June 2009
Table of Contents
Features
Endless SummerThere are plenty of unpleasant reasons to take a staycation this summer, from the collapse of your 401(k) to the global outbreak of swine flu, but there are plenty of pleasant ones too. For the thirteen weekends between the first day of summer (June 21) and the first day of fall (September 22), we found thirteen weekend trips within Texas that will bring you as much fun, relaxation, romance, and history as anything you’ll find out there in the big, bad world. Plus:Wildcatter RanchJordan Breal narrates a slide show of images from her weekend “roughing it” at the Wildcatter Ranch resort and spa nestled in Graham. Flesh and BloodThe most shocking thing about the murder of the Caffey family in East Texas last year was not how gruesome or inexplicable the crime was. It was that it was masterminded by sixteen-year-old Erin Caffey, a pretty girl who worked at the Sonic, sang in her church, and loved her parents. Plus:Love and MurderContributing photographer O. Rufus Lovett narrates a slide show of images that tell the tragic story of how Erin Caffey asked her boyfriend, Charlie Wilkinson, to kill her family. |
Rain, Rain, Go AwayIs the Texas economy just late to the downturn, or are we insulated from the rest of the country’s woes? To answer this and other pressing pocketbook queries, Texas Monthly sat down with the state comptroller, the chairman of the UT Board of Regents, a legendary community organizer, a distinguished economist, and a state senator with a background in finance, who says we’ve been pretty darn lucky. This Man Is Having So Much Fun!For Steve Kemble, having as good a time as humanly possible as often as humanly possible is very serious business. |
Columns
Behind the LinesThe Secret of My SecessionRick Perry, Mirabeau B. Lamar, and the two visions of Texas. Gary CartwrightGame OverSure, sure, the newspaper business is dying, and this is bad for freedom, accountability, and democracy itself. But worst of all is what’s happened to sportswriting. |
Sarah BirdReady, Set, Go-Go!Every female on earth believes she can dance. My big break came when a Bob Hope wannabe with shiny suits and a pinkie ring took me on as his sidekick for a two-week tour of Tokyo. Letter From TomballRisky BusinessState representative Allen Fletcher is the chairman of a House subcommittee on white-collar crime. So how did his very own company get tangled up in a white-collar-crime investigation? |
Reporter
Street SmartsDowntown El PasoPlus:Street Cam: Downtown El PasoTake a virtual tour of Hommework. Street Cam: Downtown El PasoTake a virtual tour of Cinco Puntos Press. Street Cam: Downtown El PasoTake a virtual tour of the Plaza Theatre. The ManualSpitting Watermelon SeedsHow to spit watermelon seeds. Plus:The Manual 2.0The experts in Luling teach Andrea Valdez the art of spitting watermelon seeds. |
The Filter
The Filter: DiningNew and NoteworthyCoast Global Seafood, Plano, and Buenos Aires Café East, Austin |
Miscellany
Roar of the CrowdCheap ThrillsContributorsPamela Colloff, Barry Blitt, and Andy Anderson |
Editor’s LetterWe Are the Champions |
Web Exclusives
Go Texan WineGet a taste of what's going on with Texas wines. Game On?A sports columnist disputes Gary Cartwright’s assertion that sportswriting is dead. Stripped Down Bill?The uncertain future of funding sexual assault programs through strip club fees. For the Love of WineDespite the fact that Texas boasts more than 150 wineries and is growing in popularity as a wine destination, many people aren’t that familiar with the state’s many offerings. The Austin Wine Festival hopes to change that. The RingHow a stranger with a metal detector helped me find my wedding band three years later. Choose. Click. Cook.Whether you are planning a dinner party for twelve or a quiet meal at home for two, cooking has never been so easy thanks to chef David Bull's new interactive cookbook, Bull's Eye on Food. Plus:Bull’s Eye on FoodChef David Bull’s New Interactive Cookbook A Springtime Feast in Chef David Bull’s BackyardMeyer Lemonade Shooters With Maple Sugar A Springtime Feast in Chef David Bull’s BackyardChilled Pea Soup With Horseradish Cream A Springtime Feast in Chef David Bull’s BackyardGreen Bean and Prosciutto Salad Road to PerditionWas the Army as much to blame for the Mahmudiyah killings as its perpetrators? |
Righting a WrongThe 24th amendment prohibiting the poll tax on voters has been formally approved by the state of Texas—more than four decades later. Paper TrailUp close, the little pieces of artist Shou Ping Newcomb’s work begin to pop out: the petals of a bluebonnet, the scales of a koi. Higher LearningThe Polaris Academy in Houston, a KIPP school, has made significant academic gains in its first two years. Clothes EncountersSome legislators always step out in style. Sticky in HoustonWhat to do in humid Houston during the summer? If you’re Lynn Wyatt, you don’t sweat it and ask a couple dozen of your closest acquaintances to a book signing party for your dear, dear friend Candy Spelling, mother of Tori and author of Stories From Candyland. X Marks the SpotTexas is full of buried booty—or, to be a bit more accurate, full of stories about buried booty that no one has been able to find. Here are six of the supposedly greatest Texas treasures still out there. May the hunters strike gold. Can Anyone Save the Aggies? (Hint: It won’t be Rick Perry.)Politics, leadership struggles, and the recent resignation of President Elsa Murano have some Aggies in crisis mode. |
Multimedia
Sarah Bird: PodcastSarah Bird reads “Ready, Steady Go!” Making Texas BetterEvan Smith is interviewed by Trey Ware on KTSA radio on how to make Texas a better place. The Making of Barack ObamaEvan Smith talks with Richard Wolffe, former senior White House correspondent for Newsweek and author of the new book, “Renegade: The Making of a President.” The Green Room: JEFFREY TOOBINBehind the scenes with lawyer, author, and CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. |
The Green Room: JODY CONRADTBehind the scenes with former UT women’s basketball coach Jody Conradt. Politics Roundup (Monday, June 22nd 2009)Ross Ramsey of Texas Weekly joins Evan Smith, Paul Burka, and Patricia Kilday Hart to discuss the week in politics. Politics Roundup (Friday, May 29th 2009)Evan Smith, Paul Burka, and Patricia Kilday Hart discuss this week in politics, and Last Call at the Lege. A Session About NothingIn a special podcast, Evan Smith, Paul Burka, and Patricia Kilday Hart discuss the best and worst legislators, the furniture, the rookie, and the schnookie. |
Recipes
Meyer Lemonade Shooters With Maple SugarRecipe from Chef David Bull’s interactive cookbook, Bull’s Eye on Food Chilled Pea Soup With Horseradish CreamRecipe from Chef David Bull’s interactive cookbook, Bull’s Eye on Food. |
Green Been and Prosciutto SaladRecipe From Chef David Bull’s Interactive Cookbook, Bull’s Eye on Food |
