Thursday, March 27, 2014

Lesser Prairie Chicken Listed as Threatened by Neena Satija March 27, 2014

Lesser Prairie Chicken Listed as Threatened

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Thursday that the lesser prairie chicken will be listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. The decision means special permission is required for economic development activity across the bird's prairie grassland habitat that spans five states —  Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado — and violators could face penalties under federal law. 

“We can’t ignore the mounting evidence that the prairie ecosystem which supports the chicken and so many other species and communities is in trouble," said Dan Ashe, the federal agency's director. He noted that the prairie chicken population is at an all-time low of fewer than 18,000 birds, according to the latest survey. 

The decision disappointed officials in all five states where the bird roams. They had worked together on a conservation plan for the bird and hoped to avoid such a listing. But Ashe said that anyone participating in that plan — a list that includes agricultural landowners, oil and gas drillers, electric transmission companies, wind energy companies and others — would be exempt from the harsh penalties that the Endangered Species Act calls for if threatened animals are harmed. All such participants could hurt the prairie chicken by eradicating their grassland habitat and providing more tall structures for their predators to perch on, but they have agreed to either conserve existing grassland or pay into a fund if they will disturb habitat. 

That exemption drew sharp criticism from wildlife advocacy groups, who said it riddled the listing decision with loopholes. 

"The problem with the recently completed conservation agreements for the prairie chicken is that they have no proven record of success," Jamie Clark, president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based group Defenders of Wildlife, said in a statement. "They fail to provide adequate conservation measures and defer almost entirely to state wildlife agencies for the oversight and implementation of the agreements."

Indeed, Ashe stressed that "the states are in the driver's seat" when it comes to protecting the bird, and their goal of restoring its population to 67,000 from fewer than 18,000 today will be tough to meet. The bird's habitat stretches across 60 million acres, and so far companies are agreeing to participate in the plan when it comes to their operations on just over 5 percent of that land. But there are also other conservation programs for the bird, operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and others, whose participants will be protected from liability under endangered species law. 

Debate over how to save the bird and continue operating has divided the oil and gas industry as well as many Texas officials. While Texas Parks and Wildlife and Gov. Rick Perry's office support the conservation plan developed by the five states, Comptroller Susan Combs, whose office was given some oversight of endangered species issues in 2011, has spoken out against it. Combs supports a different approach to protecting the bird that the federal government is currently evaluating. That approach also has the support of Environmental Defense Fund and many of the biggest oil and gas companies, including ExxonMobil. 

Combs' office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Disclosure: Texas Parks and Wildlife was a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune in 2011 and 2012. (You can also review the full list of Tribune donors and sponsors below $1,000.) 

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/27/lesser-prairie-chicken-listed-threatened/.

5th Circuit Upholds Texas Abortion Regulations by Becca Aaronson March 27, 2014

5th Circuit Upholds Texas Abortion Regulations

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld the new abortion regulations that were passed in July by the Republican-led Texas Legislature.

The plaintiffs, who represent the majority of abortion providers in Texas, including four Planned Parenthood affiliates, Whole Woman’s Health and other independent abortion providers, challenged the constitutionality of two requirements that the state implemented Nov. 1: that physicians obtain hospital admitting privileges within 30 miles of an abortion facility, and that they follow the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s protocol for drug-induced abortions, rather than a common, evidence-based protocol.

In a unanimous opinion by a three-judge panel, the court sided with the state, which argued that the rules should be deemed constitutional by the federal court because the state's objective was to protect women's health, and that there isn’t enough evidence to suggest that the rules create an undue burden on the majority of Texas women attempting to access abortion.

The author of the opinion, Chief Justice Edith Jones, wrote that the state's "articulation of rational legislative objectives, which was backed by evidence placed before the state legislature, easily supplied a connection between the admitting-privileges rule and the desirable protection of abortion patients’ health."

Jones also authored the 2012 opinion affirming Texas' abortion sonogram law. The other justices, Jennifer Elrod and Catharina Haynes, served on another three-judge panel that reversed a lower court's injunction on the law in October, which allowed the rules to take effect. 

Meanwhile, an attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, who argued on behalf of the majority of abortion providers in the state, asserted that the new rules are unconstitutional because some abortion facilities can no longer perform the procedure and women in South Texas, the Panhandle and other areas of the state are being forced to travel long distances to seek abortions.

Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement that the group would continue to fight the law. "We will combat these laws in the courts, and our separate political arm will mobilize voters to replace lawmakers who champion these dangerous laws in the first place," she said.

If this case continues through the court system, the plaintiffs would need to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. In November, the Supreme Court justices rejected an earlier request by abortion providers to intervene in their lawsuit by reversing the 5th Circuit's decision to lift an injunction on the rules by a lower court.

“The people of Texas have spoken through their elected leaders and in support of protecting the culture of life in our state," Gov. Rick Perry said in a statement. "Today’s court decision is good news for Texas women and the unborn, and we will continue to fight for the protection of life and women’s health in Texas.”

Additional rules that require all abortions to be performed in ambulatory surgical centers starting in September and that ban abortions at 20 weeks of gestation remain unchallenged.

Since November, abortion facilities in South Texas, Beaumont and the Panhandle have closed as a result of the new abortion regulations. In August, before the rules took effect, there were 40 licensed abortion providers in Texas. Now there are 28 licensed abortion providers, only 24 of which still perform the procedure. When additional rules take effect in September that require abortion clinics to meet the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers, the number of abortion facilities will probably drop to six. 

(Use this Texas Tribune interactive to see the impact of the abortion regulations on the number of abortion facilities in Texas. )

"Texas women deserve better than to have extremist politicians endanger their health and safety by preventing them from accessing safe and legal abortion," Brigitte Amiri, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, said in a statement. "The law is having a devastating impact on women in Texas."

This story was produced with the support of the Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism, a program of the USC Annenberg School of Journalism's California Endowment for Health Journalism Fellowships, and in partnership with Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan health policy research and communication organization not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/27/5th-circuit-upholds-texas-abortion-regulations/.

Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth Mayors Back Bullet Train

Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth Mayors Back Bullet Train

The mayors of Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth on Thursday announced their unified support for the construction of a privately funded bullet train between the two metropolitan regions.

“If successful, Houstonians will have a reliable, private alternative that will help alleviate traffic congestion and drastically reduce travel times,” Houston Mayor Annise Parker said at a press conference at Houston City Hall.

Texas Central Railway announced in 2012 its plans to build a 200 mph rail line that would transport passengers between Dallas and Houston within 90 minutes. The company has said it will not require any public subsidies to fund the multibillion-dollar project, which it is developing in partnership with a Japanese firm, Central Japan Railway.

The mayors praised the project and predicted it would aid the state economically and environmentally by reducing the number of people traveling by car.

“Not only will high-speed rail significantly reduce travel times and traffic congestion for Dallas and Houston area residents, but it will also create new, high-paying jobs and stimulate economic growth,” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said.

The endorsements come as the Federal Railroad Commission is “30 to 60 days” away from formally launching an environmental impact study of the project, said Robert Eckels, a former Harris County judge and president of Texas Central Railway. The study, which will be funded by Texas Central Railway, is a critical step on the project's path to drawing approval from federal regulators.

A separate federal environmental impact study examining a proposed rail line between Fort Worth and Dallas and connecting with Central Texas Railway’s project is expected to begin at the same time, said Tom Schieffer, a former U.S. ambassador to Japan and a senior adviser to the company. Also Thursday, the Texas Transportation Commission appointed several members to a new Commission for High-Speed Rail in the Dallas/Fort Worth Region to advise the agency on that project.

