The State of Texas: Jan. 14, 2014

Video of the Day

Fort Worth learned a valuable lesson recently: You can’t build a neo-modern bridge these days without some BMX dude trying to ride the top of it:

Photo of the Day

A moody French photographer goes around Texas taking moody pictures of his little Batman doll posed in moody positions. Entertaining, though, Touqeville it ain’t:

Daily Roundup

Pissed Test — It sounds like a drug-induced hallucination: Republican lawmakers are unhappy that the federal government is dragging its feet on laws that would seriously invade the privacy of American citizens. A new law requiring drug screening for people seeking unemployment benefits is being delayed until the Labor Department sets guidelines. The state is set to implement such a program on February 1, but apparently, “guidelines … cannot be drafted without direction from the Labor Department, which must outline the occupations that fall under the federal law for such drug tests,” according to the Texas Tribune. While the Labor Department has been, “working as quickly as it could” since July, there’s been no word on the matter and officials have been left blowing smoke. Or rather, they’ve been “preparing for the testing without knowing who will be tested.”

Tough Lessons — There’s at least one water fight in Texas that doesn’t involve the drought. In December, the city of La Villa shut off water and sewer service to the entire ISD until further notice. Its still on notice. “The dispute has been festering for more than a year,” according to the AP, after the city decided to demand the school pay a $10-per-student/staff surcharge, which school representatives got dropped to $6, before the city commission suddenly reneged and unceremoniously hiked the rate up to $14. Now, the city says the school is “more than $58,000 in arrears.” The only upside to this whole mess? Students get a real-life lesson on how government mismanagement can sabotage a town’s own citizens.

Welcome to (Could Be) Fabulous Juárez — Nothing says “tourist destination” like a lot fewer murders than previous, body-bag filled years. That seems to be the marketing strategy for Juárez, which city officials now insist is “opened for business.” As drug-related crime soared in the last few years, Juárez picked up the nasty reputation of being one of the most dangerous cities in the world. But its now “reported the lowest number of killings in years in 2013 — 487, from a high of more than 3,075 in 2010,” and although it’s still one of the most dangerous cities in Mexico, officials think it’s less-dangerous enough to swoon businesses, investors, and general progress. Plans include a new visitors center in El Paso and a new logo (“Juárez, Oh Yes”). Not everyone is convinced. One NGO employee called the relative peace an “eerie calm,” that “feels a bit fake or artificial.”

Rodeo Clowns — Ticket scalpers have been a real problem for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and officials are taking the bull by the horns. Only hours after the 2014 lineup was announced (Reba!!), scalpers began selling tickets at inflated prices. The apparent offenders? Season ticket holders with access to tickets before the general public. And, as KHOU reports, “the rodeo doesn’t like it a bit.” Not that it’s illegal, but it goes against the cowboy way. Officials have been going to “great lengths” and using “various techniques” to stop the practice, including shaming and even going so far as to set up, what sounds like, mini-sting operations. This year, the real rodeo star won’t be the country singers or bull-riders. It’ll be “one lady in my office who, it’s just her mission to stop every scalper in town,” said an official describing the scalper task force. “We do what we can to keep them out of our house.”

Sadiversary — Not the greatest of reminders, but on Monday, “Texas Department of Public Safety officials … joined law enforcement around the country in observing National AMBER Alert Awareness Day.” The now-ubiquitous national alert system used to find missing and abducted children was created by Dallas-Fort Worth police eighteen years ago, after the kidnapping and killing of a nine-year-old. The good news: the Texas system has “helped recover 124 children.”