News from the Lone Star State

Chat about anything and everything... (well almost anything) Whether it be the front porch or the pot belly stove or news of interest or a topic of your liking, this is the place to post it.

Moderator: S2k Moderators

Message
Author
User avatar
TexasStooge
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 38127
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
Contact:

#2181 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Jul 22, 2005 1:03 pm

2 children die in mobile home fire (Updated)

By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8

EDGEWOOD, Texas - Two children died Friday morning in a fire at a mobile home near Edgewood in Van Zandt County, despite valiant efforts by neighbors to save them.

The blaze, which broke out just after midnight at a trailer park off State Highway 19, also injured a five-year-old girl. She was flown to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas by air ambulance, and was said to have burns over 50 percent of her body.

An 18-month-old child was rescued by neighbors and was also hospitalized. The fourth child was able to escape.

Neighbors said they believe the fire started in a back bedroom where four children were sleeping. Wade Sinclair was among those who tried to get into the burning building to rescue those inside.

"It was just instinct," Sinclair siad. "You ain't thinking about nothing but a way for them to get out, or a way to get in to them."

A state fire marshal has been called in to assist with the investigation.

Image
WFAA ABC 8
The fire spread quickly through the mobile home as children slept inside.
0 likes   
Weather Enthusiast since 1991.
- Facebook
- Twitter

User avatar
TexasStooge
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 38127
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
Contact:

#2182 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Jul 22, 2005 1:05 pm

Body found in car's trunk at Arlington Wal-Mart

ARLINGTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Arlington police are awaiting autopsy results after finding the body of a man in the trunk of a car.

Police said the car was found early Friday at a Wal-Mart parking lot at I-20 and Cooper Street.

An employee at a nearby gas station alerted security guards late Thursday night. He said the car was parked there for several days.
0 likes   
Weather Enthusiast since 1991.
- Facebook
- Twitter

User avatar
TexasStooge
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 38127
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
Contact:

#2183 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Jul 22, 2005 1:08 pm

Downtown shoppers embrace new market

By GARY REAVES / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - If you live in a city like New York that has a truly vibrant downtown, there are lots of places to shop for groceries.

But that kind of retail establishment has been absent from downtown Dallas for decades—until Friday morning.

That's when Urban Market opened its doors. The 20,000 square foot facility in the Interurban Building at 1500 Jackson Street is a full-service grocery designed for the downtown resident and downtown worker.

It features the same fruits, vegetables, meats and other staples you'd find at a Tom Thumb or Kroger store.

But it also specializes in food packed for singles and couples living in urban lofts.

The market also has a café serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

"You can have grab-and-go, or you can order from our café area," said Urban Market owner Manuel Zambrana, who explained that customers order from a counter area and then the order is delivered to their table.

The concept has at least one convert in shopper Laura Long, who said she's looking forward to being able to stop off at Urban Market after work without having to drag her kids along.

"This is the best idea they've come up with—ever," Long said.

Zambrana also said Urban Market is the first supermarket in the U.S. that features a full-service bar.

The store is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends.

Image
WFAA ABC 8
Shoppers soaked in the atmosphere of the new downtown grocery.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dallas Urban Market Official Site
0 likes   
Weather Enthusiast since 1991.
- Facebook
- Twitter

User avatar
TexasStooge
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 38127
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
Contact:

#2184 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Jul 22, 2005 8:57 pm

Alzheimer's patient mourned after wreck

By REBECCA RODRIGUEZ / WFAA ABC 8

ARLINGTON, Texas - The family of a 78-year-old Seagoville woman with Alzheimer's disease is grieving after she was hit and killed by a suspected drunk driver in Arlington early Friday morning.

Henrietta King had been reported missing by her family nearly twelve hours before the accident.

Despite her illness, King was still in many ways an independent woman. She lived her entire life in the same house, and was still an important part of her family. Her family came to that house Friday afternoon to grieve.

"Sometimes she remembered things," said daughter Patricia Rush. "Sometimes she didn't."

King ended up on I-30 in Arlington at 2 a.m. She was headed westbound when she was hit by a suspected drunk driver Nate Elias Najjar of Austin.

She'd gotten lost once before, but this time a safe return wasn't to be.

"I ain't never felt so much hatred in my heart as I feel toward this man," said granddaughter Patsy Riley. "I wouldn't even want his forgiveness."

Her daughters had been trying to get King to give up driving and come live with one of them, but they said she was still fiercely independent. She was on her way to visit a son when she got lost.

"She was a mama to everybody ... because they loved her they made it down here," said daughter Geraldine King. "It's really kind of hard for them to believe that she is gone."

King's family was planning a big party for her 79th birthday, which would have been August 1. Now, they must turn their attention to planning her funeral instead.
0 likes   
Weather Enthusiast since 1991.
- Facebook
- Twitter

User avatar
TexasStooge
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 38127
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
Contact:

#2185 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Jul 22, 2005 8:58 pm

Dallas city official fired after investigation

IT director accused of altering contract to avoid council involvement

By CHRIS HEINBAUGH / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm has fired the city's information technology director for allegedly faking a city contract.

Brian Anderson ran the city's communications and information systems department, which oversees internet and e-mail services and computer maintenance. News 8 has learned that Anderson was fired for violating city policies to do an "end-run" around the City Council.

"He had no business doing that," said City Council member Mitchell Rasansky. "I don't care what he thought; there is a system down here that has to approved by the City Council, and it wasn't done."

Sources familiar with the investigation said it focused on a contract with a firm called DKI for a management software program. That contract was for $49,900, just under the $50,000 amount that requires City Council approval. However, DKI then did additional work - and instead of taking that bill to the council for scrutiny and approval, Anderson allegedly set up a fake job for a third company, Dynaportal of Houston, which was to funnel the funds to DKI in Philadelphia.

