July 26, 2013

Albuquerque: Abortion bill is likely to be on city’s ballot

A public vote on limiting abortions in Albuquerque appears likely.

Activists who want to restrict abortions in the city say they’ve turned in more than twice the number of signatures needed to get a proposed ordinance on the ballot this fall.

Tara Shaver, who helped organize the effort, said the group submitted its last batch of signatures to the city clerk on Thursday, bringing the total to nearly 27,000.

Staffers in the clerk’s office were already working during the afternoon to see how many of the signatures can be verified as having come from registered voters in Albuquerque. Supporters of the abortion ordinance need 12,091 signatures to force the city to hold an election on the issue.

More at http://www.abqjournal.com/225843/news/abortion-bill-is-likely-to-be-on-citys-ballot.html .

July 26, 2013

Anger Room in Dallas off to smashing start

DALLAS — If ever there was a recession-proof business, the Anger Room is it.

For fees ranging from $25 to $75, visitors to the North Dallas facility are ushered into a protected space that can be decorated like a living room, kitchen or office. They are then invited to break up the furnishings with a baseball bat, hammer or blunt object of their choice.

“There’s a lot of people who are stressed out when the economy’s good; but when it’s bad, there’s an increased frustration out there,” said owner Donna Alexander. “We’ve been getting a lot of business.”

Alexander said she conceived the idea of the Anger Room as a 16-year-old living in Chicago.

More at http://lubbockonline.com/odd-news/2012-06-24/anger-room-dallas-smashing-start .

July 26, 2013

Jindal to be featured at conservative conference in Florida

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will travel to Florida at the end of August to give a keynote speech at "Defend the Dream," the 7th annual meeting of conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity.

"I'm thrilled to announce the addition of Governor Jindal to the Defending the American Dream Conference. As a two-term governor and current Chairman of the Republican Governor's Association, Governor Jindal is one of the most important voices spreading the message that the American Dream is for all Americans," AFP President Tim Phillips said in a press release.

Phillips cited Jindal's background and his "leadership" in being "a forerunner in opposing ObamaCare's Medicaid expansion" as reasons for featuring the Baton Rouge native at the annual meeting.

The event will take place in Orlando on August 30 and 31. Senators Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Ron Johnson, R-Wisc. and Marco Rubio, R-Florida, will also speak at the event, along with Texas Gov. Rick Perry and conservative pundit Michelle Malkin.

More at http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/07/jindal_to_headline_at_conserva.html#incart_river_default .

[font color=green]Note to self: Stay away from Orlando at the end of August.[/font]

July 26, 2013

Getting Stuck: Uninsured Patients Slammed with Lawsuits by Not-for-Profit Hospital

Memorial Hermann treats patients without insurance, tells them not to worry about the cost and then sues them for thousands of dollars.



Car horns blared and the 5 o'clock traffic stacked up behind him as Ignacio Alaniz rolled back under his car to try to start the engine again. As he lay there, touching the wire to divert the starter on the ancient white Buick Century, he heard a click as the car jolted alive and popped into gear. Seconds before it happened, flat on his back on the cool pavement that January night in 2012, belly pressed against the metal works, Alaniz realized he was about to be run over by his own car.

More than 3,000 pounds of metal smashed across his chest. He heard the snap of his ribs, the sharp crack of bone as the front wheel and then the back slammed into his torso. The car sped blindly forward, popped over a curb and sailed into a ditch. People watched as Alaniz, bloody and twisted, pulled himself up off the pavement. He tried to walk, moving with lurching steps, but his insides were screaming.

"Don't move," he heard a woman say as she pulled out her cell phone to call 911. Once she knew the ambulance was on its way, she let Alaniz use her phone to call his girlfriend, Theresa Malone.

Seeing a number she didn't recognize, Malone would normally have ignored the call, but she answered.

More at http://www.houstonpress.com/2013-07-25/news/memorial-hermann/ .

July 26, 2013

Houston chef Ja’nel Witt conquers ‘Hell’s Kitchen’

Houstonian Ja’nel Witt bested 26-year-old butcher Mary Poehnelt to win Season 11 of Hell’s Kitchen, the Fox reality cooking competition.

The cooking show pitted 20 professional chefs vying for the head chef position at Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas with a salary of $250,000.

