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| "The Trailer Park Show" gang for the Christmas 2015 episode. Pictured (left to right) are James "Slow Pokey" Ritter, Legislative Director for Rep. Gilbert Pena Mikael Garcia, Travis GOP Outreach Director Michael Lee, and Austin LULAC leader Gavino Fernandez. |
The Travis County Republican Party is all for this:
"Supporting this petition drive is a natural fit for Travis County Republicans, as we have always supported economic freedom and free speech. If ridesharing apps were as dangerous as their detractors say they are, then consumers would have already 'voted with their feet.' and found other transportation options. Why punish the success of companies such as Lyft and Uber? This is the free market dynamism at its best," said Andy Hogue with the Travis County Republicans.
The petition is available to sign at Austin Java from 8 A.M. to 11 A.M. and from 4 P.M. to 8 P.M. The coalition says they only need 20,000 signatures but they're going for 30,000 just in case.
The group says once they have their signatures, they'll present the petition to the city clerk for validation.
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| Austin District 6 City Councilman Don Zimmerman |
One week, they might try to cut economic development funds on principle, the next week they are fighting against increased regulation of ride-hailing companies. While they may not bring a lot of votes to their side, the[y] represent an increasingly influential strain of politics seen here and across the country.
Read more:While it may be true that Troxclair and Zimmerman make up a small minority of the 10-member council, many issues are not decided along conservative-liberal lines. Sometimes they result in some "strange bedfellow" arrangements, such as Zimmerman's support of Democratic Council member Ora Houston's plan to build the new Travis County Civil Courthouse in East Austin.
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2015/12/30/5-economic-development-leaders-to-watch-in-2016.html#g3
Texas is infested with more speed traps than any other state, according to a new study by the National Motorists Association.
The NMA compiled five years of data from a website it maintains, The National Speed Trap Exchange, and found Texas had far and away the highest speed trap count, with 1383 locations.
The list falls off quickly, with Cali[f]ornia in second at 1076, Florida in third at 792 and Ohio in fourth with 680.Read more below (but not while you're driving):
The opinion ... lays a solid foundation should litigation on this issue become necessary. Bottom Line: If this is headed to court, Paxton's opinion is a strong place to start.
More: http://acahnman.blogspot.com/2015/12/paxton-issues-pro-2a-campus-carry.html
A glib, attention-seeking showman with no judicial experience versus a seasoned judge with a solid record. The March 1 primary will not only determine the Republican nominee for [Texas Supreme Court] Place 5, it will serve as a referendum on the wisdom of judicial elections. Will Texas primary voters see through this unseemly stunt?Strong words. We're certain supporters of the challenging candidate would disagree, and that there is a reasons why the Texas Constitution allows for elected judges in certain capacities.
[Le Cordon Bleu's] advertisements, featuring white-coated chefs with flashing knives entreating students to “follow your passion,” were shown frequently in the 2000s. But Le Cordon Bleu’s trade degrees — which had seen huge surges in popularity during the recession — were threatened by the Obama administration’s gainful employment rule, which cuts off federal financial aid to schools where graduates borrow money at high rates to pay for school but earn little after graduation.This begs the question: Will the Obama Administration start shutting down state-funded colleges and universities soon? It would only be fair.
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| Travis GOP Chairman James Dickey (left) introduces Republican Sheriff candidate Joe Martinez (right) at a Presidential Debate Watch Party held at the Alamo Drafthouse on Tuesday, Dec. 15. |
The only thing that should matter at a school is performance. We know what works: English immersion, high standards, college preparedness, school choice for parents, closing failing schools and paying good teachers more while moving bad teachers out of the profession.
Why should a parent have their children locked into a failing school? Why should a zip code determine a child’s fate?Read the column at: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/opinion/mackowiak-innovation-competition-are-improving-edu/npgsw
Proposition 1. Texas should replace the property tax system with an alternative other than an income tax and require voter approval to increase the overall tax burden.
Proposition 2. Texas cities and counties should be required to comply with federal immigration laws or be penalized by loss of state funds.
Proposition 3. Texas should prohibit governmental entities from collecting dues for labor unions through deductions from public employee paychecks.
Proposition 4. Texas and its citizens should strongly assert 10th Amendment Rights guranteed by the U.S. Constitution, which states "The powers not delegated to the United States by this Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respetively, or to the people."Source: Republican Party of Texas press release (PDF file)
(Approved by the SREC, 12/5/15)
Dietz, who was the administrative judge when he retired in 2014, said Tuesday he will have two roles: helping the courts reorganize their business processes to “cope with reality” at the current facility — the overcrowded Heman Sweatt Travis County Courthouse — and helping the county find a new strategy for building a new facility.Said bond opponent Bill Worsham in the article:
“His advice and experience is very valuable in a design process. We’re not in a design process ... This is part of the revolving door and the mechanism of having your friends and advisers on the public payroll.”County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty, according to the report, took a more realistic tone regarding paying a consultant:
“I do think that, given the fact that the thing failed, the community needs to hear from the commissioners where we’re really headed"
More: www.statesman.comIt should be noted that Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt recently said in a Statesman video that Dietz was the one who originally called for the new courthouse.
Bottom Line: Given how the votes on Council are structured (for now), the fix was in on this hearing before it began. It still was a useful discussion to have and got several more Council members on the record. If, God forbid, something happens a la Kate Stienle in San Francisco, the Council members who promoted this recklessly INSANE policy are going to OWN it.
More: http://acahnman.blogspot.com/2015/11/public-safety-committee-stiffs.htmlEven though Zimmerman's resolution was ill-fated from the beginning, we agree that it was a useful exercise of representation government -- which was exactly why a majority of voters supported going from at-large seats on the Austin City Council to the 10-1 district plan.