After red flags were raised, the check was never cut. Instead, last May the Dallas Police Department's public integrity unit launched a criminal investigation, which led to Anderson's dismissal Thursday night.

"It should have happened long ago," Rasansky said.

News 8 first reported on Anderson earlier this year. In 1999, he was audited for similar activity while holding a similar post in Philadelphia - something Dallas officials did not know before hiring him.

No criminal or disciplinary action was taken, but Rasansky said Anderson should have been fired at the first hint of trouble.

"It was costing citizens $12,000 a month to carry him during the investigation," Rasansky said.

Sources said there never was any evidence that Anderson tried to profit personally. The former IT director spoke with News 8 by phone Friday afternoon, and said he wasn't told any of this when he was fired, adding that he didn't want to comment further until he knew more about the investigation.

Anderson also said he never tried to do anything wrong, and said his main concern now is clearing his name.
0 likes   
Weather Enthusiast since 1991.
- Facebook
- Twitter

User avatar
TexasStooge
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 38127
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
Contact:

#2186 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Jul 22, 2005 9:21 pm

Stolen gun stash located by agents

By YOLANDA WALKER / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas - Fort Worth authorities have recovered a stash of guns stolen from a storage facility two months ago.

The weapons were to be stocked at Cabela's, a massive sporting goods store that opened earlier this month off Interstate 35W on the city's north side.

News 8 has learned the guns were found within the last few days, though federal agents who worked the case said the investigation is ongoing and won't say where the guns were found or what condition they are in.

Right now, no arrests have been made in the case. All the guns have been accounted for.

"Anyone that has even been a victim of a theft knows how we feel," said Cabela's spokesperson John Castillo. "That's why we are so pleased today to get this news."
0 likes   
Weather Enthusiast since 1991.
- Facebook
- Twitter

User avatar
TexasStooge
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 38127
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
Contact:

#2187 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Jul 22, 2005 9:23 pm

Amber Alert issued for 3 East Texas children

UPSHUR COUNTY, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - Deputies in Upshur County in East Texas have issued an Amber Alert for three children allegedly abducted from the home of their guardian.

Police said the children might be in the company of a registered sex offender. Deputies have alerted Shreveport, Louisiana, police that the children might be in northwest Louisiana.

Investigators said Tuwana Ann Petty, 24, and her boyfriend, Bradley Wayne Shipley, 20, abducted Petty's

three children Thursday night from a home in Gilmer, Texas. That's 18 miles northwest of Longview and 70 miles west of Shreveport.

Texas deputies received information that relatives heard from Shipley early Friday. The relatives say Shipley indicated he was in the Shreveport area and planning to drive north out of state.

Police say Shipley is a registered sex offender.

The children were identified as Brittany Nicole Graham, 9, Zackary Graham, 6, and Hannah Petty, 2.

The group is believed to be in a white 1995 Chevrolet Cavalier. Police say the group might be camping at various state parks.
0 likes   
Weather Enthusiast since 1991.
- Facebook
- Twitter

User avatar
TexasStooge
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 38127
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
Contact:

#2188 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Jul 22, 2005 9:24 pm

Schools PAC targets legislators

Upset by finance plan, parents, advocates say they'll influence races

By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN, Texas – A group of former PTA leaders and public school advocates, upset over the Legislature's handling of school finance, has launched a political action committee that plans to get involved in as many as 20 key legislative races next year, organizers of the PAC said Friday.

Carolyn Boyle and other board members said they hope to raise at least $250,000 from parents and other supporters of public schools who are concerned about lawmakers' support for public education. The political donations will be contributed to Democratic and Republican candidates, they said.

"There are no good excuses for the failure by the Legislature to meet the needs of 4.4 million students enrolled in Texas public schools," Ms. Boyle said at a news conference near the Capitol.

Representatives of the PAC said they are opposed to the school finance and education reform bill that the Legislature was poised to approve on Wednesday before it was killed by a Senate filibuster that ended the last special session. Lawmakers began a new special session on Thursday, and the same school finance bill is expected to go before the House and Senate within the next two weeks.

Virtually every school district and education group in Texas is opposed to the legislation, primarily because it provides only a small increase in funding for schools. That new money – $2.4 billion over two years – represents an annual increase of about 1.8 percent.

School districts have complained the new money won't even cover inflation and is a fraction of what a state judge cited in his ruling last year that called the current school finance system unconstitutional. That decision was appealed by the state to the Texas Supreme Court, which has not yet ruled.

Lawmakers are scheduled to continue work on the school finance bill on Monday.

The Web site for Texas Parent PAC is http://www.txparentpac.com.
0 likes   
Weather Enthusiast since 1991.
- Facebook
- Twitter

User avatar
TexasStooge
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 38127
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
Contact:

#2189 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Jul 22, 2005 9:24 pm

Panel to search for new lotto director

Critic among members of team created after inflated-jackpot scandal

By DAVE MICHAELS / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Lottery Commission announced Friday that it has formed a team to search for a replacement for its former executive director, who resigned two weeks ago after disclosing that he approved inflated jackpots to lure more players.

The search team includes several lottery insiders, but commission chairman Tom Clowe also named Gerald Busald, a professor and outspoken critic of lottery administrators, to the panel.

"I want to be able to tell my students that there is truth in government, and I have not found it in the lottery," Mr. Busald said. "I really feel like that is what my role will be."

Mr. Clowe, appointed by the governor, said he asked Mr. Busald to serve because the San Antonio College math professor is very familiar with the lottery.

At commission meetings, the professor's criticism has been both acute and wide-ranging. His students once pointed out that figures on a demographic report were wrong, while Mr. Busald recently said the culture of the lottery prioritizes ticket sales over truthful advertising.

