News from the Lone Star State

[TexasStooge]

Police seek answers in Arlington clerk's murder

ARLINGTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A clerk was shot and killed late Saturday night at an Arlington convenience store—the third crime of its type since October in North Texas.

Police said a customer found the man inside the Conoco store at Fielder Road and Pioneer Parkway shortly before 10:00 p.m.

The victim, whose name was not released until his family has been notified, died a short time later at a local hospital.

The store's owner said the victim, who was from India, had just started working at the store last Monday. He had taken on the job as a second form of employment because he planned to marry in June, he said.

Police dusted the store for fingerprints and were searching for suspects. Officers said they are unsure of the motive because no money had been taken from the store.

It was not immediately known whether security cameras captured the crime on tape.

This is the latest in a series of deadly assaults on convenience store employees.

On Dec. 22, Shekhar Regmi, 20, was shot and killed when a cash register failed to open during the robbery of a gas station on Copeland Road in Arlington. Police arrested three suspects.

In October, 19-year-old Anthony Flanery was shot and killed while working alone as a clerk at a 7-Eleven store in Lancaster. Three men were arrested in connection with that crime.

Bert Lozano contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

North Texas religious leaders gather for peace

By REBECCA RODRIGUEZ / WFAA ABC 8

IRVING, Texas - Christians, Jews and Muslims came together for the sixth annual Friendship Among Faiths to pray for peace Sunday at the Islamic Center of Irving.

While the condition of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will be assessed by doctors Monday after they try to bring him out of a medically induced coma after his stroke, thoughts of Sharon and the situation in the Mideast were on the minds of many North Texans who gathered to pray.

"This is a time for us to share beliefs without apology [and share] who we are in the same room and the same place," said Dani Loving Cartwright, a regional minister and president of the Disciples of Christ Church in the Southwest. "[We gather] to learn about one another's traditions, hear one another's thoughts and to discover who we are in this world together."

While praying, leaders expressed the difficulties and complexities of believing that peace will come.

"We all hope for peace," said Rabbi Paul Steinberg, Congregation Beth Torah. "I'd like to think it is a continual hopeful time, [but] it is a strain too. There are people making tremendous sacrifices, but I would like to believe that we can all remain hopeful."

However, while they acknowledged the obstacles in praying for peace, all of them said they believe there are steps everyone can take to get a little closer.

"Even though we can't describe it or understand it, we can have it as individuals," Rev. Cartwright said as she spoke to the group.

At the gathering, the group managed to shed what makes them different and celebrate their goal for peace.

"We cannot say we are 100 percent hopeful, and we cannot say we are 100 [percent] cautious," said Imam Zia ul Haque Sheikh, Islamic Center. "We are halfway in between I'd say."

[TexasStooge]

Train spark believed cause in auto dealer fire

By CAROL CAVAZOS / WFAA ABC 8

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Firefighters said they believe a spark set off a fire in Grand Prairie that spread to 10 acres and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to a used car dealership and body shop.

The fire ravaged Lito's Motors, a used car and body shop that sits along Main Street in Grand Prairie, parallel to some train tracks.

Firefighters think it was a spark from a train that ignited the grassfire that engulfed Lito's two back buildings and several dozen vehicles.

"We gotta keep going," said owner Lito Eleodor. "That's the main thing."

The fire also damaged equipment and tools, and Eleodor said he thinks the damage totals around $500,000 and is not sure if insurance on the building covers everything inside.

"We lost a lot of cars," said employee Mele Benitez. "A lot of people depend on us because they work for us."

Eleodora said at least nine workers will now have to be let go. However, despite all his loss, the owner still looked to the positive.

"Cars, you can buy them later, fix them up and sell them, but at least we didn't lost any lives, nobody," Eleodoro said. "That's the main thing."
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See the Continuing Coverage of the Wildfires in the USA Weather Forum.

[TexasStooge]

Minorities don't feel top-ticket excitement

Many wait for parties to give them candidates to talk about

By GROMER JEFFERS JR. / The Dallas Morning News

Not long after candidates had filed to run in this year's local and state elections, La Joya Mayor Billy Leo went to work trying to help Democrats win.

