City Park to make downtown parking easier
By CHRIS HEINBAUGH / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Drivers in downtown Dallas will soon get some parking relief with a new program that starts next week at three major parking garages to make shopping and dining downtown cheap and convenient.
Going to downtown to eat or shop can become a long task of having to circle the block for 15 minutes just to find a cheap place to park. The Central Dallas Association hopes their new program will leave that attitude at the curb.
The program called City Park will give drivers more time for less cost by using the three participating downtown parking garages promising a fixed affordable rate. On weekdays, the rate will be $1.00 an for hour up to four hours and after 5:00 p.m. on weeknights and all day on weekends a flat rate of $2.00.
For customers, it's cheap available parking without the risk of a ticket. Open metered parking spots are a rare find in downtown, and if one doesn't put in enough coins it could lead to a very pricey parking experience.
The new program isn't just benefiting drivers and parking garages; many downtown business owners are also pleased at the prospect of easier parking for their customers.
The Sports Grill Ten opened in downtown almost two months ago, and so far the owner said business has been good. But the owner, Chad Lewis, said he thinks it could be better if it wasn't for the parking problem.
"The biggest thing I get from people is, 'Where are we going to park?'' he said.
His customers also were weary of the metered parking.
"Even if find a place on the street, you happen to get lucky and find one, you got to always be watching the meter [to] make sure it doesn't run out," Lewis said.
While the official launch of the City Park program is next week, rates are in effect now. And while three garages are on board, the Central Dallas Association hopes to have three more on board in the near future.
"Anything to bring more traffic down here I think [will] make it better for the city," Lewis said.
News from the Lone Star State
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TexasStooge
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Home market simmers
Pre-owned sales rise 8 percent so far this year in D-FW
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
Worries about rising home prices and forecasts of higher interest rates haven't dampened the North Texas housing market this year.
Through the first nine months of 2005, pre-owned home sales are up 8 percent in Dallas-Fort Worth. And the local housing market is on its way to setting another record.
The potential for problems hasn't gone away, but most homebuyers have shrugged off concerns.
Sales and prices are up in all but a few neighborhoods.
The biggest price gains have come in markets with short supply, including the Park Cities, up 15 percent, and Southlake, up 13 percent.
And sales are seeing double-digit gains in neighborhoods in East Dallas, Oak Cliff and Ellis County.
The number of pre-owned homes for sale in North Texas has leveled off after more than two years of increasing inventory.
"That's good news, and I think we've caught up," said Sherryl Wesson of Ebby Halliday Realtors. "We're having a more reasonable-looking market."
At the end of the third quarter, there was just under a six-month supply of homes for sale in the area.
Real estate agents say that buyers are picky about properties and are increasingly looking for homes closer to shopping, employment and cultural centers.
"The updated homes are selling pretty rapidly," Ms. Wesson said. "And with gas prices going up, we are seeing more people who want to look inside the [freeway] loop for homes."
Higher fuel and energy prices are a worry because they compete for consumer spending, said agent Barry Hoffer of Prudential Texas Properties.
"In the upper price ranges, it's a blip," Mr. Hoffer said. "But as you come down into the medium price ranges, people have to budget, and it will have an impact on the overall market."
Pre-owned sales rise 8 percent so far this year in D-FW
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
Worries about rising home prices and forecasts of higher interest rates haven't dampened the North Texas housing market this year.
Through the first nine months of 2005, pre-owned home sales are up 8 percent in Dallas-Fort Worth. And the local housing market is on its way to setting another record.
The potential for problems hasn't gone away, but most homebuyers have shrugged off concerns.
Sales and prices are up in all but a few neighborhoods.
The biggest price gains have come in markets with short supply, including the Park Cities, up 15 percent, and Southlake, up 13 percent.
And sales are seeing double-digit gains in neighborhoods in East Dallas, Oak Cliff and Ellis County.
The number of pre-owned homes for sale in North Texas has leveled off after more than two years of increasing inventory.
"That's good news, and I think we've caught up," said Sherryl Wesson of Ebby Halliday Realtors. "We're having a more reasonable-looking market."
At the end of the third quarter, there was just under a six-month supply of homes for sale in the area.
Real estate agents say that buyers are picky about properties and are increasingly looking for homes closer to shopping, employment and cultural centers.
"The updated homes are selling pretty rapidly," Ms. Wesson said. "And with gas prices going up, we are seeing more people who want to look inside the [freeway] loop for homes."
Higher fuel and energy prices are a worry because they compete for consumer spending, said agent Barry Hoffer of Prudential Texas Properties.
"In the upper price ranges, it's a blip," Mr. Hoffer said. "But as you come down into the medium price ranges, people have to budget, and it will have an impact on the overall market."
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Suspected ID theft ring busted
By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8
GARLAND, Texas - Police arrested two men accused of stealing $54,000 within ten days using forged checks with an easily bought software.
Security cameras at JB Check Cashing couldn't prevent the type of theft that drained the business of thousands and still counting.
The suspected identification theft ring used the store to cash dozens of counterfeit payroll checks.
"We [are] still getting some more checks," said Ali Gaziani, JB Check Cashing owner.
The checks were printed with the names of real companies and real bank accounts.
"They put the company name right, [but] they put the phone number wrong," Gaziani said. "So, when we called them it got to them and they say, 'Yeah, check is good.'"
The Garland Police Department has an entire table of bogus checks seized after the arrest of Jimmy Lee Deckard; the man they alleged was the ringleader.
Investigators alleged Deckard purchased payroll software, blank checks and used fake employee identification to carry out the fraud.
"Their identities that have been stolen," said Joe Harn, Garland Police Department. "There's fake identities that we got, and also it looks like we got the identification of someone who is deceased."
Police said Deckard used a portable computer to print the computerized checks in the parking lot of the check cashing business. They think he recruited people like Cedric Harris to cash those checks.
"It looks like they split the money with people he recruited from the street," Gaziani said.
Gaziani said he doubts the business will ever get the money back.
"I think he should go to jail for a long time," he said.
By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8
GARLAND, Texas - Police arrested two men accused of stealing $54,000 within ten days using forged checks with an easily bought software.
Security cameras at JB Check Cashing couldn't prevent the type of theft that drained the business of thousands and still counting.
The suspected identification theft ring used the store to cash dozens of counterfeit payroll checks.
"We [are] still getting some more checks," said Ali Gaziani, JB Check Cashing owner.
The checks were printed with the names of real companies and real bank accounts.
"They put the company name right, [but] they put the phone number wrong," Gaziani said. "So, when we called them it got to them and they say, 'Yeah, check is good.'"
The Garland Police Department has an entire table of bogus checks seized after the arrest of Jimmy Lee Deckard; the man they alleged was the ringleader.
Investigators alleged Deckard purchased payroll software, blank checks and used fake employee identification to carry out the fraud.
"Their identities that have been stolen," said Joe Harn, Garland Police Department. "There's fake identities that we got, and also it looks like we got the identification of someone who is deceased."
Police said Deckard used a portable computer to print the computerized checks in the parking lot of the check cashing business. They think he recruited people like Cedric Harris to cash those checks.
"It looks like they split the money with people he recruited from the street," Gaziani said.
Gaziani said he doubts the business will ever get the money back.
"I think he should go to jail for a long time," he said.
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TexasStooge
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San Angelo man executed for 1998 slaying
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) – Professing his innocence, Luis Ramirez was executed Thursday night for organizing and carrying out what authorities said was a murder-for-hire scheme that culminated with the shotgun slaying of a San Angelo firefighter who was dating his ex-wife.
“I did not kill your loved one, but I hope that one day you find out who did,” Ramirez told four siblings of Nemecio Nandin. “I wish I could tell you the reason why or give some kind of solace. You lost someone you love very much, the same as my family and friends are going to lose in a few minutes.
“I am sure he died unjustly, just like I am. I did not murder him. I did not have anything to do with his death.”
Ramirez turned toward a couple of friends he selected to watch him die and told them he loved them. “Even though I die, that love for you will never die,” he said.
As the drugs began flowing into his arms, Ramirez told witnesses that “it's OK. It's all right. I'm not afraid.” He gasped several times and eight minutes later at 6:18 p.m. he was pronounced dead.
Ramirez, 42, denied any involvement in the 1998 murder of Nandin, 29, whose body was found in a shallow grave in a rural area about 25 miles northeast of San Angelo.
Ramirez was the 15th prisoner executed this year in the nation's most active capital punishment state.
“Had you told me in 1998 they can do this to people, I would say that's absurd, insane,” Ramirez said in a recent interview. “It's just a crazy thing from start to finish. The big question is: Why? Why blame me? Why am I here?”
Prosecutors described Ramirez as a jealous ex-husband, so obsessed with his former wife that he paid $1,000 to an accomplice to help with the plot that resulted in Nandin's death.
