With nearly 100,000 property value increases across Galveston County and with the end of the Legislative Session around the corner with little hope for property tax reform, Galveston County Tax Assessor Collector Cheryl E. Johnson has released a one-page summary for property owners needing assistance in understanding the process and their recourse.
If you are unable to attend the final class scheduled May 23, at 10 am, AMOCO Federal Credit Union Community Room, 235 FM 528, Friendswood, go online to www.galcotax.com, click on the Press Releases & Important Information button and download the full protest booklet and spreadsheet or the Taxes Seven Step document. This short guide has also been posted on the Galveston County Tax Office Facebook.
Don’t forget to schedule an informal conference or postmark your formal protest request by June 1.
If you aren’t protesting your appraisal every year, you are undoubtedly paying more in taxes than you should be. Thanks to Ms. Johnson for her leadership.
Wow, time flies when you are having fun! It’s been a while since I posted but I had to come out of hiding for this announcement from Gov. Abbott:
Governor Abbott Appoints Mayfield As Judge Of 165th Judicial District Court
Judge Debra Ibarra Mayfield
Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Judge Debra Ibarra Mayfield as judge of the 165th Judicial District Court in Harris County for a term to expire at the next general election in November 2016.
Judge Mayfield currently serves as judge of Harris County Civil Court at Law Number One, where she has held office since 2011, and she currently serves as Administrative Judge of the County Civil Courts. In 2013, she was selected as a “Woman on the Move” by Texas Executive Women. She is also the past president of the Mexican American Bar Association of Houston, received the 2014 “Public Service Award” from South Texas College of Law, and is on the board of the Institute of Hispanic Culture. Judge Mayfield received a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and a law degree from South Texas College of Law.
This appointment is subject to Senate confirmation.
That is awesome news! I first met Judge Mayfield when she was appointed to replace Jack Cagle in 2011 after Cagle was appointed to replace Jerry Eversole. Super person with superior qualifications and she’s even friendly with blogger types! She is exactly the type of person that Republicans can look forward to electing in the future – our bench is deep.
About me coming out of hiding, if you want to know what I’ve been up to, you’ll have to visit ShoreacresTX.US to find out! Back soon!
County Commissioner Steve Radack, one of Harris County’s most powerful and outspoken leaders, will be speaking at next Tuesday’s meeting of The Executive Council.
Radack is always an entertaining speaker. And he is never shy about answering your questions. Perhaps someone will ask him about the Astrodome. Or Sheriff Garcia and his problems running the jail. Maybe someone will ask him if the economic boom hit Hockley after he built the soap box derby hill. Who knows what questions will be asked?
But one thing you can count on: Commissioner Radack will answer them, even if you don’t necessarily like his answers.
This stuff makes me ill. I was contacted by a family law attorney that does business in Judge Alicia Franklin’s 311th District Court. The attorney complained that she felt pressured to give money to Judge Franklin for her upcoming honeymoon. Say what? Sure enough, Judge Franklin and her finance, Doug York, have a website asking for contributions to pay for their honeymoon. (click the pic to enlarge)
Here is a snippet in case you don’t want to read it all:
We plan to start our honeymoon by staying a few days in Paris. We want to visit our love lock on the Pont des Arts, visit a few museums, roam the cobblestone streets hand in hand while warming ourselves with café au laits, and visit a few favorite restaurants! Since it will be April, the weather will likely be a bit brisk. As such, we will make our way to warmer weather from Paris by next traveling to the Maldives for a little r&r. We plan to be beach bums with a little pampering such as massages and fine dining. We truly treasure spending time with each other and building memories together!!!
Aw, isn’t that sweet? Not only do they enjoy building memories, but they want someone else to pay for those memories! Truly sweet!
And guess what boys and girls? They have specific items you can pay for! Here are a few, you need to click over to the website to enjoy all of them.
Well now, ain’t that sweet! The happy couple needs two bottles of “excellent” wine because one, well, one just won’t do! But they need ten cocktails by the pool because, you know, it’s nice to get snockered when you are swimming!
And Judge Charley Prine wishing the happy moochers the best!
Unfreaking believable.
THIS IS WHAT PASSES FOR A FAMILY JUDGE THESE DAYS?
Folks, we aren’t talking about a couple of lovestruck teenagers that are starting a new life together and need a wedding shower or two. We are talking about two very successful attorneys and an elected district judge. Heck, Franklin received over $800,000 from Harris County taxpayers alone for appointed cases. Which reminds me, where again is Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson? It has been over six month since Greg Enos filed a criminal complaint against Judge Franklin (click here to read more about that complaint) and still NOTHING from the DA. NADA, ZIP, ZILCH.
Do you think the DA would have been silent if Judge Franklin had run as a Democrat? I surely don’t.
Franklin and York are obviously classless and tasteless. One attorney I talked to about this said that there is no way he would beg for money for a honeymoon – if he couldn’t take care of his new bride, she shouldn’t have married him.
That’s funny. But the bigger issue is a judge sitting behind a bench pressuring the attorneys in front of her to pay for her pleasure activities. And a DA that sits on her hands when a Republican is involved.
Please join the Greater Houston Pachyderm Club as we welcome this week’s guest speakers, Mr. Christopher Busby and Mr. Michael Baker of the Houston Log Cabin Republicans, as we discuss their organization’s outreach efforts in support of electing conservative candidates and promoting the fundamental Republican principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, individual responsibility & liberty, and a strong national defense.
