March 15, 2012
Island Moon
Legislative Update
My “It’s a Small World Experience” Dressed as Cher
Todd Hunter, District 32
New Study Charges Added To The 2012 Interim Speaker of the House Joe Straus on March 1st announced seven new interim charges to be studied by the Texas House of Representatives during the 2012 legislative interim. These new charges along with the previously released charges will result in recommendations that could form the basis for legislation to be considered during the next legislative session. House committees are each given several issues to study. These charges result in committee hearings being held over the course of the interim period (2012), these hearings give the public an opportunity to testify before the committees, thereby assisting in formulating possible legislation in the future. At the end of the interim, each committee will submit a formal report to the Speaker of the Texas House with recommendations on possible legislation. The following are the seven new charges given to the House Committees. If you would like a complete list of the study charges or if you would like more information about issues being studied by any particular committee, please don’t hesitate to call my Capitol office at 512-463-0672 or visit the Texas House of Representatives at www.house.state.tx.us. Here are the latest charges given to the standing House committees: House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence • Study current driving while intoxicated laws, examine enforcement options used nationwide, including requiring interlock devices after a first offense as well as current fees or fines, and make legislative recommendations. House Committee on Energy Resources • In addition to monitoring the implementation of HB 3328 (82R), continue to study the implications of hydraulic fracturing for the state’s energy needs, environmental policy, economic development, and other related priorities. Examine ways to ensure appropriate state and local regulation of hydraulic fracturing that matches the needs and conditions of Texas.
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Speaking Serbian in Port A was part of it
Coordinate with the House Committee on Natural Resources’ charge regarding water quantity and quality issues in oil and gas production, and with other committees, as necessary. House Committee on Insurance • Study the costs and benefits of mandates of coverage for health plans. Assess the impact to the state of current and future mandates in light of the provisions of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requiring states to assume the cost of certain mandates. House Committee on Administrative Procedures
Licensing
&
• Study all existing occupational licensing programs and determine their impact on consumers, competition, and the cost of services. Explore the extent to which new licensing programs are necessary. House Committee on State Affairs • Study how businesses seeking to provide goods or services to the state interact with state agencies. Consider whether additional procedures are needed to ensure that goods and services obtained by the state are the best value. Determine whether additional disclosure and reporting requirements are necessary to ensure transparency, accountability, and to promote ethical business practices. House Select Committee on State Sovereignty • Monitor developments regarding the Interstate Health Care Compact in other states and at the federal level. Offer appropriate recommendations to facilitate Texas’ participation in the compact if it is approved, including recommendations on the processes by which the state would consider its options under the compact and make related decisions. House Committee on Technology • Examine human resource policies of state agencies that would integrate the implementation of social media to strengthen the state’s workforce. If you have questions regarding any of the information mentioned in this article, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office. As always, my offices are available at any time to assist with questions, concerns or comments (Capitol Office, 512-463-0672; District Office, 361-949-4603).
Rep. Hunter represents Aransas, Calhoun, Nueces (Part) and San Patricio Counties. He can be contacted at todd. hunter@house.state.tx.us or at 512-463-0672.
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By Mary Craft aka Mirjana Krkljes
of the text that described me and my siblings. Milica Mataruga who wrote the text is someone I have known since I was a very small child.
I recently had an “it’s a small world experience” while dressed in my Cher costume. I was part of the Moon “60s” float in the Port A Mardi Gras parade. Afterward we went to the Tarpon Ice House for libations and live music. While checking out the music on the outdoor patio I heard someone make a Cher comment from behind. I literally stood out in my 3” baby blue platform boots that made me 6’3” tall. Interestingly the web site where I purchased the boots was for drag queens.
Milica and her family lived in my father’s 12 apartment building as did many other Serbs. The building was located in the inner city of Chicago where many undesirables lived which at that time was Eastern Europeans. “D.P.s”, a name used derogatorily for displaced persons, found it difficult to find a decent place to rent so it was a relief when one of their own had a place. Bragging The two men were here, but my father attractive so I did not bought the building hesitate walking up to after only four years of them and introducing working in a factory. myself. They were in town He was smart so he for two weeks working on became a tool and dye water pipeline inspection man and eventually a projects. Marc was manager which gave originally from California This picture was taken of me with my him a good retirement and now lives in Dallas. parents in our saloon when I was five. until he passed at age He was a cameraman in 86. He was able to do Hollywood for ten years and worked on movies and TV shows including repairs necessary to the building by reading Six Feet Under. The work did not provide a how-to books for plumbing and electrical work. steady income so he decided to do his camera It was funny when he would pronounce the “b” work inside pipes. He watches on a screen while in plumbing because it was there. In Serbian, a video camera floats through the pipe. The words are spelled phonetically so they do not waterline under the Laguna checked out fine but even teach spelling. The alphabet is the sound of the letter ergo if you know the alphabet you the one in Port A showed possible leaks. can read.
