Local Tex. officials want to restrict rural billboards

A Texas county commissioners' court has voted for more restrictive billboard regulations than the Texas Department of Transportation has for rural areas of the county, reports Don Bommer of the San Antonio Express-News. The Comal County officials said the state rules are not restrictive enough to control the proliferation of billboards in rural areas.

Commissioner Jay Millikin said he would not favor a complete ban on billboards. "Interstate 35 is already cluttered with billboards, but I would like to see more restrictions on state and county roads," he said. "If a business is nearby I could understand the need, but they should not be allowed to be put up a billboard out in the middle of nowhere on public roadways." (Read more)

Bill to protect non-commercial signs, like those fighting rural adult stores, could cost Ky. money

UPDATE, March 27: The possible loss of federal funds means the bill "is not going anywhere," Senate President David Williams said.

As adult stores have sprung up along interstate highways in rural areas, appealing mainly to travelers, some locals have fought back by erecting religious signs and symbols near or next to the businesses. But at least one such billboard in Kentucky appears to run afoul of federal law, and a state legislative bill to protect the sign and other non-commercial billboards could cost the state as much as $42 million in federal highway funds, the chief federal highway official in Kentucky has warned.

"Having been warned, the Transportation Cabinet opposes the bill and has forwarded the federal government's concerns to the Senate, where the bill awaits committee action," John Cheves reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader. Cabinet spokesman Chuck Wolfe told him, "At a time when we're cutting back on road maintenance because of the budget, we simply cannot afford to lose more than $40 million."

The bill was prompted by this billboard on Interstate 65 at Upton in LaRue County, across the road from an adult store (with an "ADULT" sign) that was established several years ago. "A judge ruled the 'Hell' billboard to be advertising and therefore subject to laws restricting its location and size," Cheves reports. "The bill would exempt non-commercial billboards — defined as those that don't advertise products or services — that are on private property from the state Transportation Cabinet's permitting process." (Read more)

Lady Bird Johnson: A would-have-been reporter who protected rural landscapes

We salute Claudia Alta Taylor "Lady Bird" Johnson, who died yesterday at 94. She did a lot for rural America by promoting highway beautification -- the first legislative initiative by a first lady -- and boosting the political career of a president who advanced programs that help rural people. She was the first chair of Head Start, "the early childhood education program that was a major compnent of his War on Poverty," notes Elaine Woo of the Los Angeles Times. (Read more)

She wanted to be a newspaper reporter, and placed in the top 10 of her graduating class in journalism at the University of Texas, but Lyndon Johnson prevailed. In the White House, she was often his closest adviser, and in 1964, after he signed the landmark Civil Rights Act, she corageously campaigned for his election in eight Southern states where opposition to the law was strong. A life well lived, much in our service.

Julie Ardery of the Daily Yonder pays tribute to Lady Bird, with some lovely pictures of wildflowers along the highways and these closing lines: "This April in Texas was a banner season for bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush and white prickly poppy. A bold final spring for Lady Bird." To read the entire tribute, click here.