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Sylvan Learning reaching into communities
With "Walking With Dinosaurs" promotion
A.D. Ibarra
-San Antonio,, TX
The Sylvan Learning Centers in San Antonio have been utilizing the technology they have been using for decades to prepare future professional to promote a very important aspect of childhood development, reading and literacy.
Their latest venture, Walking With Dinosaurs, is going into the community to give children learning opportunities when they're winding down during the Christmas holidays with incentives for the top five students from each of the 46 elementary schools in the Northeast Independent School District who garner the most points by reading quality children's literature in the comfort of their own homes.
Staff
-Eagle Pass
Senator Carlos Uresti has written a letter to the Fort Worth District of the US Army Corps of Engineers on behalf of the citizens of Maverick County, urging the Corps to hold a public meeting in Eagle Pass. The purpose of this meeting would be to explain the Corps of Engineers' proposal to write a Regional Environmental Impact Statement that would facilitate the expansion of existing surface coal mines all across Texas. In Maverick County, the proposal is to expand the existing Dos Republicas mine permit area from the existing 6,346 acres (10 square miles) to 25,000 acres (40 square miles) in the next 15 years- an area about six times the size of Eagle Pass itself. "Senate District 19 spreads over a vast area of South and West Texas that could be affected by such mining operations," stated Uresti, "More than 35,000 square miles covering all or part of 17 counties, and it is crucial that my constituents be kept informed and have a role in this process." The lawsuit by Maverick County, the City of Eagle Pass, the Maverick County Hospital District and the Maverick County Environmental and Public Health Association against the Railroad Commission of Texas is proceeding in State District Court. The court is being asked to reverse the decision of the Railroad Commission to grant Dos Republicas Coal Partnership a permit to operate its mine. The hearing on this case will be held on February 25, 2014 in Austin. "Unfortunately, many who live in Maverick County did not receive timely notice for this meeting in Uvalde (On December 3, 2013). This is an important issue for the people of Maverick County, where the imminent reopening of the Dos Republicas Mine threatens to bring water and air pollution challenges, and their voices deserve to be
NOMAAN MERCHANT, Associated Press
DALLAS (AP) —
A Texas woman and former actress pleaded guilty Tuesday to sending ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, under a deal that her attorney has said would cap prison time at 18 years.
Shannon Guess Richardson entered her plea in federal court in Texarkana, Texas, to a federal charge of possessing and producing a biological toxin.
Richardson was arrested in June after authorities said she tried to implicate her ex-husband, Nathan Richardson, after he had filed for divorce. Prosecutors say Shannon Richardson mailed three letters from New Boston, outside Texarkana, then went to police and claimed that her husband had done it.
The letter to Obama, according to a federal indictment, said: "What's in this letter is nothing compared to what ive got in store for you mr president."
Prosecutors say investigators noted inconsistencies in Richardson's statements and later learned that she had purchased materials online to produce ricin, a toxin that can cause respiratory failure if inhaled.
Richardson, 35, has had minor roles in the television series "The Walking Dead" and the movie "The Blind Side." She also is the mother of six children — including one child born prematurely while she was in custody this year.
Her attorney, Tonda Curry, said last month that she and prosecutors agreed to a deal capping Richardson's sentence at 18 years. Prosecutors say Richardson faces life in prison for the charge to which she pleaded guilty.
A federal judge ultimately will sentence Richardson at a later sentencing hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.
"Shannon is anxious to admit her role in ordering the components to make the ricin, her role in the letters that contained the ricin, and to tell the government who else was involved in those offenses," Curry said.
Curry did not say more about Richardson's possible motives or whom she might name.