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Gay-marriage ban in, city rename out
By ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas – Texans voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to bolster the state's ban on same-sex marriage by writing it into the state constitution, rejecting concerns that the broadly worded amendment could go much further than intended.
The measure swept most of the state's major urban counties, including Dallas and Tarrant. Overall, the amendment, Proposition 2 on the statewide ballot, prevailed by about a 3-to-1 ratio as voters decided nine amendments.
Voters in White Settlement, named 160 years ago after white settlers moved into a mostly Indian area, emphatically rejected a proposal to change the town's name to West Settlement. Some civic leaders felt the traditional name should be changed to lure business investment; nearly 92 percent of voters disagreed.
Locally, Dallas voters defeated the second ballot measure in six months to increase mayoral power and easily approved a $23.8 million downtown center to help the city's growing homeless population.
In many rural areas and smaller cities, Proposition 2 carried by runaway margins. An exception was Travis County, where opponents rallied college students against the amendment. In almost all of the rest of the state, though, the vote wasn't even close. And turnout appeared higher than usual for such an election.
"Texas is a huge conservative state and they've spoken on this issue," said Rep. Warren Chisum, the Pampa Republican who authored the amendment. "They're very family-oriented, and given the opportunity, they'll vote conservative. They still have a lot of moral values."
Opponents, who knew they faced certain defeat, said they had planted the seed for a political movement and predicted that the amendment would be the subject of lawsuits over legal arrangements that gay couples make short of marriage.
"The litigation will begin," said gay-rights activist Glen Maxey, leader of the effort to defeat the amendment. "There could be some bad outcomes."
Supporters of the proposal, such as Gov. Rick Perry, said their main goal was to defend marriage as a vital societal institution that should not be changed. They also pitched the amendment as a guarantee that state courts wouldn't be able to force Texas to recognize gay unions.
"Let there be no doubt that Texans, not liberal activist judges, will decide how best to keep our families and state strong," said state Republican Party Chairwoman Tina Benkiser. "Campaigns of confusion, lies and deception will go down in blistering defeat."
Opponents called the amendment overkill. They noted that nobody has challenged the state law banning gay marriage that was enacted in 2003 and predicted that the state's all-Republican Supreme Court would deny the attempts of anyone who did.
They also said the amendment was designed to get thousands of conservative Christians registered to vote so they can be turned out to support Gov. Rick Perry's re-election in the March GOP primary. Mr. Perry's political aides acknowledged that as a side benefit but said the primary goal was protecting marriage.
Mr. Perry said nothing publicly about the amendment's passage.
Proposition 2 puts a ban on same-sex marriage in the Texas Constitution and prohibits the state or local governments from creating or recognizing "any legal status identical or similar to marriage."
In the days before the vote, criticism mounted that the amendment is vaguely worded.
"It's horribly drafted," said Houston attorney Warren Cole, chairman of the State Bar of Texas' family law section.
He said the Legislature's failure to specify that it was trying to prohibit alternatives to marriage for "unmarried individuals" means that "all marriages would be annulled, technically speaking." And Mr. Cole predicted challenges to gay couples' arrangements for property and end-of-life medical decisions.
"There's going to be some major-league issues on this thing, and I think it's going to have to be amended again at some point in time for some clarification purposes," he said.
Conservative activist Kelly Shackelford, who helped write the amendment and led the campaign for it, called such worries "nonsense." He said judges will have no problem detecting lawmakers' intent, a view shared by Mr. Perry and Attorney General Greg Abbott, also a Republican.
"It was written with lock-tight language to avoid any sort of lawsuit having any real chance of success," Mr. Shackelford said.
Similar bans on gay marriage have been written into the constitutions of 18 other states, and he said Texas conservatives learned from them.
"The different sorts of creative legal challenges had already occurred, and so it was drafted in a way to make it impervious to those kinds of attacks," said Mr. Shackelford, president of the Plano-based Free Market Foundation and chief counsel of the Liberty Legal Institute.
The campaign was conducted mainly under the radar, with mailings and automated phone calls and exhortations from church pulpits.
Supporters expressed alarm that opponents, by declaring the amendment is poorly worded and could end up wiping out traditional marriage, had confused many Texans.
Opposition leaders defended the tactic as an attention-getter, though they also insisted that there's a real question about what effects the amendment will have.
Mr. Maxey, a former House Democrat who was the first openly gay person elected to the Texas Legislature, said the defeat stings but won't deter gays from demanding equality. He pointed to two new political groups that will raise money to try to elect lawmakers more attuned to gay and lesbians' concerns next year.
"This battle for civil rights is not just an event, it's long term," he said. After the polls closed, he made a point of visiting the campus of the University of Texas at Austin, where, he said, students voted more than 4-to-1 against the amendment.
"I looked at that and I said, 'Well, that's the next generation,' " he said. "I look at it with a lot of silver linings tonight."
Also, he said, the campaign generated discussion of gay and lesbian couples' rights in small cities "where I bet it probably hadn't ever occurred," which he said will advance gays toward an inevitable victory. "
Mr. Shackelford called that "a nice theory."
But opponents, he said, "never discussed the issue of why marriage should be a man and a man, or a woman and a woman. Their whole campaign was 'avoid the issue.' "
He acknowledged that most younger voters probably opposed the amendment.
"That's just a part of being young and immature," Mr. Shackelford said. He said that as young people "gain life experience," they'll "realize the importance" of traditional, heterosexual marriage.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Election Results from WFAA.com
By ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas – Texans voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to bolster the state's ban on same-sex marriage by writing it into the state constitution, rejecting concerns that the broadly worded amendment could go much further than intended.
The measure swept most of the state's major urban counties, including Dallas and Tarrant. Overall, the amendment, Proposition 2 on the statewide ballot, prevailed by about a 3-to-1 ratio as voters decided nine amendments.
Voters in White Settlement, named 160 years ago after white settlers moved into a mostly Indian area, emphatically rejected a proposal to change the town's name to West Settlement. Some civic leaders felt the traditional name should be changed to lure business investment; nearly 92 percent of voters disagreed.
Locally, Dallas voters defeated the second ballot measure in six months to increase mayoral power and easily approved a $23.8 million downtown center to help the city's growing homeless population.
In many rural areas and smaller cities, Proposition 2 carried by runaway margins. An exception was Travis County, where opponents rallied college students against the amendment. In almost all of the rest of the state, though, the vote wasn't even close. And turnout appeared higher than usual for such an election.
"Texas is a huge conservative state and they've spoken on this issue," said Rep. Warren Chisum, the Pampa Republican who authored the amendment. "They're very family-oriented, and given the opportunity, they'll vote conservative. They still have a lot of moral values."
Opponents, who knew they faced certain defeat, said they had planted the seed for a political movement and predicted that the amendment would be the subject of lawsuits over legal arrangements that gay couples make short of marriage.
"The litigation will begin," said gay-rights activist Glen Maxey, leader of the effort to defeat the amendment. "There could be some bad outcomes."
Supporters of the proposal, such as Gov. Rick Perry, said their main goal was to defend marriage as a vital societal institution that should not be changed. They also pitched the amendment as a guarantee that state courts wouldn't be able to force Texas to recognize gay unions.
"Let there be no doubt that Texans, not liberal activist judges, will decide how best to keep our families and state strong," said state Republican Party Chairwoman Tina Benkiser. "Campaigns of confusion, lies and deception will go down in blistering defeat."
Opponents called the amendment overkill. They noted that nobody has challenged the state law banning gay marriage that was enacted in 2003 and predicted that the state's all-Republican Supreme Court would deny the attempts of anyone who did.
They also said the amendment was designed to get thousands of conservative Christians registered to vote so they can be turned out to support Gov. Rick Perry's re-election in the March GOP primary. Mr. Perry's political aides acknowledged that as a side benefit but said the primary goal was protecting marriage.
Mr. Perry said nothing publicly about the amendment's passage.
Proposition 2 puts a ban on same-sex marriage in the Texas Constitution and prohibits the state or local governments from creating or recognizing "any legal status identical or similar to marriage."
In the days before the vote, criticism mounted that the amendment is vaguely worded.