But the South Texan's focus was not on the races for governor, lieutenant governor or other statewide offices. In Hidalgo County, the hottest primary race pits County Judge Ramon Garcia against challenger J.D. Salinas.

"Nobody is paying any attention to the top of the ticket," Mr. Leo said. "We're all wondering, who are these people? There is no excitement at the top of both parties. Other than Carole Strayhorn, there is nothing to talk about."

In a state where minorities are expected to one day be the key to political power, Mr. Leo and others are wondering why the biggest races this year are devoid of any popular, well-financed Hispanic or black contenders – in either party.

Some blame the Democratic and Republican parties for not stepping up their outreach and grooming minorities to run for the state's highest offices. Others say minority candidates are still waiting for demographic shifts that would make statewide candidacies more feasible.

"The Democratic Party is not really spreading out," Mr. Leo said. "Where is the diversity? Where are the fresh candidates?"

All of the major Republicans running for statewide offices this year are white, except two incumbent Supreme Court justices. Democrats can claim Hispanic candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, but they are little-known.

Lydia Camarillo, vice president of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, said neither party's ticket is likely to excite large segments of minority voters.

"I was very disappointed that there wasn't an attempt by both parties to have more diversity," she said. "There is still a concern in Texas that both parties are not really thinking about what communities of color are really looking for. If you want to expand your universe of voters, you have to give them a reason to participate."

Party leaders defend their tickets and efforts to recruit more minorities to run for elected office.

State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, said his party's major priority is to make gains in the Texas House, where its delegation is diverse. And he noted that gubernatorial candidates Chris Bell and Bob Gammage either represented constituents of color or had strong working relationships with minority leaders.

"Clearly our leadership in the House and Senate are of color and represent the majority of our members in the House and Senate," he said.

Calvin Stephens, chairman of the African-American Leadership Council for the Republican Party, said it would be folly to run minorities in a primary against heavily favored statewide incumbents.

Though predicted shifts in the state's electorate show Hispanics will eventually have stronger voting power, whites still vote in much larger numbers than minorities. And the Republican ticket is flush with well-financed incumbents.

"They wouldn't have a chance," Mr. Stephens said of potential minority candidates. "If Calvin Stephens ran for statewide office in 2006, it would be for personal ego, not political reality."

He said the Texas GOP has a good record of recruiting and advancing minorities into high offices, though, citing Supreme Court Justices Wallace Jefferson and Dale Wainwright, along with Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams.

And because the GOP dominates the state, "we have a better chance to elect statewide officers than our counterparts," he said.

Republicans also note that several minorities who could be formidable Texas candidates are serving in the Bush administration, such as U.S. Attorney General Al Gonzales and Tony Garza, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico.

No more 'dream team'

For Democrats, 2006 seems like a step backward. Four years ago, the party assembled a diverse group of high-profile candidates in hopes of attracting a broad base of voters.

The "dream team" included Laredo businessman Tony Sanchez for governor; Dallas' first black mayor, Ron Kirk, for Senate; and former Comptroller John Sharp, who is white, for lieutenant governor.

But all three lost, as Republicans tightened their grip on Texas. That pushed Democrats further into a tailspin that has them focused on rebuilding from the ground up.

"There are still some great people looking at running," said Dallas-based political consultant Michael Sorrell. "It's just not their time yet."

The few minorities who are running statewide – Democrats Felix Alvarado for governor, and Adrian De Leon and Maria Luisa Alvarado for lieutenant governor – lack the support, promotion and resources that Mr. Sanchez and Mr. Kirk had.

Mr. Sorrell said it's unfair to disdain either ticket based on its ethnic makeup.

"Both parties have always courted minorities, they just haven't had much success," he said. "Evaluating a ticket solely on race does a disservice to the ticket and the party."

But Ms. Camarillo said that minority voters need to see reflections of themselves on the ballot to be inspired and motivated.

"If they are not," she said, "you will have a depressed turnout and a general lack of interest."

The last Hispanic official to hold a major statewide office, other than in a court or on the Railroad Commission, was former Attorney General Dan Morales in the mid-1990s.

