Lone Star Views of the Inauguration

President Barack Obama at the Capitol being sworn in for his second term. Photo by Kate Dawson.

It’s now doubly official: Barack Obama, who had been sworn in as president on Sunday for constitutional reasons, completed the public ceremony on Monday that confirmed the start of his second term. This is a roundup of news about and from Texans at the inauguration in Washington.

The celebrity sightings at the festivities were preserved by Efren Salinas, a University of Texas journalism student reporting for the PBS InaugBlog.

David Barer, a fellow University of Texas journalism student, interviewed interpreters who used American Sign Language during the ceremonies. He quoted Jeff Williamson as saying: “It’s an interpretation, not a transliteration. We are not taking one word and replacing it with one sign. … If someone asks for an egg, there is a specific sign for that. But if you talk about abstract concepts, like freedom, it can be expressed in many ways. The sign for that would be affected by the context.”

Barer also reported that despite attracting fewer people than in 2008, the inauguration was still expected to strain Washington’s wireless networks. In addition, Salinas contributed a video report on the conflict between federal and state marijuana laws.

The Austin American-Statesman told the story of Dock Jackson, a Bastrop council member who won’t be participating in the local King Day walk he founded because he would be in Washington to view the inauguration in person. The Statesman previously reported on local officialsat the festivities.

The Dallas Morning News wrote about Texas Democrats excited about the state’s prospects during Obama’s second term.

The Houston Chronicle, which posted a photo package of the day, reported that some local Metro police officers made the trip to D.C. to help with security. The El Paso Times was among the publications with live coverage of the inauguration.

Last week, The Austin Business Journal highlighted the role of C3 Presents, the local production company that staged all the hoopla.

Preparations at the Capitol before the inauguration. Photo by Kate Dawson.