Texas leads nation in uninsured residents
By PAMELA YIP / The Dallas Morning News
Texas has retained the dubious distinction of having the highest proportion of people without health insurance coverage, according to figures released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
In a comparison of states using a three-year average for 2002-2004, 25.1 percent of Texans didn’t have health insurance coverage. Minnesota had the lowest proportion, at 8.5 percent.
The figure didn’t surprise consumer advocates.
“We have had the highest percentage, or have been tied with another state for the highest percentage, for more than a decade,” said Anne Dunkelberg, assistant director of the Center for Public Policy Priorities in Austin, which advocates on behalf of low-income Texans.
And the future isn’t promising.
“Nothing’s happening that would reverse those historical trends,” Ms. Dunkelberg said.
Nationally, 45.8 million people went bare without health insurance last year, up from 45 million people in 2003.
There was no change in the percentage of Americans without health insurance — holding steady at 15.7 percent between 2003 and 2004.
“The Census numbers tell us what we’ve known for years — that soaring health care inflation is making health insurance unaffordable, so more folks go uninsured, and those who can afford it find their policies cover less and less,” said Bill Vaughan, senior health policy analyst with Consumers Union in Washington. “Health insurance should be one of the top issues for Congress, but current legislative proposals only tinker with deckchairs on a sinking ship.”
Texas has specific characteristics that make for a high number of uninsured residents, Ms. Dunkelberg said.
“We have substantially higher-than-average poverty in Texas,” she said. “We have a really, really significant proportion of low-income working families in this state, and the No. 1 predictor of whether or not you’re going to have coverage is what your income is.”
Texas also isn’t a strong manufacturing state and doesn’t have many jobs represented by labor unions, which tend to bring good employee benefits, Ms. Dunkelberg said.
“We have a lot of concentration of employment in the service and retail sectors, which are also sectors with very low rates of coverage on average,” she said.
News from the Lone Star State
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TexasStooge
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TexasStooge
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Developer has plans for Casa Linda
Dallas: Abandoned landmark could become a draft house by spring
By DAVID FLICK / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - After six dark years, the lights at the landmark Casa Linda Theater may be coming up again. If all goes as planned, neighborhood leaders say, the wait may have been worth it.
Austin-based Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas has signed a letter of intent to lease the abandoned movie house as a theater/restaurant. Plans call for a $1.2 million renovation to be finished as early as next spring.
"This is exactly the kind of business everybody here can get behind," said Scott Williams, president of the Little Forest Hills Neighborhood Association. "It couldn't be any better in my view."
Barry Waranch, co-owner of Theatre Brothers Ltd., cautioned that a final lease had not been signed but that the concept was exactly what his organization was hoping for when it purchased the building a year ago.
"We like that they'll show first-run movies," he said. "They're a good group."
Casa Linda, with its distinct lighted cylindrical tower, would be the eighth theater opened by Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas. The first opened in Austin in 1997. Since then, four more have opened in that city and one each in San Antonio and Houston.
Plans for the Casa Linda Theater call for four screening rooms in which rows of seats alternate with bench-style tables where food will be served. There will be a total of 500 seats.
The cinemas are known for hosting special events and celebrity screenings. Entertainment Weekly this month named the Austin Alamo Drafthouse "the best theater in America," citing theme evenings built around The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
"We want to become a destination location, something that people will drive to from throughout the area," said Alamo Drafthouse president John Martin.
Neighborhood supporters have watched the fate of the Casa Linda Theater anxiously. After it closed in January 1999, there were fears that it could spur a downturn in the area.
Those fears were heightened when the ornate Casa Linda Mobil station across the street closed three years ago and was later torn down. The area was periodically swept with rumors that the movie house, which opened in 1945, would also be demolished.
"It was one of the topics that was always brought up in neighborhood meetings," said Cindy Bourne, president of the Casa Linda Neighborhood Association.
She said she was thrilled by the prospect of the Alamo Drafthouse taking over the space.
"This was the first inkling that we have a company that wants to revitalize the theater and just really put something in that will be fun for the neighborhood," Ms. Bourne said.
Mr. Williams has worked on plans to rebuild the nearby intersection of Buckner Boulevard and Garland Road in a way that would make Casa Linda's business section more attractive. The drafthouse concept should revitalize the district, he said.
"We were concerned about all the vacancies – there were about 20 at one time – but I think this could well be a catalyst for this area," he said.
Dallas: Abandoned landmark could become a draft house by spring
By DAVID FLICK / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - After six dark years, the lights at the landmark Casa Linda Theater may be coming up again. If all goes as planned, neighborhood leaders say, the wait may have been worth it.
Austin-based Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas has signed a letter of intent to lease the abandoned movie house as a theater/restaurant. Plans call for a $1.2 million renovation to be finished as early as next spring.
"This is exactly the kind of business everybody here can get behind," said Scott Williams, president of the Little Forest Hills Neighborhood Association. "It couldn't be any better in my view."
Barry Waranch, co-owner of Theatre Brothers Ltd., cautioned that a final lease had not been signed but that the concept was exactly what his organization was hoping for when it purchased the building a year ago.
"We like that they'll show first-run movies," he said. "They're a good group."
Casa Linda, with its distinct lighted cylindrical tower, would be the eighth theater opened by Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas. The first opened in Austin in 1997. Since then, four more have opened in that city and one each in San Antonio and Houston.
Plans for the Casa Linda Theater call for four screening rooms in which rows of seats alternate with bench-style tables where food will be served. There will be a total of 500 seats.
The cinemas are known for hosting special events and celebrity screenings. Entertainment Weekly this month named the Austin Alamo Drafthouse "the best theater in America," citing theme evenings built around The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
"We want to become a destination location, something that people will drive to from throughout the area," said Alamo Drafthouse president John Martin.
Neighborhood supporters have watched the fate of the Casa Linda Theater anxiously. After it closed in January 1999, there were fears that it could spur a downturn in the area.
Those fears were heightened when the ornate Casa Linda Mobil station across the street closed three years ago and was later torn down. The area was periodically swept with rumors that the movie house, which opened in 1945, would also be demolished.
"It was one of the topics that was always brought up in neighborhood meetings," said Cindy Bourne, president of the Casa Linda Neighborhood Association.
She said she was thrilled by the prospect of the Alamo Drafthouse taking over the space.
"This was the first inkling that we have a company that wants to revitalize the theater and just really put something in that will be fun for the neighborhood," Ms. Bourne said.
Mr. Williams has worked on plans to rebuild the nearby intersection of Buckner Boulevard and Garland Road in a way that would make Casa Linda's business section more attractive. The drafthouse concept should revitalize the district, he said.
"We were concerned about all the vacancies – there were about 20 at one time – but I think this could well be a catalyst for this area," he said.
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TexasStooge
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Budget shortfall could force park closures
AUSTIN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will close or transfer nine state parks unless it finds about $2 million more annually in state funding, according to a letter sent to state leaders.
About 40 jobs are at stake, said the letter sent Tuesday from Texas Parks and Wildlife Executive Director Robert L. Cook to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Speaker Tom Craddick. In the letter Cook asks for more money from the Legislative Budget Board to save the park jobs.
The request follows the proposed sale of 46,000 acres of Big Bend State Park, which was defeated.
The 10-member board meets Sept. 14 to consider tapping $500 million in available funds that were vetoed from the state budget in June by Gov. Rick Perry. Perry is asking for $295 million to go for public school textbooks.
"While funding limitations are driving the reduction in force in the state parks division, it is important to note that the department has identified nine state park sites which could be transferred to another entity for operation or closed without having a significant constituent impact," Cook wrote.
State park officials would not name the nine parks, saying it would be unfair to employees facing layoffs.
However, the Parks and Wildlife Commission decided to transfer two parks last week. Bright Leaf State Park will go to the Austin Community Foundation. And Matagorda Island State Park will become a state wildlife management area, meaning its access will be limited, said Walt Dabney, state parks director.
The $2 million request includes $1.37 million for jobs and more than $625,000 for operating costs.
AUSTIN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will close or transfer nine state parks unless it finds about $2 million more annually in state funding, according to a letter sent to state leaders.
About 40 jobs are at stake, said the letter sent Tuesday from Texas Parks and Wildlife Executive Director Robert L. Cook to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Speaker Tom Craddick. In the letter Cook asks for more money from the Legislative Budget Board to save the park jobs.
The request follows the proposed sale of 46,000 acres of Big Bend State Park, which was defeated.
The 10-member board meets Sept. 14 to consider tapping $500 million in available funds that were vetoed from the state budget in June by Gov. Rick Perry. Perry is asking for $295 million to go for public school textbooks.
"While funding limitations are driving the reduction in force in the state parks division, it is important to note that the department has identified nine state park sites which could be transferred to another entity for operation or closed without having a significant constituent impact," Cook wrote.
State park officials would not name the nine parks, saying it would be unfair to employees facing layoffs.
However, the Parks and Wildlife Commission decided to transfer two parks last week. Bright Leaf State Park will go to the Austin Community Foundation. And Matagorda Island State Park will become a state wildlife management area, meaning its access will be limited, said Walt Dabney, state parks director.
The $2 million request includes $1.37 million for jobs and more than $625,000 for operating costs.
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TexasStooge
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Texas students fall further behind on SAT
Class of 2005 improves in math but still trails U.S. averages overall
By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas students have slipped further below the national average on the SAT over the last decade as they missed solid performance gains – especially in math skills – registered by college-bound students across the U.S.
A report released Tuesday by the College Board indicated that the class of 2005 in Texas rebounded slightly in math on the SAT, but not enough to make up ground lost over the last several years on the college entrance exam.
The average math score in Texas was 502 – a three-point increase over last year – while the average verbal score remained unchanged at 493, the same figure recorded in five of the last six years.
Nationally, students averaged 520 in math skills – up two points from last year – and 508 in verbal skills for the second year in a row. A perfect score on each section is 800.
A new writing section debuted on this year's SAT, but high school seniors were exempt. The national average for juniors taking the new writing test was 516 out of a possible 800 points. State scores were not available Tuesday.
Beginning next year, results in math, verbal and writing skills will be reported for high school seniors in all states, with scores ranging up to 2,400 instead of the long-standing perfect score of 1,600 on the SAT.
State Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley on Tuesday highlighted the improvement by Texas students on the math section of the SAT this year.
"We're pleased to see SAT scores rising for our Texas public school students, even as the number of test takers increased by nearly 4 percent," Dr. Neeley said. "We continue, however, to see a significant achievement gap between groups of Texas students."
