Thumbs up, down
Cleburne’s Cafeteria, Rockets’ fall and Uber’s threat to leave Bayou City.
It wasn’t the perfect marriage of chicken fried chicken, gravy and biscuits. It wasn’t chocolate or coconut or banana cream pie portions the size of small icebergs. What we’ll miss most at Cleburne Cafeteria are the paintings. Landscapes, seascapes, still lifes. An overnight fire Tuesday gutted the Bissonnet institution founded by Nick Mickelis 75 years ago. His paintings — a score of them — hung on each wall. Most were charred in the rubble. You didn’t need an iPad or smart phone when eating alone; art transported you. We’ll miss a lone sail boat hugging the Aegean coast and our thoughts now are with current owner George Mickelis and his employees.
They say there are two kinds of actors in New York: those who bring a check to the table and those who get one in the mail. The Texas corollary? Two kinds of lawyers: those who pass the bar and those who wipe it. Texas Lawbook reports this week that a quarter of 2015 law school graduates are underemployed or unemployed. What everyone knows is we need fewer law schools in Texas and tougher admissions standards for those doing business. But there’s a problem getting affirmative action in Austin because legislators are mostly attorneys protecting their alma maters. Which reminds us that Texas would be in much better hands if government were dominated by, say, journalists.
Thankfully, Houston sports is getting back to normal (wink, wink). The Rockets sputtered to an embarrassing finish. The Astros are off to an embarrassing start (blame the Sports Illustrated jinx). And the Texans, while not embarrassing, had a middleof-the-pack draft pick in an event that hasn’t been kind to them through the years (except for you, J.J.). And in the sport we should all be watching — women’s soccer — Dash superstar Carli Lloyd banged up her knee and is out up to six weeks.
The only good news for our local teams came in a roundabout way. A federal appeals court upheld the suspension of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady who is accused of doctoring footballs. Barring another appeal or deal, he’ll be sidelined when the Patriots visit the Texans on Thursday, Sept. 22.
The other quarterback making news is Johnny Manziel. After his indictment for misdemeanor assault, we appreciate the edict of Texans owner Bob McNair. He has consistently told his coach and GM you can field outstanding football players who have outstanding character. If you can’t get your act together, you don’t play in Houston.
A fingerprinted Thumbs down to Uber. We like clean Kias and zippy apps as much as the next guy, but the 21st-century cab company needs to comply with city regulations both here and in Austin. Drivers are being asked to submit to fingerprinted background checks, Uber is threatening to leave any place with that kind of scrutiny and it’s on the ballot in Austin next weekend.
State Sen. Kel Seliger, who heads the Texas Senate Higher Education Committee, didn’t mince words for a retired admiral running the UT System. “… it’s almost as if you are saying Houston is going to be some intellectual wasteland without the University of Texas,” Seliger told Bill McRaven while an interested UH prez Renu Khator “looked studiously in other directions,” according to the Quorum Report which also said McRaven offered “mea culpas at least twice for his unexpected purchase of land in Houston.” Seliger doesn’t have a dog in the hunt. A Dartmouth College grad from Amarillo, he’s asking fair questions. Is the UT System’s purchase of the Houston parcel the best use of higher education resources?