Commissioners, including Mr. Clowe, said they were disappointed when they learned that Reagan Greer, the former executive director, had approved advertisements for Lotto Texas jackpots that were not supported by the estimated ticket sales. Commissioners criticized the advertisement as deception, and Mr. Clowe suggested at a public meeting that such behavior in the private sector would not be tolerated.

Had a player won the lottery during those drawings, he or she would have received up to $1 million less than the advertised jackpot.

Mr. Clowe said Friday that he believes Mr. Busald will work well with the other appointees, most of whom come from government or politics and include former lottery commissioners Anthony Sadberry and Elizabeth Whitaker.

The other appointees to the search team include: Mr. Clowe; John Edwards, executive director of the State Bar of Texas; David Heinlein, a representative of the bingo industry; Francisco Hernandez, a member of the Texas Ethics Commission; Rick Johnson, president of the Texas Grocery and Convenience Association; and Leticia Vasquez, a lottery employee.

Mr. Clowe said he also invited Dawn Nettles, a lottery critic from Garland, to join the commission. Ms. Nettles, who discovered the inflated jackpots and warned the lottery about them, initially accepted the offer, Mr. Clowe said, but late Friday, she changed her mind and decided against serving.

Mr. Clowe said he hopes that a new executive director will be named by the end of the year.

Since the lottery's inception in 1992, no lottery director has ever left on his or her own terms. Several past directors resigned, including Mr. Greer's predecessor.

But Mr. Clowe said he still hopes to attract qualified candidates. The agency prefers that the next executive director have experience with lottery operations. Mr. Greer did not have any when he took the job in 2003.

"I am just hoping that we get a rich selection of applications who are from diverse and different backgrounds and experiences," Mr. Clowe said.
0 likes   
Weather Enthusiast since 1991.
- Facebook
- Twitter

User avatar
TexasStooge
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 38127
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
Contact:

#2190 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Jul 22, 2005 10:06 pm

Police give tips on identifying fake officers

By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Dallas police are still looking for an impostor posing as an officer who allegedly raped a woman earlier this week.

The man reportedly wore a t-shirt with the word "POLICE" written across the chest when the attack occurred Wednesday night.

Police want the public to be aware of several tips on how to spot a fake.

For example, the shirt itself should have been a sign something's not right. All officers on patrol will wear a uniform with a badge.

"It will either be gold or silver, and it will have Dallas on it," said Dallas Police Lt. Jan Easterling. "It will have a badge number on it as well."

Citizens who are skeptical about an officer's identity can ask to see his police identification card.

"It will have the officer's picture ... and their name, rank and date of appointment," Easterling said.

In case of the woman who was allegedly raped, the suspect forced her to get out of her car and into his.

"We never, without handcuffing somebody, walk them to the back of the car," Easterling said.

The suspect apparently used an unmarked car with blue and white lights; all police vehicles use red and blue lights. And police said women should not stop in a secluded dark area at night; instead, go somewhere that is well-lit with people around.

"Turn on the inside dome light, and motion you are going to pull over there, so the officer can have a better visual of what is going on in the car and they know the person is not doing anything evasive," Easterling said.

Police said if things don't look right, you should use your cellphone and call 911. They said you should tell the operator that you don't believe the person who pulled you over is an officer, then ask that they dispatch an officer to your location.
0 likes   
Weather Enthusiast since 1991.
- Facebook
- Twitter

User avatar
TexasStooge
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 38127
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
Contact:

#2191 Postby TexasStooge » Sat Jul 23, 2005 7:40 am

Gang violence caught on tape

By JIM DOUGLAS / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas — A remarkable surveillance video obtained by News 8 illustrates the ferocity of gang violence in North Texas.

The date was June 2 at a convenience store in southeast Fort Worth.

Customers were getting gasoline and shopping at around 10:30 p.m. when three young men began trading words.

In a flash, gunfire erupted.

Windows were shattered when rounds from a military style semi-automatic rifle riddled the storefront.

One customer was wounded; another was grazed.

As the rifleman tried to escape, other gunmen opened fire on him and his girlfriend at point-blank range.

Police investigators counted more than 30 shots fired within seconds.

"That's very shocking video," said Fort Worth police Sgt. Bill Beall, and it takes a lot to shock the 28-year veteran of the force who now works in the department's gang unit.

"There's a guy laying here shot; there's a guy inside the store shot," Beall said, pointing to a computer screen with a video replay of the violence.

He said the innocent bystanders were of no consequence because a gang member had been offended. "Their lives and other people's lives aren't as important as they are to us," Beall said.

A few weeks ago, we showed you a Fort Worth family under siege. Their home and vehicles had been blasted by gunfire.

After our report, police arrested two gang members. Their excuse? "It was something about macho control of the neighborhood because someone asked somebody to move a car," Beall explained.

Despite the amount of gunfire, police said gang crime is actually down about 20 percent in Fort Worth so far this year.

Beall said the department has nearly tripled the size of its gang unit, which includes federal agents who file charges with long prison terms.

A massive operation last week targeted a violent Northside gang.

This week, police finally caught one of the gunmen involved in the June 2 convenience store shootout. He had three untreated bullet wounds.

He'll get medical help now—in jail, and at taxpayer expense.

Image
Surveillance video
A gunman, right, opens fire at a convenience store.
0 likes   
Weather Enthusiast since 1991.
- Facebook
- Twitter

User avatar
TexasStooge
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 38127
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
Contact:

#2192 Postby TexasStooge » Sat Jul 23, 2005 7:41 am

Two men say they vandalized Collin home

Princeton: House was trashed; swastika, slur scrawled on wall

By ANABEL MÁRQUEZ / Al Día

PRINCETON, Texas - Two men arrested Friday have admitted involvement in the recent vandalism of a Princeton family's mobile home, officials said.

