News Top 10s

Top 10 News Stories, State

1. Bush Becomes President, Sort of: Despite that unfortunate unpleasantness in Florida (shhh -- we're not supposed to mention that) and a rather dramatic loss of the popular vote (don't tell anybody), the ex-Governor from New Haven, Midland, Houston, and Kennebunkport took up residence in D.C. Soon he was selling his Texas tax-cut snake oil to a credulous Congress. ... But that was in another country, and besides ... it's wartime, buddy-boy.

Of course, it wasn't just Austinites losing employment. Down the road in Houston, Enron completely imploded and took 4,500 jobs with it. (Photo By Jana Birchum)

2. The Lege Attacks and Goes Home: The best thing about the 77th Session is that the governor wasn't running for president, and therefore allowed a few things (besides tax cuts) to get done. The pols put a formal end to grandfathered pollution (hold your breath for only six or seven more years), gave some money to Medicaid, nursing homes and teachers' insurance, slightly improved indigent defense, and held off nuke waste for another year. They did nothing serious about taxes, especially for education -- and that bill will definitely come due.

3. James Byrd Jr. Act Passes: Though the law may prove more symbolic than effective, the Lege finally outlawed hate crimes in Texas (be patient, it's only the 21st century). Texas not only honored the name and death of the brutally murdered James Byrd Jr., but finally overcame the state's institutional refusal to treat gays and lesbians as full citizens, with the full spectrum of human rights. One small step for humankind ....

4. Governor No: Called "furniture" by Texas Monthly for his absentee approach to the Lege, Gov. Rick Perry roused himself in time to veto 82 bills -- a record for governing by negation. Most notorious was his rejection of a ban on executing the mentally retarded (Texans certainly don't want to appear soft on idiocy), but he also killed Medicaid bills (costing Texas cities mucho federal dollars), pragmatic welfare reform (Austin Rep. Elliott Naishtat was a favorite target), and even prompt payment for doctors. Can't piss off insurance companies, where the real money is.

5. Redistricting and its Discontents: The Lege dodged this bullet, punting to the Republican-loaded Legislative Redistricting Board -- with predictable if long-delayed results. The dust is still settling, as dozens of pols -- many progressive Democrats or moderate Republicans -- consider jumping ship. Hispanic voters got a little bit, African-Americans nothing, while the Permanent Government in Texas lurched even further to the right. It'll be a long decade.

6. Bush's Paper Chase (Here and There): The historians are up in arms (and suing) over Bush's new restrictions on presidential papers, keeping original history in locked-down mode while the bureaucrats decide which embarrassing items about Reagan they don't want us to see. Few have noticed that Gov. Bush did the same thing: shipping his gubernatorial records to A&M and trying to declare them federal property. Angelina Eberly, you shouldst be living at this hour -- and bring your cannon.

7. Empire Enron Collapses: Only a few months ago, CEO Ken Lay's Houston-based Empire was riding high, trading everything from broadband to thin air (actually, "weather futures") and generating billions from the same ether. When debts came due and the auditors smelled something fishy, the castles made of sand fell into the sea, and thousands lost their jobs and savings. As Bush's Best Dollar Buddy, Lay has a lot of 'splaining to do -- and the Texas economy will likely tremble from the crash for some time.

8. Glen Maxey Retires: Thanks to redistricting and the state's reactionary habit of government-on-the-cheap, Austin Rep. Maxey, alas, decided to move to the more lucrative side of the House: the good government lobby. He's been an inspirational leader for human rights, public health, and progressive causes for a dozen years, and perhaps the most effective nuts-and-bolts legislator on the floor: He knows where the votes are. Let's hope he can still find them.

9. Neighbors for Neighbors Dings Alcoa: While the Lege was piddling around with SIPs, incentive giveaways, and corporate grandpas, a volunteer community organization dug into TNRCC and EPA files and discovered that Alcoa Rockdale -- the largest single source of grandfathered air pollution in the state -- has apparently violated Clean Air laws since the mid-Eighties. While the pols and the agencies dithered, the Neighbors put Alcoa on legal notice. Win or lose, they've actively helped clean Texas air and inspired others to do the same.

10. Phil Gramm Retires: Actually, Phil "I Never Met a Man Who Liked Me" Gramm himself isn't a Top 10 -- we just like saying, Goodbye, Phil baby, Goodbye. But Gramm's decision to step down tripped political dominoes across the state, and set the stage for a very interesting campaign next year -- not just for the U.S. Senate (John Cornyn, Ron Kirk, a Morales or two) but lower on the tickets as well. And the political bribe for David Dewhurst -- Gov. Perry made him Head of Homeland Security in return for not opposing Cornyn -- promises much in the way of comedy relief for the new year.