Arlington mall shuts down
By DON WALL / WFAA ABC 8
ARLINGTON, Texas - Amid sagging business and code compliance problems, the oldest mall in Arlington has abruptly closed its doors.
The Festival Marketplace Bazaar, located at at Highway 360 and Pioneer Parkway, contained many family-owned stores that are now forced to go out of business.
After six years of decent business, Benny Suarc has no choice but to close his watch and jewelry repair shop.
"It's terrible - it's a nightmare," Suarc said. "We are a big family here; we ain't going to see each other. We have to start from scratch again."
Originally built as the Forum 303 Mall, the facility dates back more than 35 years.
However, it has operated without heating or air conditioning since October. Rather than comply with city code, the owner - a Los Angeles investor - decided to shut it down with almost no notice.
"The owner made that decision, and there's nothing else we can say or do," said mall manager Joe Shepperd.
Unlike bigger, newer upscale malls, Festival Marketplace Bazaar has been anchored for 21 years by dozens of locally-owned family businesses.
"Well, I'm feeling sad, because I've been here so many years," business owner Hector Villalobos said. "Now I'm out of a job ... I've got to go find a new one."
Once a bustling suburban center, the food court now stands empty. What's left of an indoor flea market sits where Montgomery Ward once thrived.
"It saddens me, because many ... mothers fed their families from here, and senior citizens subsidized their income through here," said flea market manager Marko Gracak.
Like others, Al Esparza now has no place to sell his wares.
"I hate (that) it happened," Esparza said.
Gregory Adams just signed a lease for a children's apparel store that now will never open.
"I'm looking at about $10,000 that I've got tied up," Adams said. "I can't recoup none of it."
While the future of the 800,000 square foot property is in doubt, the tenants have no choice but to pack up and move on.
News from the Lone Star State
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What? Another explosion?!
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Truck catches fire, closes I-35E
RED OAK, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - The cab of a flatbed 18-wheeler truck caught fire on Interstate 35E in Red Oak Tuesday afternoon, resulting in a backup that stretched over a mile.
The fire began around 4 p.m. in the northbound lanes of I-35E near the Red Oak Road exit. Fire crews quickly arrived on scene, but the truck, which was carrying rebar for use in construction projects, appears to be destroyed. The condition of the driver was not immediately available.
As of 5:00, all northbound lanes were closed and traffic was being routed elsewhere. Drivers are urged to use another route.
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Truck catches fire, closes I-35E
RED OAK, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - The cab of a flatbed 18-wheeler truck caught fire on Interstate 35E in Red Oak Tuesday afternoon, resulting in a backup that stretched over a mile.
The fire began around 4 p.m. in the northbound lanes of I-35E near the Red Oak Road exit. Fire crews quickly arrived on scene, but the truck, which was carrying rebar for use in construction projects, appears to be destroyed. The condition of the driver was not immediately available.
As of 5:00, all northbound lanes were closed and traffic was being routed elsewhere. Drivers are urged to use another route.
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Finally, some good news about the overpass that suffered heavy damage from the explosion.
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Bridge on 183 can be repaired
Irving: Span won't need to be replaced after tanker truck blast
By TONY HARTZEL / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas – A rigorous inspection Tuesday gave thousands of mid-cities motorists the answer they wanted to hear: A bridge on State Highway 183 damaged in a fiery tanker truck crash will not have to be replaced.
Texas Department of Transportation engineers spent hours scouring every nook and cranny of the blackened, flaking structure over MacArthur Boulevard. But when they peeled and hammered away all the damaged material, they found that the bridge's core remained intact after a fiery crash Saturday involving a tanker truck hauling 3,000 gallons of fuel.
"We have decided we're going to repair the bridge. It doesn't need to be replaced," said bridge engineer Tony Okafor of the transportation department's Dallas district.
In addition, state crews decided that the bridge was sound enough for them to open a second eastbound lane in time for evening rush hour Tuesday.
"Getting two lanes open will put a lot more sanity into the situation," said Jim Cline, Irving's director of public works and transportation.
The overpass was badly damaged Saturday morning in a crash involving a pickup and the tanker truck. The tanker-truck driver, Kevin Walton, 34, of Cedar Hill, died at the scene after his vehicle ran off the side of the highway and onto MacArthur Boulevard below. Police arrested the pickup driver, Rudy Cerda Coronado, 21, and he has been arraigned on one count of intoxication manslaughter.
"That keeps running through my mind. It's hard not to think about what happened to that driver," transportation department crew member Tommy McKinnon said.
Gazing at the charred structure early Tuesday, Mr. Okafor said he hadn't seen anything like the combination of bridge damage and potential traffic headaches confronting him on Highway 183.
"This is the biggest challenge we've had since I've been here," said Mr. Okafor, who oversees all bridge inspections in the district's seven counties.
Plans on the way
State officials expect to have plans for repairing the bridge complete by the middle of next week. Contractors will be invited to tour the site and bid on the project about June 9, and repairs could begin almost immediately. All work should be complete by mid-July.
The emergency project does not have a cost estimate because the state has not received any input from bidders, Mr. Okafor said.
As he talked, Mr. Okafor was overseeing the taking of core samples from all of the damaged structures to verify the extent of the damage and to ensure that their recommendation for repairs is correct.
The southbound lanes of MacArthur Boulevard will be reopened during construction but will have to handle both directions of traffic. No date for that move has been set.
"We're doing everything we can to keep traffic moving," Mr. Okafor said.
Avoiding the damage
Because only one lane of eastbound Highway 183 was open through most of Tuesday, the crews also funneled some highway traffic onto the service road. Workers have removed a service road traffic light to keep vehicles moving through the area. With the detour, eastbound drivers who exit just before MacArthur can drive a short distance and quickly get back on the highway just past the crash site.
Tuesday morning marked the first rush-hour test for the narrowed-down highway, which earned generally passing grades, Mr. Cline said.
"It was reasonable this morning," he said.
But a tractor-trailer snagged a power line late Tuesday morning while exiting a parking lot on the service road at MacArthur, forcing authorities to set up a detour for the traffic that had been detoured off Highway 183. No one was injured, but the service road was shut down for several hours.
"Now it's a mess," said Mr. Cline, gazing at the slow-moving traffic winding its way through a neighborhood just south of the highway.
Drivers have been encouraged to use Interstate 30, State Highway 114 and Irving Boulevard as alternate routes or take the Trinity Railway Express commuter rail line, which runs parallel to Highway 183.
I-30 is under construction in Oak Cliff, but the state does not expect daily major lane closures for the next several months. If lane closures are needed, they will be evaluated for their potential effect on traffic that is trying to avoid Highway 183 repairs, said Mike Bostic, TxDOT's southwest Dallas County area engineer.
Last week, a fiery crash on Interstate 20 at Interstate 45 threatened to shut down major sections of that interchange, but a subsequent inspection showed that only the I-20 shoulder needed to be closed for repairs.
Photo by JIM MAHONEY/Dallas Morning News
Kevin Walton died Saturday after his tanker truck ran off State Highway 183 and onto MacArthur Boulevard.
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Bridge on 183 can be repaired
Irving: Span won't need to be replaced after tanker truck blast
By TONY HARTZEL / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING, Texas – A rigorous inspection Tuesday gave thousands of mid-cities motorists the answer they wanted to hear: A bridge on State Highway 183 damaged in a fiery tanker truck crash will not have to be replaced.
Texas Department of Transportation engineers spent hours scouring every nook and cranny of the blackened, flaking structure over MacArthur Boulevard. But when they peeled and hammered away all the damaged material, they found that the bridge's core remained intact after a fiery crash Saturday involving a tanker truck hauling 3,000 gallons of fuel.
"We have decided we're going to repair the bridge. It doesn't need to be replaced," said bridge engineer Tony Okafor of the transportation department's Dallas district.
In addition, state crews decided that the bridge was sound enough for them to open a second eastbound lane in time for evening rush hour Tuesday.
"Getting two lanes open will put a lot more sanity into the situation," said Jim Cline, Irving's director of public works and transportation.
The overpass was badly damaged Saturday morning in a crash involving a pickup and the tanker truck. The tanker-truck driver, Kevin Walton, 34, of Cedar Hill, died at the scene after his vehicle ran off the side of the highway and onto MacArthur Boulevard below. Police arrested the pickup driver, Rudy Cerda Coronado, 21, and he has been arraigned on one count of intoxication manslaughter.
"That keeps running through my mind. It's hard not to think about what happened to that driver," transportation department crew member Tommy McKinnon said.
Gazing at the charred structure early Tuesday, Mr. Okafor said he hadn't seen anything like the combination of bridge damage and potential traffic headaches confronting him on Highway 183.
"This is the biggest challenge we've had since I've been here," said Mr. Okafor, who oversees all bridge inspections in the district's seven counties.
Plans on the way
State officials expect to have plans for repairing the bridge complete by the middle of next week. Contractors will be invited to tour the site and bid on the project about June 9, and repairs could begin almost immediately. All work should be complete by mid-July.
The emergency project does not have a cost estimate because the state has not received any input from bidders, Mr. Okafor said.
As he talked, Mr. Okafor was overseeing the taking of core samples from all of the damaged structures to verify the extent of the damage and to ensure that their recommendation for repairs is correct.
The southbound lanes of MacArthur Boulevard will be reopened during construction but will have to handle both directions of traffic. No date for that move has been set.
"We're doing everything we can to keep traffic moving," Mr. Okafor said.
Avoiding the damage
Because only one lane of eastbound Highway 183 was open through most of Tuesday, the crews also funneled some highway traffic onto the service road. Workers have removed a service road traffic light to keep vehicles moving through the area. With the detour, eastbound drivers who exit just before MacArthur can drive a short distance and quickly get back on the highway just past the crash site.
Tuesday morning marked the first rush-hour test for the narrowed-down highway, which earned generally passing grades, Mr. Cline said.
"It was reasonable this morning," he said.
But a tractor-trailer snagged a power line late Tuesday morning while exiting a parking lot on the service road at MacArthur, forcing authorities to set up a detour for the traffic that had been detoured off Highway 183. No one was injured, but the service road was shut down for several hours.
"Now it's a mess," said Mr. Cline, gazing at the slow-moving traffic winding its way through a neighborhood just south of the highway.
Drivers have been encouraged to use Interstate 30, State Highway 114 and Irving Boulevard as alternate routes or take the Trinity Railway Express commuter rail line, which runs parallel to Highway 183.
I-30 is under construction in Oak Cliff, but the state does not expect daily major lane closures for the next several months. If lane closures are needed, they will be evaluated for their potential effect on traffic that is trying to avoid Highway 183 repairs, said Mike Bostic, TxDOT's southwest Dallas County area engineer.
Last week, a fiery crash on Interstate 20 at Interstate 45 threatened to shut down major sections of that interchange, but a subsequent inspection showed that only the I-20 shoulder needed to be closed for repairs.
Photo by JIM MAHONEY/Dallas Morning News
Kevin Walton died Saturday after his tanker truck ran off State Highway 183 and onto MacArthur Boulevard.
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Police look at wrong-way pursuit
Actions studied to determine if chase broke policy
By MICHAEL GRABELL / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Dallas police are investigating whether two officers violated department policy Monday morning when they chased a pickup that went the wrong way on a one-way street.
