Council seats on the line Saturday
By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Voters will decide the final four Dallas City Council races Saturday in runoff elections.
In southern Dallas' District 8, incumbent James Fantroy faces a strong challenge from former council member Al Lipscomb, who edged his former friend and protégé in last month's general election.
Others facing off include Monica Barros-Greene and Pauline Medrano in District 2, Tony Fleo and Ron Natinsky in District 12 and Angela Hunt and Kathy Ingle in District 14.
Polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
News from the Lone Star State
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Texas guard unit on an explosive mission
Members hunt for deadly homemade bombs along Iraqi route
By VERNON SMITH JR. / The Dallas Morning News
AD DIWANIYAH, Iraq/FORT HOOD, Texas – The young Iraqi shepherd spoke little English but found a way to get the Texas soldiers' attention.
"Boom!" he said, pointing to a culvert in his field.
The shepherd approached on a recent morning as the Texas Army National Guard convoy stopped to scour a section of highway for the deadly homemade bombs used widely by Iraq's insurgency.
Since they landed in Iraq in January, the 56th Brigade Combat Team has had the dangerous job of searching for roadside bombs along one of the U.S. military's major supply routes. The crude bombs have killed and maimed hundreds of U.S. and allied troops and have sparked intense pressure for the Pentagon to provide American forces with more, better armored vehicles.
After confirming the shepherd's discovery – two 122 mm mortar rounds bound together in the culvert – soldiers stopped traffic on the six-lane highway in both directions, and cars soon began to stack up.
It would be more than five hours before Navy experts arrived to destroy the mortars, enough time for the Texas soldiers to experience the improvisational rhythm of life in a world thousands of miles from home.
Hours before the 56th BCT soldiers inspected the highway, ditches and culverts for bombs, Lt. Ben Garcia of San Angelo reviewed the game plan for the morning's patrol.
"We're going to keep them off us, today, right?" said Lt. Garcia, standing in front of his team inside a room with a foosball table and shelves crammed with paperbacks and breakfast cereal.
"Hoo-ah!" they responded.
"Nobody is going to get close to us!"
"Hoo-ah!"
The soldiers know the drill, but Lt. Garcia leaves little to chance. The briefing is as much a pep talk as it is a mini-lecture on the various insurgent tactics and threats that await outside Camp Scania, about 60 miles south of Baghdad.
Iraq's modern network of highways and paved roads provides coalition forces high-speed movement across the country. The same highways also make them vulnerable to enemy attacks.
Across Iraq, U.S. military convoys are routinely attacked by suicide car bombers who attempt to crash their bomb-laden vehicles into a convoy.
Last month, 80 U.S. troops were killed, many in multiple blasts caused by suicide attackers, car bombs or roadside explosions, making it the second-deadliest month this year.
Signs warning motorists to stay clear hang on the back of each 56th BCT Humvee, and a driver who ventures too close risks a warning shot or worse.
Parked or abandoned vehicles along the highway also warrant concern.
"If we see a vehicle on the side of the road and nobody is in or near it, that's suspicious," said Lt. Garcia. "In this country, these people do not leave anything of value alone by itself."
The soldiers are reminded to stay alert for people and vehicles along traffic chokepoint areas where the convoy may slow and bunch up, making itself vulnerable to an ambush. Attackers have also dropped bombs, known by the military as improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, from highway overpasses and dangled them from bridge guardrails, making Humvee gunners especially vulnerable.
"Anybody you see watching you intently could be somebody with an IED," Lt. Garcia said.
Maj. Phillip Lunt, an intelligence officer from Killeen, said insurgents have found creative ways of disguising the weapons along roads traveled by military convoys.
IEDs have been hidden in soda cans, plastic trash bags, and animal carcasses and under piles of rubbish. They have been stuffed into the frame of a child's bicycle and encased in concrete to make them look like harmless concrete blocks.
"They can look like anything," Maj. Lunt said.
Many of the weapons are made from artillery shells, mortar rounds and other unsecured munitions that can be found across Iraq. The bombs often are detonated from a distance by a remote control device like a garage door opener, car alarm, doorbell or cellphone.
Since January, 56th BCT route clearance operations have uncovered at least 28 IEDs and munitions caches. Seven of the brigade's 3,000 soldiers have been injured in roadside bomb incidents.
But the brigade has suffered no fatalities, a fact that the brigade commander, Col. James K. "Red" Brown, attributed to the armored vehicles and the protective helmet and vest each soldier wears.
Col. Brown said although armor can't guarantee total safety, "every Humvee we put outside the wire is Level 2 or better." Level 2 refers to factory-made kits with thick steel doors and antiballistic windows added to trucks or Humvees. Col. Brown said he was awaiting delivery of 60 new factory-armored Humvees.
"If you look at coalition vehicles, no other country has anything that even comes close to the level of protection the United States has on its wheeled vehicles," Col. Brown said.
A member of the unit, Spc. Jerome Hawkins, was riding in a convoy a few months ago when a bomb exploded between two Humvees approaching an overpass near Abu Ghraib, a western suburb of Baghdad. Two men were seen sprinting from the scene.
"They didn't time it right, which was a blessing on our part," said Spc. Hawkins, an Arlington resident.
Fifteen minutes after the explosion, another Army convoy up ahead found a bomb hanging from a bridge overpass and closed the highway, he said.
"I think everybody was a little shocked that day," Spc. Hawkins said. "We had just rolled through Ramadi, where they have Marines in tanks on all the bridges. So everybody got a little bit relaxed. I think when all this happened, it got everybody's attention."
Back on the highway where the shepherd located the latest bomb, a few Iraqi drivers waved tentatively to the Texas soldiers at the roadblock before turning onto an impromptu detour that sent them in the opposite direction. But in the relentless sun, most of the drivers wore resigned, grim-faced expressions.
The detour required sedans, pickups, station wagons and buses to drive off the pavement and across a winding, rutted dirt path more suited to four-wheel-drive sport utility vehicles. Dust clouds swirled around women in black abayas and other passengers forced to step out of vehicles so that drivers could get past the worst spots.
Although pleased about the morning's discovery, the soldiers grew more anxious by the hour. Wide open and stuck on the highway, they were a perfect target for trouble. At one point, a gunshot from an unknown source sent them sprinting for cover.
"I got eyes on a guy standing straight up at three o' clock," shouted Sgt. Brad Raphelt, a Humvee gunner from Arlington, training his binoculars at a figure in a field about 300 yards from the highway. "He's been standing out there ever since we pulled up."
Sgt. Jose Peredez of San Saba, the Humvee's commander, grabbed his binoculars for a look. He told Spc. Michael Scantling, of Dublin, to get on the radio and alert the rest of the convoy so that more soldiers could help watch the man.
At one point, an ambulance crept up to the roadblock, creating a brief frenzy as soldiers pointed their weapons and yelled for the driver and passenger to get out of the vehicle. Soldiers searched the ambulance because insurgents in Iraq reportedly have used them in car bomb attacks and to transport weapons.
The driver told an Iraqi translator that he needed to go through the roadblock to reach a hospital, but soldiers told him to turn around and find an alternate route.
The tension on the road eased when a flock of sheep paraded past the convoy to an adjacent field.
Finally, the team of Navy bomb demolition experts and Polish army soldiers arrived, and a small camera-equipped robot attached an explosive charge to the mortars.
Some soldiers reached into their pockets for cameras, hoping to document the blast for their scrapbooks. With a thunderous explosion, the mortars in the shepherd's field were destroyed. The highway reopened and traffic returned to normal.
"It's just a typical day out here," said Spc. Bruce Grove, a self-storage company operator from Lewisville, who pulled sentry duty at one of the roadblocks. "We see it all, and anything can happen."
Members hunt for deadly homemade bombs along Iraqi route
By VERNON SMITH JR. / The Dallas Morning News
AD DIWANIYAH, Iraq/FORT HOOD, Texas – The young Iraqi shepherd spoke little English but found a way to get the Texas soldiers' attention.
"Boom!" he said, pointing to a culvert in his field.
The shepherd approached on a recent morning as the Texas Army National Guard convoy stopped to scour a section of highway for the deadly homemade bombs used widely by Iraq's insurgency.
Since they landed in Iraq in January, the 56th Brigade Combat Team has had the dangerous job of searching for roadside bombs along one of the U.S. military's major supply routes. The crude bombs have killed and maimed hundreds of U.S. and allied troops and have sparked intense pressure for the Pentagon to provide American forces with more, better armored vehicles.
After confirming the shepherd's discovery – two 122 mm mortar rounds bound together in the culvert – soldiers stopped traffic on the six-lane highway in both directions, and cars soon began to stack up.
It would be more than five hours before Navy experts arrived to destroy the mortars, enough time for the Texas soldiers to experience the improvisational rhythm of life in a world thousands of miles from home.
Hours before the 56th BCT soldiers inspected the highway, ditches and culverts for bombs, Lt. Ben Garcia of San Angelo reviewed the game plan for the morning's patrol.
"We're going to keep them off us, today, right?" said Lt. Garcia, standing in front of his team inside a room with a foosball table and shelves crammed with paperbacks and breakfast cereal.
"Hoo-ah!" they responded.
"Nobody is going to get close to us!"
"Hoo-ah!"
The soldiers know the drill, but Lt. Garcia leaves little to chance. The briefing is as much a pep talk as it is a mini-lecture on the various insurgent tactics and threats that await outside Camp Scania, about 60 miles south of Baghdad.
Iraq's modern network of highways and paved roads provides coalition forces high-speed movement across the country. The same highways also make them vulnerable to enemy attacks.
Across Iraq, U.S. military convoys are routinely attacked by suicide car bombers who attempt to crash their bomb-laden vehicles into a convoy.
Last month, 80 U.S. troops were killed, many in multiple blasts caused by suicide attackers, car bombs or roadside explosions, making it the second-deadliest month this year.
Signs warning motorists to stay clear hang on the back of each 56th BCT Humvee, and a driver who ventures too close risks a warning shot or worse.
Parked or abandoned vehicles along the highway also warrant concern.
"If we see a vehicle on the side of the road and nobody is in or near it, that's suspicious," said Lt. Garcia. "In this country, these people do not leave anything of value alone by itself."
The soldiers are reminded to stay alert for people and vehicles along traffic chokepoint areas where the convoy may slow and bunch up, making itself vulnerable to an ambush. Attackers have also dropped bombs, known by the military as improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, from highway overpasses and dangled them from bridge guardrails, making Humvee gunners especially vulnerable.
"Anybody you see watching you intently could be somebody with an IED," Lt. Garcia said.
Maj. Phillip Lunt, an intelligence officer from Killeen, said insurgents have found creative ways of disguising the weapons along roads traveled by military convoys.
IEDs have been hidden in soda cans, plastic trash bags, and animal carcasses and under piles of rubbish. They have been stuffed into the frame of a child's bicycle and encased in concrete to make them look like harmless concrete blocks.
"They can look like anything," Maj. Lunt said.
Many of the weapons are made from artillery shells, mortar rounds and other unsecured munitions that can be found across Iraq. The bombs often are detonated from a distance by a remote control device like a garage door opener, car alarm, doorbell or cellphone.
Since January, 56th BCT route clearance operations have uncovered at least 28 IEDs and munitions caches. Seven of the brigade's 3,000 soldiers have been injured in roadside bomb incidents.
But the brigade has suffered no fatalities, a fact that the brigade commander, Col. James K. "Red" Brown, attributed to the armored vehicles and the protective helmet and vest each soldier wears.
Col. Brown said although armor can't guarantee total safety, "every Humvee we put outside the wire is Level 2 or better." Level 2 refers to factory-made kits with thick steel doors and antiballistic windows added to trucks or Humvees. Col. Brown said he was awaiting delivery of 60 new factory-armored Humvees.
"If you look at coalition vehicles, no other country has anything that even comes close to the level of protection the United States has on its wheeled vehicles," Col. Brown said.
A member of the unit, Spc. Jerome Hawkins, was riding in a convoy a few months ago when a bomb exploded between two Humvees approaching an overpass near Abu Ghraib, a western suburb of Baghdad. Two men were seen sprinting from the scene.
"They didn't time it right, which was a blessing on our part," said Spc. Hawkins, an Arlington resident.
Fifteen minutes after the explosion, another Army convoy up ahead found a bomb hanging from a bridge overpass and closed the highway, he said.
"I think everybody was a little shocked that day," Spc. Hawkins said. "We had just rolled through Ramadi, where they have Marines in tanks on all the bridges. So everybody got a little bit relaxed. I think when all this happened, it got everybody's attention."
Back on the highway where the shepherd located the latest bomb, a few Iraqi drivers waved tentatively to the Texas soldiers at the roadblock before turning onto an impromptu detour that sent them in the opposite direction. But in the relentless sun, most of the drivers wore resigned, grim-faced expressions.
The detour required sedans, pickups, station wagons and buses to drive off the pavement and across a winding, rutted dirt path more suited to four-wheel-drive sport utility vehicles. Dust clouds swirled around women in black abayas and other passengers forced to step out of vehicles so that drivers could get past the worst spots.
