National Something Day

By Renae Brumbaugh   Stunned. That’s the only word I can think of to describe my current state of mind. I was sitting here at my computer, trying to think of something to write to all of you, when I decided to Google “holidays in September.” Maybe that would give me a fresh idea or two.

Ben Carson, a superior outsider

By Rich Lowry While Jeb Bush feuds with Donald Trump and others kowtow to him, only one candidate is seriously gaining on him. Ben Carson is now tied with Trump in one Iowa poll and is close in others.

Neighbors agree to work on trade, energy projects

By Ed Sterling   Gov. Greg Abbott traveled to Mexico last week to meet with President Enrique Peña Nieto and other officials in Mexico City. On Sept.

Chips and shoulders

By Lynette Sowell   I love chips. Besides good chocolate, I can always eat a bite of chips. They’re great with dips of all kinds. Chips come in all kinds of flavors, too. Salt and vinegar, barbecue, loaded baked potato, cheddar. Genius, whoever created different seasonings.

Orange . . . The New Black?

by Renae Brumbaugh It’s a good thing I’m a lawabiding citizen. Well, other than an occasional infraction of our traffic laws, I’m a law-abiding citizen. But my rare (okay, not so rare) speeding ticket is usually the result of absent-mindedness, not defiance. Most people shouldn’t drink and drive.

Comanches easier to deal with than Sam Houston

by Bartee Hailie To please an old pal and improve his standing in Texas, Alexander Le Grand accepted a dangerous assignment on Sep. 9, 1836 only to learn that making peace with the Indians was easier than squeezing money out of Sam Houston.

Nice hair, nice tie

By Lynette Sowell   So unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably know there’s a great-big election in November 2016, and there’s a great-big primary in March 2016. If you are a Republican voter, your head is probably spinning at the multitude of choices for the ticket.

Social media: ‘she said, he said, you said’ is trash talk

By Willis Webb   Okay, I’ve avoided this topic long enough. I don’t do social media — Facebook, Twitter, whatever. To me, it’s all back-fence gossip. I doubt that anything on it is newsworthy. It is gossip: ‘she said, he said, you said.” Gossip. Bad-mouthing. Trash talk.

Follow the Leader

By Renae Brumbaugh   I don’t have the best luck with cars. Last week, my insurance company decided to total my perfectly-drivable, hail-damaged 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid. I loved my Camry, and have waited patiently since April to get it fixed, so this wasn’t the best news.

Flophouse fire Texas’ deadliest hotel blaze

By Bartee Hailie   Minutes after midnight on Sep. 7, 1943, a fire broke out in a fleabag hotel a couple of blocks from the bus station in downtown Houston.