Minority students continued a long trend of lower scores on the college entrance exam in Texas and the U.S. In Texas, black students averaged 427 in math and 426 in verbal skills, while Hispanics averaged 458 in math and 447 in verbal skills. Those numbers significantly trailed scores for white students: 534 in math and 527 in verbal skills.
Since 1995, average SAT scores in Texas have gone up one point in math and dropped two points in verbal skills. By contrast, the national averages have risen 14 points in math and four points in verbal skills.
College Board President Gaston Caperton said this year's math scores are the highest on record and continue an upward trend that began in the early 1990s.
But, the former West Virginia governor added, "The relatively flat trend in verbal scores indicates what we have observed for years – the need to redouble efforts to emphasize the core literacy skills of reading and writing in all courses across the curriculum starting in the earliest grades."
College Board officials noted that the math gains came on the heels of an increased number of students taking more demanding courses such as pre-calculus, calculus and physics.
Besides the new writing section – which features an essay and multiple-choice questions – the new SAT also includes shorter reading passages and questions derived from third-year, college-prep math. Analogies and quantitative comparisons were eliminated from the exam this year.
Nearly 1.5 million high school seniors took the SAT, including 133,115 public and private high school students in Texas. That was about 54 percent of the class of 2005 in Texas.
In California, where about 50 percent of seniors took the SAT, the average scores – 522 in math and 504 in verbal skills – were well above those in Texas.
Class of 2005 improves in math but still trails U.S. averages overall
By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas students have slipped further below the national average on the SAT over the last decade as they missed solid performance gains – especially in math skills – registered by college-bound students across the U.S.
A report released Tuesday by the College Board indicated that the class of 2005 in Texas rebounded slightly in math on the SAT, but not enough to make up ground lost over the last several years on the college entrance exam.
The average math score in Texas was 502 – a three-point increase over last year – while the average verbal score remained unchanged at 493, the same figure recorded in five of the last six years.
Nationally, students averaged 520 in math skills – up two points from last year – and 508 in verbal skills for the second year in a row. A perfect score on each section is 800.
A new writing section debuted on this year's SAT, but high school seniors were exempt. The national average for juniors taking the new writing test was 516 out of a possible 800 points. State scores were not available Tuesday.
Beginning next year, results in math, verbal and writing skills will be reported for high school seniors in all states, with scores ranging up to 2,400 instead of the long-standing perfect score of 1,600 on the SAT.
State Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley on Tuesday highlighted the improvement by Texas students on the math section of the SAT this year.
"We're pleased to see SAT scores rising for our Texas public school students, even as the number of test takers increased by nearly 4 percent," Dr. Neeley said. "We continue, however, to see a significant achievement gap between groups of Texas students."
Minority students continued a long trend of lower scores on the college entrance exam in Texas and the U.S. In Texas, black students averaged 427 in math and 426 in verbal skills, while Hispanics averaged 458 in math and 447 in verbal skills. Those numbers significantly trailed scores for white students: 534 in math and 527 in verbal skills.
Since 1995, average SAT scores in Texas have gone up one point in math and dropped two points in verbal skills. By contrast, the national averages have risen 14 points in math and four points in verbal skills.
College Board President Gaston Caperton said this year's math scores are the highest on record and continue an upward trend that began in the early 1990s.
But, the former West Virginia governor added, "The relatively flat trend in verbal scores indicates what we have observed for years – the need to redouble efforts to emphasize the core literacy skills of reading and writing in all courses across the curriculum starting in the earliest grades."
College Board officials noted that the math gains came on the heels of an increased number of students taking more demanding courses such as pre-calculus, calculus and physics.
Besides the new writing section – which features an essay and multiple-choice questions – the new SAT also includes shorter reading passages and questions derived from third-year, college-prep math. Analogies and quantitative comparisons were eliminated from the exam this year.
Nearly 1.5 million high school seniors took the SAT, including 133,115 public and private high school students in Texas. That was about 54 percent of the class of 2005 in Texas.
In California, where about 50 percent of seniors took the SAT, the average scores – 522 in math and 504 in verbal skills – were well above those in Texas.
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TexasStooge
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Median household income takes a hit across N. Texas
Collin still has highest in Texas; Dallas County above state average
By PAULA LAVIGNE / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Household incomes fell in North Texas last year even as businesses began hiring more workers. Some economists pin the change on growth in lower-wage jobs and unskilled immigrant labor.
Median household incomes for Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties dropped from 2003 to 2004, though the statewide median remained relatively unchanged, according to estimates released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The median household income in Texas was $41,759.
Collin County remained the highest, with a median of $68,567, followed closely by Fort Bend County, near Houston, at $67,902. Hidalgo County, along the Mexico border, had the lowest in the state – and the nation – with $24,778.
Dallas County fell in between, at $43,444.
The survey includes areas with a population of at least 250,000.
Bernard Weinstein, professor of applied economics at the University of North Texas, said the numbers represent a rapid growth of low-income households and Hispanic immigrants.
The median annual earnings for individuals in the Dallas-Fort Worth area was about $33,200 in 2004. For Hispanics, it was about $19,000, the lowest of all ethnic groups.
"As our population grows, it's growing at the lower levels of incomes, and that's pulling down the median household income," Mr. Weinstein said.
"It's something we'd better get used to. We in North Texas are no longer a huge magnet attracting new businesses and corporate relocation of high-income households."
In the area's two highest-income counties – Collin and Denton – the median household income shrank by 6.5 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively.
The number of workers in both counties grew from 2003 to 2004, according to the census estimates.
But the most new jobs – about 10,000 in each county – were in sales and office occupations, in which the median earnings were $38,000 to $40,000 last year. That's far lower than the $60,000 to $68,000 earned in management and professional positions.
"It's a balance to the infrastructure of the county, which is important," said Brad Shanklin, president of the Plano Chamber of Commerce. He added that the decline in median household income isn't necessarily a bad sign.
Companies such as Electronic Data Systems, Frito-Lay, J.C. Penney and Alcatel brought higher-paying jobs into the county and fueled its initial population boom, he said.
Now those people are demanding services, retail stores, restaurants and entertainment venues, he said. Those jobs pay less, but they're necessary as the county matures, he said.
"We need people to do those kinds of jobs, and we need people to provide those services at whatever level," he said.
Another reason for the decline in median income is that overall wages have not increased, said Pia Orrenius, senior economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. In two years, the Dallas-Fort Worth area added about 86,000 jobs as of July, but employers haven't been giving raises, she said.
In North Texas, some of the decline is also the result of highly paid telecom workers who lost their jobs and went back to work in positions that pay less, she said.
The high-tech bust also hit Travis County, home to Austin, but it was among the handful of Texas' larger counties that saw an increase in household income in 2004. Its median household income rose about 5.7 percent, to $49,181. It had been on a continual decline since 2000, when it was about $54,000.
"The economy is improving, and we're getting some job growth here," said Jon Hockenyos, managing director of Texas Perspectives, a private economic consulting firm in Austin.
People who have high-paying jobs that allow them to work anywhere are choosing to move to Austin because it's an attractive place to live, he said. Though their employer isn't in Travis County, they buy expensive homes and spend money locally, he said.
Other counties showing an increase were Lubbock, Galveston and Williamson, though experts said Williamson's 24 percent increase was likely the result of a statistical anomaly. Census officials and local economists said that county's figures from 2003 appear far too low to be an accurate representation of what was going on in the county at the time and may explain the big jump in 2004.
Tuesday's numbers come from the American Community Survey, a survey of more than 800,000 households nationwide.
In future years, the survey is designed to include more people and provide numbers for all counties, cities, metropolitan areas and even smaller neighborhood tracts.
Collin still has highest in Texas; Dallas County above state average
By PAULA LAVIGNE / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Household incomes fell in North Texas last year even as businesses began hiring more workers. Some economists pin the change on growth in lower-wage jobs and unskilled immigrant labor.
Median household incomes for Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties dropped from 2003 to 2004, though the statewide median remained relatively unchanged, according to estimates released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The median household income in Texas was $41,759.
Collin County remained the highest, with a median of $68,567, followed closely by Fort Bend County, near Houston, at $67,902. Hidalgo County, along the Mexico border, had the lowest in the state – and the nation – with $24,778.
Dallas County fell in between, at $43,444.
The survey includes areas with a population of at least 250,000.
Bernard Weinstein, professor of applied economics at the University of North Texas, said the numbers represent a rapid growth of low-income households and Hispanic immigrants.
The median annual earnings for individuals in the Dallas-Fort Worth area was about $33,200 in 2004. For Hispanics, it was about $19,000, the lowest of all ethnic groups.
"As our population grows, it's growing at the lower levels of incomes, and that's pulling down the median household income," Mr. Weinstein said.
"It's something we'd better get used to. We in North Texas are no longer a huge magnet attracting new businesses and corporate relocation of high-income households."
In the area's two highest-income counties – Collin and Denton – the median household income shrank by 6.5 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively.
The number of workers in both counties grew from 2003 to 2004, according to the census estimates.
But the most new jobs – about 10,000 in each county – were in sales and office occupations, in which the median earnings were $38,000 to $40,000 last year. That's far lower than the $60,000 to $68,000 earned in management and professional positions.
"It's a balance to the infrastructure of the county, which is important," said Brad Shanklin, president of the Plano Chamber of Commerce. He added that the decline in median household income isn't necessarily a bad sign.
Companies such as Electronic Data Systems, Frito-Lay, J.C. Penney and Alcatel brought higher-paying jobs into the county and fueled its initial population boom, he said.
Now those people are demanding services, retail stores, restaurants and entertainment venues, he said. Those jobs pay less, but they're necessary as the county matures, he said.
"We need people to do those kinds of jobs, and we need people to provide those services at whatever level," he said.
Another reason for the decline in median income is that overall wages have not increased, said Pia Orrenius, senior economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. In two years, the Dallas-Fort Worth area added about 86,000 jobs as of July, but employers haven't been giving raises, she said.
In North Texas, some of the decline is also the result of highly paid telecom workers who lost their jobs and went back to work in positions that pay less, she said.
The high-tech bust also hit Travis County, home to Austin, but it was among the handful of Texas' larger counties that saw an increase in household income in 2004. Its median household income rose about 5.7 percent, to $49,181. It had been on a continual decline since 2000, when it was about $54,000.
"The economy is improving, and we're getting some job growth here," said Jon Hockenyos, managing director of Texas Perspectives, a private economic consulting firm in Austin.
People who have high-paying jobs that allow them to work anywhere are choosing to move to Austin because it's an attractive place to live, he said. Though their employer isn't in Travis County, they buy expensive homes and spend money locally, he said.