Braulio Morales, a longtime homeless man who was well-known in the Old East Dallas area, was killed when the speeding pickup ran a red light, was hit broadside by a van and struck him at Peak and Bryan streets.
As the pickup went the wrong way at nearly three times the speed limit, witnesses said, the patrol car followed more slowly with flashing lights and sirens.
Department policy prohibits chasing suspects the wrong way on a one-way street.
Dallas police Sgt. Gil Cerda said it's too early to tell whether the officers, Senior Cpl. Thomas Castro and Sgt. Jeffery Price, broke any policies.
"That's going to be determined through the investigation," he said. "They'll look into the chase, and they'll look to see if there were any general orders violated."
Both officers remain in their normal assignments.
The driver of the pickup, Johnny Wells Jr. IV, will be charged with murder and evading arrest, Sgt. Cerda said. Police originally planned to charge him with manslaughter.
According to the Texas Penal Code, suspects who flee after committing felonies, such as evading arrest, and then cause a fatal wreck can be charged with murder.
Mr. Wells, who has been convicted on robbery, assault, drug and auto theft charges, was in custody and in stable condition Tuesday at Baylor University Medical Center.
His passenger, Myron Johnson, was in Dallas County Jail on a parole violation Tuesday. Mr. Johnson was injured in the crash.
The two people in the van were hurt but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, authorities said.
Geoff Alpert, a University of South Carolina criminologist who advocates for tighter chase policies, said pursuits on one-way streets are extremely dangerous.
The suspect is "going to be driving fast and recklessly, and most of these guys have their eyes glued to their rearview mirror," he said. "The danger to the motoring public is so great, and the likelihood of a crash occurring is so high that it's just not worth the risk."
Senior Cpl. Glenn White, president of the Dallas Police Association, said it's easy to play "Monday morning quarterback."
"In a perfect world when people hear a police officer say 'Stop,' they do. But we don't live in a perfect world," he said. "Ninety-nine percent of the time you don't know why that person is running or if they had just committed a violent crime."
On Monday, the officers saw two men leaving a known drug house in a block of Caddo Street where police have returned time and again on assault calls and found crack cocaine being sold on the corner and stolen cars parked outside. A woman was stabbed in the chest and killed in the block in September.
The two men got in a pickup and drove off, followed by officers, a police report says. The pickup ran several stop signs on Caddo before making a U-turn. At that point, police declared a chase.
The pickup made a left on Ross Avenue and a right on Peak Street, going the wrong way as it traveled south.
The chase lasted about a minute before the van hit the pickup two blocks south, sending both vehicles airborne. The pickup struck Mr. Morales, who was standing on the sidewalk. He died minutes later.
Mr. Wells was injured seriously but had improved Tuesday.
Mr. Morales, a 60-year-old Cuban immigrant, often spent his days in the Old East Dallas business district where the crash occurred.
Business owners said he wandered the streets smoking cigarettes and talking to friends, occasionally stopping in their stores to get out of the heat.
The Vietnamese restaurant on the corner often left him lunch. The manager of a surveyor supply store helped him balance his monthly government checks.
"I noticed him around my neighborhood a couple of years ago," said Ben Slover, who works at Texas Surveyors Supply Co. on Peak Street. "I gradually started befriending him, started helping him out with his basic needs, food and clothing."
Mr. Slover said his friend had gotten an apartment on Munger Street just six months ago after being homeless for nearly two decades.
Every morning, Mr. Morales went to Mr. Slover's store for the $3 a day that was left over after rent and cigarettes.
Despite the little he had, friends said, Mr. Morales would often lend his money to others, offer them a place to stay or let them borrow his coat in the winter.
"A lot of these guys on the street can be mean-hearted, and he just wasn't," Mr. Slover said. "He was very empathetic with the guys on the street, much more so than a guy on limited income should be."
Mr. Slover said he's upset about the crash and would like to see a stricter chase policy.
"Personally I think those high-speed chases are crazy because there's too much of a chance of what happened yesterday happening," he said. "It just makes you think there's got to be a safer way."
Actions studied to determine if chase broke policy
By MICHAEL GRABELL / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Dallas police are investigating whether two officers violated department policy Monday morning when they chased a pickup that went the wrong way on a one-way street.
Braulio Morales, a longtime homeless man who was well-known in the Old East Dallas area, was killed when the speeding pickup ran a red light, was hit broadside by a van and struck him at Peak and Bryan streets.
As the pickup went the wrong way at nearly three times the speed limit, witnesses said, the patrol car followed more slowly with flashing lights and sirens.
Department policy prohibits chasing suspects the wrong way on a one-way street.
Dallas police Sgt. Gil Cerda said it's too early to tell whether the officers, Senior Cpl. Thomas Castro and Sgt. Jeffery Price, broke any policies.
"That's going to be determined through the investigation," he said. "They'll look into the chase, and they'll look to see if there were any general orders violated."
Both officers remain in their normal assignments.
The driver of the pickup, Johnny Wells Jr. IV, will be charged with murder and evading arrest, Sgt. Cerda said. Police originally planned to charge him with manslaughter.
According to the Texas Penal Code, suspects who flee after committing felonies, such as evading arrest, and then cause a fatal wreck can be charged with murder.
Mr. Wells, who has been convicted on robbery, assault, drug and auto theft charges, was in custody and in stable condition Tuesday at Baylor University Medical Center.
His passenger, Myron Johnson, was in Dallas County Jail on a parole violation Tuesday. Mr. Johnson was injured in the crash.
The two people in the van were hurt but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, authorities said.
Geoff Alpert, a University of South Carolina criminologist who advocates for tighter chase policies, said pursuits on one-way streets are extremely dangerous.
The suspect is "going to be driving fast and recklessly, and most of these guys have their eyes glued to their rearview mirror," he said. "The danger to the motoring public is so great, and the likelihood of a crash occurring is so high that it's just not worth the risk."
Senior Cpl. Glenn White, president of the Dallas Police Association, said it's easy to play "Monday morning quarterback."
"In a perfect world when people hear a police officer say 'Stop,' they do. But we don't live in a perfect world," he said. "Ninety-nine percent of the time you don't know why that person is running or if they had just committed a violent crime."
On Monday, the officers saw two men leaving a known drug house in a block of Caddo Street where police have returned time and again on assault calls and found crack cocaine being sold on the corner and stolen cars parked outside. A woman was stabbed in the chest and killed in the block in September.
The two men got in a pickup and drove off, followed by officers, a police report says. The pickup ran several stop signs on Caddo before making a U-turn. At that point, police declared a chase.
The pickup made a left on Ross Avenue and a right on Peak Street, going the wrong way as it traveled south.
The chase lasted about a minute before the van hit the pickup two blocks south, sending both vehicles airborne. The pickup struck Mr. Morales, who was standing on the sidewalk. He died minutes later.
Mr. Wells was injured seriously but had improved Tuesday.
Mr. Morales, a 60-year-old Cuban immigrant, often spent his days in the Old East Dallas business district where the crash occurred.
Business owners said he wandered the streets smoking cigarettes and talking to friends, occasionally stopping in their stores to get out of the heat.
The Vietnamese restaurant on the corner often left him lunch. The manager of a surveyor supply store helped him balance his monthly government checks.
"I noticed him around my neighborhood a couple of years ago," said Ben Slover, who works at Texas Surveyors Supply Co. on Peak Street. "I gradually started befriending him, started helping him out with his basic needs, food and clothing."
Mr. Slover said his friend had gotten an apartment on Munger Street just six months ago after being homeless for nearly two decades.
Every morning, Mr. Morales went to Mr. Slover's store for the $3 a day that was left over after rent and cigarettes.
Despite the little he had, friends said, Mr. Morales would often lend his money to others, offer them a place to stay or let them borrow his coat in the winter.
"A lot of these guys on the street can be mean-hearted, and he just wasn't," Mr. Slover said. "He was very empathetic with the guys on the street, much more so than a guy on limited income should be."
Mr. Slover said he's upset about the crash and would like to see a stricter chase policy.
"Personally I think those high-speed chases are crazy because there's too much of a chance of what happened yesterday happening," he said. "It just makes you think there's got to be a safer way."
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Watering restrictions start Wednesday
DALLAS, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - Listen up, water wasters.
Starting Wednesday, it's against the law to water your lawn from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the city of Dallas with an irrigation system or sprinkler.
Watering with a handheld hose or soaker hose is permitted anytime.
The restriction will be in effect through Sept. 30. Ignore it and you could face a fine of $250 to $2,000.
The city offers more water-conservation tips at http://www.savedallaswater.com.
And for all you water hogs: Take a shorter shower.
DALLAS, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - Listen up, water wasters.
Starting Wednesday, it's against the law to water your lawn from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the city of Dallas with an irrigation system or sprinkler.
Watering with a handheld hose or soaker hose is permitted anytime.
The restriction will be in effect through Sept. 30. Ignore it and you could face a fine of $250 to $2,000.
The city offers more water-conservation tips at http://www.savedallaswater.com.
And for all you water hogs: Take a shorter shower.
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TexasStooge
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After several explosions from tanker trucks and other 18-wheelers plus building fires for the past 2 weeks, seems that the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex is turning into..................................
THE BURNING ZONE with the next couple of news stories
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Man charged in Dallas arson fire
By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Dallas police have arrested a suspected serial arsonist in connection with six fires set across Old East Dallas and Lakewood neighborhoods over the last few days.
Sandi Foreman, a member of Bethany Christian Church, said a guardian angel was watching over the church when the arsonist tried to set it on fire Tuesday night.
"A neighbor across the street called the police because he had seen a suspicious person around the buildings and loitering," Foreman said.
When police arrived they saw fire and smoke coming from a building adjacent to the main sanctuary. Officers called the fire department, who was able to respond before the entire building caught fire.
"The fire occurred right on the floor on the carpeting below the window," Foreman said. "If the fire had gone undetected for a while, obviously the loss would have been tremendous."
Fire investigators now believe Wednesday's church fire is linked to five others including a condominium and a home in the Lakewood area. They said the arsonist is keeping fire crews busy.
"He is wasting our resources," said Dallas Fire-Rescue Capt. Jesse Garcia. "In our case, we are sending our fire engines and rescues to unnecessary fires, leaving other areas without coverage."
Investigators are looking into the possibly that 47-year-old James Keith Petty is responsible for the blazes.
Petty was being held for an unpaid traffic ticket, but he has a criminal history. In 1996, he was convicted of arson in Dallas County.
"He is a person of interest for us, and we would like to talk to him to see if he had any role in any of these fires," Garcia said.
Now Petty is considered a suspect, and has been charged with arson. He faces up a penalty of anywhere from 20 years to life if he is convicted.
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Truck fire slows I-20 traffic
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - For the fourth time in the past two weeks, a truck has burst into flames on a North Texas freeway.
The driver said his 18-wheeler blew a tire on westbound Interstate 20 near Dowdy Ferry Road in Dallas around 2 a.m. Thursday.
He pulled over, saw the trailer on fire, and safely got away from the big rig after failing to extinguish the flames.
Two westbound lanes of I-20 were closed until further notice.
A Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman said the truck was hauling plastic beads used in the manufacture of wiring insulation.
On Saturday, a gasoline tanker crashed in Irving, killing the driver and damaging a Highway 183 overpass.
