April 23, 2014

A Half-Million in Texas Without Workplace Insurance

At least a half-million Texas workers have no occupational insurance coverage, either from a state-approved workers' compensation plan or from a private equivalent, state insurance officials said Tuesday.

The figures, provided by the Texas Department of Insurance, provoked impassioned debate at a legislative hearing about policy solutions in the only state in the country where the decision to carry workers' compensation insurance or a private equivalent is voluntary for companies of any size.

The Texas House Committee on Business and Industry is studying the voluntary workers' compensation system, the shifting of costs to taxpayers and proposals for improving care for workers — or their families — who are left with few or no benefits after a workplace injury or death.

“That’s a lot of Texans out there without any protection, without any help, having to resort to public assistance and all the rest of us supporting them instead of these bad actors,” state Rep. René Oliveira, D-Brownsville, chairman of the committee, said in an interview after the hearing. “I think we have to look at this as fraud, as a punishment to honorable businesses that are being outbid.”

More at http://www.texastribune.org/2014/04/22/half-million-texas-without-workplace-insurance/ .

April 23, 2014

CFO explains why she declined Beaumont ISD job offer

When Ann Westbrooks accepted the chief financial officer position at Beaumont ISD earlier this month, she thought she knew what she was signing on for.

She thought she was going to rebuild the school district's hastily deconstructed internal controls with a superintendent and board of trustees who repeatedly proclaimed to be all about "the children."

Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams had other plans.

Williams announced on April 14 that he would remove Superintendent Timothy Chargois and replace the board of trustees with a board of managers composed of various community members.

That was not the team with which Westbrooks thought she would be working.

Westbrooks declined the CFO/comptroller job nine days after accepting it and three days after Williams announced his intention to overhaul the district.

More at http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/CFO-explains-why-she-declined-BISD-job-offer-5422058.php .

April 23, 2014

Cadillac Ranch Creator Stanley Marsh 3 faces new teen sex lawsuit

It looks like Marsh 3 sexually abused enough young boys that each of the youngsters will have his own Cadillac.

An Amarillo man has filed a new sex abuse lawsuit against Stanley Marsh 3, Marsh’s wife and son and two Marsh companies, alleging Marsh 3 sexually abused him when he was a teen and that the other defendants did not intervene to halt the alleged abuse.

The suit, filed April 14 in Potter County’s 181st District Court by A.A., an anonymous plaintiff, names Marsh 3, Wendy Marsh, Stanley Marsh IV, Marsh business associate David Weir and two Marsh business entities, Barb Wire LLC and SM3, as defendants.

The suit alleges Marsh 3, now 76, plied the then-minor with alcohol and drugs and sexually abused him at his Chase Tower offices in downtown Amarillo. The case does not mention a timeframe when the alleged abuse occurred.

The suit, which seeks more than $1 million in damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and gross negligence, alleges A.A. has suffered severe and permanent damage from the alleged abuse.

More at http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2014-04-22/new-sex-abuse-suit-filed-against-amarillo-millionaire .

Related threads:

Cadillac Ranch Creator Marsh 3 denies new child sexual assault allegations
http://www.democraticunderground.com/107812845

Stanley Marsh 3 (creator of Cadillac Ranch), family, associate settle teen sex lawsuits
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10786241

Millionaire Stanley Marsh 3 indicted on 14 counts alleging sex with underage boys
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10787660

Marsh 3 sex suit: Attorneys spar as millionaire's lawyers seek delay
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10789678

April 23, 2014

Ex-Wayland Baptist University CFO admits theft, gets five year sentence

Plainview, Texas -- A former Wayland Baptist University chief financial officer pleaded guilty to first-degree felony theft and agreed to a five-year prison sentence after he used university funds for personal expenses, Hale County District Attorney Wally Hatch said.

James E. Smith entered his plea on Thursday, Hatch said.

In April, the Plainview university sued Smith in Hale County District Court based on an internal investigation and contacted law enforcement officials about its findings, Wayland Baptist said in a statement.

