January 4, 2014

State Farm, Farmers, Allstate raising home insurance rates

AUSTIN — The big three home insurers in Texas are ringing in the new year with hefty premium hikes for their policyholders.

Allstate, Farmers and State Farm have notified the Texas Department of Insurance that they are increasing rates for most current and new customers by an average 6.5 percent to 15 percent to offset projected losses. More than 2 million homeowners will be affected.

The Insurance Department will review the rate hikes. It can reject any increases deemed excessive.

In addition, the state consumer advocate for insurance is challenging the increases. She argues that the increases are not justified. Whether to overturn them will be new Insurance Commissioner Julia Rathgeber’s first major decision on rates.

More at http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20140103-state-farm-farmers-allstate-raising-home-insurance-rates.ece .

[font color=green]Isn't it wonderful that the top three home insurers in Texas are guaranteeing a prosperous new year...for themselves?[/font]

January 4, 2014

Millionaire Jack Garey donates estate for Georgetown park

This backyard tree belongs to Jack Garey, 83, who has donated hundreds of acres and $5 million to the city of Georgetown to develop a park on his property after his death. This month, he donated 200 more acres plus his house with all its artwork and antiques to the city. Photo: Rodolfo Gonzalez

GEORGETOWN —

One warm sunny day last month, Jack Garey drove to a hill at the top of his ranch while his English setter Duchess eagerly sprinted in front of him with her tail held high.

Garey, 83, got out of his all-terrain vehicle and stood on the front porch of his guesthouse, where he could see most of his 528 acres. The land borders the South San Gabriel River and includes two hills, two man-made lakes, several springs and the 6,000-square-foot Tuscan-style villa where he lives.

He’s giving it all — including the villa with its 19th century and modern paintings and furniture — to the city of Georgetown to develop as a park. He’s also throwing in a $5 million donation to help. “It is bigger than Central Park,” said Garey, who is retired from several careers as an attorney, construction company owner and a real estate developer. He now owns racehorses and runs a small mortgage company.

Garey and his late wife, Cammy Garey, announced their plans to donate the ranch in 2004, preserving a massive swath of green space that has grown all the more scarce as Williamson County fills with subdivisions and shopping centers. This year, by the end of August, the county had seen nearly twice as many housing starts as it did in the 2011 slump, and this fall, it topped Forbes’ list of America’s Fastest Growing Counties, logging an almost 8 percent growth in population between 2010 and 2012 (Hays County came in No. 3).

More at http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/millionaire-jack-garey-donates-estate-for-georgeto/nccD9/ (subscription required).

[font color=green]The late Mrs. Garey was raised in Georgetown and was also a high school cheerleader there. The Garey's also contributed $15 million dollars to my alma mater, although neither of the Garey's attended Southwestern University. Mrs. Garey felt that it was the contribution was important because of the influence of the university on the town through the faculty and students.

Mr. Garey is also a member of the Southwestern University Board of Trustees.[/font]

January 4, 2014

Anti-gay activist Dave Wilson swears self in as Houston Comm Coll trustee despite restraining order

Anti-gay activist Dave Wilson tried to swear himself in Thursday as a member of the Houston Community College Board of Trustees.

The Houston Chronicle reports that Wilson filed notarized oath-of-office papers with the Texas secretary of state’s office. The move came in response to a judge’s restraining order barring Wilson from taking the oath of office due to questions about whether he lives in the district he was elected to represent.

Wilson, known for leading a campaign to ban domestic partner benefits for gay city employees in 2001, was elected to represent District II on the HCC board in November, after deceiving voters into thinking he was black. But Wilson also may have been misleading them about where he lives, and he faces a lawsuit over his residency from the Harris County attorney.

Wilson listed his address as 5600 W. 34th St., the site of a large metal warehouse where he claims to have an upstairs apartment. But his wife lives at a residence outside the district, and they don’t appear to be separated.

More at http://www.lonestarq.com/despite-restraining-order-anti-gay-houston-activist-swears/ .

Cross-posted in LGBT Group.

Related thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/107814154

January 4, 2014

Anti-gay activist Dave Wilson swears self in as Houston Comm Coll trustee despite restraining order

Anti-gay activist Dave Wilson tried to swear himself in Thursday as a member of the Houston Community College Board of Trustees.

The Houston Chronicle reports that Wilson filed notarized oath-of-office papers with the Texas secretary of state’s office. The move came in response to a judge’s restraining order barring Wilson from taking the oath of office due to questions about whether he lives in the district he was elected to represent.

Wilson, known for leading a campaign to ban domestic partner benefits for gay city employees in 2001, was elected to represent District II on the HCC board in November, after deceiving voters into thinking he was black. But Wilson also may have been misleading them about where he lives, and he faces a lawsuit over his residency from the Harris County attorney.

Wilson listed his address as 5600 W. 34th St., the site of a large metal warehouse where he claims to have an upstairs apartment. But his wife lives at a residence outside the district, and they don’t appear to be separated.

More at http://www.lonestarq.com/despite-restraining-order-anti-gay-houston-activist-swears/ .

Cross-posted in Texas Group.

Related thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/107814154

January 3, 2014

Azle crowd frustrated by lack of answers about quakes (and correlation to fracking)

AZLE — Spooked by a series of earthquakes since November, hundreds of people at a town hall meeting Thursday evening let state officials know they are frustrated about the absence of explanations for the outbreak.

They were still frustrated when they went home.

