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Where's the Governor on land contamination disaster form PFAS? WFAA report We have a big problem, Texas. It's the same problem that faces the entire nation. Forever land contamination warnings about forever chemicals (aka "PFAS") from biosolid-based fertilizers, are seen on NextDoor from informed citizens, but what are our state and federal governments doing about it? A Johnson County Commissioner reluctantly called it "Chernobyl." That might sound like an overstatement to you, but it isn't given how long our "corporate captured" federal (EPA) and state agency (TCEQ) knew about this problem and did nothing. On February 12, Johnson County declared a countywide disaster and asked the Governor to support it. So far, the Governor has remained mute. Thank you, Ft. Worth for suing to get the feds and state to own up! What Can We Do? First, educate ourselves. Check out the Newsweek Report, including video, we have posted for you here ==>. Ft. Worth just filed suit against the Department of Defense and chemical companies for $400 million to mitigate the disaster on their water supply. Ft. Worth serves Johnson County and many others across the area. Then, please review our TX Lege page and take action by reaching all your officials -- state and county. The Legislative Session is in full swing until sine die, the last day of the session, June 2. Last, get involved with LIV if you believe that we need more electoral competition to bring Texans policy, not politics. LIV meets almost every Monday night at 8 pm. Sign in on our Events page. Become a member at our Join page. Over but not out, y'all.

Dallas 2006 Thanks to the Texas Tribune for this article  about Carole Keeton Strayhorn . We appreciate that they didn't write us -- the independent movement -- out of history, Carole's and ours . I got to work with Carole when she made the boldest decision of her long and successful political career. In 2006, she bolted from the GOP to run as an independent for Governor. She was disappointed -- and were hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Texans -- that she came in third in a 4-way race. But had we been able to convince Kinky Friedman to switch to run for Lt. Governor, I believe to this very day that Carole could have become the first independent Governor since Sam Houston . We published an analysis after the race, including our discussions with Kinky and his campaign manager, Dean Barklay , in " Divided We Stood ". We were calling for a way forward to build off of Carole and Kinky's combined vote totals of 1.3 million Texans. But, like Perot, Carole left the building. We don't blame her or Perot. It was what it was. Rick Perry , one of the luckiest politicians on the planet, eked out a victory with 39%. But Strayhorn's candidacy ensured that Perry's destructive and grandiose Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC), aka the "NAFTA Highway," was defeated in the next legislative session. That was because Carole made it a top-three issue in the race. Here's why Carole's decision to go independent was her boldest. She knew she would never be able to go back. That is also true for the independent movement today. We cannot go back. But we can, and and we must, look at all the failures to move to the next experiment. More than ever, voters want a break-out from the two-party madness. Join us on Monday nights at 8 pm to figure this out together. Go to our Events page to sign in. Farewell, One Tough Grandma. Our condolences to the entire family. Your independent legacy will live on.

We love jackasses, but not the human kind. Populist: a person, especially a politician, who strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups . We promise the world, anti-populist jackassery knows no political bounds here in TexASS! Are you done yet with bullies, braggarts and browbeaters who have utterly no idea how to use power for the good of the citizenry? Do you trust a federal government that takes a hatchet to do spending cuts, without even asking us -- the American public -- what we think about what should be cut? Is it possible that a neighbor of ours, Elon Musk , purportedly the "smartest man on the planet", can't figure out how to do a national referendum to get buy-in and support from the American people to save our economy? A politician who wouldn't know populism if it was tattooed on his forehead -- Sen. Ted Cruz -- showed up this week to spread his charm at the Texas Legislature in support of the Governor's voucher obsession, with a promise to spend $250,000 on voucher ads . Not to be outdone are the real jackasses . Some of our best and brightest Dems put forth a very BIG and very important constitutional amendment ( SJR 14 ) to give Texans the right to Initiative and Referendum (I&R), something we support and care deeply about. But they're not serious. They haven't any Republican co-sponsors! To boot, the Vice Chair of the Elections Committee, Rep. John Bucy (D-Austin) was seen trying to weaken a good bill (Rep. Swanson 's HB 631 ) to shore up Texan's municipal petition rights. The fake populists are at it in the City of Bastrop where a 3 to 5 majority of Council Members have abused power to rush through major changes in the city's development code