Supporters & family show up for Ricci Ware

L-R: Ricci Ware, Trey Ware speaking, Ricci Ware & Ricci Jr., Ricci Ware, Fiddlin Frenchie Burke, Ricci & son Trey Ware, sound man, Ricci Ware Jr. & wife, former Mayor Howard Peak & friend, silohoutte

A crowd packed John T. Floore Country Store, Saturday, September 1st in Helotes to celebrate KTSA's Ricci Ware's 50th year in broadcasting.

Crowd turns out to celebrate with Ricci Ware

L-R: Signs, granddaughter and David Montague, singer, banner, table placement, retired DJ Bruce Hathaway, firefighter, singers, slideshow man, signs, stage, KTSA Van, sign

A huge crowd turned out to honor 550 KTSA's morning talk show host Ricci Ware for his 50 years in Radio broadcasting.

Ricci Ware celebrates 50 years in broadcasting

L-R: Ricci Ware speaks to supporters outside, Ricci Ware Jr., Carmen Madla & Ricci, Ricci Ware's great grand child, granddaughters, Ricci in his car, Trey Ware & his dad, Ricci, Trey's son Justin, Trey & wife, Nancy, long line of crowd waiting nearly 45 minutes to get in, John T. Floore County Store landmarks

Local Radio icon Ricci Ware celebrated 50 years in radio broadcasting with 550 KTSA at John T. Floore County Store in Helotes, Saturday, September 1st. A long line of well-wishers stood for nearly 45 minutes to get into the celebration before the program began.

Hunter wins Texas GOP Presidential straw poll

Congressman Duncan Hunter with Bexar County Republican activist Schuylar Crist & mother (photo)

Harvey Kronberg's Quorum Report article (Sep 1st)

Fort Worth -- At today's straw poll, 534 Republican voters handed California Congressman Duncan Hunter a win with 41.1% of the votes. Despite missing the event, Fred Thompson pulled 266 votes or 20.5%. Despite having the most visible organization at the event, Texas Congressman Ron Paul came in third with 217 votes, or 16.7%.

Several of the frontrunners did not fare so well among the 1300 or so straw poll voters . Giuliani got 78 votes and Romney only 61 putting them at fifth and sixth place respectively. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckaby came in fourth with 83 votes. John McCain scored only eight votes. Brownback and Tancredo followed regional candidates with only six votes each.

The storyline coming into this weekend, though, was the prominent list of no shows. None of the front runners or even the second tier presidential candidates bothered to show up. The stampede out of Fort Worth was perhaps best epitomized by the decision this week by Mike Huckabee to pull out, discovering a scheduling conflict days before the straw poll. Even Gov. Rick Perry didn’t make it, sending a videotaped message to the delegates.

The two national candidates who chose to come to Fort Worth spoke to a group of delegates that comfortably fit into a ballroom at the convention center. Republican Party of Texas spokesman Hans Klingler estimated that 2,000 voting delegates attended the event with another 1,000 guests in attendance. That was well short of the more than 10,000 in attendance that Party organizers had originally hoped for. Still, the leaders on hand put their best spin on the turnout. Rep. Vicki Truitt (Southlake) noted that the Iowa straw poll drew less participation in its first year.

Native son Paul had by far the most prominent visual presence at the convention center. He had more volunteers, more signs and had the best attended reception of the event. His Friday night reception filled a ballroom at a nearby hotel room and his calls to return to the gold standards and to pull out of the United Nations drew a raucous response from his most enthusiastic backers.

Rep. Duncan Hunter of California also circulated among the delegates, confident that his stance on building border fences would ensure success today. He told reporters that he won the Arizona straw poll with no presence at the event because of the immigration issue. He also promised a hard line on trade with China.

Red-Light Camera fines in Balcones Heights officially drop in half, effective Sep. 1st under new law

Red-Light Camera in Balcones Heights

The $148 fines assessed for running a red light in Balcones Heights is history. The new fine effective September 1st is now $75.

Under the new state law, Balcones Heights will split the $75 revenue in half with the state. The city will not be allowed to affect a suspected violator's credit rating and under the civil law, a violator can not be arrested, have a warrant served, cannot have their licenses suspended or revoked or be turned over to the insurance companies.

Former Balcones Heights Councilman Steve Walker who voted against the installation of the cameras in September, 2006, says, "since the violation is not criminal, there is no incentive or fear of consequences for not paying the fine, other than doing the right thing and paying the fine."

Senate Bill 1119 signed by Governor Rick Perry also stipulates that cities starting a red light camera program have to do traffic engineering studies and consider whether design changes might work better to reduce red light running.

According to an article by Express-News Transportation Reporter, Pat Driscoll, by mid-August, 4,604 citations had been issued. Driscoll also reports that Balcones Heights reports that a fourth of the tickets, 1,183 were currently not settled.

Walker says he disputes those numbers based on the lack of incentive for violators to pay the fines. In early August, KENS-5 Reporter Ross Polombo interviewed Mayor Jim Craven and asked him to release those numbers. Craven declined citing that the numbers would be misleading. Polombo requested the numbers through the open records act.