On May 24, a tank truck hauling volatile dry-cleaning fluid exploded in spectacular fashion on Interstate 20 at the I-45 interchange when the driver apparently fell asleep and crashed into a guardrail.
That same day, another truck caught fire on Interstate 35E in Red Oak.
THE BURNING ZONE with the next couple of news stories
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Man charged in Dallas arson fire
By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Dallas police have arrested a suspected serial arsonist in connection with six fires set across Old East Dallas and Lakewood neighborhoods over the last few days.
Sandi Foreman, a member of Bethany Christian Church, said a guardian angel was watching over the church when the arsonist tried to set it on fire Tuesday night.
"A neighbor across the street called the police because he had seen a suspicious person around the buildings and loitering," Foreman said.
When police arrived they saw fire and smoke coming from a building adjacent to the main sanctuary. Officers called the fire department, who was able to respond before the entire building caught fire.
"The fire occurred right on the floor on the carpeting below the window," Foreman said. "If the fire had gone undetected for a while, obviously the loss would have been tremendous."
Fire investigators now believe Wednesday's church fire is linked to five others including a condominium and a home in the Lakewood area. They said the arsonist is keeping fire crews busy.
"He is wasting our resources," said Dallas Fire-Rescue Capt. Jesse Garcia. "In our case, we are sending our fire engines and rescues to unnecessary fires, leaving other areas without coverage."
Investigators are looking into the possibly that 47-year-old James Keith Petty is responsible for the blazes.
Petty was being held for an unpaid traffic ticket, but he has a criminal history. In 1996, he was convicted of arson in Dallas County.
"He is a person of interest for us, and we would like to talk to him to see if he had any role in any of these fires," Garcia said.
Now Petty is considered a suspect, and has been charged with arson. He faces up a penalty of anywhere from 20 years to life if he is convicted.
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Truck fire slows I-20 traffic
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - For the fourth time in the past two weeks, a truck has burst into flames on a North Texas freeway.
The driver said his 18-wheeler blew a tire on westbound Interstate 20 near Dowdy Ferry Road in Dallas around 2 a.m. Thursday.
He pulled over, saw the trailer on fire, and safely got away from the big rig after failing to extinguish the flames.
Two westbound lanes of I-20 were closed until further notice.
A Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman said the truck was hauling plastic beads used in the manufacture of wiring insulation.
On Saturday, a gasoline tanker crashed in Irving, killing the driver and damaging a Highway 183 overpass.
On May 24, a tank truck hauling volatile dry-cleaning fluid exploded in spectacular fashion on Interstate 20 at the I-45 interchange when the driver apparently fell asleep and crashed into a guardrail.
That same day, another truck caught fire on Interstate 35E in Red Oak.
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Carjack victim a 'survivor'
By BRAD WATSON / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Two suspects are dead and police are searching for a third man in a carjacking that started Wednesday morning in Lancaster and ended in Dallas.
Police said the two men died when they crashed the stolen car near the intersection of Hampton and Camp Wisdom roads in Southwest Dallas.
Those suspects were identified as 19-year-old Christopher Fason and 20-year-old Kendrick Canady, both of Dallas.
The carjacking victim, Mike Frazier, survived - and said it's not the first time he has lived through a dangerous expeirence.
"It was just by the grace of God that I didn't lose my life, because they was definitely trying to kill me," said Frazier.
Lancaster police said 30 minutes earlier, as Frazier arrived to visit a friend at an apartment complex, the men forced him from his car at gunpoint. But Frazier pushed the man with the gun and ran.
"They began to shoot at me," Frazier siad. "I was able to escape."
He knows about escaping. In May 1995, Frazier lost his parents, his two-year-old daughter, an 11-year-old nephew and his fiancee when floodwaters from Five Mile Creek rolled over the street they were on near the Dallas Zoo and swept away their car. Frazier escaped then by hanging to a tree.
"If I survived that, I can survive this," he said. "I'm a survivor - I survived ten years ago."
But in the years after that tragic incident, there was nothing to hang on to.
"I lost my present family and I lost my future family, and so I went through a state of depression (and) loneliness," he said. "I even thought about taking my own life."
But through faith and friends, he pulled through, wrote a book about surviving tragedy and dedicated his life as a musician to helping others in similar despair.
To him, the carjacking confirms his work.
"God has blessed me, and I'm going to continue to demonstrate that God has blessed me," he said.
By BRAD WATSON / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Two suspects are dead and police are searching for a third man in a carjacking that started Wednesday morning in Lancaster and ended in Dallas.
Police said the two men died when they crashed the stolen car near the intersection of Hampton and Camp Wisdom roads in Southwest Dallas.
Those suspects were identified as 19-year-old Christopher Fason and 20-year-old Kendrick Canady, both of Dallas.
The carjacking victim, Mike Frazier, survived - and said it's not the first time he has lived through a dangerous expeirence.
"It was just by the grace of God that I didn't lose my life, because they was definitely trying to kill me," said Frazier.
Lancaster police said 30 minutes earlier, as Frazier arrived to visit a friend at an apartment complex, the men forced him from his car at gunpoint. But Frazier pushed the man with the gun and ran.
"They began to shoot at me," Frazier siad. "I was able to escape."
He knows about escaping. In May 1995, Frazier lost his parents, his two-year-old daughter, an 11-year-old nephew and his fiancee when floodwaters from Five Mile Creek rolled over the street they were on near the Dallas Zoo and swept away their car. Frazier escaped then by hanging to a tree.
"If I survived that, I can survive this," he said. "I'm a survivor - I survived ten years ago."
But in the years after that tragic incident, there was nothing to hang on to.
"I lost my present family and I lost my future family, and so I went through a state of depression (and) loneliness," he said. "I even thought about taking my own life."
But through faith and friends, he pulled through, wrote a book about surviving tragedy and dedicated his life as a musician to helping others in similar despair.
To him, the carjacking confirms his work.
"God has blessed me, and I'm going to continue to demonstrate that God has blessed me," he said.
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TexasStooge
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Perry approves worker's comp reforms
By BRETT SHIPP / WFAA ABC 8
FORT WORTH, Texas - With the stroke of his pen, on Wednesday Governor Rick Perry brought hope to thousands of injured workers across Texas.
Robert Frederick of Dallas is among those workers. Frederick has lived in a self-described "hell" for three years while his insurance company denied him surgery.
Construction worker David Carter was also denied care by his insurance company, which said his injuries were not related to his fall at work.
Frederick and Carter are just two workers profiled over the past year and a half by News 8 who said they have been callously denied treatment and benefits by insurance companies too closely affiliated with worker's compensation officials.
Richard Reynolds, former director of the Texas Worker's Compensation Commission, denied having any affiliation with the insurance companies he was regulating.
"I have ... never worked as an employee of an insurance company, ever," Reynolds said. "I've never lobbied for an insurance company - period."
But according to Texas Ethics Commission records, Reynolds was a registered insurance lobbyist in 1999 and 2000. Even his old business card spells it out - "Reynolds and Associates, insurance specialists."
After more than 20 broadcast stories, numerous hearings and intense negotiations by senators and representatives, Perry made the overhaul of the worker's compensation system official while flanked by key lawmakers.
"With the reforms that are passed in House Bill 7, Texans hurt on the job will get get the improved care they deserve, at a lower price that employers can afford," Perry said.
The new law abolishes the Worker's Compensation Commission; the Department of Insurance will take over. Weekly benefits for injured workers will increase, and the new law creates an office of injured employee counsel.
And for their employers, there's the promise of lower worker's compensation premiums.
"I'm sorry, I can't hold my emotions right now," Frederick said, wiping tears away. "(I) know that I have at least hope now where I didn't have before, to go forward and get something done to get the surgery I need ... to get back on my feet."
While no one likes every aspect of the bill and no one expects an immediate fix, somewhere in the faces of injured and frustrated workers is a finally a glimmer of hope.
By BRETT SHIPP / WFAA ABC 8
FORT WORTH, Texas - With the stroke of his pen, on Wednesday Governor Rick Perry brought hope to thousands of injured workers across Texas.
Robert Frederick of Dallas is among those workers. Frederick has lived in a self-described "hell" for three years while his insurance company denied him surgery.
Construction worker David Carter was also denied care by his insurance company, which said his injuries were not related to his fall at work.
Frederick and Carter are just two workers profiled over the past year and a half by News 8 who said they have been callously denied treatment and benefits by insurance companies too closely affiliated with worker's compensation officials.
Richard Reynolds, former director of the Texas Worker's Compensation Commission, denied having any affiliation with the insurance companies he was regulating.
"I have ... never worked as an employee of an insurance company, ever," Reynolds said. "I've never lobbied for an insurance company - period."
But according to Texas Ethics Commission records, Reynolds was a registered insurance lobbyist in 1999 and 2000. Even his old business card spells it out - "Reynolds and Associates, insurance specialists."
After more than 20 broadcast stories, numerous hearings and intense negotiations by senators and representatives, Perry made the overhaul of the worker's compensation system official while flanked by key lawmakers.
"With the reforms that are passed in House Bill 7, Texans hurt on the job will get get the improved care they deserve, at a lower price that employers can afford," Perry said.
The new law abolishes the Worker's Compensation Commission; the Department of Insurance will take over. Weekly benefits for injured workers will increase, and the new law creates an office of injured employee counsel.
And for their employers, there's the promise of lower worker's compensation premiums.
"I'm sorry, I can't hold my emotions right now," Frederick said, wiping tears away. "(I) know that I have at least hope now where I didn't have before, to go forward and get something done to get the surgery I need ... to get back on my feet."
While no one likes every aspect of the bill and no one expects an immediate fix, somewhere in the faces of injured and frustrated workers is a finally a glimmer of hope.
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TexasStooge
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- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
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School districts go 'back to square one'
N. Texas: Failure to reform school finance surprises few
By KIM BREEN / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - When the clock ran out on school finance proposals over the weekend, educators shared disappointment and some relief.
They didn't get the help they had been waiting for, but at least the plan they opposed was averted.
Now, they say, it's time to face reality.
a plan based on no help from the Legislature," Plano schools superintendent Doug Otto said. "When you think about it, this has been a constant issue for three years. We have nowhere to turn with regard to accessing additional revenue. We're faced with a deficit budget and some tough decisions to have to make a year from now."
The district has made about $18 million in cuts over the last two years, including teaching positions. He expects the school board to pass a budget later this month that will require dipping into $5 million to $10 million of the district's reserves, representing about 2 percent of the district's budget.
In Richardson, leaders have made $8 million in cuts to prepare for the coming year, including closing two schools.
Dallas Independent School District officials said they had prepared next year's budget on the assumption that the Legislature would not reach a resolution.
"The inaction that took place over the weekend just validated our reason for going to court," Dallas school spokesman Donald Claxton said. "They have had a history of not taking the action necessary. They had one more chance, and they failed again."
DISD administrators are proposing numerous cuts to balance the 2005-06 budget, which at one time included a $28 million deficit. The planned cost savings will include cutting 277 positions through attrition, eliminating two areas offices, reassigning 56 employees, and retiring 221 employees, who were offered incentives to retire.
'Just go home'
While school leaders held out hope there would be a resolution on school finance this session, few were shocked it didn't happen.
Given the option of another fruitless session or legislation that would have cost Richardson $1.1 million, Assistant Superintendent Tony Harkleroad knew which way he wanted legislators to proceed: "Just go home."