“Thanks to the leadership of our friends at Texas Central Railway, my fellow mayors, and our state and federal partners, we have a remarkable opportunity to change the way we travel and connect our cities,” Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price said.

The last major effort by a private firm to build a high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston was more than 20 years ago. At the time, Mayors Kathryn Whitmire of Houston, Annette Straus of Dallas and Bob Bolen of Fort Worth all supported the plan, which was expected to eventually connect to Fort Worth, San Antonio and Austin as well. But officials from many rural communities on the train’s route publicly opposed that project. The endeavor eventually collapsed because the company failed to secure enough private financing.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/27/houston-dallas-fort-worth-mayors-back-bullet-train/.

State Representative Jessica Farrar Like This Page · 5 hours ago · Edited Simply put, the 5th Circuit's ruling upholds a law that makes it increasingly difficult for a woman to access a safe and legal abortion.

Teaching Students to Embrace Mistakes | Edutopia

Teaching Students to Embrace Mistakes | Edutopia

Leticia Van De Putte Takes Campaign For Lieutenant Governor On The Road Houston Chronicle | by David Saleh Rauf Posted: 03/27/2014 12:23 am EDT Updated: 03/27/2014 12:59 am EDT

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Abbott on the Defensive on Equal Pay

Antonin Scalia on critics, politics and Roe v. Wade -- Fast Forward

Terry O'Neill Comments on Hobby Lobby Case Outside U.S. Supreme Court

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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Leticia Van De Putte Takes Campaign For Lieutenant Governor On The Road Houston Chronicle | by David Saleh Rauf Posted: 03/27/2014 12:23 am EDT Updated: 03/27/2014 12:23 am EDT

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Fate of Texas Bats Unclear as Disease Moves West by Mose Buchele, KUT News/StateImpact Texas March 26, 2014

Fate of Texas Bats Unclear as Disease Moves West

A disease that has decimated bat colonies in the Northeast and Midwest may be headed toward Texas. But the disease may not affect bats in Texas the same way that it has elsewhere. Read the full story at StateImpact Texas.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/26/fate-of-texas-bats-unclear-as-disease-spreads-west/.

Supreme Court Struggles In Hobby Lobby Case With Question Of Companies' Religious Rights Posted: 03/25/2014 12:06 pm EDT Updated: 03/26/2014 11:59 am EDTRyan J. Reilly Laura Bassett

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TribCast: Oil Spills and The University of Texas System by Reeve Hamilton March 26, 2014

TribCast: Oil Spills and The University of Texas System

Reeve, Brandi, Ross and Neena discuss the oil spill in Galveston Bay, the mounting frustrations at the University of Texas System, and the lagging Affordable Care Act enrollment in Texas.

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This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/26/tribcast-oil-spills-university-of-texas-system/.

The Texas Tribune As AG Weighs Plastic Bag Laws, Dallas Passes Its Own by Aamena Ahmed March 26, 2014

As AG Weighs Plastic Bag Laws, Dallas Passes Its Own

Amid debate over whether plastic bag bans violate the state's health and safety laws, Dallas on Wednesday became the largest city in Texas to pass an ordinance restricting use of the bags. 

The Dallas ordinance, which the City Council approved by a vote of 8-6, doesn't ban plastic bags outright. Rather, it limits their use by imposing a 5-cent-per-bag charge on retailers, which will receive 10 percent of the revenue. The rest will go to the city to spend on educating the public about the environmental hazards of plastic bags. The ordinance goes into effect Jan. 1, 2015.

Dallas joins nine other Texas cities that have enacted similar ordinances. 

“We're trying to keep a cleaner city by putting a ban on the very thing that hangs on fences lines and trees, that's killing our wildlife and fish and clogging up our sewer systems,” said Dallas City Councilman Dwaine Caraway. “It's a predator that is extremely hard to deal with.”

The vote came the last day for cities and groups to submit briefs on bag ordinances to the Texas attorney general's office, which has been asked to determine whether they violate the Texas Health and Safety Code. State Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Canton, wrote a letter earlier this month asking the AG to weigh in on a section of the code that says a municipality may not pass legislative restrictions or charge fees relating to the consumption of a “container or package” for waste management purposes.

The Texas Retailers Association, which opposes the bag ordinances, approached Flynn about writing the letter.

“It sure looks to us that the plain meaning of the statute’s language is that the state meant to stop local governments from adopting ordinances that prohibit or restrict the use of these bags,” Ronnie Volkening, the president and CEO of Texas Retailers Association, said in an interview with The Texas Tribune earlier this month. “If the state Legislature enacted that language, then the cities are in fact engaging in an activity that they should not.” 

Supporters of the ordinances say plastic bags harm the environment. The Texas Campaign for the Environment has been one of the most vocal supporters of the ordinances. “We want the attorney general to stay out of this issue altogether,” said Robin Schneider, the group's executive director.

The Texas Municipal League was the first to submit a brief to the attorney general’s office. The brief included a statement from state Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, from 2011 in which he argued for local control over the issue.

“For the state to determine what a city’s problems are or solutions that it may have or may not have is a little bit of an overextension of the Legislature,” Seliger said.

Because the cities are responsible for supplying plastic bags, they should be able to determine if they wish to ban them, he said in an interview.

“They spend much more time as garbage than they do as carriers of groceries anyway,” Seliger added.

The Texas Municipal League argued in its brief that a plastic bag should not be classified as a “container” or a package” — the two words specifically mentioned in the Heath and Safety Code. 

“A plastic bag is not a container or a package, but merely the means by which a container or a package is transported,” the brief said.

Volkening said the most environmental position would be to encourage the recycling of plastic bags, not banning their use. 

Besides Dallas, six other Texas cities, including San Antonio and Corpus Christi, have recently considered restrictions on plastic bags. Corpus Christi and Austin, whose city council voted in 2012 to ban plastic bags, said on Wednesday that they would submit briefs to the attorney general in support of the ordinances. 

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/26/others-submit-briefs-dallas-passes-bag-ordinance/.

Older Americans Shifting Toward The Republican Party: Study The Huffington Post | by Stephen Calabria Email RSS Posted: 03/26/2014 2:15 pm EDT Updated: 03/26/2014 2:59 pm EDT

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Senators Troubled By Secret Service Allegations AP | by JACK GILLUM Posted: 03/26/2014 6:16 pm EDT Updated: 03/26/2014 6:59 pm EDT

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Republicans jittery about Wendy Davis' equal pay attacks in Texas governor's race | Mobile Washington Examiner

Republicans jittery about Wendy Davis' equal pay attacks in Texas governor's race | Mobile Washington Examiner

Republicans jittery about Wendy Davis' equal pay attacks in Texas governor's race | Mobile Washington Examiner

Republicans jittery about Wendy Davis' equal pay attacks in Texas governor's race | Mobile Washington Examiner

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Five Reasons Contraceptive Coverage Is Essential Dr. Tania Basu by Dr. Tania Basu, OB/GYN March 25, 2014 - 9:52 am


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Roque Planas Become a fan roque.planas@huffingtonpost.com Email RSS One Vote Could Change The Course Of Mexican-American Studies Posted: 03/25/2014 6:22 pm EDT Updated: 03/25/2014 6:59 pm EDT


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Ted Kennedy Jr. Ponders State Senate Race In Connecticut The Huffington Post | by Sara Bondioli Email RSS Posted: 03/25/2014 5:51 pm EDT Updated: 03/25/2014 5:59 pm EDT

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School Says Short-Haired Girl, 8, Needs To Start Acting More Feminine The Huffington Post | by Rebecca Klein Email RSS Posted: 03/25/2014 4:55 pm EDT Updated: 03/25/2014 4:59 pm EDT

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Monday, March 24, 2014

Analysis: Candidates Hoping to Regain Voters' Favor by Ross Ramsey March 24, 2014 http://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/24/analysis-hoping-their-way-back-voters-hearts/

Analysis: Candidates Hoping to Regain Voters' Favor

A few Texas politicians are testing the idea that when the voters throw the bums out, they do it temporarily.

