Category Archives: government

Jessica Farrar: Please Say NO to I-10 Feeder

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From: Bill Shirley
To: Jessica.Farrar@house.state.tx.us
Cc: lillian.ortiz@house.state.tx.us,
alicia.nuzzie@house.state.tx.us

Dear Mrs. Farrar,

I just became aware of a public meeting this evening in regard to a newly
funded project to add feeder roads to I-10 inside the loop. I can not make
it to the meeting this evening to let you know how much I STRONGLY OPPOSE
this move!

There is NO good reason to expand or create ANY feeder road. I would highly
suggest eliminating some in several locations. If interstates need to be
expanded (which is a dubious claim itself according to many studies) then add
lanes to them. Adding feeders is NOT needed and I believe detrimental.

-Bill Shirley
Registered Voter
Houston 77007

cc:
Alicia Nuzzie, District Director
Lillian Ortiz, Chief of Staff

*State Representative Jessica Farrar will host an informational meeting on TXDot´s I-10 Feeder Road Project Wednesday, January 6, 2010 from 6:30-7:30pm at Stevenson Elementary (5410 Cornish St, 77007)

Quo Vadis, Mr. President

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On Wednesday night, President Obama addressed the Congress about health insurance reform. One thing I’m wondering is how many Americans didn’t listen?

More particularly, how many Americans are opinionated on the “against” side and listen to talk radio or any other conservative media and didn’t listen?

I listened to most of President G. W. Bush’s addresses. I very often disagreed with him, but I received the unfiltered message he was delivering.

How many Americans will continue to fight against change yet listen only to one side of the debate? (To call it a debate is questionable.) And how many will continue to fight against invisible ghosts? They’re being riled up against something that doesn’t exist and they’re in such a ferver they don’t hear rational people trying to explain the debate to them.

I hope it succeeds in getting things moving.

Cent Aware

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I guess it’s been off my numismatic radar, but a few days ago I ended up with two shiny pennies with new reverse sides (the obverse side is the same it’s been since 1909).  Using as an excuse the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth, they have create four new images to put on the reverse.  Look for them in a pocket near you.

This all leads me to wonder how much longer the penny will endure.

Election Day: It’s Special

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Before you head to the Art Car Parade on Saturday, you should head by your polling places and vote.  Particularly if you live in HoustonCity Council District H.  My poling place for this off election is at Reagan High School – a different location than normal for me.

I haven’t had or taken the time to pay much attention to this election. But Maverick Welsh has been out there more than anyone else (a good indication he will put effort into the job), and he has received the endorsement of many people I respect.

See you at the parade after I vote.

DPS Fail, By Proxy

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The Texas Department of Public safety subcontracts fee collection to the Municipal Service Bureau.  I’m trying to pay a charge online and get all the way to the payment page where it fails quietly, without doing anything.

Texas DPS Logo

I call their 800 number.  It only took 3 minutes on hold before I was informed that it doesn’t work “on Macs or on the iPhone.  Maybe on Firefox.  But there’s no way to be sure.  So, wait a few hours and see if anything’s gone through my bank.”

I can certainly wait to give you money, but it would have been much more of a service to those of up whose taxes (and fees) are paying for your company to exist if you would have put 2 lines of code in your web app to say “sorry this isn’t going to work for you, stop now!”

I don’t mind this kind of public/private partnership.  And indeed I suspect I would get worse support from a government run version of this.  (DPS is closed today.  Good Friday.  Passover.  Religious Holiday.  MSB wasn’t.)  But the government should also lean on this provider when they are not providing for all citizens.

Courteous: check, Service: partial, Protection: n/a.

Sausage Making: HB1062? nee, HB2094

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I previously emailed Rep. Farrar about House Bill 1062. She pushed for similar legislation two years ago, and got stomped by the distributers lobby. She left a comment hinting she was going to introduce a more feasible bill, but didn’t offer the details.

I ran into Brock Wagner soon thereafter. He had just met with Rep. Farrar in Austin and gave me the details. There are particulars that the the enormous distributers lobby complain about. Those pieces needed to be minimized if the legislation is to have a chance. She was going to introduce different legislation that had a better chance of surviving.

I’ve been so busy working on a new job that I missed the introduction of the new bill, HB2094. Charles Kuffner had mention of it on his blog, but I missed that too.

It seems it was scheduled for a public hearing the day after St. Patrick’s Day. I haven’t yet heard how that went. I don’t think that newspapers pay attention to government anymore.