Driscoll also reports that Balcones Heights is looking to get the Texas Department of Transportation or Bexar County County Assessor/Collector Sylvia Romo to deny vehicle registrations to owners of vehicles with outstanding red-light tickets.

Romo told Driscoll that nobody has notified her of those intentions. At present that ordinance is not in effect and will not be enforced.

Alamo Heights & Schertz previously looked into the possibility but decided against the installations.

Fred Thompson coming to SA, Sep. 20th

Former Senator Fred Thompson, a soon to be announced Republican candidate for President, will visit San Antonio for a Special Breakfast and Reception Fundraiser at the Plaza Club, 2100 Frost Bank Tower, from 8:30 a.m.--9:30 a.m. Thursday, September 20th. He will officially announce September 6th.

For more information: contact Susan Lilly at 866-789-9223 or email:

susan@lillyandcompany.com

Allen Ginsberg Poetry Reading-Sep. 11th, SAMA

Jack Kerouac (photo from exhibit)

Foto Septiembre and Allen Ginsberg: Beat Generation Photographer
Dramatic Reading: Howl

Tuesday, September 11, 6:30 pm
Auditorium. Free.

Gemini Ink’s Bett Butler will perform a dramatic reading based on selections from Howl, a well-known poem by Allen Ginsberg. Excerpts selected by Rose Catacalos.

Performance: Poetry Slam
Tuesday, September 18, 6:30 p.m. Auditorium. Free.
Poetry Slam performed by members of the 2007 San Antonio Slam Team.- Allen Ginsberg, Heroic Portrait of Jack Kerouac, 1953/1990.

City Wide Women's Prayer to happen Oct. 6th

City Wide Women’s Prayer has been calling women to corporately seek God twice-a-year since 1993. Women from more than 400 area churches have joined together through the years to pray for revival in our time. This year’s fall meeting will be held on October 6th from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. at Castle Hills First Baptist Church located at 2220 NW Military Hwy.

Pure Praise is what we are planning for this October 6th gathering of City-Wide Women's Prayer. We would like to invite the women of your church to join in this time of praise and worship.

We are seeking women from your church who would feel led to sing in a city-wide choir. The choir singers will meet twice before October 6th to practice. There will be one daytime practice and one evening practice. You could really help us if you would pass this on to your worship team or choir's female members. If you have a junior choir they are welcome to participate also. Please have them contact us at mary.mize@earthlink.net or by calling Suzanne Dollar at 210-538-8018.

The plan is to pattern the choir singers after the events recorded in Nehemiah 12:40-43. We will actually divide the choir into two parts so that we will have “two” choirs. On that morning the two choirs will ring the worshippers who will be in the center section .

Praise and the reading of God's Word will be going up the whole morning.

We have two requests:
1. Invite your women to come to worship and praise in the congregation.
2. Invite those of your women who would love to be a part of the choir to join in the “joy of San Antonio.”

If you have questions or comments, please contact Mary Mize at 651-4696 or at the e-mail above.

Mary Mize Hellums
City-Wide Women’s Prayer Coordinator

Rick Noriega endorsed by three fellow state reps

State Rep. Rick Noriega (photo)
Texas Democratic Primary Senatorial candidate

Tarrant County Democratic State Representatives
Lon Burnam, Paula Pierson & Marc Veasey
endorse Rick Noriega's exploratory campaign for US Senate

( Fort Worth , TX ) — The three Democratic State Representatives from Tarrant County , Lon Burnam, Paula Pierson and Marc Veasey, yesterday joined together in endorsing fellow House Member Rick Noriega as the next United States Senator from Texas .

Together at a fundraising luncheon for his U.S. Senate Exploratory Committee at Joe T Garcia’s in the “Chapel” restaurant, Noriega’s three House colleagues praised his service in the Texas House and enthusiastically backed his U.S. Senate bid to unseat Republican John Cornyn.

“We’re fighting in Austin to get children health insurance,” Marc Veasey explained, “but we need a leader in Washington who understands the importance of insuring children, and the challenges working families face.” Veasey said he’ll be campaigning to elect Rick Noriega to the United States Senate, “because working families deserve to have a voice too.”

Paula Pierson, a first-term representative from Arlington , lauded Noriega’s ability to put politics aside and insert fiscal responsibility into budget decisions. “Noriega is an expert on border security and law enforcement,” she noted. “That’s why Democrats and Republicans followed his lead in taking border security funds away from the political appointee and placing them with DPS where there’s a system of accountability.”

Lon Burnam praised Noriega’s leadership in standing up for our public schools: “Rick brought Democrats and Republicans together when he championed an across the board teacher pay raise, and he exposed the so-called “merit pay” bill for what it was — more pressure on teachers to teach to the test.”

“The support from my colleagues is just one more sign that Texans are ready for a change,” Noriega noted. “On the floor of the Texas House, I’ve stood together with Lon, Paula, and Marc on behalf of everyday Texans. Today, we once again stand with everyday Texans as we answer the call to get our state and our country back on track.”