Check out Fortune magazine’s Nov. 11 expose on Gtech’s sleight-of-hand
methods in winning huge state lottery contracts. Gtech holds the lucrative
Texas lottery deal, secured with the lobbying efforts of former Lt. Gov. Ben
Barnes. Writer Peter Elkind, who spent four months investigating the New Jersey
firm, says Gtech is tops where “baldly sleazy conduct” is concerned. Will we be
hearing more about Gtech’s Texas connection?…
The Save Our Springs Alliance is taking Bruce Babbitt to court over the
interior secretary backing out of a proposal to place Austin’s beloved
salamander on the list of endangered species. Babbitt ultimately said that the
listing wasn’t necessary, claiming that a cooperative pledge between state
agencies including TxDOT and the TNRCC to not hurt the species was protection
enough. “The decision was illegal and based on politics,” says S.O.S.’ Bill
Bunch… — A.S.
Local A-list architect and New Urbanism proponent Ben Heimsath has been asked
to work on the controversial SCIP II housing project in the Robertson Hill
section of East Austin. This should be good news for SCIP (Scattered
Cooperative Infill Housing Program) critics, who deride the federally backed
project that has been on the drawing board for five years as wasteful,
anachronistic, and detrimental to neighborhoods. Heimsath has helmed the
Citizens Planning Committee effort to make Austin’s land-use policies more
friendly to residents and neighborhoods… — M.C.M.
Councilmember Eric Mitchell may not look like he’s having fun, but he
loves his job so much he’s coming back for more. Mitchell is seeking another
term and, by most accounts, will likely secure an easy victory…
Glenn West isn’t heading east. He’s keeping his president’s post at the
Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. West was one of two contenders for a top
slot in the Atlanta chamber. The other guy got it. “Atlanta is the creme de
le creme of chamber jobs — if that’s your thing,” says Chamber chair Kerry
Tate. “But we’re all pretty relieved that Glenn’s staying with us…”
Gloria Feldt, national president of Planned Parenthood, returns to her native
Texas, Friday, Nov. 1, for the Austin chapter’s Public Affairs luncheon,
12:30pm at the Four Seasons Hotel. The event is the local group’s first to
promote tolerance. Morris Dees, civil rights attorney and chair of the Southern
Poverty Law Center, will also offer up some counsel on tolerance… — A.S.
Coming Full Circle
Wait a minute. Didn’t the mayor lay blame on environmentalists last year whenall those out-of-town legislators were in an Austin-bashing frenzy? Now that
the courts are moving toward reversing those bills, Bruce Todd has jumped on
the green bandwagon to vocally support the type of lawsuit he once warned would
get us into trouble with the legislature.
The City of Austin — its confidence restored after a recent Texas Supreme
Court victory — filed suit late Monday in an effort to regain the very
regulatory and annexation authority that the state lege took away. The suit,
filed in Travis County District Court, seeks to overturn HB 3193 — the law
that created the Southwest Travis County District and gave it governing powers
over Gary Bradley’s Circle C development in southwest Austin. The legislation
ripped away Austin’s annexation control over the community and cleared Circle C
from having to adhere to the city’s environmental laws.
“We want the law declared unconstitutional, in part because we think it
attempts to regulate the affairs of Austin through a local bill,” says Karl
Bayer, the city’s outside counsel in the suit. That’s pretty much what the
Supreme Court thought as well when it overturned a law that forced the city to
take on the assets and debts of Maple Run Utility District.
Councilmember Daryl Slusher, a longtime critic of Bradley, Circle C, and the
mayor’s past cavings to developers, says he and Todd are in agreement on this
one. “The mayor and I have had disagreements in the past,” he says, “but this
unity shows the critical nature of this case and how important it is to the
citizens of Austin.” (Translation: I was right and he was wrong).
The defendant — Southwest Travis Co. Water District — has about three weeks
to respond. — A.S.
Boycott or Busts
Smut monitor Wyatt Roberts, executive director of the American FamilyAssociation of Texas, kicked off his latest boycott Monday — this time against
petroleum giant Diamond Shamrock Corp. Wyatt wants Diamond Shamrock Corner
Stores and the corporation’s Stop ‘N Go shops to sweep its shelves clean of sex
magazines. The Austin-based moral mogul launched his boycott campaign this week
to coincide with Gov. George Bush’s proclamation of Pornography Awareness Week,
or PAW, which runs through Nov. 3.
For the record, Wyatt is quick to mention that neither Bush nor PAW are
endorsing the boycott against the San Antonio-based refiner. Bush did note in
his proclamation, however, that he is urging Texans to support obscenity laws
“by speaking out against pornography wherever it appears.” That would be
Diamond Shamrock and Stop ‘N Go convenience stores, according to Wyatt. “The
corporation is the largest distributor of pornography in Texas,” he says.
