Texas minister charged in Internet sex sting BRYAN, Texas — A minister from a Dallas-area Baptist megachurch was caught in an Internet sex sting and charged with online solicitation of a minor, police said Friday. Undercover officers posing as a 13-year-old girl communicated with Joe Barron, 52, of Plano for about two weeks. The online conversations were sexual in nature, police said. On May 6, Barron suggested meeting the girl in person. He eventually made the nearly 200-mile drive to Bryan...

True story. Patrick Reilly from the small town of Drogheda in Ireland is currently living in Austin Texas and helping with the Obama campaign in Texas. I think that just rocks. :yourock: Patrick! He has a blog right here: Welcome Patrick and keep up the good work! :toast: Sonia

Ants swarm over Houston area, fouling electronics DALLAS — In what sounds like a really low-budget horror film, voracious swarming ants that apparently arrived in Texas aboard a cargo ship are invading homes and yards across the Houston area, shorting out electrical boxes and messing up computers. The hairy, reddish-brown creatures are known as "crazy rasberry ants" — crazy, because they wander erratically instead of marching in regimented lines, and "rasberry" after Tom Rasberry, an extermin...

If you're one of our DU members that did not get elected to be a delegate or alternate but you still want to be involved, there are still volunteer opportunities. Specially for people who live in Ausitn. The most important day is Friday June 6th when credentials will be handed out. Hope you're a morning person. Check in starts at 7:30 a.m. now, so you have to show up before then. Can you step up and help? Check the box that says: I will volunteer at the 2008 Texas Democratic Convention th...

House Democrats blast Craddick, saying he knew about 'ghost workers' Some lawmakers named in American-Statesman story are changing their payroll practices amid investigation. As some Texas House members began changing their payroll practices amid an investigation into allegations of ghost employees, others on Monday criticized House Speaker Tom Craddick and other top officials for "trying to start a bonfire" on a practice they approved. Craddick aides denied that assertion, in the latest sign...

El Paso passes anti-border wall resolution EL PASO, Texas — County commissioners are opposing construction of a wall along the nation's southern border with a resolution. The El Paso County Commissioners Court voted 3-1 Monday in favor of a resolution that calls for stopping the building of the border wall and says local law enforcement officials should not enforce federal immigration laws. The resolution also emphasizes placing a moratorium on immigration raids, ensuring the enforcement of ...

Public pushing ethics changes for lawmakers Individuals pointing out laws that Texas officeholders are evading. At least 20 Texas lawmakers were fined in recent months for hiding the details of their officeholder spending — paid with political donations — behind vague credit card bills, even though they had been warned about the 1981 credit card law for years. (snip) John Corbarruvias, a Houston software programmer, targeted the credit card abuse in 40 complaints that he filed last year. Abo...

Advisory Committee to Start Working on 2008 TDP Platform The 2008 Texas Democratic Party Chair's Advisory Committee on the Platform is having its first meeting next Thursday, May 8th at 10:00am at the AFL-CIO at 1106 Lavaca in Austin. State Representative Garnet Coleman, one of our House Democratic Caucus leaders and Chair of the policy-oriented progressive legislative Study Group, is the chair of the committee again this year. (snip) I am one of the members of the advisory committee this yea...

Texas Enterprise Fund agrees to hand over $22 million to successful Texas company Secretary of State says money helps keep companies in Texas Rackspace Inc. doesn't fit the profile of a company that needs taxpayer money. The San Antonio-based Internet hosting and data services company has received more than $30 million in venture capital backing and enjoys solid profits and rapidly growing sales. And it just filed for an initial public offering that could raise $400 million. But in August, t...

Voter ID decision could boost Texas efforts for such a law States can require voters to show voter identification, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday. Texas Republicans have pushed for such a requirement in recent years and are likely to keep doing so, saying it prevents voter fraud. They’re likely to pick that fight back up when the Legislature returns in January. Texas Democrats, who say such laws discourage some elderly and minority voters from going to the polls, have so far managed to ...