Other counties showing an increase were Lubbock, Galveston and Williamson, though experts said Williamson's 24 percent increase was likely the result of a statistical anomaly. Census officials and local economists said that county's figures from 2003 appear far too low to be an accurate representation of what was going on in the county at the time and may explain the big jump in 2004.
Tuesday's numbers come from the American Community Survey, a survey of more than 800,000 households nationwide.
In future years, the survey is designed to include more people and provide numbers for all counties, cities, metropolitan areas and even smaller neighborhood tracts.
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TexasStooge
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Prosecutors say man faked heart ailment
Dallas: Authorities pull plea deal, say he was trying to avoid jail
By TIM WYATT / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - A convicted con man's tall tales continue to confound federal authorities now that the truth about his ailing heart is out.
He forged his own dire diagnosis to stay out of jail.
After learning that Mauricio Aguirre Orcutt's grave medical condition was just another concocted story, prosecutors got permission Tuesday from a judge to withdraw an April plea bargain that gave the 36-year-old con man five years' probation on one count of mail fraud.
Prosecutor Tammy Reno declined to comment on the case, now that the legal process has restarted. Mr. Orcutt, a former dean for the Dallas County Community College District, originally was to be formally sentenced Thursday.
Defense attorney Michael Snipes said his client has been hospitalized but would not elaborate on what treatment he is receiving. Court papers filed this summer, however, show that Mr. Orcutt appears to have a history of mental health problems, including suicide attempts.
"It's a very sad and unfortunate case," said Mr. Snipes, who added that he will continue to defend Mr. Orcutt in court. "I don't know what's next for us. We're back to square one."
In April, Mr. Orcutt pleaded guilty of defrauding a South Texas magazine publisher out of thousands of dollars' worth of expensive, collectible fountain pens.
The U.S. Secret Service also found that Mr. Orcutt forged a thank-you note from President Bush on counterfeit White House letterhead to persuade his victim to ship him the pens.
Mr. Orcutt also claimed to have worked for the White House and the U.S. State Department and to have once rubbed elbows with dignitaries such as U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former Vice President Dan Quayle.
Background checks showed that he had also been convicted of stealing a San Antonio lawyer's credit card in 1996 and posing as a U.S. State Department official in 1997 to get a free room at Dallas' posh Crescent Hotel.
After Mr. Orcutt's fountain pen scam unraveled late last year, a check of his credentials by The Dallas Morning News showed that his master's in business administration from Harvard University was also bogus.
But armed with Mr. Orcutt's medical records early this spring, Mr. Snipes told prosecutors that he believed his client would die in jail because of "grave heart and pulmonary issues."
A letter said to be from Mr. Orcutt's doctor in January described Mr. Orcutt as having "extremely serious coronary artery disease and metabolic syndrome" and "very unstable angina/Q-wave myocardial infraction was found."
If anyone spotted the misspelling of myocardial infarction, it wasn't noted in court records, but prosecutors decided to show mercy and offered a probation deal.
In fact, according to court records, if Mr. Orcutt's attention hadn't turned back to stealing jewelry, no one would have been the wiser to his fake diagnosis.
In July, while awaiting sentencing in the pen case, Mr. Orcutt tricked a London jeweler into sending him samples of cufflinks that he planned to sell at a social function that he said Britain's Prince Andrew was planning to attend.
Authorities also referred vaguely to an incident in which he held himself out as T.G. Johnson, the "regional director of quality care" for the U.S. Postal Service. Once again, no such person exists.
When authorities confirmed that Mr. Orcutt's diagnosis was also fake, Ms. Reno filed to withdraw her humanitarian plea offer.
"Mr. Orcutt fraudulently induced the government into offering him an ... agreement for probation by submitting fraudulent medical records to his lawyer, who in turn submitted them to the government," Ms. Reno wrote in the request.
Mr. Snipes, who acknowledged he was also duped by his client, argued in court records that Mr. Orcutt's real mental health history – previously not an issue in the case – showed that he needed psychiatric attention more than prison.
Mr. Orcutt "will have to consider making an insanity defense," Mr. Snipes wrote. "Probation would appear to be appropriate, even now."
With little chance of getting another probation offer, Mr. Orcutt could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine – the maximum penalty for a conviction for mail fraud.
Dallas: Authorities pull plea deal, say he was trying to avoid jail
By TIM WYATT / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - A convicted con man's tall tales continue to confound federal authorities now that the truth about his ailing heart is out.
He forged his own dire diagnosis to stay out of jail.
After learning that Mauricio Aguirre Orcutt's grave medical condition was just another concocted story, prosecutors got permission Tuesday from a judge to withdraw an April plea bargain that gave the 36-year-old con man five years' probation on one count of mail fraud.
Prosecutor Tammy Reno declined to comment on the case, now that the legal process has restarted. Mr. Orcutt, a former dean for the Dallas County Community College District, originally was to be formally sentenced Thursday.
Defense attorney Michael Snipes said his client has been hospitalized but would not elaborate on what treatment he is receiving. Court papers filed this summer, however, show that Mr. Orcutt appears to have a history of mental health problems, including suicide attempts.
"It's a very sad and unfortunate case," said Mr. Snipes, who added that he will continue to defend Mr. Orcutt in court. "I don't know what's next for us. We're back to square one."
In April, Mr. Orcutt pleaded guilty of defrauding a South Texas magazine publisher out of thousands of dollars' worth of expensive, collectible fountain pens.
The U.S. Secret Service also found that Mr. Orcutt forged a thank-you note from President Bush on counterfeit White House letterhead to persuade his victim to ship him the pens.
Mr. Orcutt also claimed to have worked for the White House and the U.S. State Department and to have once rubbed elbows with dignitaries such as U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former Vice President Dan Quayle.
Background checks showed that he had also been convicted of stealing a San Antonio lawyer's credit card in 1996 and posing as a U.S. State Department official in 1997 to get a free room at Dallas' posh Crescent Hotel.
After Mr. Orcutt's fountain pen scam unraveled late last year, a check of his credentials by The Dallas Morning News showed that his master's in business administration from Harvard University was also bogus.
But armed with Mr. Orcutt's medical records early this spring, Mr. Snipes told prosecutors that he believed his client would die in jail because of "grave heart and pulmonary issues."
A letter said to be from Mr. Orcutt's doctor in January described Mr. Orcutt as having "extremely serious coronary artery disease and metabolic syndrome" and "very unstable angina/Q-wave myocardial infraction was found."
If anyone spotted the misspelling of myocardial infarction, it wasn't noted in court records, but prosecutors decided to show mercy and offered a probation deal.
In fact, according to court records, if Mr. Orcutt's attention hadn't turned back to stealing jewelry, no one would have been the wiser to his fake diagnosis.
In July, while awaiting sentencing in the pen case, Mr. Orcutt tricked a London jeweler into sending him samples of cufflinks that he planned to sell at a social function that he said Britain's Prince Andrew was planning to attend.
Authorities also referred vaguely to an incident in which he held himself out as T.G. Johnson, the "regional director of quality care" for the U.S. Postal Service. Once again, no such person exists.
When authorities confirmed that Mr. Orcutt's diagnosis was also fake, Ms. Reno filed to withdraw her humanitarian plea offer.
"Mr. Orcutt fraudulently induced the government into offering him an ... agreement for probation by submitting fraudulent medical records to his lawyer, who in turn submitted them to the government," Ms. Reno wrote in the request.
Mr. Snipes, who acknowledged he was also duped by his client, argued in court records that Mr. Orcutt's real mental health history – previously not an issue in the case – showed that he needed psychiatric attention more than prison.
Mr. Orcutt "will have to consider making an insanity defense," Mr. Snipes wrote. "Probation would appear to be appropriate, even now."
With little chance of getting another probation offer, Mr. Orcutt could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine – the maximum penalty for a conviction for mail fraud.
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TexasStooge
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Commissioners give initial OK to tax rate hike
Dallas County: Increase would pay for extra staff for sheriff, DA
By JAMES M. O'NEILL / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - A sharply divided Dallas County Commissioners Court voted 3-2 Tuesday to raise the county tax rate a maximum of 5 percent, or 1 cent per $100 in property value, to help pay for additional staff for the sheriff and district attorney, among other priorities.
The increase would be above the so-called rollback rate, which means that if the county does adopt the maximum increase initially approved Tuesday, it could trigger a vote by residents.
The commissioners will take a final vote on the tax rate when they approve the budget Sept. 27.
The maximum tax rate approved Tuesday would bring the county rate to 21.39 cents per $100 in property value. If that stands, it would mean a tax increase of $11 on a $139,000 home, the average value in the county, taking into consideration the 20 percent homestead exemption.
The commissioners did not disagree about the need for spending more in key areas, such as bringing the jail back into compliance with state standards. They differed on whether a tax hike was the way to pay for the increases.
County Judge Margaret Keliher, who voted against the tax increase, argued that the county was sitting on already-collected tax dollars in various funds that won't be needed immediately and could be diverted to cover the new costs for the coming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. The funds she referred to include millions of dollars for road improvement projects in commissioners' districts.
"I publicly stated in the past that I'd vote for a tax increase over the rollback rate, but only as a last option," Ms. Keliher said. "It's our duty to use taxpayer money wisely. Having money sitting in accounts is not helping us. It's irresponsible not to be looking at these other funds to balance the budget."
But others disagreed with her approach, saying those other funds are already dedicated to projects including roadwork that voters have approved.
"To begin with, I don't think there's $10 million out there" in the various funds, said Commissioner John Wiley Price, referring to roughly the amount a tax increase would generate. "And anyway we'd have to replenish them later on.
"This court has been extremely frugal and very forward-thinking," he said. "However, there are some important unmet needs, some of them self-imposed. I'm not willing to raid some other tills. This is our opportunity to make up for past indiscretions."
He said that even with a tax hike, the county would have "the lowest tax rate among any urban county" in Texas.
Commissioner Maurine Dickey agreed. "There's no question we face a crisis, and this is the fiscally prudent thing to do," she said. She said having cash on hand would help keep the county's bond rating high and ensure lower borrowing costs should the commissioners decide to use bonds for several big projects, including a new jail facility.
Commissioner Mike Cantrell voted with Mrs. Dickey and Mr. Price in favor of the increase.
Kenneth Mayfield, the commissioner who voted with Ms. Keliher against the increase, said the gap between expenses and revenue could be narrowed by cuts in some areas, rather than by raising the tax rate.
