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July 31, 2008
UPDATE: State sues Sunmart over gas pump problems
UPDATE: Earlier today, Attorney General Greg Abbott said that it should be “fairly easy” to win the civil lawsuit that he has lodged against Petroleum Wholesale LP, whose Sunmart gas stations were found last week to be overcharging consumers by giving them less gas than they paid for.
“Put yourself in the position of Sunmart,” Abbott said. “Is the kind of case you really want to go present to a jury and have a jury and Harris County decide whether or not a gasoline station that was overcharging customers should be fined or not? I don’t think so.”
Nonetheless, it looks like Petroleum Wholesale plans on putting up a fight. Here’s the text of a statement the company released this afternoon:
We disagree with the opinions and conclusions announced by the Commissioner of Agriculture last week leading to the lawsuit filed by the Attorney General’s office today. We adamantly deny that PWI has “intentionally cheated consumers.” Nevertheless, because of the misinformation put out by the Agricultural Commission last week, we expected the filing of this lawsuit. We are additionally concerned that some of the testing methods utilized by the TDA inspectors do not comply with the testing protocol set forth by applicable statutes designed to ensure test result accuracy. Throughout this investigation we have provided documents to the Department of Agriculture, have responded to every request for information, and will continue to offer our assistance in the process. We anticipate a satisfactory outcome to this matter.
EARLIER: A gasoline retailer that overcharged Texas consumers by giving them less fuel than they paid for could be fined millions of dollars under a lawsuit filed by state attorney general Greg Abbott today.
Petroleum Wholesale LP, the company that operates gas stations under the Sunmart name, was named in the civil suit, which Abbott filed after a Department of Agriculture investigation found last week that almost 50 Sunmart stations across the state were “cheating” customers.
Abbott said he is seeking $20,000 in penalties for each instance that a Sunmart pump dispensed less gas than a costumer paid for, a “potential financial death penalty” that could result in millions of dollars in fines.
The nearly 1000 pumps found in violation by last week’s “Operation Spotlight” have been shut down, Agriculture Commission Todd Staples said. Once the pumps are recalibrated by licensed technicians, the pumps will be allowed to dispense gas again, he said.
Department of Agriculture spokesman Bryan Black said that some pumps have already been restarted, but that he didn’t know how many.
Evelyn Adair, a receptionist for Petroleum Wholesale, said the company will be releasing a statement regarding the violations later today.
Abbott said he will also seek charges against the company for attempting to obstruct the Department of Agriculture’s investigation. Some Sunmart stations had told department representatives that pumps were out of order to prevent them from conducting their investigations, Staples said. Sunmart also dispatched technicians to several of its locations to recalibrate pumps before investigators arrived, he said.
Last week, Staples said it was “likely” that Sunmart had deliberately tampered with the pumps because the violations were so widespread.
Austin-area Sunmart stations found in violation included one in Northeast Austin on Berkman Drive, one on Texas 71 in Bastrop and another on Interstate 35 in Georgetown.
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May 6, 2008
Bullock bio stirs Jan Bullock and longtime aides
My story in Wednesday’s editions about the Bob Bullock biography by Dave McNeely and Jim Henderson—peek here—yields the first post-publication comments by Bullock’s widow, Jan Bullock, on the book, which is in its third printing and has drawn favorable reviews. It is viewable here.
Several longtime aides to the late lieutenant governor are similarly disappointed in “Bob Bullock: God Bless Texas,” with some saying the authors made an insufficient effort to tap their knowledge and experiences of Bullock. McNeely told me they deliberately did not do so partly because they didn’t want to cause one of the Bullock-ites to hurry their own book into print.
Glen Castlebury, who worked for Bullock for 20 years starting in 1974, said the authors could have started their research by querying people closest to Bullock.
“I would have thought they would have gone to the Bullock loyalists probably first (for interviews); it would have been most obvious (approach),” Castlebury said. “Then you would have gone out to talk to all the other turkeys walking the street to see if they had something to say.”
My sense is that Henderson was permitted to listen to a few oral histories given by Bullock friends and associates, as reported, because librarians at Baylor University didn’t initially know he was teamed with McNeely, who had a testy relationship with Bob Bullock.
Jan Bullock cut off public access to the histories until the year 2009, she told me, because she figured McNeely wanted to finish his book before President Bush left office that same year.
Bullock and Ben Rogers, director of Baylor’s W.R. Poage Legislative Library, said the authors did not delve into thousands of available pages of materials in the Bullock collection including newspaper clippings and “opposition research” Bullock’s campaign put together that put him in a vulnerable light.
McNeely and Henderson said they were told by Rogers in 2004 that bound newspaper clippings were not available. The library said it has no record of the request; Rogers initially said he didn’t remember the authors visiting together in 2004, later insisting they did not visit together.
The authors did not interview Jan Bullock, but they contacted her.
Henderson called her in 2006, saying he tried again later, without leaving messages. He said he expected she would call him if she wanted to visit.