Ramirez's lawyers went to the U.S. Supreme Court to try to halt the lethal injection, challenging testimony from an informant who tied the scheme to Ramirez and accomplice Edward Bell.
Bell received a life prison term for his participation.
“You never give up hope, but in this area ... you just better hope and pray,” Ramirez's lawyer, Rusty Wall, said.
About an hour before he was scheduled to die, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles refused this week to commute Ramirez's sentence to life and rejected a request for a 120-day reprieve.
Testimony in the capital murder trial showed Ramirez remained obsessed with his ex-wife some two years after a 1995 divorce ended their eight-year marriage. Investigators who questioned the woman said she learned from their children that Ramirez had been asking them about her relationship with Nandin the weekend before the firefighter disappeared and told their children he would “take care of the problem.”
Authorities believed Ramirez, working with Bell, lured Nandin to the rural area under the pretense of a repair job. Nandin had a side job as an appliance repairman.
Evidence showed Nandin was handcuffed, taken to a chicken coop, shot twice with a shotgun and buried. His body was found more than a week later.
Bell was arrested in Tyler. Inside his wallet were Ramirez's business card, a hand-drawn map to the home of Ramirez's ex-wife, a description of her vehicle and license plate number, all in Ramirez's handwriting. Also in Bell's vehicle was a pair of jeans covered with Nandin's blood.
Bell's girlfriend took detectives to a spot where she said Bell tossed a pair of latex gloves. They found a glove and the keys to Nandin's truck.
“I have no idea who did this,” said Ramirez, who worked at a San Angelo mortgage company. He insisted he was checking out a property some 70 miles away at the time of the slaying.
During the punishment phase of his trial, Ramirez's former wife told jurors she was verbally and physically abused and threatened after they separated. The wife from an earlier marriage testified he abused her as well. There also was testimony about property violence aimed at the women.
“It's just an example of why we need in our society to clamp down on incidents of domestic violence as quickly as we can, to keep these things from growing into a larger problem,” Steve Lupton, the prosecutor in the case, said this week. “In this case, it was murder.”
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) – Professing his innocence, Luis Ramirez was executed Thursday night for organizing and carrying out what authorities said was a murder-for-hire scheme that culminated with the shotgun slaying of a San Angelo firefighter who was dating his ex-wife.
“I did not kill your loved one, but I hope that one day you find out who did,” Ramirez told four siblings of Nemecio Nandin. “I wish I could tell you the reason why or give some kind of solace. You lost someone you love very much, the same as my family and friends are going to lose in a few minutes.
“I am sure he died unjustly, just like I am. I did not murder him. I did not have anything to do with his death.”
Ramirez turned toward a couple of friends he selected to watch him die and told them he loved them. “Even though I die, that love for you will never die,” he said.
As the drugs began flowing into his arms, Ramirez told witnesses that “it's OK. It's all right. I'm not afraid.” He gasped several times and eight minutes later at 6:18 p.m. he was pronounced dead.
Ramirez, 42, denied any involvement in the 1998 murder of Nandin, 29, whose body was found in a shallow grave in a rural area about 25 miles northeast of San Angelo.
Ramirez was the 15th prisoner executed this year in the nation's most active capital punishment state.
“Had you told me in 1998 they can do this to people, I would say that's absurd, insane,” Ramirez said in a recent interview. “It's just a crazy thing from start to finish. The big question is: Why? Why blame me? Why am I here?”
Prosecutors described Ramirez as a jealous ex-husband, so obsessed with his former wife that he paid $1,000 to an accomplice to help with the plot that resulted in Nandin's death.
Ramirez's lawyers went to the U.S. Supreme Court to try to halt the lethal injection, challenging testimony from an informant who tied the scheme to Ramirez and accomplice Edward Bell.
Bell received a life prison term for his participation.
“You never give up hope, but in this area ... you just better hope and pray,” Ramirez's lawyer, Rusty Wall, said.
About an hour before he was scheduled to die, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles refused this week to commute Ramirez's sentence to life and rejected a request for a 120-day reprieve.
Testimony in the capital murder trial showed Ramirez remained obsessed with his ex-wife some two years after a 1995 divorce ended their eight-year marriage. Investigators who questioned the woman said she learned from their children that Ramirez had been asking them about her relationship with Nandin the weekend before the firefighter disappeared and told their children he would “take care of the problem.”
Authorities believed Ramirez, working with Bell, lured Nandin to the rural area under the pretense of a repair job. Nandin had a side job as an appliance repairman.
Evidence showed Nandin was handcuffed, taken to a chicken coop, shot twice with a shotgun and buried. His body was found more than a week later.
Bell was arrested in Tyler. Inside his wallet were Ramirez's business card, a hand-drawn map to the home of Ramirez's ex-wife, a description of her vehicle and license plate number, all in Ramirez's handwriting. Also in Bell's vehicle was a pair of jeans covered with Nandin's blood.
Bell's girlfriend took detectives to a spot where she said Bell tossed a pair of latex gloves. They found a glove and the keys to Nandin's truck.
“I have no idea who did this,” said Ramirez, who worked at a San Angelo mortgage company. He insisted he was checking out a property some 70 miles away at the time of the slaying.
During the punishment phase of his trial, Ramirez's former wife told jurors she was verbally and physically abused and threatened after they separated. The wife from an earlier marriage testified he abused her as well. There also was testimony about property violence aimed at the women.
“It's just an example of why we need in our society to clamp down on incidents of domestic violence as quickly as we can, to keep these things from growing into a larger problem,” Steve Lupton, the prosecutor in the case, said this week. “In this case, it was murder.”
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TexasStooge
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Staph infections on the rise
By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA ABC 8
There's an unrecognized health threat popping up at schools across North Texas - and medicines can be useless to fight it.
You've probably heard of staph infections in hospitals, but there has been a large increase in the number of instances among the general population over the past 14 years.
Now, the problem is spreading through some schools right here in North Texas. Doctors call it a "killer microbe," spread so easily even a tiny papercut or a pimple can make you susceptible.
18-year-old Reese Popst spent a lot of time alone this summer after being warned he had a highly contagious and dangerous infection. What looked like acne turned out to be a new superbug - a bacteria called methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.
The form of staph, which usually looks like a sore or a rash, is being spread in locker rooms and among children across the country and in North Texas.
Most people carry staph bacteria on their bodies beneath the fingernails and in the nose. No one knows why some people develop life-threatening infections.
Frisco pediatrician Dr. Richard Nail is seeing a few cases now each month.
"It's alarming to me, because just ten years ago we could've killed this disease," Nail said.
Doctors say most antibiotics can't touch it, because years of overusing antibiotics have made the MRSA bacteria resistant.
Children's Medical Center has seen cases of antibiotic-resistant staph double over the last five years.
"We've had some alarming case reports of children and adolescents being admitted to the hospital with something that looked like it started with a simple superficial staph abcess or cellulitis or skin infection, and quickly spread to through the body to multiple organ sites," Nail said.
It took weeks to get Reece Popst's staph infection under control.
"They actually used three different medications," Popst said. "The first two didn't work."
He considers himself lucky that time alone to prevent speading the infection to friends didn't turn into time in the hospital.
By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA ABC 8
There's an unrecognized health threat popping up at schools across North Texas - and medicines can be useless to fight it.
You've probably heard of staph infections in hospitals, but there has been a large increase in the number of instances among the general population over the past 14 years.
Now, the problem is spreading through some schools right here in North Texas. Doctors call it a "killer microbe," spread so easily even a tiny papercut or a pimple can make you susceptible.
18-year-old Reese Popst spent a lot of time alone this summer after being warned he had a highly contagious and dangerous infection. What looked like acne turned out to be a new superbug - a bacteria called methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.
The form of staph, which usually looks like a sore or a rash, is being spread in locker rooms and among children across the country and in North Texas.
Most people carry staph bacteria on their bodies beneath the fingernails and in the nose. No one knows why some people develop life-threatening infections.
Frisco pediatrician Dr. Richard Nail is seeing a few cases now each month.
"It's alarming to me, because just ten years ago we could've killed this disease," Nail said.
Doctors say most antibiotics can't touch it, because years of overusing antibiotics have made the MRSA bacteria resistant.
Children's Medical Center has seen cases of antibiotic-resistant staph double over the last five years.
"We've had some alarming case reports of children and adolescents being admitted to the hospital with something that looked like it started with a simple superficial staph abcess or cellulitis or skin infection, and quickly spread to through the body to multiple organ sites," Nail said.
It took weeks to get Reece Popst's staph infection under control.
"They actually used three different medications," Popst said. "The first two didn't work."
He considers himself lucky that time alone to prevent speading the infection to friends didn't turn into time in the hospital.
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Plane tire blowout forces emergency landing
By DAN RONAN / WFAA ABC 8
DFW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Texas - American Airline's Flight 570 from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to Omaha was nearly airborne when blown tires forced an emergency on the runway.