The four former legislators in question have lost at least one re-election bid each and are now asking voters to return them to the same office or promote them to a statewide job.

Michael Galloway, R-The Woodlands, shocked the Democrats in 1994, riding that year’s conservative wave to defeat State Sen. Carl Parker, a Port Arthur Democrat who had been in the Legislature since 1962. A surprised Parker said at the time that his pollster had told him he was safe; he and his fellow Democrats never saw it coming.

Four years later, they got their revenge: David Bernsen, D-Beaumont, sent Galloway home. In 2002, Galloway attempted a comeback, falling short in an election that sent Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, to the Senate. Galloway tried again in 2008 and 2012, and failed.

Williams resigned from the Senate last year to take a state job. The special election to replace him is May 10, and Galloway is one of four aspirants for the job — a group that includes two members of the Texas House. Galloway intends to find out whether the voters in those other elections were opposed to him or just more favorably disposed to his opponents.

Three former legislators are on the May 27 Republican runoff ballot for statewide office. Wayne Christian of Center hopes to win a job on the Texas Railroad Commission. Tommy Merritt of Longview and Sid Miller of Stephenville will face each other in a runoff for the party’s nomination for agriculture commissioner.

Each of the three men lost his last race. Christian gave up his House seat in 2004, making an unsuccessful run for Congress. He won the Texas seat again two years later, but lawmakers redid the political maps and made him vulnerable. In 2012, he lost in the Republican primary to Chris Paddie, a former mayor of Marshall. Christian finished first in the Republican race for railroad commissioner, but will face Ryan Sitton in a runoff.

Neither Merritt nor Miller can blame redistricting for their defeats. They simply lost. Merritt, one of a small group of Republicans who helped House Speaker Joe Straus unseat his predecessor in 2009, lost to David Simpson, R-Longview, the next year. Simpson positioned himself as the more conservative of the two, and prevailed by an even bigger margin in a rematch two years later.

Miller’s race went the other way. The six-term veteran proclaimed himself the conservative in his re-election bid in 2012, but drew two primary opponents and lost in a runoff to J.D. Sheffield, R-Gatesville. Some of his allies backed a challenger to Sheffield in this year’s primary, but that effort fell short: With no Democrats in the race, Sheffield is on his way to a second term.

The vanquished are trying to become victors. It is not unheard-of, but it can be difficult. Galloway has to convince financial backers and voters that he can win a seat he has already failed four times to win. The others have a different job — to introduce themselves to new voters around the state while making amends with the voters back home.

Jerry Patterson, the state’s land commissioner, got the post after losing to David Dewhurst the first time he tried. Dewhurst went on to become lieutenant governor, and Patterson, after a four-year break from public life, won the spot. Dewhurst is a variation of the political retread; Republican primary voters chose Ted Cruz over him in 2012 in the U.S. Senate race. The lieutenant governor, now seeking re-election, is on the ropes after finishing second and going to a runoff with state Sen. Dan Patrick.

Others in Texas politics have won after losing. George W. Bush lost a congressional race years before running successfully for governor and then for president. Gov. Bill Clements lost a re-election bid to Mark White in 1982 and then beat White in a 1986 rematch.

It happens, but it is unusual. The voters seem to mean it when they call for replacements.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/24/analysis-hoping-their-way-back-voters-hearts/.

www.pbs.org wnet Story of the Jews with Simon Schama Preview

www.pbs.org wnet Story of the Jews with Simon Schama

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Galveston Bay Spill Will Take Economic, Ecological Toll by Neena Satija March 24, 2014 33Comments

Galveston Bay Spill Will Take Economic, Ecological Toll

With no end in sight to containing a spill that may have dumped 150,000 gallons of fuel oil into Galveston Bay on Saturday, the hit to Texas’ economy and environment is already huge — and sure to grow.

The 50-mile Houston Ship Channel, one of the world’s biggest waterways for the transport of petroleum products, chemicals and other materials, remains shut down. Cruise ships can’t depart from key ports. Galveston Bay’s multibillion-dollar recreational and commercial fishing industry is off limits during a peak tourist season. And the scores of vulnerable species in Galveston Bay, most notably birds that are soon to begin their northward migration along the upper Texas coast, are at grave risk.

The type of oil that spilled — a marine fuel oil known as RMG 380 — is black, sticky and particularly heavy. That means that instead of evaporating from the surface of the water like gasoline would, much of it will sink, persisting in the environment for months or even years. While this heavier oil is not acutely toxic, it can smother wildlife, to devastating effect.

“Fuel oil is not easy to clean off anything,” said Jim Suydam, a spokesman for the General Land Office, the state agency that is leading the response and cleanup efforts in conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard. “It sticks to things.”

Coast Guard Lt. Kristopher Kidd said Sunday that it still isn’t clear how much oil spilled into the bay when a 585-foot bulk carrier collided with an oil barge on Saturday. The barge was holding close to 1 million gallons of oil, but Kidd said only one tank with a capacity of 168,000 gallons was affected. That tank “didn’t completely empty,” he said, but a substantial portion of it probably did. The oil barge has been removed, but there is no easy way to contain the spill, and efforts have been further hampered by strong winds. 

The most recent oil spill of a comparable size off the coast of Texas occurred in 2010, when close to a half-million gallons of oil ended up in the Port Arthur Ship Channel. The waterway was closed for several days, a big blow to oil refineries and other operations in the port. (The 2010 BP oil spill, while far larger in scope, had less effect on the bay, Suydam said — though Texas beaches took a bigger hit, and some are still recovering.)

Even though more oil was involved in the 2010 Port Arthur incident than Saturday's spill, experts say the current situation in Galveston Bay will create much bigger problems. The Port Arthur spill was confined to that ship channel; this one occurred in open water. 

Scott Hickman, who has been chartering boats in Galveston Bay for decades, said slicks are clearly visible from shore, and the smell of oil is strong. His boat-chartering business is poised to lose thousands of dollars a day, he said — during spring break no less — because operations are shut down as containment efforts continue. 

“This is really, really the worst stuff you can dump in the water," he said. 

Suydam added that Galveston Bay is an ecologically sensitive area, which was far less true of the Sabine-Neches waterway where the Port Arthur spill occurred. Migratory birds such as the loon will begin their northward flight this month and are sure to be affected by the sticky oil slicks. In their case, Suydam said, even a few barrels of oil could have had a major impact. 

Galveston Bay and its environs are also home to thousands of other species of shorebirds that will get coated when they dive for fish. Tom Harvey, a spokesman for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said birds covered in sticky black oil have already been recovered in Galveston's East Beach area, which faces the ship channel.

The economic impact of this spill is also likely to exceed that of the 2010 spill. The Houston Ship Channel is a significant financial engine and a large reason Texas is the top exporting state in the nation; its exports now exceed New York City's. The state’s ongoing oil and gas boom has boosted the channel's importance even more, with refineries along it working furiously to process crude oil so it can be shipped elsewhere.

Suydam said the spill has "already had an economic impact as far as industrial activities." But he expressed optimism about the cleanup operation, saying Texas is in a good position to respond to the spill.

"We’ve got the most robust response capacity in the United States," he said. 

