Galveston County

The 5 Best Things to Eat or Drink This Weekend: Wild Game Cook-off, Art Cars & Food Trucks, a Craw-wish Boil and a Mother's Day Reminder

Yaga's Wild Game BBQ Cook-off Saturday, 8 a.m. Pier 21, Galveston Island Yaga's has been one of the most consistent fixtures on downtown Galveston's Strand for decades, and this year the restaurant is celebrating its 17th annual Yaga's Wild Game BBQ Cook-off by raising its millionth dollar for Galv ... More >>

Rev. Bobby Gass: That Cocaine Wasn't Mine -- I Found it in the Church Parking Lot!

A Galveston County pastor charged last week with assault and cocaine possession has quit the pulpit, telling his congregation that the bag of coke officers found his car was something he had found in the church parking lot. For real. Rev. Kenneth "Bobby" Gass, 60, of Tikie Island, is accused of pus ... More >>

Glitches Galore: Galveston County Parties Ask Judge to Keep Polls Open Late

CLICK on the above chart and get up to the minute voting returns throughout today. Galveston County is one of five Texas jurisdictions to allow "voting centers," in which voters are allowed to cast their ballot at any polling place in the county. This was the first time Galveston County used that ... More >>

Duane Charles Parker, Johnny Pepper: Police Seek More Victims Of Alleged Online Solicitor/Masturbator

If you or your kid have had any online dealings with a dude who looks like this guy on the right, beware. Law-enforcement officials in Montgomery and Galveston counties say he is a sexual predator who has been stalking and contacting underage girls on the net, and they're not sure how many victims ... More >>

Comment of the Day: Hilariously Bad Vaginal Euphemisms

We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula involving wit ... More >>

7 Cool & Cheap Weekenders: Tails & Tunes, Los Skarnales, Etc.

Mango's gets a jump on Cinco de Mayo with its "Cuatro de Mayo" party presented by Rockin' Steady. Cover is only $2, or free with a Social Distortion ticket stub. This could be fun: This month across the street, Numbers is letting one lucky winner create his or her own 15-minute Classic Numbers DJ ... More >>

Pam Matranga: Her Former Deputy Sues For Sexual Harassment Citing Forced Motorboating; She Says it's An Election Ploy

A former deputy to Galveston County Constable Pam Matranga has sued her, claiming she sexually harassed him by, among other things, pulling his head under her shirt and into her cleavage. Forced motorboating!! Other allegations involve farts and some of the worst euphemisms for female genitalia we' ... More >>

RIP Buddy: Who the Hell Stabs a Dog Five Times?

The Galveston County Daily News is reporting that a West End woman's mixed-breed Lab was found stabbed to death earlier this week. Buddy was in a ditch, stabbed five times. [Lt. Joel] Caldwell, commander of the Galveston Police Department's Animal Services Unit, has taught courses on animal cruelt ... More >>

Tina Madrid: Mother Charged with Murdering Her Special-Needs Son, Found in a Box

The bizarre, tragic story of ten-year-old Jonathan Singer took another turn yesterday when police arrested his mother for his murder. The body of Singer, who had cerebral palsy, was found in a cardboard box in his father's Kia about one year ago. The boy's father said he had drowned in a bathtub, b ... More >>

The Healthiest County in Texas Definitely Isn't Around Here

The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have put together a list of health by county across the nation, looking at births, deaths and various measures of the quality of life. You can get a statewide ranking of the counties in your state, and if ... More >>

DUI Suspect Jason Murray: District Clerk Ticketed for Accident, Crashes Into Car Driving Away

How not to leave an accident scene: Troubled Galveston County District Clerk Jason Murray was ticketed by League City police after he rear-ended a truck March 28. He then got in his car and, as newly suspicious officers noticed he was driving erratically, he rammed into a second vehicle. He has be ... More >>

Honor Thy Salt: Why I Own More Than 30 Varieties But Not Kosher Salt, And Why I No Longer Shop at Penzey's

"Three things are good in little measure and evil in large: yeast, salt and hesitation." - The Talmud Salt is the single most important ingredient in cooking and the single most powerful tool for improving the flavor of food. For most of human existence, salt has been tricky to transport, scant ... More >>

China Nicole Kitchens: The Facebook Updates Of A Texas Teen who Might Have Squandered Break of a Lifetime

