It is absolutely amazing to me how much people spend on herbal remedies and supplements over the counter, when they can barely meet their bills. Some folks cannot afford prescription medications even at Wal-Mart prices of $4 a month for most generics, but will pay good money for moderate- to high-priced supplements. Maybe it’s the idea of making one’s own decisions about what to take for each ailment, but sometimes... by JoAnn Lister    more »

While the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) affirms in its mission statement that it “strives to protect our state’s human and natural resources,” that protection has a qualifier: “consistent with sustainable economic development.” In any showdown between profit and health, profit usually wins out. In Texas, the regulatory agency for the environment is open for business. Following are four recent examples in which business interests were dominant over public and environmental health.... by Fran Sage    more »

To make a long story short, it turns out he decided to buy a couple of the new gasoline cans, found a supplier on the Internet, and ordered them – only to receive an email informing him that the company could not legally sell him the cans because they were not CARB compliant, and Texas was now a CARB state. What is CARB? by Smokey Briggs    more »

Last spring, while browsing on eBay, I found and bid on a solar oven. I secretly hoped I would not win the item, but I did. Upon first inspection when it arrived, it seemed well built and was portable. Included were directions for how to prepare whole wheat bread, millet cake, beans, potatoes, onions, sweet corn, chicken, meat, fish, vegetables, and cheeseburger pie, whatever that is. It seemed that you could cook just about anything in the solar oven. I was skeptical yet optimistic. by George Pitlik    more »

When a friend from North Texas told her how great the hiking was around Alpine, his home town, Manning came out to hike the Big Bend and, as has happened to so many before and after her, the desert cast its spell. “I wanted to learn all about the desert,” Manning said. by Dallas Baxter    more »

Lupita sighed as she stood to greet them. She’d already made a large batch of dough for tortillas and had instructed her oldest daughter to start a big pot of soup. Hadn’t Carlos told her after the last visit that he was bringing five men? Five at 150 pesos a day for two days would have meant a good increase in the stash of money she had set aside for the trip to Chihuahua to have the baptism. The baby was already a year old and still without a name. by Jackie Siglin    more »

On a stunningly clear mid-January afternoon Texas General Land Office Commissioner Jerry Patterson pilots his 90-horsepower Citabria aircraft from San Marcos to land at Terlingua Ranch’s 4,000-foot dirt runway, at 1:30 pm. On board with Patterson is a chilled Sam Gwynne, writer from Texas Monthly, who has endured the three-hour flight in the back of the small aircraft, sitting behind Patterson where the aircraft’s heat does not reach. Patterson is in Brewster County to explore the Christmas Mountains and Big Bend National Park by air, foot, truck and all-terrain vehicle. by John Waters    more »

Attendance was notably lower than at some other annual meetings, and the number of ballots cast for new directors decreased from last year’s elections, perhaps more fallout from a lawsuit that has hobbled the association for a year and half. The lawsuit, instigiated by a collection of property owners against others on the board at the time the legal petition was filed, stems from the core allegation that... by Marlys Hersey    more »

It was just a cough as I leaned over the sink brushing my teeth – and suddenly I was on the bathroom floor, with my back in such pain that I could hardly move. When I stood up, the best I could do was a forward tilt like a bowler who has just released the ball. Straight up was out of the question. I had no idea what had happened to me. That was 20 years ago—20 years of on-again, off-again pain, incapacity, and discouragement. It’s almost hard to remember those times, now that I am finally pain free. by Sarah Bourbon    more »

On Friday, Nov. 16, at Alpine’s Gallery Night Artwalk, featured artist James Evans showed a collection of his photos, “Of Missing Persons,” residents of the Big Bend... by Marlys Hersey    more »

And then we found it. The bus is a 1968 International Harvester and is nearly mint. Much to my great joy, it was already nicely converted much as we had planned to do, and even better, it was four-wheel-drive. Now, that is just cool (and will probably save me no small amount of digging in the future). Driving a bus is not at the top of the cool ladder, but driving a four-wheel-drive bus… The bus lived in Idaho. by Smokey Briggs    more »

Kelcy L. Warren of Dallas has bought the bankrupt Lajitas Resort for $13.5 million. Today Bankruptcy Court officials in San Antonio confirmed the price, and said a final hearing is set for December 18. An internal Lajitas memo issued today... by John Waters    more »

he U.S. Bankruptcy Court has again postponed a decision regarding Lajitas Resort. The resort has received several bids ranging from $13.5 million to $18 million. The resort, which filed for bankruptcy protection in July, continues to operate fully.The Bankruptcy Court has scheduled a hearing on December 7 to consider several motions... by John Waters    more »

Although there are many products that can be sold through the Fair Trade program, coffee has the biggest impact on world poverty. Coffee is actually the most heavily traded commodity in the world after oil. There are 25 million coffee farmers, translating into 100 million family members. by JoAnn Lister    more »

• Big Macs and The Bible: Americans are more familiar with Big Macs than the Bible, a recent poll has found. Less than half of respondents – 45 percent – could recall the commandment “honor thy father and mother” but...   more »

Alice Waters, author, restaurateur, advocate for farmers’ markets and sustainable agriculture and the founder of the Edible Schoolyard has written a book that all of us can use and treasure. Read it and let her lead you from the farmer to the kitchen to the table. It’s a cookbook whose heart is based on the relationship between people and their awareness of nature. “I’m convinced that the underlying principles of good cooking are the same everywhere,” said Waters. by Sandra Harper    more »

Lawyers for the bankrupt Lajitas Resort have postponed a bankruptcy court hearing until November 16. by John Waters    more »

Once established, the saltcedar is a tenacious tenant. Its root system is substantial with a tap root sometime reaching 15 feet deep and secondary surface roots which soak up rainfall. It tolerates drought, heat, cold, salinity, fire and flooding. But this is not the worst part.... by Jim Glendinning    more »

The land sale had proceeded with scant notice outside the Big Bend until mid-September when the Austin American-Statesman and the Houston Chronicle reported that the original donors on the land, the Mellon Foundation and the Conservation Fund, had communicated to the GLO their opposition of the sale. by John Waters    more »