Subject: Greg Abbott

• UH Sweatshop Protest, Part XVII

  July 14, 2008

• The Sharks Come Out For Sunmart

  August 1, 2008

• 100th Predator Gets Sentenced, Doesn't Get Prize

  September 10, 2008

• AG Says Two Motels Gouged Ike Victims

  October 2, 2008

• Law and Disorder

  In Janice Law's quests for a judgeship, the fourth time was a charm -- and now an alarm for the rest of the courthouse

  September 2, 1999

• Watershed Election?

  A new group wants to push an anti-flooding agenda

  July 31, 2003

• Houston's Darque Tan, Leading The Fight Against Cancer

  November 11, 2008

• A Different Kind Of Traffic Problem For Houston

  Harris County, be proud -- you're a leader in...well, in human trafficking. Maybe you shouldn't be so proud, on second thought. Texas AG Greg Abbott released a lengthy report today on human trafficking in Texas, and the news isn't too good. Up to 17,500 people are brought into the US as victims of human trafficking, and one in five of them comes through Texas.

  November 17, 2008

• La Grange Hotel Liked Ike, AG Says

  La Grange has been heretofore known mostly as the home of the fabled "Chicken Ranch" immortalized by ZZ Top and The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas. Now it can be known as the home of The Most Heartless, Coldest Bastard of a Motel In Texas (Allegedly). Texas AG Greg Abbott charged the Cottonwood Inn in La Grange today with overcharging people fleeing from Hurricane Ike.

  November 18, 2008

• At Least A Little Payback Against A-Hole Debt Collectors

  If you've ever been harassed by a debt collector, deserved or not, Texas AG Greg Abbott has just stood up for you (As Joe Biden might put it, since Abbott's in a wheelchair).Abbott's office announced a settlement this morning against NCO Financial Systems, one of the world's biggest debt-collection agencies, for stuff they've done to Texans."According to investigators," the AGs office said, "NCO Financial Systems representatives made harassing and sometimes profanity-laden telephone calls to Tex

  December 5, 2008

• From The Oakland A's To Texas' Biggest Deadbeat Dad -- The Pride of Brazoswood High

  Troy Neel, of Brazoswood High, had one good year in the majors: as an Oakland A, he batted .290 in 1993.So he was never an All-Star. Today he earned a new title: The newly arrested Biggest Deadbeat Dad in Texas.Attorney General Greg Abbott's office announced that Neel was arrested yesterday at LA International Airport after stepping off a flight from Sydney, Australia.Neel, who'd been living on a private island down near the bottom of the world, owed more than $700,000 in unpaid child support, A

  December 12, 2008

• TDCJ Comes Up Against The Cell Phone Companies

  A lot of people who read about the epidemic of cell phones in Texas prisons had a basic question -- if you can't discover and confiscate the things, why not just block them? Set it up to jam transmissions in the prison?It turns out TDCJ has thought about that, but it's easier said than done.The prison system found that out Monday when a test of a long-planned test of a jamming system was canceled.We had talked to a retired guard who had predicted the test would be aborted because giant cell phon

  December 16, 2008

• Impeaching South Houston

  August 4, 1994

• Local Attorneys Help Hit Drugmaker Hard

  $800 million is a ton of money to settle a civil suit, but two Houston attorneys helped win a settlement of that size this morning.Joel Androphy, who specializes in whistleblower suits, worked with Sarah Frazier and won a big one as the drug giant Eli Lilly agreed to pay that whopping amount to settle a civil suit over its development of the anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa. Lilly will pay another $615 million to settle a related criminal case.Zyprexa is a drug approved for use against bipolar disord

  January 15, 2009

• The Insider

  July 27, 1995

• Memorial Hermann Gets Wrist Slapped Over Anti-Trust Claims

  There's been a battle brewing for some time between the doctor-supported Town & Country Hospital and mega-health-care firm Memorial Hermann; the smaller hospital says the bigger one out of business.They claim Memorial put pressure on insurers not to do business with competitors. "At the same time," the AGs office said today, "Memorial Hermann used its leverage to punish health insurers that established contracts with Town and Country."The AG jumped into the fray today, filing a suit that res

