February 6, 2014

Gov. Jindal announces International Shipholding Corp. will relocate to New Orleans

Gov. Bobby Jindal announced on Wednesday (Feb. 5) that International Shipholding Corp. will relocate its corporate headquarters from Mobile, Ala., to New Orleans, where the company was founded in 1947.

Speaking at the Port of New Orleans, Jindal said that International Shipholding, which is listed on the New York State Exchange, had moved to Mobile in 2006 due to recovery challenges posed by Hurricane Katrina. In returning to New Orleans, Jindal said, the company will bring 100 new jobs to a 45,000 to 50,000-square-foot facility in the city's warehouse district.

"These are the kind of jobs we want our kids to get, the kind of jobs that will keep them home and bring them back from other states," Jindal said, adding that the new jobs will pay an average $70,000 before benefits. He went on to say that another 113 indirect jobs will result from the relocation.

International Shipholding president Erik L. Johnsen said that construction of the new office space will be complete by the end of 2015. He admitted that the incentive package offered by the state of Louisiana, which includes performance-based grants of $10.27 million to offset the costs of the move and the new facility, was what "sealed the deal." But several other factors, such as the local business environment and strategic growth opportunities, also convinced the company to come back.

More at http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2014/02/gov_jindal_announces_relocatio.html#incart_river .

February 6, 2014

Prosecution rests in Ray Nagin corruption trial

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday rested their 21-count corruption case against Ray Nagin after spending nearly four full days calling more than a dozen witnesses who testified that the former mayor of New Orleans accepted bribes, filed fraudulent tax returns and used his political influence to win lucrative contracts for his family's granite business.

A trio of prosecutors presented their case to the jury scheme by scheme, starting by outlining allegations of bribes and kickbacks they say Nagin accepted from city contractors.

In total, the prosecution trotted out 26 witnesses, including now-convicted business associates of Nagin's who said they bribed the former mayor, unflappable federal investigators who painted a picture of a fraudster and executives who testified to Nagin's penchant for mixing city and personal business.

Defense attorney Robert Jenkins countered the assertions of the businessmen-turned-convicts by calling their testimony self-serving. And Jenkins, in cross-examinations that often were brief, highlighted a lack of smoking gun evidence like wiretaps.

More at http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2014/02/prosecution_rests_its_case_in.html#incart_m-rpt-2

February 6, 2014

Democratic Senate Candidate David Alameel Lends Himself $750,000

The Democratic Senate primary is on, and it's Dallas dentist David Alameel vs. El Paso lawyer Maxey Scherr. Alameel can boast Wendy Davis' endorsement, previous experience running (though he lost), and now a huge chunk of cash. Alameel just lent himself $750,000 to kick off the final month before the primary.

"With minimal spending in December, Alameel's year-end report - not yet available from the Senate or Federal Election Commission - will show he started 2014 with $742,414 ready to spend. Alameel's net worth tops $50 million. He sunk $4.5 million on a failed U.S. House bid in 2012, so that $750,000 could be just an opening bid," the DMN's Todd Gillman explains.

On Tuesday, United Steelworkers endorsed Alameel. "Dr. Alameel's strong opposition to trade agreements that send good, family supporting jobs overseas and his commitment to fight attempts to privatize Social Security and Medicare make him the only choice for working Texans," USW President Lee Medley said.

Admittedly, it's not been easy for Scherr to gain much traction while the Austin political press corps swarms the governor's race, and to a lesser extent, the GOP Lt. Gov. primary. There's an unfortunate sense that if Democrats can win one race this year, it's the governor's race. On the other hand, Alameel's previous House run gives him a natural advantage in a primary consisting of Democratic newbies, including himself.

More at http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/14763/democratic-senate-candidate-david-alameel-lends-himself-750000 .

February 6, 2014

Did the dustup over Wendy Davis’ personal story help campaign fundraising? Looks like it did

Did the national political uproar over Wendy Davis’ biography boost her fundraising? A look at her most recent campaign contribution reports suggests it just might have done so. The Dallas Morning News story that raised questions about Davis’ single-mom-in-a-trailer-to-Harvard Law School narrative — most notably that she never actually was a divorced teen mother raising a daughter in a trailer and that her second husband paid for college by taking out a loan and keeping her daughters — caused quite a ruckus. Critics accused Davis of embroidering her up-from-poverty personal story. Supporters leaped furiously to her defense.