within 6 weeks of a pivotal election in May. The good news is that one of them is up for reelection. If you live anywhere in Texas and don't plan to leave (that's kind of a joke), please take our new short survey POSTED HERE . If you live in Bastrop, take our survey and ask your friends to TAKE IT HERE . And, join us tonight online. Get the instructions from our Events Page. May the real populists arise and learn how to kick some ass, peacefully at the polls that is. Let's give these fakers the boot! LIV Team In this Edition: • SAWDF Update -- Water Legislation RIGHT HERE ! They tell you precisely who to reach and how you can provide or even send testimony. (it's also on our TX Lege page). IMPORTANT READS: Kick butt, Ft. Worth! THIS IS HUGE, FOLKS!!! Newsweek: Texas City Sues Department of Defense Over Drinking Water Contamination . Good luck to the City of Ft. Worth. Taking on DOD and the chemical companies for allegedly contamination our water supply is important to all us Texans and every American. Wiser lawmakers are fretting. "The data centers are coming whether the state is ready for them or not..." The Texan, a realiably conservative publication in Texas that does solid reporting. CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Click on the flier and read more about this great event. Kids welcome. April 17, Thursday, 7 to 9, Bastrop, Neighbors Kitchen & Yard, fundraiser for the work of Environmental Stewardship with lots of great music, door prizes, and more in this community-wide event to protect the Colorado River! Y'all come on over, and take Good Friday off! April 22 Early voting begins in communities holding May elections • Election Day, May 3rd. April 24, 2025, at 7:00 PM , Lexington (Lee County), American Legion Hall Post 6, 304 S. Rockdale St. Lexington, TX, is a meeting with the TCEQ with Lee Countians asking that the massive power plant planned for beautiful rural community of Blue be moved. For lots more see MOVE THE GAS PLANT HERE . Donations are needed and welcome.

In 2023, this 30-second ad helped give then City Councilman Jimmy Crouch and local contractor -- and the Gateway project -- the boot. Now Crouch is on the Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) just as P&Z chair, Ishmael Harris , announced his run for Mayor.* What "Don't Austin Our Bastrop" Really Means When we got involved in the city of Bastrop in 2023, it was to defeat the Gateway Project’s mass “upzoning” from rural (P2) to commercial (P5), to allow a 12-story hotel and 600 apartments at the top of the hill behind Buc’cees. It would have destroyed a small forest and neighborhood next to the Bastrop State Park that survived the 2011 Bastrop Complex Fire, setting a precedent for what happened to Austin: Mass upzoning and density based on the demands of politically connected developers.   We were asked by a former Mayor if the John Kirkland recall assault on Lyle Nelson that was started on the heels of Gateway's defeat, was really about development. Our answer: Isn’t that what all fights are about in municipalities?   Background : Right after Jimmy Crouch 's* City Council defeat by Kerry Fossler , City Councilman  John Kirkland  flipped his vote on Gateway. Mind you, Kirkland had been going door-to-door on the hill badmouthing Lyle Nelson and LIV’s Linda Curtis, but with Crouch’s defeat, Kirkland waxed poetic after the election about all the lovely pine trees on the hill and voted against the zoning change for The Gateway project.   BUT that’s when Kirkland also started ramping up his assault on Nelson. He got his votes on Council lined up, with the help from City Manager, Sylvia Carrillo . He continuously clamored about investigating a claim he already knew was false – that there was “misuse of public funds.”   Kirkland and his allies spent $137,080 in taxpayer dollars for useless investigations that came up with nothing.   The irony of all this is that in 2022, Crouch was also investigated by the Ethics Commission. Crouch settled with an admission of guilt for representing a client before a City Board!  Yes, the same Jimmy Crouch who, after being rejected by the voters, was just appointed to the Planning & Zoning Board (P&Z).   In September 2024, the Bastrop District Attorney’s Grand Jury ruled there was no misuse of funds, yet Carrillo and her handpicked friend ( Irma Parker ) placed in the City Secretary’s position, planned to place the Kirkland flawed “Recall Mayor Nelson” petition on the ballot in January 2025.   Mayor Nelson resigned to fight outside the mudhole now known as Bastrop City Hall -- no offense intended to the regular folks who work there. (Be sure to read Lyle's recent Guest Column last week “ C itizen Lyle: You can’t protect your property rights without open governmen t .”) We will be writing in detail about this soon, so please get on the LIV News list at   LIVTX.org . It's free.   Who’s Running in the May City Council Election The good news. It’s a contest!   