Runway closed after landing mishap
DFW INT'L AIRPORT, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - An America West Express commuter jet blew a tire on landing at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Friday morning, forcing the shutdown of a runway for more than 45 minutes.
The Canadair twin-engine regional jet with 85 passengers and crew members on board was arriving on a flight from Charlotte, N.C. when the incident happened.
The jet was followed by emergency equipment as its pilot taxiied to the end of the runway without incident.
No one was hurt.
Airport workers scoured Runway 36-L for any debris that the disabled tire may have left behind.
Passengers were transferred from the disabled jet to the terminal by bus.
The was closed until the plane was towed away for servicing.
News from the Lone Star State
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TexasStooge
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DPS will stop some drills
By PETE SLOVER / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas Department of Public Safety announced Friday it will discontinue full-contact fighting drills between recruits - a practice that killed a man last year - after a team of experts hired to review the practice found excessive head injuries and recommended alternative training methods.
"The rate of head injury and the rate of serious head injuries were significantly greater at TXDPS than at the other public and private training facilities that we surveyed," said the consultant's report presented to the Texas Public Safety Commission, the agency that oversees the DPS.
The experts were hired following a series of stories about the fighting drills in The Dallas Morning News.
Research by The News found the drills were responsible for at least 121 concussions and other brain injuries since 1978. Jimmy Ray Carty Jr., a recruit and former sheriff's deputy, died in May 2005 from injuries he suffered while fighting.
Although the commission did not vote on the matter, DPS Director Col. Thomas A. Davis Jr. announced that new methods will be in place by the time an incoming recruit class is scheduled to begin training, in about 10-12 weeks.
The new training, modeled on that used by federal, state and local agencies including Dallas Police, will have an instructor in a padded suit face off against a trainee, rather than having two trainees in boxing gear fight each other. There will also be an increased number of instructors on hand to monitor and stop the exercise if needed.
The findings and changes were welcomed by Christy Carty, Mr. Carty's widow.
"I am very pleased," she said afterward, although she expressed disappointment that she learned from the news media - not DPS - that the matter was on the Public Safety Commission's agenda.
By PETE SLOVER / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas Department of Public Safety announced Friday it will discontinue full-contact fighting drills between recruits - a practice that killed a man last year - after a team of experts hired to review the practice found excessive head injuries and recommended alternative training methods.
"The rate of head injury and the rate of serious head injuries were significantly greater at TXDPS than at the other public and private training facilities that we surveyed," said the consultant's report presented to the Texas Public Safety Commission, the agency that oversees the DPS.
The experts were hired following a series of stories about the fighting drills in The Dallas Morning News.
Research by The News found the drills were responsible for at least 121 concussions and other brain injuries since 1978. Jimmy Ray Carty Jr., a recruit and former sheriff's deputy, died in May 2005 from injuries he suffered while fighting.
Although the commission did not vote on the matter, DPS Director Col. Thomas A. Davis Jr. announced that new methods will be in place by the time an incoming recruit class is scheduled to begin training, in about 10-12 weeks.
The new training, modeled on that used by federal, state and local agencies including Dallas Police, will have an instructor in a padded suit face off against a trainee, rather than having two trainees in boxing gear fight each other. There will also be an increased number of instructors on hand to monitor and stop the exercise if needed.
The findings and changes were welcomed by Christy Carty, Mr. Carty's widow.
"I am very pleased," she said afterward, although she expressed disappointment that she learned from the news media - not DPS - that the matter was on the Public Safety Commission's agenda.
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Pastor back in jail after failing to wear monitor
FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) — Freedom was fleeting for Arlington minister Terry Hornbuckle - this time as he walked out of jail before having his ankle monitor installed.
The founder of the Agape Christian Fellowship Church posted a $3.5 million bond on rape and assult charges Thursday, but he was back behind bars just hours after his release on Friday morning.
According to court documents, he walked out of the Tarrant County adult probation office without a monitor while authorities were still processing his release.
Hornbuckle faces a total of nine felony charges, including sexual assault, possession of a controlled substance, tampering with a witness and retaliation.
He and his church are also facing five lawsuits, three of them related to sexual assault cases. His trial on sex and drug charges is scheduled for July.
FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) — Freedom was fleeting for Arlington minister Terry Hornbuckle - this time as he walked out of jail before having his ankle monitor installed.
The founder of the Agape Christian Fellowship Church posted a $3.5 million bond on rape and assult charges Thursday, but he was back behind bars just hours after his release on Friday morning.
According to court documents, he walked out of the Tarrant County adult probation office without a monitor while authorities were still processing his release.
Hornbuckle faces a total of nine felony charges, including sexual assault, possession of a controlled substance, tampering with a witness and retaliation.
He and his church are also facing five lawsuits, three of them related to sexual assault cases. His trial on sex and drug charges is scheduled for July.
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Arlington parents camp out for school transfers
By Carol Cavazos, WFAA ABC 8
ARLINGTON, Texas - The parking lot next to the Arlington I.S.D. building has become an RV park of sorts for parents - waiting in the school transfer line.
"I've been 2 nights in the tent. By Sunday night, it might be pretty hard!" says Wade Wadlington and Arlington parent.
He's roughing it, so his 4-year-old daughter Maggie might have a smoother educational road ahead.
He wants her to start kindergarten at Duff in the fall, though the majority of parents who've come this early clearly want a shot at Butler.
"It's the only exemplary school in North Arlington," says Sella Kuman, an Arlington parent.
"The number one thing is the gut check. You know we've talked to a lot of parents that have their children there and they're very pleased with the school and that to me is what matters the most," says Eugene Haase, another parent.
Eugene Haase pulled-up before anyone else in his super deluxe mobile home.
"This is where I sleep," he says.
He became the designated "sign-up guy," even supplying the polish for parents to mark their windshields.
How does Arlington ISD feel about all this?
"We're proud in the I.S.D to be one of only three districts in the state to allow parents to transfer their students for any particular reason," said Arlington ISD spokesperson Veronica Sopher.
There are only so many open desks at each school. And, first served might mean best educationally served at least in the minds of these parents.
"I think I have a good chance," said Kuman.
By Carol Cavazos, WFAA ABC 8
ARLINGTON, Texas - The parking lot next to the Arlington I.S.D. building has become an RV park of sorts for parents - waiting in the school transfer line.
"I've been 2 nights in the tent. By Sunday night, it might be pretty hard!" says Wade Wadlington and Arlington parent.
He's roughing it, so his 4-year-old daughter Maggie might have a smoother educational road ahead.
He wants her to start kindergarten at Duff in the fall, though the majority of parents who've come this early clearly want a shot at Butler.
"It's the only exemplary school in North Arlington," says Sella Kuman, an Arlington parent.
"The number one thing is the gut check. You know we've talked to a lot of parents that have their children there and they're very pleased with the school and that to me is what matters the most," says Eugene Haase, another parent.
Eugene Haase pulled-up before anyone else in his super deluxe mobile home.
"This is where I sleep," he says.
He became the designated "sign-up guy," even supplying the polish for parents to mark their windshields.
How does Arlington ISD feel about all this?
"We're proud in the I.S.D to be one of only three districts in the state to allow parents to transfer their students for any particular reason," said Arlington ISD spokesperson Veronica Sopher.
There are only so many open desks at each school. And, first served might mean best educationally served at least in the minds of these parents.
"I think I have a good chance," said Kuman.
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Man charged in deputy constable's shooting
By KIMBERLY DURNAN / DallasNews.com
DALLAS, Texas - A 26-year-old Dallas man has been charged with attempted capital murder in connection with the shooting of a deputy constable outside a nightclub in northwest Dallas.
Flavio Sarinana was one of four people Dallas police were questioning late Thursday, hours after Alonso “Art” Lizcano, 35, was shot in the abdomen outside the Chicas Bonitas nightclub at 11044 Harry Hines Blvd. around 2:30 a.m.
Sarinana was being held Friday at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center. Bond has been set at $500,000 on the attempted capital murder charge, but the suspected illegal immigrant also was being held on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to Dallas County Sheriff’s Department records.
Lizcano was working an off-duty security job, but he was wearing his uniform and was clearly identifiable as a deputy constable, said his boss, District 5 Constable Mike Dupree.
“It doesn’t matter whether you are on duty or not, you are still considered a peace officer,” said Dallas police Senior Cpl. Jamie Kimbrough in explaining why Sarinana was charged with attempted capital murder.
Lizcano was in stable but critical condition Friday at Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he was scheduled for surgery to repair damage to his bowel area, Dupree said.
Lizcano had approached a pickup that was blocking a driveway, when a suspect rolled down the window and fired several times, Kimbrough said.
Acting on a tip, Dallas police and county constables set up surveillance about 4:45 p.m. outside a mattress warehouse in the 10000 block of Stemmons Freeway. Two men were detained when they approached a pickup matching the description of the one used in the shooting. Two other men were also detained when they later approached the truck.
The three others who were questioned have been released, but detectives are keeping in contact with them, Kimbrough said.
By KIMBERLY DURNAN / DallasNews.com
DALLAS, Texas - A 26-year-old Dallas man has been charged with attempted capital murder in connection with the shooting of a deputy constable outside a nightclub in northwest Dallas.
Flavio Sarinana was one of four people Dallas police were questioning late Thursday, hours after Alonso “Art” Lizcano, 35, was shot in the abdomen outside the Chicas Bonitas nightclub at 11044 Harry Hines Blvd. around 2:30 a.m.
Sarinana was being held Friday at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center. Bond has been set at $500,000 on the attempted capital murder charge, but the suspected illegal immigrant also was being held on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to Dallas County Sheriff’s Department records.
Lizcano was working an off-duty security job, but he was wearing his uniform and was clearly identifiable as a deputy constable, said his boss, District 5 Constable Mike Dupree.
“It doesn’t matter whether you are on duty or not, you are still considered a peace officer,” said Dallas police Senior Cpl. Jamie Kimbrough in explaining why Sarinana was charged with attempted capital murder.
Lizcano was in stable but critical condition Friday at Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he was scheduled for surgery to repair damage to his bowel area, Dupree said.
Lizcano had approached a pickup that was blocking a driveway, when a suspect rolled down the window and fired several times, Kimbrough said.
Acting on a tip, Dallas police and county constables set up surveillance about 4:45 p.m. outside a mattress warehouse in the 10000 block of Stemmons Freeway. Two men were detained when they approached a pickup matching the description of the one used in the shooting. Two other men were also detained when they later approached the truck.
The three others who were questioned have been released, but detectives are keeping in contact with them, Kimbrough said.
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Man sentenced to life for teen's death
FORT WORTH, Texas (The Dallas Moning News) — Ronald Michael Hill, who pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges he killed a high school student he met through a singles chat line, was sentenced today to life in prison.
Hill, 33, admitted killing 15-year-old Ingrid Smith, a sophomore at Mansfield Timberview High School.The girl was found dead last March at her home in south Arlington. She had been strangled.
A jury deliberated less than an hour before deciding Mr. Hill’s punishment. Mr. Hill will be could eligible for parole in 30 years, officials said.
Ingrid was found dead at her home in South Arlington. She was lying on her back next to the fireplace with a pillow over her face. Her throat had been slashed.
Prosecutors said Mr. Hill killed the girl after she told him she was pregnant. The two had carried on a sexual relationship for about two months after meeting through Quest Personals, a singles chat line, police said.