Hope in local races

Some of that interest, though, could surface in local races, where there are numerous minority candidates.

In the mostly Hispanic Hidalgo County, where Mr. Leo resides, politics is a spectator sport. National and state party leaders depend on Mr. Leo and others to turn out the Democrat vote in the Valley, an area they consider a stronghold.

"The county elections are the equivalent to the presidential elections," he said.

But it takes time for such candidates to advance to a bigger stage – and the opening has to be there, too. This year, at the statewide level, incumbents look strong.

"The new leaders are not here yet," Mr. Leo said.

Casey Thomas, a Democratic precinct chairman in Dallas, hopes to be part of a new group of party leaders, though.

He recently completed a 10-week political candidate school conducted by Dallas consultant Kathy Nealy. Mr. Thomas is also the political director for a group called IKOJA, a word derived from the West African Yoruba language that means to move, or a transition.

"You have to be prepared to run for office," he said. "Diversity is important, but you also have to look at what each candidate brings. Elections are not always popularity contests, they are issue-driven."

Republicans – who typically draw far fewer minority votes than Democrats – acknowledge that it's a struggle to persuade blacks and Hispanics to get involved in the GOP.

"It's hard, not because of politics," Mr. Stephens said. "It's hard based on the social stigma that can occur when you tell your friends that you are a Republican."

But Mr. Stephens is confident his associates are beginning to understand his Republican ways. He's even invited Gov. Rick Perry to Dallas for the Jan. 16 Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade.

"The opportunities are coming," he said. "They just won't occur overnight."

[TexasStooge]

Teens face charges after stealing ambulance

GRAPEVINE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Two teens face charges this morning after allegedly stealing an ambulance.

An Arlington ambulance crew was transferring a patient in Grand Prairie.

When they came out, their ambulance was gone.

Using GPS, police tracked it to Grapevine.

There were no patients inside the vehicle at the time it was stolen.

[TexasStooge]

Brief standoff in East Dallas ends peacefully

DALLAS, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - A man wielding a butter knife briefly held police at bay Monday morning at an East Dallas apartment building before he was taken into custody.

The 38-year-old man, who authorities described as schizophrenic, apparently threatened another individual at the Dallas Housing Authority facility, located in the 3100 block of Peavy Road.

Around 8 a.m., SWAT team officers entered the eight-story building and was able to take the man into custody, police said.

No one was injured in the incident.

WFAA ABC 8 contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Grand Prairie hospital district's end may be near

City wants to lift limits on development around closed medical center

By KATHY A. GOOLSBY / The Dallas Morning News

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Doors that once opened the way to life and restoration are covered with plywood. Rooms where lives once were saved sit vacant and dusty. The parking lot where family members arrived full of hope for seeing loved ones healed is filled with weeds and potholes.

It has been more than five years since the 242,000-square-foot D/FW Medical Center in Grand Prairie closed its doors for the last time. Attempts to reopen the facility have failed, and city officials are removing the hospital district overlay, which limits development around the hospital to medical use.

They hope to bring the overlay before the City Council in March.

"We think it's too restrictive," said Bill Crolley, Grand Prairie's planning director. "Without the hospital, none of those restrictions make any sense now."

The original hospital district overlay was approximately three-quarters of a mile wide, extending west from Great Southwest Parkway to the city limits, and half a mile long, from Sherman Street south to Timberlake Drive.

Today the once-solid overlay resembles a patchwork quilt, the result of piecemeal removal at developers' request. Apartments and new housing have eaten up much of the district south of the vacant hospital.

But doctors' offices still abound near the building.

"We really thought it would reopen under new management within one to two years. We're still shocked that it closed," said Jana Dobson, administrator at the office shared by her husband, Dr. Walter Dobson, and his partner, Dr. Steven Peterson, just east of the site.

Ms. Dobson is leery about the types of businesses that might come into the area if the hospital district overlay were lifted. And moving their office is not a viable option.

"We've been here 25 years, and we own the building," Ms. Dobson said. "To go and build a new surgery center somewhere else – why take on that debt?"

