Here’s a convenient truth for you: All those greenhouse gases polluting the atmosphere—the result of burning and combusting oil and gas and coal—can simply go back where they came from, and the environment, not to mention the world, will be better and cleaner for it. That’s the theory behind the
The population of Texas is rapidly expanding—from just under 24 million today to perhaps 50 million in 2040, according to the state demographer—and someone has to put out the welcome mat for all our neighbors-to-be. It may very well be the founder and chairman of D.R. Horton, one of the
(See “Will to Power,” to read this story.)
(See “Army of One,” to read this story.)
Gaming has come a long way since the days of Pong and Asteroids. At the vanguard of the latest wave of interactive, multiplayer video games is this native of Bowling Green, Ohio, one of the few women in the industry to crack the ranks of upper management. As the studio
An overnight success at the halfway point in his life—but better late than never, especially when the payoff is an apt comparison to Graham Greene. Born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Fountain majored in English at the University of North Carolina and got a law degree from Duke University. He
Long before concepts like “green building” and “sustainability” were fashionable, this husband-and-wife team envisioned a future in which architectural design and renewable resources worked together. The nonprofit Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems, which they co-direct, has collaborated on projects as wide-ranging as the eco-friendly renovation of the Pentagon to
On November 24, 2007, the archbishop of Galveston- Houston knelt before Pope Benedict XVI at St. Peter’s Basilica, in Vatican City, received his red hat, and ascended to the top ranks of the Catholic clergy as the first-ever cardinal from Texas, as well as the first-ever from the southern United
Yes, he’s that George Bush—the dynastic spawn, the son of Jebby, nephew of W., and grandson of 41, who famously referred to him, once upon a time, as “the little brown one” (his mother, Columba, is Mexican). But he’s also very much his own man, and in short order he’s
To the extent that the fabled Third Coast exists, it’s a bit of a patriarchy: of men and by men, including, most prominently, the indie visionary Rick Linklater and the boyish wonder Robert Rodriguez. But then there’s Avellán, Rodriguez’s ex, who continues to move mountains to make movies happen in
The first Hispanic to lead Texas will be a Basque jai alai phenom, Dallas attorney, and Democratic state representative whose election, in 2018, will relegate the GOP to semi- permanent minority status. Wanna bet?
DENOMINATION None PASTOR Marcos Witt ADDRESS 3700 Southwest Freeway PHONE 713-635-4154 ON THE INTERNET lakewood.cc SERVICIO EN ESPAÑOL Sundays at 1:30 P.M.By now, most people who pay attention to such things know that Houston’s Lakewood Church, led by Joel Osteen, draws more than 42,000 souls to four
Somewhere out there is a sourpuss (there’s always one) who’ll ask, after picking up this special issue, what the fuss is all about. And he’ll have a point, sort of. Thirty-five years? Lots of publications have been around that long or longer. Just last year, one of the most iconic
Andy Friedman, Eileen Smith, and Platon.
The perils of prediction.
The Brownsville native and longtime Austinite has spent most of his adult life contemplating the future: A progenitor of the scruffy cyberpunk fiction movement (he edited the short-story anthology Mirrorshades and co-authored The Difference Engine with William Gibson), he has penned ten sci-fi novels and several works of nonfiction, including
After the Texas Youth Commission imploded last year, one of the state’s fiercest advocates for criminal justice reform was tapped to help rebuild. Inside his yet-to-be-completed slog.
Greetings from Snowbirdlandia! Wish you were old.
A friend in the Capitol community e-mailed me this morning to ask what he called the “Question du Jour”:Huckabee trails Romney by only an average of 1 – 2 points. Why is the media treating the Republican primary as a 2 man race?Here’s what I answered:It’s because he hasn’t won
I was a pundit on Al Hurra last night. This is the Voice of America’s Arab outlet. I could hear myself being translated into Arabic as I talked. That was weird. Other than that, it was a normal broadcast: before the speech, questions about what to expect; afterwards, questions about
Attention, Fort Worth: The old Pedro’s Trailer Park location at 2731 White Settlement Road is getting an extreme makeover. Chefs/restaurateurs Grady Spears (Dutch’s, Fort Worth) and Lou Lambert (Lamberts Downtown Barbecue, Austin, pictured) have thrown in together and will open a modern Texas steakhouse there in a couple
You know the one: that Governor Perry will name his former chief of staff Deirdre Delisi as chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission, so that she could hold the place for Mike Krusee, after his term as a legislator expires in January 2009. Here’s the press release:Gov. Perry Names Andrade
Yes, it’s the former Oklahoma and Houston Oilers running back and CBS studio analyst. Remember the name. You’ll learn why tomorrow.[Seven hours later] Uh, actually, you won’t. Kyle Janek has scheduled a press conference for tomorrow (Tuesday) at which he had planned to announce his plans to resign from his
The Texas Supreme Court has become a public spectacle. It’s bad enough that a majority of the Court performs as a wholly owned subsidiary of Texans for Lawsuit Reform. Now it’s apparent that a third of the judges — Nathan Hecht, Paul Green, and David Medina — have no compunction
Earlier this month, Evan Smith posted an item on his blog, State of Mine, noting that Wayne Slater had blogged about a controversy at the Choate prep school in Wallingford, Connecticut, resulting from an invitation to Karl Rove to be the commencement speaker in June. Here are more details from
Months ago a friend of mine praised Mikado Ryotei for their sushi. So after a 5 hour commute back into Austin for the second weekend in a row, I decided that I wanted sushi. The last time I went for sushi I visited Maiko. The first time I
One of the hottest primary races is the battle in El Paso between Pat Haggerty and Dee Margo, who was recruited to run against Haggerty by Tom Craddick. Craddick’s previous opposition to funding the Texas Tech medical school in El Paso has become an issue in the race. Eliot Shapleigh,
I used to think that only native Texans could love Texas the way it should be loved, but Scott Cohen has proved me wrong. The San Antonio chef recently published a cookbook, The Texas Hill Country: A Taste of Provence, which brims over with his enthusiasm for all things
If you haven’t been to the Rio Grande Valley recently, you won’t believe how much it has changed. Until I went there early this week, I hadn’t been there for eight years. The last time I drove U.S. 83 from Harlingen to McAllen, orchards and row crops bordered the highway.