John Kirkland  is running for reelection in Place 5 and is opposed by City Council member Cheryl Lee . In Place 1, Perry Lowe  is running and so is Cecilia Serna , both for the first time. The Mayor’s race is between former Councilmember Willie DeLaRosa , Ishmael Harris,  and Ward Northcutt . Early voting begins on April 22. The City Manager's Conduct at the March 4 Meeting   Throughout the March 4 meeting, Carrillo openly belittled people who want more affordable housing. And she belittled those who want a more walkable downtown. These include the many in our community who cannot afford a car or more than one per household. On March 4, Carrillo also gave a self-serving diatribe about how this process packed into two P&Z meetings and two City Council meetings, in just 4 weeks, and fraught with fear and confusion, was more than adequate for the citizens of Bastrop. This is yet one more reason – maybe the best! – for a real performance review -- not the sham meeting called by Carrillo herself on November 21 with a mob jeering, and shouting down, Cheryl Lee and Lyle Nelson. Be sure to read our many posts at LIVTX.org/post/bastrop-independent-news   The Kirkland Gang’s “Bidness” is not Our Business   In 2018-19 the community  was asked what they wanted. This time, these pro-development Council people have already decided what answer they want and have little interest in what you have to say.  They refused to slow down the process so the community had time to understand what’s happening.  We’re going into an election on May 3. Really this is about you, Bastrop. It never was about Lyle Nelson, other than getting him -- and open government -- out of their way.

No longer Mayor, citizen Lyle Nelson is free to speak his mind. “ WHETHER YOU MAY LOSE YOUR RIGHT TO CONTINUE USING YOUR PROPERTY FOR ITS CURRENT USE’ AND PROTECTING BASTROP ," was verbiage contained in a mailer from the City of Bastrop to thousands of property owners. From LIV : PLEASE ATTEND ONE OF TWO CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS: TUESDAY, MARCH 4 and/or TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 6:30 PM . Fill out a card or speak asking that this process be slowed down to give affected property owners time to understand the proposals and to allow the City Council to be elected on May 3rd, to make the decisions. This statement, delivered by former Bastrop Mayor, now " Citizen Lyle" Nelson, at the first of two hearings of the Planning & Zoning Commission (February 17) received strong support. He says: "These alerts state that it is in response to concerns from citizens. When and in what form were these concerns expressed? How many citizens expressed concerns and to whom? How many developers expressed concerns and to whom? These alerts inform our citizens that there will be only four (4) opportunities in a matter of Twenty-three (23) days to be informed, educated and provide input in a public setting. That seems such a limited amount of time for a regular citizen to digest and comment on the changes and their impact. This is especially concerning with a municipal election looming and the Legislature in session." (See Lyle's full statement here .) FACTS of ABUSE OF AUTHORITY AND OPEN GOVERNMENT > On Monday, Feb. 17, at a meeting of the city's first of two Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) hearings to do a significant rewrite of the city's development code, three women, including LIV's Linda Curtis , were handing out flyers and this survey for Bastropians for Open Government (BOG). They were verbally abused by Council Member Cynthia Meyer who told them to "get out" because " You can't do that here ." When they refused to leave, Meyer said she would call someone. Then appeared City Manager Sylvia Carrillo-Trevino who repeated the abuse and threatened to "c all someone ." No one came, because they knew it was a public meeting in a publicly owned building. >Many people left in the middle of the meeting, expressing confusion about how the discussions affected their property . One former teacher said, "Don't have meetings lasting more than two hours. They could also have posted information on the walls to bring us up to speed." The meeting lasted 4 1/2 hours. >On Monday, Feb. 24, at the second P&Z hearing , Mayor Pro-Tem, John Kirkland, spoke at the hearing of the P&Z , seemingly lobbying them before they brought their recommendations to the City Council on March 4. Kirkland will be running that meeting! (We were told that this was also an open meetings violation.) >Outside the hall on Feb. 24, City Manager Sylvia Carrillo-Trevino, filled out the Bastropians for Open Government survey. She checked that it was "Fiction" that "she has been in violation of the City Charter requirement that she live in the City." We beg to be fully informed so we can print that she has supposedly complied. >On Sunday, March 2, the City Manager Carrillo attended a candidate's campaign event, a clear violation of Number 7 of the Rules of Ethics of the ICMA . The International City/County Management Association is the premier organization of local government professionals worldwide. >The Attorney General has ruled that John Kirkland does not have to turn over his communications with former City Attorney, Alan Bojorquez, about his employment with the city . Though we believe the decision was in error, we will not be spending $5-10K to get into a court of law. It's a lot easier for the court of public opinion to weigh in on May 3rd when Kirkland will be on the ballot. Don't put up with the Kirkland-Sylvia shock and awe show. Voters still really do run the show.

