(or, if people aren't careful, this blog will launch a print edition** and smoke all of the newspapers anyway)
Story 1: Navarro College officials admitting to breaking open meetings laws in discussions on giving Ellis County taxpayers a property tax. Isn't this illegal?
Story 2: Navarro College's efforts at getting the state Legislature - i.e., Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana & Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie - to tweak state law allowing for the passage of a property tax without a referendum (or at least the petitions);
Story 2A: The 92% conservative-ranked Cook and Pitts taking the "hell no" stance at Navarro's efforts (Cook isn't even our representative, but he fights for us anyway!)
Story 3: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms arrest of Midlothian "right-wing" activist Leslie Davis; the warrant originally stated the ATF and DEA, as well as Ellis County Sheriff deputies were searching for an inert rocket launcher (possession of this is not illegal, supposedly), but all that was found was a .22-caliber rifle in Davis' closet that he got when he was 14. To be fair, it's still illegal for felons to possess guns (which is a stupid law, in the first place, but hey, it's the law). Reports said that there were about 100 agents in Midlothian the day Davis was arrested;
Story 4: Mid-Way Regional Airport Construction Defects (allegations) + Video. I won't spend too much time on this, but you can Google Mid-Way Regional Airport Disaster and have a blast.
Story 5: Campaign contributions in the May 12 county facilities bond election. It's just interesting to know, that's all. Not a single newspaper has published the list. This blog has though.
Story 6: The stiff-armed lobbying supporters of Judge Gene Knize made to get their friend, Carol Bush, nominated to the open county court-at-law bench (when Bob Carroll retired suddenly), and the ensuing criticism of new-Judge Greg Wilhelm (elected last year as our county treasurer) from the same forces;
Story 7: The county treasurer appointment of Judy Burden over that of GOP county chair Rusty Ballard being a complete (personal opinion of the publisher, no one else) slap in the face; nothing against Burden, but Ballard would have been a great treasurer.
Story 8: Construction defects and ensuing lawsuit over the Midlothian Conference/Senior center;
Story 9: County Attorney Joe Grubbs' lawsuit and efforts to keep victims of Dr. Chitale of obtaining documents related to the case, despite the state Attorney General ruling requiring their release;
The BIG ONE: The 50+ aggravated sexual assault cases that have gone before Grubbs and his pedophile-protecting assistant Patrick M. Wilson, only to be plea-bargained for a quick conviction and in turn, probation. Resumes get padded while child molesters run the streets of Ellis County in droves.
Did I miss anything? Just for the sake of honesty and fairness, Wilson wasn't the prosecutor on all of the cases, but he was on most of them. The signatures of both Wilson and Grubbs, however, appear on the court documents and paperwork filed at the district clerk's office.
To send questions and comments to this blog, do so at: elliscountyobserver@gmail.com
To send questions and comments as to why our newspapers aren't covering these issues, use the following:
Editor@WaxahachieDailyLight.com
Editor@EllisCountyPress.com
**What would Ellis County politics look like if an infusion of one payment of $50,000 were to find itself under the management of The Ellis County Observer? Well, for a quick look at what the ideas are in driving such a print edition of this blog, visit www.ThePolitico.com.
Prepare for war, Ellis County. That $50,000 just hit the market. And I've got the team in place to make this a very interesting little county...
25 comments:
Why don't you call your paper the "iconoclast"?
did you see what was being spread around about knize and grubbs?
grubbs and knize
The Vorpal Blade would be good too.
Or maybe Jabberwocky
Perhaps Joey in Blunderland
The Red Queen Report (To believe five impossible things before breakfast).
Ideas, anyone?
Fear and Loathing in Ellis County.
The Ellis RumorMill, The Ellis Sun, Bizarro World, or the Ellis Enquirer I think...Your site has really funny stuff, hope it's in color like the comic section.
Joey boy, do you need investors or do you have someone in place?
If Anonymous big bucks is actually thinking about funding your project...then he probably has a managing conservator or a guardian. Talk about incompetent.
I think Ballard must have gotten aligned or associated with someone who is the kiss of death to people who fear the lunatic fringe...who could that be???
How about "Wet dreams in a dry County"
Which wouldn't work because county's not totally dry but otherwise would be perfect.
Boy.., Joey I am glad to know that was all that Earth shaking news you report and not an earthquake! I was beginning to think Ellis County was on a fault line. Or more like a popcorn fart.
Yes, we have one investor with a $50,000 pledge; she's getting the money this weekend.
We're working on Investor 2, and hopefully with that in place, we'll hit up a couple of Ellis County folks for the rest.
-Joey
You mean your investor can't get money during the week? She has to earn it on the weekends...is this dirty money???
"I was beginning to think Ellis County was on a fault line. "
Can we call it Joey's Fault? Please?! Pleasepleaseplease??!!
Annon #3 - Jabberwocky is the name of a now defunct newspaper in Waxahachie - started by former WDL employees in the 70s.
I think that's a great name for Joey's paper.
Jabberwocky is the name of a now defunct newspaper in Waxahachie
That's right! I'd forgotten.
I knew the publisher.
Wasn't the "iconoclast" a paper out of Waco started by some fellow who attacked Baylor for the faculity or administration taking in Brazilian students and making them into servants and in one case a love slave? I think the editor bad mouthed the college so much that a faithful Baylor student shot the editor in the back.
Maybe if she sells a book, but since she has to pay to publish it privately, I wouldn't bank on it.
Someone's going to back you for something in print KNOWING your old employer is still facing lawsuits because of your incompetence?
I have to admit, you are one of the better fiction writers on the Ellis county beat.
Story #3. I heard there were between 160 and 180 agents in Midlothian that day to get him. They took over the Dairy Queen as their command post during the lunch hour, making Maggie and Zelma late opening the beauty shop back up. Black suburbans were all over town making it hard to find a parking spot anywhere and Earnie got a ticket that day for parking in the Chief's spot. 64 years old and his first ticket. Most all the men in the suits were walking around kicking the dirt and muttering to themselves, at least that's what it looked like, but Gary, down at the towers, said the cell towers were making a humming sound they were so busy. The Mayor said the temperature rise that day (18 degrees hotter than expected) was due to the glare off the mirrored aviator glasses. Dang agents drank all the coffee in town and I ended up getting the shakes and had to drive to the Starbucks in DeSoto to get coffee which could have been bad considering how shaky I was. But I heard they found a 50 mm and 2 35mm self-propelled H's, and over 30 C belts, so I guess it was worth it.
What happened to the Sims Liberry story that you weren't going to drop, come heck or high water?
I heard a phone call from Pitts shut down the Simms story.
There's really nothing more I can do about the Sims Library story.
Open meetings laws, public records laws...they don't apply to public-private entities; that's what I was told. We don't have a county attorney willing to do much of anything, and we don't have a press in this county wanting to do their jobs.
So what else is there? Short of a major public protest, nothing will happen.
There's still that letter to "constituents" that I'm sending...that's the only way I know how to stir up interest in this thing again.
And I know of no phone call from Rep. Pitts about anything related to Sims Library.
-Joey
There's really nothing more I can do about the Sims Library story.
Uh huh.
They take public money with no accountablity. Pitt's has been the President of the board for many years. Chapman is currently. Mucho influence.
The WDL don't print letters to the editor that are critical of the liberry, comments are unwelcome, nepotism is rampant, according to you.
Tax payers money runs this place and you can't do anything.
Sure. If it wasn't Pitts it was Chapman.
Was Chapman the one that wrote the "we're going to sue you Joey" letter that turned out to not an illegal threat?
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