News from the Lone Star State

[TexasStooge]

Police impersonator at large in Irving

By JOLENE DeVITO / WFAA ABC 8

IRVING, Texas — Irving police are warning citizens about a man who has been impersonating an officer to steal money and identification.

The most recent incident—last Saturday at the Jamestown Village Apartments in the 1100 block of North Nursery Road—follows a pattern established in three previous cases.

Victims said the suspect is a white man between the ages of 19 and 40. He dresses like a law enforcement officer with dark, military-style pants, a T-shirt with the word "Police" and a gun belt.

The suspect—who targets Hispanic men—approaches his victim in a parking lot and and requests his wallet to check identification. In all but one case, the victim is handcuffed.

The suspect, who speaks Spanish, then flees with the wallet.

Police said no one has been hurt in the four robberies, but they are concerned about the possibility of violence.

The police impersonator has been working in the same general vicinity west of Texas Stadium:

• 1600 block of Darr Street
• 1900 block of Carl Road
• 800 block of South Irving Heights Drive

Victims said the suspect is 5'8" to 6 feet tall, weighs 180 to 210 lbs. And has short, brown hair. He is clean-shaven and well-groomed.

Call Irving police if you have any information about these crimes.

[TexasStooge]

Man found bound, murdered in closet

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Dallas police were investigating the murder of a man found bound in a closet in southeast Oak Cliff.

A shooting was reported Monday at 5:20 p.m. at the Oasis Apartments in the 2700 block of East Ledbetter Drive.

A witness told officers someone had been shot inside one of the units.

Police took a man into custody for questioning in connection with the murder, but he was not charged.

No weapons or drugs were found inside the apartment, police said.

The victim's identity was not released.

[TexasStooge]

Fort Worth stepping up anti-gang efforts

By KARIN KELLY / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas - Fort Worth police vowed to step up patrols after a weekend of gang violence left one teen dead and a toddler critically injured.

Police Chief Ralph Mendoza on Tuesday will tell City Council members he's ordered what may be the year's biggest crackdown on gangs.

At Kirkpatrick Middle School, friends of Alejandro Victorio got help from three teams of counselors on Monday. The 14-year-old was shot in the head Friday night as he and two older teens in a car tried to escape from what police said was a rival gang.

Victorio's murder on the city's north side was not the only gang-related injury. 15-month-old Donvan Nolden was shot in the back by a stray bullet on the city's southeast side. He is in serious condition at Cook Children's Medical Center, and authorities are still seeking the shooter, who they believe is Pedro Cervera, 20.

The shootings have prompted police to authorize the year's biggest crackdown on gang members.

"We'll be going after gang members that are out riding around," said Lt. Jan Weenig of the FWPD gang unit.

As one officer put, the chief wants a flood of officers on the streets to beat back the most recent spike in gang violence.

Heavy enforcement and cooperation involving the gang unit and neighborhood officers.

We'll provide them with specific gang member names, address, vehicles, anything we have ...

The city's gang unit is doubling its office space, moving into the former health department building on University Drive. With 40 full-time officers, the unit is larger than ever.

At Kirkpatrick, some called for an end to gang wars, and principal Jorge Mendoza reminded parents to pay attention.

"Dress code, for example," Mendoza said. "If they're wearing a certain color, that's an indication they may be involved."

[TexasStooge]

D/FW debuts new baggage system

By BRAD WATSON / WFAA ABC 8

DFW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Texas - Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport launched a new baggage screening system Monday morning. It's said to be the largest of its kind in the world, making screening easier—and flying safer.

The Transportation Security Agency requires that all 55,000 bags processed at D/FW every day be checked bombs and other weapons.

After the September 11 terrorist attacks, some of the screening was moved to the ticketing area of the terminals where temporary equipment and manpower was added to tackle the sensitive job.

But starting Monday, that work was moved to an underground processing facility at Terminal E, which serves AirTran, AeroMexico, Continental, Delta and several smaller airlines.

The TSA says the $220 million automated in-line X-ray system should process luggage faster, with fewer workers, while making traveling more convenient.

"Basically what the customer is going to see is going back to the days of pre-9/11," said Jim Crites, D/FW Airport's executive vice president of operations. "You'll drop your bags as you used to do, and not worry about it again. There's no dragging your bags over to another checkpoint; it's as easy as we can make it for the customer."

The first phase of the in-line baggage screening system covers 12 gates at Terminal E. The remaining gates in the terminal will added later in the spring.

Terminals B, C and D—the new international terminal—will be in operation by August.

Terminal A, home to American Airlines and American Eagle flights, is operated under a separate contract with the TSA; its baggage screening system will be upgraded separately.

[TexasStooge]

Willie's picnic returns to Fort Worth with Bob Dylan

By MARIO TARRADELL / The Dallas Morning News

FORT WORTH, Texas - Willie Nelson told the crowd of 20,000 at his Fourth of July Picnic last year that he’d bring the party back to the Fort Worth Stockyards again. And Willie doesn’t lie.

This time, Mr. Nelson is bringing Bob Dylan and Los Lonely Boys with him. His 32nd annual picnic will commandeer the 27-acre North Forty concert field, which sits just east of Billy Bob’s Texas.

The rest of the artists — roughly another 20 — will be announced over the next month. Tickets will go on sale April 25 at all Ticketmaster outlets for $40 in advance, $45 at the show.

“Willie takes such an interest,” says Pam Minick, marketing director for Billy Bob’s Texas, which co-organizes the picnic. “He picks every artist according to who he likes and he negotiates the contract. Last year he wrote on a brown paper bag how much each one was going to get.