The most shocking statement since JFK's 1963 speech for peace. Can we believe it? Scroll to 14-minutes taken from CSPAN shown on Glenn Greenwald show. After you read this message, do yourself and your country a favor. Call your member of the U.S. House and both U.S. Senators Cruz and Cornyn with this simple message : No tax cuts and stop mass deportations or you’ll damage the economy. Find your reps here. Make sure you also read to the end of this post for a special LIV proposal under the header " Deregulate Democracy " and how you can help. (AP) Trump wants denuclearization talks with Russia and China, hopes for defense spending cuts Hearing about President Donald Trump's 50% defense cuts and call to get Russia and China to join him to cut their defense budgets by 50%, prompted the anti-interventionist economist David Stockman * , President Ronald Reagan 's former "whiz kid" appointed Director of the Office of Management and Budget in 1981, to write: "you don’t need to be a student of the intricacies of the $850 billion defense budget to recognize that when you cut the Pentagon’s rations by half the whole globalist national security framework left over from the Cold War’s demise 34 years ago collapses." A few days later (February 18), seeing the budget resolution proposed by the U.S. House GOP, Stockman wrote, " What in the hell are these GOP fiscal frauds thinking?" " In short, the GOP budget resolution is a complete betrayal of any even minimal notion of fiscal sanity. Upon a fresh CBO [Congressional Budget Office] report (January 2025) showing massive Federal deficits rising skyward as far as the eye can see, these cats in the GOP caucus have proposed—apparently with a straight face—to  add  a net of $3.3 trillion ($4.8 trillion of tax cuts less $1.5 trillion of spending reductions) of new deficits on top of the $28 trillion of baseline deficits shown below." Released from Peterson Foundation from the CBO. Stockman also claims -- and we believe him -- that contained in the House GOP budget are: " $4.4 trillion of fake deficit cuts in the document." Ross Perot's Crazy Aunt In 1992, the self-made billionaire from Texarkana, Ross Perot , ran as an independent for President calling out the $4 trillion U.S. federal debt as: “the crazy aunt in the basement that the neighbors know is there, but no one wanted to talk abou t." Perot's crazy aunt (the federal debt) comment hit a home run on Face the Nation with millions of Americans watching in 1992. Perot's warning came in 1992 when our debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product, our nation's income) ratio was 46%. When Stockman became OMB director in 1981, the debt was under $1 trillion and our debt-to-GDP ratio was 31%. Today, the U.S. debt is $36T. But the more important number is our debt-to-GDP ratio. It is as much as 124% (2023) according to the reliable Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget . Also, every child born today is born with $108,000 in public debt on their shoulders.  But here's the biggest kicker: Interest payments on the debt have surpassed the cost of some of our nation's largest spending categories. Even a child can figure this is unsustainable. It's a complex story about how our country is facing a debt crisis. But, it’s not that difficult to track. We’re going to show you more soon about how. Let’s be honest. There is a widespread lack of acceptance of the problem from all corners. Most importantly, is average American's private debt -- for every man, woman and child -- is $38,000.   Stockman‘s Bird Dogging of the DOGE Iconoclast economist, David Stockman Stockman offered an early-on and supportive warning to the DOGE about tax cuts for the wealthy and mass deportations that could do serious harm to our economy, offering copious facts and figures. Did the DOGE respond? Let us pray that David got a call from Elon, if not the big man in the Whitehouse.   Folks reading this from any state! Call your member of the U.S. House and both U.S. with this simple message: No tax cuts and stop mass deportations or you’ll damage the economy. Deregulate Democracy! Policy, not politics, gentlemen . LIV proposes a widely used option around the world and in 26 states: A series of referenda asking the American people what cuts and revenue-generation ideas they would support.   If you would like to help put this idea into action, please contact us. You can also help LIV reach 8 million independent voters in Texas. Become a member of LIV today. Get involved. LIV meets weekly. Visit our Events Section. Or, call, email, or use the contact form on this site. _________________________ Note: *When Stockman resigned from the OMB in 1985, it was a year before he wrote the book, “The Triumph of Politics.” In the book, he makes his case for his well-founded (and common sense) belief that if you do tax cuts without commensurate spending cuts, you just keep growing the federal debt. Duh! We cherish Stockman because he makes an exceedingly complex subject – economics -- understandable, not because we agree with everything he says. Stockman is also -- as was Perot – brilliant and hilarious.

