Monthly Archives: February 2018

education news

Change in Amarillo school voting plan? Don’t count on it

Amarillo’s public school trustees are going to meet tonight to “discuss” possible changes in the way they get elected.

The item was proposed by Amarillo Independent School District Trustee James Allen, the board’s lone African-American.

There might be a move toward electing trustees from single-member districts. Or — if very recent history is a guide — there will be virtually no change.

Given the way the AISD board choked on a measure to rename Robert E. Lee Elementary School, I won’t bet the farm that the board will change, at least not right away.

AISD trustees had a chance to rename the school named after a Confederate army general who fought to preserve slavery in the nation. The school sits in a neighborhood populated by African-American residents. What did the board do? It  took the name “Robert E.” off the school and named it only “Lee Elementary School.”

As if that is meaningful?

Well, now the board is considering — maybe, possibly — moving from a cumulative voting system to a plan that elects trustees from single-member districts. The aim, as I understand it, would be to spread representation to all neighborhoods. The current board currently resides mostly in southwest Amarillo and the tony Wolflin neighborhood; only two trustees live in north or east Amarillo.

Cumulative voting was created as a compromise to settle a lawsuit brought by the League of United Latin-American Citizens, which sought to force AISD to get more minority representation on its board. Cumulative voting allows voters to cast ballots proportionately. For example: If three seats are up for election, voters can cast all three votes for a single candidate; or they can cast two for one and one for another; or … they can cast single ballots for each of the candidates.

AISD trustees now are going to begin the discussion about possible changes in the district’s voting plan.

It’s a fascinating idea that, given the changing demographics of Amarillo, could be implemented with great success. AISD could have representation from all neighborhoods on the board that sets public education policy. Every neighborhood deserves have a voice. Let’s face it: The desires of Sleepy Hollow residents are significantly different from those who live in The North Heights.

To paraphrase the song: The times may be a changin’.

Or, given AISD’s recent history, maybe not.

business news, national news

Flaps up at FAA?

Someone, please tell me this isn’t true, that it’s a satirical piece from The Onion.

Donald John Trump has put his personal pilot on a short list to become head of the Federal Aviation Administration.

John Dunkin (left, in photo) is his name and he must one of the “best people” the president promised to populate his administration with when he took office.

This must be a joke. Trump is pulling our leg. He can’t really be thinking about this. Can he?

The Huffington Post reported: “John Dunkin isn’t just a pilot,” an unnamed White House official told Axios. “He’s managed airline and corporate flight departments, certified airlines from start-up under FAA regulations and oversaw the Trump presidential campaign’s air fleet, which included managing all aviation transportation for travel to 203 cities in 43 states over the course of 21 months.”

I’ll concede the point that Dunkin isn’t just a sky jockey. He’s got some aviation administration experience. But is it truly enough to manage a massive federal agency responsible for regulating the most complex aviation operation on Earth?

Will the president employ “extreme vetting” on this guy before he decides to give him a six-figure government job that puts him in charge of maintaining the safety and well-being of the American flying public?

Oh … probably not.

education news

Still favor in-state tuition for all Texas residents

You are welcome to call me a bleeding-heart liberal if you wish, but I am going to make this point once again.

Texas is blessed with a large body of young people who want to improve themselves and who want to attend our public colleges and universities. Even those who are living here illegally because Mom and Dad sneaked them into Texas from somewhere else.

Accordingly, those de facto Texans, people who have grown up here as full-blown Texas residents, deserve to pay in-state tuition to attend those higher education institutions.

I wrote about this most recently three years ago:

https://highplainsblogger.com/2015/02/texans-split-on-in-state-college-tuition-issue/

I still believe to this day in that policy. The state’s two previous Republican governors — George W. Bush and Rick Perry — both supported the idea of offering in-state tuition privileges to these students.

I’m unclear where Gov. Greg Abbott stands on this. My guess is that the GOP base is pressuring him to kick those students out of Texas. Were he to do that, he would perform a profound disservice to the state.

I wrote in 2015, “Allowing the in-state tuition rates for these students does not harm the public university system in Texas, as some have contended. It enriches the system by granting young students a chance to attain the goals they have set for themselves — while living as Texans.”

They are making their dreams come true.

local news

Randall County set to open a new shop

In just a few hours, they’re going to unlock the front door at a Texas Panhandle county complex.

It will mark the beginning of a new era.

Randall County’s new courthouse annex will open for business as the county vacates its former annex. The new site will be on Western Street and Paramount Boulevard. It will be about six times larger in terms of floor space than the other place. It will be essentially a “full-service county government operation.”

As a resident of Randall County, I am delighted that County Judge Ernie Houdashell’s hard work and hard-nosed negotiating skills have borne fruit.

The new annex will sit on a parcel that used to be home for an insurance firm. The firm went bankrupt and moved out. Houdashell set about negotiating with the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation to buy the building.

AEDC finally sold the site to the county for $2.5 million. That was nearly two years ago. The county then tore the old building apart and has turned it into a state-of-the-art government complex.