"It's horribly drafted," said Houston attorney Warren Cole, chairman of the State Bar of Texas' family law section.
He said the Legislature's failure to specify that it was trying to prohibit alternatives to marriage for "unmarried individuals" means that "all marriages would be annulled, technically speaking." And Mr. Cole predicted challenges to gay couples' arrangements for property and end-of-life medical decisions.
"There's going to be some major-league issues on this thing, and I think it's going to have to be amended again at some point in time for some clarification purposes," he said.
Conservative activist Kelly Shackelford, who helped write the amendment and led the campaign for it, called such worries "nonsense." He said judges will have no problem detecting lawmakers' intent, a view shared by Mr. Perry and Attorney General Greg Abbott, also a Republican.
"It was written with lock-tight language to avoid any sort of lawsuit having any real chance of success," Mr. Shackelford said.
Similar bans on gay marriage have been written into the constitutions of 18 other states, and he said Texas conservatives learned from them.
"The different sorts of creative legal challenges had already occurred, and so it was drafted in a way to make it impervious to those kinds of attacks," said Mr. Shackelford, president of the Plano-based Free Market Foundation and chief counsel of the Liberty Legal Institute.
The campaign was conducted mainly under the radar, with mailings and automated phone calls and exhortations from church pulpits.
Supporters expressed alarm that opponents, by declaring the amendment is poorly worded and could end up wiping out traditional marriage, had confused many Texans.
Opposition leaders defended the tactic as an attention-getter, though they also insisted that there's a real question about what effects the amendment will have.
Mr. Maxey, a former House Democrat who was the first openly gay person elected to the Texas Legislature, said the defeat stings but won't deter gays from demanding equality. He pointed to two new political groups that will raise money to try to elect lawmakers more attuned to gay and lesbians' concerns next year.
"This battle for civil rights is not just an event, it's long term," he said. After the polls closed, he made a point of visiting the campus of the University of Texas at Austin, where, he said, students voted more than 4-to-1 against the amendment.
"I looked at that and I said, 'Well, that's the next generation,' " he said. "I look at it with a lot of silver linings tonight."
Also, he said, the campaign generated discussion of gay and lesbian couples' rights in small cities "where I bet it probably hadn't ever occurred," which he said will advance gays toward an inevitable victory. "
Mr. Shackelford called that "a nice theory."
But opponents, he said, "never discussed the issue of why marriage should be a man and a man, or a woman and a woman. Their whole campaign was 'avoid the issue.' "
He acknowledged that most younger voters probably opposed the amendment.
"That's just a part of being young and immature," Mr. Shackelford said. He said that as young people "gain life experience," they'll "realize the importance" of traditional, heterosexual marriage.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Election Results from WFAA.com
Last edited by TexasStooge on Wed Nov 09, 2005 8:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
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White Settlement votes to keep name
WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - Residents held on to their heritage Tuesday night and voted against changing their town name to West Settlement, despite proponents' arguments that the name has racial connotations.
In a record turnout, 2,388 residents voted against the name change and 219 voted for it in unofficial, complete returns.
The city got its name because it was the lone village of white pioneers amid several American Indian encampments in the Fort Worth area in the Texas Republic territory in the 1840s.
Mayor James Ouzts and other city leaders proposed the change, saying the current name is confusing, misleading and has hindered economic development in this 15,000-resident suburb of Fort Worth.
However, the ballot measure angered many residents who said the change was unnecessary and too costly. Signs across town urged folks to "Be Proud! Don't Let Them Discard the Heritage of White Settlement. Vote No!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Election Results from WFAA.com
WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - Residents held on to their heritage Tuesday night and voted against changing their town name to West Settlement, despite proponents' arguments that the name has racial connotations.
In a record turnout, 2,388 residents voted against the name change and 219 voted for it in unofficial, complete returns.
The city got its name because it was the lone village of white pioneers amid several American Indian encampments in the Fort Worth area in the Texas Republic territory in the 1840s.
Mayor James Ouzts and other city leaders proposed the change, saying the current name is confusing, misleading and has hindered economic development in this 15,000-resident suburb of Fort Worth.
However, the ballot measure angered many residents who said the change was unnecessary and too costly. Signs across town urged folks to "Be Proud! Don't Let Them Discard the Heritage of White Settlement. Vote No!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Election Results from WFAA.com
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Swastikas found on Highland Parh High School sign
Motive unknown, but symbols surfaced after talk about race issues
By PAUL MEYER / The Dallas Morning News
HIGHLAND PARK, Texas - Two red swastikas were discovered on an engraved stone sign outside of Highland Park High School on Saturday, an incident that follows almost two weeks of race-related debate surrounding the school.
Laura Schultz, photo editor for the school newspaper, photographed the symbols Saturday morning. The swastikas were quickly removed by a custodian, she said.
Ms. Schultz, a 17-year-old senior, said she doesn't know who is responsible or what the motive for the vandalism was. The school newspaper, The Bagpipe, plans to publish a photo of the defaced sign in its upcoming edition.
Highland Park school district spokeswoman Helen Williams declined to comment Tuesday, saying she could not confirm that the incident occurred.
Lita Snellgrove, public information officer for the University Park Police Department, said no police report was filed.
The vandalism occurred after some high school seniors dressed up last month as gang members, hip-hop artists and a gardener with a leaf blower.
The costumes – criticized by the NAACP and others – sparked intense conversation about issues of race and class in the mostly white, affluent school district.
"It's pretty rare for ... [a swastika] to be on public schools," said Mark Briskman, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.
Mr. Briskman said the school district should report the incident to police for further investigation. He said swastikas he sees tend to be black, often with some writing or message attached. No message was scrawled alongside the high school's sign.
School officials "also have to assess whether it's reasonable to assume it's related to what has been going on the last few weeks," Mr. Briskman said. "That raises a larger issue of their environment, values and the school. Are there larger issues they need to deal with?"
Motive unknown, but symbols surfaced after talk about race issues
By PAUL MEYER / The Dallas Morning News
HIGHLAND PARK, Texas - Two red swastikas were discovered on an engraved stone sign outside of Highland Park High School on Saturday, an incident that follows almost two weeks of race-related debate surrounding the school.
Laura Schultz, photo editor for the school newspaper, photographed the symbols Saturday morning. The swastikas were quickly removed by a custodian, she said.
Ms. Schultz, a 17-year-old senior, said she doesn't know who is responsible or what the motive for the vandalism was. The school newspaper, The Bagpipe, plans to publish a photo of the defaced sign in its upcoming edition.
Highland Park school district spokeswoman Helen Williams declined to comment Tuesday, saying she could not confirm that the incident occurred.
Lita Snellgrove, public information officer for the University Park Police Department, said no police report was filed.
The vandalism occurred after some high school seniors dressed up last month as gang members, hip-hop artists and a gardener with a leaf blower.
The costumes – criticized by the NAACP and others – sparked intense conversation about issues of race and class in the mostly white, affluent school district.
"It's pretty rare for ... [a swastika] to be on public schools," said Mark Briskman, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.
Mr. Briskman said the school district should report the incident to police for further investigation. He said swastikas he sees tend to be black, often with some writing or message attached. No message was scrawled alongside the high school's sign.
School officials "also have to assess whether it's reasonable to assume it's related to what has been going on the last few weeks," Mr. Briskman said. "That raises a larger issue of their environment, values and the school. Are there larger issues they need to deal with?"
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Plano, Dallas assaults may be linked
By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8
PLANO, Texas - Plano police are comparing notes with Dallas investigators about several rapes, a string of robberies and possibly a murder—all involving the same suspect.
News 8 has learned the suspect in a sexual assault at a Dallas apartment complex also forced his victim at gunpoint to go to an ATM machine and withdraw money.
The description of the suspect and the way he committed the crime is similar to at least 12 other cases in the Dallas area—including two in Plano on Monday night.
The suspect always wears a red or blue bandana, carries a shotgun and either rapes or robs his victims.
Early Monday morning, the man entered a woman's Plano apartment, raped her at gunpoint and then took her ATM card.
Twenty-four hours later, police said the same suspect robbed a man at another complex and took him to an ATM to withdraw cash. "He broke into their apartment; that's considered aggressive, and we consider him very dangerous," said Plano police spokesman Carl Duke.