Disclosure: Texas Parks and Wildlife was a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune in 2011 and 2012, BP America was a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune in 2011 and 2012, and BP Corporation North America was a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune in 2010. (You can also review the full list of Tribune donors and sponsors below $1,000.) 

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/24/galveston-bay-spill-has-huge-economic-ecological-t/.

More than 50 oiled birds found at sanctuary By Lisa Gray | March 24, 2014 | Updated: March 24, 2014 11:05am

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Ship Channel remains closed after oil spill Meanwhile, oil washes up on Galveston beaches By Harvey Rice, Anita Hassan, Lise Olsen | March 23, 2014 | Updated: March 24, 2014 7:48pm

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Spill-comes-at-worst-time-for-wildlife-in-5342986.php

Anatomy of a coat hanger abortion POSTED BY DR. JEN GUNTER ⋅ JULY 13, 2013 ⋅ 37 COMMENTS FILED UNDER ABORTION, WAR ON WOMEN

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Sheriff Joe Arpaio Called Before Federal Judge For 'Trivializing' Racial Profiling Finding Published March 24, 2014Fox News Latino


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Austin one of least affordable cities for teachers to buy houses

Austin one of least affordable cities for teachers to buy houses

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: GOP - Hashtag Awesomesauce (HBO)

Jimmy Fallon's Obama-Putin Call Shows What Really Happened... Maybe Posted: 03/20/2014 3:23 am EDT Updated: 03/20/2014 4:59 am EDT


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Laura Bassett Become a fan lbassett@huffingtonpost.com Email RSS Women Strongly Oppose Hobby Lobby's Birth Control Case: Poll Posted: 03/24/2014 2:57 pm EDT Updated: 03/24/2014 5:59 pm EDT Print Article


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Edward Snowden Defends NSA Surveillance Leaks at SXSW Whistleblower says his actions were necessary to expose constitutional violations By John Knefel March 10, 2014 3:00 PM ET Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/edward-snowden-defends-nsa-surveillance-leaks-at-sxsw-20140310#ixzz2wwIjYHmj Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/edward-snowden-defends-nsa-surveillance-leaks-at-sxsw-20140310#ixzz2wwIfPaDC Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook


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IRS uses woman's tax refund to pay old debt

IRS uses woman's tax refund to pay old debt

'Flat Stanley' home after decade in soldier's wallet Maria Polletta, The Arizona Republic 3:03 a.m. EDT March 23, 2014

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A Brief History of Birth Control

What You Need to Know About the Supreme Court Birth Control Cases - In L...

Rick Scott's Campaign Plagued By Fake Mexican Accent Controversy The Huffington Post | by Samantha Lachman Posted: 03/24/2014 1:02 pm EDT Updated: 03/24/2014 1:59 pm EDT

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/24/rick-scott-campaign-_n_5021610.html?&ir=Latino+Voices&utm_hp_ref=latino-voices

Ohio Mumps Outbreak Up To 56 Reported Cases Reuters Posted: 03/24/2014 2:30 pm EDT Updated: 03/24/2014 2:59 pm EDT


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/24/ohio-mumps-outbreak-56-cases_n_5022085.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

Cleanup continues after oil spill from collision closes ship channel U.S. Coast Guard says estimated 900K gallons of oil on damaged barge has been removed Author: Amanda Perez, Reporter, aperez@click2houston.com Matt Aufdenspring, Web Managing Editor, Click2Houston.com Dawn Brooks, Web Editor Published On: Mar 22 2014 03:42:01 PM CDT Updated 2 h


http://www.click2houston.com/news/oil-spill-cleanup-underway-after-barge-ship-collide-in-ship-channel/25107670

Galveston-Port Bolivar ferry to reopen Tuesday morning Ferry service will only operate during daylight hours until further notice Author: The Associated Press Kimberly O'Neal, Web Editor, Click2Houston.com Published On: Mar 24 2014 08:40:05 AM CDT Updated 9 m

http://www.click2houston.com/news/galvestonport-bolivar-ferry-to-reopen-tuesday-morning/25132982

Dozens of oil-soaked birds found after oil spill Author: Joel Eisenbaum, Investigative Reporter, Anchor, jeisenbaum@kprc.com Published On: 1 h

http://www.click2houston.com/news/dozens-of-oilsoaked-birds-found-after-oil-spill/25145096

Parents, student not giving up in school fight

Parents, student not giving up in school fight

Houston Ship Channel remains closed

Houston Ship Channel remains closed

Video released after pregnant club worker's murder

Video released after pregnant club worker's murder

Lloyd Green POLITICS 03.24.14 ‘Downton Abbey’ Democrats May Cost their Party the Senate When it comes to green gentry liberalism, think of an Americanized version of the PBS hit—where everyone knows his or her place, and our betters look best.


http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/24/downton-abbey-democrats-may-cost-their-party-the-senate.html

Ron Christie facebook tweet post POLITICS 03.24.14 Racial Support to Keep a Ban on Race in Place California law prohibits using ethnicity in decisions regarding public education. Democrats want to change that, but Asian-Americans are afraid it will hurt them.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/24/racial-support-to-keep-a-ban-on-race-in-place.html

Wendy Davis: Equal Pay News Event · More event details ... Mon Mar 24, 2014 11:30am EDT — Mon Mar 24, 2014 12:30pm EDT http://new.livestream.com/texastribune/events/2865569

Laura Bassett Wendy Davis To Greg Abbott: 'Stop Hiding Behind Your Surrogates' On Equal Pay Posted: 03/24/2014 12:12 pm EDT Updated: 03/24/2014 3:59 pm EDT

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/24/wendy-davis-greg-abbot-equal-pay_n_5021424.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013

Sunday, March 23, 2014

In race for Agriculture Commissioner, Texas Democrats lack good options TAGS Agriculture Commissioner Committeeman Friedman Governor Texas University Democrats These tags are automatically generated. The Daily Texan does not guarantee their accuracy. Published on March 23, 2014 at 8:59 pm BY NOAH M. HORWITZ

http://www.dailytexanonline.com/opinion/2014/03/23/in-race-for-agriculture-commissioner-texas-democrats-lack-good-options

: Sunday, 3/23/2014 - Michigan abortion clinics see an influx of Ohioans Toledo’s last facility faces potential closure BY MARLENE HARRIS-TAYLOR BLADE STAFF WRITER Read more at http://www.toledoblade.com/Medical/2014/03/23/Michigan-abortion-clinics-see-an-influx-of-Ohioans.html#FY52AcLLXvejXchC.99

http://www.toledoblade.com/Medical/2014/03/23/Michigan-abortion-clinics-see-an-influx-of-Ohioans.html#wqjAxR6bfTjbLzG3.01

Watch Preview | The Story of the Jews | PBS

Watch Preview | The Story of the Jews | PBS

Hooey and hype over the birth-control mandate, Published: January 7


http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ruth-marcus-hooey-and-hype-over-the-birth-control-mandate/2014/01/07/eba3ca14-77d5-11e3-b1c5-739e63e9c9a7_story.html

If the contraceptive mandate passes, it will ruin a core U.S. ideology 1554 Share to Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Add to PersonalPost Share via Email Print Article More By Rick Warren, Published: March 21 Rick Warren is pastor of the Saddleback Church, in Lake Forest, Calif., and the author of “The Purpose Driven Life.” Does our Constitution guarantee the freedom of religion, or does it merely allow a more limited freedom to worship? The difference is profound. Worship is an event. Religion is a way of life.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/religious-liberty-is-americas-first-freedom/2014/03/21/498c0048-b128-11e3-a49e-76adc9210f19_story.html

Contraception as a test of equality by Walter Dellinger, Sunday, March 23, 6:27 PM co-authored, with Dawn Johnsen of the Indiana Maurer School of Law, a brief for the Guttmacher Institute and professor Sara Rosenbaum of George Washington University supporting contraception coverage.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/contraception-as-a-test-of-equality/2014/03/23/b18fbaaa-b140-11e3-a49e-76adc9210f19_story.html?hpid=z2

2014 Houston Winning Speech 18th Annual Gardere MLK Jr. Oratory Competit...

Kevin Bacon's Footloose Entrance

How many people can live together in Austin?

