Morning Roundup: A bright idea edition

Good morning, Houston. Did you know that we're now in a bold new Fluorescent Age thanks to Mayor Bill White and his colleagues in Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and El Paso? The collective His Honors gathered in San Antonio on Friday to name the compact fluorescent bulb the "state bulb of Texas." If that doesn't make you want to switch to CFLs, try this: December is Compact Fluorescent Light Month in Texas. What's so great about CFLs? They can save $30 or more in electricity costs over the life of the bulb, for one thing — and they'll make you just a little more like Bill, if that's what you're after.

>> DNA confirms Baby Grace's identity: The Galveston County Sheriff's Office announced Friday that it had verified the identify of Riley Ann Sawyers, the 2-year-old girl known as "Baby Grace." Sawyers' remains were found in late October inside a plastic container in Galveston Bay; authorities launched a search for her identity and finally turned up Sawyers' name. Sawyers' mother, Kimberly Trenor, told police that she and her husband, Royce Clyde Zeigler II, beat Sawyers to death, then hid her body in their back yard for two months before putting it in the container and dropping it off the Galveston Causeway. Both are in jail on charges of injury to a child and tampering with evidence.

>> Cat-killing bird watcher turns tail: Jim Stevenson, the prominent Galveston bird watcher who went on trial for shooting a cat, has left the state, saying he fled because someone shot at him. Stevenson said he was standing on his porch Wednesday when the shot was fired; he wasn't hit, but he did fall backward. "I feel like a walking abortion clinic," he told the AP. Galveston police Lt. Jorge Trevino said the department dropped its investigation into the shooting report because Stevenson wouldn't cooperate; he told the AP that he prefers the FBI to handle the investigation. Stevenson said he plans to return to Texas, but didn't say when.

>> Why are Sundays dry?: Ever wondered why you can't buy liquor all day Sundays and beer or wine before noon Sundays in Texas? The Chronicle's Tex-Arcana feature looked into that question and found out that the state's odd liquor laws date back to Prohibition. Prohibition began in 1919 and ended in 1933; in between, however, anti-Prohibition politicians in Texas refused to uphold the law. In 1935, when the state's current liquor law was written, "blue laws" were in effect that limited the sale of alcohol on Sundays — and though most of the blue law provisions aren't in effect today, the ones on alcohol are. Now, Texans can buy alcohol from 7 a.m. to midnight weekdays, from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturdays and from noon to midnight Sundays.

>> This week's weather: Looks like a nice few days ahead: The week — or at least the first part of it — will be pretty mild, followed by a weekend warm-up. Expect a high around 65 this afternoon with lots of sun; tonight, lows could dip into the upper 30s. Clouds will move back into the area Thursday, leading to temperatures around 80 from Friday to Sunday.

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