Which is the northernmost state in the continental U.S.?
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Red’s Winning Bar Bets – Bet No. 3
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Trouble for Texas Toll Roads
Texas is becoming well-known for its burgeoning and expensive toll-road system championed by Ex. Gov. Rick Perry and others. Thanks to Perry, et al driving on uncongested (or even congested) roads in Texas is getting more and more expensive. Or is it? The Austin American Statesman reports that there are serious problems with toll road collections. Some collections are not being made and other drivers are being billed for trips they did not make. Red can tell you from personal experience – always check your toll tag bill because there’s a good chance it’s wrong.
The state’s troubled toll collection system had more than 3.5 million toll charges that outside contractors failed to process in a timely fashion — some were more than two years behind — and a variety of other problems that have overwhelmed the system, Texas Department of Transportation officials said Wednesday at a legislative hearing that amounted to a trip to the woodshed.
Aside from that backlog of toll transactions, which hit the system and Texas mailboxes late last year, an additional 30,000 motorists who have TxTag electronic toll tags on their windshields were wrongly billed in the mail. About 30,000 TxTag account holders mistakenly received a bill by mail, a vendor told lawmakers Wednesday.
See the TXDOT for a complete map of where you must pay to drive in Texas.
Alamo Facing Another Battle – Crumbling Walls
The San Antonio Express-News reports that the physical condition of the Alamo is deteriorating at an alarming rate.
The iconic mission-era church of the Alamo has long been crumbling, possibly at a rate Texans will find alarming, according to a Texas A&M University researcher. The base of a decorative column next to the church’s main entrance has lost up to 2.7 inches of its limestone surface since 1960, said Robert Warden, director of the university’s Center for Heritage Conservation. The base of each of the four columns were originally rectangular and solid, with carved features that “now look scooped,” he said. “It’s clear from photos of the building in the 1930s that material loss was already well underway,” he said.
The decomposition rate on one column “adds up to a significant amount, especially if that rate increases in the future,” said Warden, one of at least seven experts slated to speak at the center’s 14th annual Historic Preservation Symposium, “The Alamo: Structure of History,” Feb. 20-21 in College Station.
Online registration for the Symposium runs through Feb. 18 and is $10 for students, $20 for faculty and the general public and $100 for professionals. For more information visit http://chc.arch.tamu.edu/
Today in Texas History – February 13
From the Annals of Print Journalism – In 1913, the first issue of La Prensa, a Spanish-language daily newspaper, was published in San Antonio. The paper filled a void for Mexicans who were living in the U.S. La Prensa covered events in Mexico and the U.S. In its early years, a main focus of coverage were the gripping events and battles of the Mexican Revolution. La Prensa billed itself as voice of “el Mexico de Afuera” (“Mexico Abroad”) and provided a connection for ex-patriot Mexicans with their homeland. The paper also provided opinion pieces and criticism, and covered the activities of Mexican and Mexican-American organizations, as well as defending Mexican-Americans from abuse and prejudice. La Prensa was unapologetically pro-Mexico and was characterized as having almost reverence for Mexico and its people. Ignacio E. Lozano, the paper’s founder, arrived in San Antonio in 1908 at the age of twenty-two. His family had emigrated from Durango, Mexico. He started selling books and newspapers and then began work on a Spanish-language monthly, La Revista Mensual, and other Spanish-language papers including El Noticiero and El Imparcial before opening up La Prensa. The paper originated as a weekly and quickly increased circulation to 10,000. La Prensa converted to a daily in October of 1914. The paper’s contributors Included Jose Vasconcelos, known as “the father of public education” in Mexico, and Vito Alessio Robles, a noted Mexican historian.
McRaven Supports Dream Act and Opposes Guns on Campus – Legislature Yawns
New University of Texas System Chancellor Admiral (Ret.) William McRaven has staked out positions that will likely win him no friends in the Tea Party dominated Texas Legislature. McRaven supports the Dream Act which provides in state tuition rates to college bound students who were brought here illegally as children. The act currently benefits about 21,000 students at no real cost to the state. McRaven also vehemently opposes concealed carry on campus. Texas A&M President Michael Young has also voiced support for the Dream Act stating that Texas should “educated everyone” who plans on staying in the state, but has remained silent regarding packing heat on campus. The San Angelo Times reports that while legislators have tremendous respect for McRaven and his service to our country, that respect does not translate into support for his positions.
In rapid-fire succession, the former Navy SEAL came out against concealed handguns on campus — saying it would make classrooms “less safe” — and supported allowing universities to set their own tuition rates. He also opposes repealing a 2001 state law that grants in-state tuition rates to some immigrants living in Texas but without legal U.S. residency, calling it a “moral obligation.”