Indiana voter ID law ruled constitutional Posted: 10:09 AM ET WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Supreme Court on Monday backed Indiana’s law requiring voters to show photo identification, despite concerns thousands of elderly, poor, and minority voters could be locked out of their right to cast ballots. The 6-3 vote allows Indiana to require the identification when it holds its statewide primary next month. At issue is whether state laws designed to stem voter fraud end up disenfranchising large groups...

Probe over whether students' voting rights violated still ongoing PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas — Some students at a historically black university are wondering why an investigation by the office of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott into alleged voting rights violations is still not finished. Abbott's office began its probe in December 2006 after allegations were made that about 300 students at Prairie View A&M University had to cast provisional ballots when their names were not on voting lists. A pr...

Export environmental priorities state wide! Texas Environmental Democrats, a state caucus, will have a special meeting to elect officers for two-year terms on Saturday, April 26, at 3:30 p.m. Come have a say in state-wide politics! Saturday, April 26, 2008 3:30 PM Austin Marriott North 2600 La Frontera Boulevard Round Rock, Texas 78681 Texas Environmental Democrats of Austin Officers: Blair Dancy, President Marguerite Jones, Vice President Tim Mahoney, Treasurer Kedron Touvell, Secretary ...

At 6 p.m. this Friday, April 25, 2008, the South River City Citizens neighborhood association will dedicate the new Molly Ivins Memorial Bench at in the Travis Heights neighborhood of South Austin. The bench is located in the area just northwest of the intersection of Alta Vista Avenue and Live Oak Street in big Stacy Park (near the pool). 700 E. Live Oak St. 78704. It is accessible from either street. SRCC raised funds for the bench from Molly's fans and friends in Austin, throughout Texas...

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS TO DISCUSS TEXAS PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY PROCEDURES "Texas Presidential Primary Procedures: From Election and Caucus to Delegate Selection and Delegate Voting" will be discussed and analyzed at the April meeting of the Informal Discussion Group of the League of Women Voters of the Austin Area. Background information will be provided by Ken Bailey, Field Director for Texas of the Democratic National Committee, and Brian Russell, SD14 male representative of the State Repu...

(Image) On Thursday, June 5, Democracy for Texas will have the hottest ticket in town! DFT supporters from all over the state will be here for the state convention, and we're going to get together to enjoy a special grassroots, heavy-on-political-humor performance of Esther's Follies, and raise some money for DFT at the same time. Whether or not you're a delegate to the convention, you're invited! When: Thursday, June 5, 10 p.m. Where: Esther's Follies, 525 East 6th Street Tickets: Until Ma...

Texas passes NY on Fortune 500 list DALLAS — Texas is king of the hill when it comes to corporate headquarters. The Lone Star State passed New York as home to the most big companies in the latest list compiled by Fortune magazine. Texas now boasts 58 headquarters, three more than New York, the previous No. 1, and California, with 52. Business experts say it's a matter of simple economics — Texas attracts companies with its low taxes, affordable land and large labor force. "Cost is overwhel...

Jim Hightower Booksigning at BookPeople Austin · April 23 · 7 p.m. BookPeople · 603 North Lamar Former Observer editor Jim Hightower is back! In Swim Against the Current, Hightower and Susan DeMarco tell the tales of people going against the grain, breaking the mold of corporate America and working for the common man. This inspiring collection of stories will leave you excited and ready to prove that anything is possible. And the The Texas Observer will be there taking subscriptions and...

History Repeats Itself In 2002, a clique of radical Republicans backed by specific moneyed interests stormed the halls of power in Texas, winning every lever of state government. They now face their biggest challenge in six years. The current election cycle, and the one coming in 2010, will determine who controls legislative and congressional redistricting to be crafted and ratified by the 82nd Texas Legislature in 2011. As the demographics of the state rapidly shift away from traditional Repu...

Court appointments bring allegations of cronyism Select lawyers get bulk of juvenile cases HOUSTON — A relatively small number of lawyers regularly receive nearly half the tax-funded appointments to represent poor defendants in juvenile court in Houston, and many of the attorneys are contributors to the judges making the appointments, a newspaper analysis shows. Criticized as cronyism by some, the appointments have made several attorneys between $100,000 and $200,000 a year, according to paym...