"The males were arrested for unrelated charges, but they admitted they had something to do with the vandalism there," said Lt. John Norton, Collin County Sheriff's Department spokesman.

Details about the pair will not be released until next week, Lt. Norton said.

The home of Martin and Leticia Valtierra was severely damaged by vandals who slashed mattresses, bleached clothes, broke toys, threw food and ruined various possessions including a computer.

They also scrawled a swastika and an ethnic slur on a bedroom wall.

Lt. Norton said the two denied that their actions were motivated by the family's ethnicity, but he said the investigation continues.

Ms. Valtierra said it felt good to know that arrests had been made.

"It's a start. It's a relief," she said. "Now I want to know why they wrote what they wrote on my wall. To me, that's a hate crime."
0 likes   
Weather Enthusiast since 1991.
- Facebook
- Twitter

User avatar
TexasStooge
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 38127
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
Contact:

#2193 Postby TexasStooge » Sat Jul 23, 2005 10:25 am

Council workshops will focus on goals

Irving: Vision for city's future to be discussed; public is welcome

By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News

IRVING, Texas - The Irving City Council will hold a workshop today and Saturday to set goals and plan for the future.

Mayor Herbert Gears said the meetings will help the council set priorities and determine how to invest time, energy and resources to achieve goals.

"We want to create a forum where we hope to openly communicate about what our vision for the future is and look at the issues we have and prioritize them in the context of where we want to go and what's important for our future," Mr. Gears said.

The agenda includes items such as "Goals: 2015," "Objectives: 2010" and "Short-term action steps: 2005-2007."

The workshop comes as two new members – Mr. Gears and council member Lowell Cannaday – recently joined the council. They were elected in June.

The meetings, which are open to the public, start at 8:30 a.m. today and Saturday at the Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas, 221 E. Las Colinas Blvd.
0 likes   
Weather Enthusiast since 1991.
- Facebook
- Twitter

User avatar
TexasStooge
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 38127
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
Contact:

#2194 Postby TexasStooge » Sat Jul 23, 2005 10:26 am

Bringing a little squawk back to downtown blocks

Irving: Through blues, Pigeon Hole strives to give area some color

By DEBORAH FLECK / The Dallas Morning News

IRVING, Texas - Not much happens at night in downtown Irving. The owners of The Pigeon Hole want to change that.

The historic building in the heart of downtown draws crowds for live concerts on Saturdays and blues jams on Sundays. Other nights, it is often booked for club meetings or special events.

The crowds bring smiles from owners Betty and Raymond Yarbrough.

"We are passionate about revitalizing downtown," Mrs. Yarbrough said. "We are a small but select group dedicated to preserving Irving's history and character."

Mr. Yarbrough's family bought the building from Carl "Uncle Buddy" Range. Back in 1942, the structure housed a U.S. post office, with Mr. Range as postmaster. The old security bars are still mounted on the back windows, and the original mail drop slot is in front.

The name honors the days when the building was outfitted with bins called pigeonholes, where the "pigeonholer" sorted mail.

Over the years, the building has had other roles.

"It was a jewelry store, law office, insurance office and general store," Mr. Yarbrough said. It even was home to Irving's first fire truck, according to the couple's research.

The Yarbroughs, who grew up in Irving, renovated the facility about two years ago and turned it into a music venue.

"It's all about the music. The guys really put their heart into playing," Mr. Yarbrough said about the dedicated jammers. "One guy comes all the way from Oklahoma to play."

Kevin and Dana Edwards of Irving are regulars at Blues Jam Night. "We like the family atmosphere and small-town feel of the place," Ms. Edwards said.

The Yarbroughs, who own two other buildings downtown, have visions of the area becoming an arts and entertainment district. They are active members of the Irving Downtown Association, which meets monthly at The Pigeon Hole.

Association president Pat Cook, who owns a business downtown, is glad to see The Pigeon Hole do well. "It is a wonderful place with a nice atmosphere," she said.

Musicians "like to come and relax on Sundays after performing on Saturdays," Mr. Yarbrough said of the jamming sessions.

"Pretty much everyone knows everyone," Mrs. Yarbrough said. "We have regulars sit at our barstools, and it almost feels like a Cheers place."

The facility isn't licensed to serve alcohol, but patrons can bring their own.

"It is the greatest thing Irving has ever had," said Karen Rash of Irving, who comes every Saturday and Sunday. "Once I started going, I couldn't stop."
0 likes   
Weather Enthusiast since 1991.
- Facebook
- Twitter

User avatar
TexasStooge
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 38127
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
Contact:

#2195 Postby TexasStooge » Sat Jul 23, 2005 10:27 am

Autism nonprofit carries on man's spirit, love of kids

IRVING, Texas (The Dallas morning News) - Tracy Woodall of Coppell will not let terrorism defeat her.

The former New Yorker who lost her husband in the World Trade Center attacks carries on by honoring his love of children.

She founded the Brent Woodall Foundation for Exceptional Children to raise awareness of autism, a subject she studied in college.

"I wanted to name the foundation after him because he wanted to be a part of it," said Ms. Woodall, a mother of two. Her daughter, Pierce, was born seven months after Sept. 11, 2001. She adopted Isabella from a Russian orphanage in 2004.

She moved to Coppell in 2003 to be near family and began work on the foundation that year. Its formal launch was in April 2004.

"We've had a great response and are inundated with calls," she said. "We are a jump start for families seeking help with an autistic child."

The services are free; the foundation operates on donations. Its first major fundraiser, which Ms. Woodall hopes will be an annual event, takes place a day before the fourth anniversary of the WTC attacks. "Walkabout for Autism: With Only 10,000 Steps You Can Make a Difference" will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 10 at Andy Brown Jr. Community Park East, 206 E. Parkway Blvd. in Coppell. Register at http://www.woodallkids.org or call Jamie Tucker at 469-879-0877.

