie Gelles is out as Cuero city manager.

Less than nine months after being hired, Gelles was ousted by a unanimous vote of the Cuero city council after an hour-long executive session Wednesday night. The council also voted to give Gelles $42,000 in severance pay.

Hondo city council recall results okayed

The U.S. Justice Department on Monday upheld the recall of three Hispanics on the Hondo City Council, clearing the way for a special election to replace them.

“I'm gratified that they went with the will of the voters, and found that the city handled the election in the proper manner,” Mayor Jim Danner said upon getting word of the decision.

Liberty County Judge in trouble for his handling of a trust

Liberty County Judge Phil Fitzgerald, who's under state and federal investigation for allegations of showing favoritism to prominent personal injury lawyer Glenn Vickery, was stripped Monday of his role overseeing the $2.8 million trust for that attorney's daughter.

After a three-day hearing at the Liberty County courthouse, State District Judge C.T. “Rusty” Hight ruled that Fitzgerald had recklessly breached his fiduciary duty to the daughter, Jessica Vickery, now 26. Hight said Fitzgerald, who had earned $39,000 during the eight years he served as trustee, had improperly allowed Jessica's father to use 900 acres from the trust without paying the trust any rent or taxes after 2004.

Hight said the trust did not permit Fitzgerald to be held responsible for any losses, but he ordered Glenn Vickery to repay the trust $81,044 for back taxes and rent.

Suspended State District Court Judge says he was entrapped

Whine, whine whine.

FBI agents arrested [Manuel] Barraza, 54, that day and a federal grand jury indicted him on suspicion of trading judicial favors for money and sex. Charged with three counts of mail fraud, deprivation of honest services and making a false statement to federal agents, he is scheduled to stand trial Nov. 2 in U.S. District Court.

In documents pertaining to his defense, Barraza and his lawyers claimed entrapment. They allege that the FBI relied on a woman already in jail on serious drug charges to try to bring down Barraza.

Who else is in need of a little extra help from the judge?

Hutchison called a porker by Citizens Against Government Waste

Gotta get those perks while you can.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison won a dubious honor today when Citizens Against Government Waste named her Porker of the Month for October.

"The four-term senator from Texas is loading up her goodie bag just before Halloween as she prepares to leave the Senate to run for governor," the group said.

Hidalgo Sheriff's employees in trouble with the law

Two employees of the Hidalgo County sheriff’s office face criminal charges in connection with an alleged scheme to obtain $82,000 in loans using false information.

South Texas Chisme welcomes a new blogger!

Check out quizas!

No Nukes

It appears that the city council will do whatever it takes to make San Antonio a world class city. Environmental and safety concerns. . . .who cares when we are on the road to greatness.

Corpus Christi woman says she was jailed because of pregnancy

Amber Lovill was almost six months pregnant and on probation when a mandatory drug test found high levels of methamphetamine in her system.

What happened next to the Corpus Christi woman — jail time followed by drug treatment in a secure facility for felons — prompted a legal challenge that will be heard this week by the state's highest criminal court.

Lovill argues that she was the victim of gender discrimination and heavy-handed prosecution. Her cause has been taken up by civil liberties and women's rights groups who complain that Lovill was treated more severely than a man or nonpregnant woman in the same situation.

More proof that Perry thinks he owns Texas

Embroiled in a national controversy over whether he allowed the execution of an innocent man, Gov. Rick Perry adamantly has refused to release an advisory memo from his general counsel about granting a 30-day reprieve for Cameron Todd Willingham.

“That information has been privileged information back when Ann Richards was the governor and George Bush was the governor, and I suggest it will be privileged information after I am the governor,” Perry told reporters last week.

Perry's office has a demonstrated record of applying the attorney-client privilege to him.

When you're acting on behalf of Texans, it's Texas' business. Not yours.

Tighter zoning laws for Houston?

More than two-thirds of Houstonians are ready for tighter land-use restrictions in the wake of several high-profile conflicts between developers and neighborhoods in recent years, according to a Houston Chronicle poll.

Out of 601 people surveyed between Oct. 12 and 15, 71 percent said they strongly or somewhat agree that “Houston should enact tougher land use restrictions.”

So much for the wild west. Real people are living in the real world, not on a fake John Wayne movie set.

Another case for a public health option

El Paso artist, Robert Carlson, is fighting prostate cancer.

His show, "Bake Sale!" will feature 45 pieces, including 10 tongue-in-cheek oil paintings of bakery items.

His inspiration for the show stemmed from a joke Carlson made to his wife about having a car wash or bake sale to help pay extra bills for his medical treatment.

Mission victims of polluters to have their day in court

So little. So late.

Over time, Ramiro Barrera and the others who grew up in the shadow of the Hayes-Sammons Chemical Co. have had to master the art of persuasion.

They convinced a federal judge in 1983 to order the cleanup of the pesticide mixing plant that once stood at the center of their downtown Mission neighborhood, nearly a quarter-century after it began spewing remnants of undiluted, industrial-grade toxins over their community.

In 2006, they coaxed a U.S. congressman into re-examining the poison in their backyards, only to discover the contamination was far worse than originally understood and still causing cases of heart, lung and liver disease as well as cancer, chronic migraines and miscarriages.

How much pain since the 1960s?

Police retirees make the case for public option health care

Retired Corpus Christi police find their health care fund in trouble.

According to financial statements filed in 2008, the [union-run health insurance] trust had roughly $2 million in assets in 2007. But the trust had incurred nearly $38 million in obligations. Since then, the obligations have risen and the assets have declined.

This is fairly normal in the world of health benefits, according to Mark Johnson, a Grapevine-based expert on employee benefits. Retirees across the country are learning that companies are cutting off or reducing benefits. Most plans are essentially unfunded promises. But few feature the sweeping promises made by the Corpus Christi Police Officers Association, which promised to cover health benefits for decades while collecting about $35 per month from active-duty officers.

Apparently, they didn't count on the huge bonuses and profits the insurance industry execs expect.

It's blogger roundup time!

The Texas Progressive Alliance celebrates the start of early voting for the 2009 elections with its always on time weekly blog roundup.

Human tragedies are mounting in the Barnett Shale as study after study shows high levels of toxins in the air. The only ones who can't seem to find anything wrong are the regulators. TXsharon asks, "Will the EPA intervene in Texas?" at Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

Why did the US forcibly detain a Mexican human rights advocate? CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants to know.

Bay Area Houston says Tort Reformers in Texas suck.

The Texas Cloverleaf presents the Kay Coward Bailey Hutchison plan for health care mediocrity.

Off the Kuff takes a look at Cameron Todd Willingham's supposed confession, and finds the evidence for it lacking.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson states that no matter what you hear Transportation schemes are continuing, despite the death of the TTC. EOW also had a guest post this week on the PEC, Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC): Who’s Electing Your Board Representative?.

"Other big names" may enter the Republican primary for governor if Perry and Hutchison can't get their acts together, according to a right-wing talker in D-FW and passed along by PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

The folks at Texas Vox would like to thank everyone who participated in Blog Action Day on Climate Change last week. Following that trend, check out our round-up of Texas Blog Action day posts, let us know who we're missing, and read up on the Business of Climate Change.