Whereas the old annex, at Georgia Street and the Canyon E-Way, comprised the tax office, a justice of the peace court and a small sheriff’s office presence, the new place is much more complete.

It will contain all of the above. It also will have a county clerk operation, a district clerk office, a county court-at-law, a second justice of the peace courtroom; the district attorney will maintain a presence there as well.

It’s full service, all right.

Randall County’s population is around 125,000 residents; it has overtaken neighboring Potter County in size.

Although the Randall County seat is in Canyon, about 80 percent of the county population resides in Amarillo, providing about 80 percent of the county’s total revenue in taxes and fees. It makes perfect sense for the annex to provide more county government services for the vast majority of the county’s taxpaying residents. It saves them drive time to Canyon and provides better service closer to home.

What happens to the old annex building? It will be taken over by the Texas Panhandle War Memorial board, which operates the memorial next to the Georgia Street complex. Houdashell told me the War Memorial board plans to use the annex as a chapel, while it continues to raise money to erect its long-planned education center next to the garden and the monuments that honor Panhandle residents who’ve fallen in battle in defense of our country.

I guess all that’s left to say is: Well done, Ern.

local news

Happy Trails, Part 78

The word is getting out. My wife and I — along with Toby the Puppy — are leaving Amarillo, Texas.

I get asked all the time: When are you moving? My answer: I don’t know, but we’re a lot closer to a time line than we were a month ago.

I also get asked: What are you going to miss about Amarillo? Me: Many things.

I’ve told you already about my first impression of Amarillo, which was the bigness, the spaciousness, how one can see forever. The sky is as big as anywhere on Earth, of that I am certain. I will miss the big sky.

I also am going to miss — and this will seem strange — the political climate of this region.

We live in the heart of Republican Country. I lean strongly in the other direction. I mentioned once in an earlier blog post that I’ve never voted for a Republican for president, dating back to the 1972 election, when I cast my first vote.

When we moved to the Panhandle in early 1995, I knew about the politics of the region. I knew about how the John Birch Society was so prevalent in local politics and how Birchers helped inform many folks’ world view.

To be honest, that didn’t dissuade me from coming here. I was able to subvert my own more progressive leanings to write editorials for the newspaper, which had a long tradition of adhering to a conservative editorial policy.

As my wife and I settled in, our list of friends and acquaintances grew. Many of them voted in accordance with the community’s prevailing political leaning. I never let those leanings interfere with our personal relationships.

I understood from the get-go that I was swimming against the community “tide.” I managed to speak the company line when I wrote for the Amarillo Globe-News, which happened to comport with the community’s conservative tilt.

Over time, I developed a certain level of comfort with my surroundings. I knew what to expect of our many friends and acquaintances. I learned to give as much as I got. The needling was usually good-natured.

But … as they say, times and circumstances change. Our circumstance is about to change as we relocate to another community. I am absolutely certain we’ll find our comfort level there, just as we did on the High Plains of Texas.

national news

NRA produces a new bogeywoman

Dana Loesch has emerged, apparently, as the newest attack beast for the National Rifle Association.

That title used to belong to Wayne LaPierre. Now it’s Loesch, who this week told the Conservative Political Action Conference that “the legacy media loves mass shootings.”

I don’t know what “legacy media” means, but to suggest that the media love these events is to, well, go way beyond the pale of decency.

Loesch got into an on-air snit with CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota, who challenged Loesch’s comment.

See the exchange here.

Loesch, the NRA spokeswoman, sought in the moment to walk back much of what she said. She said she didn’t mean to suggest the media actually “love” seeing people slaughtered as they were at Parkland, Fla., where a gunman slaughtered 17 high school students and staff members.

She sought to suggest that “crying white mothers” drive up ratings, meaning that the media love covering that angle to these tragic events.

I don’t buy Loesch’s attempt at equivocation. To put the words “love” and “mass shooting” in the same sentence sends a clear message, no matter what she intended to convey.

The debate that has ensued across the nation in the wake of this latest school massacre needs some semblance of civility, even though that kind of discussion quite often is difficult to find when the topic centers on guns, the Second Amendment — and the National Rifle Association.

Sports news

Maybe he really is bigger than the game … maybe

He wouldn’t actually admit it out loud, but I’m beginning to think Tiger Woods just might be bigger than the game he plays for a living.

He is playing well in a PGA golf tournament this week. The CBS Sports broadcasting crew can’t stop talking enough about Woods. He isn’t in the lead as I write this brief blog post but he’s lurking not too far behind the tournament leaders.

What’s more, I’ll admit to liking to watch pro golf on TV more when Tiger is playing, let alone when he’s in contention to win.

Woods has been on the shelf for most of the past three seasons. He’s had those injuries. He’s had several back surgeries. Woods tried to come back a time or three, but then went back to the physical therapist for more PT and rehab.

Then, of course, Woods had that rather remarkable scandal involving his serial philandering.

That was then. Woods is back in the game. I’ve said before I am seriously pulling for Woods to come all the way back. I want him to return to something resembling the all-world form he displayed from 1997 until about 2009.

