The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 79, No. 25, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 21, 2000 Page: 4 of 14
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Baytown Sun and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Sterling Municipal Library.
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4A The Baytown Sun
Opinion
Thursday, December 21,2000 -fir
- i;
®ie Paptoton £i>un
Founded 1922
Wanda Gamer Cash, Editor and Publisher
Whitney Jones, Managing Editor Richard Nelson, As$t. Managing Editor-Sports
Fred Hartman, Publisher Emeritus
1950-1974
Time to pay attention
to school bus safety
chool is out for the holidays
so we won’t be seeing any big
k-7 yellow buses for a couple of
weeks. But when Jan. 2,2001, rolls
around, we should all be on the
lookout.
The Baytown Police Department
in cooperation with Goose Creek
school district bus drivers, will con-
duct a school bus safety operation
between 6:30 and 8 a.m. and 2:30
and 4 p.m. school days when school
resumes.
Police have identified the most
dangerous areas: North Main Street
Garth Road and state Highway 146
between FM 565 and Interstate 10..
Police in unmarked cars will be
assigned to buses traveling those
routes. When violations of school bus
safety laws occur, officers in the
unmarked cars will radio area patrol-
men, who will make stops and issue
citations.
A fear of tickets, ^however, should
not be the driving force in our deci-
sion to obey the law. Nationally in
the last decade, an average of eight
children a year have been struck and
killed by another vehicle while get-
ting on or off school buses.
We have been fortunate in this area
to have not been a part of that statis-
tic. Our police force, school district
officials and bus drivers want that
clean record to continue. But they
need our help.
We must not only familiarize our-
selves with the laws, we must truly
know them. The most important law
— one that is on the books in all 50
states — is that drivers in both direc-
tions must stop when the red lights of
a school bus.are flashing, meaning it
is loading or unloading students. The
left-hand turn lane without barriers is
considered one roadway and drivers
still must stop in both directions.
Most everyone occasionally breaks
a traffic law. But we must strive for
100 percent compliance where our
school children are concerned. The
fine in Baytown for passing a school
bus with its flashers on is between
$200 and $1,000. A second offender
also could have his driver’s license
suspended for up to six months.
But those penalties are minuscule
when compared to the potential
heartache that could be caused by
simply being in too big a hurry to
obey the law.
Today’s editorial was written by
Richard Nelson, assistant managing
editor of The Baytown Sun, on behalf
of the newspaper s editorial board.
Commentary
George W will have to weather
storm of economic slowdown
A fter 38 consecutive quarters of
expansion, the U.S. economic
jL \.boom that began late in the
administration of President George
Bush is fading, just as Bush’s son pre-
pares to take office as president.
The economic slowdown is unfold-
ing faster and sinking roots deeper
than the man most responsible for it
— Federal Reserve Chairman Alan
Greenspan—probably intended.
Excessive medication is sometimes
worse than the malady. In this
instance, the “medicine” was the
series of decisions by Greenspan and
the central bank’s Open Market
Committee to hike interest rates six
times in the last 18 months. Asa •
result, all the indicators are now in
swoon state, or close to it Retail
sales: slowing. Consumer confidence:
dowa Corporate profits: down.
Unemployment: starting to rise.
There may yet be an opportunity
for a soft, rather than a hard, landing.
Greenspan has'suggested that he and
the Fed are no longer in the rate-rais-
ing mode. They even might be ready
to go lower if it appears necessary.
In our view, it so appears. The Dow
Jones industrial average is down
about 11 percent to 12 percent from
its high earlier this. year. The NAS-
DAQ index is close to free-fall — it
has lost almost 40 percent of its value
since March. The nation’s unemploy-
ment rate had crept up to 4.0 percent
About Us
in November. Sales of homes and
durable goods have sagged percepti-
bly. So it seems that it’s time for die
Fed to reverse course, even if only a
little bit, on interest rates.
But even if the economy’s brakes
slow the engine gradually, which
would mean continuing growth and
no recession, two things are bound to
occur. Federal spending will tend to
rise as certain unemployment-related
payments come into play. And federal
revenue growth from tax receipts will
slacken. More spending and less rev-
enue mean smaller surpluses. The
recent presidential campaign’s talk of
how to spend the then-growing bud-
get surpluses is now irrelevant.
Economic reality has intruded, and
President-elect George W Bush will
have to lower his sights.
Bush’s father was derailed by a'
small recession in 1991-92. It cost
him re-election, even though the sus-
tained boom we have just seen had
begun well before the 1992 election.