Honoring Jordan

Jordan Wayne Luddeke's life was cut short in a car accident on June 29. The 17-year-old Irving High School student left behind many devoted friends, classmates and family members.

To keep his memory alive, they are holding the Jordan Luddeke Memorial Scholarship Golf Tournament on Aug. 20 at Twin Wells Golf Course in Irving. Proceeds will benefit the Irving Schools Foundation's scholarship in Jordan's name and Plymouth Park Baptist youth camps.

"Jordan was a loving son, passionate about his friends, and he loved to make others laugh," said Brad Luddeke, Jordan's father and the tournament chairman.

Jordan participated in football, baseball, wrestling and golf. He was excited about being chosen a member of the Irving Tiger Guard, a pep squad, for his senior year, friends said.

His strong school spirit will now carry on through the memorial scholarship. To contribute, send a check to the Irving Schools Foundation, 2621 W. Airport Freeway, Irving, Texas 75062. For tournament tickets, call Mr. Luddeke at 972-743-2847. For donation information, call Nancy Jones at 972-259-2641.

Nissan cares

Irving Cares Inc. is grateful for corporate support. The agency, which provides essential services to residents in need, recently received a $7,500 donation from Nissan.

"In the face of reductions from various sources, this donation couldn't have come at a better time," said Teddie Story, executive director. "Hats off to this corporate citizen for their fantastic community support."

In the most recent fiscal year, Irving Cares provided services to nearly 25,000 residents: financial assistance for 955 families, food orders for 3,432 families, job placement for 803 clients, 773 hours of counseling and 3,252 referrals to other assistance agencies.

The agency runs with a dedicated corps of volunteers, who were honored at a dinner this spring for more than 7,900 hours and more than $10,000 in cash donations to the agency.

Visit http://www.irvingcares.org.
0 likes   
Weather Enthusiast since 1991.
- Facebook
- Twitter

User avatar
TexasStooge
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 38127
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
Contact:

#2196 Postby TexasStooge » Sat Jul 23, 2005 12:30 pm

Political star tainted by liabilities

Dallas: Don Hill's successes slowed by sanctions, FBI inquiry

By GROMER JEFFERS JR. / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill's professional and political career has followed two paths – one sprinkled with success and the other on the cusp of ruin.

His early legal career was highlighted by a groundbreaking lawsuit against the city of Dallas.

Later, he would become a popular, effective politician, with the public persona as a man of integrity who might one day be mayor.

But he's also a man with considerable liabilities.

Mr. Hill was sanctioned by the Texas Bar Association in 2004 after complaints that he took money from clients and did not provide them with legal services. And he owes the IRS at least $140,000 for failing to pay personal income taxes, according to tax liens filed in May 2005 in the Dallas County clerk's office.

Most worrisome, he's the biggest name in the FBI's City Hall corruption investigation, with personal or professional connections to many of the other targets in the investigation.

And it's that development that has many of his friends and supporters reeling.

"I'm just kind of in a state of shock about Don. I knew Don real well," said Monique Allen, a member of the Dallas Housing Finance Corp. board. "The whole thing puzzles me, because there's some people you kind of figured, 'Well, they're good ol' boys.' But Don's just not that way. And he really cares about his district."

Others who know Mr. Hill, particularly some of his former legal clients, are not surprised.

"He's definitely leading a double life," said Laverne Johnson, a Tyler woman who says Mr. Hill took $5,000 to represent her in a lawsuit against her employers and then didn't file the case within the statute of limitations. "He led me to believe that he would do his best to represent me. You can put lipstick on a pig and it will still be a pig."

Mr. Hill declined to be interviewed for this story, issuing this statement through his council office:

"In the present environment, what can the story be but an attempt at an obituary or 'Hill in the middle of controversy'? I do not see this as a positive story."

Friends and associates say Mr. Hill doesn't fit the stereotype of a politician on the take.

They point out he has been wearing the same pair of shoes and houndstooth suit for years.

"I am reserving judgment until all the facts are in," said former council member Barbara Mallory Caraway, who served with Mr. Hill for two years. "But I can't see ... [corruption] being in his character or in his method."

Mr. Hill's rise through Dallas' political ranks was years in the making.

An Austin native and junior high school classmate of former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, he moved to Dallas in 1978 to work as a lawyer for the U.S. Department of Labor. His primary duties were to sue companies that didn't adhere to affirmative action plans.

He left the Labor Department in 1983 to form a law firm with, among others, Don Hicks, a fellow graduate of Texas Southern University. Later, he would succeed Mr. Hicks to the City Council.

Building a career

During his early years in Dallas, Mr. Hill had little interest in politics.

"I was just like other transplants that moved here," he said earlier this year. "I was trying to build a career, make money and take care of my family."

His big legal score came in 1993 when he settled a lawsuit with the city of Dallas. He had argued that the Dallas Police Department's promotional exams discriminated against black officers. The city agreed to promote 17 detectives, the largest group of black officers ever promoted to sergeant.

In 1999, with Mr. Hicks' support, he was elected to the City Council and quickly became one of that body's most influential members.

He was Mr. Kirk's floor leader and eventually became the city's deputy mayor pro tem. When council member Mary Poss became acting mayor in 2002 after Mr. Kirk resigned to run for the U.S. Senate, Mr. Hill was chosen as mayor pro tem by his colleagues.

Because he was able to deliver southern-sector votes on the council and had strong working relationships with North Dallas council members, his power sometimes exceeded that of the mayor.

When Laura Miller was elected mayor in 2002, Mr. Hill became the leader of a majority bloc of council members that sometimes opposed her.

Fellow council members liked his smooth approach and easy-going style. He rarely got angry. And when he did lose his temper, he was quick to mend fences.