FORT WORTH, Texas (The Dallas Moning News) — Ronald Michael Hill, who pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges he killed a high school student he met through a singles chat line, was sentenced today to life in prison.
Hill, 33, admitted killing 15-year-old Ingrid Smith, a sophomore at Mansfield Timberview High School.The girl was found dead last March at her home in south Arlington. She had been strangled.
A jury deliberated less than an hour before deciding Mr. Hill’s punishment. Mr. Hill will be could eligible for parole in 30 years, officials said.
Ingrid was found dead at her home in South Arlington. She was lying on her back next to the fireplace with a pillow over her face. Her throat had been slashed.
Prosecutors said Mr. Hill killed the girl after she told him she was pregnant. The two had carried on a sexual relationship for about two months after meeting through Quest Personals, a singles chat line, police said.
Last edited by TexasStooge on Fri Mar 03, 2006 10:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Las Colinas developer Carpenter dead at 82
By JOE SIMNACHER and STEVE BROWN / DallasNews.com
IRVING, Texas - Ben H. Carpenter, a visionary Dallas businessman who turned his river bottom ranch into one of the country's most successful real estate developments, died Friday at his home.
Mr. Carpenter, 82, built one of downtown Dallas' biggest skyscrapers and ran one of the country's largest insurance firms.
But his Las Colinas development in Irving is his most visible legacy.
What started as the family cattle spread is now home to some of the country's biggest corporations, including Exxon Mobil and Kimberly-Clark. Thousands of people live in Las Colinas' homes and apartments, and the project has become a model worldwide.
The development that in 1974 was estimated to cost $700 million is now valued at more than $5 billion.
"He was so far ahead of his time," said longtime Dallas real estate broker Wayne Swearingen. "He built a tremendous project - it was his ranch and he wanted to do it right."
Mr. Carpenter was also one of the last of a generation of business leaders that helped transform Dallas into an international city.
"Look at the titans in the real estate industry in Dallas - Ben was one of them," said John Scovell, president of Woodbine Development Corp. "He was part of the generation that was critical to this city's growth."
A third-generation Texan, Mr. Carpenter was born in Dallas but spent much of his youth on his family's Hackberry Creek Ranch, which would later become the centerpiece of Las Colinas. His mother called the homestead El Ranchito de las Colinas, the Little Ranch of the Hills.
Mr. Carpenter's days at Hackberry Creek Ranch became a microcosm of his life. He built his first project on what would become Las Colinas when he was just 9 years old: a two-story bunkhouse from surplus scrap iron.
Later he became the ranch's weekend foreman. After graduating from Highland Park High School, Mr. Carpenter went to the University of Texas at Austin where he intended to study law. But he volunteered to join the Army less than a year after enrolling. He became the youngest officer ever commissioned at the U.S. Army's cavalry school at Fort Riley, Kan.
During World War II, Mr. Carpenter saw service in Greece, Italy, England, France and the China-Burma-India theater, where he was awarded the Silver Star for bold action.
After the war, Mr. Carpenter returned to the University of Texas, graduating in 1948 with a degree in business administration. The same year he married Betty Ann Dupree of Dallas.
Mr. Carpenter was heir to a powerful Dallas family.
His father, John W. Carpenter, who founded Southland Life Insurance Co., was also a force in Lone Star Steel Co. and president of the Dallas Railway and Terminal Co. He was the chairman of Texas Power & Light Co. a predecessor of TXU Corp.
John W. Carpenter Freeway bears his name. The elder Mr. Carpenter passed along to his son not only opportunities, but also his love of ranching and his business drive.
At age 26, Mr. Carpenter was elected to the board of directors of the insurance company. Two years later, he was elected chairman of the company's executive committee. In 1959, upon his father's death, he succeeded John W. Carpenter as chairman of the board.
That was the same year downtown's Southland Center opened (now the Adam's Mark Hotel) as the city's tallest skyscraper, which had been planned by Ben.
Under Ben Carpenter's leadership, Southland Life Insurance more than doubled the dollar amount of insurance policies it had to more than $1 billion by 1959.
Southland Life Insurance later became Southland Financial Corp. The company was liquidated in 1989 after getting caught up in the regional economic crash.
Ben Carpenter's grandest accomplishment, unquestionably, was Las Colinas.
Mr. Carpenter realized in the 1960s that the planned regional airport between Dallas and Fort Worth would transform the sleepy ranch land, so he decided to develop it according to his plans.
In 1973, he unveiled a 20-year blueprint for a 3,500-acre master-planned community of homes, golf courses, shopping centers and skyscrapers.
There were plenty of skeptics.
"It was farm land and a floodplain," miles from downtown, said Frank Schubert, one of Mr. Carpenter's former financial officers. "Ben was a long-term thinker - far beyond most people."
And the development was in the right location at the right time. It soon mushroomed to include more than 12,000 acres and dozens of towers.
By the late 1980s it wasn't uncommon for first-time visitors to Reunion Tower in downtown Dallas often to misidentify the massive Irving project as Fort Worth's skyline.
Mr. Carpenter was a stickler for quality - from the exterior of his Southland Center made of handset Italian mosaics, to the curbs in Las Colinas, which were solid granite blocks.
"None of us can take it with us into immortality, so let's resist the attitude of some real estate developers in the past to squeeze out the very last short-term dollar," Mr. Carpenter said in a 1974 letter to his employees.
His attention to detail usually paid off - the equestrian sculpture he commissioned at the center of Las Colinas became an instant landmark.
"Looking around the country, there are very few like Ben Carpenter who could think so far ahead," said Dallas real estate broker Roger Staubach. "He had a lot of integrity, and he always did things right.
"He'll go down in Dallas history right up there with John Stemmons," Mr. Staubach said.
Frank Miller, chairman of one of the country's largest apartment builders, JPI Cos., got his start working for Mr. Carpenter in 1974.
Mr. Carpenter's cattle ranch roots and desire for a low profile could be misleading, he said.
"He had traveled the world and was in the purest sense a renaissance man," Mr. Miller said. "He was well read and capable of running multiple businesses."
Mr. Carpenter's list of professional honors include everything from accolades from the American Institute of Architects to the Dallas Civic Garden Center's prestigious Flora Award.
And Mr. Carpenter rarely concerned himself with what skeptics thought about his grand plans, Mr. Miller said.
"There are a lot of us who wouldn't be where we are today without people like him," Mr. Miller said. "There is no question he had a big impact in the real estate community.
"Let's just hope some of us continue the legacy guys like him set up."
Irving Mayor Herbert Gears said, "What he did was create the opportunity to have a growing tax base, a large employment center and to take advantage of an international airport with great commercial development. He really laid a lot of opportunities in our lap with his efforts in Las Colinas."
In addition to his wife of 58 years, Mr. Carpenter is survived by his sister, Carolyn Carpenter Williams of Dallas; son John W. Carpenter III of Dallas; daughters, Laura Carpenter of Austin; Elizabeth Carpenter Frater of Dallas; Barbara Carpenter Kendrick of Dallas; Ellen Carpenter Pace of Austin, and nine grandchildren.
Services are pending at Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home.
Staff writer Eric Aasen contributed to this obituary.
By JOE SIMNACHER and STEVE BROWN / DallasNews.com
IRVING, Texas - Ben H. Carpenter, a visionary Dallas businessman who turned his river bottom ranch into one of the country's most successful real estate developments, died Friday at his home.
Mr. Carpenter, 82, built one of downtown Dallas' biggest skyscrapers and ran one of the country's largest insurance firms.
But his Las Colinas development in Irving is his most visible legacy.
What started as the family cattle spread is now home to some of the country's biggest corporations, including Exxon Mobil and Kimberly-Clark. Thousands of people live in Las Colinas' homes and apartments, and the project has become a model worldwide.
The development that in 1974 was estimated to cost $700 million is now valued at more than $5 billion.
"He was so far ahead of his time," said longtime Dallas real estate broker Wayne Swearingen. "He built a tremendous project - it was his ranch and he wanted to do it right."
Mr. Carpenter was also one of the last of a generation of business leaders that helped transform Dallas into an international city.
"Look at the titans in the real estate industry in Dallas - Ben was one of them," said John Scovell, president of Woodbine Development Corp. "He was part of the generation that was critical to this city's growth."
A third-generation Texan, Mr. Carpenter was born in Dallas but spent much of his youth on his family's Hackberry Creek Ranch, which would later become the centerpiece of Las Colinas. His mother called the homestead El Ranchito de las Colinas, the Little Ranch of the Hills.
Mr. Carpenter's days at Hackberry Creek Ranch became a microcosm of his life. He built his first project on what would become Las Colinas when he was just 9 years old: a two-story bunkhouse from surplus scrap iron.
Later he became the ranch's weekend foreman. After graduating from Highland Park High School, Mr. Carpenter went to the University of Texas at Austin where he intended to study law. But he volunteered to join the Army less than a year after enrolling. He became the youngest officer ever commissioned at the U.S. Army's cavalry school at Fort Riley, Kan.
During World War II, Mr. Carpenter saw service in Greece, Italy, England, France and the China-Burma-India theater, where he was awarded the Silver Star for bold action.
After the war, Mr. Carpenter returned to the University of Texas, graduating in 1948 with a degree in business administration. The same year he married Betty Ann Dupree of Dallas.
Mr. Carpenter was heir to a powerful Dallas family.
His father, John W. Carpenter, who founded Southland Life Insurance Co., was also a force in Lone Star Steel Co. and president of the Dallas Railway and Terminal Co. He was the chairman of Texas Power & Light Co. a predecessor of TXU Corp.
John W. Carpenter Freeway bears his name. The elder Mr. Carpenter passed along to his son not only opportunities, but also his love of ranching and his business drive.
At age 26, Mr. Carpenter was elected to the board of directors of the insurance company. Two years later, he was elected chairman of the company's executive committee. In 1959, upon his father's death, he succeeded John W. Carpenter as chairman of the board.
That was the same year downtown's Southland Center opened (now the Adam's Mark Hotel) as the city's tallest skyscraper, which had been planned by Ben.
Under Ben Carpenter's leadership, Southland Life Insurance more than doubled the dollar amount of insurance policies it had to more than $1 billion by 1959.
Southland Life Insurance later became Southland Financial Corp. The company was liquidated in 1989 after getting caught up in the regional economic crash.
Ben Carpenter's grandest accomplishment, unquestionably, was Las Colinas.
Mr. Carpenter realized in the 1960s that the planned regional airport between Dallas and Fort Worth would transform the sleepy ranch land, so he decided to develop it according to his plans.
In 1973, he unveiled a 20-year blueprint for a 3,500-acre master-planned community of homes, golf courses, shopping centers and skyscrapers.
There were plenty of skeptics.
"It was farm land and a floodplain," miles from downtown, said Frank Schubert, one of Mr. Carpenter's former financial officers. "Ben was a long-term thinker - far beyond most people."
And the development was in the right location at the right time. It soon mushroomed to include more than 12,000 acres and dozens of towers.
By the late 1980s it wasn't uncommon for first-time visitors to Reunion Tower in downtown Dallas often to misidentify the massive Irving project as Fort Worth's skyline.
Mr. Carpenter was a stickler for quality - from the exterior of his Southland Center made of handset Italian mosaics, to the curbs in Las Colinas, which were solid granite blocks.
