Does Dallas have room for 2 big conventions?
Dallas: Some officials say area could handle convention as well as 'pink ladies' in '08
By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Red, white and blue trumped by ... pink?
Although Dallas government and political leaders say they'll aggressively pursue hosting either the 2008 Republican or Democratic national convention, a top tourism official questions whether the quadrennial gatherings would prove more trouble than benefit, as they could interfere with the city's most lucrative business bash.
"It's unlikely Dallas will be able to bid for either political convention. We have a long-term contract with this little group called Mary Kay," said Phillip Jones, president and chief executive officer of the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau. "It's unlikely we'll even submit a bid."
Not so, says Bill Blaydes, the Dallas City Council's Economic Development and Housing Committee chairman.
"They bring color, they bring class, they bring the American way right to your doorstep. We'd be selling this city to the world," he said of the party conventions.
Mary Kay Inc., the Addison-based cosmetics giant, conducts its three-week-long national seminar annually – and during the summer – at the Dallas Convention Center.
The Republican National Committee last week invited Dallas, along with 30 other cities, to apply as its 2008 convention host. The Democratic National Committee will release its list next week, and party spokesman Luis Miranda confirmed that Dallas has requested consideration.
Mr. Blaydes said the city should create a "gold-ribbon" commission to lobby the national parties and construct proposals for hosting their conventions, at which they nominate their presidential candidates. Dallas last hosted a major national political convention in 1984, when the Republicans nominated President Ronald Reagan for a second time.
"I would certainly believe we should go after a national convention in '08, with the understanding that we work very closely with our good friends at Mary Kay. I'd like to think we could do both," council member Gary Griffith said.
"It's hard to speculate not knowing the specifics. ... It's probably premature to speculate on the dates," Mary Kay spokesman Randall Oxford said of potentially competing with the nation's political establishment.
If either party selected Dallas, "Mary Kay would certainly work with city officials and accommodate their needs," Mr. Oxford said.
The three-week-long 2005 Mary Kay convention attracted about 50,000 beauty consultants – known as "pink ladies." Convention officials estimate they spent nearly $100 million while here.
Dallas Convention Center records indicate Mary Kay's 2008 gathering is booked for July 16 through Aug. 2.
Whether those dates would overlap a political convention is unclear: Neither Democratic nor Republican leaders have formally selected dates or sites for 2008, and the party in power traditionally conducts its convention last.
But Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said in November that he's scheduling his party's convention between Aug. 25 and Aug. 28.
If those dates stand, the GOP would have to choose whether to host its convention in July (before the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing), in August during the Olympics, or in September – quite late since the presidential contest traditionally kicks off on Labor Day.
In Dallas' bid to play host, President Bush is the city's X-factor.
He lived here before voters elected him governor, and first lady Laura Bush is a Southern Methodist University graduate. Two area colleges are competing for Mr. Bush's presidential library, and the Bushes have said they plan to move to the area after leaving the White House.
"It's ours for the taking. Dallas, Texas, ought to be the place," said Kenn George, chairman of the Dallas County Republican Party. "We are here to support the mayor's efforts for that bid in every way we can."
Even local Democrats say Dallas is more likely to score the Republican convention in 2008.
"You'd have to consider us a dark horse realistically," said Darlene Ewing, Dallas County Democratic Party chairwoman. "But Dallas County is becoming Democratic. You can't keep writing us off."
Mayor Laura Miller, who last week said "we will certainly take a look at this and discuss it with Dallas County, the governor's office and the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau," did not reply to a second interview request this week.
Whatever city leaders decide, they must recognize Mary Kay's contribution to Dallas' economy and downtown's health, said John Crawford, chairman of Downtown Dallas, known until this month as the Central Dallas Association.
"You've got to dance with the one who's brung ya," Mr. Crawford said.
"A political convention – it's a one-shot deal that may or may not be worth it. We just have to gauge it in terms of the other things we have going on."
Michael Lynch, chairman of the Hotel Association of Greater Dallas, said that while the area's hotels probably could accommodate a political and Mary Kay convention at once, "most of the hoteliers are thinking you'd have to take care of Mary Kay before anyone."
In 1984, Mary Kay adjusted its convention dates to accommodate the Republican National Convention, Mr. Oxford said.
But Mary Kay's convention was also much smaller and so was the convention center itself, Mr. Jones noted. Besides, hosting a political convention in 2012 would allow Dallas to boast a more robust city center and suspension bridges over the Trinity River, he said.
"We'd love to host it," Mr. Jones said, noting that he'd follow the mayor's directions one way or another. "But we're not in a position at this time."
News from the Lone Star State
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TexasStooge
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Uncle charged in toddler's death
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A Dallas toddler is dead, and his uncle has been charged with injury to a child.
The Dallas County Medical Examiner is investigating the nature of the 19-month-old child who died Thursday after being injured last week at a Dallas supermarket.
Police said the child was under the care of his uncle, Robert Murillo Avila, at the time of the injury.
Bail for Avila was set at $500,000.
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A Dallas toddler is dead, and his uncle has been charged with injury to a child.
The Dallas County Medical Examiner is investigating the nature of the 19-month-old child who died Thursday after being injured last week at a Dallas supermarket.
Police said the child was under the care of his uncle, Robert Murillo Avila, at the time of the injury.
Bail for Avila was set at $500,000.
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rainstorm
TexasStooge wrote:Uncle charged in toddler's death
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A Dallas toddler is dead, and his uncle has been charged with injury to a child.
The Dallas County Medical Examiner is investigating the nature of the 19-month-old child who died Thursday after being injured last week at a Dallas supermarket.
Police said the child was under the care of his uncle, Robert Murillo Avila, at the time of the injury.
Bail for Avila was set at $500,000.
thats horrible
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Truck driver case points to industry failings
By BYRON HARRIS / WFAA ABC 8
Next month in Sherman, a truck driver will go on trial for criminally negligent homicide in the deaths of 10 people. The deaths came from a head-on collision between an 18-wheeler and two vehicles on U.S. 75 south of Sherman in 2004. As serious as the accident was, it may point to even more critical safety problems in the trucking industry.
Behind the orange tarp, a mother, grandmother, and three toddlers, all dead.
"Losing your family all at once like that is something you can't prepare for," said relative Jason Lokey.
Also crushed in the wreckage, five more construction workers, on their way home from the last job they ever had.
But behind the wheel of the semi, a story of an industry that may need overhaul.
Several witnesses said that they never saw any brake lights on the truck, immediately prior to or immediately after leaving the roadway, police say.
Miroslav Use-viak, now charged with manslaughter, may be a case study in poor regulation, questionable licensing, and irresponsible driving.
He hardly spoke English.
Police needed a Polish interpreter to interview him after the accident.
When his semi crossed a median and hit a pickup truck and SUV head on two Septembers ago, he was driving for a small mom and pop company from Indiana. Companies like that have nearly tripled in number in the last ten years and may be slipping under regulatory scrutiny.
The investigation has lead to the arrest and charging the driver of the tractor trailer with ten counts of criminally negligent homicide.
Use-viak, according to records obtained by the Dallas Morning News , had a history of driving unsafe vehicles. He had been taking anti-depressants. And may have forged his driving logs in the past.
Many of those issues are likely to come out in Use-viak's trial. But 5,000 people are killed in accidents with commercial trucks each year.
Beginning Sunday, the Dallas Morning News reporters Greg Jones and Doug Swanson will begin an in depth look at a business driven by politics and questionable regulation that is putting peoples' lives in peril.
By BYRON HARRIS / WFAA ABC 8
Next month in Sherman, a truck driver will go on trial for criminally negligent homicide in the deaths of 10 people. The deaths came from a head-on collision between an 18-wheeler and two vehicles on U.S. 75 south of Sherman in 2004. As serious as the accident was, it may point to even more critical safety problems in the trucking industry.
Behind the orange tarp, a mother, grandmother, and three toddlers, all dead.
"Losing your family all at once like that is something you can't prepare for," said relative Jason Lokey.
Also crushed in the wreckage, five more construction workers, on their way home from the last job they ever had.
But behind the wheel of the semi, a story of an industry that may need overhaul.
Several witnesses said that they never saw any brake lights on the truck, immediately prior to or immediately after leaving the roadway, police say.
Miroslav Use-viak, now charged with manslaughter, may be a case study in poor regulation, questionable licensing, and irresponsible driving.
He hardly spoke English.
Police needed a Polish interpreter to interview him after the accident.
When his semi crossed a median and hit a pickup truck and SUV head on two Septembers ago, he was driving for a small mom and pop company from Indiana. Companies like that have nearly tripled in number in the last ten years and may be slipping under regulatory scrutiny.
The investigation has lead to the arrest and charging the driver of the tractor trailer with ten counts of criminally negligent homicide.
Use-viak, according to records obtained by the Dallas Morning News , had a history of driving unsafe vehicles. He had been taking anti-depressants. And may have forged his driving logs in the past.
Many of those issues are likely to come out in Use-viak's trial. But 5,000 people are killed in accidents with commercial trucks each year.
Beginning Sunday, the Dallas Morning News reporters Greg Jones and Doug Swanson will begin an in depth look at a business driven by politics and questionable regulation that is putting peoples' lives in peril.
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Mansion fire blamed on low water pressure
By REBECCA RODRIGUEZ / WFAA ABC 8
FORT WORTH, Texas - A $6 million dollar mansion - up in flames.
Firefighters say poor water pressure is partly to blame for all the damage.
The gigantic home is located at Ten-Westover Road in Westover Hills.
