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#4301 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Feb 17, 2006 8:06 am

After News 8 story, EPA probes diesel additive

By BRETT SHIPP / News 8 Investigates (WFAA ABC 8)

A week after a News 8 investigation into the Green Plus diesel additive, federal officials confirmed they are looking into the so-called "Holy Grail" additive.

Questions have also been raised about how the product was approved for sale by state environmental officials.

But despite the federal and News 8 investigations, the state might be about to give the company another big break.

Approved by the state four months ago, Green Plus quickly became the inexpensive additive of choice among companies now required to sell or use low emission diesel fuel.

However, News 8 tests showed the product was 99.5 percent almost pure isopropyl alcohol, which is distributed by Univar in Houston.

While the makers of Green Plus tout their product is scientifically proven, experts said it was highly unlikely the product could work, especially in the minute concentrations recommended.

"Somebody could run down to the store and buy some rubbing alcohol and put it in their diesel engine if it was that simple," said Neil Carman, Sierra Club. "But I don't think that isopropyl alcohol would be a beneficial fuel additive. I've never heard of this idea in 25 years."

"Anybody who is in the industry would look at this and laugh," said Mark Rossow. "It's ludicrous."

Only Rossow of Dallas said he is not laughing. He's the president of a company that also makes a diesel additive called EXP4.

Rossow said when he applied for state grant money to have his EXP4 tested in an approved laboratory he was told he was 15 minutes late putting in his application.

He said when he saw that the state had awarded Green Plus more than $1 million in product testing grants last week he found it hard to believe.

"...First you want to cry because something like that happens, but I get so angry I just wanted to scream," he said.

Rossow said his diesel additive was tested by the City of Dallas two years ago, which determined it "reduced emissions and particulates within the ranges desired by the city."

In contrast, two glowing testimonials on the Green Plus web site have been removed after business owners told News 8 they "are not currently using Green Plus and are not convinced it's a valid product."

The Environmental Protection Agency informed the state that the Green Plus emission tests were improperly performed. Green Plus has missed state deadlines to have the product retested twice.

The first deadline to have the product retested was December 15. When Green Plus missed the deadline, the state extended it until Wednesday. Green Plus missed that deadline too.

State officials still haven't decided whether to extend the deadline again.
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#4302 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Feb 17, 2006 8:09 am

Woman found mummified had lived in fear

After body found in house, cashier recalls lonely, timid friend

By MARGARITA MARTÍN-HIDALGO and MICHAEL GRABELL / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - Denise Eileen Day was afraid to live.

She was afraid to go to the grocery store or the movies, a friend said. She was afraid to go outside at night for fear of being bitten by mosquitoes. She was afraid to date because she didn't think anyone would want her.

Still, she told the friend she longed to live a happy, healthy life and have a family.

"She wanted to experience life, but she was afraid of taking that leap, I guess," said Jackie Moore, a cashier at the Casa Linda Cafeteria, where Ms. Day was a regular for years.

After not hearing from her for more than a year, Ms. Moore learned Wednesday that Ms. Day's life may have taken the most tragic of turns: Police found the mummified body of a woman inside Ms. Day's home.

Although the Dallas County medical examiner's office and police have not positively identified the body, a police report lists the victim as 54 years old, the same age as Denise Day.

And residents in the upper-middle-class neighborhood near White Rock Lake are all but certain the dead woman is Ms. Day.

Ms. Moore, 43, said she tried to reach Ms. Day during the last year but to no avail. Dozens of phone messages went unanswered.

She dropped by the house in the 9300 block of Mercer Drive several times, but no one came to the door. The last time she saw Ms. Day was in 2004, when she took her grocery shopping.

"I'm just really distraught, to tell you the truth," said Ms. Moore, sitting at a table in the cafeteria. "I knew all this time something was wrong."

Dallas police detectives are trying to contact relatives and two women who might have entered the home two weeks ago, said Deputy Chief Alfredo Saldaña, head of the crimes against persons division, which investigates unexplained deaths.

First police report

A neighbor called police Feb. 1 and said the two women arrived in a pickup, entered the home with a key and left with some boxes, according to a police report. But it's unclear who they were.

Deputy Chief Jan Easterling, who oversees the northeast division, said a neighbor had called police last April, but no report was made. Other than those calls and one on Wednesday, police have found no other calls concerning the victim or the house.

A report on Wednesday shows that an e-mail request came in about 10 a.m., asking that Ms. Day's home be checked.

Later that day, about 3 p.m., an officer entered the two-story home through an unlocked garage door and discovered the mummified body on the floor of a downstairs bedroom.

According to the report, other doors were locked and windows were covered with iron bars. It appeared that the utilities had been turned off, and neighbors said no one had been living there for about a year.

Officials with Dallas Water Utilities said service was shut off for nonpayment in April. The last payment received was in January 2005.

Chief Saldaña said detectives are investigating whether the house had been burglarized because the inside was in disarray.

Dresser drawers were open, and clothing and newspapers were strewn on the floor. The house was so cluttered that there appeared to be nowhere to walk.

"Usually when people live in conditions that are cluttered, there's usually a pathway that they walk though, but this one was hard to determine," Chief Saldaña said.

Chief Easterling said police are also investigating possible burglaries at two other homes owned by the Days.

Officers went to the homes in the 2900 block of Rambling Drive in the same neighborhood, but on the other side of Ferguson Road.

"There was enough evidence for the officers to make the burglary offenses at both these locations," Chief Easterling said.

Neighbors said that the two houses were burglarized last week. In one incident, a neighbor said that on her way to work, she saw a man crouching in between the two houses, which are side by side. Three days later, another neighbor saw two people taking an antique car from the garage of one of the houses, neighbors said.

Neighbors said the Days bought the two homes 20 years ago but never lived in them and never rented them out, despite paying taxes.

According to property tax records, the houses are assessed at about $135,000 each. Post office records show someone asked that mail be forwarded to a post office box in 2004. The box was closed in July.

Cafeteria customer

Ms. Day told Ms. Moore she was an only child, that she'd gone to college and that she had married once, when she was in her 20s. She also said she worked with her father, Glenn Day, who died more than a decade ago.

Ms. Moore said she met Ms. Day about 10 years ago. The woman and her mother were regulars at the East Dallas eatery, and Ms. Moore recalled her friend loved to eat brisket, mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas and peach cobbler.

At the restaurant, she seldom mingled with other customers and kept to herself. Ms. Moore said her friend was a "sweet, sweet girl" but had a lot of problems and lived a sheltered life.

Most of their conversations revolved around Ms. Moore's children and grandchildren. Ms. Day seldom talked about herself. "Seemed like she opened up more after her mother died," Ms. Moore said.

It took her awhile to gain Ms. Day's trust, Ms. Moore said, and even when she did, it was hard for her to get close. Ms. Moore said she'd often suggest that they do things together, but Ms. Day never seemed interested.

"She didn't want to bring anybody into her life that way," Ms. Moore said.

Ms. Moore said she tried to set her up with her brother on a date but that Ms. Day never took her up on the offer because she didn't think anyone would find her desirable.

She said Ms. Day's house was messy and dirty. Garbage bags were piled up in the kitchen. Stacks of groceries appeared to have been there for years. The walls in one bathroom were covered with mold, and the curtains were falling apart.

"The house had been leaking for years," Ms. Moore said.

The city issued a warning for a litter code violation to the house in October, and a citation was issued in November.

Because no one cleaned the property after the citation was issued, the city mowed the lawn and sent a bill for the service to the homeowner.

City officials said they did not know whether the fines and bills were paid.

Ms. Moore said she didn't know whether Ms. Day had any friends, but she said the woman was very close to her mother, Vivian, who died in 2004.

She said she became concerned for her friend after Mrs. Day died because she seemed depressed, physically weak and more reclusive.

She said Ms. Day would call her and leave messages telling her, "You're all I have now... I'm lost 'cause I don't have Mom...."