Although pleased about the morning's discovery, the soldiers grew more anxious by the hour. Wide open and stuck on the highway, they were a perfect target for trouble. At one point, a gunshot from an unknown source sent them sprinting for cover.
"I got eyes on a guy standing straight up at three o' clock," shouted Sgt. Brad Raphelt, a Humvee gunner from Arlington, training his binoculars at a figure in a field about 300 yards from the highway. "He's been standing out there ever since we pulled up."
Sgt. Jose Peredez of San Saba, the Humvee's commander, grabbed his binoculars for a look. He told Spc. Michael Scantling, of Dublin, to get on the radio and alert the rest of the convoy so that more soldiers could help watch the man.
At one point, an ambulance crept up to the roadblock, creating a brief frenzy as soldiers pointed their weapons and yelled for the driver and passenger to get out of the vehicle. Soldiers searched the ambulance because insurgents in Iraq reportedly have used them in car bomb attacks and to transport weapons.
The driver told an Iraqi translator that he needed to go through the roadblock to reach a hospital, but soldiers told him to turn around and find an alternate route.
The tension on the road eased when a flock of sheep paraded past the convoy to an adjacent field.
Finally, the team of Navy bomb demolition experts and Polish army soldiers arrived, and a small camera-equipped robot attached an explosive charge to the mortars.
Some soldiers reached into their pockets for cameras, hoping to document the blast for their scrapbooks. With a thunderous explosion, the mortars in the shepherd's field were destroyed. The highway reopened and traffic returned to normal.
"It's just a typical day out here," said Spc. Bruce Grove, a self-storage company operator from Lewisville, who pulled sentry duty at one of the roadblocks. "We see it all, and anything can happen."
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TexasStooge
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Ripple effect of Merc deal seen
Dallas: Downtown tax aid could draw funds from other projects
By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Slap a quarter-billion-dollar development in the middle of Dallas' languid downtown and, like belly-flopping into still water, everything around gets drenched.
Drenched with economic success for some? Peril for others? It depends on whom you ask.
Dallas officials agreed in principle Wednesday to provide Cleveland-based developer Forest City Enterprises with upwards of $65 million in tax and other incentives. In turn, the developer would transform nearly three city blocks of vacant or almost-vacant buildings into nearly 1,000 residential units and storefront after storefront of retail space.
Just a week earlier, the deal had almost died because of disagreements over incentive amounts.
The new agreement means that public-sector help for other downtown development projects – and plenty exist – could become scarce. Such a dramatic project may also alter ideas of what the city's core could and should become.
The debate begins in earnest Wednesday as the council considers creating a downtown tax-increment finance district worth $124 million over the next 30 years.
The district would allow developers to recoup up to that amount in property taxes generated from increased land and structure values and use it for such endeavors as demolition, building beautification and infrastructure improvements.
Forest City's redevelopment of the Mercantile Bank complex, Continental building and former TXU Gas Co. complex could, if approved as conceived, extinguish more than half the investment district's funding at once.
Some top Dallas political and business leaders say it's a necessary price to pay. They consider the redevelopment of these buildings essential to downtown's rebirth as a vibrant residential and retail center, in addition to its more traditional commercial function.
The decrepit, garbage-strewn eyesores of today stand to become homes to hundreds of people, and the workplaces of hundreds more, within years. Such a development, project backers say, will drive more development.
"This alone could tip us into a market-driven environment where you don't have to give as much subsidy to anyone as before. It's huge," said Alice Murray, president of the Central Dallas Association, which represents downtown business interests.
"But the point of other downtown projects – it's a point that has to be taken into consideration."
Fantroy concerned
Council member James Fantroy said he's "quite concerned" that the city seems willing to pour so many resources into redeveloping one section of downtown when other downtown areas, not to mention neighborhoods in Dallas' southern sector, are receiving considerably less.
"We have to grow downtown – no doubt. But at what cost?" Mr. Fantroy asked.
In the West End, a downtown district with a dense concentration of restaurants and bars, landowners would love to build a park where a parking lot sits in the shadow of the Spaghetti Warehouse. They desperately want the city to provide at least a few million dollars in subsidies to make it happen.
The area has suffered for months because of lost traffic from Dallas Stars hockey games – canceled when the National Hockey League ditched its 2004-2005 season because of labor disputes. A large gathering space could host festivals and other moneymaking events.
Greg Schooley, executive director of the West End Association, said he fully supports the city offering Forest City tax subsidies. What's good for the southeastern quadrant of downtown is good for all of downtown, he said.
"All we're asking for is that while you're doing these other great projects, make sure that we over here don't die," Mr. Schooley said. "We must protect places like the West End and Deep Ellum, the assets the city already has."
Other projects that could vie for the $124 million in tax incentives include:
Building a deck over the canyon-like Woodall Rodgers Freeway in the Arts District, with a park on top. The total project is estimated to cost up to $60 million.
Creating a large park along Main Street.
Bringing small, deteriorating buildings on a block on Elm Street near the Stone Street Gardens up to fire code. Without costly fire escapes, their top floors cannot be redeveloped.
Redeveloping properties at 1414 Elm St. and 1900 Pacific Ave.
Funding an extension of the McKinney Avenue trolley line so it connects with downtown's Dallas Area Rapid Transit train line.
"It's a personal goal of mine to find these funds, and I believe we can figure out a way to fund the key buildings," said Assistant City Manager Ryan Evans, who oversees downtown economic development for the city.
"And with the Mercantile, it's such a big, highlighted project that it will benefit all of downtown. It will cause a market ripple."
For Mayor Laura Miller, the city's limited tax incentives are best used to ensure the full redevelopment of the Mercantile Bank complex and surrounding buildings.
An earlier downtown tax-incentive zone, formally known as a tax-increment finance district, too often provided incentives on a first-come, first-serve basis to developers interested in smaller, disjointed projects, Ms. Miller said.
'We were reactive'
With Dallas' new zone, the $124 million in incentives it offers can help the city realize its vision of redeveloping its consummate monument to blight.
"We were reactive, giving money to anyone who wanted to turn anything into something," Ms. Miller said. "It would be a terrible mistake to take the same approach this time."
Council member Mitchell Rasansky, one of Dallas' most fiscally conservative officeholders, said even he believes in the importance of offering tax subsidies to Forest City.
"I don't like to give money away, but this is a must-do for all of downtown," he said. "There may be other projects out there, yes. But I have tunnel vision to get this done."
Dallas: Downtown tax aid could draw funds from other projects
By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Slap a quarter-billion-dollar development in the middle of Dallas' languid downtown and, like belly-flopping into still water, everything around gets drenched.
Drenched with economic success for some? Peril for others? It depends on whom you ask.
Dallas officials agreed in principle Wednesday to provide Cleveland-based developer Forest City Enterprises with upwards of $65 million in tax and other incentives. In turn, the developer would transform nearly three city blocks of vacant or almost-vacant buildings into nearly 1,000 residential units and storefront after storefront of retail space.
Just a week earlier, the deal had almost died because of disagreements over incentive amounts.
The new agreement means that public-sector help for other downtown development projects – and plenty exist – could become scarce. Such a dramatic project may also alter ideas of what the city's core could and should become.
The debate begins in earnest Wednesday as the council considers creating a downtown tax-increment finance district worth $124 million over the next 30 years.
The district would allow developers to recoup up to that amount in property taxes generated from increased land and structure values and use it for such endeavors as demolition, building beautification and infrastructure improvements.
Forest City's redevelopment of the Mercantile Bank complex, Continental building and former TXU Gas Co. complex could, if approved as conceived, extinguish more than half the investment district's funding at once.
Some top Dallas political and business leaders say it's a necessary price to pay. They consider the redevelopment of these buildings essential to downtown's rebirth as a vibrant residential and retail center, in addition to its more traditional commercial function.
The decrepit, garbage-strewn eyesores of today stand to become homes to hundreds of people, and the workplaces of hundreds more, within years. Such a development, project backers say, will drive more development.
"This alone could tip us into a market-driven environment where you don't have to give as much subsidy to anyone as before. It's huge," said Alice Murray, president of the Central Dallas Association, which represents downtown business interests.
"But the point of other downtown projects – it's a point that has to be taken into consideration."
Fantroy concerned
Council member James Fantroy said he's "quite concerned" that the city seems willing to pour so many resources into redeveloping one section of downtown when other downtown areas, not to mention neighborhoods in Dallas' southern sector, are receiving considerably less.
"We have to grow downtown – no doubt. But at what cost?" Mr. Fantroy asked.
In the West End, a downtown district with a dense concentration of restaurants and bars, landowners would love to build a park where a parking lot sits in the shadow of the Spaghetti Warehouse. They desperately want the city to provide at least a few million dollars in subsidies to make it happen.
The area has suffered for months because of lost traffic from Dallas Stars hockey games – canceled when the National Hockey League ditched its 2004-2005 season because of labor disputes. A large gathering space could host festivals and other moneymaking events.
Greg Schooley, executive director of the West End Association, said he fully supports the city offering Forest City tax subsidies. What's good for the southeastern quadrant of downtown is good for all of downtown, he said.
"All we're asking for is that while you're doing these other great projects, make sure that we over here don't die," Mr. Schooley said. "We must protect places like the West End and Deep Ellum, the assets the city already has."
Other projects that could vie for the $124 million in tax incentives include:
Building a deck over the canyon-like Woodall Rodgers Freeway in the Arts District, with a park on top. The total project is estimated to cost up to $60 million.
Creating a large park along Main Street.
Bringing small, deteriorating buildings on a block on Elm Street near the Stone Street Gardens up to fire code. Without costly fire escapes, their top floors cannot be redeveloped.
Redeveloping properties at 1414 Elm St. and 1900 Pacific Ave.
Funding an extension of the McKinney Avenue trolley line so it connects with downtown's Dallas Area Rapid Transit train line.
"It's a personal goal of mine to find these funds, and I believe we can figure out a way to fund the key buildings," said Assistant City Manager Ryan Evans, who oversees downtown economic development for the city.
"And with the Mercantile, it's such a big, highlighted project that it will benefit all of downtown. It will cause a market ripple."
For Mayor Laura Miller, the city's limited tax incentives are best used to ensure the full redevelopment of the Mercantile Bank complex and surrounding buildings.
An earlier downtown tax-incentive zone, formally known as a tax-increment finance district, too often provided incentives on a first-come, first-serve basis to developers interested in smaller, disjointed projects, Ms. Miller said.
'We were reactive'
With Dallas' new zone, the $124 million in incentives it offers can help the city realize its vision of redeveloping its consummate monument to blight.
"We were reactive, giving money to anyone who wanted to turn anything into something," Ms. Miller said. "It would be a terrible mistake to take the same approach this time."
Council member Mitchell Rasansky, one of Dallas' most fiscally conservative officeholders, said even he believes in the importance of offering tax subsidies to Forest City.
"I don't like to give money away, but this is a must-do for all of downtown," he said. "There may be other projects out there, yes. But I have tunnel vision to get this done."
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TexasStooge
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Perry camp won't film church event
But abortion-consent bill will still be signed in Fort Worth despite criticism
By WAYNE SLATER / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas – Gov. Rick Perry's re-election campaign has canceled plans to film a bill-signing at a church school, but a spokesman said Friday that the ceremony will be held as planned despite criticism over the separation of church and state.
"It is a totally legitimate venue for signing this bill," Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt said.
On Sunday at Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Worth, Mr. Perry will sign a bill requiring minors to get parental consent for an abortion. He will also discuss the gay-marriage ban that will be on the ballot in November.
In an e-mail, his campaign invited thousands of "pro-family Christian friends" to attend and suggested the event would be taped for a political commercial. Ms. Walt said Friday that the ceremony would not be filmed.
Word of the bill-signing prompted a firestorm of criticism that the governor was using a house of worship for political purposes.
"Signing a bill into law in a church is a pretty clear symbol that the church is at the service of the state or the state is at the service of the church," said Robin Lovin, a professor of ethics at Southern Methodist University. "Either way, we've crossed an important line that has a long history in both politics and theology."
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State has denounced the bill-signing, and Democrats say they will picket outside the church in protest Sunday.
Ms. Walt said the event is scheduled for the gymnasium of the school associated with Calvary Cathedral. She said the criticism is coming largely from opponents of the legislation.
"This is a bill-signing for a piece of legislation that was overwhelmingly passed by the Texas Legislature," she said. "There is broad support across Texas. And there is nothing wrong with being in the gymnasium of a school, even a private school, to sign that bill."
Kelly Shackelford of the Liberty Legal Institute, a Plano-based group involved in religious-expression cases, said the church was an appropriate venue for the governor to highlight opposition to abortion and gay marriage.
"Since when did churches and their members lose the rights of citizens?" Mr. Shackelford said.
"These are issues that strike to the core of any church or religious group and their beliefs, and they have a right to participate in the process just like everybody else," he said.