The fire was so intense - it was simply left to burn.
By the light of day you can see what is left, after a fire that raged for hours.
"It is a dead end water main and on any dead end water main there is a water pressure issue, so on any loop system you have more water available than you do on a dead end system," said Capt. David Coble from the Fort Worth Fire Department.
The size of the house, estimated at about 18,000 square feet, had exposed wood beams that fed the fire - made it especially tough to knock down.
After the fire spread to the attic - firefighters had no choice but to pull back... and let it go. Neighbors watched in disbelief as the mansion built in 1934 - went up in flames.
Lisa Burton lives just down the street and from time to time - has worried about the low water pressure on her street. Last night's fire's got her thinking.
"It was overwhelming. I know that there is low pressure around here and issues with the sewage systems around here and the water lines... I think we're all a little more aware that something of that magnitude can happen anywhere. We will definitely go through fire drills with our children," she said.
This is an extreme example, this is an 18,000 square foot home - most people living on cul-de-sacs are not living in such large houses.
By REBECCA RODRIGUEZ / WFAA ABC 8
FORT WORTH, Texas - A $6 million dollar mansion - up in flames.
Firefighters say poor water pressure is partly to blame for all the damage.
The gigantic home is located at Ten-Westover Road in Westover Hills.
The fire was so intense - it was simply left to burn.
By the light of day you can see what is left, after a fire that raged for hours.
"It is a dead end water main and on any dead end water main there is a water pressure issue, so on any loop system you have more water available than you do on a dead end system," said Capt. David Coble from the Fort Worth Fire Department.
The size of the house, estimated at about 18,000 square feet, had exposed wood beams that fed the fire - made it especially tough to knock down.
After the fire spread to the attic - firefighters had no choice but to pull back... and let it go. Neighbors watched in disbelief as the mansion built in 1934 - went up in flames.
Lisa Burton lives just down the street and from time to time - has worried about the low water pressure on her street. Last night's fire's got her thinking.
"It was overwhelming. I know that there is low pressure around here and issues with the sewage systems around here and the water lines... I think we're all a little more aware that something of that magnitude can happen anywhere. We will definitely go through fire drills with our children," she said.
This is an extreme example, this is an 18,000 square foot home - most people living on cul-de-sacs are not living in such large houses.
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Firefighter injured in Oak Cliff blaze
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A Dallas firefighter has been injured battling a house fire at Hampton and Davis in Oak Cliff.
There's no word on the firefighter's condition but he was taken to the hospital for treatment.
The fire broke out about 4:00 p.m. this afternoon at a single story home.
Davis Street - a major thoroughfare - has been blocked off to protect fire hoses.
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A Dallas firefighter has been injured battling a house fire at Hampton and Davis in Oak Cliff.
There's no word on the firefighter's condition but he was taken to the hospital for treatment.
The fire broke out about 4:00 p.m. this afternoon at a single story home.
Davis Street - a major thoroughfare - has been blocked off to protect fire hoses.
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Former Mobile office turned into homes
By CHRIS HEINBAUGH / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Many call it "the tinker toy tower" - a building that once housed Mobile Oil.
But for the past 20 years, it's been vacant - an eyesore to everyone driving by.
Now with the broken glass replaced, and the graffiti washed away - it's open again, and ready. But not for offices, but residents.
Some 16 stories have been restored, providing 156 units.
Most have been set aside, as affordable senior housing.
The structure - now called Pegasus Villas - was restored with a mix of public and private financing. That keeps the rents low, most around $400 to $800 a month - the rest at a market rate. It's near hospitals, Love Field and public transportation.
All of that's a plus for seniors like 68-year-old Raymond Kelly - he's just started moving in.
"I got no yard to mow, no trees to look after... I got the best view in Dallas, everything's just perfect," he says.
But the projects also saved an architecturally significant structure.
Built in the so-called Brutalist style of the 60s - it's the only major building of that type in Dallas. Of course, some say that's one too many.
Not Mr. Kelly - he is glad it's here, and sure he'll have plenty of neighbors soon.
A 155 plus myself.
By CHRIS HEINBAUGH / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Many call it "the tinker toy tower" - a building that once housed Mobile Oil.
But for the past 20 years, it's been vacant - an eyesore to everyone driving by.
Now with the broken glass replaced, and the graffiti washed away - it's open again, and ready. But not for offices, but residents.
Some 16 stories have been restored, providing 156 units.
Most have been set aside, as affordable senior housing.
The structure - now called Pegasus Villas - was restored with a mix of public and private financing. That keeps the rents low, most around $400 to $800 a month - the rest at a market rate. It's near hospitals, Love Field and public transportation.
All of that's a plus for seniors like 68-year-old Raymond Kelly - he's just started moving in.
"I got no yard to mow, no trees to look after... I got the best view in Dallas, everything's just perfect," he says.
But the projects also saved an architecturally significant structure.
Built in the so-called Brutalist style of the 60s - it's the only major building of that type in Dallas. Of course, some say that's one too many.
Not Mr. Kelly - he is glad it's here, and sure he'll have plenty of neighbors soon.
A 155 plus myself.
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Four hurt in fire vehicle wreck
By ALAN MELSON / DallasNews.com
DALLAS, Texas - Four people were injured Friday in an accident involving a Dallas-Fire Rescue battalion chief's vehicle.
The wreck occurred just after noon in the 4900 block of Belmont Drive at North Fitzhugh Avenue in Old East Dallas.
Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesperson Annette Ponce said a Chevrolet Suburban drove through the intersection and hit the passenger side of the chief's vehicle, also a Suburban.
The impact pushed the chief's vehicle into a Volvo sedan driving in the opposite direction.
All four victims were taken to Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas. The female driver of the Volvo suffered leg injuries. The battalion chief, whose name was not released, was undergoing X-rays for possible broken bones. He was a passenger in the fire vehicle at the time of the accident.
The chief's driver and the driver of the Suburban that hit the Dallas Fire-Rescue vehicle were taken to Baylor for observation, but their injuries were not believed to be serious, Ms. Ponce said.
All three vehicles sustained major damage in the accident.
By ALAN MELSON / DallasNews.com
DALLAS, Texas - Four people were injured Friday in an accident involving a Dallas-Fire Rescue battalion chief's vehicle.
The wreck occurred just after noon in the 4900 block of Belmont Drive at North Fitzhugh Avenue in Old East Dallas.
Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesperson Annette Ponce said a Chevrolet Suburban drove through the intersection and hit the passenger side of the chief's vehicle, also a Suburban.
The impact pushed the chief's vehicle into a Volvo sedan driving in the opposite direction.
All four victims were taken to Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas. The female driver of the Volvo suffered leg injuries. The battalion chief, whose name was not released, was undergoing X-rays for possible broken bones. He was a passenger in the fire vehicle at the time of the accident.
The chief's driver and the driver of the Suburban that hit the Dallas Fire-Rescue vehicle were taken to Baylor for observation, but their injuries were not believed to be serious, Ms. Ponce said.
All three vehicles sustained major damage in the accident.
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SMU student accused of indecency with child
UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - An SMU student has been charged with indecency with a child by sexual contact.
SMU police arrested 20-year-old Adolfo Solares yesterday.
There was a safety alert earlier this week, when fliers were posted around campus.
Police say a 16-year-old girl spent the night in Solares' apartment on Sunday.
Police are waiting for the results of forensic testing.
Solares, a Mexico-native, is also under an immigration hold.
The sophomore - who is a SMU men's tennis player - could be deported if convicted.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - An SMU student has been charged with indecency with a child by sexual contact.
SMU police arrested 20-year-old Adolfo Solares yesterday.
There was a safety alert earlier this week, when fliers were posted around campus.
Police say a 16-year-old girl spent the night in Solares' apartment on Sunday.
Police are waiting for the results of forensic testing.
Solares, a Mexico-native, is also under an immigration hold.
The sophomore - who is a SMU men's tennis player - could be deported if convicted.
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Austin-area molester may be in North Texas
AUSTIN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/WFAA.com) - Austin-area police said a suspected child molester may be hiding in Tarrant County.
Lino Gonzalez Escamilla, 29, is wanted for allegedly molesting his girlfriend's nine-year-old daughter at their apartment in Round Rock, an Austin suburb.
Police issued a warrant for the Mexican citizen, charging him with indecency with a child. The charge is a second-degree felony that carries a punishment of up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Round Rock police said Escamilla may be staying with friends or relatives in Arlington. They also traced a telephone call from the suspect that originated from a Nebraska area code.
Escamilla was described as 5-feet 6-inches, 135 pounds, with brown hair and a scar on the left side of his chin.
Contact Round Rock police at (512) 218-5500 if you have any information about the suspect.
AUSTIN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/WFAA.com) - Austin-area police said a suspected child molester may be hiding in Tarrant County.
Lino Gonzalez Escamilla, 29, is wanted for allegedly molesting his girlfriend's nine-year-old daughter at their apartment in Round Rock, an Austin suburb.
Police issued a warrant for the Mexican citizen, charging him with indecency with a child. The charge is a second-degree felony that carries a punishment of up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Round Rock police said Escamilla may be staying with friends or relatives in Arlington. They also traced a telephone call from the suspect that originated from a Nebraska area code.
Escamilla was described as 5-feet 6-inches, 135 pounds, with brown hair and a scar on the left side of his chin.
Contact Round Rock police at (512) 218-5500 if you have any information about the suspect.
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Handcuffed prisoner escapes in Dallas
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A prisoner is on the loose in Dallas after escaping while handcuffed from a DPD officer.
