Archive for December 12th, 2012

Speaking of Christmas…

Wednesday, December 12th, 2012

The president of the Christmas Bureau of Austin and Travis County was back in jail Wednesday – on new charges unrelated to allegations of financial improprieties involving the nonprofit that has supplied Christmas presents to needy families.

He was stopped after running a red light, “nitially declined to provide his identity” until the cops said they’d fingerprint him, and, oh, by the way, the police also searched his car and found meth.

Also:

…a Travis County judge ordered the organization to close, to disable its website and PayPal account and to stop any other business dealings.

Interesting. I can, as of 8:11 PM local time on December 12, 2012, pull up their website. I can also click on the big “PayPal” button, but doing that results in a message from PayPal stating “This recipient is currently unable to receive money.”

(Previously.)

Banana republicans followup: December 12, 2012.

Wednesday, December 12th, 2012

Christmas is coming, so let me give you a gift that keeps on giving.

A while back, I noted the case of San Fernando councilman Mario Hernandez and councilwoman Maribel de la Torre. In brief, the two were involved in an extra-marital affair that went sour, there were accusations of domestic violence by both parties, Hernandez later asked that his charges against de la Torre be withdrawn, and the DA refused.

Ms. de la Torre (who, along with Mr. Hernandez, is no longer a councilperson) went on trial today.

The charges were dismissed “after Deputy Dist. Atty. Ruby Arias announced that she would not be able to proceed”.

Why couldn’t she proceed?

…the alleged victim, former San Fernando Mayor Mario Hernandez, failed to appear despite a bench warrant issued for his arrest.

It seems pretty clear that this was a deliberate act on the part of Hernandez. The thing I wonder about (because I am not a lawyer) is: what now? With the charges dismissed, is there still an active bench warrant for Hernandez? Can he still be hauled before a judge? If so, could he face contempt charges? Can the charges be re-filed if Hernandez is found? The dismissal was “without prejudice” so I think the answer to that last question is “yes”, but, again, I Am Not A Lawyer.

I also wonder if this is really worth pursuing any more. It appears that Hernandez doesn’t want it pursued, I’m sure de la Torre is delighted by this turn of events, and both of them (along with the mayor) are no longer in office. Should the DA just call it an unfortunate series of events and move on?

Obit watch: December 12, 2012.

Wednesday, December 12th, 2012

The great Ravi Shankar. (LAT. NYT. A/V Club.)

When I was in school the first time around, I became a big Ravi Shankar fan. I went to see him in concert when he came through Austin, and bought several of his albums. “Live at Monterey – 1967“, as it turned out, was a great way to annoy Lawrence. (Don’t feel sorry for him: Lawrence had, and has, his own ways of getting back at me.)

Edited to add: updated with the A/V Club obit. Also: A/V Club obit for Reinhold Weege, creator of “Night Court”.