mimblr.com

AUSTIN — Arson is suspected in a fire that swept through the historic Texas Governor’s Mansion early Sunday and left much of the 152-year-old home charred and severely damaged, the state fire marshal said.
“We have some evidence that indicates that we do have an intentionally set fire,” said state Fire Marshal Paul Maldonado. “So we believe that we may be looking at a criminal act here.”
Calling it a “devastating loss to the state of Texas,” Maldonado did not provide details on how the fire may have been set or whether authorities had identified a suspect.
Security cameras are set up around the mansion, which sits downtown on a lot the size of a city block, and investigators were interviewing people who were nearby and might have noticed suspicious activity.
“We’re going to come get the person that’s responsible for causing this damage,” Maldonado said.
About 100 firefighters responded when an alarm went off just before 2 a.m. The mansion has been unoccupied since Gov. Rick Perry and his wife, Anita, temporarily moved out last fall so the mansion could undergo a $10 million renovation. It was scheduled to be completed next year.
No injuries were reported, and there was no immediate financial estimate of the damage.
“We are heartbroken by the fire that has ravaged the Texas Governors Mansion,” Perry, who was out of the country, said in a prepared statement. “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.”
Small hot spots were still smoldering more than six hours after the fire began. Puffs of smoke billowed from the building.
State officials said damage to the Greek Revival-style mansion — first occupied by Gov. Elisha Marshall Pease — was extensive.

chron.com

Happiness is being true to yourself
By MICHAEL THOMASON
The Palestine Herald
I am sitting in a high backed upholstered chair at a fancy table in Jefferson, surrounded by seven women, feeling like this could just turn out to be the worst day of my life. I long for the anonymity of a hotel room, armed with newspaper, coffee and remote control. The women break the ice and chat among themselves, gradually including us. A group of five Texas and Louisiana cousins on an annual trek to the town carry on a conversation that seemed to be related to events of the previous evening. Bob, host of the B&B, comes in from the kitchen with the first breakfast course. I am determined to outlive the weekend.
The food is quite good, and I am careful to eat with what manners I can fetch up from the dim recesses of my memory. I watch the others to see which fork or spoon they go for first, so as not to spoil the illusion I am a sophisticated traveler. Judy is talking to one of the Louisiana ladies, a retired or soon to be retired educator like herself, I think. The largest part of my attention is not on conversation but good table manners and not spilling coffee or juice down my shirt. Somewhere in the distance, I imagine I hear the pronounced echo of an ancient clock loudly ticking. Conversation lags.
Another guest comments brightly that the weather is surely cool for the time of year. All agree, nodding and adding comments. I imagine myself trapped in an odd kind of Victorian time warp, punctuated by the ticking of that clock, completely out of my element. Will I be called on to quote some sonnet or Shakespearean verse to the amusement of sophisticated company? I am more and more uncomfortable. I am just an average hick from the sticks. Surely everyone can see that. Another bemoans winter’s lingering grip despite the green grass and budding flowers. One of the Louisiana cousins puts down her fork and says matter of factly: “Well, cold has its benefits. You can have a hot flash and not even know it.” I almost choke on my orange juice as the table erupts in laughter and sunshine seems to fill the room. We all become friends in the space of a breakfast served.

palestineherald.com

COMPILED BY ANGELA GRAYSON
‘Trowel and Error’— 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today . Presentations by Rosina Newton (’Schmorganic: Why and How to Go Natural in the Garden’), David Meeker (’Heirloom Veggies for Hot Southern Climates’) and Paula Middleton (’Landscape Treats for Your Eyes and Table’). Mayfield Park, 3505 W. 35th St. Free, $5 donation requested. 453-7074.
Austin Butterfly Forum Field Trip — 9 a.m. to noon Sunday . Val Bugh and Dan Hardy lead participants looking for butterflies, insects and spiders. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, 4801 La Crosse Ave. $7. 345-6935, www.austinbutterflies.org.
‘Roses to Know and Grow in Central Texas’ — 2 p.m. Sunday. Learn about roses that do well in our climate and how to care for them. It’s About Thyme Garden Center, 11726 Manchaca Road. Free. 280-1192, www.itsaboutthyme.com.
Round Rock Community Garden Club ‘All About Tomatoes’ — 9:15 a.m. Monday. Wendy Odium, the ‘Tomato Queen,’ lectures. Baca Center, 301 W. Bagdad Ave., Building 2, Round Rock. Free. 218-5499.
Bromeliad Society of Austin — 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. R.L. Frasier presents ‘Succulent Bromeliads/Hardy Hechtias of Mexico.’ Zilker Botanical Garden, 2220 Barton Springs Road. Free. 933-1867.
Austin Bonsai Society — 7 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. Bill Boytim discusses and demonstrates how to improve your trees by air layering and grafting. Zilker Botanical Garden, 2220 Barton Springs Road. Free. 266-2655.
Bamboo Logic Seminar — 10 a.m. to noon April 12. Topics will include bamboo horticulture, growth habits and rates and species types; problem-solving for the invasive (’running’) bamboos; and landscape applications for non-invasive (’clumping’) bamboos. Casa de Luz, 1701 Toomey Road. $15 includes seminar, tour and handouts. 350-8505, www.bamboo-logic.com.
Cherrywood Plant and Book Swap — 9 a.m. April 12. Trade plants that are well-suited for propagation and/or transplanting in Austin. Bring books to share with neighbors. Cherrywood Green, Cherrywood Road and East 34th Street. Free. 478-2358.

