Pokes get municipal funding approved for new stadium

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The Dallas Cowboys won easily their biggest victory of the season Tuesday as Arlington voters approved a $325 million proposition to help build the team a new stadium.
The proposition authorizes tax increases to pay for half of a $650 million stadium for the Cowboys. The proposition will raise the city sales tax by a half-cent, its hotel occupancy tax by 2 percentage points and its car rental tax by 5 percentage points. A tax of up to 10 percent on tickets and up to $3 on stadium parking will also likely be levied, but proceeds from those taxes are earmarked for retiring a portion of the Cowboys’ debt on the project.
Opponents of municipal funding for the stadium kept the race reasonably close despite being widely outspent by stadium proponents. The Cowboys funded a political action committee funded that spent $4.6 million on the campaign through the end of October. Opponents raised only about $120,000.
The site of the stadium, which is scheduled to open in 2009, will be in the area adjacent to the Six Flags of Texas Amusement Park and Texas Rangers’ Ameriquest Field. A couple of weeks ago, the Cowboys and the Rangers announced that they were working on a joint master planned development, similar to Southlake Town Square, for the area near the football and baseball stadiums.
Stadium supporters estimated that the 75,000-seat retractable-roof stadium would provide the city an additional $5 million in rent and sales tax revenue from spending at the facility, plus other economic activity throughout the city. Stadium backers pointed to a city-commissioned study by Economics Research Associates projecting that the venue would pump $238 million into Arlington’s economy each year.
Opponents of the stadium contend that the project would cost far more than it injects into city coffers and would hamstring efforts to attract other businesses. They also said that other economists have criticized the city-commissioned report for being unreasonably optimistic. Virtually all academic research — summarized nicely by Craig Depken here — has concluded that major sports facilities typically do little to boost local economies.
One of the civic motivations for the stadium project is Dallas’ desire to attract a future Super Bowl game, which was not possible so long as Dallas area relied on Texas Stadium as its professional football venue. Although Dallas stadium and convention facilities are not as well coordinated as Houston’s, the new stadium will undoubtedly attract a Super Bowl for Dallas, probably between 2010-12.

Dynegy agrees to buy energy plants

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Houston-based Dynegy Inc. has entered into an agreement to purchase from Exelon Corp. all of the outstanding shares of ExRes SHC Inc. Through the acquisition, Dynegy will acquire a 1,042-megawatt, 7,211-Btu heat rate, combined-cycle independence power generation facility near Scriba, N.Y., four natural gas-fired merchant facilities in New York, and four hydroelectric generation facilities in Pennsylvania.
As a part of the deal, Dynegy will also acquire controlling interest in a 750-megawatt firm capacity sales agreement with Con Edison, a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison Inc. The sales agreement, which runs through 2014, provides annual cash receipts to Dynegy of about $100 million. The financial terms of the agreement include the payment by Dynegy of $135 million and the consolidation of $919 million in project debt, and Dynegy projects that the principal and interest payments related to the consolidated debt will be substantially funded through 2014 by the proceeds from the long-term capacity sales contract with Con Edison.
The deal is the first major purchase that Dynegy has made since it underwent a massive restructuring in 2002. That restructuring was prompted by the crisis in the energy trading industry that followed industry leader Enron‘s spiral into bankruptcy in late 2001.