"None of us can take it with us into immortality, so let's resist the attitude of some real estate developers in the past to squeeze out the very last short-term dollar," Mr. Carpenter said in a 1974 letter to his employees.
His attention to detail usually paid off - the equestrian sculpture he commissioned at the center of Las Colinas became an instant landmark.
"Looking around the country, there are very few like Ben Carpenter who could think so far ahead," said Dallas real estate broker Roger Staubach. "He had a lot of integrity, and he always did things right.
"He'll go down in Dallas history right up there with John Stemmons," Mr. Staubach said.
Frank Miller, chairman of one of the country's largest apartment builders, JPI Cos., got his start working for Mr. Carpenter in 1974.
Mr. Carpenter's cattle ranch roots and desire for a low profile could be misleading, he said.
"He had traveled the world and was in the purest sense a renaissance man," Mr. Miller said. "He was well read and capable of running multiple businesses."
Mr. Carpenter's list of professional honors include everything from accolades from the American Institute of Architects to the Dallas Civic Garden Center's prestigious Flora Award.
And Mr. Carpenter rarely concerned himself with what skeptics thought about his grand plans, Mr. Miller said.
"There are a lot of us who wouldn't be where we are today without people like him," Mr. Miller said. "There is no question he had a big impact in the real estate community.
"Let's just hope some of us continue the legacy guys like him set up."
Irving Mayor Herbert Gears said, "What he did was create the opportunity to have a growing tax base, a large employment center and to take advantage of an international airport with great commercial development. He really laid a lot of opportunities in our lap with his efforts in Las Colinas."
In addition to his wife of 58 years, Mr. Carpenter is survived by his sister, Carolyn Carpenter Williams of Dallas; son John W. Carpenter III of Dallas; daughters, Laura Carpenter of Austin; Elizabeth Carpenter Frater of Dallas; Barbara Carpenter Kendrick of Dallas; Ellen Carpenter Pace of Austin, and nine grandchildren.
Services are pending at Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home.
Staff writer Eric Aasen contributed to this obituary.
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Irving woman pleads guilty to harboring illegal immigrants
South Koreans worked as indentured prostitutes in massage parlors
By TIM WYATT / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - A 38-year-old Irving woman pleaded guilty Friday to harboring illegal immigrants from South Korea to work as indentured prostitutes in three massage parlors she ran in Dallas.
During a half-hour hearing in federal court, Mi Na Malcolm admitted to three criminal counts associated with paying smugglers to sneak the women into the U.S. through overseas "recruiters," then forcing them to work long hours to pay off the debts by working as prostitutes.
Ms. Malcolm pleaded guilty to conspiring to harboring illegal aliens for prostitution, profiting from their work, and attempting to mail $60,000 in bulk cash back to South Korea.
She faces up to 10 years in prison during her sentencing hearing in May.
Ms. Malcolm owned three spas in northwest Dallas that were raided in August by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, along with the FBI and Dallas police.
Her federal indictment detailed how the women in her spas – Ruby's Spa, Venetian Body Works and Palm Tree Relaxation – had their passports taken until they worked off their smuggling debts. The women were also charged room and board, and for condoms and lubricants.
While prosecutors did not say how many women worked in the spas, court records state that the women were watched closely at home and at work on video surveillance cameras, and were not free to leave until they paid off Ms. Malcolm.
As part of her plea agreement with federal authorities, Ms. Malcolm opted not to oppose forfeiting more than $200,000 in cash, a 2006 BMW and a 2004 Lexus that were seized in August raids.
South Koreans worked as indentured prostitutes in massage parlors
By TIM WYATT / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - A 38-year-old Irving woman pleaded guilty Friday to harboring illegal immigrants from South Korea to work as indentured prostitutes in three massage parlors she ran in Dallas.
During a half-hour hearing in federal court, Mi Na Malcolm admitted to three criminal counts associated with paying smugglers to sneak the women into the U.S. through overseas "recruiters," then forcing them to work long hours to pay off the debts by working as prostitutes.
Ms. Malcolm pleaded guilty to conspiring to harboring illegal aliens for prostitution, profiting from their work, and attempting to mail $60,000 in bulk cash back to South Korea.
She faces up to 10 years in prison during her sentencing hearing in May.
Ms. Malcolm owned three spas in northwest Dallas that were raided in August by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, along with the FBI and Dallas police.
Her federal indictment detailed how the women in her spas – Ruby's Spa, Venetian Body Works and Palm Tree Relaxation – had their passports taken until they worked off their smuggling debts. The women were also charged room and board, and for condoms and lubricants.
While prosecutors did not say how many women worked in the spas, court records state that the women were watched closely at home and at work on video surveillance cameras, and were not free to leave until they paid off Ms. Malcolm.
As part of her plea agreement with federal authorities, Ms. Malcolm opted not to oppose forfeiting more than $200,000 in cash, a 2006 BMW and a 2004 Lexus that were seized in August raids.
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Illegal gambling dens found in Dallas
By BRETT SHIPP / News 8 Investigates (WFAA ABC 8)
DALLAS, Texas - A News 8 investigation of illegal casinos operating in nearby Hunt County has spawned not only outrage—but tips on where we can find more casinos.
Despite an aggressive approach by local law enforcement agencies, small casinos are operating all over Dallas County.
Our undercover investigation at illegal casinos in Hunt County was made easy by a near-total lack of police presence.
The casinos are wide open; just walk inside and play.
Casinos are also operating inside the Dallas city limits, but they are cleverly disguised.
At first glance, a storefront off Bruton Road in Pleasant Grove appears to be closed for business.
Gamblers enter by ringing a doorbell; they are screened by a hidden video camera.
When we tried to get inside to play, we were turned away. The person who greeted us denied there was gambling going on.
Gamblers told us about another casino just a few blocks away.
We never would have known it was there; all signs point to any empty office space.
Only up close did we notice the tell tale signs: a doorbell and a video camera.
At a nondescript office building, we found the parking lot was full, even though a peek through the window showed no apparent activity inside.
Moments after we left, we videotaped patrons scrambling to their cars to leave.
The main reason these operations have gone so far underground is the Dallas County District Attorney's gaming task force. More than 3,600 illegal video gambling machines have been confiscated since 2001.
"If that type of activity is going on in Dallas County and we become aware of it, we send in undercover investigators with the municipality that requests our assistance," said Assistant District Attorney Tim Gallagher.
There's a Dallas Police Department storefront on the other side of the parking lot where we found the suspected gambling operation in the office building. But officers there told News 8 they were unaware of any illegal activity.
These gaming operations are deliberately hidden from view, difficult to detect, and they cater to those who can least afford it.
"I don't have too much to lose," one gambler told us.
By BRETT SHIPP / News 8 Investigates (WFAA ABC 8)
DALLAS, Texas - A News 8 investigation of illegal casinos operating in nearby Hunt County has spawned not only outrage—but tips on where we can find more casinos.
Despite an aggressive approach by local law enforcement agencies, small casinos are operating all over Dallas County.
Our undercover investigation at illegal casinos in Hunt County was made easy by a near-total lack of police presence.
The casinos are wide open; just walk inside and play.
Casinos are also operating inside the Dallas city limits, but they are cleverly disguised.
At first glance, a storefront off Bruton Road in Pleasant Grove appears to be closed for business.
Gamblers enter by ringing a doorbell; they are screened by a hidden video camera.
When we tried to get inside to play, we were turned away. The person who greeted us denied there was gambling going on.
Gamblers told us about another casino just a few blocks away.
We never would have known it was there; all signs point to any empty office space.
Only up close did we notice the tell tale signs: a doorbell and a video camera.
At a nondescript office building, we found the parking lot was full, even though a peek through the window showed no apparent activity inside.
Moments after we left, we videotaped patrons scrambling to their cars to leave.
The main reason these operations have gone so far underground is the Dallas County District Attorney's gaming task force. More than 3,600 illegal video gambling machines have been confiscated since 2001.
"If that type of activity is going on in Dallas County and we become aware of it, we send in undercover investigators with the municipality that requests our assistance," said Assistant District Attorney Tim Gallagher.
There's a Dallas Police Department storefront on the other side of the parking lot where we found the suspected gambling operation in the office building. But officers there told News 8 they were unaware of any illegal activity.
These gaming operations are deliberately hidden from view, difficult to detect, and they cater to those who can least afford it.
"I don't have too much to lose," one gambler told us.
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TexasStooge
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Teacher buys beer for students
By DAN RONAN / WFAA ABC 8
ITALY, Texas — An Italy High School teacher admits he purchased a 12-pack of beer for a group of students heading home from an agricultural competition in Houston.
Scott Reed, an agriculture science instructor, was driving a clearly-marked school district vehicle when—according to witnesses—he made the beer stop in Corsicana.
He now faces charges of public intoxication and four counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor. Reed has resigned his position at the school, 45 miles south of Dallas in southwest Ellis County.
Reed, 28, said he and three students split a dozen beers following the brief stop at a convenience store. A fourth student in the vehicle elected not to participate.
"The teacher, in a celebration, decided to stop and purchase the alcohol and have a celebration," said Italy police Chief Shana Miller. "It's totally inappropriate—had it been a teacher or a parent."
Someone saw Reed get into the SUV with the alcoholic beverages and word spread quickly among school district and Milford police officials, who called their conterparts in Italy.
"They were consuming the alcohol on the way back," Chief Miller said.
Police arrived at the Italy High School campus minutes after Reed and the students returned. An officer said Reed and three of the students appeared to intoxicated, but the beer bottles were gone.
"They had thrown them out after they consumed them, on the way home," Chief Miller said.
Reed is now is out of a job, facing felony charges and big legal problems. His teaching certificate is in jeopardy.
The three students who allegedly drank with Reed will be placed in an alternative school.
"Those assignments are generally for 30 days," Italy ISD Superintendent Gail Haterius said.
Reed was described as a model teacher, well-liked and respected. "We're very sorry this lapse of judgment occurred," Haterius said. "We expect more out of our employees at all times. We expect a different level of professionalism, and the adults to be the adults."
Italy ISD is looking for a new academic advisor for the high school's agriculture department, and it plans to keep competing in these type of events.
Haterius said when she last talked with Scott Reed, he apologized... and resigned.
Italy High School has an enrollment of 300 students. Its FFA chapter was chartered in 1930.
By DAN RONAN / WFAA ABC 8
ITALY, Texas — An Italy High School teacher admits he purchased a 12-pack of beer for a group of students heading home from an agricultural competition in Houston.
Scott Reed, an agriculture science instructor, was driving a clearly-marked school district vehicle when—according to witnesses—he made the beer stop in Corsicana.
He now faces charges of public intoxication and four counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor. Reed has resigned his position at the school, 45 miles south of Dallas in southwest Ellis County.
Reed, 28, said he and three students split a dozen beers following the brief stop at a convenience store. A fourth student in the vehicle elected not to participate.
"The teacher, in a celebration, decided to stop and purchase the alcohol and have a celebration," said Italy police Chief Shana Miller. "It's totally inappropriate—had it been a teacher or a parent."
Someone saw Reed get into the SUV with the alcoholic beverages and word spread quickly among school district and Milford police officials, who called their conterparts in Italy.
"They were consuming the alcohol on the way back," Chief Miller said.
Police arrived at the Italy High School campus minutes after Reed and the students returned. An officer said Reed and three of the students appeared to intoxicated, but the beer bottles were gone.
