Monthly Archives: October 2015

local news

Fall colors? All we saw was green

980000010 a panoramic view of an active windmill and cattle fencing and water tank on the open grasslands of the panhandle near canadian texas

CANADIAN, Texas — We ventured — my sister, brother-in-law and I — northeast on Saturday to this lovely town in the far corner of the Texas Panhandle.

Our mission? To look at the “fall foliage” honored at Canadian’s annual “Fall Foliage Festival.”

Our findings? There isn’t any fall foliage to be seen. At least not yet.

The darn warmth that keeps lingering in this part of the world is the culprit.

Now, was the trip a total loser? Of course not.

Sis and her husband hadn’t been to this part of the Panhandle — the “pretty part,” as many of us like to call it. Our two-hour drive along U.S. 60 became quite scenic as we approached Miami and then motored into the Hemphill County seat.

I told my sis the story of the cockamamie idea that Texas highway planners had in culling many of the trees along the highway, citing some notion that the trees posed the a hazard to motorists.

I mentioned the reaction of residents of Hemphill and Roberts counties, which in effect was: You’ll cut these trees over our cold, dead bodies!

The highway department backed off and ended up, if memory serves, cutting down a lot fewer trees than it planned initially.

The fall foliage? Well, it’ll arrive eventually. The temperature will drop, as it does every year at this time.

I wonder if there’s any way to make the Fall Foliage Festival a movable event.

 

 

Uncategorized

All councilman needs is a mask and white steed

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demerson

The Lone Ranger rides again.

He’s at Amarillo City Hall these days, dressed as a new city councilman who has proposed massive changes in the way Amarillo’s police department does it job.

This is another sign of the change that’s arrived at Amarillo’s municipal government.

Councilman Elisha Demerson has made what I believe is a good-faith effort to improve policing in Amarillo. He wants the city to hire 23 more officers and he wants the PD to become more of a “community policing” agency, with officers connecting more personally with the neighborhoods they are sworn to protect.

It’s all good, councilman.

The mayor, Paul Harpole, makes a sound point in criticizing what Demerson is doing. He’s seeming to speak for the entire City Council. Coming forward as he has done, Demerson has taken the lead on a process that generally has been done at the senior administrative level, with recommendations coming from the police chief in coordination with his immediate supervisor, the city manager.

However, since City Manager Jarrett Atkinson’s tenure at City Hall is about to end — and was put in jeopardy almost immediately after the May election — Demerson is acting as the agent of change within the police department.

This is a slippery slope that could produce some trouble for the councilman, the cops, the city administration, the rest of the council and perhaps even the public.

We have a council/manager form of government here. Council members generally do not put their hands directly on the levers that operate the city’s massive government apparatus. That includes the police department.

I don’t have a particular problem with the proposals per se that Demerson has put forward. I do have a problem, though, any council member acting as the Lone Ranger.

Harpole has suggested that council members have told city employees to “come to a commissioner to resolve problems.”

Interesting. There once was a chain of command at City Hall. It used to work pretty well, with administrators handling those concerns within their departments, while the city manager oversaw the solutions being implemented.

Is it no longer a team effort at City Hall?

 

entertainment news

Odom saga … amazing in the extreme

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odom

Allow me this brief comment on the saga of Lamar Odom.

He’s married — in a fashion — to Khloe Kardashian, yes, one of those Kardashians.

He once played pro basketball. He was quite good at it. He made millions of dollars. He married the young reality TV “star.” Got his face plastered on tabloids all over the country. He was a fixture on that E! network TV show featuring his in-laws.

Then the marriage hit the skids. He and his wife split up, sort of. Then he goes on his way.

Odom this past week was found unconscious in a Nevada brothel. I presume he went there to pay for a good time with one — or more — of the hookers. He took some illegal drugs and passed out.

The reaction from his still-wife? She’s at his bedside, telling the media how much she supports him.

Maybe there’s something I don’t get. If I had done that while married to my wife … hmmm. Let me think. She’d wait for my recovery — probably from some distance — and then file divorce papers on my sorry behind.

There’s something really and truly amiss with today’s popular culture.

Don’t misunderstand me. I want Odom to recover. I just don’t get the family reaction to what this guy was caught doing.

Your thoughts?

 

national news, political news

Republican calls out fellow Republicans

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conservatives

David Brooks isn’t a squishy liberal.

He’s no fan of progressive political policies. He believes in small government. He is, in my mind, the personification of what could be called a “traditional conservative” thinker.

He writes a column for the New York Times and is a regular panelist on National Public Radio and on the PBS NewsHour — which in the minds of many of today’s new found conservatives would categorize him as a RINO … a Republican In Name Only.

