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Support small newspapers, kudos to Harden, and Bush 41 reflects classic civility.
Newspapers across the nation felt an extraordinary pain this week after five of our peers were murdered and two injured by a gunman at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland. Small papers like the Capital Gazette do important, thankless work covering the suburbs and towns that dot our nation. They write about crimes and local sports, check politicians and keep a pulse on life outside the big cities. Our hearts ache. “There are no 40 hour weeks, no big paydays — just a passion for telling stories from our community,” Jimmy DeButts, an editor at the Capital Gazette, wrote on Twitter. Here’s our advice for those who share this pain: Subscribe to a small paper. Maybe there’s one in the place you grew up or in the vacation town you visit each summer. Turn away from the oft-inescapable national news, and look at America through the lens of a local.
How do you spell James Harden? M-V-P! The Rockets superstar finally received the NBA’s highest honor on Monday night after years of being a runner-up. “The last four years have been like knocking on the door, knocking on the door,” Harden said in his acceptance speech. “Now the moment is finally here.” So how did he celebrate? With cases of “42” — as in Don Julio 1942 tequila. And Rockets president Tad Brown was buying.
Harden may be popular, but the Texans aren’t so lucky — nor are the Cowboys. A poll by new UT/Texas Tribune poll of registered voters found that almost half of the state’s voters have an unfavorable opinion of the NFL. Blame it on controversial protests or the president throwing gasoline on the fire, but let’s be honest — the game just isn’t fun to watch anymore. Too many penalties. Too many idiosyncratic calls by refs. And too many commercials.
That poll also asked about upcoming elections and didn’t find much in the way of good news for statewide Democrats, except for one interesting outlier. Democratic candidate for attorney general Justin Nelson is only one point behind the Republican incumbent, Ken Paxton. So what makes this race different? Paxton has been indicted for fraud and Nelson hasn’t. Which will voters prefer? We’ll find out at the polls in November.
Who says there’s no such thing as bipartisanship anymore? Former President George H.W. Bush (a Republican, duh) wrote a letter to Mayor Sylvester Turner effusively endorsing Houston as the host city for the 2020 Democratic National Convention. “Of course, Mr. Mayor, I want to be clear that I am not also endorsing whomever might claim the DNC nomination in Houston at what I am sure would be the best political convention in modern history — unless it is you!” Bush wrote. “Then I would have to think about it.”
Surely you’ve spied signs posted on telephone poles about a lost kitty or puppy, but how about a lost flamingo? Apparently one of the pinkhued fowls, known only as No. 492, escaped from a Kansas zoo in 2005 after keepers failed to clip its wings and was spotted near Lavaca Bay by a Texas Parks & Wildlife crew last week.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, deport thyself. The agency’s former chief attorney, Raphael Sanchez, was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Apparently he stole the identities of immigrants facing deportation and then used those IDs to pilfer nearly $200,000 from at least six different financial institutions. The lawyers have recommended a four-year sentence, but maybe a little zero-tolerance policy is due: The maximum penalty is 30 years in prison and a fine up to $1 million.
For all other ICE-related outrage, head to City Hall at 10 a.m today to join the national day of action against family separation. Humanity shouldn’t require citizenship.
Ever wanted a mango with your Van Gogh? Some Dali at your deli? HEB is adding a little public art to the grocery shopping experience. The piece, “Blue By You,” is a light installation by San Antonio artist Ansen Seale. “Hanging above the escalator that leads to the store’s ground-level parking garage, the piece consists of a series of vertical light panels with bright colors that ripple and change as people pass,” Chronicle reporter Molly Glentzer wrote this week. “The ‘idle’ color, when no one is near, is blue, a reference to nearby bayous.”