Texas News and Events

[evenodds]

Today is your last day to vote on the 21 constitutional amendments.

http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/

[Replaced_Texan]

I heard an announcement on NPR this morning that V&E is opening an office in Dubai, and there's a press release on the V&E website about it.

Suit accuses Destiny's Child of stealing producer's music
A Fort Worth-based producer and songwriter has filed a $200 million lawsuit, accusing Beyoncé Knowles, her father and fellow members of Destiny's Child of stealing his music to create the hit R&B tune Survivor.....

Jurors tour shore where pieces of millionaire's neighbor washed up GALVESTON -- Jurors in the Robert Durst murder trial spent nearly 20 minutes this morning touring the area along Galveston Bay where nearly all the body parts of the eccentric millionaire's neighbor were discovered two years ago.....

No slack for pencil sharpener: Katy schools sued after girl disciplined Lough and her husband, Alan, are pressing a federal lawsuit that accuses the district of punishing their eighth-grader, Christina, without a fair hearing. "This is one of the most egregious examples of overreaching and lack of due process that I've ever seen," their attorney, Neal H. Paster, said Tuesday.

Don't expect to win any contests, but Chipotle will reward you for the effort (and for complying with its marketing department). Waddle in to any Houston location on October 31 dressed as a burrito, taco or other menu item and you'll score a free meal.

Sex offenders must turn lights out on holiday LUBBOCK -- Authorities in three West Texas counties have strict orders for sex offenders this Halloween: Go home, turn out your lights, close your blinds and don't answer your door......


Attorneys' pay faulted in death penalty cases ....Fred Sutherland, an assistant staff attorney for the district courts in Harris County, said the lead attorney is paid $100 per hour for up to $12,000 and the second-chair lawyer is paid $80 per hour for a maximum of $9,600 to prepare for trial......

Bill White hopes brains and big bucks will get him elected .....Even in perfect health, the 49-year-old plaintiffs' lawyer-turned- federal bureaucrat-turned-corporate Wedge Group CEO is not a physically imposing man, as he has since been reminded ad nauseam in media coverage of the campaign. A Houston Press holiday spoof gifted him with a case of Château Charisma and free passes to a tanning salon. The Houston Chronicle noted his "big ears," a dart he has since turned to his advantage in self-deprecating humor on the campaign trail......

Congrats to all who passed!!!

Link

:partytime :cheers: :partytime :cheers:

[ltl/fb]

NYT questions education gains in Houston Texas has trumpeted the achievements of millions of its students, but an examination of student performance in Houston raises serious doubts about those gains.

Yes, I know that this is part of the NYT's Bush-hatred, but it's nevertheless an interesting article. I don't have kids, let alone kids in Houston/TX public schools, but the teaching-to-the-test issue interests me.

GALVESTON -- Millionaire Robert Durst may have been acquitted of murder, but if he wants to get out of jail, he's going to have to find a way to post a $2 billion bond.

After setting the breathtaking bond amount today, Judge Susan Criss left the courtroom but then returned to make sure attorneys heard her correctly.

"One billion with a 'b,' that is the way it is," she said.

In 22 years as a Harris County district judge, Lloyd "Ted" Poe garnered gallons of ink and miles of videotape from a fawning local media with his zany so-called shame sentences for defendants in his court. They all had a common theme: In addition to jail time and fines, the convict must own up in public to his or her misdeeds. That could be by marching outside the scene of a robbery wearing placards with hand-scrawled apologies or shoveling horse manure in an HPD stable to atone for stealing the Lone Ranger's guns.

"That's Ted Poe's claim to fame," sneered GOP political consultant Allen Blakemore back when Poe was considering running for district attorney in 2000 against Blakemore's candidate, eventual winner Chuck Rosenthal. "He makes folks wear sandwich boards and walk around the street."

Now it seems Poe may have been inspired to create his judicial trademark at least partially from his own personal experience................The Original Shame Sentence?
Rattling the bones in Ted Poe's closet

Vomit.

Judge approves latest Enron bonuses Enron received court permission Thursday to pay $36.2 million in bonuses to several hundred of its remaining workers.........


Shoulda gone to Belize instead...

Suspect in bank fraud agrees to extradition A League City man accused of swindling banks out of millions of dollars and then faking his death in a boating accident agreed Thursday to be extradited to West Virginia to face criminal charges there...........


Bored in Houston?

Visitors' Guide: Get Bowled over by the best of the real Bayou City Put away all those other "Welcome to Houston" maps. Here are the real sites to consider as you try to fill up your Super Bowl days.........

Hey there. Just a note to let everyone know that I'm not MIA - just busy as hell lately. If anyone needs to reach me - send a PM and I will respond as soon as I can.

Also, is there an interest in me posting jobs like I did for a while - it seemed to get a lot of hits - comments?

-TL

Man who shipped self home in crate put on probation ........McKinley popped out of the box Sept. 6 at his startled parents' home in DeSoto, a Dallas suburb, after journeying overnight about 1,500 miles by truck, plane and delivery van. The shaken delivery company employee left the house and called police.

For the next three weeks McKinley was jailed in Dallas County on unrelated bad-check and traffic warrants. He could not be arraigned on the federal charge until he finished serving time in Dallas, Schattman said......

If anyone has the scoop on Gov. Perry and his rumored impending divorce, please post. I heard there was info via Drudge concerning an intern (which is rumored to be spin to cover up real story), but search pulled nothing. Anything behind this? We're about due for a juicy scandal, no?

-T(gossipmonger)L

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally posted by TexLex
If anyone has the scoop on Gov. Perry and his rumored impending divorce, please post. I heard there was info via Drudge concerning an intern (which is rumored to be spin to cover up real story), but search pulled nothing. Anything behind this? We're about due for a juicy scandal, no?

-T(gossipmonger)L

Someone on the Houston craigslist is suggesting that the person that he's been sleeping with is male. There's a reporter trolling around there trying to find more information.

Originally posted by Replaced_Texan
Someone on the Houston craigslist is suggesting that the person that he's been sleeping with is male. There's a reporter trolling around there trying to find more information.

I heard it was a male non-intern public official. Unfotunately, my brain is addled due to sick baby and I can't remember who the guy was supposed to be. The story has the wifey walking in on them. Nice.