China Kitchens:Back in trouble​After Dick DeGuerin helped her beat a potential capital murder rap at the tender age of 16, you'd think China Nicole Kitchens would try to straighten up and fly right. Today, it's looking like she has pissed that second chance away. Back in 2008, Kitchens confes ... More >>

Shadaysha Little, Aricka Issac: Pregnant Robbers Get Busted

GCSOLittle and Isaacs: What not to expect when you're expecting​If you're 36 weeks pregnant -- that's nine months, if you're not a math whiz -- as far as we can tell, you don't want to do much except have the damn baby. If you're Shadaysha Little, 18, you're not going to let a little pregnan ... More >>

Prison Legal News No Longer Banned in Galveston Jail

The FUN part of jail time​We told you last year about a suit filed by the owners of Prison Legal News, who said officials at the Galveston County Jail were banning their publication (and pretty much all others). A settlement has been reached, and not only is PLN being delivered to prisoners, ... More >>

Last Ike Victim: Who Is the Web-Footed Woman?

Photo by Bill OliveA tip about a son in California jail didn't work out​After more than two years, Galveston County officials are saying they have no further leads on identifying the last victim of Hurricane Ike. They know she's a five-foot-tall middle-aged woman who wore a 34C bra, had a sur ... More >>

DWI Crackdown Begins -- With Arrests Of Two Galveston County Law-Enforcement Officers

Prosecutor and sheriff's deputy arrested​Police departments, sheriff's offices and district attorneys have been loudly getting the word out about DWI crackdowns at the end of the year. Maybe some of their employees should have paid attention. Fox 26 reports that two law-enforcement officials ... More >>

Man Steals Car, Finds Baby Inside And Goes Back To Chastise Driver: A Morality Tale

Some lines you don't cross​A man's got to have a code, as Omar Little says. Stealing a car? Permissible, if circumstances warrant. Leaving a baby in one? No way. The Galveston County Daily News reports on this stirring morality tale, which took place early Tuesday morning. A Houston woman a ... More >>

Galveston Of The `60s, As Seen By A Glen Campbell Music Video

When was the last time former Galveston County Commissioner Jimmie Vacek got a shout-out in a music video? The answer, we're guessing, is whenever this video came out. A friend of Hair Balls discovered it and passed it on to us. It's Glen Campbell singing "Galveston" to scenes of a forlorn young w ... More >>

Galveston Paper Issues Correction On Who Called It Racist

Galveston County Daily News: Someone said we were racist​The Galveston County Daily News had a story this morning somewhat innocuously headlined "NAACP leader: 'I did not make that comment'."It got more interesting when you read what the comment in question was, and when you know that Dolph Tillot ... More >>

Texans-Cowboys Isn't Until Sunday, Spend Your Saturday Morning Cleaning The Beaches

Do it for the crabs.​Tomorrow morning, rain or shine, thousands of Texans across the 367 miles of state coastline will take to the sand, gloves on and plastic bags in hand. Call it a goodbye and thank you to summer, and hello fall.Groups will be gathering at 28 sites at 9 a.m. for the annual Adopt ... More >>

Our Mother of Mercy

How far did cardinal go in tearing down Ike-ravaged church?

Crystal Sierra: Galveston Woman Jumps Gun On Birthday, Ends Up In Jail

Photo courtesy GCSOCrystal Sierra​Another week, and another Crystal gets in trouble in a kind of awesome way.This time it's now-23-year-old Crystal Angelita Sierra's turn.Seems last Sunday was her 23rd birthday, and apparently Sierra found the very prospect of that occasion so exciting she started ... More >>

Brian Joseph Bentley: Giant Sex Offender Tries, Fails To Fly Under Radar

Galveston County SOBrian Joseph Bentley: Single and "flirty"​Brian Joseph "Bubbers" Bentley is a big guy, and perhaps it's because he carries close to 400 pounds on his 6-foot frame that police tracked him down Sunday at Galveston County's Mainland Hospital, where he had gone to seek treatment for ... More >>

Litter In La Marque? You're Going To Jail

"Even I think this is harsh."​La Marque is fed up with litter. The Galveston County suburb sees only way to address it -- send people to jail.Starting August 1, city officials told the Galveston County Daily News, "anyone caught littering will go to jail and will have to pay a hefty fine."We ... More >>