How many people can live together in Austin?

Texas to help crack down on toll road deadbeats

Texas to help crack down on toll road deadbeats

Oil-spill cleanup operation continues at Texas City dike after barge and tanker collide Updated at 07:19 PM today http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=9476801&vid=9476463

Oil-spill cleanup operation continues at Texas City dike after barge and tanker collide Updated at 07:19 PM today

Deputy constables say goodbye to Ricco

Deputy constables say goodbye to Ricco

Great News for Alaska's Salmon and Grizzlies!

Great News for Alaska's Salmon and Grizzlies!

Despite Frenzied Push At The End, Millions Of Americans To Remain Uninsured Published March 23, 2014Fox News Latino


http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2014/03/23/despite-frenzied-push-at-end-millions-americans-to-remain-uninsured/

David Freedlander facebook tweet post POLITICS 03.21.14 The Weirdest Pro-Hillary Party Yet There were $18 pantsuit-themed cocktails and a soft, early sell to the diehards—for a non-candidate who wasn’t actually in attendance.


http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/21/high-above-manhattan-readying-the-base-for-hillary.html

Do Corporations Believe in God? The ‘Hobby Lobby’ Case Has the Answer The Supreme Court will decide whether corporate personhood, a dubious idea they’ve already affirmed, means business can deny birth control coverage on the grounds of “religious freedom.”


http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/22/do-corporations-believe-in-god-the-hobby-lobby-case-has-the-answer.html

New Report Reveals U.S. Fisheries Killing Thousands of Protected and Endangered Species A new report by Oceana exposes nine U.S. fisheries that throw away half of what they catch, and kill dolphins, sea turtles, whalesPhoto by Fiona Ayerst/Oceana Abby Haglage , and more in the process.


http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/23/new-report-reveals-u-s-fisheries-killing-thousands-of-protected-and-endangered-species.html

My Birth Control is Not My Boss’s Business! Rally

My Birth Control is Not My Boss’s Business! Rally

A terrifying precedent: Woman to be tried for murder for giving birth to stillborn

A terrifying precedent: Woman to be tried for murder for giving birth to stillborn

The tragedy of American organ donations: So many more people could be saved

The tragedy of American organ donations: So many more people could be saved

Hillary Clinton Still Deciding Whether To Pursue Another Presidential Campaign AP | by KEN THOMAS Posted: 03/23/2014 10:39 am EDT Updated: 03/23/2014 10:59 am EDT

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/23/hillary-clinton-campaign_n_5016805.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013

GOP Bill Would Force Divorcing Women To Get Permission Before Sex March 22, 2014 | Filed under: News Behaving Badly,Politics,Today's Lead,Top Stories | Posted by: Alan

GOP Bill Would Force Divorcing Women To Get Permission Before Sex (via Liberaland)

Hard to believe a small-government Republican would want to make you check with the government before having sex. If Massachusetts State Sen. Richard J. Ross (R) gets his way, that’s exactly what many women (and men) would have to do if they have…

Laura Bassett Conservative Media Freak Out Over Coat Hanger Abortion Symbol Posted: 03/21/2014 1:10 pm EDT Updated: 03/21/2014 6:59 pm EDT

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/21/dc-abortion-fund-coat-hanger_n_5008010.html?ir=Media

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Here Comes Wendy: Democrat Davis Surges In Texas Governor Race By: Jason Easleymore from Jason Easley Tuesday, March, 18th, 2014, 5:11 pm

http://www.politicususa.com/2014/03/18/wendy-democrat-davis-surges-texas-governor-race.html

Feminist prof now claims ‘MORAL RIGHT’ to attack 16-year-old abortion foe, destroy sign 12:33 PM 03/19/2014 Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/19/feminist-prof-now-claims-moral-right-to-attack-16-year-old-abortion-foe-destroy-sign/#ixzz2wYA23DHz

http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/19/feminist-prof-now-claims-moral-right-to-attack-16-year-old-abortion-foe-destroy-sign/

Obamacare architect: Law will cause ‘the end of employer-sponsored insurance’ Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/20/obamacare-architect-law-will-cause-the-end-of-employer-sponsored-insurance/#ixzz2wY9n3op7

http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/20/obamacare-architect-law-will-cause-the-end-of-employer-sponsored-insurance/

RNC’s embarrassing new ad campaign: Meet Scott, the cool young Republican!

RNC’s embarrassing new ad campaign: Meet Scott, the cool young Republican!

Scalia’s looming fiasco: Obscure new SCOTUS case may be worse than Citizens United

Scalia’s looming fiasco: Obscure new SCOTUS case may be <em>worse</em> than Citizens United

9 reasons why female sexuality will overcome anything conservative pundits throw at it

9 reasons why female sexuality will overcome anything conservative pundits throw at it

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Abbott, Davis Point Fingers Over Equal Pay by Alexa Ura March 19, 2014 http://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/19/abbott-davis-point-fingers-over-equal-pay/

Abbott, Davis Point Fingers Over Equal Pay

In the latest iteration of the fight over women's issues in the Texas governor’s race, Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott and his Democratic opponent, state Sen. Wendy Davis, are sounding off over equal pay and whether Texas needs its own version of the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

Davis' camp has attacked Abbott in recent weeks for defending the state in an equal pay lawsuit, slammed him for not giving a clear answer on whether we would have vetoed the Texas version of act (which Gov. Rick Perry did), and gone after the long-serving attorney general for disparities in pay among top workers at his agency. They have also decried comments made by Republican spokeswomen in recent TV interviews that seemed to put the onus for equal pay on women. 

The Abbott campaign tried to take control of the message on Wednesday, suggesting that Davis was practicing “equal pay hypocrisy,” and saying that through her law firm, Davis serves as counsel to the Tarrant Regional Water District, which was previously accused of gender pay discrimination under the Lilly Ledbetter Act. "Sen. Wendy Davis has now mastered the Texas two-step as she continues to launch attacks over equal pay while shielding her own record of defending gender discrimination,” Abbott spokesman Matt Hirsch said.

The Davis campaign fired back that the senator serves as minority bond counsel for the district, and only advises the public entity on issuing municipal bonds, which the Tribune has previously reported. Davis communications director Zac Petkanas called Abbott's response “a pathetic distraction” given the report on equal pay in his own office and added that the case against the district was dismissed because it was past the statute of limitations.

Current state law requires disparate pay claims to be made within 180 days after the discrimination began, whereas the federal Lilly Ledbetter Act allows such claims to be filed when discrimination is discovered. A Texas version of the federal law that aimed to extend the statute of limitations, which Davis sponsored in the Senate during the last legislative session, was vetoed by Perry because he said it duplicated federal law.

"Is it now Greg Abbott's position that a state equal pay act is needed?” Petkanas asked. 

On Wednesday, Hirsch said Abbott would not have signed the law "because wage discrimination is already against the law and because legal avenues already exist for victims of discrimination."

