May 13, 2021

State Demands Fort Worth Apartment Owner Return Rent Relief Funds After Evicting Tenant

From KERA:

In early April, the Texas Rent Relief Program sent more than $6,000 in rental assistance funds to the company that operates The Lodge at River Park to cover three months of unpaid rent and three months of future rent for Ogas.

But the money came too late to help. Ogas had already been evicted.

The 57-year-old has spent a career working in the health care industry, but was laid off just as the pandemic began. She has been unemployed since then, struggling to make ends meet with unemployment checks and extra cash from gig work.

In January, her savings exhausted, she fell behind on rent. She was waiting for the Texas Rent Relief program to process her application for a month when an eviction court judge ordered her to leave her home.

The Lodge at River Park is owned by Harbor Group International, and operated by an affiliate company called Harbor Group Management. According to their website, Harbor Group International boasts $12.7 billion in real estate assets across the nation, including 46,000 multifamily units and 4 million square feet of commercial real estate.

Read more: https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/state-demands-fort-worth-apartment-owner-return-rent-relief-funds-after-evicting-tenant/

May 13, 2021

Despite some stations running out, there's no fuel shortage in Texas

HARLINGEN — Call it toilet-paper syndrome.

More than 1,000 gas stations in the Southeast reported running out of fuel Wednesday, and some here in the Rio Grande Valley also reported being pumped dry.

And like the shortage of toilet paper during the pandemic caused by hoarding, long lines and fuel outages here and probably elsewhere are being driven by media coverage, causing spooked drivers to gas up whether they need to or not, experts say.

“Most of it is panic-buying,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at Gas Buddy.

“The Colonial Pipeline, you obviously know, it runs from Texas to New Jersey,” he said in an interview Wednesday. “This is not a pricing event. Unlike February, this is not impacting refineries like the cold weather shutdown of refineries — then prices jumped.”

Read more: https://myrgv.com/local-news/business/2021/05/12/despite-some-stations-running-out-theres-no-fuel-shortage-in-texas/
(McAllen Monitor)

May 13, 2021

McMullen County concerned about rights, border; declares local state of disaster

The McMullen County Commissioners Court recently adopted two resolutions and aimed at reaffirming the Constitution and Bill of Rights and also issued a declaration of a local state of disaster “precipitated by illegal aliens, human smuggling and requesting aid from the governor’s office.”

The resolutions and declarations were approved by the commissioners court during a meeting on April 27.

“There’s a lot of talk about the state of the world and the state of our country,” McMullen County Judge James Teal said, adding that he feels blessed to live in McMullen County and wants to reassure community residents that local leaders are taking concerns seriously.

As part of one resolution, commissioners voiced support for the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, noting the documents are “for the benefit and protection of all people, these unalienable rights are enumerated and enshrined in the Constitution and the laws of the United States and the state of Texas.

Read more: https://www.mysoutex.com/the_progress/news/mcmullen-concerned-about-rights-border/article_cbaa63e0-ab5c-11eb-87a5-37a5edb8f851.html

McMullen is a sparsely populated county (about 750 residents) in south Texas.

May 13, 2021

Jimmy Kimmel Live: Liz Cheney Canceled by Same People Who Hate Cancel Culture

May 13, 2021

House declares racism a public health emergency in Vermont

Ajoint resolution declaring racism a public health emergency in Vermont received preliminary approval from the Vermont House on Tuesday.

The two-page document, J.R.H.6, lists a variety of data points on racial disparities in health outcomes for Vermonters who are Black, Indigenous and people of color. It resolves that the Legislature commit to the “sustained and deep work” of eradicating racism and race-based health disparities.

Those data points include:

• Black Vermonters account for 4.8% of total Covid-19 cases (as of Dec. 16, 2020), despite representing just over 1% of the population.

• Vermonters of color are statistically more likely to lack a personal doctor, report poor mental health and worry more about having enough food.

• Poverty rates for Black Vermonters are twice as high as for white Vermonters, and they account for a disproportionate percentage of people without homes. Both factors are associated with poor health outcomes.

Read more: https://vtdigger.org/2021/05/11/house-declares-racism-a-public-health-emergency-in-vermont/

May 12, 2021

Hedge fund founder Dan Kamensky gets prison sentence for fraud during Neiman Marcus bankruptcy

The New York hedge fund founder who was charged with committing fraud during Neiman Marcus’ bankruptcy last year has been sentenced to six months in prison.