Tarrant Appraisal District records indicate the hospital was built in 1979 on 20 acres. The property included meeting and convention rooms and a two-story doctor's building adjacent to the hospital's front entry.

Medical center's slide

Reasons for the hospital's closure were many and complicated, said City Council member Richard Fregoe, who served on the hospital board during its final 10 years. But they all boiled down to one thing: the self-owned, nonprofit facility was losing money.

A reduction in state and federal reimbursements to help underwrite indigent care, a large number of indigent patients and poor management decisions depleted the hospital's funds, Mr. Fregoe said. The full-service emergency room was another factor, he said, because patients could not be turned away regardless of their ability – or lack thereof – to pay.

During the hospital's final years, the board actively sought an affiliation with or purchase by a major medical group. Negotiations with several entities fell through, Mr. Fregoe said, "for the simple reason that they saw the same thing we did. We couldn't make a go of it, and the situation wasn't going to change."

When the hospital closed, doctors with offices in the adjoining medical building had three weeks to relocate.

Dr. Craig Whitcomb, whose father also was a longtime Grand Prairie doctor, moved a few blocks away, on Osler Drive.

"He refuses to step foot in Arlington, and we have Grand Prairie loyalties," Dr. Whitcomb's wife, Jana Whitcomb, said of the decision to remain near the empty hospital. "We have patients who would come to see us if they had to come to our home."

Last month, Dr. Whitcomb moved his practice back to the medical office he was forced to vacate five years ago. His sister, Karen Whitcomb, relocated her physical therapy practice there more than a year ago.

"The owner came to me and said they couldn't get insurance without a tenant," Karen Whitcomb said. "I liked the owner, and my lease was up where I was, so I decided to move here."

Appraisal District records show the hospital has been owned by Fort Worth-based DFW Grand Prairie Medical Center Ltd. since June 2004. The owner declined to speculate on the building's future other than to say they are actively trying to bring it online.

A real estate listing for the site suggests alternate uses, including an assisted-living center, a rehabilitation center or a training facility with a dormitory.

Mayor Charles England said Dallas and Tarrant counties tried in recent years to forge a deal to use the facility as a medical center for indigent patients.

"I really thought we were going to get that one," Mr. England said. "We worked it out with everyone but the building's owner, and they just didn't go for it."

He does not remember who the owner was at the time.

A matter of location

Mr. England doubts the building will ever be a hospital again, in part because of its location. Arlington, Irving and Dallas have hospitals, and another is being built in Mansfield.

"If Grand Prairie were located anyplace except right in the middle of the metroplex, we'd probably have two hospitals," Mr. England said. "But we're surrounded by hospitals that you can throw a rock and hit, so it probably wasn't the best location."

That's disheartening to Gene Hawkins, who lives 3 ½ miles south of the former hospital. He was admitted there several times for treatment but has had to drive to Arlington or Dallas since it closed.

"I was so disappointed when that happened because I was plenty satisfied with the way they treated me," Mr. Hawkins said. "And when you're having a heart attack, every minute counts."

[TexasStooge]

BREAKING NEWS: Traffic

IRVING, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/Traffic Pulse) - Belt Line Road is closed between Valley View and Highway 161 in Irving due to a fatal accident.

Live Traffic Reports from Traffic Pulse

[TexasStooge]

Boy, 13, dies of injuries from Flower Mound accident

By MARISSA ALANIS / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - A second teen has died from a Dec. 29 pickup accident in Flower Mound.

Hunter McGee, 13, died at 4:44 p.m. Saturday at Parkland Memorial Hospital.

The 14-year-old driver, Drake Buchanan, died at the scene after he crashed his parents’ truck into a tree in the 3700 block of Flower Mound Road.

Christina and Colena Kuhlmann, 14-year-old twin sisters and passengers, have since been released from the hospital.

Officials said last week that a fourth passenger in the single-vehicle accident, Joseph Schaefer, 15, was still hospitalized.

[TexasStooge]

UT blocks online dating service

AUSTIN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to intervene in a dispute between the University of Texas and an online dating service upset that the school blocked thousands of unsolicited e-mails.