There were 140 passengers and five crew members on the flight late Thursday afternoon.
The plane was about to take off, when the tires on the right main landing gear blew. The captain managed to keep the plane on the runway and brought the MD80 to a safe stop with no injuries reported.
Many of the passengers gave high praise for the safe maneuvering by the American Airline's pilot and the calm work of the crew.
"So, the aircraft started shaking just about the time we were going to leave the ground," said passenger Dan Wintroub. "And the aircraft was shaking somewhat violent, like we were going over rumble strips or a flat tire perhaps...The aircraft began to immediately descend in speed to a slow, controlled stop on the runway."
A short time later, all of the 140 passengers were rebooked on other flights. Most of those made it to Omaha Thursday night.
The plane has been taken in for repairs.
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"CSI" star Marg Helgenburger was on board that plane during the time if the incident.
By DAN RONAN / WFAA ABC 8
DFW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Texas - American Airline's Flight 570 from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to Omaha was nearly airborne when blown tires forced an emergency on the runway.
There were 140 passengers and five crew members on the flight late Thursday afternoon.
The plane was about to take off, when the tires on the right main landing gear blew. The captain managed to keep the plane on the runway and brought the MD80 to a safe stop with no injuries reported.
Many of the passengers gave high praise for the safe maneuvering by the American Airline's pilot and the calm work of the crew.
"So, the aircraft started shaking just about the time we were going to leave the ground," said passenger Dan Wintroub. "And the aircraft was shaking somewhat violent, like we were going over rumble strips or a flat tire perhaps...The aircraft began to immediately descend in speed to a slow, controlled stop on the runway."
A short time later, all of the 140 passengers were rebooked on other flights. Most of those made it to Omaha Thursday night.
The plane has been taken in for repairs.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"CSI" star Marg Helgenburger was on board that plane during the time if the incident.
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Company tows itself into deeper troubles
By STEVE STOLER / WFAA ABC 8
ALLEN, Texas - Allen police attempted to issue citations Thursday to a Plano towing company for overcharging high school football fans to get their towed cars back. VRC Towing is the same towing company News 8 reported on earlier in the week that admitted towing cars on private property without the permission of the property owners.
Now, the towing company is facing complaints and citations after police said they overcharged for tow jobs while operating with a certificate that were suspended.
The Allen Police Department went to VRC Towing with citations in hand looking for the company's manager or owner. The tickets stemmed from an Oct. 7 football game when VRC towed 13 cars from two private parking lots near Allen Eagle Stadium.
"They wanted $292.30," said Carol Juneau, a football fan whose car was one of those towed.
VRC towed Juneau's car from a video store parking lot. And while the actual towing was not being questioned, Allen police said she and the other drivers were overcharged. The city prohibits towing companies from charging more than $97.50 cents in fees.
"I feel it's totally inappropriate and I would like a refund," Juneau said. "And I would like the company stopped."
Texas Department of Transportation investigators told News 8 they suspended VRC's operating certificate on Sept. 21 because of insurance problems. On Oct. 7, the state agency revoked their certificate. Without a certificate, towing companies are not allowed to pick up cars.
"They did not have proper insurance," said Robert Flores, Allen Police Department. "They were towing illegally."
The new information that the towing company was towing without a certification put a whole new spin on Juneau's original complaint.
"I originally thought I probably parked where I shouldn't, but they have no right to have a company tow cars if they don't have a license," Juneau said.
A man police identified as a VCR attorney talked with officers but did not want to make a statement to News 8.
VRC filed an application with the state Wednesday to reinstate their operating certificate.
However, company owner James Davis did not come to the Plano office where Allen police wanted to serve the citations. Allen police said they will try again, and if they don't get cooperation they will file a warrant for his arrest.
By STEVE STOLER / WFAA ABC 8
ALLEN, Texas - Allen police attempted to issue citations Thursday to a Plano towing company for overcharging high school football fans to get their towed cars back. VRC Towing is the same towing company News 8 reported on earlier in the week that admitted towing cars on private property without the permission of the property owners.
Now, the towing company is facing complaints and citations after police said they overcharged for tow jobs while operating with a certificate that were suspended.
The Allen Police Department went to VRC Towing with citations in hand looking for the company's manager or owner. The tickets stemmed from an Oct. 7 football game when VRC towed 13 cars from two private parking lots near Allen Eagle Stadium.
"They wanted $292.30," said Carol Juneau, a football fan whose car was one of those towed.
VRC towed Juneau's car from a video store parking lot. And while the actual towing was not being questioned, Allen police said she and the other drivers were overcharged. The city prohibits towing companies from charging more than $97.50 cents in fees.
"I feel it's totally inappropriate and I would like a refund," Juneau said. "And I would like the company stopped."
Texas Department of Transportation investigators told News 8 they suspended VRC's operating certificate on Sept. 21 because of insurance problems. On Oct. 7, the state agency revoked their certificate. Without a certificate, towing companies are not allowed to pick up cars.
"They did not have proper insurance," said Robert Flores, Allen Police Department. "They were towing illegally."
The new information that the towing company was towing without a certification put a whole new spin on Juneau's original complaint.
"I originally thought I probably parked where I shouldn't, but they have no right to have a company tow cars if they don't have a license," Juneau said.
A man police identified as a VCR attorney talked with officers but did not want to make a statement to News 8.
VRC filed an application with the state Wednesday to reinstate their operating certificate.
However, company owner James Davis did not come to the Plano office where Allen police wanted to serve the citations. Allen police said they will try again, and if they don't get cooperation they will file a warrant for his arrest.
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SMU students hurt when taxi is hit
By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8
UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas — A sport utility vehicle plowed into a parked taxi filled with SMU students early Friday in University Park. Two of the passengers were hospitalized.
Witnesses said the SUV appeared to be traveling at a high rate of speed when the accident happened at McFarlin Blvd. and Hillcrest Road.
"I saw the cab pull in," said Garrett Hale, "and then—boom! It happened. It was out of the blue. A blue Tahoe, of course, just nailed it."
The impact of the wreck just before 3 a.m. pushed the parked cab onto the sidewalk, pinning one student underneath, police said.
The unidentified man suffered a leg injury. He and a female student were hospitalized. The cab driver was also treated for injuries and several other passengers were shaken up.
Police said the driver of the SUV, whose name was not available, will likely be charged with driving while intoxicated.
By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8
UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas — A sport utility vehicle plowed into a parked taxi filled with SMU students early Friday in University Park. Two of the passengers were hospitalized.
Witnesses said the SUV appeared to be traveling at a high rate of speed when the accident happened at McFarlin Blvd. and Hillcrest Road.
"I saw the cab pull in," said Garrett Hale, "and then—boom! It happened. It was out of the blue. A blue Tahoe, of course, just nailed it."
The impact of the wreck just before 3 a.m. pushed the parked cab onto the sidewalk, pinning one student underneath, police said.
The unidentified man suffered a leg injury. He and a female student were hospitalized. The cab driver was also treated for injuries and several other passengers were shaken up.
Police said the driver of the SUV, whose name was not available, will likely be charged with driving while intoxicated.
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Man charged with DWI after collision near SMU
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A 19-year-old Dallas man was injured Friday morning when a suspected drunken driver ran into the taxi he was exiting, pinning him under the vehicle.
The accident occurred about 2:45 a.m. in the 3400 block of McFarlin Boulevard in University Park, not far from the Southern Methodist University campus.
Police said a taxi van carrying five students had stopped along the curb. As the passengers were getting out, a GMC Yukon ran into the rear of the vehicle, knocking it into a parked Jeep Cherokee and up on the sidewalk.
The victim was taken to Baylor Medical Center. The extent of injuries was unknown but they were not considered life-threatening, Officer Lita Snellgrove said.
A University Park police officer who witnessed the accident arrested the SUV driver, a 19-year-old University Park man, on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
He was booked into the University Park Jail, but bond had not been set.
"Right now he's charged with DWI, but we're waiting to check and find out the extent of the injuries of the person that's at the hospital. If he were to have serious bodily injuries, then it could be (upgraded to) intoxication assault," Snellgrove said.
The taxi driver, a 48-year-old McKinney man, was taken to Baylor "to be checked out," Snellgrove said, but his injuries were thought to be minor.
Four other 19-year-olds in the taxi – a man from Fort Worth, a woman from Dallas and two women from University Park – were uninjured, as was a female passenger in the SUV, Snellgrove said.
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A 19-year-old Dallas man was injured Friday morning when a suspected drunken driver ran into the taxi he was exiting, pinning him under the vehicle.
The accident occurred about 2:45 a.m. in the 3400 block of McFarlin Boulevard in University Park, not far from the Southern Methodist University campus.
Police said a taxi van carrying five students had stopped along the curb. As the passengers were getting out, a GMC Yukon ran into the rear of the vehicle, knocking it into a parked Jeep Cherokee and up on the sidewalk.
