Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 482
RIDEN’ WITH BIDEN Democrats need to vote for President Joe Biden. He’s earned their support. No president since L.B.J. has accomplished more in his first term. Biden did it with a split government, many of his accomplishments due to his skill to bring together bi-partisan support from both Democrats and Republicans. In just three and a half years his record of accomplishments is really amazing. Congressional Democrats, Black Caucus and Hispanic Caucus unanimously support the...
SHAMEFUL DAY FOR OUR DEMOCRACY Back a few years ago, I wrote that this day would come, maybe not in my lifetime but I lived to see it arrive. I had written that all that was needed was a stacked Supreme Court willing to bend our Constitution. Donald Trump was elected president and made three far-right appointments to the Supreme Court. Then came the darkest day in my lifetime when our democracy was challenged and Trump urged a mob to overrun our United States Capital. The mob...
We celebrate our Independence Day on July 4th. Have a safe holiday and enjoy the fireworks! Here are five things happening around your state: 1. Texas Energy Fund oversubscribed The Public Utility Commission of Texas announced this month that the newly created Texas Energy Fund (TEF) has received 125 notices of intent to apply for the In-ERCOT Generation Loan program. The notices request almost $40 billion in financing for new dispatchable power generation projects. This...
BIDEN-TRUMP DEBATE THURSDAY, JUNE 27 CNN, with anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, will moderate the 90-minute debate with two commercial breaks. The Trump campaign agreed to all conditions, even microphones being muted when it’s not their turn to speak. I’ve been asked a few times who I believe will win this debate. The answer is both, depending on who you want to win. Trump may win the showmanship, plus he is the closer, last to speak. He might drop one of his woppers tha...
BIDEN-TRUMP DEBATE RISKY PLATFORM FIRST TO BE NEXT WEEK JUNE 27 Biden, Trump agree to ABC News and CNN debates. CNN said they won’t be allowed to use any props or pre-written notes but will be given paper, a pen and water. The CNN debate is the first of two debates agreed on by the campaigns. The second will be hosted by ABC News on Sept. 10. CNN announced the rules agreed on by both President Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s campaigns. They include microphone muting, a coin fli...
HUNTER BIDEN FOUND GUILTY President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden was convicted by a jury on Tuesday of lying about his drug use to illegally buy a gun, a verdict Democrats may seize upon to counter Donald Trump’s claim of a justice system weaponized against him. A 12-member jury in Wilmington, Delaware, federal court found the defendant guilty on all three counts against him, making Hunter Biden the first child of a sitting U.S. president to be convicted of a crime. The tri...
No Record but Good Average If you live an active, busy life, old age will creep up on you. Life is on a fast track. You are always looking back wondering where the last 10 years went. I've been most fortunate with a good support group and a caring family. As a poor kid during the great depression, I started working the cotton fields with my mother. Those old cotton fields back home is a reference point from those days on. Through the ages, I really never had any down time. I...
PHELAN NOW FACES BATTLE FOR HIS SPEAKERSHIP Dade Phelan, who won his runoff by fewer than 400 votes, will need to mend GOP relationships, build coalitions and possibly even rely on Democrats to hang on to the speaker’s gavel. He said he plans to see his campaign all the way through. Typically, speaker’s races take shape in November, during or after the general election decides the makeup of the House. Currently, Republicans hold an 86-64 lead over Democrats. A candidate needs...
SPEAKER PHELAN BEATS PAXTON’S REVENGE Dade Phelan, Speaker of the Texas House, has beaten David Covey in a runoff election that pitted Phelan against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and millions of dollars in the most expensive, dishonest, mud-slinging campaign ever run in this district. A record nine members lost their primaries, and eight were sent to runoffs, including Dade Phelan, who has run the House for two sessions and is the main target of r...
A personal hero that left his mark on a little boy, that followed him to old age. Back in the 1930’s times were hard around the country but in the Cajun parishes of Louisiana they were really bad. My grandfather died when I was four years old, which left no man around. My uncle Meldon “Tee-Dan” Duplantis was still single but lived away from home. He worked at the Abbeville newspaper and came by to visit grandma Avalia almost every day. He always took a few moments to play...
This is for those youngsters who will be graduating this month, who will be leaving the protection of home and striking out on their own. You have absolutely no idea what the future has in store. You will have great things happen, and you will also get a lot of hard bumps. The bumps will seem harder to you than they really are. Your parents, up to now, have been taking many bumps for you, sheltering you against them. Later, you will do the same for your children. Time will...
DOW REACHES ALL TIME HIGH The Dow posted its all-time high during intraday trading on May 16, 2024, reaching a peak of 40,051.05 points. The highest close occurred the day before when the index closed at 39,908.00 points. The peak was led in part by optimism that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates later this year. All three of the big U.S. Stock indexes set records last week in large part because of revived hopes that the Federal Reserve will be able to cut interest...
TIME—DID WE WASTE OR USE IT Well, here we are, it’s almost mid-May and in a couple of weeks a half year will have gone by. In a few days school will be out for the summer. It seems to me like the school year just started. Time does seem to travel faster as you get older or maybe we old folks just travel slower while time moves on. Remember when it seemed that the school year lasted so long and summer took forever to get here. Is it for real or is it just perception? Today we...