Congratulations, Kemah Smokers: You're 20 Feet Closer To The Front Door

Hey you two!! Take it outside!! At least you won't have to walk far​The Kemah city council couldn't agree on a smoking ban in bars and restaurant bars at their meeting last night, but they did agree on one thing: Those desperate, addicted puffers forced outside in rain, cold and heat can be a litt ... More >>

Sometimes You Just Pick The Wrong 63-Year-Old Guy To Rob

Photo courtesy GCSO​You're looking at Quintin Wade Brown, 25, of Texas City. You may notice his left eye seems to be a bit distressed.That's because Brown tried to rob a 63-year-old guy of two bucks and some potato chips outside a convenience store.Note to future robbers: Before attempting such a ... More >>

You've Heard It Effin' Before: Cops Wash Out With Soap Another Galveston County Potty-Mouth

​We really thought we wouldn't be writing again about people getting into trouble with the law in Galveston County because they cursed. But goshdarnit, it just keeps popping up.Whether it's a frustrated woman in a Wal-Mart, a guy arguing over his neighbor's dog poop, or even a guy from fuckin' Que ... More >>

Another Galveston County Cursing Arrest Ends In A F***ing Whimper

Photo by GuerrettoThat bizarre streak of cursing arrests in Galveston County is having trouble standing up in court.One guy -- the guy from Queens who used the f-word -- pleaded guilty to his charge, but we're guessing he did it just to avoid having to come back down to "fuckin' Galveston" to fight ... More >>

They're Still Arresting People Who Curse In Galveston County, Gosh Darn It

Photo by Joe ShlabotnikLast year Kristi Fridge garnered nationwide publicity after being arrested in a La Marque Wal-Mart for cursing. Reasonable people thought that if a vengeful God had somehow decided to mess with you enough to place you in a Wal-Mart in LaMarque, then cursing would be a viable r ... More >>

Don't Get A Toothache If You've Got Jury Duty In Galveston County

A League City woman has been found in contempt of court and fined $100 because she got a toothache during a trial on which she was a juror, the Galveston County Daily News  reports.It wasn't so much she got the toothache and needed surgery; it was more that she told some people (including a rep ... More >>

The Search For Ike Victims In Galveston County Ends

The job of looking for Ike victims in the debris piles and swamps of Galveston County -- a nasty, brutal job that drained the searchers both physically and emotionally -- is over.The county's second and final search for missing Ike victims ended recently with eight people from the Bolivar area still ... More >>

A Second Mistrial For Dymond Milburn, The 12-year-Old "Hooker" Arrested By Galveston Cops

A deadlocked jury resulted in a mistrial for Dymond Milburn, the black girl who -- when she was 12 years old -- was charged with assaulting police officers who tried to arrest her in her front yard.The cops had been looking for three white hookers. Milburn was hospitalized and later arrested at her ... More >>

Slip-Up on Taxes

Boat owners get to evade

People Rich Enough To Own Boats Find It Easy To Evade Taxes

Galveston County is getting screwed out of about $33,000 in property taxes from a League City marina. The county knows about it, but doesn't seem to care. On the Wharf Marina web site, it says plain as day (if you don't take into account spelling and grammatical errors) that wet slip owners "must pa ... More >>

Galveston's Grand Opera House Is Back, Baby

The 1894 Grand Opera House, socked with eight feet of water by that bastard Ike, is back.The facility officially reopens tomorrow with a free party featuring tours, sing-alongs and people reading from the best Ike survival stories. Then Jerry Jeff Walker will bring the place back for paying customer ... More >>

Evacuate From Ike? Let's See, Go To A Hotel Or A Nursing Home Shut Down For Code Violations?

Hurricane Ike was a time of coming together, where folks dug deep to lend a helping hand and neighbors acted, well ... neighborly.But not everyone, according to one Galveston County woman.Estelle Reeves is suing her former employer for allegedly firing her following the storm after she says she disc ... More >>

ACLU Wants Galveston Jail Evacuated Next Time

The Worrisome List Of The Missing

Weekend Music: No Money, No Problem

“A City on Stilts”

Photographic exhibit shows Galveston’s spirit

Heavy Lifting

I Do, I Do!

Candidate of the Year

Practical solutions, involving liquor and guns

Letters

Kitty Litter

Toyya Braskey lives with 100 cats. They are her life. Now the city says they have to go.

Dimitri's Last Stand

Will naturalists rid the wetlands of a wily immigrant's sex clubs?

News Hostage

Diner's Notebook

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