Jefferson County

DOJ Eyes Will Be On the Ground in Harris, Fort Bend counties on Election Day

Voters in Harris and Fort Bend counties will get an extra treat on Election Day: Federal poll watchers. As a result of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (now 47 years old!), the federal government attempts to make sure every registered voter regardless of race, color "or membership in a minority langua ... More >>

Ashlyn Treadway: An Educational Fund in Her Honor

Child Abuse and Forensic Services, a Beaumont-based non-profit, has created the Ashlyn Tilea Treadway Educational Fund, in honor of a sexual abuse survivor who was killed in a car accident last August. Treadway was just 23. We first wrote about the abuse Ashlyn, her younger sister Brea, and two oth ... More >>

Beaumont Diocese Sued Over Priest Who Allegedly Abused Teen in 1976

A Dallas County man is suing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Beaumont, and Bishop Curtis Guillory, over sexual abuse the man allegedly suffered by a now-deceased priest in 1976-1977. Filed last week in Jefferson County District Court, the man -- identified as John Doe 104 -- claims that Father Ronald ... More >>

The Columbine Effect

Thirteen years and a hundred school shootings later, why is Hollywood still obsessed with this one?

Bartholomew Granger: In Midst Of Courthouse Shooting Spree, He Runs Over His Daughter WIth His Truck

Something snapped in Bartholomew Granger yesterday as he went to Beaumont's Jefferson County courthouse for his trial on sexually assaulting a family member. While driving in his pickup truck, he opened fire with a Beretta CX-4 Storm, injuring three people and killing a 79-year-old woman who was ru ... More >>

Rife Kimler, Odd SETX Attorney, Arrested for Harboring Wanted Young Woman

Photo via 12NewsNowRife Kimler: Only a coincidence that his name rhymes with Himmler.​Criminal defense attorneys are often colorful characters, but few seem as downright eccentric as Rife Kimler of Nederland. Kimler is currently in hot water for hindering the apprehension of an accused thief ... More >>

Nicole Griffin Chance: Claims Woman Posed As Lawyer to Get Yoga Secrets

It's a yoga throwdown.​If you're hiring a lawyer, you have to be careful and consider all factors. If, for instance -- just spitballing here -- someone says she's a lawyer and will represent you in your divorce in exchange for yoga lessons, maybe you might want to think twice. According to a ... More >>

When Cows Attack: Woman Sues Over Bovine Assault

You ain't driving on MY road.​You're rolling along in the East Texas town of China, presumably minding your own business, when a cow decides to attack your car. What do you do? If you're Linda Anderson, you get out of the car in front of an obviously annoyed cow. And then you get attacked by ... More >>

Hide and Seek

Fourteen-year-old Andrew Mosier was abducted last August. It wasn't by aliens.

Millet Harrison Jr.: Dude Who Removed His Mom's Brain Says He's Better Now

Millet Harrison believes in the first part of this message, at least​It's January, which means it's time once again for Millet Harrison Jr. to ask a Jefferson County court if he can leave the mental hospital he's been locked up in since he cut out his mother's brain and heart in 1994. E ... More >>

Blowing Smoke

Could Valero empty the coffers of Texas schools?

Job Market Blues

So bad you'd put up with an (allegedly) masturbating boss?

News From The Job Market: It's So Bad, You'll (Allegedly) Put Up With A Boss Masturbating On You

From www.kusaaviation.com/Kyle.asp​How many times does your boss have to masturbate on or around you before you quit your job?(Before you answer, remember, these are troubled times. Employment rates are tumbling and it could take months, even years, to get another gig. Especially one with he ... More >>

Slap On the Wrist for Rich Doctor Who Molested Young Girls

The animal world equivalent of Klem's punishment​Little-girl-lovin' Beaumont cardiologist Jeffrey Klem has entered into a 15-year "agreed order of public reprimand" with the Texas Medical Board, according to a Board release issued this morning. If you'll recall, Klem was the guy who sh ... More >>

Star Trek's George Takei Cites Houston As One Reason Texas Stereotypes Are True

George Takei, who managed to co-star in a series with William Shatner and survive, was in Dallas over the weekend in support of a Japanese-art exhibit.Takei has famously become an out gay dude, so naturally enough the blog of our sister paper, the Dallas Observer, took the opportunity to ask him abo ... More >>

Beaumont TV Station Warns Of Pirate Attacks: We Investigate!!!

Back in November, Hair Balls indulged itself in some utterly sub-Swiftian satire on the possibility of Ike-wracked Galveston reconstructing itself as a haven for pirates. We suggested that Galveston apply for a Federal License to Plunder, citing advantages such as ease of access to all the booty ... More >>

Another Slap On The Wrist For The Child-Fondling Doctor

Photo courtesy Jefferson County Sheriff's OfficeHere's today's criminal justice system tip: If you're going to plead guilty in Harris County to repeatedly fondling young girls -- some of whom you're related to -- make sure you're a doctor. And we're not talking podiatrist, here.Hair Balls suggest yo ... More >>

The "Golden" Triangle -- Pay No Attention To the Tons Of Pollutants

In calculating the latest pollution fine levied against BASF Fina Petrochemicals LP in Jefferson County, state regulators made a note that might make residents of "The Golden Triangle" reconsider the nickname for their home.The Beaumont-Port Arthur area, documents say, has been exposed to 11.4 tons ... More >>

Dow Chemical Leads The Way In Pollution

A Prison Cover-up During Hurricane Rita

For days after the storm, inmates in Beaumont lived without A/C, electricity or hot meals. Press releases kept saying everything inside was fine. Guards and prisoners agree — that was nothing but B.S.

Port Arthur Residents Sue Premcor Refining

Sleepovers With Uncle Jeff

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

School Ranking 101

The New KKK

...is not quite what you'd expect

Spank This

I answer a call for help and get pulled into a cesspool of doo-doo

Gator Aid

Thanks to the Endangered Species Act, alligators are everywhere in southeast Texas. So now the state is going to make it easier for you to shoot you one.

Houston's Best Public High Schools

Counting down: Our sixth- through tenth-place finishers

Rookie of the Year

A Houston lawyer's fight for Series tickets

A Gap in Coverage

Critics of GoldStar ambulance service say it's late to emergencies, cares for profits over patients, and doctors its books. But without it, there's nothing.

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Pretty Please, Tilman

Houston's Donald Trump can't be bothered with paperwork

Total Contempt

He cheated a family out of $120,000. It took four years in jail to make him the victim.

A Closer Look at Dillard's

Alison Cook looks back at 1996: Year of the Rat

The Insider

Fleck Exonerated; Stockman Sued

The Insider

Into the Den of Stockmania

The truth about my alleged "invasion" of the Friendswood congressman's one-stop political sweatshop and homestead

The Insider

Poor, Proud, But Independent

Houston's indie record entrepreneurs do it for the love of the music. Of course, they don't mind moving a few units, either.

God, Guns & Kombucha

Is Steve Stockman a committed crackpot, or just a hapless goofball?