Daily Archives: 12/12/2008

Zella Mae Walls-Biggs

Posted on 12/12/2008 | Leave a comment

(Community Matters)
Stephen Walls and Denny Biggs at the hospital now awaiting the birth of their little girl, Zella Mae Walls-Biggs. Good thing I found the cutest little baby gift today in the Marais bio market. Posted from my blackberry

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LGBT Band Marching in Inaugural Parade

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(Community Matters)

WASHINGTON – Today, in keeping with its commitment to hold inaugural events that celebrate our common values and reflects the diversity and history of our great nation, President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s Inaugural Committee officially extended an offer to the Lesbian and Gay Band Association to march in the 56th Inaugural Parade.  Members of that group will join representatives from across the country and our Armed Forces in the historic parade down Pennsylvania Avenue following President-elect Obama’s swearing-in ceremony on the steps of the Capitol.

This marks the first time that an openly LGBT group has been invited to participate in an Inaugural Parade.

“I am honored to invite these talented groups and individuals to participate in the Inaugural Parade,” said President-elect Obama.  “These organizations embody the best of our nation’s history, diversity and commitment to service.  Vice President-elect Biden and I are proud to have them join us in the parade.”(Other very cool news re transition. Though, I’m embargoed – rats) Posted from my blackberry

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Gov Perry Lives in La-La Land

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(Community Matters) This guy just makes it up, either unaware of the real facts or self-deceptive. Nevertheless, while that style of leadership has been rejected nationally, it still plays well enough among rural Texans and enough urban Texans to get him reelected. Phillip Martin at Burnt Orange dissects the Gov’s recent fundraising letter

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Enlightenment

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(Community Matters) Rev Richard Cizik sounds like an enlightened faith leader.


I think this strikes two cords with me. The first is obvious. The second, I’ve been thinking about on this trip.

I just rotated off a nonprofit board after two terms and term limits. It’s never easy to be on a board, nor is it always easy to be staff or my colleague on a board.

And, I think every organization I’ve ever served, has been better off than before I arrived. Absolutely not solely – or even mostly – because of me. But, the difficult issues have been dealt with and there are never unspoken elephants in the room.

Poor Steven has endured whatever grief I’ve felt, since it’s not without personal angst, insecurity and second guessing.

I’ve served on nearly 80 nonprofit boards during the last 25 years. I would say this situation has been true – in a substantial sense – in only a dozen or so. Though, they have been among the 25 largest.


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State of Our Region

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(Community Matters) from Brian Kelsey, Capital Area Council of Governments

The Capital Area grew from approximately 1.3 million to 1.7 million residents between 2000 and 2008, an increase of 26 percent.

For every 100 residents added to the region between 2000 and 2008, 22 were in Austin and 11 were in Round Rock. On average, 17 out of every 100 new residents were in unincorporated areas of the counties.

One out of five Capital Area residents lives in a rural area. CAPCOG’s rural population grew by an estimated 56,190 people between 2000 and 2008.

On average, 57% of new residents in Travis County and 65% of new residents in Williamson County come from other places in Texas. California makes up only a small percentage of the total number of people moving to the region each year.

Unemployment rates in the Capital Area are for the most part below both the state and the national averages. However, the number of unemployed people in the region increased 40% between October 2007 and October 2008, and is at its highest point since 2003.

Austin-Round Rock is one of the strongest performing housing markets in the U.S. right now, in terms of price stability. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight ranked Austin-Round Rock #1 in 2008Q3, among the nearly 300 metro areas the agency tracks.

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