“They are his friends and money is not the issue. They are there for the fellowship and to be part of an event that each year gets bigger then the previous.”

This year’s picnic has a bittersweet significance. It will honor the memory of Rick Smith of Fort Worth-based Smith Music Group, who died in August of complications from a heart attack. It was Mr. Smith, a friend of Willie’s, who convinced the Texas country icon that the picnic should be in the Stockyards. His brother, Randy, now runs Smith Music Group, also an organizer of this year’s event.

“It turns into a celebration of his life,” says Ms. Minick. “While everybody was going to Willie’s picnic, he was the guy who had the guts to say, ‘Bring it here.’ Willie feels passionate about paying tribute to Rick’s memory, too.”

The logistics of this year’s picnic will mirror last year’s. The same stage setup will be used, one at either end of the field. When one act is done at the south stage, another cranks up on the north stage.

The only difference should please picnicgoers who stood in that long line waiting to get in, says Ms. Minick.

“The one thing that was learned from last year event-wise is we will have more personnel on the line to get people in quicker,” she says. “We need more people to take tickets and check IDs as people come in. We thought they would trickle in, a little bit now, a little bit later, but it hit us at 11:30 like a ton of bricks. But I said this last year, Willie’s picnic did not come with instructions.”

[TexasStooge]

HOV lanes impact: big bump in crashes

Study cites 41% jump in injury-accident rate on LBJ, 56%rise on I-35E

By TONY HARTZEL / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - High-occupancy vehicle lanes along LBJ Freeway and Interstate 35E, built in the mid-1990s to aid traffic flow, also have had a detrimental impact: a considerable increase in crashes that injured people, a Texas Transportation Institute study has found.

On LBJ Freeway, the crash rate jumped 41 percent from 1997 to 2000 when compared with the rate before the HOV lanes were built. And on I-35E, the crash rate leapt 56 percent. The study examined hundreds of crashes during that period.

On both highways, the state and Dallas Area Rapid Transit built the carpool lanes as a temporary measure and for the lowest cost possible. They feature an open buffer zone of 2.5 to 3 feet between the HOV lane and general traffic, with only a pair of white stripes separating the lanes. Motorists can be ticketed for crossing the white lines.

Dozens of miles of HOV lanes are coming to North Texas by mid-2007. As that deadline approaches, determining how best to design the lanes has assumed greater importance. The study, released incrementally over the last year, makes no recommendations about whether to redesign existing lanes, but it does suggest that any future lanes built without barriers have a 4-foot buffer zone, wider than those on LBJ and I-35E.

The Texas Department of Transportation says it is planning to build mostly barrier-separated HOV lanes in the future. The department will make some modifications to the planned HOV lane from Central Expressway in Richardson and Plano, where space constraints prevent the installation of concrete barriers between main and carpool lanes.

The modifications include installing a row of raised, flexible poles to prevent traffic from unexpectedly entering or exiting the carpool lane, which is the main cause of HOV-related crashes, the study found. The poles are about 43 inches tall and sit in a raised 2-inch channel between solid white lines on the highway that separate HOV and general lanes. They also will provide a psychological barrier to motorists wanting to cross illegally.

During peak hours, HOV lane traffic often travels at much higher speeds than general traffic. That speed differential was the primary reason for the higher crash rates, the report found. The inability of carpools to merge into much slower general traffic also posed a problem, the report states.

"I don't want to say it was unsafe, but it is not a desirable condition," said Andy Oberlander, assistant director of transportation operations for the Dallas district of the Texas Department of Transportation.

The study also reviewed safety records on the area's other long-term HOV lane on Interstate 30. That lane features a movable concrete block barrier. The study determined that the I-30 HOV lane did not have an effect on injury crash rates.

"When possible, if there is room, a barrier-separated lane is the preferred design," said Scott Cooner, an associate research engineer at the Texas Transportation Institute's Arlington office.

About 350 of the flexible poles are used on a small portion of LBJ Freeway."If you've got a difference in speed, these will give you a truer sense of separation," Mr. Oberlander said.

Motorists do hit the poles, but the number of collisions has dropped significantly since their installation about three years ago, said Koorosh Olyai, assistant vice president for mobility programs for DART. Last month, the transit agency replaced 18 of the 350 poles.

The poles on Central are expected to be spaced at distances so that law enforcement can direct traffic around them in an emergency.

The state and DART will spend an estimated $1.6 million to install the poles in both directions when the HOV lane opens by mid-2007. The Central Expressway design could be used for carpool lanes on LBJ Freeway or I-35E, but probably not anytime soon. Engineers say it probably will take several years before they can collect enough data to be sure of the costs and benefits associated with their use.

A limited amount of money for maintenance and safety projects means the HOV projects would have to compete with installation of median barriers that prevent head-on collisions, Mr. Oberlander said. In comparison, median barrier installation costs about $250,000 per mile.

Overall, HOV lanes remain a "very successful investment," said Mr. Cooner, who hopes to follow up the recent study with a review of more recent crash data when it becomes available. "When you look at the DART ridership numbers and the subsidy per passenger, HOV lanes make a lot of sense."

[TexasStooge]

Allocation choices await DISD chief

Black leaders reject Hispanics' case that their time has come

By SCOTT PARKS / The Dallas Morning News

First of two parts

DALLAS, Texas - Hispanic leaders say the hiring of Dr. Michael Hinojosa as the Dallas ISD superintendent could usher in a new era of educational progress for 100,000 Hispanic students, about half of whom do not speak English well or at all.