Marble Ridge Capital founder Dan Kamensky, 48, pleaded guilty to bankruptcy fraud and extortion committed while he was on a committee of unsecured creditors in the Neiman Marcus bankruptcy.

The sentence, handed down Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Denise L. Cote in New York, includes six months of supervised release under home detention after the prison term.

Kamensky admitted he pressured a rival bidder to abandon a higher offer for Mytheresa, an asset owned by Neiman Marcus at the time, so that his hedge fund could buy it for a lower price. Kamensky had a legal duty to represent the interests of all unsecured creditors and secure the best offer.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/2021/05/10/hedge-fund-founder-kamensky-gets-prison-sentence-for-fraud-during-neiman-marcus-bankruptcy/

Six months seems like a slap on the wrist. Kamensky knew he did something illegal and the sentence should reflect that. He should lose his lawyer's license and be subjected to drug testing like any other criminal.

May 12, 2021

U.S. Rep. Chip Roy reportedly considering bid to replace Liz Cheney in GOP leadership role

by Bryan Mena, Texas Tribune


After removing Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming from her congressional leadership post, U.S. House Republicans are now expected to vote on installing a new conference chair on Friday. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, might be in the running.

The Daily Caller first reported that Roy is considering a bid to challenge Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who has been openly campaigning for the post. The political newsletter Punchbowl News later confirmed the news.

“While not ruling anything out, Congressman Roy has never sought a position in conference leadership. His focus is on serving Texas' 21st Congressional district, the American people, and the Constitution. But if the position must be filled, then this must be a contested race — not a coronation,” Roy’s office said in a statement.

Elected in 2018, Roy has sided with pro-Trump positions nearly 90% of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight. Cheney ascended to the Republican conference chair position as a sophomore herself in 2019 after first being elected in 2016.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/12/chip-roy-liz-cheney/

May 12, 2021

High school lacrosse players accused of using racist slurs to opponents after recent game

A Heber City school is under investigation after student-athletes allegedly used racial slurs after a recent boys’ lacrosse game, per a FOX 13 report.

Parents from Highland High School accused three players from Wasatch High School of using the n-word immediately following Friday’s game between the two schools.

“At the end of the game, a fight happened,” said Lex Scott, the founder of Black Lives Matter Utah, as she read from the civil rights complaint submitted to the organization. “During the fight, three players yelled out, ‘Get the [n-word]’ and went after one of the Black players on the Highland team. It is disgusting and all the players from Highland were in disbelief.”

Scott told The Salt Lake Tribune that parents from Wasatch High have been posting negative comments on and sending negative messages to BLM Utah’s Facebook page.

Read more: https://www.sltrib.com/sports/high-school-sports/2021/05/11/high-school-lacrosse/

May 12, 2021

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema talks infrastructure with President Joe Biden in White House meeting

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema met with President Joe Biden Tuesday as the White House seeks to shore up support for his $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan proposal.

Sinema’s meeting at the White House comes a day after Biden met with another key centrist Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who, like Sinema, opposes elimination of the legislative filibuster, the procedural maneuver that requires 60 votes to end debate on bills in the 100-member chamber.

The meetings were about Biden’s infrastructure plan, which he has described as a “once-in-a-generation investment” in the United States.

Corporate tax increases would primarily pay for the plan, which aims to upgrade the nation’s brick-and-mortar infrastructure, such as roads, airports and bridges, while expanding services to “human infrastructure,” by broadening care for seniors and others.

Read more: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/05/11/sinema-talks-infrastructure-biden-white-house-meeting/5046044001/

May 12, 2021

Nursing home board members quiet after Republic investigation led Ducey to disband group

Members of Arizona's nursing home board appeared to be in denial during their first meeting since Gov. Doug Ducey announced he was shutting down their organization for failing to protect residents.

The seven members said next to nothing about the governor’s veto of Senate Bill 1282, which would have reauthorized the board until 2029. They just carried on with business as usual for nearly four hours Monday, proceeding to launch 10 new investigations relating to assisted living facilities and making plans with one manager for a year in the future.

The bill was listed on the meeting agenda, so members could have discussed it. But the only reference was a statement by the board’s executive director, Sabrina Khan, who simply stated that the bill was vetoed.

Citing The Arizona Republic’s “disturbing and heartbreaking investigation" about the board’s failures, Ducey announced last week his plans to disband the Arizona Board of Examiners of Nursing Care Institution Administrators and Assisted Living Facility Managers.

Read more: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-investigations/2021/05/11/arizona-nursing-home-board-quiet-ducey-shutdown-granite-creek-disaster/4979339001/