WhosPlayin posted an update on gas drilling in Lewisville, and also breaks the story that a local group is looking to ban smoking in public places in Lewisville.

refinish69 reopens Doing My Part For The Left with the latest installment of his series Homesless in Austin-An Insider's View Part 7.

Mean Rachel got to see President Obama speak in College Station on Friday.

We have known for a long time that Governor Perry is a bottom feeder, but letting an innocent man die and then refusing to get at the truth about his execution? Well, I would not want that on my conscience. Let Libby Shaw bring you up to speed in his posting, All the Good Hair on the Planet Won't Make the Cover Up Go Away.

Neil at Texas Liberal ran a picture he took this week of the confluence on White Oak Bayou and Buffalo Bayou in Downtown Houston. This spot, important in the founding of Houston, is still a place of connection. If connection could be found in the hot and Hell-like Houston of 175 years ago, we can find connection even in tough circumstances.

Mexican human rights activist detained

Did he want to be protected by the US? Apparently, not.

A Mexican human rights official is in U.S. customs detention apparently for his safety after reporting 170 instances in which Mexican soldiers allegedly tortured, abused or killed innocent people while deployed in Chihuahua.

Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson was taken into custody Thursday night by Customs and Border Protection agents who apparently want him to seek political asylum for his safety, a highly unusual move, according to Carlos Spector, his attorney, the El Paso Times reported Saturday.

Valley schools teach abstinence-only, have highest teen pregnancy rate in the state

Last year alone, almost 2,000 teenage girls in the Valley ages 13-17 became pregnant, about a dozen fewer than the year before.

In both years, the Valley’s pregnancy rate was the highest in the state.

Maybe some day other people's religious views will not trump reality.

La Marque staff hid water distribution problems

City officials knew for years about problems plaguing a water distribution plant but apparently never told the city council, according to memos and e-mails.

The city bought the plant on state Highway 3 in Webster from the Gulf Coast Water Authority in 2000 for $175,000 and spent $1 million in 2005 trying to fix it. It never has worked.

Council members first learned about the problem during a mid-July water shortage that forced officials to restrict consumption for weeks.

Ooops.

Bilingual work force a major plus

El Paso seems to think so.

When our Economic Development Department talks to businesses about investing in El Paso, one of our grab-em selling points is that we have one of the largest bilingual work forces in the country.

Brownsville used to.

Administrators and teachers of the Project SOL dual language program call it one of the Brownsville Independent School District’s most invigorating, rewarding offerings to local students.

But despite their enthusiasm, the program has shrunk in size during its 11 years of existence, from six elementary schools to three.

Perry puts 3 new trustees on teacher pension board

Hmm. Will we be seeing some large donations to the Perry campaign?

SBOE board members complain about ethics scrutiny

Two State Board of Education members said Friday they had been unfairly tarred with ethical questions as a board committee mulled changes in the ethics policy guiding oversight of the $20.5 billion public school trust fund.

Board members Rick Agosto, D-San Antonio, and Rene Nuñez, D-El Paso, were the subjects of a recent Dallas Morning News story about disclosure of gifts from a firm seeking real estate investment business. Questions also had been raised about a meeting Agosto had with another firm before it submitted a bid to provide investment advice.

Houston police won't do ICE's job

The Houston Police Department will not participate in a controversial immigration screening program, federal officials said on Friday, ending a months-long saga over the city's plans.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had designated this week as the national deadline for agencies to sign recently revamped agreements in order to participate in the federal government's 287(g) program, which deputizes local law enforcement to act as immigration agents.

Geeslin denies Texas Windstorm Insurance raise

Citing hardships already endured by coastal residents because of Hurricane Ike, Texas Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin denied a request by a state-backed insurer to raise windstorm policy rates along the coast by 10 percent.

We're losing Eliot Shapleigh in the Senate

He will be missed.

State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh surprised almost everyone Friday by announcing that he would not seek re-election next year, then hinted that he might run for a statewide office.

"The work that needs to be done, needs to be done in Texas at higher levels," Shapleigh said after announcing that public service could still be in his future.

Shapleigh may be running for governor. Who will take Shapleigh's seat?

El Paso County Attorney Jose Rodriguez says he is going to talk to supporters before deciding whether to run for the Texas Senate.

Rodriguez, the longest serving official in county government in El Paso, spoke to the Guardian ahead of his scheduled news conference in El Paso. He said he has been “barraged” with phone calls from supporters since his good friend, state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, announced this morning that he would not be running for re-election in 2010.

Del Rio police chief to resign

Waylon J. Bullard announced Friday he will resign as chief of the Del Rio Police Department in early December.

The batsh*t crazies on the SBOE want to establish their religion as the foundation of our country

Just three of the 15 board members submitted recommendations, including Chairwoman Gail Lowe, R-Lampasas, and former Chairman Don McLeroy, R-College Station. The other member was Barbara Cargill, R-The Woodlands. All three are part of the social conservative bloc on the board that typically votes together on major issues.

McLeroy called on the writing team for U.S. government to add a new standard "that describes the Judeo-Christian Bible influence on the founding documents" of the nation.

Cargill and Lowe want coverage in U.S. history of the Great Awakening, a period of heightened religious activity in the American colonies in the mid-1700s. Social conservatives say that period should be credited for unifying the colonies and helping them decide to seek independence from Great Britain.

In their la la world, the US Constitution is an extension of the new bible they're writing.

Neither Perry NOR Hutchison?

It is becoming apparent that there is a possibility that neither Rick Perry nor Kay Bailey Hutchison may be the Republican nominee for governor of Texas. Both of them have issues that must be cleared up – and soon – or other big names are going to enter the race.

Oh. I thought you meant one of the really, really batsh*t crazy candidates like Larry Kilgore or Debra Medina. [Ok. ok. Perry, Kilgore and Medina represent the batsh*t crazies.]

2 Brownsville ISD trustees want investigation of athletic director

Is is more important to have winning teams or academic role models?

Two members of the BISD Board of Trustees are calling on the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office to investigate allegations of wrongdoing against Athletic Director Joe Rodriguez.

The allegations are contained in two leaked BISD reports released last week by the Dallas-based Hispanic action group Accion America. The reports are the subject of a public information request by The Brownsville Herald, but the Brownsville Independent School District has not officially released them.

Trustee Catalina Presas-Garcia on Thursday hand delivered the reports to the district attorney’s office and met for about an hour with an investigator. At a news conference afterward, she said she was fulfilling her fiduciary duty as a trustee to take the reports to the DA.

Brownsville's Mayor to be retried for felony theft

Whose idea was it to try the mayor in his home town anyway?

A mistrial has been declared in the trial of Mayor Pat M. Ahumada Jr., who is accused of stealing a $26,239 check destined for a city vendor.

A Cameron County jury deliberated for about five hours on Thursday before returning a note to visiting Judge Robert C. Pate that it was deadlocked and could not reach a verdict. The case was handed to the jury on Wednesday, with the jury going home after two hours of deliberations.

More here. See previous post.

Profile on SBOE candidate Tim Tuggey

The candidate is former VIA Metropolitan Transit Authority Chairman Tim Tuggey, who exhibited strong leadership skills in the transportation job and played a key role in winning voter approval of the advanced transportation district.