LIV is a nonprofit, nonpartisan voter association for the growing number of Americans who call themselves independent. Like Davy Crockett, we "wear no man's collar." Should independent voters be running through the streets with hair on fire, buck or butt naked? OK, you don't have to answer that. Why is government in a rush to enact big changes, without sincerely asking us what we want? It's not just the federal government that is up to this. You see this at the local and state level too.   In our lead article, " Trump's 50% defense cuts loose Perot's crazy aunt and David Stockman ," we put forward an idea to, " Deregulate Democracy ." Join us at our next weekly meeting, this coming Tuesday, February 25 at 8 pm to discuss it and what's happening at the Texas Lege.   In this edition :   •  Lead Article : T rump's 50% defense cuts loose Perot's crazy aunt and David Stockman here . •  Johnson County Land Contamination : Where's the Governor? Quorum Report Update here . • Community Impact or Distract News   here . •  Understanding (or not) Public Hearings , Bastropians for Open Government here . • Visit our New Page, "TX Lege," and view our short slide show   here . •  Next LIV Meeting , this Tuesday, Feb. 25, 8 pm here Events:   > City of Bastrop Planning & Zoning Commission Hearing , Monday, Feb. 24, 5 pm, Bastrop Convention Center. > Save the Date ! Environmental Stewardship Fundraiser & Outdoor Music, April 17, Bastrop. > Attend Farm & Ranch Freedom Alliance Lobby Days : Mar. 4, Ap. 1, May 6 here .    Thank you for your indulgence. We'd be crying if we couldn't laugh.

Rep. Helen Kerwin, Johnson County, Texas, introduced HB 1674 Johnson County recently issued a disaster declaration and asked the Governor to join them. It's all in the news, here from the CBS affiliate: Johnson County declares disaster over land contamination, asks Gov. Abbott to seek federal aid What's the Governor doing about it? We do not know. We called Johnson County and we called the Governor two days ago. On the heels of the Governor doing a massively mass text across the state urging Texans to call our legislators to support his education vouchers, Harvey Kronberg (Quorum Report) released this super-interesting take on vouchers and the political dynamics surrounding the new Speaker, Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock). Kronberg begs the question for us at LIV as to whether the Governor's mass text would better serve Texans' interest in regulating the reluctant regulator known as the TCEQ, the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality. The agency has so far been unwilling to issue a warning to landowners not to use the fertilizer using wastewater sludge or risk land contamination from "forever chemicals". The EPA failed to warn us, so one self-respecting Texan might expect Texas regulators to clue us Texans in. We called the Governor's Office two days ago, not seeing anything on his website. We haven't heard back from anyone. Call the Governor as well at 512.463.2000. Ask him what he's doing to help get the TCEQ to protect our land and water from forever chemicals contained in sludge-based fertilizers and to join the Johnson County officials by declaring a disaster. We have also reached out to Rep. Helen Kerwin* who has introduced HB 1674 to address the problem. We haven't heard back yet, but hope to by the time we meet again on Tuesday. (Sign in at our Events page to join us.) Kronberg says it’s likely vouchers will pass, but the question will be to what extent public ed will be “trashed” or wind up with a better deal. __________________ Note: * An interesting fact about Rep. Kerwin is her daughter, Brooke Rollins , is the current U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

Community Impact or Distract News? You decide. We sent the following letter to Community Impact News (CIN) on January 6, 2025, about biased coverage of the local battle -- as we see it -- between an abuse of power by 3 of 5 Bastrop City Council members, led by John Kirkland and with help from the City Manager, Sylvia Carrillo-Trevino . CIN's answer on January 13 did not address these concerns, so we are printing our letter and theirs below in hopes that this might convince you to take Community Impact News coverage with a grain of salt. This is especially important as we get into the local election happening on May 3. To Community Impact News from Linda Curtis for LIV: I represent the League of Independent Voters of Texas (LIV), a 501c4 nonprofit, nonpartisan membership association for non-aligned voters. Since 2013, we have worked across parties and ideologies for open government, protection of land and water resources, and to make growth pay for itself in Central Texas.   