The March 18-19 edition of the Herald-Zeitung featured a New York Times article entitled “Who benefits from ongoing confrontations with China?” The article cites changes in US policy regarding the Chinese Communist Party that demand closer inspection.
Over my 40 years in healthcare, I have observed that access to medical and dental care is not easily available to everyone. In fact, Texas leads the nation in uninsured residents. A staggering 5.2 million Texans, 18.4 percent of the state’s population, lack access to medical insurance accord…
I read an article printed under “TEXAS NEWS” in our newspaper on March 7. I scanned it and gave it little scrutiny. But something nagged me to reread it. When I did, I was embarrassed by my nonchalance and intellectual laziness for not reading more profoundly into what the article reported.
In the 18th century the famous French author, Jean Jacques Rousseau, published his “Confessions.” His goal was a noble one: to give a full account of himself as a unique human being. His work may comprise a moment in history where our current blurring of fact and fiction began. He wrote that…
As I’m sure everyone is aware by now, there was an alleged incident of inappropriate behavior between a student and high school teacher. NBPD is currently investigating this incident and NBISD has placed the teacher on administrative leave, according to an email sent by Mr. Chris Smith, prin…
Recently, I received a bunch of social media posts urging me to help protect kids from woke indoctrination by endorsing parental rights and school choice. These posts bring back many, not very pleasant memories.
Conservation requires of us all a great deal of attention, care, utilization of resources and continuous effort. This reflection takes on an emphasis on “Conservation Easements.” Folks with the good fortune as owners of a considerable acreage, whether purchased or passed to them as legacy, a…
Thank you to those residing in Comal County for supporting the Rock Haus Foundation as we develop programs to serve those with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) throughout the county.
As the war in Ukraine begins its second year, a new Fox News poll shows Americans divided nearly down the middle over how much and how long the United States should support Ukraine in its war against Russian invaders.
Growing up in the South, Jenn Budd was raised to believe in God and country.
My mother-in-law was a woman of firm opinions that she shared freely. When, from time to time, she was challenged with clear evidence to the contrary, she would give a hearty laugh and say, “I suppose I shall grow fat from eating crow.” The dictionary defines “eating crow” as admitting to ha…
The United States is dealing with an unprecedented supply chain crisis that continues to hurt our economy, imperil our national security, and create shortages of everyday products.
In February of 2018, The NBISD Long Range Facilities Committee made a recommendation, that was approved unanimously by the Board of Trustees, to call a bond election that included the demolition of the old NBHS Ninth Grade Center and the construction of a new elementary school at that site t…
This Feb. 14, 2023, the League of Women Voters US (LWVUS) celebrated 103 years of empowering voters and defending democracy. One of America’s oldest and most trusted civic nonprofit organizations, the LWV is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization working to protect and expand voting rights a…
A friend and I recently visited on Zoom. Our conversation meandered into the topics of happiness and joy and whether they were two terms for the same feeling.
In its infinite wisdom, Congress let the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) die a silent death after having had it on the front burners for the past couple of years. I hope our industry is not doing the same.
My early boyhood included long observational pauses as coastal showers frequented many days. From our city porch in New Orleans, I studied the rapid flows for better, faster navigation for little ships I prepared when drainage ditches filled. From our grandfather’s porch on his farmstead, I …
The folks we selected to conduct our business are now gathered in Austin to deal with that business. Their primary responsibility over the next months is to assemble a budget to allocate public funds to priority issues over the next two years. Hopefully, their priorities will match ours.
Online applications are now open for several scholarships with New Braunfels Community Foundation, including the three large GVTC Foundation Scholarships:
In the 1973 landmark case Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court applied the core constitutional principles of privacy and liberty to a person’s ability to terminate a pregnancy.
This year marks the 50th anniversary since Roe v. Wade. Obviously, this year people gathered in Washington, D.C. for the March for Life with a new focus, as the Supreme Court threw out Roe v. Wade, the decision that made legal abortion the law of the land, last year.
And now, here’s a preview of coming attractions!
One of the things people say they’ve missed about my writing for The Daily News since my retirement in 2011 were the periodic columns I wrote about books.
As the New Year begins to grow legs and venture forth into uncertainty, there is for many of us a patterned pull to engage some repair work to our lives that may repeat what we pledged to improve on from last year. It can take the form of a resolution, a renovation, or a fix-up.
It is fascinating and impressive to note among long-tenured citizens and newcomers the appreciation for key attractions and benefits of our springs and watershed gifts here in Comal County. The springs and rivers provide livelihoods and essential water sources for much more than the popular …
I was pondering why I rarely make New Year’s resolutions and, when I do make them, why they are so hard to keep. I concluded that such resolutions are, by definition, very self-centered. They are almost always focused on actions I should take or changes I should make to improve myself or my …
The New Braunfels Chamber of Music will be offering a series of concerts beginning Jan. 20 through April 28, 2023. The concerts will be presented at the Unitarian Universalists of New Braunfels, 135 Alves Lane, beginning at 7 p.m.
It’s January, the close of the holiday season, a time when we often evaluate the past and look to the future. It’s also a time when we feel empathetic to the people around us. It’s a good time to think about people who are less fortunate, the poor.
The Edwards Aquifer, source of Comal Springs, is recognized as one of the most prolific karst aquifer systems in the world. Storm water enters and travels through the system with amazing speed, allowing for rapid recharge of this elegant water source.
In the autumn of 1994, the highly Catholic city of Boston felt like a powder keg. Pro-life groups held protests outside abortion clinics, and filled the media with calls to stop murdering children while opponents answered with shouts of their own about a woman’s right to choose. So begins th…
Located on a hidden rock wall deep within a canyon of the Pecos River in Southwest Texas is an ancient prehistoric mural, some 13 feet tall and 26 feet wide. Known as the White Shaman Mural, this stunning, fantastical pictograph was created as long ago as 1740-2500 B.C. in a tradition today …
We all want to stretch our dollars, making sure we get the most value for our money. Especially when it comes to charitable giving.
The second anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection is not far off.
A friend inquired of me recently as to whether I was “learning anything special” in spending time and thought with conservation-minded people. My response was, “O, my yes!” We then proceeded to have an interesting discussion about qualities of giving and long-term impacts we may find along t…
We’ve taken our -isms too far.
As we break out the coats for the chilly fall mornings, the rainfall we normally receive around this time of year has been spotty at best. Lawns in New Braunfels received around 23 more inches of rain by this time last year, which keeps us firmly in Stage 3 of our drought ordinance, and incl…
You’ve probably already noticed, but cases of influenza are spreading like wildfire throughout Comal County, along with the rest of the country. This is unusual; we normally don’t see levels like this until December or January. This year, the influenza wave hit us two months early!
Who has not occasionally paused to wonder about something or someone, some circumstance, some situation, that gathers mystery around it? For over 30 years I have written most mornings in my journal. As a prompt, I write about what wishes to be remembered from yesterday. It takes only a few s…
Holidays are funny things. Most of them hit on different days of the week each year so you have to alter your planning for them all the time. Thanksgiving, though, is always on the fourth Thursday in November and you can usually get that Friday off from work as well. A four-day weekend durin…
It was many decades ago that I became introduced to the term drought. It was our good fortune as a family to spend summers and numerous weekends at our grandparents’ coastal farmstead. A stretch of “very dry months” in that otherwise tropical zone required attention to domestic animals and p…
Robert Lafollette, or “Fighting Bob” as he was known, is the most revered politician in the history of my native state of Wisconsin. Over a long career in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, he held several offices. He was a prolific author, even founding a magazine that is st…