I’ve been watching the Australian Open on ESPN, and it bears some resemblance to the Florida primary. We’re down to the semifinals now. In the upper bracket, it’s McCain vs. Romney to see who gets to play in the finals. Rudy is the Andy Roddick (sorry, Andy) of this bunch
The Grove–the futuristic-looking new downtown Houston restaurant from chefs Robert Del Grande of Cafe Annie and Ryan Pera formerly of 17–is definitely all it’s cracked up to be. Approaching the low-slung entry, you worry you’ve arrived at the rear. Then you go inside, and the whole thing opens up
Austinites may not know about Tacodeli, but people who visit the Austin Farmer’s Market regularly know of the little taco stand that brings breakfast tacos and lunch tacos. Austin360 named it best breakfast taco winner of 2007.My boyfriend is fond of the chicken frontero fondido and he’s not the only
Alive, I’d say. Clearly the campaign thus far has been a disaster for Giuliani, but if he can win Florida, his swoon will be quickly forgotten. Here’s why: The rules for the Florida primary have been changed by the state Republican Party in response to the Republican National Committee’s decision
This is Eileen’s name for Texas Monthly’s new political blog about the national elections. Why anyone should care more about who is president of the United States than who is speaker of the Texas House of Representatives is beyond me, but in case some readers do, here is the link:
This was an important victory for McCain. He had lost in Michigan, a state in which he was running ahead until the final days, and he needed a victory here for momentum into Florida. His victory is all the more important because this is a Southern state, rich in evangelical
I came across this article in the Brownsville Herald blog. The author quotes an amusement industry consultant as predicting that immigration enforcement may have an adverse impact on the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.Circus Chimera, whose shows have been mainstays in South Texas for any number of years, has canceled
Jon Cole, the former Rick Perry aide who is running against Jerry Madden in the Republican primary, has been called out by the Young Conservatives of Texas for his tactics in the race. Here is the official release:The Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) are calling upon House District 67 Republican
The Republican presidential primary is actually 33 separate elections — one for each of the state’s 32 congressional districts, and one statewide. One hundred and forty delegates are at stake.Each congressional district elects three delegates, for a total of 96.—If one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in
Forget the polls for a moment. Here are the actual standings of the Republican presidential race in actual delegates:Romney 53Huckabee 23McCain 21Thompson 1Hunter 1Giuliani 0More delegates are at stake in Florida (113) than have been won up to now.And for the Democrats:Clinton 190Obama 103Edwards 51Kucinich 1
Nothing says welcome home to Texas like friendly folks, and no place could’ve welcomed me back to Austin on a recent weekend visit like Counter Café. It wears well the casual-cool thing that has always made me love this city (no fancy pants Domain/2nd Street District thing here). The food
Due to a multitude of reader requests, we have created a permalink (on the right-hand side) to the post, “89 House Races to be Contested in 2008.” This will be continually updated. Here are the latest updated races:PenaEscobarAndersonGerenMcReynoldsStramaCohenBetty BrownPhil KingNoriega (open seat)
The wicked witch is dead. Now, I wouldn’t describe Nancy Fisher that way — I barely know her — but a lot of members with twisted arms would. The rumor is that she and Terry Keel got crosswise. Anyway, here is the text of the official release:Nancy Fisher, chief-of-staff to
Now I really don’t understand South Texas politics.Kino Flores’ father has apparently had a change of heart concerning his support of Eddie Saenz against Aaron Pena. Check out this story from last Friday by Steve Taylor in the Rio Grande Guardian, an Internet newspaper:EDINBURG, January 11, 2008 – Sullivan City
I’ll never understand South Texas politics.This release from the Eddie Saenz campaign — he’s challenging Craddick D Aaron Pena in the Democratic primary — appeared in the Quorum Report:La Joya Mayor Billy Leo, a South Texas icon, longtime community leader, and Democratic activist, endorsed Eddie this week, and so did
I have posted updates to three House seats: the Juan Garcia, Juan Escobar, and Jerry Madden races. Scroll down to the post, “89 House Seats Will Be Contested in 2008.”
The latest poll (Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby, MOE 3.3%) shows McCain leading Romney by 27% to 24% on the day before the Michigan primary. Huckabee is third with 15%. This is a rolling three-day survey, with the most recent day replacing the most distant one. As was the case in New Hampshire, independents
I was in such a bad mood after fighting the parking behind Dutch’s, in Fort Worth, on the first day of the city’s annual whoopdedoo rodeo that I was ready to bite somebody’s head off. “Why are you morons doubled-parked in your gigantic pickup trucks,” I shouted to myself
Today I had an op-ed piece published in the New York Times. An editor contacted me on the day of the New Hampshire primary to ask if I would write about comparing George W. Bush’s self-description as “a uniter, not a divider,” with Barack
A friend e-mailed me the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s target list of Republican seats. I have omitted district numbers. The percentage shown is the incumbent’s share of the vote in 2006. Anyone who is a real junkie about this should get the Almanac of American Politics, a brilliantly written compilation
The speaker’s race and the narrowing Republican majority gave both parties an incentive to field candidates in races that they might normally pass up. Almost three-fifths of the House seats will be up for grabs in 2008. I have made comments throughout and tried to give some perspective on the