Still, Ms. Moore said, her friend longed for a life of her own.

"She always talked about wanting to live," she said, "she never talked about wanting to die."

Staff writer Katie Menzer contributed to this report.
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#4303 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Feb 17, 2006 8:12 am

Downtown office leasing lags despite improvements

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - Downtown Dallas is bustling with hundreds of new loft apartments and trendy restaurants.

Over in the Arts District, they're building performance halls, deluxe condos and retail.

In all, more than $1 billion in projects are under way in Dallas' core.

But downtown's office market is stuck on slow.

Despite major improvements in the neighborhood, almost 30 percent of downtown's office market is sitting empty.

And in the last five years, tenants have moved out of almost 1.5 million square feet of downtown buildings.

Why hasn't all the revitalization in the central business district paid off for the office market?

"It's coming, but it's a little slower than any of us would like," said Daryl Mullin, senior director of Cushman & Wakefield of Texas. "We are seeing more tenants in the suburban markets that are poking their toes in the water down here."

Late last year, Mr. Mullin helped negotiate law firm Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal LLP's move back to downtown.

"We've started a trend in the positive direction, and hopefully, that will continue this year," he said.

Net leasing downtown totaled about 10,000 square feet in 2005 – the first gain in four years.

It will take a lot of moves to fill downtown's empty offices. At the end of 2005, more than 8 million square feet of downtown office space was vacant.

But the vacancy level in newer "class A" space is much lower – only about 14.6 percent in the fourth quarter. That's even less than the first-class vacancy in suburban offices.

Reasons to move

Tenants moving from the suburbs to downtown say the revival is critical in their decision.

"Certainly the revitalization of downtown and growth of the Arts District was a big factor in our move," said Scott Olson of law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP, which is moving from the Galleria area in North Dallas to the J.P. Morgan Chase Tower on Ross Avenue. "Downtown is becoming the place to be.

"We've been paying very close attention to what's going on."

Longtime downtown real estate broker Joel Pustmueller said the boom in residential conversions downtown and more than $400 million in projects planned for the Arts District will be a catalyst for the downtown office market.

"Two years from now, it will be a whole different environment," said Mr. Pustmueller, who's working on the office leasing in the new One Arts Plaza building in the Arts District. "On every end of downtown, you see improvement."

Loft conversions

Ongoing conversion of more than a half-dozen aging office towers into loft apartment space is also helping by getting obsolete space off the market, leasing agents say.

"That part of the market wasn't competitive and pulled our stats down," Mr. Pustmueller said. "But that doesn't mean that there isn't still a lot of vacancy downtown."

Officials with one of downtown's biggest office landlords are positive about the future changes.

"We are still in the early stages and there is a lot that is just beginning," said Kirby White of Crescent Real Estate Equities. "The insiders see the improvements already. To the outsiders, they will be more responsive when they see things completed."

Indeed, not everyone is sold yet on the idea of coming back.

Unitrin Business Insurance – which has its offices on North Central Expressway in North Dallas – considered relocating to the central business district, leasing agents say. But instead, the company recently announced it was moving further out to 140,000 square feet on LBJ Freeway.

And Atmos Energy last year consolidated its downtown offices into its location on the Dallas North Tollway.

Still, perceptions about downtown appear to be shifting.

The North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors' top officers all work for companies based in the suburbs. But the real estate trade association recently announced it was shifting its operations to the central business district.

"Our officers all thought that being downtown and supporting the revitalization was not a bad thing to do," said executive vice president Brian Jetty. "We were able to get a nice space downtown for about what we were paying on Stemmons Freeway."
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#4304 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Feb 17, 2006 12:31 pm

Burglary suspect nabbed after standoff

GARLAND, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Garland police used tear gas to apprehend a burglary suspect who had held them at bay for more than four hours Friday morning.

Police said the situation began aroung 4 a.m. when they pursued the man, riding a mini bike, to a house at the corner of Highview Drive and Richwood Drive.

Lenghy negotiations ensued, but the suspect refused to surrender.

Tactical forces elected to use tear gas to flush the suspect out of the house around 9:30 a.m.

No injuries were reported. The name of the suspect was not available.
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#4305 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Feb 17, 2006 12:35 pm

Two head-on collisions on area highways

WFAA ABC 8 Staff Reporters

Wrong-way drivers caused two separate head-on collisions early Friday, and at least one motorist was killed.

In the first wreck, about 1:20 a.m., Wilmer police were in pursuit of a stolen car that was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of Interstate 45 when the car crashed head-on into a tow truck in the Ferris city limits.

The unidentified driver of the stolen car was killed. The driver of the tow truck was rushed to a Dallas hospital by helicopter ambulance.

Less than three hours later, in Collin County, a pickup truck driving north in the southbound lanes of U.S. 75 collided with an 18-wheeler in McKinney.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, who was on a Kansas to Florida run, told News 8 he saw the wrong-way driver and tried unsuccessfully to avoid the collision.

A helicopter ambulance was dispatched to take the pickup truck driver to a hospital for treatment of serious injuries including two broken legs and one broken arm.

The driver of the semi rig and a passenger were not injured.

Traffic on U.S. 75 was diverted between El Dorado Parkway and Highway 121 after the accident, but the scene was cleared before the height of Friday's morning rush hour.

WFAA-TV reporter Cynthia Vega in McKinney contributed to this report.
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#4306 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Feb 17, 2006 5:58 pm

Doctor testifies Schlosser was insane

By JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News

MCKINNEY, Texas - A Collin County jail psychiatrist testified Friday that Dena Schlosser did not know right from wrong when she killed her baby daughter.

Dr. Xiaoyan Wuu said Ms. Schlosser was therefore insane when she cut off 10-month-old Maggie Schlosser's arms in November 2004.

Ms. Schlosser has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in her capital murder trial. The defense must prove to the jury that Ms. Schlosser suffered from a mental disease or defect that caused her to be insane at the time of the child's death.

Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty, a guilty verdict would send Ms. Schlosser, 37, to prison for life. If the jury believes Ms. Schlosser was insane, she would go to North Texas State Hospital in Vernon for treatment. She would remain there until doctors and State District Judge Chris Oldner agree she should be released.

Ms. Schlosser was diagnosed with postpartum depression and psychosis soon after Maggie's birth and cycled on and off medication for the next several months.

In court testimony Thursday, a counselor at the Collin County Jail said Ms. Schlosser described many hallucinations, such as streets of blood, a little boy she believed was Jesus and instructions from television characters.

According to Friday's testimony, Ms. Schlosser's last hallucination was a month ago when she said she heard a voice that said, "Get up now, take a shower now, read your Bible."

Ms. Schlosser is highly medicated for the trial. She is on a cocktail of about eight antipsychotic, antidepressant and anti-anxiety drugs. They include Haldol, Lithium and Zoloft.
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#4307 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Feb 17, 2006 9:02 pm

'Dead zones' frustrate cell phone users

By DON WALL / WFAA ABC 8

When Manny Veyna makes a cellular telephone call while he's driving up Cockrell Hill Road from Interstate 30, he knows exactly what's going to happen.

He loses his connection. "I just call it a 'dead zone,'" he said.

Veyna is hardly the only mobile phone user in North Texas who has to deal with dropped calls.

In an online survey of Channel 8 viewers, we received complaints about "dead zones" from Plano to Parker County, from Denton to Midlothian, involving the four major carriers in the region: Cingular, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile.

The most common complaints pinpointed these areas:

• Interstate 30 in West Dallas
• Loop 12 at Spur 408, all the way to I-20
• LBJ Freeway near the Dallas North Tollway
• Highway 114 in Las Colinas around MacArthur Blvd
• George Bush Turnpike at Frankfort Road

It's Ken Lee's job to drive around in a van loaded with cell phones and computers. He compares Verizon's signal quality to its competitors while locating problem areas.