“I feel on top of the world,” she told television viewers as the champagne flowed. “My life will never be the same.”

In all my years in Hell’s Kitchen, I’ve never seen a more composed individual than Ja’nel,” Ramsay said in a voiceover, “and that is why I’m so happy to have this ambitious, creative and talented woman as my head chef.”

More at http://blog.chron.com/29-95/2013/07/houston-chef-janel-witt-conquers-hells-kitchen/?cmpid=hpts .

July 26, 2013

Cop who pepper-sprayed students seeks workers comp

DAVIS, Calif. (AP) — The former police officer who pepper-sprayed students during an Occupy protest at the University of California, Davis is appealing for worker's compensation, claiming he suffered psychiatric injury from the 2011 confrontation.

John Pike has a settlement conference set for Aug. 13 in Sacramento, according to the state Department of Industrial Relations' website.

Pike was fired in July 2012, eight months after a task force investigation found that his action was unwarranted.

Online videos of him and another officer casually dousing demonstrators with pepper spray went viral, sparking outrage at UC Davis leaders. The images became a rallying symbol for the Occupy Wall Street movement.

More at http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Cop-who-pepper-sprayed-students-seeks-workers-comp-4687998.php?cmpid=hpts .

July 26, 2013

TxDOT: Some paved roads could return to gravel in oil patch

As legislative negotiators worked Thursday to break a deadlock on road funding, Texas Department of Transportation officials painted a bleak — and notably timely — picture of roads in the state’s booming oil patch areas.

TxDOT executive John Barton, saying he was “embarrassed” as the agency’s chief engineer to do so, announced that 12 short, farm-to-market road segments are in such rotten shape that they’re not worth repairing. TxDOT, in what might be a first in the agency’s 96-year history, plans to convert 83 miles of paved roads into gravel roads. Their speed limits would then be reduced from a typical 55 mph to 30 mph, Barton said.

More at http://www.statesman.com/news/news/transportation/txdot-some-paved-roads-could-return-to-gravel-in-o/nY4W4/ .
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July 26, 2013

Occidental to construct propane export facility in Ingleside

Occidental Petroleum Corp. plans to construct a propane export facility in Ingleside, the company said Thursday.

The facility would be at the Oxy Ingleside Energy Center, a former Navy base near Corpus Christi that Occidental purchased last year.

The Los Angeles-based oil and natural gas producer said it also could export other fuels from the facility, including natural gasoline, condensate and butanes.

The propane export facility would begin operation in January 2015, provided Occidental secures the necessary contracts.

More at http://fuelfix.com/blog/2013/07/25/occidental-to-construct-propane-export-facility-in-texas/ .

July 26, 2013

New BP ad suggests it’s the victim in the oil spill fallout

BP published a new advertisement Thursday in The New York Times and Wall Street Journal suggesting it’s a victim of trial lawyers seeking a big windfall — an unfair one, in the company’s view.

The headline at the top of the ad states, “Business Leaders Agree: What’s Happening to BP is Bad for American Business.”

The British oil giant is continuing its aggressive challenge to how business claims are being handled as part of the multibillion dollar Gulf oil spill civil settlement that it reached last year with thousands of victims of the disaster.

The ad compiles recent public statements from some business leaders who offer support for BP’s position.

More at http://fuelfix.com/blog/2013/07/25/bp-publishes-new-ad-over-gulf-spill-settmement-dispute-suggesting-it-is-a-victim/?cmpid=businesshcat .

July 26, 2013

White House denies Rick Perry’s “end-run” allegation on Voting Rights

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –The White House pushed back this afternoon against allegations from Texas Republicans that the Justice Department is overreaching its authority by trying to reimpose preemptive U.S. oversight of Texas elections.

Not so, Obama spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters traveling with the president aboard Air Force One to Florida.

Earnest noted that Texas political maps for years “have attracted quite a bit of controversy… I don’t think it’s a surprise to anybody that’s been following this that that’s attracted the attention of the Department of Justice.”

Attorney General Eric Holder’s announced this morning that he would seek a court order forcing Texas to submit any and all election changes for federal review. The Supreme Court lifted that burden last month when it struck down a key part of the Voting Rights Act.

More at http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/07/white-house-denies-rick-perrys-end-run-allegation-on-voting-rights.html/ .

Cross-posted in Texas Group.