"They had thrown them out after they consumed them, on the way home," Chief Miller said.
Reed is now is out of a job, facing felony charges and big legal problems. His teaching certificate is in jeopardy.
The three students who allegedly drank with Reed will be placed in an alternative school.
"Those assignments are generally for 30 days," Italy ISD Superintendent Gail Haterius said.
Reed was described as a model teacher, well-liked and respected. "We're very sorry this lapse of judgment occurred," Haterius said. "We expect more out of our employees at all times. We expect a different level of professionalism, and the adults to be the adults."
Italy ISD is looking for a new academic advisor for the high school's agriculture department, and it plans to keep competing in these type of events.
Haterius said when she last talked with Scott Reed, he apologized... and resigned.
Italy High School has an enrollment of 300 students. Its FFA chapter was chartered in 1930.
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TexasStooge
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- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
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Buyer beware: Crime at Dallas malls
By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - It happened more than 1,300 times last year: Someone became a victim of a crime at a Dallas shopping center.
"I know the jewelry store next to the one where I work has gotten robbed twice," said Kacthriaha Manning, a retail employee at Southwest Center Mall.
People seem unaware crimes may be happening around them. News 8 undercover cameras found many children roaming around at malls alone after school.
One little girl was unsupervised with her purse dangling; police say that is an invitation for a thief or robber.
On our trips to the malls, we did spot some security officers inside—but didn't see many patrolling outside.
"I have been standing here for 30 minutes and I have not seen anybody driving around in those carts," said Dallas resident Jerry High.
Shopper Rick Parish went shopping one day recently. When he returned to the parking lot to get his car, he couldn't find it.
It had been stolen.
"I was shocked," he said. "There was nothing I could do except call the insurance company and let them know."
Last year, 360 cars were stolen or broken into at area shopping centers. "Feels like I've been victimized," Parish said. "I don't come out here that often any more."
But car thefts aren't the only crimes at malls. There were also dozens of aggravated assaults, robberies, and even a sexual assault.
Southwest Center employee Manning was surprised by the numbers. "It makes me nervous now," she said. "I think they should let ... the people who work here know, at least."
In 2005, Dallas police said 200 crimes were reported at North Park Center, 300 at Galleria Dallas and 314 at Southwest Center.
But with 559 reported crimes, Valley View Center led the list by a wide margin.
Police reports obtained by News 8 graphically describe some of the more violent crimes:
• NorthPark: a woman and her friend were robbed in the parking lot at gunpoint. The victim told police, "He pointed a gun and stated, 'Give me your purses.'"
• Valley View: Someone fired eight rounds in the parking lot, hitting a car.
• Southwest Center: A man was threatened and robbed. "Give me all your money or I'll kill you," the suspect was quoted as saying.
It doesn't matter whether people shop in North or South Dallas malls; the statistics indicate the chances of becoming a crime victim at a mall are about the same.
"Crime in North Dallas is as high as and as bad as Oak CLiff," Jerry High said. "Oak Cliff gets a bad rap, but you go up to North Dallas and you will be ripped off just as quick."
The malls are responsible for security because it is considered private property. Dallas police will provide extra patrols during the holiday season, but the rest of the time it's up to the shopping centers.
By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - It happened more than 1,300 times last year: Someone became a victim of a crime at a Dallas shopping center.
"I know the jewelry store next to the one where I work has gotten robbed twice," said Kacthriaha Manning, a retail employee at Southwest Center Mall.
People seem unaware crimes may be happening around them. News 8 undercover cameras found many children roaming around at malls alone after school.
One little girl was unsupervised with her purse dangling; police say that is an invitation for a thief or robber.
On our trips to the malls, we did spot some security officers inside—but didn't see many patrolling outside.
"I have been standing here for 30 minutes and I have not seen anybody driving around in those carts," said Dallas resident Jerry High.
Shopper Rick Parish went shopping one day recently. When he returned to the parking lot to get his car, he couldn't find it.
It had been stolen.
"I was shocked," he said. "There was nothing I could do except call the insurance company and let them know."
Last year, 360 cars were stolen or broken into at area shopping centers. "Feels like I've been victimized," Parish said. "I don't come out here that often any more."
But car thefts aren't the only crimes at malls. There were also dozens of aggravated assaults, robberies, and even a sexual assault.
Southwest Center employee Manning was surprised by the numbers. "It makes me nervous now," she said. "I think they should let ... the people who work here know, at least."
In 2005, Dallas police said 200 crimes were reported at North Park Center, 300 at Galleria Dallas and 314 at Southwest Center.
But with 559 reported crimes, Valley View Center led the list by a wide margin.
Police reports obtained by News 8 graphically describe some of the more violent crimes:
• NorthPark: a woman and her friend were robbed in the parking lot at gunpoint. The victim told police, "He pointed a gun and stated, 'Give me your purses.'"
• Valley View: Someone fired eight rounds in the parking lot, hitting a car.
• Southwest Center: A man was threatened and robbed. "Give me all your money or I'll kill you," the suspect was quoted as saying.
It doesn't matter whether people shop in North or South Dallas malls; the statistics indicate the chances of becoming a crime victim at a mall are about the same.
"Crime in North Dallas is as high as and as bad as Oak CLiff," Jerry High said. "Oak Cliff gets a bad rap, but you go up to North Dallas and you will be ripped off just as quick."
The malls are responsible for security because it is considered private property. Dallas police will provide extra patrols during the holiday season, but the rest of the time it's up to the shopping centers.
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TexasStooge
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- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
House of Blues deal set for downtown
MUSIC: White Swan building will become live-music venue
By EMILY RAMSHAW and MIKE DANIEL / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Downtown Dallas will soon be singing the blues.
Representatives from developer Hillwood Capital said Friday they have finalized a deal with the House of Blues to open a live-music venue on the edge of downtown.
The location? The historic White Swan building, at the crossroads of the West End and the Victory development.
"We have made a deal, and we're working through some of the final details," said Jonas Woods, president of Hillwood Capital. "We want them open ASAP."
House of Blues representatives declined to reveal specifics of the deal, which they described as "not quite finalized." They first considered opening in Dallas in 2000, but those plans didn't materialize.
Said Jack Gannon, senior vice president of marketing: "We're very excited about the Dallas market. The addition of a club is very attractive to us."
House of Blues already promotes concerts at Smirnoff Music Centre.
Mr. Woods confirmed that House of Blues will be leasing the building on North Lamar Street and hopes to open its doors by late this year or early next year. The White Swan building is owned by Hillwood Development in partnership with Tomlinson-Leis Corp.
The deal came Friday afternoon after a closed-door meeting at City Hall, where House of Blues officials quizzed city planners and put the finishing touches on their plan. Dallas director of development Theresa O'Donnell said the city has agreed to make some infrastructure changes, such as moving some curbs on North Lamar Street for easy tour-bus entry, to accommodate House of Blues' needs.
"We are incredibly excited about being one of only two locations in Texas to bring this type of stellar, national-caliber entertainment venue," Ms. O'Donnell said. "We think it's a tremendous catalyst to re-energize the West End." House of Blues plans to open in Houston in 2007.
City officials aren't the only ones welcoming the House of Blues to Dallas. Mike Schoder, owner of the Granada Theater on Greenville Avenue, takes an optimistic, capitalist view on a House of Blues in Dallas: Any competition is good.
"It's like fast-food restaurants, really: Put five or six of them together in one place, and all of them usually do good," he said. "Dallas doesn't have a lot of promoters, comparatively speaking, especially compared to places like Houston and Austin, so figuring out how to get people interested in the idea of going to see music will be key. And House of Blues is good at that.
"House of Blues has the financial backing to take chances with artists, such as ones that demand a sellout, that demand that you promote the show to make it sell out. It has the tools to wrap around that to make that happen through a lot of advertising, a lot of promotional techniques."
David Card, owner of Poor David's Pub on Lamar Street just south of downtown, was a bit more skeptical for the same reasons. Another big live-music player could threaten his and other locally owned venues.
"A venue of that stature and reputation will certainly ... put Dallas a little more on the map for relevant acts," he said. "It will help downtown. Will it help everyone downtown? Probably not. Will it put another nail in the coffin for Deep Ellum? Very possibly."
MUSIC: White Swan building will become live-music venue
By EMILY RAMSHAW and MIKE DANIEL / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Downtown Dallas will soon be singing the blues.
Representatives from developer Hillwood Capital said Friday they have finalized a deal with the House of Blues to open a live-music venue on the edge of downtown.
The location? The historic White Swan building, at the crossroads of the West End and the Victory development.
"We have made a deal, and we're working through some of the final details," said Jonas Woods, president of Hillwood Capital. "We want them open ASAP."
House of Blues representatives declined to reveal specifics of the deal, which they described as "not quite finalized." They first considered opening in Dallas in 2000, but those plans didn't materialize.
Said Jack Gannon, senior vice president of marketing: "We're very excited about the Dallas market. The addition of a club is very attractive to us."
House of Blues already promotes concerts at Smirnoff Music Centre.
Mr. Woods confirmed that House of Blues will be leasing the building on North Lamar Street and hopes to open its doors by late this year or early next year. The White Swan building is owned by Hillwood Development in partnership with Tomlinson-Leis Corp.
The deal came Friday afternoon after a closed-door meeting at City Hall, where House of Blues officials quizzed city planners and put the finishing touches on their plan. Dallas director of development Theresa O'Donnell said the city has agreed to make some infrastructure changes, such as moving some curbs on North Lamar Street for easy tour-bus entry, to accommodate House of Blues' needs.
"We are incredibly excited about being one of only two locations in Texas to bring this type of stellar, national-caliber entertainment venue," Ms. O'Donnell said. "We think it's a tremendous catalyst to re-energize the West End." House of Blues plans to open in Houston in 2007.
City officials aren't the only ones welcoming the House of Blues to Dallas. Mike Schoder, owner of the Granada Theater on Greenville Avenue, takes an optimistic, capitalist view on a House of Blues in Dallas: Any competition is good.
"It's like fast-food restaurants, really: Put five or six of them together in one place, and all of them usually do good," he said. "Dallas doesn't have a lot of promoters, comparatively speaking, especially compared to places like Houston and Austin, so figuring out how to get people interested in the idea of going to see music will be key. And House of Blues is good at that.
"House of Blues has the financial backing to take chances with artists, such as ones that demand a sellout, that demand that you promote the show to make it sell out. It has the tools to wrap around that to make that happen through a lot of advertising, a lot of promotional techniques."
David Card, owner of Poor David's Pub on Lamar Street just south of downtown, was a bit more skeptical for the same reasons. Another big live-music player could threaten his and other locally owned venues.
"A venue of that stature and reputation will certainly ... put Dallas a little more on the map for relevant acts," he said. "It will help downtown. Will it help everyone downtown? Probably not. Will it put another nail in the coffin for Deep Ellum? Very possibly."
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TexasStooge
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Elephant programs fight for space, survival
As standards for care rise, so do calls to shut down facilities
By DIANE JENNINGS / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Jenny and Keke, two 30-something females, share a two-bedroom house with a 5,000-square-foot yard and a small pool. The digs were considered spacious, even elegant, when they opened in 1959. But today, the elephant house at the Dallas Zoo appears cramped and barren.