But abortion-consent bill will still be signed in Fort Worth despite criticism
By WAYNE SLATER / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas – Gov. Rick Perry's re-election campaign has canceled plans to film a bill-signing at a church school, but a spokesman said Friday that the ceremony will be held as planned despite criticism over the separation of church and state.
"It is a totally legitimate venue for signing this bill," Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt said.
On Sunday at Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Worth, Mr. Perry will sign a bill requiring minors to get parental consent for an abortion. He will also discuss the gay-marriage ban that will be on the ballot in November.
In an e-mail, his campaign invited thousands of "pro-family Christian friends" to attend and suggested the event would be taped for a political commercial. Ms. Walt said Friday that the ceremony would not be filmed.
Word of the bill-signing prompted a firestorm of criticism that the governor was using a house of worship for political purposes.
"Signing a bill into law in a church is a pretty clear symbol that the church is at the service of the state or the state is at the service of the church," said Robin Lovin, a professor of ethics at Southern Methodist University. "Either way, we've crossed an important line that has a long history in both politics and theology."
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State has denounced the bill-signing, and Democrats say they will picket outside the church in protest Sunday.
Ms. Walt said the event is scheduled for the gymnasium of the school associated with Calvary Cathedral. She said the criticism is coming largely from opponents of the legislation.
"This is a bill-signing for a piece of legislation that was overwhelmingly passed by the Texas Legislature," she said. "There is broad support across Texas. And there is nothing wrong with being in the gymnasium of a school, even a private school, to sign that bill."
Kelly Shackelford of the Liberty Legal Institute, a Plano-based group involved in religious-expression cases, said the church was an appropriate venue for the governor to highlight opposition to abortion and gay marriage.
"Since when did churches and their members lose the rights of citizens?" Mr. Shackelford said.
"These are issues that strike to the core of any church or religious group and their beliefs, and they have a right to participate in the process just like everybody else," he said.
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TexasStooge
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NW Dallas thieves targeting Hispanic women
Three men sought in home-invasion robberies at complexes
By HOLLY YAN / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - At least three men carrying out a string of home-invasion robberies targeting Hispanic women primarily in northwest Dallas have been active again in recent weeks, prompting police to warn people to take precautions.
The robbers have been linked to as many as seven robberies since January. Since May 20, the men have robbed women in apartments in the 2800 block of Northhaven Road and 9800 block of Brockbank Drive, police said.
They use the same strategy almost every time: During business hours, the robbers apparently target apartments where they know only women and children are home. They knock on the door and claim to know the women's husbands or ask for help because a spouse was injured at work. Occasionally, the robbers say they are returning the husbands' tools.
Some would-be victims don't buy their stories.
"One lady was smart enough to tell them to leave the tools outside," Dallas police robbery Lt. Victor Woodberry said.
But some women fall victim to the act.
"When the women crack open the door, the robbers push themselves inside," Detective Leopoldo Gonzalez said.
The armed men have taped victims' mouths and eyes and used objects from the victims' kitchens, such as knives, to threaten them while ransacking their apartments.
The loot has ranged from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry and cash, according to police reports.
"In my case, they stole mostly jewelry," Detective Gonzalez said of the May 20 robbery. "They stole $11,000 in jewelry and $2,000 in cash."
Police say the robbers are three Latino males in their early 30s. One is described as between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall with a heavy build, a beard or goatee and tattoos on his right forearm. Police say they may be driving a small, older-model red car or a mid-'90s Ford Explorer.
Anyone with information can call 214-671-3584.
Detective Gonzalez said women can protect themselves from these robbers by not opening the door to talk to strangers and asking more questions when someone claims to know family members.
Three men sought in home-invasion robberies at complexes
By HOLLY YAN / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - At least three men carrying out a string of home-invasion robberies targeting Hispanic women primarily in northwest Dallas have been active again in recent weeks, prompting police to warn people to take precautions.
The robbers have been linked to as many as seven robberies since January. Since May 20, the men have robbed women in apartments in the 2800 block of Northhaven Road and 9800 block of Brockbank Drive, police said.
They use the same strategy almost every time: During business hours, the robbers apparently target apartments where they know only women and children are home. They knock on the door and claim to know the women's husbands or ask for help because a spouse was injured at work. Occasionally, the robbers say they are returning the husbands' tools.
Some would-be victims don't buy their stories.
"One lady was smart enough to tell them to leave the tools outside," Dallas police robbery Lt. Victor Woodberry said.
But some women fall victim to the act.
"When the women crack open the door, the robbers push themselves inside," Detective Leopoldo Gonzalez said.
The armed men have taped victims' mouths and eyes and used objects from the victims' kitchens, such as knives, to threaten them while ransacking their apartments.
The loot has ranged from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry and cash, according to police reports.
"In my case, they stole mostly jewelry," Detective Gonzalez said of the May 20 robbery. "They stole $11,000 in jewelry and $2,000 in cash."
Police say the robbers are three Latino males in their early 30s. One is described as between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall with a heavy build, a beard or goatee and tattoos on his right forearm. Police say they may be driving a small, older-model red car or a mid-'90s Ford Explorer.
Anyone with information can call 214-671-3584.
Detective Gonzalez said women can protect themselves from these robbers by not opening the door to talk to strangers and asking more questions when someone claims to know family members.
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TexasStooge
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Pets perish in Grand Prairie fire
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) — A Grand Prairie family narrowly escaped a fire that gutted their home overnight—but some of their pets were not as lucky.
There were more than 20 animals inside the house in the 1800 block of Crooks Court when the first alarm was sounded just after midnight.
One dog, five kittens, a cat and a bird were rescued.
But four dogs and 10 birds perished in the fire, which investigators believe started in the garage.
WFAA-TV photojournalist Bryan Titsworth contributed to this report.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) — A Grand Prairie family narrowly escaped a fire that gutted their home overnight—but some of their pets were not as lucky.
There were more than 20 animals inside the house in the 1800 block of Crooks Court when the first alarm was sounded just after midnight.
One dog, five kittens, a cat and a bird were rescued.
But four dogs and 10 birds perished in the fire, which investigators believe started in the garage.
WFAA-TV photojournalist Bryan Titsworth contributed to this report.
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TexasStooge
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Governor draws protesters in Fort Worth
By BYRON HARRIS / WFAA ABC 8
FORT WORTH, Texas — Protesters turned out Sunday afternoon for Governor Rick Perry's appearance in Fort Worth to sign a bill requiring parental consent for abortions.
An overflow crowd of about 800 greeted the governor at Calvary Christian Academy just north of downtown at a gathering that was part political rally, part religious service.
The bill Perry signed requires minors to get their parents' permission before getting an abortion. He also signed another ceremonial document supporting a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
For the roughly 200 people outside—mostly Democrats—the medium was the message. Perry's choice of a Christian school to sign an anti-abortion bill meant to them he was using religion to strengthen his political base, while ignoring education, elder care and gay rights.
"I think he's taking people of sincere faith and using them to his nefarious political advantage," said Art Brender of the Tarrant County Democratic Party.
Inside, an all-star cast of nationally-known evangelists gathered to preach to a choir whose members seemed to think their views had been long ignored.
"We are profoundly interested in life, we are deeply commited to family and we are deeply committed to stand for the institution of marriage," said Rev. Don Wildmon of Tupelo, Mississippi.
There was no question that the event's audience favored not only the parental consent bill, but also the proposed constitutional amendment. The governor said both symbolized his support of the family.
"I'm proud to put my signature on a bill that will save lives," Perry said.
The parental consent bill is now law. The Governor said he hopes to get the constitutional amendment defining marriage on the November ballot.
By BYRON HARRIS / WFAA ABC 8
FORT WORTH, Texas — Protesters turned out Sunday afternoon for Governor Rick Perry's appearance in Fort Worth to sign a bill requiring parental consent for abortions.
An overflow crowd of about 800 greeted the governor at Calvary Christian Academy just north of downtown at a gathering that was part political rally, part religious service.
The bill Perry signed requires minors to get their parents' permission before getting an abortion. He also signed another ceremonial document supporting a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
For the roughly 200 people outside—mostly Democrats—the medium was the message. Perry's choice of a Christian school to sign an anti-abortion bill meant to them he was using religion to strengthen his political base, while ignoring education, elder care and gay rights.
"I think he's taking people of sincere faith and using them to his nefarious political advantage," said Art Brender of the Tarrant County Democratic Party.
Inside, an all-star cast of nationally-known evangelists gathered to preach to a choir whose members seemed to think their views had been long ignored.
"We are profoundly interested in life, we are deeply commited to family and we are deeply committed to stand for the institution of marriage," said Rev. Don Wildmon of Tupelo, Mississippi.
There was no question that the event's audience favored not only the parental consent bill, but also the proposed constitutional amendment. The governor said both symbolized his support of the family.
"I'm proud to put my signature on a bill that will save lives," Perry said.
The parental consent bill is now law. The Governor said he hopes to get the constitutional amendment defining marriage on the November ballot.
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TexasStooge
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A&M student found after 7 years
BRYAN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) – A Texas A&M University student who had been feared dead after disappearing nearly seven years ago has been found alive and working in Kentucky, according to authorities.
Police spent hours after Brandi Stahr went missing in October 1998 searching for her body in wooded parts of Brazos County, at one point even questioning a serial rapist and murderer just hours before he was executed last year.
But a telephone tip led investigators to Florence, Ky., where Ms. Stahr has been working for the last five years at a Sam's Club, said Texas Ranger Frank Malinak.
"We thought we were dealing with a missing persons case," Ranger Malinak said. "But, in actuality, we were dealing with a person who did not want to be found and was in hiding."
Ms. Stahr, 27, hid from her family after she and her mother, Ann Dickenson, got into an argument over bad grades she received during her sophomore year at A&M.
"She wasn't going to school and doing what she was supposed to do," Ms. Dickenson said. "When we cut off the charge cards and stopped paying for school, she got mad and said she didn't want a damn thing from us."
Ms. Dickenson said she had planned to have her daughter declared legally dead within a few months and buy a tombstone engraved with Ms. Stahr's name, she said.
Ms. Dickenson and Ms. Stahr haven't reunited but have talked on the phone.
Ms. Stahr has been upset by the media coverage of her reappearance and has told one sister the family should not visit. But her mother said nothing will keep her from seeing her daughter after seven years.
"We're going. I'm going. Even if I have to sit out in a [Sam's Club] parking lot to see her," Ms. Dickenson said.
Although Ms. Stahr committed no crime in her disappearance, investigators spent a lot of money and time looking for her, Mr. Malinak said. Texas Rangers renewed their search efforts for Ms. Stahr in 2001.
"The responsible thing to do would have been to let someone know you're OK," Ranger Malinak said. "There are going to be people expending man-hours and effort trying to find a missing person."
BRYAN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) – A Texas A&M University student who had been feared dead after disappearing nearly seven years ago has been found alive and working in Kentucky, according to authorities.
Police spent hours after Brandi Stahr went missing in October 1998 searching for her body in wooded parts of Brazos County, at one point even questioning a serial rapist and murderer just hours before he was executed last year.
But a telephone tip led investigators to Florence, Ky., where Ms. Stahr has been working for the last five years at a Sam's Club, said Texas Ranger Frank Malinak.
"We thought we were dealing with a missing persons case," Ranger Malinak said. "But, in actuality, we were dealing with a person who did not want to be found and was in hiding."
Ms. Stahr, 27, hid from her family after she and her mother, Ann Dickenson, got into an argument over bad grades she received during her sophomore year at A&M.
"She wasn't going to school and doing what she was supposed to do," Ms. Dickenson said. "When we cut off the charge cards and stopped paying for school, she got mad and said she didn't want a damn thing from us."
Ms. Dickenson said she had planned to have her daughter declared legally dead within a few months and buy a tombstone engraved with Ms. Stahr's name, she said.
Ms. Dickenson and Ms. Stahr haven't reunited but have talked on the phone.
Ms. Stahr has been upset by the media coverage of her reappearance and has told one sister the family should not visit. But her mother said nothing will keep her from seeing her daughter after seven years.
"We're going. I'm going. Even if I have to sit out in a [Sam's Club] parking lot to see her," Ms. Dickenson said.
Although Ms. Stahr committed no crime in her disappearance, investigators spent a lot of money and time looking for her, Mr. Malinak said. Texas Rangers renewed their search efforts for Ms. Stahr in 2001.
"The responsible thing to do would have been to let someone know you're OK," Ranger Malinak said. "There are going to be people expending man-hours and effort trying to find a missing person."
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TexasStooge
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Fire damages Lakewood-area tavern
By REBECCA RODRIGUEZ / WFAA ABC 8
LAKEWOOD, Texas - A four-alarm fire damaged a popular Lakewood bar and grill early Sunday.
The first alarm went out shortly after 4 a.m. at the White Rock Yacht Club in the 7500 block of East Grand Ave. at Gaston Ave.
The bar's owner and his family lived in an apartment connected to the building. They were able to escape without injury.
Although the fire itself wasn't very visible, Dallas Fire-Rescue called for extra equipment and manpower because it was difficult to fight.