The son has much more freedom of
movement. He can count on the tech-
nology-based innovations that have
driven strong increases in productivi-
ty. And he can count on something
else: By the time he faces re-election,
today’s slowdown — whether it leads
to recession or not—will be past.
Today's editorial originally was
published Dec. 18 in the Victoria -
Advocate.
Still too close to call is truth in Florida
WASHINGTON —Neither
President-elect Bush nor Al Gore
nor anybody else will ever know
with certainty who really got more
votes in Florida. At 0.00009 percent
of the vote, the margin by which it
was certified for Bush, it was too
close for absolute proof that the
count was beyond doubt.
Recounting again would not have
changed that. It would only have
changed the impossibly close num-
bers, in favor of one man or the,
other but still too close for guaran-
tees, especially when what counted
or didn’t count would have depend-
ed on human judgments under var-
ied standards.
Bush might have won by more
than 537 votes, or fewer, or Gore
might have had the edge he claimed
in challenging the outcome. It
makes no difference now; the con-
test is settled in the only way it
could be settled, by the laws as
interpreted by the courts.
As the five-week struggle for
Florida, demonstrated, counting
votes is not a precise science.
There already are proposals in
Congress to have the federal govern-
ment help states upgrade their voting
systems. But no system yet devised
could deliver the kind of precision
that would guarantee a 537-vote
margin out of 5,825,043 ballots to be
exact and correct. Or the 930-vote
edge Bush got in the first machine
recount. Let alone the 193-vote edge
the Florida Supreme Court left him
in ordering the partial hand recounts
that were stopped by the U.S.
Supreme Court with the split deci-
sion that made Bush president-elect.
Perhaps in the laboratory, scien-
tists could engineer a voting system
to produce results that accurate, in
this ease to one ten-thousandth of 1
percent. But voting systems aren’t
Walter R. Mears
used in laboratories. They are set up
for election days in schoolhouses,
town halls and all the other precinct
settings of a diverse American elec-
tion. Volunteer poll workers check
in voters. After the polls close, local
officials tabulate the returns.
In every step, there is room for
error. And a slip on one ballot in
11,000 in Florida would have been
enough to undo or widen the Bush
margin.
That is apart from the uncertain-
ties of judging voter intent on dis-
puted ballots, the issue the Supreme
Court settled Tuesday night by end-
ing further recounts and effectively
deciding that Bush won.
The 5 to 4 decision was as close
as the Supreme Court can get, but
not nearly so close as the election
returns. And not only in Florida.
Gore won the national popular vote
by 337,576, a margin of three-
tenths of 1 percent of the ballots
cast for him or for Bush. Three
states went to Gore by margins of
less than.1 percent.
Those margins are smaller than
the number of ballots nationally on
which no vote for president regis-
tered, a fact the Supreme Court
called a common “if heretofore
unnoticed phenomenon.”
“Nationwide statistics reveal that
an estimated 2 percent of ballots
cast do not register a vote for presi-
dent for whatever reason, including
deliberately choosing no candidate
at all or some voter error, such as ’
voting for two candidates or insuffi-
ciently marking a ballot,” the court
said in its decision. “After the cur-
rent counting, it is likely legislative
bodies nationwide will examine
v i / . ~ :> -,r,
' Ways to improve the mechanisms
and machinery for voting,” the jus-
tices said. ,,
The last time there was a presi- ,,,
dential election this close, the loser >,[
said even the winner acknowl- ,,
edged it was hard to tell who really
got more votes. That was 40 years ,3
ago, in the election of John F.
Kennedy.
Richard M. Nixon lost the popu- r
lar vote by two-tenths of 1 percent ..
in 1960, but Kennedy won comfort-
ably in electoral votes.
Bush had a bare majority, 271, of
the electoral college votes. S
After the 1960 election, Kennedy J
flew from Palm Beach — a contest
zone this time — to Key Biscayne,
Fla., for a unity meeting with
Nixon. “Well, it’s hard to tell who
won the election at this point,” f
Nixon wrote that Kennedy said to
him. There is no Kennedy account ■ f-.
of what was said.
This hairbreadth election has
prompted proposals in Congress for
studies to develop new and better J
voting systems, then offer federal v
aid to states and communities to
install them.
m
Officials
Bui better machines won’t be per-
feet machines. Near deadlocks and f
recounts happen every election year, ;p;
but not with the presidency in the J)
balance. It took four House -
recounts and one Senate recount
this year to settle the lineup in the f
new Congress. '*! '
In 1974 in New Hampshire, a
count and two recounts produced a '*.1'
two-vote margmfor a Senate seat. ®I
They settled on a new election to
fill the seat, nine months late.
