Gay ex-mayor who fled U.S. awaits immigration change

While some people await for an immigration reform and others await for same-sex marriage, there's a few people who await for both, like in this case of J.W. Lown; he had been a mayor in San Angelo, Texas for 6 years until his conscience and the love for someone of the same-sex made him resign.

He could not take an oath of office to uphold the laws of this country and remain in his relationship, in other words he had to practice what he preached.
While heterosexual citizens can sponsor spouses for green cards with relative ease, no such option exists for committed same-sex partners, and it's not seen well by really conservative and religious groups.
So, in my opinion he shouldn't have resigned because of his sexual orientation. After all, the residents of San Angelo not only chose him, a gay man, as their mayor, but re-elected him three times. Though, he never spoke openly about his sexuality, it was obvious that he was gay. "When you're 33 and still escorting your sister to every social event in town, people start to wonder,” he said.

Critique

I read the article that Jamie wrote about Unplanned Parenthood and i agree with most of what she said. She made great points on how the Senate Bill 521 will affect our teens by denying them education about sex, abstinence and all the diseases that sex can bring. I also like the fact that she didn't make any religious comments and she kept her beliefs for herself, it shows that she respects the religious views of other readers and backs up all her information with facts.
Overall her article is well written and so simple to read and adhere all the information she is trying to convey.

Jamie's Blog

The water we conserve today, can serve us tomorrow!

Texas should strictly require its citizens to conserve water from day to day as many cities around the country have already taken the innitiative and they're taking this issue very seriously.
Several cities in Texas have been able to reduce water use through water conservation programs and they have become more informed in ways to properly use water more efficiently, which can help Texas meet the challenges brought on by population growth.
What does it take to save water? One of the big opportunities for saving water is through plumbing,
just think about how much water you use every day, luckily, saving water is easy. It just requires putting a little extra thought into your daily activities, you can reduce your water waste by limiting outdoor watering, now watering is limited twice a week and only during approved hours, also to reduce water consider taking shorter showers and only shower once per day or simply shutting off the tap while brushing your teeth. It can also cut your water bill dramatically. Think about it, doing your part to help the environment while saving money is a win-win.
A successful program involves the support of its citizens, so how do Austin residents feel about these dastrict measures? Water conservation is a must, there is no more water than what is already available and it's now a global issue, that's why we need to learn how to make better decisions that affect, not just us, but the rest of the world.

On Thursday, February 21, KXAN published an article about a statewide poll they ran to find out where the State of Texas stands on gambling and in-state casinos.

Article writer Josh Hinkle, made an outstanding job on describing what many locals are doing to gamble, legally, out of state and on depicting the information he acquired from the polls. He says, that some carpool and others follow the dozens of charter buses shuttling like-minded Texans down the highway to other states like Louisiana. 
He later showed the poll results that show Texas' attitudes on gambling.
64 percent of Texans say the support casino gambling in the state
64 percent say they have gambled in out-of-state casinos.
28 percent say casinos would lead to gambling addiction.
23 percent say casinos would add to Texas' crime rate.

He, then, explained that casinos make about  $2 billion and $4 billion from Texas each year, according to various estimates and The Texas Gaming Association says that spending not only takes that money from the state's economy, it also costs the state $1.5 billion a year in tax revenue. 
The title given to this article "Poll: Texans support legal in-state casinos" shows that his audience is mostly people over 21, who are able to vote, buy lottery tickets, and gamble legally in some states.

With that being said, i believe that Texas should make gambling legal, and give Texans the decision to gamble in-state, which would give our government more control of the money that we spend in casinos. The $2 billion and $4 billion that other states get from Texas can stay here to help our children to have a better education and to create programs to help those in need. 

On February 2013, the Texas Monthly published an article titled "What nobody says about Austin" where they question if Austin is the State's most segregated city.
The author of the article described Austin as a prideful city with cultural liberalism and sophistication and believed it to be a very diverse city. As a Tejana she knows that Latinos make up 35 percent of Austin’s population but as a newcomer she was surprised that she didn't see as many as she did in San Antonio, Houston, and other places she had visited. 
Later on in the article she, then, learned that she had just been in the West side of Austin which is basically a different city than the East side divided up by Interstate Highway 35, making the West side majorly white, and East side majorly Latino or black. 
To me this was an interesting article because nobody really acknowledges how diverse Austin is and how overwhelming it can be for newcomers to get settled in this beautiful, yet, diverse city.