Dr. Hinojosa is expected to sign an employment contract soon, but he hasn't publicly uttered a word about what he might do as superintendent.

DISD trustees voted March 29 to name him as their lone finalist to succeed Dr. Mike Moses, who resigned last summer.

But his silence hasn't stopped speculation about how a Mexican immigrant – Dr. Hinojosa was born in Nuevo Laredo 48 years ago – might approach the allocation of increasingly precious resources between mostly black schools and mostly Hispanic schools.

The question makes some black leaders nervous. And it adds tension to internal DISD debates about how to structure the district's $1 billion operating budget for the 2005-06 school year.

Adelfa Callejo, a Dallas lawyer and Hispanic rights activist, and other community leaders say DISD's structure was built upon the dictates of a 1970s-era desegregation lawsuit that mostly benefited black students, Dallas' dominant minority group then. Half the district's students were white 30 years ago.

Today, things are different. Now, more than 60 percent of the student population is Hispanic. Blacks account for about 30 percent. Whites, Asians and a smattering of other ethnicities make up the difference, according to DISD records.

Ms. Callejo and others who closely follow DISD affairs say the arrival of Dr. Hinojosa and the end of the desegregation lawsuit in 2003 have created conditions that could finally level the playing field for the fast-growing Hispanic population.

"We are hopeful that Dr. Hinojosa will be able to do something about that, but it will be up to the Hispanic leadership to make those demands," Ms. Callejo said. "We are tired of cooperating and going along to get along."

DISD trustee Hollis Brashear, who represents a big chunk of southern Dallas, said he rejects a scenario that paints Hispanic students as somehow needier than black students.

Mr. Brashear acknowledged that an estimated 50,000 Hispanic students who have trouble speaking English – they're called limited English proficient, or LEP – score at the bottom on standardized tests. But blacks and Hispanics (LEP combined with Hispanics who speak English fluently) still score below whites, he said.

"To say that we can forget about black students at this point is ridiculous," Mr. Brashear said. "We've got to move all those kids ahead and close that gap."

Dr. Hinojosa will begin his tenure with a public lack of support from the board's three black trustees.

Mr. Brashear and fellow trustee Lew Blackburn voted against Dr. Hinojosa for superintendent. Ron Price abstained. They said their lack of support had nothing to do with his ethnicity.

"I had no unease about that," Mr. Brashear said. "In my district, Hispanics and blacks work and live side by side. They don't attend the same churches, but I go to school plays and see Hispanic kids singing black hymns and black kids wearing sombreros."

Looking at the numbers

DISD trustee Joe May, who is Hispanic, is a self-professed "numbers guy." He gathers statistics on a range of subjects – teacher and administrator staffing, school budgets and student access to early-childhood learning programs that can set the stage for academic success.

The education disparities between Hispanic students and black students will take years to correct, according to Mr. May.

"They just go on and on," he said.

At a Denny's in East Dallas recently, Mr. May expounded on an array of DISD records spread out before him on the table. Among the statistics he cited:

•14 percent of DISD teachers are Hispanic.

•DISD's leadership program for potential principals included 18 blacks, three Hispanics and three whites in 2003-04. The district's leadership program for potential assistant principals included 20 blacks, three Hispanics and six whites in 2003-04.

•DISD's Area 2 administrative office in predominantly black southern Dallas covers 11,707 students and has a budget of $261,760. The Area 6 office in a predominantly Hispanic area of Oak Cliff covers 23,862 students and has a $208,849 budget. The area offices support school operations.

•Hispanic students ages 3 and 4 have less access to full-day pre-kindergarten programs than black students. Only 10 of 49 elementary schools in which Hispanics make up 90 percent or more of the student body offer the full-day pre-K program. Ten of the 11 elementary schools in which blacks make up 90 percent or more of the student body offer the full-day program.

•Thirteen special schools, called Learning Centers, were set up in minority neighborhoods under the long-running desegregation lawsuit. Those in black neighborhoods receive higher funding per pupil than those in Hispanic neighborhoods.

Still, Mr. May acknowledged that DISD is making progress.

The district is hiring an average of 300 new bilingual teachers a year and plans to expand its bilingual education program through the sixth grade to ease student transition from Spanish to English.

DISD is developing a bilingual program for Hispanic children in the Talented and Gifted program for high-performing students.

In January, the district created four new full-day pre-K programs for mostly Hispanic schools, and more will be added as classroom space becomes available.

Mr. May said the changes need to come faster. And Dr. Hinojosa can help, he added.

"Hinojosa is an immigrant. He will see the inequalities right away," Mr. May said.

Desegregation lawsuit

The DISD board of trustees decided in 2003 to seek an end to a desegregation lawsuit that had hovered over the district for more than three decades. The process became an emotional roller-coaster for Mr. Brashear and other black trustees. Many of their constituents in the black community, and some Hispanics, had come to view federal court jurisdiction over the district as a safety net protecting educational gains for minority students.

Before they agreed to end the lawsuit, trustees adopted a new policy called the Declaration of Commitments and Covenants Upon Release from Court Supervision. Generally speaking, the policy states the district's desire to maintain programs and policies formerly mandated by the desegregation order.

For example, some of the Learning Centers in the black community receive two or three times the funding that regular schools get. The mostly black M.L. King Learning Center, student population 108, was budgeted at $8,956 per child in 2003-04. The Cesar Chavez Learning Center, mostly Hispanic, got $3,389 per child.

