The Beaumont Enterprise

Kate Upton, Boobs and Softball: ESPN 97.5 Hosts Stay Classy in Interview with Lamar Coach

I really don't like "guy talk." I'm sure there is a place for it on radio. Hell, there's a place for shows about pretty much anything you like when you combine terrestrial and satellite radio. But, what makes "guy talk" so insidious is that it masquerades as sports talk simply because, well clearly ... More >>

Know Your Local Media: The Houston Chronicle's Dwight Silverman, from Rock Critic to Nerd King

A number of years ago, one of the then music writers at the Houston Chronicle recruited me to write a music blog for Chron.com. I had done some writing for the defunct Houstonist website and personal stuff, but nothing like that. I happily accepted and began writing a music business blog called Brok ... More >>

Paige Parkerson: Killed Fiance Because His Mother's Day Gift Wasn't Good Enough? (UPDATED)

A tip for any future suitors of Paige Parkerson, whether it's in prison or not: Go big on Mother's Day. Beaumont police say Parkerson killed her fiancé early Monday after the two "had been arguing over the Mother's Day holiday. The Beaumont Enterprise says the mother of victim Clifton "JR" Barkin ... More >>

Setting Boundaries

Port Arthur School District: Sorry One of Our Principals Hit Your Fifth-Grade Children

Port Arthur police are investigating an elementary school principal who reportedly hit fifth-grade students who performed poorly on practice tests last week. The Beaumont Enterprise reported that the Port Arthur Independent School District has apologized for the behavior of Travis Elementary School ... More >>

Tamraka McGriff: Judge Says No More Tattoos for School Administrator

Tamraka McGriff's philosophy​Tamrake McGriff is the coordinator of transportation for the Beaumont school district and, apparently, she loves her skin art as much as she doesn't like her body. So much so, in fact, that a judge has barred her from getting any more tattoos or plastic surgery unt ... More >>

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 >>

Ann Huey: Beaumont Artist Makes Funny Short Film That Almost Makes You Want To Visit

Beaumont -- a/k/a The Poor Man's Houston -- has image problems that puts Houston to shame. Which is nice if you're from Houston. It's always good to have someone to look down upon. But like any ridiculed city, Beaumont does have its charms. And now, thanks to local artist Ann Huey , they're avail ... More >>

David Joseph Latta: Drunk, Possibly Pee-Filled Man Stars In Hilarious Security-Cam Video

David Joseph Latta probably wishes he wasn't on camera​It was a night of horror in the lobby of the Beaumont Enterprise. At least for one guy who apparently broke in trying to take a leak. The paper's blog reports that David Joseph Latta, of Lake Charles, was "feverishly searching for a urina ... More >>

Darrell Craig Vogel: Beaumont Prosecutor Picked Up Twice In 24 Hours For DWI

The prosecution rests, excessively​Darrell Craig Vogel, 50, is an assistant prosecutor for the city of Beaumont, meaning he deals with municipal court stuff. The pressures of holding in your hands the Sophie's Choice of whether or not to prosecute that 41-in-a-35 mph-zone case may have been t ... More >>

Bath Salts As Fake Coke: How Five Movies Would Have Been Different

Bath salts: The first taste is free​With all this talk about synthetic marijuana (K2), Hair Balls was already feeling despair for kids these days. But when we checked out the Beaumont Enterprise recently, we completely lost all faith: people in southeast Texas are now apparently snorting bath salt ... More >>

Nick Kosir: The Rapping Weatherman's San Francisco Gig Is Over

All of Houston has been following semi-breathlessly the sage of rapping weatherman Nick Kosir who has either appalled or entertained viewers (in Beaumont and on YouTube) with his white-man-raps schtick.He seemingly rode his talent to the big time -- San Francisco, which is a hell of a lot better TV ... More >>

Mike Lout, Mayor Of Jasper: Drunk, Shirtless And Arrested At A Sonic

Photo via KJASMike Lout at his swearing-in, with a shirt (sort of)​Jasper is a true Piney Woods burg -- it's got a notorious bit of racist history, it's got an isolated, closed-off feeling to it, it's got a mayor arrested for public intoxication when he was found wandering down the road from where ... More >>

R&B Legend Ivory Joe Hunter To Get State Historical Marker

​Rocks Off's predecessor John Nova Lomax, who normally reports on much more sordid goings-on in East Texas, tipped us off to a story in today's Beaumont Enterprise that reports late Texas R&B legend Ivory Joe Hunter will have an official Texas State Historical Marker erected at his gravesite n ... More >>

Apparently The Noid Was Unavailable for Questioning

No one can tell when a hot wing jones will overcome them. You might be sitting on the couch, watching a Saved by the Bell marathon, when bam, you get the fierce craving for spicy Buffalo goodness. When we've been broke and this happened, we've done some crazy things, like pour ranch sauce on our fin ... More >>

A Playoff Victory For The Ages, Or For The Want Of A Good Travel Agent A Championship Was Lost

​As fans travel to Houston for the NCAA regionals, they can only hope their favorite team shows as much spunk, as much desire, as much can-do spirit as Beaumont's Southeast Texas Mavericks.The Mavericks are part of the American Basketball Association (suggested slogan: "Not the ABA You're Thinking ... More >>

Flag Down The Police Chief, Show Him Your Weed, Go To Jail

​A word of caution: if you're walking the streets at 4 a.m. with an ounce of weed in your bra, randomly flagging down cars so you can find someone who wants to party, try to make sure you don't run out and wave your arms in front of a car driven by the chief of police.This is a lesson that 25-year ... More >>

Bayou Beat: Movie Night at the Mink, Scout Bar Beaumont Shut Down, Yeah Yeah Yeahs at ACL? and More

Seems the Mink has found an old movie projector and is planning to put it to good use this evening. After a couple of Charlie Chaplin shorts, the bar will screen the superb 2007 documentary Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, and even provide free popcorn. "A makeout row can be provided on reque ... More >>

Beaumont News Anchor Indulges (Allegedly) In Insane Facebook Feud

What the hell is going on in Beaumont?Now granted, that's a question you could ask pretty much any day of the week, but right now it concerns a Facebook spat between a prominent local news anchor there and a critic.Jim Walker, a main anchor at Fox affiliate KBTV, seems to be going nuts, if the Beaum ... More >>

This Just In: A Wiffle-Ball Bat Is Not A Deadly Weapon

Partying in Beaumont -- does it get any better? The smoky industrial fumes, the Golden Triangle aura, the knowledge that at any moment you could up and visit the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum if you wanted to: It's what makes life in Beaumont so good.As long as you keep the Wiffle-Ball Bats safely ... More >>

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 cur ... More >>

Gatemouth Brown Needs a Gravestone

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.

Jeffrey Klem

Bragging Rights

The Port praises itself, with omissions

Rookie of the Year

A Houston lawyer's fight for Series tickets

Total Contempt

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

Head Ways

Dillard's may dominate advertising -- and be all but absent from news headlines

Fleck Exonerated; Stockman Sued