I am contacting you in hopes that we can speak as soon as possible about the concerns we have with your local news reporting in the Bastrop community.   Last March, I spoke with CIN writer Jane Turchi, about her  article  asserting “A financial audit by Haynie & Company found about $70,000 of public funds approved by Susan Smith, Visit Bastrop’s former CEO, lacked proper documentation between 2021-23.” I believe this article lent credibility to a false innuendo woven by the City Manager (Sylvia Carrillo) with a city council majority (3 of 5 voting members) to dislodge, harass and recall a political opponent, Mayor Lyle Nelson.    A recall petition was filed in July 2024 using this innuendo  before an investigation was completed.    On September 10th, the District Attorney’s office issued a no-bill of Susan Smith. It reported there was no reason to investigate Nelson. CIN failed to report this  breaking news . Instead, we did so at LIV News with “ Breaking News: Bastrop Recaller’s House of Cards in Collapse, no bill no charges, no case .”   On October 17, a CIN article by Amanda Cutshall, “ Recall election still expected, despite Bastrop Mayor's lawsuit against city secretary ,” contained a timeline about the recall petition. The DA’s breaking news of a no-bill is missing from the timeline. The petition is being challenged but CIN has yet to report precisely why Nelson contends that required “affidavits of the truth of the petition for each page” were not filed. See our report  Nelson Finally Filed Suit on Recall .  A Special Meeting on November 21st was called by the City Manager for her own performance review and stacked with 100+ of her supporters called together by Bastrop County Conservatives and a leader of the local Democratic Party who ran in the last election against Nelson. Amanda Cutshall’s alarming December 4th report of this meeting was so deficient, two days later we published our  own report .  Cutshall utterly failed to report what is on the video. Instead of “cheers” as she reported, officials (Nelson and Council Member Cheryl Lee) were jeered, harassed and shouted down. It was a near melee. Renowned City Attorney, Alan Bojorquez , was interrogated by two Council Members in open session rather than in Executive Session. He resigned three days later with a letter Cutshall referenced but did not disclose. Thankfully, the Statesman did disclose  the contents  of the alarming letter.    At the next meeting, December 10th, the City Manager received cupcakes from “Community Impact News” with a note of appreciation to the City Manager. This came after the City Manager’s office had refused to turn over public records (Cheryl Lee’s Report about the City Manager’s failing performance) to Cutshall, for which Cutshall called us!   The Council Members still pushing the recall have run up at least $137,080 in investigative and attorney costs.   These divisions are harmful and costly distractions.    We need local news, but I am trying to impress on you the importance of providing unbiased local news or at least telling both sides.    What can we do to help, is my question for you. I really look forward to the discussion.    Please reach me as soon as you are able.  Sincere and best wishes for the New Year at CIN!   Linda Curtis Linda Curtis , Chief Organizer, League of  independent  Voters of Texas (LIV) • 512.213.4511 • contact@livtx.org CIN Response, received January 13 Dear Ms. Curtis, Thank you for taking the time to read our coverage and reach out. I apologize for my late response—I wanted to consider your email fully.  My name is Sierra Martin, and I am the Editor of the Bastrop Edition of Community Impact. Eric Weilbacher, who you initially included in your email, is an Editor in the San Antonio metro area. Our mission at CI is to provide accurate, unbiased, and timely information. The recent political situation in Bastrop, as you no doubt know, has been a difficult one to navigate. We try to keep the impact on the community front and center in our reporting and go beyond the horse races of politicians feuding. As such, sometimes we are not the first to a story, or sometimes our reporting is briefer than that of other outlets because we want to ensure we are being rigorous in our fact-checking. For example, we have included information about the no-bill in our  print coverage  but focus on the recall election since our readers may see the item on their ballots in the future.  Our sales team gave cupcakes to all of our advertisers throughout the company to wish them a happy holiday season. Our editorial and sales teams operate separately to ensure there are no biases in our reporting. We appreciate your insight into our coverage and the feedback. We are always looking to grow. We are happy to speak on or off the record in the future as we continue to cover this city if you ever have concerns or feedback on our reporting. I will share this feedback with my team and continue pursuing future coverage options.  If I have missed a factual error, please let me know and we will look into it for a possible correction.  Best, Sierra Martin Editor

