Every year, hundreds of people visit the Franklin Family Ranch and enjoy the many activities provided by the Franklin family and their volunteers. The free, festive celebration of Easter will be held this Saturday, March 31, from 11am to 2pm. In an effort to share the word of Jesus Christ, the family began opening their ranch on Easter several years ago to the public and introducing them to the Word.

It’s that time again—a new year is just around the corner and this time you really mean it! You are going to take better care of yourself in 2012—eating healthier foods and getting regular exercise. This is your chance to start that program right here in Blanco. If you love the outdoors, come and find out how to get a complete work-out without any special equipment – in our own beautiful Blanco State Park. Blanco State Park is one of sixteen Texas State Parks participating in a natio ...

By Bill Luedecke Gardening here is not for the faint of heart. We have already had triple digit weather from May forward plus those insidious high winds. Seeing as tomatoes and other veggies do not like weather above 90 degrees, couple that without rain and it sure makes gardening a challenge.

AUSTIN — Deadlines for legislation to meet or die are fast approaching, and so the Texas House of Representatives last week worked evenings, including Saturday morning, May 7. But the body fell short of its goal of debating long lists of bills as philosophical differences between the Republican majority and the Democratic minority ate up the clock, and that, coupled with procedural sticking points, brought action to a trudge and finally a halt.

AUSTIN – Big bills continue to rumble around the state Capitol with less than a month remaining until May 30, the last day of the regular 82nd session of the Texas Legislature. The full House and the Senate Finance Committee have passed versions of the state budget, but last week there was not enough collective will in the Senate to bring the matter up for floor debate: too much disagreement on the particulars.

Rising corporate profits and consumer demand pushed the DOW up 490.81 points in April ending Friday at 12810, the highest level since May 2008.    History was made as Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke  gave its first news conference ever.  Mr. Bernanke signaled that  the central bank would end its $600 billion bond buying  program in June and keep interest rates low for now.  He more or less stated that the Fed is doing all it can do in ...

AUSTIN — Senate Bill 1, a $175 billion version of the 2012-2013 state budget, was approved on April 21 by the Senate Finance Committee before both houses of the Texas Legislature recessed for Easter break. In simple contrast to the $164 billion state budget the Houseapproved on April 1, the Senate Finance Committee’s version would spend billions of dollars more on public education and health care.

AUSTIN — Two of the Texas Legislature’s toughest jobs, the passing of a state budget and the redrawing of district boundaries, remain front and center in the House and Senate. On April 1, the House passed HB 1, the state budget for fiscal years 2012-2013, and now the Senate is inching toward debate on SB 1, its own version of the budget.

AUSTIN – Senate Bill 14, legislation revising state elections standards, was approved by the Texas House of Representatives on March 23 after a floor debate that began in mid-day and lasted just past 11 p.m. Voter identification, on Gov. Rick Perry’s list of emergency issues for the Legislature to address, passed on a final vote of 101-48.

Parts of the Middle East are in turmoil as oppressed people seek freedom from the tyrants that have ruled their lives for generations. One of the things at stake in the outcome of the strife is the people’s freedom to adhere to religious convictions and practices not condoned by the ruling powers.

AUSTIN — Tough questions over how the Legislature will address a $4.3 billion state revenue shortfall in fiscal year 2011 and a $27 billion projected revenue shortfall in Texas’ 2012-2013 budget cycle continued last week. On March 3, Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, chair of the budget-writing House Appropriations Committee, invited Comptroller Susan Combs to come forward and present “a clear description of how we arrived at this point, what our current challenges are and ho ...

I remember reading a letter to Ann Landers written by a woman who had just turned 40. She was lamenting that her “life was over.” She just didn’t know how she could cope with being a middle-aged woman. She felt betrayed and could no longer look forward to a bright future. Shortly after Ms.

AUSTIN -- Gov. Rick Perry on Feb. 25 announced the formation of the Task Force on Unfunded Mandates, a bipartisan panel of one former and eight current Texas public officials. The panel’s mission, Perry said, is to list “burdensome unfunded mandates that have been passed down from the state to local governments, such as cities, counties and school districts.” Perry wants the list, and recommendations “on how to best alleviate these burdens on local entit ...

AUSTIN — Last week, the Senate Finance and the House Appropriations committees were busy gathering input in daily hearings to fine tune their respective versions (Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 1) of the state budget for 2012-2013. The committees have to figure out how to make ends meet on much less revenue, so it’s all about what to cut.

In this age of environmental concern, such as being green, it’s only appropriate that in addition to recycling old bottles, newspapers and cans, many people are seeing the benefits of recycling old or deteriorated building and houses. Although it’s not a new concept to buy a rundown “fixer-upper” with the intention of restoring it to an attractive and comfortable home or an retail location, many buyers are taking a renewed interest and some banks are taking a c ...