Dallas investigators are looking into the possibility that the same suspect raped a woman at the Camden Farmers Market apartments last week and forced her to withdraw cash at gunpoint.
"Obviously they are looking into it, and if there is any reason to make any sort of association then they will do that," said Dallas police Senior Cpl. Donna Hernandez.
Authorities believe the suspect also fits the description of a robber involved in 10 other attacks in Dallas, Coppell, Richardson and Garland in May and June.
In about half the cases, the victims were either robbed in their homes or forced to drive to an ATM. Two women were shot and injured in Coppell and Dallas attacks.
"We think that there are enough similarities in the description and the weapon used; which was a short-barrelled shotgun; that it could be related to what's been happening in the Dallas area during the last several months," said Plano police spokesman Carl Duke.
Plano detectives said they may also be able to link a murder to the same suspect. In June, someone shot and killed Cleofas Zapata during a home invasion.
Dallas police said they cannot be certain the sex assault near Farmers Market is linked to others, because they are still examining the forensic evidence.
They do say the suspect description and his technique are similar.
By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8
PLANO, Texas - Plano police are comparing notes with Dallas investigators about several rapes, a string of robberies and possibly a murder—all involving the same suspect.
News 8 has learned the suspect in a sexual assault at a Dallas apartment complex also forced his victim at gunpoint to go to an ATM machine and withdraw money.
The description of the suspect and the way he committed the crime is similar to at least 12 other cases in the Dallas area—including two in Plano on Monday night.
The suspect always wears a red or blue bandana, carries a shotgun and either rapes or robs his victims.
Early Monday morning, the man entered a woman's Plano apartment, raped her at gunpoint and then took her ATM card.
Twenty-four hours later, police said the same suspect robbed a man at another complex and took him to an ATM to withdraw cash. "He broke into their apartment; that's considered aggressive, and we consider him very dangerous," said Plano police spokesman Carl Duke.
Dallas investigators are looking into the possibility that the same suspect raped a woman at the Camden Farmers Market apartments last week and forced her to withdraw cash at gunpoint.
"Obviously they are looking into it, and if there is any reason to make any sort of association then they will do that," said Dallas police Senior Cpl. Donna Hernandez.
Authorities believe the suspect also fits the description of a robber involved in 10 other attacks in Dallas, Coppell, Richardson and Garland in May and June.
In about half the cases, the victims were either robbed in their homes or forced to drive to an ATM. Two women were shot and injured in Coppell and Dallas attacks.
"We think that there are enough similarities in the description and the weapon used; which was a short-barrelled shotgun; that it could be related to what's been happening in the Dallas area during the last several months," said Plano police spokesman Carl Duke.
Plano detectives said they may also be able to link a murder to the same suspect. In June, someone shot and killed Cleofas Zapata during a home invasion.
Dallas police said they cannot be certain the sex assault near Farmers Market is linked to others, because they are still examining the forensic evidence.
They do say the suspect description and his technique are similar.
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Backers: Loss won't change Miller
By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Twice Mayor Laura Miller endorsed propositions that would have expanded mayoral powers, and twice they failed.
So what does Ms. Miller, with no foreseeable opportunity of becoming the strong mayor she envisioned, among City Council colleagues often upset with her political style and substance, do now?
Absolutely nothing differently, some supporters say.
"She'll continue to exercise independent judgment and speak the truth to how she feels. She is not going to be afraid to speak out," said Vance Miller, a leading Dallas real estate businessman and longtime Miller supporter. "And she'll be there to provide insight and leadership, no matter what."
Said council member Mitchell Rasansky: "She will survive ... Laura is not going to do anything different. I admire that she's out there doing what she thinks is best for the city of Dallas."
That, Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill said, wouldn't be a good idea.
"If she stays true to form, things will only get worse," Mr. Hill said. "She's not focused on leading or consensus. She's focused on being right. Unless she changes her mode of operation, she will marginalize herself further."
The defeat of Proposition 1, which Ms. Miller supported, is unlikely to change her or the rest of the council, said Alan Saxe, political science professor at the University of Texas at Arlington.
"The council already feels emboldened. And the mayor, she's taken a lot of battles on, and she's gotten through them," Mr. Saxe said.
The council has forged near-unanimity on some key issues in recent months.
Ms. Miller led efforts to create a downtown development authority and finance the redevelopment of the Mercantile Bank complex.
But harmonious the council is not.
Council member Maxine Thornton-Reese, for example, accused Ms. Miller this summer of practicing racist politics when she advocated stripping the floundering Southern Dallas Development Corp. and South Dallas/Fair Park Trust Fund of government money earmarked for them. (Ms. Miller failed in the first instance, succeeded in the second on close votes.)
Last month, council members roundly rejected the mayor's fight to kill a $6.3 million tax abatement to facilitate construction of billionaire oilman Ray Hunt's new downtown high-rise headquarters.
Ms. Miller declined to comment on the vote Tuesday night. She instead released a statement in which she expressed disappointment that Dallas residents "have voted twice for the status quo" in the midst of an FBI corruption investigation involving Mr. Hill and other council members, property tax increases and "constant tax giveaways."
Relations on the council probably won't get better and quite possibly could become worse, said Beth Ann Blackwood, architect of the original Proposition 1 strong mayor referendum that voters defeated in May. A frustrated mayor plus "the buck still not stopping anywhere" could equal a chaotic situation.
Just don't expect Ms. Miller to keep quiet, she said.
"She can be a villain one day and a hero the next," Ms. Blackwood said of Ms. Miller. "Anything could happen. She could be the darling again. Or not."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Election Results from WFAA.com
By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Twice Mayor Laura Miller endorsed propositions that would have expanded mayoral powers, and twice they failed.
So what does Ms. Miller, with no foreseeable opportunity of becoming the strong mayor she envisioned, among City Council colleagues often upset with her political style and substance, do now?
Absolutely nothing differently, some supporters say.
"She'll continue to exercise independent judgment and speak the truth to how she feels. She is not going to be afraid to speak out," said Vance Miller, a leading Dallas real estate businessman and longtime Miller supporter. "And she'll be there to provide insight and leadership, no matter what."
Said council member Mitchell Rasansky: "She will survive ... Laura is not going to do anything different. I admire that she's out there doing what she thinks is best for the city of Dallas."
That, Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill said, wouldn't be a good idea.
"If she stays true to form, things will only get worse," Mr. Hill said. "She's not focused on leading or consensus. She's focused on being right. Unless she changes her mode of operation, she will marginalize herself further."
The defeat of Proposition 1, which Ms. Miller supported, is unlikely to change her or the rest of the council, said Alan Saxe, political science professor at the University of Texas at Arlington.
"The council already feels emboldened. And the mayor, she's taken a lot of battles on, and she's gotten through them," Mr. Saxe said.
The council has forged near-unanimity on some key issues in recent months.
Ms. Miller led efforts to create a downtown development authority and finance the redevelopment of the Mercantile Bank complex.
But harmonious the council is not.
Council member Maxine Thornton-Reese, for example, accused Ms. Miller this summer of practicing racist politics when she advocated stripping the floundering Southern Dallas Development Corp. and South Dallas/Fair Park Trust Fund of government money earmarked for them. (Ms. Miller failed in the first instance, succeeded in the second on close votes.)
Last month, council members roundly rejected the mayor's fight to kill a $6.3 million tax abatement to facilitate construction of billionaire oilman Ray Hunt's new downtown high-rise headquarters.
Ms. Miller declined to comment on the vote Tuesday night. She instead released a statement in which she expressed disappointment that Dallas residents "have voted twice for the status quo" in the midst of an FBI corruption investigation involving Mr. Hill and other council members, property tax increases and "constant tax giveaways."
Relations on the council probably won't get better and quite possibly could become worse, said Beth Ann Blackwood, architect of the original Proposition 1 strong mayor referendum that voters defeated in May. A frustrated mayor plus "the buck still not stopping anywhere" could equal a chaotic situation.
Just don't expect Ms. Miller to keep quiet, she said.