He and his colleagues figured lawmakers could use a break and come back to the issue fresh.
"Some of the legislation was just so bad," he said.
District leaders throughout the area agreed the finance plans under consideration were inadequate, but many were crushed that nothing was accomplished despite their trips to Austin and communication with legislators. Many finance leaders were juggling several budget proposals as they awaited word from the capital.
"I guess the good news is that we were pessimistic about the ability to solve the problem anyway, so we've been planning for the worst," said Mark Hyatt, assistant superintendent for support services at the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district. "It's just that difficult a problem."
Like many others, the district is at the limit for what it can tax residents. It doesn't anticipate large scale cuts for the coming year, but educators live in a climate where new programs are nearly always an unaffordable luxury.
"Our approach is for the most part doing our best to keep doing at least what we've been doing and trim around the edges," Mr. Hyatt said.
Many school leaders predicted it would be the courts that would force reform.
The Texas Supreme Court hears arguments July 6 on whether state schools are unconstitutionally underfunded. A lower court has ordered the state to act or face a school shutdown Oct. 1.
In the last three decades, Mr. Harkleroad said, "no meaningful school finance bills" have come out of the Legislature without court intervention.
Still optimistic
Dr. Cathy Bryce, superintendent for the Highland Park Independent School District, said she's disappointed at the outcome of the legislative session but optimistic about the future.
"At some point in time, the Legislature will be the deciding body, I think, that restructures school finance and builds adequate capacity for the future," she said. "My goal for them would be to look long term and put adequate capacity in there so people can plan for the future."
Officials in Southlake's Carroll school district had high hopes for school finance reform efforts, even forming a coalition to promote their views in Austin. The property-wealthy school district in northeast Tarrant County already has had to forgo teacher raises in recent years and cut some elementary programs.
School board president Erin Shoupp, who heads the coalition, said Wednesday that she's disappointed no decision was reached. But she's glad lawmakers didn't rush into a proposal that would further hurt school districts.
"Now we can go back to our representatives and senators when they're not stressed and time-constrained," she said. "Perhaps having this down time will give us a chance to help the lawmakers craft a better plan."
Irving Superintendent Jack Singley said legislators didn't listen to local school districts and inaction was probably best. He said he doesn't want the current system to remain in place, either.
The intent of the system, nicknamed Robin Hood, was to share the property wealth of the state, he said. But now property-poor districts, like Irving, share the same financial problems as property-wealthy districts.
"All you do now is maintain and worry about how to not cut jobs and how to pay to open new schools," he said. "In that respect, we're sharing the same trench with them."
Staff writers Laurie Fox, Tawnell D. Hobbs and Kristen Holland contributed to this report.
N. Texas: Failure to reform school finance surprises few
By KIM BREEN / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - When the clock ran out on school finance proposals over the weekend, educators shared disappointment and some relief.
They didn't get the help they had been waiting for, but at least the plan they opposed was averted.
Now, they say, it's time to face reality.
a plan based on no help from the Legislature," Plano schools superintendent Doug Otto said. "When you think about it, this has been a constant issue for three years. We have nowhere to turn with regard to accessing additional revenue. We're faced with a deficit budget and some tough decisions to have to make a year from now."
The district has made about $18 million in cuts over the last two years, including teaching positions. He expects the school board to pass a budget later this month that will require dipping into $5 million to $10 million of the district's reserves, representing about 2 percent of the district's budget.
In Richardson, leaders have made $8 million in cuts to prepare for the coming year, including closing two schools.
Dallas Independent School District officials said they had prepared next year's budget on the assumption that the Legislature would not reach a resolution.
"The inaction that took place over the weekend just validated our reason for going to court," Dallas school spokesman Donald Claxton said. "They have had a history of not taking the action necessary. They had one more chance, and they failed again."
DISD administrators are proposing numerous cuts to balance the 2005-06 budget, which at one time included a $28 million deficit. The planned cost savings will include cutting 277 positions through attrition, eliminating two areas offices, reassigning 56 employees, and retiring 221 employees, who were offered incentives to retire.
'Just go home'
While school leaders held out hope there would be a resolution on school finance this session, few were shocked it didn't happen.
Given the option of another fruitless session or legislation that would have cost Richardson $1.1 million, Assistant Superintendent Tony Harkleroad knew which way he wanted legislators to proceed: "Just go home."
He and his colleagues figured lawmakers could use a break and come back to the issue fresh.
"Some of the legislation was just so bad," he said.
District leaders throughout the area agreed the finance plans under consideration were inadequate, but many were crushed that nothing was accomplished despite their trips to Austin and communication with legislators. Many finance leaders were juggling several budget proposals as they awaited word from the capital.
"I guess the good news is that we were pessimistic about the ability to solve the problem anyway, so we've been planning for the worst," said Mark Hyatt, assistant superintendent for support services at the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district. "It's just that difficult a problem."
Like many others, the district is at the limit for what it can tax residents. It doesn't anticipate large scale cuts for the coming year, but educators live in a climate where new programs are nearly always an unaffordable luxury.
"Our approach is for the most part doing our best to keep doing at least what we've been doing and trim around the edges," Mr. Hyatt said.
Many school leaders predicted it would be the courts that would force reform.
The Texas Supreme Court hears arguments July 6 on whether state schools are unconstitutionally underfunded. A lower court has ordered the state to act or face a school shutdown Oct. 1.
In the last three decades, Mr. Harkleroad said, "no meaningful school finance bills" have come out of the Legislature without court intervention.
Still optimistic
Dr. Cathy Bryce, superintendent for the Highland Park Independent School District, said she's disappointed at the outcome of the legislative session but optimistic about the future.
"At some point in time, the Legislature will be the deciding body, I think, that restructures school finance and builds adequate capacity for the future," she said. "My goal for them would be to look long term and put adequate capacity in there so people can plan for the future."
Officials in Southlake's Carroll school district had high hopes for school finance reform efforts, even forming a coalition to promote their views in Austin. The property-wealthy school district in northeast Tarrant County already has had to forgo teacher raises in recent years and cut some elementary programs.
School board president Erin Shoupp, who heads the coalition, said Wednesday that she's disappointed no decision was reached. But she's glad lawmakers didn't rush into a proposal that would further hurt school districts.
"Now we can go back to our representatives and senators when they're not stressed and time-constrained," she said. "Perhaps having this down time will give us a chance to help the lawmakers craft a better plan."
Irving Superintendent Jack Singley said legislators didn't listen to local school districts and inaction was probably best. He said he doesn't want the current system to remain in place, either.
The intent of the system, nicknamed Robin Hood, was to share the property wealth of the state, he said. But now property-poor districts, like Irving, share the same financial problems as property-wealthy districts.
"All you do now is maintain and worry about how to not cut jobs and how to pay to open new schools," he said. "In that respect, we're sharing the same trench with them."
Staff writers Laurie Fox, Tawnell D. Hobbs and Kristen Holland contributed to this report.
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TexasStooge
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Abbott: Unregistered sex offenders beware
HOUSTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - Attorney General Greg Abbott has a message for convicted sex offenders: register or be arrested.
Abbott announced Wednesday he would make a priority of tracking down sex offenders who fail to register or update their registration with local law enforcement.
"Texans have a right to know if a sex offender lives in their community," said Abbott, who didn't have an estimate of the number of unregistered sex offenders in Texas. "These people that don't register pose a risk to children and all Texans."
The program, called Operation Missing Predator, was launched internally about two weeks ago and has netted four convicted sex offenders who failed to update their registration.
The four men are from the Houston area, and three have pleaded guilty to failing to register, a third-degree felony, and will be sentenced to two years in prison. The fourth man's case is pending. The punishment range for failing to register or keep it current is two to 10 years in prison.
He pointed to the recent case of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford of Florida as evidence of the importance of keeping sex offenders whereabouts updated. A convicted sex offender who did not register his new Florida address is accused of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing Lunsford.
"We've got to track down these offenders and put them behind bars," Abbott said. "I want to do all I can to ensure that in the state of Texas, we don't have a Jessica Lunsford incident."
State law requires that sex offenders register once a year, and they must update their registration within seven days of moving. Offenders who have two convictions of violent offenses must register every 90 days.
A sex offender's registration includes an address and some details of the crime. That information, and a picture of the offender, is available on the Internet through the Department of Public Safety's centralized database. More than 42,000 sex offenders are registered in Texas.
The attorney general's Fugitive Unit will work to identify unregistered offenders by reviewing lists of offenders released from prison.
"This is a work-intensive project," he said, flanked by posters of the mug shots of the four sex offenders who were recently arrested. "It's not easy to find these offenders. They are trying to hide from their responsibility to register."
HOUSTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - Attorney General Greg Abbott has a message for convicted sex offenders: register or be arrested.
Abbott announced Wednesday he would make a priority of tracking down sex offenders who fail to register or update their registration with local law enforcement.
"Texans have a right to know if a sex offender lives in their community," said Abbott, who didn't have an estimate of the number of unregistered sex offenders in Texas. "These people that don't register pose a risk to children and all Texans."
The program, called Operation Missing Predator, was launched internally about two weeks ago and has netted four convicted sex offenders who failed to update their registration.
The four men are from the Houston area, and three have pleaded guilty to failing to register, a third-degree felony, and will be sentenced to two years in prison. The fourth man's case is pending. The punishment range for failing to register or keep it current is two to 10 years in prison.
He pointed to the recent case of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford of Florida as evidence of the importance of keeping sex offenders whereabouts updated. A convicted sex offender who did not register his new Florida address is accused of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing Lunsford.
"We've got to track down these offenders and put them behind bars," Abbott said. "I want to do all I can to ensure that in the state of Texas, we don't have a Jessica Lunsford incident."
State law requires that sex offenders register once a year, and they must update their registration within seven days of moving. Offenders who have two convictions of violent offenses must register every 90 days.
A sex offender's registration includes an address and some details of the crime. That information, and a picture of the offender, is available on the Internet through the Department of Public Safety's centralized database. More than 42,000 sex offenders are registered in Texas.
The attorney general's Fugitive Unit will work to identify unregistered offenders by reviewing lists of offenders released from prison.
"This is a work-intensive project," he said, flanked by posters of the mug shots of the four sex offenders who were recently arrested. "It's not easy to find these offenders. They are trying to hide from their responsibility to register."
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rainstorm
TexasStooge wrote:Carjack victim a 'survivor'
By BRAD WATSON / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Two suspects are dead and police are searching for a third man in a carjacking that started Wednesday morning in Lancaster and ended in Dallas.
Police said the two men died when they crashed the stolen car near the intersection of Hampton and Camp Wisdom roads in Southwest Dallas.
Those suspects were identified as 19-year-old Christopher Fason and 20-year-old Kendrick Canady, both of Dallas.
The carjacking victim, Mike Frazier, survived - and said it's not the first time he has lived through a dangerous expeirence.
"It was just by the grace of God that I didn't lose my life, because they was definitely trying to kill me," said Frazier.
Lancaster police said 30 minutes earlier, as Frazier arrived to visit a friend at an apartment complex, the men forced him from his car at gunpoint. But Frazier pushed the man with the gun and ran.
"They began to shoot at me," Frazier siad. "I was able to escape."
