News from the Lone Star State

[TexasStooge]

Pleasant Grove woman dies in fire

By DEBBIE DENMON / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - An elderly woman died Tuesday morning when fire swept through her home in the Pleasant Grove section of Dallas.

Dallas Fire-Rescue units quickly put out the flames after the alarm went out in the 2000 block of Pleasant Drive, but it was too late to save the 82-year-old victim.

Thick smoke prevented neighbors from reaching the wheelchair-bound woman through a side window or a back door.

The woman, whose name was not released, lived in the one-story frame house with two of her sons.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

[TexasStooge]

TCU football player killed in Conroe

CONROE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/WFAA.com) - TCU football player Kasey Christopher Davis was shot and killed early Tuesday at an apartment complex in Conroe, Texas, police said.

Davis, 20, a freshman placekicker, was found in his vehicle with a gunshot wound to the chest shortly after 12:30 a.m. Police said he was taken to Conroe Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about 90 minutes later.

"TCU is very saddened to learn of this tragic occurrence," TCU coach Gary Patterson said in a statement. "Kasey was a team player and had a great future at TCU. He will be greatly missed. Our hearts and minds are with his family during this difficult time."

TCU special teams coach Dan Sharp declined comment.

Witnesses alerted police to a possible suspect, who was stopped about one mile from the scene of the shooting with a rifle in his front seat. The man was detained for questioning.

Investigators said Davis, a Conroe native, was apparently home for the holidays and was visiting friends at the apartment complex. Davis stayed in the Houston area following the Frogs' EV1.net Houston Bowl victory over Iowa State on Saturday.

Davis was a letterman at Conroe High School and played in the National All-Star Bowl, according to his biography at the TCU sports Web site.

Davis played in two games for TCU this season.

Dallas Morning News writer Calvin Watkins contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Arlington police solve 1987 murder case

ARLINGTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Police detectives said Tuesday they used DNA and other evidence to solve a 1987 murder case involving the stabbing and strangulation of an Arlington woman.

The nude body of Linda Donahew, 41, was found in her home on Southcrest Drive on June 1, 1987. She had been sexually assaulted.

Roger Eugene Fain, Jr. was charged with capital murder in connection with Donahew’s death. The Tarrant County District Attorney’s office has accepted the case, and will seek a grand jury indictment in the next few weeks.

Fain was given a life sentence in 1995 for the murder of Round Rock resident Sandra Jean Dumont, and is currently being held at the Eastham prison unit in Lovelady.

Arlington’s Cold Case Unit reopened the case in August, and investigators learned from Round Rock police that there were similarities between the Donahew and Dumont cases, including that the victims' clothing was cut from their bodies.

Samples of fluids taken during Donahew’s autopsy were retested and then matched with Fain through the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database.

Since the department’s Cold Case Unit was formed in November 2004, detectives have cleared five murder cases by arrest, and eight more in which the suspect was found to have died in the years following the crime.

[TexasStooge]

Wife running against husband for Texas House seat

PHARR, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - The wife of a state representative has filed to run against her husband in a South Texas race that both candidates say coincides with an impending divorce.

Freshman Rep. Armando Martinez (D-Weslaco) faces a primary challenge in March from his wife, Jessica Reyes-Martinez.

The District 39 seat covers part of Hidalgo County.

Martinez, 29, is a firefighter and paramedic and 28-year-old Reyes-Martinez is a homemaker.

The first-time candidate told The Monitor newspaper in McAllen she is running because she wants the office, rather than just to run against her husband.

"It just happens that he's in office right now," she said.

The candidates live in separate homes, and both said they plan to divorce soon.

Martinez said it's up to voters to decide if his wife's bid is overly personal.

There are no Republican candidates in the race.

[TexasStooge]

Probe into boy's shooting leads to standoff

By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - A SWAT standoff Tuesday was reported to involve the father of a 3-year-old boy who was shot in the leg on New Year's Day after their home was shot at.

The situation unfolded in the same home where the toddler was found injured in the 900 block of Marlborough Avenue after the Dallas Police gang unit said they were in the neighborhood asking questions about the shooting.