Is your government open or closed? The bad news is all around us including what we're not supposed to even talk about -- Gaza. Sorry, but we believe in free speech for everyone, barring the illegal. People are complex animals. We crave stability, while there is growing recognition that our country needs dramatic change. What is the most important change as we attempt to gently round up 8 million Texas voters who likely do not party salute? It's called Open Government. It rests on the principles of government transparency. The Texas Legislative Session is underway. The Senate is moving, but the Texas House is waiting for the Speaker to appoint committees. You good folks who follow LIV. We need you to help follow bills in this session. Tonight at 7 pm we will be visiting on Zoom to continue planning for the session and outreach to independent voters. You can sign up here at our Events page for our meetings and forums. Please save the date for a forum on Incentives and Bastrop Development on February 24, 7 pm. Details coming soon! Is your government open or closed? If you are following the battles in Bastrop over governance and development, or live in the city, make sure you read today's post, Don't miss the link to the post by Bastropians for Open Government. We encourage you to do something similar in your community and we're happy to help: Have you ever been asked to run for political office?

Ross Perot, 1992 Note: You've been put on notice by mail and signs are all over town. It appears that the City of Bastrop is rushing public hearings, starting next Monday (Feb. 17) to implement major changes in the zoning code. These hearings begin three days after the closing of the filing deadline (this Friday) to run for Cty Council. The hearings also come weeks BEFORE the May 3rd election. Make sure you read this article below and this one too, " A Fix Without a Problem ," from Bastrop BOG, Bastropians for Open Government. Please consider yourself asked to file to run for City Council before 5 pm this coming Friday, February 14. (Details below) Attend the meetings, ask questions, and don't allow anyone to give you the bum's rush on your property. Need more information? Call us at 512.213.4511 or email LIV at contact@livtx.org . Have you ever been asked to run for political office? Many elected officials, when asked why they ran, answer that someone asked them to run. Consider yourself asked! If you live in the city of Bastrop, please run for Bastrop City Council, which includes the Mayor's seat recently vacated by Lyle Nelson . The filing deadline is next Friday, February 14, at 5 pm. The election is May 3. I, Linda Curtis, have asked several people to run in the City of Bastrop. They all said the same thing. They just don’t want to get involved in the “mess”. Let me tell you good people in the City of Bastrop might just get the government you deserve. This may sound harsh, but I mean it. Whether you like it or not, if you live in Bastrop, you're already in the mess.   The long bitter fight (resulting in costly investigations, harm to Lyle Nelson's reputation, and harm to the office of Mayor) led to Lyle’s resignation. Though we did not want Lyle to go, we understand why. Lyle became a punching bag as if he was the issue, not the tyranny of the majority's abuse of power, including the power of the City Manager's purse and the real gold in Bastrop -- its development decisions. Now, only the voters -- with some good candidates running -- can solve this as it should be. If you ignore what is happening, you will only see more of what happened on November 21, 2024, when a shameless mob repeatedly ignored the Mayor and shouted down Council Member Cheryl Lee. At the start of this meeting, Mayor Pro-Tem John Kirkland (currently serving as Interim Mayor) proceeded with a public interrogation of one of the most respected city attorneys in Texas, Alan Bojorquez . Bojorquez resigned within 3 days. NOTE: We continue to await an