News from the Lone Star State

[TexasStooge]

Stubborn fire continues to burn

By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas — A water main break compounded problems Friday morning near the scene of Thursday's massive explosion and five-alarm fire at the Valley Solvents and Chemicals facility.

The burst eight-inch pipe at Northeast 33rd Street at Bethlehem Street on the city's north side was within one block of the fire scene and prompted an emergency response.

That's because firefighters remained at the Valley Solvents plant battling ongoing flareups through the night, and they required a reliable supply of water.

The stubborn blaze was still burning at daybreak Friday.

The cause of the fire—which shot huge fireballs and thick, black toxic smoke into the North Texas sky—remained under investigation.

Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman Lt. Kent Worley said four people were hurt. Three were taken by Medstar ambulance to John Peter Smith Hospital, with one later transported by ambulance to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.

The other injured person was taken to Harris Methodist Hospital.

The four men who were hospitalized were released Thursday night; one of them was an Arlington truck driver who was downloading methanol at the plant when the fire started.

Local streets in the immediate vicinity of the explosion remained closed Friday morning, but there were no problems reported on nearby Interstate 35W.

Bill Davis, president of Valley Solvents, said the plant had a variety of chemicals in storage tanks, drums and pallets. Some of the most dangerous chemicals stored at the plant were hydrochloric and sulfuric acid, rubbing alcohol and naphtha.

"Of course, anytime there's smoke you can make some cancer-causing chemicals," said Dr. Elvin Adams of Tarrant County Health Authority. "Believe me, smoking a cigarette for 15 minutes would have been more toxic than someone who had a slight exposure to this smoke."

City officials said chemical runoff from the fire scene posed no risk to the city's drinking water supply.


WFAA ABC 8
Fires were still burning at daybreak.

[TexasStooge]

Everest search fails to find missing Texan

KATMANDU, Nepal/DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — Planes flew over the area near Mount Everest searching for a missing Texas trekker this week but were unable to find him, rescuers said Friday.

A helicopter searched the area from Lukla, the closest airport to Mount Everest, all the way up to the base camp, on Wednesday, said Manashree Thapa of the Manang Air Services.

The helicopter was also carrying family members of Trevor Stokol, 25, of Plano, Texas, who was reported missing since last Friday on the foothills of the mountain where he was trekking.

The U.S. embassy in Katmandu was helping with the search but embassy officials said they could not give out any details for privacy reasons.

Thapa said the weather was good on Wednesday, which is unusual for the rainy monsoon season, and visibility good when they made the flight in the area.

The flight covered the area from Lukla at 9,200 feet to the Mount Everest base camp at 17,400 feet.

The route between Lukla and base camp is a popular trekking route for western trekkers. It takes about two weeks or less for the trip.

There are no phones in the area so information was still sketchy.

Government officials the Mountaineering Department in Katmandu said they had no information about the missing trekker.

There are not many people trekking around this time of the year because of frequent and heavy monsoon rain.

Stokol's father, Arnold Stokol, rented the search helicopter this week. His mother, Barbara Stokol, said this week that her son had excellent survival skills, but "the longer he's without food, without water and exposed, his chances become less and less ... and that's very scary for me."

[TexasStooge]

Foster kids' charity items put on eBay

Exclusive: President of parent group tearfully admits selling donations

By SCOTT FARWELL / The Dallas Morning News

ALLEN, Texas – The president of Collin County's largest foster parent group said this week she sold donated clothing, bedding and toys for needy children on eBay and used the money to pay her bills.

Marcia Hookie, 50, of Allen, tearfully admitted that she violated state law, a written agreement with a national nonprofit distributor, and the trust of the more than 250 families in her charitable group, the Foster and Adoptive Parents of Collin County.

"My kids are going to pay for this," she said, sobbing. "I run a group of foster parents, and they look up to everything I do. I tell them they can't sell stuff, they can't return it ... and then I'm out there doing it."

Mrs. Hookie said she was motivated by desperation, not greed.

She initially deflected questions about one of her eBay accounts, "txmomof7," suggesting someone had hijacked her laptop and stolen her password. She said one of her adult children, unnamed enemies from a competing foster parent group, or jealous mothers within her organization may be guilty.

"I swear to God I did not sell those things," Mrs. Hookie said, standing in the doorway of her home, one of her four adopted children peeking around her waist.

But later, when confronted with transaction records from her online account, the foster mother of 13 years dissolved in tears.

"I did it," she said. "I don't know why. There's no excuse."

Mrs. Hookie, who currently has one foster child, said she has made about $200 since May selling new and like-new donations from Pottery Barn Kids on eBay. Her organization also collects gifts from Disney Toys, Williams Sonoma and Bed Bath & Beyond.

Those businesses contract with a Virginia-based philanthropic group, Gifts In Kind, which marries local charities with corporate donors. Mrs. Hookie makes a circuit to local stores about once a month to pick up overstocked, outdated and opened items, which are supposed to be distributed to foster and adopted children.

Barry Anderson, interim president and chief executive officer of Gifts In Kind, cut off the Collin County charity on Tuesday.

"We're out there trying to do the better good," Mr. Anderson said. "If we find criminals or scoundrels, we're going to purge them."

The Collin County district attorney's office is not investigating Mrs. Hookie, but a spokesman for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said the situation could lead to the revocation of the charity's tax-exempt status. It is against the law in Texas to sell for personal gain goods donated to a charity.

Child Protective Services would not take action against Mrs. Hookie, according to spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales, unless she was charged with a crime or her children were in danger.

"We don't have any indication those children have been mistreated in any way," she said.

'Perk to fostering'

Mrs. Hookie's scam began to unravel about a month ago during a lunch meeting with Melissa Hutchison of McKinney.

Mrs. Hutchison said she was interested in becoming a foster parent, and was seeking the guidance of Mrs. Hookie, whose name and number popped up during a simple Internet search. They met at a Mexican restaurant in Allen.

Almost immediately, Mrs. Hutchison said, her lunch mate encouraged her to work the foster care system to maximize payments from the state. She said Mrs. Hookie told her foster parents are paid $16 to $17 a day to take care of healthy children, but if she earned a certification to take care of sick children, she could collect as much as $25 to $26 a day.