Police said they found Delmus Gurley, the father of the little boy, drunk and he refused to come out of his friend's home to answer questions about the Sunday shooting.

A friend of Gurley's, Carlos Hernandez, was at the scene of the shooting Sunday night and said the father had been drinking ever since.

"When the shooting happened he started drinking, so he really did not want to talk to the cops when they came," he said. "They were trying to get in to talk to him."

When Gurley refused to come out to talk with police, the SWAT team went in and arrested him for an outstanding felony drug warrant.

"He just did not want to come out," Hernandez said. "He's been upset."

While police said they want to know why the house was shot up, the little boy's mother, Aretha Lowe, said she also wants answers in the shooting that occurred while she was also inside the home.

"That's when my friend yelled," Lowe said about the day of the shooting. "They were shooting at us, and that's when we jumped to the floor."

When the bullets stopped flying, Lowe said she found her little boy was bleeding after he had been shot in the leg.

"It was unbelievable," Lowe said. "I did not think he was shot. I did not want it to happen to my baby."

"He never done anything to nobody," she said. "He was asleep. I want them to know they hurt my son and I hope they don't get away with it."

[TexasStooge]

Firefighters battle four-alarm Oak Cliff fire

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Dallas Fire-Rescue crews are battling a four-alarm fire that broke out around 5:30 p.m. in an Oak Cliff building near Kramer and 8th Street.

Firefighters worked in heavy smoke that was billowing from the windows of the building from the fire that was quickly escalating.

More details on News 8 after the game.

[TexasStooge]

Smelly water may be on tap in Ft. Worth

By ALAN MELSON / DallasNews.com

FORT WORTH, Texas - A change in distribution patterns could mean a change in taste for water coming out of the taps of some Fort Worth residents – and a stronger smell than usual from both forks of the Trinity River that run through the city.

Officials said Tuesday that they will re-route parts of the city’s water supply on Monday, Jan. 16. On that day, two treatment plants will resume treating water from Lake Worth for the first time in nearly two months.

The layoff was due to the city reaching its annual water allocation limit from Lake Worth, Lake Bridgeport and Eagle Mountain Lake, all located along the West Fork of the Trinity River.

The change will primarily affect residents in central, north and west Fort Worth who are currently receiving their water from Lake Benbrook.

Mary Gugliuzza, public education program coordinator for the Fort Worth Water Department, said residents have asked the city over the years to warn them when there would be changes to their water. The city made Tuesday’s announcement to give them advance notice.

“One of the promises we made is that we’d let residents know when we make a water source change,” Gugliuzza said.

She said the change in supply could alter the taste and smell of the water, though she stressed it is not an issue of water quality.

“Every different lake has its own unique characteristics that contribute to the taste,” she said. “Some people are very sensitive to these changes; some aren’t.”

The city gets 30 percent of its supply from the West Fork lakes, with the rest coming from reservoirs in East Texas that receive more rainfall, Gugliuzza said.

Over the next two weeks the city will flush the lines between Lake Worth and the North and South Holly treatment plants in preparation for the switch, officials said. This will send stagnant water into the West and Clear forks of the Trinity River, possibly causing a smell to emanate from the river until the lines can be cleared.

“It could stink,” Gugliuzza said with a laugh. “There’s nothing wrong, but there could be an odor, so we wanted to make people aware.”

[TexasStooge]

Police seek 2 after cat nabbing

By STEVE STOLER / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Police said they are searching for real cat burglars after two men walked into the PETCO store at the Casa Linda Plaza shopping center in Dallas and got away with a large cat.

"[They] didn't say anything [and] didn't steal anything else, no money, nothing, just the cat," said Dianne Wood, a volunteer with the Protective Animal League.

Witnesses told Dallas police that two men came into the store with their eyes set on a kitty condo with Simon inside.

"At some point, one of them goes 'Shh' to the employee that was in the store," Wood said. "And the other raised his jacket and showed where he had a gun, at which point, they got the cat out of the condo and left."