statesman.com

By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS — Severe weather is headed for North Texas this afternoon, capable of pounding the area with heavy rain, hail, damaging winds and tornadoes, the National Weather Service said Wednesday.
Storms should start rolling into the area by mid-afternoon. Parts of North Texas could receive up to 4 inches of rain. There’s a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms for most of the area, north of a line from Goldthwaite to Corsicana to Canton, the weather service said.
A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued until 4 p.m. Wednesday for several counties west of Dallas-Fort Worth, including Parker, Wise and Montague counties. The weather service also issued for several of those counties a tornado watch that was set to expire at 8 p.m.
In Dallas-Fort Worth, the first round of storms could last until 10 tonight, said Nick Hampshire, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Another round will fire up overnight and could last until 6 a.m. Thursday, he said.
“We’ll see more showers and thunderstorms late tonight, overnight,” he said. “We’ll have two rounds today.”
Tonight’s storms come after rain fell over North Texas last night. Over an inch fell in southern Denton County and about 1.5 inches fell in Dallas, Mr. Hampshire said. There were reports of some hail, up to the size of golf balls, in Denton County and Tarrant County, he said.
North Arlington residents picked up the pieces Wednesday morning after quarter-sized hail fell about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. The storm stripped trees of leaves and was powerful enough to knock down a tree.
Oncor reported that about 9,000 customers were without power at about 4 a.m. Wednesday but that electricity had been restored to more than 8,000 customers by late morning.

khou.com

The South Marion Citizen is a free weekly community newspaper that publishes on Fridays. It serves the southwest area of Marion County, on the edge of Ocala. The community identifies itself as the State Road 200 Corridor after the major highway that runs through it.
Circulation of the Citizen is more than 14,500 per week. Some are direct mailed into upscale, gated retirement communities in the area, and others are distributed through paper boxes in communities, shopping centers, counter tops in businesses, hospitals and libraries. Carriers deliver copies to neighbors in the smaller retirement communities.
News - Friday, 1 p.m. - the week before publication
Classifieds -Noon, Tuesday before publication
Display Advertising - Monday, 5 p.m. before pulication
The South Marion Citizen is driven by its readers, with more than 90 percent of news written by volunteer columnists and writers within the community covering a diverse range of topics: politics, health, computers, cooking, religion, humor and others. The paper also covers local political issues that directly impact the community.
Tricia Marks is the general manager; Lee Helscel is the editor; Pauline Moore is in charge of classified ads and circulation; Tom Rapplean and Susie Mirabile are the display ad sales staff.
Helscel’s newspaper career started with the St. Petersburg Times in 1968 as a tape monitor for automated line casting machines an entry-level position in the composing room when the industry was still hot type.
Over the years he worked at various composing room positions as the industry changed. He has also written a cooking column for St. Petersburg Evening Independent, worked as a staff writer for the Tampa Times in its Lutz bureau and as editor of the Riverland News in Dunnellon.
After coming to work for the Citrus County Chronicle pagination department in 2001, he became the assistant to then-editor Jim Hunter.

smcitizen.com

Waco, Texas – Sophomore running back Jay Finley rushed eight times for 73 yards and two touchdowns to highlight Baylor’s 111-play scrimmage to end spring practice Saturday afternoon at Floyd Casey Stadium.
“First of all, we didn’t get anyone injured; that was our number one goal,” said Baylor head football coach Art Briles. “We played with a pretty good pace and tempo which is something that we want to be known as; a tempo-tough football team.
“From the standpoint of what we’re looking for, we’re there,” he added. “It’ss like I told them, this journey is not over, it just started. We’ll have 29 workouts before we play Wake Forest and we just finished 15. We should see vast improvement and we will.”
Finley, the Bears’ leading returning rusher, scored on runs of 5 and 4 yards while averaging 9.1 yards per carry. Five of his eight carries on the day went for 10 or more yards and he caught one pass for 5 yards.
Senior Jacoby Jones carried a scrimmage-high 12 times for 53 yards as the Bears’ ground game generated 207 yards on 61 carries for the scrimmage.
True freshman quarterback Robert Griffin also impressed in his first spring game as a Baylor Bear, completing 5-of-9 passes for 66 yards and rushing five times for 30 yards. Griffin graduated from Copperas Cove (Texas) High School last December and enrolled at Baylor in January 2008 in order to go through spring ball and compete for the Bears’ starting job as a rookie.
Senior Kirby Freeman, a transfer from Miami, Fla., who has one season of eligibility remaining, and junior Blake Szymanski, who has 12 career starts under his belt at Baylor, also had impressive moments under center Saturday. Freeman, who took the first series of the scrimmage, completed 7-of-13 passes for 75 yards with one interception and no touchdowns.

kwtx.com