The commitments and covenants have effectively prevented DISD from re-examining the learning center budgets. But the policy calls on trustees to review the commitments and covenants in 2006, and they could be dissolved. Then, wholesale budget changes might be easier to make.

Larry Groppel, interim DISD superintendent, said he doesn't like to use the word "disparity" to describe the funding differences that Mr. May and other Hispanic leaders are highlighting.

Dr. Groppel said he hopes those differences can be reduced by adding resources to programs without taking anything away from others.

"I don't think it's a matter of Robin Hood within the district," he said. "It's a matter of reducing differences in the numbers. It's not moving quickly enough for some folks, and I'm one of those."

Wide-ranging debate

The debate about who gets what in DISD also extends to contracts for everything from school construction to legal work.

Mr. Price, one of the black trustees, represents a district with a majority Hispanic population. He says he's done his part to increase opportunities for Hispanic students and Hispanic-owned businesses that want contracts from DISD.

The talk about hiring more Hispanic staff and reallocating resources to Hispanic schools could be dangerous if it goes too far, Mr. Price said.

"It's almost like blacks and whites don't count any more," he said. "So, if you keep pushing this agenda, what's to keep the whites and blacks who are educating your children from saying, 'OK, we're not wanted. So, let's get out of here.' "

Meanwhile, the dialogue will continue.

Mr. May said he will propose a new policy that requires DISD principals to speak Spanish if they work in a school where more than half the student body is limited English proficient.

"In urban districts, with the massive growth of LEP students, you are not providing the required customer service to families if you don't speak the language. How would you feel if you were a parent who can't speak English and had to deal with a principal who can't speak Spanish?"

Mr. Price scoffs at the notion.

"The last time I checked, we need to get the children to speak English, not get the principal to speak Spanish," he said.

So, how does an urban school district break out of the continual struggle over which race gets how much?

Kenneth Meier, a Texas A&M University political science professor, studies the politics of race in urban school districts. He says people who care about children have to stop fighting about the numbers.

"You have to get over the idea that it's all about positions going to this group or that; or it's about dollars going to this school or that. How do you get students to attend classes, do well with grades, stay in school, think about going to college and then get them into college?"

[TexasStooge]

Victim's sleuthing leads to suspects

By TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News

RED BIRD, Texas - It was the victim's own handiwork that helped solve the crime, police say.

As Dallas police Detective Gil Garza studied the body of a man shot near his Red Bird-area home Sunday, he found a clue: Francisco Lopez, 18, had written a number on the back of his hand.

"I had a problem reading the last digit, but we were able to make it out," the detective said Monday. It was a license plate number.

That led police to a southeast Oak Cliff home frequented by Javier Izaguirre, 21, and Reymundo Izaguirre, 20. Hours after the slaying, they were arrested. Police also recovered a handgun thought to have been used in the shooting.

Saturday night, Mr. Lopez had noticed a blue Monte Carlo cruising around his home. Thinking the men in the car might be about to steal his Cadillac, Mr. Lopez wrote the Monte Carlo's license plate number on his hand, police learned.

About 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Mr. Lopez and his girlfriend were returning to his home in the 8900 block of Sedgemoor Avenue when he again noticed the Monte Carlo. Mr. Lopez stopped, walked up to the car and confronted the men. "They shot and killed him," Sgt. Lewis said.

Mr. Lopez died at a local hospital. Police say the license plate number led them to a home in the 3300 block of Judge Dupree Drive, where they spotted the Monte Carlo. Police arrested one man at the home and the other when they followed him in the car after it left the house.

The Izaguirre brothers were in the Dallas County Jail on Monday on suspicion of murder. Bail was set at $75,000 for Javier Izaguirre and $50,000 for Reymundo Izaguirre.

[TexasStooge]

Athletes' parents now more aggressive

By DAN RONAN / WFAA ABC 8

CANTON, Texas - Last week's shooting of a high school football coach in Canton is an extreme example of what some coaches and umpires say is a growing problem: parents pushing the limits of poor sportsmanship.

When full-time SMU student and part-time umpire Justin Nichols takes the field several nights a week to help with youth baseball, he hopes the games are well-played - and devoid of major arguments from a coach or player.

That wasn't the case, however, in one game last summer that led to Nichols filing assault charges against a coach who repeatedly used profanity and then chased him out to a parking lot.

"He told me I better run for my life after the game in the parking lot," Nichols recalled. "I asked for the police to be called; I wasn't about to walk out to the lot at 10:00 at night with a man who had made that kind of threat."

Experts say across the country, violence at youth sporting events against officials is reaching epic proportions. The Wisconsin-based National Association of Sports Officials said it receives reports of "hundreds of assaults on officials each year." The organization said 90% of those assaults are at the youth or recreational level.

These incidents have led 17 states, including Texas, to make it a felony to assault an official.

Some youth leagues appear to be fighting that trend.

"We usually don't have any type of those outbreaks as far as the parents or the coaches go," said Dwayne Holly of the Carrollton Pony Baseball League.

The Carrollton league stresses sportsmanship among players, coaches and parents, and has an on-site administrator at games just to keep an eye on things.

"We're just family-oriented," said parent Amy Baker. "We love to play ball, and we want the kids to have fun. That's what it's all about, the kids."

[TexasStooge]

County to end contract with body transport firm

By BRAD WATSON / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Fearing a repeat of what happened in Tarrant County in March when bodies were found stored in a van, Dallas County officials on Tuesday expressed a desire to end their contract with a company that transports human remains.