The latest back-and-forth is a continuation of sparring over fair pay that began when Davis attacked Abbott for not giving a clear answer on whether he would veto the Texas version of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act during an interview with WFAA

Davis has also highlighted Abbott's involvement in a fair pay court battle, saying that as Texas' attorney general, he defended the state against a lawsuit filed by a female professor at Prairie View A&M University who alleged discriminatory pay on the basis of race and nationality. She was unable to pursue her case because the Texas Supreme Court ruled that federal law didn’t apply to the state’s statute of limitations, which the AG’s office argued had expired.

And they have gone after Abbott for equal pay in his office, citing an analysis by the San Antonio Express-News that showed that most female assistant attorneys general make less on average than men in the same positions. The attorney general’s office said the difference is linked to the amount of time the male employees have served at the agency and how long they’ve been licensed to practice law. The analysis also did not include a breakdown of salaries in Davis’ Senate office.

The Republican response to the equal pay debate this week gave Democrats even more campaign fodder. In a TV interview on YNN Capitol Tonight this week, Texas Republican Party Executive Director Beth Cubriel said that “men are better negotiators” than women in the workplace and encouraged women to “become better negotiators” rather than pursuing equal pay action through the court system. And in a WFAA interview, Cari Christman, the chairwoman of the RedState Women political action committee, suggested that women are too busy with work and advanced degrees to fight equal pay in the courts, and instead want “practical” solutions.

Davis spokeswoman Rebecca Acuña called the remarks “out of touch” and “offensive."

“Here's a newsflash for Greg Abbott: Women aren't too busy to fight for economic fairness for all hardworking Texans and they aren't too busy to reject his business as usual opposition to equal pay legislation at the polls next November,” Acuña said.

Abbott has said he supports equal pay for women but has added that there are already laws in place to protect women in the workforce, citing state statutes and constitutional protections against gender discrimination. The Abbott campaign has yet to respond to requests for comment on whether the attorney general agrees with the televised remarks.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/19/abbott-davis-point-fingers-over-equal-pay/.

Anti-Choice Advocates Urge GOP Male Candidates to ‘Speak Humanely’ About Abortion Sofia Resnick by Sofia Resnick, RH Reality Check March 17, 2014 - 4:09 pm

http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2014/03/17/anti-choice-advocates-urge-gop-male-candidates-speak-humanely-abortion/

Abbott Dodges Question on Equal Pay - March 9, 2014 (WFAA)

Texas AG Greg Abbott Pays Women Less Than Men For Same Job Posted: 03/19/2014 9:52 am EDT Updated: 03/19/2014 2:59 pm EDT http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/19/greg-abbott-equal-pay_n_4992380.html


The Texas Observer Archiving Project Needs Volunteers http://www.texasobserver.org/texas-observer-archiving-project-needs-volunteers/

The Texas Observer Archiving Project Needs Volunteers

Help us turn these dusty print archives into a digital archive everyone can read.
Mike Antares
Help us turn these dusty print archives into a digital archive everyone can read.
We’re working hard to complete The Texas Observer’s online archive. When it’s finished, issues stretching back to the Observer’s inception in 1954 will be available for free to anyone who wants to read them. But we can’t complete this project without asking for your help one more time.
What we need is a few dedicated volunteers to assist with indexing past issues of the magazine. As an indexer, you’ll work from home reading past issues and entering information from them into an online form. Indexing is ideal for volunteers interested in digging into past issues and organizing key information.  To volunteer, please contact Michelle Andrews mandrews.atx@gmail.com.
Thanks for supporting The Texas Observer.

Greg Abbott Scores an Own Goal on Equal Pay by Christopher Hooks Published on Wednesday, March 19, 2014, at 3:47 CST

http://www.texasobserver.org/greg-abbott-scores-goal-equal-pay/

Catholic Nuns Come Out in Support of Obamacare Contraception Access 11,957g141 callie Callie Beusman ProfileFollow Callie Beusman Filed to: PILL BABY PILL CONTRACEPTION RELIGION OBAMACARE NUNS HOLY CRAP

http://jezebel.com/catholic-nuns-come-out-in-support-of-obamacare-contrace-1546597798

Religious Leaders Speak Up In Support Of Obamacare’s Birth Control Coverage BY TARA CULP-RESSLER ON MARCH 19, 2014 AT 12:23 PM


http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/03/19/3416214/religious-groups-birth-control-coverage/

TPM LIVEWIRE 45 Religious Orgs Back 'Universal Access To Contraception' SAHIL KAPUR – MARCH 18, 2014, 9:39 AM EDT

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/religious-leaders-universal-access-to-contraception

Supreme Court Contraception Mandate Cases: Religious Leaders Release Statement Supporting Contraception Access Posted: 03/19/2014 3:46 pm EDT Updated: 03/19/2014 3:59 pm EDT

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/19/supreme-court-contraception-mandate_n_4994473.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013&ir=Politics

Kids React to Gay Marriage

Leticia Van de Putte on Texas Women

TRIBLIVE: Kinky Friedman http://new.livestream.com/texastribune/events/2840630

Greg Abbott, Wendy Davis already aiming at Hispanics, women Dallas News


http://www.dallasnews.com/news/columnists/wayne-slater/20140305-greg-abbott-wendy-davis-already-aiming-at-hispanics-women.ece

Gubernatorial hopeful Greg Abbott fights back over women’s pay He would not sign a measure to make it easier for women to bring pay discrimination lawsuits in state court if he were governor, a spokesman said Wednesday. http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/

Abbott fights back over women’s pay, accuses Davis of hypocrisy for taking same position he did By Christy Hoppe choppe@dallasnews.com 12:04 pm on March 19, 2014

http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2014/03/abbott-fights-back-over-womens-pay-accuses-davis-of-hypocrisy-for-taking-same-position-he-did.html/

CCSF Protest Turns Violent As Police Use Pepper Spray, Batons (VIDEO) The Huffington Post | by Tyler Kingkade Email RSS Posted: 03/17/2014 6:09 pmhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/17/ccsf-protest-video-violent_n_4980970.html?ir=College&utm_campaign=031714&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Alert-college&utm_content=Photo EDT Updated: 03/17/2014 6:59 pm EDT

Abortion Rights Are Winning Legal Battles, But Losing The Larger War BY TARA CULP-RESSLER ON MARCH 17, 2014 AT 1:10 PM

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/03/17/3412201/abortion-rights-legal-battles/

5 Tips to Help Teachers Who Struggle with Technology | Edutopia

5 Tips to Help Teachers Who Struggle with Technology | Edutopia

Monday, March 17, 2014

Davis Launches Spanish-Language Website by Alexa Ura March 17, 2014 http://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/17/davis-launches-spanish-language-website/

Davis Launches Spanish-Language Website

Boosting her efforts to court the Hispanic vote, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis launched a Spanish-language version of her campaign website on Monday.

The Davis campaign said it created the website, wendydavistexas.com/es, to better showcase the differences between Davis and her Republican opponent, Attorney General Greg Abbott, and to bolster the campaign’s outreach to more communities across Texas.

"This website will highlight for voters the clear choice they have in this campaign," Davis said in a statement. "All hardworking Texans should have access to a 21st-century education, and an economy built with the jobs of tomorrow.”

Abbott launched a Spanish-language version of his campaign site earlier in January.

Both Davis and Abbott have talked about the importance of Hispanic voters in this election cycle and have made a big push to campaign in areas with large Hispanic populations. But Spanish-language websites give politicians who are not Spanish speakers, like Davis and Abbott, the ability to reach out to voters who prefer to consume political information in Spanish.

The Abbott campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Davis’ site.

Davis and Abbott have also relied on Spanish-language news networks like Univision and Telemundo to reach Hispanic voters. Since announcing their candidacies, both Abbott and Davis have appeared on Conexión Texas, a public affairs show that debuted last year on Univision stations around the state. Neither candidate spoke in Spanish during the interviews, and their answers appeared in Spanish subtitles on screen.

