On Saturday, Sept. 1, when HB 2391 takes effect, Texas police officers will be given a choice to issue a ticket instead of arrest individuals for certain Class A and B misdemeanors – including possession of up to 4oz of marijuana. Authored by Rep. Jerry Madden, R-Richardson – also chair of the House Corrections Committee – and carried by Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo – also vice chair of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee – the bill is designed to ease the burden on county jails and county budgets. The bill would allow an officer to write a ticket in lieu of arrest for certain misdemeanor crimes committed in the same county where the individual lives. Among the new citation-eligible offenses are criminal mischief, theft, theft of service, and graffiti, where the loss of goods/services or damage done is less than $500; bringing and/or possessing “contraband in a correctional facility”; driving with a suspended license; and, possession of equal to or less than 4oz of pot. The Travis Co. Sheriff’s Office estimates that 7,000 people were booked people into jail in 2006 for the offenses listed under the new law. TCSO spokesman Roger Wade said that most of those defendants would’ve qualified for a citation only, which would’ve saved the county about $1.2 million. Additionally, Wade said that the TCSO estimates that each arrest took an officer off the street for an average of three hours per arrest.

A citation written under the new law would require the ticketed individual to appear before a magistrate for a hearing on the charged offense before being released on a personal bond – except in cases where “good cause shown” means a stint in the county lockup. Any failure to appear before the judge at the appointed time would prompt filing an arrest warrant.

The measure received near unanimous support in the Lege. In the House the measure passed 132-1 on a record vote with only Rep. Larry Phillips, R-Sherman, voting against the measure; in the Senate the bill passed 29-1 with Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, voting against passage. Gov. Rick Perry signed the measure into law June 15.

It's hard to believe, but yesterday marked the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Two years have passed, and still, to this day, there are tens of thousands of families without homes. Displaced. Thirty thousand families are scattered across the country in bottom-of-the-barrel FEMA apartments, 13,000 are in formaldehyde-laced trailers, and hardly any of the 77,000 rental units destroyed in New Orleans have been rebuilt. These are not simply statistics. These are human lives.

For a minute there, all the celebs had high-profile donations and TV appearances to funnel money to New Orleans. It was rad. Red Cross was all over it. Salvation Army did their thing, too. Though the government (seemingly) turned its head, the people, the collective you-me-they-we showed compassion and kindness, doing all we could to throw a lifesaver to our drowning sister city.

But, two years down the line, have people forgotten about the devastation? They have forgotten, but it's still there. New Orleans is not just back to normal. So, in the spirit of keeping awareness on a real tip, The Brave New Foundation has created this moving video, documenting the truth in New Orleans, in hopes of generating reaction, and thus support for Senator Dodd's Gulf Coast Recovery Bill of 2007 (S1688). Watch the video, sign the petition. Help your neighbor.

The inability of Austin athletes to make a final at the 11th IAAF World Championships in Track & Field in Osaka, Japan (see previous post) has finally been snapped. Sanya Richards, the 2003 NCAA champion at 400 meters for the Texas Longhorns, easily qualified this morning for the final of the 200 meters by winning her semifinal heat in 22.50 seconds. She is strong contender for the gold medal, but the competition will be tough: Her American teammate Allyson Felix is the defending champion, and Jamaican Veronica Campbell could still be riding high from her victory in the 100 meters Monday. If you go to WCSN.com, you can watch Richards' race live Friday morning at 7:15am. Or tune in that evening to the Versus network.

Other Austinites in action right now: As of this writing (8:09pm Austin time), two former Austinites are about go into action, both in the qualification round of the women's high jump. Corpus Christi native Amy Acuff, who has competed in every World Championships since 1995, and Erin Aldrich, a former Longhorn NCAA Champ and Olympian. Acuff is the likelier of the two to make Sunday's final, which she has done in five of her six appearances. Aldrich in recent years has concentrated more on playing pro volleyball in Italy, and it shows – she only placed 7th at the U.S. championships, and made the American team only because the athletes ahead of her did not have a jump this season high enough to qualify them for Osaka. (Interesting thought: the U.S. women's high jump team could have been an all-Austin squad. UT's Destinee Hooker qualified for the team, but declined the invitation because she is also a volleyball All-American and had to prepare for the upcoming season.)

UPDATE: Acuff qualified, Aldrich did not.

Your friendly neighborhood Gay Place Blog, in conjunction with Foodies/Coochie Coo and HRC, has pulled together a prize package of magnanimous proportions to celebrate the weekend of HRC's Dinah Lakeshore event on the shores of Lake Travis.

The pending execution of Kenneth Foster – scheduled for tomorrow – is some truly debased, embarrassing bullshit for the state of Texas and society as as whole. There's no question as to whether he killed anyone – he didn't – yet under Texas' perverse, antiquated "law of parties," he's as guilty for riding in a car with said murderer. Understandably, people are up in arms. Here's a sampling of what's out there.