The prisoner broke away in the Long Acre Lane, Loop 12 area at around midday on Friday.
Channel 8 video showed a police helicopter scouring the location for the prisoner, who was wearing a black skull cap, black shorts and a black T-shirt.
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A prisoner is on the loose in Dallas after escaping while handcuffed from a DPD officer.
The prisoner broke away in the Long Acre Lane, Loop 12 area at around midday on Friday.
Channel 8 video showed a police helicopter scouring the location for the prisoner, who was wearing a black skull cap, black shorts and a black T-shirt.
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1 dead, 1 injured in Denton Co. drilling accident
By DONNA FIELDER / Denton Record-Chronicle
HICKORY CREEK, Texas — The boom of a drilling rig struck a power line Friday afternoon, electrocuting one worker and injuring another.
The men, employees of Earth Tec, a Frisco water well drilling company, were drilling in a vacant lot where a house is being built on Brier Lane in a neighborhood off Turbeville Road.
Hickory Creek Police Chief Chad Brinlee said the surge of electricity struck the drilling rig and the two men. It blew out a front tire on the rig and ignited a fire that burned in and around the equipment.
One worker was declared dead at the scene and the other was taken by CareFlite to Parkland Hospital in Dallas.
Brinlee did not release names of the workers, and the condition of the second man was not available Friday evening.
Efforts to reach Earth Tec were not successful.
Lacy Cox was working inside her house next door at about 1:20 p.m. when she heard a boom and her electricity went off.
“I ran outside. The truck was on fire,” she said. I heard someone scream. One man was moving around and the other man wasn’t. Someone asked if anyone knew how to do CPR. I did, so I jumped in.”
Cox’s efforts were in vain. Lake Cities paramedics took over and called for an emergency helicopter for the surviving worker.
She said she believes both men were outside the truck when the electricity struck it.
“It was a scary ordeal,” she said. “Frightening. And sad.”
By DONNA FIELDER / Denton Record-Chronicle
HICKORY CREEK, Texas — The boom of a drilling rig struck a power line Friday afternoon, electrocuting one worker and injuring another.
The men, employees of Earth Tec, a Frisco water well drilling company, were drilling in a vacant lot where a house is being built on Brier Lane in a neighborhood off Turbeville Road.
Hickory Creek Police Chief Chad Brinlee said the surge of electricity struck the drilling rig and the two men. It blew out a front tire on the rig and ignited a fire that burned in and around the equipment.
One worker was declared dead at the scene and the other was taken by CareFlite to Parkland Hospital in Dallas.
Brinlee did not release names of the workers, and the condition of the second man was not available Friday evening.
Efforts to reach Earth Tec were not successful.
Lacy Cox was working inside her house next door at about 1:20 p.m. when she heard a boom and her electricity went off.
“I ran outside. The truck was on fire,” she said. I heard someone scream. One man was moving around and the other man wasn’t. Someone asked if anyone knew how to do CPR. I did, so I jumped in.”
Cox’s efforts were in vain. Lake Cities paramedics took over and called for an emergency helicopter for the surviving worker.
She said she believes both men were outside the truck when the electricity struck it.
“It was a scary ordeal,” she said. “Frightening. And sad.”
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Bribery allegations raise 'red flag'
By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8
News 8 Exclusive
DALLAS, Texas - News 8 first reported last Sunday that the City of Dallas is owed more than $40 million in unpaid parking fines.
We've now learned that the company hired by the city to fix the problem—Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services—is embroiled in a bribery scandal in Canada.
Now the city may have to rethink its solution to the parking ticket problem.
Court documents allege that ACS gave "secret commissions"—including free trips—to two Edmonton, Canada police officers who helped the company secure a $90 million contract to run the city's photo radar and red light systems.
Canadian officials have filed charges against the company and the two officers.
"ACS cannot comment on the Edmonton situation, beyond the fact that the company will continue to support the authorities to help resolve the matter judiciously," said ACS spokesman Joseph Barrett in a statement to News 8.
Last July, the City of Dallas signed a contract with ACS to fix its parking ticket dilemma.
Millions of dollars worth of parking tickets have gone unpaid. ACS guaranteed the city will receive $5.9 million in annual revenue from tickets, meters and violations.
City Manager Mary Suhm learned about ACS' recent legal problems from News 8. "It is distant information, so I need to be sure," she said, "but clearly it raises a red flag that we want to spend some time looking at."
News 8 has learned that ACS has other problems.
Another Canadian city, Winnipeg, is reviewing its red light camera contract with the company. An audit released this week said the city lost nearly $50 million in revenue.
Dallas will soon be getting red light cameras, and ACS was expected to submit a bid. But the city will now take a closer look at the company and its business practices.
By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8
News 8 Exclusive
DALLAS, Texas - News 8 first reported last Sunday that the City of Dallas is owed more than $40 million in unpaid parking fines.
We've now learned that the company hired by the city to fix the problem—Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services—is embroiled in a bribery scandal in Canada.
Now the city may have to rethink its solution to the parking ticket problem.
Court documents allege that ACS gave "secret commissions"—including free trips—to two Edmonton, Canada police officers who helped the company secure a $90 million contract to run the city's photo radar and red light systems.
Canadian officials have filed charges against the company and the two officers.
"ACS cannot comment on the Edmonton situation, beyond the fact that the company will continue to support the authorities to help resolve the matter judiciously," said ACS spokesman Joseph Barrett in a statement to News 8.
Last July, the City of Dallas signed a contract with ACS to fix its parking ticket dilemma.
Millions of dollars worth of parking tickets have gone unpaid. ACS guaranteed the city will receive $5.9 million in annual revenue from tickets, meters and violations.
City Manager Mary Suhm learned about ACS' recent legal problems from News 8. "It is distant information, so I need to be sure," she said, "but clearly it raises a red flag that we want to spend some time looking at."
News 8 has learned that ACS has other problems.
Another Canadian city, Winnipeg, is reviewing its red light camera contract with the company. An audit released this week said the city lost nearly $50 million in revenue.
Dallas will soon be getting red light cameras, and ACS was expected to submit a bid. But the city will now take a closer look at the company and its business practices.
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Police troubled by pepper gun shootings
By BRETT SHIPP / News 8 Investigates (WFAA ABC 8)
DALLAS, Texas - New questions are being raised regarding the use of rapid-fire pepper ball guns being used by Dallas police.
Are police using the guns as a way to control criminals, or—as some suggest—as a means to exercise control?
Last month we told you about an innocent civilian who was shot in the face by an officer firing a pepper ball gun into a crowd.
Following that story, we heard from another citizen who said he was hit by Dallas police pepper ball fire 17 times.
But the story behind the story is the officer behind the gun.
On June 4, 2005, Darren Davis of Dallas walked out of a club on Lower Greenville Ave. He was shot in the face by an errant pepper ball fired by a Dallas police Sgt. Michael Smith, who was trying to break up a fight.
In a videotape taken shortly after the shooting, Sgt. Smith is seen attending to Davis' injuries, but he never admitted to shooting him.
Sgt. Smith charged someone else with assaulting Davis.
When Chad Fuqua of Arlington saw the video in a News 8 report, he perked up. "When I saw it, it was almost identical to what happened to me and my friend."
On June 12—the next weekend at almost the same spot on Lower Greenville—Fuqua said he and five friends were headed to their car when officers began to arrest one of his friends for appearing to be drunk.
"I started to walk back to the other friend that was still standing on the corner next to him, and had yelled across the street questioning what was going on and why was he being arrested," Fuqua recalled. "At that time, I started getting shot."
Photographs show Fuqua suffered 17 pepper shot wounds in the neck, chest, stomach, side, back, legs and arm. He dropped to his knees trying to cover up from the barrage.
"Got one in the finger; got shot in the back of the head, right here," Fuqua said. "It left a golfball-sized wound, and left an open wound on my head."
Fuqua was handcuffed and arrested, he says, for questioning police actions.
He went to the hospital for treatment following his release from jail.
Police charged Fuqua with public intoxication and resisting arrest. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, figuring it was his word against police.
Then he saw the News 8 Investigates story about the Davis shooting and realized one key thing: Sgt Smith was involved in both incidents.
Fuqua is now the second civilian to file an internal affairs complaint against Sgt Smith, claiming reckless abuse of his authority.
David Schiller, an attorney and former police officer, represents both Fuqua and Davis. "I know for a fact that that's not proper, and not how a police department trains its officers," Schiller said, adding that the department has to punish any abusive behavior.
"I think the bigger concern out there is that this sergeant is setting an example for the officers out there that it's OK to be out of control; it's OK to make people pay for questioning the police," Schiller said.
Sgt. Smith's discipline records, which date back to 1991, are dominated by 75 commendations.
But there are 16 complaints in the back of his file, primarily "excessive force" and "physical abuse" allegations, all of which were deemed either "inconclusive" or "unfounded."
Police officials said while they are still investigating both events, they are troubled by the allegations.
"Yes, 15, 20 pepper ball sprays without any context, of course, at first glance looks like a clear violation," said Assistant Chief David Brown. "At the same time, there's a context to every police confrontation."
Chief Brown wanted to remind the public of the difficult job of both protecting and policing revelers on Lower Greenville Ave. and in the city's Deep Ellum district.
Fuqua wanted to remind police that pepper ball pelts are a poor way to gain the public's respect.
By BRETT SHIPP / News 8 Investigates (WFAA ABC 8)
DALLAS, Texas - New questions are being raised regarding the use of rapid-fire pepper ball guns being used by Dallas police.
Are police using the guns as a way to control criminals, or—as some suggest—as a means to exercise control?