Davis’ Spanish-language site largely resembles her English-language site with minor differences in photos. The launch of the website was accompanied with a Spanish-language Twitter account that will also include campaign updates in Spanish.

The site also features a blog post written by Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Leticia Van de Putte in Spanish announcing the campaign’s “Latinos For Wendy” initiative.

In the post, Van de Putte writes that Davis shares her perspective on what’s important for Texas families, including Latinos.

“That’s why I’m proud to announce Latinos for Wendy so that our community can learn about Wendy Davis, her campaign for governor and her vision for Texas’ future,” Van de Putte wrote, adding that Latinos For Wendy would help reinforce Davis’ message of creating economic and educational opportunities among Hispanic communities.

While both Abbott and Davis have said they’re confident about their standing among the fractured Hispanic voting bloc, results from the March 4 primary show that both candidates still have their work cut out for them.

Davis won the Democratic nomination handily, but she lost several border counties with large Hispanic populations, which are critical to Democratic statewide success, to Corpus Christi Municipal Judge Ray Madrigal, a largely unknown primary candidate. Abbott received far more votes than Davis did statewide, but Davis ended the night with more votes overall than Abbott in the same border counties she lost to Madrigal.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/17/davis-launches-spanish-language-website/.

Doctor Who - The Doctor's Facebook Look Back Film

Meet the Doctor Who Opened aNatural Birthing Center in HerAbortion Clinic www.cosmopolitan.com


http://www.cosmopolitan.com/advice/health/katharine-morrison-birthing-center-abortion?utm_source=nar.al&utm_medium=urlshortener&utm_campaign=FB

Laura Bassett Head Of GOP Women's PAC Flubs Equal Pay Question Posted: 03/17/2014 9:59 am EDT Updated: 03/17/2014 3:59 pm EDT


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/17/head-of-gop-womens-pac-fl_n_4978650.html

Michigan's 'Rape Insurance' Abortion Rider Law Goes Into Effect Today The Huffington Post | by Ashley Woods Email RSS Posted: 03/13/2014 6:51 pm EDT Updated: 03/14/2014 10:59 am EDT

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/13/michigans-abortion-rider-_n_4958517.html

Obamacare Enrollment Reaches 5 Million AP/The Huffington Post Posted: 03/17/2014 4:43 pm EDT Updated: 03/17/2014 5:59 pm EDT

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/17/obamacare-enrollment_n_4981243.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013

Ohio State Rep Proposes Selling Off Public Schools To Private Businesses To End ‘Socialism’ By Joseph Guyer on March 16, 2014 Andrew Brenner wants your kid to attend PepsiCo High.

http://www.liberalamerica.org/2014/03/16/ohio-state-rep-proposes-selling-off-public-schools-to-private-businesses-to-end-socialism/#

What Parents of Autistic Children Will Never Tell You Posted: 14/03/2014 17:12 Jo WorganSenior writer Autism Daily Newscast, author and blogger


http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/jo-worgan-/autistic-children-parenting_b_4955922.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063

Federal Judge Strikes Down One Of The Strictest Abortion Laws In The Nation BY IGOR VOLSKY ON MARCH 16, 2014 AT 10:29 AM


http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/03/16/3410291/federal-judge-strikes-down-one-of-the-strictest-abortion-laws-in-the-nation/

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Your tax dollars at work: Tuition now so high that students rely on food shelters, charity 6:35 PM 03/15/2014 Robby Soave Reporter Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/15/your-tax-dollars-at-work-tuition-now-so-high-that-students-rely-on-food-shelters-charity/#ixzz2wBxGkHKC


http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/15/your-tax-dollars-at-work-tuition-now-so-high-that-students-rely-on-food-shelters-charity/

Ben Hattem WORLD NEWS 03.15.14 Israeli Schooling For Palestinian Kids Schools in East Jerusalem are getting incentives to change to the Israeli national curriculum—but parents are up in arms because the Bagrut fails to mention Palestinian history and claims to territory.


http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/15/israeli-schooling-for-palestinian-kids.html

Unknown to Most, Cecilia Abbott Could Make History by Alexa Ura March 16, 2014 http://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/16/unknown-most-cecilia-abbott-could-make-history/

Unknown to Most, Cecilia Abbott Could Make History

While Gov. Rick Perry is bowing out of Texas politics after an unprecedented three four-year terms in office, history could also be made if the Governor’s Mansion stays home to a Republican. If Attorney General Greg Abbott wins his campaign to succeed Perry — and he is favored to do so — his wife would become the first Latina to be the first lady of Texas.

Cecilia Phalen Abbott, 54, has been a regular at her husband’s side as he travels across the state for his campaign. He often talks about how Abbott, the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants, has helped him embrace the culture of a growing number of Texans, though talk about her heritage has been part of the conflict during the campaign.

Friends and colleagues say that Abbott’s accomplishments are impressive in their own right. They describe the onetime teacher is a dedicated advocate for children and someone who is driven by her firm conservative values, including her anti-abortion stance and deep religious beliefs.

“She’s got an independent streak in her,” said Susie Hance, who chairs the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s advisory board, which Abbott previously served on. She cited Abbott’s efforts to pursue her educational career and charitable work, which has included a stint on a local version of “Dancing with the Stars” to benefit the Center for Child Protection. Through Greg Abbott’s campaign, Cecilia Abbott declined to be interviewed for this article.

Abbott grew up as one of four children of two educators in San Antonio, where she attended Thomas Jefferson High School and appears in its 1978 yearbook as a cast member for the senior play “Madwoman of Chaillot” and a member of the school’s social club. When she transferred to Providence High School, she became a member of the school’s Future Homemakers of America chapter.

She met Greg Abbott while they attended the University of Texas at Austin. The story goes that she once serenaded her future husband from behind a keyboard while living in a dorm near UT. They have been married for 32 years.

A few years into their marriage, their lives dramatically changed when a 75-foot-tall oak tree fell on Greg Abbott, then a recently graduated law student, while he was jogging in 1984 in Houston. He was paralyzed by the accident.

Kent Sullivan, a lawyer who worked with Greg Abbott at the time of his accident, said Cecilia Abbott was crucial to her husband’s recovery.

“She was instrumental in supporting him in every way imaginable after the accident,” Sullivan said. “She was a pillar of strength for him. It sounds like a cliché, but it really is true.”

Friends say she helped him become more comfortable in his wheelchair and tried to make things as normal as possible, hosting poker nights at their apartment shortly after the accident, for example. During his recovery, she also relied on her sense of humor, which friends describe as a sharp wit that would help lighten her husband’s mood on difficult days.

“Her one eyebrow-raised look is a good indication of what her personality is like,” Sullivan said.

As her husband pursued his legal career, Abbott worked as a schoolteacher.

By 1996, when Greg Abbott was on the road campaigning for re-election to the Texas Supreme Court, Cecilia Abbott had taken a job as principal of the Cathedral School of St. Mary in Austin, where she worked until 2001. That same year, Perry appointed her to the State Board for Educator Certification.

After leaving education behind, in 2004 she worked as managing director of community relations at Harden Healthcare, a health care provider that primarily serves senior citizens.

Nearly a decade later, Abbott returned to San Antonio and joined her husband as he announced his bid for governor.

She recently left her job at Harden to take up a more prominent role in the campaign, accompanying her husband on the road more frequently and making her own appearances, largely at events targeting Republican women.

But her presence on the campaign trail has not gone unfazed. Since starting his campaign, Greg Abbott has regularly made reference to his wife’s Hispanic heritage, suggesting that it gives him an edge with Hispanic voters who are largely considered essential to future electoral success in the state.

