The Front Page
Did you notice the banner ads for That Santa Anna Store, Cool Creek Outfitters, and Santa Anna Grocery that appeared on Thursday?
I have been a little hesitant about selling advertising on SantaAnnaNews.com but I am going to bring the spirit of giving and Christmas to the News in December. The ads will link to the business's web site if they have one or possibly to a page that I have created, or to more information about the business.
For those with ads that appear over the next few weeks I want to say Merry Christmas! I hope that the advertisements on the News will send you some business. In checking referrals and page counts I hope that you notice increased traffic to your website if you have one and increased business that say they came from the News. I will be implementing a banner advertising program for 2007 that I hope that you will find affordable and profitable to your business and you will choose SantaAnnaNews.com for your online advertising. SantaAnnaNews.com will soon reach 75,000 Front Page hits and I can provide you with supporting traffic documentation if you would like.
So watch for the ads over the next couple of weeks and be sure and tell them that SantaAnnaNews.com sent you!
ATTORNEY GENERAL ABBOTT GIVES KEYNOTE ADDRESS TO KICK OFF 2006 OPEN GOVERNMENT CONFERENCE
Attorney General hails new era in democracy as open government takes priority statewide
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| AUSTIN - Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today opened the 2006 Open Government Conference at the Renaissance Austin Hotel with a speech highlighting the Office of the Attorney General’s successful defense of the state’s Open Meetings Act and its successful implementation of legislation requiring open government training for state and local officials. “Democracy and open government are alive and well in the state of Texas,” said Attorney General Abbott. “The Open Meetings Act ensures that citizens have access to the proceedings of their representative government at all levels and all across the state, and open government training ensures that public officials have access to the information they need to comply fully with our Texas sunshine laws. That so many public officials turned out in large numbers at the 2006 Open Government Conference is a testament to the success of the open government training law enacted by the Texas Legislature.” Last
month, U.S. District Judge Robert Junell upheld the constitutionality of the Open Meetings Act after it was challenged by city officials in Alpine. The officials, members of the Alpine City Council, were charged with communicating in secret via personal e-mails about the city’s business. Those officials sued the state and the local district attorney after the district attorney sought to prosecute them for their actions. They complained the Open Meetings Law impeded their “freedom of speech” as public officials. The judge disagreed, ruling that private speech as applied to citizens in private conversations cannot extend to public officials who are deliberating in the public’s interest. These conversations must always be held in open forums, Junell ruled. The law requiring open government training became effective last January and, by next month, all government officials slated to take the training must have done so. To date, the Attorney General calculates that more than 52,000
officials have received certificates indicating they have completed the courses. “Texans who expect openness from public officials can rest assured that, whether at the local police department or the county clerk’s office, those who serve the public will know our open government laws,” Attorney General Abbott added. “Public officials are now partners in sharing information with their constituents.” The Attorney General’s Open Records Division continues to assist local governments as they endeavor to follow the law in answering requests from the public regarding the release of information. Thus far this year, that division has issued more than15,000 rulings from the division on what must be disclosed by law. To obtain more information about the Attorney General’s efforts to enhance open government statewide, access the agency’s Web site at www.oag.state.tx.us. |
Law Enforcement Update
Reminder To Complete Open Government Training
We live in an era in which citizens demand more openness from their government. As public officials, our role is not to be protectors of public information but active participants in sharing information with the public.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Robert Junell upheld the constitutionality of the Texas Public Information Act. Judge Junell disagreed with a number of allegations brought by former Alpine city councilpersons that the open
meetings law restricts or chills "free speech" of public officials who are acting in their official capacities. In October 2004, a quorum of the council exchanged private emails about an engineering design contract for water improvements in the city, including discussion about the best candidate for the job. A few days later, the council convened a public meeting to discuss the same issues.
In reviewing the email incident, the resulting indictments that were dismissed by the Brewster County District Attorney, and the subsequent legal challenge brought by the councilpersons, Judge Junell cited several past cases. In one from Kansas Supreme Court case, he noted that customary private discussions of governmental affairs among citizens are always protected, but "everything changes ... when a person is elected to public office." The judge emphasized that, because closed speech by public officials threatens democracy, the open meetings act "simply requires speech to be open and
public."
