Politics
Barr loses bid to halt mailing of ballots
By W. Gardner Selby, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 19 September 2008
AUSTIN – Libertarian presidential nominee Bob Barr continued his effort Thursday to strike Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama from the Texas ballot.
Libertarian says GOP, Dems missed deadline for state ballots
R.G. Ratcliffe, San Antonio Express-News, 19 September 2008
AUSTIN — The Libertarian Party of Texas and party presidential nominee Bob Barr are asking the state Supreme Court to remove the names of Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain from the presidential ballot.
Fort Worth mayor endorses Kim Brimer in state Senate race
By JEFF MOSIER, Dallas Morning News, 18 September 2008
DALLAS – GOP state Sen. Kim Brimer announced this week that he’s received endorsements from the mayors of all 19 cities in his legislative district.
Texas military members test out e-mail ballots
Houston Chronicle, 18 September 2008
AUSTIN — Thousands of Texas military members stationed abroad can receive election ballots by e-mail in a pilot program designed to boost voter participation, even if the voters are in battle in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Cornyn, Noriega campaigns in a race to help Hurricane Ike victims
By ROBERT T. GARRETT, Dallas Morning News, 19 September 2008
AUSTIN – The Senate race between Democrat Rick Noriega and incumbent Republican John Cornyn is suddenly about storm victims.
We recommend Chris Harris and John Carona for state Senate
Dallas Morning News, 19 September 2008
DALLAS – Two Dallas-area state Senate seats are contested by candidates from both major parties on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Ron Paul saw this financial mess coming
By Craig Westover, Minneapolis Post, 18 September 2008
MINNEAPOLIS – It's not like there wasn't anybody who saw the economic woes of the week on the horizon.
Government
Lawmakers hear about border law concerns
By Brandi Grissom, El Paso Times, 19 September 2008
AUSTIN – Border sheriffs described their homes as war zones where officers are under nearly constant attack from drug cartels and potential terrorists, while police chiefs told lawmakers their border cities are safe places and crime is falling.
Dallas lawmaker Jeb Hensarling blasts Wall Street bailouts
By TODD J. GILLMAN, Dallas Morning News, 18 September 2008
WASHINGTON – Conservative lawmakers led by Dallas Rep. Jeb Hensarling strongly denounced the multibillion dollar rescues of AIG and Bear Stearns today, exposing a deep schism among Republicans on how to cope with the potential Wall Street meltdown.
Lawmakers Expect New Plan to Address Financial Crisis
By Benton Ives, CQ, 18 September 2008
WASHINGTON – A plan that would help major banks deal with troubled securities appeared to be gaining steam Thursday, as congressional leaders prepared to huddle with Bush administration officials.
Mayors rally for TxDOT funds
By Chris Ramirez, Amarillo Globe-News, 19 September 2008
AMARILLO – Progress made to stabilize rural economies could be hampered, even reversed, if state lawmakers fail to lobby for transportation projects in West Texas, regional leaders told a state panel.
Vasquez: A great day for veterans ruined by news out of Washington
By Steve Taylor and Joey Gomez, Rio Grande Guardian, 18 September 2008
WESLACO – A great day was ruined for Rio Grande Valley veterans when U.S. Sen. John Cornyn announced late Wednesday that his latest effort to get a VA hospital for the region had failed.
Oliveira urges veterans to 'storm the Capitol'
By Steve Taylor and Joey Gomez, Rio Grande Guardian, 18 September 2008
WESLACO – State Rep. René Oliveira says Rio Grande Valley veterans should “storm the Capitol” in order to get the VA hospital he believes they deserve.
Supporters push U.S. Senate bill requiring seat belts on charter buses
By JOHN RILEY, Dallas Morning News, 19 September 2008
WASHINGTON — Safety experts, bus crash survivors and relatives of victims from last month’s deadly accident in Sherman praised a Senate bill on Thursday requiring seat belts on charter buses.
Up-front costs stalled energy plant, official says
By Trish Choate, Abilene Reporter-News, 19 September 2008
WASHINGTON – At last, the Air Force had squared away the details with Siemens Building Technologies to build an innovative waste-to-energy plant at Dyess Air Force Base.
