State agency denies investigators access to records

By melissacrowe in Man Bites Dog

"Who judges the guys who judge the judges?" Dallas Observer said it perfectly. No one. The Sunset Advisory Commission, the group legislatively charged with evaluating other state agencies, was blocked from access to meetings and records of the agency responsible ...

Courthouse Security: One dead in Beaumont courthouse shooting

By melissacrowe in Man Bites Dog

The Beaumont-Enterprise reported today that a 41-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly fatally shooting a family member at the Jefferson County Courthouse. According to the article, investigators said Bartholomew Granger, who was arrested, killed a family member just prior ...

The "Big Picture" of park planning -- Victoria and bike lanes?

By melissacrowe in Man Bites Dog

Last week, the city unveiled its multi-million dollar park plan. Victorians want to be outdoors and we’ve seen that with the completion of the 2007 bond package that funded a new sporting complex. While this new plan includes a dog ...

Election controversies not over yet

By melissacrowe in Man Bites Dog

While Texas has cleared some major hurdles in this year’s election process -- primary election date and redistricting maps are set, candidate filing ends Friday -- another controversial obstacle is could soon be back in the public spotlight. The measure ...

Remember the Alamo

By melissacrowe in Man Bites Dog

This day in history an old mission in San Antonio was captured by Gen. Santa Anna. Although there is still debate over the facts surrounding the nearly 2-week-long siege, there is no doubt about what the battle has come to ...

Paper or plastic: Austin passes bag ban

By melissacrowe in Man Bites Dog

BYOB is about to take on a whole new meaning in the state's capitol. Last summer, Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell proposed a ban on plastic bags at checkout counters. According to the Austin American-Statesman, the ban passed at 2 a.m. ...

Victoria County Commissioners Court Rescheduled

By melissacrowe in Man Bites Dog

Today's Victoria County Commissioners Court meeting has been reset for 10 a.m. Tuesday. Many of you read our stories about the tragic accident involving 15-year-old 14-year-old Matthew Spann, son of Commissioner Kenny Spann. Matthew's service is this morning at Our ...

Guess who wants a fourth term in Austin

By melissacrowe in Man Bites Dog

Governor Rick Perry told the Texas Tribune this week he is leaning on running for a fourth term for the 2014 governor race and possibly another shot at D.C. for 2016. However, 39 percent of Texas voters said they would ...

Council questions whether 18-year-olds can handle office

By melissacrowe in Man Bites Dog

Two weeks ago, Gilbert Servin, an 18-year-old University of Houston-Victoria freshman, approached the city council asking for age restrictions to be lifted for city office elections. According to the city charter, candidates running for city council must be at least ...

What's the big deal about Millennials, anyway?

By melissacrowe in Man Bites Dog

For the past two weeks, I’ve been researching and talking to Victorians about Millennials and the generational clash these 20-somethings are caught in. Some optimistically say Millennials have more tools than any other generation to create, experience and impact the ...