Unfair Park from p6 the main power grid, the Electric Reliabil- ity Council of Texas (ERCOT). Questions remain surrounding the roughly 3 million Texans who would then be getting their en- ergy from the U.S., now a foreign nation. Treaty time. But one of the main things Shelley fears is that Texas would work to dismantle the Clean Air Act here. He said some of the mothball fossil fuel energy generation would likely come back online, without mandates from that law hanging overhead. Around 17,000 Texans already die from air pollution each year, he said. That number would just start to increase, leading to “pretty serious consequences for public health.” Certain rank and file Texans might be- lieve Texit is possible and that we should go for it, Shelley said. But he thinks the state’s leadership understands how dependent we are on the federal government and that we have no independent authority to secede. “I hope that it’s not an idea being taken seriously by the folks who are actually in power,” he said, “because I suspect that they’re not naïve enough to think that it would be a simple matter.” ▼ ECONOMY ENDLESS STICKER SHOCK L USED CAR PRICES ARE STILL HIGH AFTER THE PANDEMIC, BUT THE TAX OFFICE IS STILL FLOODED WITH NEW TITLES AND REGISTRATIONS. BY KATE PEZZULLI et’s say you need a used car and don’t have a hefty chunk of change to fork over. Sorry to tell you, pal, but you might not be in luck anytime soon. One out of the arguably many problems that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic was a shortage of computer semiconductors used in car electronics. These are essential parts of most vehicles, and without enough supply to meet demand, new car production has slowed. Since there aren’t enough being made, the demand for used cars has soared, especially since 2021. According to the Consumer Price Index, a measure of the change in prices consumers pay for goods and services, even though used car prices dropped briefly early this year from the 2021 highs, they spiked again in May. Consumer Reports notes that current used car prices are more than 48% higher than they were pre-pandemic. The index notes that “while almost all major components increased over the month, the largest contributors were the in- dexes for shelter, airline fares, used cars and trucks, and new vehicles.” Cox Automotive, the parent company to Kelley Blue Book, AutoTrader and other au- tomotive sales sites, recently put out their 2022 mid-year review. It said the average list price for June 2022 is $28,208 compared with June 2021 at $24,589 and about 30% of the used car retail inventory is in the $35,000 and up range. “We certainly don’t expect a notable 88 ‘drop’ in used-vehicle prices — there is no correction coming — but the rapid gains in prices we saw in the second half of 2021 Paxton’s office refused to release emails and texts in response to the watchdog’s pub- lic information request, as it had with sev- eral Texas-based news outlets. The Travis County District Attorney’s office said in Jan- uary that Paxton had violated open records laws by refusing to release the documents, but the attorney general defied that order, as reported by Texas Tribune. “Governor Abbott and Attorney General Paxton have repeatedly withheld records in contravention of Texas law by claiming at- torney-client privilege protects an overly broad swath of records,” Melanie Sloan, se- nior advisor at American Oversight, said in a press release about the suit. “American Oversight is suing to discover just what the governor and attorney general are so intent on hiding and whether they are using personal email addresses and text messages to evade transparency,” Sloan added in the release. Thus far, the group said in the statement, Gage Skidmore have stopped,” Mark Schirmer, director of corporate communications for Cox Auto- motive, said by email. “We think demand will remain sufficient well into 2022, as there is little indication of notable inventory improvements in new ve- hicle segments. And when new vehicle in- ventory is low, more shoppers are in the used vehicle market,” Schirmer added. The review states that “affordability shifted after chip shortages last year im- pacted supply in lower price ranges.” “One challenge for the retail used vehicle market is a lack of older, ‘bargain’ vehicles,” wrote Schirmer. “So consumers shopping for cheap wheels will be challenged to find anything at retail.” Despite the high prices, people are still buying, and the rising rate of purchases combined with a lack of staff translates to longer wait times at the tax office, which can reach two hours or more in Dallas just to get a registration. While Texans can renew their registration online 90 days before it expires or up to 12 months after it expired as long as they have not gotten a citation for it, title transfers for new purchases require in-person service. Dallas County Tax Assessor and Collec- tor John R. Ames has also seen an increase in used car sales and title transfers in Dallas. Many come from out of state