June 21, 2013

Repeat Texas pot bust nets more than $5M in plants

WASHINGTON, Texas (AP) — A repeat drug bust at a rural plot in Central Texas has led to the confiscation of about $5.25 million worth of marijuana plants.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office says deputies Wednesday seized about 3,500 marijuana plants.

Officials say it's the same 150-acre site between Chappell Hill and Washington where deputies in March confiscated about 48,000 plants. The heavily wooded area is about 75 northwest of Houston.

Sheriff Otto Hanak (HAH'-nik) says nobody has been arrested. The sheriff says the latest crop of marijuana was likely planted around the same time as the other plants seized in March.

http://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Repeat-Texas-pot-bust-nets-more-than-5M-in-plants-4611855.php

[font color=green]Just down the road from me.[/font]

June 21, 2013

Judge Dupuy (Galveston) faces more allegations

GALVESTON — A grand jury could be impaneled next month to hear more allegations against a county court judge involving solicitation of capital murder, witness tampering and abuse of official capacity.

Judge Christopher Dupuy remains suspended without pay from the bench at Galveston County Court of Law No. 3, following his May 22 and June 12 arrests on nine felony and misdemeanor charges of obstruction or retaliation, abuse of official capacity and official oppression.

http://www.galvestondailynews.com/news/local_news/article_6b085926-d963-11e2-b486-0019bb30f31a.html
(subscription required)

And another headline:

Dupuy to be suspended from bench, again

GALVESTON — An indicted county court judge on Thursday didn't contest a pending suspension by a district court judge, who is expected to appoint a temporary replacement to the bench.

Judge Christopher Dupuy will, however, contest a lawsuit seeking his removal from the bench in Galveston County Court at Law No. 3.

http://www.galvestondailynews.com/news/local_news/article_1c620fda-d9c0-11e2-8869-0019bb30f31a.html
(subscription required)

More related threads :


Galveston judge suspended by state after arrest
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10788941

Galveston judge indicted on 8 criminal counts
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014490701

Galveston judge may 'hurt or kill someone,' fellow judge says (updated 5/22/13)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10786311

Galveston Judge Christopher Dupuy indicted again and arrested again
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10789408

June 21, 2013

Glenn Beck Buys 72,000-Square-Foot Studios At Las Colinas, Is Apparently Here To Stay

The Glenn Beck media empire won't be paying rent in Irving anymore. Mercury Radio Arts, Beck's "news, opinion and entertainment network," announced Wednesday afternoon its purchase of the Studios at Las Colinas, which has served as home base for The Blaze and his Glenn Beck show since 2012.

Lest we forget, Robocop, JFK, Silkwood, Prison Break and, last but not least, Walker Texas Ranger, sprang from this studio. Now, for the foreseeable future, the renamed Mercury Studios will beam out into the world programming like "B.S. of A," "Liberty Treehouse" and, of course, Beck's own fetal cheeks and indecipherable diagrams.

"We are proud to call Texas our home and be part of the local community in Irving," he told TheBlaze. "We are building a world-class facility that provides TheBlaze with the highest quality talent and top of the line production capabilities so American stories can be told to viewers across the country."

Unfortunately, Beck could not be in Irving for the announcement. He attending a rally in D.C., where he delivered a stemwinder titled "We Will No Longer Accept the Lies," in which he invoked Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King, icons of social justice, without apparent irony.

Source: http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2013/06/glenn_beck_buys_72000-square-f.php

[font color=green]The story was of interest to me since the next door neighbor in my apartment complex in Irving spent a year studying A/V arts recording there and at one time it was the only A/V studio in the Metroplex (I don't know if that is still the case).[/font]

June 21, 2013

Moody’s downgrades West school district’s bond rating following FEMA aid denial

The West community was dealt another serious hurdle in its efforts to rebuild. This week the Moody’s significantly downgraded the school district’s bond rating to a Baa1 from A1 and assigned a negative outlook, suggesting it could be further downgraded.

The bond credit rating agency issued the downgrade based because of the the district’s significant rebuilding challenges and the denial of $17.8 million in FEMA aid to help cover the cost of uninsured damage at the schools and other public facilities.

“The negative outlook reflects our expectation that the district’s challenges will persist over the medium to long term given the magnitude of building replacement, and uncertainty regarding potential state support, which accounts for a majority of revenues,” according to Moody’s release.

The downgrade affects $318,000 in Moody’s rated debt for the school district. West ISD has about $13 million in other outstanding debt that is not rated by Moody’s.

More at http://educationblog.dallasnews.com/2013/06/moodys-downgrades-west-school-districts-bond-rating-following-fema-aid-denial.html/ .

[font color=green]Huge challenges ahead for West as they try to rebuild their schools and community. The property owners in the school district will most likely see their tax rates raised to the maximum set by state law.[/font]

June 21, 2013

Texas House approves redistricting maps

AUSTIN — The Texas House approved voting maps on Thursday, but the redistricting chairman surprised many lawmakers by accepting tiny changes to a handful of districts and angering members of both parties.