He said he would push for a 3 percent pay increase for county workers instead of the 5 percent being proposed. That would save $4.2 million. In addition, he said a plan to hire more sheriff's staff to take over highway patrols, freeing up local police departments to patrol residential neighborhoods, could be scaled back, saving $750,000.
The commissioners will not decide the final tax rate until they approve the budget Sept. 27. They could decide on a tax rate increase that is somewhat lower.
If they go for the full 1-cent increase, it would open the opportunity for residents to develop a petition drive to call for an election on the tax rate.
Tax votes must appear on ballots during uniform elections, in this case Nov. 8 or May 12.
Such a vote would cost the county about $500,000 to staff and manage, according to county elections administrator Bruce Sherbet. That would eat somewhat into the extra revenue raised by the higher tax rate.
The commissioners will have two public hearings on the tax rate, on Sept. 9 and Sept. 13. A budget hearing is set for Sept. 27.
Dallas County: Increase would pay for extra staff for sheriff, DA
By JAMES M. O'NEILL / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - A sharply divided Dallas County Commissioners Court voted 3-2 Tuesday to raise the county tax rate a maximum of 5 percent, or 1 cent per $100 in property value, to help pay for additional staff for the sheriff and district attorney, among other priorities.
The increase would be above the so-called rollback rate, which means that if the county does adopt the maximum increase initially approved Tuesday, it could trigger a vote by residents.
The commissioners will take a final vote on the tax rate when they approve the budget Sept. 27.
The maximum tax rate approved Tuesday would bring the county rate to 21.39 cents per $100 in property value. If that stands, it would mean a tax increase of $11 on a $139,000 home, the average value in the county, taking into consideration the 20 percent homestead exemption.
The commissioners did not disagree about the need for spending more in key areas, such as bringing the jail back into compliance with state standards. They differed on whether a tax hike was the way to pay for the increases.
County Judge Margaret Keliher, who voted against the tax increase, argued that the county was sitting on already-collected tax dollars in various funds that won't be needed immediately and could be diverted to cover the new costs for the coming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. The funds she referred to include millions of dollars for road improvement projects in commissioners' districts.
"I publicly stated in the past that I'd vote for a tax increase over the rollback rate, but only as a last option," Ms. Keliher said. "It's our duty to use taxpayer money wisely. Having money sitting in accounts is not helping us. It's irresponsible not to be looking at these other funds to balance the budget."
But others disagreed with her approach, saying those other funds are already dedicated to projects including roadwork that voters have approved.
"To begin with, I don't think there's $10 million out there" in the various funds, said Commissioner John Wiley Price, referring to roughly the amount a tax increase would generate. "And anyway we'd have to replenish them later on.
"This court has been extremely frugal and very forward-thinking," he said. "However, there are some important unmet needs, some of them self-imposed. I'm not willing to raid some other tills. This is our opportunity to make up for past indiscretions."
He said that even with a tax hike, the county would have "the lowest tax rate among any urban county" in Texas.
Commissioner Maurine Dickey agreed. "There's no question we face a crisis, and this is the fiscally prudent thing to do," she said. She said having cash on hand would help keep the county's bond rating high and ensure lower borrowing costs should the commissioners decide to use bonds for several big projects, including a new jail facility.
Commissioner Mike Cantrell voted with Mrs. Dickey and Mr. Price in favor of the increase.
Kenneth Mayfield, the commissioner who voted with Ms. Keliher against the increase, said the gap between expenses and revenue could be narrowed by cuts in some areas, rather than by raising the tax rate.
He said he would push for a 3 percent pay increase for county workers instead of the 5 percent being proposed. That would save $4.2 million. In addition, he said a plan to hire more sheriff's staff to take over highway patrols, freeing up local police departments to patrol residential neighborhoods, could be scaled back, saving $750,000.
The commissioners will not decide the final tax rate until they approve the budget Sept. 27. They could decide on a tax rate increase that is somewhat lower.
If they go for the full 1-cent increase, it would open the opportunity for residents to develop a petition drive to call for an election on the tax rate.
Tax votes must appear on ballots during uniform elections, in this case Nov. 8 or May 12.
Such a vote would cost the county about $500,000 to staff and manage, according to county elections administrator Bruce Sherbet. That would eat somewhat into the extra revenue raised by the higher tax rate.
The commissioners will have two public hearings on the tax rate, on Sept. 9 and Sept. 13. A budget hearing is set for Sept. 27.
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TexasStooge
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Dallas man dies after Okla. standoff
EDMOND, Okla./DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - Police said a Dallas-area man killed himself Wednesday morning after a more-than-three-hour stand-off with officers in western Edmond, Oklahoma.
Spokeswoman Glynda Chu said 38-year-old Timothy Russell was found dead in a bedroom of his ex-wife's home after police broke a window and an officer saw a body on the floor.
Chu said Russell was distraught over the recent divorce from his ex-wife. She says Russell drove from his Richardson home to Edmond, and kicked in a back door to the woman's home about dawn Wednesday.
She said Russell had moved to Texas from Edmond after the divorce in May.
The ex-wife and four children were able to escape the home and call police. Chu said the children are 8, 12, 16 and 18 years old.
The names of the woman and the children have not been released.
EDMOND, Okla./DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - Police said a Dallas-area man killed himself Wednesday morning after a more-than-three-hour stand-off with officers in western Edmond, Oklahoma.
Spokeswoman Glynda Chu said 38-year-old Timothy Russell was found dead in a bedroom of his ex-wife's home after police broke a window and an officer saw a body on the floor.
Chu said Russell was distraught over the recent divorce from his ex-wife. She says Russell drove from his Richardson home to Edmond, and kicked in a back door to the woman's home about dawn Wednesday.
She said Russell had moved to Texas from Edmond after the divorce in May.
The ex-wife and four children were able to escape the home and call police. Chu said the children are 8, 12, 16 and 18 years old.
The names of the woman and the children have not been released.
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TexasStooge
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New DNA evidence overturns rape conviction
AUSTIN, Texas (WFAA BAC 8/AP) – A man who was convicted of kidnapping and rape based in part on faulty evidence from the Houston crime lab was granted a new trial Wednesday by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
George Rodriguez, who says he is innocent, spent 17 years in prison but was released last year when a judge said inaccurate evidence played a key role in his 1987 conviction. The judge recommended a new trial. Mr. Rodriguez had been sentenced to 60 years.
New DNA evidence, which was not available at the time of his trial, shows that a pubic hair recovered from the victim was not his but does match the profile of another suspect in the crime.
Prosecutors have suggested they might continue pursuing charges against Mr. Rodriguez.
That would be "unjust, unfair and wrong," said Mr. Rodriguez's attorney, Mark Wawro.
The Harris County district attorney's office did not respond to a message from The Associated Press seeking comment.
When Mr. Rodriguez was ordered released in October, prosecutor Bill Hawkins said that there were "serious indicators" Mr. Rodriguez committed the crimes but that a new trial was warranted because the conviction was improper.
Mr. Hawkins has said there is other evidence to convict Mr. Rodriguez: The victim identified Mr. Rodriguez and said the rapist had a deep voice, and Mr. Rodriguez, without explanation, knew that the girl was sexually assaulted on a bed.
The Houston Police Department crime lab has been under fire for mislabeling and improperly storing old evidence, possible evidence contamination and training problems in its DNA section, which closed in 2002. It did not begin DNA work until five years after Mr. Rodriguez's trial.
AUSTIN, Texas (WFAA BAC 8/AP) – A man who was convicted of kidnapping and rape based in part on faulty evidence from the Houston crime lab was granted a new trial Wednesday by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
George Rodriguez, who says he is innocent, spent 17 years in prison but was released last year when a judge said inaccurate evidence played a key role in his 1987 conviction. The judge recommended a new trial. Mr. Rodriguez had been sentenced to 60 years.
New DNA evidence, which was not available at the time of his trial, shows that a pubic hair recovered from the victim was not his but does match the profile of another suspect in the crime.
Prosecutors have suggested they might continue pursuing charges against Mr. Rodriguez.
That would be "unjust, unfair and wrong," said Mr. Rodriguez's attorney, Mark Wawro.
The Harris County district attorney's office did not respond to a message from The Associated Press seeking comment.
When Mr. Rodriguez was ordered released in October, prosecutor Bill Hawkins said that there were "serious indicators" Mr. Rodriguez committed the crimes but that a new trial was warranted because the conviction was improper.
Mr. Hawkins has said there is other evidence to convict Mr. Rodriguez: The victim identified Mr. Rodriguez and said the rapist had a deep voice, and Mr. Rodriguez, without explanation, knew that the girl was sexually assaulted on a bed.
The Houston Police Department crime lab has been under fire for mislabeling and improperly storing old evidence, possible evidence contamination and training problems in its DNA section, which closed in 2002. It did not begin DNA work until five years after Mr. Rodriguez's trial.
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TexasStooge
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Child-seat age requirements rise
By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA ABC 8
Hundreds of pediatric injuries and deaths each year are actually caused by seatbelts because they are designed for adult bodies - not children.
But a new law that takes effect Thursday has raised the age a child is required to wear a safety seat.
While little Tyler may not be happy with his new booster seat - or the law that requires him to sit in it - his mother Kim Rice said she feels a little easier knowing he can't squirm around as much.
Under House Bill 183, he will have to continue riding in a safety seat until he is five years old. Currently, car seats are required for children only up to age four.
"It absolutely will save lives and decrease the number of significant devastating injuries that we see," said Dr. Todd Maxson, a children's trauma director. "It absolutely will."
The surgeon said he sees injuries every day that are caused by seatbelts worn by children over age four. Boosting a child a bit reduces injuries by 60 percent.
Rice said she thought a seatbelt would be just fine for her son, but said she now knows better and would never take a chance.
"In case something might happen - I don't want to jinx myself - but in case something might happen, I know that he'll be safe in the back seat," she said.
Parents who don't strap their children into booster seats will face a fine starting Thursday.
By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA ABC 8
Hundreds of pediatric injuries and deaths each year are actually caused by seatbelts because they are designed for adult bodies - not children.
But a new law that takes effect Thursday has raised the age a child is required to wear a safety seat.
While little Tyler may not be happy with his new booster seat - or the law that requires him to sit in it - his mother Kim Rice said she feels a little easier knowing he can't squirm around as much.
Under House Bill 183, he will have to continue riding in a safety seat until he is five years old. Currently, car seats are required for children only up to age four.
"It absolutely will save lives and decrease the number of significant devastating injuries that we see," said Dr. Todd Maxson, a children's trauma director. "It absolutely will."
The surgeon said he sees injuries every day that are caused by seatbelts worn by children over age four. Boosting a child a bit reduces injuries by 60 percent.