opinion from the Attorney General about whether the city can hide the communications between Kirkland and Bojorquez during those 3 days. The AG's opinion is due on or before March 7. We repeat : Friday, February 14, at 5 pm is the filing deadline for candidates to run for Bastrop City Council, including Mayor. Place 1 is currently held by Cheryl Lee. Place 5 is currently held by John Kirkland. The Mayor's seat (just one year of the remaining term) has a filing deadline of March 3 . All three races will be on the ballot on Saturday, May 3. So far, only Councilman Kirkland has filed for his seat, Place 5. Perry Lowe has filed for Place 1. We do not know what Cheryl Lee’s plans are, but wish her well in her decision. The first time Kirkland ran three years ago, he had no opposition. In all honesty, I wish he would do the right thing and decline to run again.   Disney's Pinocchio (1940) stopped lying and his wish to become a real boy came true. I wish John Kirkland would stop telling stories and become a real man by stepping down. Note: LIV, has published 15 articles that attempt to give you the unvarnished truth that other publications have failed to give. Click on Pinocchio to see the full list of articles, and do your homework, Bastrop! And feel free to comment on any of our articles or to reach us at 512.213.4511 or contact@livtx.org PS I cannot run because I live a few blocks outside the city.

Senator Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham), Senate District 18 (2017) Say what you will Lois Kolkhorst , but if any Texas legislator could tell TCEQ what to do, she would be the one. State Senator Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) and State Representative Stan Gerdes (R-Smithville) , sent this letter (also see Giddings Times & News article below) to the TCEQ Commissioners  (Texas Commission for Environmental Quality) urging them to overrule the TCEQ Executive Director's decision not to hold a meeting about the planned "slop dump" in Lincoln, Texas coming from Austin. We at LIV attended a meeting in December  held in the tiny town of Lincoln (Lee County) with hundreds of people from the potentially affected rural communities. We agree with the concerns, especially about the potential contamination of the water supply impacting Lee County and many others.   Senator Kolkhorst has walked an ever-thinning political line as both a water champion and advocate for open government, and a key ally of Lt. Governor Dan Patrick . She delivered big-time for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's failed and distracting "bathroom bill" legislative sessions in 2017 that appalled most everyone except the faction of the now highly factionalized GOP that has inserted a narrow social agenda into the GOP.   We Texans of all stripes are just trying to live here, where a fundamental need -- water -- is clearly under duress. (See Ag Commissioner, Sid Miller on WFAA-TV interview ). What are the chances positive deal-making will take place on something so basic as water policy in this Legislative Session now underway through June 2? The GOP bigwigs seem far too busy in-fighting for power and spending even more than $11B on immigration already (a federal issue!) when water policy requires a massive investment, and buy-in, aka consensus building.   Meanwhile, some Texas leaders want it all: mass industrialization*, rapid in-migration population growth (other than poor folks from south of the border, of course), and perhaps the chaos required to get their way. We also know the Dems are in turmoil and dysfunction. See today's article by independent journalist, Lee Fang, “ T he “DNC Chair Election Suggests Democrats Have Learned Nothing .” Common sense and caution are unlikely without a practical, peaceful, and expansionary change in our politics. This is why LIV exists and just might be our only way out of the 1 - 1 equation. LIV is holding regular meetings and forums on Zoom . See our Events page here .   A little begging is in order. LIV needs your help to develop as the place for 6.5 million Texans who do not party identify. Please become a member of LIV today. ___________________ *Note: This Texas 2036 one-pager on AI is cautionary about the water and energy demands for data centers of which there are already 279. Their energy and water demands are extraordinary, especially in light of a rapidly changing picture for AI. We thank the Giddings Times & News for their regular coverage of Lee County's ongoing battles to protect their water and landowners. Page Two, Giddings Times Article, State Leaders Pushing for public hearing