A Democratic-backed House bill doesn’t allow for a sufficient expansion of offshore drilling
Dallas Morning News, 19 September 2008
DALLAS – Oh, come on — you can do better than that.
Energy Bill Doesn’t Make Grade For U.S.
Tyler Morning Telegraph, 19 September 2008
TYLER – House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., was right when he said recently that "making good compromises is our business" in Congress.
Energy bill attempts to trick Americans
Kerrville Daily Times, 18 September 2008
KERRVILLE – Even though Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., touted passage of an energy bill late Tuesday night as “a new direction in energy policy…. that will end our dependence on foreign oil,” the bill was nothing more than a pathetic attempt to pull the wool over Americans’ eyes.
DA right to re-examine death penalty cases
Dallas Morning News, 19 September 2008
DALLAS – District Attorney Craig Watkins does not want to see an innocent man executed on his watch.
News
Mayor says recovery ahead of schedule
By Laura Elder, Galveston County Daily News, 11 September 2008
GALVESTON – Despite the images of horrific destruction broadcast on television and by other media across the nation, the island is not beyond salvation and recovery efforts are ahead of schedule, Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said Thursday.
Contractors allowed across causeway
By Leigh Jones, Galveston County Daily News, 18 September 2008
GALVESTON — City Manager Steve LeBlanc will not reinstate the “look and leave” policy allowing residents and business owners to come back to the island and start cleaning up their homes.
Medical examiner clarifies death count
By Sara Foley, Galveston County Daily News, 18 September 2008
GALVESTON — Six Galveston County residents died as a direct result of Hurricane Ike and 13 others died during the storm from medical conditions, the county medical examiner said Thursday.
60 percent of Texas City businesses open
By Corey Roepken, Galveston County Daily News, 18 September 2008
TEXAS CITY — Jimmy Hayley has cruised up and down Palmer Highway plenty this week. Each trip he makes brings a wider smile to his face.
Oil refineries almost there
By Ian White, Galveston County Daily News, 18 September 2008
TEXAS CITY — Texas City’s oil refineries now have 20 percent of their usual nitrogen supply, enough to start production, the city’s mayor, Matt Doyle, said Thursday.
Feds say Galveston Ship Channel clear
By Leigh Jones and Laura Elder, Galveston County Daily News, 18 September 2008
GALVESTON — Federal officials have completed side-scanning sonar sweeps and found no obstructions in the Galveston Ship Channel, said Mike Mierzwa, deputy director of the Port of Galveston.
View from above shows scope of Ike carnage
By Nathaniel Lukefahr, Brazosport Facts, 18 September 2008
BRAZOSPORT – Standing water surrounded many Surfside Beach homes and a stretch of the Bluewater Highway appeared washed out four days after Hurricane Ike ripped through Brazoria County.
Calamity obscures full story
By BRADLEY OLSON, Houston Chronicle, 19 September 2008
HOUSTON – Power and water out for a week or more.
Power is on its way — but so is heat
By LYNN COOK, Houston Chronicle, 19 September 2008
HOUSTON – On Day 6 of the largest blackout in Texas history, CenterPoint Energy's power restorations approached a million but that still leaves more than half its customers without power nearly a week after Hurricane Ike shredded the local electricity network.
State Bar sets up hot line for victims of Ike
By MAX B. BAKER, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 September 2008
FORT WORTH – The Texas legal community is taking steps to help citizens and attorneys deal with Hurricane Ike’s aftermath.
Galveston mayor says recovery faster than expected
Waco Tribune-Herald, 19 September 2008
GALVESTON — Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas says recovery efforts on Galveston island are ahead of schedule, despite the crippling blow dealt by Hurricane Ike.
Texas health commissioner says: leave Galveston
Waco Tribune-Herald, 19 September 2008
AUSTIN — The head of the Texas Department of State Health Services says residents still on Hurricane Ike-battered Galveston should leave for health reasons.
Galveston still closed, but Houston recovering from Hurricane Ike
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 September 2008
GALVESTON — For all the little signs of recovery in this barrier island community thrashed by Hurricane Ike nearly a week ago, Galveston isn’t ready for residents to return.
Valley schools want UIL to agree to regional rotation
By Joey Gomez, Rio Grande Guardian, 18 September 2008
McALLEN – The University Interscholastic League should give students a fair shake and begin to equalize the way it organizes regional competition among athletes and students, say Rio Grande Valley school administrators.
