Last Night
John Lennon was born 84 years ago today. He left us at age 40.
“Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup
They slither wildly as they slip away across the universe”
One of the greatest for sure.
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Early Voting in Person starts in twelve days.
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State Sen. Carol Alvarado had a reception last night at a Galleria area hotel and it was well attended. H-Town Mayor John Whitmire, Sen. Alvarado and Tilman Fertitta addressed the attendees and see the featured photo. It was a very nice event.
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A dirty H-Town cop will spend the rest of his life in prison. My only question is how he was allowed to get away with this crap for many years at the Houston Police Department. The systems in place certainly failed the folks of H-Town. See this from the Chron:
For years, Gerald Goines preyed on Houston’s poorest neighborhoods and sent hundreds of people to prison — some wrongfully through deception.
His last lie locked him up for 60 years.
A jury on Tuesday handed the former narcotics officer an effective life sentence for his role in orchestrating the deadly Harding Street drug raid on Jan. 28, 2019, that left homeowners Dennis Tuttle and his wife, Rhogena Nicholas, dead during an exchange of gunfire alongside their pet dog.
Prosecutors, who requested a life sentence, showed at trial that Goines, 60, had a pattern of dishonesty that led up to him packing a search warrant used to enter the couple’s Pecan Park home in search of heroin with falsehoods.
Patricia Nicholas, Nicholas’ sister-in-law, declared the jury’s verdict justice.
“Their names were drugged long enough through the mud,” she said.
Tuttle’s son, Ryan Tuttle, called for additional police reforms but lauded the punishment as vindication for his father and step-mother.
“They were not drug dealers but they were victims of systematic failures of police work – specifically Gerald Goines,’” the younger Tuttle said in court. “They were good people. They did not deserve this.”
Here is the entire read: Gerald Goines sentenced to 60 years in prison for Harding St. killings (houstonchronicle.com).
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Raising City of H-Town property taxes will be debated at City Hall this morning. Here is from the Chron again:
Mayor John Whitmire and Houston City Council will debate dueling property tax proposals Wednesday as Whitmire remains adamant about cutting waste while some council members plead with him to look at the city’s financial reality.
Whitmire’s property tax proposal suggests the city keep its current rate of just under 52 cents per $100 of a home’s appraised value. The other, brought forward by Council Members Sallie Alcorn, Joaquin Martinez, Mario Castillo and Letitia Plummer, would raise the rate by just under 6% to 55 cents per $100 of appraised value. Under Proposition A, approved by Houston voters last November, any three council members can come together to add an item to a council agenda as long as it’s legal.
The council members’ proposal comes as city leaders fast approach an Oct. 28 deadline to raise the taxes. Proponents of an increase have cautioned potential impacts to city services, but critics say the city could stand to make more cuts before hiking taxes.
Alcorn said the issue at hand wasn’t a matter of either rooting out waste or raising the taxes.
“It’s not a matter of this or that,” Alcorn said. “It’s this and that.”
Here is the entire read: Mayor Whitmire, Houston council to debate property tax proposals (houstonchronicle.com).
Like I said yesterday, I am going to follow the Mayor’s lead on this.
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My refrigerator went kaput on me yesterday and a new one is getting delivered today. I had to throw some stuff away. Drats.
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The two lower seeds in both NLDS hold 2-1 leads. Four MLB playoff games will be played today.