  January 26, 2009

• Breaking News: Candy Bars Can't Cure Alzheimer's

  Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced this morning that he's charging a Fredericksburg company called Nature's Candy with violating the Texas Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. (Woe to the person who violates the "cosmetic" part of the first act. Grandma with the eyeshadow, we're looking at you.)The company, Abbott says, sold bars in health-food stores and "improperly claim[ed] the products could treat such ailments as Alzheimer's and depression."Ripp

  February 5, 2009

• Another Hotel Gets Slammed For Ike Price-Gouging

  Attorney General Greg Abbott has hit yet another hotel for price-gouging during Ike.This time it's the Sealy Rodeway Inn. And if you're going to be staying in lovely Sealy, in a lovely Rodeway Inn, why not be gouged while you're at it?Abbott's office says the hotel "charged evacuees a higher, 'special event' rate for rooms during the declared disaster. According to court documents, the defendants, Hsiang-Ting 'Angel' Huang and Wei-Cheng 'Michael' Kao, increased rates for children and other extra

  February 10, 2009

• You Weren't Cured Of Down Syndrome, But You Can Get A Refund

  Photo courtesy AGs officeGuess what? You can't take a pill with something called "glyconutrients" and cure Down Syndrome or cystic fibrosis.But if you're a Texan who thought you could, you can at least get your money back.Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced a settlement today against Mannatech, a company that offers a wide range of "wellness" products, emphasis on the quote marks around "wellness."The settlement calls for Mannatech to pay a $1 million civil penalty and to reimburse $4 m

  February 26, 2009

• Texas 1, Evil 0

  Photo by Indigo GoatFor at least one brief, shining moment, the world has stopped going to hell in a handbasket.Against all the forces of dark and evil, against Satan, Pazuzu, Belial and the ACLU, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has stood up and declared that the moment of silence in Texas schools is constitutional.Take that, Father of Lies!!Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott was quick to take credit for banishing the Son of Perdition.  "Today's Fifth Circuit decision once again aff

  March 16, 2009

• The AG Vs. Don McGill Toyota: Those Wily Salespeople

  Lesson Number One if you're dealing with Don McGill Toyota in West Houston, especially if you're not really fluent in English: Read all the fine print, even the parts where salespeople have folded the contract over so you can't see it.Texas AG Greg Abbott announced today a $78,000 settlement with the dealership to rectify complaints that buyers had been tricked into signing lease agreements instead of purchases.As the AG's office put it (boldface is ours): Certain customers believed they were en

  March 25, 2009

• AG Declares Revolutionary Gas-Saving Device Not So Revolutionary

  Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has bravely defended Texans from being....incredibly, incredibly stupid?Abbott announced today that his office has obtained a temporary restraining order shutting down a business called Media Dime Marketing. MDM sold something called the "MPG Device," which promised to increase fuel efficiency.Advertising mostly in Spanish-language media, the company made some pretty bold claims: The defendants' advertisements assured customers that the product, which is essent

  April 7, 2009

• Kid Care, Carol Porter, Wayne Dolcefino, Weighing Marijuana and Stopping on Red

  The Kid Care story fizzles to a finish

  December 13, 2007

• Sleepovers With Uncle Jeff

  The cardiologist traded on his status as a doctor to fondle young girls

  October 18, 2007

• Business as Usual

  Despite a deregulated energy market, Houston is sticking with the home team

  September 9, 2004

• Feel My Pain

  A reporter goes after the online drug business and gets wasted

  June 15, 2006

• Feel My Pain

  A reporter goes after the online drug business and gets wasted

  June 8, 2006

• Needling the Haystack

  A 1,683-mile drive taught us that educators don't always entertain an open-door policy when it comes to public records

  May 18, 2006

• Houston Hold 'Em

  There are plenty of opportunities for poker here, legal and otherwise

  March 3, 2005

• Bridging the Gap

  Birders and the port are new buds seeking to block the proposed toll span at Bolivar

  November 27, 2003

• Tale of Two Cities

  Kid-Care's former leader says the attorney general is playing favorites

  August 7, 2003

• Craig Newmark speaks at victim's memorial in wake of Craigslist killings.

