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City’s tech godfather guides new growth By Kirk Ladendorf AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF In November, Gov. Rick Perry brought a roomful of high-tech power players to the Governor’s Mansion to pay court to William Jeffrey, the head of a key federal research agency. Perry had summoned the group to demonstrate Texas’ determination to move up to the big leagues of nanotechnology research. Jeffrey heads the National Insti- tute of Standards and Technology, which will play a central role in doling out federal grants for nano- technology research. Access to that money can help Texas become a leader in an area that is expected to spawn thousands of companies and jobs over the next decade. Though the meeting was the governor’s show, Austin lawyer Pike Powers was right in the middle of it. He had courted Jeffrey and helped set up the important gather- ing, which included top executives from the state’s three major uni- versity systems and the CEO of Texas Instruments. When a friend asked a few days later what Powers had been doing there, he cracked, “I’m the only guy who is talking to everybody else.” For 24 years, Powers has been perhaps the leading economic de- velopment rainmaker for Central Texas, a catalytic force in helping build the region’s high-tech foundation. 1983: MCC computer research consortium 1984: 3M research operations 1988: Sematech chip research consortium 1991: Largest plant of chip equip- ment maker Applied Materials 1996: Samsung computer chip plant 2004: Sematech rejects New York state, keeps main site here 2006: Second Samsung chip plant Pike’s greatest hits Pike Powers had a key role in landing and keeping high-tech facilities for Austin: See TECH, A15 Nanotech push is next up for lawyer who helped lure, keep top companies obert King Wilkerson eases out of bed. He pulls on a black shirt, a watch cap and sandals, and shuffles into the tiny kitchen of his East Austin duplex. The shirt covers his tattoos, most self-inscribed decades ago using pencil lead. A long dagger extends down his left forearm; a spider rests on his left hand. The tops of his fingers say “L-O-V-E” and, below that, “H-A-T-E.” The initials of a long-ago girlfriend grace his right forearm. He assembles his ingredients: butter, milk, sugar, baking soda, vanilla and salt. He pulls a pot off a high shelf. “I was arrested in 1961 for armed robbery,” he be- gins. “Did I do it? Nah, not that one. But I wasn’t ready to pay no poetic justice. Gee whiz, I was just a young man. I’d only been out of the reformatory for a year. “I got sentenced to 10 years,” he says. “That was the first time.” He moved to Austin last year after being chased out of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, and some friends here offered to help out. The duplex is more studio than apartment. Wilk- erson makes the bed next to the dining room table every morning. Paper clutter is placed into tidy piles set at right angles. The room is filled with panther statues. There is a large wooden one on the floor, the old base of a hip 1970s coffee table. Jungle cats stalk across the TV and a shelf. Photographs, lined neatly on shelves or tables and stuck to the refrigerator, depict Black Panthers of the human variety. Here is Wilkerson next to Geronimo Pratt, a Pan- ther organizer who spent 27 years in prison. Here is Wilkerson standing between two new members of the party last year. Their faces are fierce, masked by dark Malcolm X glasses. Their fists are raised. Wilkerson is the one in the middle, smiling. FREEDOM Found innocent after 30 years, one man cooks up a new life Robert King Wilk- erson spent dec- ades in prison. It was there that he learned how to make pralines. Laura Skelding photos AMERICAN-STATESMAN From his Austin kitchen, Robert King Wilkerson makes his livelihood. Wilkerson was one of the Angola Three, Louisiana Black Panther prisoners held in solitary confinement. He was declared innocent in 2001 and set free. sweet See SWEET, A7 Story by Eric Dexheimer ❖ American-Statesman staff Candy lovers recognize two types of pralines. The one pronounced with the long“a” is a French confection that’s clear and firm and snaps like peanut brittle. The other, commonly associated with New Orleans and usually pronounced “PRAH-leen,” is made by beating the sugar mixture while it is warm. The city’s dense humidity produces a candy of softer consistency: rich, sweet and resilient. R 11.A.1.Folio R R R R CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK 25 5 15 50 