CCMobility Nov 2023

Pandemic messes with Texas, prompts new message

by | Sep 17, 2020 | Opinion

Even during a pandemic, it’s best to not mess with Texas.

Texas Department of Trans­portation officials noticed more personal protective equipment — face masks, wipes and gloves — on the side of roads and high­ways, so they called in the big guns for a new round of “Don’t mess with Texas” commercials. The celebrities featured include George Strait, Matthew McCo­naughey and Eva Longoria.

“Find a trash can, or keep a litter bag in your car, and wait to toss it until you get home,” Longoria said via her Instagram page. “#DontMessWithTexas actually means don’t litter!”

“Capital Highlights” read­er Anna Blythe, who reads the column in the Weimar Mercury, wrote recently that she thinks the “Don’t mess with Texas” cam­paign needs a reboot. She said she’s seen much more litter in recent years along Interstate 10 from Baytown to Flatonia.

“I hate to see all the trash on our roadways in our great state of Texas,” Blythe said.

About 362 million pieces of litter accumulate on Texas roads every year with items discard­ed from vehicles accounting for half the mess, TxDOT officials report. Those caught littering can face a fine of $500. If the tossed litter weighs more than five pounds, the fine can increase up to $2,000.

For alert readers also wanting to appear in this column, which celebrity appeared in the first “Don’t mess with Texas” com­mercial in 1986? Email the an­swer, along with your name and the newspaper in which you read the column, to ccobler@texas­press.com.

Cotton-packaging problems

Plastic is a serious problem for cotton farmers, too.

During the past three years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has found an increase of plastic in samples that likely originated from the round module wraps used to package cotton, the Tex­as Farm Bureau reports.

Every bale of cotton is graded by the USDA in classing offic­es across the country. In 2018, the USDA classing office in Corpus Christi received more plastic-contaminated bales than any other classing office in the country. When small pieces of plastic tear from the wear and embed themselves in the cotton lint, that lowers the crop’s qual­ity and price. Roadside litter can contribute to the problem. Plains Cotton Growers CEO Steve Ver­ett says the industry is working to fix the problem: “We have to recognize we can’t risk the rep­utation of being one of the pre­mium fibers in the world. That’s what we’ve lived off of for many years in the U.S., and we can’t let this plastic wrap issue become our Achilles heel.”

Ag land values remain strong

Despite the recession, the val­ue of Texas agricultural land has increased, according to a new U.S. Department of Agriculture report.

The average value of the state’s agricultural land, includ­ing buildings, is up 2.4 percent this year at $2,170 an acre in the USDA’s 2020 Land Values Report.

Across the country, average ag land values are either lower or unchanged from 2019’s record highs, according to Morning Ag Clips.

The amount of farmable land has decreased because of urban sprawl. Because of this, farm­land is appreciating in value, which is good for investors but can be a mixed bag for farmers. In Texas, 236,000 farmers and ranchers paid $698 million in property taxes, or about $3,000 each, according to an article by Pew Charitable Trusts. Ag land can qualify for certain tax ex­emptions.

Some news is hard to digest

Those with a hankering for Luby’s square fish or a LuAnn plate may have to seek comfort food elsewhere for the first time in almost a century.

Bob Luby opened his first restaurant in San Antonio in 1947. Seventy-three years later, Luby’s home-style cooking may be no more.

Luby’s Inc., now a Hous­ton-based restaurant company, is liquidating its assets, its board of directors announced. The deci­sion also could mean the end for the company’s other restaurant, Fuddruckers.

Stockholders have yet to ap­prove the liquidation plan, and it’s possible a buyer could keep the restaurants open. Cafete­ria-style restaurants have been buffeted by the pandemic, as some of the 80 Luby’s and Fud­druckers locations were closed soon after the COVID-19 out­break.

Add some color to your world

The first day of fall is Sept. 22 on the calendar, but that doesn’t mean much across most of Tex­as.

As the summer heat drags on, perhaps planning a visit to see the fall colors will help. Tex­as Parks and Wildlife offers a guide for fall foliage. Visit twpd.texas.gov for tips on seeing the bigtooth maples of Lost Maples State Natural Area, the yellow cottonwoods at Caprock Can­yons and the East Texas hard­woods of Lake Bob Sandlin, Cooper Lake, Daingerfield and Martin Creek Lake.

By Chris Cobler, board member and past president of the Freedom of In­formation Foundation of Texas. • [email protected]

 

CCMobility Nov 2023

0 Comments

Public Notice - Subscribe

Related News

Counter measures

Counter measures

If you look at what’s missing from this great land, it’s, a barstool on which to sit, good home cookin’, and a counter on which to eat it. The diners of yesterday need a revival. By John Moore For more on this story see the November 23, 2023 print, or...

read more
A thousand words

A thousand words

The late comedian Norm McDonald once joked about how just a century and a half ago, our great grandfather was lucky if he had one photo of himself. With the advent of cell phones, Norm pointed out that a century and a half from now, people would proudly offer to show...

read more
Home sweet home

Home sweet home

The ownership we feel for places we have lived seems absolute. Any house we’ve called home was ours. No one else’s. Even if several others lived in it before or after we did. Such was the case of the house on Beech Street where my family lived in the 60s and early 70s...

read more
Harvesting Texas Traditions

Harvesting Texas Traditions

 As the cool breeze of autumn begins to sweep through the Lone Star State, there’s a particular charm that sets Texas apart during this time of year. Beyond the sprawling landscapes and bustling cities, Texas boasts a remarkable connection between fall...

read more
The bread winner

The bread winner

We called it light bread. Others called it white bread. Regardless of what it was called, in my hometown of Ashdown, Arkansas and most of the rest of the South it was the foundation of the Southern food pyramid. And it was found aplenty at our home on Beech Street....

read more
True Grits: part of a balanced Southern diet

True Grits: part of a balanced Southern diet

Folks who aren’t from the South invariably aren’t familiar with grits. When they come for a visit, they often twist their eyebrows into a John Belushi-type look after they spot them on their breakfast plate. I have kinfolk who live somewhere up close to Canada....

read more
Pay phones, rotary phones: pieces of the past

Pay phones, rotary phones: pieces of the past

The Jetsons got a lot right. Flying cars are now a reality. Zoom meetings. Robot vacuum cleaners. And video phones. One thing that was absent from that cartoon show was something that’s been around for well over 100 years. Something we still use today, and I think...

read more
Take the fall

Take the fall

One of my most vivid memories of fall happened during junior high. I was standing in the end zone prior to the start of a game. I could barely feel my fingers and toes. It was October, but it was unusually cold (Al Gore had yet to invent global warming). My shoulder...

read more
A product of our generation

A product of our generation

If we’re honest, some products aren’t that different from each other. But during the 50s, 60s, and 70s, our moms were extremely loyal to the ones they liked. And advertising had a lot to do with mom’s loyalty, and ours. Growing up in front of a large, RCA console TV...

read more
Public Notice - Subscribe