TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalJudge Eckhardt: Travis County is planning for volatility from state, feds
Travis County has already paid a price for the new jail policy on undocumented immigrants, and County Judge Sarah Eckhardt said the county is readying for the costs to keep mounting.
Eckhardt in her State of the County address Wednesday evening lamented the ongoing battle between liberal Travis County and the Republican-controlled state and federal governments over immigration policy as well as legislative efforts to cap local property taxes.
“We hear your justified concerns about federal and state politics making our lives uncertain,” Eckhardt said in prepared remarks. “Travis County is planning for volatility in (budget year) 2018.”
To better gauge options, the county is asking for efficiency and reduction proposals from offices and departments, she said.
Read more: http://www.mystatesman.com/news/local/eckhardt-travis-county-planning-for-volatility-from-state-feds/LuEKix3NRgb3KLdKlBXhHP/
PolitiFact Texas: Abbott falsely says sheriff flouting immigrant law
Fresh from the PolitiFact Texas Twitter feed— follow that here —comes a fact check of Greg Abbott’s claim that Travis County’s sheriff is refusing to enforce an immigrant-tied law.
In a February tweet, the Republican governor said of Sally Hernandez, the county's new Democratic sheriff: "Sheriff violates oath by refusing to enforce 8 USC 1373 & not giving ICE info about drugs cartels & armed robbers." ICE is Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency that focuses on battling the illegal movement of people and trade.
Abbott didn’t offer factual elaboration on his claim nor did he come up with factual backup when the fact-checking project sought as much.
Meantime, a county official, Wes Priddy, said the sheriff’s office continues to comply with the Abbott-noted law, which has to do with easing communication about individuals and their citizenship or immigration statuses.
Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/crime--law/politifact-texas-abbott-falsely-says-sheriff-flouting-immigrant-law/SCYjIi28X4G3sbOXJd0L5K/
Texas Supreme Court hears gay marriage case
Seeking to stop government-paid benefits to same-sex spouses, opponents of gay marriage told the Texas Supreme Court on Wednesday that there is no fundamental right to insurance coverage.
Although a landmark 2015 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that same-sex couples have a right to wed, the ruling didn’t require lower courts to grant similar protection to insurance benefits for same-sex spouses, lawyer Jonathan Mitchell told the state’s highest civil court.
The opposing lawyer, however, dismissed that argument as a red herring during oral arguments Wednesday in Austin.
While the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hughes didn’t create a right to benefits, it recognized a far more important and sweeping standard — the right for same-sex marriages to be treated equally, lawyer Douglas Alexander told the state court.
Read more: http://www.mystatesman.com/news/texas-supreme-court-hears-gay-marriage-case/4jcfKZ5XMziXXyE90FRZ8M/
University of Texas System kills proposal for Houston campus
The University of Texas System has killed its controversial proposal for development of a 300-acre campus in Houston, a project pushed by Chancellor Bill McRaven.
In a press release, McRaven suggests that debate about the merits of the project had become a distraction from the “extraordinary work underway on the 14 campuses of the UT System.”
“I accept full responsibility for the lack of progress on this initiative. I am grateful to the Regents, my system staff and the university presidents for their engagement over the last year,” McRaven said in a memo to Regents’ Chairman Paul Foster.
McRaven also recommended to the Board of Regents that the UT System real estate office develop a plan to divest the UT System of the land, which it bought for $215 million.
Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/university-texas-system-kills-proposal-for-houston-campus/rCdaVIzdHwu2sicmt3a3xJ/
Corpus Christi judge hears arguments in Texas voter ID case
A federal judge who previously found Texas lawmakers disenfranchised minority voters when it passed a voter ID law questioned state lawyers Tuesday who denied legislators intended it to be discriminatory.
U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos interrupted Texas Assistant Attorney General Angela Colmenero three times during a hearing in the Corpus Christi courtroom. The judge questioned the lawyer's arguments meant to prove the legislators did not have ill intent and the law drew wide public support.
“But there could be public support for things that are unconstitutional, correct?” Gonzales Ramos said.
“I get your argument but it’s kind of a fine line there,” she later said.
Read more: http://www.caller.com/story/news/politics/elections/2017/02/28/voter-id-hearing-set-tuesday/98493448/
Florida man steals, sells neighbors monkey for cash, police say
HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Police say a Florida man was arrested after he stole his neighbor’s pet monkey and sold it, according to WTVJ.
Vanessa Di Gennaro told authorities she was cleaning her house in Homestead, Florida, Sunday and put her monkey, Zoe, in the backyard. When she came out, Zoe, a white-tufted marmoset with a value of $2,900, was gone.
