Category Archives: Uncategorized

(Community Matters)  St James Episcopal – As we’re moving to raise capital and retire debt (a move I wholly support), glad the congregation is being asked to weigh in on the options. A 30- or 99-year ground lease would be better than outright sale of excess land (given how appraisals work, with little impact on price). And, we shouldn’t overly rely on promises to share facilities or co-habitate as good neighbors since these agreements are unlikely to govern any future owners. St James will be here for many generations. We can’t count on the same for a startup.

We should also be careful not to enter into a political argument which has pitted AISD against our East Austin neighbors. School board members were targeted and defeated because of the opposition to the charter school. I’ve read only good things about this school and their Austin board chair is a dear friend and St James’ member. Nevertheless, we wouldn’t want to take an action seen as a stick in the eye. Not at all a deal killer, we just need to navigate this with neighbors and East Austin political leaders.

apologies for missing tomorrow’s meeting after the 10:15 service. We’ll be out of town 

(Community Matters) The Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering is in Alpine this weekend. Marfa Public Radio & KXWT (across west texas)  are covering and broadcasting.

(Community Matters) when Lindsey Graham and John McCain say you are out of bounds . . . . well, you know that’s really out there

(Community Matters)  The Wire. Cities can innovate.

I’m unlikely to support a rail initiative unless I know we’ve vetted Jared & Michael’s innovative idea for cable (aerial gandolas) as our form of urban mass transit.

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(Community Matters) Not to be underestimated:

–“New entry in the AP Stylebook: ‘husband, wife'” – AP release: “Regardless of sexual orientation, husband or wife is acceptable in all references to individuals in any legally recognized marriage. Spouse or partner may be used if requested. ‘The AP has never had a Stylebook entry on the question of the usage of husband and wife,’ said AP Senior Managing Editor for U.S. News Mike Oreskes. ‘All the previous conversation was in the absence of such a formal entry. This lays down clear and simple usage. After reviewing existing practice, we are formalizing ‘husband, wife’ as an entry.'” http://bit.ly/YgrH58

Reminds me – last week sitting down to breakfast with a new company CEO, I referred to my husband. He looked confused and asked me to repeat what I’d just said. I knew what was going on but feigned not catching his confusion. When I clarified that Steven Tomlinson was my husband, he just looked at me, gulped and said, “ok, I thought that’s what you said.” I knew he wasn’t reacting with prejudice; he just hadn’t ever heard a man call another man his husband. That’s okay. He dealt with it just fine, and we left committed to pursuing a business relationship.

(Community Matters) $1,300 to a family earning $60,000 per year (or 2% of take home pay), that’s a lot. That’s the impact of expired payroll tax cut and its impact on discretionary spending so real WalMart, Burger King, Kraft and heaps of retailers, restaurants and consumer-good companies lowering earnings expectation.

(Community Matters) MPR/KXWT’s Lorne Matalon interviews Jim Henry

(Community Matters)

(Community Matters) Considering recent GOP state led voter suppression initiatives such as voter ID laws, fewer voting locations in communities of color, indiscriminate purging of voter lists, outside campaigns of intimidation, and reduced early voting days, one would think it’s not a good time to argue Federal protections aren’t still necessary to ensure citizens’ right to vote

Lawmakers proposed 62 photo ID bills in 37 states in the 2011 and 2012 sessions, with multiple bills introduced in some states. Ten states have passed strict photo ID laws since 2008, though several may not be in effect in November because of legal challenges.

A News21 analysis found that more than half of the 62 bills were sponsored by members or conference attendees of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a Washington, D.C.-based, tax-exempt organization.  At ALEC’s annual conferences, legislators, nonprofits and corporations work together without direct public input to develop bills that promote smaller government.

From The Voting Rights Project at News 21; part of the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education

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(Community Matters) A very telling statement: “While 88 percent of Democrats support the president, Republicans are evenly split on whether their party’s officials are doing a good job.”

“76% say that the president and Congress should focus on a combination of spending cuts and tax increases to reduce the budget deficit. Just 19% agree with the current Republican position that tax increases should be off the table.” Pew Poll

while Obama’s 51% job approval rating is down slightly from a post-election high of 55%, it remains well above the 25% approval rating for GOP congressional leaders. The job rating for Democratic leaders is higher (37%), though more disapprove (55%) than approve of their performance.

(Community Matters) Mexico’s high court strikes down marriage discrimination

(Community Matters) Latest Gallup poll asking if respondent identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Highest concentration in Washington DC (10%); Texas at 3.3% is at just about the national average (3.5%).

According to Gallup: “This is the largest single study of the distribution of the LGBT population in the U.S. on record, and the first time a study has had large enough sample sizes to provide estimates of the LGBT population by state.”

Hat Tip: Towelroad