Well, his recent NYT column lays it out there. Conservatives have gone bonkers, Brooks writes.

Here’s a bit of what Brooks writes: “By traditional definitions, conservatism stands for intellectual humility, a belief in steady, incremental change, a preference for reform rather than revolution, a respect for hierarchy, precedence, balance and order, and a tone of voice that is prudent, measured and responsible. Conservatives of this disposition can be dull, but they know how to nurture and run institutions. They also see the nation as one organic whole. Citizens may fall into different classes and political factions, but they are still joined by chains of affection that command ultimate loyalty and love.

“All of this has been overturned in dangerous parts of the Republican Party. Over the past 30 years, or at least since Rush Limbaugh came on the scene, the Republican rhetorical tone has grown ever more bombastic, hyperbolic and imbalanced. Public figures are prisoners of their own prose styles, and Republicans from Newt Gingrich through Ben Carson have become addicted to a crisis mentality. Civilization was always on the brink of collapse. Every setback, like the passage of Obamacare, became the ruination of the republic. Comparisons to Nazi Germany became a staple.”

To be fair, much of what ails the GOP can be laid at the feet of Democrats, who fail to heed the warnings of their own bombast. Each party’s leader feel the need to play to their respective “base.” They seemingly neglect the great unwashed middle, comprising people who aren’t far left or far right, but instead see value in both ideologies.

I believe it was Colin Powell, another fine Republican, who once lamented that the extremes of both parties were talking past those in the middle who want their voices heard, too.

For now, though, the Republicans are controlling both legislative chambers of Congress. They want to take back the White House. They are seeking the clean sweep of the two government branches by bellowing at the top of their lungs that the nation is going to straight to hell and it’s because of the Democrat in the White House, Barack H. Obama.

It is doing no such thing.

Brooks laments the Republican “incompetence.” He writes: “These insurgents are incompetent at governing and unwilling to be governed. But they are not a spontaneous growth. It took a thousand small betrayals of conservatism to get to the dysfunction we see all around.”

Wow!

national news, political news

Time for some candidate ‘culling’

run-web

I know it’s still early and that anything can happen in this 2016 campaign for the presidency.

But that ol’ trick knee of mine is throbbing and I’m sensing it’s time for some serious candidate culling to occur in both the Democratic and Republican primary fields. No, I don’t mean “culling” in the way you “cull” a herd of elk.

But it’s becoming clear that the public is focusing on a select few of these folks seeking to succeed Barack Obama as president.

The Democrats:

Say so long, please, Martin O’Malley, Lincoln Chafee and Jim Webb. No one is talking about any of you fellows.

It’s still all about Hillary and Bernie. Hillary Clinton shined at that Democratic joint appearance. Bernie Sanders stumbled a bit, but played to his base. He had ’em standing and cheering in the Las Vegas “debate hall.”

Oh, and what about Vice President Biden? Stay tuned for that announcement — whatever it is.

The Republicans:

Where do I begin?

Chris Christie? You’re toast. Jim Gilmore? You never were in the game. Rand Paul? You had us then you lost us. John Kasich? As much as I like you, hit the road, sir. Bobby Jindal? B’bye. Lindsey Graham? See ya. Mike Huckabee? You, too. Rick Santorum? Your time is up. George Pataki? Pfftt!

Rick Perry and Scott Walker already are gone.

We’re left now with, um, Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Marco Rubio and I’ll throw in Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz.

The first three are the “outsiders.” Rubio is a young Senate gun. Bush is, well, a Bush. Cruz is the TEA Party’s current favorite son.

It’s a bit sad, actually, that some of these folks are being ignored by the media — and that means the public. Some of the Republicans running are thoughtful, experienced and nuanced individuals who have a lot to say.

The public, though, is being swept away by the outsider cadre, led — so far — Trump, whose major claims to fame are his wealth, his reality TV gig, his gorgeous wives … and his big mouth.

The rest of the large combined bipartisan field, though, is ready to be thinned out.

 

local news

Matney gets fired up about MPEV

matney

It’s next to impossible to listen to Paul Matney make the case for whatever project on his radar and not feel some sense of buy-in.

I’ve known Matney for as long as I’ve lived in Amarillo. That’s more than 20 years. I have listened to his pitch for Amarillo College, which he led as president until he retired a year ago. His AC spiel was polished, passionate and on-point.

Matney has turned that passion now to a Nov. 3 non-binding referendum facing Amarillo voters. You’ve heard about it, yes?

It’s the multipurpose event venue, which is part of the three-pronged “catalyst project” that’s been developed for the city’s downtown business district.