"At some point in the conversation she mentioned a great perk to fostering ... [donations] from a company called Gifts In Kind," Mrs. Hutchison said. " She seemed to be bragging a bit on all the nice things the expensive stores donated to her. She said since she was the president of the organization, [and] she gets first look at everything."

Abruptly, Mrs. Hutchison said, Mrs. Hookie asked her if she used eBay. Later, she offered her user name.

"She kept saying that she makes a ton of money on it and how I should join and start reaping the benefits of selling online," Mrs. Hutchison said.

A few days later, Mrs. Hutchison surfed to the eBay Web site and typed in "txmomof8," which she had been given, and then, out of curiosity, looked under "txmomof7".

A light bulb went off when she noticed a long list of things from Pottery Barn Kids, Disney and Williams Sonoma.

Mrs. Hutchison wrote an e-mail to Gifts In Kind and The Dallas Morning News.

"I guess she never thought I'd go and look and figure her out," Mrs. Hutchison said. "It makes me feel sad, especially when she said a perk of fostering is all that free stuff."

'Believe in Angels?'

Mrs. Hookie may be the most celebrated foster parent in Collin County, in part because of a reader essay published last Christmas on The News' Collin County editorial page. It was headlined, "Do you believe in Angels?"

"Marcia Hookie has welcomed children to her home for about 12 years, after having raised three daughters. Marcia has mothered about 70 children. It doesn't matter how the child comes – abused, neglected, naked, newborn or hungry – Marcia welcomes them all. She lovingly accepts children of all colors and all medical conditions (in a body cast or toting an oxygen tank, for example).

"Whenever Child Protective Services calls, even in the middle of the night, Marcia is ready with a big smile and a 'yes' to whatever child needs her. The children always come first. Marcia, a foster parent, is truly an angel to children in need."

In foster care and adoptive parents circles, Mrs. Hookie is also known as the mother who took in a baby girl who was abandoned Dec. 29, 1993, in the laundry room of an Arlington apartment complex. Nurses named her Baby Noel.

Sabrina Parker, a foster care and adoption recruiter for the Collin County Children's Advocacy Center, said she doesn't condone Mrs. Hookie's behavior, but one mistake shouldn't overshadow years of selfless work.

She said there are 400 children needing foster care in Collin County and only 120 available homes. Mrs. Parker said she hopes this story does not discourage prospective foster parents from taking in children who need homes.

"This is an error of judgment by someone who's not a bad person," she said. "This is someone who for years and years has cared for foster and adopted children, and she has done wonderful things."

Kim Richardson, vice president of the Collin County foster parents group, suspects Mrs. Hookie isn't the only person in the charity who is abusing the system.

Some foster and adoptive mothers were collecting as many as a dozen new comforters each month when the group held its monthly Closet Cleaning event for donated goods.

"You know they don't have that many beds in their house," she said. "And most of them are king and queen size when most people have toddler beds or twin beds. We always assumed people sold them on eBay or in garage sales."

Mrs. Richardson said the Collin County charity is likely to die without Mrs. Hookie.

"I realize she messed up, but there are probably a lot of other members doing the same thing," she said. "I think ... she deserves another chance because I don't believe she would ever do anything like this again."

[TexasStooge]

Retailer settles in meth case

N. Texas: Walgreen firm accepts responsibility in illegal drug-making

By TIM WYATT / The Dallas Morning News

PLANO, Texas – Federal authorities described a $1.3 million settlement with Walgreen Corp. on Thursday as a major breakthrough in pushing retail pharmacies to keep a closer eye on the sale of over-the-counter medicines used to make illegal drugs.

Matt Orwig, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, said the national chain agreed to accept civil responsibility for selling methamphetamine cooks and dealers large amounts of pseudoephedrine out of their northeast Texas stores.

Thursday's civil settlement came on the heels of a two-year drug investigation that netted 25 criminal convictions of methamphetamine cooks and dealers, and shut down five so-called meth labs in Denton and Grayson counties, Mr. Orwig said.

"This is a major, groundbreaking settlement that's going to help fight what's become a major drug problem in northeast Texas," Mr. Orwig said.

Pseudoephedrine is a common ingredient found in cold remedies that can be used to make methamphetamine.

Michael Polzin, a spokesman for Walgreen, said the national chain agreed to settle and work with authorities to put both sides "on the same page to curb the production of meth through over-the-counter drugs."

"This was well before today's level of awareness developed on the problem of methamphetamine abuse," Mr. Polzin said. "We're also following new state laws in other parts of the country where sales restrictions have been put into place."

New law

On Monday, a law goes into effect in Texas that limits over-the-counter sales of pseudoephedrine to 6 grams – or two packages.

In May, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Kmart Holding Corp., CVS Corp., Rite Aid Corp. and Walgreen announced that they would move medicines with pseudoephedrine behind counters. Walgreen has also agreed to install a computerized sales monitoring system in North Texas and Oklahoma to track sales of more than 9 grams of pseudoephedrine in a 30-day span to any individual, Mr. Orwig said.

Denton bust

Local and federal authorities traced the pseudoephedrine to a Walgreen's pharmacy in Denton after a September 2002 drug bust by Denton police. Federal agents then tracked a single-day sale at that pharmacy of 53,000 tablets of pseudoephedrine to one meth dealer in March 2002.

Gary Olenkiewicz, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Agency's Dallas field office, said that purchase alone was enough to help make almost 8 pounds of the highly addictive stimulant that sells for up to $15,000 a pound.

The dealer tied to that large buy received more than 10 years in federal prison for his role in a meth ring that operated out of Cooke, Denton and Grayson counties. A surveillance tape captured the man pushing two carts loaded with cold pills to the checkout counter.

The local investigation led to the arrest and conviction of a former University of North Texas professor in the same ring.

Paul Schlieve received more than 13 years in federal prison on narcotics conspiracy charges in August, after his arrest in Pilot Point a year earlier in which police found more than 200 grams of methamphetamine and guns in the truck he was driving.

He was fired from UNTin July 2002 over accusations that he paid a friend university grant money for work he never performed at the institution.

