Great news from Judith McGeary of Texas Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance! The U.S. Department of Agriculture is dropping its plans for national animal identification. This plan would have forced owners of even one horse, chicken, or other farm animal to have chips implanted in every animal and to notify an authority every time the animal was moved off their property—for instance, for a trail ride, or if an animal temporarily got loose. By way of the computer chip, the authorities would know if the animal had left its property, and legal action could have been taken against the owner. Thankfully for small ranchers and rural animal owners, this plan has been scrapped.
Judith says, “Thank you to the thousands of people who called, wrote, organized meetings, and more. We succeeded in making our voices heard.” USDA will now work on requirements that apply only to animals moved in interstate commerce. For more details, see:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/animal_health/content/printable_version/faq_traceability.pdf
As for the future, Judith notes, “We must be involved and vocal, so that agribusiness does not develop yet another high-tech, big-industry boondoggle. We must be active at the state level to ensure that the state agencies do not implement unnecessary and burdensome rules.”
Thanks to Judith and her organization and to everyone who worked against this plan that would have been so intrusive and legally harsh for rural animal owners.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
High-speed rail not for Texas yet
The Dallas Morning News has an interesting update on the prospects of high-speed rail in Texas entitled “Most federal rail grants probably will bypass Texas.”
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/011910dnmettexrail.3fb19e9.html
Michael Lindenberger reports, “The federal government is about to hand out a river of cash to states willing to build a network of bullet trains. . . . It's the nation's first major investment in true high-speed rail. . . . [W]ord already has emerged that Texas’ chances of snagging much of what it has requested are slim.”
This word comes from Karen Rae, deputy commissioner for the Federal Railroad Administration. She said that applications for the funds from other states had more support from governors and legislatures. She says Texas has “no central vision, no common vision for rail in Texas.”
This is welcome news to those who are still recovering from Perry’s “vision” of the Trans-Texas Corridor. Texas needs a break from central planning—a vision imposed on residents and landowners from the governor and other top officials, their aides and consultants, and their construction contractor contributors.
Lindenberger explains, “The first $8 billion of what could be several times that much money over the next five years is expected to be awarded in the next several weeks. . . . Texas has requested $1.8 billion in the current round of funding, most of it to fast-track a bullet train proposal.” Untold billions more would be needed to actually build and operate the train. Probably, train riders would be subsidized by all taxpayers.
Before Texas commits its funds and its land to this proposal, we must be sure that the project is needed and economically feasible—not a project where the main goal is to direct tax money to construction interests.
The Texas High-Speed Rail site has this map of the Texas T-Bone proposal, which shows the route going through Williamson County east of IH-35. To see a larger version, go to
http://www.thsrtc.com/about_texas_tbone_route.html
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/011910dnmettexrail.3fb19e9.html
Michael Lindenberger reports, “The federal government is about to hand out a river of cash to states willing to build a network of bullet trains. . . . It's the nation's first major investment in true high-speed rail. . . . [W]ord already has emerged that Texas’ chances of snagging much of what it has requested are slim.”
This word comes from Karen Rae, deputy commissioner for the Federal Railroad Administration. She said that applications for the funds from other states had more support from governors and legislatures. She says Texas has “no central vision, no common vision for rail in Texas.”
This is welcome news to those who are still recovering from Perry’s “vision” of the Trans-Texas Corridor. Texas needs a break from central planning—a vision imposed on residents and landowners from the governor and other top officials, their aides and consultants, and their construction contractor contributors.
Lindenberger explains, “The first $8 billion of what could be several times that much money over the next five years is expected to be awarded in the next several weeks. . . . Texas has requested $1.8 billion in the current round of funding, most of it to fast-track a bullet train proposal.” Untold billions more would be needed to actually build and operate the train. Probably, train riders would be subsidized by all taxpayers.
Before Texas commits its funds and its land to this proposal, we must be sure that the project is needed and economically feasible—not a project where the main goal is to direct tax money to construction interests.
The Texas High-Speed Rail site has this map of the Texas T-Bone proposal, which shows the route going through Williamson County east of IH-35. To see a larger version, go to
http://www.thsrtc.com/about_texas_tbone_route.html
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Kay Bailey Hutchison specific anti-Corridor ad
Succinct anti-Corridor statement from KBH.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8D2fiO9GPg
A special version will run during the game tomorrow night. A special ending has been tailored just for this purpose. I can't find it to post here, so you'll just have to watch for it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8D2fiO9GPg
A special version will run during the game tomorrow night. A special ending has been tailored just for this purpose. I can't find it to post here, so you'll just have to watch for it.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Gov. 39%--NOT so proud of the Corridor anymore
The Dallas Morning News covers the Trans-Texas Corridor being taken off Perry’s website in a political blog entry, “Rick Perry’s bio: Now you see it, now you don’t.”