Officials hope to build a bigger, more attractive one soon. They'll have to if they want to retain accreditation by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association – not to mention Jenny and Keke.
The growing recognition that these large, majestic – and intelligent – animals require more space and improved living conditions led to new zoo standards that take effect in May. The new rules, which govern everything from yard, stall and herd sizes to exercise regimens, are forcing zoos across the nation to decide whether to expand or close their elephant exhibits.
"Keke may be the last elephant the Dallas Zoo receives unless we move ahead as a community ... to build a new elephant habitat," said Chuck Siegel, deputy director for animal management.
About half of the accredited zoos that house elephants are committed to costly expansions. But San Francisco, Detroit and a handful of other zoos have made the wrenching decision to slam shut the elephant barn door. And as many as 15 more zoos are likely to close their elephant exhibits in the next few years, one expert predicts.
But some animal rights activists say even the better guidelines aren't good enough – that it's cruel to keep any elephant in captivity. They've pushed the debate into the public arena in some cities by staging often emotionally charged protests and bombarding politicians and newspapers with letters.
Zoos' reaction
In December, a dozen people picketed the Fort Worth Zoo to protest its breeding program, some wearing elephant noses and carrying signs that read, "A life in captivity is no life at all." The zoo – which already exceeds the new standards – boasts one of the largest herds in the country: seven elephants, including a young bull on loan from a circus for breeding.
Michael Fouraker, the zoo's executive director and head of the International Elephant Foundation, vowed not to be cowed by the activists.
"We are not reactive to this," he said. "We've been pushing elephant conservation and our commitment to elephants long before this became an issue. ... We've just stuck by our guns."
So far, activists have not targeted the Dallas Zoo, which is eyeing expansion pending a public commitment for millions of dollars for the elephant house and other large mammal exhibits.
Specific plans for the proposed Dallas exhibit are on hold with zoo director Rich Buickerood leaving his post this summer; a new executive may have different ideas. But the idea is to locate a new elephant house on as much as 3 acres next to the Wilds of Africa exhibit. The space, currently used for maintenance equipment and classrooms, offers a more natural terrain.
The potential cost: between $5 million and $7 million.
Money for zoo renovations is expected to be included in bond proposals that could come before the voters in November, said Paul Dyer, director of Parks and Recreation. The City Council is debating what to include and how much to ask for, but Mr. Dyer said he hopes for at least $19 million for zoo renovations.
Mr. Buickerood predicts the bond issue will pass.
"The only issue for us is when are we going to be able to move them out of an exhibit that we don't like, to an exhibit we do like," he said. "We've housed elephants here 80 years or more, and we want to continue to do it."
Calls for change
Animal rights activists are vowing to continue their campaign. Suzanne Roy, program director for In Defense of Animals, a California group leading the charge for elephant-free zoos, calls the new standards "woefully inadequate."
Ms. Roy and others say elephants, which weigh several tons and stand about 11 feet tall, can't thrive in traditional zoos, particularly in cold climates where they're inside much of the year. They say the animals need more room to roam and more elephantine company. And they claim that captive elephants suffer from psychological and physical problems – particularly foot and joint diseases – that wild elephants don't.
The only standards In Defense of Animals would approve is "a situation that allows elephants to live similarly to how they live in the wild," Ms. Roy said.
Mike Keele, deputy director of the Oregon Zoo in Portland and chairman of the zoo association's elephant species survival plan, said animal activists may be well intentioned but their agenda is to close zoos.
"We're basically at odds, totally in disagreement" about what's best for elephants, he said.
A public outcry erupted in San Francisco in 2004 after the deaths of two elephants, Maybelle and Calle. Maybelle died from heart failure at 43; Calle, 37, was euthanized after being weakened by a joint disease.
Emotions ran high particularly after a farewell vigil for Calle organized by the zoo before she was to be euthanized. During the vigil, Calle was knocked down by another elephant, Tinkerbelle, and had trouble getting up. Zoo officials blamed protesters for agitating the elephants.
Activists pressured the city to move Tinkerbelle and Lulu, the other remaining elephant, to an elephant sanctuary. City officials did just that, and then enacted an ordinance requiring elephant exhibits to consist of 15 acres – a huge site most zoos cannot provide.
Mr. Keele said the "attack" on zoos like San Francisco "feels like terrorism."
"It hurts me to see some of the actions some of the animal rights folks have made in San Francisco," he said. "I know how much those [zoo] people love the animals there."
He and other zoo professionals argue that larger exhibits, supplemented with "enrichment" programs, meet the animals' biological and psychological needs.
Elephants, for instance, walk many miles in the wild to find food but not unless they have to. With adequate food, they're content to stay put, officials say, and exercise programs can keep them in shape.
Similarly, the social needs of elephants can be met by keeping them in groups, and their intellectual requirements can be satisfied with toys and activities.
In extreme cases, however, contentment requires medication.
Jenny, the Dallas Zoo's 31-year-old female African elephant, has a reputation as a difficult animal. After Jenny displayed aggressive behavior toward other elephants and her keepers, she was placed on a "behavior modification" drug for several years to lower her stress level.
"We don't like to use drugs on any animals," Mr. Buickerood said, but when necessary "we wind up using drugs on them just like we do on humans."
Jenny has since been weaned from the drug and is doing well, officials say.
Zoos also use drugs to help animals cope with foot and joint problems that may be caused by standing on unyielding manmade surfaces. Zoo professionals stress they do everything they can to alleviate the problem. In Los Angeles, for instance, a special boot was made to help Gita, 47, recover from toe surgery.
"Take notice that it is the zoos that identified the problem with zoo elephants," said Mr. Fouraker of Fort Worth. "And all of the ammunition being thrown back at us is stuff that we recognized and generated early on – even down to the foot problem.
But even some zoo professionals say zoos cannot care for elephants properly. In 2004, the Detroit Zoological Institute decided to send its two elephants, Wanda and Winky, to a California sanctuary.
The pair's 1-acre elephant exhibit had been remodeled a few years before and even exceeded the new standards. And zoo officials spent months studying a new master plan that included additional expansion of the elephant exhibit, making it four or five times larger.
But after consulting with experts, zoo officials announced, "We no longer think we can provide the necessary social and physical environment for elephants." Wanda and Winky needed a minimum of "10-20 acres in a warm climate with a number of other elephants," officials concluded, noting that zoo environments generally cost $2 million to $4 million per acre.
Ron Kagan, the executive director of the Detroit zoo and a former official at the Dallas Zoo, declined an interview.
For most zoo professionals, however, banning elephants is not the solution. Expanding elephant exhibits and creating breeding programs, zoo officials argue, is essential to ensuring their survival in the wild, where elephants face a continuing loss of habitat. Captive elephants are "ambassador animals," they say, inspiring people to care about an animal few will ever see in the wild.
The contention of activists that wild elephants lead "joyous lives," as Ms. Roy puts it, annoys Mr. Fouraker. "What is natural behavior?" he asked, suggesting that a zoo could simulate life in the wild by increasing the animal's parasite load, pairing them with predators, and making them "compete with farmers for their crops ... and shoot them when they raid their villages.
"There's a lot of things we improve their lives over what they're having to deal with in the wild," he said.
The Fort Worth Zoo has a relatively spacious elephant exhibit – nearly 4 acres with a 3,200-square-foot pool. It is one of the few zoos in the country to boast a homegrown elephant – 7-year-old Bluebonnet.
Improving elephant breeding techniques will be critical to the future of zoo exhibits, as older animals die and importation becomes increasingly difficult. If zoos don't replenish exhibits through breeding programs, only about 50 female Asian elephants may survive in American zoos by mid-century, said Dr. Bob Wiese of Fort Worth.
Zoo professionals and the activists agree on one thing: By that time, zoos will have evolved substantially.
"Standards are going to continue to rise as we learn more," said Mark Reed, executive director of the Sedgwick County Zoo in Kansas, who heads the zoo association's Elephant Task Force. "It's our moral and ethical obligation to meet all those."
As standards for care rise, so do calls to shut down facilities
By DIANE JENNINGS / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Jenny and Keke, two 30-something females, share a two-bedroom house with a 5,000-square-foot yard and a small pool. The digs were considered spacious, even elegant, when they opened in 1959. But today, the elephant house at the Dallas Zoo appears cramped and barren.
Officials hope to build a bigger, more attractive one soon. They'll have to if they want to retain accreditation by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association – not to mention Jenny and Keke.
The growing recognition that these large, majestic – and intelligent – animals require more space and improved living conditions led to new zoo standards that take effect in May. The new rules, which govern everything from yard, stall and herd sizes to exercise regimens, are forcing zoos across the nation to decide whether to expand or close their elephant exhibits.
"Keke may be the last elephant the Dallas Zoo receives unless we move ahead as a community ... to build a new elephant habitat," said Chuck Siegel, deputy director for animal management.
About half of the accredited zoos that house elephants are committed to costly expansions. But San Francisco, Detroit and a handful of other zoos have made the wrenching decision to slam shut the elephant barn door. And as many as 15 more zoos are likely to close their elephant exhibits in the next few years, one expert predicts.
But some animal rights activists say even the better guidelines aren't good enough – that it's cruel to keep any elephant in captivity. They've pushed the debate into the public arena in some cities by staging often emotionally charged protests and bombarding politicians and newspapers with letters.
Zoos' reaction
In December, a dozen people picketed the Fort Worth Zoo to protest its breeding program, some wearing elephant noses and carrying signs that read, "A life in captivity is no life at all." The zoo – which already exceeds the new standards – boasts one of the largest herds in the country: seven elephants, including a young bull on loan from a circus for breeding.
Michael Fouraker, the zoo's executive director and head of the International Elephant Foundation, vowed not to be cowed by the activists.
"We are not reactive to this," he said. "We've been pushing elephant conservation and our commitment to elephants long before this became an issue. ... We've just stuck by our guns."
So far, activists have not targeted the Dallas Zoo, which is eyeing expansion pending a public commitment for millions of dollars for the elephant house and other large mammal exhibits.
Specific plans for the proposed Dallas exhibit are on hold with zoo director Rich Buickerood leaving his post this summer; a new executive may have different ideas. But the idea is to locate a new elephant house on as much as 3 acres next to the Wilds of Africa exhibit. The space, currently used for maintenance equipment and classrooms, offers a more natural terrain.
The potential cost: between $5 million and $7 million.
Money for zoo renovations is expected to be included in bond proposals that could come before the voters in November, said Paul Dyer, director of Parks and Recreation. The City Council is debating what to include and how much to ask for, but Mr. Dyer said he hopes for at least $19 million for zoo renovations.
Mr. Buickerood predicts the bond issue will pass.
"The only issue for us is when are we going to be able to move them out of an exhibit that we don't like, to an exhibit we do like," he said. "We've housed elephants here 80 years or more, and we want to continue to do it."
Calls for change
Animal rights activists are vowing to continue their campaign. Suzanne Roy, program director for In Defense of Animals, a California group leading the charge for elephant-free zoos, calls the new standards "woefully inadequate."
Ms. Roy and others say elephants, which weigh several tons and stand about 11 feet tall, can't thrive in traditional zoos, particularly in cold climates where they're inside much of the year. They say the animals need more room to roam and more elephantine company. And they claim that captive elephants suffer from psychological and physical problems – particularly foot and joint diseases – that wild elephants don't.