Golf is a great game to watch. Really! I like watching it on TV.

I like it a bit more when Tiger Woods is in the hunt.

Does that mean Tiger is “bigger than the game”? Maybe it does.

local news, State news

‘Double-dipping’ not allowed in Texas

I likely shouldn’t even concern myself with this matter, but given the amount of money being poured into some Texas Panhandle legislative races, I think I’ll weigh in on a potential complication facing a candidate for the Texas Legislature.

Drew Brassfield is challenging state Rep. Four Price of Amarillo in the Republican primary for the House District 87 seat that Price has filled since 2011.

But … as they might say: Austin, we’ve got a problem.

Brassfield is the Fritch city manager. The Texas Constitution has some provisions in it that appear to make him ineligible to serve in the Legislature if he decides to keep his day job in Hutchinson County.

There’s more to this as well. Brassfield, who has been endorsed by the far-right group Empower Texans, isn’t divulging what his plans are until after election — presuming he wins the GOP primary, which remains the longest of long shots against a rising star in Rep. Price. He won’t tell voters if he intends to quit his city manager’s job and go to work as a legislator for $600 per month, plus a per diem expense total while the Legislature is in session.

Three clauses in the Constitution prohibit legislators from also drawing a salary from another public entity. One clause is quite specific, banning double-dipping if one of his jobs allows him to handle public money; as city manager, Brassfield certainly handles public funds.

Yet another clause says clearly that a legislator cannot hold another public office at the same time. Period. End of discussion.

These quite obvious conflict of interests are precisely why I said early on that Brassfield’s candidacy just didn’t pass the smell test.

It’s not that he is ineligible to run for the Legislature. It’s just that he would have to surrender his primary job — which also involves a public trust — if he gets elected to the Legislature.

The young man, furthermore, should tell voters up front before the primary election what he plans to do if hell freezes over and he defeats Price in the GOP primary.

What is fundamentally disgusting about Brassfield’s candidacy is that he is being used as a tool by a powerful political interest group that is misrepresenting Price’s voting records on issues such as elder care and abortion. Brassfield is not disavowing any of it.

So, young man, why not come clean before primary election day and tell House District 87 Republican voters what you intend to do if you manage to win this contest?

International news

Mexico president shelves visit to DC … who knew?

I am shaking my head, laughing out loud and slapping my hand against my forehead. All at once, man!

Mexico’s president, Enrique Pena Nieto, has called off a planned visit to Washington to meet with Donald John “Build That Wall” Trump Sr. Why do you suppose the Mexican head of state would do that?

Well, he and the president of the United States can’t seem to agree on POTUS’s ridiculous assertion that Mexico should pay for the cost of a wall along the border that separates the two long-standing allies.

Can you simply believe that? Of course, I am joking.

Trump has vowed to “put America first.” He has pledged to “make America great again.” He has said Mexico — a nation that is as sovereign as the United States — should foot the bill for a wall.

Pena Nieto, to no one’s surprise, has said, in effect, “Ain’t no way, Mr. President.”

So this is how our president intends to foster good relations with one of our most important international allies? By hectoring Mexico’s president to pay for a wall. What utter and absolute crap!

As the Texas Tribune has reported: The two presidents’ public posturing over the wall — Trump demands that Mexico pay for it; Peña Nieto insists that it will not — has harmed their personal relationship and jeopardized the alliance between their neighboring countries.

I am not terribly concerned about the presidents’ personal relationship. What is most concerning, though, is what their continued bickering will do to an alliance that has been among the strongest in the world.

From what I’ve observed it’s Donald Trump who keeps poisoning that bilateral relationship by insisting that Mexico do something that the United States cannot force it to do.

This is putting America first? This is how you “make America great again”?

I don’t think so.

national news

CPAC crowd shames itself with boos of Sen. McCain

I cannot stomach what I heard today about the Conservative Political Action Conference reaction when the president of the United States mentioned a critical vote cast by a member of the U.S. Senate.

Donald Trump didn’t mention U.S. Sen. John McCain’s name. He didn’t have to. The CPAC crowd knew he was referring to McCain’s vote on the Senate floor that sunk the GOP plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Then the CPAC audience started booing. They booed a Vietnam War hero, a man who has given more for his country than I suspect anyone else in that CPAC room. They booed a man the president himself once denigrated as being a war hero “only because he was captured” by the North Vietnamese; candidate Trump then said, “I like people who aren’t captured, OK?”

Good grief! Trump simply disgusts me.

CPAC disgraced itself with that hideous display of callousness. Indeed, the president has disgraced himself as well with his own boorish behavior over this and, oh, so many other instances.

I am compelled to mention, too, that Sen. McCain is fighting for his life at this moment against an aggressive form of brain cancer.

For the president to bring up McCain’s vote against repeal of the ACA in that CPAC venue was disgraceful enough. For the CPAC audience to boo a gallant warrior who persevered more torture than anyone ever should have to endure was disgraceful in the extreme.

Shame on them.