Judge Junell also overruled allegations that the open meetings law is overly broad in its application or vague on its face, pointing to long-held test that among publicly deliberating bodies, there can be no informal discussions. "There is either formal consideration of a matter in compliance with (the law), or an illegal meeting," he wrote in his decision.
Texas law was strengthened during the last legislative session, and now mandates that all public officials subject to open government laws must complete open government training. The new law also tasks the Office of the Attorney General with establishing the formal training necessary to ensure that all elected and appointed government officials have a good command of both open records and open meetings laws.
Prosecutors have a stake in these open government laws for two reasons: As public officials, they must know what is required of them, but as prosecutors they are also responsible for enforcing open
government laws. As you know, my office is responsible for civilly enforcing the Public Information Act, also known as the open records law, and district and county attorneys are charged with criminally enforcing the Open Meetings Act and Public Information Act.
The mandatory training law, which I have long supported, grew out of a desire to clear up confusion about open government laws.
My office is responsible for ruling on open records requests from governmental bodies seeking guidance about disclosure of records to the public. Over the past few years, we have seen incredible growth in the number of those requests. Last year alone, we received 11,300 such requests –– an almost 40 percent increase in the last two years. We issue an average of about 45 open records rulings per day and answer more than 10,000 calls per year on our Open Government Hotline.
As Attorney General, I have learned that public officials do not always know what is required of them. By
educating officials about their duty to provide information to the citizens they represent and to conduct lawful open meetings that are accessible to the public, my office can help ensure they follow both the spirit and the letter of the law.
This law will make sure you, as public officials, have the training you need. We have produced two hour-long videos –– one for the Public Information Act, the other for the Open Meetings Act –– to teach what those laws require.
The free training videos can be viewed on our website at www.oag.state.tx.us. For those without Internet access, a free DVD or VHS cassette of the videos can be requested by calling the OAG at (800) 252-8011. You can also visit our website to apply for the Attorney General’s approval of an open government training course, fill out an open government course completion certificate, and find answers to many other frequently asked questions.
Officials who were in office before Jan. 1, 2006, have until Jan.
1, 2007, to complete the required training. Officials who are elected or appointed after Jan. 1, 2006, have 90 days after taking office within which to complete the required training.
I expect this law to reduce violations, increase compliance and speed up response times to open records requests. This, in turn, should decrease the money spent on enforcement and reduce the costs incurred on lawsuits to defend open government claims.
No longer do public officials have any excuse for not following the state’s open government laws. This training will teach us all what the law requires and that there will be consequences for not following it.
We are stewards of the public trust and we have a duty to be as transparent as possible in the way the public’s business is conducted. Making this kind of training available early will help prevent inadvertent compliance problems and ensure our government remains open in the interest of all Texans.
Happy Anniversary!
Happy Anniversary to Grandpa and Grandma, Robert and Maggie Robinett!
Space Station Crew Prepares for Space Shuttle Discovery
HOUSTON - The International Space Station crew have been preparing for
the planned arrival next week of the Space Shuttle Discovery on a
complex mission to rewire the station's electrical system.
Shuttle Discovery is due to launch at 8:35 p.m. CST Thursday, Dec. 7
on mission STS-116. In addition to work that will bring power online
at the station from solar arrays delivered to the complex in
September, Discovery also will bring a new crew member to the
outpost.
Expedition 14 Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and flight engineers
Mikhail Tyurin and Thomas Reiter reviewed the STS-116 mission plans
this week. They prepared the station's Quest airlock, spacesuits and
tools for three spacewalk planned for the shuttle mission. The crew
packed equipment that will return to Earth aboard the shuttle,
including Reiter's personal items since he will get a ride home
aboard Discovery. STS-116 astronaut Sunita Williams will replace him
as an Expedition 14 flight engineer.
Flight controllers worked on two problems aboard the station this
week, neither of which is expected to affect Discovery's launch or
mission.
An attempted reboost of the space station's altitude was cut short
Wednesday. Russian flight controllers suspect that sensitive software
detected a slight shift in the orientation of the station as the
thrusters were fired. The change in orientation is believed to be
normal, but it is new for the station due to the changes in its mass
and balance resulting from the addition of the new solar arrays and
truss segment in September.