"I'm kind of proud to say I'm the 'Can you hear me now?' guy," Lee said.

Trees, hills, valleys, broken equipment, overloaded cell sites and the distance between cell towers can create "dead zones."

Sprint knows it has a problem on the George Bush Turnkpike at Frankfort Road. "We're always having to tweak our network to keep up with growth," said Sprint spokeswoman Roxie Ramirez. "In that particular area, we need to now add a new tower."

Cingular recognizes a "dead zone" for its customers on Highway 114 near MacArthur Blvd. in Irving. "We consider them marginal areas," said Kevin Yahnes, the company's North Texas executive director. "They built a building and it's blocking our site."

Chris Raines loses calls on I-20 between Mountain Creek Parkway and Spur 408 in southwest Dallas County. "It craps out right about that time every day," he said, adding that his wife always knows where he is when that happens.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALSO ONLINE:

- Texas cell phone dead spots from Mobiledia

- Dallas-area cell phone coverage search from Mobiledia

- Cell phone tower search from Mobiledia
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#4308 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Feb 17, 2006 9:04 pm

Five-year-old shot in neck while playing

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A 5-year-old is in hospital after being shot in the neck on Friday afternoon at a Dallas apartment block.

The shooting took place at the Estelle Village Apartments in Highland Hills.

It is thought the child may have got hit in crossfire while he was playing outside.

Two suspects left in a white van - they are about 27-years-old.
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#4309 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Feb 17, 2006 9:08 pm

Understudy attempts to poison rival to get lead in school play

By REBECCA RODRIGUEZ / WFAA ABC 8

HURST, Texas - Students are buzzing over the real life high school drama playing out at L.D. Bell in Hurst, after an understudy in the school play allegedly gave a tainted drink to a student, who had the lead.

It is the thing everyone on campus is talking about.

It reads like something out of a bad movie. But it was a very real attempt - for which there will be some very real consequences.

"She wanted to harm her and she put bleach in her mountain dew," said Yailene Soto, a student.

The 15-year-old noticed the seal on the drink was broken - and then noticed a strange odor. She notified administrators, who in turn called police. The contents of the bottle are being analyzed but investigators believe the drink was spiked with chlorine bleach.

"It was very caustic, it's going to burn the esophagus, internal organs, depending upon the quantity. [I'm] not giving a medical opinion, but it was going to cause some damage if it had been ingested," said assistant chief Rich Winstanley from Hurst Police Department.

The understudy confessed and is now at an alternative high school in Hurst where she will remain until graduation.

She's also facing possible felony charges of tampering with a consumer product. A conviction could mean up to 20 years behind bars and a $10,000 fine.

"I did a play last year and when I got the part my understudy was happy... I mean she wasn't wanting my part or anything. I mean she was like, if you get sick or something like that... I don't know what would drive somebody to do that to a person," said Ashley Newman, the pupil she tried to poison.

Newman has now dropped out of theatre.

"I'm not in theater anymore - they took me out of theater and put me in another class, and I'm really going to miss theater but it is just something that happens," she said.

No formal charges have been filed in the case.
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#4310 Postby TexasStooge » Sat Feb 18, 2006 9:54 am

Border meth problem creeps north

Shootout a sign of escalating battle with border traffickers

By PAUL MEYER and JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News

They knew it was wrong when woodchips and glass started flying.

Senior Cpl. Dale Hackbarth felt intense pain, a burning in the back of his thigh. His foot went dead as he crawled toward an armored vehicle where doctors waited.

Nearby, Senior Cpl. Harry "Chuck" Deltufo noticed blood running down the side of his face and neck.

A bullet hit Sgt. Kenneth Wilkins' ring finger.

Doctors had to remove his wedding band later at the hospital.

Senior Cpl. Adolfo Perez started coughing up blood.

They're the fortunate four, Dallas SWAT officers who survived an early morning shootout Thursday while trying to break up a drug ring.

But they're also the embodiment of a surge in potentially violent confrontations between police and Mexican narcotics dealers, fueled by the flow drugs, money and guns up Interstate 35, local and federal authorities say.

And as border violence spreads into Dallas, police are turning up the heat.

"In September, we went to SWAT and said, "We need you guys to do more,' " said Dallas First Assistant Chief David Brown.

"Our tactical guys weren't running as many warrants as they once did. We challenged them to end the year right, run more warrants. They ran twice as many as normal. They're continuing that this year."

Raiding more drug stashes means facing more violence.

"Them being in harm's way is making Dallas safer," Chief Brown said. "We're convinced that taking the fight to the bad guys and being more proactive is the right thing to do for the citizens."

On Thursday, the drug targeted was methamphetamine. Seven people, some Mexican nationals, were arrested around North Texas in connection with the ring. Among them was the man police believe shot at them, 43-year-old Alejandro Tamayo, who surrendered after a standoff.

Michelle Deaver, a spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Administration in Dallas, said Friday that authorities are investigating more meth moving into the Dallas area from the border.

As U.S. lawmakers have made it increasingly tough to acquire a key ingredient in methamphetamine – pseudoephedrine, a common active ingredient in cold medicine – fewer people north of the border are "cooking" the dangerous drug. That means more imports.

"We're investigating more ice," she said of the rocklike drug, which is about 80 percent meth and is commonly smoked like crack cocaine.

"Our lab seizures are down in Texas, which is a great thing for neighborhoods because there are fewer chemicals out there and fewer labs," she said. "Our cases are still high because [meth] is being brought in from the border."

Meth is a lucrative market, selling for $400 to $3,000 per ounce, according to the DEA. Experts say that as the drug's popularity increases, prices will rise and so will the violence among competing traffickers.

Even though meth imports from Mexico provide a headache for local authorities, cocaine and marijuana shipments remain Dallas' chief problem, police say.

"Dallas is one of the few major southwestern cities that hasn't really seen the meth epidemic hit its inner city," Chief Brown said.

The traffickers hauling in the more popular drugs are the same ones bringing in meth, he said. And as a whole, police are encountering more violence from drug dealers, he said.

"In the past four of five months, there's been a 50 percent increase in confiscated weapons in our drug raids," he said.

On Friday, the four Dallas SWAT officers stood before cameras and microphones as the wounded proof of the new drug wars. Each is expected to fully recover.

They had been asked by the DEA to help serve drug warrants because the occupants of the home on Oak Park Drive were thought to be heavily armed.

Combined, the officers have more than 70 years in police work.

"It's become more common where we're encountering people that have these high-powered rifles, assault rifles, and we don't take them for granted," Cpl. Perez said Friday.

"You know there's a possibility of getting into a gunfight."

It's their job – an exercise in planning, adrenaline and courage.

"We don't go in and say, 'This is just a routine warrant; we're just going to go through the motions and smoke and joke about it, then go home,' " Cpl. Deltufo said.

"We know our job. We know what to do."

Sgt. Wilkins, a 24-year department veteran nicknamed Deacon for his spiritual ways, put it simply:

"We got the bad guy."
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#4311 Postby TexasStooge » Sat Feb 18, 2006 9:55 am

Judge vacationed with lawyers she appointed

Denton County paid 2 $86,000 to represent children in Isaacks' court

By KEVIN KRAUSE / The Dallas Morning News

DENTON, Texas - Denton County District Judge Vicki Isaacks went on at least one overseas sailing trip with two lawyers whom she has appointed multiple times to represent children in family cases in her courtroom, according to county records and interviews.

One of the lawyers, Duane Coker, earned more than $63,000 in appointments paid for by the county from 2000 to 2005, the most of any of the judge's appointees, according to county records.

The other, David Bouschor, earned about $23,000 paid by the county, the seventh-highest amount received during the same period. Mr. Bouschor also went on the trip with Judge Isaacks and her husband, Bruce Isaacks, the Denton County district attorney.

The principals have declined to comment.

There have been no allegations that the lawyers paid the Isaackses' vacation expenses, but the sailing vacation could raise doubts about Judge Isaacks' impartiality toward the lawyers, according to a state agency that disciplines judges.

