August 1, 2015

Trooper who arrested Bland disciplined last year

The Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who arrested Sandra Bland after a traffic stop in Prairie View on July 10 had been disciplined previously for misconduct, agency records show.

Brian Encinia, 30, who has been with DPS a little more than a year, was warned about his conduct in November 2014 for an incident that had occurred sometime in the previous two months.

"Trooper Encinia was given a written counseling for unprofessional conduct ... for an incident that occurred at a school in Austin," DPS officials wrote in a performance evaluation of the then-probationary officer. "In the future, Trooper Encinia should conduct himself at all times in a manner that will reflect well on himself, the Department, and the state of Texas."

Additional evaluations listed Encinia's performance as "competent." The incident is the only disciplinary action noted in about 80 pages of records that DPS released Friday night.

-snip-

The records, which include Encinia's job application and personnel file, provide some additional details about his background before joining DPS last year. According to the records, he studied at Texas A&M University, graduating in 2008. He had previously worked as an "ingredient processing supervisor" at Blue Bell and served as a volunteer firefighter at the Brenham Volunteer Fire Department for four years, rising to the rank of district fire chief, according to his resume.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/texas/sandra-bland/article/Trooper-who-arrested-Bland-disciplined-last-year-6419078.php

August 1, 2015

Fort Worth officer, accused of soliciting prostitutes and having sex on duty, is fired

A Fort Worth police officer has been fired because of allegations that he solicited prostitutes, engaged in sexual conduct while on duty and messaged obscene photographs of himself to others, often identifying himself as a police officer.

Officer Ryan Cantu, who had been with the Fort Worth Police Department since December 2004, was indefinitely suspended as of 6 p.m. Thursday.

His attorney, Terry Daffron Porter with the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, said she believes that her client is being singled out for alleged actions that others in the department have done but for which they were never disciplined or fired.

She points out that Cantu was never charged with solicitation of prostitution.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/article29668903.html#storylink=cpy

August 1, 2015

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Indicted, Sources Say

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been indicted on three charges by a grand jury in Collin County, two people close to the case told NBC 5 on Saturday.

The indictments were issued on Tuesday and immediately sealed, the sources said, adding they are set to be unsealed as early as Monday in Collin County.

A Tarrant County judge has been appointed to hear the case, the sources said.

The grand jury and two special prosecutors have been investigating whether Paxton committed a securities crime by acting as a broker without being licensed.

Read more: http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Texas-Attorney-General-Ken-Paxton-Indicted-Sources-Say-320384181.html

Another article at http://www.dallasnews.com/news/headlines/20150801-report-texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-indicted-by-grand-jury-in-collin-county.ece

Cross-posted in LBN.

August 1, 2015

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Indicted, Sources Say

Source: NBCDFW.com

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been indicted on three charges by a grand jury in Collin County, two people close to the case told NBC 5 on Saturday.

The indictments were issued on Tuesday and immediately sealed, the sources said, adding they are set to be unsealed as early as Monday in Collin County.

A Tarrant County judge has been appointed to hear the case, the sources said.

The grand jury and two special prosecutors have been investigating whether Paxton committed a securities crime by acting as a broker without being licensed.

Read more: http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Texas-Attorney-General-Ken-Paxton-Indicted-Sources-Say-320384181.html

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Another article at http://www.dallasnews.com/news/headlines/20150801-report-texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-indicted-by-grand-jury-in-collin-county.ece

Cross-posted in the Texas Group.

August 1, 2015

Israeli Lawmaker Comes Out Following Jerusalem Gay Pride Stabbing: ‘We Can No Longer Remain Silent’

A member of Israel’s Knesset parliament has publicly come out as gay in response to yesterday’s stabbing attack at a gay pride parade in Jerusalem that wounded six.

“It is no longer possible to remain silent,” wrote 35-year-old lawmaker Itzik Shmuli in a column published online Friday.

ynet has more of Shmuli’s column translated to English:

“We can no longer remain silent because the knife is raised against the neck of the entire LGBT community, my community,” wrote Shmuli. “It will not stop there. This is the time to fight the great darkness.”

“This terrible criminal act that once again happened in “the city of God”, is an attack on all of us,” he continued. It attacks the right of all of us to be different, make our choices, accept differences and include the other.”

Shmuli further wrote: “Israeli society is wounded, it has been stabbed in the stomach. It is losing its compassion for other people just because they are different. It is losing its acceptance of others. There is a direct connection between those hanging loudspeakers in front of a hostel for autistic children to keep them away to those people who stab people whose only desire is to live according to their conscience and desire.”

Read more: http://www.towleroad.com/2015/07/israeli-lawmaker-comes-out-following-jerusalem-gay-pride-stabbing-we-can-no-longer-remain-silent/

[font color=330099]Even Netanyahu was correct in his statement condemning the attack.[/font]

August 1, 2015

Follow-up: Texas refuses to issue same-sex couples death certificates

DALLAS – More than a month after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same sex marriage, Texas is not fully recognizing the landmark ruling and refuses to issue death certificates that recognize same-sex marriages.

"It looks to me like we're headed back to federal court," said widower John Stone-Hoskins.

He plans to file a lawsuit against the state on Monday, asking a judge to force Texas to let him change his late spouse's death certificate to reflect their marriage.

"We want to make sure in his lifetime his marriage to James [Stone] is recognized. He deserves that much," said Neel Lane, attorney with Akin Gump, LLP.

Read more: http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/local/texas-news/2015/07/31/texas-refuses-to-issue-death-certificates-for-same-sex-couples/30920555/

Earlier thread:
Dying Texas Man Seeks Accurate Death Certificate For His Late Husband

August 1, 2015

How to be a Good Republican

August 1, 2015

Simmer down meow: Cat cafes are (finally!) coming to Dallas

Meow's the time -- Dallas is finally pouncing on the cat cafe trend with not just one, but two forthcoming cuddle and caffeination stations. No kitten!

For those unfamiliar with the concept, it's simple: A cat cafe is a coffee shop with a relaxed environment that's also home to a bunch of cats that mingle with patrons. The first cat cafe opened in Taiwan in the late 1990s and the concept was popularized in Japan, where there are reportedly more than 100 of them. The trend has since spread across the globe and into American cities such as San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Cleveland and Washington D.C.

The animals at cat cafes are usually up for adoption, so if you make a new friend you can likely give him or her a forever home.

Because of health codes, cat cafes separate where food and drink is prepared from the areas where people play with the cats. Still, each location has its own way of organizing operations. Here's the skinny on two cat cafes coming to Dallas.

Read more: http://www.guidelive.com/cute-animals/2015/07/31/cat-cafes-finally-coming-dallas