Here’s a Friday-night edition of News and Views:
- Parents irate after Katy bond drive dials wrong number (Ericka Mellon, Houston Chronicle)
It’s hard to blame them. - METRO Admits Motorist Helpers Were Not Watched (Stephen Dean, KPRC-2 News)
Over a two-month period, Local 2 Investigates found several METRO Motorist Assistance Program workers avoiding their duties of patrolling Houston freeways for stranded drivers. Hidden cameras found one driver parking his truck at the same restaurant day after day, sometimes leaving to head to another lunch break with other MAP employees.
A 31-year veteran worker resigned his position after Local 2 Investigates found him visiting numerous X-rated video stores while on duty. He was also recorded spending hours leaned back in his truck in hidden parking lots.
METRO records show the agency claiming it helped between 68 and 91 stranded motorists on each day that Local 2 Investigates was following some of its workers.
A criminal investigation was launched into veteran worker David Richard after his daily work records reflected 11 different stranded motorists being helped, during times that Local 2 Investigates found him elsewhere, sometimes across town.
- County Hopes Tape Will Quiet Poll Watcher Controversy (Bill Stamps, KUHF News)
- Citizens United attorney says Texas law cited against King Street Patriots is unconstitutional (Patrick Brendel, Texas Independent)
After numerous hit pieces (dressed up as “journalism”) on the King Street Patriots, this is apparently the Colorado-model Independent’s attempt at balance. Either that, or someone funding the Independent realized that too much interest in opening the financial records of the nonprofit King Street Patriots might well generate similar interest in the financial records of the nonprofit Independent. Doh! - Quannel X warns King Street Patriots not to intimidate at the polls (Isiah Carey's Insite)
- Fired for not cheering her alleged rapist (Rick Casey, Houston Chronicle)
Ms Magazine and others are blasting a recent federal appeals court ruling involving that reliable Texan source of national controversy, a cheerleader.
The Chron‘s lazy columnist is now ripping material from Ms. Magazine? As friend Matt Bramanti pointed out to us earlier, Casey seems like an unlikely subscriber.
- Might Sylvia Garcia be in trouble? (Rick Casey, Houston Chronicle)
Each election, Professor Murray prepares an election pool for a bipartisan group of political junkies that meets weekly over drinks as “The Roundtable.”
My best guess is most Houstonians would be surprised to know that a bipartisan group of local “political junkies” (read: journalists, pols, staffers, and other interested parties) meets weekly for drinks and local “bidness” — but they probably shouldn’t be.
Morman is so little known that Googling him as a commissioners’ court candidate or as a Houston lawyer turns up no hits.
A Chron.com commenter schools Casey on his apparent inability to use Google. Come to think of it, THAT may explain his plagiarism (if he can’t use Google, maybe he thinks his readers can’t either…. hmm).
- A Republican sweep in Harris County in 2010? Possible, but not likely (Prof 13)
I still think Republican candidates have the wind at their back in Harris County, but the likelihood of a complete sweep at the courthouse has diminished in recent days. With close contests likely, candidates should be scratching for every possible vote over the next 96 hours.
Is this Professor Murray speaking analytically, or Dem Activist Murray trying to fire up the troops? It’s never all that clear these days.
- How can you write an editorial about . . . (Unca Darrell)
