Sneaky, Sneaky

Don't worry, we'll just overcharge you for the water and we'll call it even.

Within the last couple of hours, the ever-informative LMT online posted a very brief article stating that Webb county will have an "emergency" meeting on Friday (tomorrow) to discuss the continuing and embarassing dirty water problem down in Rio Bravo and El Cenizo.  However, there is nothing on the County's agenda as to such a meeting and 311 doesn't have anything on it either.

LMT says

Webb County officials said earlier this week that the boil water alert in El Cenizo and Rio Bravo could be lifted today.

However, they said this afternoon that the alert will remain in effect for at least another day.

Webb County Judge Danny Valdez said county officials will hold an emergency meeting Friday to discuss lifting the boil water alert, which was issued Aug. 8 by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

TCEQ issued the alert after receiving water quality complaints and water sample testing positive for E. coli.

Trash p/u rates, water rates going up? What to do? Play Golf !

OK, so you have to pay $3 more for your garbage pick up and yes it's only going to be once a week now. Of course, next year it will be $3 more. And yes, our water rates going to skyrocket and are scheduled to keep on doing so. But don't fret, just look at the high-price clubhouse at your disposal.

How will this affect UISD and LISD "cops" ?

The Texas Tribune is reporting on a change in the way Texas school districts will be allowed to handle certain undesireable behavior at your public schools.  How, if at all, will this substantial change in our state laws affect the policing of our local school districts?

From The Texas Tribune

Public school students in Texas who have chewed gum in class, talked back to teachers or disrupted class have often received citations from school police officers. Beginning in September, students who engage in such levels of misbehavior will face discipline in a different manner.

While school administrators and teachers have traditionally handled student discipline, some school districts in Texas over the years have allowed school police officers to deal with certain types of misbehavior by charging students with Class C misdemeanors, a practice commonly referred to as student ticketing. Students charged must appear before a county or municipal judge and can face fines of up to $500 if found guilty by a judge.
Students who do not pay their fines could be arrested as soon as they turn 17 years old. Even if students pay the fines, the offenses could still appear on their criminal records.

The Legislature took steps this year toward decriminalizing such misbehavior at school with Senate Bill 393 by Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas. The measure prevents school police officers from issuing citations for misbehavior at school, excluding traffic violations. Officers can still submit complaints about students, but it will be up to a local prosecutor whether to charge the student with a Class C misdemeanor.

Texas good ol' boy Attorney General tickled pink about Voting Rights Act defeat

Practically hollerin' "Hot-diggity doag, what in tarnations are we waiting for?", Texas attorney general Greg Abbott set out to implement the state's controversial Voter ID law which was previously denied by the US Attorney General under the then-active Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Excerpted from the Dallas Morning News

After the Texas Legislature enacted the voter ID law, the Justice Department invoked Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act to block implementation. The Obama administration, siding with minority advocates, says the law would discriminate against low-income and minority voters. An appeal is pending at the Supreme Court.

But with preclearance suspended, Abbott tweeted after this morning’s 5-4 ruling by Chief Justice John Roberts, US Attorney General “Eric Holder can no longer deny VoterID in Texas” and “Texas VoterID law should go into effect immediately.”

In a statement, he lauded the high court for wiping away unequal treatment of Texas and other states. He acknowledged that Texas — like all states — is barred from racial discrimination and remains subject to after-the-fact lawsuits under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which remains intact.
“Today’s ruling ensures that Texas is no longer one of just a few states that must seek approval from the federal government before its election laws can take effect,” Abbott said.

Today's lesson: Compare and Contrast

News? What news? Laredo Outlet Shops: Check this PDF from circa 2007

It's been labeled the greatest announcement in Laredo in the last 20-30 years. But wait, there's this PDF brochure-type of the Laredo Outlet Mall Shops and it appears to be from around 2007.So maybe it's not quite that.

The "brochure"  shows the location of a proposed "Mall" as in the green, grassy type and it also illustrates an extension of IH-35 that will supposedly take you all the way to the door of the Outlet Shops themselves. 

Check it out at :

http://www.horizongroup.com/Post/sections/3/Files/laredo,%20TX.pdf

Ol' West Texas town runs out of water

The Texas Tribune is also reporting that Barnhart, in West Texas, is just about out of water and the people are very PO'd about the situation. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is predicting that about 30 Texas communities could run out of water this year.

From the Texas Tribune

Barnhart, a small community in West Texas, has run out of water.

John Nanny, an Irion County commissioner and an official with Barnhart’s water supply corporation, said on Thursday that the situation was serious. When reached by telephone, he was working on pumping operations and hoped to have a backup well in service Friday morning. A load of bottled water was on its way to the community center, he said.

The town has one main well that serves 112 customers, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. But the well stopped pumping quickly enough Tuesday evening, and while there is still some water in it, Nanny said, "We don’t want to get down to the mud."

Nanny said he had checked for a leak but had not found one. The Barnhart area has been hard-hit by drought, he said, just as surging oil and gas drilling activities have increased local water demands. Barnhart was recently featured in The Wall Street Journal owing to the increase in oil boom-related railroad traffic through the town. (Incidentally, Barnhart's backup water well was drilled by the railroad in the early 1900s, Nanny said.)

Read the rest of the article: http://www.texastribune.org/2013/06/06/west-texas-oilfield-town-runs-out-water/