Free Republic

The Blackland Coalition Is Holding A Forum For The Candidates For Governor... ...and guess who hasn't responded?Gubernatorial Candidates: Bell, Friedman and Strayhorn confirmed to speak on TransTexas Corridor and Eminent Domain March 24, Seaton Star Hall (5 Mi. East of Temple on Hwy 53 - 10842 State Hwy 53, Temple, Texas 76501), 7:00-9:00 PM, the Blackland Coalition will hold a meeting open to the public and interested parties. All four candidates running for Governor of the State of Texas were invited to speak, only Rick Perry has not responded. Chris Bell (D), Kinky Friedman (I) and Carole Strayhorn (I),...

Monday, March 06, 2006 The Blackland Coalition Ads & Endorsements The Blackland Coalition put two ads out over the weekend. Here are the links to them: Texas Our Texas and Cornfield National Security. The first thing I noticed is there are no incumbents on the list. Excerpts from the Texas Our Texas ad are below. TEXAS TEXAS OUR OUR TEXAS TEXAS Preserving the heritage our forefathers fought for The BLACKLAND COALITION would like to say THANK YOU to these various entities for standing up and fighting WITH US against the catastrophic Trans-Texas Corridor 35 plan to grab TEXAS land....

When controversy erupted in Washington over a foreign company's planned takeover of U.S. port operations, a very, very small percentage of folks may have wondered, what would Carole Keeton Strayhorn do in such a situation? Of course, the indie candidate for governor didn't need to be asked; she jumped on the anti-foreign bandwagon last week with a jab at Gov. Rick Perry, calling on her chief political rival to release the details of a secret 50-year contract that TxDOT inked with Madrid-based Cintra to build a multibillion dollar network of toll roads. "Whether it is a foreign company running our...

AUSTIN - The first of nine state constitutional amendments proposed on the Nov. 8 ballot would establish a fund through which taxpayers would help pay for relocating freight rail lines from congested urban areas. Like most of the ballot proposals, except for the ban on same-sex marriages, Proposition 1 has received little attention. But it is beginning to spark some debate and, depending on how it fares at the polls, could become an issue in the March Republican governor's primary. Proposition 1 supporters, including Gov. Rick Perry, think the new fund would be an important step toward easing traffic congestion...

The Texas Department of Transportation's fight to guard the financial details of the Trans-Texas Corridor has sparked a rallying cry for corridor opponents and resulted in a court battle over open records. Corridor watchdogs argue that the state should make public its financial and development master plans with Cintra Zachry LP, the group chosen by the state to help plan and build the first section of a proposed transportation network that would criss-cross the state with roads, railways and utility infrastructure. “This is the largest land grab in Texas history, and to not let the people see the financial details...

LOTS AND LOTS OF CORRIDOR ACTION TO REPORT > MEETING TONIGHT IN HEMPSTEAD – JOHNSON TO SPEAK > BREWSTER CO JOINS COUNTY OPPOSITION > TxDOT TTC ADVISORY BOARD - 1ST MTG YESTERDAY > HB2702 GOING TO CONFERENCE COMMITTEE > GIANT RURAL REVOLT RALLY NEXT WEEK – JUNE 3RD > CORRIDORWATCH SIGNS IN SECOND PRINTING ===================================== MEETING TONIGHT IN HEMPSTEAD Transportation Commissioner Johnny Johnson is scheduled to speak to Waller County Republicans about the Trans-Texas Corridor tonight in Hempstead. Open to the public, the meeting will be held at the Waller County Courthouse starting at 7:30pm. Last year Commissioner Johnson told...

AUSTIN — Rural landowners carrying protest signs and shouting angry slogans gathered at the Capitol to speak their minds. Their goal: Stopping Gov. Rick Perry’s Trans-Texas Corridor. Farmers and ranchers say the huge highway project will gobble thousands of acres of their property only to make money for private toll road companies. “The government is out of control. They’re trying to take our property rights away from us,” said Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, one of the legislators who spoke at the May 3 rally. Republican Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn —one of Perry’s potential GOP primary opponents in 2006 — joined...

WASHINGTON — A political spat erupted Tuesday between Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison when the senator filed an amendment to the $284 billion transportation bill that would ban tolls on existing federal highways. The amendment would repeal existing language in the highway bill that would allow states to erect toll booths on federal highways to pay for transportation projects. "Tolling existing roads to pay for new ones is double taxation," said Hutchison, R-Texas, a member of the Senate Commerce and Transportation Committee. But the amendment was seen as a shot at Perry's proposed $175 billion Trans...

The massive Trans-Texas Corridor highway project is supposed to be a solution for crowded highways, but some Texans say it comes at a high cost to them. Hundreds of protestors gathered at the capitol in Austin Tuesday to push for a bill that would delay action on the corridor for two years. Protestors came from all across the state carrying signs and voicing their opposition to the Trans-Texas Corridor. David Stall of Fayetville said, “This is a volatile issue. It's been pushed on the public without input, without discussion, without open debate." Margaret Green of Buckholts said, "The way they're...