Friends and supporters say he spends numerous hours talking with constituents about their needs.

"I've always found Don Hill to be someone who cared deeply about his constituents," Dallas lawyer Michael Sorrell said. "Never once did I see anything to make me think he would be mired in an ethical dilemma."

Perhaps Mr. Hill's finest political hour occurred in May, when he successfully helped rally voters against a proposal that would have given the mayor more power. In one of his first joint appearances with Ms. Miller to debate the merits of the proposal, Mr. Hill set the tone for the opposition campaign and gave it early momentum.

"He obviously won that first debate against the mayor," Dallas political consultant Pat Cotton said. "He did a great job."

One evening in April, he met a group of city employees at a north Oak Cliff jazz club to lift their spirits. They were concerned that Ms. Miller would get more power and change the dynamics of City Hall.

"I know you see storm clouds overhead," he told them. "But if you look beyond that, you'll see the sun shining."

Reminder of failings

The FBI investigation has soured those days of wine and roses and reminded some of Mr. Hill's failings.

For example, the State Bar of Texas disciplined Mr. Hill for taking money from two clients he did not adequately represent, according to an agreed judgment made public in May 2004.

Mr. Hill, an expert in employment law, received a four-year, fully probated suspension. This means he may practice law under close supervision from a mentor and risks losing his license if he again violates rules of professional conduct that Texas attorneys must adhere to.

As part of the settlement, state bar lawyers agreed not to take disciplinary action against Mr. Hill based on nine other cases he litigated.

Mr. Hill was ordered to pay $17,798.67 in restitution to the two clients who lodged complaints against him and to pay legal fees to the state bar.

Mr. Hill took the cases that led to his admonishment in 1997 and 1999. The two clients, La Verne A Bryan and Jacqueline McKinely, told state bar investigators that Mr. Hill took money from them upfront and later failed to prepare for hearings, kept them in the dark about the status of the cases and would not account for how he had spent their money.

Similar allegations were made by Ms. Johnson, who paid Mr. Hill $5,000 to represent her in a 1999 lawsuit against her employer, United Technologies.

U.S. District Judge John Hannah Jr. dismissed Ms. Johnson's suit because it was not filed within the statute of limitations and because Ms. Johnson had failed to exercise "due diligence" in serving the defendant.

She blamed her lawyer, Mr. Hill.

"My attorney drug his feet," she said. "And he didn't give me back my money."

Tax problems

Mr. Hill has also had problems settling his tax obligations, which had threatened to derail his political career before it started.

Between 1984 and 1992, he almost never paid his taxes on time, according to IRS records.

For that period, the IRS filed 34 liens against him or his law firms for more than $350,000 in employment and income taxes he did not pay.

Before joining the law office of Burt Barr and Associates in Dallas in 2003, Mr. Hill owed the IRS more than $117,000 for failing to pay payroll taxes at his old law firm. A certificate made public in February 2003 shows he was released from that lien.

One of the tax liens filed in May that seeks $116,898.97 targets Mr. Hill and his wife, Vivian. The other one, which demands $23,287.27, names only Mr. Hill.

Political analysts say his financial problems alone would have made it difficult for Mr. Hill to win a citywide election.

"We don't know if there's any kind of major criminal activities," said Rufus Shaw Jr., a political analyst and columnist for the Elite News, a newspaper aimed at Dallas' black churches. "What we do know is that he's now unelectable. Those fiscal problems would have made it extremely difficult for him. Can you imagine having a mayor who doesn't even own his own car?"

Mr. Hill still drives a luxury car given to him by Sheila Farrington, a political consultant he has described as a friend who also has been targeted by the FBI.

The FBI has searched that car, which Mr. Hill said previously he "has earned the right to drive."

Ms. Farrington has financial ties to many of the names in the FBI probe, including Mr. Hill, and could be a key figure in the investigation that federal authorities say involve housing issues and bribery.

Mr. Hill's political campaigns have paid Ms. Farrington $12,700 in consulting and other fees since 2002.

Others investigated

The FBI is also investigating D'Angelo Lee, who is Mr. Hill's friend and appointee to the City Plan Commission – a board with great power over developers.

Brian Potashnik, the head of Southwest Housing Development Co., is also a target in the probe. He has contributed thousands of dollars to Mr. Hill's campaign, as well as other council members and the mayor.

Federal officials refuse to discuss details of their investigation. And some legal observers say they don't think Mr. Hill has anything to worry about legally.

"I personally don't think anything is going to come of this investigation," Dallas lawyer Craig Watkins said. "He's at the wrong place at the wrong time."

But no matter what the result of the investigation, it's unlikely Mr. Hill will be able to weather politically the bad publicity generated by the probe.

Even he has his doubts.

"The end result is that you are tainted with corruption allegations," he told The Dallas Weekly, another black newspaper. "It does damage your ability to go to the broader community and say, 'I am a credible, viable candidate,' if that's your desire to run for mayor or any other position. ... I am trusting God to bring all this to an end in some point in his time."

Staff writer Ernesto Londoño contributed to this report.

Image
MILTON HINNANT / Dallas Morning News
Many of Don Hill's supporters have been baffled by developments surrounding him.
0 likes   
Weather Enthusiast since 1991.
- Facebook
- Twitter

User avatar
TexasStooge
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 38127
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
Contact:

#2197 Postby TexasStooge » Sun Jul 24, 2005 2:45 pm

Editor defends giving up reporter's notes

GRAPEVINE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — The editor in chief of Time Inc. on Saturday defended his decision to surrender a reporter's notes to a federal prosecutor investigating the unmasking of a CIA agent.

Norm Pearlstine has been heavily criticized since announcing July 1 that Time magazine would turn over staff writer Matt Cooper's notes, e-mails and related documents to a grand jury investigating how reporters learned the agent's name.