"She can be a villain one day and a hero the next," Ms. Blackwood said of Ms. Miller. "Anything could happen. She could be the darling again. Or not."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Election Results from WFAA.com
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Activist arrested after council meeting outburst
By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - There was plenty of action at the Dallas City Council meeting this morning, and it had nothing to do with strong mayor propositions or homeless center bonds.
Several Dallas security officers grabbed and arrested political activist Rich Sheridan, a frequent critic of Mayor Laura Miller, when he approached the council horseshoe uninvited, spoke out of turn and began gesturing toward the mayor. The officers handcuffed Mr. Sheridan and removed him from the council chambers.
"God, he's so crazy," Ms. Miller remarked as Mr. Sheridan was removed.
Mr. Sheridan, wearing a t-shirt featuring the words "Rosa Parks, God Bless Rosa. Laura Miller, The Curse of Dallas" in red marker, began reciting prayers as he was led away.
"I apologize. I apologize to all of you," he said afterward to no one in particular. "I'm here in the service of Dallas. I'm here in the service of God."
By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - There was plenty of action at the Dallas City Council meeting this morning, and it had nothing to do with strong mayor propositions or homeless center bonds.
Several Dallas security officers grabbed and arrested political activist Rich Sheridan, a frequent critic of Mayor Laura Miller, when he approached the council horseshoe uninvited, spoke out of turn and began gesturing toward the mayor. The officers handcuffed Mr. Sheridan and removed him from the council chambers.
"God, he's so crazy," Ms. Miller remarked as Mr. Sheridan was removed.
Mr. Sheridan, wearing a t-shirt featuring the words "Rosa Parks, God Bless Rosa. Laura Miller, The Curse of Dallas" in red marker, began reciting prayers as he was led away.
"I apologize. I apologize to all of you," he said afterward to no one in particular. "I'm here in the service of Dallas. I'm here in the service of God."
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Homeowner shoots suspect after break-in
ARLINGTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A burglary suspect is in custody after he was shot late Tuesday night by an Arlington homeowner.
Police said officers spotted the suspect around 11:30 p.m. driving a stolen vehicle. When they tried to apprehend him, the suspect fled on foot on Parkcrest Terrace, just north of Interstate 30.
The suspect headed south and broke into a house on Northaven Court. Police said a female homeowner spotted his footprints in the house, followed them and found him hiding in a closet, where she shot him in the leg.
Police said his wounds are non-life-threatening.
ARLINGTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A burglary suspect is in custody after he was shot late Tuesday night by an Arlington homeowner.
Police said officers spotted the suspect around 11:30 p.m. driving a stolen vehicle. When they tried to apprehend him, the suspect fled on foot on Parkcrest Terrace, just north of Interstate 30.
The suspect headed south and broke into a house on Northaven Court. Police said a female homeowner spotted his footprints in the house, followed them and found him hiding in a closet, where she shot him in the leg.
Police said his wounds are non-life-threatening.
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Hunt continues for missing infant
FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/WFAA.com) - Police are still looking for a seven-month-old child who was was taken from his grandmother in Decatur on Tuesday.
John Christopher Stephenson Jr. is believed to be with his mother, who does not have legal custody of the boy.
An Amber Alert has been issued for the child.
Police said Alicia Pearl Stephenson, 26, called a Sherman television last night saying she intended to turn herself in on Wednesday.
She did not give the location from where she made the call.
Police are increasingly worried about the child as they say Stephenson, 26, has a history of drug abuse.
Stephenson abducted the child after having lunch with her mother in Decatur on Tuesday.
Her mother and grandmother not only have custody of John Christopher Stephenson but also his three older siblings.
Stephenson is thought to be driving an old blue Chevrolet pickup truck with damage to the left front fender. Police said her last known address was in Durant, Okla.
The FBI is now involved in the search.
Anyone with information about the infant or his mother was asked to call Decaur police at 940-627-1500.
Decatur is 35 miles northwest of Fort Worth in Wise County.
FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/WFAA.com) - Police are still looking for a seven-month-old child who was was taken from his grandmother in Decatur on Tuesday.
John Christopher Stephenson Jr. is believed to be with his mother, who does not have legal custody of the boy.
An Amber Alert has been issued for the child.
Police said Alicia Pearl Stephenson, 26, called a Sherman television last night saying she intended to turn herself in on Wednesday.
She did not give the location from where she made the call.
Police are increasingly worried about the child as they say Stephenson, 26, has a history of drug abuse.
Stephenson abducted the child after having lunch with her mother in Decatur on Tuesday.
Her mother and grandmother not only have custody of John Christopher Stephenson but also his three older siblings.
Stephenson is thought to be driving an old blue Chevrolet pickup truck with damage to the left front fender. Police said her last known address was in Durant, Okla.
The FBI is now involved in the search.
Anyone with information about the infant or his mother was asked to call Decaur police at 940-627-1500.
Decatur is 35 miles northwest of Fort Worth in Wise County.
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Concern over 5,000 missing TAKS tests
By GARY REAVES / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Dallas school officials are scrambling to find thousands of missing standardized tests.
The Texas Assessment of Academic Skills tests are supposed to be kept secure to prevent cheating, but the district can't account for more than 5,000 of them.
Terry Diaz, a pupil taking tutoring sessions at Reconciliation House, takes the tests very seriously.
"I'm studying harder than last year," she says.
It's the test that could keep her out of sixth grade.
According to a report by the Texas Education Agency, more than 26,998 TAKS and other tests are missing.
At the Dallas Independent School District some 5,150 February TAKS test booklets are missing.
"We've got a pretty good idea what may or may not have happened to them," said Donny Claxton, a DISD spokesman.
"We are still trying to get a firm count... of what may or may not be missing."
Unused tests are supposed to be returned to Austin straight away.
However, officials believe they remained in Dallas - at a secure location.
The tests were discovered last week, and some have been returned.
In Houston, a reporter recently gained access to the tests at the location where they were being kept, which has led to security concerns.
Missing tests casts doubt on the whole testing process, says Walt Haney, a testing expert at Boston College.
"Security has clearly been compromised. People can simply memorize the answers to particular questions on the test."
Dallas officials and the Texas Education Agency are promising to increase security. This is crucial as to save money they are planning to reuse questions in this year's test next year.
By GARY REAVES / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Dallas school officials are scrambling to find thousands of missing standardized tests.
The Texas Assessment of Academic Skills tests are supposed to be kept secure to prevent cheating, but the district can't account for more than 5,000 of them.
Terry Diaz, a pupil taking tutoring sessions at Reconciliation House, takes the tests very seriously.
"I'm studying harder than last year," she says.
It's the test that could keep her out of sixth grade.
According to a report by the Texas Education Agency, more than 26,998 TAKS and other tests are missing.
At the Dallas Independent School District some 5,150 February TAKS test booklets are missing.
"We've got a pretty good idea what may or may not have happened to them," said Donny Claxton, a DISD spokesman.
"We are still trying to get a firm count... of what may or may not be missing."
Unused tests are supposed to be returned to Austin straight away.
However, officials believe they remained in Dallas - at a secure location.
The tests were discovered last week, and some have been returned.
In Houston, a reporter recently gained access to the tests at the location where they were being kept, which has led to security concerns.
Missing tests casts doubt on the whole testing process, says Walt Haney, a testing expert at Boston College.
"Security has clearly been compromised. People can simply memorize the answers to particular questions on the test."
Dallas officials and the Texas Education Agency are promising to increase security. This is crucial as to save money they are planning to reuse questions in this year's test next year.
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Missing infant found, say police
DECATUR, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/WFAA.com) - A seven-month-old child who was was taken from his grandmother in Decatur on Tuesday has been found, according to police.
John Christopher Stephenson Jr. was with his mother, Alicia Pearl Stephenson, who does not have legal custody of the boy.
Both are currently in custody, after an Amber Alert was issued for the infant.
The alert was issued because the grandmother, Linda Hull, who has temporary custody of the boy, as well as Stephenson's three other children, told police she felt the child was in danger.
She said Stephenson, 26, has a history of drug abuse.
An anonymous tipster called Denton County Sheriff's Office about 12:30 p.m., saying the baby and his mother could be found at a residence in the 17500 block of Matany Road, near Justin, in southwest Denton County.