"It's better to just avoid the appearance of impropriety," said Seana Willing, executive director of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

That's because public perception is key to judges' ability to do their job and be seen as impartial, she said. Perception is reality for many people, she said.

Judge Isaacks refused to answer questions about the trips when reached last week and did not return other phone calls and e-mails. Kelly Smith, her court coordinator, said Thursday that Judge Isaacks told her she cannot comment on the appointments or the trips because it might become part of litigation.

Mr. Bouschor and Mr. Coker did not return voice mail messages left twice at their offices or e-mails sent to them. They also did not return messages seeking comment left with their assistants.

Mr. Isaacks, who is running for re-election, said he would not confirm or deny any trips he and his wife may have taken with any lawyers until after the March 7 Republican primary election. He added that in general, he and his wife have always paid their own expenses during vacations.

The lawyer fees that Judge Isaacks approved are the subject of a lawsuit against the county that calls into question Judge Isaacks' authority to order the county to pay the fees.

Denton lawyer Gary Kollmeier, who has received some of the appointments, said he believes Judge Isaacks is a conscientious judge. He said he has known Judge Isaacks since she was appointed to the bench.

"She would not have appointed me unless she thought it was justified or there was a need to protect the child," he said. "I think she is fair and that her primary focus in any case involving a child is to protect the children and promote their best interest."

Sailing in Grenada

Judge Isaacks, Mr. Coker and Mr. Bouschor are members of a yacht club based at Lake Texoma.

The Isaackses sailed with Mr. Coker and his wife as well as Mr. Bouschor and his wife in Grenada about three years ago, according to mutual friend Roy Anderson, who went on the trip.

"These people share common interests and they spend time together," said Mr. Anderson, a Denton accountant. "It's not like they're joined at the hip."

Mr. Anderson said the Isaackses didn't spend all of their time with the other two couples and rented their own boat.

Mr. Anderson said he was invited to join the Isaackses, Bouschors and Cokers last year for a similar sailing trip, this time to the Greek Islands. But Mr. Anderson said he did not go for financial reasons. Judges have to be careful about the perception they create by socializing with lawyers who practice in their courts or receive appointments, according to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

Ms. Willing, the executive director, said the commission doesn't want to tell judges whom they can or can't associate with. But vacationing with lawyers could raise questions, she said.

"You could jump to all kinds of conclusions," she said. "It could raise someone's suspicion that there was some favoritism with appointments or rulings."

Higher than going rate

Judge Isaacks approved legal bills submitted by Mr. Coker and Mr. Bouschor that were higher than the usual rates paid by the county.

Denton County judges and lawyers say the going rate for appointments paid by the county is about $125 an hour. Judge Isaacks has approved Mr. Bouschor's rate of $275 an hour, as well as Mr. Coker's $195 hourly rate, court records show.

Judge Isaacks told the Denton Record-Chronicle last year that she chooses lawyers who are "matched to the complexities of the cases." She said it's impossible to compare those cases with cases in which lawyers are paid $125 an hour.

Mr. Coker, Mr. Bouschor and other lawyers were appointed to represent children in divorce, paternity and child custody cases in Judge Isaacks' 393rd District Court.

Their fees were part of about $400,000 in court-appointed fees paid by the county to about 40 lawyers whom Judge Isaacks authorized for family cases since taking the bench in 2000, county records show.

State law requires the county to pay appointed lawyers' fees in civil cases only when the parents are indigent and a government entity such as Child Protective Services files to end their parental rights. Otherwise, the parents are responsible for paying the fees.

According to county records, even when CPS was not involved, Judge Isaacks ordered the county in some cases to pay the ad litem lawyers' fees. State law does not prohibit a county from paying lawyers' fees in non-CPS cases.

Denton County Judge Mary Horn has said that county officials haven't been told they shouldn't pay the bills. She said she would prefer a Texas attorney general's opinion on the matter, but that has not been possible because of the lawsuit.

"The lawsuit has gummed up the works," she said.

Judge Isaacks generally chooses not to hear CPS cases to avoid the appearance of a conflict given that her husband is the district attorney, whose office could be involved in those cases.

In ordering the payments, Judge Isaacks cited Section 107.015 of the family code, which requires counties to pay ad litem fees only when the parents are indigent and a government entity tries to end their parental rights.

Judge Isaacks has said previously that she makes such appointments in 2 percent of her cases to protect children's rights and give them a voice in bitter custody fights. That number could not be independently verified through county records.

She has ordered some parents to reimburse the county, court records show, but it's unclear how much money the county got back.

County Auditor James Wells and District Clerk Sherri Adelstein said their offices do not have a breakdown of such reimbursements for each district court.

Overall, court-ordered reimbursements are generally small. Of last year's roughly $3.3 million in court-ordered attorney fees from the district, county and juvenile courts, about $300,000, or 9 percent, was reimbursed to the county, mostly in criminal cases, according to the county auditor's office.

Denton lawyer William Trantham sued the county in September for agreeing to pay the lawyers' fees.

His lawsuit seeks recovery of the money, requests an injunction to ban future payments and alleges "bribery and corrupt influence." The district attorney, who represents the county, has not filed a formal response to the lawsuit.

Ms. Horn, the county judge, said county commissioners – who are defendants in the suit – have asked Mr. Isaacks' civil division for a legal opinion but have not received one yet.

Mr. Trantham said it would be a conflict of interest for Mr. Isaacks' office to issue an opinion concerning the conduct of Mr. Isaacks' wife. He said Mr. Isaacks should recuse himself and have an independent counsel take over the case.

Mr. Isaacks said that he had wanted to seek an attorney general's opinion on the issue but that Mr. Trantham's lawsuit prevented that.

The lawsuit states that in exchange for the appointments, some lawyers provided Judge Isaacks with political and financial support as well as companionship on the sailing trips.

"The attorneys paid a substantial amount to the lessor of the sailing boat, for food, drink and equipment for the voyage," the lawsuit said.

Judge Isaacks has received only one campaign contribution since July 2003 – a single $2,000 donation from Bill Wood. The county elections office maintains campaign finance reports for only two years, so earlier reports were not available. Judge Isaacks was appointed by the governor in 1999 to the newly created judicial district. She was elected without opposition in 2004 to a term that expires in 2008.

Mr. Trantham said Judge Isaacks did not hide the fact that she vacationed with Mr. Coker and Mr. Bouschor, who also have received numerous court appointments in the county's probate court. He said she told him about the trip to the Greek Islands.

"This is not a secret. It was open and blatant," he said. "They were talking about how they had a great time, how they spent all this time in the islands. They were all giddy and happy."

The Denton Record-Chronicle contributed to this report.
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#4312 Postby TexasStooge » Sat Feb 18, 2006 9:56 am

Grand Prairie ISD could switch to semester plan

Trimesters don't make grade, official says, but many oppose semesters

By KATHY A. GOOLSBY / The Dallas Morning News

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - In Grand Prairie, the biggest fight in town usually occurs at the Gopher-Warrior Bowl when the district's two high schools clash on the gridiron.

But another battle has been festering at Grand Prairie ISD headquarters, where Superintendent David Barbosa is waging a lonely fight to change the district's decade-old trimester scheduling plan. It is one of only three North Texas districts known to use the system of 12-week grading periods instead of the more conventional 18-week semester plan.

"Two years ago this became such an emotional issue that I said, 'I'm going to drop the issue for now,' " Dr. Barbosa said. "It's being brought back up because we're doing students a disservice with trimesters."

Dr. Barbosa believes the trimester system – used by GPISD's senior high schools and ninth-grade centers – has translated into lower test scores, a point supported by the school principals. He asked the school board this month to again consider switching to semesters.

But his request was not well-received.

Board President Eddie Gwynn said a staff report showing that Grand Prairie students were falling behind similar districts did not prove to him that the trimester system was to blame.

