This online publication has been around for a long time. Its founder and editor is Gary Polland, a former three-time Harris County GOP chairman. Texas House Speaker’s Race: Should There Be One and Is There a Real Race? TCR has watched with interest the developments in the Texas Speaker’s
I am posting this at the request of Reggie’s family. The doctors completely removed the original tumor. There was a second tumor discovered. Fortunately, this tumor is smaller and treatable. Reggie is awake and doing well. The family appreciates all of your continued support and asks to be kept in
For nearly sixty years, a succession of obsessed blues and gospel fans have trekked across Texas, trying to unearth the story of one of the greatest, and most mysterious, musicians of the twentieth century. But the more they find, the less they seem to know.
Nearly 25 years after SMU received the death penalty, the Mustangs are finally on the trail to success. But an ESPN documentary reminds us how far the team had fallen thanks to ego, greed, and the religion of football.
Ann Richards, the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar, Willie Nelson, and the 2nd Annual Gingerbread Build-Off . . .
The Dallas Museum of Art, Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis, Dickens on the Strand, and the Harbor Lights Festival . . .
Jeff Dunham, the “It Gets Better” Film Festival, the Mavs vs. the Spurs, and the South Texas Institute of the Arts . . .
The Border Art Biennial, the Hot Rod Revolution, JFK, and Via Colori . . .
Mark K. Updegrove, Sterry Butcher, and Patricia Sharpe.
A new cookbook from Southern Living.
Innocence FoundIt’s been nearly ten years since I became aware of Anthony Graves [“Innocence Lost,” October 2010]. It seemed as obvious then as it does now that he is another victim of Texas justice. It is incomprehensible that he was ever considered a viable suspect, much less one who
“Take the grips up to the attic.” That was Harry Truman’s response to a reporter who asked him, as he arrived back home in Independence, Missouri, after leaving the White House, what he intended to do first (“grips,” for all you kids out there, used to be a common synonym
Fuego, at Stephan Pyles, and House Wine.
Houston
A two-disc reissue of the second album by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble.
A self-titled three-CD compilation.
Aisle-scooting etiquette, slaughtering a turkey, skunk remedies, and the proper way to approach a group of ladies at a dance hall.
Brownsville’s first federal judge was a legendary figure in my house. So legendary that I never believed my father when he said he knew the man.
Jim Carrey’s brilliant gay movie finally comes out.
Anchored by a lively square, this Hill Country haven attracts artists, musicians, and spirited shoppers.
The comedian shows us some of her memorabilia.
Nelson, who grew up in Orange in a family of eleven, worked thirteen years for the Dallas Housing Authority before taking a job in 2006 with the Fort Worth Housing Authority, which currently serves six-thousand-plus families. She determines the eligibility of applicants in the Housing Choice Voucher Program, known as
Trey Speegle on paint-by-numbers art.
Read a Q&A with Patricia Sharpe.
A Democratic House member told me that the surviving D’s caucused on the day of Edmund Kuempel’s funeral. A common theme in the discussion was anger over what some members regarded as racism in the campaign. “Oliveira was the grownup,” the House member told me. “He said, ‘We don’t need
From today’s Chronicle: According to the complaint filed by Dave Palmer, a California-based ethics watchdog, Taylor has used his campaign/officeholder account to pay for $31,952 worth of travel expenses, including 90 airfares, 12 hotel bills, 5 conference registration fees and a car rental – all of which Taylor also
To be fully accurate, Chisum did not say these words directly. He agreed with a questioner at a Tarrant County meeting who said these words. The episode can be seen on YouTube. A questioner asks, “I’ve seen a letter purporting to come from Representative Hughes’s office where one of
Poor Snoopy. He concocted the best Thanksgiving dinner he could, but Peppermint Patty flew into a rage when she saw the spread: buttered toast, pretzel sticks, popcorn, ice cream sundaes, and jelly beans. I’ve never understood why Patty got so angry at Charlie Brown about that assortment of carbs and
In today’s post, I am going to concentrate on the politics of the DeLay case rather than the law. That will come later. Will the DeLay verdict spell trouble for the Travis County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit, which receives state funding? In a blog post dated April 15, 2009,
Making it past the new sign outside, I entered into the dining room where I ordered a half rack of the sweet and spicy baby backs, a chunk of brisket, and some jalapeno cheese sausage. The sausage had great spice and flavor. The meat was incredibly moist with
In a post yesterday, “New Pledges for Paxton,” I addressed the news that several freshman members had decided to join the Resistance to Joe Straus: “One of the things that has been going on is that certain consultants have encouraged their clients to pledge to Paxton. Is that really doing
A spokesman for Marchant asked that this be posted on this site. The surgery took place in Dallas after he had chest pains. First, the official release: On Monday, Texas Republican U.S. Congressman Kenny Marchant, 59, had successful double by-pass heart surgery. Marchant is recovering well and expects to be