The victim was taken to Baylor Medical Center. The extent of injuries was unknown but they were not considered life-threatening, Officer Lita Snellgrove said.
A University Park police officer who witnessed the accident arrested the SUV driver, a 19-year-old University Park man, on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
He was booked into the University Park Jail, but bond had not been set.
"Right now he's charged with DWI, but we're waiting to check and find out the extent of the injuries of the person that's at the hospital. If he were to have serious bodily injuries, then it could be (upgraded to) intoxication assault," Snellgrove said.
The taxi driver, a 48-year-old McKinney man, was taken to Baylor "to be checked out," Snellgrove said, but his injuries were thought to be minor.
Four other 19-year-olds in the taxi – a man from Fort Worth, a woman from Dallas and two women from University Park – were uninjured, as was a female passenger in the SUV, Snellgrove said.
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TexasStooge
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Family still waiting for murder arrest
By REBECCA RODRIGUEZ / WFAA ABC 8
LAKE WORTH, Texas - Three months ago, a Lake Worth grandmother was found dead in her own home.
The woman's grandsons are the prime suspects, but police haven't made any arrests and there are still no charges - something that has other family members upset.
Police said five teenagers were inside Kris Lee's house the night she died. Among them were two grandsons who had recently come to live with her.
One of those grandsons told News 8 in July that he found her dead of a gunshot wound, with a suicide note at her side.
"I read the letter and it said, 'Jake and Josh, please do not think this is y'alls' fault,'" he said.
But the death has since been ruled a homicide. Shortly after Lee's death police said an arrest was imminent, but three months later it still hasn't happened. The grandsons are still free to come and go as they please - even though they are still considered suspects.
Virginia Haniwalt is the victim's mother and the teens' great-grandmother.
"First thing I said was, 'those little devils have killed her,'" Haniwalt said.
Hannawalt said the long wait for justice has been torture.
"I still have my crying bouts about every day," she said. "It would kill me to think that anybody got away with this, whoever did it."
Lake Worth police haven't had a murder investigation in eight years. Chief Brett McGuire admits the lack of experience has slowed them down.
"This is not something that we do every day," McGuire said.
Evidence has been sent away for analysis, and detectives have spent more time than usual getting input from other agencies to make sure their case is as airtight as possible.
Still, the chief knows losing a suspect during a long wait is always a risk.
"Most of these folks are local," he said. "Their roots are here, (and) there is always a possiblity they may travel to another city just until they see if the case is going to go to indictment or not."
An arrest could come sooner than later. A Tarrant County Grand Jury will review the case sometime in the next few weeks.
By REBECCA RODRIGUEZ / WFAA ABC 8
LAKE WORTH, Texas - Three months ago, a Lake Worth grandmother was found dead in her own home.
The woman's grandsons are the prime suspects, but police haven't made any arrests and there are still no charges - something that has other family members upset.
Police said five teenagers were inside Kris Lee's house the night she died. Among them were two grandsons who had recently come to live with her.
One of those grandsons told News 8 in July that he found her dead of a gunshot wound, with a suicide note at her side.
"I read the letter and it said, 'Jake and Josh, please do not think this is y'alls' fault,'" he said.
But the death has since been ruled a homicide. Shortly after Lee's death police said an arrest was imminent, but three months later it still hasn't happened. The grandsons are still free to come and go as they please - even though they are still considered suspects.
Virginia Haniwalt is the victim's mother and the teens' great-grandmother.
"First thing I said was, 'those little devils have killed her,'" Haniwalt said.
Hannawalt said the long wait for justice has been torture.
"I still have my crying bouts about every day," she said. "It would kill me to think that anybody got away with this, whoever did it."
Lake Worth police haven't had a murder investigation in eight years. Chief Brett McGuire admits the lack of experience has slowed them down.
"This is not something that we do every day," McGuire said.
Evidence has been sent away for analysis, and detectives have spent more time than usual getting input from other agencies to make sure their case is as airtight as possible.
Still, the chief knows losing a suspect during a long wait is always a risk.
"Most of these folks are local," he said. "Their roots are here, (and) there is always a possiblity they may travel to another city just until they see if the case is going to go to indictment or not."
An arrest could come sooner than later. A Tarrant County Grand Jury will review the case sometime in the next few weeks.
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TexasStooge
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Dallas prostitution sting nets arrests
By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Dallas Police led an undercover prostitution sting through parts of Oak Cliff.
Officers targeted offenders at three hot spots, including the intersections of Tenth and Cliff streets, Interstate 35E and Eighth Street and Eighth and Jefferson streets.
One stretch of Jefferson is a popular spot with prostitutes; even at around lunchtime Friday it didn't take long for officers to make 15 arrests.
In the undercover round-up, officers went after not only prostitutes, but those who solicit them. One man was arrested after police watched him pull over in his car to talk to a woman he thinks is a prostitute, but is actually a Dallas Police officer in disguise.
"We try to get this operation going every three to four months, because it gets so bad," said Precinct 5 Constable Mike Dupree.
A joint task force set up by Dallas Police and the Dallas County Constable's office is targetting areas where residents often complain of prostitutes.
In many cases, undercover officers only have to walk along the sidewalk for a few minutes before someone slows down and pulls over to talk.
Kenesha Richardson and her three young children watched police arrest a man in a pickup truck after he allegedly propositioned an undercover officer. Richardson said police have to be more aggressive.
"I got three kids and two of them are girls," she said. "I worry about them ... you see it all the time, every day, all day. They come and pick them up, they keep them in jail a couple of days and let them right back out doing the same thing again."
But police said the prositution stings go a long way in scaring off business.
"It is a deterrent, because people will see that we're arresting the male suspect that's soliciting the prostitution out here on the street," Dupree said.
By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Dallas Police led an undercover prostitution sting through parts of Oak Cliff.
Officers targeted offenders at three hot spots, including the intersections of Tenth and Cliff streets, Interstate 35E and Eighth Street and Eighth and Jefferson streets.
One stretch of Jefferson is a popular spot with prostitutes; even at around lunchtime Friday it didn't take long for officers to make 15 arrests.
In the undercover round-up, officers went after not only prostitutes, but those who solicit them. One man was arrested after police watched him pull over in his car to talk to a woman he thinks is a prostitute, but is actually a Dallas Police officer in disguise.
"We try to get this operation going every three to four months, because it gets so bad," said Precinct 5 Constable Mike Dupree.
A joint task force set up by Dallas Police and the Dallas County Constable's office is targetting areas where residents often complain of prostitutes.
In many cases, undercover officers only have to walk along the sidewalk for a few minutes before someone slows down and pulls over to talk.
Kenesha Richardson and her three young children watched police arrest a man in a pickup truck after he allegedly propositioned an undercover officer. Richardson said police have to be more aggressive.
"I got three kids and two of them are girls," she said. "I worry about them ... you see it all the time, every day, all day. They come and pick them up, they keep them in jail a couple of days and let them right back out doing the same thing again."
But police said the prositution stings go a long way in scaring off business.
"It is a deterrent, because people will see that we're arresting the male suspect that's soliciting the prostitution out here on the street," Dupree said.
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TexasStooge
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Dallas ISD mulls Saturday move for football
By MICHAEL REY / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Friday's big game between Hillcrest and Woodrow Wilson high schools was billed as one of the area's top matchups of the week, as the two DISD teams fought it out under the lights.
But traditional Friday nIght football involving Dallas ISD schools could shift to Saturdays if some officials have their way.
Several meetings have already been held to discuss shifting the games to weekend daylight hours - a drastic change that officials say would be the result of security concerns.
"There's Saturday morning, there's Saturday afternoon ... there are a lot of options that are on the table," said Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price.
Scheduling changes could result from violence that followed two recent Friday night football games. Price said darkness provides cover to hide weapons.
"Basically guns, all kinds of guns," he said.
He and state senator Royce West want to move all DISD games to Saturday.
Changing from under the lights to daylight could be tricky, however. DISD will have 22 teams next fall and seven stadiums, which could lead to a scheduling crunch.
"It would be tough for us to do it, with all the issues we have to consider, if we had to do everything on Saturday," said DISD assistant athletic director Jeff Johnson.
Also, the Texas heat early in the season is another opponent. Sometimes it could get up to one hundred degrees in late August and early September.
Garland ISD officials said they're always open to discussions about safety, but they think this sends the wrong message.
"They're reacting to events that take place by individuals who are not in attendance at the activity - events that don't occur at the stadium," said Garland ISD Superintendent Curtis Culwell. "Do we completely (give up) certain traditions and activities for the actions of the very few?"
Price said that time has come in DISD.
"At least in our district, we owe it to our patrons to at least foster an alternative to what is occurring, because they all have issues with security," he said.
By MICHAEL REY / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Friday's big game between Hillcrest and Woodrow Wilson high schools was billed as one of the area's top matchups of the week, as the two DISD teams fought it out under the lights.