Gerry Hunsicker resigns as the Stros’ GM

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Gerry Hunsicker — the most successful general manager in the history of the Houston Astros — resigned Monday after nine years as the club’s general manager.
Hunsicker’s tenure as Stros GM coincided with the most successful decade in Stros’ history. During the past nine years, the Stros won four National League Central titles and finished second three times, including this past season in which the Stros won their first post-season playoff series in club history. Over that span, the Stros had a won/loss record of 701-595 for a sixth-best winning percentage of .541 in Major League Baseball. Only three MLB GMs have served in their current job for more seasons than Hunsicker.
Hunsicker will be replaced by his long-time assistant, Tim Purpura.
The Stros hired Hunsicker as GM in 1995 from the New York Mets organization, where he worked for seven seasons, first as director of minor-league operations and then as assistant GM. Hunsicker and Purpura are credited in baseball circles with revamping the Stros’ farm system over the past decade to produce such star players as Lance Berkman, Richard Hidalgo, Bobby Abreu, Roy Oswalt, Brad Lidge, and Wade Miller. In addition to building the Stros’ farm system, Hunsicker also traded for or signed such talents as Randy Johnson, Jeff Kent, Octavio Dotel, Moises Alou, Carl Everett, Jose Lima, Carlos Beltran and Roger Clemens.
Consequently, by any reasonable measure, Hunsicker’s tenure with the Stros has been a successful one. However, the margin for error is razor thin with a mid-market club such as the Stros, and Hunsicker’s two major failures contributed to the Stros’ inability to break into the elite level of MLB clubs.
Hunsicker’s first mistake was the decision to sign Jeff Bagwell and Hidalgo to high dollar, long-term contracts after the 2000 season. That error in judgment reverberates through the Stros organization to this day. Although those signings were popular from a public relations standpoint, Bagwell had already begun his decline in production and Hidalgo had shown only streaks of high production at the time of those contracts.
Now, almost five years later, the Stros are obligated to pay Bags a total of $39 million over the next three seasons, which is about $25 million greater than his market value. Similarly, the club remains responsible for a multi-million portion of Hidalgo’s contract, all at a time when the Stros are trying to sign free agents Beltran and Clemens, and arbitration eligible stars Berkman and Oswalt. Moreover, because the overpaid Bags remains tethered to first base, the Stros have been unable to move the more productive Berkman to his natural position of first base and open up an outfield spot for MLB-ready Jason Lane. It was Hunsicker’s job to forsee the problems that the Bags and Hidalgo contracts would have on the Stros and point owner Drayton McLane in another direction. He did not and that failure has — and will continue for the next several years — to affect the Stros negatively.
Hunsicker’s other big mistake was in failing to secure a quality catcher for the club. Actually, the Stros had developed a potential star catcher in their minor league system — Mitch Melusky — but a combination of emotional and physical problems undermined his Major League career after only one promising season. When Melusky flamed out, Hunsicker seemed to give up on the position as he overpaid the consistently unproductive Brad Ausmus to an absurdly overmarket contract in 2001 while waiting for the farm system to produce another MLB-quality catcher. Alas, the system did not produce such a player, leaving the Stros with Ausmus and Raul Chavez as their catchers this season. That duo was the weakest catching unit of any team in Major League Baseball this past season.
Despite these failures, Hunsicker has been unquestionably the most successful GM in the 43 year history of the Stros franchise. Which begs the question: Why did he decide to quit?
Based completely on speculation, I think the reason is that McLane is quietly trying to sell the club. As a result, McLane does not want to be forced to eat a large portion of an extended Hunsicker contract if he finds a someone in the next year or two who is willing to buy the club, but who is not interested in retaining Hunsicker as GM. With McLane unwilling to provide him with long term security, Hunsicker elected to take a year off, review his alternatives, and then, on the first day after the remaining year on his Stros contract expires, accept the best GM job available at that time.
One thing is for sure — Hunsicker will not remain unemployed very long after the remaining year on his Stros contract expires. He was a big part of a very good past decade for the Houston Astros, and this talented man will land on his feet in another GM position in Major League Baseball.
Best of luck, Gerry Hunsicker.

The future of American health care finance

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This NY Sunday Times article profiles Kaiser Permanente, the huge health maintenance organization. The article suggests that those who are reviewing ways to revamp the American health care finance system should follow Kaiser’s lead in attempting to increase the quality of care and to spend health dollars more wisely by using technology and incentives tailored to those goals. The entire article is well worth reading, but I was particularly drawn to the following summary of the American system of health care finance, which is spot on:

Health care systems in most industrialized countries are in crises of one form or another. But the American system is characterized by both feast and famine: it leads the world in delivering high-tech medical miracles but leaves 45 million people uninsured. The United States spends more on health care than any other country – $6,167 a person a year – yet it is a laggard among wealthy nations under basic health measures like life expectancy. In a nutshell, America’s health care system, according to many experts, is a nonsystem. “It’s like the worst market system you could devise, just a mess,” said Neelam Sekhri, a health policy specialist at the World Health Organization in Geneva.

Read the entire article.

Ray Fair’s updated prediction on the Presidential race

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This earlier post from several months ago passed along an article about Yale Economics Professor Ray Fair‘s interesting model for predicting the results of Presidential elections. Here is Professor Fair’s updated prediction, which forecasts President Bush winning 57.50% of the two-party vote.
On the other hand, Professor Bainbridge points out a less complicated indicator that favors Senator Kerry.

The Santa Maria Cougars

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It’s not everyday that a Texas high school football team makes the Washington Post. Read about the inspiring tale of the Santa Maria Cougars here.

Site upgrade

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I’m in the process of upgrading the site to Movable Type 3.121, so please excuse a few blips as I finalize matters. Thanks.

