AUSTIN — Rarely do we stop and think of the significance of the place we live, however, the address of our home is the most important window of information that connects us to the necessary business of conducting our daily lives.

Since addresses serve as the primary points for locating us, the announcement by Attorney General Greg Abbott of the new state-sponsored Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) — a program that benefits victims of family violence, stalking, sexual assault victims of Texas or victims that relocate to Texas — was welcome news.

The ACP program provides qualified applicants with a substitute post office box address that can be used in place of an actual home, business or school address.

The ACP program lets Texans use the address to receive their driver's licenses, voter registration cards and school enrollment documents. It's also available for members of the participant’s home for a period of three years before they have to reapply.

In order to qualify for the ACP program, victims must meet with local domestic violence shelters, sexual assault centers, law enforcement agencies or prosecution staff members to discuss an overall safety plan.

The advocate agency for the victim submits an application to the Office of the Attorney General. Once the application is approved, the participant receives a card from the ACP with a substitute post office address that will allow the program to forward all first-class mail and legal services to an alternate actual address. Mail such as: magazines, catalogs, prescriptions and packages will be excluded.

Challenges may be faced by participants enrolling in school as well as non-government agencies such as utilities, banks, and other institutions that don’t participate. Victims can inform those companies/organizations of the ACP program so that they will be more likely to cooperate.

With increased access to public records through the Internet, and published telephone directories, this program is a godsend to victims who escape abuse yet are accosted furthermore.

The program is not a witness protection program and does not guarantee safety but it is a great start for victims who are trying to move forward in their lives.

Summer vacation season is here and people everywhere are trying to cut down on expenditures as much as possible, thanks to a flailing economy, as well as, gas prices increasing across the country.

Many businesses are being forced to increase prices from car sales, bakeries, even produce. In contrast, a business that is actually thriving despite fuel being one of the principle factors that drives this business towards success are the bus lines that specialize in trips to Mexico.

Tornado bus line makes daily trips to Mexico and points across the United States.
(Source: dallasnews)

Dallas is home to many of these buses such as: Tornado, Turimex, and Lucano. They have a daily schedule with most departing in the afternoon to 9 p.m. Some of the most popular destinations are Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi among other border cities and Northern Mexican states.

Many people who traditionally drive to Mexico during summer vacation are choosing to pay the $115 to $145 that most of the bus companies charge for a round-trip ticket. One reason is because taking the bus makes the journey much speedier, usually 12 to 14 hours instead of 24 hours by car. Bus lines are also an eco-friendly alternative — and with fuel costs so high it seems like the most plausible option.

In the past, some of these bus lines have been highly criticized — there have been accusations of drug trafficking, ignoring safety precautions (such as not having a second driver present), amphetamines consumption by drivers, the lack of commercial driving licenses and some have even fallen asleep behind the wheel due to long hours.

Improperly trained drivers have even raised red flags for both passengers and authorities alike. Although all these instances reoccur, authorities report there is not much of a difference between these lines and popular commercial lines that run nationwide.

With vacation season at its peak, the bus lines are seeing an increase of as much as 20 percent more travelers choosing their businesses, which impacts the difference of rising fuel prices for these bus lines.

The bus companies say they don’t feel the need to increase prices for trips due to the fact more people are choosing to ride with them.

However, they may eventually if fuel prices surpass the $5.00 mark or if ridership continues to increase.