The issue was raised after a series of delays in the transport of bodies from crime scenes and accidents to the medical examiner's office.

Reliable Transport Group, a Dallas firm, held that contract, which the county just renewed for $270,000 in early march. Now, though, officials want to end it.

"I'm glad that the medical examiner is watching what's going on with the transport of these bodies, and is taking action in doing away with this contract," said Dallas County Judge Margaret Keliher.

A bizarre string of pick-up problems led to Tuesday's decision. On March 27, the medical examiner's office said Reliable took four hours to respond to a fatal accident at LBJ Freeway and Central Expressway, and never notified them its driver would be late. The contract calls for a response in 45 minutes.

On another day, a Reliable transport driver fell asleep in his van at the medical examiner's office with a body inside because he'd worked 40 hours straight. In yet another case, a Reliable transport crew went by their office with a homicide victim in their van, instead of going directly to the medical examiner's.

"(This) gives us some real pause, as far as I am concerned, in liability while they may be transporting from a scene," said commissioner John Wiley Price. "It just gives us some real liability."

The discovery of three five-year-old corpses in a mortuary company van in Hurst in March was also a factor.

"Certainly the Tarrant County episode weighs heavily on everybody's mind, and therefore I think it was the right response from the ME's office," Keliher said.

The address on county records for Reliable Transport is a vacant building. A woman named Krislyn Hyder-Steptoe and her husband are the owners, but their phones are disconnected.

Commissioners will vote on canceling the contract next week. Until another company is hired, the medical examiner is using funeral homes to transport remains.

[TexasStooge]

Austin homeless center similar to Dallas' downtown proposal

By GARY REAVES / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Wednesday, the Dallas City Council will vote on whether to put its new homeless assistance center in a location on the edge of downtown.

It's a controversial choice, and it is similar to what the city of Austin did one year ago.

At 6 each night, the capital city's homeless shuffle in to ARCH - the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless. The facility can sleep 100 every night, but by day it does much more.

"We have phones," said the center's Susan Morris. "The laundry room does 45 loads a day."

It is a one-stop shop, a place to shower, get mail, take an art class and most importantly get help. Several major social services and a public health clinic office at ARCH, ready to help people like ex-con Roy Strain.

"I have a locker on the wall," Strain said. "I used to have stuff here, but because of the people who sleep here in the daytime, we move it all out and let them have it."

Half of the bunks are reserved for people like Strain, who is now working and ready to get his life together.

"It's going great," he said. "They found me an apartment."

But a continuing problem is the homeless who aren't ready.

Carl Daywood manages real estate near ARCH. To him, the downtown location is a disaster.

"A lot more public urination, a lot more trash, a lot of drug activity ... crack cocaine," Daywood said. "It has a very negative impact on the tax base; I feel it's negative for the whole downtown."

But the central location offers advantages as well.

"This is where the people are, where our clients are," Morris said. "We are on multiple bus lines."

Politically, downtown was the easiest location, as it wasn't in any homeowner's backyard. However, Austin leaders know they'll have to work hard to solve the homeless problem, and keep the center's problems from dragging the entire city down.

[TexasStooge]

County rejects plan to take reins at zoo

Commissioners not wild about expense in light of other worries

By DAVID FLICK / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - A plan for countywide funding of the Dallas Zoo is dead, the victim of philosophical, political and economic concerns by county commissioners.

"There's no support for it on the court. They just don't see the county taking over the zoo," said Dallas County Judge Margaret Keliher, the Commissioners Court's chief supporter of the takeover plan.

"I'm disappointed. We never really had a discussion on it."

The plan was proposed a year ago by the nonprofit Dallas Zoological Society as a way to put the perennially cash-strapped institution on firm financial footing.

Under the plan, commissioners would have placed a special property tax proposal before voters and, if approved, would have taken over ownership of zoo assets from the Dallas Park and Recreation Department.

Michael Meadows, the Dallas Zoological Society's president, said Tuesday he was surprised to hear that commissioners considered the plan a dead issue.

Society officials had said countywide funding would allow the zoo to complete an ambitious master plan that included world-class educational facilities and new animal exhibits.

As recently as this week, they believed that the proposal might be placed before voters this fall.

"I'm obviously surprised and disappointed. We'll need to go back and see what the board of directors would like to do," he said. "I think this will come as a shock to the zoo staff."

Although the plan at first appeared to have the tacit support of a majority of the commissioners, enthusiasm eroded as the months passed, Ms. Keliher and other commissioners said. Some felt that the county should not be in the business of running a zoo. And all were concerned about the expense.

Commissioner John Wiley Price said the final blow came when commissioners were told it would be difficult to create a special taxing district for the zoo. Without such a district, money for the zoo would have to come out of county tax revenues.

It also comes at a time when commissioners are concerned about potential increases in jail health care and Sheriff Department staffing and are warily watching as the Legislature considers capping increases in property valuation, Mr. Price said.

"I think that was the crowning blow," he said of the economic concerns. But he said the zoo takeover plan was in trouble from the beginning.

"It never really gathered any traction," Mr. Price said. "There were some on the court who viewed it as a way of the city unloading, and they never really got past that."

Mayor Laura Miller was initially opposed to the county takeover. She said Tuesday that she had warmed to the idea of a joint city-county development effort that would include the zoo – an idea floated earlier this year by Ms. Keliher – until hearing recently that commissioners' support for the takeover plan had collapsed.

