TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalPolice: 'Paranoid' H-E-B employee shoots 4 colleagues, killing 1 at South Texas store
A H-E-B employee who allegedly shot and killed one fellow worker and injured three others Monday morning at a South Texas store believed “everybody was out to get him,” Palmview Police Chief Christopher Barrera said in an interview with mySA.com.
“He was paranoid. He felt everybody was out to get him," Barrera said, adding that the suspect didn't target a specific individual.
Raul Lopez, 25, faces one first-degree felony charge of murder and three second-degree felony counts of attempted murder, Barrera said.
At around 3:15 a.m., Lopez allegedly fired 15 shots at a break room window of the H-E-B store at 1840 W. Palma Vista Drive in Palmview, about 10 miles west of McAllen, Barrera said, hitting four employees.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/local/article/Deadly-shooting-at-South-Texas-H-E-B-10639643.php
Lawmaker wants to crack down on illegal hiring by state contractors
State lawmakers eager to punish businesses that hire unauthorized workers will get another chance next session after a Georgetown Republican filed legislation expanding E-Verify requirements in Texas.
The federal E-Verify system, operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, screens for undocumented workers by comparing the information that job applicants submit to an employer with records maintained by the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration.
On Monday, state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, filed Senate Bill 254, which would require contractors and subcontractors doing business with state agencies to enroll in the system.
There is already an E-Verify law on the books: Schwertner’s SB 374, which passed in 2015 and requires state agencies to use the screening tool. But the senator’s new proposal goes a step further by designating a penalty for contractors who don’t use the system and assigning a state agency to enforce some of the bill’s provisions. Under the bill, the state comptroller could make a contractor ineligible to do business with the state for up to five years if the business fails to sign up for E-Verify or discontinues its use while the contract is still valid.
Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2016/11/28/new-e-verify-proposal-would-crack-down-illegal-hir/
Israel to expand fleet of F-35 fighter jets built by Lockheed Martin
TEL AVIV, Israel -- Israel will expand its fleet of next-generation F-35 fighter jets in a move that officials believe will help maintain the country’s qualitative military edge over its Mideast neighbors for years to come.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced Sunday that his Security Cabinet has approved the purchase of 17 additional F-35s, exercising an option it held on the aircraft. The acquisition will increase to 50 the number of F-35 jets being sold to the key U.S. Middle East ally.
The F-35, built by Lockheed Martin, is the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons program with an estimated cost of nearly $400 billion. The first F-35 built for Israel was rolled out in a ceremony at Lockheed’s manufacturing complex in west Fort Worth in June. It’s expected to arrive in the country in about three weeks.
A senior Israeli air force official described the addition of the F-35 as a game-changing development that will give Israel a “strong and effective tool” in dealing with challenges across the region.
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/business/article117476343.html
Homeless man found dead in catering truck on UT-Arlington campus, school says
ARLINGTON -- A homeless man was found dead in the cab of a catering truck on the UT-Arlington campus Monday morning, a school spokeswoman said.
No foul play was suspected.
The man was identified as Christopher Blacknall, 32, of Dallas, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office.
A catering vendor employee found Blacknall’s body inside the truck about 10:30 a.m. and called police, spokeswoman Bridget Lewis said. The truck was parked outside of the University Center, a campus union, near West 1st Street and West Street.
Police were still investigating Blacknall’s death, but authorities told WFAA-TV he died of a medical issue.
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/arlington/article117503443.html
Texas moving forward with budget cuts for disabled kids' therapy services
More than a year after lawmakers originally ordered it, Texas quietly announced Monday it will enact significant cuts to the money that it pays therapists who treat vulnerable children with disabilities in two weeks.
Medicaid reimbursement rates are used to pay for pediatric therapy services provided to disabled babies and toddlers. Carrie Williams, spokeswoman for the state's Health and Human Services Commission, said that Texas will apply cuts on Medicaid rates on Dec. 15 in attempt to achieve savings directed by the Texas Legislature in 2015.
"The most important job we have is making sure kids have the services they need and that we are responsible with taxpayer dollars," Williams said in an e-mail. "We will monitor the reduction of rates to ensure access to care is not impacted and that Texans around the state receive the much-needed therapies required to improve their lives."