Mr. Schlieve was among 25 people in the methamphetamine ring indicted in federal court. All but Mr. Schlieve pleaded guilty in return for lighter sentences, and all testified against him in his trial.

Pleased with deal

Denton County Sheriff Benny Parkey, whose office worked alongside federal agents in the investigation, said Thursday's settlement was a welcome sight in battling meth sales in North Texas.

"Pseudoephedrine is something you find at your local stores," Sheriff Parkey said. "No one's smuggling it over the border like heroin or cocaine."

Donna Fielder of the Denton Record-Chronicle contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

High Five drivers, expect more delays

Dallas: Another ramp to be closed this weekend for repairs

By TONY HARTZEL / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - Another major ramp at the Dallas High Five will be closed this weekend for resurfacing, detouring thousands of motorists at the busy interchange construction zone.

Workers are scheduled to close the ramp from westbound LBJ Freeway to southbound Central Expressway from 9 tonight until 6 a.m. Monday at the latest.

The closure, weather permitting, will detour westbound motorists wanting to travel south on Central. Those motorists should instead take the northbound Central ramp and U-turn at Belt Line Road to head south on Central.

A closer exit ramp from northbound Central to Spring Valley Road also will be closed.

The closure will allow crews to remove a 2-inch layer of cracked concrete on the ramp surface and replace it with a layer of asphalt.

The cracked concrete did not pose a safety hazard but could have led to future maintenance problems if not fixed.

Last week, workers fixed a similar problem on another High Five ramp.

That project also began late Friday, and crews finished by early Sunday.

[TexasStooge]

Constable arrested in solicitation case

By JAY PARSONS / The Dallas Morning News

DENTON, Texas - A Denton County constable from The Colony drove to a Colorado restaurant Thursday night looking for a child he’d chatted with since June on the Internet, police said. Instead, he walked into the hands of an undercover police officer.

Larry Dale Floyd, 62, was arrested on suspicion of soliciting to have sex with a child and charged with seven related crimes, police from Canon City, Colo., said.

Mr. Floyd is being held at Fremont County Detention Center in Colorado on a $100,000 cash-only bond, according to police.

Charges against Mr. Floyd include suspicion of sexual assault on a child, pandering of a child, inducement of child prostitution, trafficking children, criminal solicitation, solicitation for child prostitution and enticement of a child.

Asked whether the sexual assault charge stemmed from a separate incident, Canon City police records clerk Dave Bodycomb said, “They have suspicion he’s done that.”

Mr. Floyd has been a Denton County constable since 1993. A Republican, Constable Floyd was unopposed in his most recent re-election in November. His jurisdiction includes The Colony and parts of neighboring cities.

“I am shocked and disappointed that he would do something like that,” said Jim Dotson, another Denton County constable. “If they have a case against him, I’d say prosecute to the fullest, regardless of who it is.”

Mr. Floyd is married with three children, according to the Web site for his Precinct 2 Constable's Office. He served with the U.S. Army in Vietnam and has worked in several law enforcement positions since leaving the military in 1980, according to his Web site.

[rainstorm]

thank goodness they caught him

[TexasStooge]

Mom's death likely due to road rage

By JIM DOUGLAS / WFAA ABC 8

ARLINGTON, Texas - A mother of four is dead after an apparent case of road rage that had nothing to do with her.

Pam Naquin was killed in a five-car collision on South Cooper Street near Sublett Road on July 15. She apparently died for no other reason than because a woman got a little upset with another driver.

"She was just on her way home to her kids," said Naguin's sister Tammie Marshall. "People fighting over a lane ... it's so stupid."

The driver suspected of causing the crash was northbound in a two-door 1999 Oldsmobile Alero. Naquin was in a 1999 white Chevrolet Venture minivan.

The victim's family and police are pleading for witnesses to come forward.

"We could deal with it better if it was just an automobile accident," said Naquin's mother Carrie Thomisee. "But because of the way her life was taken, we're hurt, we're angry and there's nothing we can do about it."

Tim Connor's car got damaged in the crash, but that's not what infuriates him.

"Come on," said Connor. "Is switching lanes worth killing somebody? Flipping each other off and speeding down the street - (and) this lady is having to get cut out of her car."

That lady left behind three children - her son Aubrey, 14, middle daughter Stephanie and youngest daughter Brittany.

Doctors said Naquin wouldn't survive.

"But she fought hard for 10 days to try to stay with the family," her mother said. "She lost the battle ... all because of some stupid road rage."

Naquin wasn't raging at anyone; she just wanted to get home to her family.

Anyone who saw the dispute leading up to the wreck is asked to contact Arlington Police at 817-459-8984. Additionally, you can submit complaints about road rage or other crimes online at ArlingtonPD.org.

[TexasStooge]

Transit bill would boost area's plans

Congress OKs $286 billion measure; Texas stands to get millions more annually

By TONY HARTZEL / The Dallas Morning News

Congress on Friday approved an oft-delayed transportation bill that promises to bring an average of $800 million annually in additional funding to Texas and funnels $669 million statewide to high-profile projects such as the Trinity River signature bridges near downtown Dallas.

The $286 billion bill would boost North Texas transportation financing by millions of dollars. The increase comes from growth in the amount spent on roads and a requirement to return a greater percentage of the gas tax Texans pay to Washington.

The bill also provides new options to charge tolls on new federal roadways, and it lays a strong foundation for Dallas Area Rapid Transit's coming request for $700 million for rail lines to Fair Park, Pleasant Grove and northwest Dallas.

The bill, which now goes to President Bush for his signature, drew overwhelming support in both houses.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn was one of only four senators to vote against the bill. He argued that the state deserves a larger share of money than it would receive in the new bill.

"This bill simply continues the pervasive and longstanding funding inequity, and I cannot support that," he said, adding that the bill was "cut up in special-interest projects and pork-barrel spending."

Texas will eventually get back 92 percent of all federal gas taxes it sends to Washington, an increase from the current 90.5 percent level. Texas officials have argued that other factors reduced its share to 88 percent in the current bill.

Mr. Cornyn's Texas colleague, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, said the state would receive $800 million because of an improvement in federal financing formulas.

