ttrentham

Smoking Ban Upheld and Clarified

 Uncategorized  4 Responses »
Oct 042006
 

U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks issued a ruling today on the city’s one year old smoking ban. He clarified what steps a bar owner must take to be in compliance with the ordinance.

A bar owner must post “no smoking” signs and remove ashtrays and other smoking accouterments, Sparks ruled. If a patron continues to smoke, the owner can no longer be held liable for not taking additional steps.

Makes sense. Chip recently went into a bar where the establishment clearly wasn’t doing what was required by the law. He filed a complaint and got quite a few nasty comments on his post about it. It’s clearly still a contentious issue even after a year. Most, both smoker and non-smoker, seem to have moved on.

 Posted by on October 4, 2006 at 6:54 pm

Zing!

 News, Politics  No Responses »
Oct 032006
 

Glenn Greenwald on the still unfolding Mark Foley scandal:

The Big Revelation has not yet occurred. That is going to be the first confirmed report of Foley’s having actual, in-person sex with one of the pages. At this point, there is no doubt that he did so. He wasn’t inviting them over to his apartment to drink alcohol in order to watch television with them. Still, that hasn’t been reported yet. We’ve been building up to it incrementally and Brian Ross is, I have no doubt, scouring his inbox at this moment for the lead that will take him there.

These endless, incremental disclosures are much more painful for the Republicans — not unlike Chinese Water Torture (which, coincidentally enough, is a technique that the President now has the power to use, thanks in part to legislation approved last week by Denny Hastert, John Boehner, Tom Reynolds and Mark Foley).

[tags]markfoley, glenngreenwald, scandal, torture[/tags]

 Posted by on October 3, 2006 at 1:22 pm

Quote of the Day

 News, Politics  1 Response »
Oct 022006
 

It’s vile. It’s more sad than anything else, to see someone with such potential throw it all down the drain because of a sexual addiction.

Rep. Mark Foley, R-West Palm Beach in September 1998, soon after the release of the Starr report on the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal (St. Petersburg Times).

Yes, that Mark Foley.

[tags]markfoley, hypocrite, scandal, clinton, pot, kettle[/tags]

 Posted by on October 2, 2006 at 11:30 am

links for 2006-09-29

 Links  No Responses »
Sep 292006
 
 Posted by on September 29, 2006 at 11:17 am

New Developments in Las Manitas, Escuelita, Marriott

 Uncategorized  10 Responses »
Sep 292006
 

The city council sent a letter to J.W. Marriot following his comments last week about the proposed hotel development on the 200 block of Congress and its current tenants. Check out the Save Las Manitas / Escuelita Del Alma news section for all of the media coverage to date. The Chronicle has a story this week as well and Statesman coverage is here.

There’s a benefit happy hour for Escuelita and Las Manitas today 5:30pm – 7:30pm at Copa Bar and Grill (same block as Escuelita and Las Manitas, between Escuelita and La Pena).

Full disclosure: I’ve had at least one child at Escuelita nearly since its opening in 1999 or 2000. I’m very close to the business and my kids are fed Las Manitas for lunch when they are at the daycare. I’m also one of the volunteer parents responsible for the web site. I understand that we need to develop downtown and I want development downtown. I also want affordable daycare and local businesses to stay downtown. This is the position of most of the parents at Escuelita and the position of the daycare’s owner. There should be room for compromise and I think that’s all the council is trying to facilitate.

 Posted by on September 29, 2006 at 10:57 am

Demo-crap

 Politics  No Responses »
Sep 282006
 

I read a great post today on a post over on DailyKos. I get the feeling that Markos is of the opinion that third party candidates are a waste of time because they can’t get the support and don’t have the infrastructure that the Democrats already have. This is a practical point of view, but the post over on This Modern World points out why this is a problem. You end up supporting a bunch of people who aren’t willing to take a stand regardless of the consequences. It’s an old song and dance. The framers of the constitution never intended there to be “career politicans”. Who the hell would want to be one? It’s supposed to be a service to your fellow citizens and your country, not a career in and of itself. I feel an extended rant coming on, but it’s just so frustrating.

I’m also annoyed on a state level. We’ve got a four-way race for governor this year. I can’t stand Rick Perry. He’s a known prick and hasn’t done a damn thing as far as I’m concerned. As I’ve mentioned, I can’t vote for Strayhorn for several reasons, chief among them, the fact that she spawned Scott McClelland. I had a passing interest in Kinky. I agree with him on certain issues, but not on others. The recent trashing from Burnt Orange Report has really put me off though. I totally agree with those who’ve pointed out that the guy’s a satirist and a cowboy satirist at that. Of course he’s going to have said things that, taken out of context, will seem overtly racist. Look at any comedian or satirist who focuses on race or plays a character. I can’t really defend the crackheads comment, but going after old routines seems over the top and shrill on the part of BOR and turns me off of them, and by association the Democrats, as well. At the same time, Kinky can’t be surprised that this stuff is coming back to haunt him. He can’t play the character when he’s trying to run for governor. You can read all of the BOR articles on Kinky for yourself and Kelso’s commentary on the issue.

[tags]thismodernworld, dailykos, kinkyfriedman, burntorangereport, democrat, independent, texas, governor[/tags]

 Posted by on September 28, 2006 at 9:14 am

Rock N Romp

 Uncategorized  5 Responses »
Sep 262006
 

rocknromp.jpgRock-n-Romp is a family friendly concert series showcasing fantastic local-area musicians and bands. Shows are held during the day in a relaxed, kid-safe environment. The volume might be low, but the music is designed for parents and kids both in mind.

Kids enjoy the music, experiment with instruments, dance, or just enjoy the other activities available to them, and parents get the ever-so-rare opportunity to listen to great live music and enjoy a beer with other parents. Romps give parents who miss their social life a chance to get out, enjoy some music that might be new to them, and expose their kids to great bands in a safe, friendly local venue.

The next event is this Saturday at Ruta Maya Cafe, 4:30 pm and features Austin band The Channel, with Austin School of Rock (kids) band, After Math. All ages welcome!

Thanks, Paige!

 Posted by on September 26, 2006 at 12:46 pm
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