Tuggey, who now lives in Austin, is seeking the District 5 seat currently held by San Antonian Ken Mercer, who is part of the bloc of social conservatives on the SBOE.

...

The race is likely to be the biggest GOP primary showdown in SBOE District 5 since then-Gov. George W. Bush's allies knocked socially conservative incumbent Bob Offut out of the office in 2000.

Will the batsh*t crazies win the primary slot or will the corporatists prevail? Who knew I would be routing for the corporatist. At least businesses want educated people.

Perry blames the US Supreme Court for Willingham's execution

“How many courts looked at this? There were nine federal courts that looked at this case. Nine federal courts. It was before the Supreme Court of the United states four times. Now surely you're not saying the Supreme Court of the United States fouled up four times,” Perry said.

Being a Republican means you never have to say you're wrong or sorry. Being a Republican means you don't have to be competent at your job.

Perry is covering Perry's a**.

Baltimore-based Craig Beyler, hired by the Texas Forensic Science Commission to examine the case, said in an e-mail that the governor should not have upended the commission, which was to have heard his report just days after Perry replaced several members. He said the governor had a conflict of interest because he approved the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham of Corsicana.

Spat amongst Ysleta ISD trustees

Two weeks ago, [Ysleta Trustee Liza] Montelongo shared her opinions and critiques of school district business and staff on Paul Strelzin's talk show on KHRO.

The Ysleta ISD president was not amused.

The Ysleta Independent School District's board president Marty Reyes on Wednesday withdrew an agenda item from a meeting that, if approved, would have publicly censured Trustee Liza Montelongo for comments she made on a radio show.

Reyes did not say during the board meeting why she changed her mind about the item. She could not be reached for comment after the meeting.

The board president was one of four trustees who met behind closed doors for an hour to seek advice from the district's lawyer about "unauthorized" comments made by Montelongo.

Montelongo and two other trustees refused to enter the closed-door meeting after Reyes rejected a request to discuss the matter in public forum.

I wonder what the verdict will be in the Brownsville Mayor's trial

It's hard for me to imagine how Mayor Pat Ahumada Jr. could mistakenly deposit a $26K check made out to someone else. He just deposited the one check, so it didn't accidentally get mixed in. A police detective testified that Ahumada told him he wasn't in town when the check was deposited, yet the bank teller recognized Ahumada and noted the check wasn't made out to the mayor. Ahumada needed the money. It doesn't look good. We'll hear what the jury thinks.

See previous posts.

Kay Bailey Hutchison loves that d*mn fence

Well, she loves it if Perry hates it. Taking a contrary position to Rick Perry is generally a good idea. Except, HOW COULD SHE LIKE THAT D*MN FENCE!

In the lowest-common-denominator drama the Republican governor's race is rapidly becoming, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison last week blasted Gov. Rick Perry for calling the multibillion dollar border fence a silly idea.

But that's exactly what it is, and Hutchison's tactic was a misguided appeal to the “what-part-of-illegal-don't-you-understand?” crowd that holds to the notion that sealing the border is even possible.

Fight over land sold by Port of Corpus Christi

The state has sued the Port of Corpus Christi, saying it leased and sought to sell land belonging to Texas’ Permanent School Fund.

The prospective buyer plans a luxury resort on the land. Longtime tenant Tor Minerals International had argued against the sale. The lawsuit, filed Oct. 9 in Travis County on behalf of Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, provides a timely boost to Tor’s effort.

Port of Corpus Christi wants to spend $1.9M on patrol boats

Some port businesses are not amused.

“We understand the critical nature of securing the flow of commerce and the infrastructure that supports it,” McDaniel wrote. “However, the Port Industries of Corpus Christi is opposed to the proposed plan, which calls for the introduction of three boats and associated crews.”

Port Industries of Corpus Christi is an association of 15 large industrial plants along the ship channel. McDaniel is DuPont Fluorocarbons plant manager.

Red tide is hurting Padre Island National Seashore

The toxic algae red tide is being blamed for thousands of dead fish that washed up along Padre Island National Seashore Tuesday morning, according to park officials.

Beachgoers and anglers on the National Seashore retreated from the irritating aerosol produced by high concentrations of red tide, which causes respiratory symptoms such as coughing, eye and throat irritation. National Seashore spokesman Juan Rodriguez said that even dogs on the beach seemed to be affected by the nasal annoyance.

Brownsville mayor's trial recap

Mistakes people make were central to Mayor Pat M. Ahumada Jr.’s defense during the first day of testimony in his theft trial, which pertains to a $26,139 check that the city issued to a New York vendor, but that he deposited in his personal business account, instead.

...

The state’s case also suggested that the mayor might have been in need of money, had been awaiting approval of a $70,000 home equity loan, partially held up because property taxes were owed and property insurance had to be obtained, and that the mayor spent $5,482.98 of the $26,139.

Here's a headline you don't want to see

'County employee denies theft charges'

A former Hidalgo County employee accused of stealing building supplies said Tuesday that he has been unjustly caught up in a wave of finger pointing involving public officials.

Recent arrests of Hidalgo County Precinct 1 Commissioner Sylvia Handy, former county Elections Administrator Teresa Navarro and ex-Precinct 4 Constable Andy Rios have created a witch-hunt culture around county offices, said Javier Carreon, who had worked as a foreman for the county’s Buildings and Grounds Department.

RIP William Wayne Justice

William Wayne Justice was a giant in Texas history, the foreman of an audacious legal assembly line that churned out bulging packages of civil rights, equal justice and opportunities for the least among us.

Justice was 89. He will be missed.

Perry continues to get grief for Willingham's execution

Willingham got the worse end of this deal.

Although Perry has dismissed suggestions that he's meddling, the governor's fingerprints are all over the forensic science panel's inquiry.

The Dallas Morning News is too kind too Perry. Really, this editorial is way too kind.

See previous posts.

State Board of Education head thinks ethics rules are 'too gotcha'

Ethics smtheics. People might just might enforce those rules and then what?

David Bradley, chairman of the Permanent School Fund committee, said the current hodgepodge of policies has created a "culture of gotcha" as board members are questioned about compliance with disclosure rules and other requirements that aren't clear. The board's ethics code was enacted in 1996 and has been amended several times.

"It becomes more of a political weapon and food fight," said Bradley, R-Beaumont. "We're going to try to make it a little more simpler. ... Hopefully, we can eliminate some of the political gamesmanship."

Boo hoo.

Red tide is back

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says elevated levels of red tide were confirmed going through the pass at Port Aransas over the weekend.

Brownsville mayor's felony theft trial started

Visiting Judge Robert C. Pate of Corpus Christi has the case..

The charges against [Pat Ahumada Jr.] arise from a $26,139 check dated Oct. 22, 2008 that the city issued to city vendor Tarsia Technical Industries Inc. of New York, but which was deposited in Ahumada’s business bank account instead on Oct. 28.

See previous posts.

Houston ISD wants 11 fifth ward houses

The Houston ISD is forcing Fifth Ward residents out of their homes for a school expansion that wasn't vetted by the neighborhood, community leaders said Sunday.

