Here's some of the latest news and events going on here in the Lone Star State:
In a recent five-stop campaign swing through West Texas, Republican Lieutenant Governor candidate and current state Agriculture Commissioner Rick Perry told a group of Plainview residents about his desire to see that Texans have safer streets, an improved climate for economic opportunity for all citizens, and the need to provide a higher quality public school education for all residents. Perry touted his plan to take care of juvenile crime - especially in the area of gang activity. When asked about potential solutions to the problems of the criminal justice system, he emphasized the need for better education because "education is the key to everything else." Perry said, "I worry about what our children do after 3:30 to 4:30 PM after school because that is the hour when most crimes by juveniles are committed." Perry emphasized the need to better teach students about reading and the establishment of what he calls "after-school centers" run by faith-based organizations that provide mentoring and other activities to keep students occupied. Perry also touted his plan to strongly punish those who are members of criminal street gangs by making the first offense committed by them a felony. He especially expressed his concern over the problems that Texas farmers are currently facing with the drought and told the assembly that he was hoping to talk with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Don Glickman the next day about the problems faced by Texas ag producers. The one-day campaign swing started in Lubbock and was scheduled to end later that evening in Canadian...
The youths who were the subject of recent controversy over the meteorite that fell in Monahans, according to KKYN-FM in Plainview, were able to sell their meteorite at an Internet auction on the 24th. The highest bidder came from a man in Big Spring who bid approximately $23,000 for the rock that landed in the boys' front yard. The city of Monahans originally claimed it as city property; but after public pressure, the Monahans City Council relented and allowed the boys to keep the rock. The parents of the youths intend to split the monies from the sale and put it toward the boys' college educations. Experts say that the rock is worth plenty of money because of the fact that it contains a form of blue salt, something rarely found in meteorites...