Last month we told you about an innocent civilian who was shot in the face by an officer firing a pepper ball gun into a crowd.
Following that story, we heard from another citizen who said he was hit by Dallas police pepper ball fire 17 times.
But the story behind the story is the officer behind the gun.
On June 4, 2005, Darren Davis of Dallas walked out of a club on Lower Greenville Ave. He was shot in the face by an errant pepper ball fired by a Dallas police Sgt. Michael Smith, who was trying to break up a fight.
In a videotape taken shortly after the shooting, Sgt. Smith is seen attending to Davis' injuries, but he never admitted to shooting him.
Sgt. Smith charged someone else with assaulting Davis.
When Chad Fuqua of Arlington saw the video in a News 8 report, he perked up. "When I saw it, it was almost identical to what happened to me and my friend."
On June 12—the next weekend at almost the same spot on Lower Greenville—Fuqua said he and five friends were headed to their car when officers began to arrest one of his friends for appearing to be drunk.
"I started to walk back to the other friend that was still standing on the corner next to him, and had yelled across the street questioning what was going on and why was he being arrested," Fuqua recalled. "At that time, I started getting shot."
Photographs show Fuqua suffered 17 pepper shot wounds in the neck, chest, stomach, side, back, legs and arm. He dropped to his knees trying to cover up from the barrage.
"Got one in the finger; got shot in the back of the head, right here," Fuqua said. "It left a golfball-sized wound, and left an open wound on my head."
Fuqua was handcuffed and arrested, he says, for questioning police actions.
He went to the hospital for treatment following his release from jail.
Police charged Fuqua with public intoxication and resisting arrest. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, figuring it was his word against police.
Then he saw the News 8 Investigates story about the Davis shooting and realized one key thing: Sgt Smith was involved in both incidents.
Fuqua is now the second civilian to file an internal affairs complaint against Sgt Smith, claiming reckless abuse of his authority.
David Schiller, an attorney and former police officer, represents both Fuqua and Davis. "I know for a fact that that's not proper, and not how a police department trains its officers," Schiller said, adding that the department has to punish any abusive behavior.
"I think the bigger concern out there is that this sergeant is setting an example for the officers out there that it's OK to be out of control; it's OK to make people pay for questioning the police," Schiller said.
Sgt. Smith's discipline records, which date back to 1991, are dominated by 75 commendations.
But there are 16 complaints in the back of his file, primarily "excessive force" and "physical abuse" allegations, all of which were deemed either "inconclusive" or "unfounded."
Police officials said while they are still investigating both events, they are troubled by the allegations.
"Yes, 15, 20 pepper ball sprays without any context, of course, at first glance looks like a clear violation," said Assistant Chief David Brown. "At the same time, there's a context to every police confrontation."
Chief Brown wanted to remind the public of the difficult job of both protecting and policing revelers on Lower Greenville Ave. and in the city's Deep Ellum district.
Fuqua wanted to remind police that pepper ball pelts are a poor way to gain the public's respect.
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TexasStooge
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Deadlocked Schlosser jury sequestered
Deadlocked panel seeks to clarify role, reviews husband's testimony
By JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News
McKINNEY, Texas – Jurors in the Dena Schlosser capital murder trial were sequestered Friday night after failing to reach a verdict in nearly 35 hours of deliberations.
Collin County sheriff's deputies delivered suitcases to the jurors, who will reconvene at 9 a.m. today.
Jurors have been in a deadlock since Wednesday, when deliberations began to decide whether Ms. Schlosser is guilty of capital murder in the slaying of her baby.
The panel sent two more notes to the judge Friday in what appeared to be another attempt to reach a verdict.
Just before 2 p.m. Friday, the jury asked the court for the definition of the word "deliberation" and for clarification on the role of the jury. It was the 13th note sent to the court since deliberations began.
State District Judge Chris Oldner consulted Black's Law Dictionary 7th Edition to provide the definition and quoted the court's charge already given to the jury to explain its role.
"You are the exclusive judges of the facts proved, of the credibility of the witnesses and to the weight to be given their testimony, but you must be governed by the law you receive in these written instructions," the charge reads.
Lead prosecutor Curtis Howard said he had never had a jury ask those questions.
"That's the first time," he said.
The deadlocked deliberations in the Collin County case are reminiscent of the case of a prominent public official in Louisiana several years ago.
Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards is serving a federal prison sentence for extortion. After his 2000 trial, Mr. Edwards argued on appeal that his conviction should be overturned because the judge dismissed a juror after deliberations began.
After the jury reached an impasse, the juror was dismissed for ignoring the judge's instructions to discuss evidence with the panel. The jury quickly reached a decision after the dismissal.
James M. Murphy, a Dallas defense lawyer, said the events in Mr. Edwards' federal case could not be applied to Ms. Schlosser's state case.
"The judge has already read the charge to her jury," Mr. Murphy said.
With one exception, Mr. Murphy said, dismissal of a juror at this stage would result in immediate discharge of the entire panel.
In Texas, the only excuse for proceeding with fewer than 12 jurors after the charge of the court is read to the jury is if one of them becomes so sick as to prevent the continuance of his or her duty.
"Even then, the deliberations may continue only if both sides agree to continue with 11," Mr. Murphy said.
Also Friday afternoon, the jury sent its 14th note asking about Ms. Schlosser's husband's testimony, saying, "We need the testimony of John Schlosser when he spoke to Dena regarding the death of the baby."
About 3 p.m., the court read the testimony back to the jury. In it, Mr. Schlosser said he called several times before she picked up, and he said he had never heard his wife speak in the tone she did – flat and emotionless. He also quoted his wife saying, "I cut Maggie's arms off."
Meanwhile, an alternate juror who was dismissed when the panel received the case said that she believes Ms. Schlosser was suffering from a severe mental illness when she cut Maggie Schlosser's arms at the shoulders.
"I think she was insane," said Linda Tucker, one of two alternate jurors dismissed Wednesday by the judge before deliberations began. "But I want to make sure she is not out on the street in a couple years."
The jury of five women and seven men told Judge Oldner on Thursday that they were hopelessly deadlocked, and "no one is going to change their decision," but the judge ordered them to continue deliberating.
Ms. Tucker, of Plano, said she believes the panel would have an easier time finding Ms. Schlosser insane if jurors could mandate that Ms. Schlosser remain in a mental hospital for a certain period of time instead of leaving it up to the judge.
She said she was also confused because the state indicated in closing arguments that Ms. Schlosser showed remorse the day of the killing. But Ms. Tucker said her recollection from testimony was that she didn't show remorse or even realize what she had done until months later.
She said that if she were still on the jury, she would have needed the court to read back several parts of testimony, as the panel has asked several times during its deliberations.
She said she also believes Ms. Schlosser's husband, John, and others involved in his wife's care "failed" Ms. Schlosser.
"Did they fail her? I'd say so," Ms. Tucker said. "Where was her husband?"
Howard Shapiro, Mr. Schlosser's attorney, was at the courthouse Friday for another case. When approached for comment by reporters, Mr. Shapiro said Mr. Schlosser did not block his wife from getting psychiatric care.
"I don't think it has merit," Mr. Shapiro said of accusations during the trial from both prosecutors and the defense that Mr. Schlosser kept his wife from proper medical care while she was suffering from postpartum depression and psychosis. "I don't buy into it."
Mr. Shapiro did say that in retrospect, Mr. Schlosser might have done some things differently given what happened.
Staff writer Bill Lodge contributed to this report.
Deadlocked panel seeks to clarify role, reviews husband's testimony
By JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News
McKINNEY, Texas – Jurors in the Dena Schlosser capital murder trial were sequestered Friday night after failing to reach a verdict in nearly 35 hours of deliberations.
Collin County sheriff's deputies delivered suitcases to the jurors, who will reconvene at 9 a.m. today.
Jurors have been in a deadlock since Wednesday, when deliberations began to decide whether Ms. Schlosser is guilty of capital murder in the slaying of her baby.
The panel sent two more notes to the judge Friday in what appeared to be another attempt to reach a verdict.
Just before 2 p.m. Friday, the jury asked the court for the definition of the word "deliberation" and for clarification on the role of the jury. It was the 13th note sent to the court since deliberations began.
State District Judge Chris Oldner consulted Black's Law Dictionary 7th Edition to provide the definition and quoted the court's charge already given to the jury to explain its role.
"You are the exclusive judges of the facts proved, of the credibility of the witnesses and to the weight to be given their testimony, but you must be governed by the law you receive in these written instructions," the charge reads.
Lead prosecutor Curtis Howard said he had never had a jury ask those questions.
"That's the first time," he said.
The deadlocked deliberations in the Collin County case are reminiscent of the case of a prominent public official in Louisiana several years ago.
Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards is serving a federal prison sentence for extortion. After his 2000 trial, Mr. Edwards argued on appeal that his conviction should be overturned because the judge dismissed a juror after deliberations began.
After the jury reached an impasse, the juror was dismissed for ignoring the judge's instructions to discuss evidence with the panel. The jury quickly reached a decision after the dismissal.
James M. Murphy, a Dallas defense lawyer, said the events in Mr. Edwards' federal case could not be applied to Ms. Schlosser's state case.
"The judge has already read the charge to her jury," Mr. Murphy said.
With one exception, Mr. Murphy said, dismissal of a juror at this stage would result in immediate discharge of the entire panel.
In Texas, the only excuse for proceeding with fewer than 12 jurors after the charge of the court is read to the jury is if one of them becomes so sick as to prevent the continuance of his or her duty.