The high court let stand a federal appeals court's ruling that UT did not violate the constitutional rights of White Buffalo Ventures when it blocked 59,000 e-mails in 2003.

White Buffalo Ventures, which operates LonghornSingles.com, said it had complied with all anti-spam laws and argued that a federal act that allows certain e-mails superseded the university's anti-spam policy.

A 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled in August that the federal anti-spam law, CAN-SPAM, does not pre-empt the university's policy and that the policy is permissible under the First Amendment.

The Austin-based service had legally obtained the addresses from the university, but the university started blocking the e-mail messages saying White Buffalo was part of a larger spam problem that had crashed the computer system.

The university said it was also responding to complaints from students and faculty.

At the time, UT issued a cease and desist order, but White Buffalo refused to comply. So UT blocked all the e-mail messages from White Buffalo's IP address.

[TexasStooge]

Police officer's alleged killer to appear in court

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Juan Lizcano who is accused of killing Dallas police officer Brian Jackson will appear in court on Monday afternoon.

The state will announce it is seeking the death sentence for Lizcano.

Jackson died Nov. 13 after a .357-caliber bullet entered his right side near his underarm. The area was not protected by his bulletproof vest and the bullet pierced his heart. The shooting occurred after Officer Jackson responded with other officers to a call from Lizcano's ex-girlfriend. She complained that he had been threatening her repeatedly that night and had fired a gunshot inside her home.

Jackson's widow plans to attend today's hearing, according to reports.

[TexasStooge]

Racing leads to head-on crash in Irving

IRVING, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Two men were critically injured Monday following a head-on crash in Irving which witnesses said was the result of illegal street racing.

The driver of a red sports car lost control while driving at high speed northbound on Belt Line Road at Highway 161. His car then crossed over the median, hitting a minivan in the southbound lane.

Witnesses said the driver of the sports car was racing another vehicle just before the accident.

Both vehicles were badly damaged.

Traffic in the area was blocked during the investigation.

[TexasStooge]

Woman killed in Tarrant County wreck

FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - One person was killed Monday afternoon when a car and a pickup truck collided in far northwest Tarrant County.

The accident happened on FM 718 near the Wise County border about 1:30 p.m.

A spokesperson for the Tarrant County Sheriff's Department said the pickup truck appeared to travel across the center line of the two-lane road just before impact.

A 54-year-old woman from Wise County, driving a silver sedan, was dead at the scene.

The 20-year-old driver of the pickup truck was not injured. Names were not available.

Both vehicles were heavily damaged by the impact.

Investigators said there was no preliminary evidence that drugs or alcohol were factors in the wreck.

[TexasStooge]

Shootout follows Fort Worth burglary

FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Police officers exchanged gunfire with suspects in Fort Worth on Monday following an apparent home invasion.

The incident took place at 3608 Avenue L after police responded to a complaint about a prowler.

Police said two suspects were trying to break into the home when officers arrived.

One of the suspects reportedly fired shots at the officer.

"One pulled out a gun, and the officer pulled out his gun and told him to hold. It was pretty frightening," said Leandro Escobedo, a witness to the incident.

Nobody was injured in the shooting, but a dog received a bullet to the leg.

[TexasStooge]

Death penalty sought for officer shooting suspect

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/The Dallas Morning News) - State prosecutors said they would announce Monday afternoon they plan to seek the death penalty for the man accused of killing a Dallas police officer in November.

Juan Lizcano, 29, was charged in the fatal shooting of Officer Brian Jackson during a Nov. 13 gunfight in Old East Dallas.

Officer Jackson was shot under the arm after he responded with other officers to complaints from Mr. Lizcano's ex-girlfriend that he had threatened her repeatedly.

Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Toby Shook said prosecutors made their decision partly due to information uncovered during an investigation into the murder.

"The state is determined to seek the death penalty in the capital murder trial of Officer Jackson based on specific facts in the case and the violent nature of the defendant," Mr. Shook said.

[TexasStooge]

Dog shot during attempted FW home invasion

By DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News

FORT WORTH, Texas - Two men are in custody following a botched home invasion on the city’s south side that left a homeowner's dog injured.