"The attic space gave us a real challenge when it came to fighting this fire," said department spokesman Lt. Joel Lavender. "The fire was trapped between the roof and the attic."
Heat and humidity added to the difficulties. "We still need to rotate our crew out," Lavender said. "Our firefighters are wearing over a hundred pounds of clothing."
One firefighter was taken to Baylor University Medical Center for treatment of a cut he received from broken glass.
"Looks real bad inside—real bad," said Rick Eubanks, the owner's brother-in-law. "It's gone. It's just gone."
The cause of the blaze was under investigation.
Investigatorg said the preliminary loss estimate totaled $150,000.
The American Red Cross was called in to help the displaced family.
By REBECCA RODRIGUEZ / WFAA ABC 8
LAKEWOOD, Texas - A four-alarm fire damaged a popular Lakewood bar and grill early Sunday.
The first alarm went out shortly after 4 a.m. at the White Rock Yacht Club in the 7500 block of East Grand Ave. at Gaston Ave.
The bar's owner and his family lived in an apartment connected to the building. They were able to escape without injury.
Although the fire itself wasn't very visible, Dallas Fire-Rescue called for extra equipment and manpower because it was difficult to fight.
"The attic space gave us a real challenge when it came to fighting this fire," said department spokesman Lt. Joel Lavender. "The fire was trapped between the roof and the attic."
Heat and humidity added to the difficulties. "We still need to rotate our crew out," Lavender said. "Our firefighters are wearing over a hundred pounds of clothing."
One firefighter was taken to Baylor University Medical Center for treatment of a cut he received from broken glass.
"Looks real bad inside—real bad," said Rick Eubanks, the owner's brother-in-law. "It's gone. It's just gone."
The cause of the blaze was under investigation.
Investigatorg said the preliminary loss estimate totaled $150,000.
The American Red Cross was called in to help the displaced family.
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TexasStooge
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Fantroy prevails in runoff
Incumbent tops ex-ally Lipscomb, who blames voting irregularities
By GROMER JEFFERS JR. / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Incumbent James Fantroy survived a strong challenge from former Dallas City Council member and ex-ally Al Lipscomb to win re-election to the council.
Mr. Fantroy, 66, had held the council seat since 2000, when Mr. Lipscomb was forced to resign after a bribery conviction that was ultimately overturned. He was Mr. Lipscomb's hand-picked successor.
"It feels great," Mr. Fantroy said. "I ran a campaign that focused on the issues and was able to beat an icon in the process."
Mr. Lipscomb said that he lost the election because of voting irregularities but that he would continue to be an advocate for the poor and downtrodden.
"On or off the council, I will pursue working with elected officials on issues related to crime in this city," he said. "I would be insane not to."
The District 8 race was a bitter contest between two former allies.
When Mr. Lipscomb filed his candidacy for the council, Mr. Fantroy called it an act of betrayal.
And Mr. Lipscomb on two occasions called Mr. Fantroy a "pathological liar."
After the election, Mr. Fantroy said he still considered Mr. Lipscomb a friend.
"His family can call on me whenever they need to," he said.
But the council member was less enthusiastic about reappointing Mr. Lipscomb to a board or commission.
"I'll have to think about that another day," he said.
Incumbent council member James Fantroy was bewildered when he was unable to beat Dallas political icon Al Lipscomb in the May 7 general election.
But Mr. Fantroy was all smiles Saturday when his campaign was able to muster enough votes to dispatch his former mentor and return to the council.
"We had a dream machine," he said. "It took that kind of effort to beat a legend like Al Lipscomb."
In May, the District 8 general election was obscured by the vote on the strong-mayor referendum. More than 20 percent of the district flooded the polls, which election officials believed to be a record number.
Only about 6.5 percent of registered voters turned out for Saturday's election, however, making the tussle for votes even more critical.
For the runoff, Mr. Fantroy tapped into the southern-sector grass-roots effort that helped sink the strong-mayor proposal.
And late in the runoff campaign, he got a key endorsement from Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price.
"Every major political player was against Al Lipscomb running for office," said Dallas political analyst Rufus Shaw Jr. "He was basically challenging the budding foundation of the southern sector political power base. Fantroy's win was also a victory for that political movement."
But Mr. Lipscomb, 79, proved to be a formidable opponent.
He has spent more than 40 years on the local civil-rights scene and is one of the most recognizable figures in Dallas politics.
Elected to the council in 1983, Mr. Lipscomb served for eight years before yielding to term limits.
He was re-elected in 1993 but was forced to resign seven years later after he was convicted for accepting payments from Yellow Cab Co. owner Floyd Richards in exchange for votes that prosecutors said had benefited Mr. Richards financially.
But his 41-month sentence to home detention by U.S. District Judge Joe Kendall was overturned, freeing Mr. Lipscomb to return to public life. Prosecutors chose not to retry the case.
"This is America," he said. "The conviction was overturned, and I was cleared."
Mr. Fantroy saw Mr. Lipscomb's entry into the District 8 council race as a betrayal.
The two had become friends throughout the 1990s, and Mr. Fantroy said that he covered many of the Lipscomb family expenses during the lengthy bribery trial in Amarillo.
"You can't trust him," Mr. Fantroy said. "You can't believe anything he says."
Mr. Fantroy had more conciliatory remarks for Mr. Lipscomb after his victory.
"I never said during the whole campaign that he wasn't my friend," he said. "He is my friend, and I hope he feels the same way."
Mr. Lipscomb said late Saturday that he felt the same way.
"We put on those brass knuckles, fought it out and both emerged unbowed," he said.
During the campaign, Mr. Fantroy emphasized his efforts to revitalize his district economically.
Long the stepchild of the city, District 8 is among the leaders in building permits, new jobs and overall economic vitality, city records show.
City officials say the southern sector has seen about $1 billion in economic growth, much of it in District 8.
"We need to keep the district on the move," Mr. Fantroy said. "We don't want to go back to the days when all we had were truck stops, motels and pawnshops."
Mr. Lipscomb campaigned on his ability to "connect the dots," the ubiquitous slogan that was mocked by Fantroy supporters.
"Connecting the dots means coming up with ways to fight crime, fight drug abuse and create jobs," Mr. Lipscomb said. "Connecting the dots means being proactive. I can see things coming. He can't."
During a radio debate, a caller asked him about bringing bazaars to the district.
"Does a bazaar have jobs?" he asked. "Then I brought bazaars to the district."
Part of Mr. Fantroy's struggle was overcoming Mr. Lipscomb's name recognition and his campaign's slow start.
Hampered by a kidney ailment, Mr. Fantroy had at least one hospital visit that kept him off the campaign trail.
But he was able to prevail with the help of an effective ground attack.
"There are enough people who like Al and respect his past," said Mr. Shaw, the political analyst. "They didn't want to vote against him. That's why turnout may have been low."
Veteran Dallas political consultant DeMetris Sampson, who helped the Fantroy campaign, said the key was getting the voters' minds off Mr. Lipscomb's popularity.
"We wanted people to look at the candidates' records, not their personalities," she said.
Mr. Fantroy's fellow council members were happy about Saturday's result, including Mayor Laura Miller.
"I'm glad he's back on the council," said council member Ed Oakley. "They were both friends, and it's a shame they had to run against each other."
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill said Mr. Fantroy's presence on the council was important to the growth of the southern sector.
"It's more of the same," he said. "The district is going to continue to grow and move forward."
Incumbent tops ex-ally Lipscomb, who blames voting irregularities
By GROMER JEFFERS JR. / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Incumbent James Fantroy survived a strong challenge from former Dallas City Council member and ex-ally Al Lipscomb to win re-election to the council.
Mr. Fantroy, 66, had held the council seat since 2000, when Mr. Lipscomb was forced to resign after a bribery conviction that was ultimately overturned. He was Mr. Lipscomb's hand-picked successor.
"It feels great," Mr. Fantroy said. "I ran a campaign that focused on the issues and was able to beat an icon in the process."
Mr. Lipscomb said that he lost the election because of voting irregularities but that he would continue to be an advocate for the poor and downtrodden.
"On or off the council, I will pursue working with elected officials on issues related to crime in this city," he said. "I would be insane not to."
The District 8 race was a bitter contest between two former allies.
When Mr. Lipscomb filed his candidacy for the council, Mr. Fantroy called it an act of betrayal.
And Mr. Lipscomb on two occasions called Mr. Fantroy a "pathological liar."
After the election, Mr. Fantroy said he still considered Mr. Lipscomb a friend.
"His family can call on me whenever they need to," he said.
But the council member was less enthusiastic about reappointing Mr. Lipscomb to a board or commission.
"I'll have to think about that another day," he said.
Incumbent council member James Fantroy was bewildered when he was unable to beat Dallas political icon Al Lipscomb in the May 7 general election.
But Mr. Fantroy was all smiles Saturday when his campaign was able to muster enough votes to dispatch his former mentor and return to the council.
"We had a dream machine," he said. "It took that kind of effort to beat a legend like Al Lipscomb."
In May, the District 8 general election was obscured by the vote on the strong-mayor referendum. More than 20 percent of the district flooded the polls, which election officials believed to be a record number.
Only about 6.5 percent of registered voters turned out for Saturday's election, however, making the tussle for votes even more critical.
For the runoff, Mr. Fantroy tapped into the southern-sector grass-roots effort that helped sink the strong-mayor proposal.
And late in the runoff campaign, he got a key endorsement from Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price.
"Every major political player was against Al Lipscomb running for office," said Dallas political analyst Rufus Shaw Jr. "He was basically challenging the budding foundation of the southern sector political power base. Fantroy's win was also a victory for that political movement."
But Mr. Lipscomb, 79, proved to be a formidable opponent.
He has spent more than 40 years on the local civil-rights scene and is one of the most recognizable figures in Dallas politics.
Elected to the council in 1983, Mr. Lipscomb served for eight years before yielding to term limits.
He was re-elected in 1993 but was forced to resign seven years later after he was convicted for accepting payments from Yellow Cab Co. owner Floyd Richards in exchange for votes that prosecutors said had benefited Mr. Richards financially.
But his 41-month sentence to home detention by U.S. District Judge Joe Kendall was overturned, freeing Mr. Lipscomb to return to public life. Prosecutors chose not to retry the case.
"This is America," he said. "The conviction was overturned, and I was cleared."
Mr. Fantroy saw Mr. Lipscomb's entry into the District 8 council race as a betrayal.
The two had become friends throughout the 1990s, and Mr. Fantroy said that he covered many of the Lipscomb family expenses during the lengthy bribery trial in Amarillo.
"You can't trust him," Mr. Fantroy said. "You can't believe anything he says."
Mr. Fantroy had more conciliatory remarks for Mr. Lipscomb after his victory.
"I never said during the whole campaign that he wasn't my friend," he said. "He is my friend, and I hope he feels the same way."
Mr. Lipscomb said late Saturday that he felt the same way.
"We put on those brass knuckles, fought it out and both emerged unbowed," he said.
During the campaign, Mr. Fantroy emphasized his efforts to revitalize his district economically.
Long the stepchild of the city, District 8 is among the leaders in building permits, new jobs and overall economic vitality, city records show.
City officials say the southern sector has seen about $1 billion in economic growth, much of it in District 8.
"We need to keep the district on the move," Mr. Fantroy said. "We don't want to go back to the days when all we had were truck stops, motels and pawnshops."
Mr. Lipscomb campaigned on his ability to "connect the dots," the ubiquitous slogan that was mocked by Fantroy supporters.
"Connecting the dots means coming up with ways to fight crime, fight drug abuse and create jobs," Mr. Lipscomb said. "Connecting the dots means being proactive. I can see things coming. He can't."
During a radio debate, a caller asked him about bringing bazaars to the district.
"Does a bazaar have jobs?" he asked. "Then I brought bazaars to the district."
Part of Mr. Fantroy's struggle was overcoming Mr. Lipscomb's name recognition and his campaign's slow start.
Hampered by a kidney ailment, Mr. Fantroy had at least one hospital visit that kept him off the campaign trail.
But he was able to prevail with the help of an effective ground attack.
"There are enough people who like Al and respect his past," said Mr. Shaw, the political analyst. "They didn't want to vote against him. That's why turnout may have been low."
Veteran Dallas political consultant DeMetris Sampson, who helped the Fantroy campaign, said the key was getting the voters' minds off Mr. Lipscomb's popularity.
"We wanted people to look at the candidates' records, not their personalities," she said.
Mr. Fantroy's fellow council members were happy about Saturday's result, including Mayor Laura Miller.
"I'm glad he's back on the council," said council member Ed Oakley. "They were both friends, and it's a shame they had to run against each other."
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill said Mr. Fantroy's presence on the council was important to the growth of the southern sector.
"It's more of the same," he said. "The district is going to continue to grow and move forward."
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TexasStooge
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Strong-mayor unity dissolving
Dallas: Unlikely allies to defeat plan in May split on alternative
By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Opponents of last month's strong-mayor referendum were unlikely allies – political rivals and former foes with little in common save their fervor for defeating the proposal.