Deputies found the two and took them into custody. Decatur police officers are en route to the scene.
Stephenson abducted the child after having lunch with her mother in Decatur on Tuesday.
The FBI has been involved in the search.
DECATUR, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/WFAA.com) - A seven-month-old child who was was taken from his grandmother in Decatur on Tuesday has been found, according to police.
John Christopher Stephenson Jr. was with his mother, Alicia Pearl Stephenson, who does not have legal custody of the boy.
Both are currently in custody, after an Amber Alert was issued for the infant.
The alert was issued because the grandmother, Linda Hull, who has temporary custody of the boy, as well as Stephenson's three other children, told police she felt the child was in danger.
She said Stephenson, 26, has a history of drug abuse.
An anonymous tipster called Denton County Sheriff's Office about 12:30 p.m., saying the baby and his mother could be found at a residence in the 17500 block of Matany Road, near Justin, in southwest Denton County.
Deputies found the two and took them into custody. Decatur police officers are en route to the scene.
Stephenson abducted the child after having lunch with her mother in Decatur on Tuesday.
The FBI has been involved in the search.
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Stolen car leads police on high-speed chase
QUINLAN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/WFAA.com) - Police arrested a man and a woman in a stolen car after a high-speed chase through rural Hunt and Rockwall counties Wednesday afternoon.
The pursuit began in Quinlan, where Police Chief Johnny Thornburg attempted to stop the white Dodge Neon sedan for gasoline theft.
The suspects then led officers from Quinlan, Hunt and Rockwall county deputies, and state troopers on a 45-minute chase along rural highways from Quinlan to Fate and back.
The white car reached speeds of 110 mph before one of its tires was punctured. The suspects, however, continued driving for miles on a rim until they slowly came to a halt just outside Quinlan.
The unidentified driver—surrounded by armed lawmen—thrust his hands out the window in a gesture of surrender. He was taken into custody without further incident.
A female companion in the car was also apprehended.
No one was hurt.
Cahrges against the duo were pending.
QUINLAN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/WFAA.com) - Police arrested a man and a woman in a stolen car after a high-speed chase through rural Hunt and Rockwall counties Wednesday afternoon.
The pursuit began in Quinlan, where Police Chief Johnny Thornburg attempted to stop the white Dodge Neon sedan for gasoline theft.
The suspects then led officers from Quinlan, Hunt and Rockwall county deputies, and state troopers on a 45-minute chase along rural highways from Quinlan to Fate and back.
The white car reached speeds of 110 mph before one of its tires was punctured. The suspects, however, continued driving for miles on a rim until they slowly came to a halt just outside Quinlan.
The unidentified driver—surrounded by armed lawmen—thrust his hands out the window in a gesture of surrender. He was taken into custody without further incident.
A female companion in the car was also apprehended.
No one was hurt.
Cahrges against the duo were pending.
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Pastor's electrocution ruled accidental
WACO, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) -- Police say the electrocution of a Waco pastor as he prepared to do a baptism has been ruled accidental.
Waco police say 33-year-old Reverend Kyle Lake died October 30th after the accident at University Baptist Church. Witnesses say Lake was shocked when he grabbed a microphone while he was standing in water.
The woman who was about to be baptized wasn't injured.
WACO, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) -- Police say the electrocution of a Waco pastor as he prepared to do a baptism has been ruled accidental.
Waco police say 33-year-old Reverend Kyle Lake died October 30th after the accident at University Baptist Church. Witnesses say Lake was shocked when he grabbed a microphone while he was standing in water.
The woman who was about to be baptized wasn't injured.
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Grandmother, 66, shoots intruder
ARLINGTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Arlington police have arrested a man who was shot by a 66-year-old homeowner after he attempted to hide from officers in her closet.
The suspect, Christopher Lessner, 22, is being treated at Harris Hospital in Fort Worth for non-life threatening injuries.
The Chevrolet pickup he was driving was reported stolen out of Euless. After conferring with the Tarrant County District Attorney's office, Arlington investigators plan to charge Lessner with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, evading arrest, criminal mischief and criminal trespass.
The incident started at about 11:15 p.m. on Thursday when an officer in the 700 block of west-bound Interstate 30 attempted to stop a black Chevrolet pickup for speeding.
The driver of the pickup exited at Fielder Road, turned north, and drove onto Park Crest Terrace. In the 1700 block of Park Crest Terrace, the suspect jumped from the vehicle while it was still moving and fled on foot from the officer.
The suspect climbed an 8 foot fence, jumped over a chain link fence and ran into a heavily wooded area. The officer chased the suspect and called in his location and description to dispatchers. The suspect was described as a white male with no shirt and gray sweatpants, about 5 foot 11 inches, 160 pounds, with short hair.
Additional officers, the Arlington canine unit and a Fort Worth helicopter were called to assist in the search. During the search, officers heard a gunshot and were told by dispatchers that a shooting had occurred less than a mile south of their location on Northaven Court. The suspect in the shooting was wearing clothing similar to the missing suspect and matched his description.
Once officers arrived at the home in the 1700 block of Northaven Court, the suspect had fled. The 66-year-old female homeowner told officers that she got up at about 12:30 a.m. to let her dog out.
The woman said she usually carries a handgun because she is afraid of coyotes in the area attacking her dogs. The woman's 28-year-old granddaughter told her that she heard noises and glass breaking.
As the woman was letting her dog into the backyard, she saw a muddy footprint on the back porch that she hadn't seen before. She then noticed that her cats were out of the room that they usually slept in and that items in another room had been moved.
As she was checking the house with her gun (a .38 revolver) still in her hand, she found the suspect hiding under a coat in a closet near the front door. The woman told her granddaughter to call 911. The suspect leapt out at the woman. They exchanged words and he attempted to take the gun from her. The woman shot the man in the upper leg and fired a second shot, but missed. The suspect fled and officers found him a few houses away on an upstairs balcony.
Arlington police do not anticipate filing charges against the 66-year-old homeowner.
ARLINGTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Arlington police have arrested a man who was shot by a 66-year-old homeowner after he attempted to hide from officers in her closet.
The suspect, Christopher Lessner, 22, is being treated at Harris Hospital in Fort Worth for non-life threatening injuries.
The Chevrolet pickup he was driving was reported stolen out of Euless. After conferring with the Tarrant County District Attorney's office, Arlington investigators plan to charge Lessner with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, evading arrest, criminal mischief and criminal trespass.
The incident started at about 11:15 p.m. on Thursday when an officer in the 700 block of west-bound Interstate 30 attempted to stop a black Chevrolet pickup for speeding.
The driver of the pickup exited at Fielder Road, turned north, and drove onto Park Crest Terrace. In the 1700 block of Park Crest Terrace, the suspect jumped from the vehicle while it was still moving and fled on foot from the officer.
The suspect climbed an 8 foot fence, jumped over a chain link fence and ran into a heavily wooded area. The officer chased the suspect and called in his location and description to dispatchers. The suspect was described as a white male with no shirt and gray sweatpants, about 5 foot 11 inches, 160 pounds, with short hair.
Additional officers, the Arlington canine unit and a Fort Worth helicopter were called to assist in the search. During the search, officers heard a gunshot and were told by dispatchers that a shooting had occurred less than a mile south of their location on Northaven Court. The suspect in the shooting was wearing clothing similar to the missing suspect and matched his description.
Once officers arrived at the home in the 1700 block of Northaven Court, the suspect had fled. The 66-year-old female homeowner told officers that she got up at about 12:30 a.m. to let her dog out.
The woman said she usually carries a handgun because she is afraid of coyotes in the area attacking her dogs. The woman's 28-year-old granddaughter told her that she heard noises and glass breaking.
As the woman was letting her dog into the backyard, she saw a muddy footprint on the back porch that she hadn't seen before. She then noticed that her cats were out of the room that they usually slept in and that items in another room had been moved.
As she was checking the house with her gun (a .38 revolver) still in her hand, she found the suspect hiding under a coat in a closet near the front door. The woman told her granddaughter to call 911. The suspect leapt out at the woman. They exchanged words and he attempted to take the gun from her. The woman shot the man in the upper leg and fired a second shot, but missed. The suspect fled and officers found him a few houses away on an upstairs balcony.