"She's a very delicate animal on top of everything; she's not like a dog that you can leave alone. They get into things, they hurt themselves really easy. You have to watch them," she said of her companion animal, which she got because she experiences seizures and anxiety.
"She's my baby; she's my kid," Di Gennaro said. "She goes everywhere with me. I love her to death."
Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/crime--law/florida-man-steals-sells-neighbor-monkey-for-cash-police-say/yGpSZ2qcoG8yfbwtHzFUgP/
San Antonio man let friend have sex with dead prostitute before he burned body, police say
Police have arrested a man who they say strangled a prostitute and allowed an acquaintance to have sex with the woman's body before burning her "beyond recognition."
Javier Hernandez, 29, was charged with first-degree murder Sunday. Police said he told an unnamed witness that he he was full of “adrenaline” as he committed the crime, the San Antonio Express-News reported.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Express-News, Hernandez confessed to the witness that he killed a prostitute and burned her body next to his home. An acquaintance of Hernandez had sex with the dead woman’s body before she was burned, the affidavit states.
Police in late January discovered the burned body of an 18- to 35-year-old Hispanic woman in a garage in south San Antonio.
Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2017/02/28/san-antonio-man-let-friend-sex-dead-prostitute-burned-body-police-say
When hate is the new normal: Another threat at Dallas' JCC, a swastika on Woodall Rodgers
No doubt you've heard by now, if you pay attention at all to the internet or television or radio: Another round of bomb threats went out Monday to at least 13 more Jewish Community Centers and to the Anti-Defamation League , bringing the number to ... what, 80, 90, 100 such threats since the beginning of the year? It's hard to track the figures. They aren't exactly accurate.
I know for a fact that Huffington Post's interactive map, updated Monday, is wrong. The map lists but a single bomb threat made against the Aaron Family Jewish Community Center of Dallas on Jan. 18. But, in fact, there have been two; the most recent came last week, and, till now, has gone largely unnoticed.
Sunday night, about two bourbons into the Oscars broadcast, I opened my email and found a note that had gone to all JCC members from Artie Allen, its chief executive officer. Allen wrote that on Friday, local authorities called JCC officials to let them know that "based on their investigation ... we should have received a bomb threat email earlier in the week." Which was news to the folks at the J off Northaven Road in North Dallas. There had been no phone calls, no emails, no nothing. Business as usual.
But, Allen wrote, "after going through our system, in fact, we found the email had hit our spam filter." That's right: The terroristic threat wound up in the junk folder alongside erection-pill ads, pleas from Nigerian princes who need fast cash and Nextdoor notifications. It's almost funny. Almost. Sounded funnier Sunday night, at least, when read through the bottom of the whiskey glass that now keeps me company.
Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/02/28/hate-becomes-new-normal-another-threat-dallas-jewish-community-center-swastika-woodall-rodgers
Longtime Eugene police detective quits amid accusations of extramarital affairs
A longtime Eugene police officer has sidestepped potential criminal prosecution by agreeing to quit and never work again in law enforcement.
Documents released Tuesday by the Lane County District Attorney’s Office show that prosecutors promised not to pursue potential charges against now-former EPD Detective Ted Williams so long as he resigned and relinquished his state-issued police certifications.
Williams, a police department employee since 1995, finalized a separation agreement with the city Feb. 2. He was placed on paid administrative leave last year.
“In the end, accomplishing his termination of employment from EPD, as well as decertifying him as a police officer, are the paramount concerns for justice in this matter,” Lane County Chief Deputy District Attorney Erik Hasselman wrote in a Feb. 19 memo in which he explained the charging decision.
Read more: http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/35325265-75/longtime-eugene-police-detective-quits-amid-accusations-of-extramarital-affairs.html.csp
Two 13-year-old boys arrested in connection with arson at North Eugene High School
Two 13-year-old boys have been taken into custody on charges of second-degree arson in connection with the Feb. 15 fire at North Eugene High School, according to Eugene police.
The two teens, who were not identified because of their ages, were arrested Friday and Tuesday. They both are being held ub juvenile detention center at the John Serbu Youth Campus, Eugene police spokeswoman Melinda McLaughlin said. She added that investigators do not believe anyone else was involved.
Police declined to say what led investigators to the boys or how the fire was started.
The fire was reported at 7:55 p.m. Feb. 15 in a three-sided area with an aluminum cover, McLaughlin said. The flames then spread to a 600-square-foot wooden storage shed that mostly contained equipment for the track team. Damage to the equipment and the shed was estimated at $70,000.
Read more: http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/35327767-75/two-13-year-old-boys-arrested-in-connection-with-arson-at-north-eugene-high-school.html.csp#
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
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Current location: Bryan, Texas
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