WDL named official paper of Ferris

From the ECP:

With no mention of what it might mean to keeping citizens informed, the Ferris City Council voted Monday to change the publication of its legal notices from The Ellis County Press to the Waxahachie Daily Light.
The only excuse given was the desire for a “daily newspaper” from Councilman Gary Ross, who made the motion for a change.

CNET mourns death of co-worker

The crew over at CNET is mouring the death of co-worker and CNET Senior Editor James Kim today. Kim’s body was found in the Oregon wilderness, seven days after he went looking for help to save his stranded family.
His wife and two children were rescued earlier this week but rescuers did not find James until it was too late.
The tech website has posted a montage of videos in memory of Kim at http://www.cnettv.com/9710-1_53-25119.html.
Also read more from CNet writers

US Population continues to grow

Want to keep up with the latest US population? Visit the US PopClock Projection.
According to the clock the country has a net gain of one person every 14 seconds.
If I remember correctly, GW on Prairie Home Companion made the comment a few months back that the US had reached 300,000,000 people after another young boy was born in Mexico that morning.

Eight-cent gas tax could replace tollways

From Dallasblog.com:

New toll roads aren’t the only pathway to financing the state’s transportation needs, according to a recent report commissioned by the Governor’s Business Council (GBC). An eight cent increase in the gas tax indexed for inflation may be all that’s needed to pay for new state roads over the next 25 years.
In outlining the report at the Nov. 28 meeting of the Study Commission on Transportation Financing, David Ellis of the Texas Transportation Institute offered lawmakers several toll-less financing alternatives to meet the state’s future transportation needs in the eight largest metropolitan areas.
A flat increase in the gas tax, Ellis said, is possible but not optimal. “The fuel tax loses buying power to inflation every year because it is a tax based on the unit of volume. It’s not related to costs of projects,” he said. Nonetheless, he said, a 31-cent increase per gallon in the gas tax would provide for the Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) unfunded needs, as opposed to the estimated $1.21 increase frequently cited by Texas Transportation Commission (TTC) chairman Ric Williamson.