Rice said she thought a seatbelt would be just fine for her son, but said she now knows better and would never take a chance.
"In case something might happen - I don't want to jinx myself - but in case something might happen, I know that he'll be safe in the back seat," she said.
Parents who don't strap their children into booster seats will face a fine starting Thursday.
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TexasStooge
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Texas puts 1,000 new laws on the books
Death (but not taxes) among issues addressed by Legislature
By KAREN BROOKS / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas – Thursday morning, there are nearly 1,000 new Texas laws to obey.
New teen drivers who like to talk on their cellphones on their way to school might find traffic tickets more expensive if they're yapping to a buddy when they run a stop sign.
But a motorist whose car gets towed away is likely to find it easier to rescue the vehicle now that he can use a credit card to pay the fee.
Overall, those affected include grieving parents, divorcing couples, pregnant teenagers, gun owners, drinkers, criminals and victims.
The new legislation – 755 bills containing close to 1,000 new rules and regulations – is the work of the part-time Legislature scrambling to make laws during the limited time the Texas Constitution allows it to meet: five months every two years.
Apart from the laws effective Thursday, a few hundred measures won't be in force until January. Others take months or a couple of years to fully implement. Some, like a resolution outlawing gay marriage and civil unions, won't take effect at all unless approved by voters in November.
Notably absent from the list of accomplishments by lawmakers this year is a solution to school finance, an overhaul of campaign finance laws and property tax relief.
But lawmakers have tinkered with just about everything else.
Drivers
In Dallas and Tarrant counties, parts of Interstate 20 will be renamed the Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway.
Fans of presidential politics crossing the state line will see signs reading: "Welcome to Texas – Proud to be the Home of President George W. Bush."
Auto buyers and renters now have to be notified if the car they're about to drive away has a "black box" that will record speed, brake action and other factors if the car is in an accident.
Teenagers in their first six months of a graduated driver's license can't be pulled over for talking on their cellphones – or messing with Blackberries and similar wireless devices – but their ticket fines increase if they're stopped for something else while they're talking.
Drivers who park in the wrong place and confront towing companies stand to benefit in two ways. Apartment complexes and other private lots will be required to post their "Tow Away Zones" on larger signs. The other change is something that some larger cities, such as Dallas, are already doing: requiring tow companies to let drivers use credit, debit or electronic checks to spring their cars from the wrecker's lot.
The cost will likely go down, too, as legislation limits the fees that individual companies can charge on top of standard tow rates.
"It's bad enough getting your car towed," said Dallas businessman Dan Messina, owner of Southwest Auto Tow, which accepts credit cards. "And when a person comes to the window, it's bad enough to tell them they owe 'x' number of dollars – and then to tell them that it has to be cash just irritates them more. We try to make it as peaceful and pleasant as possible."
Families
New legislation also allows parents whose baby is stillborn to obtain a birth certificate from the hospital. Similar laws are in effect in five other states. Until now, Texas has provided only death certificates for stillborn children – not birth certificates.
It's an idea that Fort Worth resident John Nevels found appalling when his son, Bump Nevels, was stillborn three years ago.
"That's a slap in the face to a woman who spent 18 hours giving birth," he said. "We gave birth to our son. He matters. I would like generations on down the line that carry my name to be able to go back and look through the records and say: 'Wow, this kid did exist. He made a difference.' "
Laws governing the state's Child Protective Services have been overhauled. It becomes a felony if someone knowingly files a false child abuse report with the intent to deceive the agency. The legislation, upping the law from a misdemeanor, is a boon for parents in custody battles who may face false reports by disgruntled ex-spouses. But the measure caused concern among child welfare experts who worry that the legislation will deter people from reporting suspicious behavior.
Parents who are merely practicing "reasonable discipline" when they pull out the switch can breathe easier; legislation affirming their right to administer corporal punishment to their kids has been written into the Texas Family Code.
Doctors performing abortions on pregnant minors had to notify the girls' parents before Thursday. Now, according to new regulations from the Board of Medical Examiners, those doctors must get the girls' parents' consent or they risk losing their licenses.
Other changes are aimed at creating better habits. Teens will have to take a class in personal finance before they can get a high school diploma – perhaps lessening the financial burden on parents sending them off to college in future years.
Once students get to college, they will have a representative seat on the university system's Board of Regents.
They should also know that the staunch anti-hazing laws that apply to public universities now apply to private ones, too.
And if they drink too much alcohol before they turn 21, get into an accident and hurt someone, the adult who plied them with the alcohol is responsible for the damage.
Guns
Gun owners will find it cheaper to renew their licenses because they'll start expiring in five years, not four.
Civilians will still have to wait until they turn 21 to qualify for concealed-carry permits, but 18-year-olds can start carrying concealed weapons if they're in the military.
And restrictions on the concealed-carry law were loosened further when lawmakers decided that while a straight-up felony conviction still prohibits someone from getting a permit, a so-called deferred adjudication – in which the defendant pleads no contest and gets his trial permanently deferred for good behavior – doesn't count.
Crime
Criminals and their victims – particularly those involved in identity theft – will see changes, too.
Companies that require Social Security numbers for services must design policies to keep that information private.
Banks must mark checks as "forged" or "fraudulent" if the account owner proves that he or she has been the victim of identity theft.
Those and other measures, which include credit repair for victims of ID theft, will help victims recover financially much faster than they can now, said Rep. Helen Giddings, D-Dallas, who is trying to get her business in order after someone stole her personal information.
"Victims are often treated as deadbeats, and they seem to not be able to find help anyplace," she said.
Capital murder convicts now face two options when juries decide how to punish them: life without parole or the death penalty. Jurors can no longer recommend a life sentence with parole. Death-penalty supporters insisted on the provision, arguing that life without parole would otherwise discourage the death penalty.
Murder suspects can also have their phones tapped under new legislation. And murdering a judge is now a capital crime.
On a less serious note, lawmakers created a few new crimes. One of them was videotaping movies in theaters, a pirating practice that the movie industry estimates cost it $3.5 billion last year across the U.S.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DallasNews.com/extra:
Full text: 750+ laws take effect today
Death (but not taxes) among issues addressed by Legislature
By KAREN BROOKS / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas – Thursday morning, there are nearly 1,000 new Texas laws to obey.
New teen drivers who like to talk on their cellphones on their way to school might find traffic tickets more expensive if they're yapping to a buddy when they run a stop sign.
But a motorist whose car gets towed away is likely to find it easier to rescue the vehicle now that he can use a credit card to pay the fee.
Overall, those affected include grieving parents, divorcing couples, pregnant teenagers, gun owners, drinkers, criminals and victims.
The new legislation – 755 bills containing close to 1,000 new rules and regulations – is the work of the part-time Legislature scrambling to make laws during the limited time the Texas Constitution allows it to meet: five months every two years.
Apart from the laws effective Thursday, a few hundred measures won't be in force until January. Others take months or a couple of years to fully implement. Some, like a resolution outlawing gay marriage and civil unions, won't take effect at all unless approved by voters in November.
Notably absent from the list of accomplishments by lawmakers this year is a solution to school finance, an overhaul of campaign finance laws and property tax relief.
But lawmakers have tinkered with just about everything else.
Drivers
In Dallas and Tarrant counties, parts of Interstate 20 will be renamed the Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway.
Fans of presidential politics crossing the state line will see signs reading: "Welcome to Texas – Proud to be the Home of President George W. Bush."
Auto buyers and renters now have to be notified if the car they're about to drive away has a "black box" that will record speed, brake action and other factors if the car is in an accident.
Teenagers in their first six months of a graduated driver's license can't be pulled over for talking on their cellphones – or messing with Blackberries and similar wireless devices – but their ticket fines increase if they're stopped for something else while they're talking.
Drivers who park in the wrong place and confront towing companies stand to benefit in two ways. Apartment complexes and other private lots will be required to post their "Tow Away Zones" on larger signs. The other change is something that some larger cities, such as Dallas, are already doing: requiring tow companies to let drivers use credit, debit or electronic checks to spring their cars from the wrecker's lot.
The cost will likely go down, too, as legislation limits the fees that individual companies can charge on top of standard tow rates.
"It's bad enough getting your car towed," said Dallas businessman Dan Messina, owner of Southwest Auto Tow, which accepts credit cards. "And when a person comes to the window, it's bad enough to tell them they owe 'x' number of dollars – and then to tell them that it has to be cash just irritates them more. We try to make it as peaceful and pleasant as possible."
Families
New legislation also allows parents whose baby is stillborn to obtain a birth certificate from the hospital. Similar laws are in effect in five other states. Until now, Texas has provided only death certificates for stillborn children – not birth certificates.
It's an idea that Fort Worth resident John Nevels found appalling when his son, Bump Nevels, was stillborn three years ago.
"That's a slap in the face to a woman who spent 18 hours giving birth," he said. "We gave birth to our son. He matters. I would like generations on down the line that carry my name to be able to go back and look through the records and say: 'Wow, this kid did exist. He made a difference.' "
Laws governing the state's Child Protective Services have been overhauled. It becomes a felony if someone knowingly files a false child abuse report with the intent to deceive the agency. The legislation, upping the law from a misdemeanor, is a boon for parents in custody battles who may face false reports by disgruntled ex-spouses. But the measure caused concern among child welfare experts who worry that the legislation will deter people from reporting suspicious behavior.
Parents who are merely practicing "reasonable discipline" when they pull out the switch can breathe easier; legislation affirming their right to administer corporal punishment to their kids has been written into the Texas Family Code.
Doctors performing abortions on pregnant minors had to notify the girls' parents before Thursday. Now, according to new regulations from the Board of Medical Examiners, those doctors must get the girls' parents' consent or they risk losing their licenses.
Other changes are aimed at creating better habits. Teens will have to take a class in personal finance before they can get a high school diploma – perhaps lessening the financial burden on parents sending them off to college in future years.
Once students get to college, they will have a representative seat on the university system's Board of Regents.
They should also know that the staunch anti-hazing laws that apply to public universities now apply to private ones, too.
And if they drink too much alcohol before they turn 21, get into an accident and hurt someone, the adult who plied them with the alcohol is responsible for the damage.
Guns
Gun owners will find it cheaper to renew their licenses because they'll start expiring in five years, not four.
Civilians will still have to wait until they turn 21 to qualify for concealed-carry permits, but 18-year-olds can start carrying concealed weapons if they're in the military.
And restrictions on the concealed-carry law were loosened further when lawmakers decided that while a straight-up felony conviction still prohibits someone from getting a permit, a so-called deferred adjudication – in which the defendant pleads no contest and gets his trial permanently deferred for good behavior – doesn't count.
