February 17, 2013

Two Firefighters fall, 2 others injured in Bryan blaze

The flag outside the charred and crumbled Knights of Columbus Hall on Groesbeck Street flies at half-mast.

Bryan firefighters lowered it before they left.

Their department joined the rest of the city on Saturday in mourning the loss of two veteran firefighters who died and praying for two others who were critically injured after the roof of the 68-year-old K of C Hall collapsed as they battled a blaze on the property near downtown.

Lt. Eric Wallace, 36, a 13-year veteran of the department, was transported to St. Joseph Hospital, where he died of injuries sustained at the scene.

Lt. Greg Pickard, 54, who had been with department for 32 years, died later at a Galveston hospital, where he and two other injured firefighters had been flown.

More at http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/article_b52e1cb3-72f9-5f43-a934-278eb6c96b1d.html .

February 17, 2013

Large, small stores at odds over Sunday alcohol sales

It’s been more than a century since gunfighters settled their differences with six-shooters on the dusty main drags of rough-and-tumble frontier towns.

For the Texas liquor industry, though, it might as well still be the Wild West.

The Texas Package Store Association — strange as it may seem — is taking aim at legislation that would amend the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Code to allow liquor package stores to be open on Sundays from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. — essentially gutting Texas’ longstanding “blue law” regulating Sunday alcohol sales.

Senate Bill 236, filed by Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, and House Bill 421, filed by Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, also would allow package stores to open an hour earlier and close an hour later the other days of the week.

More at http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/local/article_9babbc5e-78b4-11e2-aa8a-001a4bcf6878.html

February 17, 2013

Worker shortages drive calls for high school curriculum changes

Even while operating at full bore, Athena Manufacturing in North Austin is quiet and pristine, defying the traditional crash-and-bang stereotype of metal machining and fabrication.

It is what much of Austin’s manufacturing looks and sounds like today. Advanced machinery producing precision products. A computer monitor at virtually every workstation. And a workforce with an increasingly advanced set of technical skills.

<<<snip>>>

“Our economy in Austin is in very short supply of people who can do the things we do,” said John Newman, Athena’s chief financial officer. “We’ve got middle-class jobs we can’t fill because the skill level is not there.”

Those concerns have come to the fore this year at the Texas Capitol, where a new statewide business coalition is pushing bills that would loosen high school graduation requirements and foster better career and technical training. The first of those bills, carried by Senate Education Committee Chairman Dan Patrick, R-Houston, is set to clear his committee on Tuesday.

More at http://www.statesman.com/news/news/worker-shortages-drive-calls-for-high-school-curri/nWQ8t/ .

February 17, 2013

Stanley Marsh 3 (creator of Cadillac Ranch), family, associate settle teen sex lawsuits

Stanley Marsh 3, his son Stanley Marsh IV, Gwendolyn Marsh and Marsh associate David Weir have settled all civil lawsuits filed by 10 unnamed men who alleged the Amarillo millionaire paid them to perform sex acts in his 12th-floor Chase Tower office when they were minors.

Attorneys for both sides said Saturday the settlement was confidential and they could not comment further.

“The plaintiffs and the Marsh entities in this case, to include Gwendolyn Marsh as guardian for Stanley Marsh 3, have
resolved all of their differences. None of the parties is authorized to comment on the nature or amount of the settlement. The parties agree that Stanley Marsh 3 does not own the Cadillac Ranch. The parties will have no further comment,” Anthony Buzbee, attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a statement. Marsh attorney Kelly Utsinger said Saturday he could not comment on the settlement and referred to the statement.

In October, Buzbee began filing a series of lawsuits alleging Marsh 3 plied teen boys with cash, alcohol, drugs and in one victim’s case, two BMWs, to perform sex acts with Marsh 3.

More at http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2013-02-16/stanley-marsh-3-family-associate-settle-teen-sex-lawsuits

[font color=green]The article mentions that criminal charges are pending and that Marsh 3 remains free on $300,000 bond.[/font]

February 17, 2013

After White Stallion Power Plant Canceled, Coal Faces Dark Future in Texas

The company behind what would have been the last new coal power plant in Texas, called White Stallion, is no longer pursuing the project, the company announced Thursday.

The news marks a victory for opponents of coal in Texas, notably the Environmental Defense Fund and the Sierra Club, who have worked for years to oppose the White Stallion and other coal power projects in the state. At this point, there are no longer any major new traditional coal power plants planned in Texas. All of the new projects are primarily natural gas and wind power, with some solar.

In a Thursday morning press release and email announcing the coal project would not move forward, Randy Bird, Chief Operating Officer for White Stallion, said that the plant is being suspended because of litigation costs, potential federal regulations and the low prices of natural gas.

“We have decided to ask the Travis County Court for a stay in the litigation against our … air permit through December of this year,” Bird wrote in an email. “Our air permit extension expires then. If the stay is granted, we will not commence construction while the stay is in effect.” If the plant doesn’t begin construction, it loses its air permit, which would mean having to start from ground zero, an unlikely prospect.

