Readers Write
The Gazette has been deluged with emailed correspondence from its faithful and perceptive readers, and having finally had time to read and digest the content of both messages, I find them to be blog-worthy. Plus it's Friday, and we've got that going for us.
Up first is the letter from my pal Will, who is a medic in the Texas National Guard, stationed in an undisclosed location somewhere in east Texas. Will is following the debate in Austin regarding school financing, especially as it relates to property taxes in our state. He knows a lot more about the issues than me, but we share a belief that, dang it, our property taxes are too high and somebody needs to do something about 'em.
The "somebody" Will points to is CLOUT (Citizens Lowering Our Unfair Taxes). CLOUT was formed last year (as far as I can tell) and is functioning as a PAC and lobbying group to get legislative tax relief. Its website appears to be fairly new, and some sections are still incomplete, but it looks like a good resource for keeping current on the issues. Drop by and take a look, if you're so inclined.
Then there's the communication from Lucy, who is by now world-famous for her win in the great Fire Ant Gazette Mystery Waveform Contest. As it turns out, Lucy was a ringer...she had an unfair advantage (if, by "unfair," we actually mean that she knew more than the rest of us).
It seems that Lucy -- a fellow Midlander -- shares some experience with yours truly, in that she was a DJ during the Golden Age of Vinyl Delivered Melodies. In fact, she once worked at KOCV (at Odessa College) and later at another local commercial station (using an on-air name that many in this area would no doubt recognize).
She shares this great anecdote by way of explaining how she knew that the waveform in the contest represented a needle stuck in a scratch in the record:
I always wondered how radio stations came up with their nicknames; I thought they were always based in hyperbole, but it seems that KOCV's had at least some foundation in fact!
Just as a footnote, Lucy is now looking for an "entry level Public Relations" position or something similar, so if you hear of anything, let me know and I'll pass it along to her.
About the publisher
Random Abbye photos...
Reason #21 to wear shoes in West Texas
From my rooftop, I can see my own mortality
The USPS: We're now 27% more efficient at mangling your mail!
My Favorite Yard Work
Review: The Amazon Kindle
Personal Library Exploration Continues
Tech Support That's Out of This World
Flower and Butterfly
The Season's First Roundup
Recording History
Want a Healthier Mind? Fuggedaboutit!
Redefining a Bust
Thank you...
Farewell to Abbye
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Hey Eric,
The CLOUT guys are affiliated with KSEV radio (AM 700, ksevradio.com) in Houston. In particular, if you listen to Edd Hendee (mornings) and Dan Patrick (drive home) you'll hear lots of talk about property tax reform in Texas. There's a link to stream the station on their site.
Harris County's tax assessor is also involved with them. If you scroll down on his site, you'll find some excellent numbers that illustrate the need for property tax reform to stop appraisal creep in the state (a hidden tax increase). The powerpoint on his site is especially good:
www.hctax.net
The newspapers have neglected to talk much about appraisal creep relief, but that may be the one part of this session that most folks can agree on. Robin Hood may not go away, but my prediction is that this will get passed, everyone will congratulate themselves, and the Governor will have an accomplish to tout.
I don't mind that outcome, because our state desperately needs at least that reform., and so far, it's flying under the radar of major media.
Posted by: kevin whited at April 23, 2004 08:34 AM