Editorials
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Galveston has only two choices — and renegotiation isn’t one of them
April 11, 2013(Austin)—By Jerry Patterson, Texas Land Commissioner AUSTIN — The city of Galveston has a choice to make as we try to move forward with plans to complete the recovery from Hurricane Ike: Either quit dragging its feet and comply with the federal requirements as well as the City of GalvestonR...more
WHITHER THE TRAVIS LETTER?
March 06, 2013(AUSTIN)—On March 8, 2013, the William B. Travis "Victory or Death" Letter will return to Austin. In its 13-day stay at the Alamo, this faded 177-year-old letter touched the lives of tens of thousands of Texans - and non-Texans - from around the world. Old and young w...more
Nursing home rights advocate for Texan of the Year
November 19, 2012(AUSTIN)—A brash New Yorker may not be everyone's idea of Dallas Morning News Texan of the Year, but I can't think of a better man to carry the title for 2012 than nursing home rights advocate Sam Perlin. The Brooklyn native is one of the best friends anyone living in a Texas nursing home never knew they ha...more
TIME TO GO, PROTESTERS
October 12, 2012(AUSTIN)—As Texas Land Commissioner and the elected head of the General Land Office, my job is to generate income from state land and mineral resources that are constitutionally dedicated to funding public education, provide veterans' benefits through the Texas Veterans Land Board, and protect the environme...more
ALAMO UNDER SIEGE
March 06, 2012()—Now, 176 years after the 13-day siege and bloody battle that forever earned its place in history, The Alamo remains under attack. Today's enemies are slow decay due to the passage of time and a public consciousness that views The Alamo as an iconic attraction instead of a shrine to honore...more
Confederate license plates honor history
August 17, 2011()—"I'll not willingly offend, Nor be easily offended; What's amiss I'll strive to mend, And endure what can't be mended" -- Isaac Watts A request by The Sons of Confederate Veterans to honor their forefather's service with a Texas license plate is a simple fund-raising effort by a historical associa...more
“One nation, under God” under fire in Houston
July 12, 2011(AUSTIN)—I can only imagine what my dad or grandpa - both interred at the Houston National Cemetery - would have to say about the current federal bureaucrat in charge of censoring prayers at those hallowed grounds. A lawsuit filed by a Houston minister contends the U.S. Department of Veterans Affa...more
Saving a lizard … or reptile dysfunction?
May 26, 2011(AUSTIN)— AUSTIN - Consider this next time you pull up to the gas pump: While you wince at filling up with $4-a-gallon gas, your federal government is working hard to shut down oil production around the nation including here in Texas, the leading producer of domestic oil and gas. This folly is all becau...more
General Land Office Oil Spill Prevention and Response Program celebrates 20 years of readiness
March 18, 2011(AUSTIN)—When the Deepwater Horizon undersea oil rig blew out in the Gulf of Mexico last year, adjacent Texas had an advantage no other coastal state can claim - an oil spill response program with prepositioned equipment, expertise and most importantly, well-rehearsed plans for protecting our state's waters...more
Open Beaches Act: A Texas legal tradition worth defending
December 07, 2010()—J. David Breemer, the California attorney who worked - pro bono, he reminds us - to end public access to West Galveston beaches, isn't feeling very appreciated. It seems some Texans who enjoy fishing, surfing or just splashing in the waves at one of the state's premiere beaches don't understand how...more