TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalTexas men charged with stealing 650 guns from UPS facility
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.—Five Texas men are charged with stealing 650 guns from a Springfield, Mo., UPS lot.
Federal prosecutors say the men were each indicted Wednesday on two federal guns charges. They are being held in Texas awaiting extradition to Missouri.
An affidavit from the case says the guns were to be delivered to Bass Pro Shops when they were stolen in October. The thieves were able to move trailers around the lot, providing access to 600 Beretta .380-caliber handguns and 54 Baretta 12-gauge shotguns, as well as other merchandise.
Investigators used cell phone tower records and other evidence to trace the theft to the Texas men.
Those indicted were 33-year-old Frank McChriston; 28-year-old Keith Lowe; 26-year-old Quinton Haywood; 26-year-old Eric White and 32-year-old Derrick White.
The guns have not been recovered.
http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/texas/story/2018/jan/27/texas-men-charged-stealing-650-guns-ups-facility/710620/
Union Pacific to build $550 million classification yard in Robertson County
Union Pacific announced this week the construction of Brazos Yard, a 1,875-acre rail facility in Robertson County that will be the company's first newly built classification yard in more than two decades, and at $550 million the largest capital investment in a single facility in the company's 155-year history.
Jeff DeGraff, director of corporate relations and media for UP Railroad, said the decision to base the facility there was, in part, an easy one since the county and Hearne are "the crossroads of Texas."
Located south of U.S. 79, between the Brazos River and F.M. 50, DeGraff said the new facility will help with congestion from the seven existing UP rail lines in Hearne.
"Bringing a new facility to Texas, putting it there in Hearne, made a lot of sense for us because we have those access points," he said.
Read more: http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/union-pacific-to-build-million-classification-yard-in-robertson-county/article_01e9ecfd-ee45-5680-93da-d523b2361e77.html
I am concerned about the proximity of the rail yard in relation to the Brazos River considering the toxic compounds that are found in rail yards. There is a map at the link and I am also familiar with the area using F.M. 50 as a shortcut when driving between Brenham and Dallas.
Hawaii lieutenant governor to resign, join lobbying firm
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui said Monday he would resign this week to join a lobbying and public affairs firm. The move comes several years after Tsutsui publicly complained the governor hadn't given him enough responsibility, but he said his decision had nothing to do with that.
Tsutsui, a Democrat, had earlier said he did not plan to run for re-election. His resignation is effective Wednesday.
The Senate president is next in line for the job, which pays an annual salary of nearly $152,000. But Senate President Ronald Kouchi said he's not interested.
The House speaker has the next spot in the line of succession. House Speaker Scott Saiki hasn't commented.
Read more: http://www.wacotrib.com/news/ap_nation/politics/hawaii-lieutenant-governor-to-resign-join-lobbying-firm/article_675b1142-1142-5a45-978e-c1a5cd3baa16.html
Judge denies motion to remove Strother from Twin Peaks shootout cases
WACO -- A visiting judge on Monday denied a motion from McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna's office to remove 19th State District Judge Ralph Strother from presiding over two Twin Peaks shootout cases.
Noting that Strother already has voluntarily recused himself in one Twin Peaks case when he thought it was the right thing to do but he declined to do so in these cases, Judge Phillip Vick, of Denton County, denied the state's motion.
The judge also denied defense motions seeking sanctions against Reyna's office on the grounds its recusal motions were filed in bad faith and only for the purpose of delaying a defense hearing to disqualify Reyna from prosecuting bikers Jorge Salinas and Billy McCree, both members of the Cossacks motorcycle group.
Prosecutors Michael Jarrett and Brody Burks, who filed the motions to remove the judge last week, declined comment after the hearing. They filed the recusal motions only after Strother denied a state motion to delay the hearing and with witnesses with adverse testimony against Reyna waiting in the hallway.
Read more: http://www.wacotrib.com/news/courts_and_trials/judge-denies-motion-to-remove-strother-from-twin-peaks-shootout/article_abab67a9-52cb-59d5-9b65-498e940bc672.html
Rio Grande City school district employee first arrest in voter fraud investigation
RIO GRANDE CITY — County investigators have made their first arrest in an investigation into voter fraud Monday morning.
Ernestina Barron, 50, was arrested and charged with three counts of election fraud, a Class A misdemeanor, and three counts of fraudulent application for ballot by mail, a state jail felony.
Barron, an employee within the Rio Grande City school district, was apprehended at Veterans Middle School by the Starr County Special Crimes Unit.
Allegations stem from three instances in which she is accused of unlawfully filling out applications for voters, investigators discovered through interviews with three voters, according to unit commander Robert Caples.