McNeely delivered a draft manuscript to Bullock in February 2007. She shortly e-mailed Henderson, saying: “I can tell you two certainly did your research.”
McNeely then solicited her corrections, suggesting they get together.
If “there are things that are inaccurate, we want to get them corrected,” McNeely said in a March 30, 2007 e-mail. “…So let’s do get together as soon as possible.”
On May 4, 2007, Bullock wrote him to say she couldn’t help. She made her decision after sharing the manuscript with aides to Bob Bullock. Her letter states that she found mistakes, urban legends, gossip and distortions.
Henderson, speaking to the negative reactions, said in a recent e-mail to me: “Jan wanted to write her own book about Bullock. Didn’t happen. Get over it. Then she did her best to obstruct the writing of this book. Didn’t happen. Get over it. Then she did her best to block publication. Didn’t happen. Get over it. She apparently wanted to control everything written about her late husband. Didn’t happen. Ain’t gonna happen. Get over it.”
Bullock earlier told me: “I would have loved to see a grand book about Bob. He certainly was not an angel. And he was difficult, temperamental - my god, he was every adjective in the book… I mean, I have great stories. I have love letters that he’s written me that people wouldn’t even believe.”
A longtime Bullock aide, Mary Jane Wardlow, identified factual errors in the book including a reference to one senator serving in 1991 who took office in 1993.
In another part, Bullock is described as introducing senators to his forceful leadership style by rushing through measures. It’s placed in 1991 though it occurred in 1995. And, Wardlow said, the book mischaracterizes the late action in a legislative session catching the Senate up after the death of its parliamentarian.
Wardlow also said the book incorrectly describes Bullock’s funeral. Bullock did not repose on a floral altar; his body was in his coffin next to sprays of flowers.
Carolene English, another longtime aide, inquired last year into the UT Press’s method of fact-checking as the book approached publication. The UT Press said the book was vetted by two outside experts it did not identify and cleared by its Faculty Advisory Committee, which unanimously approved publication.
English said this year that details were muffed such as the fact that Bullock had surgery to remove one third of a lung (not most of it), and that he had deeper Texas roots than stated. She said the authors also missed Bullock intervening in the 1980s to ensure that Democrats created legislative districts winnable by black and Hispanic candidates.
McNeely said the record isn’t so simple. And, he noted, Bullock is credited in the book with hiring and promoting minorities.
Castlebury and John Moore, a longtime Bullock aide, told McNeely last year that he mistold episodes from the years during which Bullock was a heavy drinker. The two also did not specify what was incorrect.
Their stance, Castlebury said, amounted to “don’t feed the snake.”
John Keel, a Bullock protégé, presented McNeely with letters from individuals last year saying incidents in the manuscript didn’t happen; two stories were removed before publication.
McNeely informed Jan Bullock—who knew Bullock for 22 years and married him in 1985—of the excisions with a comment she did not appreciate, writing: “I might remind you that all of these things happened before you and Bob were married and before he quit drinking, and do not involve you.”
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January 23, 2008
Two Perry aides have spouses on state boards
A reader said Austin lawyer Franklin S. Spears Jr., appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to the board of directors of the Lower Colorado River Authority, is husband to Teresa Spears, Perry’s deputy appointments director.
True. And it turns out, Perry’s appointments director, Ken Anderson, is married to Elizabeth Anderson, who’s been a Perry appointee to two boards. Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle said Elizabeth Anderson was a Perry appointee before her husband went to work for the governor. In September 2001, Perry named Elizabeth Anderson to the board of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, which she lead starting in November 2003. The governor named Elizabeth Anderson to the Texas Public Safety Commission on Nov. 21.
Two Perry appointees with spouses in Perry’s appointments office looks like an intriguing coincidence — maybe nothing more.
Castle noted there’s no law against the governor naming relatives of staff members to boards. Generally, she said, “appointments are based on qualifications and capabilities of the individuals.”
Friendship may have contributed to Spears’ appointment. Franklin Spears said he and his wife are old friends and fans of Perry. And before joining Perry’s state staff last year, Teresa Spears had worked for Perry’s campaigns.
Spears, whose LCRA term expires Feb. 1, 2013, noted that Perry asked him to join the 15-member board in July. That was before Perry asked Teresa Spears to work for him in state government, Franklin Spears said.
Teresa Spears went to work in Perry’s state office in September, Castle said, after Franklin Spears’ appointment had been settled internally. Castle said Teresa Spears subsequently recused herself from office discussions of her husband’s appointment, which was announced Oct. 19 along with four others to the LCRA board.
Franklin Spears said: “There is no quid pro quo in this situation.”
LCRA board members are paid $150 a day for the days the authority meets. The board typically meets about 33 days a year, according to Robert Cullick, an authority spokesman.
Every applicant for a state board fills out an application including questions on whether they or their spouse are related to any public officials and if they or their spouse has business before the Texas Legislature or any state agencies and, if so, which ones.
The point of the questions?
Castle said: To alert the appointments office to potential conflicts of interest.