“We’re probably the largest distributor of Snickers and Coca-Cola, too,”
retorts Shamrock spokeswoman Kathy Hughes. “That’s because we own 1,500
convenience stores in Texas.” Since Shamrock bought the Stop ‘N Go stores in
December, says Hughes, the company has weeded out the more undesirable
periodicals. “Some of them had some pretty raunchy titles,” she says. Still
among the stores’ inventory are Penthouse and Playboy, which are
only sold to persons over the age of 18, Hughes says.
“We look at these magazines as we would any product,” she adds. But Roberts
looks at the magazines — er, considers the magazines — a scourge on
society and vows to “do whatever it takes” to rid Shamrock of its porn. Among
those measures will be a statewide petition drive and a Nov. 20 rally at the
company’s front door in San Antonio. Also, Roberts says his association mailed
letters to 28,500 Texans urging them to boycott the stores. The group says it
will buy radio time, billboard space, bus and bus-bench advertising as well.
— A.S.
Freeport Falters
Low copper prices and civil unrest continue to hurt Freeport-McMoRan Copper& Gold’s profitability. In a press release made public last week, the
company reported that its revenues in the last three quarters have fallen
slightly, despite higher production at its Grasberg mine in Irian Jaya,
Indonesia.
Of note in the company’s report are two charges against net income. Freeport
charged shareholders $12.7 million for the cost of stock options held by
company insiders. In addition, the company has booked a $3 million charge
against income due to “costs related to a civil disturbance.” Last March,
disgruntled villagers who live near the mine rioted, shutting down operations
for two and a half days.
Interestingly, the company’s release makes no mention of its insurance
cancellation. Last month, the company cancelled $150 million in political risk
insurance held by two agencies, the Overseas Private Investment Corp. (which
cancelled Freeport’s policy a year ago due to alleged environmental problems at
the mine), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, which was
preparing to send its own team of environmental inspectors to the mine. Sources
close to the company say that at the same time Freeport cancelled its coverage
with OPIC and MIGA, it also cancelled all political risk insurance it had with
private insurers.
On the legal front, attorneys for Tom Beanal and Yosepha Alomang, two Amungme
tribal members who have filed separate class action lawsuits against the
company, are claiming success in court. According to sources close to the case,
a U.S. District Court in New Orleans rejected Freeport’s request that the two
cases be joined in federal court, and ordered the Alomang case back to state
district court. The Oct. 17 move is seen as a victory for Martin Regan, the
attorney representing the two tribal members, because rules of evidence in
state court are not as strict as those in federal court.
Freeport lawyers are now fighting Regan’s efforts to depose Jim Bob Moffett,
CEO of Freeport Copper. Regan wants to put Moffett under oath and ask him about
Freeport’s environmental policies. In addition, Regan has subpoenaed OPIC for
the agency’s records from its 1994 environmental audit of the Freeport mine.
Calls to Freeport’s spokesmen in Austin and New Orleans were not returned.
— R.B.
Green’s a Must
The business community and environmental activists squared off last week overa proposed ordinance that would make recycling mandatory for businesses and
multi-family apartments.
About 20 people aired their opinions at an Oct. 20 hearing before the
Commercial/Multi-Family Recycling Task Force. The meeting was the latest in a
long line of attempts to draft a commercial recycling ordinance in Austin. The
push began six years ago, but the latest proposal, drafted by Willie Rhodes,
the director of the city’s Solid Waste Services Department, is expected to
finally get off the ground this time around.
The ordinance would exempt apartment complexes with less than 100 units,
which environmentalists believe is too lenient. James Savage, president of
Students for Earth Awareness, pointed out that most student complexes are well
below 100 units, and the exemption would do little more than teach students
“that recycling is not a priority to the City of Austin.” If nothing else,
offered Katie Hartsog of the same group, students should be provided with
bottle recycling services, because of all the beer they consume.
Still, property managers and owners of small apartment houses noted that
space limitations and resources would make it difficult to implement and
monitor on-site recycling programs. Beth Holt, of the Austin Apartment
Association, said that with a premium on parking spaces in smaller units, there
would be no place to locate a recycling site. “Perhaps we need more recycling
centers where these older properties are,” she suggested.
Several business owners showed up to support the proposed ordinance.
Frank Winkley, manager of the Ivory Cat Tavern, 300 E. Sixth, said that the
tavern throws away 60 tons of bottles each month because city recycling
services don’t extend to many establishments in the entertainment district.
Stephanie Phillips, co-owner of Recycle It All, which provides recycling
services to local businesses, noted that because disposal costs will increase
when the city-owned landfill closes in 1999, the cost of mandatory recycling
isn’t expected to set businesses back in expenses. “None of our clients have
been put out of business by using our service,” she said. — K.V.
This article appears in November 1 • 1996 and November 1 • 1996 (Cover).