The school district is threatening to use eminent domain to acquire 11 properties near Dogan Elementary School without offering the homeowners fair purchase prices or any details about why their land is needed, City Councilmember Jarvis Johnson said.

HISD slow to jump into bible class controversy

Two years ago state lawmakers made it OK for schools to provide elective Bible classes but, so far, few Houston-area school districts have taken them up on the offer.

The 2007 law requires schools, beginning this year, to include some Bible literacy in history and literature classes. Bible classes are optional but encouraged under the law. The thinking is that educated students must be familiar with biblical references and themes that pervade culture and society.

Republicans always trying to push their religion on other people's kids.

La Marque calculating how to shaft retirees

You work your whole life with a promise of health care. Ooops. Gotta pay for Bush and his Republican mistakes with our economy using your earned benefits.

The city council is expected to adopt a plan today that would limit the eligibility of city workers from receiving health insurance coverage after they retire.

...

What’s causing some hand wringing at city hall, however, is the caveat that the retiree insurance requirements be made retroactive to all city employees who retired since 2000. The city estimates that under the new plan, about 13 retirees who have city insurance would loose their health care coverage.

Too bad about you. Can anyone say UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE! With universal health care your employer can't pull the rug out from under you after you've made plans and worked all of your life.

Prisoner released after tainted trial exposed

Dallas County jurors who sent Richard Miles to prison for 40 years never knew another man had been implicated in the same shooting incident.

It took 14 years and detective work by a prisoner advocacy group to unearth reports in police files that suggested others could have committed the murder and attempted murder that sent Miles to prison.

Perry pressured Forensics Commission

Nothing like intimidation through meetings with Perry's top attorneys and the presence of a Perry bot in Forensics Commission meetings. Perry thinks he owns Texas. The innocent be damned. Perry's ass is more important than your life.

This isn't the first example of Perry's heavy thumb.

It's blogger roundup time!

The Texas Progressive Alliance is enjoying the fall weather too much to think of a clever opening to this week's blog roundup.

This week on Left of College Station, Teddy writes about what it is like to share a birthday with a war and how we have been unable to learn from the mistakes we have made during the last eight years. In the weekly guest column about teaching in Aggieland, Litia writes about the reasons why they are a teacher. Left of College Station also covers the week in headlines.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notices that Republicans running Texas agencies don't care whether doctors are bad as long as you can't sue.

WhosPlayin investigated complaints by parents that schools were allowing church groups on campus during lunch hour to proselytize, while preventing parents from accessing their kids.

Communities all across the nation are watching DISH, Texas to learn how natural gas drilling is threatening our health but TXsharon wants to be sure you don't forget about the public meeting Monday, October 12th at 7:00PM.

Neil at Texas Liberal wrote about a 17th-Century book by Rhode Island founder Roger Williams that was ahead of its time in offering respect for Native Americans and women.

The Texas Cloverleaf watches as Denton County comes out for LGBT equality.

Justin at Asian American Action Fund Blog provides detailed coverage of the Houston Asian American Mayoral Forum.

Off the Kuff notes that at least some conservative candidates are not interested in learning from the mistakes of others.

At Texas Vox read about how Tom Craddick Laundered Money through Jobs PAC to House Dems and Texans for Public Justice files a complaint.

Over at McBlogger, Captain Kroc takes a look at the latest GOP plot to make people think they actually care about the poor.

Harris County Clerk Beverly Kaufman announced her retirement, and PDiddie at Brains and Eggs threw the names of a few Democratic and Republican potential successors into the rumor mill.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson TxDOT again says the Trans-Texas Corridror (TTC) is dead, but How many times will the TTC die?.

Over at Texas Kaos, libby shaw asks: Republicans Are On Board with Corporate Communism?. They can't make up their minds, but it is sadly funny to read about.

Burnt Orange Report explores the value, or lack thereof, of proposing an opt-out of the public option as a strategy to pass the health care bill out of the U.S. Senate.

Texas Medical Board allows bad doctors

And, tort 'reform' is good how? Doctors are already let off the hook by the Republican lack of accountability agencies. Letting them off the hook in court helps how?

Seven years ago, after a scathing series of stories in The Dallas Morning News, the Texas Medical Board promised to crack down on bad doctors. Patient endangerment would be dealt with severely. And sexual misconduct, one official said, would become "intolerable."

It hasn't turned out that way.

Republicans only believe in accountability for the poor and for Democrats. Republicans and their friends get a pass.

Hispanic caucus writing 1st immigration bill

Hispanic lawmakers in the House are writing an immigration reform bill that will outline the minority community's position before the debate begins in Congress.

The House and Senate are not expected to take up comprehensive immigration reform until next year, but those involved in writing the bill say the legislation being prepared by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., will lay down a marker on what is expected.

Looks like Perry ignored evidence before execution

Rick Perry is a perfect example of today's Republican: incompetent and utterly selfish. How incompetent and selfish do you have to be to ignore evidence of innocence before a man is executed?

In a letter sent Feb. 14, three days before Willingham was scheduled to die, Perry had been asked to postpone the execution. The condemned man's attorney argued that the newly obtained expert evidence showed Willingham had not set the house fire that killed his daughters, 2-year-old Amber and 1-year-old twins Karmon and Kameron, two days before Christmas in 1991.

Defense attorneys don't like judge in El Paso public corruption cases

More to come from the El Paso Times on U.S. District Judge Frank Montalvo.

Corpus Christi Caller Times sucks today

First we have this misleading headline 'Alcohol sales drop after smoking ban' followed by 'I didn't really mean that the smoking ban actually caused the drop'.

Then we have utter cluelessness in an editorial.'Cross on public land means what? Battle looming'

The cross in question is just over 6 feet tall, made of 4-inch pipe, and sits on a rocky outcropping 100 yards off the road far out in the Mojave Desert. Indeed, to find the offensive cross, you would have to go intentionally out of your way to be aggrieved.

The cross, in case the Caller Times editorial staff is unaware, is the symbol of Christianity. Symbols are powerful things. Would the Caller Times editorial staff be offended if that memorial cross was replaced with the Star of David? How about replacing it with the flag of Dixie? Or, a skull and cross bones?

I'm aggrieved. That you're the editors of a major paper and you're so blind.

Ron Paul has a snarky rival for the Republican Primary

Why do I think he's snarky?

[George] Wall said in a statement that he is a strong conservative and family values candidate who believes the most serious problem the country faces today are career politicians who no longer represent the people.

Education board members take gifts from company doing business with the board

Two members of the Texas State Board of Education have received thousands of dollars in gifts from a company seeking a lucrative contract with the board, records show, and those members have not reported the gifts on financial disclosure forms.

Bidding documents submitted to the board by the company, AEW Capital Management of Boston, say its employees bought 53 gifts worth more than $5,000 for board finance committee members Rene Nuñez, D-El Paso, and Rick Agosto, D-San Antonio.

Valley Interfaith says even more have no health insurance

A survey of church congregations across the Rio Grande Valley by Valley Interfaith shows a greater number of residents lack health insurance than the percentages recently unveiled by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Valley Interfaith surveyed many hundreds of people in 20 churches across the region. They found that in churches in middle class areas of the Valley, 65 percent lack health insurance. In churches in colonias, the percentage without coverage sometimes reached as high as 90 percent.