The Progress cargo craft's thrusters fired for 3 minutes, 16 seconds
before automatically shutting off. They had planned to fire for 18
minutes, 22 seconds. Russian controllers plan to complete the reboost
Monday with a 21-minute firing of the Progress thrusters and a
software adjustment. The reboost next Monday, planned for around 3:35
p.m. CST, will optimize Discovery's rendezvous with the station.
Flight controllers are analyzing a problem that occurred during
testing of a new software package used to detect and solve problems
with the station's giant Solar Alpha Rotary Joint. The joint is used
to rotate the new solar arrays, allowing them to track the sun. The
new software is designed to automatically realign the teeth of the
joint's gears should they become misaligned, rather than requiring
controllers to send commands for the realignment.
However, while running through a test of the software on Tuesday, a
remote power controller, or station circuit breaker, opened. The
circuit breaker was successfully reset on Thursday. Extensive
analysis and troubleshooting appears to indicate there is no problem
with any equipment aboard the station. Work continues, however, to
refine the new software.
Unless events warrant, the next station update will be included in
status reports for the STS-116 mission beginning on Thursday, Dec. 7
after Discovery's launch. For more about the crew's activities and
station sighting opportunities, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station
ATTORNEY GENERAL ABBOTT FINALIZES INSURANCE BID RIGGING SETTLEMENT WITH COMPANY
Zurich American Insurance Co. implements reforms, pays Texas policyholders $9 million
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| AUSTIN - Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today announced Texas and 10 other states have reached agreed final judgments with one of the world’s largest insurers, requiring the company to implement a variety of business reforms and refund $9 million to Texas commercial policyholders as part of an antitrust settlement initiated last March. Today’s filing in Travis County District Court grants the Attorney General broad enforcement authority over the previously announced settlement with Zurich American Insurance Co. and its U.S. subsidiaries. The multi-state investigation alleged the company participated in widespread, deceptive bid-rigging, price-fixing and other schemes in the commercial insurance market, orchestrated by Marsh & McLennan and other large brokers. In the process, large and small companies, nonprofit organizations and government offices that purchased commercial lines of insurance from Zurich were misled into believing they were receiving the most competitive commercial premiums available. “Anti-competitive business practices will not be tolerated in Texas,” said Attorney General Abbott. “Today’s settlement brings greater transparency and fairness to the commercial insurance markets in Texas and across the nation. This settlement paves the way for states to protect businesses from falling victim to the kind of deception that raised insurance prices above competitive levels.” Texas led the 15-month investigation, which
revealed that Zurich conspired with brokers at the center of the conspiracy in a “pay-to-play” scheme to overcharge policyholders for their commercial insurance policies. The scheme devised by broker Marsh & McLennan gave commercial policyholders the illusion of a legitimate competitive bidding process on policies. In fact, Marsh had secretly pre-designated certain insurers to win bids, but the results for the policyholders were actually inflated rates, not competitive bids. The scheme was successful because insurers such as Zurich failed to disclose to policyholders that it paid secret “contingency commissions” to insurance brokers. The states contended that Zurich showed a willingness to submit fake quotes and was rewarded with protection from competition so it could set artificially high premiums and profit on other lucrative accounts. The brokers also engaged in anti-competitive conduct by steering contracts away from insurance companies that refused to participate in the
scheme. In a companion settlement of a class action lawsuit in New Jersey, Zurich will be required to distribute about $122 million in refunds to commercial policyholders, including an estimated $9.3 million to Texans. These policyholders can obtain information about this class action settlement by accessing www.insurancebrokerageantitrustlitigation.com/zurich/ Today’s Texas settlement eliminates these schemes, requiring the disclosure of all compensation paid to brokers and agents. This information will be helpful to policyholders in making decisions on obtaining or renewing insurance with Zurich. The multi-state coalition supporting Texas includes California, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. |
GRAND JURY INDICTS THREE SEXUAL PREDATORS CAUGHT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL ABBOTT’S CYBER CRIMES UNIT
One suspect lured young victim on MySpace.com, brought gun to illicit meeting