The only standards In Defense of Animals would approve is "a situation that allows elephants to live similarly to how they live in the wild," Ms. Roy said.
Mike Keele, deputy director of the Oregon Zoo in Portland and chairman of the zoo association's elephant species survival plan, said animal activists may be well intentioned but their agenda is to close zoos.
"We're basically at odds, totally in disagreement" about what's best for elephants, he said.
A public outcry erupted in San Francisco in 2004 after the deaths of two elephants, Maybelle and Calle. Maybelle died from heart failure at 43; Calle, 37, was euthanized after being weakened by a joint disease.
Emotions ran high particularly after a farewell vigil for Calle organized by the zoo before she was to be euthanized. During the vigil, Calle was knocked down by another elephant, Tinkerbelle, and had trouble getting up. Zoo officials blamed protesters for agitating the elephants.
Activists pressured the city to move Tinkerbelle and Lulu, the other remaining elephant, to an elephant sanctuary. City officials did just that, and then enacted an ordinance requiring elephant exhibits to consist of 15 acres – a huge site most zoos cannot provide.
Mr. Keele said the "attack" on zoos like San Francisco "feels like terrorism."
"It hurts me to see some of the actions some of the animal rights folks have made in San Francisco," he said. "I know how much those [zoo] people love the animals there."
He and other zoo professionals argue that larger exhibits, supplemented with "enrichment" programs, meet the animals' biological and psychological needs.
Elephants, for instance, walk many miles in the wild to find food but not unless they have to. With adequate food, they're content to stay put, officials say, and exercise programs can keep them in shape.
Similarly, the social needs of elephants can be met by keeping them in groups, and their intellectual requirements can be satisfied with toys and activities.
In extreme cases, however, contentment requires medication.
Jenny, the Dallas Zoo's 31-year-old female African elephant, has a reputation as a difficult animal. After Jenny displayed aggressive behavior toward other elephants and her keepers, she was placed on a "behavior modification" drug for several years to lower her stress level.
"We don't like to use drugs on any animals," Mr. Buickerood said, but when necessary "we wind up using drugs on them just like we do on humans."
Jenny has since been weaned from the drug and is doing well, officials say.
Zoos also use drugs to help animals cope with foot and joint problems that may be caused by standing on unyielding manmade surfaces. Zoo professionals stress they do everything they can to alleviate the problem. In Los Angeles, for instance, a special boot was made to help Gita, 47, recover from toe surgery.
"Take notice that it is the zoos that identified the problem with zoo elephants," said Mr. Fouraker of Fort Worth. "And all of the ammunition being thrown back at us is stuff that we recognized and generated early on – even down to the foot problem.
But even some zoo professionals say zoos cannot care for elephants properly. In 2004, the Detroit Zoological Institute decided to send its two elephants, Wanda and Winky, to a California sanctuary.
The pair's 1-acre elephant exhibit had been remodeled a few years before and even exceeded the new standards. And zoo officials spent months studying a new master plan that included additional expansion of the elephant exhibit, making it four or five times larger.
But after consulting with experts, zoo officials announced, "We no longer think we can provide the necessary social and physical environment for elephants." Wanda and Winky needed a minimum of "10-20 acres in a warm climate with a number of other elephants," officials concluded, noting that zoo environments generally cost $2 million to $4 million per acre.
Ron Kagan, the executive director of the Detroit zoo and a former official at the Dallas Zoo, declined an interview.
For most zoo professionals, however, banning elephants is not the solution. Expanding elephant exhibits and creating breeding programs, zoo officials argue, is essential to ensuring their survival in the wild, where elephants face a continuing loss of habitat. Captive elephants are "ambassador animals," they say, inspiring people to care about an animal few will ever see in the wild.
The contention of activists that wild elephants lead "joyous lives," as Ms. Roy puts it, annoys Mr. Fouraker. "What is natural behavior?" he asked, suggesting that a zoo could simulate life in the wild by increasing the animal's parasite load, pairing them with predators, and making them "compete with farmers for their crops ... and shoot them when they raid their villages.
"There's a lot of things we improve their lives over what they're having to deal with in the wild," he said.
The Fort Worth Zoo has a relatively spacious elephant exhibit – nearly 4 acres with a 3,200-square-foot pool. It is one of the few zoos in the country to boast a homegrown elephant – 7-year-old Bluebonnet.
Improving elephant breeding techniques will be critical to the future of zoo exhibits, as older animals die and importation becomes increasingly difficult. If zoos don't replenish exhibits through breeding programs, only about 50 female Asian elephants may survive in American zoos by mid-century, said Dr. Bob Wiese of Fort Worth.
Zoo professionals and the activists agree on one thing: By that time, zoos will have evolved substantially.
"Standards are going to continue to rise as we learn more," said Mark Reed, executive director of the Sedgwick County Zoo in Kansas, who heads the zoo association's Elephant Task Force. "It's our moral and ethical obligation to meet all those."
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Teen: Plano officer said they were soul mates
Plano: Relative says sexual assaults began when she was 13
By TIARA M. ELLIS / The Dallas Morning News
McKINNEY, Texas – A veteran Plano police officer accused of sexually assaulting a teenage relative allegedly told the girl that they were soul mates and that she had the power to destroy him if she told anyone about the abuse, court records show.
The girl said she hesitated before seeking help. Earlier this week, she accused the officer of repeatedly touching her inappropriately.
Darryl Gregory Sullivan, 39, of McKinney remains free on a $25,000 bond on the sexual assault of a minor charge. The 14-year veteran, who could not be reached for comment, resigned from the Plano Police Department just after his arrest Wednesday.
His accuser told police that she was 13 years old when the assaults began in 2003. She said Mr. Sullivan would touch her inappropriately while wrestling and then apologize. But the touching continued, she said in the affidavit.
"Greg told ... he loved her and that she was beautiful. Greg told her they were soul mates," according to the court documents.
McKinney police Capt. Randy Roland has said authorities believe the complaint is legitimate.
Mr. Sullivan is in the middle of a divorce. His wife, Brendon T. Sullivan, filed for divorce a few weeks ago, before learning about the accusations, according to her attorney Bradley Voyles. The two did not have any children together.
"The divorce and [the accusations] are two different things," Mr. Voyles said.
The teenage girl went to police Tuesday after a friend at her McKinney church persuaded her to talk. She told officials that Mr. Sullivan had touched her "all over."
The girl said she and Mr. Sullivan did not have sex. She said he tried to have intercourse on three separate occasions but stopped when she said it hurt, according to court records.
In the affidavit, the girl said she told Mr. Sullivan "numerous times that she was a Christian and wanted to stop ... and it's not right. Greg said 'that if God didn't want it to happen it wouldn't keep happening.' "
Mr. Sullivan was a department training officer at Tri-City Academy in Plano and earned $63,600 annually.
He received at least 18 commendations, many early in his career.
His female accuser told McKinney police in the court documents that Mr. Sullivan said that she "has the power to destroy him and he could be in jail the rest of his life if she told."
If convicted of the first-degree felony, Mr. Sullivan could face five years to life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Plano: Relative says sexual assaults began when she was 13
By TIARA M. ELLIS / The Dallas Morning News
McKINNEY, Texas – A veteran Plano police officer accused of sexually assaulting a teenage relative allegedly told the girl that they were soul mates and that she had the power to destroy him if she told anyone about the abuse, court records show.
The girl said she hesitated before seeking help. Earlier this week, she accused the officer of repeatedly touching her inappropriately.
Darryl Gregory Sullivan, 39, of McKinney remains free on a $25,000 bond on the sexual assault of a minor charge. The 14-year veteran, who could not be reached for comment, resigned from the Plano Police Department just after his arrest Wednesday.
His accuser told police that she was 13 years old when the assaults began in 2003. She said Mr. Sullivan would touch her inappropriately while wrestling and then apologize. But the touching continued, she said in the affidavit.
"Greg told ... he loved her and that she was beautiful. Greg told her they were soul mates," according to the court documents.
McKinney police Capt. Randy Roland has said authorities believe the complaint is legitimate.
Mr. Sullivan is in the middle of a divorce. His wife, Brendon T. Sullivan, filed for divorce a few weeks ago, before learning about the accusations, according to her attorney Bradley Voyles. The two did not have any children together.
"The divorce and [the accusations] are two different things," Mr. Voyles said.
The teenage girl went to police Tuesday after a friend at her McKinney church persuaded her to talk. She told officials that Mr. Sullivan had touched her "all over."
The girl said she and Mr. Sullivan did not have sex. She said he tried to have intercourse on three separate occasions but stopped when she said it hurt, according to court records.
In the affidavit, the girl said she told Mr. Sullivan "numerous times that she was a Christian and wanted to stop ... and it's not right. Greg said 'that if God didn't want it to happen it wouldn't keep happening.' "
Mr. Sullivan was a department training officer at Tri-City Academy in Plano and earned $63,600 annually.
He received at least 18 commendations, many early in his career.
His female accuser told McKinney police in the court documents that Mr. Sullivan said that she "has the power to destroy him and he could be in jail the rest of his life if she told."
If convicted of the first-degree felony, Mr. Sullivan could face five years to life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
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TexasStooge
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Rowlett police: Man asking boys for sex
Rowlett: 4 approached in last month; authorities seeking information
By IAN McCANN / The Dallas Morning News
ROWLETT, Texas - Rowlett police are seeking information about a man who has approached four boys ages 8 to 14 in the last month, seeking oral sex.
"That's becoming pretty regular," said Lt. Dean Poos, a department spokesman.
Police said that on each occasion, the man rolled down the window of his pickup truck and talked to the boy.
"So far, when they run away, he splits," Lt. Poos said.
The man is described as white and balding or having a shaved head. He drove a dark gray, black or dark green Ford pickup, possibly with a roll bar mounted in the bed. The varying and sometimes vague descriptions kept police from connecting the incidents at first, Lt. Poos said, but what happened was consistent.
The latest incident occurred about 8 p.m. Wednesday in the 3100 block of Persimmon Place. The others occurred about noon Sunday in the 3300 block of Carla Drive; 1 p.m. Feb. 18 – a Saturday – in the 4400 block of Main Street near Herfurth Park; and 6:30 p.m. Feb. 5 – a Sunday – in the 6200 block of Danridge Road near Steadham Elementary School.
Garland school district officials sent letters to parents this week as a precaution, district spokesman Reavis Wortham said. Although the incidents occurred near schools, all happened on weekends or at night.
Anybody with information is asked to call Rowlett police at 972-412-6200.
Rowlett: 4 approached in last month; authorities seeking information
By IAN McCANN / The Dallas Morning News
ROWLETT, Texas - Rowlett police are seeking information about a man who has approached four boys ages 8 to 14 in the last month, seeking oral sex.
"That's becoming pretty regular," said Lt. Dean Poos, a department spokesman.
Police said that on each occasion, the man rolled down the window of his pickup truck and talked to the boy.
"So far, when they run away, he splits," Lt. Poos said.
The man is described as white and balding or having a shaved head. He drove a dark gray, black or dark green Ford pickup, possibly with a roll bar mounted in the bed. The varying and sometimes vague descriptions kept police from connecting the incidents at first, Lt. Poos said, but what happened was consistent.