"That is a significant funding increase to be put to use for Texas roadways, railways, bridges and other transportation improvements across the state," she said. "While this reimbursement rate is still not good enough, the bill provides important funding for Texas transit projects."

Trinity Project a winner

One of the biggest local winners appeared to be the city of Dallas and the Trinity River area around downtown, which received almost $78 million to help complete the new signature bridge on Interstate 30 and provide seed money for a signature bridge on Interstate 35E.

The last federal transportation bill expired in 2003, but officials in Dallas and elsewhere were forced to endure 22 months of political delays before they learned how much money their priority projects would receive.

"I'm terribly grateful to the whole Dallas delegation for getting the money for the Trinity River bridges, but I'm especially thankful to Congressman [Pete] Sessions, Congresswoman [Eddie Bernice] Johnson and Senator Hutchison, who have always been the biggest cheerleaders for this Trinity River Project, and without them, we wouldn't have a project," Dallas Mayor Laura Miller said.

A large portion of the bridges' funding, $17 million, came from some late negotiating across the aisle between Ms. Johnson, the ranking Texas Democrat on the House transportation and infrastructure committee, and Ms. Hutchison, the state's senior senator.

The Senate version of the bill lopped 20 percent from all requests for projects specifically named in the bill, so Ms. Johnson appealed to Ms. Hutchison late last week to dedicate money from the Senate toward the Trinity River bridges.

"I had great cooperation with Kay Bailey Hutchison," said Ms. Johnson, who quickly realized she couldn't restore full financing for all her designated projects. "I decided to try and make up the money for the bridges, and that would be enough."

Other members of the local congressional delegation, including House Republicans Mr. Sessions and Jeb Hensarling, both of Dallas, and Rep. Kenny Marchant of Coppell, also played important roles in financing the Trinity River bridges.

DART fares well

Dallas Area Rapid Transit also came out ahead in the bill, which will devote $286 billion to highway, transit and other transportation projects through 2009. Mass transit will receive more than $50 billion, a rate roughly equivalent to transit funding in the previous transportation bill.

DART will receive a minimum of $260 million in federal funding for its southeast and northwest rail lines. The agency will file a formal request for $700 million in September, and the $260 million guaranteed by the bill gives DART a reason to be optimistic that Congress will provide the full amount, said Gary Thomas, DART's president and executive director.

"We now have a strong feeling about our $700 million request, and maybe a stronger feeling than in the past," he said. "We're in good shape. It's good to have a long-term bill. It's also good for our projects."

If all goes as planned, the Federal Transit Administration will rule on DART's request in the spring. Local residents could see the first work on the rail extensions in June, and the first extension to Fair Park could open in mid-2009. An early project to straighten out the rail line east of the Plaza of the Americas building in downtown could begin in January.

"The timing here should work out perfectly," Mr. Thomas said. "Everything is falling into place."

The transit agency also will receive $10.7 million for bus shelters and other bus amenities and $2.6 million for a Carrollton rail study in the Belt Line Road area, thanks to requests from Ms. Johnson and Mr. Marchant.

"Our delegation did a phenomenal job," said Mr. Thomas, who also praised the support of Ms. Hutchison and Mr. Sessions.

As the bill wound its way through Congress at higher dollar amounts – which triggered delays and threats of presidential vetoes – supporters often argued that the bill's purposes were part infrastructure, part safety and part economic stimulus.

Supporters said the money spent in the bill would create millions of jobs. They also argued that money for infrastructure is well spent because congestion costs American drivers 3.6 billion hours of delay and 5.7 billion gallons of wasted fuel every year. Substandard road conditions and roadside hazards are a factor in nearly one-third of the 42,000 traffic fatalities annually.

Much of the credit for Texas getting more money goes to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who fought for Texas and other "donor states" to get a higher share, Ms. Johnson said.

The exact impact on North Texas, though positive, remains uncertain.

"How this will benefit the North Texas region, we don't know yet," said Mark Ball, spokesman for the Dallas office of the Texas Department of Transportation.

The bill may also signal a subtle shift in the way highways are funded. An amendment introduced by Sam Johnson, R-Plano, allows for up to $15 billion to be used nationwide to help finance road construction with private money. The private activity bonds will allow state and local governments to issue tax-exempt bonds that will be repaid by a private entity.

In addition, an amendment sponsored by Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Flower Mound, will allow Texas to receive more financial credits from the federal government for building toll roads with state and local money.

"There are some great things in this legislation," said Coby Chase, legislative affairs director for the state Transportation Department. "A lot of people are focused on the dollar amount. There's a lot in there we're really happy about."

Staff writer Katie Menzer and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NORTH TEXAS PROJECTS:

Funding for projects close to home:

$77.8 million for Trinity River bridges.

$8.2 million for Intermodal project, Belt Line Road, Carrollton.

$3.6 million for I-635/I-35E interchange.

[TexasStooge]

Dallas ISD kin got jobs at vendors

Exclusive: Trustee, technology chief backed '03 consortium contract

By PETE SLOVER and JESSICA LEEDER / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - The grandson of a Dallas schools trustee and the son-in-law of the district's technology chief have both held jobs at computer businesses approved for a multimillion-dollar contract that was blessed by both district officials.

Alonzo Brashear, 26, grandson of trustee Hollis Brashear, declined to comment when contacted about his employment at Micro System Enterprises, a major Dallas Independent School District vendor.

"My grandfather told me not to say anything," he said Friday at his DeSoto home.

The Dallas Morning News reported last week that Houston-based Micro System gave the free use of a yacht to Ruben Bohuchot, the district's associate superintendent for technology.

The district suspended Mr. Bohuchot with pay this week pending an investigation.

The News also has learned that Mr. Bohuchot's son-in-law, Bernard Lee Cabatingan, 38, works at the offices of a company tied closely to Micro System in its dealings with DISD. Contacted at the offices Friday, Mr. Cabatingan declined to comment.

As school board president, Mr. Brashear executed a December 2003 contract potentially worth hundreds of millions of federal dollars with a consortium of computer companies led by Micro System.

The precise value of the deal depends on approval of work submitted by the district for funding through the federal E-rate program. The program makes $2.25 billion available each year for school and library technology by adding taxes to most Americans' phone bills.