Police responded around 10 a.m Monday to a prowler call in the 3600 block of Avenue L.

When they arrived, a man emerged from a side door and pointed a gun at an officer, said Fort Worth police department spokesman Lt. Dean Sullivan.

The officer, fearing for his life, fired at the man but did not strike him, Lt Sullivan said. The man dropped his gun and fled but was later arrested, police said. A second man was found in a nearby alley and taken into custody.

A woman at the home told police the invaders entered the house after breaking a side window. The woman escaped through the backdoor and ran to a neighbor’s home.

Police said they believe the suspects shot the homeowner’s dog when they arrived.

The dog, a Rottweiler and pit bull mix, was taken by animal control to a local veterinarian clinic, police said.

[TexasStooge]

Trinity River water mysteriously turns red-orange

By DON WALL / WFAA ABC 8

After a section of the Trinity River mysteriously turned a reddish-orange color, authorities began to scramble for answers and many Grand Prairie residents feared their drinking water may be tainted.

The treated sewage discharged back into the Trinity River had a distinctive reddish-orange hue before, during and after last week's Rose Bowl and investigators are working to see if the game had any connection to the color.

"That sort of looks burnt orange to us," said Bill Tatum, Trinity River Authority Plant manager. "But we're all UT fans. What can you say?"

The Trinity River Authority (TRA) ran tests after the discovery to see if they could discover the cause of the change in color.

"We've done acute biomonitoring, metal scan on this thing," Tatum said. "We know metals are clean."

The state environmental agency said more tests will be done, but potential dangers appear to be minimal. Also, authorities said people in North Texas should not expect burnt orange water coming out the tap.

"Right now, there are not any carcinogens or anything," said Frank Espino, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. "It's going to be safe."

Investigators said they will also continue to trace the source because contaminating the water, whether drinking water or waste water, is a serious crime.

"It's easier to dump it and get rid of it than it is to properly remove it and dispose of it," Tatum said.

Though unconfirmed, sources said they suspect a dye, perhaps several hundred gallons of burnt orange dye, was flushed down a drain somewhere between Arlington and Southlake and flowed through several thousand miles of pipe before entering the TRA waste water treatment plant.

"Some printing operation discharged burnt orange from making tee shirts for sale for the UT championship," Espino said.

News 8 took a sample of the water and will report on any discoveries when the results come in.

[TexasStooge]

Homeowners anticipate TRCC probe outcome

By BYRON HARRIS / WFAA ABC 8

The Texas Residential Construction Commission, which was created two years ago by the legislature to help homeowners and homebuilders resolve their differences, has been placed under investigation to the interest of many homeowners.

The investigation of the agency is scheduled to be completed in the next few weeks and New 8 found most everyone News 8 talked to wanted the results made public.

Whether the information will be made public, however, will most likely show just how powerful the homebuilding industry is.

Chris Wanken, who faced what he may call a home building nightmare, would be high on the list of those who would like to see the results of the investigation.

Wanken's floors have quarter-sized cracks throughout his home and there is a hole in his wall that was never fixed by his contractor.

In fact, blue tape has been placed throughout the home, which marks spots where he said there are defects he would like fixed.

Wanken took the dispute with their contractor to the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) months ago and said they are no closer to having things resolved than before.

The Wanken's aren't alone in their battle against contractors.

More than a year ago, Lisa and Brian Partington asked the TRCC to investigate homebuilder Robert Tidwell.

Only five weeks ago did they receive a response from the TRCC who wrote them back and said it couldn't do anything about their case because Tidwell had declared bankruptcy.

But despite his checkered record, the TRCC said Tidwell's registration status as a Texas builder has been pending for the last nine months.

Representative Todd Smith of Bedford asked the comptroller's office to investigate the TRCC and Carole Keeton Strayhorn is doing that.

But now Representative David Swinford of Dumas has asked whether that's any of her business and said he wants a ruling from the Attorney General as to whether the comptroller can do such an investigation.

"I just want to know whether the comptroller has jurisdiction over this issue," Swinford said.