Arlington police do not anticipate filing charges against the 66-year-old homeowner.
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Trial's opening statements detail TCU professor's death
By DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH, Texas — Laura Lee Crane’s final day was a pretty routine one: a trip to the bank and grocery shopping at a nearby store.
When the retired college professor failed to return home, her husband of 56 years called police.
“I realized something was wrong and that’s when I called 911,” said Meade Ballard Crane, the first witness Wednesday in the capital murder trial of Edward Lee Busby Jr.
Mr. Busby, 33, of Fort Worth, is accused of killing the 77-year-old woman after abducting her from a South Hulen Street parking lot. Prosecutors are seeeking the death penalty.
Mr. Crane, 79, said he last saw his wife on the morning of Jan. 30, 2004 when she left for the Tom Thumb grocery store three blocks from their Bellaire Drive home in southwest Fort Worth.
Mr. Crane, whose testimony was videotaped, said he was expecting his wife around 1 p.m.
Following a nearly three-hour wait, he reported her missing, he said.
During opening statements, prosecutors said Ms. Crane was wrapped in 14 layers of duct tape and placed in the trunk of her own car.
Two different types of duct tape were used, Mr. Miller said.
“When they put Mrs. Crane in the trunk of her car, the trunk became her coffin and the car itself became a funeral hearse,” said Greg Miller, an assistant Tarrant County district attorney.
He told jurors Mr. Busby and a companion, Kathleen Latimer, abducted Mrs. Crane, cashed a $175 check and used her credit cards. Ms. Latimer, 41, also of Fort Worth is awaiting trial.
The two drove to Oklahoma with Ms. Crane in the trunk of her car, he said.
Mrs. Crane was an assistant professor of education at Texas Christian University. She also was a former principal of Starpoint School at TCU, a school for children with learning disabilities.
Her body was found along a service road of Interstate 35 in Murray County, Oklahoma just north of the Texas border.
Mr. Busby, officials said, led police to the body which was duct taped and wrapped in a sheet taken from the motel where Mr. Busby and Ms. Latimer had stayed.
His attorneys, Steve Gordon and Jack Strickland, did not make an opening statement, but said they may address the jury later during the trial.
Mrs. Crane’s daughter, Allen Walker, said the trial is a heartbreaking reminder of her mother’s final hours and the search launched by her disappearance.
“There is a lot of sadness, a lot of recollection and anger,” Ms. Walker said. “Justice for our family will be that no one ever has to suffer again the way that my mother has suffered.”
The trial before state district Judge Wayne Salvant is expected to last two weeks.
By DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH, Texas — Laura Lee Crane’s final day was a pretty routine one: a trip to the bank and grocery shopping at a nearby store.
When the retired college professor failed to return home, her husband of 56 years called police.
“I realized something was wrong and that’s when I called 911,” said Meade Ballard Crane, the first witness Wednesday in the capital murder trial of Edward Lee Busby Jr.
Mr. Busby, 33, of Fort Worth, is accused of killing the 77-year-old woman after abducting her from a South Hulen Street parking lot. Prosecutors are seeeking the death penalty.
Mr. Crane, 79, said he last saw his wife on the morning of Jan. 30, 2004 when she left for the Tom Thumb grocery store three blocks from their Bellaire Drive home in southwest Fort Worth.
Mr. Crane, whose testimony was videotaped, said he was expecting his wife around 1 p.m.
Following a nearly three-hour wait, he reported her missing, he said.
During opening statements, prosecutors said Ms. Crane was wrapped in 14 layers of duct tape and placed in the trunk of her own car.
Two different types of duct tape were used, Mr. Miller said.
“When they put Mrs. Crane in the trunk of her car, the trunk became her coffin and the car itself became a funeral hearse,” said Greg Miller, an assistant Tarrant County district attorney.
He told jurors Mr. Busby and a companion, Kathleen Latimer, abducted Mrs. Crane, cashed a $175 check and used her credit cards. Ms. Latimer, 41, also of Fort Worth is awaiting trial.
The two drove to Oklahoma with Ms. Crane in the trunk of her car, he said.
Mrs. Crane was an assistant professor of education at Texas Christian University. She also was a former principal of Starpoint School at TCU, a school for children with learning disabilities.
Her body was found along a service road of Interstate 35 in Murray County, Oklahoma just north of the Texas border.
Mr. Busby, officials said, led police to the body which was duct taped and wrapped in a sheet taken from the motel where Mr. Busby and Ms. Latimer had stayed.
His attorneys, Steve Gordon and Jack Strickland, did not make an opening statement, but said they may address the jury later during the trial.
Mrs. Crane’s daughter, Allen Walker, said the trial is a heartbreaking reminder of her mother’s final hours and the search launched by her disappearance.
“There is a lot of sadness, a lot of recollection and anger,” Ms. Walker said. “Justice for our family will be that no one ever has to suffer again the way that my mother has suffered.”
The trial before state district Judge Wayne Salvant is expected to last two weeks.
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New tunnel planned for LBJ makeover
By BRAD HAWKINS / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - In the midst of a multi-billion dollar makeover on Central Expressway and LBJ Freeway, Texas is about to start on a new, huge highway project.
Drivers have spent five years dealing with the Dallas High Five Interchange construction, which is scheduled to end in over a month.
The next big freeway project will take two decades and will stretch along LBJ Freeway from Interstate 35E to Interstate 30. It looks like it will be LBJ Freeway's turn for an extreme makeover.
By 2012, 250,000 cars could enter a three-lane tolled tunnel somewhere between Hillcrest and Preston.
"We can't go up, we can't go out," said Matt McGregor, of the Texas Department of Transportation. "So, we've decided to go underneath."
It would be similar to the short tunnel along Keller Springs under the runway at Addison Airport, and about as long as DART's underground rail runs from downtown to Mockingbird Station. However, the tunnel would be 60-feet wideand 30 feet tall in the middle. That would make the new tunnel be three times wider and one and a half times taller than the one in Addison.
The underground trip would continue into what is called cut-and-cover box construction, an example of which takes cars on Spring Valley underneath Central Expressway in Richardson.
Those underground lanes, three in each direction, would flow for five miles under new frontage roads west of the Galleria.
No cash would be used for the tunnel users, and would be accessed only by TollTag owners.
It will also likely have a flexible pricing plan.
"During midday it would be a lower price, peak periods would be a higher price, late-night or off-peak would be a much lower price," McGregor said.
Thursday night there is an open house and presentation where drivers and business owners along the freeway can get more on the plans from Tex-DOT.
By BRAD HAWKINS / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - In the midst of a multi-billion dollar makeover on Central Expressway and LBJ Freeway, Texas is about to start on a new, huge highway project.
Drivers have spent five years dealing with the Dallas High Five Interchange construction, which is scheduled to end in over a month.
The next big freeway project will take two decades and will stretch along LBJ Freeway from Interstate 35E to Interstate 30. It looks like it will be LBJ Freeway's turn for an extreme makeover.
By 2012, 250,000 cars could enter a three-lane tolled tunnel somewhere between Hillcrest and Preston.
"We can't go up, we can't go out," said Matt McGregor, of the Texas Department of Transportation. "So, we've decided to go underneath."
It would be similar to the short tunnel along Keller Springs under the runway at Addison Airport, and about as long as DART's underground rail runs from downtown to Mockingbird Station. However, the tunnel would be 60-feet wideand 30 feet tall in the middle. That would make the new tunnel be three times wider and one and a half times taller than the one in Addison.
The underground trip would continue into what is called cut-and-cover box construction, an example of which takes cars on Spring Valley underneath Central Expressway in Richardson.
Those underground lanes, three in each direction, would flow for five miles under new frontage roads west of the Galleria.
No cash would be used for the tunnel users, and would be accessed only by TollTag owners.
It will also likely have a flexible pricing plan.
"During midday it would be a lower price, peak periods would be a higher price, late-night or off-peak would be a much lower price," McGregor said.
Thursday night there is an open house and presentation where drivers and business owners along the freeway can get more on the plans from Tex-DOT.