statesman.com Final $1.60 Austin’s Conspirare, up for two awards, is a different type of nominee LIFE & ARTS Culture and cattle Grammy watch Manufactured homes look custom-made but cost much less STATESMANHOMES Home, sweet ready-built home Straddling both worlds, Fort Worth has something for everyone TRAVEL TEXAS BASKETBALL: Men cruise past Iowa State; women shocked by Kansas at buzzer SPORTS Sunday, February 11, 2007 $65 million for jail is a quick fix By Marty Toohey AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Travis County is about to approve a $65 million expan- sion of its jail at Del Valle. But the project will be, at best, a short-term fix for prison crowding and could actually reduce the amount of jail space available. And county leaders could have to ask voters to approve millions more as soon as five years from now. The county has also begun implementing programs that are seen as alternatives to building more jail space. But the ideas are largely untested, leaving the county with an ex- pensive proposition. “I know we’ll be spending a lot of money on something” to deal with crowding at the jail, County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty said. “We can’t ex- pect this facility to cure a lot of great ills for us beyond maybe a half-dozen years. I think it’s clear at this point, incarcera- tion has to be looked at differ- ently.” Travis County has two jails: one at Del Valle and one in downtown Austin. The expan- sion project will replace sev- eral old buildings at Del Valle with a large one that can house 1,336 inmates. But when it’s finished, the expansion will actually reduce the number of inmates Travis With populations, costs growing, Travis is rethinking how it deals with inmates See JAIL, A7 Linda Scott AMERICAN-STATESMAN Source: Travis County Average daily inmate count Travis County jail population 2003 2004 2005 2006 2,262 2,334 2,535 2,658 COMING THIS WEEK Roaring into town ‘The Lion King’ crowns Disney’s run on Broadway. Thursday in XL INDEX WEATHER Business ............... H1-8 Deaths .................. B6-7 Editorials, Opinion .... G2-3 Insight .................. G1-4 Life & Arts ............. J1-16 Metro & State ......... B1-8 Sports ................. C1-10 ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Classifieds .............. Section E ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ For home delivery, call 445-4040 Right mix of hot stuff For Valentine’s Day, meet Austin chefs who sizzle. Wednesday in Food & Life And they’re off Obama launches campaign on Lin- coln’s turf; as Clinton returns to New Hampshire, some wonder about hus- band’s role. A10 20 percent chance of rain. High: 58 Low: 55 Details, B8 and online at statesman.com/weather ‘Secret’ is out Film teaches viewers to ask for what they want in life, but you’ll hear about the movie only by word of mouth – and here, too. J1 IN LIFE & ARTS IN THIS SECTION New rules can’t stop lobbyists’ cash flow By David D. Kirkpatrick THE NEW YORK TIMES WASHINGTON — The 110th Congress opened with the pas- sage of sweeping rules intend- ed to curb the influence of lob- byists by prohibiting them from treating lawmakers to meals, trips, stadium box seats or the discounted use of private jets. But it didn’t take long for lawmakers to find ways to keep having fun while lobbyists pick up the tab. In the past two months, law- makers invited lobbyists to help pay for a catalog of out- ings: lavish birthday parties in a lawmaker’s honor ($1,000 a lobbyist), martinis and mar- garitas at Washington restau- rants (at least $1,000), hunting and fishing trips (typically $5,000), weekend golf tourna- ments (at least $2,500), a Pres- idents Day weekend at Disney World ($5,000), parties in South Beach in Miami ($5,000), concerts by the Who or Bob Seger ($2,500 for two seats) and Broadway shows such as ‘‘Mary Poppins’’ and ‘‘The Drowsy Chaperone’’ (also $2,500 for two). The lobbyists and their em- ployers typically pay for the events, but within the new rules. Instead of picking up the tab directly, lobbyists pay a polit- ical fundraising committee, and the committee pays the lawmaker’s way. The prices listed are for lobbyists with Lawmakers still enjoy ski trips, concerts, $2,500 kaffeeklatsch See MONEY, A11
Transcript of Whitespace3
City’s tech godfather guides new growth
By Kirk LadendorfAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
In November, Gov. Rick Perrybrought a roomful of high-techpower players to the Governor’sMansion to pay court to William
Jeffrey, the head of a key federalresearch agency.
Perry had summoned the group todemonstrate Texas’ determinationto move up to the big leagues ofnanotechnology research.
Jeffrey heads the National Insti-tute of Standards and Technology,which will play a central role indoling out federal grants for nano-technology research. Access to thatmoney can help Texas become a
leader in an area that is expected tospawn thousands of companies andjobs over the next decade.
Though the meeting was thegovernor’s show, Austin lawyerPike Powers was right in the middleof it. He had courted Jeffrey andhelped set up the important gather-ing, which included top executivesfrom the state’s three major uni-versity systems and the CEO ofTexas Instruments.
When a friend asked a few dayslater what Powers had been doingthere, he cracked, “I’m the only guywho is talking to everybody else.”
For 24 years, Powers has beenperhaps the leading economic de-velopment rainmaker for CentralTexas, a catalytic force in helpingbuild the region’s high-techfoundation.
1983: MCC computer researchconsortium1984: 3M research operations1988: Sematech chip researchconsortium1991: Largest plant of chip equip-ment maker Applied Materials1996: Samsung computer chipplant2004: Sematech rejects New Yorkstate, keeps main site here2006: Second Samsung chip plant
Pike’s greatest hitsPike Powers had a key role in landing and keepinghigh-tech facilities for Austin:
See TECH, A15
Nanotech push is next upfor lawyer who helpedlure, keep top companies
obert King Wilkerson eases out ofbed. He pulls on a black shirt, awatch cap and sandals, and shufflesinto the tiny kitchen of his EastAustin duplex.
The shirt covers his tattoos, mostself-inscribed decades ago usingpencil lead. A long dagger extends
down his left forearm; a spider rests on his left hand.The tops of his fingers say “L-O-V-E” and, below that,“H-A-T-E.” The initials of a long-ago girlfriend gracehis right forearm.
He assembles his ingredients: butter, milk, sugar,baking soda, vanilla and salt. He pulls a pot off a highshelf.
“I was arrested in 1961 for armed robbery,” he be-gins. “Did I do it? Nah, not that one. But I wasn’t readyto pay no poetic justice. Gee whiz, I was just a youngman. I’d only been out of the reformatory for a year.
“I got sentenced to 10 years,” he says. “That was thefirst time.”
He moved to Austin last year after being chased out
of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, and somefriends here offered to help out.
The duplex is more studio than apartment. Wilk-erson makes the bed next to the dining room tableevery morning. Paper clutter is placed into tidy pilesset at right angles.
The room is filled with panther statues. There is alarge wooden one on the floor, the old base of a hip1970s coffee table. Jungle cats stalk across the TV anda shelf.
Photographs, lined neatly on shelves or tables andstuck to the refrigerator, depict Black Panthers of thehuman variety.
Here is Wilkerson next to Geronimo Pratt, a Pan-ther organizer who spent 27 years in prison.
Here is Wilkerson standing between two newmembers of the party last year. Their faces are fierce,masked by dark Malcolm X glasses. Their fists areraised.
Wilkerson is the one in the middle, smiling.
FREEDOMFound innocent after 30 years, one man cooks up a new life
Robert King Wilk-erson spent dec-ades in prison. Itwas there that helearned how tomake pralines.
Laura Skelding photos AMERICAN-STATESMAN
From his Austin kitchen, Robert King Wilkerson makes his livelihood. Wilkerson was one of the Angola Three,Louisiana Black Panther prisoners held in solitary confinement. He was declared innocent in 2001 and set free.
sweet
See SWEET, A7
Story by Eric Dexheimer � American-Statesman staff
Candy lovers recognize two types of pralines. The one pronounced with the long“a” is a French confectionthat’s clear and firm and snaps like peanut brittle. The other, commonly associated with New Orleans andusually pronounced “PRAH-leen,” is made by beating the sugar mixture while it is warm. The city’s densehumidity produces a candy of softer consistency: rich, sweet and resilient.
R
11.A.1.Folio R R
R R
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
25 5 15 50
statesman.comFinal$1.60
Austin’s Conspirare, up for twoawards, is a different type ofnominee LIFE & ARTS
Culture and cattleGrammy watch Manufactured homeslook custom-made butcost much less
STATESMANHOMES
Home, sweetready-built home
Straddling both worlds, Fort Worth hassomething for everyone TRAVEL
TEXAS BASKETBALL: Men cruise past Iowa State; women shocked by Kansas at buzzer SPORTS
Sunday, February 11, 2007
$65 millionfor jail isa quick fix
By Marty TooheyAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Travis County is about toapprove a $65 million expan-sion of its jail at Del Valle. Butthe project will be, at best, ashort-term fix for prisoncrowding and could actuallyreduce the amount of jail spaceavailable.
And county leaders couldhave to ask voters to approvemillions more as soon as fiveyears from now.
The county has also begunimplementing programs thatare seen as alternatives tobuilding more jail space. Butthe ideas are largely untested,leaving the county with an ex-pensive proposition.
“I know we’ll be spending alot of money on something” todeal with crowding at the jail,County Commissioner GeraldDaugherty said. “We can’t ex-pect this facility to cure a lot of
great ills for us beyond maybea half-dozen years. I think it’sclear at this point, incarcera-tion has to be looked at differ-ently.”
Travis County has two jails:one at Del Valle and one indowntown Austin. The expan-sion project will replace sev-eral old buildings at Del Vallewith a large one that can house1,336 inmates.
But when it’s finished, theexpansion will actually reducethe number of inmates Travis
With populations,costs growing, Travisis rethinking how itdeals with inmates
See JAIL, A7
Linda Scott AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Source: Travis County
Average daily inmate count
Travis Countyjail population
2003 2004 2005 2006
2,262 2,3342,535 2,658
COMING THIS WEEK
Roaring into town‘The LionKing’ crownsDisney’s runon Broadway. Thursday in XL
INDEX WEATHER
Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H1-8Deaths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6-7Editorials, Opinion . . . . G2-3Insight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G1-4Life & Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . J1-16Metro & State . . . . . . . . . B1-8Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C1-10∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Section E∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
For home delivery, call 445-4040
Right mixof hot stuffFor Valentine’sDay, meetAustin chefswho sizzle. Wednesday in Food & Life
And they’re offObama launchescampaign on Lin-coln’s turf; as Clintonreturns to NewHampshire, somewonder about hus-band’s role. A10
20 percent chance of rain.High: 58 Low: 55Details, B8 and online atstatesman.com/weather
‘Secret’ is outFilm teaches viewersto ask for what theywant in life, butyou’ll hear about themovie only by wordof mouth – and here,too. J1
IN L IFE & ARTS IN THIS SECTION
New rules can’t stoplobbyists’ cash flow
By David D. KirkpatrickTHE NEW YORK TIMES
WASHINGTON — The 110thCongress opened with the pas-sage of sweeping rules intend-ed to curb the influence of lob-byists by prohibiting themfrom treating lawmakers tomeals, trips, stadium box seatsor the discounted use of privatejets.
But it didn’t take long forlawmakers to find ways to keephaving fun while lobbyistspick up the tab.
In the past two months, law-makers invited lobbyists tohelp pay for a catalog of out-ings: lavish birthday parties ina lawmaker’s honor ($1,000 a
lobbyist), martinis and mar-garitas at Washington restau-rants (at least $1,000), huntingand fishing trips (typically$5,000), weekend golf tourna-ments (at least $2,500), a Pres-idents Day weekend at DisneyWorld ($5,000), parties inSouth Beach in Miami ($5,000),concerts by the Who or BobSeger ($2,500 for two seats) andBroadway shows such as‘‘Mary Poppins’’ and ‘‘TheDrowsy Chaperone’’ (also$2,500 for two).
The lobbyists and their em-ployers typically pay for theevents, but within the newrules.
Instead of picking up the tabdirectly, lobbyists pay a polit-ical fundraising committee,and the committee pays thelawmaker’s way. The priceslisted are for lobbyists with
Lawmakers still enjoyski trips, concerts,$2,500 kaffeeklatsch
See MONEY, A11
