WEST, TX – The Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives National Response Team (ATF), along with ATF Special Agents from the Houston Field Division, announce the conclusion of the scene investigation at the West Fertilizer Plant fire and explosion that occurred on April 17, 2013. Both agencies have ruled the cause of the fire as “undetermined.”

“At this time, the State Fire Marshal’s Office and the ATF are ruling the cause of the fire as undetermined,” said State Fire Marshal Chris Connealy. According to Connealy, an undetermined cause finding is made “when the cause cannot be proven to an acceptable level of certainty, which could be due to insufficient information or if multiple causes could not be eliminated." Connealy further stated that “while the scene examination has been completed, the investigation will remain open for purposes of conducting additional interviews, following up on leads, and the like.”

Robert Champion, ATF Special Agent in Charge, said, “ATF and SFMO had eliminated the following causes: rekindling of an earlier fire, spontaneous ignition, 480 volt electrical system, anhydrous ammonia, ammonium nitrate, smoking, and weather. The following causes could not be eliminated: 120 volt electrical system, a golf cart, and an intentionally set fire.”

A big story in the news right now is the reported improper scrutiny that the Internal Revenue Service applied to applications for tax exempt status by organizations affiliated with the Tea Party and other "conservative" movement organizations. So far, what we've heard is a bunch of screeching but not so much reference to the facts, so we're reading the actual inspector general report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and thought we would provide it for our readers to peruse too. We think it best to go to the source and get the facts, rather than listen to a bunch of pundits and politicians try to spin it for their own benefit.

Read the report... [PDF - 54 pages]

Maybe we will have further comment when we're done reading.

By Doug Lane

Sam Raimi’s “Oz the Great and Powerful” contains vivid effects and imagery that is appealing to the eyes. Visually, the movie is very reminiscent of the 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz”. The power of special effects in this day and age are an incredible tool to take us to glorious places. However, where the movie succeeds in it’s effects, it falls short in it’s storytelling. Raimi’s Oz is not as magical as it might appear.

Giving credit where it’s due, the first ten to fifteen minutes of the film are brilliant. Raimi’s decision to film the first few minutes in black-and-white and in a 4:3 Academy ratio, was not only a callback to the original film started as well, but it sets the mood nicely in these early moments. However, the lazy script from Michael Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire begins to show it’s faults. We’re introduced to struggling magician Oscar Diggs, or simply Oz, played by James Franco. Franco plays a selfish jerk, plain and simple, and not a very redeeming one at that. As Oscar attempts to escape from a scuffle with a circus strongman via hot air balloon, Oz gets sucked into a tornado, and you know the rest. Another beautiful scene comes in Oscar awakening in his balloon in Oz itself, the camera slowly pans out into the regular 16:9 aspect ratio and color invades the screen. This beautiful shot by Raimi is the last truly original thing you will see in this movie.

Oscar encounters Theodora (Mila Kunis) who tells him he’s the wizard they’ve been waiting for. Oscar, with that Franco-esque smirk that infects his face the entire film, gladly accepts this new role. Oscar meets the other sister, Evanora (Rachel Weisz), who wants Oscar to go and kill the “evil witch” Glinda (Michelle Williams). Oscar, entranced with the prospects of fame and fortune, accepts. I wouldn’t want to spoil the rest of the movie for you, but this movie is so trite you can probably can probably see where this is going.

By Doug Lane

21 and Over is a complicated movie. Not in the sense that it’s hard to follow, considering it’s another entry in the plethora of “crazy drunken nights” genre, but that it’s a movie thats quality lies exactly in the middle. There’s a decent movie somewhere in 21 and Over, but unfortunately, it never quite reaches that level. It’s hilarity is only equal to it’s cliches.

The film follow Casey and Miller (Skylar Astin and Miles Teller) attempting to get their overly-drunk friend Jeff Chang (Justin Chon) home after a night of partying. I know what you’re thinking: this is just about as original as Superbad and The Hangover. And you’re right, it is. But interesting characters can help the worst of movies overcome their flaws, and luckily for this movie, the chemistry between the three leads works to it’s advantage.

Despite the jokes missing more than hitting, the banter between the three really help sell the idea that these guys are truly friends that have lost touch overtime and want to recreate the magic that made them friends in the first place. This is one of the movie’s high points: the focus on friendship rather than romance is not seen very often. More often than not, it gets regulated to a mere subplot, so it’s nice to see a movie attempt to focus its attention on it. This is where the movie’s focus should have been placed.

The national debate on guns has now escalated to breakfast foods after a recent incident in which a 7 year-old second grader from Maryland was suspended for two days after chewing his Pop Tart brand toaster pastry into the approximate shape of a gun, which he then pretended to shoot at classmates.

While members of the gun culture have lambasted the school officials for what they say is political correctness and zero-tolerance gone amok, a representative of The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said Tuesday that her organization supports the actions of the school. "We can't have children thinking that guns are something to play with or joke around with," said Brady Campaign spokesman Sarah Huntington. "Today, the child might have gooey, sticky, heavily-processed fruit on his hands, but tomorrow it might be blood."

Those remarks were made at a press conference where the Brady Campaign called on parents to boycott the Kellogg's Company for producing food that can be easily converted into fully eat-o-matic weapons. The group even started a Facebook page for the boycott.

The National Rifle Association wasted no time in striking back at the boycott. "Our nation has a long and proud history of little boys playing with their food," said NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre. "If you take away gun-shaped Pop Tarts, then only the bad kids will have food weapons. The answer is more Pop Tarts," he stressed. NRA is planning on passing out free Pop Tarts at the Texas Motor Speedway on April 13th, a day it is dubbing "Pop Tart Appreciation Day". The NRA is sponsoring the NASCAR race at the speedway that day. Kellogg's will also run a car.

Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert introduced a bill late Tuesday requiring schools receiving federal funding to allow children to carry concealed Pop Tarts in their lunch boxes. Chick-fil-A has offered to start selling pre-formed gun-shaped Pop Tarts with its meals if it can get any attention from conservative radio by doing so.

Update: 3/5/2012 - 10:17 p.m.: Local retailers are reporting that stocks of Pop Tarts have been depleted as local gun enthusiasts rushed in to stock up. One disappointed shopper had this to say: "It's bad enough that Obama wants our guns, but now he's taken away our Pop Tarts. We need to stock up on them now while we still can, since 'el presidente' will just use an executive order to make them stop producing them." Tom Thumb spokesman Bill Millhouse said the best bet is to show up around 7 a.m. when the trucks come in, and try to stock up at that point. Millhouse said his store would be limiting customers to no more than 1 box of fruit-flavored Pop Tarts, but that they would not be setting limits on the chocolate ones. "Those things are just nasty," said Millhouse.

You probably already saw that Lewisville Texan Journal was selling special edition custom-designed T-shirts commemorating our fair city's largest landmark: Mount Lewisville. In vintage postcard style, the graphic offers greetings from Mount Lewisville, where skiers are navigating garbage pile moguls on the way down the slope.

Only $15 $10 - CHEAP!!!

Yes, we've lost our minds to let these awesome shirts go for the insanely cheap price of just $10, but hey, it's the Christmas shopping season, right? These would make great stocking stuffers. (And to be honest, since Western Days got rained out, we're stuck with a pile of them.)

Click the image on the right to zoom in on the design and see all that beautiful scenic garbage. THIS OFFER WON'T LAST - ORDER NOW!

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