"I need to see a whole lot more data to support a change," Mr. Gwynn said. "My personal thought is there are a lot of factors to sort through to understand why scores are low."

Trimesters divide the school year into three terms, with students taking five classes per term. A two-term semester has seven daily classes but is sometimes modified to a block schedule with four classes on alternating days for a total of eight.

In addition to Grand Prairie, Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD has been on trimesters for more than a decade. In the Garland district, two of the seven high schools are on trimesters.

"I didn't even think anybody in this area still used it," said Dale Kaiser, president of the National Education Association of Dallas. "I think the semester system works so much better. Trimesters overload the students because they have to learn the material in a shorter amount of time."

But teachers who like trimesters say they have fewer students and less grading each term. For students, fewer classes per term means less homework. Trimesters also provide more opportunities to retake a failed class and to take additional electives.

"Last year in middle school, I was trying to do choir and band, but the semester schedule wouldn't allow it, so I chose band," said Darrell Morris, 15, a freshman at Grand Prairie High School. "I'm in both now. You just have more chances to take classes if you have trimesters."

But there are problems, opponents say, most notably a gap between instruction and testing periods at the end of the year. A student in a math class the first and second trimester won't take the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills until weeks later.

"We have kids who have finished their math and science classes this year who will have no more instruction in those subjects between the end of February and May," Vicki Bridges, principal at South Grand Prairie High School, told trustees at their Feb. 9 meeting. "With the TAKS test coming up, that's what we're measured against."

Savannah McNeill, a senior at South Grand Prairie High School, prefers the trimester system even though she acknowledges it has caused her problems.

"Last year I didn't have calculus for the last trimester, and when I took the test, I had kind of forgotten some of it, so it was kind of hard," said Savannah, 17. "But I like trimesters. You get to take more classes, and if you don't like a subject, like math, you don't have to take it all year."

Marlene Hammerle, principal at Garland ISD's Rowlett High School, chose trimesters when the school opened in 1996 in part because it reduces the workload for students and teachers. To close the gap between instruction and testing, students facing an upcoming test attend a daily 30-minute skills review class.

"Trimesters just seem to work for us," Dr. Hammerle said.

But that may change. Dr. Hammerle said the district is moving to align the high schools' schedules, and a committee is trying to decide between trimester, semester and block scheduling.

Shannon Buerk, Coppell ISD assistant superintendent, said finances were one reason the district reverted to semester scheduling after eight years of using the trimester method.

"Trimester is a great system if you can fund it properly," Ms. Buerk said. "You have to increase staff because you're teaching fewer sections of kids.

But Jim Short, assistant superintendent in Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD, disagreed. He said he believes that the cost of trimester vs. semester is about the same and that student performance hasn't suffered.

"We monitor that, and we don't see a whole lot of drop-off," Mr. Short said. "According to research at Bell High School, we're not seeing a difference in the TAKS passing rate."

Ms. Bridges of South Grand Prairie High said it may be time to set aside personal preferences and do what's best for students.

"I'm not on the side of getting rid of trimesters. That's not the issue," she said. "We just want that gap closed. That's our priority, period."
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#4313 Postby TexasStooge » Sat Feb 18, 2006 1:02 pm

DWI suspect hits Dallas patrol car

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Two Dallas police officers on routine patrol downtown became accident victims Saturday morning when their patrol car was sideswiped by an alleged drunk driver.

The wreck happened just before 4 a.m. at Good Latimer Expressway and Live Oak Street.

The suspect's car hit the police cruiser on the passenger side. That officer suffered minor injuries to his leg and hand and was hospitalized at nearby Baylor University Medical Center.

The female driver of the police car was also taken to Baylor for observation.

A suspect was taken into custody.

Live Dallas/Ft. Worth Traffic Reports from Traffic Pulse
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#4314 Postby TexasStooge » Sat Feb 18, 2006 10:54 pm

Health officials urge caution at nail salons

By BRAD WATSON / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Dallas County health officials say they are seeing an increase in skin infections from nail salons—something we first told you about in exclusive News 8 reports over the past few weeks.

In response, health officials have released consumer guidelines, urging consumers to be wary because they won't find much help from state inspectors.

There are just 19 state inspectors in all of Texas to regulate the more than 3,000 nail salons in the Dallas-Fort Worth area alone.

Callie Thomas likes attractive nails, so she's the type who goes to a salon weekly for manicures and pedicures.

But she says what she needs is more information about how to prevent bacterial skin infections from salons.

"We have to be advocates of that, I think, ourselves," Thomas said. "We can't necessarily rely on somebody else to take care of that for us."

The Dallas County Health and Human Services department said it has received 20 reports of skin infections in the past two years.

In an exclusive report last month, News 8 revealed that four customers who got pedicures in whirlpool foot spas at Beverly Hills Nails on Lovers Lane in University Park said they got infections. The state agency which licenses and inspects salons is investigating.

The salon owner has said he doesn't think his salon infected anyone.

In any event, Dallas County Health and Human Services department chief epidemiologist Dr. John Carlo said consumers must protect themselves. "We're using this as a message to put out there to everyone to take individual responsibility, because it is a difficult challenge," Dr. Carlo said.

The health department's suggestions include:

• Insist that nail technicians wash their hands before starting; an alcohol-based sanitizer is best.

• Ensure that instruments and towels are clean.

• Ask the salon to demonstrate that it is meeting all required health codes.

• Don't shave your legs within 24 hours of a pedicure.

• Before using a foot spa, ask if the screen has been removed, cleaned and disinfected daily.

Frances Cannon said she got a sore after a pedicure in a foot spa. "I never thought that a pedicure could be life-threatening, and I am here to say that anyone who gets pedicures should be very careful," Cannon said.

Two aggressive kinds of bacteria—MRSA and micobacteria—have infected salon customers.

But the state is reducing the number of salon inspections from once every year to once every other year.

If infections keep increasing, Dallas County Health and Human Services director Zachary Thompson wants the legislature to toughen enforcement next year. "We're seeing a number of these nail salons popping up everywhere—just like a McDonald's—and as we see an increased number of people going into these facilities, there have to be increased inspections."

Epidemiologists are concerned about these kinds of bacteria because they can be fatal, and they are resistant to common antibiotics.

A combination of powerful antibiotics can knock down these bugs, but it may take months.

Report any problems you observe at nail salons to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
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#4315 Postby TexasStooge » Sat Feb 18, 2006 10:55 pm

Perry favored in poll

Exclusive: But potential warning signs seen as governor garners 36%

By WAYNE SLATER / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN, Texas – Gov. Rick Perry has a commanding lead over his political rivals as he seeks re-election, although most voters can't name a major accomplishment of his five-year administration, according to a survey.

In a four-way race for governor, the Republican incumbent is favored by 36 percent of voters, according to a new statewide poll conducted for The Dallas Morning News. Mr. Perry outdistances his Democratic opponents and independent challenger Carole Keeton Strayhorn by nearly a 2-1 ratio.

Singer and novelist Kinky Friedman, also running as an independent, trails with 10 percent.

"Perry is doing well because the opposition is split three ways," pollster Mickey Blum said. "If that weren't the case, he wouldn't be looking so good. Getting 36 percent as the incumbent Republican in a Republican state – that's not so great."

In the battle for the Democratic nomination, former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell leads former Texas Supreme Court Justice Bob Gammage 28 percent to 12 percent among likely Democratic voters. But with the March primary just three weeks away and early voting to start Tuesday, the contest is generating little interest – more than half of Democratic voters are undecided, and large majorities of all voters don't know much about either candidate.

Ms. Blum predicted a low turnout.

"Why are people going to shop for candidates they never heard of?" she said. "And unless Gammage's 12 percent are really devoted to him and the Bell people are less involved, Bell should win it."

Mr. Perry's campaign dismissed the survey results, saying that it comes too early in the campaign to be meaningful. Spokesmen for his rivals found plenty to like, despite Mr. Perry's lead.