But traditional Friday nIght football involving Dallas ISD schools could shift to Saturdays if some officials have their way.
Several meetings have already been held to discuss shifting the games to weekend daylight hours - a drastic change that officials say would be the result of security concerns.
"There's Saturday morning, there's Saturday afternoon ... there are a lot of options that are on the table," said Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price.
Scheduling changes could result from violence that followed two recent Friday night football games. Price said darkness provides cover to hide weapons.
"Basically guns, all kinds of guns," he said.
He and state senator Royce West want to move all DISD games to Saturday.
Changing from under the lights to daylight could be tricky, however. DISD will have 22 teams next fall and seven stadiums, which could lead to a scheduling crunch.
"It would be tough for us to do it, with all the issues we have to consider, if we had to do everything on Saturday," said DISD assistant athletic director Jeff Johnson.
Also, the Texas heat early in the season is another opponent. Sometimes it could get up to one hundred degrees in late August and early September.
Garland ISD officials said they're always open to discussions about safety, but they think this sends the wrong message.
"They're reacting to events that take place by individuals who are not in attendance at the activity - events that don't occur at the stadium," said Garland ISD Superintendent Curtis Culwell. "Do we completely (give up) certain traditions and activities for the actions of the very few?"
Price said that time has come in DISD.
"At least in our district, we owe it to our patrons to at least foster an alternative to what is occurring, because they all have issues with security," he said.
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rainstorm
TexasStooge wrote:Company tows itself into deeper troubles
By STEVE STOLER / WFAA ABC 8
ALLEN, Texas - Allen police attempted to issue citations Thursday to a Plano towing company for overcharging high school football fans to get their towed cars back. VRC Towing is the same towing company News 8 reported on earlier in the week that admitted towing cars on private property without the permission of the property owners.
Now, the towing company is facing complaints and citations after police said they overcharged for tow jobs while operating with a certificate that were suspended.
The Allen Police Department went to VRC Towing with citations in hand looking for the company's manager or owner. The tickets stemmed from an Oct. 7 football game when VRC towed 13 cars from two private parking lots near Allen Eagle Stadium.
"They wanted $292.30," said Carol Juneau, a football fan whose car was one of those towed.
VRC towed Juneau's car from a video store parking lot. And while the actual towing was not being questioned, Allen police said she and the other drivers were overcharged. The city prohibits towing companies from charging more than $97.50 cents in fees.
"I feel it's totally inappropriate and I would like a refund," Juneau said. "And I would like the company stopped."
Texas Department of Transportation investigators told News 8 they suspended VRC's operating certificate on Sept. 21 because of insurance problems. On Oct. 7, the state agency revoked their certificate. Without a certificate, towing companies are not allowed to pick up cars.
they dont sound very nice
"They did not have proper insurance," said Robert Flores, Allen Police Department. "They were towing illegally."
The new information that the towing company was towing without a certification put a whole new spin on Juneau's original complaint.
"I originally thought I probably parked where I shouldn't, but they have no right to have a company tow cars if they don't have a license," Juneau said.
A man police identified as a VCR attorney talked with officers but did not want to make a statement to News 8.
VRC filed an application with the state Wednesday to reinstate their operating certificate.
However, company owner James Davis did not come to the Plano office where Allen police wanted to serve the citations. Allen police said they will try again, and if they don't get cooperation they will file a warrant for his arrest.
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TexasStooge
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Man flees police, ties up I-20
By DAN RONAN / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - A woman driving on I-20 in South Dallas Friday struck a man on the run from police, tying up traffic through the evening rush and sending three to the hospital. The driver and the pedestrian were taken to Parkland; the driver's child was being treated at Children's Hospital.
Dallas police were responding to a drug call when one of the suspects jumped more than 20 feet from from an apartment window and fled across the busy highway.
"The suspect fled the location and jumped out of a third-story window," Lt. Rick Watson said. "That is a long way to jump.
Witnesses said the man who jumped landed in some bushes and was apparently unhurt. Then he fled through the parking lot.
He ran across the westbound lane of Interstate 20, then attempted to cross the eastbound lanes. A woman driving eastbound hit the suspect. She and her child were injured. Traffic on the interstate came to a standstill for hours.
The suspect was reported in critical condition at Parkland Friday night. The injuries to the mother and child were not believed to be life-threatening.
Two other suspects were arrested in the apartment.
By DAN RONAN / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - A woman driving on I-20 in South Dallas Friday struck a man on the run from police, tying up traffic through the evening rush and sending three to the hospital. The driver and the pedestrian were taken to Parkland; the driver's child was being treated at Children's Hospital.
Dallas police were responding to a drug call when one of the suspects jumped more than 20 feet from from an apartment window and fled across the busy highway.
"The suspect fled the location and jumped out of a third-story window," Lt. Rick Watson said. "That is a long way to jump.
Witnesses said the man who jumped landed in some bushes and was apparently unhurt. Then he fled through the parking lot.
He ran across the westbound lane of Interstate 20, then attempted to cross the eastbound lanes. A woman driving eastbound hit the suspect. She and her child were injured. Traffic on the interstate came to a standstill for hours.
The suspect was reported in critical condition at Parkland Friday night. The injuries to the mother and child were not believed to be life-threatening.
Two other suspects were arrested in the apartment.
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TexasStooge
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Data: Suburbs shrink during day
By PAULA LAVIGNE, JEFF MOSIER and JAKE BATSELL / The Dallas Morning News
In the struggle to balance rooftops with storefronts, some suburban cities are finding that the morning stream of traffic is still steadily heading out of town.
A new report from the U.S. Census Bureau shows how commuters can make a city swell or shrink during the day.
City officials in Arlington said figures there reveal a problem that has concerned the city for years, said Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Joe Bruner. Arlington's population dropped by about 12.5 percent during the day as residents drive to offices and workplaces in other cities.
Officials had worried that the residential growth of the 1980s and '90s would outstrip job growth.
"I've been looking at that number for a long time, and it hasn't changed much," Mr. Bruner said.
These first-ever Census Bureau estimates of daytime population measured the number of people, including workers, who were in an area during normal business hours in 2000. They're reported in contrast to the number of residents, or the population likely to be home in the evenings.
New York City had the highest daytime population at more than 8.5 million, an increase of more than a half-million people.
Locally, daytime commuters boosted the population of Dallas and Fort Worth by about 19 percent and 14 percent respectively.
Mr. Bruner said Arlington's location between Dallas and Fort Worth makes it a desirable place for people to live, but it's also tough to compete against its bigger neighbors.
City officials hope the new $650 million Dallas Cowboys stadium will be a key to more development in Arlington's entertainment district. Developers have tentatively announced plans for a major urban-style, mixed-use development near the Cowboys stadium and Ameriquest Field.
Mr. Bruner said he wants to see Arlington increase its commercial base so that the city has one job for each resident. Until then, Arlington is just like many other suburbs despite its large population.
"We sleep here, and we go to work somewhere else," he said.
Although Arlington leaders expected the news, Plano officials questioned figures that showed a daytime dip of 1,700 people, or about 0.8 percent.
The city that is home to Fortune 500 companies such as JC Penney and Electronic Data Systems is often described by municipal officials as a net importer of jobs.
Phyllis Jarrell, Plano's director of planning, said that though she could not specifically refute the data, she believes the figures may have undercounted Plano's high concentration of home-based businesses, retail outlets and restaurants.
"We believe that we are a net importer of jobs," Ms. Jarrell said. "What that increment is, I couldn't tell you."
At three times the national average, Plano's per capita retail base draws high numbers of service workers to the city. But Ms. Jarrell said retail and restaurant employment is difficult to track accurately because those industries have high levels of turnover.
Higher populations
Towns known for having a concentration of commercial and retail businesses typically had significantly higher daytime populations.
In Addison, where residences occupy only about 10 percent of the city's 4.5 square miles, the population boomed from about 14,000 to about 37,500 during working hours in 2000.
Because the town's tax base is 90 percent commercial, residents do not suffer an undue financial burden, City Manager Ron Whitehead said. He said town leaders try to serve the residential and business communities equally, he said.
Waking up from that bedroom community stigma proved to still be a hurdle for some smaller suburban cities trying to give residents both a place to live and work.
Suburbs such as Frisco and Allen saw their population drop by about a quarter during the daytime as residents commuted to jobs in other cities.
That imbalance between businesses and residents not only puts a higher tax burden on homeowners, it also makes for more congestion on the roadways, said Michael Morris, director of transportation for the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
Mr. Morris said the council is encouraging cities such as Frisco to plan for mixed residential and commercial developments near future light rail stops, as well as to offer a range of lower- to higher-priced homes. Service employees, such as those at Stonebriar Centre, should be able to afford a home near where they work, he said.
Cities with a healthy balance of workers and residents line up along a slight curve from Forth Worth, through Irving, Farmers Branch, Addison and Richardson to Dallas. The line follows where transportation planners have sought to put the most services, such as current and future rail stations, he said.