Ms. Miller said she believed there was still cause for optimism among zoo supporters. The development of the Trinity River corridor will create a beneficial economic climate for the Oak Cliff institution, she said.

"I hope that once things begin to happen, that we'll be able to put together with a private partnership some things that will benefit the zoo," she said.

Mr. Meadows of the zoological society said he could not immediately say what effect the plan's collapse would have.

"But I've always operated under a feeling that we had to continue to do business the way we had until there was a change," he said.

Lois Finkelman, who often functions as the zoo's point person on the Dallas City Council, left open the possibility that zoo supporters might someday approach the county again.

"We need to broaden the support. The zoo is truly a regional facility," she said. "I think there are a lot of supporters and elected officials who hope there will again be an ongoing conversation with the county."

Dallas Zoo director Rich Buickerood said it was not immediately apparent what alternative funding there might be. Officials had pinned their hopes for years on a countywide solution to the zoo's problems.

"Since '98 or '99, this has kind of been our Easter basket," he said. "I guess Plan B is to make do with what we've got."

This year's budget is $12.9 million. The countywide takeover would have given the zoo a $22 million operating budget and created $18 million a year to complete the master plan.

Mr. Buickerood said he still had hopes the zoo would find a way to reverse its fortunes.

"There are so many good things happening here. It's been on an uptick for a couple of years now," he said. "We can't just give up."

[TexasStooge]

Mom denies she let girl smoke pot

ANGLETON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) – A 22-year-old mother accused of letting her 5-year-old daughter smoke marijuana denies endangering her children and alleges she was unfairly targeted.

"I would never intentionally get my daughter high," said Amanda Williams, without saying whether her children had access to marijuana or whether there was any in her home. "I am wrong if she did get ahold of it."

Ms. Williams was arrested Friday on a charge of endangering a child and freed on $7,500 bail.

Angleton police began investigating her after receiving notification in late March from Children's Protective Services.

One witness told police that Ms. Williams didn't try to stop her daughter from smoking and that the child took a puff. Investigators say the incident happened in December at the family's home.

However, Ms. Williams said the witness fabricated the allegation because the two were having a disagreement. The witness could not be reached for comment by The Facts newspaper.

Ms. Williams said Angleton police have a vendetta against her because she has been involved with drug dealers and was arrested for marijuana possession in 2000.

Police deny any vendetta and say they provided Ms. Williams with her Miranda rights.

"She admitted she smoked freely in front of the children," Detective Sgt. Kirk Coleman said.

Ms. Williams said she told police that her daughter took a puff of a marijuana cigarette out of fear of losing her three children.

"If you tell me you're going to take my kids, I'm going to tell you what you want to hear," she said.

If convicted, Ms. Williams could face up to two years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.

[TexasStooge]

Computer problems at jail unresolved

Incomplete, error-filled jail reports normal; he says county needs help

By JAMES M. O'NEILL / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - More than 10 weeks after going live, Dallas County's new computer system is still producing incomplete and error-filled reports for judges, raising concerns that some people are languishing in the county jail unnecessarily.

In addition, bail bond companies say the system is producing bogus court dates, causing people to drive six or seven hours back to the county only to learn that their court date was erroneous.

"People continue to act as though this system is getting better, but that's not the case," Commissioner John Wiley Price said. "We're still finding people in the jail who should have been out 30 days ago. This Commissioners Court needs to get some assistance in this area."

County officials, who initially called problems with the new Adult Information System "minor glitches," for months have resisted suggestions to hire outside experts to fix underlying design flaws in the system, saying it would take too long to educate outsiders about AIS. Instead, InfoIntegration, the company that produced AIS, and county employees have tried to prioritize problems and address them individually, cleaning up data and patching faulty computer code.

During the commissioners meeting Tuesday, however, Robert Clines, the county's new data services director, said AIS could have been designed better. He said hiring additional expertise could help the county fix the problems.

Commissioner Mike Cantrell, who spearheaded the AIS project, asked Mr. Clines for a report, due Tuesday, that would outline what kind of help the county might acquire and how much it would cost.

Defense lawyers have described cases involving people who languished for more than a month in the jail even after posting bail or having their cases dismissed by grand juries. But county officials are unable to say how many people have been affected by the computer problems.

Commissioners Court administrator Allen Clemson said he was not aware of any cases like that. He said people who post bail sometimes still have holds on them by arresting agencies for other infractions, which keep them in jail.

Criminal District Court Judge John Creuzot told commissioners Tuesday that he still has cases in which family members call about a relative locked up in jail when the court has no record of them being incarcerated.

He said that defendants are posting bail for release but still show up on AIS-generated reports; that people arrested for probation violations don't show up on the reports; that some people in jail don't show up on reports; and that reports include errors on dates and jail locations for some inmates.

He said a check of daily jail reports produced for three county courts Tuesday found that 30 people currently in jail were missing from the lists.

On March 1, InfoIntegration president Tonya Brenneman said it would take two weeks to get most of the major problems fixed, and up to six weeks before all problems were eliminated.

"That was seven weeks ago," County Judge Margaret Keliher said. "Have we taken a turn for the better?"

"Yes – because we started out getting no information at all," Judge Creuzot said.

Mr. Price said: "We have the same problems we had four weeks ago."

"Some are the same, some are new," Mr. Clines said. "We have to fix the problems as we find them. I can't fix or change history."

