07.11.09
Weekend news
Gov. Rick Perry chose Gail Lowe (R-Lampasas) to chair the State Board of Education (SBOE). Kuff has many links to reaction around the state and here’s his take on Lowe.
At least she has a kid in public school, which is a clear distinction from the Dunbars of the world, who are working to kill public schools. If she really does focus on academic achievement, and stays away from the divisive stuff that’s been the SBOE’s hallmark lately, she’ll at least be a step up from McLeroy. On the other hand, if she really did think Dunbar would have made a good Chair but for her outspokenness, that’s worrisome. We’ll just have to see how it goes. What I do know is that getting some of the clowns off of the Board remains a top priority, and that means getting Dunbar and McLeroy unelected next year. The less crazy the Board is as a whole, the less it matters how kooky the Chair is.
Here’s BOR’s take, SBOE Chair Gail Lowe is Not Much Improvement from Rick Perry.
Today Rick Perry appointed a Republican from Lampasas to chair the State Board of Education; Gail Lowe. Ms. Lowe calls herself a creationist and votes with the social conservative block of this education board. She is, though, according to some reputable sources the “most moderate of remaining conservatives.”
So, those who wanted Governor Perry to appoint someone better than Don McLeroy can thank him for that. Actually, unless he appointed Cynthia Dunbar, I don’t think it could have gotten worse. So Rick Perry made an easy choice that is meant to appease those who complained about Mr. McLeroy. And in some ways, he succeeded. Already, there are some who are applauding him for selecting a more moderate choice.
The opinion seems to be, still not good but it certainly could have been a whole lot worse.
Via the AAS, Texas sales taxes continue to drop. Austin and Round Rock continue to get hit particularly hard.
Texas’ sales tax collections could fall $550 million short of budget projections for the current fiscal year, figures released Friday by Comptroller Susan Combs show.
The $1.6 billion collected in June, which reflects sales in May, was 11.2 percent less than the same month a year ago. It was the fifth consecutive month of sales tax declines.
Combs said the steep drop in June stemmed from the continued economic weakness, particularly in comparison to the strong sales tax collections last year, when higher oil and gas prices spurred companies to buy more drilling and other equipment.
[…]
Austin and Round Rock had the biggest drops, of 12 and 14.6 percent respectively, from a year ago. But six of the other 11 largest cities in the area had increases.
In Williamson County taxes were down 10.34%, (scroll down), for the month. Find all the pertinent information at this page on the Comptroller’s web site, Monthly Sales Tax Allocation Comparison Summary Reports.
Two reports from the health care rally at GOP Sen. Kay Baily Hutchison’s office in Austin on Thursday, Local organization urges Sen. Hutchison to bolster new health care program and Austinites rally for health care reform. Here’s some video from the rally in Dallas.
Sales tax revenues drop - Off the Kuff said,
July 15, 2009 at 4:25 am
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