The lawsuit alleged Smith breached his contract with Wayland Baptist by using about $40,000 in corporate funds to pay personal debts, including personal credit card charges, and by falsifying books and records to conceal misuse of funds.

More at http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2014-04-22/former-wayland-baptist-executive-headed-prison .

[font color=green]Another example of a fine Christian.[/font]

April 23, 2014

Do you miss Mack Brown? Here's your new homepage

In the immortal words of the Counting Crows singing the immortal words of Joni Mitchell: Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone?

That's how one enterprising Texas football enthusiast evidently felt after Saturday's Orange-White Game. A website called "I Miss Mack Brown" (located at imissmack.com, natch) has been making the rounds among Longhorns on social media this week. A banner at the top of the page reads "I watched the Texas game this weekend and was left with an unshakable feeling ..." followed by an illustration that reads, well, you can probably guess.

The other half of the page sells "I Miss Mack" T-Shirts in both men's and women's sizes for $20. ("Guaranteed delivery by the start of the 2014 season opener versus North Texas," the site promises.)

Who's behind this coach-centric elegy? The site doesn't say, and there's no contact information to be found. A look into the domain registration shows that it was created the day of the spring practice game, but there's no insight into who runs the site (and thus, no insight into what actually inspired the site's creation).

More at http://www.statesman.com/weblogs/bevo-beat/2014/apr/22/do-you-miss-mack-brown-heres-your-new-homepage/ .

[font color=ff6633]Ready to pick a square as to when El Supremo will chime in and which avatar he will use?[/font]

April 23, 2014

UT's invading blooms might just be a maroon mix-up

Maroon bluebonnet watch, Day 13: The invading floral horde might have been less of a Trojan horse and more of a cuckoo coincidence.

As soon as maroon bluebonnets were spotted in the flowerbeds in front of the University of Texas Tower emerged, theories of a Texas A&M prank began to circulate in news reports and on social media. First, plans were announced to uproot the flowers; then UT officials released a statement pledging to preserve the offensively colored plants. Now, the Daily Texan reports that the errant flora was likely the result of a simple packaging mix-up.

According to the Texan, UT service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega planted the bluebonnets around campus and purchased the (presumed blue-blooming) seeds at Barton Springs Nursery. Jerry Parsons, a former Texas A&M horticulturist who helped develop the maroon bluebonnet, said a seed mix-up during the pacakaging process, which is common in mass production, was a more likely explanation for the flowers than any sort of Aggie prank, the student newspaper reports.

Perhaps this ends the mystery once and for all. (Unless, of course, it's just a maroon herring.)

http://www.statesman.com/weblogs/bevo-beat/2014/apr/23/uts-invading-blooms-might-just-be-maroon-mix-/

Related thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/107817159

April 23, 2014

I saw this card in the bin at the library

Obamacare code: 1CD9E978
Beheading legalized

It looks like this is another RWNJ conspiracy. When I searched on Google I found this story:

Relax. Obamacare won't bring beheadings to U.S.

December 26, 2013

A new rumor about Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, making its rounds on the internet is that the law will make beheading an official method of execution in the United States. The rumor, apparently has its origin in an article by Lorri Anderson on the Freedom Outpost on Nov. 18, 2013, about international medical codes. Conspiracy sites claim that a medical code for “legal execution” reveals that beheading and decapitation are coming to the United States. The Freedom Outpost is a conservative pseudo-news site that has articles on birtherism, nullification and other conspiracy theories.

Anderson's article refers to a medical code, “ICD 9 E 978,” that conspiracy theorists believe purports to list the legal methods of execution in the United States. The definition of the coding is found on CentralX.com under “International Classification of Diseases” and is as follows:

E978 Legal execution

All executions performed at the behest of the judiciary or ruling authority
[whether permanent or temporary] as:
asphyxiation by gas
beheading, decapitation (by guillotine)
capital punishment
electrocution
hanging
poisoning
shooting
other specified means
INJURY UNDETERMINED WHETHER ACCIDENTALLY OR PURPOSELY
INFLICTED

Anderson notes that the code is part of an international coding system, but doesn’t seem to understand what the codes are for or how they are used. She seems to believe that, because the United States is using the coding system, all parts of the code will apply to patients in the United States and that is is being forced on American doctors by the Department of Homeland Security and UN.

