First Texas bank fails for 2010

Posted: under Featured Articles, Lead Story, Texas, business.
Tags: , , , , ,

The La Coste National Bank, La Coste, Texas, was closed today by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Community National Bank, Hondo, Texas, to assume all of the deposits of The La Coste National Bank. La Coste is approximately 15 miles west of San Antonio, TX.

The sole branch of The La Coste National Bank will reopen on Monday as a branch of Community National Bank. Depositors of The La Coste National Bank will automatically become depositors of Community National Bank. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance coverage. Customers should continue to use their existing branch until they receive notice from Community National Bank that it has completed systems changes to allow other Community National Bank branches to process their accounts as well.

This evening and over the weekend, depositors of The La Coste National Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.

As of December 31, 2009, The La Coste National Bank had approximately $53.9 million in total assets and $49.3 million in total deposits. Community National Bank will pay the FDIC a premium of 0.51 percent to assume all of the deposits of The La Coste National Bank. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, Community National Bank agreed to purchase essentially all of the assets.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $3.7 million. Community National Bank’s acquisition of all the deposits was the “least costly” resolution for the FDIC’s DIF compared to all alternatives. The La Coste National Bank is the 18th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the first in Texas. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Madisonville State Bank, Madisonville, on October 30, 2009.

In an article today we predicted that failures by small banks like these will become more and more common as the coming Commercial Real Estate crash gets close.

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Written by Jean Valjean

Comments (0) Feb 19 2010


Piper Cherokee plane crashes into IRS building in Austin – Suicide note found online

Posted: under Featured Articles, Lead Story, Life, News, Society, Texas.
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Breaking news from Austin (constantly updated):

Earlier today a small single engine plane crashed into an IRS building housing almost 200 employees in North Austin.  FAA officials told CNN the plane was a Piper Cherokee PA-28.

An unidentified official with the National Transportation Safety Board said the pilot apparently set his own house on fire, got into the plane, and then flew it into the seven-story building, Fox News Channel reported An NTSB spokesman said the agency couldn’t confirm the assertion.

IRS Plane Crash in Austin February 2010

IRS Plane Crash in Austin February 2010

Austin station KXAN reports that North Austin resident Joe Andrew Stack’s house was set on fire earlier today, and police believe the two events are related.  A neighbor saved Stack’s wife and child.  Joe Stack owns a plane registered out of Georgetown.

Neighbors reported to KXAN that Stack had been having problems with the IRS, and Stack and his wife had an argument last night, and Stack’s wife and daughter left and spent the night at a hotel.  This morning, Stack’s wife and daughter returned, and that’s when the fire started.

Harry Evans of the Austin Fire Department said firefighters found “heavy fire destruction in and around the second floor … lots of heat, lots of smoke, lots of fire.”

KXAN reporter David Scott claimed that several people told them that there was a window cleaning truck and bystanders sprang into action, put ladders up against the building and rescued people out of the building before any officials arrived.

Federal officials said two F-16 fighter jets were launched as a precaution after the crash, though terrorist intent was not indicated.

“At this time we have no reason to believe there is a nexus to criminal or terrorist activity,” said Matt Chandler, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security. “We are in the process of coordinating with state officials and other federal partners to gather more information and at this time we will defer additional questions to local officials and the FAA.”

Assistant Austin Fire Chief Harry Evans said at least one person was missing and two people were taken to a hospital. Their conditions and identities were not immediately known.

The crash sent workers fleeing as ceilings crumbled, windows shattered and flames shot out of the building.

Austin TV station KXAN reports they received a message supposedly from the suspect.  They are attempting to verify before airing.

Officials are keeping reporters and bystanders away from the building, fearing for its structural integrity.

BREAKING UPDATE!

According to web reports, a Joe Stack from Austin owns a company named “Embedded Art“. Today, the website has been replaced with a long, rambling suicide note.  The site list the administrative contact as Joe Stack. Below is the full text of the letter in case the site goes down, as well as what the website looked like before the change:Embedded Art Website - Original

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Written by Jean Valjean

Comments (1) Feb 18 2010


Funding for Trinity River projects in Fort Worth and Dallas go in different directions.

Posted: under Dallas/Fort Worth, Lead Story, Life, News, Politics, Texas.
Tags: , , , , , ,

It could be called “A Tale of Two Rivers”. If you were corny. Or if it was two rivers. But it’s only one river: The Trinity River, passing through both Fort Worth and Dallas, and the centerpiece of urban revitalization projects in both sister cities.  And that’s about where  the similarities end:   The Fort Worth TRV is moving right along, and is actually being helped by the recession, with the estimated costs of the next phase declining by $2.6 million dollars, according to the Fort-Worth Star-Telegram.  Thirty miles away, the Dallas Trinity River Corridor Project is getting its federal funds cut.

Again.

