Too Little Too Late, Rick !

Politics

July 25, 2006, 10:46PM
Perry backs funding for parks

By GARY SCHARRER
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

AUSTIN — A sporting goods tax that Texas voters approved in the early 1990s should fund state parks as originally intended, Gov. Rick Perry said Tuesday amid escalating criticism over the deteriorating conditions at the facilities.

The tax generates slightly more than $100 million a year. But revenue from it for parks is capped at $32 million and the Parks and Wildlife Department doesn't get all of that because legislators keep dipping into the fund for other uses.


"It's been substantially limited and used for general revenue which, I will tell you, I'm for using it for parks," the governor said.

Perry's desire to use the sporting goods tax for its intended purpose delighted Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville. Hilderbran has been working for years to lift the revenue cap.

"Texas state parks are in dire shape, close to disaster," Hilderbran said.

Some of the state's 114 parks "are embarrassing," he said. Declining budgets from $253 million in 2004 to $197 million this fiscal year have resulted in staff cuts, reduced operating hours, deferred maintenance, old equipment and a vehicle fleet averaging 10 years old. To raise money, Parks and Wildlife officials nearly sold 46,000 acres of Big Bend Ranch State Park last year until public outrage forced them to back down.

Perry's support should help Hilderbran win legislative support to increase parks funding, the veteran lawmaker said.

Hilderbran said he's not sure whether legislation he plans to push during next year will increase the $32 million cap or abolish it and direct all sporting good tax revenue to the Parks and Wildlife Department.

The deterioration of state parks will be a campaign issue this year for gubernatorial and legislative candidates, said Glenn Smith, head of the Texas Progress Council, an Austin-based public interest group.

Smith criticized the park department's recent transfer of 12,000 acres of the Big Bend's Black Gap Wildlife Area to the General Land Office. Although the state agency rejected one bid for the property, Smith fears that state leaders may eventually sell the land.

"The Perry folks are acting like a bunch of spoiled kids who inherited a vast and wonderful estate. And rather than earning money off the land, they're selling it off for short-term pocket change," Smith said. "Perry is squandering Texas' resources, and he's mismanaging those resources that he's not squandering."

Assessing the use and value of state land is a common sense approach, the governor said, adding any notion that "no park in perpetuity could ever be sold is bad public policy."

Selling a little-used park to help improve other parks deserves debate, Perry said.

Austin Bureau reporter Peggy Fikac contributed to this report.

gscharrer@express-news.net

source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/4072194.html
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Note from Steve,

Is Rick Perry a star in "Titan Quest" ? It appears he's a "hack 'n' slash kind of Governor where "Greed is Good". Follow the money and follow his record !

VIDEO-GAME REVIEW

In Greek mythology hack 'n' slash, greed is good

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Some video games challenge one's luck; others require hand-eye coordination. "Titan Quest" takes another approach by challenging players' endurance — and tempting their greed.

This new role-playing video game will take weeks to complete, even on the initial easy setting.

In a world of Greek mythology, you play as a human who somehow gets stuck with the job of setting the world right after Titans escape from their underworld confinement to take revenge on humanity.

When the game begins, you have to create a hero or heroine to lead into battle. From this point, "Titan Quest" is addictively simple: You travel from one area to another, killing everything you can and gathering up all the precious items dropped by foes.

For the really hard areas (and there are plenty as the game progresses) you'll need to hop online and team up with others in free multiplayer mode to defeat some of the baddest boss monsters.

It's awfully hard to use, but the creators of "Titan Quest" wisely included special software to design your own custom game levels and quests.

— Matt Slagle, Associated Press

source: http://www.statesman.com/life/content/life/stories/other/07/25digital.html