Simon, also known as Daddy-O, a one year old tabby from East Plano was in the cage and was up for adoption by the Protective Animal League.

Wood, who took care of Simon, said he was a lovable cat.

"This kitty, I loved him," she said. "I do love him."

PETCO surveillance cameras captured the two men on video, and store managers turned the tapes over to the Dallas Police Department.

A PETCO spokesman, Don Cowan, called the cat nabbing a very bizarre incident.

Cowan said the company had never had anything like it happen before and that the chain was anxious to apprehend the people responsible.

"There's no shortage of cats," Wood said. "I don't understand it. There are cats in all the shelters [and] if they wanted an orange tabby, they could pick a cat off the streets."

Simon has markings that make him unique, including a pattern of different colors and a bald spot under his right ear. However, while Wood said she's praying for his safe return, she said she doesn't hold out much hope.


Simon

[TexasStooge]

Principal who resigned faces prostitution charge

By TAWNELL D. HOBBS / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - Molina High School principal Francisco Ramirez resigned recently after being arrested on a charge of prostitution, Dallas schools spokesman Donald Claxton said.

Mr. Ramirez, 55, had been principal at Molina for at least two school years. Prior to that, he was principal at Adamson High School in Dallas.

A plainclothes police officer arrested Mr. Ramirez on Dec. 23 for prostitution in a store parking lot, according to a Dallas Police Department report. A police spokesman declined to elaborate about the arrest.

Mr. Claxton said Mr. Ramirez tendered his resignation last week. He said the district would have automatically placed the principal on leave pending the outcome of an investigation if he hadn't resigned.

The district plans to name an interim replacement for the position, Mr. Claxton said.

Mr. Ramirez could not be reached for comment.

[TexasStooge]

Dallas man dies from gunshot wounds

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A 31-year-old Dallas man was shot and killed early Wednesday when he was walking down the street in the 2900 block of Holmes Street.

Gabriel Cannings was shot multiple times around 2 a.m. by the occupant of a vehicle that was driving down the street, Sr. Cpl. Max Geron said.

Cannings died at Baylor Hospital from his injuries, Geron said.

Police have no motive in the case and are searching for witnesses.

[TexasStooge]

Woman left for dead at Dallas hospital

By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Dallas police are working on a case they admit is an unusual one.

Investigators said a man dropped off a woman at UT Southwestern University Hospital about 2 a.m. Wednesday morning, saying she needed help.

Doctors were unable to do anything; she was already dead.

Police said said it appeared the woman—whose name was not released—had not been murdered. Her family was notified and an autopsy was being arranged.

At about the same time, Dallas police responded to a report of a shooting at MLK Blvd. and Holmes Street in South Dallas.

The unidentified victim was pronounced dead at Baylor University Medical Center.

In another act of violence, a 50-year-old Dallas woman was stabbed to death Tuesday morning at her apartment in the 2700 block of East Ledbetter Drive.

[rainstorm]

Police seek 2 after cat nabbing

By STEVE STOLER / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Police said they are searching for real cat burglars after two men walked into the PETCO store at the Casa Linda Plaza shopping center in Dallas and got away with a large cat.

"[They] didn't say anything [and] didn't steal anything else, no money, nothing, just the cat," said Dianne Wood, a volunteer with the Protective Animal League.

Witnesses told Dallas police that two men came into the store with their eyes set on a kitty condo with Simon inside.

"At some point, one of them goes 'Shh' to the employee that was in the store," Wood said. "And the other raised his jacket and showed where he had a gun, at which point, they got the cat out of the condo and left."

Simon, also known as Daddy-O, a one year old tabby from East Plano was in the cage and was up for adoption by the Protective Animal League.

Wood, who took care of Simon, said he was a lovable cat.

"This kitty, I loved him," she said. "I do love him."

PETCO surveillance cameras captured the two men on video, and store managers turned the tapes over to the Dallas Police Department.

A PETCO spokesman, Don Cowan, called the cat nabbing a very bizarre incident.

Cowan said the company had never had anything like it happen before and that the chain was anxious to apprehend the people responsible.

