Swine Flu and High School Sports

The University Interscholastic League announced Wednesday that all state high school academic and sports events will be postponed until May 11 due to the breakout of the swine flu. This move came at a very busy time for high school athletics. Four regional track meets were scheduled around the state this week and softball, baseball, golf, and tennis are getting close to the end of their seasons. UIL officials said their decision to postpone was recommended by The Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Education Agency. I don't so much like the idea of rescheduling over 1300 events which involve public high schools. The UIL's decision goes along with the shutdown of all the New Braunfels and Comal schools. I can understand shutting down sporting events in the areas where the swine flu has been reported but it seems a little overboard to shut down every statewide sporting event. UIL executive director Charles Breithraupt said "The health and safety of our student activity participants is of the upmost importance." This comment makes sense but it sounds a little weak. If we start changing our daily routines because we are scared of catching the swine flu, the disease has already beat us. I say "play ball."

Legalizing gambling in Texas

I can totally agree with some of the arguments made by the author of "Do we really need a gambling in Texas." The author makes a good point about Governor Perry's argument that there's already a large amount of illegal slot machines in Texas and his proposed plan for the state to regulate gambling is illegitimate. I also feel that Perry's proposal doesn't consider the families that are less fortunate and the local businesses that would hurt financially. I really liked the analogy that says, "...we would legalize drugs since they are illegal and rampant as well." Thus showing that just because something is illegal and bad for society doesn't mean state regulation over gambling is acceptable. Gambling is an addiction that ruins families all the time. For crying out loud, they have anonymous group for addicted gamblers like alcoholics and drug abusers have groups for their own diseases.  The only thing that I didn't totally agree with was that even people that have tons of money to throw away at gambling, shouldn't add to something that could become a serious addiction. By passing this legislation, Texas will become another Sin city.

"No Refusal" Policy for Austin DWI

Austin police started a "no refusal" policy for suspected drunk drivers which allows the police to automatically get a warrant to draw blood from the suspected drunk drivers if they refuse a breathalyzer. They have enforced this policy on holidays such as Halloween, New Years, and Mardi Gras with the reason that there will be more people driving under the influence during these times and want more evidence to convict them.
I am all for convicting people driving under the influence but I believe forcing out their blood is against the person's rights. Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo wants to train cops to draw the blood and I think that idea is ridiculous. Even Williamson County has a nurse to draw the blood. People who haven't been to nursing or medical school should not be taking the blood out of someone's body, especially from somebody who might be drunk and squirming around. That sounds like an injury lawsuit waiting to happen.
This way of collecting evidence is already getting DWI cases in other parts of the state thrown out. Defense attorneys are arguing the accuracy and legality of these results. They are learning in detail about how much blood should be drawn and stored and why these issues can alter the results. A handful of cases have already been dropped on these grounds. People who were possibly driving under the influence got their cases dropped because of some loophole about drawing their blood. That is reason enough not to have this policy. If cops are going to do this, there needs to be a very defined law about how this process should be carried out.

The Dentist's Brain Has a Great, Big Cavity

I don't think Evan Smith, the author of this blog, could be more correct. He states it "doesn't matter if your are Democratic, Republican, Wiccan, or a Martian," it is embarrassing as a Texan to have Don McLeroy quoted in the Wall Street Journal. McLeroy who is the chairman of the State Board of Education believes that God created the earth less than 10,000 years ago and and wants to have this taught in the new curriculum. If the new curriculum passes, he will insist that high-school textbooks point out specific aspects of fossil record that, in his view, undermine the theory that all life on Earth is descended from primitive scraps of genetic material that first emerged in the primordial muck about 3.9 billion years ago. The author of blog made his point in few words but i totally agree as a Texan that this guy Don Mcleroy is an embarrassment and I am unhappy he was quoted in the Wall Street Journal spreading his view and is the chairman of our Board of Education.

Austin school board hide-and-seek

I totally agree with the author of this article. He obviously understands what is needed for the job of superintendent, the way the school board needs to go about hiring this person, and the condition of the school district he is talking about. He hit the nail on the head when describing what is needed for the future superintendent. He states the future leader will need to be a superior educational leader capable of dealing with low performing schools and students, a growing population of students who lack the proficiency in the English language, and students who come from poor families. He goes on to argue that this person must have energy to inspire and motivate over 83,000 students, 5,000 teachers, and 4,000 employees as well as be a financial executive who can manage a $900 million annual budget during these rough economic times. I agree with the author that the school board did a poor job of going about finding the person best suited for the job by doing a secret search for the position and not being transparent. I mean for crying out loud, this corrupted process has thrown the St. Paul, Minnesota school district into chaos over possibly losing their superintendent to the Austin job but not quite knowing. The author of this article seems to have a better understanding of the way you should go about hiring the most important position in the school district over the incompetent people who are actually doing it! His article was wonderful and gave great insight into what the school board should do when hiring this person.

Green-Collar Jobs

On Wednesday, job "gurus", CEOs, and lawmakers are convening at the Capitol to discuss and brainstorm about "green-collar" jobs, which include wind turbine technician and home insulation installer. The conference is taking place to keep Texans employed during a shifting energy, environment, and manufacturing landscape.

The conference is sponsored by the University of Texas' Clean Energy Incubator, lobbying groups for utilities, the renewable industry and environmentalists. The job training is falling on the state's schools, whose administrators see clean energy as the next big job openings for graduates. Training sessions for solar panel technicians fill up soon after they're announced, said Sidney Bolfling, the coordinator for renewable energy technologies for Texas State Technical College in Waco. He believes paying for training "is a great investment for the state" and drives around in a "mobile training facility" which is actually a 44-foot-long trailer with solar panels and other alternative energy equipment to teach high schoolers and college students about renewables. He's operating the renewable energy training with grants of at least $300,000 from the State Energy Conservation office. The Texas Workforce Commission is also directing money toward alternative energy programs like Texas Tech University to prepare students to meet the workforce needs of the wind energy industry in Texas.

I believe this conference is important because everyone knows we need renewable alternate energy sources in the future and trained professionals to know how to design and run the equipment. It is a great idea to keep funding these universities, technical schools, and community colleges to train our near-future workforce in this area.