Wake up, Texas! Two mega-water deals are either about to swamp us or citizens will succeed in pulling the plug. Don’t get caught thinking you know who your friends and foes are — politics, like the weather, is increasingly unpredictable.
If you can get to Bastrop on Monday night, please come on out — and bring folks to this VERY important event! It’s all about the water wars, waste transfer stations and your pocketbook.
Austin — we hope to see you at this meeting on Friday, October 20 held by IndyAustin, a new pac for ballot measures started by Linda Curtis of Bastrop and David Jones of Austin. Linda’s residence has not gone unnoticed by those who seem to be trying to erect an imaginary partition between Bastrop and Travis counties. (Even Donald Trump won’t support that wall!) But the reality is that Bastrop is intimately tied to Austin, as Austin continues to lose it’s soul to those who want to turn it into a commodity — not a community. How? CodeNEXT.
CodeNEXT is a massive overhaul of Austin’s land development code that, if handled badly (like it is now) could drive more unaffordability and more people to leave Austin. Just now, we witnessed the Austin City Council vote to give the San Francisco-based consultants making CodeNEXT into CodeWRECK, an additional $2 million. (Only Ora Houston, Allison Alter and Leslie Pool said no — thank you, ladies). More here from Community Not Commodity.
IndyAustin’s petition for a public vote on CodeNEXT (the same petition carried by Let Us Vote Austin pac) has the earliest deadline — in January. So sign it now (Austin voters only) mail it or bring it to us on October 20.
This week and next, no matter where you live in Texas, please reach Gov. Greg Abbott. The Governor is knee-deep in Harvey relief and the Texas Congressional delegation is not helping. Please respectfully reach the Governor with these three points:
Tell Gov. Abbott that you are behind him on Harvey relief.
Thank the Governor for his veto of HB 2378 (for automatic renewals of groundwater transfer permits), which made all the difference for stopping the Vista Ridge/San Antone Hose’s fast one last week at the Post Oak Groundwater Conservation District (we wrote about this here with videos here), and
Ask Gov. Abbott to do all he can to stop the California Water Model — mass movement of groundwater — embodied in Vista Ridge and mega-permit End Op making its way to court next week (more here from the Bastrop Advertiser).
On Tuesday, this message was delivered in person and in citizens comments to SAWS and especially to San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg at a SAWS meeting on behalf of the “source communities” for Vista Ridge.
Ready for an independent revolt? We are! Join the only voter association for non-aligned voters in Texas — and keep voting in your primary of choice!. We are the League of Independent Voters of Texas. Visit our membership page here — join us.
Would you like to volunteer? Let us know how you’d like to help. Call us anytime between 8 am and 8 pm, Monday through Saturday.
Yours in friendship and determination for future generations, LIV
PS You can also thank Rep. John Cyrier, Rep. Leighton Schubert, Rep. Terry Wilson, and Sen. Lois Kolkhorst for simply asking Post Oak to hold a hearing…yet to happen, so stay tuned.