Indeed, the poll highlights several potential warning signs for the governor, Ms. Blum said, as he tries to win a second four-year term and become the longest-serving governor in Texas history.

He is attracting only 59 percent of his 2002 general election voters, a sign that some former supporters "are not happy with [him] and are looking for someone else," she said.

Mr. Perry's backing is solid among GOP loyalists but soft among other groups – including nominal Republicans, independents and minority voters who have spread their support among the rest of the field. Ms. Blum said Mr. Perry could be vulnerable if voters were to coalesce behind a single challenger.

"One of them has to break out, and people have to decide that if they don't want Perry, they have to agree on one of the other guys," Ms. Blum said.

Citing accomplishments

When voters were asked Mr. Perry's most important accomplishment as governor, 70 percent couldn't name any, according to the survey. Given a specific list, a quarter of respondents cited the state's role in hurricane relief, but nearly as many said that Mr. Perry had no important achievements in office.

"Everybody that dealt with New Orleans looked awful, so the only person who came in on a white horse, saving the day, was Texas. And Perry got a lot of credit for that," Ms. Blum said.

The telephone survey of 1,482 registered voters was conducted Feb. 9 through Wednesday by Ms. Blum's firm, Blum and Weprin Associates Inc. of New York. The error margin is plus or minus 3 percentage points, meaning the results could vary by that much in either direction.

For questions about the Democratic primary race, the margin is higher, 5.5 percentage points, because fewer likely Democratic voters were interviewed.

Perry spokesman Robert Black said the poll was a premature snapshot useful only to anyone "either trying to figure out what they should be for or trying to find some good news to grab hold of."

The challengers' campaigns cast the poll as a prelude to their candidate emerging as Mr. Perry's dominant opponent in November.

"This governor is in trouble," Strayhorn spokesman Mark Sanders said. "This is clearly a two-person race. There are only two people who have the resources to mount credible campaigns – Carole Strayhorn and Rick Perry."

So far, though, the survey indicates Mrs. Strayhorn has an uphill climb. After years in statewide office as a popular Republican known widely as "One Tough Grandma," she can't outpoll two largely unknown Democrats who have a fraction of the campaign cash she does. To her benefit, she scores the strongest favorability ratings in the survey.

Dean Barkley, manager of the Friedman campaign, said the survey missed tens of thousands of potential new voters who will be motivated by the singer/novelist's unorthodox campaign. The survey indicates that Mr. Friedman is taking about twice as many votes from Mrs. Strayhorn as from Mr. Perry.

"I don't think Strayhorn has a chance of winning this race as long as Kinky is in it," he said. "Her decision to run as an independent is going to backfire on her."

Campaign spokesman Jason Stanford said the survey indicates Mr. Bell will be the Democratic nominee and that Mrs. Strayhorn's independent candidacy will fade.

"She's trying to be all things to all people, and it ain't working," he said.

Gammage campaign spokesman Jeremy Warren said that with such a large number of undecided voters in the Democratic primary, the nominee will be decided "organization by organization, block to block" on election day.

While Mr. Perry gets a higher job-approval rating from Republicans, Mrs. Strayhorn, the state comptroller, does better among Democrats and independents. More than half of independents give Mrs. Strayhorn high marks, compared with a third for Mr. Perry.

"The independent vote is crucial because while Texas is a Republican state, you don't win with nothing but Republican votes," Ms. Blum said.

Mrs. Strayhorn and the Democrats have accused the governor of lackluster leadership, particularly the failure to fix the state's unconstitutional school finance system. The governor has said he will call the Legislature back for another special session to deal with the issue this spring.

Just 13 percent of voters cited Mr. Perry's handling of education reform as an achievement.

Backing new candidate

John Lancione, a computer executive in Dallas who was surveyed, said he voted for Mr. Perry in 2002 but is disappointed by his performance in office.

"He hasn't done anything," he said. "Maybe the Legislature is stopping him every time, but he needs to get out there and make something happen."

Mr. Lancione said he supports Mr. Friedman because of his political independence. If the singer/novelist were not in the race, he said, he would support Mrs. Strayhorn. Both candidates still must gather thousands of valid voters' signatures to be on the November ballot.

Victoria Bartholow of Dallas, who was also included in the poll, said she's backing Mr. Perry for re-election, if not enthusiastically.

"He's the incumbent. He doesn't really do much for me, not a candidate you either love or hate or whatever. He's sort of a bump on the log," she said. "I'm basically just pulling a Republican lever on this."

Another poll respondent, Samuel Geer of Dallas, said he's backing Mrs. Strayhorn's independent bid because "she challenges the status quo and shakes things up."

Ms. Blum said Mrs. Strayhorn "does have a shot if she can get people to overlook the party label and just vote for the person, not the party."

But it would be much tougher for a Democrat to win in November, she said, in part because of such low name identification. Mr. Friedman's chances of moving into the governor's mansion depend on whether voters "become so disgusted with both parties, so anti-politician" that they want a major change.

"It's an interesting race," Ms. Blum said. "You have Democrats nobody ever heard of, a Republican incumbent getting only a third of the vote, weird independents doing about as well as Democrats.

"I guess it's Texas being Texas."
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#4316 Postby TexasStooge » Sat Feb 18, 2006 10:57 pm

In park: City owed $40 million in fines

Dallas tries to untangle a parking ticket nightmare, collect a huge chunk of change in past due fines

By DAVE LEVINTHAL and MOLLY MOTLEY BLYTHE / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - Dallas City Hall, perennially strapped for cash, is owed at least $40 million in unpaid parking fines.

And as of November, the city had yet to collect on nearly 1 million outstanding parking tickets and their corresponding late penalties dating to 1988, a Dallas Morning News analysis of city records indicates.

The money is owed by delivery companies and the federal government; city employees and average residents; and folks from every corner of the state and nation.

How did this happen? Collecting parking ticket fines seems simple enough, but in Dallas, the streets often have been ruled by Murphy's law: Whatever could go wrong, at least occasionally, has. The News' analysis of city records, along with more than two dozen interviews with city officials, city parking services contractors and companies whose vehicles receive the most tickets, reveals that:

•The information recorded about illegally parked vehicles is inconsistent – several different names for the same company, for example – and sometimes incorrect. Some data on parking offenders became corrupted during a transition from one computerized accounting system to another, making collections a challenge.

•The city of Inglewood, Calif., which Dallas employed until last year to administer parking fines and collections, couldn't keep up with the workload. Collection warnings weren't always distributed, and credit agencies weren't asked by the city to penalize the most notorious offenders.

•As of November, 10 businesses each owed Dallas more than $30,000. Two of them owed more than $100,000. But some company officials, who say they're willing to settle their debts, argue that they have no idea how much money their institutions really owe Dallas.

"This is astonishing," said Linda Koop, chairwoman of the Dallas City Council's transportation and environment committee. "We certainly will look at this, and we have to get a handle on it."

Early this decade, Dallas cut dozens of jobs, and it has since raised property taxes because of meager budgets. But no one ever told the council that the city hadn't collected on millions of dollars in parking fines, Mayor Laura Miller said.

"You think that'd be the first thing you're told in a tough budget year," Ms. Miller said. "We've got to be aggressive and go after that money."

Addressing the issue

City parking officials say they're aware of the problems. They say they are already making progress in fixing them, especially now that Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services is under contract to administer the city's parking information system and meter and violation-collection operations.

ACS has ticket collection capabilities that Inglewood did not, said Zena Fernino, the city's manager of parking management and enforcement.

"Inglewood – their technology was a little bit dated and just didn't do a very good job," Ms. Fernino said. "There is a large unpaid debt, and we're vigorously working to recoup the debt."

Inglewood officials did not reply to questions submitted, at their request, by e-mail.