Crime
Criminals and their victims – particularly those involved in identity theft – will see changes, too.
Companies that require Social Security numbers for services must design policies to keep that information private.
Banks must mark checks as "forged" or "fraudulent" if the account owner proves that he or she has been the victim of identity theft.
Those and other measures, which include credit repair for victims of ID theft, will help victims recover financially much faster than they can now, said Rep. Helen Giddings, D-Dallas, who is trying to get her business in order after someone stole her personal information.
"Victims are often treated as deadbeats, and they seem to not be able to find help anyplace," she said.
Capital murder convicts now face two options when juries decide how to punish them: life without parole or the death penalty. Jurors can no longer recommend a life sentence with parole. Death-penalty supporters insisted on the provision, arguing that life without parole would otherwise discourage the death penalty.
Murder suspects can also have their phones tapped under new legislation. And murdering a judge is now a capital crime.
On a less serious note, lawmakers created a few new crimes. One of them was videotaping movies in theaters, a pirating practice that the movie industry estimates cost it $3.5 billion last year across the U.S.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DallasNews.com/extra:
Full text: 750+ laws take effect today
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TexasStooge
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Accused Plano mom won't face death
Plano: Schlosser's attorney planning insanity defense
By TIARA M. ELLIS / The Dallas Morning News
PLANO, Texas - A Plano mother accused of severing her 10-month-old daughter's arms will not face the death penalty when tried next year, according to Collin County district attorney's office officials.
Dena Schlosser, 36, remains in the Collin County jail facing a capital murder charge in Margaret Schlosser's death.
"Based on everything we know about this case, we just don't think this is a case for the death penalty," said Collin County Assistant District Attorney Curtis Howard.
Ms. Schlosser's attorney, David Haynes, said he was happy with the decision.
"Any time you have a client that was about to be put on trial for her life and isn't, that's a good development."
In November, police responding to a 911 call arrived at the Plano apartment Ms. Schlosser shared with her husband, John, and their three children. She held a knife and told police that she had cut off Margaret's arms. The child was found in a bedroom and whisked to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Ms. Schlosser had been diagnosed with postpartum psychosis. She was found incompetent to stand trial in February after a jury determined she was unable to assist with her own defense.
Then Ms. Schlosser was treated at North Texas State Hospital in Vernon until her competency was declared restored in late May. Not long afterward, she was returned to the Collin County Jail.
Mr. Haynes said that he last saw Ms. Schlosser on Monday and that she continues to improve.
This week, Mr. Haynes filed paperwork declaring his intent to raise an insanity defense.
"We believe that we have strong evidence to indicate that she was insane at the time of the offense," Mr. Haynes said.
The day before Margaret's death, Ms. Schlosser reportedly told her husband that she wanted to give her daughter "to God." Ms. Schlosser's stepfather and mother, Mick and Connie Macaulay, have said Ms. Schlosser's mental state combined with her fervent religious beliefs and obsession with her church's charismatic leader led her to harm her youngest daughter.
Doyle Davidson, leader of Water of Life Church in Plano, is a self-proclaimed prophet who preaches that women have a "Jezebel spirit" and must submit to their husbands. He has said he has been blamed unfairly and does not manipulate people.
The Macaulays, who live in Canada, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Mr. Schlosser has custody of the couple's two older daughters and has filed for divorce. Mr. Schlosser could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
But his attorney, Howard Shapiro, said his client is pleased Ms. Schlosser won't face the death penalty. But Mr. Schlosser does not want her to have access to their daughters, Mr. Shapiro said.
"We don't have any desire that she be put to death," Mr. Shapiro said. "That wasn't the real Dena Schlosser that did what she did that day. Putting her to death won't solve any of the issues of that day ... probably harm them [their daughters] more than anything else."
A trial date is expected to be scheduled for February, said Mr. Howard, the prosecutor.
Plano: Schlosser's attorney planning insanity defense
By TIARA M. ELLIS / The Dallas Morning News
PLANO, Texas - A Plano mother accused of severing her 10-month-old daughter's arms will not face the death penalty when tried next year, according to Collin County district attorney's office officials.
Dena Schlosser, 36, remains in the Collin County jail facing a capital murder charge in Margaret Schlosser's death.
"Based on everything we know about this case, we just don't think this is a case for the death penalty," said Collin County Assistant District Attorney Curtis Howard.
Ms. Schlosser's attorney, David Haynes, said he was happy with the decision.
"Any time you have a client that was about to be put on trial for her life and isn't, that's a good development."
In November, police responding to a 911 call arrived at the Plano apartment Ms. Schlosser shared with her husband, John, and their three children. She held a knife and told police that she had cut off Margaret's arms. The child was found in a bedroom and whisked to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Ms. Schlosser had been diagnosed with postpartum psychosis. She was found incompetent to stand trial in February after a jury determined she was unable to assist with her own defense.
Then Ms. Schlosser was treated at North Texas State Hospital in Vernon until her competency was declared restored in late May. Not long afterward, she was returned to the Collin County Jail.
Mr. Haynes said that he last saw Ms. Schlosser on Monday and that she continues to improve.
This week, Mr. Haynes filed paperwork declaring his intent to raise an insanity defense.
"We believe that we have strong evidence to indicate that she was insane at the time of the offense," Mr. Haynes said.
The day before Margaret's death, Ms. Schlosser reportedly told her husband that she wanted to give her daughter "to God." Ms. Schlosser's stepfather and mother, Mick and Connie Macaulay, have said Ms. Schlosser's mental state combined with her fervent religious beliefs and obsession with her church's charismatic leader led her to harm her youngest daughter.
Doyle Davidson, leader of Water of Life Church in Plano, is a self-proclaimed prophet who preaches that women have a "Jezebel spirit" and must submit to their husbands. He has said he has been blamed unfairly and does not manipulate people.
The Macaulays, who live in Canada, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Mr. Schlosser has custody of the couple's two older daughters and has filed for divorce. Mr. Schlosser could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
But his attorney, Howard Shapiro, said his client is pleased Ms. Schlosser won't face the death penalty. But Mr. Schlosser does not want her to have access to their daughters, Mr. Shapiro said.
"We don't have any desire that she be put to death," Mr. Shapiro said. "That wasn't the real Dena Schlosser that did what she did that day. Putting her to death won't solve any of the issues of that day ... probably harm them [their daughters] more than anything else."
A trial date is expected to be scheduled for February, said Mr. Howard, the prosecutor.
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TexasStooge
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Arlington firefighter killed in wreck
ARLINGTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Arlington fire personnel are mourning the loss of one of their own in a car accident Thursday morning.
Rick Hosford, an apparatus operator who dutifully served as a firefighter for 23 years, died from injuries sustained after a traffic collision in Crowley. He was not on duty at the time of the wreck, but was in uniform and on his way to work.
Hosford, 54, joined the fire department in January of 1983. He was promoted to the position of Apparatus Operator in May of 1990, and had most recently been assigned to Station 13A in southwest Arlington.
“Rick served the citizens of Arlington as a professional who was a proud member of our Fire Department,” said Fire Chief Robin Paulsgrove. “He was a family man known for his faith and commitment to his wife and children. His death is a tremendous loss for our entire Fire Department family and he will be deeply missed.”
Hosford earned a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Dallas Baptist College and served for more than seven years in the U.S. Army. He was an active member of First Baptist Church in Glen Rose where he taught a Sunday school class. He was awarded the Downtown Rotary Club’s Firefighter of the Month for April 1986.
He is survived by his wife Diann and their four children. Funeral arrangements are pending.
ARLINGTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Arlington fire personnel are mourning the loss of one of their own in a car accident Thursday morning.
Rick Hosford, an apparatus operator who dutifully served as a firefighter for 23 years, died from injuries sustained after a traffic collision in Crowley. He was not on duty at the time of the wreck, but was in uniform and on his way to work.
Hosford, 54, joined the fire department in January of 1983. He was promoted to the position of Apparatus Operator in May of 1990, and had most recently been assigned to Station 13A in southwest Arlington.
“Rick served the citizens of Arlington as a professional who was a proud member of our Fire Department,” said Fire Chief Robin Paulsgrove. “He was a family man known for his faith and commitment to his wife and children. His death is a tremendous loss for our entire Fire Department family and he will be deeply missed.”
Hosford earned a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Dallas Baptist College and served for more than seven years in the U.S. Army. He was an active member of First Baptist Church in Glen Rose where he taught a Sunday school class. He was awarded the Downtown Rotary Club’s Firefighter of the Month for April 1986.
He is survived by his wife Diann and their four children. Funeral arrangements are pending.
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TexasStooge
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Baby sitter held in child's death
By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - A 35-year-old Irving baby sitter was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of capital murder in connection with the death of a 1-year-old girl who died from head injuries.
Elly J. Koo was accompanied by her attorney when she surrendered at the Irving city jail Wednesday morning, said Officer David Tull, police spokesman.
Irving authorities would not identify her lawyer.
Ms. Koo was looking after Kaitlyn Santoso on Aug. 18 at her apartment on Love Drive when she called the baby's mother and told her that the child would not wake up, police said.
The child's mother came over to the apartment. Police said that because Kaitlyn was breathing and there was a doctor's office in the 7200 block of North State Highway 161 – about a block away – the mother made the decision to take Kaitlyn there.
"There was no visible trauma," Officer Tull said. "She took the action that she thought was necessary at the time."
After evaluating the child, medical staff summoned an ambulance, which transported her to the hospital.
Doctors at Children's Medical Center Dallas kept Kaitlyn alive for days before she was pronounced dead just after noon Aug. 21.
The Dallas County medical examiner ruled her death a homicide by blunt force injuries.
"There are some notable injuries that lead us to believe we may be looking at a possible child-abuse situation," said Officer Tull, who declined to say how the child died. "There are multitudes of things that could cause blunt force injuries."
No other arrests are expected.
Child Protective Services spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales said neither Ms. Koo nor Kaitlyn's mother has a history with the agency.
By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - A 35-year-old Irving baby sitter was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of capital murder in connection with the death of a 1-year-old girl who died from head injuries.
Elly J. Koo was accompanied by her attorney when she surrendered at the Irving city jail Wednesday morning, said Officer David Tull, police spokesman.
Irving authorities would not identify her lawyer.
Ms. Koo was looking after Kaitlyn Santoso on Aug. 18 at her apartment on Love Drive when she called the baby's mother and told her that the child would not wake up, police said.