Matney broke out of his chains today while speaking to the Rotary Club of Amarillo.

The MPEV includes the much-discussed “ballpark.” The ballot measure asks voters if they want the MPEV built as it’s been presented.

Matney’s view? Not just yes, but hell yes! (OK, he didn’t say it quite that way, but that was the message.)

It’s a $45 million project, combined with a parking garage. The city will issue revenue bonds to pay for the MPEV construction and will retire the debt with hotel occupancy tax revenue collected by visitors who come to Amarillo.

City and business leaders are breaking ground Friday on a $45 million convention hotel to be built downtown; the developer of the Embassy Suites is footing the bill for the hotel’s construction … and that, too, got Matney’s juices flowing today.

Matney believes in the MPEV and predicted that its construction will put Amarillo on the “baseball radar” for an organization looking to locate a team. Oh, but what’s wrong with the Potter County-owned ballpark at the fairgrounds? Matney didn’t say it precisely, but I’ll say it here: It’s a dump.

Matney did say that Potter County shouldn’t spend another nickel on improvements to that stadium. Amen to that, Mr. President.

Matney presented his brief remarks as someone “who was born here, educated here, lives here, worked in higher education here, has retired here, will die here and will be buried here.”

The MPEV, he said, could play host to a wide variety of events that could attract thousands of folks into the downtown district.

So, the campaign for and against the MPEV will continue. I’ve known Paul Matney to be a man of high integrity and honor.

The political organization that he has joined to support passage of the referendum could not have found a better spokesman for this worthy project.

As he noted in talking about Xcel Energy’s own plans to build a new office complex downtown and the company’s struggle to replace key employees who are reaching retirement age. “Xcel is struggling to find people to fill those spots,” Matney said, “so this is a quality-of-life issue.”

Melissa Dailey, the head of Downtown Amarillo Inc., had to walk the straight and narrow in her remarks to the Rotary Club about the MPEV. As a public employee, she is limited to speaking only about the facts. No campaigning  allowed, right, Ms. Dailey?

That’s fine. She turned it over to Paul Matney who — as a “civilian” — is allowed to speak from the heart.

He did so today.

 

local news

Let’s not pussyfoot around: Atkinson was forced out

atkinson

Every single time I add 2 + 2, I get the same answer.

Thus, every time I try to figure out what’s been happening at Amarillo City Hall — and the destructive relationship between the city manager and most of the members of the City Council — I keep drawing the same conclusion.

City Manager Jarrett Atkinson could no longer work with the controlling bloc of council members. So, he has tendered his resignation.

Atkinson’s upcoming departure doesn’t bode well for what has been happening in Amarillo over the past, oh, half-dozen years or so.

The city has marched forward on some ambitious plans to remake its downtown district. Atkinson has been a key player in that effort.

But then along came the three new council members, two of whom ousted incumbents, and the dynamic has changed.

They called for the manager’s resignation right out of the chute. He didn’t quit. He stayed on — for as long as he could.

And yet we hear from one of the new council members, Elisha Demerson, seeking to put a positive spin on Atkinson’s departure. Demerson told the Amarillo Globe-News: “I disagree with the naysayers who would like to turn this into a political decision. This was a decision by Mr. Atkinson for the betterment of himself and his family and I respect that.”

Please excuse my candor, Councilman Demerson: That is pure crap!

Sure, he sought to better “himself and his family.” Why? Because he likely was sick and tired of being hassled at every turn.

I’m not privy to what went into Atkinson’s decision to quit at this time. But none of it adds up to anything other than maddening frustration and an inability to work constructively with most of those who comprise the City Council. How else does one explain why a city manager would throw in the towel in the midst of all the hard work that still needs doing to improve the city’s future?

The council faces the most important task it ever will undertake. It must hire a new city manager. My hunch is that the council will not find a successor within the ranks of current administrative staff. They’ve been party to what has transpired since the May election and the takeover of the council by its new majority.

The alternative? Conduct a nationwide search. Oh, and be sure you tell every candidate who applies precisely — and in detail — what he or she will face if the council selects them.

That would be a ringside seat from which the new manager will get to witness more turmoil and bickering.

political news

Biggest loser at Dem debate? The guy who wasn’t there

biden

The pundits, analysts and partisan strategists are right: Vice President Joe Biden likely saw the end of his hopes of ever becoming president while he watched the Democratic candidates’ joint appearance on CNN.

Why? Hillary Rodham Clinton has assumed the role of prohibitive front runner for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

Thus, with a strengthened Clinton getting ready to reassert her place, there becomes a shrinking opportunity for the vice president to jump into the primary race to “save the party” from nominating someone with cumbersome political baggage.