  May 7, 2009

• Craigslist At A Crossroads

  Criminals being dubbed the latest "Craigslist Killer" seem to be popping up everywhere.There was Michael Anderson in Minnesota, who lured to her death a woman answering an ad for a nanny; a 16-year-old S/M enthusiast who killed a New York City radio newsman who posted an ad; and a yuppie who used the online marketplace to meet hookers he would rob, killing one.The incidents have sparked law-enforcement officials across the country to go after Craigslist, and in some ways founder Craig Newmark is

  May 1, 2009

• Brazoswood High's Troy Neel Pleads Guilty To Being Deadbeat Dad

  Last year we told about Troy Neel, the pride of Brazoswood High, who went on to become not only an Oakland A but, later in life, Texas' biggest deadbeat-dad fugitive. (Wonder which accomplishment leads his resume.)Neel was arrested in December at LAX as he arrived from his private South Pacific island. Yes, you read that right -- his own private island.Neel owed more than $763,000 in child support for a son and daughter (Hey, owning an island is expensive, and a man has to have priorities).Today

  May 7, 2009

• Craigslist To Give Up "Erotic Services" Ads

  Photo by Nick VlcekCraigslist -- which we recently described in a feature as being at a crossroads -- seems to have decided which road to take.Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced the company will be dropping its "Erotic Services" ads.The ads have played a role in a series of recent murders and other crimes; AGs across the country (not including Texas) had banded together to force Craigslist to make changes.Craig Newmark, the founder of the company, recently attended the memorial ser

  May 13, 2009

• Conn's Uses High-Pressure Tactics To Dupe Consumers, AG Says

  Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has taken on a big local retail chain today, charging that Conn's Appliance stores have used high-pressure tactics to force consumers to buy defective products and then refused to live up to their warranties."According to the state's enforcement action -- and information contained in more than 2,000 customer complaints -- [Conn's] unlawfully relied on aggressive and deceptive sales tactics to increase its extended service warranty sales for consumer appliances,

  May 28, 2009

• Houston's Better Business Bureau Has No Love For Conn's, Despite What Conn's Implies

  Yesterday, when we told you about Texas AG Greg Abbott going after the Conn's appliance chain for deceptive practices, we included the company's response.Conn's said "a current measure of our dedication to customer service by our more than 3,200 employees is our Better Business Bureau rating. We currently receive the highest rating possible: A-plus."Dan Parsons, head of the Houston Better Business Bureau, wants it known that the rating doesn't come from his outfit."To the contrary, we started ac

  May 29, 2009

• Houston Airport System Won't Release Salaries....Because Of National Security Issues

  A while back we wrote about the Houston Airport System exporting its vast knowledge of running airports to countries all over the place. HAS wasn't too forthcoming about the financial aspects of it all.A couple of months later, Mayor Bill White suddenly forced out the HAS director -- at least partly because of the foreign-country stuff -- the Chronicle tried to get answers about finances and was stonewalled too.The reporters at the Texas Watchdog website have jumped into the fray, filing Open Re

  June 18, 2009

• Eight-Liner King Enters Guilty Plea

  ​A major operator of the 8-liner machines that are so popular (and illegal) around here and the rest of Texas has entered a guilty plea that will cost him over $1 million, state attorney general Greg Abbott announced today.Gordon Graves, the 72-year-old founder of Aces Wired, entered the plea in a Corpus Christi court, ending a long legal battle over the machines.The 8-liners are like slot machines, but of course it's illegal to gamble in Texas. The law allows you to give a token prize, howeve

  August 17, 2009

• Radnofsky's Claim About Texas Marriages Is Quite A Stretch

  ​Houston lawyer Barbara Ann Radnofsky, who plans to challenge Greg Abbott as a Democratic candidate in next year's Attorney General race, must feel that the spotlight isn't shining bright enough from her speaking gig at tonight's Tarrant County Young Democrats Gubernatorial Forum at Texas Christian University. Or maybe she wanted to give TCU students something better to talk about than stealing toilet paper and pissing in laundry rooms. Or maybe she was just bored.  Whatever the reason, R

  November 19, 2009