But with the measure trounced and the Dallas City Council's "less-strong mayor" alternative almost certainly headed for the November ballot, this formidable, cross-cultural opposition is splintering.
"We had a one-function organization, and that was to defeat" the May ballot measure, said former council member Alan Walne, who was co-chairman of the chief strong-mayor opposition group and supports the City Council's alternative. "If there is a new coalition, it won't be this group."
Many business executives, North Dallas homeowners and Hispanic leaders say they favor the measure, which would allow the mayor to hire and fire the city manager and a majority of the council to fire the manager.
"What we have crafted has neighborhood input, business leader input, business association input, and it's a proposal that has checks and balances," council member Elba Garcia said.
But black voters and some civil-rights organizers – who are credited with mobilizing the southern sector to defeat the last referendum – say they will work tirelessly to crush this "second attack" on their representation.
"What you're going to find is a white vs. black issue – probably more so than last time," said Lynn Flint Shaw, who was co-chairwoman of the Coalition for Open Government with Mr. Walne and Dallas attorney Adelfa Callejo.
"All of a sudden, our representation is at risk of being ceded to someone who may not have our best interests at heart."
Beth Ann Blackwood turned in 30,000 signatures in November to force a strong-mayor form of government onto the May ballot. Shortly thereafter, Mayor Laura Miller announced her support for the measure.
In March, all 14 City Council members sent a letter to The Dallas Morning News, pledging to put an alternative, less-strong mayor plan on the November ballot if voters defeated Ms. Blackwood's proposal.
Backing off promises
So far, three council members have reneged on this promise. James Fantroy, Maxine Thornton-Reese and Leo Chaney said they must listen to voters in their mostly black districts and campaign against granting the mayor more power.
"My community calls it Blackwood II," Dr. Thornton-Reese said.
"I thought I could sell the alternative, but they said 'No,' " said Mr. Fantroy. "So that's the direction we're going in."
Of the 11 other council members, four are term-limited and will be replaced later this month. The remaining seven said they are still on board to put the measure on the ballot – though not all are sure they'll campaign for it.
"We as a council made a commitment to put it on the November ballot, and I'm going to support that," said Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill, who said he isn't sure whether he'll vote for the measure. "I'm still trying to figure out whether the change we made is more than what the citizens want."
Ms. Miller, who organized her own political-action committee in favor of Ms. Blackwood's proposal, said she hasn't decided whether she will support the council's plan. And even if she votes "No," she won't campaign against it, she said.
"No other city in the country has a system like that, and I just don't understand how it's workable," she said. "I'll let [the measure's supporters] go out and sell it, and we'll see if voters like it."
'Totally committed'
The Dallas Citizens Council, which contributed $200,000 to the effort to defeat the Blackwood plan and helped design the council alternative, is "absolutely, totally committed" to making sure it gets on the November ballot, chairwoman Elaine Agather said.
She and former Mayor Ron Kirk will be "very, very instrumental in trying to make sure it gets passed in the fall," Ms. Agather said.
The Dallas business community seems to be lining up in favor of the council's alternative, said Steve Taylor, president of the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce.
"I think business people in general are believers in professional management," he said. "But it seems pretty clear there's a strong feeling among citizens that we need a stronger mayor than we have."
Dallas' Hispanic voters, who were mostly opposed to the May ballot measure, may well be on board with the alternative, Ms. Callejo said. Brenda Reyes, former president of the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and an opponent of the Blackwood plan, agreed.
"I think anything that's a reasonable change of government and lends itself to checks and balances will be welcome in the Hispanic community," Ms. Reyes said. "Based on what I've seen so far, I feel confident I can support it."
Financed opposition?
If proponents of the council's alternative had another mayoral candidate in mind – Mr. Hill, for example – they might have better luck with black voters, said Rufus Shaw Jr., a southern Dallas political consultant and Ms. Shaw's husband. As it stands, he said, they will associate any attempt to increase mayoral power with Ms. Miller.
And despite record-breaking voter turnout in the southern sector for the May election, such a mobilization drive takes money, which could be in short supply for opponents of a possible November referendum, Mr. Shaw said.
"The people who brought a lot of the money for the last campaign are not for keeping the council-manager system," Mr. Shaw said. "Politics run on money like cars run on gas. If there is not a mobilized, decently financed opposition, [the alternative] will probably pass."
And pass it should, said Sharon Boyd, a civic activist who opposed the Blackwood proposal.
"The reason [the Blackwood plan] lost last time is because North Dallas was split," she said. "When North Dallas is unified, and the majority of the council is supporting their own proposal, it's going to be a completely different situation come November."
Dallas: Unlikely allies to defeat plan in May split on alternative
By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Opponents of last month's strong-mayor referendum were unlikely allies – political rivals and former foes with little in common save their fervor for defeating the proposal.
But with the measure trounced and the Dallas City Council's "less-strong mayor" alternative almost certainly headed for the November ballot, this formidable, cross-cultural opposition is splintering.
"We had a one-function organization, and that was to defeat" the May ballot measure, said former council member Alan Walne, who was co-chairman of the chief strong-mayor opposition group and supports the City Council's alternative. "If there is a new coalition, it won't be this group."
Many business executives, North Dallas homeowners and Hispanic leaders say they favor the measure, which would allow the mayor to hire and fire the city manager and a majority of the council to fire the manager.
"What we have crafted has neighborhood input, business leader input, business association input, and it's a proposal that has checks and balances," council member Elba Garcia said.
But black voters and some civil-rights organizers – who are credited with mobilizing the southern sector to defeat the last referendum – say they will work tirelessly to crush this "second attack" on their representation.
"What you're going to find is a white vs. black issue – probably more so than last time," said Lynn Flint Shaw, who was co-chairwoman of the Coalition for Open Government with Mr. Walne and Dallas attorney Adelfa Callejo.
"All of a sudden, our representation is at risk of being ceded to someone who may not have our best interests at heart."
Beth Ann Blackwood turned in 30,000 signatures in November to force a strong-mayor form of government onto the May ballot. Shortly thereafter, Mayor Laura Miller announced her support for the measure.
In March, all 14 City Council members sent a letter to The Dallas Morning News, pledging to put an alternative, less-strong mayor plan on the November ballot if voters defeated Ms. Blackwood's proposal.
Backing off promises
So far, three council members have reneged on this promise. James Fantroy, Maxine Thornton-Reese and Leo Chaney said they must listen to voters in their mostly black districts and campaign against granting the mayor more power.
"My community calls it Blackwood II," Dr. Thornton-Reese said.
"I thought I could sell the alternative, but they said 'No,' " said Mr. Fantroy. "So that's the direction we're going in."
Of the 11 other council members, four are term-limited and will be replaced later this month. The remaining seven said they are still on board to put the measure on the ballot – though not all are sure they'll campaign for it.
"We as a council made a commitment to put it on the November ballot, and I'm going to support that," said Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill, who said he isn't sure whether he'll vote for the measure. "I'm still trying to figure out whether the change we made is more than what the citizens want."
Ms. Miller, who organized her own political-action committee in favor of Ms. Blackwood's proposal, said she hasn't decided whether she will support the council's plan. And even if she votes "No," she won't campaign against it, she said.
"No other city in the country has a system like that, and I just don't understand how it's workable," she said. "I'll let [the measure's supporters] go out and sell it, and we'll see if voters like it."
'Totally committed'
The Dallas Citizens Council, which contributed $200,000 to the effort to defeat the Blackwood plan and helped design the council alternative, is "absolutely, totally committed" to making sure it gets on the November ballot, chairwoman Elaine Agather said.
She and former Mayor Ron Kirk will be "very, very instrumental in trying to make sure it gets passed in the fall," Ms. Agather said.
The Dallas business community seems to be lining up in favor of the council's alternative, said Steve Taylor, president of the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce.
"I think business people in general are believers in professional management," he said. "But it seems pretty clear there's a strong feeling among citizens that we need a stronger mayor than we have."
Dallas' Hispanic voters, who were mostly opposed to the May ballot measure, may well be on board with the alternative, Ms. Callejo said. Brenda Reyes, former president of the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and an opponent of the Blackwood plan, agreed.
"I think anything that's a reasonable change of government and lends itself to checks and balances will be welcome in the Hispanic community," Ms. Reyes said. "Based on what I've seen so far, I feel confident I can support it."
Financed opposition?
If proponents of the council's alternative had another mayoral candidate in mind – Mr. Hill, for example – they might have better luck with black voters, said Rufus Shaw Jr., a southern Dallas political consultant and Ms. Shaw's husband. As it stands, he said, they will associate any attempt to increase mayoral power with Ms. Miller.
And despite record-breaking voter turnout in the southern sector for the May election, such a mobilization drive takes money, which could be in short supply for opponents of a possible November referendum, Mr. Shaw said.
"The people who brought a lot of the money for the last campaign are not for keeping the council-manager system," Mr. Shaw said. "Politics run on money like cars run on gas. If there is not a mobilized, decently financed opposition, [the alternative] will probably pass."
And pass it should, said Sharon Boyd, a civic activist who opposed the Blackwood proposal.
"The reason [the Blackwood plan] lost last time is because North Dallas was split," she said. "When North Dallas is unified, and the majority of the council is supporting their own proposal, it's going to be a completely different situation come November."
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Josephine96
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TexasStooge
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'House Under the Hill' could be yours
Dallas: Sellers sad to leave quirky home
By MICHAEL E. YOUNG / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Within its unearthly quiet, Bill Coleman led an impromptu tour of his dream home, an underground place that has held him obsessed since the 1970s and one he has reluctantly put up for sale.
He pointed to the twin kiva fireplaces in the living room, built by New Mexico artisan Carmen Velarde, which seem to float in space surrounded by the soft edges of the living room. Built-in benches – bancos –seat 45. And native trees and the rush of Ash Creek in Far East Dallas beckon beyond a wall of glass.
The hallway to his office and the master bedroom and bath veers this way and that, all acute or obtuse angles, a counterpoint to the living room's curves.
The only right angle in the "Earth House" – as it was called when it was built – hides in a closet. "There it is," he said, smiling.
In this home, something so conventional seems somehow out of place. It's the only bit of the Coleman home that fits that definition.
In 1990, after a dozen years of planning and work, Mr. Coleman and his wife, Mirella, moved their family in.
Urban setting
The house sits on almost two acres of land along busy Buckner Boulevard near Ferguson Road, unique in its urban setting and almost invisible to the traffic whizzing past.
Passers-by who pause see a garage disappearing into a steep hill, with what looks like a low concrete and glass-block wall on top, crowned by a pair of whimsical, white sculptures. The sculptures are actually chimneys, one screening a satellite TV dish, and the low wall a clerestory.
The grassy hill drops away on the far side to reveal a welcoming entry to a house that offers only the smallest hints of what waits inside.
The house – listed at $1.25 million – encloses 4,300 square feet of space, with tranquil views outside and an interior washed by a river of subdued natural light.
"We've got a solid piece of construction here," Mr. Coleman said, "one that potentially could last 1,000 years."
The reinforced-concrete foundation, 6 feet thick in places, required the contents of 70 cement trucks emptied during a 24-hour pour.
"There are 60 tons of steel in this building," Mr. Coleman said, "and each piece of rebar was individually tagged. That required a lot of time and effort, but you knew exactly where each piece went."
Thick slabs of concrete make up the walls, and heavy concrete columns support the sloping roof, built from dozens of concrete panels weighing 3,900 pounds each.
"Above that, we poured two to three inches of concrete to seal everything, then another layer of sealant, Styrofoam bats for insulation, then plastic sheeting and finally, dirt," Mr. Coleman said.
Loads of dirt
Make that lots and lots of dirt, a layer 4 feet deep weighing roughly 800 tons that provides the house with incredible insulation from winter's cold and summer's ferocious heat and leaves Mr. Coleman with cooling bills that have never topped $250 in the hottest months.
"I was paying that much 20 years ago in a house half this size," he said.
Even after 15 years here, living in a house he dreamed of for much longer, Mr. Coleman never loses enthusiasm.
"I think the reality of this house is better than I could have imagined in a lot of ways," he said. "The solitude in the middle of the city is one thing I've particularly grown to appreciate. When we close the windows and doors, you can't even hear the traffic on Loop 12.
"It's like a park, and even more so now that the landscaping has finally come in."
On a recent weekend, the Colemans hosted a wedding reception for 75 people, a crowd the house handled easily.
"There was no feeling of being crowded," Mr. Coleman said. "As one of my friends from Los Angeles said, the house has 'mingle.' "
Sad to say goodbye
That makes leaving even more difficult, but he has little choice, he said.
"My employer has said they need me working [at company headquarters] full time rather than working from an office at home," he said.
Unfortunately for Mr. Coleman, headquarters is Sioux City, S.D., which should be a shocking change.
"I've been going up there every other month for a week or so for nine years," Mr. Coleman said. "So it won't be a surprise for me. My wife, yes."
The move is contingent on selling their home in Dallas, which Mr. Coleman calls "The House Under the Hill."
Even though the design provided almost everything he wanted in a house, he can't envision building another one.