"If we had everything right outside our door – our job, grocery store, playground for our kids – we wouldn't have to get on the transportation system at all," he said. "Therefore, transportation has to meet the failures of the land use system."
Lure of larger cities
Nevertheless, planners are encouraging more people to work in the larger cities, Mr. Morris said, because a larger employment base might lure more people to shop, dine and possibly live in these cities' downtowns.
Along with regional planning for transportation, city services and economic development, census officials note that the data help emergency planners who need to know how many people would probably be in a city when a disaster strikes.
For example, about 250,000 people worked in New Orleans prior to Hurricane Katrina, a census news release states. About 150,000 were New Orleans residents, but another 100,000 lived outside the city.
Staff writer Elizabeth Langton contributed to this report.
By PAULA LAVIGNE, JEFF MOSIER and JAKE BATSELL / The Dallas Morning News
In the struggle to balance rooftops with storefronts, some suburban cities are finding that the morning stream of traffic is still steadily heading out of town.
A new report from the U.S. Census Bureau shows how commuters can make a city swell or shrink during the day.
City officials in Arlington said figures there reveal a problem that has concerned the city for years, said Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Joe Bruner. Arlington's population dropped by about 12.5 percent during the day as residents drive to offices and workplaces in other cities.
Officials had worried that the residential growth of the 1980s and '90s would outstrip job growth.
"I've been looking at that number for a long time, and it hasn't changed much," Mr. Bruner said.
These first-ever Census Bureau estimates of daytime population measured the number of people, including workers, who were in an area during normal business hours in 2000. They're reported in contrast to the number of residents, or the population likely to be home in the evenings.
New York City had the highest daytime population at more than 8.5 million, an increase of more than a half-million people.
Locally, daytime commuters boosted the population of Dallas and Fort Worth by about 19 percent and 14 percent respectively.
Mr. Bruner said Arlington's location between Dallas and Fort Worth makes it a desirable place for people to live, but it's also tough to compete against its bigger neighbors.
City officials hope the new $650 million Dallas Cowboys stadium will be a key to more development in Arlington's entertainment district. Developers have tentatively announced plans for a major urban-style, mixed-use development near the Cowboys stadium and Ameriquest Field.
Mr. Bruner said he wants to see Arlington increase its commercial base so that the city has one job for each resident. Until then, Arlington is just like many other suburbs despite its large population.
"We sleep here, and we go to work somewhere else," he said.
Although Arlington leaders expected the news, Plano officials questioned figures that showed a daytime dip of 1,700 people, or about 0.8 percent.
The city that is home to Fortune 500 companies such as JC Penney and Electronic Data Systems is often described by municipal officials as a net importer of jobs.
Phyllis Jarrell, Plano's director of planning, said that though she could not specifically refute the data, she believes the figures may have undercounted Plano's high concentration of home-based businesses, retail outlets and restaurants.
"We believe that we are a net importer of jobs," Ms. Jarrell said. "What that increment is, I couldn't tell you."
At three times the national average, Plano's per capita retail base draws high numbers of service workers to the city. But Ms. Jarrell said retail and restaurant employment is difficult to track accurately because those industries have high levels of turnover.
Higher populations
Towns known for having a concentration of commercial and retail businesses typically had significantly higher daytime populations.
In Addison, where residences occupy only about 10 percent of the city's 4.5 square miles, the population boomed from about 14,000 to about 37,500 during working hours in 2000.
Because the town's tax base is 90 percent commercial, residents do not suffer an undue financial burden, City Manager Ron Whitehead said. He said town leaders try to serve the residential and business communities equally, he said.
Waking up from that bedroom community stigma proved to still be a hurdle for some smaller suburban cities trying to give residents both a place to live and work.
Suburbs such as Frisco and Allen saw their population drop by about a quarter during the daytime as residents commuted to jobs in other cities.
That imbalance between businesses and residents not only puts a higher tax burden on homeowners, it also makes for more congestion on the roadways, said Michael Morris, director of transportation for the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
Mr. Morris said the council is encouraging cities such as Frisco to plan for mixed residential and commercial developments near future light rail stops, as well as to offer a range of lower- to higher-priced homes. Service employees, such as those at Stonebriar Centre, should be able to afford a home near where they work, he said.
Cities with a healthy balance of workers and residents line up along a slight curve from Forth Worth, through Irving, Farmers Branch, Addison and Richardson to Dallas. The line follows where transportation planners have sought to put the most services, such as current and future rail stations, he said.
"If we had everything right outside our door – our job, grocery store, playground for our kids – we wouldn't have to get on the transportation system at all," he said. "Therefore, transportation has to meet the failures of the land use system."
Lure of larger cities
Nevertheless, planners are encouraging more people to work in the larger cities, Mr. Morris said, because a larger employment base might lure more people to shop, dine and possibly live in these cities' downtowns.
Along with regional planning for transportation, city services and economic development, census officials note that the data help emergency planners who need to know how many people would probably be in a city when a disaster strikes.
For example, about 250,000 people worked in New Orleans prior to Hurricane Katrina, a census news release states. About 150,000 were New Orleans residents, but another 100,000 lived outside the city.
Staff writer Elizabeth Langton contributed to this report.
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TexasStooge
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Verizon's cable plan gets OK
State franchise approval lets company extend fiber lines to 21 cities
By TERRY MAXON / The Dallas Morning News
The state's Public Utility Commission approved the application of Verizon Communications Inc. for a state cable franchise Friday, allowing Verizon to expand its television service through North Texas.
The franchise, issued in the name of GTE Southwest Inc., doing business as Verizon Southwest, will allow Verizon to extend its FiOS video service to 21 cities. The service uses fiber-optic lines to carry voice, data and video.
In September, Verizon launched its first television service in Keller and had franchise agreements with several other cities. But the Texas Legislature approved a law in August that allows companies to obtain state franchises without having to negotiate municipal franchises.
The PUC's OK made Verizon the second telecommunications company to obtain a Texas franchise, following New Braunfels-based Guadalupe Valley Communications Systems LP on Oct. 3.
The PUC is reviewing four other applications: from SBC Communications Inc.'s Texas operations and three smaller companies, Grande Communications Networks Inc. of San Marcos, Pathway Com-Tel Inc. of Houston and ETS Cablevision Inc. of Joshua.
Verizon's franchise covers Fort Worth, Irving, Plano, Grapevine, Carrollton, Garland, Southlake, Colleyville, Coppell, Denton, Lewisville, Flower Mound, Rowlett, Allen, Double Oak, Hebron, Highland Village, Lucas, Murphy, Parker and St. Paul.
Steve Banta, Verizon southwest region president, said the company intends to hire at least 150 technicians in North Texas in the next few months to handle demand.
Verizon said that nearly 400,000 North Texas households will have access to its FiOS TV service by the end of next year.
State franchise approval lets company extend fiber lines to 21 cities
By TERRY MAXON / The Dallas Morning News
The state's Public Utility Commission approved the application of Verizon Communications Inc. for a state cable franchise Friday, allowing Verizon to expand its television service through North Texas.
The franchise, issued in the name of GTE Southwest Inc., doing business as Verizon Southwest, will allow Verizon to extend its FiOS video service to 21 cities. The service uses fiber-optic lines to carry voice, data and video.
In September, Verizon launched its first television service in Keller and had franchise agreements with several other cities. But the Texas Legislature approved a law in August that allows companies to obtain state franchises without having to negotiate municipal franchises.
The PUC's OK made Verizon the second telecommunications company to obtain a Texas franchise, following New Braunfels-based Guadalupe Valley Communications Systems LP on Oct. 3.
The PUC is reviewing four other applications: from SBC Communications Inc.'s Texas operations and three smaller companies, Grande Communications Networks Inc. of San Marcos, Pathway Com-Tel Inc. of Houston and ETS Cablevision Inc. of Joshua.
Verizon's franchise covers Fort Worth, Irving, Plano, Grapevine, Carrollton, Garland, Southlake, Colleyville, Coppell, Denton, Lewisville, Flower Mound, Rowlett, Allen, Double Oak, Hebron, Highland Village, Lucas, Murphy, Parker and St. Paul.
Steve Banta, Verizon southwest region president, said the company intends to hire at least 150 technicians in North Texas in the next few months to handle demand.
Verizon said that nearly 400,000 North Texas households will have access to its FiOS TV service by the end of next year.
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TexasStooge
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Drug charges dropped against 3 in raid
Dallas: Defense lawyers point to inconsistencies in search warrant
By JASON TRAHAN and HOLLY YAN / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - The Dallas County district attorney's office has dropped charges against three men arrested last month in what police described as a $15 million drug operation after defense attorneys questioned inconsistencies in the search warrant.
Prosecutors withdrew drug charges against Valentine Posadas, 39; Abel Rodriguez Hernandez, 31; and Omar Alejandro Guzman, 27, just a few hours after two defense attorneys met with the county's chief drug prosecutor Thursday.
