Stuff I think. By Bill O'Neill. Since 2003.
Archive for December, 2006
You can’t make this stuff up…
Dec 26th
Civil Rights Groups Sue Over Rent Law
Dec 26 1:31 PM US/Eastern
By ANABELLE GARAY
Associated Press Writer
DALLAS
QUOTE: Two civil rights groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging a new law in a Dallas suburb that outlaws renting apartments to illegal immigrants, alleging the ordinance violates federal law and forces landlords to act as immigration officers.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund filed the suit on behalf of residents and landlords in Farmers Branch, just north of Dallas. It is the third lawsuit brought against the city since the ordinance passed in November.
The lawsuit claims the measure, scheduled to take effect Jan. 12, is so poorly drafted that it excludes even legal immigrants from renting.
Immigration enforcement must be left to the federal government, not each local municipality,” said Lisa Graybill, legal director of the ACLU of Texas. “Otherwise Texas will end up with a patchwork system that is impractical and unenforceable.”
Farmers Branch spokesman Tom Bryson said the city will not comment on pending litigation.
On Friday, the owners of three apartment complexes filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to declare the rent law unconstitutional. In another lawsuit filed earlier this month, a Farmers Branch resident alleged that the mayor repeatedly violated the state’s open meetings laws to deliberate the ordinances.
The new law calls for property managers or owners to verify the immigration or citizenship status of apartment renters. The City Council also approved resolutions making English the city’s official language and allowing authorities to become part of a federal program so they can enforce immigration laws.
Since 1970, Farmers Branch has changed from a small, predominantly white bedroom community with a declining population to a city of almost 28,000 people, about 37 percent of them Hispanic, according to the census.
More than 50 municipalities nationwide have considered, passed or rejected similar laws, but until now that trend hadn’t been duplicated in Texas.
Spare change
Dec 5th
Work is busy. School board is busy. EMS stuff is not too busy (a good thing). Tilly, one of our dogs, recently developed a taste for chicken. Live ones. Expensive ones. Tilly is still a works in progress….
What’s in a name?
Dec 5th
Glenn Beck just related a story from Denver that a school board out there is removing the term, “children-at-risk” from their vernacular and replacing with (wait for it….) “children-with-promise.” How far we have come from juvenile delinquency. How to best address the challenge of youth in our society today? Rename them.
Still here…
Dec 5th
It’s been awhile since my last post. I’ve been in a blog-slump. Time to dig-in and come up with some new material.
What Do You Say?