This week, Mr. Brashear confirmed his grandson's work for Micro System in a phone message left for a reporter. Just before doing so, he said, he had consulted a school board attorney who affirmed that the job did not violate the law or school district policy.

"Our attorneys have reported back to me, there is an attorney general's opinion of two years ago that states that families may work for contractors," Mr. Brashear said. "There is a law against nepotism. However, vendors are not considered part of the DISD."

The trustee said his grandson worked in a warehouse for Micro System for "a period of time" during 2004 while he was a full-time student at a community college in Dallas. Alonzo Brashear left the company when he enrolled at Langston University in Oklahoma last fall, the trustee said, and then returned to work again for a month beginning in May.

Mr. Brashear, the trustee, declined to return follow-up phone calls or to elaborate when interviewed at his house Friday.

"I have no problem with that," he said of the job. "My grandson worked for a vendor, that's it."

In response to questions about whether Alonzo Brashear's job would violate any district policy, spokesman Donald Claxton said in an e-mail: "In regards to Mr. Brashear's grandson, it's under review. It should be noted that conversations between board members and district lawyers are privileged."

Mr. Cabatingan declined to comment when interviewed briefly at the Dallas offices of Lazo Technologies, a member of the DISD consortium headed by Micro Systems, and one of the leading minority contractors in the state.

Company president Tom Lazo Sr. said his firm did not hire Mr. Cabatingan and he did not know that Mr. Cabatingan was Mr. Bohuchot's son-in-law. He said Mr. Cabatingan has worked at his warehouse and office for about 10 months on the payroll of either Micro System or Acclaim Services Corp. Acclaim's directors include Frankie Wong, the president of Micro System.

"He doesn't work for Lazo Technologies," Mr. Lazo said. "Under the consortium ... a lot of the functions are done there at Lazo Technologies. A lot of them are employees of other members of the consortium."

Mr. Lazo, who said he was traveling Friday, offered to look into the matter further and answer more questions on his return to Dallas.

Mr. Bohuchot declined to comment Friday. In an earlier interview, he said he did not control the selection of the consortium, though he did negotiate the final contract once a deal was reached in principal.

But documents obtained this week show that when the board met to authorize the contract to be negotiated in January 2003, Mr. Bohuchot vouched in writing for the deal. He certified to the board that the consortium provided the best value and met required specifications, and that "no conflicts of interest" existed with the deal.

Mr. Claxton said that DISD continues its internal investigation, which he said "primarily has been conducted with officers within the Employee Relations department, which is in HR."

[TexasStooge]

Victim: NE Dallas crime getting worse

By BYRON HARRIS / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - In Northeast Dallas, police say an innovative police effort is producing big results in reducing crime.

Officials credit "Operation Kitchen Sink" with what they say is huge progress, citing statistics showing violent crime down 22 percent over the last two years in the northeast sector - more than anywhere else in Dallas.

But as many victims of crime will tell you, that statistic only means something if you're not a victim. Crime is in the eye of the beholder - and based on his own recent experience, one Northeast Dallas resident said his neighborhood is disintegrating.

Nick Todaro, owner of Nick's Auto Supply, said he was robbed earlier this week by three men at 4:30 in the afternoon.

"One on my left side, he went around where that TVl is," Todaro said, pointing to one side of the store. "And one on the other side of the counter, walking towards me ... I knew then something was going to go down."

Todaro pulled his pistol out from its hiding place, and called 911. Meanwhile, his assistant Robert Guilford faced down the trio of men who'd entered the store. Guilford had a pistol, too.

"I pulled the pistol out and said, 'don't you do it,'" Guilford said.

By then the men had left the store, but they started throwing full cans and bottles of beer.

"I took my baseball bat with me - I was trying to run them off from the customers," Todaro said. "One attacked me; I hit him. Another attacked me; I hit him."

911 was called again, but still no police.

Finally, at about 5:10, Todaro's wife pushed the emergency button on the store's security system. Dallas police records show just that one call.

"The first call we show coming from that location is 5:09," Dallas Police Deputy Chief David Brown said. "It took us seven minutes to answer it."

Todaro has records to show how many times he's had to call police over break-ins, prostitution, and drug deals going down next door. He credits Dallas police with bringing improvement, but fear and rage overcome him when he describes what he said is happening in his neighborhood.

"My wife is scared right now," he said. "I'm scared when I open up in the morning; I'm scared when I have to lock up and go home."

Dallas police said they've caught four robbers in the district this week, but not whoever tried to rob Nick's Auto Supply.

However, they said fear of crime can be as bad crime itself, and they advise people like Todaro to stay involved with their community and stay the course.

[TexasStooge]

Winery in the shadow of skyscrapers

By CHRIS HEINBAUGH / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Downtown Dallas has a famous department store. In recent years art galleries, dress shops, and a supermarket have opened in the shadows of skyscrapers.

Now, there's a winery.

Swirll is one of a handful of do-it-yourself, boutique wineries in North Texas, located in the Davis Building on Main Street.

At Swirll, the winemaker is the customer.

The process begins with a selection from some 30 grapes—finding what hits the palate just right.

Swirll lets the customers call the shots, and the husband-and-wife owners, Louis and Peggy Davion, skip the risk of being farmers.

"We don't worry about any of that," Peggy said. "We already get the best grapes."

The grapes come in the form of juice from around the world.

Louis Davion said the essence of his Stag's Leap Merlot comes from grapes gown in the Stag's Leap district of the Napa Valley. "The South African Pinotage, the South African grapes come from South Africa," he added.

The wine mixture ends up in a plastic bucket with the customer's name right on top. It ferments at the shop for about two weeks; then the wine is poured into a large plastic bottle for what's called the fining period, when the sediment settles.

After about four weeks, the wine on top is ready to bottle.

The customer then does the filling and the corking, creating 28 to 30 bottles that average $6 to $12 each.

Some Swirll customers even design their own labels, giving their creation an identity all its own.

Robert Mondavi says wine is really about family and friends, a generosity of the heart.

"It's one of those things where when it's good, it really adds to what we're doing and our enjoyment of life," Louis Davion said.

Would-be winemakers can now share in the process—without ever having to grow a vine.