Mr. Clines, who was hired five weeks ago, said that while AIS looks sound on the surface, "There were problems with the implementation. In hindsight I would say, yes, they could have changed some of the design." He also said there could have been "better project management."

Mr. Price said Mr. Clines told him during a private discussion that if this "had been my ship, I would not have launched it this way." Mr. Clines concurred.

District Court Judge Vic Cunningham agreed in an interview with Judge Creuzot's concerns.

"As of this date, the courts have been unable to get a complete picture of the jail population," Judge Cunningham said. "The reports we need to operate the courts have not been made available."

Normally, the courts keep track of newly booked inmates for 72 hours to ensure that the arresting agency has filed charges. If charges are not filed, the court orders the inmate released to comply with the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits anyone being held without being charged, and which guarantees the right to a speedy trial.

Judge Cunningham said county officials have tried to get AIS to generate a report on inmates held 72 hours, but the report is undependable. As a result, judges are not sure of all inmates being held in the jail.

County criminal courts manager Mikah Mitchell said in an interview that while the AIS is getting better, it is still not fixed. "It's a real burden on my courts," she said. "We're having to find people in the jail in ways we never had to before."

In some cases, the courts have learned about people in the jail only after inmates fill out an inmate request form, or because an inmate made a collect phone call from jail to family members.

[TexasStooge]

Hamas link in balance at brothers' trial

Jury to decide whether three area men did business with terrorist

By MATT STILES and ROY APPLETON / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - Three local businessmen knew one of their investors was a government-designated terrorist, yet they kept his money and took steps to hide a direct connection with him, federal prosecutors told a Dallas jury Tuesday during closing arguments in their trial.

Brothers Bayan, Basman and Ghassan Elashi – and their now-defunct Internet services company, InfoCom Corp. – are accused of doing business with Mousa Abu Marzook, a senior official in the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry Jonas told the jury that the men were guilty of ignoring a 1995 presidential executive order banning business with terrorists when they sent interest payments to their cousin, Nadia Elashi, who is Mr. Marzook's wife.

"Once Marzook became designated as a terrorist, those payments were illegal," Mr. Jonas said, arguing that Ms. Elashi's name was used to cover the Hamas official's original investment in the Richardson company.

The Elashis' attorneys later countered that the government didn't prove that their clients broke laws.

The government's case centers on $250,000 in investments in InfoCom. The indictment alleged that Mr. Marzook, a former resident of Ruston, La., put up the money for the March 1993 transaction but that the company later credited his wife with the financing to conceal his involvement.

Defense attorneys have said Mr. Marzook had no involvement in the transaction and gave the money to his wife. Offering financial records as evidence, the attorneys said the investment repayments helped to cover her living expenses.

"That $250,000 was only controlled solely by Nadia Elashi," argued Michael Gibson, who represents the company and its former chief executive, Bayan Elashi.

He said years of regular monthly payments to Ms. Elashi "was money to pay rent, clothing and necessities for her family."

After hearing a day of closing arguments, the jurors were expected to begin their deliberations this morning.

The defense, which called an accountant to back that contention, also said during the trial that the government allowed the arrangement to continue for six years after learning about it.

Following their December 2002 indictment, then-U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft described the Elashis as "terrorist money men" for Hamas. Federal authorities have alleged that Mr. Marzook channeled millions of dollars to Hamas from the United States.

Mr. Marzook and his wife also were charged in the case. They remain federal fugitives.

The charges at issue during the weeks-long trial don't accuse the Elashi brothers of providing direct financing to the Israeli-opposition group – or allege that any of their transactions supported terrorist activities.

Specifically, they are charged with conspiracy and several counts of doing business with a designated terrorist and money-laundering.

Prosecutors have sought to establish links between InfoCom, the Elashis, Mr. Marzook and Hamas.

Their evidence: wiretapped conversations involving Ghassan Elashi and Ms. Elashi; an array of financial ledgers, canceled checks and other documents; and the testimony of federal agents who gathered records from InfoCom and interviewed its employees.

For example, FBI Agent Jim Lewis testified that Basman Elashi told him during a Sept. 5, 2001, conversation at his Richardson home that Mr. Marzook was considered a participant in the $250,000 investment recorded in his wife's name.

"We asked if he considered that to be Mr. Marzook's money as well," Agent Lewis testified. "He replied, 'Yes, it's the same. They are married.' "

The agent later said Basman Elashi, 48, told him that Mr. Marzook did not have a "business relationship" with InfoCom, where he was chief executive.

Created in 1992, the firm sold computers and computer components and later provided Internet services to a mostly Middle Eastern clientele.

In July, a federal court jury convicted the three Elashis and their brothers, Hazim and Ihsan, of violating U.S. export laws with illegal shipments from InfoCom to Libya and Syria – nations considered state sponsors of terrorism.

The five defendants await sentencing.

Ghassan Elashi and six others also face federal charges of funneling more than $12 million to Hamas through the now-defunct Holy Land Foundation.

The Bush administration closed the Islamic charity in 2001, claiming it was a financial front for Hamas.

That trial is planned for February.

[TexasStooge]

Quads against all odds

By JEFF BRADY / WFAA ABC 8

PLANO, Texas - The Dixon family broke new ground at Presbyterian Hospital of Plano on Wednesday with four new additions at once.

They're the first set of quadruplets in the hospital's history - and though the premature babies have a long way to go before doctors release them from intensive care, they are already winning the hearts of those who meet them.

"Hudson is the boy, and then the girls are Madison, Candice and Samantha," said mother Liz Dixon.