The child's mother came over to the apartment. Police said that because Kaitlyn was breathing and there was a doctor's office in the 7200 block of North State Highway 161 – about a block away – the mother made the decision to take Kaitlyn there.
"There was no visible trauma," Officer Tull said. "She took the action that she thought was necessary at the time."
After evaluating the child, medical staff summoned an ambulance, which transported her to the hospital.
Doctors at Children's Medical Center Dallas kept Kaitlyn alive for days before she was pronounced dead just after noon Aug. 21.
The Dallas County medical examiner ruled her death a homicide by blunt force injuries.
"There are some notable injuries that lead us to believe we may be looking at a possible child-abuse situation," said Officer Tull, who declined to say how the child died. "There are multitudes of things that could cause blunt force injuries."
No other arrests are expected.
Child Protective Services spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales said neither Ms. Koo nor Kaitlyn's mother has a history with the agency.
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TexasStooge
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Babysitter gets 99 years for choking death
AUSTIN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - A 22-year-old former babysitter has been sentenced to 99 years in prison after she was convicted of stuffing paper towels down a 21-month-old Austin boy's throat.
A Travis County jury returned the sentence Thursday after convicting Rosa Jimenez of murder Wednesday in the 2003 death of Bryan Gutierrez.
Jimenez won't be eligible for parole for over 27 years. The 2.5 years she's spent behind bars awaiting trial will be credited toward her time served.
Jimenez had told police that she noticed the child had begun struggling to breathe, and didn't know how the paper towels had become lodged in his throat.
AUSTIN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - A 22-year-old former babysitter has been sentenced to 99 years in prison after she was convicted of stuffing paper towels down a 21-month-old Austin boy's throat.
A Travis County jury returned the sentence Thursday after convicting Rosa Jimenez of murder Wednesday in the 2003 death of Bryan Gutierrez.
Jimenez won't be eligible for parole for over 27 years. The 2.5 years she's spent behind bars awaiting trial will be credited toward her time served.
Jimenez had told police that she noticed the child had begun struggling to breathe, and didn't know how the paper towels had become lodged in his throat.
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TexasStooge
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An animal magnet on land or in the sea
Irving: Veterinarian debuts underwater photos this month
By DEBORAH FLECK / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - Judy Johnson captures color in darkness.
With scuba gear and camera in tow, she plunges under the sea to photograph its beauty.
"I was amazed at what I saw down there," the Irving resident said about her first snorkeling trip in 1988. After taking a few scuba diving lessons and reading several books, she began a career as an underwater photographer in 1991. She also is a part-time veterinarian at the Lewisville North Animal Clinic.
Her love of all animals, land-based or aquatic, shines through in her photographs on display in the Dupree Theater Lobby of the Irving Arts Center.
A Nemo-like clownfish smiles through vibrant anemone in one photo. A shy thorny seahorse glances sideways in another. There is also a brown and white mimic octopus spreading its tentacles and a spotted moray eel baring its sharp teeth.
One photo of a manta ray includes a story about how Dr. Johnson saved the fish's life.
"While diving in Bali, I came across a huge manta ray that had a fishing line, hooks and rope cutting into his flesh," she said. "I removed two hooks, and he pushed me away, but somehow we were communicating, and the intelligent creature knew I was helping him."
She freed him from the ropes and then swam alongside so they could look each other in the eye. "It was an emotional moment because I felt like he was thanking me before he slowly started to descend."
She saved the rope and hooks, which are on display next to her photos of the peaceful creature.
After the rescue, she said her friends joked that her business cards should read, "doctor of dogs, cats and manta rays."
She has traveled to the Caribbean and South Pacific and said she likes all spots equally. Her significant other, Don Lewis, whom she met at a meeting of the Dallas Underwater Photographic Society, accompanies her. He is an underwater photographer and videographer who helps with the technical aspects of the job, she said.
Dr. Johnson has won several awards in international competitions and has been named photographer of the year by the society for a few years.
Marcie Inman, curator of the Irving Arts Center, said this is the center's first underwater photography exhibit.
"It is adventuresome and exciting because of all that is involved with the work," she said about working underwater.
This is Dr. Johnson's first exhibit, because she is too busy to organize her work, she said. She hopes to continue showing her work between trips. She leaves Tuesday for Bali.
Irving: Veterinarian debuts underwater photos this month
By DEBORAH FLECK / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas - Judy Johnson captures color in darkness.
With scuba gear and camera in tow, she plunges under the sea to photograph its beauty.
"I was amazed at what I saw down there," the Irving resident said about her first snorkeling trip in 1988. After taking a few scuba diving lessons and reading several books, she began a career as an underwater photographer in 1991. She also is a part-time veterinarian at the Lewisville North Animal Clinic.
Her love of all animals, land-based or aquatic, shines through in her photographs on display in the Dupree Theater Lobby of the Irving Arts Center.
A Nemo-like clownfish smiles through vibrant anemone in one photo. A shy thorny seahorse glances sideways in another. There is also a brown and white mimic octopus spreading its tentacles and a spotted moray eel baring its sharp teeth.
One photo of a manta ray includes a story about how Dr. Johnson saved the fish's life.
"While diving in Bali, I came across a huge manta ray that had a fishing line, hooks and rope cutting into his flesh," she said. "I removed two hooks, and he pushed me away, but somehow we were communicating, and the intelligent creature knew I was helping him."
She freed him from the ropes and then swam alongside so they could look each other in the eye. "It was an emotional moment because I felt like he was thanking me before he slowly started to descend."
She saved the rope and hooks, which are on display next to her photos of the peaceful creature.
After the rescue, she said her friends joked that her business cards should read, "doctor of dogs, cats and manta rays."
She has traveled to the Caribbean and South Pacific and said she likes all spots equally. Her significant other, Don Lewis, whom she met at a meeting of the Dallas Underwater Photographic Society, accompanies her. He is an underwater photographer and videographer who helps with the technical aspects of the job, she said.
Dr. Johnson has won several awards in international competitions and has been named photographer of the year by the society for a few years.
Marcie Inman, curator of the Irving Arts Center, said this is the center's first underwater photography exhibit.
"It is adventuresome and exciting because of all that is involved with the work," she said about working underwater.
This is Dr. Johnson's first exhibit, because she is too busy to organize her work, she said. She hopes to continue showing her work between trips. She leaves Tuesday for Bali.
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rainstorm
TexasStooge wrote:Prosecutors say man faked heart ailment
Dallas: Authorities pull plea deal, say he was trying to avoid jail
By TIM WYATT / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - A convicted con man's tall tales continue to confound federal authorities now that the truth about his ailing heart is out.
He forged his own dire diagnosis to stay out of jail.
After learning that Mauricio Aguirre Orcutt's grave medical condition was just another concocted story, prosecutors got permission Tuesday from a judge to withdraw an April plea bargain that gave the 36-year-old con man five years' probation on one count of mail fraud.
Prosecutor Tammy Reno declined to comment on the case, now that the legal process has restarted. Mr. Orcutt, a former dean for the Dallas County Community College District, originally was to be formally sentenced Thursday.
Defense attorney Michael Snipes said his client has been hospitalized but would not elaborate on what treatment he is receiving. Court papers filed this summer, however, show that Mr. Orcutt appears to have a history of mental health problems, including suicide attempts.
"It's a very sad and unfortunate case," said Mr. Snipes, who added that he will continue to defend Mr. Orcutt in court. "I don't know what's next for us. We're back to square one."
In April, Mr. Orcutt pleaded guilty of defrauding a South Texas magazine publisher out of thousands of dollars' worth of expensive, collectible fountain pens.
The U.S. Secret Service also found that Mr. Orcutt forged a thank-you note from President Bush on counterfeit White House letterhead to persuade his victim to ship him the pens.
Mr. Orcutt also claimed to have worked for the White House and the U.S. State Department and to have once rubbed elbows with dignitaries such as U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former Vice President Dan Quayle.
Background checks showed that he had also been convicted of stealing a San Antonio lawyer's credit card in 1996 and posing as a U.S. State Department official in 1997 to get a free room at Dallas' posh Crescent Hotel.
After Mr. Orcutt's fountain pen scam unraveled late last year, a check of his credentials by The Dallas Morning News showed that his master's in business administration from Harvard University was also bogus.
But armed with Mr. Orcutt's medical records early this spring, Mr. Snipes told prosecutors that he believed his client would die in jail because of "grave heart and pulmonary issues."
A letter said to be from Mr. Orcutt's doctor in January described Mr. Orcutt as having "extremely serious coronary artery disease and metabolic syndrome" and "very unstable angina/Q-wave myocardial infraction was found."
If anyone spotted the misspelling of myocardial infarction, it wasn't noted in court records, but prosecutors decided to show mercy and offered a probation deal.
In fact, according to court records, if Mr. Orcutt's attention hadn't turned back to stealing jewelry, no one would have been the wiser to his fake diagnosis.
In July, while awaiting sentencing in the pen case, Mr. Orcutt tricked a London jeweler into sending him samples of cufflinks that he planned to sell at a social function that he said Britain's Prince Andrew was planning to attend.
Authorities also referred vaguely to an incident in which he held himself out as T.G. Johnson, the "regional director of quality care" for the U.S. Postal Service. Once again, no such person exists.
When authorities confirmed that Mr. Orcutt's diagnosis was also fake, Ms. Reno filed to withdraw her humanitarian plea offer.
"Mr. Orcutt fraudulently induced the government into offering him an ... agreement for probation by submitting fraudulent medical records to his lawyer, who in turn submitted them to the government," Ms. Reno wrote in the request.
Mr. Snipes, who acknowledged he was also duped by his client, argued in court records that Mr. Orcutt's real mental health history – previously not an issue in the case – showed that he needed psychiatric attention more than prison.
Mr. Orcutt "will have to consider making an insanity defense," Mr. Snipes wrote. "Probation would appear to be appropriate, even now."
With little chance of getting another probation offer, Mr. Orcutt could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine – the maximum penalty for a conviction for mail fraud.
at least he is resourceful
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TexasStooge
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Unpaid tickets, birth-date discrepancy risk planner's eligibility
By BROOKS EGERTON and EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - New questions have emerged about Dallas Plan Commissioner D'Angelo Lee's identity, debts and eligibility to hold public office.
Mr. Lee owes nearly $1,600 for unpaid traffic violations dating to 2000, city records show. As such, he was ineligible to join the Plan Commission in 2003 and now cannot continue unless he pays the fines, according to city ordinances.
"We were not aware of his being in arrears," said Assistant City Secretary Deborah Watkins. Her office is supposed to notify the City Council about such problems.