And to give you an idea of the progress the group is making, here is a press release the Houston chapter recently sent out:
The last 20 days have been full of exciting and pivotal developments for Republicans in general, and Log Cabin Republicans in particular.
First, a swat team of members of the Log Cabin Republicans of Texas visited over 50 offices of state representatives and senators, blanketing the Texas State Capitol for a day with messaging aimed at raising awareness of issues of concern to LCR members and supporters, GLBT and not. A recent poll revealed that two-thirds of self-identified Republicans and Republican-leaning voters under 30 support same-sex marriage rights. This could explain why all the young staffers that support our state Republican legislators welcomed the LCR members warmly and with expressed interest in their concerns.
Then, On February 23 we received the announcement that the national organization of Log Cabin Republicans was given an invitation to speak at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) as part of the panel “Putin’s Russia: A New Cold War?” This was a highly visible step forward by the GOP leadership towards a more public acceptance of those advocating GLBT issues and concerns.
This was followed on February 27, with LCR Houston’s own fundraising dinner keynoted by the top GOP officeholder in Harris County, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, who delivered an energetic, yet intellectually nuanced speech that charmed and energized all those present. The event was attended by many GOP officeholders and candidates, including several running for city-wide offices, from mayor, to comptroller, to city council; and brought in several thousand dollars into the LCR coffers, easily breaking last year’s record haul while raising LCR Houston’s profile in local policy circles.
These developments were capped by Monday’s announcement that, in an historic vote, the California Republican Party voted to charter Log Cabin Republicans of California. The landslide 861-293 vote in favor of the gay-led Republican group recognized Log Cabin Republicans of California as an official affiliate of the state GOP.
A new era of inclusion is dawning at the GOP, with all kinds of possibilities for new ideas and initiatives to address the challenges and concerns of Americans of all walks of life, including those in the GLBT communities. If you have been waiting for the right time to make your voice heard; to become part of the governing process of the governing party of Texas; to influence the party that is poised to set the course of the country in 2016, what better time can you imagine?
It’s time. Come and join the party.
It’s past time. WAY PAST TIME. Kudos on these guys for not giving up the fight and sticking with the Republican Party when so many others have abandoned it.
The Greater Houston Pachyderm Club meets every Tuesday at noon at Tony’s Restaurant at 3755 Richmond Avenue. See below for a map to the restaurant. Tony’s website can be found at www.tonyshouston.com. Reservations are not required. Lunch will be served from a limited choice menu for $25 at 11:30 am; the meeting begins at noon.You are asked to pay by check or with exact change at the meeting, or pay on-line with a credit card or PayPal. A $1 charge is added to this service to cover the costs.
I thought that Republicans were supposed to be the protectors of liberty, free speech, and the 2nd Amendment. Right? Well, not if you are Rep. Jason Villalba (144-Dallas). It seems that Rep. Villalba, in an attempt to please “the good men and women in blue”, has decided that the First and Second Amendments need to be tossed aside. This from Brett Sanders at BrettSanders.me:
Texas representative Jason Villalba (R-Dallas), who first made headlines in 2013 for his weird statements on Obamacare, filed a bill on Tuesday that would criminalize filming the police as a private citizen. This proposal is not only an egregious violation of free speech under the United States and Texas Bill of Rights but could be considered an act of defiance to mountains of legal precedent set forth by the Supreme Court of the United States.
In typical Villalba fashion he is not backing down and is unapologetic for his attempt to suppress free speech and gun rights. I find it very interesting that he targets concealed carry permit owners, statistically one of the least criminal groups you can find. Villalba wants you to move 25 feet away from an officer to film but if you are legally carrying a concealed weapon, he wants you 100 feet away. Both are egregious violations of our rights, I’m just curious why he doesn’t like concealed permit owners.
Check his Twitter feed and Facebook account for his reactions. Here is one from Facebook:
How does MQS end up in this thing? This isn’t something on his radar. I swear, the reason MQS has so much perceived power is because people like Villalba give it to them.
Okay, so he’s a “macho man” and ready to take on all comers. For what? To protect LEO’s? No, to protect BAD LEO’s. You know, the guys that beat people senseless, plant evidence, or kill unarmed citizens. The rest of the law enforcement community, you know, the 90{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of LEO’s that do the right thing, don’t need to restrict freedom, liberty, speech, or the 2nd Amendment.
Clearly, Villalba want to be elected to a statewide office. Recall his visits around the state in the past two years. He even made a visit to my favorite club, the Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club. And I gave him a glowing review. I like people that speak their mind, even when I disagree with what they are trying to do.
Would this be a deal killer for me if he were to run for statewide office? Not necessarily but it wouldn’t help persuade me to vote for him.
I have complete confidence that this bill is going nowhere. Villalba may be a supporter of Speaker Straus but there is no way that the Speaker is going to lend his support to this bill. Notice that he doesn’t have a single co-author that he could muster up. So for all practical purposes, the bill was dead on arrival. Perhaps that was his intent – mollify the person or group that convinced him to file this all the while knowing it wouldn’t be passed. He might even think that was a smart move.
But you know what? People have memories, especially when you are going out of your way to defend the indefensible. See you down the road, Rep. Villalba.