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Written by Jean Valjean

Comments (0) Feb 04 2010


“Houston is technically bankrupt”, continued

Posted: under Lead Story, Life, News, Politics, Society, Texas, business.
Tags: , , , , , , ,

So a quick followup to the story we had yesterday, about Republican candidate for Texas Governor Debra Medina stating that Houston is technically bankrupt.  Turns out that a few months ago, a group of CPAs sent an open letter to the members of Houston’s City Government, as well as to major US newspapers.

In it, they don’t beat around the bush on their take of the city of Houston’s finances: Turns out, Houston is broke; it just hasn’t acknowledged it yet:

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Written by Jean Valjean

Comments (2) Jan 31 2010


States recommend $24 Billion in new taxes and fees for 2010.

Posted: under Texas.

What do you do when your residents are suffering through the worst economic climate since the Great Depression? Well, if you are a state in the U.S., you tax them some more.

According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (yes, there is such a group. I imagine their conventions must be loads of fun.), the total cost of new taxes and fees to states’ residents would total up to $23.9 BILLION dollars, and that is on top of the $726 million tax and fee increases in 2009.

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Recommended net tax and fee changes would result in $23.9 billion in additional revenue based on governors’ recommended fiscal 2010 budgets. For fiscal 2010, 29 states recommend net increases while five states recommend net decreases. This amount well exceeds fiscal 2009, when states recommended $726 million tax and fee increases, as sixteen states recommended net decreases while eleven state recommended net increases.

Fortunately, it doesn’t look like Texas is on the list of worst offenders. At a glance, that title seems to go to New York. Just look at the list of proposed increases in Sales Tax alone:

SALES TAXES EFFECTIVE DATE REVENUE  (MILLIONS)
Expanded the definition of vendor to preclude certain retailers from avoiding the SUT 6/09 9.0
Impose sales tax on digital property 6/09

15.0
Curtail certain abusive tax avoidance schemes 6/09 4.0
Impose sales tax on cable/satellite services 6/09 136.0
Repeal the sales tax cap on motor fuel 6/09 90.0
Equalize the current coupon system 6/09 3.0
Eliminate clothing exemption 6/09 462.0
Impose sales tax on certain miscellaneous personal services 6/09 78.0
Repeal bad debt law 6/09 Enough trailer 8.0
Increase prepaid sales tax rate on cigarettes 6/09 14.0
Allow wine in grocery stores 6/09 0.8
Limit capital improvement exemption to new construction, additions 6/09 120.0
Impose sales tax on entertainment related spending 6/09 53.0
Impose sales tax on transportation-related spending 6/09 45.0
Increase tobacco retail fee 6/09 -0.4
Increase beer and wine tax 6/09 2.0
Impose sales tax on Soft Drinks 6/09 Craptastic psp 404.0
Impose an additional 5 percent tax on certain luxury goods A Home at the End of the World download 6/09

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Increase the auto rental tax from 5 percent to 6 percent 6/09 8.0
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And if you think THAT’S bad, wait you haven’t seen the fee changes for New York yet:

NEW/CHANGED FEE EFFECTIVE DATE REVENUE  (MILLIONS)
Increase Registration Fees 9/09

60.5
Increase Driver’s License Fees
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9/09

21.9
Reissue License Plates 4/10 0.0
Increase HUT registration fee from $4 to $15 and allow the Tax Department to mail out decals
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4/09

4.6
Increase Food licensing fees 4/09 3.7
Increase Food Safety Violation Penalties 4/09 1.2
Increase and Expand New Statewide Central Register Fees 4/09 2.7
Increase various Civil Service Exam Fees 4/09 1.6
Expand Insurance Fingerprinting Fee 4/09 6.3
Increase Nuclear Power Plant Fee 4/09 2.7
Remove Cap on DMV Surcharges 4/09 8.3
Increase License Termination Fees 4/09 13.4
Increase State Pollutant Discharge Elimination Fees 4/09 5.0
Establish Fishing Fees 4/09

6.0
Increase Physician Fees 4/09 16.4
Assess Early Intervention Provider Fee 4/09 1.7
Restructure Clinical Lab Fees 4/09 36.5
Increase Certificate of Need Fees 4/09 4.0
Reinstitute Hospital Assessment 4/09 316.4
Reinstitute Home Care Assessment 4/09 19.1
Increase Hospital Surcharges 4/09 126.0

Increase Covered Lives Assessments

4/09 240.0
Extend the Covered Lives Assessment
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Establish Physical Procedure Surcharge 4/09 49.8
Increase Insurance Assessment for Public Health Programs 4/09

99.8
Establish Timothy’s Law Insurance Assessment 4/09
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Increase Insurance Assessment for Tobacco Control and early Intervention 4/09 92.6
Establish Third Party Administrator Fee 4/09 63.1
Increase Various Asbestos Related Fees 4/09 9.2
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Increase Real Property Transfer Fee