He knows about escaping. In May 1995, Frazier lost his parents, his two-year-old daughter, an 11-year-old nephew and his fiancee when floodwaters from Five Mile Creek rolled over the street they were on near the Dallas Zoo and swept away their car. Frazier escaped then by hanging to a tree.
"If I survived that, I can survive this," he said. "I'm a survivor - I survived ten years ago."
But in the years after that tragic incident, there was nothing to hang on to.
"I lost my present family and I lost my future family, and so I went through a state of depression (and) loneliness," he said. "I even thought about taking my own life."
But through faith and friends, he pulled through, wrote a book about surviving tragedy and dedicated his life as a musician to helping others in similar despair.
To him, the carjacking confirms his work.
"God has blessed me, and I'm going to continue to demonstrate that God has blessed me," he said.
thank goodness the suspects are dead. saves time and money on trails, and they will never committ a crime again
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TexasStooge
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City, developer revive Mercantile plan
By CHRIS HEINBAUGH / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - During a last-ditch trip to Washington on Wednesday, Dallas city leaders revived a deal to redevelop the downtown Mercantile complex.
The complex between Main and Commerce streets has been vacant since 1993, and three previous attempts to redevelop the complex have failed.
Developer Forest City began negotiations last summer, but city leaders began scrambling last week when the deal collapsed.
"Dallas is officially married to Forest City for a downtown deal at the Mercantile Tower, so we're very excited," mayor Laura Miller said following Wednesday's meeting.
The deal involves about $60 million in tax incentives to redevelop the entire Mercantile block. The main building with a historic clock tower will stay, but the remaining three buildings will go. A new building, an underground parking garage and green space will take their place, bringing retail and 375 apartments.
In Washington, the mayor said it's about the same money as before, but the plan was expanded and fast-tracked.
"It's a more ambitious plan," Miller said. "We're going to bring more apartments on line (and) more retail, so it's a better deal for the citizens - and it was worth it for the five hours we spent here with Forest City."
The plan calls for transforming the historic Continental Building into condos; the city will share in the profits from those sales. Forest City will also develop the Atmos Energy complex nearby.
"We're just thrilled to be back at the point to where we can start the hard work of getting that to happen," said Forest City's Ron Ratner.
The deal must still be approved by the full City Council, but three council members were part of the negotiations and most everyone else appears to be on board.
Forest City said it will finish purchasing the Mercantile site by September, with plans to begin construction in six to nine months.
By CHRIS HEINBAUGH / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - During a last-ditch trip to Washington on Wednesday, Dallas city leaders revived a deal to redevelop the downtown Mercantile complex.
The complex between Main and Commerce streets has been vacant since 1993, and three previous attempts to redevelop the complex have failed.
Developer Forest City began negotiations last summer, but city leaders began scrambling last week when the deal collapsed.
"Dallas is officially married to Forest City for a downtown deal at the Mercantile Tower, so we're very excited," mayor Laura Miller said following Wednesday's meeting.
The deal involves about $60 million in tax incentives to redevelop the entire Mercantile block. The main building with a historic clock tower will stay, but the remaining three buildings will go. A new building, an underground parking garage and green space will take their place, bringing retail and 375 apartments.
In Washington, the mayor said it's about the same money as before, but the plan was expanded and fast-tracked.
"It's a more ambitious plan," Miller said. "We're going to bring more apartments on line (and) more retail, so it's a better deal for the citizens - and it was worth it for the five hours we spent here with Forest City."
The plan calls for transforming the historic Continental Building into condos; the city will share in the profits from those sales. Forest City will also develop the Atmos Energy complex nearby.
"We're just thrilled to be back at the point to where we can start the hard work of getting that to happen," said Forest City's Ron Ratner.
The deal must still be approved by the full City Council, but three council members were part of the negotiations and most everyone else appears to be on board.
Forest City said it will finish purchasing the Mercantile site by September, with plans to begin construction in six to nine months.
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TexasStooge
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City's mental health system in crisis
By KIM HORNER / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Dallas' mental health system for the area's poorest residents wins a lot of praise for doing what many thought impossible – treating more people without spending extra money.
The privatized pilot program, called NorthSTAR, won what is called the Oscar of government prizes from Harvard University for its innovative approach of blending mental health and addiction services.
Some are recommending its expansion statewide.
But the system's funding has been stretched beyond its limit because of increased need, forcing the elimination of dozens of jobs and reduced levels of service for residents. As the money gets tighter, officials are becoming concerned that more people in need of help will instead end up in emergency rooms, jails or even the street.
The system is "spiraling down," said David Kellogg, public policy director for the Mental Health Association of Greater Dallas.
"I've seen the system lurch from one crisis to another, and it continues to be in crisis," Mr. Kellogg said. "You can only slice the pie so thin."
Serving poor, uninsured
NorthSTAR, a complex managed care program that began in 1999, involves multiple agencies. In 2004, it provided mental health and addiction services to about 47,000 poor and uninsured residents, including many homeless – up from 30,799 in 2000.
The state hires Virginia-based for-profit ValueOptions to manage NorthSTAR services for Dallas, Collin, Rockwall, Hunt, Navarro, Ellis and Kaufman counties. ValueOptions, in turn, pays 10 local agencies to actually provide treatment. A board of local representatives, the Dallas Area NorthSTAR Authority, oversees the program.
In North Texas, the cutbacks are adding up:
•Dallas MetroCare Services, one of the local agencies, laid off 24 employees May 18 and cut another 36 jobs through attrition after losing $1.3 million since Sept. 1.
•The nonprofit MetroCare also cut 46 jobs in February and one of three teams that gave intensive help to the most-ill patients.
•Another provider, for-profit Telecare Corp., withdrew all but emergency services at the end of 2004 because of low reimbursements.
•And ValueOptions cut reimbursement rates three times between November 2003 and September 2004. Most recently, ValueOptions changed the way it pays Dallas MetroCare, amounting to fewer funds but a steadier income stream.
Supporters praise NorthSTAR for increasing access to care and giving people a choice in providers. The Mental Health Association in Texas and a University of Texas study recommended that the program be copied elsewhere in the state. But the funding remains an issue.
"It's in many ways a Cadillac model that has a Kia's funding," said Melodie Shatzer, president and chief executive officer of ABC Behavioral Health, one of the 10 subcontractors in the local mental health system. "We had hoped we could serve more people with less money, but we can't."
Budget woes
NorthSTAR's budget – a mix of state, county and Medicaid money – has not kept pace with a growing number of people seeking help, said Richard Sheola, president of ValueOptions' public sector division.
He said his company provides the best service it can given the funding.
"It bothers me; it makes me think sometimes we're stretched too far," Mr. Sheola said.
In 2004, ValueOptions received $120 million to serve 46,906 people in the area. The number of people seeking help has increased 52 percent since 2000, and the budget has increased 39 percent.
ValueOptions – which also manages mental health services for companies such as Belo Corp., parent company of The Dallas Morning News – receives four times as much money to provide mental health services to a similar size population in Maricopa County, Arizona, Mr. Sheola said. The larger financial commitment there is the result of litigation against the state.
Dallas MetroCare had been able to shield most patients from the budget cuts until now, said Dr. James Baker, the agency's chief executive officer.
"This time the patients are the losers," he said of the most recent cuts. "We want to work really hard to keep people out of hospitals, off the streets, out of jails – that's going to be our priorities going forward."
The funding issue extends to the entire state. Texas ranks 49th nationally in mental health spending per client, according to the Austin-based Mental Health Association in Texas. The Dallas-area system ranks 35th out of 40 regions or counties in spending per person for services, according to the Dallas Area NorthSTAR Authority.
The state Legislature in 2003 cut statewide mental health services by $60 million in the two-year budget cycle to help close a $10 billion budget shortfall without raising taxes.
Many Dallas-area advocates and patients asked the Legislature this year to devote more money to mental health services. Funding levels, which include Medicaid, should remain level.
Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville, chairwoman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, said mental health is difficult to fund because of a wide range of needs.
"There are extreme cases that require institutional care and cases better suited for outpatient services and drug therapy," she said. "These problems can manifest themselves in other parts of the state service rolls if they are not addressed."
'Sad situations'
Meanwhile, many homeless people addicted to drugs or alcohol cannot get enough treatment to stay sober, city caseworkers said.
"Our job is to go out here in the loneliest, most dangerous parts of town, kneel under these overpasses and get people to make a decision that will change their lives," said Ron Cowart, assistant manager of the city's Crisis Intervention Unit.
But when a person agrees to treatment, caseworkers often find rehab centers already full for the day. Others become homeless again soon after treatment because the standard two weeks of inpatient treatment is not enough.
"It's demoralizing," Mr. Cowart said.
One caseworker told of a woman who went through residential treatment in March but ended up relapsing and living under a bridge.
"She pleaded with us," caseworker Louis Adams said. " 'Don't let me go back to a [homeless] shelter.' "
Doug Denton, executive director for Homeward Bound Inc., another subcontractor in the local mental health system, said relapse is common during recovery. But people who relapse generally cannot receive authorization for inpatient treatment until a year has passed since their release.
"We have to move people through very quickly and rely on outpatient services for people who are so personally disorganized through substance abuse. ... They cannot participate in outpatient services to get rehabilitated," he said.
Homeless people fortunate enough to receive transitional housing have difficulty getting enough help to ensure that they take their psychiatric medications, said Ms. Shatzer of ABC Behavioral Health.
Some get into fights, start fires or become targets for drug dealers – creating liability problems for landlords, she said.
"We've had some real sad situations," she said. "Some of these vulnerable, naive people who are eager for acceptance, become prey. Pretty soon they [drug dealers] are dealing out of their apartments."
And when patients do get medication, it is often not the newest or most-effective drugs. Of the 18,000 Dallas-area patients served in a typical month, 1,074 are on a waiting list for the most effective psychiatric medications.
Seriously mentally ill people often lived in psychiatric hospitals until the federal government closed many of the facilities in the 1970s and early 1980s. Medications have helped many people with disabling mental illnesses, but there is not adequate funding to help them remain stable and pay for housing, experts say.
"We're ripping off people," said Dr. Joel Feiner, an acclaimed psychiatrist who used to be Telecare's medical director. "We're shortchanging them."
The state could save money in the long run by spending more upfront to prevent people from becoming so ill they end up in hospitals, jails and on the streets. Dr. Feiner closed a program he ran for mentally ill addicts under NorthSTAR because of a lack of money made it impossible to survive.
"It's like someone trying to tread water with a tracheotomy," Dr. Feiner said.
Dr. Baker of Dallas MetroCare said his agency plans to continue serving growing numbers, even if that means with less intensive services, because at least that way everybody gets some help.
"The state of Texas has a longstanding record of under-funding the need when it comes to mental health services," he said. "And the fact that the population continues to increase in this area but the funding doesn't means you have to make tough decisions about who gets services and how much they get."
By KIM HORNER / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Dallas' mental health system for the area's poorest residents wins a lot of praise for doing what many thought impossible – treating more people without spending extra money.
The privatized pilot program, called NorthSTAR, won what is called the Oscar of government prizes from Harvard University for its innovative approach of blending mental health and addiction services.
Some are recommending its expansion statewide.
But the system's funding has been stretched beyond its limit because of increased need, forcing the elimination of dozens of jobs and reduced levels of service for residents. As the money gets tighter, officials are becoming concerned that more people in need of help will instead end up in emergency rooms, jails or even the street.