Reggie Bashur asked me to post this information for his friends and associates. He has a malignant brain tumor. It is a compact mass, which is a positive sign. He will undergo surgery at M.D. Anderson on Wednesday, December 1. His doctors are optimistic. He expects to return to work
Zedler, Landtroop, Charles Perry. No surprises here. Zedler had already revoked his pledge to Straus. The next move by the Resisitance to Straus could be for Chisum to leave the race and throw his support to Paxton. These developments amount to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. What the Resistance
Leave it to me to write something cryptic on the office party Thanksgiving potluck sign-up sheet. Under the desserts column, I just wrote “butternut squash surprise.” One skeptical colleague wrote “dessert??” underneath my claim. “Yep!” I replied, with confidence. Except I had no idea what to whip up. Another colleague
Today is the anniversary, forty-seven years ago, of the Kennedy Assassination. For many of those years, the anniversary received significant mention in the state’s newspapers. TEXAS MONTHLY regularly published stories in November issues, usually at five-year intervals, updating the latest in assassination scholarship and trivia. Today, the event was largely
At its December meeting, the State Board of Education made recommendations to the Legislature concerning the issues it regards as a priority for the next legislative session. Here they are: 1. Assure full funding of Proclamation 2011 instructional materials to honor the commitment made to publishers during the 81st session
This article appeared in the Jewish Herald-Voice, a Houston/Gulf Coast community newspaper for members of the Jewish faith. Chisum supports the Jewish state and respects the Jewish faith, his former pastor says A challenger for the Texas House speaker job was wrongly associated with a religious identity attack against
This report is unconfirmed. I received it around 6 o’clock this evening. I left a phone message at Hancock’s district office seeking confirmation. A source writes: “A friend of mine in the Dallas area told me that Kelly Hancock spoke to the Metroplex Republican Women today and said that the
This is the official release: AUSTIN – Reggie Bashur, 58, an Austin consultant and former press secretary to Gov. Bill Clements, fell ill while traveling back to Austin on Thursday night. He is currently under evaluation at Seton Hospital in Austin, according to his assistant Matthew Bentley. * * *
Oh, how downtown Austin’s Rainey Street has changed. This quiet little neighborhood used to be the last refuge of cute houses in the area, and its inhabitants probably never imagined such a transformation. It started with a modest influx of hula hoopers and beer-pong players at the trendy
Mike Hailey got it exactly right in Capitol Inside (November 17): A grassroots campaign by conservative leaders to overthrow Texas House Speaker Joe Straus has been severely undermined by an outbreak of anti-Semitic rhetoric from which the two challengers in the leadership fight are now attempting to distance themselves as
Sharon Hage, the chef-owner of York Street, one of the smallest, yet most celebrated, restaurants in Dallas, is closing it on Saturday. Food writer Teresa Gubbins broke the news on the web site Pegasus News about an hour and a half ago. Gubbins wrote that Hage told she
I checked the Empower Texans web site today to see how many signatures they are claiming on their anti-Straus letter. It’s 4.500+. However, Peter Morrison, whose references to Straus’s Jewish religion and other musings have been documented by Harvey Kronberg on the Quorum Report web site, is no longer signature
Here’s what I don’t get about the speakers race: Where are the grownups? Aren’t there some distinguished Republicans out there who don’t want to see the party divided going into a legislative session? Doesn’t Rick Perry have a stake in stopping the vicious attacks on Straus, one of the perpetrators
Every five to six years (starting in 1999), this magazine has published a roundup of the best Mexican restaurants in Texas. Our December issue marks the third edition of that opinionated, subjective, and controversial list. First, a few words of explanation: The headline on this story is “LET’S HAVE MEX-TEX.”
The caucus leadership decided to go through with the straw poll today. I have good information about the process but I do not know the result of the “poll.” The polling and tallying was done by telephone, by an employee of the caucus. Two questions were asked. The first was,
[This post has been revised today. The latest information is that the purpose of a poll would be to determine if the speaker should be chosen by the Republican caucus. I read this information on the Quorum Report.] The caucus leadership is Straus-unfriendly, to put it mildly. Taylor has been
From the article: Texas Gov. Rick Perry will be tapped as the new chairman of the Republican Governors Association when the organization meets next week in San Diego, GOP sources tell POLITICO. Perry recently released a book taking aim at the federal government and both the subject of the
Many have wondered (a) whether and (b) when religion would become an issue in the speaker’s race. The answers are, (a) yes and (b) now. The following is the online Peter Morrison Report, dated November 11: Summary of this week’s report: Joe Straus, the liberal Republican Speaker of