2004 Weekly local football review

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Texans 20 Jaguars 6. In their most impressive overall performance to date, the Texans beat the Jags decisively at Reliant Stadium in Houston. The Texans actually should have had another TD except that Jabbar Gaffney somehow fumbled the ball out of the endzone in the second quarter without being hit a moment before reaching the goal line. The Texans’ often shaky defense was outstanding in this game, holding the Jags to a paltry 39 yards rushing and about 3.5 yards per pass, and tacking on a TD on DeMarcus Faggins‘ fourth quarter interception return to ice the game. Meanwhile, David Carr had probably his best game as a pro, hitting on 26-34 throws for 276 yards, a TD, and most importantly, no turnovers (well, actually he did have a fumble, but the refs blew the call). The Texans are now an improbable 4-3, but face tough road games at Denver and then Indianapolis over the next two weekends.
Cowboys 31 Lions 21. Meanwhile, the our north, the Cowboys avoided sending the Big Tuna toward another coronary infarction with a win over the visiting Lions at Texas Stadium. The Cowboys finally found a run defense in this one, something that has been strangely absent this season for their usually formidable run defense. The 3-4 Pokes have a winnable game next Sunday at Cincinnati before returning home the following week for a showdown with the NFL East-leading Eagles.
Texas Longhorns 31 Colorado 7. The Horns’ increasingly formidable defense keyed this win, as Colorado could muster only 3 yards rushing and 221 yards total offense. The Horns still can’t pass a lick, which will be a problem against teams that have the defensive strength to stuff their rushing attack. However, a big difference in Texas this season is that their defense is good enought to win low scoring games. My friends in college coaching told me before the season that Dick Tomey would make a difference in Texas’ defensive unit, and I am now a believer.
Baylor 35 Texas Aggies 34. The Aggies almost laid an egg at home last week against Colorado, but they went ahead and laid a whopper in Waco against the Bears. Frankly, I was not surprised that Baylor gave A&M a game, as I had been on the sidelines of the Baylor-Iowa State game the weekend before and concluded then that the Bears — although undermanned at several line positions — were very well motivated and well-coached. The Ags put the ball on the ground a few times and, before you now it, the Bears determined that they could win the game. The decision of Baylor coach Guy Morris to go for two points after pulling to within 34-33 in the first overtime is one of those decisions that anyone who enjoys college football just has to admire. The 6-2 Aggies must now try to regroup before Oklahoma comes to College Station next Saturday night. Given the performance of the Aggie defense over the past two games, here is a betting recommendation on that game — take “the over.”
Houston 24 Tulane 3. The Coogs, who really have played a brutal schedule this season, finally caught a break and pounded a poor Tulane team at Roberston Stadium in Houston. This one was over by halftime as the Coogs coasted in the second half against either a dominating defensive effort or an imcompetent Tulane offensive performance, depending upon your viewpoint. The 2-6 Coogs have another winnable game next Saturday at home against 2-5 East Carolina.
Tulsa 39 Rice 22. The Owls’ once promising season has now officially fallen apart as they lost decisively to a bad Tulsa team in Tulsa. The 3-5 Owls now face Fresno State and the Mike Price-revived UTEP in two of their final three games. Those games could be very ugly for the Owls.
And remember to review Kevin Whited’s excellent weekly review of Big 12 games.

More business crime? Or just more prosecutions?

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Readers of this blog know that I am critical of several recent “popular” prosecutions of business executives, and this NY Times article reports on the opinions of several experts who agree with my view:

“It is exaggerated to say that there is much more corporate malfeasance than in the past,” said Luigi Zingales, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago. “Malfeasance is just more likely to be revealed in recessions.”

“Prosecutors are going after white-collar crime with an eagerness we hadn’t seen before,” said James D. Cox, a professor of law at Duke University. “The state attorneys general realized that the governor-in-waiting, otherwise known as the attorney general, can get a lot of headlines.”

“In a bubble, people want to be lied to,” said John C. Coffee Jr., a professor at Columbia Law School. “It was more than a conflict of interest – securities analysts boosted stocks because people wanted them to.”

The article concludes by noting that the investing public’s attitudes often changes with which way the investing winds are blowing, and that such changes have an effect on the resulting prosecutions of business executives:

[W]hen the market went south, . . . faith in self-regulation took a beating, and new regulations like the Sarbanes-Oxley rules for corporate governance were passed. Suddenly less prosperous, Americans became much more willing to catch and punish abuses, and admiration for high fliers turned to suspicion.
“The social dynamics are sometimes more important than the law,” Mr. Coffee said.

And we should all be concerned about that. For when we allow the law to be twisted to appeal to the “social dynamics” of a particular situtation, then the law becomes just another convenient political tool and the rule of law erodes.
And for those who would respond — “So what? What’s the problem with eroding the rule of law a bit to nail some greedy business executives?” — I would remind them of Thomas More’s advice to his son-in-law-to-be Will Roper from A Man for All Seasons:

“Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned ’round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man’s laws, not God’s! And if you cut them down — and you’re just the man to do it, Roper! — do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then?”
“Yes, I’d give the Devil the benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake!”

Was Abe gay?

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This LA Weekly article reviews the late C.A. Tripp’s forthcoming book — The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln (Free Press 2005) — in which the author concludes that there is a reasonable probability that Abraham Lincoln was gay. There actually has been speculation about Tripp’s conclusion in historical circles for quite some time. Indeed, I recall Gore Vidal stating in television interviews years ago that, in researching his 1984 historical novel Lincoln, he began to suspect that Lincoln was gay. Give the article a look, and then wait for the return volleys from the more traditional Lincoln biographers.