Abbott was recently thrust into the spotlight following a back-and-forth in which Greg Abbott contended through social media that Democrats were turning his wife’s heritage against him because they were worried about the “growing connection” between Hispanics and Republicans.

His remarks came after she accompanied the attorney general during a campaign event in Lubbock last month. After the event, local Democrats reportedly criticized Greg Abbott for hosting the event at a Mexican restaurant. Greg Abbott claimed that a Lubbock City Council member had referred to his wife as a “prop;” an accusation that was refuted by Democrats.

Pat Mizell, a longtime friend of the Abbotts, brushed aside skepticism about the attorney general’s remarks about Abbott’s Hispanic background.

“I’m sure she would be supportive if the campaign wants to raise an issue,” Mizell said. “But the idea that they would emphasize something that isn’t sincere, she wouldn’t let it happen.”

Abbott has been silent on the issue. Little is known about her political views beyond her anti-abortion stance.

In an interview with The San Antonio Express-News, Abbott interjected into her husband’s responses to lay out their opposition to exceptions allowing abortion in cases of rape or incest. “We just don’t discriminate against a child because of their beginnings,” she told the paper.

Mizell said the couple’s beliefs are largely rooted in the adoption of their 17-year-old daughter, Audrey, adding that the adoption was the impetus for the couple’s active involvement with an Austin adoption home.

Abbott’s Catholic faith has also influenced her husband, who converted to Catholicism after his accident and often touts his faith among his conservative values.

“That’s a dominant force in her life,” Sullivan said, adding that its impact on Greg Abbott has been obvious. “It’s a really important aspect of their relationship.”

But citing her time as an educator and her duties as a board member for several educational institutions, it’s Abbott’s longtime involvement in education that friends say she’ll carry into the first lady post if her husband is elected.

“While she has been completely supportive of him and what he’s done, she’s had very much an independent course that she has pursued,” Sullivan said, adding that he expected her to do the same from the governor’s mansion.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/16/unknown-most-cecilia-abbott-could-make-history/.

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Unknown to Most, Cecilia Abbott Could Make History by Alexa Ura March 16, 2014

Unknown to Most, Cecilia Abbott Could Make History

While Gov. Rick Perry is bowing out of Texas politics after an unprecedented three four-year terms in office, history could also be made if the Governor’s Mansion stays home to a Republican. If Attorney General Greg Abbott wins his campaign to succeed Perry — and he is favored to do so — his wife would become the first Latina to be the first lady of Texas.

Cecilia Phalen Abbott, 54, has been a regular at her husband’s side as he travels across the state for his campaign. He often talks about how Abbott, the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants, has helped him embrace the culture of a growing number of Texans, though talk about her heritage has been part of the conflict during the campaign.

Friends and colleagues say that Abbott’s accomplishments are impressive in their own right. They describe the onetime teacher is a dedicated advocate for children and someone who is driven by her firm conservative values, including her anti-abortion stance and deep religious beliefs.

“She’s got an independent streak in her,” said Susie Hance, who chairs the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s advisory board, which Abbott previously served on. She cited Abbott’s efforts to pursue her educational career and charitable work, which has included a stint on a local version of “Dancing with the Stars” to benefit the Center for Child Protection. Through Greg Abbott’s campaign, Cecilia Abbott declined to be interviewed for this article.

Abbott grew up as one of four children of two educators in San Antonio, where she attended Thomas Jefferson High School and appears in its 1978 yearbook as a cast member for the senior play “Madwoman of Chaillot” and a member of the school’s social club. When she transferred to Providence High School, she became a member of the school’s Future Homemakers of America chapter.

She met Greg Abbott while they attended the University of Texas at Austin. The story goes that she once serenaded her future husband from behind a keyboard while living in a dorm near UT. They have been married for 32 years.

A few years into their marriage, their lives dramatically changed when a 75-foot-tall oak tree fell on Greg Abbott, then a recently graduated law student, while he was jogging in 1984 in Houston. He was paralyzed by the accident.

Kent Sullivan, a lawyer who worked with Greg Abbott at the time of his accident, said Cecilia Abbott was crucial to her husband’s recovery.

“She was instrumental in supporting him in every way imaginable after the accident,” Sullivan said. “She was a pillar of strength for him. It sounds like a cliché, but it really is true.”

Friends say she helped him become more comfortable in his wheelchair and tried to make things as normal as possible, hosting poker nights at their apartment shortly after the accident, for example. During his recovery, she also relied on her sense of humor, which friends describe as a sharp wit that would help lighten her husband’s mood on difficult days.

“Her one eyebrow-raised look is a good indication of what her personality is like,” Sullivan said.

As her husband pursued his legal career, Abbott worked as a schoolteacher.

By 1996, when Greg Abbott was on the road campaigning for re-election to the Texas Supreme Court, Cecilia Abbott had taken a job as principal of the Cathedral School of St. Mary in Austin, where she worked until 2001. That same year, Perry appointed her to the State Board for Educator Certification.

After leaving education behind, in 2004 she worked as managing director of community relations at Harden Healthcare, a health care provider that primarily serves senior citizens.

Nearly a decade later, Abbott returned to San Antonio and joined her husband as he announced his bid for governor.

She recently left her job at Harden to take up a more prominent role in the campaign, accompanying her husband on the road more frequently and making her own appearances, largely at events targeting Republican women.

But her presence on the campaign trail has not gone unfazed. Since starting his campaign, Greg Abbott has regularly made reference to his wife’s Hispanic heritage, suggesting that it gives him an edge with Hispanic voters who are largely considered essential to future electoral success in the state.

Abbott was recently thrust into the spotlight following a back-and-forth in which Greg Abbott contended through social media that Democrats were turning his wife’s heritage against him because they were worried about the “growing connection” between Hispanics and Republicans.

His remarks came after she accompanied the attorney general during a campaign event in Lubbock last month. After the event, local Democrats reportedly criticized Greg Abbott for hosting the event at a Mexican restaurant. Greg Abbott claimed that a Lubbock City Council member had referred to his wife as a “prop;” an accusation that was refuted by Democrats.

Pat Mizell, a longtime friend of the Abbotts, brushed aside skepticism about the attorney general’s remarks about Abbott’s Hispanic background.

“I’m sure she would be supportive if the campaign wants to raise an issue,” Mizell said. “But the idea that they would emphasize something that isn’t sincere, she wouldn’t let it happen.”

Abbott has been silent on the issue. Little is known about her political views beyond her anti-abortion stance.

In an interview with The San Antonio Express-News, Abbott interjected into her husband’s responses to lay out their opposition to exceptions allowing abortion in cases of rape or incest. “We just don’t discriminate against a child because of their beginnings,” she told the paper.

Mizell said the couple’s beliefs are largely rooted in the adoption of their 17-year-old daughter, Audrey, adding that the adoption was the impetus for the couple’s active involvement with an Austin adoption home.

Abbott’s Catholic faith has also influenced her husband, who converted to Catholicism after his accident and often touts his faith among his conservative values.

“That’s a dominant force in her life,” Sullivan said, adding that its impact on Greg Abbott has been obvious. “It’s a really important aspect of their relationship.”

But citing her time as an educator and her duties as a board member for several educational institutions, it’s Abbott’s longtime involvement in education that friends say she’ll carry into the first lady post if her husband is elected.

“While she has been completely supportive of him and what he’s done, she’s had very much an independent course that she has pursued,” Sullivan said, adding that he expected her to do the same from the governor’s mansion.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/16/unknown-most-cecilia-abbott-could-make-history/.

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