The Boerne Star (Boerne, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 65, Ed. 1 Tuesday, August 12, 2008 Page: 4 of 16
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Page 4
The Boerne STAR
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Star Editorial
Resolution: Gas tax
funds for transportation
The city of Boerne will consider supporting a resolution
tonight asking the state to “discontinue the diversion of trans-
portation revenues to non-transportation sources.”
Last year, the 20-cent per gallon tax imposed by Texas gen-
erated about $3 billion in revenue for the state coffers. That’s
certainly a lot of money, but it is only about 4 percent of the
state’s total revenue.
All state taxes combined generate about 48 percent of the
state’s total funding. The biggest source is federal dollars which
accounts for about 32 percent of the budget, about $24 billion
last year.
But, most of those federal dollars are already allocated by
Washington leaving state and local officials with very little
choice about how to spend a large portion of the budget.
Where state officials do have control is with funding gener-
ated through state taxes such as the gas tax, and they decided to
allocate about $752 million for education last year.
Under the current rules, the Legislature has set aside 25 per-
cent of the gas tax revenue for public education.
Other sources of transportation funding include motor vehicle
registration fees and federal funding. Like with the rest of the
state budget, federal dollars make up nearly half of the depart-
ment’s total funding.
In the 2006-07 budget, about 86 percent of the state’s trans-
portation funding, $12 billion, went to the Texas Department
of Transportation. About 7 percent went to the Department
of Public Safety, about 5 percent went into employee benefits
and less than 2 percent went to other agencies including Texas
Education Agency.
The total of all the allocations that did not go directly into
transportation was about $2 billion. While there can be no doubt
that this money could have been put to good use on the road-
ways and highways across the state, it seems that this desired
action cannot solve all of our transportation needs without caus-
ing more funding shortfalls for other state-funded agencies.
The BOERNE Star
Online Poll
Should the School Street site currently home to the
Montessori school be rezoned for commercial devel-
opment?
■ Yes - It’s an ideal area for
new businesses
■ No - Not without knowing
what’s going there
■ No Opinion
36.2%
60.3%
3.4%
Results of 58 votes cast as of Monday noon.
Visit www.boernestar.com and cast your vote today
Worth Quoting
“Do not overrate what you have
received, nor envy others.
He who envies others does not
obtain peace of mind.”
- Buddha
Bible V erse
“I will both lay me down in peace,
and sleep: for thou, LORD, only
makest me dwell in safety.”
- Psalm 4:8
The BOERNE Star
www.boernestar.com
PUBLISHER & EDITOR
Brian Cartwright
VIEWPOINTS
Bug problems descend on Texas after heavy rains,
AUSTIN - Recent heavy rains CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS
and flooding -following Hurri-
cane Dolly and Tropical Storm
Edouard sent the Texas mosquito
population soaring, the Texas
Department of State Health Ser-
vices reports.
Health Commissioner David
Lakey suggested that citizens use
bug repellent “every time they are
outside.”
Meanwhile, health officials are
focusing on a dozen possible
cases of flea-borne murine typhus
in Travis County. .
Headache, fever, nausea, body & Associates of threatening to
aches and skin rash are possible garnish consumers wages or file
symptoms of typhus. Certain liens against homesteads in viola-
prescribed antibiotics are used to tion of the Texas Debt Collection
treat the disease. Act.
State health officials said it is The attorney general’s office
unusual for murine typhus to be cited complaints that the defen-
contracted as far north as Travis dant " representatives harassed,
County abused and threatened debtors
STOP NOW AG TELLS during profanity-laden, repeated
DEBT COLLECTOR or continuous telephone calls.
Texas Attorney General Greg The attorney general’s enforce-
Abbott on Aug. 6 charged a ment action seeks civil penalties
Dallas-based debt collection firm of up to $20,000) for each viola-
with using deceptive practices tion of the Texas Deceptive Trade
to collect payments from Texas TA PERRY CRITICIZES
consumers. -
Abbott took legal action to stopETHANOL DECISION
Anderson, Crenshaw & Associ- . Gov. Rick Perry on Aug. 7
issued a statement lashing back
Ed Sterling
TEXAS PRESS
ASSOCIATION
at the U.S. Environmental Protec-
tion Agency’s decision to deny his
request for a 50 percent waiver
from the grain-based Renewable
Fuels Standard.
Perry said the EPA’s decision
“not only goes against common
sense, but every American’s gro-
That’s easily more than half
million drinks.
