Local Developers, Caller/Times Deplore Community "Divisiveness!"

Above: Early opposition to coastal "development!"

Lately op ed pieces and letters to the editor have been appearing in our local daily, the Caller/Times, decrying what they call the "divisiveness" they say is prevalent in our community and is inhibiting our "progress."
Frankly, that is their opinion, it is not necessarily a matter of fact.
This idea of a lack of progress is expressed by those who have supported many grandiose development projects which have drawn opposition from within the community.
These developmental hand wringers whine that if we can't stop this so called divisiveness we are doomed as a successful city.
That's a bunch of baloney! In the first place Corpus Christi is a city of over 400,000 inhabitants. The surrounding communities add many more to the regional population numbers. The notion that everyone is going to agree on anything is ludicrous! The problem has been that big time, usually out of town and often foreign, investors have tried to shove some of these failed plans down our throats. If you happen not to like some of these ideas you are immediately chastised by the local media and the development uber alles crowd as an "aginner" or worse!
There have been no attempts at consensus building or consideration given to the desires of the community at large.
Back to consensus building for a moment. You will never get a half a million people in a diverse community to agree on much of anything. Many are now very much alert and on guard against new development that may conflict with their perceived interests.
What is needed now is a timeout period. It is time for our elected leaders to get out among the people to try to get a view of the public pulse. It is also time for local government to stick to roads and drains, in other words; fix the infrastructure! Politicans often don't like to be concerned with the mundane items in running a city, they tend to love the headline grabbing, big ticket items which make a splash. It would go a long way if these politicians would take care of infrastructure and public safety first and possibly restore some trust in local government.

How Politics Work; #3

King O' The Hill!


Today our local daily, The Corpus Christi Caller/Times, announced they were to resign from the local Chamber of Commerce, citing differences with Chamber President Terry Carter.
Now I am no fan of Terry Carter. I have had major problems with his positions on many issues, most notably on the beach isssue we fought here last year. I also never cared much for his style, I don't know him personally and have never met or spoken to the man but I had a poor impression.
However, I think it is extremely arrogant and condescending of the Caller/Times to attack the leader of the local Chamber of Commerce. The Caller/Times had been a member of that organization for 75 years and the purpose of such an organization is to put the community in the best light to promote business and tourism. It seems to me the newspaper should be a part of that. Carter wont be the president forever. Will the paper approve of the next president? Will they let a personal problem keep the paper out of the chamber in the future?
I think this is just the latest example of the Caller/Times trying to make the news and not report it. The newspaper is a newspaper, it is not the omnipotent, all seeing lord of the community! It also has no role in making policy or staffing the Chamber of Commerce.

Perry Says "Bush Was Not A Fiscal Conservative."





It seems Texas Governor Rick Perry has had a recent change of heart concerning President and former Texas Governor G.W. Bush. Always an ardent G.W. supporter Perry recently said that while ..."Bush was a great Governor he was not true fiscal conservative."
That's the truth! When Bush took over from Ann Richards he inherited a strong state government with a huge budget surplus. It did not last long. Bush, with the careful guidance and support of the powerful Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock, engineered tax cuts for his wealthy supporters. The effect of this was soon felt as state parks and highway projects began to hurt for cash. The surpluses quickly turned into deficits.
Now, for some reason, Governor Perry has seemed to wake up to this situation. He is distancing himself from Bush. It must mean that Perry is looking ahead to running for another term. he may have some stiff competition from U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is widely believed to be setting up a campaign for Texas Governor next November.