Read more: http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/article_72a48208-0542-11e8-9f91-131073f1e6b9.html
Pharr auto dealer accused of mail, wire, bank fraud
McALLEN — Federal prosecutors allege a local longtime auto dealer attempted to defraud several banks as part of a scheme to generate cash beginning in 2012, according to court records.
In an indictment unsealed last month and reported first by the Advance News Journal of Pharr, the government alleges Joe Blackwell, 69, of Pharr, who is the owner of Auto Sense, sold contracts that were already used as collateral to obtain more than $1.5 million in credit from another bank.
“(Blackwell) was instructed that he could not sell vehicle installment contracts in order to generate cash flow for Auto Sense Inc.,” the indictment states. “These vehicle installment contracts were intended to be used as collateral to secure the final consolidation loan (from Rio Bank).
“A vehicle installment contract is a written agreement between the purchaser and Auto Sense Inc., where the purchaser agrees to make monthly payments for the purchase of an automobile.”
Read more: http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/article_a8e676dc-0547-11e8-bd60-77c0f2f3dfa2.html
Students spot, take down white supremacist signs at Texas A&M - Corpus Christi
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi students took down at least 30 white supremacist propaganda posters spotted throughout campus Saturday.
One of the posters, which reads, "Rapeugees not welcome," mentions a profile on the social network site Gab. Gab is a micro-blogging service similar to Twitter that does not suspend or remove users' accounts for posting hate speech or offensive content.
A post with photos of the signs that were spotted at A&M-CC by students went up on the mentioned profile Saturday. The profile claims responsibility for posting the signs: "When the door is left open, @BorderStormers field team takes the opportunity to leave no stone unturned at Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi campus!”
Another Saturday post reads: "@BorderStormers Team performs this Activism service for the students of Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi campus ... Because we care about their future and Science!"
Read more: http://www.caller.com/story/news/education/2018/01/27/students-take-down-alt-right-signs-m-cc/1072594001/
Alaska House leadership calls on lawmaker accused of hitting woman to resign
The leader of the Alaska House of Representatives is calling for Bethel Democratic Rep. Zach Fansler to resign after a newspaper reported he assaulted a woman.
House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham, asked for the resignation in a statement Saturday, minutes after the Juneau Empire published an article online that said local police and the Alaska Department of Law were investigating Fansler for allegedly hitting a woman and rupturing her eardrum.
Edgmon said he became aware Friday afternoon that Fansler "had possibly behaved in a manner unbecoming of a legislator."
"Upon seeking out and verifying further information of the incident and meeting with caucus leadership, I have requested his resignation," Edgmon said in the statement.
Read more: https://www.adn.com/politics/2018/01/27/alaska-house-leadership-calls-on-lawmaker-accused-of-hitting-woman-to-resign/
Alaskans turn to government for food and health care amid recession, prompting worry about cost
JUNEAU — Tens of thousands of people have turned to the government for health care and food amid Alaska's recession, prompting questions from state lawmakers about the sustainability of those safety-net programs.
Gov. Bill Walker's administration projects 240,000 people to be enrolled in the Medicaid health-care program next year, up from 163,000 in 2015. And 101,000 Alaskans were receiving food stamps in September, up from 72,000 a year earlier, according to preliminary federal data.
The federal government covers most of the cost of Alaska's food stamp program.
But Medicaid — supported by both the state and federal governments — is one of the biggest line-items in Alaska's budget, at about $700 million. And some conservative lawmakers say they're worried about the growth in enrollment.
In total, the program covers nearly one-third of the state's population.
Read more: https://www.adn.com/politics/2018/01/28/alaskans-turn-to-government-for-food-and-health-care-amid-recession-prompting-questions-about-costs/
Women's Caucus Wants Easier Access To Abortion Services
A package of bills from the Hawaii Women’s Legislative Caucus includes a measure to require health insurers and health maintenance groups to provide comprehensive coverage for reproductive services such as abortions.
“I think it’s just important for us as women that we get accurate sex education, accurate reproductive rights information,” said Sen. Roz Baker, one of the authors of Senate Bill 2341. “And we want to make sure that Medicaid can still pay for our low-income women, that it’s a part of all of the health plans that are provided, and that people have access to the good information.”
But the bill preserves the right of employers to not provide a plan with coverage of those services, based on religious beliefs, as long as they notify their employees that the services are available.
SB 2341 is a follow-up of sorts to Senate Bill 501, a controversial measure that was signed into law last year. It requires that all limited-service pregnancy centers disclose the availability of and enrollment information for reproductive health services.
Read more: http://www.civilbeat.org/2018/01/womens-caucus-wants-easier-access-to-abortion-services/?mobile=1
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
Home country: United States
Current location: Bryan, Texas
Member since: Sun Aug 14, 2011, 03:57 AM
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