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Love Field battle goes to Capitol Hill
By DAVE CASSIDY / WFAA ABC 8
WASHINGTON D.C./DALLAS, Texas — Leaders from across the Dallas-Fort Worth area and much of Texas are taking part in a congressional showdown on the future of Dallas Love Field.
Southwest Airlines is pushing to ease rules so it can fly its jets nationwide from Love Field. But Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport's biggest tenant—American Airlines—said any change "imperils the economic health of the entire region."
"Communities benefit from competition between airlines, not competition between airports, said Gerald Arpey, American's chairman and CEO. He suggested that Southwest should move its operations to D/FW and operate on a "level playing field."
But Southwest chairman Herb Kelleher said American is a fierce competitor that "does not exactly welcome interlopers with warm milk and graham crakers."
He said multiple studies have shown that failure to repeal the Wright Amendment will cause an estimated 3.7 million people simply not to fly. "This is what the Wright Amendment is costing America," Kelleher said.
Kelleher portrayed Southwest as a David that has been battling Goliath for more than two decades. "D/FW has 166 gates compared to 32 at Love Field," Kelleher said. "D/FW Airport has gotten so big that I'm surprised it hasn't been implicated in the steroid scandal."
Others warned that repealing the Wright Amendment—which limits flights from Love—will increase noise and danger in nearby neighborhoods.
Rep. Kay Granger (R-Fort Worth) told the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee's Aviation Subcommittee that the Wright Amendment is a compromise that has "lasted and worked well for all of us."
She said the marketplace is the survival of the fittest, adding that Southwest is the most robust carrier of them all.
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Dallas) agreed with her colleague. "We are like twin cities. We have to work together. This issue divides us," she said. "The balance between our airports has served North Texas very well."
Johnson said changing the Wright Amendment would serve to preempt "principled agreements" between the two cities.
But Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) called the Wright Amendment an "anti-consumer" measure.
"No other airport in the United States is subject to such a draconian rule," Bond said. "I respectfully suggest that the 26-year-old Wright Amendment has outlived its usefulness."
Also testifying was Rep. Kay Granger (R-Fort Worth), who pointed out that Southwest Airlines is not restricted from flying to far-reaching destinations from North Texas. "All it has to do is move to D/FW Airport and fill those empty gates," she said.
"That's like Congress saying to McDonald's, 'You can sell your hamburgers all around the nation except Topeka, Kansas,'" countered Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Dallas). "We need to finish the job in promoting competition in air travel."
Hensarling said small businesses would immediately benefit from lower air fares anticipated by increased competition. "With lower air fares, the grandmother in Iowa can visit her grandson in Dallas twice a year instead of once," he said.
Dozens of community leaders went to Washington lobbying members of Congress and warning that Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport would be harmed if the Wright Amendment is rescinded.
D/FW's studies show costs could double while the number of passengers served could decline by one-third.
"We'll compete with anybody, any time," said D/FW senior executive vice president Kevin Cox, "but competing with our brother eight miles down the road that was supposed to be closed down is just absolutely bad public policy."
Adelfa Callejo, representing the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, has another reason to oppose expansion at the in-city Dallas airport. "There's 63 schools surrounding the Love Field area, and there's 30,000 students in those schools," she said. "I think we should all be very concerned about them."
Southwest Airlines predicts the change woud lower air fares.
WFAA.com staff and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
By DAVE CASSIDY / WFAA ABC 8
WASHINGTON D.C./DALLAS, Texas — Leaders from across the Dallas-Fort Worth area and much of Texas are taking part in a congressional showdown on the future of Dallas Love Field.
Southwest Airlines is pushing to ease rules so it can fly its jets nationwide from Love Field. But Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport's biggest tenant—American Airlines—said any change "imperils the economic health of the entire region."
"Communities benefit from competition between airlines, not competition between airports, said Gerald Arpey, American's chairman and CEO. He suggested that Southwest should move its operations to D/FW and operate on a "level playing field."
But Southwest chairman Herb Kelleher said American is a fierce competitor that "does not exactly welcome interlopers with warm milk and graham crakers."
He said multiple studies have shown that failure to repeal the Wright Amendment will cause an estimated 3.7 million people simply not to fly. "This is what the Wright Amendment is costing America," Kelleher said.
Kelleher portrayed Southwest as a David that has been battling Goliath for more than two decades. "D/FW has 166 gates compared to 32 at Love Field," Kelleher said. "D/FW Airport has gotten so big that I'm surprised it hasn't been implicated in the steroid scandal."
Others warned that repealing the Wright Amendment—which limits flights from Love—will increase noise and danger in nearby neighborhoods.
Rep. Kay Granger (R-Fort Worth) told the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee's Aviation Subcommittee that the Wright Amendment is a compromise that has "lasted and worked well for all of us."
She said the marketplace is the survival of the fittest, adding that Southwest is the most robust carrier of them all.
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Dallas) agreed with her colleague. "We are like twin cities. We have to work together. This issue divides us," she said. "The balance between our airports has served North Texas very well."
Johnson said changing the Wright Amendment would serve to preempt "principled agreements" between the two cities.
But Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) called the Wright Amendment an "anti-consumer" measure.
"No other airport in the United States is subject to such a draconian rule," Bond said. "I respectfully suggest that the 26-year-old Wright Amendment has outlived its usefulness."
Also testifying was Rep. Kay Granger (R-Fort Worth), who pointed out that Southwest Airlines is not restricted from flying to far-reaching destinations from North Texas. "All it has to do is move to D/FW Airport and fill those empty gates," she said.
"That's like Congress saying to McDonald's, 'You can sell your hamburgers all around the nation except Topeka, Kansas,'" countered Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Dallas). "We need to finish the job in promoting competition in air travel."
Hensarling said small businesses would immediately benefit from lower air fares anticipated by increased competition. "With lower air fares, the grandmother in Iowa can visit her grandson in Dallas twice a year instead of once," he said.
Dozens of community leaders went to Washington lobbying members of Congress and warning that Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport would be harmed if the Wright Amendment is rescinded.
D/FW's studies show costs could double while the number of passengers served could decline by one-third.
"We'll compete with anybody, any time," said D/FW senior executive vice president Kevin Cox, "but competing with our brother eight miles down the road that was supposed to be closed down is just absolutely bad public policy."
Adelfa Callejo, representing the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, has another reason to oppose expansion at the in-city Dallas airport. "There's 63 schools surrounding the Love Field area, and there's 30,000 students in those schools," she said. "I think we should all be very concerned about them."
Southwest Airlines predicts the change woud lower air fares.
WFAA.com staff and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Council OKs plan to limit teardowns
Dallas: Overlay called win for homeowners; foes say rights infringed
By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - The Dallas City Council on Wednesday granted homeowners a long-awaited tool to help prevent what opponents call "McMansions" in their neighborhoods – the embattled Neighborhood Stabilization Overlay.
"We have an ordinance that includes both sides; it finds the middle ground for both sides," Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Elba Garcia said. "While not perfect, it's a very good compromise."
But it almost didn't happen. A last-minute effort to postpone the vote on the teardown issue another month – led by Mayor Laura Miller and council member Mitchell Rasansky – failed after a heated debate.
"I find this to be about as divisive as anything that's hit this council in a long time," said council member Bill Blaydes, who voted against the overlay.
The council passed the overlay on an 11-4 vote and agreed to discuss the ordinance again in December to address remaining housekeeping issues.
The overlay has taken on many forms since it was designed more than eight months ago, as city planners and council members worked to strike a balance between neighbors' needs and real estate interests.
Wednesday's compromise will:
•Apply to either 50 contiguous homes or an original platted subdivision.
•Require signatures from a simple majority of homeowners (neighborhoods with signatures from 75 percent or more of homeowners would not have to pay an application fee). Signatures would be valid for three months in districts with fewer than 50 homes, and six months in districts with more than 50 homes.
•Allow residents to regulate front- and side-yard setbacks and garage location. Districts with signatures from 60 percent or more of homeowners would be able to limit height using a "slope" mechanism, linking a house's height to its setback from the street and the property's front build line.
The compromise overlay was seen as a victory for homeowners associations. More than 1,500 Dallas residences have been torn down and replaced since the late 1990s, many of them in East and North Dallas.