My hunch just a day after the debate is that no one will need to persuade the VP that a 2016 presidential campaign is futile. He’ll know it. I suspect that he knows it today.

The vice president has had a long career of public service. He can be proud of what he’s done — as a member of the U.S. Senate and as vice president of the United States for two terms.

Yes, there have been the occasional hiccups, gaffes and blunders along the way. Hey, no one is perfect.

Clinton’s performance has gone a long way toward cementing her front runner status.

I expect former Sen. Jim Webb to drop out soon, along with former Govs. Martin O’Malley and Lincoln Chafee. No one today is taking about their debate performances.

All eyes and ears turned to Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders. Of the two, Clinton emerged as the stronger candidate.

That means, Mr. Vice President, your hopes are likely dashed.

Forever, I’m saddened to say.

 

local news

City Council now gets to do some heavy lifting

atkinson

The Amarillo City Council decides on a single personnel choice. The council gets to choose the one person who runs the city’s massive machinery.

That person, the city manager, then makes all the other key hires: police chief, fire chief, city attorney, assistant city manager … all of ’em.

Well, now the City Council gets to make the one selection the city charter empowers it to make.

Jarrett Atkinson has resigned as city manager. For the life of me, I don’t know why he’s drawn the criticism he has received from at least two of the new members of the City Council. But he has and the council is in position to make that criticism.

The council now gets to scour the landscape for a worthy successor and I believe quite strongly that we are likely to witness a serious demonstration of the divisions that exist on the five-member governing council. The municipal chasm is likely to dissuade senior administrator from within City Hall to seek the top job. Thus, the city might look high and low, hither and yon for the next city manager.

The three newest members of the council appear wedded to some skepticism about plans for advancing the future of the city’s downtown district. They managed to engineer a citywide non-binding referendum that will decide the future of the multipurpose event venue; the vote will occur on Nov. 3.

They dislike the MPEV as presented.

The other two council members favor the project.

Back to the issue at hand: What kind of city manager is the council going to hire? Will the new city chief executive officer need to pass a litmus test that requires him or her to adhere step by step with what the bosses on the council want?

The city has been blessed with relatively few city managers over the course of the past 52 years. John Stiff served in that post for two decades before retiring in 1983. John Ward succeeded him and he served another 20 years before moving to the private sector in 2003. Alan Taylor was a relative short-timer in the post before he retired. Now it’s Atkinson who’s leaving, again after a short period of time.

In the aggregate, though, steady administrative leadership has blessed Amarillo for more than a half-century.

That stability now appears to have been torn apart by the fractiousness we’re hearing among City Council members — and by a reckless call for Atkinson’s resignation by a new council member, Mark Nair, immediately after he took office.

Pay attention, gentlemen: You need to think carefully about who you hire to run the city.

We’ve made a lot of progress in Amarillo over the course of many years. We are moving forward today. The next municipal CEO needs to be mindful of where we’ve been, where we are and where we’re going.

The referendum will decide the future of the MPEV before the city finds a new manager. Still, my own preference would be a city manager willing to think big about how to revive the city’s downtown district.

national news

About those articles in Playboy …

hugh-hefner-playboy

The Internet has claimed another victim.

And so help me, I never saw this one coming.

Playboy magazine, a staple for American men since, oh, the beginning of time, has decided to put clothes back on its models.

Granted, beginning in March, the articles of clothing will be, um, provocative. Full nudity, though, is out at the magazine founded by Hugh Hefner.

Why? The magazine said the Internet provides voyeurs with all they want to see. So, Playboy has given up trying to compete with the Internet. It’s going to put thinly veiled threads back on their models.

Playbook dresses up

According to the New York Times: Its executives admit that Playboy has been overtaken by the changes it pioneered. “That battle has been fought and won,” said Scott Flanders, the company’s chief executive. “You’re now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And so it’s just passé at this juncture.”

Yeah, I’ve seen all the social media posts already from those who joked that they “bought the mag for the articles.”

Sure thing, guys. And pigs might fly …

Playboy circulation has declined precipitously since 1975, falling from around 5.6 million paid subscribers to around 800,000 today.

To be honest, I’m glad to know that Hef and his gang at Playboy have realized they can’t win the war against the Internet. In some small, mildly vague way, it speaks to a certain level of integrity.

Hefner always has said he wanted to “honor” women by photographing them in the buff. How much actual honor they get, I suppose, depends on what the consumer derives from seeing the picture.

Whatever the case. It’s a new day in the world of adult publications.