News Editor
Sports Editor
Copy Editor
Typesetter
Staff Writers
EDITORIAL
Mark J. Armstrong
Kerry Barboza
Kit Brenner
Molly Meckel
Dave Pasley
Elena Tucker
PRODUCTION
BOOKKEEPING
Office Manager
Sandra Pfeiffer
CIRCULATION
Subscriptions Dana Smith
ADVERTISING
Graphic Design
Rebecca Kirsch
Kristyn Bergmann
Marketing Director
Sales
Sales
Sales
Sales
Frank Shubert
Kolleen Roe
Karen Morris
JT Maroney
John Newton
DISTRIBUTION
Circulation Manager Stephen Bartell
Driver Tyler Foreman
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Chris Woerner, Chris Tilton, Anya Maltsberger
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS
Mary Alice Yelverton, Dr. John Kelly, Natalie Morgan, Jan Wrede, Ed Davis, Anita
Porterfield, Vera D’Spain, Sharon Benedict, Paula White, Mary Alice Dell
Ken Nietenhoefer, Dr. James Dobson, Ellen Damstra,
Tom Harris, Tom Lanier, Lynn Pendley, Kathy Senkbeil, Ron Warden,
Krysta McDaniel, Bill Ward, Peary Perry and Oscar Garcia.
MEMBER OF Texas Press Association, National Newspaper Association,
South Texas Press Association, Texas Gulf Coast Press Association
941 N. School Street • Boerne, TX (UPS 059-740)
830-249-2441 FAX 830-249-4607
THE BOERNE STAR is published twice weekly for $49 per year in Kendall County, $57
elsewhere in Texas and $65 per year outside of Texas by The Boerne Star, 941 N. School St.,
Boerne, Kendall County, TX. 78006. Periodical postage paid at Boerne, TX. POSTMASTER:
Send address changes to THE BOERNE STAR, 941 N. School St., Boerne, TX 78006-0820.
The Boerne Star welcomes letters on any public issue. Letters may be mailed, faxed,
e-mailed or hand-delivered but must contain the writer’s name, address and phone number.
Letters should not exceed 300 words. Addresses and telephone numbers are for verification
purposes only and will not be published. Names and city of residence will be published.
We reserve the right to edit all letters for style and content.
cery bill.”
u m And, he said, the decision would
ates LLC from harassing Texas • ‘.
1 1 1 1 j increase the burden on families
debtors with deceptive letters and. ,
unlawful telephone calls, while doing even more harm to
The enforcement action also tellves ock ln ustry.
accuses Anderson, Crenshaw ,. Any government mandate
that artificially props-up a single
industry to the detriment of mil-
lions of Americans is bad public
policy,” he added.
AUSTIN LEADS
HARD-DRINKING LIST
Forbes magazine reported Aug.
8 that Austin, Texas, is No. 1 on
the list of the country’s hardest-
drinking cities.
Forbes based its story on the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention’s 2007 Behavioral
Risk Factor Surveillance System
Survey, assessing what citizens
reported about their drinking
habits.
An estimated two-thirds of Aus-
tin residents have a least one drink
per month, the study showed.
The study put Milwaukee in
second place and San Francisco
in third.
STATE EXECUTES 2
FOREIGN NATIONALS )
The state of Texas executed con- 1
victed murderers Jose Medellin,
31, of Mexico on Aug. 5, and
Heliberto Chi, 29, of Honduras I
on Aug. 7.
The Medellin
execution
prompted national and interna-
tional concern because the Texas
judiciary failed to inform Medel- 1
lin of his right to consular access
and assistance during trial. The
failure reportedly violated the 1
Vienna Convention, leaving to
speculation what might happen
to Americans arrested in foreign
countries.
GOAL: CLEANER AIR ON
SCHOOL BUSES
The Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality and the i
Texas Parent Teacher Associa-
tion announced Aug. 7 that they
will work together to distribute
funding to protect school children 1
from harmful particulate mat-
ter by retrofitting diesel burning
school buses.
a WeAK DOLLAR BRINS
FoReYN INNES TORS
TD LikeTo
J TH 2
R. $24 NORTH
Frears.
Make t
25 EUROS
AND NNe
PE
Letters to the Editor
ih ■
Cumulative voting is not good
In a recent letter to the editor, Eva Mitchell claims that cumulative
voting is good for the City of Boerne. She also adds that it is both
sensible and realistic. At one point, when arguing that cumulative vot-
ing is not confusing, she implores us to “get real.” Unfortunately, Ms.
Mitchell doesn’t back up her claims with any substantial proof.
Ms. Mitchell suggests that she might not have been elected to council
without cumulative voting, but doesn’t explain why. Is it because she
feels that an individual of Hispanic descent is not likely to elected
by Anglos? I would hope not. I think that as a whole, the people of
this city, and certainly of this county, are not crippled with blinding
racism.
If I managed to lose my good sense and decided to avail myself to the
frequent abuse visited upon Councilmen Warden, Dubose, Manning,
Ziegler and Haberstroh, I would hope that the people of this city would
vote for me based on my ability to lead and not because of my race.
When voting, a sensible person looks at ethics, leadership ability, merit,
and commitment, not at race.
One person, one vote is democratic. One person, three votes is not,
no matter what sort of reasoning, or lack thereof, is used in defense
of a half-baked system that was intended to give an unfair advantage
to a minority group. If the idea of cumulative voting is so good, why
is it not used in San Antonio? If the answer to that question is that
Hispanics have good representation in San Antonio, then shouldn’t
we have cumulative voting for the Anglos who are not nearly as well
represented in San Antonio?