LOVE TO MOTHER’S EVERYWHERE Throughout my life, Mother’s Day has always been important to me. Mothers not only carry and give birth, but also nurture us through those formative years but when we skin a knee or fall out of a tree Mom will always make it okay. Her tenderness and motherly love is unmatched. Often it’s when you look back you realize just how important her part was in your development. Sometimes it’s after she is gone, when the big picture fully comes to you. Th...
RUN OFF—WHO CAN VOTE The Primary runoff election between incumbent Dade Phelan, Speaker of the Texas House, and newcomer David Covey is Tuesday, May 28. Early voting begins May 20 and ends May 24. Some people seem to be confused as to who is eligible to vote in the runoff. If you voted in the Republican primary, you can vote again. If you voted in the Democratic primary, you can’t vote. If you didn’t vote in either primary, you are free to vote in the runoff. Democrats didn...
On April 21, 1836 the Battle of San Jacinto was fought and won by Sam Houston and the Texas army in a matter of minutes. Only nine Texans were killed while 630 Mexican soldiers died in the battle. Santa Anna was captured after the battle and with the victory, the Republic of Texas began. Here are five things happening around your state: 1. East Texas law enforcement agencies receive grants The Comptroller’s office announced this month it has delivered nearly $126 million in g...
JUST SAY IT AIN’T SO I’m just having a real hard time accepting that my longtime friend Harry Stephens is gone. Early Sunday morning I glanced down at the ringing phone and seeing Margie Stephens’ name I knew it wouldn’t be good news. I had checked on Harry a few days earlier and had gotten Margie’s cell number to use if I couldn’t reach Harry. She told me he was wearing an oxygen machine full time but was still working at the store five days a week and a half-day on Saturday...
HISTORIC TRIAL OF TRUMP BEGINS Not until mid-afternoon Tuesday did Donald Trump’s lawyers and prosecutors select the first seven jurors for the case, which centers on allegations that the former president falsified documents to cover up a sex scandal involving a porn star. Dozens were dismissed after saying they could not be fair, underscoring the towering task of trying a former president in a city where he is deeply unpopular. The lawyers reached the heart of the s...
TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE—BIG DEAL The much anticipated solar eclipse shifted billions of dollars across the country. The ‘first’ reports came out of Mexico, headed to Texas Hill Country and beyond. The eclipse laid a 100 mile path from Texas to Maine. It was a big deal for small towns that usually lose out to big sporting events in large cities. Unlike other major events, the 2024 total eclipse was a family affair. Families drove or flew together to unknown places throughout the c...
NEWS AROUND TEXAS Texas is making a lot of news ahead of next Mondays April 8th total solar eclipse. Cities around Texas expect to see a major influx of tourists. Good weather is expected. The Hill Country is a great place to see the eclipse but not the only place. The path of totality is expected to stretch between 108 and 122 miles. There are lots of Texas locations in that wide strip. The First Monday Trade Days, in Canton, this year will be set up for RV and tent camping...
For the first time since 1878, Texans will see their first total solar eclipse next month. Total solar eclipses are rare because the sun, the moon, and the Earth must align such that the moon moves in between the sun and the Earth. Only people who are within the path of totality will be able to see the full effects of the eclipse. The path of totality encompasses a large swath of Texas including the DFW metroplex, Tyler, Austin and the Hill Country, and Del Rio. The eclipse wi...
Monday I got a call from Senator Carl Parker, I always called him ‘Senator.’ He said he was checking on me. I told him outside of nearly daily visits to some doctor, and having to get up too much during the night I was hanging in there. He said join the club about night’s ups and downs, that’s an old man’s curse. He told me he was due to have a heart valve repaired. I didn’t understand why it was put off, something about the doctor not being available. I asked if he had talked...
SERVICE TO BE HELD FOR SENATOR PARKER Longtime lawmaker and political titan Carl A. Parker passed away Friday, March 22. He was 89. Parker was born in 1934 in Port Arthur and left home to live elsewhere twice: the first time when he attended law school at the University of Texas — he graduated in 1958 — and the second when he served four years in the U.S. Navy. For more than three decades, he served in the legislature: from 1962 to 1977 in the House of Representatives and fro...
My grandmother Availia had many children; among them were three sets of twins and a set of triplets. Many of the young died as infants. Only one twin, my uncle Meldan “Tee-Dan” survived. His twin Melda didn’t make it past 3 years old. Grandma had been the carrier of 20 children or more. Few made it to birth, some lived a few months or a few days, and only seven of those children lived a long life. My aunt Eve died in 2008 at age 105. The rest all lived to be 90, with the excep...
As a long time, Democrat, I must admit I have mixed emotions about the way Dade Phelan is being treated by the Republican Party. While I am pleased to see the Republicans are so disorganized, I am convinced that having the Speaker of the House representing this area is a great benefit to us all. There is a time and place for an area to benefit. The time is while the Legislature is in session. The place is various committees of the House and Senate. As an example, had I not...