"I would not do anything different in terms of the decision," Pearlstine said Saturday at a writers conference in Texas.

Pearlstine's decision broke ranks with The New York Times, which allowed a reporter to be jailed for refusing to cooperate with the investigation.

Pearlstine said withholding Cooper's notes was putting other Time staffers at risk of being subpoenaed by prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald.

"I did not think it was appropriate to subject the institution to this kind of regulatory scrutiny," he said.

He said use of confidential sources often becomes "a question of where to draw the line. I probably chose to draw it at a place where other editors might not have drawn it."

Since turning over the documents, Cooper has said that Karl Rove, President Bush's deputy chief of staff, told him about the agent in a 2003 phone call.

The New York Observer in an editorial said that Pearlstine "rolled over" for Fitzgerald. The New York Times has questioned whether a high-ranking source would ever risk being named by speaking to a Time magazine reporter.

Pearlstine said he expected criticism from others in journalism.

"I knew this was a big deal," he said. "I think it's an important debate."

Pearlstine said Time magazine continues to use confidential sources in high-profile stories, citing as examples reports on Guantanamo Bay, security at nuclear power plants and suicide bombings in Iraq.

He acknowledged that cases such as the one that ensnared Cooper could hinder journalists' ability to cultivate highly placed sources.

"Prosecutors, and plaintiff's attorneys as well, are much more aggressive in court seeking disclosure of confidential sources, which could have a chilling effect," he said.

Legislation has been introduced in Congress to protect reporters from having to identify their confidential sources. So-called shield laws already exist in 31 states and the District of Columbia.
0 likes   
Weather Enthusiast since 1991.
- Facebook
- Twitter

User avatar
TexasStooge
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 38127
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
Contact:

#2198 Postby TexasStooge » Sun Jul 24, 2005 2:46 pm

Brush fires scorch area; no injuries

By MARGARITA MARTIN-HIDALGO / The Dallas Morning News

FORT WORTH, Texas - Brush fires kept area firefighters busy for several hours Saturday in Tarrant and Denton counties.

Fort Worth and other area firefighters battled a blaze that burned 400 to 500 acres of pasture Saturday afternoon in north Fort Worth, near Interstate 35W, a fire department spokesman said.

No one was injured in the fire, which burned for more than three hours, said Lt. Kent Worley, fire department spokesman.

Lt. Worley said 25 to 30 firefighters, including some from Saginaw, helped put out the fire, which started about 3:15 p.m. in the 3500 block of Heritage Trace Parkway.

A preliminary investigation indicates that sparks from a transformer on an electric pole triggered the fire, the spokesman said.

Two fires also burned in Denton County, a spokesman with the Denton County sheriff's office said.

One fire burned about 10 acres at the Northwest Regional Airport in the 12000 block of Cleveland Gibbs Road.

Firefighters from nine agencies, including Flower Mound and Highland Village, spent more than three hours trying to put out the blaze, Denton County sheriff's spokesman Tom Reedy said.

The fire destroyed about 50 cars in a junkyard next door, he said, and no one was injured. The cause of the blaze was not known, he said.

Another fire burned several boat trailers at the Cotton Creek Marina, in the 900 block of Lobo Lane in Little Elm. About 5 to 7 acres burned there, Mr. Reedy said, but no one was injured.

Firefighters from area agencies, including Aubrey, Frisco and Oak Point, put out the blaze about an hour and 15 minutes later, he said. The cause of that fire was unknown.
0 likes   
Weather Enthusiast since 1991.
- Facebook
- Twitter

User avatar
TexasStooge
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 38127
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
Contact:

#2199 Postby TexasStooge » Sun Jul 24, 2005 2:47 pm

Wright though he had solved airport fights in North Texas

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — Looking back over a quarter century, former House Speaker Jim Wright chuckles at having once believed his amendment to a 1979 aviation bill would end years of fighting over airports in North Texas.

The cities of Dallas and Fort Worth had agreed to close their old airports and in 1974 opened Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on prairie land halfway between them.

Wright sealed the deal with his amendment, which banned long flights to or from Dallas Love Field. The old downtown airfield would not compete with fledgling DFW Airport eight miles away.

The peace lasted 25 years, until Southwest Airlines announced in November that it would challenge Wright's amendment and seek to fly anywhere in the United States from Dallas Love Field. American Airlines, based at DFW, is fighting back to protect its Dallas hub.

And the issue is again before Congress, with bills introduced last week to weaken or repeal Wright's law.

"I thought we had settled it once and for all," said Wright, who left Congress in 1989. "It just shows you there are no permanent solutions."

The fight over airline service in Dallas goes back to 1968, when Richard Nixon was elected president, Gunsmoke was still on TV, and the federal government decided where airlines could fly and how much they could charge.

When Dallas and Fort Worth agreed to build an airport to serve both markets, it was the only way to get federal funding for airport construction, and officials viewed a big regional airport as a magnet for jobs and development.

Eight airlines then flying out of the region agreed to halt regularly scheduled airline service at the smaller airports, including Love Field.

Southwest, however, wasn't flying when those deals were cut and never agreed to move to DFW. It had registered with a state aviation agency as an airline in 1967 but didn't begin its Texas-only service at Love Field until 1971.

In 1973, a federal appeals court ruled Southwest could stay at Love Field. DFW Airport opened the next year. The cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, joined by other airlines, sued to block Southwest from operating at Love Field, but in litigation that reached the U.S. Supreme Court, the upstart carrier prevailed.

Frustrated in the courts, Dallas and Fort Worth turned to Wright, a Democrat from Fort Worth who would later become speaker of the House. Wright attached an amendment to an aviation bill in the House banning commercial flights at any other airport within 20 miles of DFW.