Perry continues his cleansing of the forensics panel

Perry ensures delay in investigation into the execution of a potentially innocent man while stacking the deck for his investigators.

Gov. Rick Perry on Friday appointed two new members to the Texas Forensic Science Commission, completing a reconfiguration of the board that began 10 days ago with the controversial replacement of the committee's chairman.

Named to the nine-member panel were Lance Evans, a Fort Worth criminal defense lawyer, and Randall Frost, head of the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office in San Antonio.

The pair joins Perry's earlier appointments, Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley and Norma Farley, chief pathologist for Cameron and Hidalgo counties, who were named to the panel on Sept. 30 — just two days before the commission was to hear testimony in an arson case that resulted in a man's execution.

More here and here.

1,200 Harris County DWI convictions will be set aside

More than 1,200 Harris County DWI convictions will be set aside and the cases revisited, prosecutors said Friday after the sentencing of Deetrice Wallace, a Department of Public Safety contractor who faked inspections of alcohol breath testing devices.

Judge says El Paso constable's lawyer lied to the court

A county constable lost his attempt Friday to derail the county government's budget, and an angry judge found his attorney in contempt of court for lying.

District Judge Gonzalo Garcia dissolved an injunction he granted earlier at the request of attorney Miguel Villalba on behalf of the county's seven constables. It would have prevented the county commissioners from cutting three deputy constable positions from the 2009-10 budget.

Garcia tossed out the injunction after finding that the commissioners did not abuse their authority in targeting deputy constable positions for elimination.

Then Garcia said Villalba lied to the court, and held him contempt.

Ouch.

Bay Area Houston skewers John Cornyn for helping rapists

Bay Area Houston has the 'letter' to constituents that explains why Cornyn voted to let contractors get away with gang raping their employees:

Arbitration is a private justice system. It is held in secret, away from media attention, exactly what rape victims want. Rape victims prefer to be left alone. They do not want to air their "dirty laundry" especially in front of a jury in public. Instead, as with arbitration, they just want it to be private and their own little secret.

Cornyn forgot the part where Lesbians need to be raped and all women are just dying to be violated.

PS: One of the tags on the Bay Area Houston post says 'satire'.

Cornyn insists he will only support HIS nominee for North Texas Attorney

Who won the last presidential election? Which president's administration is under scrutiny for politicizing the justice department?

Sen. John Cornyn said Thursday that he would block anyone except Sarah Saldana as the next U.S. attorney for North Texas, setting in motion a showdown with Democrats who have other contenders in mind.

Let's see what Obama does in the face of Cornyn's bully push. [Don't forget, John Cornyn, is known as one of the male Republican senators who condones rape by contractor.]

Austin jury slaps Texas parol board members

An Austin federal jury on Thursday found that two top state parole officials violated the constitutional rights of an ex-convict who was denied a required hearing for 576 days.

Jurors also held Board of Pardon and Paroles Chairman Rissie Owens liable for $21,250 in damages and awarded Curtis Ray Graham attorney's fees that are expected to top $100,000.

Does Perry ignore residency requirements when he appoints judges?

I guess Perry just calculates how the appointment helps him.

Another attorney seeking appointment by Gov. Rick Perry to the 198th state district judgeship faces questions about his residency.

Bruce L. James, one of seven active candidates for the vacancy created by the Sept. 16 retirement of Judge E. Karl Prohl, confirmed he claims a homestead exemption in Tarrant County and votes there.

But he contends he's eligible to serve, since he also lives on a ranch in McCulloch County, part of the district that also includes Kimble, Kerr, Mason and Menard counties.

Oh, no, no. Not buying that.

AG looking into May Hondo election

Scrutiny of this town's controversial May City Council election intensified this week with a Texas attorney general's subpoena for municipal records on the contest.

Mayor Jim Danner said a subpoena served Wednesday at City Hall seeks production at a Nov. 9 grand jury session of documents concerning Councilman Mike Sanchez's campaign.

Mother of man, who later died of swine flu, says he was kicked out of ER

The mother of a man who died of a swine flu-related illness said her son was asked to leave a Texas hospital a day before his death because he was lying on the floor, too ill to sit in a chair.

Irving Neil Range, 58, of Corpus Christi died in the emergency room of Christus Spohn Hospital Memorial on Friday of a swine-flu related illness, confirmed Annette Rodriguez, interim director of Corpus Christi-Nueces County Public Health District.

Perry channels Obama and selects Latina judge

A judge whose Mexican immigrant mother earned only a third grade education and worked as a cleaning woman was named to the Texas Supreme Court on Thursday, becoming the first Latina to serve on the state's highest civil court.

Psst. Will Perry's gesture nominating Eva Guzman matter while Jim DeMint and other Republicans remind Hispanics of the racism coursing through the Republican party base?

Fired Brownsville ISD superintendent appealing decision

Former BISD Superintendent Hector Gonzales on Thursday appealed his firing to the Texas Education Agency and state Commissioner of Education Robert Scott.

Gonzales filed the appeal Tuesday afternoon, represented by Jeffrey M. Tillotson of the Dallas law firm Lynn Tillotson Pinker & Cox, TEA confirmed.

See previous posts.

Cybercast News Service erroneously reports reduction in border agents

Matt Chandler, DHS acting deputy press secretary in Washington, D.C., said on Thursday that DHS has no plans to reduce the number of agents stationed along the Southwest border, as reported by some media.

DeMint not allowed to enhance the Republican monument to racism and fear

An amendment to require a second layer of security fencing aimed at deterring pedestrian crossings along the Southwest border was dropped from a federal appropriations bill this week.

Introduced by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., the amendment to the funding package for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was included in the Senate version of the legislation but was left off the version that will go to a vote in both chambers of Congress.

That d*mn fence remains along with the racism and desire to instill fear that built it.

John Cornyn, who shall now be known as one of the male Republican senators who condones rape by contractor, whined.

“I'm very concerned with anything that sends a signal that we're not serious about continuing to provide security along our border,” said Cornyn, R-Texas, who supported the DeMint provision.

Blah blah 9/11 blah blah boga boga. Be very scared.

Henry Cuellar suggests an intelligent approach.

“We need to invest and secure our border and our land ports without being tied down to an amendment that is out of touch with border needs,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, who spearheaded the effort to remove the provision DeMint tucked into a Senate spending bill earlier this year.

Who do the Democrats select to be judges?

A list of candidates being eyed for federal judicial vacancies in Texas was released Wednesday by the state's Democratic congressional delegation, which is battling with Lone Star Republican senators over White House appointments to the open posts.

The list includes two candidates from San Antonio, even though the White House has yet to nominate anyone for the positions and the senators say they are still reviewing potential nominees forwarded to them by the administration.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, said the candidates would add four new Hispanics to the federal judiciary in Texas, “a truly historic achievement.”

Maybe the Republicans want another fight about Hispanic judges.

Apparently, Cornyn and Hutchison want a fight.

About 3½ hours after the Democrats' announcement, Hutchison and Cornyn issued press releases indicating that the two parties are not on the same page. While the Democrats suggested U.S. attorney nominees for only two districts, the senators sent recommendations for all four Texas districts.