A Chicago Connection
Life in an inner city apartment building
The other man who had just arrived that day was The three story from Chicago as am I. building had three I asked whereabouts room furnished in Chicago and he apartments with shared said “Libertyville.” bathrooms in the halls. I answered “I am Our second floor Serbian and there is apartment was two a monastery there apartments combined where my family with a bathroom would go to picnics added. There was a during the summer.” corner saloon that There was such a look was a Serb gathering of surprise on his face place. The stairs at because he is also the back of the tavern Serbian. In fact, he My Dad took this family photo with his led to the basement was born in Belgrade Cadillac. Not sure which he was more proud where on weekends where I recently visited family. His of but he did get a new one every two years. there would be a pig and lamb roasting in a In the background you can see that the name is Dragan which is also my neighborhood was made up of mostly large pit. There were many large wooden barrels apartment buildings. older brother’s name. of homemade red He certainly did not wine my father made expect to meet a Serb in Port A and especially not two. A few days later he met ferry boat pilot from the many crates of grapes he bought at Mirko Latkovic who has lived in Port A since the Maxwell Street market. I so remember the smell of red wine in the basement and the 2001. grinders used at the top of each barrel to crush We talked about our traditions, the Bosnian the grapes. War and its ramifications, Kosovo, our home The huge basement also had a large pile of village refugees and on and on. I mentioned that my father was very involved in the Serbian coal that was delivered in a chute through one community in Chicago. For years he had a of the windows. The coal was delivered by Carl radio program on Sunday mornings called The the Coal Man where it was shoveled into the furnace to heat the building. I was fascinated by Serbian Radio Hour. the fire stoked inside when it was refilled.
My Serbian DJ Dad
On the first floor behind the saloon were a row of single rooms that shared a sink and stove in the hallway. They were rented by elderly Serbs who at age five taught me how to play cards, learn the alphabet and write my name. Unfortunately I got in big trouble when I wrote my name on the wall of the front entrance to the building.
I remember seeing my Dad spread his collection of 45s on the carpet to choose the songs he was going to play that day. During the program he would give the news, make announcements about people, events and do the commercials. Some of the advertisers were a furniture store whose German owner had a Serbian wife who could speak to customers, a meat market that carried lamb and other meats used in Serb dishes, a funeral parlor and a liquor store that stocked the popular plum brandy “Slivovice.”
I was free to roam my domain and when it was time to start kindergarten I was not a happy camper. The school was across the street and my sister in 6th grade was called to help get me up the stairs to the classroom while I The radio program was clung to the bannister. very popular because Because of my adult Dragan with Sonny listeners would learn influence I was ahead of (Steve Chisholm) and Cher. who was getting my schoolmates. In first married, who was grade I was delegated having a baby, who died, etc. He would also to the cloak room with advanced books and announce when there was a church picnic or skipped 2nd grade. The cloak room was where church dance. All the churches had a basement you hung your coats and placed your boots. For that had a large dance floor, a stage for the band us girls who had to wear dresses we also hung and a bar. I remember the men in the bar always the pants we wore under our dresses during the breaking out into song. People of all ages would winter months. dance the kolo where you hold hands in a circle When I was 11 we moved to a better and dance to traditional songs that each have neighborhood that actually had grass and trees. their own steps. I remember as a child running Milica and her family remained close and in and out of the circle under the dancers’ hands. visited us often. Now for the crazy part - she is Dragan’s stepmother and has been since 1984. A surprising text He texted her a picture of the two of us and she I really enjoyed talking to Dragan and we asked who is the blonde. When he wrote back arranged to meet the next day for happy hour. Mirjana Krkljes she immediately called and so On that visit it was his turn to surprise me. He I got to catch up with someone from my past showed me a text on his phone that said “Vasilj which proves it is a very small world indeed! Krkljes” and asked if that was my father’s name. It was and I continued to read the rest
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