The men were arrested Sept. 27 during a raid on an Old East Dallas residence, where police said they discovered about $1.5 million worth of cocaine, thousands of dollars of marijuana, nearly a dozen guns and about $200,000 in cash. Police also seized a ledger that indicated the operation had handled about $15 million in drugs in recent months.
Two of the men were released Thursday afternoon; Mr. Posadas remained at Lew Sterrett Justice Center on Friday on immigration and parole violations.
"I'm not cutting these people loose because I think they're innocent," said Eric Mountin, the county's chief felony drug prosecutor. "I have a responsibility to look at the evidence presented to me and the documentation that supports that."
Mr. Mountin declined to say what specifically was wrong with the search warrant, but he noted that the case still could have moved forward had it been a minor inconsistency, such as a typographical error on the address.
"We're not in a position to hold someone when the search warrant is bad," he said.
Descriptions questioned
Police, prosecutors and defense attorneys said the discrepancies in the warrant concern whether police officers had received a complaint about the house where the men were arrested or were headed to another house when they noticed suspicious activity there.
Police descriptions of the number of suspects and what was suspicious about them also came into question.
The Police Department has launched a public integrity investigation to determine whether the inconsistencies in the court documents are innocent mistakes.
The officers who made the arrests were part of Operation Disruption, a roving 60-officer task force that targets a high-crime area for a day or two. The team, which started descending on neighborhoods in July, attempts to disrupt crime and make contact with residents.
Dan Hagood, the attorney representing Mr. Guzman, said he is pleased authorities decided to drop the cases.
"I think the district attorney's office and Police Department – once the reports were brought to their attention – acted promptly in handling this," he said.
Mr. Hagood, the former special prosecutor appointed by District Attorney Bill Hill to investigate possible police misconduct in the 2001 fake-drug scandal, said he is hopeful the discrepancies in the paperwork were unintentional.
"I'm open-minded enough to believe that the full gamut of possibilities is open," he said.
The head of the Dallas police narcotics unit said he has no problem with the decision.
"There were some discrepancies in the reports involved in this incident," Deputy Chief Julian Bernal said. "The ultimate outcome of the Public Integrity investigation will tell us what exactly happened and if those discrepancies were administrative violations, criminal violations – or no violations at all."
Neighbors relieved
Meanwhile, the house that was raided in the 2500 block of Jonesboro Avenue remained undisturbed as neighborhood kids rode past on bicycles. A paper sign in Spanish reading, "Jesus is Lord Read the Bible," was posted on the front door.
No one has occupied the house since the bust, neighbors said.
They also said they hadn't seen a police car in the area since the day of the bust.
Troy Johnson said he was relieved after the arrests, even though he had no idea what was going on.
"I thought they were operating a chop shop," Mr. Johnson said. "I heard power tools from their back yard."
Police said shortly after the arrests that the men rigged the gas tanks of cars to transport cocaine.
Dallas: Defense lawyers point to inconsistencies in search warrant
By JASON TRAHAN and HOLLY YAN / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - The Dallas County district attorney's office has dropped charges against three men arrested last month in what police described as a $15 million drug operation after defense attorneys questioned inconsistencies in the search warrant.
Prosecutors withdrew drug charges against Valentine Posadas, 39; Abel Rodriguez Hernandez, 31; and Omar Alejandro Guzman, 27, just a few hours after two defense attorneys met with the county's chief drug prosecutor Thursday.
The men were arrested Sept. 27 during a raid on an Old East Dallas residence, where police said they discovered about $1.5 million worth of cocaine, thousands of dollars of marijuana, nearly a dozen guns and about $200,000 in cash. Police also seized a ledger that indicated the operation had handled about $15 million in drugs in recent months.
Two of the men were released Thursday afternoon; Mr. Posadas remained at Lew Sterrett Justice Center on Friday on immigration and parole violations.
"I'm not cutting these people loose because I think they're innocent," said Eric Mountin, the county's chief felony drug prosecutor. "I have a responsibility to look at the evidence presented to me and the documentation that supports that."
Mr. Mountin declined to say what specifically was wrong with the search warrant, but he noted that the case still could have moved forward had it been a minor inconsistency, such as a typographical error on the address.
"We're not in a position to hold someone when the search warrant is bad," he said.
Descriptions questioned
Police, prosecutors and defense attorneys said the discrepancies in the warrant concern whether police officers had received a complaint about the house where the men were arrested or were headed to another house when they noticed suspicious activity there.
Police descriptions of the number of suspects and what was suspicious about them also came into question.
The Police Department has launched a public integrity investigation to determine whether the inconsistencies in the court documents are innocent mistakes.
The officers who made the arrests were part of Operation Disruption, a roving 60-officer task force that targets a high-crime area for a day or two. The team, which started descending on neighborhoods in July, attempts to disrupt crime and make contact with residents.
Dan Hagood, the attorney representing Mr. Guzman, said he is pleased authorities decided to drop the cases.
"I think the district attorney's office and Police Department – once the reports were brought to their attention – acted promptly in handling this," he said.
Mr. Hagood, the former special prosecutor appointed by District Attorney Bill Hill to investigate possible police misconduct in the 2001 fake-drug scandal, said he is hopeful the discrepancies in the paperwork were unintentional.
"I'm open-minded enough to believe that the full gamut of possibilities is open," he said.
The head of the Dallas police narcotics unit said he has no problem with the decision.
"There were some discrepancies in the reports involved in this incident," Deputy Chief Julian Bernal said. "The ultimate outcome of the Public Integrity investigation will tell us what exactly happened and if those discrepancies were administrative violations, criminal violations – or no violations at all."
Neighbors relieved
Meanwhile, the house that was raided in the 2500 block of Jonesboro Avenue remained undisturbed as neighborhood kids rode past on bicycles. A paper sign in Spanish reading, "Jesus is Lord Read the Bible," was posted on the front door.
No one has occupied the house since the bust, neighbors said.
They also said they hadn't seen a police car in the area since the day of the bust.
Troy Johnson said he was relieved after the arrests, even though he had no idea what was going on.
"I thought they were operating a chop shop," Mr. Johnson said. "I heard power tools from their back yard."
Police said shortly after the arrests that the men rigged the gas tanks of cars to transport cocaine.
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TexasStooge
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- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
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Hispanic community suspected robbery targets
By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Dallas police are investigating a string of armed robberies seemingly targeted mostly at the Hispanic community along Park Lane and Fair Oaks.
The robberies began in the neighborhood about a month ago. Since then, a number of residents have been held up at gunpoint, and many of those were hit outside their homes.
While walking to his apartment carrying his 4-year-old sleeping daughter, a man who wished not to be identified said a gunman confronted him in a parking lot.
He lost $260, which was part of a paycheck he had just cashed.
"I was afraid for my daughter," he said. "He told me, 'Give me your money,' and I told him I didn't have any. He pointed the gun closer and grabbed my wallet. He took out the money and gave me back the wallet."
His story is one of more than 30 similar cases in just one month that the Dallas Police Department have tracked in an area that stretches from Forest Lane down towards Northwest Highway.
Police said they believe two men are targeting their victims at apartment complexes. Cases have been reported where victims are held up right outside their front door or while walking to throw out the trash.
The robberies have some in the area nervous.
"I think they rob Hispanics because they think we won't call police for fear of deportation," the victim said.
Police have no suspects in the case and ask anyone who has information to please come forward.
By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Dallas police are investigating a string of armed robberies seemingly targeted mostly at the Hispanic community along Park Lane and Fair Oaks.
The robberies began in the neighborhood about a month ago. Since then, a number of residents have been held up at gunpoint, and many of those were hit outside their homes.
While walking to his apartment carrying his 4-year-old sleeping daughter, a man who wished not to be identified said a gunman confronted him in a parking lot.
He lost $260, which was part of a paycheck he had just cashed.
"I was afraid for my daughter," he said. "He told me, 'Give me your money,' and I told him I didn't have any. He pointed the gun closer and grabbed my wallet. He took out the money and gave me back the wallet."
His story is one of more than 30 similar cases in just one month that the Dallas Police Department have tracked in an area that stretches from Forest Lane down towards Northwest Highway.
Police said they believe two men are targeting their victims at apartment complexes. Cases have been reported where victims are held up right outside their front door or while walking to throw out the trash.
The robberies have some in the area nervous.
"I think they rob Hispanics because they think we won't call police for fear of deportation," the victim said.
Police have no suspects in the case and ask anyone who has information to please come forward.
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TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
After heart attack, McKinney teen alive and kicking
Soccer player embraces life, chance to join high school football team
By DAVID HINOJOSA / The Dallas Morning News
McKINNEY, Texas – Sometimes getting a second lease on life makes you do crazy things – even if nine months ago you teetered on the brink of death after a heart attack.