The latest incident occurred about 8 p.m. Wednesday in the 3100 block of Persimmon Place. The others occurred about noon Sunday in the 3300 block of Carla Drive; 1 p.m. Feb. 18 – a Saturday – in the 4400 block of Main Street near Herfurth Park; and 6:30 p.m. Feb. 5 – a Sunday – in the 6200 block of Danridge Road near Steadham Elementary School.
Garland school district officials sent letters to parents this week as a precaution, district spokesman Reavis Wortham said. Although the incidents occurred near schools, all happened on weekends or at night.
Anybody with information is asked to call Rowlett police at 972-412-6200.
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TexasStooge
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The Dallas Morning News reporter files complaint against officer
News writer says he was threatened with gun on assignment in E. Texas
GILMER, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - A Dallas Morning News reporter filed a complaint Friday that accused an off-duty East Texas lawman of bumping his car, detaining him and threatening him with a shotgun.
Reporter Dave Michaels filed his complaint with the Upshur County sheriff's office about Gladewater police Officer Bryan T. Naismith.
Mr. Michaels was in Upshur County on Thursday to report on a fatal shooting last summer by Mr. Naismith.
Reached at his home in Gilmer on Friday, the officer declined to answer questions about the confrontation with Mr. Michaels.
According to his complaint, Mr. Michaels twice went to Officer Naismith's neighborhood. The first time, about 6:30 p.m., he knocked on Officer Naismith's front door and spoke with the officer's wife. According to the complaint, she invited Mr. Michaels to return in a half-hour, when the officer was expected back.
About 9 p.m., the reporter said, he drove back into Officer Naismith's neighborhood and noticed a vehicle make a U-turn and approach his car from the rear. The vehicle then bumped Mr. Michaels' car from behind, the complaint said.
A man dressed in civilian clothes and carrying a shotgun got out and yelled at the reporter, demanding to know his identity. Mr. Michaels said that he identified himself and that the man then pointed the shotgun through his open car window, toward his chest, and ordered him out of the car.
The man, still pointing the weapon toward Mr. Michaels, acknowledged he was Officer Naismith and continued to yell, saying he had people wanting to kill him.
According to the complaint, the officer lowered the gun and allowed the reporter to leave after cursing at him: "I'm letting you know who the [expletive] I am. Get the [expletive] out of here."
During a traffic stop that involved several officers minutes later, Mr. Michaels reported the incident to Gladewater Police Chief Jimmy Davis, the complaint said. Mr. Michaels said the chief and another officer told him he had provoked Officer Naismith by driving into his neighborhood. Chief Davis did not return a call for comment Friday.
Upshur County Sheriff's Lt. David Dickerson said the complaint would be referred on Monday to the Texas Rangers. In January, a grand jury declined to indict Officer Naismith in the June shooting death of Jonathan King. The officer fired several shots at Mr. King and later said Mr. King had tried to run over him with his car.
News writer says he was threatened with gun on assignment in E. Texas
GILMER, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - A Dallas Morning News reporter filed a complaint Friday that accused an off-duty East Texas lawman of bumping his car, detaining him and threatening him with a shotgun.
Reporter Dave Michaels filed his complaint with the Upshur County sheriff's office about Gladewater police Officer Bryan T. Naismith.
Mr. Michaels was in Upshur County on Thursday to report on a fatal shooting last summer by Mr. Naismith.
Reached at his home in Gilmer on Friday, the officer declined to answer questions about the confrontation with Mr. Michaels.
According to his complaint, Mr. Michaels twice went to Officer Naismith's neighborhood. The first time, about 6:30 p.m., he knocked on Officer Naismith's front door and spoke with the officer's wife. According to the complaint, she invited Mr. Michaels to return in a half-hour, when the officer was expected back.
About 9 p.m., the reporter said, he drove back into Officer Naismith's neighborhood and noticed a vehicle make a U-turn and approach his car from the rear. The vehicle then bumped Mr. Michaels' car from behind, the complaint said.
A man dressed in civilian clothes and carrying a shotgun got out and yelled at the reporter, demanding to know his identity. Mr. Michaels said that he identified himself and that the man then pointed the shotgun through his open car window, toward his chest, and ordered him out of the car.
The man, still pointing the weapon toward Mr. Michaels, acknowledged he was Officer Naismith and continued to yell, saying he had people wanting to kill him.
According to the complaint, the officer lowered the gun and allowed the reporter to leave after cursing at him: "I'm letting you know who the [expletive] I am. Get the [expletive] out of here."
During a traffic stop that involved several officers minutes later, Mr. Michaels reported the incident to Gladewater Police Chief Jimmy Davis, the complaint said. Mr. Michaels said the chief and another officer told him he had provoked Officer Naismith by driving into his neighborhood. Chief Davis did not return a call for comment Friday.
Upshur County Sheriff's Lt. David Dickerson said the complaint would be referred on Monday to the Texas Rangers. In January, a grand jury declined to indict Officer Naismith in the June shooting death of Jonathan King. The officer fired several shots at Mr. King and later said Mr. King had tried to run over him with his car.
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TexasStooge
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Casa Linda Theater revival falls through
Dallas: Owner hopes abandoned movie house can still project new life
By DAVID FLICK / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - The most eagerly awaited coming attraction at the Casa Linda Theater now seems unlikely to make it to the silver screen.
One of the theater's owners said his company – Theatre Brothers Ltd. – is looking for other suitors after negotiations with Austin-based Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas deadlocked.
The question was who would pay to renovate the 61-year-old structure.
Alamo Drafthouse had planned to lease the abandoned movie house and turn it into a restaurant and theater.
"I always remain optimistic," Barry Waranch, co-owner of the building, said of the negotiations. "My business is about keeping things going."
Nonetheless, Mr. Waranch, said, he would not dispute characterizing the Drafthouse deal as dead.
John Martin, president of Alamo Drafthouse, did not return several phone calls asking for comment.
The theater, crowned by a lighted cylindrical tower, has long been one of the most distinctive features of the Casa Linda neighborhood on the east side of White Rock Lake.
Its closing in 1999 prompted fears of a downturn in the area.
Those fears turned to elation last summer when Alamo Drafthouse signed a letter of intent. The Casa Linda structure would have housed the company's eighth Alamo Drafthouse, high-profile cinemas that are known for hosting glitzy special events and celebrity screenings.
Last summer, Entertainment Weekly hailed the Alamo Draft- house as "the best theater in America."
The collapse of negotiations marked another setback for the site, but neighborhood leaders said they remained optimistic that the theater would be revived.
"There were a lot of people who were waiting in line to take over that theater," said Cindy Bourne, president of the Casa Linda Estates Neighborhood Association.
"Hopefully, Barry Waranch will be able to get one of those people in there."
Dallas: Owner hopes abandoned movie house can still project new life
By DAVID FLICK / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - The most eagerly awaited coming attraction at the Casa Linda Theater now seems unlikely to make it to the silver screen.
One of the theater's owners said his company – Theatre Brothers Ltd. – is looking for other suitors after negotiations with Austin-based Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas deadlocked.
The question was who would pay to renovate the 61-year-old structure.
Alamo Drafthouse had planned to lease the abandoned movie house and turn it into a restaurant and theater.
"I always remain optimistic," Barry Waranch, co-owner of the building, said of the negotiations. "My business is about keeping things going."
Nonetheless, Mr. Waranch, said, he would not dispute characterizing the Drafthouse deal as dead.
John Martin, president of Alamo Drafthouse, did not return several phone calls asking for comment.
The theater, crowned by a lighted cylindrical tower, has long been one of the most distinctive features of the Casa Linda neighborhood on the east side of White Rock Lake.
Its closing in 1999 prompted fears of a downturn in the area.
Those fears turned to elation last summer when Alamo Drafthouse signed a letter of intent. The Casa Linda structure would have housed the company's eighth Alamo Drafthouse, high-profile cinemas that are known for hosting glitzy special events and celebrity screenings.
Last summer, Entertainment Weekly hailed the Alamo Draft- house as "the best theater in America."
The collapse of negotiations marked another setback for the site, but neighborhood leaders said they remained optimistic that the theater would be revived.
"There were a lot of people who were waiting in line to take over that theater," said Cindy Bourne, president of the Casa Linda Estates Neighborhood Association.
"Hopefully, Barry Waranch will be able to get one of those people in there."
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TexasStooge
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Man with brain damage missing in Irving
IRVING, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Irving police are looking for a young man who is described as mentally impaired.
Ian Brown, 18, was last seen around 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the 4100 block of Compton Court, just south of Airport Freeway and west of Belt Line Road.
A car accident three years ago left Brown with brain damage. He does not walk well, has stroke-like characteristics and may be in need of seizure medication.
If you've seen him or have any information on his whereabouts, contact Irving police.
IRVING, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Irving police are looking for a young man who is described as mentally impaired.
Ian Brown, 18, was last seen around 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the 4100 block of Compton Court, just south of Airport Freeway and west of Belt Line Road.
A car accident three years ago left Brown with brain damage. He does not walk well, has stroke-like characteristics and may be in need of seizure medication.
If you've seen him or have any information on his whereabouts, contact Irving police.
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TexasStooge
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Animal control workers balance rewards, risks
By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Ask Dallas residents for their top concerns, and they'll give you the usual suspects. Crime. Education. Potholes. But when they pick up the phone to call the city's 311 help line, they have a far different bone to pick: animals, dead and alive.
Of the nearly 324,000 service calls that the city received in 2004-05, 20 percent were animal-related – complaints about such things as vicious dogs, trapped cats, injured livestock and road-killed rabbits.
And in a city where stray, neglected and abused animals far exceed shelter space, it's no surprise, adoption advocates say, that nearly 18,000 calls last fiscal year were for dead-animal pickup – more than any other animal-related complaint.
"A lot of people look at this job like it's the lowest one there is," Billy Dennie says as he hauls the bloodied carcass of a bear-size stray dog into the back of his truck.
For the 23-year veteran of the city's sanitation department, there's little difference between clearing roadkill from Dallas streets and "being a coroner." It's gruesome, nose-pinching work, he agrees – particularly in the summer heat. But someone has to do it.
"You don't need to be a brain surgeon to do this job, but I've sure seen a lot of people come and go," he said, leaping back up into the driver's seat. "It's like I tell the new guys: It's not that it doesn't bother you. You just accept it and go on."
On this frigid February morning, he's scooped up two mangled dogs, grabbing them by the legs with his elbow-length gloves and tossing them into his truck's holding bin. He's also scraped up a flattened tabby cat from the pavement.
What's harder, he says, are the calls from residents whose family pets or livestock have died. Mr. Dennie has been known to place particularly loved dead dogs, cats and even goldfish on the passenger seat next to him – complete with funereal flowers and cards – to keep an owner from witnessing the pet's disposal.
In other cases, an animal has died from maltreatment. As Mr. Dennie approaches a makeshift doghouse behind a similarly ramshackle Pleasant Grove home, he knows what he'll find. A mangy, reddish-brown mutt lies dead inside, still attached to its chain. A second dog, its ribs jutting through a mottled coat, howls on its own rope.
The dogs' elderly owner staggers out of his home as Mr. Dennie strains to drag the lifeless animal through the doghouse door. "I don't know what happened," the owner says unhelpfully.
Mr. Dennie shakes his head without a word. These dogs aren't pets, he says later. They're security. And they've been left outside through the coldest freeze of Dallas' winter.