"They were born at 2:13, 2:14, 2:15, and 2:16," said father Donny Dixon.

The children were born by Caesarian section thirteen weeks early, and all conceived naturally.

"Not only no fertility drugs, but also they were actually on birth control pills, trying not to get pregnant," said obstetrician Dr. Chris Riegel.

Their combined weight, about 6.5 pounds, is less than most single newborns. The hospital had to summon extra staff to handle the delivery and help run the neonatal ICU.

"We definitely can see how God has worked in this," Liz said.

The Dixons' first son had kidney trouble, and needed special attention too.

"The medical bills just skyrocketed," Donny said. "We ended up in some debt - quite a bit of debt, actually - and moved in with her parents, so we don't actually even have a home to go home to."

Still thankful for their new offspring despite the challenges ahead, the Dixons will stay at the hospital for at least another eight weeks. Consider it time enough to get used to one miracle after another.

[TexasStooge]

Texan indicted in oil-for-food scandal

NEW YORK, NY/AUSTIN, TX (WFA ABC 8/AP) - A Texas businessman, along with a Bulgarian and a British citizen, have been indicted in a scheme to pay millions of dollars in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's regime as part of the United Nations' scandal-ridden oil-for-food program, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

U.S. Attorney David N. Kelley scheduled a late-morning news conference with an FBI official to announce the unsealing of the indictment, which his office said also named two companies operated by the Texan, whose name was not immediately released.

The kickbacks involved funds otherwise intended for humanitarian relief in Iraq, Kelley said in a statement.

In addition, Kelley was to unseal a criminal complaint that charges a South Korean citizen with conspiracy to act in the United States as an unregistered government agent for the Iraqi government's effort to create the $64 billion oil-for-food program, the statement said.

Further details were not immediately given.

On Jan. 18, an Iraqi-born American businessman accused of skimming money from the program pleaded guilty in New York to being an illegal agent of Saddam's government. Samir A. Vincent, 64, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Annandale, Va., was the first person to be charged in the Justice Department's investigation.

The U.N. program, which was endorsed by the United States and begun in 1996, permitted Iraq to sell oil despite a stiff U.N. economic embargo against Saddam's regime, provided the proceeds were used to buy food and medicine for Iraqi people suffering under the sanctions.

Among those who have come under fire in recent months over the handling of the program is U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. Investigators last month criticized Annan for not pressing to learn details of his son Kojo's employment by a Swiss company that won a contract under the oil-for-food program.

Findings of an independent investigation into the program -- expected in midsummer -- will likely lead to dozens of criminal prosecutions by legal authorities in various countries for bribery, sanctions busting, money laundering and fraud, officials told The Associated Press last month.

[TexasStooge]

Garland resident dies in house fire

By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8

GARLAND, Texas — One person was killed and three others were hurt early Thursday when fire swept through a residence in Garland.

A woman and two men were able to escape the flames and thick smoke that enveloped the single-story brick home in the 1200 block of Bowie Street around 2:30 a.m.

The woman ran door-to-door asking neighbors to help rescue her boyfriend, who was trapped in a back bedroom.

Robert Baquera, a friend of the trapped man who lives across the street, injured his hand trying in vain to reach the fire victim.

"I punched out the window and I couldn't get in there," Baquera said, noting that an air conditioning unit blocked his access. "By that time, the whole house was on fire—so much smoke. We were just waiting on the firemen to get here."

Garland firefighters called two alarms before the fire was brought under control.

"When the firefighters did arrive, they said there were flames coming out the front door," said Garland Fire Department spokesman Merrill Balanciere. "Initially, it made it hard for them to go in, but it was the only entrance at the time to go through."

The dead man, believed to be 20 years old, was not identified.

The three who were able to escape the burning house suffered smoke inhalation and other minor injuries.

"We do not suspect any foul play at the time, but the investigators will be here throughout the rest of the morning," Balanciere said.

Investigators were checking to see whether the house was equipped with smoke alarms, and—if so—whether they were in working order.

[TexasStooge]

Clerk killed in Fort Worth holdup

FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) — A South Fort Worth convenience store clerk was shot and mortally wounded Wednesday night, but he may have provided police with enough information to nab his killers before he died.

Investigators said two men in ski masks entered Terry's Food Store in the 5500 block of Hemphill Road around 10:30 p.m. They robbed the clerk, then shot him in the stomach.

The clerk phoned for help and was able to give dispatchers information about his killers.

The unidentified man died around 1:30 a.m. Thursday at a hospital.

No arrests have been made.

[TexasStooge]

4 dead in shooting near San Antonio

CASTROVILLE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — A man shot and killed his ex-girlfriend, her mother and brother, wounded two other family members and then committed suicide, authorities said.

Investigators think the 27-year-old man was disgruntled over a break up when he broke into the family's home late Wednesday, possibly through a window in the kitchen, said Castroville Police Chief R.L. McVay.

The man used a shotgun to fire at the family, killing his 22-year-old former girlfriend, her 44-year-old mother and younger brother and wounding her 13-year-old sister and 41-year-old stepfather, McVay said.

The woman's stepfather was in critical condition and her sister in stable condition after sustaining gunshot wounds, said Missy Findling, a dispatcher for the Medina County Sheriff's Office.

No identifications were immediately available.

Police received a call around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday alerting them to the shooting.

Texas Rangers and investigators from other agencies were collecting evidence from the scene early Thursday, McVay said.

Castroville is about 15 miles west of San Antonio.