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| HOUSTON – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and Montgomery County District Attorney Michael A. McDougal today announced grand jury indictments against three men who used Internet chat rooms and Web sites, including MySpace.com, to meet and sexually proposition undercover investigators who had assumed the online identities of young children. Guadalupe “Wally” DeLaGarza, III, 26, of College Station; Robert Wayne Ramirez, 40, of Needville and William Noel Shrum, 25, of the Woodlands, were arrested last July during a joint undercover operation launched by the Attorney General’s Cyber Crimes Unit and the Shenandoah Police Department. The three men were indicted Nov. 30 for attempting to sexually assault children they met on the Internet. “Texas will not tolerate criminals who prey upon children," said Attorney General Abbott. "The Cyber
Crimes Unit will continue protecting young Texans by aggressively cracking down on sexual predators. Thanks to cooperative efforts by the Shenandoah Police Department, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office and the investigators and prosecutors in the Cyber Crimes Unit, these dangerous predators were brought to justice.” DeLaGarza, who indicated he was a graduate student at Texas A&M University, was indicted on one count each of attempted sexual assault and attempted sexual performance by a child, both third degree felonies. He was arrested on July 18 after he arrived at a Shenandoah location with a digital camera, rope restraints, and a handgun. The grand jury indicted DeLaGarza for using MySpace.com to meet someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, engaging in sexually explicit online conversations with that “girl,” and subsequently arranging a time and place where he planned to commit a sexual assault. Ramirez, a long-haul truck driver at the time of his
arrest, used a laptop computer at a Houston truck stop to chat online with an undercover investigator that he believed was a 14-year-old girl. On July 18, Ramirez traveled to Shenandoah, where he planned to meet and sexually assault the "girl” he had chatted with online. Ramirez was indicted on four third degree felony counts, including one count each of attempted sexual assault and attempted sexual performance by a child and two counts of online solicitation of a minor. On July 13, Shrum was arrested in Shenandoah after arriving at a pre-arranged location to meet and sexually assault someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl. At the time of his arrest, Shrum was employed in The Woodlands as a night maintenance worker at a church, which also runs an elementary school. Shrum was indicted on one count each of attempted aggravated sexual assault, online solicitation of a minor, and attempted sexual performance by a child, all second degree felonies. Shrum was also indicted on
five counts of possession of child pornography, a third degree felony. Assistant Attorney General Angela Goodwin presented the cases to the Montgomery County grand jury. Second degree felonies are punishable by two to 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. Third degree felonies carry possible punishment of up to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. Protecting children is one of Attorney General Abbott’s top priorities. In 2002, Abbott launched the Cyber Crimes Unit, which targets online predators by assuming the identities of young teenagers in Internet chat rooms, and the Fugitive Unit, which locates convicted child sex offenders who have violated the terms of their parole and could be stalking children. The Attorney General's initiative has resulted in over 500 arrests of such offenders. His office also has obtained convictions against 52 men on child pornography charges. To find out more about Attorney General Abbott’s efforts to crack down on
sexual predators, visit the Attorney General’s Web site at www.oag.state.tx.us or call (800) 252-8011. |
Football Season Continues for Texans
Santa Anna's Dick Smith, Defensive Coordinator of the Defending Class 3A State Champion Wimberly Texans, and the famous Code Red Defense are rolling on to another State Championship. Coach Smith and the now 12-1 Texans took on a tough 12-0 second ranked team from Cuero for the Regional Semifinals Friday in the climate controlled San Antonio Alamodome. The Texans were down 19-14 at halftime but came out in the second half and pulled away with a decisive 55-33 victory over the Gobblers.
The Texans will face Hondo Friday at the Alamodome in San Antonio this Friday. Seems appropriate that the Texans use the Alamodome for their stadium doesn't it? Roll on Texans!
In other playoff action, Rusty Buzzard's Coleman Bluecats fell to the Stratford Elks Friday at Lubbock's Lowery Field by a score of 20-7.
In six man action of interest, the Richland Springs Coyotes tore up the Calvert Trojans in Gatesville by a score of 52-14. The Coyotes will take on Blum this Friday in Comanche at 7:30 PM and the Coyotes are picked to win by 8 so it should be a good game to watch.
Santa Anna Yearbook Staff Selling Poinsettias
The Santa Anna Yearbook Staff will be selling poinsettias again this year starting around the middle of October. They will be the same price as last year ($12.50) with foiled covers and a bow. This money is used to help fund our yearbook and purchase photography equipment when needed. Yearbook staff members will be coming around to check and see if you would like to order or you may send an e-mail to becky.martin@netxv to order. They appreciate your support in the activities that they do.
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