"I am no wild-eyed, pointy-headed liberal. I am the former elected Bexar County District Attorney (1983-1987)," Sam Millsap writes the Board of Pardons. "I am responsible for the prosecution of more than a few death penalty cases, all of which produced convictions and executions … Is there no limit to our lust in this state for retribution? How many people must we execute for this crime before justice is served? Having already executed the shooter, what benefit results from the execution of someone who was simply nearby and had no idea that a murder would be committed? As the civilized world watches in amazement that a single American state has executed 400 people in the last 25 years, what does it say about us if we are willing to execute someone who was in the car when this horrible crime was committed? Surely, there is a limit to what we are capable of in this state."

Also, 13 state reps have written in, demanding clemency: Harold Dutton, Mike Villareal, Eddie Rodriguez, Donna Howard, Alma Allen, Terri Hodge and Ruth Jones McClendon singed a joint letter, while Sylvester Turner, Helen Giddings, Dora Olivo, Elliot Naishtat, Lon Burnam and Jessica Farrar wrote in individually.

Lastly, here's some contact numbers for you out there: the Governor is 512-463-2000, while the Board of Pardons and Paroles is 512-406-5852. Fax letters requesting clemency or stay to Maria Ramierez, Legal Support Director, Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles at 512 467-0945.

Godspeed.

UPDATE: With the world watching, the Governor does the right thing:

Gov. Rick Perry accepted a parole board recommendation Thursday to spare condemned inmate Kenneth Foster, the getaway driver in a 1996 murder who had been scheduled for execution within hours.

The death of tenor sax man Rocky Morales last year devastated San Antonio’s music scene. A founding member of the Westside Horns, Rocky worked alongside Doug Sahm for many years in various bands including Joe & the VIPs, Rudy & the Reno Bops, Randy Garibay, Spot Barnett, and the Texas Tornados.

Morales played with old-school flair, influenced by the Mexican community he grew up in as well as the R&B bands of the Fifties and Sixties. That’s no surprise, since Clifford “Honkytonk” Scott was the one who inspired him to switch from alto to tenor sax. The resulting sound was unique in its soulfulness, exactly the touch Sahm loved to use in his various hybrids of rock, country, and blues.

Tonight at Antone’s is the tribute to Morales featuring the Westside Horns, Ruben Ramos, and Larry Lange & the Lonely Knights. Expect some mighty music as the Horns’ gorgeous reeds and brass meets Ramos’ silky Tejano sound and the Knights’ cuddle-up dance tunes. Doors at 7pm, music at 8pm.

The UT Lady Longhorns open their season this Friday with a No. 9 national ranking, and even higher aspirations. It's a veteran team, with four senior starters, plus four juniors who are three-year starters on defense (Stephanie Logterman, Kasey Moore, Jill Gilbeau, and goalie Dianne Pfenninger). On top of that, this is supposed to be one of Coach Chris Petrucelli's best recruiting classes. The Horns used eight newcomers – six freshmen and their two transfers – in a scoreless exhibition game at New Mexico Friday, as veterans Jill Gilbeau, Caitlin Kennedy, and Leslie Imber missed the trip.

The Horns host TCU at Myers Stadium, 7pm Friday, Aug 31 (coupon for $3 admission here). The Horned Toadettes should be a pretty good test; they return eight starters from last year, plus a couple of veterans back from seasonlong injuries, and they haven't allowed a goal in two games thus far. But a sterner test will come two days later in Houston, as the Horns take on third-ranked UCLA. The St. Edwards men open their conference season at home against Incarnate Word, Sunday, Sept. 2, 1pm. The women are on the road against Stephen F. Austin.

FIRST ROUND GROUPS
Top two in each group advance to quarterfinals Group A
Germany
England
Japan
Argentina Group B
USA
Sweden
Nigeria
North Korea Group C
Norway
Canada
Australia
Ghana Group D
Brazil
China
Denmark
New Zealand

On Aug. 22, Gov. Rick Perry's press guy sent out a press-release bitch slap to the European Union for daring to comment on the death penalty in Texas. "While we respect our friends in Europe," said flack-in-chief Robert Black, "welcome their investment in our state and appreciate their interest in our laws, Texans are doing just fine governing Texas.”

On Aug. 24, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst put out a gushing press release applauding Circuit Judge Richard Howard for handing down the death penalty on John Couey, the Florida man convicted of raping and murdering nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford. "Jessica's murder was a horrible, horrible crime," said Dewhurst, "and I commend the jury and judge for their actions."

So asking a state not to perform executions, bad; encouraging a state to do them, good. Just so we know.