The presidency couldn’t wait. -
Walter R. Mears has reported on A
Washington and national politics y
for The Associated Press for more *ei
than 35 years. 'f
. VO -
Harris County
Our editorial board
The Baytown Sun's editorial board meets
weekly at 2 p,m. Wednesday. Individuals are
encouraged to visit the editorial board to dis-
cuss issues affecting the community. To
make an appointment, contact Managing
Editor Whitney Jones, (281) 422-8302.
Members of the editorial board include:
Vtfenda Garner Cash, editor and publisher:
Whitney Jones, managing editor: Eric Bauer,
marketing director; Dee Anne Navarre,
business manager; and Richard Nelson,
assistant managing editor-sports.
Let us hear from you
The Baytown Sun welcomes letters of up to
300 words and guest columns of up to 500
words on any item of public irrterest.*Guest
f
columns should include a photograph of the
writer. V\fe publish only original material
addressed to The Baytown Sun bearing the
writer's signature, An address and phone num-
ber not lor publication should be included. We
ask that submissions be limited to one per
month. All letters and guest columns subject
to editing.
The Sun reserves the right to refuse to pub-
lish ally submission.
Letters endorsing or opposing political can-
didates or issues will not be published within
two days of an election, except in direct rebut-
tal to a letter previously published in The
Baytown Sun. Please send signed letters to:
Vlfenda Garner Cash or Whitney Jones, The
Baytown Sun, P.O. Box 90, Baytown, TX
77522.
Or, fax them to: (281) 427-1880. Or, email
us dt: sunnews@baytownsun.com.
District Clerk
Charles Bacarisse (R) *
713-755-5711
District Attorney
John B. Holmes (R)
713-755-5800
County Clerk
B.F. Kaufman (R)
713-755-6405
County Treasurer
Jack Cato (R)
713-755-5120
County Attorney
Michael Fleming (R)
713-755-5101
Sheriff
Tommy Thomas (R)
713-755-6044
Constable, Precinct 3
James Douglas (D)
281-427-4791
Tax Collector
Paul Bettencourt (R)
713-224-1919
281-422-6817
County Judge
Robert Eckels (R)
713-755-4000
County Commissioner Pet. 2v
Jim Fonteno (D)
281-427-7311
Justice of the Peace Pet. 3
Place 1 - Mike Parrott (D). >
713-450-2409 >-
Place 2 - Tony Polumbo (D)
281-427-7449
Chambers County
Sheriff
P. Burkhalter (D)
409-267-8318
Justice of the Peace
Larry Cryer (D)
281-383-3641
County Judge
Jimmy Sylvia (D)
409-267-8295
County Attorney
Charles Brack (D)
409-267-8292
County Clerk
Norma Rowland (D)
, 409-267-8309
County Tax Collector
Margie Henry (D)
409-2P-8299
County Commissioner, Pet. 3
Buddy Irby (R)
281-383-3197’
County Commissioner, Pet. 4
William Wallace, Jr. (D)
281-383-2011
Constable, Pet. 6
Robert Barrow (R)
281-383-2011
City of Baytown
City Hall
2123 Market Street
Baytown, Texas 77520
281-422-8281
City Manager
Monte Mercer . "
Mayor
Pete Alfaro
281420-6500
City Council
District 1 - Victor Almendarez
281-422:6705
District 2 - Scott Sheley
281-422-8008
District 3 - Calvin Mundinger
281-424-9289
District 4 - Don Murray
281-424-2300
District 5 - Ronnie Anderson
281-427-9084
District 6 - Coleman Godwin
281-422-47,33
Goose Creek CISD
Goose Creek Administration Bldg.
1415 Market Street
Baytown, Texas 77522
281-420-4800
Superintendent -
Jerry Roy, Ph.D.
Board of Trustees
District 1 - Phelitria Barnes
281-426-5812
District 2 - Rosa Rodriguez
281-420-2550 '
District 3 - Weston Gotten
281-426-5384
District 4 - James Lewis
281-428-7360
District 5 - Clarence Albus
281-421-5896
District 6 - Jepp Busch
281-422-8898
District 7 - David Havel
281-420-1947
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Cash, Wanda Garner. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 79, No. 25, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 21, 2000, newspaper, December 21, 2000; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1019978/m1/4/?q=j+w+gardner: accessed June 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.