"There's no shortage of cats," Wood said. "I don't understand it. There are cats in all the shelters [and] if they wanted an orange tabby, they could pick a cat off the streets."

Simon has markings that make him unique, including a pattern of different colors and a bald spot under his right ear. However, while Wood said she's praying for his safe return, she said she doesn't hold out much hope.


Simon

cat must be made out of gold

[TexasStooge]

Woman's killer found after 18 years

By JIM DOUGLAS / WFAA ABC 8

ARLINGTON, Texas - Investigator says they can now close the 1987 case of the murder and sexual assault of an Arlington woman.

Detectives say new DNA tests link the crime to a man already in prison for a similar murder.

In June 1987, Lynda Donahue was stabbed and strangled inside her south Arlington home.

Her sister, Bonnie Bishop, found the body.

"We never gave up hope that there would be a closure and that they would find my sister's body," she said.

Neither did detectives. This fall they tested old evidence with new technology, unavailable 18 years ago.

DNA matched that of Texas inmate Roger Fain Jr.

Sergeant Mark Simpson says Fain is serving a life sentence for murdering a woman in 1984 and is suspected of killing a second woman around the same time.

Like Lynda Donahue, the women's clothes had been torn off.

"I feel very mad that he took something away so precious in our lives," said Bishop.

"I am so happy that he is going to get justice for this."

"We were terrified that the person is still out there and wondered if he knew us," said another sister, Terri Oliver.

The sisters saw a sketch of their sister's killer.

Bishop recognized Fain as a passing acquaintance of her sister.

"That's all I've hoped for all my life," said Oliver. "That justice will be served one way or the other."

[TexasStooge]

SWAT team stars in reality series

By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - The latest reality TV show doesn't feature a bachelor or a castaway—the eight stars of Dallas SWAT are all real-life police officers.

Why did the A&E cable network decide to focus on Dallas for this unscripted series? They're not saying.

But officers weren't asking questions; they've already suited up and starred in six taped episodes of Dallas SWAT, revealing everything from a dangerous day on the job to the more mundane details of life at home.

The program features training exercises and even real-life dramas like last month's early-morning encounter on North Central Expressway with a gunman who shut down the busy highway.

Some wonder if a program like this can reveal too much about police work.

"I guess it's good for the citizens of Dallas to know that the Dallas Police Department and the SWAT team's out there for their best interests," said Officer Terigi Rossi, an eight-year veteran of the squad. "We're out there to make sure that the city's safe."

Early critical reaction to the series is mixed. The Hollywood Reporter's Marilyn Moss said Dallas SWAT is "Big, brash and bullet-bound ... it's pumped up on testosterone and ready to explode at any second."

Dallas Morning News TV critic Ed Bark was somewhat less charitable, giving a C-minus to the episode he previewed.

Dalas SWAT debuts Thursday at 9 p.m. on A&E.

[TexasStooge]

Body found in pickup on Richardson street

By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News

RICHARDSON, Texas - Police are investigating the death of a McKinney man who was found in the bed of his pickup parked on a residential street in Richardson.

There were no signs of trauma to the body of Andrew Holt Adams, 41, who appeared to have wrapped himself in a sheet and slept in the back of the truck.

Police do not believe he was robbed because he still had his belongings. Authorities are awaiting an autopsy report, which will include tests for drugs in his system.

Relatives reported Mr. Adams missing Dec. 30 to police in Plano, the last place he was known to be, after he had not been seen for three days.

At about 6 p.m. Tuesday, neighbors in the 600 block of Vernet Street in Richardson called police to report a suspicious pickup truck parked near a house being renovated. They said the truck had been parked there since about Dec. 30.

[TexasStooge]

Arrest made in tow truck driver's death

IRVING, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - Irving police said Wednesday they have made an arrest in connection with the hit-and-run death of a tow truck driver on New Year’s Day.

Charles Lamon Hicks, Jr, 19, of Dallas was arrested Tuesday and faces a charge of manslaughter, police said.