The system is "spiraling down," said David Kellogg, public policy director for the Mental Health Association of Greater Dallas.
"I've seen the system lurch from one crisis to another, and it continues to be in crisis," Mr. Kellogg said. "You can only slice the pie so thin."
Serving poor, uninsured
NorthSTAR, a complex managed care program that began in 1999, involves multiple agencies. In 2004, it provided mental health and addiction services to about 47,000 poor and uninsured residents, including many homeless – up from 30,799 in 2000.
The state hires Virginia-based for-profit ValueOptions to manage NorthSTAR services for Dallas, Collin, Rockwall, Hunt, Navarro, Ellis and Kaufman counties. ValueOptions, in turn, pays 10 local agencies to actually provide treatment. A board of local representatives, the Dallas Area NorthSTAR Authority, oversees the program.
In North Texas, the cutbacks are adding up:
•Dallas MetroCare Services, one of the local agencies, laid off 24 employees May 18 and cut another 36 jobs through attrition after losing $1.3 million since Sept. 1.
•The nonprofit MetroCare also cut 46 jobs in February and one of three teams that gave intensive help to the most-ill patients.
•Another provider, for-profit Telecare Corp., withdrew all but emergency services at the end of 2004 because of low reimbursements.
•And ValueOptions cut reimbursement rates three times between November 2003 and September 2004. Most recently, ValueOptions changed the way it pays Dallas MetroCare, amounting to fewer funds but a steadier income stream.
Supporters praise NorthSTAR for increasing access to care and giving people a choice in providers. The Mental Health Association in Texas and a University of Texas study recommended that the program be copied elsewhere in the state. But the funding remains an issue.
"It's in many ways a Cadillac model that has a Kia's funding," said Melodie Shatzer, president and chief executive officer of ABC Behavioral Health, one of the 10 subcontractors in the local mental health system. "We had hoped we could serve more people with less money, but we can't."
Budget woes
NorthSTAR's budget – a mix of state, county and Medicaid money – has not kept pace with a growing number of people seeking help, said Richard Sheola, president of ValueOptions' public sector division.
He said his company provides the best service it can given the funding.
"It bothers me; it makes me think sometimes we're stretched too far," Mr. Sheola said.
In 2004, ValueOptions received $120 million to serve 46,906 people in the area. The number of people seeking help has increased 52 percent since 2000, and the budget has increased 39 percent.
ValueOptions – which also manages mental health services for companies such as Belo Corp., parent company of The Dallas Morning News – receives four times as much money to provide mental health services to a similar size population in Maricopa County, Arizona, Mr. Sheola said. The larger financial commitment there is the result of litigation against the state.
Dallas MetroCare had been able to shield most patients from the budget cuts until now, said Dr. James Baker, the agency's chief executive officer.
"This time the patients are the losers," he said of the most recent cuts. "We want to work really hard to keep people out of hospitals, off the streets, out of jails – that's going to be our priorities going forward."
The funding issue extends to the entire state. Texas ranks 49th nationally in mental health spending per client, according to the Austin-based Mental Health Association in Texas. The Dallas-area system ranks 35th out of 40 regions or counties in spending per person for services, according to the Dallas Area NorthSTAR Authority.
The state Legislature in 2003 cut statewide mental health services by $60 million in the two-year budget cycle to help close a $10 billion budget shortfall without raising taxes.
Many Dallas-area advocates and patients asked the Legislature this year to devote more money to mental health services. Funding levels, which include Medicaid, should remain level.
Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville, chairwoman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, said mental health is difficult to fund because of a wide range of needs.
"There are extreme cases that require institutional care and cases better suited for outpatient services and drug therapy," she said. "These problems can manifest themselves in other parts of the state service rolls if they are not addressed."
'Sad situations'
Meanwhile, many homeless people addicted to drugs or alcohol cannot get enough treatment to stay sober, city caseworkers said.
"Our job is to go out here in the loneliest, most dangerous parts of town, kneel under these overpasses and get people to make a decision that will change their lives," said Ron Cowart, assistant manager of the city's Crisis Intervention Unit.
But when a person agrees to treatment, caseworkers often find rehab centers already full for the day. Others become homeless again soon after treatment because the standard two weeks of inpatient treatment is not enough.
"It's demoralizing," Mr. Cowart said.
One caseworker told of a woman who went through residential treatment in March but ended up relapsing and living under a bridge.
"She pleaded with us," caseworker Louis Adams said. " 'Don't let me go back to a [homeless] shelter.' "
Doug Denton, executive director for Homeward Bound Inc., another subcontractor in the local mental health system, said relapse is common during recovery. But people who relapse generally cannot receive authorization for inpatient treatment until a year has passed since their release.
"We have to move people through very quickly and rely on outpatient services for people who are so personally disorganized through substance abuse. ... They cannot participate in outpatient services to get rehabilitated," he said.
Homeless people fortunate enough to receive transitional housing have difficulty getting enough help to ensure that they take their psychiatric medications, said Ms. Shatzer of ABC Behavioral Health.
Some get into fights, start fires or become targets for drug dealers – creating liability problems for landlords, she said.
"We've had some real sad situations," she said. "Some of these vulnerable, naive people who are eager for acceptance, become prey. Pretty soon they [drug dealers] are dealing out of their apartments."
And when patients do get medication, it is often not the newest or most-effective drugs. Of the 18,000 Dallas-area patients served in a typical month, 1,074 are on a waiting list for the most effective psychiatric medications.
Seriously mentally ill people often lived in psychiatric hospitals until the federal government closed many of the facilities in the 1970s and early 1980s. Medications have helped many people with disabling mental illnesses, but there is not adequate funding to help them remain stable and pay for housing, experts say.
"We're ripping off people," said Dr. Joel Feiner, an acclaimed psychiatrist who used to be Telecare's medical director. "We're shortchanging them."
The state could save money in the long run by spending more upfront to prevent people from becoming so ill they end up in hospitals, jails and on the streets. Dr. Feiner closed a program he ran for mentally ill addicts under NorthSTAR because of a lack of money made it impossible to survive.
"It's like someone trying to tread water with a tracheotomy," Dr. Feiner said.
Dr. Baker of Dallas MetroCare said his agency plans to continue serving growing numbers, even if that means with less intensive services, because at least that way everybody gets some help.
"The state of Texas has a longstanding record of under-funding the need when it comes to mental health services," he said. "And the fact that the population continues to increase in this area but the funding doesn't means you have to make tough decisions about who gets services and how much they get."
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TexasStooge
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Texas officials shun border patrol group
HARLINGEN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/The Dallas Morning News/AP) - The controversial civilian patrol group that helped capture hundreds of illegal immigrants along the Mexico-Arizona border and won praise from California's governor is getting a pre-emptive cold shoulder in Texas.
Minuteman Project organizer Chris Simcox warned that if Congress didn't buttress the U.S. Border Patrol with National Guard or other military troops this summer, the patrol would deploy to California in August and Texas in October.
But although Minuteman organizers said nearly 1,000 volunteers from around the country were ready, Texas civil rights groups, clergy, newspaper editorial boards and politicians are folding up the welcome mats.
"I think it's a problem all of Texas has with having vigilante groups from other parts of the country come to our state to try to tell us how to run our business," said Democratic state Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, an author of a resolution that urged Gov. Rick Perry to oppose Minuteman plans.
Eleven senators signed it, and Democratic state Sen. Rodney Ellis wrote Perry that Minutemen "are not welcome in Texas." Perry responded that he can't ban people from legal activity.
"He understands and appreciates the frustration that many Texans have with illegal immigration and its impact on national security, but ultimately this is a federal issue," Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt said.
The Minuteman Project drew international attention in April when volunteers showed up in Arizona to prove the border could be secured simply by putting more personnel there. While they didn't apprehend immigrants, Simcox said the group alerted the Border Patrol to suspicious behavior and helped catch 335 immigrants.
Yet the Texas border differs from the Arizona border in key ways.
Most of the Texas land is privately owned, so Minutemen would need landowners' permission to be there. The border also is overwhelmingly Hispanic and more urban, and Minutemen opponents wonder how the volunteers will distinguish illegal immigrants.
Opponents also fear the movement is fomenting racial hatred.
"I don't think that there's any doubt that there's a tinge of racism beneath the surface in their attempt to try to stop immigrants from Mexico," Hinojosa said. "Why don't they do that in Canada?"
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in a radio interview in April said the patrols "have done a terrific job." An aide later said the governor would welcome the Minuteman Project in California.
After protesters in California threw rocks and unopened soda cans at police and attendees at a speech by Minuteman founder Jim Gilchrist, Simcox called the protesters "brown supremacists."
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat, said she smelled such trouble long ago. She wrote an amendment to a Homeland Security budget bill that blocks funding to "any border patrol activities that are unauthorized by law."
She said the Minuteman Project was "an appropriate wake-up call for the United States" about the need to better fund border security. But, she said, it has completed its mission and needs to disband because of potential for violence.
But Shannon McGauley, an Arlington resident and a founder of Texas Minutemen L.L.C., one of several groups forming under the Minuteman Project, said the group would be peaceful and wanted to call attention to the danger of terrorists as well as illegal immigrants.
"Right now, Baghdad's more secure than the border," he said.
HARLINGEN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/The Dallas Morning News/AP) - The controversial civilian patrol group that helped capture hundreds of illegal immigrants along the Mexico-Arizona border and won praise from California's governor is getting a pre-emptive cold shoulder in Texas.
Minuteman Project organizer Chris Simcox warned that if Congress didn't buttress the U.S. Border Patrol with National Guard or other military troops this summer, the patrol would deploy to California in August and Texas in October.
But although Minuteman organizers said nearly 1,000 volunteers from around the country were ready, Texas civil rights groups, clergy, newspaper editorial boards and politicians are folding up the welcome mats.
"I think it's a problem all of Texas has with having vigilante groups from other parts of the country come to our state to try to tell us how to run our business," said Democratic state Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, an author of a resolution that urged Gov. Rick Perry to oppose Minuteman plans.
Eleven senators signed it, and Democratic state Sen. Rodney Ellis wrote Perry that Minutemen "are not welcome in Texas." Perry responded that he can't ban people from legal activity.
"He understands and appreciates the frustration that many Texans have with illegal immigration and its impact on national security, but ultimately this is a federal issue," Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt said.
The Minuteman Project drew international attention in April when volunteers showed up in Arizona to prove the border could be secured simply by putting more personnel there. While they didn't apprehend immigrants, Simcox said the group alerted the Border Patrol to suspicious behavior and helped catch 335 immigrants.
Yet the Texas border differs from the Arizona border in key ways.
Most of the Texas land is privately owned, so Minutemen would need landowners' permission to be there. The border also is overwhelmingly Hispanic and more urban, and Minutemen opponents wonder how the volunteers will distinguish illegal immigrants.
Opponents also fear the movement is fomenting racial hatred.
"I don't think that there's any doubt that there's a tinge of racism beneath the surface in their attempt to try to stop immigrants from Mexico," Hinojosa said. "Why don't they do that in Canada?"
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in a radio interview in April said the patrols "have done a terrific job." An aide later said the governor would welcome the Minuteman Project in California.
After protesters in California threw rocks and unopened soda cans at police and attendees at a speech by Minuteman founder Jim Gilchrist, Simcox called the protesters "brown supremacists."