It doesn't take an expert to recognize an animal in danger. But the people in the code compliance office who respond to animal calls must be. In the last fiscal year, they received about 62,000 complaints from Dallas residents about loose, injured or aggressive animals.
They impounded more than 30,000 of them, braving nasty bites, dangerous neighborhoods and unruly owners. And these self-proclaimed pet-lovers had to euthanize 82 percent of the animals – some because of behavioral and health problems; most because of space limitations at the city's two shelters.
Last month, the City Council gave contractors the go-ahead to start construction on a long-awaited new shelter at Interstate 30 and Westmoreland Road – one that will replace Dallas' two outdated shelters, provide more space for the city's pet adoption program and, advocates hope, send Dallas down the road to becoming a "no-kill" city.
"I respect animals, and I respect life," Dayanara Castillo, animal services field supervisor, says on a recent night, raising her voice over the tinny buzzing of her dispatch radio. "But I have to separate the two. It's too hard if I get too involved."
All in a day's work
Over the years, the animal control job description has changed. But there's still a fair amount of dog-catching involved. Tonight, Ms. Castillo is on the trail of a wiry mutt that had sunk its teeth into a 13-year-old boy.
Already in the back of her animal paddy-wagon? An injured gray kitty she'll have to put down later. A red German shepherd mix found by a young mother outside her trailer. And a spotty white pit bull Ms. Castillo found strolling outside a tattoo parlor, then hauled off by the scruff of its neck.
Ms. Castillo leans over the steering wheel as she glides down a dark residential block, squinting through the windshield for the offending dog. She isn't optimistic – the boy couldn't identify the dog's owner – until a rusty-colored mutt bolts into the road, a tattered rope dangling behind him.
Ms. Castillo leaps from the van, enticing the dog with air kisses. "Whatcha doin', pretty baby?" she coos, creeping toward him, hand extended. "Sweetie boy, how are you?"
The dog turns and bolts. "Shoot!" Ms. Castillo shouts, veering around a sharp turn after the galloping pup. She catches up with him outside his owners' house, and explains the drill to the bewildered family: By law, she must quarantine the guilty-looking pooch for 10 days.
Ms. Castillo's not afraid of the dogs. "I'd be in the wrong business if I was," jokes the former alarm company security guard, who joined Dallas' animal services division by mistake seven years ago. She thought she was applying to work at the zoo.
But it took a few years of experience – and one painful bite – to teach her to read their body language. Now, she can make a growling pit bull cower like a puppy, or, at the very least, corner it so she can drape a leash around its neck.
"If you listen," she says, "they'll talk to you."
But there are some situations that are simply too dangerous for one officer, Ms. Castillo said. And most of them involve people, not animals. On the "third watch" – the 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. shift she works – she's seen drunk owners hit their pets. She's made neglected-animal calls at neighborhood drug houses. And angry owners have threatened her for quarantining their vicious pets.
"If it was just animals, it would be simple," she says. "Unfortunately, animals and people, they seem to go together."
Deeper issues
Ms. Castillo and her colleagues serve their department well: Despite the high call volume, they respond to the average complaint within a matter of hours, according to city performance records. But at some point, City Manager Mary Suhm says, it doesn't matter how well employees do their job.
"Answering them is fine," she said. "After a while, you need to start looking at, why do we have this problem at all?"
The reason? A lack of education, says Andrea Allen, former chairwoman of the city's Animal Shelter Commission. Owners let their pets run loose without having them spayed or neutered – resulting in more strays, and more animals struck by vehicles.
And residents choose to patronize breeders, instead of adopting pets from local shelters. Just 5 percent of animals impounded by the city in the last fiscal year were adopted. Seven percent were saved by breed rescue groups.
"The goal is to become a no-kill city," Ms. Allen said. "That is something we need everybody's help with."
By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Ask Dallas residents for their top concerns, and they'll give you the usual suspects. Crime. Education. Potholes. But when they pick up the phone to call the city's 311 help line, they have a far different bone to pick: animals, dead and alive.
Of the nearly 324,000 service calls that the city received in 2004-05, 20 percent were animal-related – complaints about such things as vicious dogs, trapped cats, injured livestock and road-killed rabbits.
And in a city where stray, neglected and abused animals far exceed shelter space, it's no surprise, adoption advocates say, that nearly 18,000 calls last fiscal year were for dead-animal pickup – more than any other animal-related complaint.
"A lot of people look at this job like it's the lowest one there is," Billy Dennie says as he hauls the bloodied carcass of a bear-size stray dog into the back of his truck.
For the 23-year veteran of the city's sanitation department, there's little difference between clearing roadkill from Dallas streets and "being a coroner." It's gruesome, nose-pinching work, he agrees – particularly in the summer heat. But someone has to do it.
"You don't need to be a brain surgeon to do this job, but I've sure seen a lot of people come and go," he said, leaping back up into the driver's seat. "It's like I tell the new guys: It's not that it doesn't bother you. You just accept it and go on."
On this frigid February morning, he's scooped up two mangled dogs, grabbing them by the legs with his elbow-length gloves and tossing them into his truck's holding bin. He's also scraped up a flattened tabby cat from the pavement.
What's harder, he says, are the calls from residents whose family pets or livestock have died. Mr. Dennie has been known to place particularly loved dead dogs, cats and even goldfish on the passenger seat next to him – complete with funereal flowers and cards – to keep an owner from witnessing the pet's disposal.
In other cases, an animal has died from maltreatment. As Mr. Dennie approaches a makeshift doghouse behind a similarly ramshackle Pleasant Grove home, he knows what he'll find. A mangy, reddish-brown mutt lies dead inside, still attached to its chain. A second dog, its ribs jutting through a mottled coat, howls on its own rope.
The dogs' elderly owner staggers out of his home as Mr. Dennie strains to drag the lifeless animal through the doghouse door. "I don't know what happened," the owner says unhelpfully.
Mr. Dennie shakes his head without a word. These dogs aren't pets, he says later. They're security. And they've been left outside through the coldest freeze of Dallas' winter.
It doesn't take an expert to recognize an animal in danger. But the people in the code compliance office who respond to animal calls must be. In the last fiscal year, they received about 62,000 complaints from Dallas residents about loose, injured or aggressive animals.
They impounded more than 30,000 of them, braving nasty bites, dangerous neighborhoods and unruly owners. And these self-proclaimed pet-lovers had to euthanize 82 percent of the animals – some because of behavioral and health problems; most because of space limitations at the city's two shelters.
Last month, the City Council gave contractors the go-ahead to start construction on a long-awaited new shelter at Interstate 30 and Westmoreland Road – one that will replace Dallas' two outdated shelters, provide more space for the city's pet adoption program and, advocates hope, send Dallas down the road to becoming a "no-kill" city.
"I respect animals, and I respect life," Dayanara Castillo, animal services field supervisor, says on a recent night, raising her voice over the tinny buzzing of her dispatch radio. "But I have to separate the two. It's too hard if I get too involved."
All in a day's work
Over the years, the animal control job description has changed. But there's still a fair amount of dog-catching involved. Tonight, Ms. Castillo is on the trail of a wiry mutt that had sunk its teeth into a 13-year-old boy.
Already in the back of her animal paddy-wagon? An injured gray kitty she'll have to put down later. A red German shepherd mix found by a young mother outside her trailer. And a spotty white pit bull Ms. Castillo found strolling outside a tattoo parlor, then hauled off by the scruff of its neck.
Ms. Castillo leans over the steering wheel as she glides down a dark residential block, squinting through the windshield for the offending dog. She isn't optimistic – the boy couldn't identify the dog's owner – until a rusty-colored mutt bolts into the road, a tattered rope dangling behind him.
Ms. Castillo leaps from the van, enticing the dog with air kisses. "Whatcha doin', pretty baby?" she coos, creeping toward him, hand extended. "Sweetie boy, how are you?"
The dog turns and bolts. "Shoot!" Ms. Castillo shouts, veering around a sharp turn after the galloping pup. She catches up with him outside his owners' house, and explains the drill to the bewildered family: By law, she must quarantine the guilty-looking pooch for 10 days.
Ms. Castillo's not afraid of the dogs. "I'd be in the wrong business if I was," jokes the former alarm company security guard, who joined Dallas' animal services division by mistake seven years ago. She thought she was applying to work at the zoo.
But it took a few years of experience – and one painful bite – to teach her to read their body language. Now, she can make a growling pit bull cower like a puppy, or, at the very least, corner it so she can drape a leash around its neck.
"If you listen," she says, "they'll talk to you."
But there are some situations that are simply too dangerous for one officer, Ms. Castillo said. And most of them involve people, not animals. On the "third watch" – the 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. shift she works – she's seen drunk owners hit their pets. She's made neglected-animal calls at neighborhood drug houses. And angry owners have threatened her for quarantining their vicious pets.
"If it was just animals, it would be simple," she says. "Unfortunately, animals and people, they seem to go together."
Deeper issues
Ms. Castillo and her colleagues serve their department well: Despite the high call volume, they respond to the average complaint within a matter of hours, according to city performance records. But at some point, City Manager Mary Suhm says, it doesn't matter how well employees do their job.
"Answering them is fine," she said. "After a while, you need to start looking at, why do we have this problem at all?"
The reason? A lack of education, says Andrea Allen, former chairwoman of the city's Animal Shelter Commission. Owners let their pets run loose without having them spayed or neutered – resulting in more strays, and more animals struck by vehicles.
And residents choose to patronize breeders, instead of adopting pets from local shelters. Just 5 percent of animals impounded by the city in the last fiscal year were adopted. Seven percent were saved by breed rescue groups.
"The goal is to become a no-kill city," Ms. Allen said. "That is something we need everybody's help with."
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TexasStooge
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Mortgage fraud suspect nabbed in Dallas
By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - O.T. Austin—a fugitive wanted by the FBI and the subject of a News 8 investigation last month—was captured Saturday night after he was spotted trying to purchase a car in Irving.
Austin is the central figure in a $2 million mortgage fraud case that involved the former home of Dallas Cowboys veteran Deion Sanders.
An employee at the Frank Parra dealership on Airport Expressway in Irving called police after recognizing Austin from the stories on Channel 8.
Police said Austin fled in a vehicle as they arrived, and the chase was on.
The suspect bailed out of his car in the 2300 block of North Stemmons Freeway in Dallas and attempted unsuccessfully to lose police by running into a hotel.
Austin was taken into custody and now faces charges for evading arrest and for a number of outstanding warrants, including mail fraud, probation violation and felony theft by check.
Prosecutors allege that Austin lied to obtain the loan he used to purchase Sanders' home.
By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - O.T. Austin—a fugitive wanted by the FBI and the subject of a News 8 investigation last month—was captured Saturday night after he was spotted trying to purchase a car in Irving.
Austin is the central figure in a $2 million mortgage fraud case that involved the former home of Dallas Cowboys veteran Deion Sanders.
An employee at the Frank Parra dealership on Airport Expressway in Irving called police after recognizing Austin from the stories on Channel 8.
Police said Austin fled in a vehicle as they arrived, and the chase was on.
The suspect bailed out of his car in the 2300 block of North Stemmons Freeway in Dallas and attempted unsuccessfully to lose police by running into a hotel.
Austin was taken into custody and now faces charges for evading arrest and for a number of outstanding warrants, including mail fraud, probation violation and felony theft by check.
Prosecutors allege that Austin lied to obtain the loan he used to purchase Sanders' home.
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