Plano resident Juan Guzman, 30, was loading a vehicle Sunday morning in the 400 block of West Airport Freeway when a car allegedly driven by Mr. Hicks struck him. Mr. Guzman died as a result of his injuries.

Mr. Hicks is being held on $25,000 bond. Police said he may face an additional charge of failure to stop and render aid in connection with the case.

[TexasStooge]

Police seek suspect in highway shootings

By KARIN KELLY / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas - Several drivers in Tarrant County had their windows blown out after someone shot at them while driving Tuesday morning along Highway 114 in a 5 mile stretch between Northwest Highway and Ira E. Woods Avenue.

Five vehicles, including two tractors, traveling on both sides of the highway were hit by bullets in the shootings police said they believe was an isolated incident.

Jerry Moore was in the driver's seat of his car with no passengers in his car except a pile of newspapers he was about to deliver when bullets began whizzing in his direction.

"I heard the zip of the bullet," Moore said. "I know it was a pretty powerful bullet, high velocity."

His window was open while he was heading east on Highway 114.

"The bullet came in [and] blew out the rear window, which has since been replaced," Moore said. "...I kind of ducked down in the seat a little bit and drove on across the bridge and that's when I called police."

While no one was hurt, projectiles damaged windows, scratched vehicles and shook up drivers.

Police were unable to recover any evidence.

"So, we don't know what kind of projectile it was [and] don't know if it was fired from a rifle or handgun or a pellet gun or shot with a sling shot for that matter," said Todd Dearing, Grapevine Police Department.

Police said they are still investigating the incident, but they said they also haven't determined if the shooter fired from a moving vehicle or stood near the road.

"I know I was just a random target, but it came real close," Moore said. "If I had anybody sitting in this seat they would be dead."

[TexasStooge]

Red flags raised over city's $20 million gap

Exclusive: Auditors target 2-year budget shortfall by Love Field operator

By KATIE FAIRBANK and TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - The city department that oversees Dallas Love Field had a $20 million shortfall over two fiscal years, resulting in a drop in the airport's bond rating. City auditors are questioning why.

The auditors say they will examine the books of the Aviation Department, a stand-alone business entity that independently operates Love Field, Executive Airport in southern Dallas and the Convention Center heliport.

Council members have asked City Manager Mary Suhm for a full accounting of the situation at a mid-January briefing.

"We have an entity that should be breaking even, and we're not doing it. That means that there are things we are not doing right," said City Council member Mitchell Rasansky, a critic of the Aviation Department. "They're just not using good business sense in running that airport."

The city staff says the shortfalls were caused by a commercial air traffic decline, debt payments on a new parking garage and a loss on the sale of old equipment.

The shortfall is important because it can hurt a municipality's credit rating, which in turn makes it more costly for both the city and the airport to borrow money in the future, experts say.

Ms. Suhm said she wasn't overly concerned about the issue and referred questions about details of Aviation Department finances to other city staff members. She said that what is "weird about this is, it's like somebody discovered something and they're surprised."

The Dallas Morning News reviewed the five most recent comprehensive annual financial reports for aviation operations, including items such as asset depreciation and pension liabilities. These are the final audited financial reports for the department.

The reports show that expenditures exceeded revenues by a combined total of about $20 million in 2003 and 2004. In the two fiscal years, the department spent nearly $78 million.

"Basically, it's got to break even or show a slight profit," said Assistant City Auditor Paul Garner.

In theory, a properly operated airport should show neither a profit nor a loss, but some years are going to be better or worse than others. So airports are required by the Federal Aviation Administration and other entities to set aside money in a surplus fund for lean times.

There is some dispute about just how big the department's surplus is. Some of the funds in the surplus are dedicated for specific uses and may not be available to address a shortfall, experts say.

According to Standard & Poor's Rating Services, one of the nation's leading credit rating agencies, the department has an unrestricted cash surplus of $14.1 million, out of a total of $46 million.

But the city's audited financial statements showed a cash surplus of nearly $49 million at the end of fiscal 2004.

Chief Financial Officer Dave Cook said he doesn't know why the credit rating agency's information differs from the city's.