"Even then, the deliberations may continue only if both sides agree to continue with 11," Mr. Murphy said.
Also Friday afternoon, the jury sent its 14th note asking about Ms. Schlosser's husband's testimony, saying, "We need the testimony of John Schlosser when he spoke to Dena regarding the death of the baby."
About 3 p.m., the court read the testimony back to the jury. In it, Mr. Schlosser said he called several times before she picked up, and he said he had never heard his wife speak in the tone she did – flat and emotionless. He also quoted his wife saying, "I cut Maggie's arms off."
Meanwhile, an alternate juror who was dismissed when the panel received the case said that she believes Ms. Schlosser was suffering from a severe mental illness when she cut Maggie Schlosser's arms at the shoulders.
"I think she was insane," said Linda Tucker, one of two alternate jurors dismissed Wednesday by the judge before deliberations began. "But I want to make sure she is not out on the street in a couple years."
The jury of five women and seven men told Judge Oldner on Thursday that they were hopelessly deadlocked, and "no one is going to change their decision," but the judge ordered them to continue deliberating.
Ms. Tucker, of Plano, said she believes the panel would have an easier time finding Ms. Schlosser insane if jurors could mandate that Ms. Schlosser remain in a mental hospital for a certain period of time instead of leaving it up to the judge.
She said she was also confused because the state indicated in closing arguments that Ms. Schlosser showed remorse the day of the killing. But Ms. Tucker said her recollection from testimony was that she didn't show remorse or even realize what she had done until months later.
She said that if she were still on the jury, she would have needed the court to read back several parts of testimony, as the panel has asked several times during its deliberations.
She said she also believes Ms. Schlosser's husband, John, and others involved in his wife's care "failed" Ms. Schlosser.
"Did they fail her? I'd say so," Ms. Tucker said. "Where was her husband?"
Howard Shapiro, Mr. Schlosser's attorney, was at the courthouse Friday for another case. When approached for comment by reporters, Mr. Shapiro said Mr. Schlosser did not block his wife from getting psychiatric care.
"I don't think it has merit," Mr. Shapiro said of accusations during the trial from both prosecutors and the defense that Mr. Schlosser kept his wife from proper medical care while she was suffering from postpartum depression and psychosis. "I don't buy into it."
Mr. Shapiro did say that in retrospect, Mr. Schlosser might have done some things differently given what happened.
Staff writer Bill Lodge contributed to this report.
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TexasStooge
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W. Texas steps up Bush library race
Leader off-handedly refers to condo owner's suit, toots Tech's horn
By DIANE JENNINGS / The Dallas Morning News
LUBBOCK, Texas - Backers of a West Texas group trying to win the Bush presidential library are seeking to capitalize on a legal fight between a condo owner and SMU over land that he says the university needs for the coveted project in Dallas.
President Bush "doesn't want confrontation; he's not getting that in West Texas," David Miller, chairman of the West Texas Coalition, said in an interview with KCBD-TV in Lubbock.
In a written statement later, Mr. Miller said he doesn't know whether the lawsuit "against our friends at SMU" will affect the library competition. But, he said, the site selection committee made clear that the president and first lady Laura Bush "want to put their library where they feel most welcome and at home."
The coalition issued its public relations jab Thursday along with a self-analysis of its advantages, including research centers, academic offerings and campus archives. It marks a visible increase in the mostly behind-the-scenes maneuvering among the finalists: the coalition led by Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Southern Methodist University, the University of Dallas in Irving and Baylor University in Waco.
SMU is being sued by Dallas lawyer Gary Vodicka, who has accused the university of trying to force him from his condo called University Gardens to obtain that site for the library. SMU officials have denied the allegations.
SMU has been considered the front-runner, in part because Mrs. Bush is a graduate and a member of the board of trustees. An SMU spokesman did not return a call Friday seeking comment on the possible effect of that suit on SMU's bid.
Land is not an issue in the wide-open spaces around Lubbock, where 100 acres west of the Health Sciences Center have been designated for the library. The West Texas Coalition also has promised to build the Laura Bush Center for Literacy at Midland College.
The group's promotional video to the presidential site selection panel emphasized the friendliness of the area and says West Texans already have pledged $100 million toward an endowment of $300 million.
The video, posted on the KCBD-TV Web site, boasts stirring music and images of cowboys and sunsets. The narrator, cowboy poet Red Steagall, rhapsodizes about the region's beauty, and the independence and warmth of its residents.
"West Texas is like a canvas," he says. "With hard work, it can be whatever you dream it to be."
The video also tugs at the Bushes' connection to West Texas – the couple grew up in Midland, met and began their married life there.
"Welcome home," people say repeatedly in the video.
Mr. Miller said in his statement that during the group's presentation in November in Washington, a longtime friend of the president told committee members that "no place or no one will treasure the library like West Texans will."
Although Mr. Miller has said he expects a decision before the end of next month, a spokesman for committee co-chairman Don Evans of Midland, the former commerce secretary, said no timeline has been announced.
Leader off-handedly refers to condo owner's suit, toots Tech's horn
By DIANE JENNINGS / The Dallas Morning News
LUBBOCK, Texas - Backers of a West Texas group trying to win the Bush presidential library are seeking to capitalize on a legal fight between a condo owner and SMU over land that he says the university needs for the coveted project in Dallas.
President Bush "doesn't want confrontation; he's not getting that in West Texas," David Miller, chairman of the West Texas Coalition, said in an interview with KCBD-TV in Lubbock.
In a written statement later, Mr. Miller said he doesn't know whether the lawsuit "against our friends at SMU" will affect the library competition. But, he said, the site selection committee made clear that the president and first lady Laura Bush "want to put their library where they feel most welcome and at home."
The coalition issued its public relations jab Thursday along with a self-analysis of its advantages, including research centers, academic offerings and campus archives. It marks a visible increase in the mostly behind-the-scenes maneuvering among the finalists: the coalition led by Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Southern Methodist University, the University of Dallas in Irving and Baylor University in Waco.
SMU is being sued by Dallas lawyer Gary Vodicka, who has accused the university of trying to force him from his condo called University Gardens to obtain that site for the library. SMU officials have denied the allegations.
SMU has been considered the front-runner, in part because Mrs. Bush is a graduate and a member of the board of trustees. An SMU spokesman did not return a call Friday seeking comment on the possible effect of that suit on SMU's bid.
Land is not an issue in the wide-open spaces around Lubbock, where 100 acres west of the Health Sciences Center have been designated for the library. The West Texas Coalition also has promised to build the Laura Bush Center for Literacy at Midland College.
The group's promotional video to the presidential site selection panel emphasized the friendliness of the area and says West Texans already have pledged $100 million toward an endowment of $300 million.
The video, posted on the KCBD-TV Web site, boasts stirring music and images of cowboys and sunsets. The narrator, cowboy poet Red Steagall, rhapsodizes about the region's beauty, and the independence and warmth of its residents.
"West Texas is like a canvas," he says. "With hard work, it can be whatever you dream it to be."
The video also tugs at the Bushes' connection to West Texas – the couple grew up in Midland, met and began their married life there.
"Welcome home," people say repeatedly in the video.
Mr. Miller said in his statement that during the group's presentation in November in Washington, a longtime friend of the president told committee members that "no place or no one will treasure the library like West Texans will."
Although Mr. Miller has said he expects a decision before the end of next month, a spokesman for committee co-chairman Don Evans of Midland, the former commerce secretary, said no timeline has been announced.
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TexasStooge
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- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
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Perry wants to expand state's wiretap powers
Governor's plan also boosts resources for police along border
By CHRISTY HOPPE / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas – Gov. Rick Perry is calling for greater wiretapping authority within the state, citing the need to help police along the border battle smuggling, drug cartels and kidnapping plots.
Border violence and illegal immigration have become red-button issues in the governor's race, and Mr. Perry has been traveling the state touting $10 million in grants he has awarded to improve communications among border police departments. He also recently dedicated state equipment and personnel to the effort.
This week, he advocated changes in the law to deal with criminal activity, but some believe he also was using the issue to involve himself in a closely contested Republican House primary race.
Mr. Perry traveled to Amarillo on Thursday and appeared with Rep. David Swinford, R-Dumas, to announce his initiatives, which would probably be addressed during the next regular legislative session starting in January.
Mr. Swinford, a 15-year House veteran and chairman of the State Affairs Committee, faces a stiff challenge from Amarillo school board member Anette Carlisle in the March 7 GOP primary.
The governor said he has tapped Mr. Swinford to spearhead the latest law enforcement proposals, which include:
•Expanding state wiretap authority – currently limited to murder and drug trafficking investigations – to include kidnapping, aggravated assault and extortion. Law enforcement officials would still need to secure a warrant from a state district judge.
•Updating conspiracy statutes to better encompass terrorist organizations and international crimes, including smuggling humans and drugs and setting up false charities and businesses to funnel money.
•Ensuring the Department of Public Safety has sufficient resources to deal with border threats.
"I chose Representative Swinford for this important task because he is a law-and-order lawmaker who wants to stop illegal activity in places like Laredo and Del Rio before it impacts towns like Amarillo," Mr. Perry said.
Mr. Swinford noted that all lawmakers' constituents are affected by problems on the border.
But Ms. Carlisle said she found the timing curious, coming as early voting started and 12 days before the primary.
"Perhaps it makes sense to some folks to appoint the House rep who lives the farthest from the border to take care of the security issues there, but it borders on the ridiculous to me," she said.
She said it was inappropriate for fellow Republicans to inject themselves into a party primary.