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat, said she smelled such trouble long ago. She wrote an amendment to a Homeland Security budget bill that blocks funding to "any border patrol activities that are unauthorized by law."
She said the Minuteman Project was "an appropriate wake-up call for the United States" about the need to better fund border security. But, she said, it has completed its mission and needs to disband because of potential for violence.
But Shannon McGauley, an Arlington resident and a founder of Texas Minutemen L.L.C., one of several groups forming under the Minuteman Project, said the group would be peaceful and wanted to call attention to the danger of terrorists as well as illegal immigrants.
"Right now, Baghdad's more secure than the border," he said.
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TexasStooge
- Category 5
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- Contact:
Patients: VA improvements not enough
By DOUG J. SWANSON / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Terry O'Brien, a 23-year-old ex-Coast Guardsman with leukemia, said he received plenty of attention during his recent stay at the Dallas veterans hospital – from the fleas, not the medical staff.
"I was scared to stay there," Mr. O'Brien said. "I felt like I would die there."
After four days in April at the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center – a stay that he and his parents say was marked by vermin and neglect – Mr. O'Brien collected his belongings and left. He went immediately to Medical City Dallas Hospital.
"It was like going to the Four Seasons from the E. coli Lodge," said his mother, Anna O'Brien.
He is scheduled to undergo a bone marrow transplant today at Medical City.
VA hospital officials say their treatment of Mr. O'Brien met or exceeded their standards. They deny his allegations, which come as the VA trumpets vast improvements at the much-criticized medical center.
Allen Clark, public affairs officer for the VA hospital, said Mr. O'Brien might have expected too much. "He had certain expectations that may have been laid on him by the people at Medical City," Mr. Clark said. "This one didn't look as nice as Medical City."
Mr. O'Brien's father, Bob O'Brien, said his concerns went far beyond appearances. "I think you get better care at a homeless shelter than you get over there," he said.
Such accusations are nothing new for the Dallas veterans medical center, which has been beset by complaints and critical government reports over the past seven months.
Earlier this year The Dallas Morning News published accounts by patients and doctors of abuse and neglect at the Dallas VA. Bedridden patients told of spending hours calling for help and being ignored.
Officials say they have addressed nearly all the problems. Mr. O'Brien's unhappy departure from the VA came two weeks before Jonathan Perlin, undersecretary for health for the Department of Veterans Affairs, praised the hospital's improved performance.
In an April 29 speech to hospital staff, Dr. Perlin said they had managed "one of the most remarkable turnarounds in our department's history."
Dr. Perlin alluded to a Veterans Affairs Inspector General's report from last year that called the hospital dirty, dangerous to patients and badly managed. "I think the inspector general, if he visited today, would find a very different facility from the one he saw last year," Dr. Perlin said.
That was not Mr. O'Brien's experience. "They just wouldn't take care of me at all," he said.
He spoke from his bed Wednesday at Medical City, hollow-eyed and bald from chemotherapy. He has a four-leaf clover tattooed on his left arm and a scorpion on his right. With the Coast Guard, he was assigned to search-and-rescue operations in Cape May, N.J.
Mr. O'Brien left the Guard last summer. Because military medical staff had failed to discover his illness in its initial stages, he said, he has 100 percent service-connected disability status.
Living with his parents in the East Texas town of Tatum, he received chemotherapy at the VA hospital in Shreveport early this year. When his condition worsened in March, his family physician recommended that he go to Medical City.
But his parents soon discovered that his Medicaid coverage had lapsed. Mr. O'Brien then went to the Dallas VA, where he had full benefits.
He and his mother arrived at the Oak Cliff hospital on the evening of April 12. The ambulance crew took them to his room on the seventh floor, his mother said.
"We stood there for two and a half hours before anyone came down to acknowledge we were there," said Mrs. O'Brien, who works as a phlebotomist for an East Texas physician. "Terry finally had to make his own bed."
VA spokesman Mr. Clark denied that the patient had to make his own bed. "That's totally wrong," he said. "That's all there is to it."
Mr. O'Brien said he soon encountered other problems, such as an attendant who gave him injections of medications. "She set all the needles on the bed," he said. "One fell on the floor, and she picked it right back up and used it."
Mr. Clark said he found it "very difficult to imagine" that such a situation would occur.
His doctor at Medical City, concerned about fever and the effects of his powerful medications, told Mr. O'Brien his vital signs must be checked every four hours. At the Dallas VA, the policy is to check them at least once every 8-hour shift.
When Mr. O'Brien complained to nurses, he said, "they'd tell me, 'You help us. You call us every four hours to remind us.' "
That didn't work either, he said. "There was six or seven hours that I'd go without seeing a nurse," he said.
Hospital records show that Mr. O'Brien's vital signs were checked 14 times over a 68-hour period, said Mr. Clark, the spokesman. All were within normal ranges, he said.
Mr. O'Brien also complained that nurses often monitored him only by peering through the small window in his door.
Mr. Clark said the patient had asked to be left alone as much as possible because of his compromised immune system. "It was obvious he did not want anybody around any more than necessary," Mr. Clark said.
Not so, said Mr. O'Brien. "I asked them to come in," he said. "They just weren't taking care of me at all."
When a flea bit him and he found other fleas in his bed, Mr. O'Brien said, attendants covered his floor with flypaper.
Spokesman Clark said that only one flea was reported to be found and that bed linens were changed immediately. A single flea does not constitute a major sanitation problem, he said.
Mr. O'Brien left the Dallas VA on the fourth day of his stay and returned to Medical City at the urging of private doctors.
He has been covered by private insurance since May 1, but bills from his uncovered period at Medical City exceed $200,000. His father has asked the VA to pay at least part of that. A VA spokesman said that request is under review.
Betty Bolin Brown, director of the Dallas veterans hospital, told Mr. O'Brien in a recent letter, "I am disappointed to hear that you have chosen to receive your transplant at Medical City. ...We have all the services you currently require."
And spokesman Mr. Clark said the Dallas VA strives to give quality care to all veterans, but "we are especially concerned about the newer vets."
On Friday Mr. O'Brien suffered a major seizure in his room at Medical City. "It was Code Blue, he stopped breathing, everything," his father said. "The nurse was right here. If he'd been at the VA, he'd be dead.
"No more than they were coming in the room at the VA?" his father said. "It could have been hours and hours before they found him."
By DOUG J. SWANSON / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Terry O'Brien, a 23-year-old ex-Coast Guardsman with leukemia, said he received plenty of attention during his recent stay at the Dallas veterans hospital – from the fleas, not the medical staff.
"I was scared to stay there," Mr. O'Brien said. "I felt like I would die there."
After four days in April at the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center – a stay that he and his parents say was marked by vermin and neglect – Mr. O'Brien collected his belongings and left. He went immediately to Medical City Dallas Hospital.
"It was like going to the Four Seasons from the E. coli Lodge," said his mother, Anna O'Brien.
He is scheduled to undergo a bone marrow transplant today at Medical City.
VA hospital officials say their treatment of Mr. O'Brien met or exceeded their standards. They deny his allegations, which come as the VA trumpets vast improvements at the much-criticized medical center.
Allen Clark, public affairs officer for the VA hospital, said Mr. O'Brien might have expected too much. "He had certain expectations that may have been laid on him by the people at Medical City," Mr. Clark said. "This one didn't look as nice as Medical City."
Mr. O'Brien's father, Bob O'Brien, said his concerns went far beyond appearances. "I think you get better care at a homeless shelter than you get over there," he said.
Such accusations are nothing new for the Dallas veterans medical center, which has been beset by complaints and critical government reports over the past seven months.
Earlier this year The Dallas Morning News published accounts by patients and doctors of abuse and neglect at the Dallas VA. Bedridden patients told of spending hours calling for help and being ignored.
Officials say they have addressed nearly all the problems. Mr. O'Brien's unhappy departure from the VA came two weeks before Jonathan Perlin, undersecretary for health for the Department of Veterans Affairs, praised the hospital's improved performance.
In an April 29 speech to hospital staff, Dr. Perlin said they had managed "one of the most remarkable turnarounds in our department's history."
Dr. Perlin alluded to a Veterans Affairs Inspector General's report from last year that called the hospital dirty, dangerous to patients and badly managed. "I think the inspector general, if he visited today, would find a very different facility from the one he saw last year," Dr. Perlin said.
That was not Mr. O'Brien's experience. "They just wouldn't take care of me at all," he said.
He spoke from his bed Wednesday at Medical City, hollow-eyed and bald from chemotherapy. He has a four-leaf clover tattooed on his left arm and a scorpion on his right. With the Coast Guard, he was assigned to search-and-rescue operations in Cape May, N.J.
Mr. O'Brien left the Guard last summer. Because military medical staff had failed to discover his illness in its initial stages, he said, he has 100 percent service-connected disability status.
Living with his parents in the East Texas town of Tatum, he received chemotherapy at the VA hospital in Shreveport early this year. When his condition worsened in March, his family physician recommended that he go to Medical City.
But his parents soon discovered that his Medicaid coverage had lapsed. Mr. O'Brien then went to the Dallas VA, where he had full benefits.
He and his mother arrived at the Oak Cliff hospital on the evening of April 12. The ambulance crew took them to his room on the seventh floor, his mother said.
"We stood there for two and a half hours before anyone came down to acknowledge we were there," said Mrs. O'Brien, who works as a phlebotomist for an East Texas physician. "Terry finally had to make his own bed."
VA spokesman Mr. Clark denied that the patient had to make his own bed. "That's totally wrong," he said. "That's all there is to it."
Mr. O'Brien said he soon encountered other problems, such as an attendant who gave him injections of medications. "She set all the needles on the bed," he said. "One fell on the floor, and she picked it right back up and used it."
Mr. Clark said he found it "very difficult to imagine" that such a situation would occur.
His doctor at Medical City, concerned about fever and the effects of his powerful medications, told Mr. O'Brien his vital signs must be checked every four hours. At the Dallas VA, the policy is to check them at least once every 8-hour shift.
When Mr. O'Brien complained to nurses, he said, "they'd tell me, 'You help us. You call us every four hours to remind us.' "
That didn't work either, he said. "There was six or seven hours that I'd go without seeing a nurse," he said.
Hospital records show that Mr. O'Brien's vital signs were checked 14 times over a 68-hour period, said Mr. Clark, the spokesman. All were within normal ranges, he said.
Mr. O'Brien also complained that nurses often monitored him only by peering through the small window in his door.
Mr. Clark said the patient had asked to be left alone as much as possible because of his compromised immune system. "It was obvious he did not want anybody around any more than necessary," Mr. Clark said.
Not so, said Mr. O'Brien. "I asked them to come in," he said. "They just weren't taking care of me at all."
When a flea bit him and he found other fleas in his bed, Mr. O'Brien said, attendants covered his floor with flypaper.
Spokesman Clark said that only one flea was reported to be found and that bed linens were changed immediately. A single flea does not constitute a major sanitation problem, he said.
Mr. O'Brien left the Dallas VA on the fourth day of his stay and returned to Medical City at the urging of private doctors.
He has been covered by private insurance since May 1, but bills from his uncovered period at Medical City exceed $200,000. His father has asked the VA to pay at least part of that. A VA spokesman said that request is under review.