La Marque, Texas City want a new levee

While the levee system that rings Texas City and La Marque held during Hurricane Ike, the storm surge came within inches of topping the 17-mile-long flood wall. At 23 feet at its highest point, the 17-mile levee system was built to withstand the storm surge of a Category 3 or small Category 4 hurricane.

City and county officials would like the federal government to consider strengthening the levee to withstand a Category 5 storm.

El Paso Constable in budget fight with county

Constable Jesus Ramirez on Wednesday told a district judge that his office would not be able to carry out its state-mandated duties if he was forced to accept the budget cuts ordered by the County Commissioners Court.

Losing three deputy constable positions would bring about a logjam of eviction notices and other legal documents that need to be served, Ramirez said.

7 swine flu deaths in Nueces County

A sad statistic.

Health officials on Wednesday confirmed another swine flu-related death in Nueces County, bringing the total to seven.

A 58 year old man with no underlying health problems. That's different from the young and/or health problem profile.

Cornyn doesn't care if contractors rape US women

I don't see any other way to view John Cornyn's vote AGAINST withholding defense contracts from companies like KBR "if they restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court."

It's harder for Hispanic Youth to go to College

Faced with few resources, cultural barriers and pressing family responsibilities, Latino youths find that access to higher education comes harder for them than it does for peers of other races, a survey by the Pew Hispanic Center found.

The survey, released Wednesday, found that while 88 percent of young Latinos viewed college education as necessary to get ahead, only 48 percent intended to pursue bachelor's degrees.

Texas Forensic Science Commission urged Gov. Rick Perry to retain commission Chairman Sam Bassett

Don't think for a moment that Perry's decisions are meant to benefit anybody but Rick Perry. He is a Republican after all.

A statewide lawyers group that recommends nominees to the Texas Forensic Science Commission urged Gov. Rick Perry to retain commission Chairman Sam Bassett less than four weeks before the Austin lawyer was ousted in a commission shake-up that has stalled an inquiry involving a 2004 execution.

Three members of the commission, including two who were dismissed in the shake-up, also wrote Perry to urge Bassett’s reappointment, according to interviews and letters obtained Tuesday.

B'bye Trans-Texas Corridor

Perry's gotta win a primary fight.

The Texas Department of Transportation has ended the Trans-Texas Corridor, Gov. Rick Perry's embattled plan to build a toll-road network across the state.

The agency said earlier this year it was scaling down the project and dropping the name "Trans-Texas Corridor." Now, transportation officials say it's dead. Transportation Commissioner Bill Meadows told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram of the decision in a report posted online Tuesday.

MALDEF, TRLA upset that Del Rio CISD attempts to excude Mexican children from public education

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid have spoken out about the possibility of some students being excluded from border schools.

The two non-profit groups strongly disagree with moves by schools such as San Felipe Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District in Del Rio and United Independent School District in Laredo to quiz students on their citizenship status.

Sebelius wants Valley kids enrolled in CHIPs

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced $1 million in federal funding will go towards finding and enrolling Texas children who are uninsured but nonetheless eligible for either Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program.

In the Rio Grande Valley, schools in Valley View, McAllen, Hidalgo, PSJA all stand to benefit from the award, as do schools in Corpus Christi, Houston and San Antonio.

What an idea. Proactively going after kids who need health care instead of working hard to deny them benefits like Republicans do.

Senate canidate rethinks Houston Mayor's idea about local immigration enforcement

Mayor Bill White is distancing himself from a controversial federal program that trains local law enforcement to identify suspected illegal immigrants, saying this week that he favors an automated immigration screening program in the city's jails.

This spring, after a Houston Police Department officer was critically injured in a shooting by an illegal immigrant, White formally requested that Department of Homeland Security officials expedite his request that the city participate in the 287(g) program, which would train jailers to act as de-facto immigration agents.

Valley legislators go for Bushbot Schieffer

Who would endorse a man who voted for Bush twice and is not a bit sorry for that? Here's a list:

The endorsements — from every Valley legislator except state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, and outgoing state Rep. Kino Flores, D-Palmview — solidified Schieffer’s foothold in South Texas and in the Hispanic community.

At a news conference in Weslaco to announce the support, state Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, the chairman of the Senate’s Hispanic Caucus, said Schieffer would focus as governor on "bread-and-butter issues" like health care, education and economic development instead of divisive social issues.

State Rep. Armando "Mando" Martinez, D-Weslaco, said the former ambassador to Japan and Australia is an experienced leader who understands the needs of Texas and the Valley.

Kudos to Eddie Lucio Jr..

Texans for Public Justice suspect Craddick laundered money for Craddick D's

Here’s what happened: Craddick gave $250,000 to the Texas Jobs & Opportunity Build A Secure Future PAC (Jobs PAC) on January 10, 2008, along with instructions to distribute the money to incumbent Democratic Representatives; Kevin Bailey, Dawnna Dukes, Kino Flores, and Aaron Pena. Each representative was offered $50,000. All the Representatives, except Dukes who was wary of already existing criticism about ties to Craddick from her opponent, accepted the money.

More here.

State election law prohibits political committees from acting as conduits for other donors.

Nueces County to get swine flu shots first

This makes sense. People have died in Nueces County.

Beginning at 8 a.m. Friday, parents of children ages 2 to 5 who aren’t in school can go to the health department, 1702 Horne Road, and pick up a preregistration consent form and a numbered ticket, limited to 500 children.

TSC to pay a living wage

Valley Interfaith won another victory last week in its pursuit of securing better pay for Cameron County residents: the TSC Board of Trustees passed a resolution to require a living wage be paid to its employees.

Texas Southmost College is the fourth major organization in the county to require employees to be paid a living wage, according to Interfaith leader Rev. Jerry Frank. The other three are the Brownsville City Commission, the Cameron County Commissioners Court, and Valley Regional Medical Center.

Is $8.50 a living wage? Only if benefits come with.

Texas PUC favors lying schemer over the poor

The Public Utility Commission, which is supposed to protect consumers in the deregulated market, ultimately fined Weaver's company $21,050 for a few electrical cutoffs. But it took no other action even after The Dallas Morning News informed it of Weaver's criminal history and false statements his company made in filings to the commission.

Weaver failed to amend Freedom Power's existing operating license to add his name as owner after he bought it in 2006. And an earlier amendment to Weaver's prepaid phone license denied any company officer was a convicted felon.

For Republicans, ripping off the poor is a way of life. Just look at how they are pulling out all the stops to kill health care (and the poor).

Did a San Antonio school board member violate ethics code?

I'm shocked. Not that someone would violate an ethics code in Texas. I'm shocked that we have an ethics code.

The Fort Worth Republican [Patricia Hardy] couldn't elaborate because of confidentiality concerns, but documents recently obtained under the state's Public Information Act reveal that staff members of the Permanent School Fund, which is managed by the SBOE, had raised concerns that board member Rick Agosto, D-San Antonio, may have violated the board's ethics code.

The first-term board member, who is in the investments marketing business, did not disclose a business meeting he had with officials from New England Pension Consultants (NEPC), the company who ended up getting the new contract to provide the board with investment advice.