More at http://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/2013/02/15/after-white-stallion-power-plant-cancelled-coal-faces-dark-future-in-texas/ .

February 17, 2013

Texas redistricting appeal likely on hold at Supreme Court

WASHINGTON — A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on whether to hear Texas' appeal in a redistricting case is likely to be delayed until the justices rule on a different voting rights case, lawyers involved in the Texas battle said Friday.

Supreme Court justices have held a series of screening conferences to select the cases to be argued during the spring term.

So far, justices haven't selected the Texas appeal of a federal court ruling that the state discriminated against minorities with new redistricting maps for Congress and the Legislature.

Texas, in its appeal, also has challenged the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act that requires prior approval by the Justice Department of any changes to voting laws and procedures for jurisdictions with a history of discrimination.

More at http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Texas-redistricting-appeal-likely-on-hold-at-4284883.php .

February 16, 2013

George P. Bush isn't sounding like a land commissioner candidate

America needs a new energy policy, tax structure and education system, George P. Bush of Fort Worth told a luncheon audience Friday.

Let me ask: Does that really sound like somebody running for Texas land commissioner?

Testing his campaign stump speech, the Fort Worth investor and school trustee also said Republicans "don't have to sell out our principles to win the Hispanic vote."

What he didn't say was whether he'll run for land commissioner or something higher, maybe against a current official.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/02/16/4625101/george-p-isnt-sounding-like-a.html#storylink=cpy

February 16, 2013

Tim Tebow to speak at controversial anti-gay Dallas megachurch

It seems that lately Tim Tebow has been making more speaking appearances in church than he has quarterback appearances in NFL games. Tebow made headlines with his Easter address in Georgetown, Texas in April, and his talk at a Scottsdale, AZ church earlier this month. And now he’s got another gig at a megachurch in Dallas, only this one comes with a large helping of controversy.

Tebow has a speaking engagement on April 28 at First Baptist Dallas, according to the church’s website. That’s the church led by pastor Robert Jeffress, a controversial evangelical Christian who has made quite a name for himself by referring to other religions as “heretical”, and that re-electing Obama would lead to the “rise of the anti-Christ.”

From the Huffington Post:

More at http://offthebench.nbcsports.com/2013/02/14/tim-tebow-to-speak-at-controversial-dallas-megachurch/ .

February 16, 2013

Turn Texas Blue: Job Openings with the Texas Democratic Party

Think you've got what it takes to play a key role in turning Texas blue? Then step on up and get your skin in the game.

The Texas Democratic Party is currently hiring several full-time positions at the headquarters in Austin: Communications Associate, Finance Director, Finance Assistant, and Office Manager.

This is a big opportunity, and I strongly encourage everyone who's got the drive and talent to apply. Got a job? Then help spread these listings around. Let's get the best applicant pool we have and make sure we have the skilled operatives we need to turn Texas blue!

Job descriptions at http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/13134/turn-texas-blue-job-openings-with-the-texas-democratic-party .

February 16, 2013

Hard time for white-collar criminals is a necessity

With a new round of Stanford Financial Group executives sentenced to prison ("20-year sentences close a Stanford chapter in U.S." Page D1, Friday), we hope that folks like Mike Hanlen can feel a sense of relief. Hanlen, one of Stanford's many victims, lamented that "the wheels of justice were slow," when R. Allen Stanford himself was found guilty last March. Then again, as Angela Shaw, director and founder of the Stanford Victims Coalition put it those months ago, it is all still "bittersweet." Denied insurance coverage and recovering pennies on the dollar from the money swindled, Stanford's victims can only look to the courts for a sense of justice and hope that regulations and lessons learned will protect future investors from being scammed.

But jail time isn't merely about just deserts, and regulations aren't the only way to stop white-collar criminals. These harsh sentences serve as a warning to potential future Stanfords that crimes don't go unpunished and that banks don't always escape with a mere fine. The buck has to stop somewhere.

News that U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced Stanford accounting chief Gilbert Lopez and global controller Mark Kuhrt each to 20 years in jail can be a distressing sight for those who see only respectable businessmen who made a poor decision or think that jail is for anti-social criminals who threaten law abiding folks with physical harm. The damage done from white-collar crime may not elicit the same gut moral response as watching someone physically rob 28,000 folks of their life savings. Specifically because there isn't that instinct, it is important that the threat of jail time dangles over the heads of unscrupulous businessmen. Whether a neck is clad in gang tattoos or a silk tie, people who violate our laws and exploit others for their own gain need to know that they will not come out ahead.

Given our society's worship of wealth, it is often difficult to create that sense of foreboding immorality in the midst of criminal businessmen. All too often, we presume that accumulated dollars correspond with wisdom, integrity or a keen work ethic. As Houston of all places has learned, it is easy to be swept up in success while glossing over exactly how folks got there.

More at http://www.chron.com/opinion/editorials/article/Hard-time-for-white-collar-criminals-is-a-4283418.php .