The Ingleside Index (Ingleside, Tex.), Vol. 44, No. 33, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 16, 1993 Page: 2 of 14
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Thursday, September 16, 1993
Page 2
Opinion
11^| jjgf
Hutchison denies wrongdoing while treasurer
By Lyndell Williams
and Ed Sterling
Texas Press Assn.
AUSTIN — U S. Sen. Kay
Bailey Hutchison last Thursday
denied any wrongdoing in a 50-
minute hearing before a Travis
County grand jury, which is in-
vestigating alleged misuse of
treasury employees and equip-
ment, tampering with govern-
ment records and evidence, and
violations of the Texas Open Re-
cords Act during her tenure as
state treasurer.
No one present at the hearing
would confirm if Hutchison took
the Fifth Amendment to avoid
answering questions from the
prosecution.
The grand jury subpoenaed
Hutchison on Sept. 2, when she
did not comply with earlier re-
quests that she appear voluntari-
ly for questioning.
About 30 sign-carrying Hutch-
ison supporters gathered outside
the grand jury chambers, in addi-
tion to a like-size group of repor-
ters and photographers. After her
appearance, the Republican
senator repeated her earlier
assertion that the investigation is
nothing more than a political ploy
to hurt her re-election campaign.
By Juliet K. Wenger
Coastal Bend Council
of Governments
A resolution will be presented
to the Council of Governments at
its September meeting, solidify-
ing regional support behind
Camino Falcon as opposed to
Camino Colombia. Duval County
Judge Gilberto Uresti requested
Travis County District Attor-
ney Ronnie Earle, a Democrat,
said he was only doing his job and
the grand jury is doing its job to
investigate alleged ethics viola-
tions.
Comptroller Warns of ‘Hits’
Texas Comptroller John Sharp
said that few federal programs in
Texas would be cut or reorga-
nized under Vice President A1
Gore’s National Performance Re-
view, an audit which aims to
reshape government into one
that “works better and costs
less.”
Sharp helped Gore with recom-
mendations for cutting waste and
improving efficiency. Those re-
commendations include cutting
252,000jobs, mostly in Washing-
ton, D C., and mostly through
attrition.
In Texas, Sharp said, proposed
changes would include:
• Combining some Agri-
cultural Stabilization and Con-
servation Service offices;
• Killing subsidies for mohair
and wool raisers; and
• Studying whether control
of the federal helium plant near
Amarillo should be continued.
AG Settles with H&R Block
some time, calling for both public
and private financing. The
financing has not materialized.
Increased interest is being
shown throughout the Coastal
Bend is expanding movement of
Mexican goods through the Port
of Corpus Christi and encourag-
ing transactions between
businesses of the region of South
Texas Attorney General Dan
Morales announced a settlement
with H&R Block in a deceptive
trade practices lawsuit that was
filed in May.
In the suit, the state alleged the
tax preparation company misled
consumers with its “Rapid Re-
fund” program.
The firm advertised that tax-
payers would receive income tax
refunds when they filed their re-
turns, but the state alleged the
refunds were nothing more than
short-term loans of #300 to
83,000 that carried interest rates
as high as 150 percent.
Assistant Attorney General
Joseph Valasquez estimated
200,000 to 250,000 Texans used
the program during the height of
the past tax season.
One point in the settlement
forces H&R Block to discontinue
advertising the “Rapid Refund”
program by the end of the month,
or to advertise in the future as a
high-interest loan offer.
Krueger Fulfilled Promise
Despite his defeat, former U.S.
Sen. Bob Krueger said he fulfilled
a campaign promise — saving the
nation more than 8700,000 in
office and postal expenses during
his nearly five-month tenure in
the senate.'
“The figures show I made good
on my pledge to reduce govern-
ment expenditures and eliminate
waste while maintaining consti-
tuent services,” Krueger said.
Krueger was appointed to the
Senate by Gov. Ann Richards on
Jan., 21 to succeed Lloyd Bent-
sen, now U.S. tresury secretary
He lost a June 5 special election
for the remainder of Bentsen’s
term to Hutchison.
Dropout Rate Decreasing
A report released by the Texas
Education Agency shows that the
number of students dropping out
of public schools has decreased
more than 40 percent over the
past five years.
Funding for pregnancy-related
services and counseling of at-risk
students were listed as factors
leading to the lower dropout rate.
