Guest Columns

‘Rasberry’ ants the last thing we needed
One of the worst ideas we as a species have ever had is that it would be nice to have animals or plants from one part of the world in another part of the world where they are foreign.
March 19, 2010 - By John Arvin

Census decides who gets what
THE FRONT DOOR — I’m waiting for my U.S. Census form. You’ll get one, too. You must fill it out under penalty of prison, but don’t forget to list your entire cell block as dependents.
March 12, 2010 - By Lynn Ashby

Go native for spring planting
Spring is upon us, and I have been looking at all the tempting plants at the local nurseries to replace the ones that didn’t make it through last year’s drought and this year’s extraordinarily cold winter.
March 12, 2010 - By Karen Barrett

Ring of Honor plans are badly misguided
The Ring of Honor committee refuses to consider any changes to “their” memorial. I petition our county judge, Joe King, and his Commissioners Court to instruct the committee to get “our” memorial historically complete and accurate.
March 09, 2010 - By Robert A. Brown

Trail maps guide visitors to Gulf Coast
Texas is a leader in nature tourism. Its Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail maps were the first of their kind in the nation.
March 05, 2010 - Special to The Facts

UT student changed the Constitution
In this time of governmental turmoil, we must thank the Founding Fathers for drawing up a Constitution that is one of the most inspiring documents of all time, debated, pushed, cajoled and/or signed by extraordinary Americans such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison and, of course, Gregory Watson.
March 05, 2010 - By Lynn Ashby

My 1st Great Backyard Bird Count
I work at a bird sanctuary, so I decided to use the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory property in Lake Jackson as my “backyard” for the annual February count last weekend.
February 19, 2010 - By Reba Craft

It’s nesting time for colonial waterbirds
Colonial nesting waterbirds are a special group of birds, and we have many of them here in Texas.
February 12, 2010 - By Susan Heath

Teens renew faith of judge as future leaders
Teen One worried about his older brother’s drug dealings. Teen Two told of his family’s struggles when his mom went to prison. Teen Three said schoolmates taunted her when she wanted to do well in her studies. Another teen talked of trying to overcome his shyness.
January 18, 2010 - By Linda Winder

Local historians have wealth of knowledge
Well, sadly, the area recently lost another local historian, Joe McAda.
January 06, 2010 - By Guest Columnist

Planting seeds of knowledge
My students from last year were studying the thematic unit about spring; we studied the life cycle of the plant. As part of a closure hands-on activity, we planted some gourd seeds a plant in the same family of the pumpkin; with origins that can be tracked to Africa, and later on brought to Brazil and to other parts of the world.
November 30, 2009 - By Javier Montiel

Texans have a lot to do if we want to secede
There’s been some discussion whether Texas has the right to secede from the United States. Don’t worry, when we quit sending the billions of dollars in tax money we send to the Feds every year, I’m thinking they’ll figure it out.
November 26, 2009 - By Guest Columnist

Gov’t lobbying to weaken Open Meetings Act
Open government is fundamental to our democratic system and essential for elected officials to be responsible and accountable to the people they serve.
November 20, 2009 - By Guest Columnist

A clean air milestone
It’s time to recognize a significant achievement for the people of the Houston/Galveston/Brazoria region. Although figures are not yet final, it looks as if the Houston area will be in attainment of the 85 parts per billion, eight-hour ozone standard at the end of the year. That is 10 years ahead of the attainment deadline of 2019.
November 13, 2009 - By Guest Columnist

Crosswalks a concern for students
This story could become a reality near Brazosport High School because there are no controlled crosswalks. There is no crossing guard, and children walk across the highways at their own peril.
November 09, 2009 - By Chase Hosier-Nollman