Duh … My brain must have shorted out for me not to realize why people are saying Keffer has 87 votes for speaker: Because the vote on sustaining the ruling of the chair last Monday was 50 ayes, 87 nays.Well, you guys can believe that was a surrogate vote for
Tom Craddick’s spokesperson, Alexis DeLee, just called to tell me that speculation by members that there are business ties between the speaker and Jim Keffer are not true. “There are no business ties and there have never been any business ties,” she said.
1. Several members saw Craddick and Keffer leave the chamber together on Friday, headed for the speaker’s office. Do you think they were talking about the weather? Yes, it has been a rainy spring in West Texas. Isn’t that nice. Midland sure does need the rain. Yep, Eastland too. Looks
One of the things I really like about blogging is that it gives readers the chance to participate. Their comments expand the discussion. Some of these writers are obviously very well informed insiders. Sometimes I respond to their posts, and the discussion expands again. This has occurred in the comments
I just received an e-mail from a credible Capitol source saying that Keffer has 87 votes for speaker. I don’t believe it. I have made phone calls, one to a D, one to an R, both involved in speaker politics. They don’t believe it. They would know.Here’s my position: I’m
The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe is not happy with their state representative, Jim Otto, whom they say promised he would vote for HB 10, the Indian gaming bill, but voted against it. Carlos Bullock, a member of the tribal council, sent me this release by regular mail.On Thursday night at 12:20 a.m.
As the clock ran out on the opportunity to pass House bills last night, a little drama took place as the Democrats tried to stall proceedings long enough to kill a bill by Phil King. The bill was insignificant; the author was not. King was the author of the voter
If you haven’t seen the video from the Montana Republican caucus in which the majority leader rants about the Democratic governor, check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-VjgrMsNOw. Dunnam will be jealous.
Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst seems quite pleased with the Senate passage of a bill he strongly supported, which makes it illegal for any municipality to enact an ordinance that could be used to regulate activities occurring beyond its borders. The bill would prevent Houston from adopting Mayor Bill White’s plan to
Imagine you are the wife of a state senator, and you’ve been solo parenting two kids for the past four months in a town far from Austin. It’s a busy, demanding lifestyle, but you manage to squeeze in a few minutes to drop by the local Starbucks to relax. Just
In sharp contrast to this week’s lively House floor debates, the Senate has been a complete snooze for the past two days. That’s a sure sign that important negotiations are occurring somewhere, especially when key players are missing from the floor: Ogden, Williams, Carona. Could it be that secret transportation
His criticism of a proposed syringe exchange program came as part of his message to the Secretary of State taking issue with the bill that struck down his executive order mandating that sixth grade girls receive the HPV vaccine but allowing the bill to become law without his signature. Bob
LIVE REPORT MONDAY NIGHT (and Tuesday a.m. post mortem)The House is about to vote on a challenge by Geren and Talton to appeal the ruling of Speaker Craddick that the placement of a local bill by Ryan Guillen on the Major State Calendar violated Rule 6 Section 7 #2. Major
Are you ready for a zany drama with gratuitous blood-letting, quirky characters and a murderous, secret cult? No, no, I’m not talking about the final 21 days of the 80th Legislature. My spouse and I made it to the movies this weekend armed with nothing more than a recommendation from
University of Texas honchos almost got more than they bargained for today when the Texas Senate debated Florence Shapiro’s SB 101, which caps “top ten percent” admissions at 50 percent of a university’s freshman class. Floor Amendment Number 8 added a painful twist: universities choosing to take advantage of the
One of the truisms about the Legislature is that the game is played in multiple arenas. You can lose in committee and win on the floor; lose in the House and win in the Senate; win in both houses and lose in the governor’s office; beat the governor and still
That was a strange vote yesterday on the Isett amendment to the margins tax cleanup bill. Isett proposed to raise the small business exemption from $600,000 (added in the Ways and Means committee to double the $300,000 figure in the original bill from the 06 special session) to more than
In 45 minutes, HB 1892 becomes eligible to be considered by the House (which has adjourned for the night). This the Wayne Smith bill that originally called for Tx-DOT to allow the Harris County Toll Road Authority (“Hectra”) to use its right-of-way and provide connections with state highways and later
My optimism that Phil King and Rafael Anchia could work out something on the Voter Registration bill proved to be unfounded. They could not come to an agreement. When King presented his bill, Anchia responded with an amendment to strike the enacting clause. This is a seldom-used tactic that, if
A confident-looking David Dewhurst predicted this afternoon that the Voter ID bill would pass the Senate: Never mind that 11 Democrats have signed a letter vowing to block debate on the issue.“I think there are votes to pass this bill,” a slightly smug Dewhurst told the press gaggle after today’s
The lovesick antics of diapered astronaut Lisa Nowak are some combination of funny and sad but seemingly not revealing of anything larger, until you realize that her tragic, tabloidy breakdown says everything you need to know about NASA’s many troubles.