"My wife and I have been married for 33 years," he said, "and I want to keep it that way."
Dallas: Sellers sad to leave quirky home
By MICHAEL E. YOUNG / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Within its unearthly quiet, Bill Coleman led an impromptu tour of his dream home, an underground place that has held him obsessed since the 1970s and one he has reluctantly put up for sale.
He pointed to the twin kiva fireplaces in the living room, built by New Mexico artisan Carmen Velarde, which seem to float in space surrounded by the soft edges of the living room. Built-in benches – bancos –seat 45. And native trees and the rush of Ash Creek in Far East Dallas beckon beyond a wall of glass.
The hallway to his office and the master bedroom and bath veers this way and that, all acute or obtuse angles, a counterpoint to the living room's curves.
The only right angle in the "Earth House" – as it was called when it was built – hides in a closet. "There it is," he said, smiling.
In this home, something so conventional seems somehow out of place. It's the only bit of the Coleman home that fits that definition.
In 1990, after a dozen years of planning and work, Mr. Coleman and his wife, Mirella, moved their family in.
Urban setting
The house sits on almost two acres of land along busy Buckner Boulevard near Ferguson Road, unique in its urban setting and almost invisible to the traffic whizzing past.
Passers-by who pause see a garage disappearing into a steep hill, with what looks like a low concrete and glass-block wall on top, crowned by a pair of whimsical, white sculptures. The sculptures are actually chimneys, one screening a satellite TV dish, and the low wall a clerestory.
The grassy hill drops away on the far side to reveal a welcoming entry to a house that offers only the smallest hints of what waits inside.
The house – listed at $1.25 million – encloses 4,300 square feet of space, with tranquil views outside and an interior washed by a river of subdued natural light.
"We've got a solid piece of construction here," Mr. Coleman said, "one that potentially could last 1,000 years."
The reinforced-concrete foundation, 6 feet thick in places, required the contents of 70 cement trucks emptied during a 24-hour pour.
"There are 60 tons of steel in this building," Mr. Coleman said, "and each piece of rebar was individually tagged. That required a lot of time and effort, but you knew exactly where each piece went."
Thick slabs of concrete make up the walls, and heavy concrete columns support the sloping roof, built from dozens of concrete panels weighing 3,900 pounds each.
"Above that, we poured two to three inches of concrete to seal everything, then another layer of sealant, Styrofoam bats for insulation, then plastic sheeting and finally, dirt," Mr. Coleman said.
Loads of dirt
Make that lots and lots of dirt, a layer 4 feet deep weighing roughly 800 tons that provides the house with incredible insulation from winter's cold and summer's ferocious heat and leaves Mr. Coleman with cooling bills that have never topped $250 in the hottest months.
"I was paying that much 20 years ago in a house half this size," he said.
Even after 15 years here, living in a house he dreamed of for much longer, Mr. Coleman never loses enthusiasm.
"I think the reality of this house is better than I could have imagined in a lot of ways," he said. "The solitude in the middle of the city is one thing I've particularly grown to appreciate. When we close the windows and doors, you can't even hear the traffic on Loop 12.
"It's like a park, and even more so now that the landscaping has finally come in."
On a recent weekend, the Colemans hosted a wedding reception for 75 people, a crowd the house handled easily.
"There was no feeling of being crowded," Mr. Coleman said. "As one of my friends from Los Angeles said, the house has 'mingle.' "
Sad to say goodbye
That makes leaving even more difficult, but he has little choice, he said.
"My employer has said they need me working [at company headquarters] full time rather than working from an office at home," he said.
Unfortunately for Mr. Coleman, headquarters is Sioux City, S.D., which should be a shocking change.
"I've been going up there every other month for a week or so for nine years," Mr. Coleman said. "So it won't be a surprise for me. My wife, yes."
The move is contingent on selling their home in Dallas, which Mr. Coleman calls "The House Under the Hill."
Even though the design provided almost everything he wanted in a house, he can't envision building another one.
"My wife and I have been married for 33 years," he said, "and I want to keep it that way."
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TexasStooge
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- Contact:
Woman gets 1 year in abuse of horses
Southlake: She also must pay $1,000 fine in animal cruelty case
By JOE SIMNACHER / The Dallas Morning News
DENTON, Texas - Elizabeth Rohr was sentenced late Friday in a Denton court to a year in jail and fined $1,000 for abusing horses on her Southlake ranch.
Earlier that day, a Denton County jury found the doctor guilty on 17 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. Dr. Rohr was convicted on similar charges in Wise County in August 2004.
At Friday's hearing, state District Judge David Garcia called her "Dr. Jekyll, Miss Hyde" because of the contrast between the treatment of her animals and testimony about her work at a now-closed Roanoke clinic.
"Of all the witnesses that testified, all I heard about was what a great people person she was, but no one ever touted what a compassionate person she was around horses," he said. "In fact, the photographic evidence was to the contrary."
Dr. Rohr argued that because the horses were her property, she could not be convicted of harming them.
Judge Garcia allowed Dr. Rohr to remain free on $35,000 bond during appeal but barred her from having horses or having contact with anyone involved in the trial.
Judge Garcia said the latter restriction came because she inundated the court with Republic of Texas documents during the proceedings.
Dr. Rohr, an American Indian who represented herself during the four-day trial, maintained that the state court did not have jurisdiction to try her.
Dr. Rohr said defending herself was a difficult task, but she didn't want an attorney because her previous counsel had tried to talk her into taking a plea agreement.
"I hate being a lawyer," she said. "The system is set up so someone defending themself is never likely to win. If I take a guilty plea, it would destroy my life."
Lisa Decker and Ryan Calvert prosecuted the case. They couldn't be reached for comment.
Southlake: She also must pay $1,000 fine in animal cruelty case
By JOE SIMNACHER / The Dallas Morning News
DENTON, Texas - Elizabeth Rohr was sentenced late Friday in a Denton court to a year in jail and fined $1,000 for abusing horses on her Southlake ranch.
Earlier that day, a Denton County jury found the doctor guilty on 17 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. Dr. Rohr was convicted on similar charges in Wise County in August 2004.
At Friday's hearing, state District Judge David Garcia called her "Dr. Jekyll, Miss Hyde" because of the contrast between the treatment of her animals and testimony about her work at a now-closed Roanoke clinic.
"Of all the witnesses that testified, all I heard about was what a great people person she was, but no one ever touted what a compassionate person she was around horses," he said. "In fact, the photographic evidence was to the contrary."
Dr. Rohr argued that because the horses were her property, she could not be convicted of harming them.
Judge Garcia allowed Dr. Rohr to remain free on $35,000 bond during appeal but barred her from having horses or having contact with anyone involved in the trial.
Judge Garcia said the latter restriction came because she inundated the court with Republic of Texas documents during the proceedings.
Dr. Rohr, an American Indian who represented herself during the four-day trial, maintained that the state court did not have jurisdiction to try her.
Dr. Rohr said defending herself was a difficult task, but she didn't want an attorney because her previous counsel had tried to talk her into taking a plea agreement.
"I hate being a lawyer," she said. "The system is set up so someone defending themself is never likely to win. If I take a guilty plea, it would destroy my life."
Lisa Decker and Ryan Calvert prosecuted the case. They couldn't be reached for comment.
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TexasStooge
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Council runoff heats up
Irving: Ex-police chief, restaurateur debate merits of experience
By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - In some ways, Irving's Place 5 City Council race boils down to job experience, pitting a retired top cop against a pizza guy.
But restaurateur David Cole said there could be a conflict of interest on the council if voters elect his opponent, Lowell Cannaday, Irving's former police chief. The runoff, which also includes the race for mayor between Marvin Randle and Herbert Gears, is June 11. Early voting ends Tuesday.
Mr. Cannaday's former city job means he's connected with city officials, which could cause problems, said Mr. Cole, who has frequently mentioned the issue at debates.
"The citizens need a voice ... that has no conflict of interest with the inner workings of city government," Mr. Cole said. "It is time for Irving to get a new, fresh voice."
Mr. Cannaday said there's no conflict of interest.
"I'm not sure what the conflict would be," he said. "It's almost that having experience is a negative thing. Good grief. I think quite the opposite is true."
At least two sitting council members – James Dickens and Lewis Patrick – are city retirees.
Mr. Cannaday said his 10-year career with the Irving Police Department gives him insight into city government. He's prepared Police Department budgets and worked with the city manager's office. He said he wouldn't need time to get up to speed on city affairs if elected.
Mr. Cole, an owner of i Fratelli, said he has experience overseeing payrolls and budgets – experience he said would come in handy on the council. The city, he said, needs to be run like an efficient business. Mr. Cole said city officials haven't been "squeezing every cent out of every dollar," but didn't offer suggestions on how the city could improve its spending habits.
Another dominant issue in the campaign has been code enforcement. Residents have complained in recent months that their neighbors aren't taking care of their properties. Council members are studying reforms and expect to issue recommendations soon.
Mr. Cannaday said the city should do a better job of informing residents, especially those who don't speak English, about city codes. He said recently that it's premature to state which ordinances should be modified. But he said the city needs to hire more code enforcement officers.
"We cannot afford to have any deterioration in our community," he said.
Mr. Cole said his experience as a former Planning and Zoning commissioner gives him an advantage because of his knowledge of codes and zoning issues. He said some codes on the books need to be rewritten, but didn't give recommendations in a recent interview.
"We have a lot of ordinances that are unenforceable," he said. "The first step is to make sure that the codes we have in place are enforced."
Mr. Cannaday, who recently started a mediation business, said city officials need to give more money to the Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce so it can build the city's business base. He wants council members to get more involved in selling Irving to companies.
Mr. Cole said the city hasn't worked hard enough to promote economic development. He said he wants different groups – including the chamber, the Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Las Colinas Association – to develop a strategy to lure more companies to the city.
Mr. Cannaday and Mr. Cole oppose beer and wine sales in Irving stores. Irving voters turned down a proposition last fall that would have allowed the sales.
Mr. Cole, 42, is against a smoking ban in restaurants. A proposed ordinance that would snuff out smoking in many public places has been gathering dust since the fall of 2003. Some have said the proposal could give Irving the toughest ban in the state.
While Mr. Cole's restaurant bans smoking, he said restaurant owners should be allowed to make their own decisions.
Mr. Cannaday, 67, won't commit to an all-out ban, but said the current ordinance "probably needs to be fine-tuned."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lowell Cannaday
Age: 67
Occupation: mediator
City experience includes: Irving police chief, 1994-2004
Campaign contact: http://www.lowellcannaday.com
David Cole
Age: 42
Occupation: restaurant owner
City experience includes: Planning and Zoning commissioner, late 1990s
Campaign contact: http://www.votedavidcole.com
Irving: Ex-police chief, restaurateur debate merits of experience
By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - In some ways, Irving's Place 5 City Council race boils down to job experience, pitting a retired top cop against a pizza guy.
But restaurateur David Cole said there could be a conflict of interest on the council if voters elect his opponent, Lowell Cannaday, Irving's former police chief. The runoff, which also includes the race for mayor between Marvin Randle and Herbert Gears, is June 11. Early voting ends Tuesday.
Mr. Cannaday's former city job means he's connected with city officials, which could cause problems, said Mr. Cole, who has frequently mentioned the issue at debates.
"The citizens need a voice ... that has no conflict of interest with the inner workings of city government," Mr. Cole said. "It is time for Irving to get a new, fresh voice."
Mr. Cannaday said there's no conflict of interest.
"I'm not sure what the conflict would be," he said. "It's almost that having experience is a negative thing. Good grief. I think quite the opposite is true."
At least two sitting council members – James Dickens and Lewis Patrick – are city retirees.
Mr. Cannaday said his 10-year career with the Irving Police Department gives him insight into city government. He's prepared Police Department budgets and worked with the city manager's office. He said he wouldn't need time to get up to speed on city affairs if elected.
Mr. Cole, an owner of i Fratelli, said he has experience overseeing payrolls and budgets – experience he said would come in handy on the council. The city, he said, needs to be run like an efficient business. Mr. Cole said city officials haven't been "squeezing every cent out of every dollar," but didn't offer suggestions on how the city could improve its spending habits.
Another dominant issue in the campaign has been code enforcement. Residents have complained in recent months that their neighbors aren't taking care of their properties. Council members are studying reforms and expect to issue recommendations soon.
Mr. Cannaday said the city should do a better job of informing residents, especially those who don't speak English, about city codes. He said recently that it's premature to state which ordinances should be modified. But he said the city needs to hire more code enforcement officers.
"We cannot afford to have any deterioration in our community," he said.
Mr. Cole said his experience as a former Planning and Zoning commissioner gives him an advantage because of his knowledge of codes and zoning issues. He said some codes on the books need to be rewritten, but didn't give recommendations in a recent interview.
"We have a lot of ordinances that are unenforceable," he said. "The first step is to make sure that the codes we have in place are enforced."
Mr. Cannaday, who recently started a mediation business, said city officials need to give more money to the Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce so it can build the city's business base. He wants council members to get more involved in selling Irving to companies.
