eChaser: January 2015 / p3

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Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas update: The 2nd Court of Appeals ruled that the Tarrant Regional Water District did not violate the Texas Open Meetings Act when it discussed a massive 149-mile pipeline project that will bring water from East Texas to Fort Worth and Dallas. Dallas businessman Monty Bennett sued TRWD in 2013, arguing that the board circumvented the open meetings law by effectively making most of its decisions in two-person committees that the board then rubber stamped with little public discussion. Bennett is fighting TRWD’s attempts to use eminent domain to run a section of the pipeline through property that his ranch surrounds in Henderson County. Details. ... A coalition of powerful business and real estate organizations is gearing up to oppose any legislative attempt to require the mandatory disclosure of sales prices of Texas properties.Texas is one of about a dozen states that does not require such disclosure. Details. ... Greater Houston Partnership will terminate contracts with Houston, Harris County and surrounding governments, worth about $1 million a year, to avoid fulfilling public information requests. GHP president Bob Harvey said the group is terminating the deals “in part due to the misperception that we are somehow beholden to the government agencies by virtue of these contracts.” GHP has been an integral part of Houston’s economic development strategy for at least 20 years. Details. ... Members of the press will continue to be allowed on the House floor in the upcoming legislative session, but they will have to affirm that they do not lobby, according to procedures adopted by the legislative panel that manages operations of the Texas House. The normally routine credentialing of media organizations received more scrutiny than usual after the conservative group AgendaWise filed suit after being denied floor access in the last legislative session. Details.

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PEOPLE & PLACES

The Daily Beast, a self-proclaimed “smart, speedy take on the news from around the world,” named Dallas Morning News consumer watchdog Dave Lieber’s Aug. 9 piece on the murder of his friend Penny Terk one of American journalism’s best columns of 2014. The DB intones: “Sometimes a column has the economy and rhythm of a short story. Dave Lieber achieved that in his sketch of cold courtroom vengeance, signifying nothing: ‘He sits in a courtroom watching his trial for capital murder. I sit behind him. He killed my friend.’ It is a love and hate story. Elmore Leonard couldn’t have done it any better.”

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GET A JOB

The Corpus Christi Caller-Times seeks a multimedia journalist to work in the newsroom. Must have a journalism degree or equivalent experience. Create a profile to apply. ... The Autumn Leaves Long Term Care senior assistance facility seeks to fill a social media specialist, project manager – marketing and communications director position in the Fort Worth-Dallas-Irving area. E- résumé to Roeshaun Murry, rmurry@lasallegroup.com. ... The Morning Sun in Pittsburg, Kan. (billed as a great college town with a low cost of living), seeks a full-time community news reporter. Send résumé, cover letter and three clips (photos, too, if any) to anash@morningsun.net.

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NEW AND RETURNING MEMBERS

SPJ ... Dorothy Bland ... Joe Stout, Lockheed Martin ... Rick Choate, The Dallas Morning News

PRSA ... Randy Armstrong, Hardin Simmons University ... Nathan DeWitt,

Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors ... Taylor Michelle Fernandez, Staffelbach ... Olivia Fissel, TCU ... Andrea Hein, TCU ... Clayton Root, EECU ... Kristin Sullivan, UT Arlington ... Elaine Cole, TCU Neeley School of Business ... Megan Murphey, TCU

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PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Michelle Clark, Greater Fort Worth PRSA

As we shake off the dust of 2014 and embrace the promise of a new year, we begin the process of goal-setting and charting a strategic course. We are fortunate to have dynamic, diverse and accomplished officers and committee chairs, from whom I expect tremendous things. They are already developing programs and activities that will be relevant for our members.

But we can’t do it alone — neither the planning, nor the execution. We need your ideas, your energy. One of my chief goals this year is to boost committee participation; I encourage each of you to take ownership in the chapter and use your voice to help guide its direction.

To that end, the year’s first luncheon program will let you do just that. On Jan. 13 your leadership team will present its vision for 2015, and we covet your feedback. What have we missed? What is most significant for you? Where do we go from here? (Note that the date is a Tuesday rather than our typical Wednesday. You’ll notice more tweaks this year as we seek ways to increase attendance and involvement.)

The lionhearted Helen Keller said, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.” Never think your contribution too slight or your voice too faint. Together, we will accomplish great things in 2015. I look forward to watching each of you shine!

Speaking of lionhearted folks, immediate past president Richie Escovedo gets the last word today as he praises two of the chapter’s best and brightest. Take it away, Richie.

On Liz Heck, the chapter’s 2014 Unsung Hero, he writes: “Liz willingly shifted her volunteer service and role expectations when she stepped in and took over the treasurer’s position early on in the year after the position was left vacant from a member departure. She was my go-to source for chapter finances, having served in that same role last year, plus she’s on track for continued chapter leadership as the 2015 VP of membership/president-elect.”

And on Lesley Dupre, the 2014 Rising Star: “Lesley provided exceptional service to the chapter as this year’s digital media chair and sought ways to improve and amplify PRSA’s events and messages. We look forward to her continued leadership as she takes on a new role in 2015 as secretary.”

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OVER & OUT

John Dycus, Fort Worth SPJ

SPJ national has added a students community to its roster of outreach endeavors. Info here. Questions? Ideas? Contact campus representatives Jordan Gass-Poore or Brett Hall. ...

The revered AP Stylebook Online now comes at a 20 percent discount, thanks to an SPJ-Associated Press partnership. More here and here. Have your SPJ member ID ready when ordering (it’s on the label of your Quill magazine or on the SPJ website when you log in; or just call the SPJ office, 317-927-8000). ...

Thanks to all SPJers who mobilized on Twitter urging Sen. Jay Rockefeller to lift his hold on the Freedom of Information Act of 2014. After a social media blitz from SPJ, openthegovernment.org and other organizations, Rockefeller lifted the hold, but House Majority Leader John Boehner failed to put S.2520 on the legislative calendar. The bill fell victim to lobbyists, an unnecessary and unexpected hold in the Senate and jostling for position with other House bills prioritized above it in the final hours of this legislative session. It would have made government more open and accountable — things that are essential to a healthy democracy. Hopefully, sponsoring Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, and others who support open government will continue to fight for FOIA reform. More here and here. ... Prussian statesman Otto von Bismarck was right: Laws are like sausages. It's better not to see them being made. How the Cornyn-Leahy transparency bill suddenly died in Congress.

Caught my eye. New York State bans fracking for good. ... Business as usual: EPA wants clean air, Republicans fight it all the way. ... Toiletry chemicals linked to testicular cancer. ... New solar-powered invention can make sea water drinkable. ... World’s first urban algae canopy produces oxygen equivalent of four hectares of woodland every day. ... When life gives you jellyfish, turn them into paper towels and diapers! ... Navy powers model plane using fuel made from sea water.

Closing words: “I never said, ‘I want to be alone.’ I only said, ‘I want to be let alone!’ There is all the difference.” — actress Greta Garbo ... “I start in the middle of a sentence and move both directions at once.” — saxophonist John Coltrane ... “Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.” — H.G. Wells