It’s no secret that property taxes in Texas are among the highest in the nation. According to my Google research assistant, the highest property rate in Texas is Fort Bend @ 2.23%. The average property tax rate in Texas is 1.80%. (Hawaii is 0.28% – Colorado 0.51% – quite a difference.) Which leads me to Brazoria County at 2.03%. Did your personal property increase in evaluation this year to the point where you’re wondering if it even makes sense to own property? A public meeting is scheduled for May 1st at the Lake Jackson Civic Center 6-8 pm. Monday night. This Monday night! For more information call 979-415-4859. We must question some of our evaluations. For the past year, plus some, we have had massive amounts of construction in downtown Lake Jackson. So much construction… roads blocked, turnarounds asphalted over the medians, jackhammering all day long. It’s been a battle to keep our office clean, vacuum cleaners clogged up with dirt that we bring in from outside. There are days I can taste the grit in my mouth. Our customers couldn’t even figure out how to get to us most of the time. But now downtown is finished (well, kind of finished) with this phase of work, and soon we will have great new streets and sidewalks for everyone’s enjoyment… but not our Parking Way Street; we don’t even have streetlights that work over here. But if my 5th grade math is still good, I figured the evaluation on The Source Weekly building still went up 2.5% this year. More than Fort Bend, the highest property rate in Texas. Be sure to show up on Monday evening and let’s see if we can be educated in the proper way to lower our appraisal values. May 1st. This Monday! It’s just your money. 😊
For those of you that have been regular customers through the years, you may remember Kay. She has retired to Tennessee now (she said she lives in Mayberry), but if you ever met her, you’d remember her. When you walked through our front door, she remembered your name and your kids and a story about your grandma, or your brother. She was also very straightforward, frank and to the point. It was either black or white. Kay sent me the following joke today and said she thinks it was a conversation that she and I had one day. If it wasn’t the exact conversation, it was really close. I’m still laughing. We do miss Kay… most of the time.
Me: Did you call a customer dumb today?
Kay: No. I said, “are you dumb”? I was asking him.
Me: Do you think that was appropriate?
Kay: Very much so.
Do you ever wonder (you know, on days you have nothing better to do…) if there could possibly be any unclaimed money just waiting for you somewhere. You know, a forgotten safe deposit box, bank account, dividends, or uncashed paychecks. I remember years ago, someone notifying my mother there was unclaimed money for my sister because a neighbor couple had opened a savings account for her when she was born. Go to UnClaimed.org. It will direct you to the state you are interested in. MissingMoney.com or usa.gov/unclaimed-money. I’ll let you know about my fees later. 😊
We won’t have a society if we destroy the environment. Margaret Mead
Two African flamingo birds (banded as No. 492 and 347) escaped from the Zoo in Wichita on a stormy night in June 2005, almost 18 years ago. Employees had not yet clipped the birds’ wings to prevent them from flying, a painless procedure that is repeated yearly. Just like us getting a haircut. Zoo officials tried for a week to recapture them. Then in March 2022, No. 492, also known as Pink Floyd, was spotted around Cox Bay between Palacios and Port Lavaca. An environmental activist took a video knowing that flamingos don’t exist in the local wild, and Texas Parks and Wildlife were able to identify by reading the leg band. Wasn’t there a Pink Floyd song, Learning to Fly?
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Actor Lee Majors of Six Million Dollar Man is 84. Actor Eve Plumb of The Brady Bunch is 65. Singer Carnie Wilson of Wilson Phillips is 55. Singer Bobby Vinton is 88. Blue Velvet. Actor Olivia Hussey is 72. Romeo and Juliet. Actor Hayley Mills is 77. Actor James Woods is 76. Actor Rick Moranis is 70. Actor Elinor Donahue of Father Knows Best is 86. Keyboardist Alan Price of The Animals is 81. Actor Tim Curry is 77. Singer Mark “Flo” Volman of The Turtles is 76. Actor Ashley Judd is 55. Singer Iggy Pop is 76. Actor Patti LuPone is 74. Actor Tony Danza is 72. Actor Andie MacDowell is 65. Actor-director John Cameron Mitchell of Hedwig and the Angry Inch is 60. Actor Jack Nicholson is 86. Singer Mel Carter is 84. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me. Director John Waters is 77. He wrote and directed the comedy film Hairspray, which was an international success and was later adapted into a hit Broadway musical. Singer Peter Frampton is 73. Humble Pie. Keyboardist Craig Frost of Grand Funk Railroad is 75.
Actor-comedian Carol Burnett is 90. Actor Kate Hudson is 44. Actor George Takei of Star Trek is 86. Actor Ryan O’Neal is 82. Actor Jessica Lange is 74. Actor Clint Howard is 64. Actor Joyce DeWitt of Three’s Company is 74. Actor Valerie Bertinelli is 63. Actor Shirley MacLaine is 89. Actor-singer-director Barbra Streisand is 81. Country singer Duane Allen of The Oak Ridge Boys is 80. Drummer Doug Clifford of Creedence Clearwater Revival is 78. Bassist Stu Cook of Creedence Clearwater Revisited is 78. Country singer Richard Sterban of the Oak Ridge Boys is 80. Actor Al Pacino is 83. He turned down playing Han Solo in Star Wars because he couldn’t understand the script. Singer Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA is 78.