More at http://www.examiner.com/article/relax-obamacare-won-t-bring-beheadings-to-u-s

Nothing surprises me in Wharton County, Texas.

April 23, 2014

Florida Republican Dane Eagle Arrested For DUI After Leaving Taco Bell At 2 A.M.

"We need to be as elected officials held to a higher standard," said Florida state Rep. Dane Eagle (R-Cape Coral) last month after sponsoring a bill that would require legislators to submit to drug testing.

Just before 2 a.m. Monday morning, Eagle was arrested in Tallahassee on suspicion of DUI. Police first spotted him pulling out of a Taco Bell in his black SUV before he narrowly avoided hitting a median, then stopped in an intersection, veered into a curb and ran a traffic light, according to arrest documents.

An arresting officer wrote that Eagle smelled like alcohol, had "bloodshot, watery, and glassy eyes," and swayed while outside his vehicle, but denied drinking any alcoholic beverages. He allegedly claimed the smell of booze had come from friends who had ridden in his car after being at a bar, and refused to take a field sobriety test or submit to a breath test, according to police.

Eagle, 30, was booked at Leon County Jail and later released.

"I was arrested in Tallahassee and accused of driving under the influence of alcohol," Eagle said in a statement, according to the News-Press. "While there are some decisions that I would have made differently, I do not believe there is a complete and accurate picture of the events. Under advice of my legal counsel, I cannot discuss all the details right now, but I look forward to publically (sic) sharing the entire story at an appropriate time. Until then, I humbly ask for everyone's patience. I know that I am accountable for my actions, and I look forward to communicating with my constituents in the near future on this matter."

More at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/22/dane-eagle-arrested-dui_n_5191932.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false .
(My apologies about the source for this thread).

April 22, 2014

Update: It's a girl! Ocelot kitten's gender engenders hope for species' future

RIO HONDO — A recently trapped ocelot kitten at the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge is female, raising biologists’ hopes to preserve and protect the species.

The kitten was first discovered in early March in trail camera photos taken in mid-February. At the time, biologists could not be certain of the kitten’s gender, but trapping it allowed them to check the gender and re-evaluate its age.

Ocelot biologist, Hilary Swarts, confirmed that the healthy female kitten is about 10-12 months old. She was fitted with a small radio collar, so her movements can be tracked as part of the ongoing program of ocelot monitoring in and around the refuge.

So far, monitoring indicates that she has remained in the general area where she was photographed and trapped.

More, including a great color photo at http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/it-s-a-girl-ocelot-kitten-s-gender-engenders-hope/article_a39cc72a-c9c4-11e3-8c21-0017a43b2370.html .

Related thread
http://www.democraticunderground.com/107816253

[font color=green]Of course I couldn't resist posting another cat thread![/font]

April 22, 2014

Former Bexar County Defense Attorney sent to prison for billing scheme

SAN ANTONIO — Former defense attorney Hilda Valadez, who pleaded guilty to charges of forging judges' signatures and double billing the county for indigent defense work, was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison.

The sentence, by Visiting Judge Stephen Ables, came with the caveat that he would retain jurisdiction of the case for 180 days. That means he can determine at any time during the next six months to commute her sentence to probation.

Valadez, 52, was once regarded as the county's busiest court-appointed defense attorney. She was paid nearly $600,000 from 2008 to 2011, according to the district attorney's office.

She pleaded guilty last month, as her jury trial was about to begin, to securing execution of a document by deception and forgery.

More, including several other links to this case, at http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Lawyer-sent-to-prison-for-Bexar-billing-scheme-5418677.php .