The Senate, however, did not pass a similar restriction. That's when -- according to Wright -- a Washington lawyer for Southwest Airlines offered a compromise, limiting flights from Love Field to Texas and four adjoining states.

The compromise was adopted by House and Senate negotiators and became law, the Wright Amendment, in 1979, a year after the federal government had deregulated the airlines.

"The Wright Amendment in 1979 was the culmination of 12 years of a conspiracy to put Southwest Airlines out of business," said Ron Ricks, a senior vice president who heads Southwest's in-house lobbying office.

In 1997, Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama pushed through an amendment that added Alabama, Mississippi and Kansas to the list of Love Field states.

Southwest now operates about 100 flights from Love Field, compared to American Airline's 700 flights at DFW.

Wright said the amendment did what it set out to do for the Dallas-Fort Worth -- helped create a single great regional airport instead of lesser ones in each city, and contributed to the region's mighty growth in the last 30 years. He sees no reason to change it.

"The solution would be for Southwest just to come over to DFW and fly anywhere they want," he said.
0 likes   
Weather Enthusiast since 1991.
- Facebook
- Twitter

User avatar
TexasStooge
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 38127
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
Contact:

#2200 Postby TexasStooge » Sun Jul 24, 2005 2:49 pm

Southwest flexes muscle on limits at hometown airport

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — For Neeta Kumar, flying her family to Las Vegas for a weekend vacation cost nearly double what she would have paid if she could have flown low-fare carrier Southwest Airlines direct from Dallas.

But a 1979 law, known as the Wright Amendment, limits direct flights from Southwest's home base at Love Field to inside Texas and seven nearby states, forcing many travelers to use Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, which Southwest doesn't serve.

So Kumar, a Dallas travel agent, paid $80 for five days of airport parking and $380 apiece for tickets on American Airlines for herself, her husband, her daughter and a housekeeper who helps watch her 13-month-old twins -- the babies fly free.

"I would prefer to fly out of Love Field," Kumar said of the smaller airport near downtown Dallas.

The original intent of the Wright Amendment -- named after its author, former House Speaker Jim Wright -- was to build DFW into a big airport that would drive economic growth in the Dallas-Fort Worth region.

Southwest lived with the law while it grew from a small Texas carrier to the nation's largest airline by passenger count, and one of few to remain profitable. But last fall, Southwest abandoned its neutrality and lobbied to repeal the law, setting off a congressional battle that resulted in competing bills being introduced in Congress last week.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., introduced legislation to repeal the Wright Amendment -- Las Vegas is one of Southwest's busiest airports. On the other side, Sens. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, proposed to ban commercial flights at Love Field, which would force Southwest to switch to DFW Airport.

Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., attached a measure to a spending bill to allow flights from Love Field to Missouri, a small step for the repeal effort -- a move that several Texas Republicans have resisted.

Gary Kelly, chief executive of Dallas-based Southwest, calls the Wright Amendment a relic from the bad old days of airline regulation and one that costs consumers millions of dollars in higher air fares.

"If the Wright Amendment is repealed, I think we could say that it's a free country. Right now it's not," Kelly said. "We've got plenty of room to grow (at Love Field), and the only reason we can't is this silly, outdated, goofy law."

Southwest launched a Web site, SetLoveFree.com, and TV advertisements to make its case. Employees offer Love Field travelers anti-Wright petitions, and some flight attendants have used the cabin loudspeakers to make midair speeches against the law.

Southwest's brash moves sparked a fight with Fort Worth-based American Airlines, which stands to lose, by some estimates, at least $300 million a year if Southwest is allowed to operate long-haul flights from Love Field. American's parent, AMR Corp., has already lost more than $7 billion since 2001.

Officials at American and at DFW Airport, where American accounts for about 85 percent of the traffic, say Southwest should fly from DFW like other carriers if it wants to offer long-distance flights from North Texas.

Kevin Cox, the chief operating officer at DFW Airport, said he offered free rent and $22 million in incentives, but Southwest turned him down.

Kelly said he doesn't want to duplicate service at airports less than 10 miles apart. He said it would be more expensive to operate at the bigger, more-crowded DFW and harder to keep flights on schedule.

DFW, however, reported the highest on-time performance of any major airport in May, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. (Southwest ranked fifth and American eighth among U.S. carriers.)

Kelly also said Southwest would get swamped at DFW by American, which operates 700 daily departures there, more than three times the size of Southwest's largest operation.

American's chief executive, Gerard Arpey, is threatening to resume flights at Love Field if Southwest gets its way.

It's not an idle threat. Five years ago, when Legend Airlines used a loophole in the Wright Amendment to launch long-haul service with smaller jets from Love Field, American buried the upstart carrier with frequent and cheap flights to the same cities.

Each side has hired consultants to study the ramifications of repealing the amendment. DFW's consultant warned that unlimited long flights at Love Field would cause DFW to lose 200 flights a day and one-third of its 60 million annual passengers.

DFW is still reeling from last year's decision by Delta Air Lines to eliminate its hub there. The airport must service about $3 billion in debt issued to build a new international terminal and make other improvements.

"I'm very worried about the integrity of DFW Airport," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, who favors keeping restrictions on Love Field. She said if the airport can't service its debt, it could fall to taxpayers to pick up the tab.

A consultant hired by Southwest said repealing the Love Field limits would boost travel and economic activity in North Texas.

Both consultants agreed on one point: repealing the Wright Amendment would reduce air fares because American and other carriers at DFW presumably would match Southwest's lower fares.

Southwest's consultant said the savings would amount to nearly $700 million a year, with about $300 million of that coming out of American's revenue at DFW.

"We're getting gouged on the long-haul flights," said Al Taylor, a Dallas real estate agent and frequent flier, "because we don't have much competition in the market."
0 likes   
Weather Enthusiast since 1991.
- Facebook
- Twitter


Return to “Off Topic”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests