MARGE CRUMBAKER
LLANO – Marge Crumbaker, who covered Houston’s jet set for two decades as a gossip columnist for the Houston Post, died July 31 at her home in Llano. She was 93.

The deadline for filing your Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation (PS Form 3526) with the U.S. Postal Service is Oct. 1 of each year. In addition, the statement must be published during the month of October.
The filing and publication of this form is a requirement for maintaining periodicals mailing privileges. Dailies must publish a completed copy of this form in their newspaper by Oct. 10, and non-dailies by Oct. 31. 

An op-ed about postal reform is available to Texas newspapers from the National Newspaper Association.
Written by NNA President Matthew Paxton IV, publisher of the Lexington, Va., News-Gazette, the opinion piece urges support for HB 756. The legislation was crafted by a group of Republican and Democratic representatives working together on the one thing they can agree on: US Postal Service reform.

With the good news of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta’s announcement that he won’t enforce the proposed federal overtime pay regulations, the National Newspaper Association is asking Texas newspaper publishers to help provide input as the DOL considers standards that would be more fair.

This year marks the 77th anniversary of National Newspaper Week (NNW), Oct. 1-7. The annual observance celebrates and emphasizes the impact of newspapers to communities large and small.
Materials for NNW will be available for download at www.NationalNewspaperWeek.com in late September. Reminders will go out in coming weeks, but please mark your calendars now and make plans.

AUSTIN – Jim Moroney, publisher of The Dallas Morning News and chief executive officer of the A. H. Belo Corporation, is the recipient of the 2017 James Madison Award presented by the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.
The prestigious award honors those who demonstrate outstanding commitment to upholding the principles of the First Amendment and open government. It will be presented Sept. 14 at the John Henry Faulk Awards Luncheon during the foundation’s Bernard and Audre Rapoport State Conference in Austin.

The Texas Legislature’s high-profile stalemate over property tax reform means newspapers will remain the primary source of public notices for tax hearings and rates — for now, at least.

Analysis by Donnis Baggett, Texas Press Association

Seeing government in action is an eye-opening experience, especially in Austin. 
Last week, I received a call from the Texas Press Association asking if I would come to the state capitol and testify against a bill in the current Special Session.

Opinion by Melissa Perner, Ozona Stockman

There’s been an uptick in recent years of newspapers found in violation of the 75 percent advertising rule, which prohibits Periodicals from running more than 75 percent advertising percentage in more than half the issues in a 12-month period.

Postal Tips by Max Heath

FAIRFIELD – Freestone County Publishing, LP, announced the acquisition of a second newspaper and the appointment of a new publisher to head the operation.
Richard Nelson has assumed duties as the editor and publisher of The Fairfield Recorder and the Teague Chronicle, acquired from longtime owner Patricia Massey Wilkins.
Both newspapers will maintain their offices in Fairfield and Teague.