CCMobility Nov 2023

Accusations rock Attorney General’s office

by | Oct 15, 2020 | Opinion

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is battling back against seven top aides who accuse him of bribery and abuse of office.

The aides delivered the accu­sations in a letter to the agency’s human resources director. The Austin American-Statesman and KVUE-TV obtained and first published the letter.

The Houston Chronicle and other media outlets reported that the allegations are tied to Paxton’s relationship with Nate Paul, an Austin real estate inves­tor and campaign donor.

Congressman Chip Roy of Austin called on his fellow Re­publican to resign.

“Any grace for him to resolve differences and demonstrate if the allegations are false was eliminated by his choice instead to attack the very people entrust­ed, by him, to lead the office – some of whom I know well and whose character are beyond re­proach,” Roy said.

Paxton’s spokeswoman said the former aides were trying to impede an ongoing criminal in­vestigation into criminal wrong­doing by public officials, in­cluding employees of the AG’s office.

“Despite the effort by rogue employees and their false alle­gations, I will continue to seek justice in Texas and will not be resigning,” Paxton said in a statement.

Many bars get shot at reopening

Bars in most of Texas may re­open this week at 50 percent ca­pacity under a new executive or­der issued by Gov. Greg Abbott.

In addition, other businesses may expand to 75 percent ca­pacity. The expanded openings are permitted in regions where COVID-19 hospitalizations ac­count for less than 15 percent of available hospital beds and with approval by the county judge.

Abbott praised Texans for fol­lowing health protocols that in­clude social distancing, wearing face masks and vigorous hand washing. He urged people to continue these practices to keep Texas moving forward.

“It is time to open up more, provided that safe protocols continue to be followed,” Abbott said. “If everyone continues the safe practices, Texas will be able to contain COVID, and we will be able to reopen 100%.”

In the state’s two biggest met­ropolitan areas, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, both Democrats, said the sci­ence didn’t support reopening bars yet.

“The data guiding county de­cision-making tells us we are do­ing much better than we were a few months ago, but we are still at the highest level: red. Indoor, maskless gatherings should not be taking place right now, and this applies to bars, as well,” Hi­dalgo said.

Waco native memorialized

for heroism

Texas has more reason to be proud: Its native son is the first enlisted sailor and first African American to have a supercarrier named after him.

The story of Doris “Dorie” Miller’s heroic actions at Pearl Harbor will reach from his hometown of Waco to the shores of international waters. Most su­percarriers are named for U.S. presidents, but Miller’s actions at the start of World War II con­tinue to reverberate almost 80 years later.

Although the racism of the time limited Miller to serving only as a mess attendant aboard the battleship USS West Virgin­ia, he jumped into action during the Japanese attack. He received the Navy Cross for moving his captain to safety, firing an an­ti-aircraft gun at the attacking bombers and pulling injured sailors out of the burning waters.

The Navy announced the de­cision on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The ship is estimated to cost $12.5 billion and set sail in 2032.

Lake Jackson gets OK after rare, deadly amoeba

Lake Jackson residents can drink their water again after a deadly brain-eating amoeba killed a 6-year-old boy.

Gov. Abbott issued a disaster declaration for Brazoria County after the death of Josiah McIn­tyre. Officials suspect he be­came infected while playing at a Lake Jackson splash pad or with a water hose at his home. The cause of death is a single-cell organism, Naegleria fowleri, which travels up the nose to the brain via the olfactory nerve.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, infections from the amoeba are rare, but most cases of the disease are fatal. During the past decade, 34 in­fections were reported in the United States.

State officials lifted the boil water notice last week after flushing the city’s water supply, testing environmental samples and providing free cases of wa­ter to residents.

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

Former bridge brought fear to travelers

Former bridge brought fear to travelers

When you first learn to drive, there are a few things that are, shall we say, intimidating. For me, there was parallel parking and changing lanes at high speeds. Both of which were challenging in a 1971 Buick Electra 225 Limited, which was one of Detroit’s longer...

read more
Lunchroom ladies

Lunchroom ladies

It’s time the lunchroom ladies got their due. At Burke Street Elementary in Ashdown, Arkansas, (and later Ashdown High School) the kids in my grade were respectful of all adults. But just like at home, we sometimes complained about the food. Especially the food in the...

read more
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
Public Notice - Subscribe