Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
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GONE WITH THE WIND--85 YEARS LATER The 1939 epic Civil War film “Gone with the Wind” celebrates its 85th anniversary. The timeless story of love and war has been re-released nine times. The nearly four hour drama, hailed as a masterpiece, has grossed more than any other movie in history. $1.7 billion. It was nominated for 13 Oscars and awarded 10, including best picture. Vivien Leigh, as Scarlett O’Hara, won best actress. Here’s an interesting sidebar, Best Supporting Actress...
ALLRED AND CRUZ IN TIGHT SENATE RACE There was a time in Texas that the United States Senate race was always the hottest, most expensive race. Orange County was once a hot bed for U.S. Senators. The state has two senators who do not face elections at the same time for six-year terms. Most states have a senator from each party. Texas, for 30 years, has had two Republican senators. This election cycle could change that. A new poll puts U.S. Rep. Colin Allred up by one point...
HURRICANE FRANCINE PREVENTS DEBATE REVIEW The hurricane that followed the Texas coast landed in Louisiana. A small turn however would have put it in our front yard. About 6 p.m. Tuesday winds were starting to pick up. When it’s stormy weather in Southeast Texas you always fear losing power. It is scary when its paper deadline. For us to wait until after the presidential debate Tuesday evening between Vice-President Harris and former President Trump was a gamble we c...
HOSTAGE DEATHS SPARK RENEWED CALLS FOR CEASE-FIRE A nationwide strike has begun in Israel, with the country’s biggest union vowing to shut down the economy in a furious push for the government to agree to a cease-fire deal after the deaths of six hostages taken during Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack. The strike is expected to bring much of Israel's economy to a grinding halt, and to shut government offices, schools and private businesses. Flights were also briefly halted from Isr...
Fall is just around the corner! Which means the 2024-2025 hunting season is here. Dove hunting season opens this weekend. Be sure to get a license from Texas Parks and Wildlife and as always be safe. Here are five things happening around your state: 1. Business and Commerce Committee discusses Artificial Intelligence, Texas Energy Fund This week, the Senate Business and Commerce Committee held a hearing on two interim charges, one regarding Artificial Intelligence (AI) and...
DNC TOPS TV VIEWERS Twenty-nine million TV viewers watched Kamala Harris’s speech, 14 percent higher than for Trump’s July 19 address, which scored 25.4 million viewers. Nielsen data showed that Harris’ well-received acceptance speech was watched by viewers across 15 networks. The speech caped a successful week for the Democratic National Convention, which topped the audience for the GOP’S gathering every night last week. MSNBC, saw its largest audience ever for a Democra...
JOE BIDEN’S LEGACY Awash in his party’s love, President Joe Biden finally did become that bridge to a new generation of leaders. He movingly performed the most profound act a politician in a democracy can undertake, willingly handing over power, as he ceded the leadership of the party to Kamala Harris Monday at the Democratic National Convention. He capped a half-century long career, as a senator, a vice president and finally president, by citing a verse of a song called “Am...
DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION AUG. 19-22 Several prominent Democratic figures are set to speak at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next week. President Joe Biden, former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have been confirmed as speakers at the convention. Obama and the Clintons delivered speeches during the 2020 DNC, which was largely held virtually to prevent the spread of Covid-19 amid the pandemic. A source...
HARRIS-WALZ FRESH NEW TEAM Vice President Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate, opting for a former high school teacher and Midwestern Democrat to complete a newly assembled presidential ticket. In a social media post, Harris said Walz’s “convictions on fighting for middle class families” stood out. Walz is scheduled to appear with Harris in coming days in each of the seven most competitive states — Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina,...
This month Houston and the Gulf Coast were devastated by Hurricane Beryl, which made landfall Monday, July 8 near Matagorda. Thirty-six Texans died during and after the storm and 2.3 million were left without power, some for almost two weeks. Hearings were held in Austin to assess the response and hold utility companies accountable that did not perform well, including CenterPoint Entergy. Here are five things happening around your state: 1. BDO accepting proposals for broadban...
8 PARIS OLYMPICS The United States women’s gymnastics team has done it again. It is back on top with its fourth gold medal in the team event in the last 32 years of a medal-earning streak. Team USA had a glorious showing on all four apparatuses heading into the individual finals strong. It's no surprise Simone Biles hit her floor routine Tuesday, the last of 12 chances Team USA had to prove it was worthy of a gold medal. It'll head to the top of the podium with Biles' s...
KAMALA HARRIS TAKES FIRST STEPS TO PRESIDENCY The Vice President used Beyoncé’s 2016 Lemonade hit, “Freedom,” during her first presidential campaign appearance in Delaware on Monday. Harris walked out to the song, sparking speculations that Bey’s approval could also mean she backs her as the 47th President of the United States. After an unforgettable entrance, the 59-year-old gave a 20-minute speech where she asked citizens: “What kind of country do we want to live in: A coun...