Rachael Novier, a spokeswoman for Mr. Perry, said politics had nothing to do with the announcement.
"The governor wants Texas law enforcement, who are investigating criminal organizations that exploit our borders, to have the same tools available to them as the federal officers with whom they work," Ms. Novier said.
Will Harrell, director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, said expanding wiretap laws is unnecessary because current laws already deal with the most pressing border crimes – drugs and murder.
"Recent history shows that when given an inch, law enforcement takes a mile," Mr. Harrell said. "The Fourth Amendment protects the rights of people to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the expansion of these laws ultimately result in the invasion of innocent people's privacy."
Governor's plan also boosts resources for police along border
By CHRISTY HOPPE / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas – Gov. Rick Perry is calling for greater wiretapping authority within the state, citing the need to help police along the border battle smuggling, drug cartels and kidnapping plots.
Border violence and illegal immigration have become red-button issues in the governor's race, and Mr. Perry has been traveling the state touting $10 million in grants he has awarded to improve communications among border police departments. He also recently dedicated state equipment and personnel to the effort.
This week, he advocated changes in the law to deal with criminal activity, but some believe he also was using the issue to involve himself in a closely contested Republican House primary race.
Mr. Perry traveled to Amarillo on Thursday and appeared with Rep. David Swinford, R-Dumas, to announce his initiatives, which would probably be addressed during the next regular legislative session starting in January.
Mr. Swinford, a 15-year House veteran and chairman of the State Affairs Committee, faces a stiff challenge from Amarillo school board member Anette Carlisle in the March 7 GOP primary.
The governor said he has tapped Mr. Swinford to spearhead the latest law enforcement proposals, which include:
•Expanding state wiretap authority – currently limited to murder and drug trafficking investigations – to include kidnapping, aggravated assault and extortion. Law enforcement officials would still need to secure a warrant from a state district judge.
•Updating conspiracy statutes to better encompass terrorist organizations and international crimes, including smuggling humans and drugs and setting up false charities and businesses to funnel money.
•Ensuring the Department of Public Safety has sufficient resources to deal with border threats.
"I chose Representative Swinford for this important task because he is a law-and-order lawmaker who wants to stop illegal activity in places like Laredo and Del Rio before it impacts towns like Amarillo," Mr. Perry said.
Mr. Swinford noted that all lawmakers' constituents are affected by problems on the border.
But Ms. Carlisle said she found the timing curious, coming as early voting started and 12 days before the primary.
"Perhaps it makes sense to some folks to appoint the House rep who lives the farthest from the border to take care of the security issues there, but it borders on the ridiculous to me," she said.
She said it was inappropriate for fellow Republicans to inject themselves into a party primary.
Rachael Novier, a spokeswoman for Mr. Perry, said politics had nothing to do with the announcement.
"The governor wants Texas law enforcement, who are investigating criminal organizations that exploit our borders, to have the same tools available to them as the federal officers with whom they work," Ms. Novier said.
Will Harrell, director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, said expanding wiretap laws is unnecessary because current laws already deal with the most pressing border crimes – drugs and murder.
"Recent history shows that when given an inch, law enforcement takes a mile," Mr. Harrell said. "The Fourth Amendment protects the rights of people to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the expansion of these laws ultimately result in the invasion of innocent people's privacy."
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TexasStooge
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New system leaves city struggling to pay bills
Workers logged 1,000 hours of OT as creditors begged for their money
By TANYA EISERER and KATIE FAIRBANK / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Nearly five months after upgrading City Hall's bill-paying system, staffers are still digging out from under a backlog of late and lost payments.
The system delayed paying so many of the city's creditors that employees have worked more than 1,000 hours of overtime trying to catch up, city records show. Meanwhile, businesses were forced to beg for their money. In one case, a late payment owed by the city secretary's office was turned over to a collection agency; another company warned that it would be forced to lay off workers if its bills weren't paid.
"We've been selling to them for probably in excess of 30 years," said Martin Levine, owner of Midway Auto Supply, when contacted about the thousands of dollars owed by the city to his company. "We've run through some bad spots in that period of time, but nothing quite like this."
Officials have publicly played down the bill-payment problem. But in interviews with midlevel staffers and e-mails obtained by The Dallas Morning News, a different picture emerges. City staffers, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution, say some payments are still running months behind.
"It has in many cases put us to a crawl," said a manager at City Hall.
In early February, for example, the system rejected paying more than 480 bills during one working weekend, said Maria Alicia Garcia, director of the office of financial services. The problems arose in part, she said, because the new system requires detailed pricing information on products and services before individual bills can be processed. The information in the system and on the invoices must match exactly before a payment is issued.
The old system did not require such specific pricing information before a bill was paid.
The city auditor is checking whether all the problems have affected the "accuracy of the city's financial transactions."
"Contrary to some's belief, this is not 'business as usual,' " wrote Gary Preston, manager of the Fleet Parts Division of Equipment & Building Services, of the new system in a Feb. 13 e-mail. He described an unforgiving system that required meticulous and error-free data entry.
Staffers spent the past weekend working to get out past-due monthly statements that departments use to track expenses and revenues, Ms. Garcia said. They are scheduled to come in again this weekend. The accounts payable division alone has spent more than $32,000 in overtime, she said.
"What would it be like for you not to get a bank statement?" asked one department head. A second manager asked, "How can I do a projection when I don't know where I'm at today?"
Upgraded system
All of the difficulties began shortly after Oct. 1, when the city implemented a $3.5 million technological upgrade to its outdated bill-paying system, in place since 1985. Problems cropped up soon afterward when every bill from the previous year was rejected because the system had not been provided with the extensive information on product pricing and contractual details it required.
Even so, in an Oct. 28 memo to the City Council and Mayor Laura Miller, Chief Financial Officer Dave Cook wrote that "overall, conversion of the financial system has gone very well and full implementation is on schedule."
While staffers went through training to learn how to operate the Web-based Advantage 3 program, the upgrade required that information be entered very specifically – a good thing for accountability, but very time-consuming for workers.
"The training was absolutely horrendous," said one city worker, adding that people complained they knew even less after completing the instructional sessions.
Mr. Cook agrees now that the training could have been better.
"If I had to revisit the decision to upgrade, knowing what I know today, we'd be smarter in our training. We did training before the implementation, but now I know that wasn't enough," he said.
'Disadvantage 3'
There were also difficulties with the system itself. It had trouble reconciling depreciation or handling discounts. At various points, the equipment would stop cutting checks and other times it would send approval requests to the wrong work group.
The program was so cumbersome and confusing that staffers began calling it "Disadvantage 3."
"There have been numerous calls to all levels of city staff, council members and now the media from concerned vendors wanting to get paid," Ms. Garcia said in a Dec. 1 e-mail to city directors. There is a "large backlog of unpaid vendor invoices," she wrote.
The next week, a memo went out to vendors promising fixes and that city employees were being "trained or retrained." It also said workers from around City Hall were being deployed to the city controller's office to get bills paid.
"We expect to return to our normal practice of timely vendor payments within two weeks," the memo read.
Mr. Cook said he can't say how many bills were paid late or how many vendors were affected because of all the bugs. But he denies there have been ongoing problems, saying the "accounts payable process is smooth."
"There is no denying we had issues in October, November and December, and we have jumped on those with both feet and processed our backlog and reinforced our training," he said in a Jan. 27 interview. "We are current."
Desperate situation
Two days earlier, Ron Armant, president of Premium Impressions, LLC, wrote Ms. Miller saying his Grand Prairie promotional products firm was forced to temporarily stop delivering new orders because the city owed it so much.
"After four long months of waiting, our situation is now desperate. The accounting employees see us as one of many and seem overwhelmed," he wrote. "The current balance is still over $80,000. Four months is entirely too long and we cannot afford to wait any longer. Time [is] of the essence here.
"We cannot pay our suppliers and if this continues we will likely have to layoff the valuable employees who work on the City of Dallas program."
An e-mail sent last week from Mary DeLaGarza, manager of accounts payable, said many invoices from Premium Impressions under $500 remained unpaid.
"We are not out of the woods yet," she wrote, referring to Premium Impressions and several other creditors who had complained.
Ms. Garcia said Wednesday that there are still some Premium Impressions invoices that are past due.
"Some of them are past due but most of them are not. It adds up to about $14,000," she said.
In an e-mail sent Thursday, Mr. Armant wrote that the "situation has improved and continues to improve each week."
CGI-AMS, which developed the software system, was supposed to be done by the end of January but continues to work at City Hall.
"They'll be here until the end of March. They've extended to help us out," Ms. Garcia said.
She said the city is looking at changing procedures for future upgrades. "When you automate, you shouldn't have to hold its hand this much."
Workers logged 1,000 hours of OT as creditors begged for their money
By TANYA EISERER and KATIE FAIRBANK / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Nearly five months after upgrading City Hall's bill-paying system, staffers are still digging out from under a backlog of late and lost payments.
The system delayed paying so many of the city's creditors that employees have worked more than 1,000 hours of overtime trying to catch up, city records show. Meanwhile, businesses were forced to beg for their money. In one case, a late payment owed by the city secretary's office was turned over to a collection agency; another company warned that it would be forced to lay off workers if its bills weren't paid.
"We've been selling to them for probably in excess of 30 years," said Martin Levine, owner of Midway Auto Supply, when contacted about the thousands of dollars owed by the city to his company. "We've run through some bad spots in that period of time, but nothing quite like this."
Officials have publicly played down the bill-payment problem. But in interviews with midlevel staffers and e-mails obtained by The Dallas Morning News, a different picture emerges. City staffers, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution, say some payments are still running months behind.
