Edited by Louisa C. Brinsmade, with contributions this week by Roseana Auten,
Nelson England, and Alex de Marban.
REP. SUSAN COMBS RESIGNING EARLY? A story in theOak Hill Gazette on
July 6 reported that Republican State Representative Susan Combs will resign
her post early, possibly in anticipation of an appointment by Governor George
Bush. Combs has already announced that she will not seek re-election. The
story, written by Deana Ricks, quotes an unnamed aide to Rep. Combs confirming
her early departure. “She’s done what she wanted to accomplish in the
Legislature,” said the aide. “I believe she considers the resignation a
self-imposed term limit.”
Rep. Combs denied the story on Wednesday, July 12, saying it was “incorrect,”
and that she was neither leaving early, nor seeking a state appointment – at
least not right now. “Not as of today, I’m not,” said Combs. “I have no plans,
today, to leave my office early.”
According to the Gazette, Republican sources say the appointment Combs
is seeking would involve a state committee on water and natural resources.
Combs served on the Land and Natural Resources Management and Natural Resources
committees this session. Governor Bush will be allowed to make two appointments
to the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission (TNRCC) during his term.
The TNRCC is the state agency that sets policy on water, air, and land
resources issues. Such a position for Combs would give her the power to affect
state policy on land use issues, and water and air quality standards. Much of
Combs’ legislative agenda focused on land use and property rights issues.
Oak Hill Gazette publisher Will Atkins says the paper has very reliable
connections within the Republican political community, and despite Combs’
denial, the paper “stands by its sources.” – L.C.B.
FIRST-CLASS PASSENGERS: If current estimates ring true, the city will have
spent $477 million by the time the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport gets
off the ground. To date, nearly $90 million has been authorized for various
airport projects, some worth millions of dollars. Needless to say, private
entities have engaged in frenzied competition for the contracts. But oddly
enough, one of the most lucrative prizes – the construction and operation of a
$14.5 million air cargo warehouse – has only one suitor: Austin CargoPort
Development, LLC.
The trophy is a contract to build (at the city’s expense, eventually) and
operate the 200,000-square-foot warehouse for 20 years, while collecting untold
amounts of rent from cargo carriers. Aviation officials refuse to disclose
CargoPort’s expected revenue before the council approves a contract, but as an
indicator of the project’s value, the city alone will get $243,000 (inflation
not included) of CargoPort’s revenue per year for the next 20 years.
The paucity of bidders for such a big-ticket project seems curious considering
that the aviation department sent out 73 requests to companies. The requests
were sent out in March. One month later, Austin CargoPort was incorporated. The
council is expected to approve the company for the contract today, Thursday,
July 13.
So who makes up this very lucky outfit? For one, there’s ex-City Councilmember
Lowell Lebermann, a principal of the firm. While he no longer holds a public
seat, Lebermann still gets around. He owns Centex Beverage, where state Senator
Gonzalo Barrientos does public relations work when he’s not filing bills to
de-annex portions of Austin. Also, Lebermann has poured hundreds, and in some
cases, thousands of dollars into the campaign purses of all the current
councilmembers except Brigid Shea and Max Nofziger. Another CargoPort operative
is Pete Winstead, of the law firm Winstead, Sechrest & Minick. Winstead and
his firm are one of the council’s biggest financiers, and are especially
charitable towards Mayor Bruce Todd, having donated tens of thousands of
dollars of “in-kind” contributions to the mayor’s re-election campaign.
Winstead has also been a fixture at city hall throughout the years as a
lobbyist.
The mayor disputes any possibility of foul play and is hankering to approve
CargoPort. Citing ever-increasing demand for cargo storage, Todd says “We
should make a decision and move forward with the project.” Aviation staff agree
and have recommended the company for council approval. However, city staff
yanked the item from the agenda on June 29, since it contained no fiscal note
predicting the total costs to the city.
From the dais that day, Councilmember Gus Garcia openly wondered
why there was only one respondent. In an interview the following week, aviation
official Frederick Scott said maybe the initial investment to operate the
warehouse was too much for everybody but Austin CargoPort.– A.M.
INTERCOURSE WHAT?: Glencoe Health, one of four state-approved textbooks
that met with the least resistance from conservative Christian and far-right
groups in Texas, has been dubbed “unacceptable,” “outmoded,” “outrageous,” and
even “irresponsible and dangerous” by a pediatrician, a science educator, and a
fellow of the California Academy of Sciences. Writing in a recent edition of
The Textbook Letter, a national, independent newsletter for
practicitioners and policymakers in education, the three reviewers were
unanimous in damning Glencoe Health, for errors of omission and fact.
Physician Jeana D. Levinthal criticizes the authors for “refus[ing] to deal
with practical, critical aspects of sex.” She notes that “though the book
mentions `intercourse,’ it doesn’t explain what `intercourse’ means…” and
that no descriptions of treatments against pregnancy or venereal disease
following rape are offered anywhere. Furthermore, the book insinuates that most
genetic birth defects can be anticipated and prevented before conception takes
place, which is not the case, she writes.
David Stronck, a health and science education professor, is
similarly critical of Glencoe Health‘s fuzzy treatment of sex. He
pronounces a section on HIV prevention “mysterious,” for the tract fails to
explain what a condom is, why one would discuss using a condom with one’s
partner before intercourse, or, again, what intercourse is.
Levinthal’s and Stronck’s objections to Glencoe Health are by no means
limited to the book’s failure to relay complete and accurate information about
sex. Other blatant errors of science, medicine, and common sense include: Genes
are “tiny protein molecules;” bacteria need darkness to survive; rabies can be
treated; and the idea that whether meat contains amino acids is just a matter
of opinion. They are joined in this phase of criticism most powerfully by
William Bennetta, president of the Textbook League, who excoriates Glencoe
Health for its na�ve presentation of “pseudomedical nonsense:
chiropractic, acupuncture, and homeopathy.”
But the bland, non-threatening, and incomplete manner in which the subject of
sex is presented has become a major selling point of the book. In January,
Glencoe regional Vice President David Irons touted in a letter to Texas school
superintendents that the book is “the only health text that is endorsed by the
Texas Council for Family Values, American Family Association of Texas, and
Concerned Women for America” and that the book “does not contain a
discussion about alternatives to abstinence such as `protected sex by wearing a
condom’.”
“As far as we know, this is the first time publishers are using political
propaganda to sell their products,” said Cecile Richards, director of the Texas
Freedom Alliance, a watchdog group devoted to counteracting activities of the
religious right. If Glencoe Health is used, she added, vital information
will be kept from Texas students. “It’s terrible that organizations with an
extreme political agenda are dictating what books are going to be used,” she
said.– R.A.
This article appears in July 14 • 1995 and July 14 • 1995 (Cover).