According to the report, the
annual dropout rate for 1991-92
was 3.8 percent (53,421 stu-
dents) compared with 3.93 per-
cent or 53,965 students in 1990-
91 and 6.7 percent or 91,307 stu-
dents in 1986-87.
Utility Counsel Named
Gov. Richards has nam«i Au-
stin lawyer Walter Washington to
represent small commercial and
residential ratepayers before the
Public Utility Commission. He
fills the unexpired term of Luis
Wilmot of Austin, who resigned.
Washington, 45, has served as
deputy public utility counsel
since 1991. His appointment is
subject to Senate confirmation.
Other Highlights
• Diane Rath, secretary of
the Texas Republic Party,
announced she will not run for
state treasurer next year. Rath
said “family commitments pre-
vent me from running at this
time.” Rath, a San Antonio
businesswoman, had considered
a challenge to Tresurer Martha
Whitehead.
• Unmarried partners of Au-
stin city employees will receive
benefits just as if they were
spouses, under a measure passed
by the City Council. The policy,
the first of its kind for city em-
ployees in Texas, was approved
on a 5-2 vote.
• Houston Mayor Bob Lanier
has announced his run for a
second two-year term, a bid for
which he is not expected to be
seriously challenged.
Council to decide on
one of two road projects
State of the region
the agenda item at the August
meeting.
Both of these are proposed toll
roads that would be built without
any state money. Camino Falcon
would bring traffic up through
Duval, Kleberg, Jim Wells and
Nueces Counties, connecting to
Highway 59.
Camino Colombia, in a first
phase as proposed at this time,
would take traffic from Solidarity
Bridge north of Laredo around
the Coastal Bend directly into
San Antonio and Houston on In-
terstate 35.
In preliminary discussions,
public officials from over the re-
gion indicated Camino Falcon
would be acceptable if a connec-
tion were built from 1-35 to US 59
at the time the first phase of the
roadway is constructed. The con-
nection now, not in some indefi-
nite future, was considered all im-
portant.
Ralph Durden, a Corpus
Christi developer, has had Cami-
no Colombia on the table for
Texas with Monterrey and other
parts of northern Mexico.
The new Camino Falcon prop-
osal would appear to give advan-
tages of such economic develop-
ment to the Port of Houston and
to the businesses and industry of
the San Antonio area, bypassing
the Coastal Bend.
The policy of the state of Texas
is not to put money into tollroads.
All highways built by the state or
designated as state highways are
free. This does not mean that port
authorities, local governments or
private enterprises could not in-
vest in a toll road
In its economic development
program, the Coastal Bend COG
is working with five other plan-
ning regions of South Texas to
identify transportation projects
which could benefit this area.
The Texas Highway Depart-
ment is scheduled to make a pre-
sentation to the COG at its
September meeting of projects in
long and short range plans. The
search is continuous for roads to
greater prosperity.
The Ingleside Index (U8P8) 264-260 to published weekly by Richards
changes to The Ingleside Index. P. O. Box 550, Ingleside. Texas 78362.
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Texans Respond To Illiteracy
“Texas is in trouble.
,y
One third of the adults in Texas today lack the
reading and writing skills necessary to function in
the modern workplace.
Without the participation of these 3.3 million
Texans, Texas cannot keep up with today’s techno-
logical advances or compete for tomorrow’s more
specialized jobs.
Unless we act now to overcome this devastating
situation, Texas will be left behind.”
—Barbara Jordan
literacy Minteers of flmerica-Texas Responds To Illiteracy
To address the growing crisis of illiteracy in
Texas today, Literacy Volunteers of America
has established a state office in Austin, and
LVA-Texas’ staff and volunteers are working
hard to improve reading, writing and English
speaking skills throughout the Lone Star state.
These efforts are important, but they are not
enough.
Texas needs your help.
ftu Can Respond To Illiteracy in Texas
Join Barbara Jordan and other Texans in
the fight for a more literate Texas by calling
Literacy Volunteers of America-Texas at
512-440-7121 to find out how you can help.
Call now. Our future won’t wait!
Literacy Volunteers
of America ^ Texas
4029 Capital of Texas Highway South Suite 217
Austin. Texas 7B704 (512) 440-7121
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Cole, Mary. The Ingleside Index (Ingleside, Tex.), Vol. 44, No. 33, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 16, 1993, newspaper, September 16, 1993; Aransas Pass, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth921457/m1/2/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Ed & Hazel Richmond Public Library.