But how much clout he’ll have in swaying lawmakers on those issues remains unclear. Republican Sen. Konni Burton, a firebrand tea-party favorite, was perhaps most indicative of potential pushback when she recently challenged McRaven’s position that concealed weapons would stifle free speech in universities. Burton called that a false argument and said the right to bear arms was “granted by God.”
When asked Tuesday about potential skirmishes, McRaven— who led the U.S. Special Operations Command before taking the university job — told The Associated Press: “All I know is I have to take a position on these issues, and I have to take a position as an educator.”
“I enjoy the dialogue,” he added. “This is the best thing about our democracy.”
I guess Red missed that Sunday where we learned about God giving us the right to bear arms or Jesus packing a 38 Special at the Sermon on the Mount. McRaven appears to be too much of a diplomat and gentleman to respond to the brilliant theological arguments of noted religious scholars such as Sen. Burton.
Texas Rangers – Bests and Worsts – But More Worsts
CBS Sports has completed its bests and worsts list for all 30 MLB clubs. The Texas Rangers list is a particularly good read. Die-hard Texas Rangers’ fans should avert their eyes when viewing the all-time worst moment in club history. That of course would be when the Rangers were one strike away from winning the World Series in 2011. David Freese’s two-out triple in the bottom of the ninth on a 1-2 count against Rangers’ closer Neftali Feliz tied Game 6 at 7-7. Nelson Cruz’s flailing attempt at making the play is an especially painful reminder of what could have been.
Joe Strauss Puts Dan Patrick in his Place
A Texas Tribune report on Speaker Joe Strauss’ rejoinder to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s call for Texas National Guard troops to remain at the border beyond their current deployment is somewhat telling as to Strauss’ attitude towards the controversial Lt. Governor. Straus was interviewed by Jim Henson, a political science professor at UT-Austin, as part of the Tribune’s Texas Politics Project Speaker Series.
Regarding border security, Henson pointed to Straus’ statement Tuesday after Lt. Gov.Dan Patrick’s call for $12 million to maintain a National Guard presence at the border. “I appreciate [Lt.] Gov. Patrick’s remarks, but Gov. Abbott is the commander in chief, and he will decide whether to extend the National Guard’s deployment,” Straus said.
“I did just state an obvious fact. We only have one governor at a time,” Straus said. “The commander in chief [of the state’s military forces] will make that decision.”
University of Houston – Still Screwing Up, Cont.
In the wake of news reports regarding the mismanagement of the new TDECU Stadium by UH’s hand-picked company, UH Student Government is now calling for the resignation of UH Vice-President for Administration and Finance Carl Carlucci and two of his subordinates. The students who agreed to a $45 increase in their student fee in exchange for a number of promises, feel that the UH Administration has not lived up to its side of the bargain and voted unanimously to oust Carlucci. The TDECU project was plagued by delays and cost overruns and UH ended up taking money that was supposed to be used to renovate aging Hofheinz Pavilion to finish the football stadium. The students allege this violations a memorandum of understanding that UH Administration agreed to in exchange for the increased student fees.
The Houston Chronicle reports on the vote by UH Student Government to axe Carlucci. Meanwhile, UH Internal Auditor Don Guyton (aka the Administration’s Puppet) is conducting three internal audits related to the stadium and the apparently incompetent management company chosen by Carlucci. Expect nothing from Guyton who is adept at cleaning up UH messes with “internal audits.” And be assured, Carlucci is going nowhere and that UH Administration will circle the wagons to protect one of its own.
Today in Texas History – February 12
From the Annals of the Blue Northers – In 1899, the temperature dropped to -23 in Tulia. This was the coldest temperature ever recorded in Texas. The frigid temperature was part of the “Big Freeze” – one of the coldest cold fronts ever to cross Texas. It was estimated that more than 40,000 cattle died as a result of the severe conditions. The unusual weather pattern was part of the Great Blizzard of 1899 which affected the eastern half of North America from Saskatchewan to Cuba. The storm, which started in Canada on February 11th and continued through the 14th, was notable in part because it disproportionately affected southern locales that were used to seeing much milder winter conditions.
Texas Border Wars, Cont.
The Perryman Group reports that former Gov. Rick Perry’s deployment of National Guard troops to the Texas-Mexico border is a job killing drag on the Texas economy. The Waco-based firm looked at previous troop deployments along the Rio Grande to estimate the potential economic impact of Perry’s recent use of one thousand National Guardsmen to patrol the border. The Perryman Group estimated that businesses in Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley would lose $541.9 million in GDP and 7,830 jobs for each year of deployment. Texas as a whole would lose 8,680 jobs and $650 million in GDP per year. The primary reasons for the economic slowdown are the discouraging effect the troops’ presence has on cross-border business and tourism.
Paradise in Hell 