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/12/somethings-missing-from-the-te.html#comments
Wayne Slater reports, “Something's missing from the Texas governor's official state website. Gone from Rick Perry's biography is any mention of the Trans-Texas Corridor, the beleaguered toll-road project the governor once touted as a crowning jewel accomplishment of his tenure in office. . . . The changes on the official state website come as Perry is stepping up his reelection campaign against rival Kay Bailey Hutchison.”
“Hutchison has been critical of Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor idea. Although popular with construction interests, the project ran afoul of landowners espousing property rights and other opponents of toll roads.”
Presumably, Perry’s team thinks “out-of-sight, out-of-mind”-- that rural residents and their allies will forget all about Perry’s attempt to pull off the largest land grab in Texas history for the benefit of his “construction interest” pals. I guess we’ll see in the Republican primary results if what was a core part of Perry’s base will forgive and forget or if enough of them will have a memory like an elephant and forsake Gov. 39%.
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/12/somethings-missing-from-the-te.html#comments
Wayne Slater reports, “Something's missing from the Texas governor's official state website. Gone from Rick Perry's biography is any mention of the Trans-Texas Corridor, the beleaguered toll-road project the governor once touted as a crowning jewel accomplishment of his tenure in office. . . . The changes on the official state website come as Perry is stepping up his reelection campaign against rival Kay Bailey Hutchison.”
“Hutchison has been critical of Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor idea. Although popular with construction interests, the project ran afoul of landowners espousing property rights and other opponents of toll roads.”
Presumably, Perry’s team thinks “out-of-sight, out-of-mind”-- that rural residents and their allies will forget all about Perry’s attempt to pull off the largest land grab in Texas history for the benefit of his “construction interest” pals. I guess we’ll see in the Republican primary results if what was a core part of Perry’s base will forgive and forget or if enough of them will have a memory like an elephant and forsake Gov. 39%.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Coupland Civic Organization holds first event at newly restored historic Depot
Halloween Party at Coupland Depot
Congratulations to the Coupland Civic Organization! Work on the historic Coupland Depot is completed, and the CCO was able to host a community Halloween party at the Depot. Next up will be repairing the caboose that sits next to the Depot. Eventually, the CCO hopes to build a pavilion for community gatherings on the Depot grounds.
The CCO is raising funds for the caboose work by selling personalized pavers that will become part of the sidewalk leading from the street to the Depot. To buy a personalized paver in honor or memory of a person, or in honor of a family or business, get a paver order form on the CCO website:
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Lone Star Rail hopes to move UP freight to Coupland area
The Statesman’s Ben Wear has provided an update on moving freight rail out of Austin to the Coupland area to make way for passenger rail on Union Pacific’s Austin line. Here’s the link to his column “A rail district by any other name still needs money.”
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/11/09/1109wear.html
Recently, the Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District held a news conference to announce that they have changed their name to the Lone Star Rail District.
Wear notes, “[T]he train service is still mostly a line on a map. As agency board chairman Sid Covington says, the main obstacles to creating a commuter line between Austin and San Antonio are now and always have been Union Pacific freights and money. . . . To make commuter rail viable, almost all of Union Pacific's freight runs would have to be moved to new or refurbished tracks east of the existing tracks.”
The 2008 Central Texas Rail Relocation Study shows two alternatives for the freight rail—expanding the rail line that goes through Coupland or constructing a new line from Taylor to San Antonio through the countryside west of Coupland. Wear points out, “Rerouting the Union Pacific trains from Taylor . . . would cost anywhere from almost $900 million . . . to $2.4 billion. The rail district last year was saying that construction of the line itself would take another $600 million.”
The Lone Star Rail District hopes that TxDOT and Union Pacific will pay for the alternate freight route.
Wear reports, “As for the passenger rail construction — 16 stations, trains, track and signal improvements, maintenance facilities — Lone Star officials see TxDOT paying half, the other half split roughly in thirds among governments in the Austin area, Bexar County and Comal and Hays counties.”