Another problem with cumulative voting is the unintended conse-
quence of allowing special interest groups to take over our election
process. Now with each city election we are practically left deciding
between the Boerne Together candidate or the Boerne Forward candi-
date. The people associated with these groups can rally around their
candidate and toss their three votes behind the candidate of their choice
thereby usurping the power of one individual’s vote for the two or three
candidates he or she feels would be best for Boerne overall.
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Yet another problem with the cumulative voting system is that it
leaves us without any real representation. Imagine cumulative voting
in our national politics. Would Nebraska and Wyoming really want -
New York and California deciding who their elected officials would r
be? Single-member districts allow voters to have a representative on )
the council. With one council member to represent them, voters of a
district have a stronger voice.
The residents of Oak Park would have had a stronger advocate before ,
the new Wal-Mart was constructed. Unfortunately, they didn’t and now
the residents of First Street have to deal with increased traffic. I know,
I used to live there. More recently, the residents of Oak Park were
faced with the possibility of a business in their neighborhood. Nobody
disagrees that the Hill Country Pregnancy Care Center is a worthy and
fine organization, but it did not belong in a neighborhood. Fortunately,
the voices of the Oak Park residents were heard this time. However, it
would have been a smoother process if the residents were able to visit )
with one representative with a vested interest in that neighborhood
instead of five councilmen with no ties to the neighborhood. And that
is the beauty of single-member districts - the council member has to go
up for re-election in his or her district. One council member can go to
the other five and say “this is not popular in my district and I’m voting ,
no.” Most of the time, the other members follow suit because they will <
also face similar situations in their districts and they will need the sup- ;
port of their fellow council members.
Ms. Mitchell closes her letter by suggesting the “single-member
districts will not work because there is always the possibility that there >
may not be a candidate from that particular district.” The idea that
there wouldn’t be anyone willing to run for office in this town is a bit
preposterous. But I don’t think that is her real fear. I think what really
concerns her is that a Hispanic person may not run for office even if a
district were created that was largely Hispanic. I fear that Ms. Mitchell 1
is more concerned with having a Hispanic council member than she is
with having a good council member of any color.
- Ron Cisneros
Boerne
Take advantage of Sales Tax Holidays this weekend :
For those Texans who are IN THE TEXAS SENATE shoes and clothing that is priced
unhappy about the high cost of
gasoline or the increased cost of
food - and who isn’t? - I have
some good news.
While there is nothing that
the state can do about gasoline
prices and food costs, the state is
providing some monetary relief
with a tax-free weekend and
ensuring that when Texans buy
gasoline, they are getting their
money’s worth.
This year, shoppers will get a
break from state and local sales
taxes on Aug. 15, 16 and 17
when they buy certain clothing
and shoes that cost $100 or less.
According to Susan Combs,
Texas Comptroller of Public
Accounts, the tax exemptions
could save shoppers about $8 on
every $100 spent.
In addition to traditional shoes
and clothing, backpacks for use
Greg Abbott recently filed suit 1
---------------under $100.
If you fill up with gasoline
Jeff Wentworth before hitting the stores and see
STATE SENATOR a sign on a pump that says
R-SAN ANTONIO “Out of Order,” it may be that
a Texas Department of Agricul-
ture (TDA) field agent has been
there checking the calibration on
by elementary and secondary the pump to ensure that you are
students, belts, diapers, both getting all the gas you paid for.
adult and baby, work and school TDA has 72 weights and mea-
uniforms, raincoats and many sures inspectors who check
other items are tax exempt. more than 65,000 fuel pumps
A complete list of both tax- a year. An “Out of Order’ tag
free and taxed items is available does not necessarily mean that
on the Comptroller’s Web site: a customer is being slighted.
www.window.state.tx.us. Sometimes, it is the other way
The clothing sales tax holiday around, and the consumer is
is especially helpful to families getting more gas than he or she
with school-age children; how- paid for.
ever, since work clothes and Although most of the time an
uniforms as well as suits and improperly working pump is
ties are on the list, adults also the result of a mechanical or
may benefit by buying- tax-free computer glitch, Texas Attorney
against Sunmart Travel Centers :
and Convenience Stores for :
violating the Texas Deceptive
Trade Practices Act by improp- I
erly calibrating their fuel pumps I
to benefit the company.
Sunmart has some conve- :
nience stores in Senate District :
25; however, the vast majority of ’
them are in the Houston area.
TDA maintains a current list <
of all service stations found to ’
have pumps that are out of com- *
pliance. You may access this list :
at www.agr.state.tx.us; and click :
on “Public Information Reports”
to find both the location and the :
reason for the noncompliance. 1
While a tax-free weekend and ?
getting your money’s worth at '
the gas station aren’t instant J
cures for the cost-of-living ;
blues, they do offer some tan- i
gible financial help.
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Cartwright, Brian. The Boerne Star (Boerne, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 65, Ed. 1 Tuesday, August 12, 2008, newspaper, August 12, 2008; Boerne, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1667327/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Patrick Heath Public Library.