4/09 14.3
Increase Administrative Parks Fees

4/09 6.5
Increase Utility Assessment 4/09 651.6
Establish Horse Entrance Fee 4/09 1.0
Increase State Licensing Fees 4/09 3.5
Increase Surcharge on Auto Insurance 4/09 48.4
Automated Speed Enforcement Cameras 4/09 50.0
Establish Processing Fee for Paper Returns 4/09 6.8
Establish Bad Check Fee 4/09 1.5
Establish Installment Payment Fee 4/09 4.5
Establish Tax Preparer Fee 4/09 6.0
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Written by Jean Valjean

Comments (0) Jun 04 2009


Chrysler Notifies 789 Dealers of Closure, including 12 in North Texas

Posted: under Texas.
Tags: , , ,

Chrysler LLC is seeking to immediately drop 789 dealers from its retail network, according to documents filed on Thursday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan

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Chrysler studied the sales, location, market share, finances and facilities of each of its dealers to identify the strongest of its 3,200 dealers. In 2008, Chrysler sold 303 vehicles per store. Toyota sold 1,292 and Honda 1,030.

Chrysler’s dealers began receiving letters Thursday notifying them about the fate of their dealerships. According to one dealer who received a letter, the auto maker intends to have those dealerships closed within 30 to 60 days.  List of those dealers affected in North Texas:

  • BOSSIER DODGE
    2405 N. INTERSTATE 35E
    WAXAHACHIE, TX 75165
  • CANTON MOTORS INC
    I-20 & HWY 19
    CANTON, TX 75103
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    WAXAHACHIE, TX 75165
  • EL DORADO CHRYSLER JEEP
    2110 N CENTRAL EXPY
    MCKINNEY, TX 75070-3744
  • FRANK KENT DODGE, LLC
    3435 W LOOP 820 S
    FORT WORTH, TX 76116-6646
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    420 W WOODARD
    DENISON, TX 75020-3139
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    310 AIRPORT FREEWAY
    BEDFORD, TX 76022-6404
  • HUFFINES CHRYSLER JEEP
    5150 S I-35 E # SOUTH
    DENTON, TX 76210-2341
  • JIM MCNATT DODGE
    4100 I-35 SOUTH
    DENTON, TX 76210
  • MANUEL DODGE

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    1295 N CENTRAL EXPY
    RICHARDSON, TX 75080-4606

  • PRESTON CHRYSLER JEEP
    13439 PRESTON ROAD
    DALLAS, TX 75240-5277
  • TOMMY MANUEL CHRY-JEEP
    1501 EAST I-20
    ARLINGTON, TX 76014

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Written by Jean Valjean

Comments (0) May 14 2009


Dear Washington,

Posted: under Texas.

Dear Washington,

I don’t know how to say this… I don’t want to hurt you. But things just haven’t been the same between us since the 30’s.

You’ve become very overbearing and, at times abusive. I feel like it’s your way or the highway and like you don’t listen to me at all.

Your spending is out of control. I’ve tried to take the credit cards away from you, but you just went to China and talked them into loaning us more money. Money we don’t have. When I ask you where we’re going to get the money, how we’re going to pay back our debt, you tell me that *I’ll* just have to tighten my belt and call me names.

I’ve stayed with you for the sake of the children, but now you’re putting our debt in the children’s names and hurting *their* future. You’re teaching them that you’re the only one who loves them and that they will never be able to take care of themselves without you. This is abusive, manipulative behavior that I just can’t ignore anymore.

When I call you on your oppressive and abusive behavior, you call the cops on *me* and tell them that *I’m* the threat. I’ve never threatened you once and you know it.

I don’t feel like you’re even trying to protect me from the real threats. That you even care that there are people who want to hurt me. Heck, you’ve invited the most dangerous people into our home. You’re positively *friendly* with them.

You don’t love me, Washington. You just want to control every aspect of my life. This is nothing more than a power trip to you.

For the sake of my mental health and for the future prosperity of our children, I have to leave you.

There. I said it.

I want a divorce.

I’ll be staying with my bothers in Texas. I know that you’re going to threaten me, to try to bully me. (I’d get a restraining order, but I know that you have most of the judges in your back pocket.) I know that you may even try to kill me. But I’d rather be dead than live with a bully.

–Marie at Free Republic

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Written by Jean Valjean

Comments (0) Apr 19 2009


Texas is a state of mind

Posted: under Texas.

“Texas is a state of mind. Texas is an obsession. Above all, Texas is a nation in every sense of the word. And there’s an opening convey of generalities. A Texan outside of Texas is a foreigner.”

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- John Steinbeck, U.S. author, Nobel Prize Winner. “Travels With Charley: in Search of America, pt. 4″ (1962).

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Written by Jean Valjean

Comments (0) Apr 17 2009