[TexasStooge]

Man arrested in Cabela's gun theft

FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) -- A Fort Worth man has been arrested in the May theft of 74 weapons owned by outdoors store Cabela's.

Bobby Gene Pitcock, 35, is being held without bail on federal firearms theft charges for stealing the weapons from two storage units at Storage Works mini-warehouse near Cabela's in north Fort Worth.

The weapons, primarily expensive collector firearms, were being stored there before the opening of the store. The federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms received an anonymous letter identifying Mr. Pitcock as a suspect and adding that he was the son of the manager of the facility and lived with his mother on site.

The letter also identified the unit where the stolen firearms were found.

A search of the unit last Thursday found 70 weapons from Cabela's and another 28 from other sources, federal officials said. The other four weapons were found in an air conditioning duct in the attic of Mr. Pitcock's room at the Storage Works.

[TexasStooge]

Fire damages Shops at Willow Bend

PLANO, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A brief blaze at PacSun, a teen clothing store in the Shops at Willow Bend, caused $250,000 in damage, according to a preliminary Plano Fire Department report.

Spokeswoman Peggy Harrell said the Fire Department got word about the fire at the mall, at Park Boulevard and the Dallas North Tollway, about 11:10 p.m. Thursday.

“It did go to full first alarm, but I think that was just because of the scope of the mall,” she said.

Harrell said a welder’s torch at the Puma store apparently sparked the blaze, which mall general manager Tim Moorehead said resulted in damages downstairs at PacSun.

One sprinkler head activated, dousing the flames before firefighters arrived. “They just began salvage and smoke removal,” Harrell said.

Moorehead said he had not heard a loss estimate, but most of the damage was to the merchandise.

“Mostly water damage from the sprinkler system going off and then a little smoke damage,” he said. “It all happened very quickly. All our systems functioned as they should and the fire was extinguished, really, within minutes after it started.”

Moorehead said some construction was under way the unopened Puma store, but he had no clear idea about how the blaze ignited or spread. “I would defer to the Fire Department on that,” he said.

The mall sustained no structural damage and was open Friday, but PacSun was closed as the cleanup continued. Moorehead said he was certain the store would make “every effort to get open” in time for back-to-school shopping.

[TexasStooge]

Fort Worth man has first W. Nile case of 2005

FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Tests confirm that a 42-year-old Fort Worth man has the first human case of West Nile virus in North Texas this year.

Fort Worth health officials said they have identified two mosquito pools that tested positive for the virus: one on Warm Springs Trail near Watauga, the other at the intersection of 28th Street and Grace Avenue on the city's near north side.

They believe the unidentified man may have contracted West Nile in the same area.

Last year, there were a total of 119 human West Nile cases in Texas.

Health experts say birds carry the virus in their bloodstream. It is passed to humans by mosquitoes, who get the infection from birds.

"While any human exposure to this disease is serious, there is no need for alarm," Fort Worth Public Health Department spokesman Jason Lamers in a statement.

City officials said they have no plans to spray to control the spread of mosquitoes because of possible health and environmental concerns.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 20 percent of humans who become infected with WNV will develop West Nile fever. Symptoms include fever, headaches, fatigues and body aches. A more severe form of the disease can be deadly.

The CDC recommends the use of mosquito repellent and wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants to reduce the risk of mosquito bites. Also, limit outdoor activities at dawn, dusk and in the early evening when insects are most active.

[TexasStooge]

Texas City refinery blast under review

TEXAS CITY, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — The explosion and fire that shook nearby homes Thursday at the same BP plant where 15 people were killed during a blast in March has been extinguished.

And BP officials said Friday the precautionary request for nearby residents to stay in their homes was lifted.

Bruce Clawson of the Texas City Office of Emergency Management said no injuries were reported in the latest explosion.

Officials have monitored the air along the facility's perimeter and found no indication of harmful substances as of Friday morning.

The U.S. Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board, which has still not completed its probe into the March explosion, said Friday it was sending a two-person team to look into Thursday's incident.

The unit that exploded was used to remove sulfur from heavy crude oil.

All BP employees had been accounted for, BP spokesman Hugh Depland said.

Depland said he did not immediately know any details about the incident or in what part of the refinery it took place.

The March 23 blast, which occurred in a unit that boosts the octane level of gasoline, killed 15 contractors and injured more than 170 workers. The refinery processes 433,000 barrels of crude oil a day and 3 percent of the nation's gasoline.

[TexasStooge]

Free ride at metered spots to end

Dallas: Vendor works to keep parking devices from staying jammed

By KATIE MENZER / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - Your money's no good – at least in some Dallas parking meters.

Many drivers have been delighted this month to discover many malfunctioning parking meters on Dallas streets, allowing them to park in coveted spots and save their nickels and dimes.

But city officials warn the free-parking party will soon come to an end.

The city started outsourcing parking-meter collections to a vendor this month and has given Affiliated Computer Services Inc. until Monday to get its act together or pay the price.

"I think it's reasonable to give them 30 days to work out all the quirks," said Zena Fernino, division manager for the city's parking-management section. "After that, there will be some penalties assessed."

The meters aren't broken. They're jammed – with money.

Company officials said learning to deal with change – or setting up a schedule for collecting it, anyway – can be hard. They're increasing the number of collectors, taking inventory and repairing and replacing equipment.

"We came into the contract without a repair and maintenance history and have accomplished a lot in a short period of time," said Joe Barrett, the company's vice president of communications. "We feel now that we have our arms around the situation."

Still, the city is getting its due. The vendor pays the city a flat rate – about $9,000 a day – to keep the contract whether the meters are working or not.

"The city is not losing money and – if anything – the citizens are getting free parking," Ms. Fernino said.


BRAD LOPER/Dallas Morning News
Affiliated Computer Services officials say they're close to having a handle on keeping up with malfunctioning meters.

[TexasStooge]

Cleanup set after plant fire

Fort Worth: Inquiry into cause of explosion will come next

By JEFF MOSIER / The Dallas Morning News

FORT WORTH, Texas – Firefighters turned over the site of a chemical plant explosion and blaze to a private hazardous-materials abatement company on Friday.