from online services like Carvana, he explained, which also takes more paperwork and more time. “We register about 2.3 million vehicles a year right here in Dallas county,” Ames said. “About 10% of all the cars in the state of Texas are right here.” Ames added that when a person buys a car from a dealership, they provide the reg- istration. But dealerships also go through the county tax office, so sometimes they will register online, and sometimes they will go to the office needing several registrations at a time. Ames wants every Texan to know that there are multiple ways they can renew their vehicle registration without going to the tax office including online, by mail or at a grocery store. “Please, if you can, conduct you business online,” Ames said. “If you feel uncomfort- able doing it online, feel free to go to one of American Oversight says Gov. Greg Abbott violated Texas law by withholding records. our neighborhood locations, go to a Kroger or a Tom Thumb or Fiesta. … We have over 80 different participating grocery stores. ▼ POLITICS HIDDEN MESSAGES demanding the release of several public re- cords requests related to deadly school shootings and the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, among other topics. American Oversight, based in D.C., filed A the lawsuit last Thursday in the 250th Dis- trict Court in Travis County. The lawsuit ar- gues that Abbott and Paxton have withheld documents they ought to have released in response to public information requests the group submitted. Among the documents American Over- sight has requested are Abbott’s communi- cations with the National Rifle Association and other gun advocacy groups after a mass shooter killed 21 people, including 19 chil- dren, at Robb Elementary in Uvalde on May 24. In a statement, American Oversight noted that Abbott had canceled his sched- uled appearance at the NRA convention in Houston the weekend following the Uvalde massacre, instead sending a prere- corded video address. Abbott’s office claimed there were no relevant communi- cations with the NRA at the time, the statement added. The suit also calls for the release of Pax- ton’s emails related to rallies in D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, when supporters of former Presi- dent Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capi- tol and attempted to prevent the certification of the November 2020 presi- dential election results. Earlier that day, Paxton had delivered a speech at the “Stop the Steal” rally in the nation’s capital. THE D.C.-BASED WATCHDOG AMERICAN OVERSIGHT FILES LAWSUIT OVER ABBOTT, PAXTON MESSAGES. BY PATRICK STRICKLAND nonprofit watchdog has filed a law- suit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton they’ve been denied communications for seven different records requests spanning a 15-month period. They have requested work-related emails and text messages from both personal phones and email accounts. “Paxton has, implausibly, withheld nearly all records responsive to these requests as attorney-client privileged,” the group said in a statement. Other requests include documents of communications between Paxton and Texas Solicitor General Judd Stone, including any messages or emails regarding the U.S. Capi- tol riot and Paxton’s speech in D.C. that day. (Stone had not yet become solicitor general.) Neither Abbott’s nor Paxton’s spokesper- sons responded to the Observer’s request for comment. ▼ POLITICS TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY R ANTI-LGBTQ CULTURE IN TEXAS HAS ONE DALLAS COUPLE LOOKING TO RESETTLE OUT OF STATE, BUT THEY WON’T SELL THEIR HOUSE TO JUST ANYBODY. BY JACOB VAUGHN achel and Ryan Rushing moved to Dallas from Louisiana in 2010. They chose Dallas “because it’s where the jobs were,” Rachel said. In 2018, they were ready to buy their first house and settled on a place in Oak Cliff because it’s where they felt most at home. But the Texas political cli- mate has grown increasingly uncomfortable for the Rushings. “There are different things that have re- ally frustrated us about living here,” Rachel said. One of the bigger ones in recent years has been anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and policies in Texas. Ryan, Rachel’s wife, is a trans woman. Moving had been on Rachel and Ryan’s minds in recent years, but after President Joe Biden’s election, they both felt they had a few more Texas years in them. “In 2020, after the election, we talked about how long we really wanted to stay here because we could finally breathe again after four years,” Ryan said. Then came an onslaught of anti-LG- BTQ bills across red states the following MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2014 JULY 14–20, 2022 DALLAS OBSERVER DALLAS OBSERVER | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | MOVIES | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | SCHUTZE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | CULTURE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS dallasobserver.comdallasobserver.com