EYE WITNESS TO HISTORY I’ve witnessed a lot of history over the years, assassinations and attempted assassinations. I was watching former president Donald Trump start a speech in Butler, PA, July 13, 2024, when an assassination’s bullet from an AR-15, 148 yards away, nipped his right ear. He moved his head right at the moment. Twenty-year-old Thomas Crooks pulled the trigger. Trump’s life was spared by less than an inch from his brains. Trump went to the floor as the Secret Se...
RIDEN’ WITH BIDEN Democrats need to vote for President Joe Biden. He’s earned their support. No president since L.B.J. has accomplished more in his first term. Biden did it with a split government, many of his accomplishments due to his skill to bring together bi-partisan support from both Democrats and Republicans. In just three and a half years his record of accomplishments is really amazing. Congressional Democrats, Black Caucus and Hispanic Caucus unanimously support the...
SHAMEFUL DAY FOR OUR DEMOCRACY Back a few years ago, I wrote that this day would come, maybe not in my lifetime but I lived to see it arrive. I had written that all that was needed was a stacked Supreme Court willing to bend our Constitution. Donald Trump was elected president and made three far-right appointments to the Supreme Court. Then came the darkest day in my lifetime when our democracy was challenged and Trump urged a mob to overrun our United States Capital. The mob...
We celebrate our Independence Day on July 4th. Have a safe holiday and enjoy the fireworks! Here are five things happening around your state: 1. Texas Energy Fund oversubscribed The Public Utility Commission of Texas announced this month that the newly created Texas Energy Fund (TEF) has received 125 notices of intent to apply for the In-ERCOT Generation Loan program. The notices request almost $40 billion in financing for new dispatchable power generation projects. This...
BIDEN-TRUMP DEBATE THURSDAY, JUNE 27 CNN, with anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, will moderate the 90-minute debate with two commercial breaks. The Trump campaign agreed to all conditions, even microphones being muted when it’s not their turn to speak. I’ve been asked a few times who I believe will win this debate. The answer is both, depending on who you want to win. Trump may win the showmanship, plus he is the closer, last to speak. He might drop one of his woppers tha...
BIDEN-TRUMP DEBATE RISKY PLATFORM FIRST TO BE NEXT WEEK JUNE 27 Biden, Trump agree to ABC News and CNN debates. CNN said they won’t be allowed to use any props or pre-written notes but will be given paper, a pen and water. The CNN debate is the first of two debates agreed on by the campaigns. The second will be hosted by ABC News on Sept. 10. CNN announced the rules agreed on by both President Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s campaigns. They include microphone muting, a coin fli...
HUNTER BIDEN FOUND GUILTY President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden was convicted by a jury on Tuesday of lying about his drug use to illegally buy a gun, a verdict Democrats may seize upon to counter Donald Trump’s claim of a justice system weaponized against him. A 12-member jury in Wilmington, Delaware, federal court found the defendant guilty on all three counts against him, making Hunter Biden the first child of a sitting U.S. president to be convicted of a crime. The tri...
No Record but Good Average If you live an active, busy life, old age will creep up on you. Life is on a fast track. You are always looking back wondering where the last 10 years went. I've been most fortunate with a good support group and a caring family. As a poor kid during the great depression, I started working the cotton fields with my mother. Those old cotton fields back home is a reference point from those days on. Through the ages, I really never had any down time. I...
PHELAN NOW FACES BATTLE FOR HIS SPEAKERSHIP Dade Phelan, who won his runoff by fewer than 400 votes, will need to mend GOP relationships, build coalitions and possibly even rely on Democrats to hang on to the speaker’s gavel. He said he plans to see his campaign all the way through. Typically, speaker’s races take shape in November, during or after the general election decides the makeup of the House. Currently, Republicans hold an 86-64 lead over Democrats. A candidate needs...
SPEAKER PHELAN BEATS PAXTON’S REVENGE Dade Phelan, Speaker of the Texas House, has beaten David Covey in a runoff election that pitted Phelan against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and millions of dollars in the most expensive, dishonest, mud-slinging campaign ever run in this district. A record nine members lost their primaries, and eight were sent to runoffs, including Dade Phelan, who has run the House for two sessions and is the main target of r...
A personal hero that left his mark on a little boy, that followed him to old age. Back in the 1930’s times were hard around the country but in the Cajun parishes of Louisiana they were really bad. My grandfather died when I was four years old, which left no man around. My uncle Meldon “Tee-Dan” Duplantis was still single but lived away from home. He worked at the Abbeville newspaper and came by to visit grandma Avalia almost every day. He always took a few moments to play...
This is for those youngsters who will be graduating this month, who will be leaving the protection of home and striking out on their own. You have absolutely no idea what the future has in store. You will have great things happen, and you will also get a lot of hard bumps. The bumps will seem harder to you than they really are. Your parents, up to now, have been taking many bumps for you, sheltering you against them. Later, you will do the same for your children. Time will...
DOW REACHES ALL TIME HIGH The Dow posted its all-time high during intraday trading on May 16, 2024, reaching a peak of 40,051.05 points. The highest close occurred the day before when the index closed at 39,908.00 points. The peak was led in part by optimism that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates later this year. All three of the big U.S. Stock indexes set records last week in large part because of revived hopes that the Federal Reserve will be able to cut interest...