Jury sides with trooper accusing DPS of retaliation and discrimination Judge has yet to finalize judgment and award of more than $600,000. A Travis County jury has awarded more than $600,000 to a state trooper who filed a lawsuit charging the Department of Public Safety with retaliation and discrimination after he was transferred out of the elite protective detail that watches over Gov. Rick Perry and his family. (snip) Sgt. Thomas Williams accused the agency of retaliating against him after ...

First hand account of the Collin County convention speech by Glenn Melancon: "Are you ready to lead?" I had the great honor of winning the Democratic nomination for the Texas Fourth Congressional District. The bigger story, however, is the growing bipartisan dissatisfaction with Ralph Hall. He received only 42,212 of 57,530 Republican votes. If you add those who voted against Ralph in both parties' primaries, almost twice as many voters - Republican and Democratic - want a new Congressman! "n...

Jeff Smith: GOP crossovers not significant March 4 Just-completed research by Austin pollster Jeff Smith, who helps Democratic candidates, suggests that Republican voters didn’t widely cross over to vote in the March 4 Democratic primary in Texas. His breakdown—the first hard comparison of voters this year and voters in previous primaries—also suggests there was no surge in newly registered voters despite excitement about the GOP and Democratic presidential contests. Also, most Latino primary ...

UT sued for considering race in admissions The University of Texas is violating the Constitution and civil rights laws by considering race and ethnicity in deciding whether to admit students, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court in Austin today. The plaintiff, Abigail Noel Fisher, 18, a student at Stephen F. Austin High School in Sugar Land, applied to UT and received a rejection letter last month. She ranked in the top 12 percent of her class. UT is required under state law to acce...

Earthquake reported south of San Antonio A minor earthquake occurred about 95 miles south-southwest of Austin early this morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center. The quake was detected at 4:51 a.m. and registered 3.7 on the 10-point Richter Scale, used to measure the energy of earthquakes. The epicenter of the quake was pegged at 10 miles south of Poth in Wilson County, and 12 miles west-northwest of Kenedy in Karnes County, the center report...

Charter schools owe state $26M Schools over-reported attendance Nearly half of the charter schools in Texas, including three in Austin, have incorrectly reported student attendance, resulting in $26 million in undeserved payments that the state is trying to recover, according to state records. The Texas Education Agency probably will never recover at least $9 million of the debt because 20 schools went out of business before repaying the state. Agency officials say that although traditional ...

Plan to close TYC gathers support Whitmire says juvenile justice needs 'clean start' A fledgling plan to close or drastically restructure the troubled Texas Youth Commission drew widespread initial support on Friday, as new details emerged about what Texas' new juvenile justice system would look like. It might piggyback some programs with the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, which funds county-based treatment programs for youths on probation. And it would not include any unfunded mandates...

Nearly 200 taken from Texas compound By MICHELLE ROBERTS, Associated Press Writer ELDORADO, Texas - Child welfare officials have now removed nearly 200 women and children from a secretive West Texas religious retreat built by polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, authorities said Saturday. The investigation began after a 16-year-old living there complained of physical abuse. A search warrant authorized state troopers to enter the retreat run by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter D...

Glen Maxey is handing out maps on BOR. Pick one up if you want to play the game smartly at the State Convention. Here's the thread link: Wanna Go to Denver? Here's a Roadmap! As delegate lists from the County and Senate Conventions make their way to the Texas Democratic Party, people are getting ready to compete to be the warm bodies in those highly coveted seats in Denver. Here's the handy guide to everything you need to know. First, you must apply after April 21, 2008 to declare your ca...

Criminal complaint will be filed in DA's race Campaign quoted anonymous blog by candidate's consultant. A consultant to Travis County district attorney candidate Rosemary Lehmberg attacked her opponent, Mindy Montford, anonymously on a political Web site. The Lehmberg campaign then recirculated the attacks to voters without identifying the consultant. Mixing his roles as a political consultant and an anonymous blogger has pushed Kelly Fero, a longtime political fixture in Democratic campaigns...