Mr. Lee also has given local governments three contradictory sworn statements about his birth date, a Dallas Morning News review shows. He declined to comment.
The contradictions could constitute perjury, District Attorney Bill Hill said. He said his office would investigate unless the matter conflicts with the FBI's City Hall investigation, which has targeted Mr. Lee and several other officials.
Mayor Laura Miller was incredulous Friday when told of the birth-date discrepancies and unpaid fines.
"It's a shame that the news media had to do what the city should have done, as far as doing a routine check," she said. "I can't imagine, at this point, anybody on the City Council voting to keep him in his position."
The council is scheduled to vote Wednesday on Ms. Miller's effort to remove Mr. Lee. Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill, who appointed Mr. Lee in 2003, has said he wants him to continue serving.
Council member Ed Oakley said he hopes the new revelations lead the plan commissioner to quit.
"I would say it's in his best interest, at this stage of the game," Mr. Oakley said. Three weeks ago, he voted to refer complaints about Mr. Lee to the city Ethics Commission, which has not decided whether to investigate.
The birth-date contradictions:
• When Don Hill nominated him in 2003, Mr. Lee signed a form saying that he was born on Dec. 22, 1965. That matches his Texas driver's license.
• When Don Hill unsuccessfully sought to put him on a second city board, in May 2005, Mr. Lee listed the date as Dec. 23, 1966.
• Neither of these dates matches Mr. Lee's 1995 voter-registration application. On it, he swore that he was born on Dec. 23, 1965.
Mr. Lee declined The Dallas Morning News' offer to examine and explain the records. "I don't want to discuss any documents," he said Thursday after a hurricane-relief meeting at St. Paul United Methodist Church.
What is your birth date? The News asked. Mr. Lee did not answer and retreated into the office of St. Paul's pastor, the Rev. L. Charles Stovall.
Mr. Lee's attorney, Douglas Greene, said he didn't know his client's birth date or how to explain the discrepancies.
"Wow," Mr. Greene said. "That's all news to me."
The attorney said he was also unaware of Mr. Lee's unpaid traffic tickets.
"He has the means to pay," Mr. Greene said.
Two of the six tickets were for failure to maintain financial responsibility. Such a charge usually means that a driver has no proof of insurance, officials say.
Another two citations, from 2001, list a fourth birth date for Mr. Lee. Those may be typos in city records, officials said.
Four of the six unpaid citations were pending in 2003, when city officials were supposed to do a background check before letting Mr. Lee join the Plan Commission.
The final two citations occurred in June, about a week before the FBI raided Don Hill's City Hall office and Mr. Lee's private office just south of downtown. Mr. Lee was driving a Mercedes reportedly supplied by office mate Sheila Farrington, who is close to Mr. Hill.
It's still unclear who owns that car and a luxury vehicle Ms. Farrington supplied Mr. Hill. She and both men have declined to discuss the matter.
By BROOKS EGERTON and EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - New questions have emerged about Dallas Plan Commissioner D'Angelo Lee's identity, debts and eligibility to hold public office.
Mr. Lee owes nearly $1,600 for unpaid traffic violations dating to 2000, city records show. As such, he was ineligible to join the Plan Commission in 2003 and now cannot continue unless he pays the fines, according to city ordinances.
"We were not aware of his being in arrears," said Assistant City Secretary Deborah Watkins. Her office is supposed to notify the City Council about such problems.
Mr. Lee also has given local governments three contradictory sworn statements about his birth date, a Dallas Morning News review shows. He declined to comment.
The contradictions could constitute perjury, District Attorney Bill Hill said. He said his office would investigate unless the matter conflicts with the FBI's City Hall investigation, which has targeted Mr. Lee and several other officials.
Mayor Laura Miller was incredulous Friday when told of the birth-date discrepancies and unpaid fines.
"It's a shame that the news media had to do what the city should have done, as far as doing a routine check," she said. "I can't imagine, at this point, anybody on the City Council voting to keep him in his position."
The council is scheduled to vote Wednesday on Ms. Miller's effort to remove Mr. Lee. Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill, who appointed Mr. Lee in 2003, has said he wants him to continue serving.
Council member Ed Oakley said he hopes the new revelations lead the plan commissioner to quit.
"I would say it's in his best interest, at this stage of the game," Mr. Oakley said. Three weeks ago, he voted to refer complaints about Mr. Lee to the city Ethics Commission, which has not decided whether to investigate.
The birth-date contradictions:
• When Don Hill nominated him in 2003, Mr. Lee signed a form saying that he was born on Dec. 22, 1965. That matches his Texas driver's license.
• When Don Hill unsuccessfully sought to put him on a second city board, in May 2005, Mr. Lee listed the date as Dec. 23, 1966.
• Neither of these dates matches Mr. Lee's 1995 voter-registration application. On it, he swore that he was born on Dec. 23, 1965.
Mr. Lee declined The Dallas Morning News' offer to examine and explain the records. "I don't want to discuss any documents," he said Thursday after a hurricane-relief meeting at St. Paul United Methodist Church.
What is your birth date? The News asked. Mr. Lee did not answer and retreated into the office of St. Paul's pastor, the Rev. L. Charles Stovall.
Mr. Lee's attorney, Douglas Greene, said he didn't know his client's birth date or how to explain the discrepancies.
"Wow," Mr. Greene said. "That's all news to me."
The attorney said he was also unaware of Mr. Lee's unpaid traffic tickets.
"He has the means to pay," Mr. Greene said.
Two of the six tickets were for failure to maintain financial responsibility. Such a charge usually means that a driver has no proof of insurance, officials say.
Another two citations, from 2001, list a fourth birth date for Mr. Lee. Those may be typos in city records, officials said.
Four of the six unpaid citations were pending in 2003, when city officials were supposed to do a background check before letting Mr. Lee join the Plan Commission.
The final two citations occurred in June, about a week before the FBI raided Don Hill's City Hall office and Mr. Lee's private office just south of downtown. Mr. Lee was driving a Mercedes reportedly supplied by office mate Sheila Farrington, who is close to Mr. Hill.
It's still unclear who owns that car and a luxury vehicle Ms. Farrington supplied Mr. Hill. She and both men have declined to discuss the matter.
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TexasStooge
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Wounded Canton coach returns to sidelines
CANTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — Canton High coach Gary Joe Kinne is starting to get used to standing ovations.
After being warmly welcomed last week at Mineola, Kinne received a minute of cheering from a larger-than-usual hometown crowd prior to Friday night's 34-7 win over Grand Saline, five months after he was critically wounded by a gunman in the school's field house.
Kinne's return helped sell out the reserved seats in the home bleachers, forcing a standing-room only crowd to lean against a chain-link fence around the field. The total attendance was around 800, the most in recent memory, according to locals.
Before the coin toss, Canton public-address announcer Jeff Casey reminded the crowd of the April 7 shooting and Kinne's slow recovery. At halftime, Kinne received the Baylor Legend Award from Grant Teaff, who was his head coach when Kinne played for the Bears from 1986-89.
"I'm here because you prayed," Kinne told the crowd after receiving a bronze statue of a bear. "It's a miracle."
Kinne's father, Gary Joe Kinne Sr., watched the game from the press box with Teaff.
"It's just a fantastic feeling to see him here," Kinne Sr. said. "We're glad to see him accept this award and not his wife on his behalf."
Teaff often spoke with Kinne during his recovery.
"He and I talked about being here on this night when he was in his dark days," Teaff said, "and here we are."
Kinne, 38, is in his third season at the Class 3A school in East Texas. His son, G.J., threw for 386 yards, five touchdowns and one interception in Friday's victory.
Canton beat Mineola 32-14 last week, with Kinne grateful he was able to stand throughout the three-hour game. It was the longest he'd stood since having removed the bullet that destroyed much of his liver.
Suspect Jeffrey Robertson, whose attorney acknowledges that his client shot Kinne, remains in the Upshur County Jail with no trial date set. His son, a sophomore, is enrolled at Canton but is not playing football this season.
Kinne has at least one more celebration left. Next weekend, he'll receive the award again at halftime of Baylor's home opener in Waco. Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Singletary will receive the award in October, while Teaff received it last year.
CANTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — Canton High coach Gary Joe Kinne is starting to get used to standing ovations.
After being warmly welcomed last week at Mineola, Kinne received a minute of cheering from a larger-than-usual hometown crowd prior to Friday night's 34-7 win over Grand Saline, five months after he was critically wounded by a gunman in the school's field house.
Kinne's return helped sell out the reserved seats in the home bleachers, forcing a standing-room only crowd to lean against a chain-link fence around the field. The total attendance was around 800, the most in recent memory, according to locals.
Before the coin toss, Canton public-address announcer Jeff Casey reminded the crowd of the April 7 shooting and Kinne's slow recovery. At halftime, Kinne received the Baylor Legend Award from Grant Teaff, who was his head coach when Kinne played for the Bears from 1986-89.
"I'm here because you prayed," Kinne told the crowd after receiving a bronze statue of a bear. "It's a miracle."
Kinne's father, Gary Joe Kinne Sr., watched the game from the press box with Teaff.
"It's just a fantastic feeling to see him here," Kinne Sr. said. "We're glad to see him accept this award and not his wife on his behalf."
Teaff often spoke with Kinne during his recovery.
"He and I talked about being here on this night when he was in his dark days," Teaff said, "and here we are."
Kinne, 38, is in his third season at the Class 3A school in East Texas. His son, G.J., threw for 386 yards, five touchdowns and one interception in Friday's victory.
Canton beat Mineola 32-14 last week, with Kinne grateful he was able to stand throughout the three-hour game. It was the longest he'd stood since having removed the bullet that destroyed much of his liver.
Suspect Jeffrey Robertson, whose attorney acknowledges that his client shot Kinne, remains in the Upshur County Jail with no trial date set. His son, a sophomore, is enrolled at Canton but is not playing football this season.
Kinne has at least one more celebration left. Next weekend, he'll receive the award again at halftime of Baylor's home opener in Waco. Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Singletary will receive the award in October, while Teaff received it last year.
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MESQUITE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - The Mesquite Police Department has issued an Amber Alert for 16-year-old Jasmine Chapman and her 15-month-old son Pablo, allegedly abducted late Friday night. Police are looking for a suspect in a brown 1988 Lincoln sedan with Texas license plate W84-XZB. Details to follow.
MESQUITE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - The Mesquite Police Department has issued an Amber Alert for 16-year-old Jasmine Chapman and her 15-month-old son Pablo, allegedly abducted late Friday night. Police are looking for a suspect in a brown 1988 Lincoln sedan with Texas license plate W84-XZB. Details to follow.
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