Mr. Cole said the city hasn't worked hard enough to promote economic development. He said he wants different groups – including the chamber, the Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Las Colinas Association – to develop a strategy to lure more companies to the city.
Mr. Cannaday and Mr. Cole oppose beer and wine sales in Irving stores. Irving voters turned down a proposition last fall that would have allowed the sales.
Mr. Cole, 42, is against a smoking ban in restaurants. A proposed ordinance that would snuff out smoking in many public places has been gathering dust since the fall of 2003. Some have said the proposal could give Irving the toughest ban in the state.
While Mr. Cole's restaurant bans smoking, he said restaurant owners should be allowed to make their own decisions.
Mr. Cannaday, 67, won't commit to an all-out ban, but said the current ordinance "probably needs to be fine-tuned."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lowell Cannaday
Age: 67
Occupation: mediator
City experience includes: Irving police chief, 1994-2004
Campaign contact: http://www.lowellcannaday.com
David Cole
Age: 42
Occupation: restaurant owner
City experience includes: Planning and Zoning commissioner, late 1990s
Campaign contact: http://www.votedavidcole.com
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TexasStooge
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- Contact:
Rivals are code talkers
Irving: Mayor hopefuls focus on enforcing, reforming city's rules
By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - The Dallas Cowboys are leaving and Las Colinas office towers hunger for tenants, but improving code enforcement seems to be the hot issue in this year's Irving mayoral contest.
Residents have bombarded the two candidates with questions during the campaign about code enforcement reforms.
Residents have complained in recent months that their neighbors aren't taking care of their properties. City Council members are studying reforms and expect to issue recommendations soon.
Mayoral candidates Herbert Gears and Marvin Randle – the survivors of a seven-way race on May 7 that brought the ouster of incumbent Joe Putnam – are offering their own suggestions before the June 11 election. Early voting ends Tuesday.
Mr. Gears, a former City Council member, says he'll bring a hands-on approach to code enforcement. His top code enforcement priority: addressing concerns from residents that multiple families are crammed into single-family homes and apartments.
"Within a year I will have knocked on every single door where there are multiple families living in the house," Mr. Gears said during a recent debate. "I can promise you that when we leave the property, those people won't want us to return."
Code enforcement is the city's No. 1 problem, says Mr. Randle, a former mayor. He'd like volunteers to assist needy residents who need help improving their properties. He said that city officials could work with neighborhood associations to help inform residents of the rules.
"We have to sit down and find out how to arm ourselves with the proper codes, arm ourselves with the proper penalties," he said during a recent debate. "We have to do it with a little bit of compassion."
Mr. Randle says he would be in favor of hiring more code enforcement officers "if that was necessary." Mr. Gears favors adding more officers "if we want to have a major impact on the problem."
Mr. Randle, 68, wants the city to improve its economic development efforts. He wants to create a group of business leaders to study ways to lure more businesses to Irving.
Mr. Gears, 43, says that balancing the budget will be a challenge for the new mayor. He says he wants to improve public safety and would like to see more police officers on the streets.
Both Mr. Gears and Mr. Randle say that the city should play some role in addressing debt accumulated by the Dallas County Utility and Reclamation District, which was created to build parts of Las Colinas.
But both mayoral candidates say they oppose raising taxes for residents to pay down the debt. Some say that the debt has stifled development and that the city should play a role in relieving the district of at least some of the debt.
"I, in no way, am in favor of burdening our taxpayers to assume the debt of DCURD," Mr. Randle said at a recent debate.
Mr. Gears said: "The solution isn't that the city write a check and pay anybody's bills."
Both Mr. Gears and Mr. Randle say they oppose beer and wine sales in Irving stores. Irving voters turned down a proposition last fall that would have allowed beer and wine sales.
Both mayoral candidates are open to strengthening the city's smoking ordinance, depending on residents' support. A proposed ordinance that would snuff out smoking in many public places has been gathering dust since the fall of 2003. Some have said that the proposal could give Irving the toughest ban in the state.
"If the citizens would like to see a total smoking ban in our public facilities, I could support that," Mr. Randle said.
Mr. Gears, who supports the current ordinance, said: "If citizens want us to alter that ordinance in any way, we're going to entertain that."
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Herbert Gears
Occupation: Small-business owner
Age: 43
City experience includes: Former City Council member, 1998-2004
Campaign contact: http://www.gearslink.com
Marvin Randle
Occupation: Self-employed
Age: 68
City experience includes: Former mayor, 1977-1981; former City Council member, early 1970s
Campaign contact: http://www.marvinformayor.com
Irving: Mayor hopefuls focus on enforcing, reforming city's rules
By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - The Dallas Cowboys are leaving and Las Colinas office towers hunger for tenants, but improving code enforcement seems to be the hot issue in this year's Irving mayoral contest.
Residents have bombarded the two candidates with questions during the campaign about code enforcement reforms.
Residents have complained in recent months that their neighbors aren't taking care of their properties. City Council members are studying reforms and expect to issue recommendations soon.
Mayoral candidates Herbert Gears and Marvin Randle – the survivors of a seven-way race on May 7 that brought the ouster of incumbent Joe Putnam – are offering their own suggestions before the June 11 election. Early voting ends Tuesday.
Mr. Gears, a former City Council member, says he'll bring a hands-on approach to code enforcement. His top code enforcement priority: addressing concerns from residents that multiple families are crammed into single-family homes and apartments.
"Within a year I will have knocked on every single door where there are multiple families living in the house," Mr. Gears said during a recent debate. "I can promise you that when we leave the property, those people won't want us to return."
Code enforcement is the city's No. 1 problem, says Mr. Randle, a former mayor. He'd like volunteers to assist needy residents who need help improving their properties. He said that city officials could work with neighborhood associations to help inform residents of the rules.
"We have to sit down and find out how to arm ourselves with the proper codes, arm ourselves with the proper penalties," he said during a recent debate. "We have to do it with a little bit of compassion."
Mr. Randle says he would be in favor of hiring more code enforcement officers "if that was necessary." Mr. Gears favors adding more officers "if we want to have a major impact on the problem."
Mr. Randle, 68, wants the city to improve its economic development efforts. He wants to create a group of business leaders to study ways to lure more businesses to Irving.
Mr. Gears, 43, says that balancing the budget will be a challenge for the new mayor. He says he wants to improve public safety and would like to see more police officers on the streets.
Both Mr. Gears and Mr. Randle say that the city should play some role in addressing debt accumulated by the Dallas County Utility and Reclamation District, which was created to build parts of Las Colinas.
But both mayoral candidates say they oppose raising taxes for residents to pay down the debt. Some say that the debt has stifled development and that the city should play a role in relieving the district of at least some of the debt.
"I, in no way, am in favor of burdening our taxpayers to assume the debt of DCURD," Mr. Randle said at a recent debate.
Mr. Gears said: "The solution isn't that the city write a check and pay anybody's bills."
Both Mr. Gears and Mr. Randle say they oppose beer and wine sales in Irving stores. Irving voters turned down a proposition last fall that would have allowed beer and wine sales.
Both mayoral candidates are open to strengthening the city's smoking ordinance, depending on residents' support. A proposed ordinance that would snuff out smoking in many public places has been gathering dust since the fall of 2003. Some have said that the proposal could give Irving the toughest ban in the state.
"If the citizens would like to see a total smoking ban in our public facilities, I could support that," Mr. Randle said.
Mr. Gears, who supports the current ordinance, said: "If citizens want us to alter that ordinance in any way, we're going to entertain that."
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Herbert Gears
Occupation: Small-business owner
Age: 43
City experience includes: Former City Council member, 1998-2004
Campaign contact: http://www.gearslink.com
Marvin Randle
Occupation: Self-employed
Age: 68
City experience includes: Former mayor, 1977-1981; former City Council member, early 1970s
Campaign contact: http://www.marvinformayor.com
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TexasStooge
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- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
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Charter school's degree of distinction
Irving: Nearly half of North Hills' grads complete IB program
By DEBORAH FLECK / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - The North Hills School in Irving finally achieved one of its main goals Saturday, when 22 students graduated as candidates for International Baccalaureate diplomas.
Students won't receive their IB exam scores until July, but the fact that nearly half of the charter school's graduating class stuck with the rigorous two-year academic program is impressive, school officials said.
"The payoff is phenomenal," said Bhavani Parpia, the school's IB coordinator. "The students develop a solid work ethic and learn great time management skills."
She said the school initially applied for IB accreditation in 1998, one year after opening its doors. "But we had to wait until we established a full high school," she said. The school reapplied in 2002 and received approval to start the program in 2003.
"It definitely helped me," said valedictorian Jaisy Joseph, who plans to attend Austin College in Sherman this fall. "I've have friends in college who say they weren't very prepared, but I feel really well prepared."
The comprehensive program requires students to take classes in six academic subjects, do community service and write a 4,000-word essay. The classes are similar to Advanced Placement courses. But unlike AP students, who can take classes in just one subject, IB students must take all six subjects.
"It was difficult, but the teachers helped us a lot," said Bryan Van Havryk of Irving, who juggled his IB classes with playing school and club soccer. His most difficult class was English; the easiest was art. He plans to double major in art and business at the University of Texas at Dallas. North Hills is the only charter school in Texas to be accredited by the International Baccalaureate Organization. Twenty-eight schools in Texas offer the program. Worldwide, there are 1,554 IB schools in 120 countries.
Ms. Parpia said she plans to apply for IB programs at the elementary and middle school levels as well. She is a strong proponent of the school's emphasis on an international preparatory curriculum.
The challenges were worth it, said Max Vonnahme of Irving, who was elected by his classmates to speak at graduation. His advice to future IB students: "Whenever you get work, don't put it off."
Irving: Nearly half of North Hills' grads complete IB program
By DEBORAH FLECK / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - The North Hills School in Irving finally achieved one of its main goals Saturday, when 22 students graduated as candidates for International Baccalaureate diplomas.
Students won't receive their IB exam scores until July, but the fact that nearly half of the charter school's graduating class stuck with the rigorous two-year academic program is impressive, school officials said.
"The payoff is phenomenal," said Bhavani Parpia, the school's IB coordinator. "The students develop a solid work ethic and learn great time management skills."
She said the school initially applied for IB accreditation in 1998, one year after opening its doors. "But we had to wait until we established a full high school," she said. The school reapplied in 2002 and received approval to start the program in 2003.
"It definitely helped me," said valedictorian Jaisy Joseph, who plans to attend Austin College in Sherman this fall. "I've have friends in college who say they weren't very prepared, but I feel really well prepared."
The comprehensive program requires students to take classes in six academic subjects, do community service and write a 4,000-word essay. The classes are similar to Advanced Placement courses. But unlike AP students, who can take classes in just one subject, IB students must take all six subjects.
"It was difficult, but the teachers helped us a lot," said Bryan Van Havryk of Irving, who juggled his IB classes with playing school and club soccer. His most difficult class was English; the easiest was art. He plans to double major in art and business at the University of Texas at Dallas. North Hills is the only charter school in Texas to be accredited by the International Baccalaureate Organization. Twenty-eight schools in Texas offer the program. Worldwide, there are 1,554 IB schools in 120 countries.
Ms. Parpia said she plans to apply for IB programs at the elementary and middle school levels as well. She is a strong proponent of the school's emphasis on an international preparatory curriculum.
The challenges were worth it, said Max Vonnahme of Irving, who was elected by his classmates to speak at graduation. His advice to future IB students: "Whenever you get work, don't put it off."
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TexasStooge
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- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Altogether now, students learn to speak each other's language
Irving ISD: Experiment gives English, Spanish a nontraditional blend
By RUSSELL RIAN / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas – Juan Carlos Galaviz returned from the Brandenburg Elementary library beaming with his choices from the Clifford, The Big Red Dog series.
"I got two in English and two in Spanish," he told his teacher proudly – the epitome of a new approach to bilingual education.
The kindergartner is one of more than 160 students taking part in a long-term bilingual experiment that bucks the more traditional one-way approach of teaching English by rounding up Spanish speakers into a separate group.
Four classrooms at Brandenburg teach Spanish-speakers English while teaching English-speakers Spanish by mixing the two. Students alternate between Spanish-only and English-only instruction every other day.
The catch: Lessons aren't duplicated, so students are forced to learn the day's lesson – math social studies, science or art – whether given in English or Spanish.
The big question: What happens when you don't understand what the teacher told you in the other language?
"I ask someone who can talk in English, and they'll tell me," said Alexa Earp, 7, who can read and speak a bit of both languages.
The experiment is an important one for Irving ISD, where the percentage of limited-English-proficient students increased from 29 percent to more than 33 percent from 2000 to 2004. Projections suggest the trend is likely to continue.
"It's been very successful," said Michael Crotty, the school's assistant principal.
The Grand Prairie, Birdville and Carrollton-Farmers Branch school districts have similar programs. Other districts, including Denton, are considering them.
The dual-language experiment was initiated in the 2003-04 school year in kindergarten classes after more than a year of research. It expanded to first grade this year. In the fall, second grade will be added and so on through the elementary grades.
