For my non-local readers . . . the local news

I don’t know how much this story has gotten outside our area, but . . .

Texas Governor’s Mansion burns; arson suspected

State fire officials were viewing hours of security video Sunday night as part of a massive investigation into who set a predawn fire at the Texas Governor’s Mansion that sent huge plumes of smoke through downtown and left the 152-year-old building with a partially collapsed roof, blackened windows and fire-charred white columns on its porch.

(Click the headline for the full story, plus related stories)

Slideshow:  Scenes of the fire and damage

Warning:  The amount of damage is pretty grim—the second floor is gutted, and the first sustained major damage—but for a mercy, all the furnishings and other historic items that would normally have been in place had been removed in anticipation of the renovation project, and are safe at a remote location.  The State Preservation Board, which is the agency responsible for maintaining the Governor’s Mansion, the Capitol and all other historical state-owned buildings, has said they are going to restore, period.  Tearing down the mansion and building something else isn’t even on the table.  In a sidewise slap at the state of Arkansas, former governor Mark White said, “It’s not like we can put some double-wides out there and use them.  This is priceless Texas history.  I can’t imagine any expense that shouldn’t [sic] be spared to restore it.”