Wanken said fighting for his house has been a full time job. As part of the fight, he said he's discovered that homebuilders had a major role in shaping the TRCC.

[TexasStooge]

Bond perks face council debate

3 yet to use all '03 funds; some dislike system

By EMILY RAMSHAW / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - Dallas City Council members received an unusual perk in 2003: millions of dollars in "discretionary" bond funds, to be spent on pet projects of their choice. And they're banking on a repeat in 2006.

Yet some of the same district representatives lobbying for more bond money in 2006 have used – or earmarked – only a portion of their 2003 dollars, The Dallas Morning News has learned.

And while federal investigators scrutinize discretionary fund records subpoenaed in the City Hall corruption inquiry, Mayor Laura Miller and at least one of her colleagues say that the by-district funds are an irresponsible use of city money and that they'll fight to keep them out of the 2006 bond package. That package, which some estimate could reach $1 billion, will come before the City Council for the first time next week.

"It's completely wrong to allow the mayor and council to just pick any project they want to fund and borrow expensive money to do it," Ms. Miller said. "Years after council members carved out their nest eggs, some of them still haven't decided how to spend it."

Each City Council member received $4 million in 2003 discretionary bond funds.

Ms. Miller received $15 million. As of Monday morning, the most current records kept by the city manager's office showed council member Maxine Thornton-Reese had officially designated none, Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill had earmarked $600,000, and council member Leo Chaney had about $1.5 million left to allot.

The council's 11 other members who were in office in 2003 and Ms. Miller designated all of their discretionary money for specific projects by the end of 2004.

The three southern-sector council members, whose unassigned funds are intended for economic development purposes, sent one-paragraph memos on their remaining funds to City Manager Mary Suhm on Monday afternoon, offering a few specifics. Two of the three told The News they have high-quality projects in mind and are just waiting for the right business partners.

"We don't want to go out and spend it just because we have it," said Mr. Hill, who, along with Dr. Thornton-Reese and Mr. Chaney, is serving his last term. "We've got all of the ingredients. And we've still got a year and a half to get it done."

Their origination

The idea for discretionary funds originated with former City Manager Ted Benavides. As the council geared up for its 2003 bond program – a record-setting $555 million – he made an executive decision. He granted the council members and the mayor multimillion-dollar allowances to fund projects of personal significance: parks, infrastructure and economic development ventures that didn't make the cut on the city's needs inventory.

Most council members loved it. They saw the discretionary funds as an equalizer – a way to ensure that their districts were getting as much fiscal attention as others.

And the funds solved a common problem: many projects popular with their constituents weren't pressing enough to fit into the citywide bond program.

But Ms. Miller and council member Mitchell Rasansky saw problems. For one, Mr. Rasansky said, the council members' spending choices were virtually unchecked. Projects that were low on the city's systematic needs inventory were automatically bumped to the top of the list.

"I'm totally against a council person having the right to give millions of dollars out to whoever they want in their council district," Mr. Rasansky said. "Could I use a couple of things? Yes. But I want to see a professional making those decisions."

For another, Ms. Miller said, council members with bond money set aside in broad, nonspecific categories – public/private partnerships and economic development, for example – seemed to feel little urgency to spend it, even though they represented some of the city's neediest districts.

Waiting for right project

The council members with remaining 2003 bond funds say this characterization is completely false. They know where they want their money to go (for Mr. Hill, it's Southwest Center Mall or some other southern-sector development engine; for Dr. Thornton-Reese, it's a transit-oriented project near Dallas Area Rapid Transit's Illinois Avenue rail station), and they've given careful consideration to potential business partners.

"It may appear the money is not being utilized. But I'm not going to be rushed into a project that's not right," said Mr. Chaney, who told The News last week that he hopes to use his remaining $1.5 million to draw new development to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Ferguson Road or Military Parkway. His memo to Ms. Suhm on Monday listed two other projects: the renovation of Frazier Court and the revitalization of Bexar Street. "I'm still entertaining proposals."

Mr. Chaney said he's on the brink of finding the perfect project and will spend the money by the time he leaves office.

