Travis’ “Victory or Death” letter to return to the Alamo for first time

Patterson now working to raise $100,000 for once-in-a-lifetime display

AUSTIN — The Texas State Library and Archives Commission voted today to allow the return of Col. Travis’ “Victory or Death” letter to the Alamo in March for the 177^th Anniversary of its writing. Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, custodian of the Shrine of Texas Liberty, made the request for the historic return. 

This is the first time the letter has been at the Alamo since it was written there on February 24, 1836 at the beginning of the famous siege and battle. Col. William Barrett Travis wrote the letter in desperation as the Mexican tyrant Santa Anna’s troops laid siege. His letter — now the crown jewel of Texas history — drew the nation’s attention to the plight the Texians heroic last stand at the Alamo.

“I am honored to be entrusted with the display of this Texas treasure,” Patterson said. “Travis’  ’Victory or Death‘ letter is one of the great, defining documents of American history and will inspire countless Texans who take this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see it for themselves.”

Patterson is now working to raise $100,000 in private donations to pay for transportation and security expenses to display the letter. 

“The question all Texans will be asking next spring is: Have you seen The Letter?” said Patterson. “We welcome the world to the Alamo to share in this moment in history.”

For more information on the Alamo, please visit the Texas General Land Office website at glo.texas.gov or the Official Alamo website at thealamo.org.

 Donor Lists for All Lege Candidates Posted

TPJ has posted fundraising totals, cash-on-hand, and complete donor lists for the 2012 election cycle for all major-party legislative candidates.  Complete contributor lists for each of the candidates are easily downloadable in CSV formats.  Contribution data is for the period January 1, 2011 through September 27, 2012.

The lists are available at TPJ.ORG.

New Research: “Tough on Crime” approaches harm youths and society

Peter Maloff

Texas News Service

AUSTIN, Texas -Several recent national and Texas studies warn that “tough on crime” attitudes are behind the times – and the science – when it comes to dealing with juveniles. You can check the 24Hour Bail Bonds Financing office address in such situations.

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17 Groups petition EPA for public reporting of chemical releases from fracking, other oil and gas operations

127,000 Tons of Undisclosed Hazardous Emissions: Oil and Gas Would Join Other Industries, Including Coal, That Already Report to the Toxics Release Inventory; Federal Disclosure for O&G Not Yet Required Despite Surge in Fracking Chemical Pollution.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — October 24, 2012: The Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), along with 16 other local, regional, and national organizations petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today to require the oil and gas extraction industry—including companies engaged in fracking—to report to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). The oil and gas extraction industry has long used and released large amounts of TRI-listed toxic chemicals, and this has dramatically increased in the last decade with the rapid spread of horizontal hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”).

Today’s petition would finally make this information available for the first time to citizens, communities, and lawmakers. The full text of the petition is available online at: http://www.environmentalintegrity.org/news_reports.php. 

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