Between 2002 and last month, staff cuts left Ms. Fernino without a single "booter" on staff – a worker who locks metal boots on the wheels of vehicles with multiple unpaid tickets. Dallas now employs two booters, although her staff remains smaller than it was at the decade's beginning, Ms. Fernino said.

"It's hurt us," she said.

In Dallas, vehicles without at least three citations within a calendar year aren't considered "boot eligible," meaning that motorists could potentially rack up several tickets without fear of the city immobilizing their cars.

Fleets top list

Although city records show that several dozen individuals owe more than $1,000 in outstanding tickets, companies with large car or truck fleets owe by far the most.

As of November, vehicle-leasing company Automotive Rentals of New Jersey owed more than $131,000, while rental car company Hertz owed more than $112,000, according to the city's ticket database.

Vehicle leasers should be responsible for the tickets they incur, Automotive Rentals spokesman Joe Holzer said.

"The majority of clients are responsible. But we'll take it upon ourselves to pay the violation no matter what the client says," Mr. Holzer said.

Hertz spokeswoman Paula Stifter says clients sign a form making them, not Hertz, "responsible for any tickets they receive."

Hertz submits those names to municipalities so that they may pursue individual drivers, Ms. Stifter said. She did not immediately know why Dallas' database continued to list Hertz with 3,240 outstanding tickets as of November.

Ms. Fernino noted that while the city will put tickets in individuals' names if a company proves they were driving the vehicles, the company to which the vehicle is registered is ultimately responsible for fines.

FedEx just paid Dallas more than $34,000, spokesman Jim McCluskey said, to settle a debt that, according to city records, exceeded $84,000 in November. The city waived late penalties as a one-time courtesy, officials said.

"We would not be informed about bills or not know about tickets altogether," Mr. McCluskey said when asked why his company had incurred the debt. "If we owe tickets, we want to do what's appropriate and pay. Dallas' system appeared to be a little bit clumsy. We're working with the city to have a more efficient process."

That process has been improved, Ms. Fernino said. Large companies can now submit their fleets' license plate numbers to Dallas, so that ACS may send them a single parking violation bill each month instead of dozens of individual tickets.

City officials named

Of the tens of thousands of individuals who owe money according to city records, two are Dallas council members: Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill (five tickets from 1995 and one from 2002 totaling $215) and council member Leo Chaney (one ticket from 1992 and another from 2003 totaling $90.)

Both council members say they don't recall receiving the tickets. The vehicles ticketed are registered in their names.

"Of course, if they are my tickets I would pay them. However, I do not believe they are based on me driving a vehicle and illegally parking," Mr. Hill said.

Said Mr. Chaney: "If I have them, I'll pay them, right now. Honest to God I've never heard of them."

His council office later produced city receipts showing Mr. Chaney paid one ticket in November, and the other on Friday.

Under the Dallas city charter, council candidates aren't eligible to take office if they are "in arrears in the payment of any taxes or other liabilities due the city."

Police Chief David Kunkle also is listed in the city database for a ticket issued in 1998 to a vehicle that he says could have been registered to him or his son, also named David Kunkle. The chief said he also might have sold the vehicle before the ticket was issued. But he said he'd immediately pay any outstanding fine he might owe.

The city of Dallas owes itself nearly $17,000 in outstanding fines for illegally parked city vehicles. More than 400 tickets remain unpaid.

City employees are responsible for paying these fines, City Manager Mary Suhm said. Ms. Miller praised Ms. Suhm for hiring a more proactive contractor in ACS, adding that Ms. Suhm's staff should quickly clear City Hall's own ticket backlog.

Vehicles with federal government license plates accounted for more than $43,000 in unpaid fines, according to the city's numbers. Of that, more than $28,000 come from tickets given to U.S. Navy vehicles, most of them recruiters' cars registered to an office in Irving.

Navy Cmdr. Kevin Hannes says he only knows of one unpaid ticket incurred by his recruiting office. He said his office has received numerous other parking violation notices, but they contain incomplete information about the vehicles, such as partial license plates.

"I can't pay those tickets because I don't even know if it's our vehicle or not," Cmdr. Hannes said. "If I can determine it's my vehicle, we will pay the ticket. It's just a lack of information at this point."

The Navy makes individual drivers responsible for paying the fines, Cmdr. Hannes said.

Municipal governments – Plano, Fort Worth, Houston and a host of others – also owe Dallas money, records show.

Media outlets aren't immune either: All major local TV news operations, including WFAA (Channel 8), which is owned by Dallas Morning News parent company Belo Corp., owe Dallas parking ticket fines. Records showed that the Morning News had one unpaid ticket.

Almost all of Dallas' most frequently ticketed addresses are downtown.

Sharing the money

The city's five-year contract with ACS states that the company will pay Dallas $5.9 million annually, guaranteed. ACS keeps the next $2.5 million it collects from meter money, parking fines and other penalties.

Dallas and ACS share anything collected beyond $8.4 million: Initially, 80 percent for Dallas, 20 percent for ACS, with the city's share eventually increasing to 88 percent if enough money rolls in.

ACS has plenty of work ahead, said Vincent Valdez, vice president of operations.

Importing the city's parking ticket database into its system last year "opened up the door to inconsistencies in the data," which ACS programmers have been attempting to correct, Mr. Valdez said.

But "we definitely anticipate that, given what we've inherited, we really can improve on it," Mr. Valdez said.

ACS will send four notices to parking violators. After that, violators' information will be forwarded to collection agencies, Mr. Valdez said.

Dallas' parking ticket troubles, although striking, aren't unique among large cities.

In late 2005, Chicago collected about $5 million after waiving late fees for those who paid outstanding parking tickets. The U.S. government, at New York City's behest, threatened to revoke the license plates of U.N. diplomats and to subtract the amount they owed in Big Apple parking fines from their nations' foreign aid packages to make them settle millions of dollars in debts.

In Dallas, parking tickets are civil matters, not criminal. And in Texas, unlike some other states, the law does not allow municipalities to place registration holds on vehicles with outstanding tickets.

Ms. Koop says she plans to schedule a staff briefing before her council transportation and environment committee within the next two months to explore the parking ticket issues.

Ms. Fernino she says her workers will continue to ticket illegally parked vehicles as diligently as ever. She added that she now envisions the collections end of the process keeping pace.

"We're going to try our best," she said.
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#4317 Postby TexasStooge » Sat Feb 18, 2006 10:59 pm

Rockwall High gets extra police after fight

Principal says no arms found; 10 suspended recently in disputes

By LaKISHA LADSON / The Dallas Morning News

ROCKWALL, Texas - Extra police officers were at Rockwall High School on Friday to give assurance that students were safe despite a recent fight and rumors of violence, school district officials said.

But for some, the police cars around the campus caused alarm. Parents outside the school around noon talked by cellphone about whether to let their teenagers attend classes.

The day ended without trouble and without any weapons – the subject of rumors the day before – being found, principal Mark LeMaster said. He said no altercations or threats had been reported since Tuesday morning, when a campuswide announcement was made.

"If you're going to fight, there is a heavy price to pay, and we will not tolerate it, and disciplinary action will be taken," Dr. LeMaster said students were told. "Today, we're just sort of dealing with rumor control."

At least 10 students had been suspended recently after fights, threats and agitation between groups of Hispanic and black students, Dr. LeMaster said. On Monday, a teacher with injured knees tried to break up a fight between two students and "kind of slipped," the principal said. "He wasn't hit, he wasn't attacked."

Dr. LeMaster said the dispute between the groups had been building for years and was carried from their neighborhood, which he didn't identify. He said the students weren't members of a gang.

"Just groups of kids," he said. "I don't want anybody to believe that we're talking about gangs."

Thursday, the day before some of the suspended students were scheduled to return, rumors spread that a weapon might be brought to school, so officials opted for increased police visibility.

District officials had no count of how many parents pulled their children out of school. They said absences stemming from concern would probably be excused.

Dr. LeMaster said school officials would monitor the situation daily.

