Hampton Inn tax abatement rescinded, no tax abatement for Best Western




With a unanimous vote, on Feb. 16 Pleasanton City Councilmembers rescinded the tax abatement that they had granted to the Hampton Inn (next to the Atascosa Market) back in December. Comprising the council are Mayor Clinton J. Powell, Jimmy Magel (Dist. 1), Abraham Saenz (Dist. 2), Janet M. Jackson (Dist. 3), J.R. Gallegos (Dist. 4), Roger G. Garza (Dist. 5) […]

Political Cartoon



The Way I See It

Leap Day

What are you going to do with this extra day today? We all wish at times that we had more hours in a day or days in a week (well at the least the weekend) to accomplish tasks, meet a deadline or enjoy our time. Well, we are in luck. Because every four years (well almost – I’ll get to […]

A Tale of Two Streets…or why you should vote for initiatives #1 & #2 in the May 12th Election



This is a tale of two streets which carry the same name . . . the 100 block of Main Street. The First Street: We all can remember the vibrant and meaningful 100 block of Main Street which hustled and bustled with business activity “back in the day,” primarily due to two important Pleasanton stores: Williams Hardware and Dowdy Clothing. […]

State Capital Highlights

Court favors landowners in water rights case

A Texas Supreme Court opinion delivered last week in the case Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Day can be boiled down to this: the rights of property owners to the water under their land outweighs governmental control of access to that water. Justice Nathan Hecht, author of the opinion dated Feb. 22, wrote that the landowners have a constitutionally protected interest […]

Texas Politics

Schools could be big grassroots issue in U. S. Senate race

Democrat Paul Sadler is taking dead aim at Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst — trying to make him run as though he were seeking re-election, two years early. But Dewhurst, of course, like Sadler, is running for the U.S. Senate – this year, instead of in 2014. Sadler spent a dozen years in the Texas House of Representatives – six as […]

On the Edge of Common Sense

The Ten Percent

Ten percent of the people do 90% of the work And they get to do it for nuthin’! And that’s not the only perk, They’re asked to donate to causes, contribute their cash and their time, Get up early, usually stay late, and always claim they don’t mind. They serve on boards and commissions, participate in the potluck, Bring snacks […]

Writer’s Roost

Odds, ends, anomalies and maybe some nonsensical

Every so often, I go through a collection I call my “ideas file.” Sometimes, I can’t make heads nor tails out of a note. Often I can’t remember what idea prompted me to make a particular note for a column. The actual note is in italics in this column. Hmmm. So, here’s a mish-mash of notes. • With regard to […]

Edward Jones welcomes program on Eagle Ford Shale



Brian M. Youngberg, CFA, is a senior area analyst covering energy and utilities for Edward Jones. He has worked with companies in these industries for several years, performing equity research, assigning credit ratings and providing corporate banking services. Odis White, Financial Advisor at the Pleasanton Edward Jones invites the public to a free program featuring Youngberg. He will be speaking […]

Workshop on tax abatement, other incentive programs




Prior to the Feb. 16 regular council meeting, Pleasanton City Manager Bruce Pearson led a workshop to discuss tax abatement and other economic incentive programs. He discussed the various programs cities can utilize to attract or enhance the chance of new development within its municipal boundaries. These programs have evolved and become more and more prevalent in recent years. Economic […]