Local Issues Articles

Abstaining is not the way to serve the public interest

Austin American-Statesman, September 12, 2014

Of all the monikers for an elected official to strive to be known as, “the abstainer” is not one of them. That’s how Travis County […]

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Dress-down of media merited regarding Hillary Clinton coverage

Austin American-Statesman, June 25, 2014

The line into BookPeople on June 20 snaked from West Sixth Street and Lamar Boulevard (in full sun) north to West Ninth Street, east to […]

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McPhee saved the babies, left spiritual legacy

Austin American-Statesman, April 19, 2014

The iconic Sr. Mary Rose McPhee, who died April 15 at the age of 95 at a Daughters of Charity retirement center in Evansville, Ind., […]

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Vaccine fear derails triumph over disease

Austin American-Statesman, April 1, 2014

Arguably the greatest success story in public health, vaccines demonstrate the triumph of human achievement over disease. But during the last decade or so, I’ve […]

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Predictions of water wars not far-fetched

Austin American Statesman, February 5, 2014

Long before “global warming” was a household term, my father-in-law, Dr. Jack Inglis, would pronounce that it would all come down to our killing each […]

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Nothing says Thanksgiving like a jar of green beans

Austin American-Statesman, November 28, 2013

Here we are at Thanksgiving, that holiday when we gather in a confined space to eat to oblivion with loved ones and rediscover all the […]

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Religious sisterhood’s mission never ends

Austin American-Statesman, October 27, 2013

The announcement in September that the Daughters of Charity will leave Austin by 2014, after 113 years in this community, came as a shock to […]

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She was our rare Rose, and she left city better

Austin American-Statesman, June 1, 2013

At 1 p.m. Saturday, people will gather at the Central Presbyterian Church downtown to honor Rose Lancaster, who died last week at the age of […]

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‘M’ is for the many things moms endure

Austin American-Statesman, May 12, 2013

On Mother’s Day, I think of the moms of the sick and premature babies I cared for in the neonatal ICU for more than 30 […]

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Governor, do the math on Medicaid expansion

Austin American-Statesman, March 3, 2013

I’ve never been a fan of former hospital executive Rick Scott, but he did the right thing last month in making the decision as Republican […]

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