Railroad Commissioner offers steps to ensure nation's energy supplies, security
By Mella McEwen, Midland Reporter-Telegram, 18 September 2008
MIDLAND – Pointing to a slide of a service station's sign advertising $4 per gallon gasoline, Railroad Commissioner Victor Carrillo commented, "With this on the news practically every night, the energy sector is on everybody's mind. That's not always been the case."
To deregulate or not to deregulate?
By HOLLI L. ESTRIDGE, Bryan College Station Eagle, 19 September 2008
COLLEGE STATION – Residents in many parts of Texas have at their fingertips a dizzying menu of electricity options since the state opted to deregulate the market six years ago.
Prosecutors try to link Texas charity to Hamas
By BRYON OKADA, Houston Chronicle, 18 September 2008
DALLAS — Is there a way to simplify a complex, multiyear investigation of international financial dealings into an argument that a jury can understand?
Baylor University survey reveals Americans' attitudes about God, churches
By TERRY LEE GOODRICH, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 September 2008
FORT WORTH – When someone at the 3,000-member NorthWood Church in Keller is hospitalized, another member often makes it to the bedside before NorthWood’s pastoral staff.
Who's in charge?
By Dolph Tillotson, Galveston County Daily News, 17 September 2008
GALVESTON – A part of the current problems with recovery from the ravages of Hurricane Ike is that the city of Galveston’s part-time, unpaid mayor has virtually all the power in the city.
Ruin and Heartache
Lufkin Daily News, 18 September 2008
LUFKIN – In the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, which left ruin and devastation across a huge swath of Texas, the premium today and for the foreseeable future is patience.
Market woes should not deter us from aiding victims of hurricane
Wichita Falls Times Record News, 19 September 2008
WICHITA FALLS – On Tuesday, President Bush urged Americans not to fall victim to “disaster fatigue,” at a time when our biggest ailment could be “market flu.”
Ignoring orders to leave is taking dangerous risk
Corpus Christi Caller-Times, 19 September 2008
CORPUS CHRISTI – More than 1 million people evacuated from Galveston Island and from the low-lying areas around Houston ahead of Hurricane Ike.
People
New Texas official formally sworn in
By LISA SANDBERG, Houston Chronicle, 18 September 2008
AUSTIN — Esperanza "Hope" Andrade, a San Antonio native who was born into a family of cotton farmers and rose to become a successful businesswoman, was formally sworn in as Texas secretary of state Thursday, becoming the first Hispanic woman to fill the post.
Report: 1 in 10 Hispanics asked about immigration status
By DIANNE SOLÍS, Dallas Morning News, 19 September 2008
DALLAS – Nearly one in 10 Hispanics in the U.S. reported that in the last year police or other authorities have stopped them and asked them about their immigration status, the Pew Hispanic Center said in a report released Thursday.
South Texas leaders pay tribute to Carlos Marin
By Steve Taylor and Joey Gomez, Rio Grande Guardian, 18 September 2008
WESLACO – South Texas leaders have paid their tributes to Carlos Marin, commissioner of the U.S. Section of the International Boundary Commission.
Mexican army works to recover plane crash victims
By Diana Washington Valdez, El Paso Times, 19 September 2008
EL PASO – The work to retrieve the bodies of four airplane crash victims in mountains near Ojinaga, Mexico, took most of Thursday and was expected to continue, officials with the International Boundary and Water Commission said Thursday.
President Bush saddened by death of Carlos Marin
Rio Grande Guardian, 18 September 2008
President Bush has paid tribute to Carlos Marin, the U.S. commissioner for the International Boundary and Water Commisssion who died in a plane crash this week.
De la Garza and wife recovering from car crash
By Jennifer L. Berghom, McAllen Monitor, 19 September 2008
McALLEN – Former U.S. Rep. Eligio "Kika" de la Garza II and his wife continue to recover from a car crash that landed the couple in the hospital earlier this week.
Elizondo: Kika and Lucille are in our thoughts and prayers
Rio Grande Guardian, 18 September 2008
McALLEN – Hidalgo County Democratic Party Chair Dolly Elizondo says local party activists have former Congressman Kika de la Garza and his wife Lucille in their thoughts and prayers.