"I really don't know where they got it from. They could have gotten something from our aviation folks. I don't want to imply that what they have is wrong," he said.

Regardless, Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors downgraded Love Field's credit rating in 2004, saying the airport had been dipping into reserves too often to pay its bills.

Below-average rating

Laura Macdonald, a credit analyst for Standard & Poor's, said Dallas' airport system has a BBB rating, below average for airports. "Our rating is a function of the ability to repay debt on time," she said.

A reduced credit rating means that any loans the airport or city takes out could cost more in interest, according to Jay Franke, associate director of the Transportation Center at Northwestern University and a former commissioner of aviation for the city of Chicago.

"It probably makes more of a difference to the city," Mr. Franke said. "If it's part of a municipality, then a downgrading or an upgrading has an effect on the overall municipal rating."

There is basically a difference of 0.5 percentage point in interest rates between an AAA and a BBB rating, according to a scale prepared by Municipal Market Data.

City staffers said that even though expenditures have outpaced revenue, the department remains healthy. They say net assets of the Aviation Department increased from $321 million in 2003 to $372 million in 2004.

"If it worried us, we'd have already done something about it," said Assistant City Manager Ryan Evans, who oversees the Aviation Department.

The City Council will be briefed Jan. 18 about the department's finances and Love Field aviation issues.

"Being assured there is a surplus doesn't mean that it's being managed in the appropriate way," said council member Gary Griffith. "There are bigger issues than being able to assure the taxpayers there is a surplus. If possible, we need to grow that surplus, not erode it."

Mayor Laura Miller declined to comment.

Love Field has operated with balanced audited financial statements in recent history, until 2003. The airport became a focal point recently during a vitriolic fight over the Wright Amendment, the federal law that restricts direct flights from the airport to nearby states.

The dispute began when Southwest Airlines, the airport's primary tenant, abandoned its publicly neutral stance in 2004 and began campaigning to repeal the legislation. Months of advertising campaigns, lobbying and petitions began. Lawmakers wound up adding Missouri to the seven other states to which direct flights are allowed from Love Field.

During the Wright amendment fight, some details of Love Field's finances were discussed, and Southwest's critics and Wright supporters began questioning the relatively cheap landing fees charged by the airport.

The fees were set by the City Council in 1987 as a way to encourage airlines to operate quieter airplanes at Love Field. Fees for older, noisier aircraft were set at 55 cents per 1,000 pounds, while newer, quieter aircraft paid 20 cents less.

"As a result, Love Field experienced a higher mix of quiet airplanes, with the result that the neighborhood around Love Field got quieter," said Ed Stewart, spokesman for the Dallas-based airline. "At the same time, Love Field prospered, and passengers and revenues increased, along with the balance in the city's aviation fund."

The fees remain at 35 cents per 1,000 pounds today. By comparison, Midway Airport in Chicago has fees ranging from $1.35 to $1.69.

Fees stirred queries

The Love Field landing fees prompted auditors and City Council members to start asking questions. Auditors cite several red flags:

An audit of the aviation lease and rental agreements performed in January showed that month-to-month leases were allowed to continue for years, including one that had been going on for more than 20 years.

Also, the audit said rates for office space and corporate hangars hadn't increased for seven years, despite increases in security and utility costs. The leases also were not standardized and did not include measures to increase the rent.

The audit recommended that the aviation director make the airport self-sustaining by setting rates and fees based on market conditions.

An audit in May of the 911 fund, created from emergency-services fees to support the 911 phone system, found that $2.3 million appeared to have been improperly transferred from the Aviation Department construction fund to the 911 fund.

"We needed to pay the phone company for some improvements that they had made," said Mr. Cook, the city's chief financial officer. "Instead of borrowing externally, we borrowed from ourselves. At the end of the day, when it is all paid back, it will be invisible."

Ms. Suhm said she thinks council members should have voted on the loan, "but I don't think legally we had to."

Mr. Franke said cities often look to tap aviation surpluses.