W.R. Olds-Benton wants to soak it all in while he can. How else would you explain the need to join the football team after quitting the sport five years ago?
"I'm so thankful for being alive," the 17-year-old McKinney senior said. "I know that I'm that one of a million chance of living. ... I didn't want my life to slow down because of my heart."
W.R., a second-year starting defender on McKinney's soccer team last season, had a heart attack Jan. 7 during a scrimmage against McKinney's alumni.
He was revived with an automatic external heart defibrillator (AED), had surgery to correct a rare birth defect and by the summer was playing club soccer again.
Then he surprised his parents by saying he wanted to play football – American football, with shoulder pads, helmets and hitting.
"What are you thinking?" Cassie Olds-Benton asked her son after that shocking revelation. W.R. said the team needed a kicker, and he wanted to try out.
What he didn't tell her was he would also be a reserve defensive back.
"I supported him because I knew that's what he wanted to do," Ms. Olds-Benton said.
Joe Benton was concerned about what could happen if his son took a vicious hit to the chest. Doctors assured him that W.R.'s chest was stronger than ever. His sternum had been cut open during the surgery and the bone grew stronger as it regenerated. His chest is reinforced with wires used to close it after surgery.
Playing football, Mr. Benton said, is his son's "way of stating to the world: 'I'm a normal guy, and I'm doing something rougher and tougher than I ever have before.' "
W.R. was just a normal guy until Jan. 7. With a nice crossing pass, he had just recorded an assist on the McKinney varsity's winning goal.
But toward the end of the game, W.R. signaled that he needed to come off the field. He was breathing heavily. It wasn't an unusual sight because he had mild asthma. He dropped to one knee before several teammates helped him to the track. Then he collapsed.
Bystanders administered CPR while McKinney's trainer, Jim Riser, was summoned from the gym with the defibrillator.
Within three minutes of his collapse, W.R. was revived with a second shock from the defibrillator as a huge plume of frosty breath shot out of his mouth. Five days later, he had surgery at Medical City Dallas Hospital to correct a rare birth defect.
W.R.'s left coronary artery had ascended from the right side. The left artery ran around the front of his heart from right to left. When he collapsed in January, his heart had pumped hard enough to cut off the blood flow from the left artery. Doctors corrected the defect by moving the artery to the left side, where it belongs.
Now, W.R. and his parents say, his heart is strongerthan ever. And when he started playing club soccer again last summer, it was a great sight to his father, who had rushed to the track after his son had collapsed and sat by him for four straight days.
"I swelled with pride to watch him run again, to play and see that smile on his face again," Mr. Benton said.
As a football player, W.R. is a second-string kicker and scout-team defensive back.
"I have to take deep breaths every once in awhile because I realize how lucky I am to see my son play sports," Ms. Olds-Benton said. "It totally blows me away."
W.R. does the same conditioning drills as his teammates. He has missed only one practice since August.
But McKinney football coach Todd McVey has told him that his chances of getting playing time would be minimal because McKinney was returning its five top defensive backs.
"You may not take the field," Mr. McVey told him. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
W.R. was determined to have the experience.
"I had a list of things I wanted to do before I graduated," he said, "and playing high school football was one of them."
Friday, he finally got his wish. He kicked McKinney's last extra point in a 28-17 victory against Frisco Centennial.
Mr. McVey said W.R.'s influence extends beyond the football field.
"I hope his teammates look at him and feel blessed that they can do what they can do," the coach said. "It says a lot about his character. Since he's arrived, he's been great. He's the epitome of a true role model."
Teammate and longtime friend Brett Anderson agreed: "He inspires you in the middle of practice when you realize that he probably shouldn't be here."
Soccer player embraces life, chance to join high school football team
By DAVID HINOJOSA / The Dallas Morning News
McKINNEY, Texas – Sometimes getting a second lease on life makes you do crazy things – even if nine months ago you teetered on the brink of death after a heart attack.
W.R. Olds-Benton wants to soak it all in while he can. How else would you explain the need to join the football team after quitting the sport five years ago?
"I'm so thankful for being alive," the 17-year-old McKinney senior said. "I know that I'm that one of a million chance of living. ... I didn't want my life to slow down because of my heart."
W.R., a second-year starting defender on McKinney's soccer team last season, had a heart attack Jan. 7 during a scrimmage against McKinney's alumni.
He was revived with an automatic external heart defibrillator (AED), had surgery to correct a rare birth defect and by the summer was playing club soccer again.
Then he surprised his parents by saying he wanted to play football – American football, with shoulder pads, helmets and hitting.
"What are you thinking?" Cassie Olds-Benton asked her son after that shocking revelation. W.R. said the team needed a kicker, and he wanted to try out.
What he didn't tell her was he would also be a reserve defensive back.
"I supported him because I knew that's what he wanted to do," Ms. Olds-Benton said.
Joe Benton was concerned about what could happen if his son took a vicious hit to the chest. Doctors assured him that W.R.'s chest was stronger than ever. His sternum had been cut open during the surgery and the bone grew stronger as it regenerated. His chest is reinforced with wires used to close it after surgery.
Playing football, Mr. Benton said, is his son's "way of stating to the world: 'I'm a normal guy, and I'm doing something rougher and tougher than I ever have before.' "
W.R. was just a normal guy until Jan. 7. With a nice crossing pass, he had just recorded an assist on the McKinney varsity's winning goal.
But toward the end of the game, W.R. signaled that he needed to come off the field. He was breathing heavily. It wasn't an unusual sight because he had mild asthma. He dropped to one knee before several teammates helped him to the track. Then he collapsed.
Bystanders administered CPR while McKinney's trainer, Jim Riser, was summoned from the gym with the defibrillator.
Within three minutes of his collapse, W.R. was revived with a second shock from the defibrillator as a huge plume of frosty breath shot out of his mouth. Five days later, he had surgery at Medical City Dallas Hospital to correct a rare birth defect.
W.R.'s left coronary artery had ascended from the right side. The left artery ran around the front of his heart from right to left. When he collapsed in January, his heart had pumped hard enough to cut off the blood flow from the left artery. Doctors corrected the defect by moving the artery to the left side, where it belongs.
Now, W.R. and his parents say, his heart is strongerthan ever. And when he started playing club soccer again last summer, it was a great sight to his father, who had rushed to the track after his son had collapsed and sat by him for four straight days.
"I swelled with pride to watch him run again, to play and see that smile on his face again," Mr. Benton said.
As a football player, W.R. is a second-string kicker and scout-team defensive back.
"I have to take deep breaths every once in awhile because I realize how lucky I am to see my son play sports," Ms. Olds-Benton said. "It totally blows me away."
W.R. does the same conditioning drills as his teammates. He has missed only one practice since August.
But McKinney football coach Todd McVey has told him that his chances of getting playing time would be minimal because McKinney was returning its five top defensive backs.
"You may not take the field," Mr. McVey told him. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
W.R. was determined to have the experience.
"I had a list of things I wanted to do before I graduated," he said, "and playing high school football was one of them."
Friday, he finally got his wish. He kicked McKinney's last extra point in a 28-17 victory against Frisco Centennial.
Mr. McVey said W.R.'s influence extends beyond the football field.
"I hope his teammates look at him and feel blessed that they can do what they can do," the coach said. "It says a lot about his character. Since he's arrived, he's been great. He's the epitome of a true role model."
Teammate and longtime friend Brett Anderson agreed: "He inspires you in the middle of practice when you realize that he probably shouldn't be here."
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TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
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Minor injuries in school bus accident
PLANO, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A Plano school bus was involved in a minor accident Monday morning at Los Rios and Park boulevards. No one had injuries that required transport to a hospital, officials said.
Plano police Detective Bryan Wood said the bus was northbound on Los Rios, just north of Park, in the left lane and a pickup truck pulling a trailer with lawn equipment was traveling alongside the bus in the middle lane.
As they exited a school zone, the pickup accelerated to pass the bus. It didn't get far enough in front, Wood said, and the trailer clipped the bus' passenger side near the doors.
A few children complained of bumped heads and one had a jammed finger, he said.
"They really weren't going that fast," Wood said of the vehicles. "They had just come out of the school zone."
It was not immediately clear what school the students attended.
PLANO, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A Plano school bus was involved in a minor accident Monday morning at Los Rios and Park boulevards. No one had injuries that required transport to a hospital, officials said.
Plano police Detective Bryan Wood said the bus was northbound on Los Rios, just north of Park, in the left lane and a pickup truck pulling a trailer with lawn equipment was traveling alongside the bus in the middle lane.
As they exited a school zone, the pickup accelerated to pass the bus. It didn't get far enough in front, Wood said, and the trailer clipped the bus' passenger side near the doors.
A few children complained of bumped heads and one had a jammed finger, he said.
"They really weren't going that fast," Wood said of the vehicles. "They had just come out of the school zone."
It was not immediately clear what school the students attended.
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