Battleship Texas Closing for Repairs

News Release
Media Contact: Mike Cox, 512-389-8046, mike.cox@tpwd.state.tx.us

June 15, 2012

HOUSTON — The Battleship Texas, which has been stabilized since the historic vessel sprang a significant leak a week ago, will be closed to the public starting Monday until repairs can be completed.

"The closure will be for the duration of the salvage company and dive team repairs, a process we hope will take no more than a week," said Andy Smith, Battleship Texas State Historical Site superintendent.

Currently, the ship is stable with a 1- to 2-degree list to the port and an estimated water inflow rate of less than 100 gallons per minutes. Earlier this week, the rate was 850 gpm, Smith said.

Clean-up of

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Gov. Rick Perry released a statement regarding the Obama Administration's immigration announcement:

Friday, June 15, 2012  •  Austin, Texas  •  Press Release

"The Obama Administration's election-year tactic to bypass Congress and arbitrarily grant amnesty to potentially millions of illegal immigrants is another example of its blatant disregard for our Constitution, our rule of law and our democratic process. The laws of this nation are not open to selective, convenient or political interpretation; they are the very foundation of our freedom, and the protections they guarantee make our nation strong and attractive to immigrants around the world - millions of whom abide by our laws and processes and seek legal entry. These are decisions that should be

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Museum of the Pacific – Re-enactor Daze

by Celia Hayes

Among the attractions of Fredericksburg, the queen of the Hill Country is the Museum of the Pacific War. Ever since I started visiting the Hill Country (shortly after coming to settle in a tiny suburban San Antonio home) in 1995, the Museum has been expanding by leaps and bounds. On my very first visit it seemed that everything was pretty much contained within the old Nimitz hotel, the steam-boat shaped edifice at the corner of Main and Washington, with the Japanese peace garden out around in back. At a slightly later date, there was a open-sided shed with sides of chain link, down across Town Creek which contained some large and small relatively indestructible exhibits ... but that was it.

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Fredericksburg Adventures in Auctions

by Celia Hayes

We haven't found anything good in a while, there are few spectacular big sales on the calendar, and our favorite thrift stores have been milked dry ... so last weekend we explored a new venue: an estate auction. We had seen auctions on history channel shows, and had the the impression that they were cut-throat and expensive propositions, wherein one could get easily carried away, or accidentally bid on an item by scratching your ear at an inopportune moment. Still, I don't know why we had never done this before; lack of time and opportunity, probably.

A friend of ours in Fredericksburg let us know of one, run by a local Fredericksburg auctioneer, on Saturday at the American Legion Hall. So, we

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The Importance of Pre-statehood Land Grants In Texas History, And How It Affects Texas Property Rights and Titling Today

By Misty Barton of Degree Jungle

Texas has a rich and diverse history that is specifically linked to the giving and taking of land within its borders. Texas is the only American state that was ever its own sovereign nation. Understanding how land grants were used to settle and populate Texas before its statehood is essential to understanding modern property ownership and land sectioning in the state. Spanish Conquest
The Spanish court claimed Texas beginning in 1519, but did not truly show interest in settling the area of assigning land ownership until the late 1600s. The Spanish natives who were inhabiting Mexico viewed…

Game 5 Belongs to the Visitors

by Randy Watson

The San Antonio Spurs have seen better days. I am not sure if the Spur's fans would rather see their team lose in person, at home, or on TV, but they lost nonetheless and a loss is a loss regardless of the location. The Spurs started out well and took a quick lead but that lead slowly evaporated as the Thunder took control and eventually won 108 to 106.

Ibaka not the Man Tonight

The San Antonio Spurs did not have to worry about Serge Ibaka shooting perfectly this time around as he finished with only 9 points. But he still went 4-6 from the floor and those are pretty good numbers for a big man who is not the go-to player within the Thunder's offense, or any offense for that matter.

Pass the Ball

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What happened to the Spurs?

by Randy Watson

You have to score points to win in basketball; even someone who does not follow the game knows this. The Spurs were hammered by their Mid-west nemesis the Oklahoma City (OKC) Thunder. The Spurs were stomping the Thunder just like they have trashed every team they have played up until now. That is right, the Spurs were undefeated in this 2012 playoff tournament but ran into a juggernaut in this Thursday night game losing by 20 points, 102 to 82. Yes, points matter in basketball and the Spurs did not score than many of them.

The Thunder Started off Hot

There are many reasons the Spurs were defeated. It does not help that their All-Star center and/or power forward Tim Duncan only shot 5 of 15 from the

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Road Trip: Bergheim

by Celia Hayes

The name 'bergheim' means – if I remember my several years of high school and college German correctly – 'mountain home'. Strictly speaking, although the beating urban heart of Bergheim, Texas, is not anywhere near a mountain that I would recognize as such, (having lived at the foot of the Wasatch Range in Utah, or from living in the foothills of California's San Gabriels) it is pleasingly situated at the top of a substantial rise in the Hill Country, and a pleasant drive north from San Antonio. Especially, if you take 46 to get there; either east from Boerne, or west from Bulverde; the road rambles through rolling country, sparsely scattered with small ranches and housing developments, groves of trees, campgrounds

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South Texas Energy Utility Bill Saving Secrets!

We're coming up on that time of year again, you can feel it. It even feels like the sun just loves to shine a little too much on this state. With temperatures brutally scorching into the 110's at times in June, July and August you can notice a loud buzzing noise outside, it's that beautiful sound of all the air conditioners just humming, some all day, every day. This is also the same noise as money going down the drain. The only heat we like to feel in San Antonio is the Spurs heating up as they go into the conference finals against OKC.

Now what you may not be familiar with is all the little secrets that can hack away at that electric bill of yours. Coming into June you know you're going to war with

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It's New, It's Huge, It's Buc-ee's New Braunfels!

by Celia Hayes Click photos to enlarge

Since we are somewhat experienced as long-haul road-trippers, we are – thankyouverymuch – aficionados of those beside-the-highway establishments set up to offer gas, food, conveniences, or even just a place to pull over to stretch one's legs and let the dog romp for a bit. Some of these places – like the Pilot Travel Centers and Flying J truck plazas – offer (or did offer, the last time we checked) amazing coffee, with half-and-half on tap, not those nasty little mini-containers of liquid chalk. And when I was stationed at Hill AFB in Ogden, Utah, we always used to calculate our commute to Southern California on I-15 to include a breakfast or lunch stop

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