The so-called tweaks to House district maps also broke with Gov. Rick Perry's call for the special legislative session by varying from the court-drawn maps used in the 2012 election. The House must still give final passage to the bills on Friday.

Democratic Rep. Rafael Anchia and Republican Rep. Bennett Ratliff changed the border between their Dallas-area districts to move only two precincts that contained voters. One of the precincts included the home of Ratliff's tea party rival, Matt Rinaldi, prompting Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Frisco, to call Ratliff a "big liar" when coming out of a closed-door Republican meeting about the change.

"The Ratliff amendment that was accepted was to draw myself, a potential challenger, out of his district," Rinaldi told The Associated Press.

More at http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/state-politics/20130620-texas-house-approves-redistricting-maps.ece .

June 21, 2013

Top Republican: Obama’s climate change plan ‘absolutely crazy’

The top Republican on Capitol Hill on Thursday called the Obama administration’s possible plan for reining in greenhouse gas emissions “absolutely crazy.”

In a wide-ranging news conference, House Speaker John Boehner objected to the possibility that the Environmental Protection Agency might soon move to impose limits on the heat-trapping emissions from the nation’s existing power plants — not just newly built facilities.

“I think this is absolutely crazy,” Boehner said. “Why would you want to increase the cost of energy and kill more American jobs at a time when the American people are still asking the question, where are the jobs?”

Top White House energy adviser Heather Zichal signaled new emissions rules could be coming soon during a forum on climate change Wednesday. Though she did not outline specifics, Zichal reiterated President Barack Obama’s state-of-the-union pledge to use his executive powers to combat climate change, including the EPA’s authority to regulate emissions under the Clean Air Act.

More at http://fuelfix.com/beaumont/2013/06/20/top-republican-obamas-climate-change-plan-absolutely-crazy/ .

June 21, 2013

Police: Woman threw feces at dog owner

An Austin woman who police say threw dog feces at a man she accused of not picking up after his pet was charged with aggravated assault this week.

Rebecca Trammell, 46, confronted the man at her apartment’s dog park on Jollyville Road in Northwest Austin on Tuesday, picked up dog feces and threw it at him, according to the affidavit for her arrest.

She admitted to police that she then picked up a jagged, 6-inch rock and threw it at the man, missing him, the affidavit says. Next, she spat in his face, the affidavit says.

Trammell told police that she then wanted to grab another man’s dog at the park because she said it wasn’t on a leash, according to the affidavit. When the man put himself between Trammell and his dog, she grabbed his leash, pulling it toward her and cutting the man’s right hand.

More at http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/police-woman-threw-feces-at-dog-owner/nYQ5x/ .

[font color=green]Her bail was set at $12,000.[/font]

June 21, 2013

Republican infighting spills onto House floor

A House Republican screamed at a fellow member of his own party as they emerged Thursday afternoon from a longer-than-expected GOP caucus meeting.

The argument appeared to be about proposed changes to House districts. The chamber is debating redistricting bills Thursday.

“You’re a liar,” state Rep. Pat Fallon of Frisco yelled at his colleague, state Rep. Bennett Ratliff of Coppell.

Other House Republicans tried to hush Fallon, but his fury wouldn’t ebb.

More at http://www.statesman.com/news/news/republican-infighting-spills-onto-house-floor/nYQpZ/ .

[font color=green]Pardon me if I take some perverse pleasure while things like this occur.[/font]

June 21, 2013

Senator says Perry vetoed his bill by mistake

When Gov. Rick Perry vetoed a change in state truancy law last Friday, he inadvertently killed the wrong bill, the Senate author of the failed measure said Thursday.

“I’ve been told he made a mistake,” said state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, whose Senate Bill 1234 fell victim to Perry’s veto pen despite support from educators and children’s advocates across Texas.

Source: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/senator-says-perry-vetoed-his-bill-by-mistake/nYQ6P/
(Note: This is a premium content article requiring a subscription. I will update the thread if another article is published.)

[font color=green]Oops, he did it again.[/font]

June 21, 2013

Cat nurses orphaned pit bull puppy in Ohio

Photos By Cleveland Animal Protective League

CLEVELAND (AP) — A cat caring for four newborn kittens is nursing an orphaned week-old pit bull puppy in Cleveland.

Sharon Harvey of the Cleveland Animal Protective League said Wednesday that Lurlene the cat welcomed Noland the puppy to her "unusual little family." The puppy was dropped off at the animal shelter last week when he was a day old.

The staff decided to place Noland with the nursing cat and her litter because bottle feeding doesn't always work.

The puppy will grow faster, so the shelter says it may have to come up with another feeding idea in several weeks until Noland is ready for adoption.

Source: http://www.chron.com/news/article/Cat-nurses-orphaned-pit-bull-puppy-in-Ohio-4610452.php