The story was published January 19. The latest fundraising report for January shows that Davis raised about $362,000 in itemized donations before the story and $349,000 after it. But the reporting period covered money raised between January 1-24. That means there were 18 days to raise money before the story and only four fundraising days afterwards.

So, on a per/day basis, Davis did lots better in the days after the controversy erupted when, it appears, an army of supporters responded with their checkbooks. On a daily average, Davis raised more than four times as much after the story was published than before. Before publication, she was pulling in about $20,000 a day in January. After the battle erupted between supporters and opponents upon publication of the story, she raised $87,000 a day. And some of those donations were among her biggest of the period — $15,000 contributions from the Texas State Teachers Association and Mesquite lawyer Ted Lyon, a former Democratic member of the Texas Senate. Also, a $10,000 post-story contribution from the locomotive workers union.

Whether that boost in campaign contributions continued into February, won’t be known until later this month. The Davis campaign declined to say whether the fundraising boost was a blip or has continued. “You’ll probably be able to draw a more complete analysis after the next report comes out,” said spokesman Bo Delp.

Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2014/02/did-the-dustup-over-wendy-davis-personal-story-help-campaign-fundraising-looks-like-it-did.html/ (this is the entire article).

February 5, 2014

Confirmed: Megachurch Pastor Hagee endorsed Patrick

Verbal warfare escalated earlier this week in the Republican Primary race for lieutenant governor when Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson accused Houston Sen. Dan Patrick of misleading voters by claiming that John Hagee, pastor of the 22,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, had endorsed Patrick’s candidacy. Patterson claims he was told that Hagee does not make political endorsements.

Patterson told the Austin American-Statesman that Hagee Ministries had assured him via email that Hagee did not formally endorse candidates.

Patrick responded that Hagee had endorsed him at a fundraiser that Hagee held for Patrick’s candidacy. Campaign finance reports confirm that Hagee donated $1,000 to Patrick’s campaign. We reached out yesterday to Hagee’s office to settle the dispute about a formal “endorsement.”

Today, a Hagee spokesman responded with a formal statement: “Pastor Hagee held a fundraiser for Dan Patrick at which Hagee endorsed Patrick’s bid for lieutenant governor.”

More at http://blog.chron.com/texaspolitics/2014/02/confirmed-megachurch-pastor-john-hagee-endorsed-dan-patrick/?cmpid=hpts .

February 5, 2014

Chris Christie leaves Bridgegate behind and heads for Texas to raise GOP money

Chris Christie is coming to Texas to raise some money – and it’s not a bridge he wants to sell you. The embattled New Jersey governor is head of the Republican Governors Association, so his trip to Texas is part of a nationwide effort to raise money for fellow GOP governors as well as to show party leaders he’s still a viable political figure for the future. Christie is considered a potential presidential nominee for 2016. But investigations into the “Bridgegate” scandal in his home state over questions whether his administration sought to punish political foes by tying up traffic on the George Washington Bridge have jolted those prospects.

Christie will be in Dallas and Fort Worth on Thursday for Republican governor fundraisers. He’s also planning on trips to Illinois, New York, Maryland, Georgia and Washington DC to raise money for the RGA. A planned stop at the Conservative Political Action Conference – or CPAC – in Washington will be an opportunity to show that he’s not damaged goods politically. Conservatives in the party haven’t been keen on Christie since his embrace of President Obama and federal assistance to New Jersey in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

Likely GOP gubernatorial nominee Greg Abbott will not join Christie. An aide said Abbott will be in Houston as part of a statewide series of appearances on immigration. The RGA was a major donor to Gov. Rick Perry when he ran for reelection. No word on whether Perry — who’d like to run for president again – will attend. Both Perry and Abbott have focused considerable appeal to the party’s conservative wing that is skeptical of Christie.

Christie has said he didn’t know in advance about his aides’ orders to close lanes leading to the bridge in Fort Lee, New Jersey in September. Some aides were disciplined, but several investigations are underway.

Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2014/02/chris-christie-leaves-bridgegate-behind-and-heads-for-texas-to-raise-gop-money.html/

February 5, 2014

Fort Worth’s impostor general gets 5 years probation for ruse

FORT WORTH — A Fort Worth man who wove an elaborate web of lies, convincing friends, family and even some government officials that he was a brigadier general in the Army, fessed up to his ruse Tuesday, pleading guilty to impersonating a public servant.

Michael Douglas McDowell, 57, also pleaded guilty to bigamy, stemming from his December 2011 marriage to Christy McDowell while still married to his estranged wife, Karen, the mother of his two grown children.

He was sentenced to five years deferred adjudication probation in each case.

“For the better part of 15 years, this defendant perfected the art of stolen valor,” said Tarrant County assistant District Attorney Joshua Ross. “The lengths to which he was willing to go were prolific; including wearing an officer’s uniform and medals, as well as obtaining purple heart license plates, none of which was earned. He even wore a uniform to his marriage to a woman who believed him to be a military officer, and who was not aware of his other marriage.

More at http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/02/04/5540340/impostor-general-gets-5-years.html?rh=1 .

February 5, 2014

Texas appoints conservators for troubled Progreso school district

PROGRESO — Conservators appointed by Texas Education Agency will start work at the Progreso Independent School District next week, with broad power over the school board and district administrators.

After reviewing a lengthy agency investigation into corruption and management problems at the Progreso school district, state Education Commissioner Michael Williams appointed the two conservators on Jan. 16. They start work next week, when they’ll start studying how to correct major financial, management and governance problems.

FBI agents arrested district Maintenance Director Jose Guadalupe Vela Jr. — along with his sons, Progreso Mayor Omar L. Vela and school board President Michael R. Vela — in August. They solicited bribes and kickbacks from school district contractors, according to the 10-count indictment against them.

The Texas Education Agency’s follow-up investigation detailed additional problems, including allegations a teacher inappropriately helped students with standardized tests and questions about why the district’s senior accountant wrote himself a district check for $21,000.

More at http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/article_6f1fddf4-8e03-11e3-b922-0017a43b2370.html .

[font color=green]Is anybody surprised that there is corruption when one family runs the entire town?[/font]

February 5, 2014

Commentary: Obamacare hurting president's 2nd term

[font color=green]Note: Mark Thiessen was a speechwriter for President George W. Bush. This column was first published in The Washington Post. I do not agree with most of his comments; however, I am posting this commentary since certain points may be spewed by a right-winger near you.[/font]

By Mark Thiessen

President Barack Obama has all but conceded his lame-duck status. His State of the Union address was bereft of big ideas. And his declaration that he will use his “pen and a phone” to issue a raft of executive orders is an admission of political impotence — a presidency reduced to small-ball initiatives like creating “myRA” savings accounts and raising the minimum wage for federal contractors.

The one exception — his one last shot at a major legislative achievement — was comprehensive immigration reform. But that isn’t happening either.

And the reason can be summed up in one word: Obamacare.

-snip-

For the next quarter-century, any time a liberal politician proposes a big-government program, all conservatives will have to say to discredit it is: “It’s just another Obamacare.”

That, in the end, will be this president’s lasting achievement — what Obama will ultimately be remembered for long after his presidency is over.

The entirety of Dipshit's Thiessen's comments are at http://www.themonitor.com/opinion/columnists/article_3737ee1e-8df3-11e3-810c-0017a43b2370.html .

February 5, 2014

Navy's first 'supercarrier' headed to Brownsville scrap yard

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Navy's first post-World War II "supercarrier" has departed Philadelphia on a final trip to a scrapping facility in Texas.

The Philadelphia Inquirer said the USS Forrestal left under tow early Tuesday to begin its 17- or 18-day trip.

The 60-year-old ship is being taken to a recycling facility in Brownsville, owned by All Star Metals, which was paid one cent to haul away and dismantle the vessel.

The USS Forrestal was decommissioned in September 1993, after more than 38 years of service.

It is best known for a 1967 fire on its flight deck that killed 132 crewmen and injured 62 others.

More at http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/article_3e739eb6-8dea-11e3-8187-001a4bcf6878.html .