"We've visited with a lot of students, we've visited with a lot of parents," he said. "We believe we have a handle on the situation."
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#4318 Postby TexasStooge » Sat Feb 18, 2006 11:00 pm

Freeway expansion proposal to be unveiled

Grapevine: Plan calls for new interchanges, lanes near D/FW Airport

By MARICE RICHTER / The Dallas Morning News

The proposal for a massive freeway expansion project spanning parts of Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties will be unveiled to the public at a meeting in Grapevine on Thursday.

Texas Department of Transportation officials have spent about three years designing the improvements that will be part of the Grapevine funnel project, one of the largest and most expensive endeavors for the state agency.

The project aims to provide relief for the overburdened freeway network near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport by adding new freeway lanes – including toll lanes – and reconstructing or building five new interchanges for area.

Area residents will get their first chance to see the plan, including the proposal for property right-of-way acquisition to build the new facilities.

Local city officials and airport officials have been working with transportation planners on issues such as property acquisition and access to homes and businesses during and after construction.

"We think everyone will be satisfied with the plan," said Jerry Hodge, director of transportation for the city of Grapevine, the largest stakeholder in the funnel project. "We have worked hard to make sure there is a good, safe traffic environment during construction and that access to our cities is maintained throughout.

"We think they've done a good job," Mr. Hodge said.

Besides Grapevine, affected entities include Colleyville, Coppell, Southlake, Flower Mound and the airport.

"The major property owner that would be affected is the airport," said Curtis Loftis, project engineer for the transportation department in Tarrant County. "But there will be others, too."

The funnel project will stretch east and west along State Highway 114 from International Parkway to Southlake Boulevard/Wall Street at the Southlake-Grapevine boundary.

It will extend north and south from the convergence of State Highway 360 and State Highway 121 to just south of the Highway 121 bypass in Denton County.

The state has earmarked $760 million for the project, making it the largest for Tarrant County and one of the most expensive in the state. The bulk of the funding has been dedicated since 2001.

Construction had originally been set to begin in 2005 but that deadline was not met.

A piece of the project, the widening and removal of signal lights on Highway 121 between FM2499 and the Highway 121 bypass, has been separated from the rest of the project and reassigned to the Dallas district of the transportation department, officials said.

Construction of that section, estimated to cost about $100 million, is expected to begin this year.

"We were trying to get that on a fast track so we could do something about the traffic congestion due to the signal lights," Mr. Hodge said. "Having signal lights on a major highway is always a problem."

That area is within Grapevine but straddles the Dallas and Denton county lines.

The remainder of the funnel project will be managed by the transportation department's Fort Worth district. The project currently is scheduled for multiple phases with construction start dates in 2007, 2008 and 2009, officials said.

But transportation department officials said they are considering turning the project over to a private contractor to speed up the process.

"We think this might be one way to get it done faster," Mr. Loftis said. "Under that arrangement, we might be able to start it all in 2007."

Residents who attend Thursday's meeting will have the opportunity to review maps and other plan documents, hear a presentation from transportation planners and comment on the proposal.

"The public input stage is an important part of the process," said Michael Peters, a spokesman for the state transportation department. "We encourage people to attend."
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#4319 Postby TexasStooge » Sun Feb 19, 2006 3:21 pm

District extends camping trips

LEWISVILLE, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - The Lewisville school board voted 6-1 Monday night to extend a popular program that sends fifth-graders to Oklahoma camps for a week every year.

The board also directed Superintendent Jerry Roy to create a task force of district staff and parents to come up with a long-term alternative.

The board unanimously voted to end the camp program last month, angering parents. Trustees decided to reconsider after hearing from parents.

The Coppell school board on Monday reviewed a bond proposal drafted by a committee of 25 residents that includes land for future schools, an improved heating and cooling system and technology upgrades.

The board could decide to call a May election on the $50 million package in the next couple of weeks.

The largest expense, about $14 million, would cover land acquisition and renovations to existing facilities.

The amount proposed for land acquisition was expected to be more than enough to pay for about 125 acres of the North Lake property that the district is interested in, leaving money for other land purchases. The school district and the city of Coppell are in the middle of condemnation proceedings for property near North Lake in Dallas. Billingsley Co. wants to build apartments and homes on the 350-acre site, much of which is within the school district.
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#4320 Postby TexasStooge » Sun Feb 19, 2006 3:22 pm

Knights want bingo

Irving: Group's plan to add game, alcohol sales worries neighbors

By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News

IRVING, Texas – Curt Hantelmann wants to give fellow Knights of Columbus members another way to have a good time while raising money for needy people. For him, bingo is the answer.

But south Irving neighbors oppose the idea. They say bingo at the Knights hall will degrade the neighborhood.

Before calling out "B-5" or "O-63," the Knights need City Council approval. The council is scheduled to consider a Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation on Thursday that would allow bingo one night a week at the hall on Rock Island Road. The Knights also want city approval to serve alcohol, although Irving officials won't consider that matter for a few weeks.

One bingo night each week satisfies Mr. Hantelmann, Irving's deputy grand knight.

"It's one more reason for us to get together ... to have fellowship," he said. "We have a nice hall ... and we want to find a way to use it."

Bill Baley, who owns a building near the Knights hall, says he's not against the Knights but wishes they would do something else to socialize. Bingo could attract gamblers and "people of questionable means," he said.

"It cultivates a new generation of new gamblers," Mr. Baley said. "I don't think that's a good thing."

He joins about a dozen other neighbors who have submitted city public comment forms opposing bingo.

"I am against anything that will legalize bingo in this neighborhood," one neighbor wrote.

"We don't need any more gambling facilities in Irving," another wrote. One person wrote that bingo players could go elsewhere in the city. Irving officials are aware of at least one bingo hall in the city.

Mr. Hantelmann said he was surprised after hearing the residents' concerns.

"You can't get a much more accepted form of gambling than bingo," he said. "I don't look at it like playing blackjack or craps or Texas Hold 'em. It's more close to playing dominoes on the front porch than it is to gambling."

The Knights have talked about playing bingo for a few years, Mr. Hantelmann said. They used to play at their old facility near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport but moved in the '90s after the airport acquired the land. They've operated out of the current hall since 2001.

The Knights have a bingo license, Mr. Hantelmann said, and the Knights hall is listed as a bingo location on the Texas charitable bingo Web site.

Bingo would be available to the public, Mr. Hantelmann said, and help the Knights' fundraising efforts. The Irving Knights have hosted senior citizen dinners, assisted Hurricane Katrina victims, distributed Christmas baskets and sponsor handicapped bowling games. The Knights are the world's largest Catholic family fraternal service organization, the Knights' Web site states.

Bingo would also give the 90 active Knights a reason to get together more often, Mr. Hantelmann said. And it would give the Knights' wives something to do.

"We're all about keeping the ladies happy," he said.

Irving Mayor Herbert Gears said this week that he didn't have an opinion on how he – or the council – would vote on the matter.

"The bingo may be problematic, but I'm not really sure," he said. "We'll wait and see what they've got."

He said the council will consider opinions from surrounding property owners.

"It will all depend on how they view it will affect their neighborhoods," he said. "The condition of neighborhoods will be a priority."

While the Knights prepare for the council vote, they also want city permission to serve alcohol, something that could be discussed in the next couple of months.

Mr. Hantelmann said the Knights have been serving alcohol for the past few years and have a state alcohol license. They thought they had city permission, but the hall wasn't zoned for alcohol sales.

Mr. Hantelmann is concerned that the Knights will lose donations and won't have money to contribute to charities if they can't sell alcohol.

Mr. Gears doesn't see a problem with allowing alcohol sales. Mr. Baley isn't opposed to alcohol sales for fraternal groups.

Mr. Hantelmann hopes the issues get resolved soon. "We're not trying to get around the rules," he said. "That would go totally against the type of organization we are. We just don't like problems."
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