Declarations

He’s No Devil

“They say I’m the devil and I’ve been bought off. It’s absolutely not true.”

—Oklahoma Rep. Ron Peterson, R-Broken Arrow, a former independent insurance agent, announcing he won’t run for his state representative’s post again. Peterson came under fire for blocking legislation that would have required insurance companies to cover autism in children and other medical disorders and conditions. He is a former owner of a property and casualty insurance agency and his wife is a part-time independent insurance agent. The Associated Press reported that Peterson has received more than $20,000 this year from people or political action committees tied to the insurance industry.

Russian Roulette — But With a Car

“For too long, having a collision in Texas has been like playing a game of Russian roulette, where you never know whether the at-fault driver is carrying the required insurance.”

—Texas Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol Lt. Louis Sanchez of the Austin district. Texas recently initiated a trial of its TexasSure program, a statewide database of private passenger vehicles that are insured. It will allow law enforcement and county tax officials to electronically confirm if a vehicle has the required coverage.

Putting Seepage Issues To Rest

“I have agreed with southeastern (Louisiana) levee authorities as well as the state to go ahead and do an independent peer review, to put to rest what the issues are with the seepage.”

—Karen Durham-Aguilera, director of the Army Corps of Engineers task force responsible for restoring levees in a five-parish area of Louisiana. Outside experts will review work at a canal where one of the New Orleans area’s worst levee breaks occurred during Hurricane Katrina, and where water is seeping through the mushy ground despite $22 million in repairs.

Heartbroken

“We are heartbroken by the fire that has ravaged the Texas Governors Mansion. It has not only been our home for the past eight years, but has stood as a symbol of Texas pride throughout its history. Though it can certainly be rebuilt, what Texas has lost today can never be replaced.”

—Texas Gov. Rick Perry. The governors mansion was severely damaged by a fire on June 8. Arson is suspected in the blaze at the historic 150-year-old Greek Revival style mansion. The building was being renovated at the time of the fire but a planned fire sprinkler system had not yet been installed. Perry and his wife have been living elsewhere since renovations of the mansion began in Fall 2008. No one was injured in the blaze.

Topics Texas