Right now, there is no money for this construction. What is new now is the Rail District will receive $40 million from the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization and the San Antonio Metropolitan Planning Organization for design work and the environmental process. Wear says that these studies will begin early in 2010.
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/11/09/1109wear.html
Recently, the Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District held a news conference to announce that they have changed their name to the Lone Star Rail District.
Wear notes, “[T]he train service is still mostly a line on a map. As agency board chairman Sid Covington says, the main obstacles to creating a commuter line between Austin and San Antonio are now and always have been Union Pacific freights and money. . . . To make commuter rail viable, almost all of Union Pacific's freight runs would have to be moved to new or refurbished tracks east of the existing tracks.”
The 2008 Central Texas Rail Relocation Study shows two alternatives for the freight rail—expanding the rail line that goes through Coupland or constructing a new line from Taylor to San Antonio through the countryside west of Coupland. Wear points out, “Rerouting the Union Pacific trains from Taylor . . . would cost anywhere from almost $900 million . . . to $2.4 billion. The rail district last year was saying that construction of the line itself would take another $600 million.”
The Lone Star Rail District hopes that TxDOT and Union Pacific will pay for the alternate freight route.
Wear reports, “As for the passenger rail construction — 16 stations, trains, track and signal improvements, maintenance facilities — Lone Star officials see TxDOT paying half, the other half split roughly in thirds among governments in the Austin area, Bexar County and Comal and Hays counties.”
Right now, there is no money for this construction. What is new now is the Rail District will receive $40 million from the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization and the San Antonio Metropolitan Planning Organization for design work and the environmental process. Wear says that these studies will begin early in 2010.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Don't squander groundwater resources in Eastern Central Texas
Following the article in the Austin American-Statesman on November 10 that was the subject of our previous post, the paper ran coverage on November 18 of a second large pipeline planned to bring water from the east to the San Marcos area, “Looking east for a water supply.”
Yesterday, the Statesman ran a thoughtful editorial discussing these huge depletions of our area’s water resources and what sort of controls could be implemented so that the available water will be used for the good of the public. Here’s the link to the editorial “Can’t let it come down to the last straw.”
http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/2009/11/20/1120water_edit.html
Some excerpts:
“The American-Statesman's Asher Price reported earlier this week that the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority is talking to a water developer firm about buying 45 million gallons of water per day from Bastrop and Lee counties for consumption in the San Marcos area.
“Lee and Bastrop residents would have every right to question why ‘their’ water would be shipped elsewhere. Under Texas law, groundwater is a commodity, like any other, to be bought and sold to the highest bidder.
“’If they all ramp up in the next 10 or 15 years, we won't possibly be able to dish out that much water,’ said Pat Cooper, Lost Pines general manager. The amount Limmer [End-Op, the company directed by former Williamson County Commissioner Frankie Limmer] has applied to pump — if actually pumped — would ‘take us to our limit and beyond our limit when you look 40, 50 years out,’ Cooper said.
“That's a lot of pumps sucking up the water underneath Bastrop and Lee Counties with minimal objective oversight . . . Given the competition that already exists and the increased demand for water, the Legislature is going to be asked to referee. . . . Inaction risks exhausting the supply so that everyone loses.”
Yesterday, the Statesman ran a thoughtful editorial discussing these huge depletions of our area’s water resources and what sort of controls could be implemented so that the available water will be used for the good of the public. Here’s the link to the editorial “Can’t let it come down to the last straw.”
http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/2009/11/20/1120water_edit.html
Some excerpts:
“The American-Statesman's Asher Price reported earlier this week that the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority is talking to a water developer firm about buying 45 million gallons of water per day from Bastrop and Lee counties for consumption in the San Marcos area.
“Lee and Bastrop residents would have every right to question why ‘their’ water would be shipped elsewhere. Under Texas law, groundwater is a commodity, like any other, to be bought and sold to the highest bidder.
“’If they all ramp up in the next 10 or 15 years, we won't possibly be able to dish out that much water,’ said Pat Cooper, Lost Pines general manager. The amount Limmer [End-Op, the company directed by former Williamson County Commissioner Frankie Limmer] has applied to pump — if actually pumped — would ‘take us to our limit and beyond our limit when you look 40, 50 years out,’ Cooper said.
“That's a lot of pumps sucking up the water underneath Bastrop and Lee Counties with minimal objective oversight . . . Given the competition that already exists and the increased demand for water, the Legislature is going to be asked to referee. . . . Inaction risks exhausting the supply so that everyone loses.”
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