At times the meeting, while generally orderly, turned raucous as participants yelled out support for a homeowner’s story or hooted when railroad commission representatives said they don’t know what is causing the unusual seismic activity on the western edge of the Metroplex.

Most of the speakers had their own idea about the cause: natural gas production in the Barnett Shale that underlies much of the western Metroplex.

More at http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/01/02/5457081/azle-meeting-on-earthquakes-yields.html?rh=1 .

January 3, 2014

Federal judge refuses to halt same-sex benefits for Houston city employees

The same-sex spouses of Houston city employees will keep their benefits for now, after a federal judge on Thursday denied a request for a restraining order that would have halted them.

U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal considered the request after the case was moved from state court to federal court by the defendants — Mayor Annise Parker and the city of Houston.

Harris County GOP Chair Jared Woodfill, on behalf of taxpayers Jack Pidgeon and Larry Hicks, sued Parker and the city in December after she extended benefits to the same-sex spouses of city employees who are legally married in other states.

State District Judge Lisa Millard, a Republican, issued a restraining order halting the benefits, before the city moved the case to federal court, where Woodfill sought another restraining order. Following a lengthy hearing on Thursday afternoon in Houston, Rosenthal denied the request.

More at http://www.lonestarq.com/breaking-federal-judges-refuses-halt-sex-benefits-houston/ .

Cross-posted in LGBT Group.

January 3, 2014

Federal judge refuses to halt same-sex benefits for Houston city employees

The same-sex spouses of Houston city employees will keep their benefits for now, after a federal judge on Thursday denied a request for a restraining order that would have halted them.

U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal considered the request after the case was moved from state court to federal court by the defendants — Mayor Annise Parker and the city of Houston.

Harris County GOP Chair Jared Woodfill, on behalf of taxpayers Jack Pidgeon and Larry Hicks, sued Parker and the city in December after she extended benefits to the same-sex spouses of city employees who are legally married in other states.

State District Judge Lisa Millard, a Republican, issued a restraining order halting the benefits, before the city moved the case to federal court, where Woodfill sought another restraining order. Following a lengthy hearing on Thursday afternoon in Houston, Rosenthal denied the request.

More at http://www.lonestarq.com/breaking-federal-judges-refuses-halt-sex-benefits-houston/ .

Cross-posted in Texas Group.

January 3, 2014

Steve Stockman's acceptance of bitcoins moves debate over online currency to politics

WASHINGTON — Questions about the digital money bitcoin — what it is, how it’s used and whether governments should regulate it — have popped up in business and banking circles ever since the digital money was first proposed in 2009.

Since then, about 12 million of the virtual coins have entered circulation and a growing number of businesses in the U.S. and globally accept them as payment. And now, Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Friendswood, is hoping to spread bitcoins’ use to politics.

Stockman announced this week that his campaign against Sen. John Cornyn will accept donations of bitcoins. It’s legal to do so, but it means he’ll get contributions in a form of currency with no tie to any bank and that he can’t see, touch or spend at most Texas businesses.

The decision isn’t likely to yield a windfall that will help Stockman keep pace with Cornyn, a two-term incumbent who is the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, in fundraising. But it reinforces his message and appeals to his base supporters’ distrust of the Federal Reserve system and highlights an issue that could be a challenge for regulators as bitcoins catch on.

More at http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20140102-steve-stockman-s-acceptance-of-bitcoins-moves-debate-over-online-currency-to-politics.ece .

Cross-posted in Politics 2014 forum.

January 3, 2014

Steve Stockman's acceptance of bitcoins moves debate over online currency to politics

WASHINGTON — Questions about the digital money bitcoin — what it is, how it’s used and whether governments should regulate it — have popped up in business and banking circles ever since the digital money was first proposed in 2009.

Since then, about 12 million of the virtual coins have entered circulation and a growing number of businesses in the U.S. and globally accept them as payment. And now, Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Friendswood, is hoping to spread bitcoins’ use to politics.

Stockman announced this week that his campaign against Sen. John Cornyn will accept donations of bitcoins. It’s legal to do so, but it means he’ll get contributions in a form of currency with no tie to any bank and that he can’t see, touch or spend at most Texas businesses.

The decision isn’t likely to yield a windfall that will help Stockman keep pace with Cornyn, a two-term incumbent who is the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, in fundraising. But it reinforces his message and appeals to his base supporters’ distrust of the Federal Reserve system and highlights an issue that could be a challenge for regulators as bitcoins catch on.

More at http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20140102-steve-stockman-s-acceptance-of-bitcoins-moves-debate-over-online-currency-to-politics.ece .

Cross-posted in Texas Group.

January 2, 2014

20 years after NAFTA, Mexico has transformed

LA VALLA, Mexico — Leodegarco Ramírez Ramírez smiles as he stands in a spot symbolizing the rise of a new Mexico, an area of cornfields that are slowly being replaced by manufacturing plants where his sons and nephews make airplanes and automobiles.

Ramirez and his countrymen are part of a transformation as Mexico moves from a commodity, crisis-prone, agriculture-dominated economy to a more broad-based one with manufacturing plants that produce everything from aerospace and auto parts to refrigerators.

“I tell my sons things are looking up for Mexico,” he said. “We’ll go to the United States more out of curiosity than necessity.”

There is debate over how much of the change is due to the North American Free Trade Agreement. This week marks the 20th anniversary since the accord took effect for the United States, Mexico and Canada.

More at http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20140101-20-years-after-nafta-mexico-has-transformed.ece .