"It has in many cases put us to a crawl," said a manager at City Hall.
In early February, for example, the system rejected paying more than 480 bills during one working weekend, said Maria Alicia Garcia, director of the office of financial services. The problems arose in part, she said, because the new system requires detailed pricing information on products and services before individual bills can be processed. The information in the system and on the invoices must match exactly before a payment is issued.
The old system did not require such specific pricing information before a bill was paid.
The city auditor is checking whether all the problems have affected the "accuracy of the city's financial transactions."
"Contrary to some's belief, this is not 'business as usual,' " wrote Gary Preston, manager of the Fleet Parts Division of Equipment & Building Services, of the new system in a Feb. 13 e-mail. He described an unforgiving system that required meticulous and error-free data entry.
Staffers spent the past weekend working to get out past-due monthly statements that departments use to track expenses and revenues, Ms. Garcia said. They are scheduled to come in again this weekend. The accounts payable division alone has spent more than $32,000 in overtime, she said.
"What would it be like for you not to get a bank statement?" asked one department head. A second manager asked, "How can I do a projection when I don't know where I'm at today?"
Upgraded system
All of the difficulties began shortly after Oct. 1, when the city implemented a $3.5 million technological upgrade to its outdated bill-paying system, in place since 1985. Problems cropped up soon afterward when every bill from the previous year was rejected because the system had not been provided with the extensive information on product pricing and contractual details it required.
Even so, in an Oct. 28 memo to the City Council and Mayor Laura Miller, Chief Financial Officer Dave Cook wrote that "overall, conversion of the financial system has gone very well and full implementation is on schedule."
While staffers went through training to learn how to operate the Web-based Advantage 3 program, the upgrade required that information be entered very specifically – a good thing for accountability, but very time-consuming for workers.
"The training was absolutely horrendous," said one city worker, adding that people complained they knew even less after completing the instructional sessions.
Mr. Cook agrees now that the training could have been better.
"If I had to revisit the decision to upgrade, knowing what I know today, we'd be smarter in our training. We did training before the implementation, but now I know that wasn't enough," he said.
'Disadvantage 3'
There were also difficulties with the system itself. It had trouble reconciling depreciation or handling discounts. At various points, the equipment would stop cutting checks and other times it would send approval requests to the wrong work group.
The program was so cumbersome and confusing that staffers began calling it "Disadvantage 3."
"There have been numerous calls to all levels of city staff, council members and now the media from concerned vendors wanting to get paid," Ms. Garcia said in a Dec. 1 e-mail to city directors. There is a "large backlog of unpaid vendor invoices," she wrote.
The next week, a memo went out to vendors promising fixes and that city employees were being "trained or retrained." It also said workers from around City Hall were being deployed to the city controller's office to get bills paid.
"We expect to return to our normal practice of timely vendor payments within two weeks," the memo read.
Mr. Cook said he can't say how many bills were paid late or how many vendors were affected because of all the bugs. But he denies there have been ongoing problems, saying the "accounts payable process is smooth."
"There is no denying we had issues in October, November and December, and we have jumped on those with both feet and processed our backlog and reinforced our training," he said in a Jan. 27 interview. "We are current."
Desperate situation
Two days earlier, Ron Armant, president of Premium Impressions, LLC, wrote Ms. Miller saying his Grand Prairie promotional products firm was forced to temporarily stop delivering new orders because the city owed it so much.
"After four long months of waiting, our situation is now desperate. The accounting employees see us as one of many and seem overwhelmed," he wrote. "The current balance is still over $80,000. Four months is entirely too long and we cannot afford to wait any longer. Time [is] of the essence here.
"We cannot pay our suppliers and if this continues we will likely have to layoff the valuable employees who work on the City of Dallas program."
An e-mail sent last week from Mary DeLaGarza, manager of accounts payable, said many invoices from Premium Impressions under $500 remained unpaid.
"We are not out of the woods yet," she wrote, referring to Premium Impressions and several other creditors who had complained.
Ms. Garcia said Wednesday that there are still some Premium Impressions invoices that are past due.
"Some of them are past due but most of them are not. It adds up to about $14,000," she said.
In an e-mail sent Thursday, Mr. Armant wrote that the "situation has improved and continues to improve each week."
CGI-AMS, which developed the software system, was supposed to be done by the end of January but continues to work at City Hall.
"They'll be here until the end of March. They've extended to help us out," Ms. Garcia said.
She said the city is looking at changing procedures for future upgrades. "When you automate, you shouldn't have to hold its hand this much."
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TexasStooge
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Struggling Democrats focus on local races
In Democratic primary, many ignore governor's race in favor of local runs
By ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas – Democrats running for governor have reached a new low: Should they mail fliers to voters or print up yard signs?
With less than two weeks to go until party primaries, gubernatorial candidates Chris Bell and Bob Gammage can't afford both, let alone radio or television ads. And both candidates are nearly invisible to voters, according to a recent Dallas Morning News poll.
Now, most grass-roots Democratic workers are putting their energy elsewhere – local and legislative races.
Some worry, though, that a bad performance at the top of the ticket means more than just being shut out of statewide office. It also could mean low turnout that could prevent the party from winning competitive House seats and other local races and capitalizing on voter anger over school finance.
"We are in a gloomy situation," said Democratic consultant Harold Cook of Austin, who ran the party's coordinated statewide push the last time it won a statewide office – 1994.
While Mr. Cook insists the party has stopped falling, he admits: "This year's elections were never going to be about statewide races. The serious concentration has been on contested races in the Texas House – because, by God, you've got to start somewhere."
Democrats around the state agree: They expect no help from the races at the top of the ticket and, if anything, are looking to local races where the party is more competitive to drive voter turnout.
In Dallas County, no matter how the party's statewide nominees fare, Democrats expect to build on recent local success – such as Sheriff Lupe Valdez's victory in 2004. Sen. Royce West of Dallas said local Democrats hope to reclaim the district attorney's office, a county commissioner's seat and several judgeships.
"The focus in Dallas County is to win countywide," said Mr. West, who hasn't taken sides in the Bell-Gammage race. "That's where I'm going to keep the focus."
Former Dallas County Democratic Chairwoman Susan Hays said grass-roots workers are fervently working in the district attorney's race and for Democrats seeking the House seat recently vacated by Rep. Ray Allen, R-Grand Prairie, or this fall hoping to knock off Dallas GOP Reps. Tony Goolsby and Bill Keffer.
"It's as though we don't have a top of the ticket because we're being smart and focusing on where we can win," said Ms. Hays, who backs Mr. Bell.
Voters share the sentiment. The Dallas Morning News poll found that at least 80 percent of likely voters haven't heard enough about either Democrat to have an opinion about him.
"And if the general election were held today, neither would hit 20 percent," said pollster Mickey Blum. "That says the Democratic Party is truly a disaster."
Mr. Bell and Mr. Gammage say the independent candidacy of Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn could fragment GOP voters and allow one of them to upset Republican Gov. Rick Perry in November.
And their spokesmen say fundraising will pick up after the primary because the nominee will get free publicity and Texans will grow weary of the feud between Mr. Perry and Mrs. Strayhorn. That, they say, will allow the Democratic nominee to finally run some commercials and lure Democratic voters back to the fold.
Still, it's almost unheard of for major-party candidates for the top office in Texas to not be running television ads, let alone blanketing neighborhoods with yard signs, so close to a primary. And this year is a stark contrast to four years ago, when Democrats Tony Sanchez and Dan Morales were in a fiercely competitive campaign and Mr. Sanchez was spending tens of millions of dollars out of his personal fortune.
'Low-dollar primary'
Through Jan. 26, Mr. Bell had raised about $570,000 and Mr. Gammage, just under $100,000. Singer-author Kinky Friedman, an independent, had raised $1.8 million through Dec. 31. Even after running statewide TV ads, Mr. Perry had $9 million cash on hand, and Mrs. Strayhorn, $8.1 million, according to their latest reports.
Bell spokesman Jason Stanford said the campaign has sent a mailer – and plans another for this weekend – but won't spring for yard signs.
"It's a low-dollar primary," he said. "You have to make very wise choices about where you spend your money."
The Gammage campaign has yard signs but hasn't paid for mailings, said spokesman Jeremy Warren.
"When you have resources that are limited, it's not necessarily the best idea to go statewide with a mail piece because it's really damned expensive," he said. "So we're looking at what we're going to do with our money."
Ms. Blum pointed to the News poll's finding that a majority of both Democrats' supporters in the primary said they don't expect to stick with the Democratic nominee in the fall.
With Mr. Perry not terribly popular, she said, "the opposition party should be doing a lot better."
'Pretty quiet'
Many Democrats, such as Rep. Mark Homer of Paris, have given up on any help from the top of the ticket. Mr. Homer, who clawed his way to re-election two years ago by 218 votes, said he sees few signs of life in the upper reaches of his party.
"I'll be honest with you, I can't recall a yard sign I've seen for the governor candidates or any of the other [statewide] candidates," he said. "It's pretty quiet in my country."
Democratic legislators and activists, in areas ranging from traditional party strongholds to places with new promise, such as Dallas County, said they anticipate little help to flow down the ballot.
If anything, expect the reverse, they said. Mr. Homer and Rep. Chuck Hopson of Jacksonville said lively races for county offices should increase turnout to their benefit in their East Texas districts.