Betty Bolin Brown, director of the Dallas veterans hospital, told Mr. O'Brien in a recent letter, "I am disappointed to hear that you have chosen to receive your transplant at Medical City. ...We have all the services you currently require."
And spokesman Mr. Clark said the Dallas VA strives to give quality care to all veterans, but "we are especially concerned about the newer vets."
On Friday Mr. O'Brien suffered a major seizure in his room at Medical City. "It was Code Blue, he stopped breathing, everything," his father said. "The nurse was right here. If he'd been at the VA, he'd be dead.
"No more than they were coming in the room at the VA?" his father said. "It could have been hours and hours before they found him."
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TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
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- Contact:
Austin-area Oasis eatery destroyed (Updated)
AUSTIN, Texas (The Dallas Morning News/AP) - An early morning blaze Wednesday destroyed the popular Oasis restaurant that overlooks the cliffs of Lake Travis.
The restaurant has become a mandatory stop for countless tourists and visitors to the Austin area, where people would drink and dine on wood porches while taking in sunset views.
Fire broke out about 4:30 a.m. and quickly engulfed the restaurant. Flames could be seen from several miles away, and a plume of smoke was visible from downtown Austin, authorities said.
The fire might have been caused by a lightning strike to one of the restaurant's decks when a line of thunderstorms swept into the area, said Hudson Bend Fire Chief Bruce Watson.
"What neighbors are telling us is it was one of the decks," Watson said. "They said it was solid red."
The cause remained under investigation. Watson said no employees were at the restaurant when the fire started, and there were no injuries.
Owner Beau Theriot said his niece, who lives near the restaurant, heard an explosion early Wednesday and called 911. She then ran to his house about a quarter-mile from the restaurant and beat on his door until he woke up, Theriot said.
"Myself and 280 employees are devastated, to say the least," he said. "It's just a nightmare come true. It's just a heartbreaker."
By 7 a.m. dozens of employees, some still in their pajamas, arrived to watch the Oasis burn and share in each other's shock and grief.
Over the years the Oasis has grown considerably on its 500-acre site. Theriot added decks, a bell tower, a wedding chapel, a banquet hall and private dining areas. The facility could hold up to 2,000 customers.
As the sun dipped behind the surrounding hills each night, employees would ring a bell as customers cheered.
Theriot estimated the restaurant sustained at least $1 million in damage. He said there is no question that he will rebuild.
"I've got 24 years of creation over there," he said, "and I've got to start re-creating."
AUSTIN, Texas (The Dallas Morning News/AP) - An early morning blaze Wednesday destroyed the popular Oasis restaurant that overlooks the cliffs of Lake Travis.
The restaurant has become a mandatory stop for countless tourists and visitors to the Austin area, where people would drink and dine on wood porches while taking in sunset views.
Fire broke out about 4:30 a.m. and quickly engulfed the restaurant. Flames could be seen from several miles away, and a plume of smoke was visible from downtown Austin, authorities said.
The fire might have been caused by a lightning strike to one of the restaurant's decks when a line of thunderstorms swept into the area, said Hudson Bend Fire Chief Bruce Watson.
"What neighbors are telling us is it was one of the decks," Watson said. "They said it was solid red."
The cause remained under investigation. Watson said no employees were at the restaurant when the fire started, and there were no injuries.
Owner Beau Theriot said his niece, who lives near the restaurant, heard an explosion early Wednesday and called 911. She then ran to his house about a quarter-mile from the restaurant and beat on his door until he woke up, Theriot said.
"Myself and 280 employees are devastated, to say the least," he said. "It's just a nightmare come true. It's just a heartbreaker."
By 7 a.m. dozens of employees, some still in their pajamas, arrived to watch the Oasis burn and share in each other's shock and grief.
Over the years the Oasis has grown considerably on its 500-acre site. Theriot added decks, a bell tower, a wedding chapel, a banquet hall and private dining areas. The facility could hold up to 2,000 customers.
As the sun dipped behind the surrounding hills each night, employees would ring a bell as customers cheered.
Theriot estimated the restaurant sustained at least $1 million in damage. He said there is no question that he will rebuild.
"I've got 24 years of creation over there," he said, "and I've got to start re-creating."
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rainstorm
TexasStooge wrote:Texas officials shun border patrol group
HARLINGEN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/The Dallas Morning News/AP) - The controversial civilian patrol group that helped capture hundreds of illegal immigrants along the Mexico-Arizona border and won praise from California's governor is getting a pre-emptive cold shoulder in Texas.
Minuteman Project organizer Chris Simcox warned that if Congress didn't buttress the U.S. Border Patrol with National Guard or other military troops this summer, the patrol would deploy to California in August and Texas in October.
But although Minuteman organizers said nearly 1,000 volunteers from around the country were ready, Texas civil rights groups, clergy, newspaper editorial boards and politicians are folding up the welcome mats.
"I think it's a problem all of Texas has with having vigilante groups from other parts of the country come to our state to try to tell us how to run our business," said Democratic state Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, an author of a resolution that urged Gov. Rick Perry to oppose Minuteman plans.
Eleven senators signed it, and Democratic state Sen. Rodney Ellis wrote Perry that Minutemen "are not welcome in Texas." Perry responded that he can't ban people from legal activity.
"He understands and appreciates the frustration that many Texans have with illegal immigration and its impact on national security, but ultimately this is a federal issue," Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt said.
The Minuteman Project drew international attention in April when volunteers showed up in Arizona to prove the border could be secured simply by putting more personnel there. While they didn't apprehend immigrants, Simcox said the group alerted the Border Patrol to suspicious behavior and helped catch 335 immigrants.
Yet the Texas border differs from the Arizona border in key ways.
Most of the Texas land is privately owned, so Minutemen would need landowners' permission to be there. The border also is overwhelmingly Hispanic and more urban, and Minutemen opponents wonder how the volunteers will distinguish illegal immigrants.
Opponents also fear the movement is fomenting racial hatred.
"I don't think that there's any doubt that there's a tinge of racism beneath the surface in their attempt to try to stop immigrants from Mexico," Hinojosa said. "Why don't they do that in Canada?"
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in a radio interview in April said the patrols "have done a terrific job." An aide later said the governor would welcome the Minuteman Project in California.
After protesters in California threw rocks and unopened soda cans at police and attendees at a speech by Minuteman founder Jim Gilchrist, Simcox called the protesters "brown supremacists."
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat, said she smelled such trouble long ago. She wrote an amendment to a Homeland Security budget bill that blocks funding to "any border patrol activities that are unauthorized by law."
She said the Minuteman Project was "an appropriate wake-up call for the United States" about the need to better fund border security. But, she said, it has completed its mission and needs to disband because of potential for violence.
But Shannon McGauley, an Arlington resident and a founder of Texas Minutemen L.L.C., one of several groups forming under the Minuteman Project, said the group would be peaceful and wanted to call attention to the danger of terrorists as well as illegal immigrants.
"Right now, Baghdad's more secure than the border," he said.
i hope someone has the guts in texas to welcome the minutemen.
i love the minutemen!!!
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TexasStooge
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White Rock rapist gets 3 life terms
By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8
WHITE ROCK, Texas - A man linked to at least five sexual assaults at White Rock Lake last year pleaded guilty Thursday to his role in three incidents last year.
Jose Elias, 20, received three life sentences to be served concurrently.
The Mexican citizen is already serving a 30-year sentence for other crimes and faces still further charges for alleged offenses in Kansas.
Elias sat motionless in the courtroom as he publicly faced one of his accusers for the first time.
Assault victim Christine Johnson said she was recovering from cancer treatment when Elias attacked her last year along Lower Greenville Avenue. She suffered two blows to the head and is now unable to taste or smell anything.
Johnson said she felt a sense of justice after the sentencing. "This man stole so much from me, and i'll be dealing with this for the rest of my life—but so will he, and he'll be suffering," she said.
Elias was convicted last December of brutally raping a woman at White Rock Lake. He left the victim for dead after hitting her on the head with a lead pipe and then dragging her body 75 feet.
As part of the guilty plea, Elias gave up any right to appeal his sentence.
By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8
WHITE ROCK, Texas - A man linked to at least five sexual assaults at White Rock Lake last year pleaded guilty Thursday to his role in three incidents last year.
Jose Elias, 20, received three life sentences to be served concurrently.
The Mexican citizen is already serving a 30-year sentence for other crimes and faces still further charges for alleged offenses in Kansas.
Elias sat motionless in the courtroom as he publicly faced one of his accusers for the first time.
Assault victim Christine Johnson said she was recovering from cancer treatment when Elias attacked her last year along Lower Greenville Avenue. She suffered two blows to the head and is now unable to taste or smell anything.
Johnson said she felt a sense of justice after the sentencing. "This man stole so much from me, and i'll be dealing with this for the rest of my life—but so will he, and he'll be suffering," she said.
Elias was convicted last December of brutally raping a woman at White Rock Lake. He left the victim for dead after hitting her on the head with a lead pipe and then dragging her body 75 feet.
As part of the guilty plea, Elias gave up any right to appeal his sentence.
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TexasStooge
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Missing toddler turns up in Mesquite
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — A two-year-old boy who vanished over the weekend with his 19-year-old mother has reportedly surfaced in North Texas.
Corpus Christi police said someone delivered Dylan Rios to the Mesquite Police Department on Thursday morning.
Corpus Christi police refused to say who delivered the child or whether that person was being detained.
Police have been searching for the boy's mother, Stephanie Rose Rios, since she allegedly took her son from her mother's home in Corpus Christi.
Stephanie Rios had turned the boy over to her mother in January after a Child Protective Services investigation led to her indictment on an injury-to-a-child charge.
Police had been trying to find and arrest Stephanie Rios when Dylan disappeared Sunday from his grandmother's home. Police issued an Amber Alert on Monday.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — A two-year-old boy who vanished over the weekend with his 19-year-old mother has reportedly surfaced in North Texas.
Corpus Christi police said someone delivered Dylan Rios to the Mesquite Police Department on Thursday morning.
Corpus Christi police refused to say who delivered the child or whether that person was being detained.
Police have been searching for the boy's mother, Stephanie Rose Rios, since she allegedly took her son from her mother's home in Corpus Christi.
Stephanie Rios had turned the boy over to her mother in January after a Child Protective Services investigation led to her indictment on an injury-to-a-child charge.
Police had been trying to find and arrest Stephanie Rios when Dylan disappeared Sunday from his grandmother's home. Police issued an Amber Alert on Monday.
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TexasStooge
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Fire damages Grand Prairie apartments
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A three-alarm fire burned through the roof of an apartment building in Grand Prairie Thursday morning.
The alarm went out at the Goldbriar Apartments in the 2700 block of Sherman Street shortly after 8 a.m.
Smoke was pouring from the two-story structure when firefighters arrived, but they were able to limit damage to the rest of the building.
There were no reports of injures.
Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the fire, which left a gaping hole over at least one unit in the building.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A three-alarm fire burned through the roof of an apartment building in Grand Prairie Thursday morning.
The alarm went out at the Goldbriar Apartments in the 2700 block of Sherman Street shortly after 8 a.m.
Smoke was pouring from the two-story structure when firefighters arrived, but they were able to limit damage to the rest of the building.
There were no reports of injures.
Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the fire, which left a gaping hole over at least one unit in the building.
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