Mr. Hill said that even if he can't find a worthwhile project, he's working hard and laying the groundwork for one – and wouldn't be opposed to passing his funds along to his successor.

"We're not going to spend it willy-nilly," Mr. Chaney said. "These are catalysts for economic development."

2006 bond package

When the council meets next week to discuss the 2006 bond program, whether to include discretionary funds will be a hot topic – one that will probably pit the mayor (and, to a lesser degree, Ms. Suhm) – against a majority of the City Council.

"I'm very proud of our council for developing a needs list," Ms. Suhm said of the $7 billion inventory. "The public needs to feel comfortable that [bond spending] is done systematically ... and I don't think discretionary funds accomplish that."

But council members say taking discretionary funds off the table is a recipe for disaster.

"We're going to end up in a situation where there's way too much trading going on over little items," council member Ron Natinsky said. "To me, if you can spend a few bucks and take care of community things, why should we spend days, hours and weeks having to convince seven of our colleagues" to vote for it?

Council members should not be waiting until the last minute to designate their discretionary funds, council member Ed Oakley said. But the benefits of the funds far outweigh the costs, he said.

"I think we just need to change the policy," he said. "If we're going to have discretionary funding, it ought to be designated toward specific projects – not open-ended ones. If I had $4 million in economic development funds, every bit of it could've been spent already."

[TexasStooge]

Lancaster students suspended for not studying

By HERB BOOTH / The Dallas Morning News

LANCASTER, Texas - Lancaster schools Superintendent Larry Lewis said students should have opened more than presents during their holiday break.

He wanted them to open their books during the three-week break because he feared that some would forget things they had learned.

Between 750 and 1,000 students had not completed assigned holiday homework upon returning to school Monday, and hundreds of them were suspended. There are about 5,770 students in the Lancaster school district.

Phillip Randall, principal at Lancaster Elsie Robertson High School, said he suspended more than 200 of its approximately 1,700 students and told them not to come back until they had completed the assignment.

"We had few parent complaints," Mr. Randall said Monday afternoon. "We sent those students home with a written copy of the policy."

Suspensions and incomplete project results varied widely among campuses.

At Pleasant Run Elementary, about 36 percent, or about 154 of 428 students, didn't turn in their winter break assignment.

"We're giving them until ... [today] to turn it in," said Cindy Lunch, Pleasant Run principal. "It is recorded as a major grade."

All students at two schools – Houston Elementary and Lancaster Intermediate – completed the winter break homework.

In September, about 750 junior high and high school students were suspended for failing to complete a summer reading and writing assignment.

Dr. Lewis said he would continue to order the mandatory homework during breaks until Lancaster students are reading above grade level.

"We will continue to put pressure on our students until they're competitive globally," Dr. Lewis said. "We should have zero tolerance for poor academic performance. ... They'll face the consequences later in life when they can't read or write."

Some parents are questioning whether the district is simply pulling a power play with the students.

"It seems like overkill to me," said Brian Pulver, who has one child each in sixth and seventh grades. "It seems like every chance they get, they load the children with a big assignment during vacation."

Mr. Pulver said his sixth-grader had no problems with the reading assignment during the winter break. However, he said the school district didn't prepare his seventh-grader for the thorough research needed to complete that project.

"The seventh-grader had to look up sources, use the Internet, the library, things like that. I don't know what the district is trying to pull," Mr. Pulver said.

Elementary school students had to read from a list of books and complete a task related to that book. Secondary students had to read, research and perform some activities that were geared toward their science project topic.

Board President Nannette Vick said she supports the policy and doesn't understand why students to refuse to do the work.

Nick Moore, a 17-year-old senior, said he had plenty of time to complete the assignment. He said he believes the district is trying to "weed out" students who don't want to work.

Kenneth Farr, a 17-year-old senior, said he thinks the district is trying to keep students' minds stimulated during the long breaks.

"You can see a lot of kids slip back after a long break," he said.

Dr. Lewis said parents' complaints about the lack of communication surrounding the summer assignment might have been justified. However, the winter break homework was well-publicized and on the district's Web site for the last couple of months.
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It's times like this where I'm glad that I was educated in the right school district.