"That could be pretty lively, down ballot," said Mr. Hopson, who won by 5 percentage points last time and faces a renewed GOP assault this fall. As for a potential lift from Democratic statewide candidates, the three-term House member said: "I'd like to get any kind of help I could. But right now, that's just not the reality of it."
In heavily Democratic South Texas, there's intense interest in primary contests for county offices. However, some say the party's gubernatorial candidates have been late to woo political kingpins and major contributors. La Joya Mayor Billy Leo, for instance, is considered one of the key power brokers a statewide Democratic candidate must meet – but Mr. Bell, who has been traveling the state for a year, didn't do so until Wednesday. Mr. Gammage has not yet met with him.
"They have been slow in coming down this way," said Mr. Leo.
Mr. Stanford, Mr. Bell's spokesman, said, "The fact that we had not met with Billy Leo before was not for lack of calling him."
But for Mr. Leo, the episode is symbolic of the whole lackluster Democratic effort in statewide races.
"I got a call and I think they're making a little effort, they're trying to get, what's his name, not Gammage, but the other guy?" Mr. Leo said. "Right. Chris Bell. That just shows how much I'm into it."
In Democratic primary, many ignore governor's race in favor of local runs
By ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas – Democrats running for governor have reached a new low: Should they mail fliers to voters or print up yard signs?
With less than two weeks to go until party primaries, gubernatorial candidates Chris Bell and Bob Gammage can't afford both, let alone radio or television ads. And both candidates are nearly invisible to voters, according to a recent Dallas Morning News poll.
Now, most grass-roots Democratic workers are putting their energy elsewhere – local and legislative races.
Some worry, though, that a bad performance at the top of the ticket means more than just being shut out of statewide office. It also could mean low turnout that could prevent the party from winning competitive House seats and other local races and capitalizing on voter anger over school finance.
"We are in a gloomy situation," said Democratic consultant Harold Cook of Austin, who ran the party's coordinated statewide push the last time it won a statewide office – 1994.
While Mr. Cook insists the party has stopped falling, he admits: "This year's elections were never going to be about statewide races. The serious concentration has been on contested races in the Texas House – because, by God, you've got to start somewhere."
Democrats around the state agree: They expect no help from the races at the top of the ticket and, if anything, are looking to local races where the party is more competitive to drive voter turnout.
In Dallas County, no matter how the party's statewide nominees fare, Democrats expect to build on recent local success – such as Sheriff Lupe Valdez's victory in 2004. Sen. Royce West of Dallas said local Democrats hope to reclaim the district attorney's office, a county commissioner's seat and several judgeships.
"The focus in Dallas County is to win countywide," said Mr. West, who hasn't taken sides in the Bell-Gammage race. "That's where I'm going to keep the focus."
Former Dallas County Democratic Chairwoman Susan Hays said grass-roots workers are fervently working in the district attorney's race and for Democrats seeking the House seat recently vacated by Rep. Ray Allen, R-Grand Prairie, or this fall hoping to knock off Dallas GOP Reps. Tony Goolsby and Bill Keffer.
"It's as though we don't have a top of the ticket because we're being smart and focusing on where we can win," said Ms. Hays, who backs Mr. Bell.
Voters share the sentiment. The Dallas Morning News poll found that at least 80 percent of likely voters haven't heard enough about either Democrat to have an opinion about him.
"And if the general election were held today, neither would hit 20 percent," said pollster Mickey Blum. "That says the Democratic Party is truly a disaster."
Mr. Bell and Mr. Gammage say the independent candidacy of Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn could fragment GOP voters and allow one of them to upset Republican Gov. Rick Perry in November.
And their spokesmen say fundraising will pick up after the primary because the nominee will get free publicity and Texans will grow weary of the feud between Mr. Perry and Mrs. Strayhorn. That, they say, will allow the Democratic nominee to finally run some commercials and lure Democratic voters back to the fold.
Still, it's almost unheard of for major-party candidates for the top office in Texas to not be running television ads, let alone blanketing neighborhoods with yard signs, so close to a primary. And this year is a stark contrast to four years ago, when Democrats Tony Sanchez and Dan Morales were in a fiercely competitive campaign and Mr. Sanchez was spending tens of millions of dollars out of his personal fortune.
'Low-dollar primary'
Through Jan. 26, Mr. Bell had raised about $570,000 and Mr. Gammage, just under $100,000. Singer-author Kinky Friedman, an independent, had raised $1.8 million through Dec. 31. Even after running statewide TV ads, Mr. Perry had $9 million cash on hand, and Mrs. Strayhorn, $8.1 million, according to their latest reports.
Bell spokesman Jason Stanford said the campaign has sent a mailer – and plans another for this weekend – but won't spring for yard signs.
"It's a low-dollar primary," he said. "You have to make very wise choices about where you spend your money."
The Gammage campaign has yard signs but hasn't paid for mailings, said spokesman Jeremy Warren.
"When you have resources that are limited, it's not necessarily the best idea to go statewide with a mail piece because it's really damned expensive," he said. "So we're looking at what we're going to do with our money."
Ms. Blum pointed to the News poll's finding that a majority of both Democrats' supporters in the primary said they don't expect to stick with the Democratic nominee in the fall.
With Mr. Perry not terribly popular, she said, "the opposition party should be doing a lot better."
'Pretty quiet'
Many Democrats, such as Rep. Mark Homer of Paris, have given up on any help from the top of the ticket. Mr. Homer, who clawed his way to re-election two years ago by 218 votes, said he sees few signs of life in the upper reaches of his party.
"I'll be honest with you, I can't recall a yard sign I've seen for the governor candidates or any of the other [statewide] candidates," he said. "It's pretty quiet in my country."
Democratic legislators and activists, in areas ranging from traditional party strongholds to places with new promise, such as Dallas County, said they anticipate little help to flow down the ballot.
If anything, expect the reverse, they said. Mr. Homer and Rep. Chuck Hopson of Jacksonville said lively races for county offices should increase turnout to their benefit in their East Texas districts.
"That could be pretty lively, down ballot," said Mr. Hopson, who won by 5 percentage points last time and faces a renewed GOP assault this fall. As for a potential lift from Democratic statewide candidates, the three-term House member said: "I'd like to get any kind of help I could. But right now, that's just not the reality of it."
In heavily Democratic South Texas, there's intense interest in primary contests for county offices. However, some say the party's gubernatorial candidates have been late to woo political kingpins and major contributors. La Joya Mayor Billy Leo, for instance, is considered one of the key power brokers a statewide Democratic candidate must meet – but Mr. Bell, who has been traveling the state for a year, didn't do so until Wednesday. Mr. Gammage has not yet met with him.
"They have been slow in coming down this way," said Mr. Leo.
Mr. Stanford, Mr. Bell's spokesman, said, "The fact that we had not met with Billy Leo before was not for lack of calling him."
But for Mr. Leo, the episode is symbolic of the whole lackluster Democratic effort in statewide races.
"I got a call and I think they're making a little effort, they're trying to get, what's his name, not Gammage, but the other guy?" Mr. Leo said. "Right. Chris Bell. That just shows how much I'm into it."
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TexasStooge
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Day 4 of Schlosser deliberations
McKINNEY, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — Jurors began a fourth day of deliberations Saturday in the capital murder trial of a woman accused of killing her baby by severing the girl's arms.
Dena Schlosser, 37, has pleaded innocent by reason of insanity in the death of her 10-month-old daughter Margaret. Prosecutors are seeking a conviction and a life sentence.
Jurors said they were deadlocked Thursday but were ordered by State District Judge Chris Oldner to continue deliberating. After surpassing 30 hours of deliberations Friday evening, Oldner ruled that the jury be sequestered into the weekend.
Among the notes sent to the judge was a request for him to define "deliberation" and the precise role of a juror. Oldner read the answers from Black's Law Dictionary.
The defense says Schlosser didn't know right from wrong during the 2004 slaying and want her committed to a state mental hospital.
She was found by police soaked in blood, holding a knife and listening to a hymn as the baby lay dying in her crib.
During closing arguments, Assistant District Attorney Bill Dobiyanski displayed a bloody kitchen knife and urged jurors to hold Schlosser accountable for the death of her daughter. He said psychiatrists were merely taking educated guesses when they testified Schlosser didn't know right from wrong.
Defense attorney Bill Schultz said the case comes down to whether Schlosser knew the attack was wrong. He also said prosecutors have no business questioning medical professionals.
McKINNEY, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — Jurors began a fourth day of deliberations Saturday in the capital murder trial of a woman accused of killing her baby by severing the girl's arms.
Dena Schlosser, 37, has pleaded innocent by reason of insanity in the death of her 10-month-old daughter Margaret. Prosecutors are seeking a conviction and a life sentence.
Jurors said they were deadlocked Thursday but were ordered by State District Judge Chris Oldner to continue deliberating. After surpassing 30 hours of deliberations Friday evening, Oldner ruled that the jury be sequestered into the weekend.
Among the notes sent to the judge was a request for him to define "deliberation" and the precise role of a juror. Oldner read the answers from Black's Law Dictionary.
The defense says Schlosser didn't know right from wrong during the 2004 slaying and want her committed to a state mental hospital.
She was found by police soaked in blood, holding a knife and listening to a hymn as the baby lay dying in her crib.
During closing arguments, Assistant District Attorney Bill Dobiyanski displayed a bloody kitchen knife and urged jurors to hold Schlosser accountable for the death of her daughter. He said psychiatrists were merely taking educated guesses when they testified Schlosser didn't know right from wrong.
Defense attorney Bill Schultz said the case comes down to whether Schlosser knew the attack was wrong. He also said prosecutors have no business questioning medical professionals.
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