"We're very pleased at what you've come up with," said Dwayne Jones, executive director of Preservation Dallas. "I know this has been a long and very divisive process. But we're supportive of where you are today."
But homebuilders and real estate agents said that it still infringes on private property rights and that it will put a damper on the city's housing market.
"It will discourage industry and free enterprise," homeowner and real estate agent Diane Benjamin said.
Homeowners groups said they're particularly pleased with two elements of the overlay – the percentage of residents needed to create one, and the height standards.
Naturally, those were the biggest sticking points for opponents of the measure.
"This process has been convoluted from the start," said Peter Urrutia, director of government affairs for the MetroTex Association of Realtors.
"It's not going to be perfect for both sides," Lakewood resident Wendy Segrest said. "But I believe it's something workable."
Dallas: Overlay called win for homeowners; foes say rights infringed
By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - The Dallas City Council on Wednesday granted homeowners a long-awaited tool to help prevent what opponents call "McMansions" in their neighborhoods – the embattled Neighborhood Stabilization Overlay.
"We have an ordinance that includes both sides; it finds the middle ground for both sides," Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Elba Garcia said. "While not perfect, it's a very good compromise."
But it almost didn't happen. A last-minute effort to postpone the vote on the teardown issue another month – led by Mayor Laura Miller and council member Mitchell Rasansky – failed after a heated debate.
"I find this to be about as divisive as anything that's hit this council in a long time," said council member Bill Blaydes, who voted against the overlay.
The council passed the overlay on an 11-4 vote and agreed to discuss the ordinance again in December to address remaining housekeeping issues.
The overlay has taken on many forms since it was designed more than eight months ago, as city planners and council members worked to strike a balance between neighbors' needs and real estate interests.
Wednesday's compromise will:
•Apply to either 50 contiguous homes or an original platted subdivision.
•Require signatures from a simple majority of homeowners (neighborhoods with signatures from 75 percent or more of homeowners would not have to pay an application fee). Signatures would be valid for three months in districts with fewer than 50 homes, and six months in districts with more than 50 homes.
•Allow residents to regulate front- and side-yard setbacks and garage location. Districts with signatures from 60 percent or more of homeowners would be able to limit height using a "slope" mechanism, linking a house's height to its setback from the street and the property's front build line.
The compromise overlay was seen as a victory for homeowners associations. More than 1,500 Dallas residences have been torn down and replaced since the late 1990s, many of them in East and North Dallas.
"We're very pleased at what you've come up with," said Dwayne Jones, executive director of Preservation Dallas. "I know this has been a long and very divisive process. But we're supportive of where you are today."
But homebuilders and real estate agents said that it still infringes on private property rights and that it will put a damper on the city's housing market.
"It will discourage industry and free enterprise," homeowner and real estate agent Diane Benjamin said.
Homeowners groups said they're particularly pleased with two elements of the overlay – the percentage of residents needed to create one, and the height standards.
Naturally, those were the biggest sticking points for opponents of the measure.
"This process has been convoluted from the start," said Peter Urrutia, director of government affairs for the MetroTex Association of Realtors.
"It's not going to be perfect for both sides," Lakewood resident Wendy Segrest said. "But I believe it's something workable."
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- TexasStooge
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Carjacking suspect shot after chase
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/WFAA.com) - A high-speed chase ended in an armed standoff Thursday afternoon in a Southwest Dallas neighborhood.
Arlington police said it all started when an armed man stole a Ford pickup truck at 1900 Randy Snow Rd. in Arlington.
During the pursuit, police said the suspect reached speeds up to 110 mph along Interstate 20 and headed to Dallas.
The suspect drove to a dead-end street in a residential neighborhood near Mountain View College, exited the vehicle and went into a house in the 2500 block of Tristian Court.
The suspect held police at bay for several minutes. As officers broke out a window, the suspect fired at police.
Police fired back and hit the gunman, who was taken to Methodist Dallas Medical Center for treatment. The suspect's condition was not released.
An Arlington police cruiser was involved in an accident during the pursuit at Loop 12 and Keeneland Parkway; Arlington police spokesperson Christy Gilfour said the officer in the vehicle sustained minor injuries.
WFAA-TV photojournalist Gary Ultee and Dallas Morning News writer Jason Trahan contributed to this report.
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/WFAA.com) - A high-speed chase ended in an armed standoff Thursday afternoon in a Southwest Dallas neighborhood.
Arlington police said it all started when an armed man stole a Ford pickup truck at 1900 Randy Snow Rd. in Arlington.
During the pursuit, police said the suspect reached speeds up to 110 mph along Interstate 20 and headed to Dallas.
The suspect drove to a dead-end street in a residential neighborhood near Mountain View College, exited the vehicle and went into a house in the 2500 block of Tristian Court.
The suspect held police at bay for several minutes. As officers broke out a window, the suspect fired at police.
Police fired back and hit the gunman, who was taken to Methodist Dallas Medical Center for treatment. The suspect's condition was not released.
An Arlington police cruiser was involved in an accident during the pursuit at Loop 12 and Keeneland Parkway; Arlington police spokesperson Christy Gilfour said the officer in the vehicle sustained minor injuries.
WFAA-TV photojournalist Gary Ultee and Dallas Morning News writer Jason Trahan contributed to this report.
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- TexasStooge
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- Posts: 38127
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Jury selection set for Schlosser trial
By JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News
McKINNEY, Texas — Jury selection for the capital murder trial of the Plano mother accused of cutting off her daughter's arms is set for Feb. 13. Testimony will begin after a jury is selected.
Dena Schlosser appeared before State District Judge Chris Oldner Thursday morning for a brief hearing. It was her first court appearance since a jury found her incompetent to stand trial in February. She has since been found competent by doctors.
Ms. Schlosser was charged with death of 10-month-old Margaret "Maggie" Schlosser last November. Ms. Schlosser's attorneys plan to use insanity as a defense.
Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.
By JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News
McKINNEY, Texas — Jury selection for the capital murder trial of the Plano mother accused of cutting off her daughter's arms is set for Feb. 13. Testimony will begin after a jury is selected.
Dena Schlosser appeared before State District Judge Chris Oldner Thursday morning for a brief hearing. It was her first court appearance since a jury found her incompetent to stand trial in February. She has since been found competent by doctors.
Ms. Schlosser was charged with death of 10-month-old Margaret "Maggie" Schlosser last November. Ms. Schlosser's attorneys plan to use insanity as a defense.
Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.
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- TexasStooge
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- Posts: 38127
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Community mourns Dallas mother decapitated in crash
By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Family and friends are grieving for a Dallas mother who was killed Wednesday night when the van in which she was traveling slammed into a pickup truck parked in the fast lane of North Central Expressway near Midpark Road.
Guadalupe Villa, 52, was decapitated when she was partially thrown from the backseat of the van at about 11:30 p.m.
The van's driver said he didn't see the pickup truck which stopped due to a flat tire.
The mother was traveling back from Arkansas, where she had picked up her teenage son and his friend.
Villa's husband and youngest son were in the van at the time of the crash but were unhurt.
The family attends the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Pleasant Grove, whose elders will gather this evening to discuss what emotional and financial support they can give to the people involved in the accident.
The family's pastor came to the scene to offer his consolation.
The Grand Jury will decide whether or not the driver of the pickup will face criminal charges.
By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Family and friends are grieving for a Dallas mother who was killed Wednesday night when the van in which she was traveling slammed into a pickup truck parked in the fast lane of North Central Expressway near Midpark Road.
Guadalupe Villa, 52, was decapitated when she was partially thrown from the backseat of the van at about 11:30 p.m.
The van's driver said he didn't see the pickup truck which stopped due to a flat tire.
The mother was traveling back from Arkansas, where she had picked up her teenage son and his friend.
Villa's husband and youngest son were in the van at the time of the crash but were unhurt.
The family attends the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Pleasant Grove, whose elders will gather this evening to discuss what emotional and financial support they can give to the people involved in the accident.
The family's pastor came to the scene to offer his consolation.
The Grand Jury will decide whether or not the driver of the pickup will face criminal charges.
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