Lt. Kent Worley, a Fire Department spokesman, said a full investigation of Thursday's fire would start only after the cleanup of the Valley Solvents & Chemicals plant in North Fort Worth was completed. He said it wasn't clear how long that would take.

"We're in no hurry," Lt. Worley said. "It's not going anywhere."

Officials with Denton-based Hulcher Services Inc., the firm hired to clean up the site, could not be reached for comment. An employee at the site Friday declined to talk about the cleanup.

The company was building large dirt berms around the plant to prevent contaminated water from reaching adjacent properties or the city's storm sewer system. Smaller berms were in place Thursday.

Lt. Worley said a small amount of water containing some of the chemicals stored at the plant reached a storm drain, but that was caught quickly and the drain was vacuumed.

Valley Solvents had 30 chemicals in 2,000- to 4,000-gallon tanks at its facility when the fire started about 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Most were industrial solvents such as acetone and isopropyl alcohol; however, there were more dangerous chemicals such as hydrochloric acid at the facility, too, local health officials said.

There were no fatalities in the plant fire. Four people were taken to local hospitals, and three were treated and released. A warehouse manager who sustained burns over 30 percent of his body remained hospitalized Friday, Lt. Worley said.

Firefighters stayed at the plant overnight to battle occasional flare-ups.

Bill Davis, owner of Valley Solvents, could not be reached Friday.

City officials said the fire apparently started when a tractor-trailer was delivering highly flammable methanol to the plant near Northeast 33rd and Bethlehem streets. Additional information about the cause of the fire, which spread to other chemical tanks on the property, was not available.

Lt. Worley said investigators will look at whether the hoses used in the delivery were damaged and whether static electricity could have been a factor.

"Static electricity is a big concern. It's an inherent danger" when delivering flammable chemicals, Lt. Worley said.

He said that investigators also plan to talk to the truck driver who was making the delivery. That driver could not be located Friday, and officials at the trucking company where he worked could not be reached for comment.

Fort Worth fire investigators took overhead photos of the plant Friday and, while wearing hazard suits, walked a short distance into the grounds.

"Most of the evidence has been destroyed, but they [fire investigators] are very skilled at determining what happened," Lt. Worley said.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration also will investigate the fire and explosion to determine whether emergency evacuation plans were followed and how employees and contractors were handling the hazardous chemicals.

Officials with the Texas Department of State Health Services said they would investigate only if there are numerous reports of health problems that could be connected to the fire. The Red Cross and the city of Fort Worth established two evacuation areas for nearby residents Thursday, but only about 10 people took advantage of the shelter. One person with existing respiratory problems was hospitalized.

The city's top health officials said it was unlikely that short-term exposure to the smoke would cause any lasting damage.

Fort Worth officials were also dealing with a water main break within a block of Valley Solvents on Friday morning that might have been caused by the increased pressure through the line, water department spokeswoman Mary Gugliuzza said.

"Water main breaks happen every day, so it's hard to say" what caused Friday's, she said. "We do know we were putting more pressure in that area to aid in firefighting."

The water system sustained no contamination, Ms. Gugliuzza said.

She said a half-dozen businesses in the area were left without water, but the pipe was expected to be repaired by Friday afternoon.

DallasNews.com staff writer Kimberly Durnan contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Play dough: At PSA, fun and games are big business

By GARY JACOBSON / The Dallas Morning News

PLANO, Texas - Youth sports are about kids, fun and competition. Increasingly, they are also about dollars. In the case of the Plano Sports Authority, millions of dollars.

PSA, one of the largest youth sports organizations in the nation, expects to reach $6 million in revenue this fiscal year. Since opening its $10.8 million StarCenter in early 2002, PSA has seen its annual revenue increase more than 2 ½ times, most of it from player registration fees that can run $110 for a basketball season. Construction of a second PSA building of about equal size could begin next year.

"Our numbers have grown at monstrous, monstrous rates," said Mary Margaret Taylor, executive director for the nonprofit organization that serves, primarily, kids who live in the Plano Independent School District. A few teams also come from as far away as Denison, Duncanville and Highland Park.

About 2.5 million people will pass through PSA's StarCenter at Carpenter Park this year. That's as many as attended Rangers games at Ameriquest Field in 2004.

Though it is the largest local youth sports organization, PSA has plenty of company. The Dallas Morning News found 22 nonprofit area youth sports groups with revenue of more than $500,000 and 105 with revenue of more than $100,000. Combined, the groups account for $46 million in annual revenue – about as much generated by Calloway's Nursery Inc., which ranked 97th on The News' recent list of privately held area firms.

The News also found 19 individuals, many of them soccer coaches, who earned more than $60,000 a year from their youth sports organizations.

The News' analysis included groups focused on youth sports that are tax-exempt. The analysis is based on Form 990 reports filed with the Internal Revenue Service. It did not include for-profit operations, leagues run by municipalities or groups that include sports as part of a broader mission.

Most of the largest local nonprofit youth sports groups focus on a single sport and the development of competitive players, often with paid coaches rather than volunteers.

But whether the kids are chasing college scholarships or playing just for fun, youth sports are big business and getting bigger.

PSA, which focuses on the fun, earned $163,000 just for the advertising signs and banners placed around the 143,000-square-foot StarCenter in the fiscal year that ended July 31, 2004. It sold $430,000 worth of concessions and spent $650,730 on officials and referees.

Taylor, a former flight attendant, started volunteering at PSA in 1978, when her children played sports. She assumed her current paid position in 1993, when PSA offered 11 sports. It offers only youth competition – currently, 20 sports for kids ages 18 and younger. Taylor says the strength of the organization has always been its volunteers, which number more than 5,000.

"We may look sophisticated, but I want you to know we are still a mom-and-pop store," she said.

Literally.

Mary Margaret's husband, Jerry, is PSA's sports director. They are two of the organization's 17 full-time employees. There are also six part-timers.

"She does pretty much all of it," Jerry Taylor said. "I just answer the phone and drive Miss Daisy," he said, referring to his wife.

PSA anticipates that a second building will receive city approval later this year and could be in operation in 2007. The building would be on city land at Enfield Park and share a parking lot with Clark Stadium, which is used for high school football games.