Agosto — who was out sick the day the board voted to hire NEPC — said he violated no rules.

So, the Republican is upset at the Democrat who wasn't even in on the vote to hire New England Pension Consultants? What about the board members who actually voted for NEPC?

Ike victims may lose properties before fed payday

Kemah city officials told [Manuel Chavez Jr.] he can’t live in these shabby conditions. He must repair his house and elevate it — or he must leave.

Officials in Kemah and Clear Lake Shores warned the owners of at least seven other storm-damaged houses they must repair or demolish their properties.

It's blogger roundup time!

The Texas Political Alliance hopes that everyone reading this today has ensured they are registered to vote in the November election, as the deadline for doing so is Monday, October 5.

The Texas Cloverleaf reviews proposed changes to the city of Denton's charter that will be on the November ballot.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notices Rick Perry has had a busy week what with Channeling Glenn Beck and messing up a wrongful execution investigation.

TXsharon had a hard time keeping up with all the fracking, moving, shaking and gasping for toxic air in the Barnett Shale this week so there is a BS recap that includes a recently released URGENT alert for all current and former residents of DISH--formerly Clark--Texas to complete and submit a health survey.

Bay Area Houston wonders what $640 a frickin hour buys you in Houston Mayor's race.

If a Republican holds an on-line event, will they properly provision for the people who want to join it? McBlogger's pretty sure they won't and isn't terribly surprised that they blamed it on the nefarious actions of others.

At Texas Vox, Citizen Andy fills you in on the Senate incarnation of the climate change bill. Waxman-Markey, meet Kerry-Boxer.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the Gov. Perry's latest outrage. It's another example of why Texas needs accountability in our state's government, Perry’s pride and the Willingham case.

This week on Left of College Station, Teddy writes about why he gets up early on Saturday mornings to escort patients at Planned Parenthood; guest blogger Litia writes about the frustrations they fell while trying to get students to participate in class at Texas A&M. Left of College Station also covers the week in headlines.

XicanoPwr is encouraging people to vote for Prop 4, the “national research university” proposition, on Nov 3. Texas currently has three flagship universities - The University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University and Rice University - compared to states such as California, with nine, and New York, with seven. If passed, it would allow seven “emerging universities” - Texas Tech, University of Houston, University of North Texas, University of Texas at Arlington, University of Texas at Dallas, University of Texas at El Paso and University of Texas at San Antonio - tap into a $500 million education fund to help them be part of the elite three and "achieve national prominence" as a major research university.

WhosPlayin' has video from Denton County's "Donkeyfest" where candidates John Sharp for U.S. Senate and Neil Durrance for U.S. Congress spoke.

Off the Kuff has a simple suggestion for how Governor Perry and Williamson County DA John Bradley can counter the perception that Perry's elevation to Chair of the Texas Forensic Sciences Commission was a blatantly political move designed to bury the findings of the Cameron Todd Willingham case: Reschedule the meeting that the Commission was going to hold before Perry's maneuver.

Neil at Texas Liberal offered a post this week about the famous Dogs Playing Poker paintings. These paintings have been around for more than 100 years now. How many of our blog posts will last in any meaningful respect beyond next week?

The Doctorate of Shadetree Psychology is hereby awarded to PDiddie of Brains and Eggs, for his compelling dissertation that Rick Perry is a sociopath.

At TexasKaos, Libby Shaw gives Senators Hutchison and Cornyn a chance to put up or shut up . If government health care is so horrible, so "socialist", give up your govenment coverage. Read the rest here: Senators Hutchison and Cornyn: Get Us What You Have or Give Up Yours.

Texas balances budget on backs of the poor

Republicans do not care about the poor.

One of the key provisions of the law that deregulated the Texas retail electricity market was a state fund to subsidize charges to qualified low-income consumers.

But a year after the law took effect, the Legislature began diverting much of the System Benefit Fund to help balance the state budget. Not even half of the $1.1 billion raised by surcharges to all Texans' electricity bills since 2002 has been spent.

Meanwhile, the vultures thrive while the sick and the poor die.

Prepaids market themselves to people who, like Bailey, lack credit or money for deposits – often the poor, sick and disabled. Prepaid electric rates sometimes are 50 percent higher than those of traditional providers. Quick cutoffs are a constant threat.

As a result, sick people have gone without air conditioning during sizzling summer days. Families with children have been forced to abandon their homes. The elderly have had to forgo buying necessary medicine.

Republicans and other corporatists love the vultures. You? Not so much.

Liverpool mayor dies in apparrent suicide by train

The mayor of Liverpool died on Saturday after he was hit by a train during what appears to be a suicide, authorities said.

Brazoria County Sheriff's Office dispatchers received a call around 4 a.m. from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company that Mike Peters, 42, had been hit by a train at intersection of Liverpool and crossing 192, said Sheriff's Office investigator Jimmy Miller.

The train's engineer told officials he spotted Peters lying on the tracks and initiated an emergency stop, with the train whistle blowing.

Couldn't he have be incapacitated somehow?

Brownsville City Commissioner cuts ties to HNTB Corp.

Brownsville City Commissioner Melissa Zamora has severed ties with a firm that does business with the city so as to eliminate any question of possible conflicts, she said Wednesday.

Zamora, who had provided HNTB Corp. with public relations work, said that she ended a consulting contract with the firm because, "I do not need the appearance of impropriety — when I’ve done nothing of the sort — nor does HNTB and the city. I’ve terminated the contract, and I take full responsibility if anyone was offended by my brief contract."

Good idea.

Shelby County DA wants to use seized funds in defense of seizing funds from black drivers

The American Civil Liberties Union on Friday filed a brief with the Texas Attorney General's office arguing that either the county or state must be forced to represent a county district attorney accused of illegally seizing money from mainly black motorists -- in amounts ranging from $4000 to $50,000 -- under the pretext of anti-drug forfeiture laws.

Shelby County District Attorney Lynda K. Russell is the subject of a federal lawsuit (pdf), along with the Deputy City Marshall, the mayor, and other local officials.

Texas will hire more food stamp workers

State leaders announced late Friday that more employees will be hired to help process food stamp applications.

The state's performance record has been so poor that federal officials warned last week that funding could be cut off unless Texas corrects its problems.

About 40 percent of Texans who apply for food stamp assistance are not certified within the 30 days required under federal law.

Republicans hate the poor.

Here's a headline you don't want to see

'Bandera Sheriff denies corruption claims' Maybe that headline is better than 'Bandera Sheriff admits corruption claims' or 'Bandera Sheriff guilty of corruption claims'.

Denying allegations of corruption, wrongdoing and malfeasance, Bandera County Sheriff Weldon Tucker and two subordinates have asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed against them by former deputy Scott Sharp.

El Paso businesses threatened by thugs

This week alone, at least two El Paso businesses reported to police calls they had received from a man identifying himself as a Zetas commander working for the Gulf cartel.

One man, in a "bullying voice," called an El Paso businessman and demanded "$50,000 immediately, or the next time we'll see you, it will be at the funeral of a loved one," the businessman said.

Those thugs may or may not be involved in a drug cartel, but these Houston thugs are.