Parents had to volunteer their children and agreed to keep them in the program for the long haul – through fifth grade – so officials could track how students progressed. That parental support is crucial, particularly in the early stages.
Teachers said that during the first few days, particularly in kindergarten, the tears flowed as students adjusted not only to attending school for the first time, but to classrooms in which they didn't know what was being said.
But within a couple of weeks, the students started to get comfortable – learning when to sit or stand by watching students who spoke the language of the day, and by learning key words such as those for bathroom, stand up, quiet down.
Spanish speakers tend to learn faster because they're more apt to hear English outside the classroom than English speakers are to hear Spanish, teachers said. And teachers noted that students in the program's second year were quicker learners than those in the first year.
Research suggests that dual-language classes, which have been around for about three decades but aren't the most common type of bilingual education, produce better results: Students learn English faster and are more fluent in reading, writing and speaking both languages by middle school, Mr. Crotty said.
The real test will come when the students reach third grade and have to take state assessment tests. That's two years off. But initial assessments found that:
•More than 50 percent completed their dual-language kindergarten class fluent in their native language, and 4 percent had reached fluency in both languages.
•By mid-year, more than half had advanced one or two levels. By year's end, some had advanced three levels in their second language. Less than a quarter hadn't advanced at least one level.
•Ninety-two percent of parents were extremely satisfied with their child's learning, and all said their child achieved or exceeded their expectations.
Students are allowed to ask questions or speak in either language. But teachers are allowed to respond in only one language – Spanish in the Spanish classroom and English in the English classroom.
For teacher Amanda Wilson, who is bilingual, that took some adjustments, as it is customary to speak in the language someone speaks to you in.
"I've grown accustomed to it. They speak in English and I respond in Spanish," she said.
"It's very interactive, and there's a lot more talking. It's probably a noisier classroom."
The program isn't suitable for all cases because of its long-term approach and need for support from parents and students, so it isn't likely to replace traditional ESL or bilingual classes.
But teachers say they like it because it encourages children to be cooperative and to appreciate other cultures, and it prepares them for a more global, multicultural world.
"I wish I could have had this opportunity," said teacher Gina Fernandez, who taught for nine years in Peru. "Especially coming from another country, I'm aware of how important it is to be biliterate."
Irving ISD: Experiment gives English, Spanish a nontraditional blend
By RUSSELL RIAN / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas – Juan Carlos Galaviz returned from the Brandenburg Elementary library beaming with his choices from the Clifford, The Big Red Dog series.
"I got two in English and two in Spanish," he told his teacher proudly – the epitome of a new approach to bilingual education.
The kindergartner is one of more than 160 students taking part in a long-term bilingual experiment that bucks the more traditional one-way approach of teaching English by rounding up Spanish speakers into a separate group.
Four classrooms at Brandenburg teach Spanish-speakers English while teaching English-speakers Spanish by mixing the two. Students alternate between Spanish-only and English-only instruction every other day.
The catch: Lessons aren't duplicated, so students are forced to learn the day's lesson – math social studies, science or art – whether given in English or Spanish.
The big question: What happens when you don't understand what the teacher told you in the other language?
"I ask someone who can talk in English, and they'll tell me," said Alexa Earp, 7, who can read and speak a bit of both languages.
The experiment is an important one for Irving ISD, where the percentage of limited-English-proficient students increased from 29 percent to more than 33 percent from 2000 to 2004. Projections suggest the trend is likely to continue.
"It's been very successful," said Michael Crotty, the school's assistant principal.
The Grand Prairie, Birdville and Carrollton-Farmers Branch school districts have similar programs. Other districts, including Denton, are considering them.
The dual-language experiment was initiated in the 2003-04 school year in kindergarten classes after more than a year of research. It expanded to first grade this year. In the fall, second grade will be added and so on through the elementary grades.
Parents had to volunteer their children and agreed to keep them in the program for the long haul – through fifth grade – so officials could track how students progressed. That parental support is crucial, particularly in the early stages.
Teachers said that during the first few days, particularly in kindergarten, the tears flowed as students adjusted not only to attending school for the first time, but to classrooms in which they didn't know what was being said.
But within a couple of weeks, the students started to get comfortable – learning when to sit or stand by watching students who spoke the language of the day, and by learning key words such as those for bathroom, stand up, quiet down.
Spanish speakers tend to learn faster because they're more apt to hear English outside the classroom than English speakers are to hear Spanish, teachers said. And teachers noted that students in the program's second year were quicker learners than those in the first year.
Research suggests that dual-language classes, which have been around for about three decades but aren't the most common type of bilingual education, produce better results: Students learn English faster and are more fluent in reading, writing and speaking both languages by middle school, Mr. Crotty said.
The real test will come when the students reach third grade and have to take state assessment tests. That's two years off. But initial assessments found that:
•More than 50 percent completed their dual-language kindergarten class fluent in their native language, and 4 percent had reached fluency in both languages.
•By mid-year, more than half had advanced one or two levels. By year's end, some had advanced three levels in their second language. Less than a quarter hadn't advanced at least one level.
•Ninety-two percent of parents were extremely satisfied with their child's learning, and all said their child achieved or exceeded their expectations.
Students are allowed to ask questions or speak in either language. But teachers are allowed to respond in only one language – Spanish in the Spanish classroom and English in the English classroom.
For teacher Amanda Wilson, who is bilingual, that took some adjustments, as it is customary to speak in the language someone speaks to you in.
"I've grown accustomed to it. They speak in English and I respond in Spanish," she said.
"It's very interactive, and there's a lot more talking. It's probably a noisier classroom."
The program isn't suitable for all cases because of its long-term approach and need for support from parents and students, so it isn't likely to replace traditional ESL or bilingual classes.
But teachers say they like it because it encourages children to be cooperative and to appreciate other cultures, and it prepares them for a more global, multicultural world.
"I wish I could have had this opportunity," said teacher Gina Fernandez, who taught for nine years in Peru. "Especially coming from another country, I'm aware of how important it is to be biliterate."
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TexasStooge
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- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Owen takes oath for federal bench
AUSTIN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - Texas judge Priscilla Owen, the subject of a long and heated confirmation battle in the U.S. Senate, took the oath of office Monday for her new seat on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Owen, a justice on the Texas Supreme Court for more than a decade, won Senate confirmation to the federal post last month after a four-year fight over President Bush's push to place conservatives on the nation's highest courts. She became the first of Bush's long-blocked nominees to win approval under an agreement reached by centrists in the Senate.
"This has been a long road," Owen, 50, said after she was sworn in at the Texas Supreme Court chamber. Her brief remarks were limited mostly to thanking her family, friends and colleagues along with her farewell to the Texas Supreme Court.
"This is bittersweet for me because I'm saying goodbye to some of the finest people I've ever had the pleasure of working with," she said.
The crowd in the court chamber gave Owen a loud, long standing ovation after she took the oath of office. She used one of Sam Houston's Bibles.
Owen was first nominated by Bush to the federal appeals court in May 2001. She continued to serve on Texas' highest civil court while awaiting confirmation.
Democrats argued that Owen allowed her political beliefs to color her rulings. They were particularly critical of her decisions in abortion cases involving teenagers.
But Republicans said those criticisms were politically motivated. They noted that she easily won election to the Texas Supreme Court in 1994 and re-election in 2000.
"The president stood firm against those who would distort her record," Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson said. He said it was hard to imagine the strength Owen mustered to withstand four years of criticism.
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Gov. Rick Perry, two Texas Republicans who may compete against one another in the 2006 gubernatorial race, also spoke at Owen's swearing-in ceremony and praised the way she conducted herself.
Hutchison, who worked toward getting Owen a confirmation vote in the Senate, said Owen displayed "judicial temperament" while never complaining about her treatment in the Senate.
"Priscilla Owen stood, and she stood with integrity," Hutchison said. "She took it like a champion and deserves to be sitting on the federal bench today."
Perry said Owen demonstrated class and style. He told Owen's family, "Your prayers were heard."
Chief Judge Carolyn King of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals said Owen is filling a post vacated in 1997. That judge took on a more limited role with the court known as senior status.
"We have been waiting eight years for you. But you, Priscilla Owen, have been worth the wait," King said.
The appeals court is based in New Orleans. It hears appeals from federal district courts in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi.
AUSTIN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - Texas judge Priscilla Owen, the subject of a long and heated confirmation battle in the U.S. Senate, took the oath of office Monday for her new seat on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Owen, a justice on the Texas Supreme Court for more than a decade, won Senate confirmation to the federal post last month after a four-year fight over President Bush's push to place conservatives on the nation's highest courts. She became the first of Bush's long-blocked nominees to win approval under an agreement reached by centrists in the Senate.
"This has been a long road," Owen, 50, said after she was sworn in at the Texas Supreme Court chamber. Her brief remarks were limited mostly to thanking her family, friends and colleagues along with her farewell to the Texas Supreme Court.
"This is bittersweet for me because I'm saying goodbye to some of the finest people I've ever had the pleasure of working with," she said.
The crowd in the court chamber gave Owen a loud, long standing ovation after she took the oath of office. She used one of Sam Houston's Bibles.
Owen was first nominated by Bush to the federal appeals court in May 2001. She continued to serve on Texas' highest civil court while awaiting confirmation.
Democrats argued that Owen allowed her political beliefs to color her rulings. They were particularly critical of her decisions in abortion cases involving teenagers.
But Republicans said those criticisms were politically motivated. They noted that she easily won election to the Texas Supreme Court in 1994 and re-election in 2000.
"The president stood firm against those who would distort her record," Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson said. He said it was hard to imagine the strength Owen mustered to withstand four years of criticism.
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Gov. Rick Perry, two Texas Republicans who may compete against one another in the 2006 gubernatorial race, also spoke at Owen's swearing-in ceremony and praised the way she conducted herself.
Hutchison, who worked toward getting Owen a confirmation vote in the Senate, said Owen displayed "judicial temperament" while never complaining about her treatment in the Senate.
"Priscilla Owen stood, and she stood with integrity," Hutchison said. "She took it like a champion and deserves to be sitting on the federal bench today."
Perry said Owen demonstrated class and style. He told Owen's family, "Your prayers were heard."
Chief Judge Carolyn King of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals said Owen is filling a post vacated in 1997. That judge took on a more limited role with the court known as senior status.
"We have been waiting eight years for you. But you, Priscilla Owen, have been worth the wait," King said.
The appeals court is based in New Orleans. It hears appeals from federal district courts in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi.
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TexasStooge
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New leads in Grapevine murder case
By YOLANDA WALKER / WFAA ABC 8
GRAPEVINE, Texas - Grapevine police have some new leads on an old murder, thanks in part to a national television show's profile of the case.
America's Most Wanted did a show about the death of Casey Jo Pipestem in January 2004, allegedly at the hands of a truck driver who was never found.
After the episode's airing this past Saturday, detectives said about 60 tips rang into the call center - and about six were strong leads.
"I was certainly hoping that someone had seen Cassie with a particular driver," said Grapevine Police Cpl. Larry Hallmark. "We didn't get that, but we got a lot of good information about drivers."
"One particular individual was mentioned who we had previously known about, but this gave some more very specific information which is going to require follow-up," said Grapevine Police Sgt. Bob Murphy.
"We're always hopeful that something is going to come up," Pipestem's uncle said in a statement to The Dallas Morning News. "We thought that national exposure would be our most helpful avenue."
Police said Pipestem was a prostitute who worked truck stops in Oklahoma. A trucker abducted and strangled the 19-year-old, then dumped her body in a creekbed along Highway 360 in Grapevine.
A string of similar murders within the region prompted a meeting last summer with detectives from different agencies.
"I think all of the investigators involved believe there's at least two or three individuals who have killed several apiece, probably," Murphy said.
By YOLANDA WALKER / WFAA ABC 8
GRAPEVINE, Texas - Grapevine police have some new leads on an old murder, thanks in part to a national television show's profile of the case.
America's Most Wanted did a show about the death of Casey Jo Pipestem in January 2004, allegedly at the hands of a truck driver who was never found.
After the episode's airing this past Saturday, detectives said about 60 tips rang into the call center - and about six were strong leads.
"I was certainly hoping that someone had seen Cassie with a particular driver," said Grapevine Police Cpl. Larry Hallmark. "We didn't get that, but we got a lot of good information about drivers."
"One particular individual was mentioned who we had previously known about, but this gave some more very specific information which is going to require follow-up," said Grapevine Police Sgt. Bob Murphy.
"We're always hopeful that something is going to come up," Pipestem's uncle said in a statement to The Dallas Morning News. "We thought that national exposure would be our most helpful avenue."
Police said Pipestem was a prostitute who worked truck stops in Oklahoma. A trucker abducted and strangled the 19-year-old, then dumped her body in a creekbed along Highway 360 in Grapevine.
A string of similar murders within the region prompted a meeting last summer with detectives from different agencies.
"I think all of the investigators involved believe there's at least two or three individuals who have killed several apiece, probably," Murphy said.
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