Did anybody notice that Tuffy Hamilton passed a resolution honoring Robert E. Lee on the 200th anniversary of the Confederate hero’s birth (which was January 19)? It occurred on April 10, and the Democrats didn’t utter a peep. Why didn’t this cause an uproar like Sid Miller’s bill protecting statues
Jeff Minton. Antonya Nelson, and Robert Draper
Extreme Barbecue by Dan Huntley and Lisa Grace Lednicer celebrates all those soot-streaked men and women who sweat over barbecue pits across the nation. You’ve seen them wearing sauce-smattered aprons and holding up a rack of spare ribs. Take David Klose, who in the book is dubbed the “King of
Writer Robert Draper on remembering his own experiences with illegal immigrants.
Writer-at-large Jan Jarboe Russell on talking to Mary Alice Cisneros about politics.
Senior editor Nate Blakeslee on breaking the Texas Youth Commission scandal.
With Heirloom Tomatoes, Maytag Blue Cheese, and Morel Mushroom Brandy Sauce1 six-ounce center-cut beef tenderloin 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon ground guajillo chile kosher or sea salt freshly cracked black pepper 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 3 to 4 morel mushrooms, rinsed, dried, and sliced into rings
The argument in favor of vitamins goes like this: “Don’t ask us why or how they work. We know. Have faith.” Well, I don’t.
Impressions of the session.
Desirée Ficker on training for an Ironman.
GOOD GRIEF. EVERYONE has to be so circumspect and carefully cautious [“The Test of Time,” March 2007]. Let’s try this for W.’s legacy: worst president in the history of the United States of America.RICK SCHWERTFEGERAustinWHILE DONALD EVANS has been knocking on wood that our country has not been attacked
When i heard that popular San Antonio restaurant Silo was in the family way, I was excited for the mother-to-be. The modest but excellent dining room in exclusive Alamo Heights had been childless for years, while far less worthy restaurants were reproducing like hamsters. It was high time, I
With the worldly pop of his Brand New Towns, the singer-songwriter becomes the fifth Denton act to be signed by the British label Bella Union. The label, headed by Simon Raymonde, has found a treasure trove in the small college town, most recently with the psychedelic folk sounds of the
The weather report.
Mary Alice Cisneros loved, honored, and cherished Henry’s political career. Now it’s her turn.
A slasher flick to die for.
In with the old.
What I’ve learned from Moe, Oscar, Flannery, George, Odette, and Roscoe.
There are plenty of people to blame for the latest shock-inducing juvenile corrections scandal, beginning with the so-called reformers who didn’t heed the lessons of the last one.
A generation after he crossed the border to work for my family, Vicente Martinez is the foreman of a ranch in the Hill Country, not far from his kids and grandkids. And yes, they all have their papers. This is an immigration story with a happy ending.
Send in the clones.
William Martin reviews our places of worship.
IN THE END, I HAD VISIONS OF HENRY BLAKE. Surely at least a few of you remember the character played by McLean Stevenson on the TV version of M*A*S*H: the lovable goofball of a lieutenant colonel who commanded the 4077th, a ragtag surgical unit doing its best to save lives
A pro at helping cons.
He’s blessed with a tenor voice of extraordinary range, which often earns him comparisons to Gene Pitney or Roy Orbison. MICHAEL FRACASSO is a disciplined singer-songwriter who has flirted with pop, rock, folk, country, and blues, dragging them all into his casserole of American music. As a soft-spoken man, he’s
For the many disparate artists working to revive the golden era of country, one thing tends to set them apart from their role models: They approach this vintage music with a hip, modern sensibility. Not DALE WATSON. Though he didn’t start recording until 1990, he seems to have a direct
If the alpargata fits …
Ruth. Gehrig. Mantle. Jeter. Ohlendorf? All of Austin, and Texas, is waiting to see if one of the newest New York Yankees earns his ’stripes.
The Price clan, of Austin’s well-heeled West Lake Hills neighborhood, inhabits ERIC B. MARTIN’s third novel, THE VIRGIN’S GUIDE TO MEXICO, as a less than holy family. Truitt, a prosperous businessman, suspects his wife, Lindy, of cheating on him, primarily because he is unfaithful to her. Lindy, stylish and beautiful,