Happy 80th birthday to Ralph O’Henley. Happy birthday Emma Jean! We love y’all!
Barry Humphries, best known for his creation of his gladioli-waving alter-ego drag character Dame Edna Everage, died at 89. He charmed and roasted celebrities, always wore outrageous eyewear, was a fashion icon, and greeted you with “Hello, Possums.” If you want to have a giant laugh, pull up Dame Edna and Tom Jones discuss plastic surgery. In fact, last night I sat on my front porch and watched several videos of his personal appearances on talk shows and laughed until I had tears in my eyes. What a treasure! Len Goodman, a professional ballroom dancer from England, and beloved judge on Dancing with the Stars, died at 78. Harry Belafonte died at 96. He was an activist, multi-platinum selling singer (Day-O, the Banana Boat Song and over 30 albums released), humanitarian, actor, producer and EGOT holder for his Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards. He also helped organize the Grammy-winning song, We Are the World. Judy Farrell, actress and writer best known for her role as Nurse Able on M*A*S*H, died at 84. She was in the series from 1976 to 1983 and shared screen-time with Mike Farrell, her then-husband, who played Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt on the show.
Day 12 without chocolate, lost hearing in my left eye.
A Russian supersonic fighter-bomber accidently dropped a bomb on its own city of Belgorod, Russia, near the Ukrainian border last week injuring three people and creating a massive crater 65 feet across. Just hate that… bombing innocent people, then having the bomb accidently dropped on your own country.
Residents of Brigantine, New Jersey thought that the rumors heard around town about Trump playing a round of golf at their local country club, were true. Nah. It was just a Trump impersonator having fun. During spring break, the Red Circle Ice Cream in Houston brought back their seasonal Crawfish Ice Cream, by popular demand, of course. There is no crawfish in the actual ice cream, just flecks of deliciousness like garlic, butter, cayenne, and paprika, then they place one crawfish on top of the scoop. Better get in line next year. Biden made it official. He’s running again in 2024.
Tucker Carlson is out at Fox News. One article said that it is not related to the $787 million settlement Fox has to pay Dominion Voting Systems over Carlson’s coverage of the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol and his conspiracy theory that it was provoked by government agents, but I sure bet it helped Murdoch make the decision. The Murdoch firm paid a secret phone-hacking settlement to Prince William In 2020. A Japanese company lost contact with their spacecraft during a moon landing this week.
To RJ, my pen pal that shares notes, jokes, and thoughts on quilting, but has never signed a name or given me an address, I thank you for your lovely final note. This sweet person said, “After reading your column for many a long time, I have come to conclusion that you are a very kind person. You care about our planet, the people in it and the creatures who share it with us (although I am not a great love of ants and poisonous snakes). You support your community and try to shop locally when possible. The world would be a wonderful place to live if everyone took after you, and the Amish way of life, so it is my prayer that the Lord bless you mightily, not only in 2023 but for the remainder of your days. I remain a faithful reader of The Source and especially your column.” Well, what’s a girl to say. That was just the sweetest thing ever. Thank you, RJ for all you shared with us over the past few years. If you are ever downtown, stop by so we can talk a little about how to save the Earth. 😊
Doctor’s Office: Be sure to show up 15 minutes early so the doctor can see you 45 minutes late.
Thank you to Sue for calling the office to let me know that she tried my recommended cat litter box and “It Works!” There’s not a week that goes by that I don’t think of my friend Sandra that recommended it to me when Oliver Cat had his surgery. I just love it. Tidy Cat Breeze. Thank you, Kim for the Armenian cucumbers. I would never have guessed that they were cucumbers, but I bet they pickle good!
For years Miller High Life, based in Milwaukee, has used the slogan of Champagne of Beers in their advertising. Well, in Belgium, they took offense at degrading the name of champagne in that manner, because goods cannot be imported into Europe with the name Champagne if they are not produced in the Champagne region of France. So, customs officers in Belgium seized a shipment of 2,352 cans of the beer on its way to Germany. They popped each can, drained them, crushed the cans, then sent them to be recycled.
Arbor Day is April 28. You know what you need to do!
8 million tons of plastic is dumped into our ocean each year. That’s like dumping one garbage truck full of plastic into the ocean into the ocean every minute. If we do nothing, this will increase to two garbage trucks a minute by 2030 and four garbage trucks per minute by 2050. Giving up plastic is a choice. You can do it!
Mattel has a new Barbie doll with Down Syndrome. How great is that! “As the most diverse doll line on the market, Barbie plays an important role in a child’s early experiences, and we are dedicated to doing our part to counter social stigma through play,” Lisa McKnight, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Barbie & Dolls, Mattel, said in a release. “Our goal is to enable all children to see themselves in Barbie, while also encouraging children to play with dolls who do not look like themselves. Doll play outside of a child’s own lived experience can teach understanding and build a greater sense of empathy, leading to a more accepting world. We are proud to introduce a Barbie doll with Down syndrome to better reflect the world around us and further our commitment to celebrating inclusion through play.”
Have a great weekend. Thank you for reading and shopping with us. We appreciate you!
Lisa
Send comments to Lisa Baker at lisa@thesourceweekly.com