The probe underlined Houston's positioning as a hemispheric hub for smuggling illegal drugs into the United States.

It also shed light on how a lesser-known prison-born gang distributed drugs for Mexico's best-known gangster, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who heads the Sinaloa Cartel and made the Forbes list of billionaires.

“They certainly were a prolific drug-trafficking group as evidenced by the dollars involved and the drug quantities involved,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Braley.

It's time to end the war on drugs. Legalize and regulate drugs and drug usage. No need for drug cartels.

Union questions safety of Citgo facility

Citgo has responded to a union’s concerns about startup of a unit where a worker was severely injured in a fire, saying it follows all industry and governmental rules.

...

The fire at the unit is under investigation internally and by the union, OSHA, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Chemical Safety Board.

Does TCEQ care? I doubt it. Lets hope Obama's OSHA does care.

Another flu death in Corpus Christi

Swine flu caused the death of a 45-year-old health care worker, the Corpus Christi-Nueces County Public Health District announced Thursday.

In Hidalgo like rest of country, rich got richer and poor got dirt

The recession deepened poverty and widened the gap between the richest and poorest families in Hidalgo County in 2008, according to newly released Census figures.

Economic resilience that sheltered the McAllen area from the worst of the recession sent household incomes climbing for the richest 20 percent of residents. Income levels fell for all other groups, with the sharpest decline felt by the poorest.

The wealthiest 5 percent of households earned almost 12 times more than Hidalgo families living near or below the poverty line in 2008.

USDA and state fight over fingerprint requirement for food stamps

Meanwhile, applicants wait for food.

The federal agency that oversees food stamps wants Texas to stop fingerprinting applicants as a way to save resources and speed up what the agency says is an unacceptably slow application system. But because state law requires the fingerprinting, the Health and Human Services Commission finds itself caught between what the Legislature mandates and what federal officials want.

"One of the things I think Texas needs to do is streamline their operations," said William Ludwig, a regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service. "Finger imaging is very time-consuming."

Appearance of corruption in SBOE actions

Anything the SBOE does smacks of self interest mixed with looney tunes.

There's not much any of us can do now about the State Board of Education's 8-4 decision this summer to ditch the investment advisers it had used to manage Texas' $19 billion Permanent School Fund. But there is plenty to do to stop board members from the slightest perception of a conflict of interest the next time they make an investment decision.

As freelance writer Jeff Horwitz reported in this newspaper Sunday, the board ended its relationship with R.V. Kuhns and Associates even though the contract with the firm recently had been extended. It replaced RVK with New England Pension Consultants, even though Democratic board member Rick Agosto of San Antonio had prior business dealings with that firm. And it did so even after staff members for the school fund ranked RVK higher than NEPC as an investment adviser. Finally, the board made the decision even though the new contract would cost the state more money.

Texas coast at risk for climate change

The seas will rise. The storms will increase. Padre Island National Seashore will be irreversibly altered by climate change, a new report says.

On Thursday, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization released a report on the top 25 national parks being changed — or about to be — by trapped greenhouse gasses warming the earth.

“The park service has to indicate that it is serious about this, and so far it has not,” said Stephen Saunders, one of its three principal authors.

With the Republicans denying science and the corporatist wing of the Democratic party helping short sighted corporations, how can we move forward?

People notice Perry's heavy hand

Democrats picked up on Perry's game immediately while Republicans are still playing 'PR beats facts'.

For Democrats, it was an ah-ha moment: a suggestion that by abruptly removing three members of a forensic science commission Gov. Rick Perry was trying to derail an investigation into a case raising the disturbing possibility Texas may have executed an innocent man.

But, Democrats aren't the only ones crying foul.

Maybe by March, Republican voters won't care about this. That seems to be Perry's bet. But they also might realize that this isn't about whether the death penalty is right or wrong. It's about whether it's worth the trouble to get these cases right.

In that respect, my sense is that most Texans pride themselves on being stand-up, straight-shooting people, tough on crime but fair-minded and deliberate in dispensing justice.

Gov. Perry, it seems, decided to go in a different direction.

More here, and here.

You can get gay divorced in Texas

In a first for Texas, a judge ruled Thursday that two men married in another state can divorce here and that the state's ban on gay marriage violates the U.S. Constitution.

...

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott had intervened in the two men's divorce case, arguing that because a gay marriage isn't recognized in Texas, a Texas court can't dissolve one through divorce.

[Tena] Callahan, a Democrat, denied the attorney general's intervention and said her court "has jurisdiction to hear a suit for divorce filed by persons legally married in another jurisdiction."

The homophobes will get their knickers in a bunch over that, but really they should be pleased. Allowing divorce, but not marriage, just increases the number of single gays. But, but, but won't gay marriage be next?

This year's governor's race is already a contest between the batsh*t crazies and corporatists on the Republican side while the Democrats offer everyone but the kitchen sink.

Texas is appealing the decision.

Rick Perry channels Glenn Beck

When Gov. Rick Perry recommended an obscure book at a recent conference for social conservatives in Washington, heads nodded around the room.

Lots of people seem to recognize the 1981-year-old book, The 5000 Year Leap, and the author, Cleon Skousen.

Fox News host Glenn Beck has invoked Skousen lavishly in his battle against all things Obama. And in recent weeks, Perry has followed Beck’s lead and adopted the author, who died in 2006, as a political ally in his re-election campaign against Kay Bailey Hutchison.

There has not been one doubt that Perry is going after the batsh*t crazy crowd. And, yes, racism is front and center.

"White schoolchildren would 'envy the freedom' of 'colored playmates.' Slave food, even if monotonous, was plentiful. Corn bread and bacon were the mainstays, with plenty of fruit and vegetables in season. In hog-killing time, countenances were unusually greasy."
-- Glenn Beck's idol, far-right activist W. Cleon Skousen in "The Making of America". Beck has made some of this man's writings the centerpiece of his of 9-12 Project.

DA Hissy Fit in civil trial today

Los Fresnos Justice of the Peace and former District Attorney Gus Garza has charged that Juan Angel Guerra, another former district attorney, violated his civil rights when Guerra had Garza arrested 2007.

Perry screws up timing of panel looking at wrongful execution

Coincidence? Of course not. Who's Perry looking out for? 100% bet on Perry's a**.

In a surprise move, Gov. Rick Perry today appointed two new members to a state commission investigating the case of a Corsicana man who some believe was wrongly executed for murdering his children — forcing the cancellation of a meeting on the case scheduled for Friday.

Task force says local law should not do ICE's job

A U.S. government task force recommended Wednesday that the federal Department of Homeland Security scale back an initiative that allows local authorities to enforce the country’s immigration law.

The so-called 287(g) program — named after the section of law that created it — should be limited to identifying illegal immigrants in state prisons and county jails and exclude any efforts to track them down outside of criminal investigations, the Southwest Border Task Force said.

OSHA gives Corpus Christi company itsy bitsy fine for endangering workers

A man died of his injuries while working at PWC Industries Inc..

OSHA officials found 10 serious violations, including not protecting employees from high-pressure ruptures during the testing of pipeline section.

What was the fine? $7,125 A man's life is worth about $7K. Who thinks PWC will think of $7K as a punishment or just a minor cost of doing business?