A group of concerned Texans last year filed a lawsuit seeking to block the $350 million cut to Medicaid, the federal-state insurance program for the poor and disabled, from taking effect. That group included speech, physical and occupational therapy providers and the families of children who receive their service. They argued that the cuts were so steep that providers would have to close their businesses and forgo seeing as many as 60,000 children.
Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2016/11/28/texas-quietly-moves-forward-cuts-therapy-services/
Texas to implement rules requiring burial or cremation of fetal remains
Texas’ proposed rules requiring the cremation or burial of fetal remains will take effect Dec. 19, according to state health officials.
Despite intense outcry from the medical community and reproductive rights advocates, the state will prohibit hospitals, abortion clinics and other health care facilities from disposing of fetal remains in sanitary landfills, instead allowing only cremation or burial of all remains — regardless of the period of gestation.
Texas health officials, who quietly proposed the rules in July, are adopting the new requirements with few changes following months of public comment periods, two hours-long hearings and more than 35,000 comments submitted to the state’s Health and Human Services Commission.
In the final rules filed with the secretary of state’s office on Monday, health officials clarified that the requirement does not apply to miscarriages or abortions that occur at home. Addressing confidentiality concerns, they also added language to indicate that birth or death certificates will not be required for “proper disposition” under the rules.
Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2016/11/28/texas-moves-forward-rules-requiring-burial-or-crem/
Dollywood, other Tennessee tourist destinations evacuated due to wildfires
GATLINBURG, Tenn. -- Several popular tourist destinations in Tennessee have been evacuated due to wildfires.
Mandatory evacuations were issued Monday night for the cities of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge because of fires in and around Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Videos from Gatlinburg show a bright orange sky and abandoned streets.
Gatlinburg police had been going door to door in one neighborhood asking for voluntary evacuations. But as wind picked up and fallen trees sparked fires from downed lines, Gatlinburg fire officials declared a mandatory evacuation of a larger area.
Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/national/dollywood-other-tennessee-tourist-destinations-evacuated-due-wildfires/RKLRADA32fZnKLdbTG22DN/
Cat yoga: Felines, humans get zen together in new classes
Via Good Mews Animal Foundation / Facebook
MARIETTA, Ga. -- Yoga lovers in Georgia are getting into downward-facing dog with the assistance of a few friendly cats.
The “Yoga With Cats” class has become a regular, sold-out feature at Good Mews Animal Foundation in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta in just a few months since it launched.
In each class, up to 15 humans spend an hour getting zen with a some of the shelter’s feline residents. A certified yoga instructor guides the beginner level classes as the cats roam freely around the room – often stopping for a little class participation or maybe a nap.
“The cats are so curious. They are all up in your business but not in a bad way,” said shelter manager Lisa Johns. “It is also a fun way for people to interact with the cats. The cats get attention and get loved on and the people are in a calming environment where they can practice yoga and hang out. All and all, it is a fun experience if you are into yoga and you are a cat person.”
Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/national/cat-yoga-felines-humans-get-zen-together-new-classes/vcjUVLRba5DQEL13jMDOLO/
Unknown Sheen on Potomac River Closes Water Intake
Water agencies are monitoring a sheen that is floating down the Potomac River, causing a river intake to close.
The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission said the Potomac Water Filtration Plant has an intake where the plume is expected to reach early Tuesday morning. In an abundance of caution, a boom has been placed in the river to divert water flow away from the intake, and the intake has been closed until the plume passes.
WSSC does not expect any water supply shortage or any bad effects to its drinking water quality.
The origin and makeup of the sheen is unknown, but early testing indicated it could be something similar to a hydraulic fluid or lubricant. It was first spotted near Point of Rocks, Maryland, on Sunday.
Read more: http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Unknown-Sheen-on-Potomac-River-Closes-Water-Intake-403493226.html
How seriously do D.C. police take rape allegations? A Georgetown party raises doubts.
What she wore doesn’t matter. What she drank or smoked or snorted doesn’t matter.
Rape is rape, and it needs to be taken seriously even when the circumstances surrounding it are murky.
It’s a distinction we’re still having a hard time with, apparently.
The latest example: an alleged rape last month at an annual Halloween bacchanal in Georgetown.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/how-seriously-do-dc-police-take-rape-allegations-a-georgetown-party-raises-doubts/2016/11/28/dbcb62e4-b58c-11e6-b8df-600bd9d38a02_story.html
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
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Current location: Bryan, Texas
Member since: Sun Aug 14, 2011, 03:57 AM
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