"When you're dealing with large amounts of money, particularly airport bond reserves, the temptation to apply them to needy areas is huge. Nobody is going to find out; nobody is going to complain unless it's so egregious and the bond ratings notice," he said.

In the city's annual budget, the starting numbers are frequently different from the closing numbers from the previous year, akin to writing a different balance on a new page of a checkbook registry rather than copying over the balance from the previous page.

"That's got to be the same balance," Mr. Garner said. Mr. Cook said the procedures are part of standard government budgeting practices.

"It's the difference between the budgeting view and the accounting view," he said. "Within a year, we make sure that the numbers do work."

City Council members don't receive the numbers from the annual audited financial reports in their annual budgets.

"When you're presenting information to the council for them to make rate-making decisions, they need to understand the entire financial picture of the organization," Mr. Garner said.

Mr. Griffith said that although the audited numbers are available, he's not sure they are routinely reviewed.

"We focus on the general budget and its components. Those enterprise funds probably don't get the level of scrutiny they should," he said.

Garage cost blamed

Mr. Evans attributed the airport's recent operational shortfalls to the cost of its new $59 million parking garage.

"If the debt service on the garage did not occur, we'd be in a surplus position today," he said.

That answer frustrates opponents of additional air traffic at Love Field.

"You can't just say you had problems with debt service," said Pat White, a 20-year volunteer with the Love Field Citizens Action Committee. "You have to plan for that. It's like paying your interest fees out of your saving accounts. They actually have been bleeding over the last couple of years."

Mr. Evans said things are turning around because of newly added flights to and from Missouri, which add revenue.

"That's already changing," he said. "We're already flying to Missouri. We've had a great deal more activity at Love Field. We've already had improvements."

[TexasStooge]

Dallas crime down across the board in '05

By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - For the first time in more than a decade, crime was down last year in all major categories in Dallas - led by a double-digit drop in murder and fueling hopes that Dallas can rehabilitate its image as one of the most dangerous big cities in the United States.

Statistics released Thursday show that the city fell about a percentage point short of Chief David Kunkle's goal of reducing murders in 2005 by 20 percent, and got halfway toward his 10 percent goal in overall crime. But city and community leaders remain convinced that Dallas is becoming a safer city.

The last time Dallas dropped in all crime categories was 1993, the department said.

“It’s absolutely phenomenal,” City Manager Mary Suhm said. “I’m ecstatic, and I think it’s an indication of what the city and the police department can accomplish.”

According to published reports detailing preliminary crime statistics in the country’s largest cities, Houston, the fourth largest, had a 23 percent spike in murders last year with 336. Dallas, the ninth largest city, logged 198 murders last year, down from 244 in 2004 -- an 18.9 percent decline. Chicago had virtually no change in murders, holding at about 447. New York had 537 slayings, about a 5 percent decrease.

“We’re pleased, but we know there’s still lots of work ahead for us,” Chief Kunkle said. “It wouldn’t surprise me for 2005 if we have had the greatest percent decrease in homicides of any major city.”

Dallas’ lowest number of murders occurred in 1999 with 185. They topped out in 1991 at 500.

The numbers also show that business robberies fell 14.7 percent and auto theft fell 10.1 percent. Individual robbery was down 6.3 percent, and theft was down 5 percent. Overall crime fell 5.3 percent.

[TexasStooge]

Flawed bill to be auctioned in Dallas

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) -- An ordinary fruit sticker that mysteriously ended up on a $20 bill could spur collectors to drive up the price at an auction tomorrow.

The "banana note" bears a bright red, green and yellow Del Monte sticker next to Andrew Jackson's portrait.

The flawed bill originated at a Treasury Department printing facility in Fort Worth, but just how the fruit tag found its way onto the greenback is unknown.

Daniel Wishnatsky of Phoenix paid just over 10,000 dollars for the bill in a 2003 auction on e-Bay.

Heritage Galleries and Auctioneers of Dallas is auctioning the bill for Wishnatsky -- in Orlando, Florida.

The note is rare because the Bureau of Printing and Engraving diligently inspects and destroys flawed currency before it escapes the plant.