Category Archives: Uncategorized

(Community Matters)

(Community Matters) Let’s hope not

(Community Matters) Ok, I thought their Super Bowl ads were smart and didn’t find them homophobic, but this one is stupid and offensive.

(Community Matters) Appears new City Manager Marc Ott is playing it safe, rolling with the staff to maintain all services at near or existing levels. This is admirable, even if disappointing, since it’s no small feat itself.

There should be no sacred cows. You can’t tell me there isn’t waste and areas where technology couldn’t yield substantial recurring savings. Though, admittedly, this city manager has pledged to follow the lead of city council, and we shouldn’t expect an all at-large elected city council to be bold in remaking city hall. Each council member and our mayor have areas where they excel. My criteria for supporting the next candidate for mayor is going to include who can lead in remaking the effectiveness and efficiency of city hall & city services as well as provide the visionary leadership to build Austin’s infrastructure for the next century.

(Community Matters) Doesn’t take the Brandenburg Gate.

(Community Matters) An idiot skating on the razor’s edge here.

(Community Matters) Texas Monthly’s Paul Burka details the political opportunities in Texas this election cycle here.

(Community Matters) A couple of breakfasts today. First with friends wealth manager Eric Price of Price Wealth Management and Austin Community Foundation CEO/Pres Ken Gladish. Good gosh, these two are wicked smart. I mostly listened.

And, second breakfast was with Dr. Bill Rice. I originally met Bill through Tommie Meredith. Bill’s a retired emergency physician and an entrepreneur. He’s teamed up with Bob Fabbio and they’ve launched WhiteGlove House Call Health.

For $35 – $100/month/person, they’ll provide at home (or at work), primary health care everyday from 8am to 8pm and schedule at home or at work appointments within 2 hours of a call. The fee entitles members to access WhiteGlove services at their home or business. Members pay additional treatment fees, labs and meds. Most treatment fees are $35/visit. They use a nurse practitioner model and have physicians also on staff. Humana healthcare insurance covers the membership costs and treatment fees. Other health insurance providers may cover these as out-of-network charges. Way cool. Steven and I are going to have to discuss this. Love the model.

Bill and I also discussed healthcare in general – the systems of delivery, centers of excellence, cancers (especially breast cancer & lymphoma) and who knows what else. He’s already sent me a couple of pieces to read, including a paper he wrote on why breast cancer mortality is higher among African American women.

(Community Matters) Yesterday, finally caught up with my friend, Susan Dawson. Gosh, Susan was Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce Chair and I was her vice chair/treasurer, something like 7 or 8 years ago. Back then, she ran a high-tech consulting group, the Athens Group. Now she’s leading the E3 Alliance.

The E3 Alliance is a “regional effort to increase global competitiveness, economic vitality and overall quality of life for Central Texas by aligning our education systems to better fulfill the potential of every citizen.

Guided by an objective data map and a clear community vision, we propose to better align the practices of our regional education system and allocate our investments and services more efficiently to dramatically and sustainably increase educational outcomes. The E3 Alliance acts as the Central Texas P-16 Council.”

I’m impressed with their Blue Print for Educational Change which was adopted collaboratively by over 100 regional community and business leaders. Its four goals are 1) All children enter kindergarten school ready, 2) We eliminate achievement gaps while improving overall student performance, 3) All students graduate college-and-career ready and prepared for a lifetime of learning and 4) Central Texas as a community prepares children to succeed.

Susan notes in a recent newsletter: “It’s not that our schools are failing – in fact, student performance has gotten better by almost any measure you can use. But when 90% of the fastest growing jobs require some post-secondary education, far too few of our students are graduating high school, going into college, or getting any post-secondary degree to meet the needs of a competitive economy.”

Kudos to Susan, her supporters and her board members, including Sylvia Acevedo, David Balch, Jesus Chavez, Stephen Kinslow, Earl Maxwell, Michael McDonald, Patrick Pringle, Edwin, Sharpe, Denise Trauth, Gregory Vincent, Marina Walne and Pete Winstead.

(Community Matters) Snopes.com on Maureen Dowd column of Obama’s internet fundraising here

(Community Matters) The bouncer at a gay bar trying to ban drag queens. in Dallas