As with its current facility, the organization expects a long-term lease arrangement from the city on the Enfield land. For the Carpenter site, PSA pays $10 a year for 30 years with options for two additional 10-year periods.

Through all the growth, the PSA philosophy has remained the same. "We're in the business of recreation," said Bill Wadley, chairman of the board. "We're not in the business of building select teams."

That's just fine with Wendy Blessing, mother of twin 7-year-old boys and a 3-year-old girl. Her husband, John, is PSA's director of football. She served on PSA's soccer board for a couple of years and is now the director of cheerleading.

For Wendy, it's not the size of PSA that makes it special, but the family feeling.

She tells of driving home from her boys' PSA baseball game. Benjamin and Nicholas, who began playing PSA sports when they were 3, wanted to stop to watch PSA arena football at the StarCenter. In the back seat, Jennifer, the youngest, was cheering, "P-S-A! P-S-A!"

"We're a PSA family," Wendy said. "I'd rather them be there than almost anywhere else as they grow older."

Wadley remembers his introduction to PSA in 1973, just three years after the organization started. When his own kids wanted to play football, he said, he was determined not to get involved.

But when the team formed and no one volunteered to coach, he eventually raised his hand. "And that's how we got started," he said.

In the 32 years since, he has run the baseball program, headed public relations efforts, served as president and then as chairman for the last dozen years. All are unpaid volunteer positions. His paying job is as director of design for SHW Group, an architectural and planning firm specializing in schools.

Wadley designed both the existing PSA building and the proposed building. SHW donated his time.

Elite company

Nationally, PSA is a giant among the 1,200 organizations in its peer group, as determined by GuideStar, which collects and makes available information on nonprofit organizations. Revenue of just over $700,000 a year, less than one-eighth the size of PSA, puts an organization in the top 10 percent of that peer group.

In revenue and asset size, PSA resembles a metro-area YMCA more than a typical youth sports group. It generates more revenue than the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Dallas and roughly the same revenue as the Arlington YMCA, according to the organizations' annual returns and GuideStar reports.

In Plano, the Plano Youth Soccer Association and the Plano Baseball Association are also among the largest youth sports groups in North Texas.

PYSA has 8,000 players and expects about 550 teams from around the country at its Labor Day tournament, said president George Ostrander, who helped found the group in 1976.

"PSA is a good organization and the people, probably, are not going to be screaming on the sidelines like ours are," he said, adding that his group is very competitive.

In the early 1990s, soon after some baseball volunteers left PSA to form PBA, the two groups battled over the rights to fields. There were even accusations of padding rosters to get more favorable field allocations from the city.

"We have very good relations with PSA now," said Keith McDonald, president of the PBA. "We even share fields sometimes."

Don Wendell, Plano's director of parks, said PSA, which originally formed to bring together all of Plano's youth sports programs, has strong community support.

Not everyone, though, is happy. Jeff Smith, president of the neighborhood association closest to the PSA StarCenter said that the facility is good for kids but that PSA has not kept promises about parking and landscaping made to neighbors during negotiations for the building.

"It's not quite as much traffic as we thought it was going to be, but it's more aggressive traffic," Smith said. "Lots of SUVs."

Mary Margaret Taylor said that Smith was part of the negotiations on landscaping and that PSA is looking into replacing some plants that have died.

Much of the traffic comes from PSA's most popular sport, basketball, which has about 20,000 participants a year, Taylor said. Basketball is offered in four seasons; 9,000 play in the winter league.

"Basketball was the engine behind it all," she said of PSA's growth. She thinks the popularity of basketball was aided by non-Texans who moved to Plano from other parts of the country. The numbers grew strongly, Wadley said, when PSA began offering leagues for older kids not involved with school teams.

Combined, PSA sports attract more than 40,000 participants a year. Soccer has 10,000, baseball 3,000, girls' volleyball 2,500 and softball 2,000. If a kid plays more than one sport or the same sport in more than one season, he or she is counted each time.

Wadley thinks there is growth potential in coed and boys volleyball. He said that with the new building, PSA will have a total of 26 courts for basketball and other indoor sports. Currently, the organization has to rent more than 20 other gyms around town in addition to the StarCenter courts.

Wadley and Mary Margaret Taylor expect PSA's main partners in the new building to be Coca-Cola, which donated $1.5 million toward the first building, and the Dallas Stars, who financed the ice rink in the first building.

In addition, the U.S. Taekwon-do Federation and a private company, Impact Martial Arts Academy, are ready to contribute $2 million for 20,000 square feet of dedicated space, said Scott McNeely, who heads both organizations. The space would include a 7,000-square-foot taekwondo museum. McNeely's Academy currently offers a small program at the existing StarCenter.

Other sponsors are likely, Taylor and Wadley said. Acme Brick, for example, donated the brick for the first PSA StarCenter.

Jim Lites, president of the Stars, calls the PSA-Stars relationship a "really, really good marriage." The Stars pay PSA a monthly fee (more than $16,000), which finances about $3 million of original cost. He expects a similar arrangement for the new building.

The Stars, in turn, manage PSA's ice program. About three-quarters of PSA's revenue comes from indoor sports and one-quarter from outdoor sports, Mary Margaret Taylor said. About 20 percent of the StarCenter's revenue comes from the ice program, she said.

Whereas Dr Pepper is a partner with the Stars on other StarCenters around the area, there is no mention of Dr Pepper anywhere in PSA's StarCenter, nor is it available at the concession stand. That's because of PSA's exclusive agreement with Coke.

Rick Gillis, a vice president in Coca-Cola's west central region, based in Dallas, said his company likes to support positive youth programs, like PSA. "It's been a wonderful partnership for both them and us," said Gillis, whose sons play basketball, soccer and baseball at PSA. He coaches basketball.

Factoring out the Stars' share of the debt, PSA owes about $5 million on the first building, Mary Margaret Taylor said. Wadley said a primary goal is to pay off that debt. Then, PSA could cut its participation fees substantially, he said.

"What an endowment we've done for the kids," Wadley said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BY THE NUMBERS

Plano Sports Authority revenue for the year ending July 31, 2004 was $5.65 million.

2.5 million people will pass through the PSA's StarCenter in Plano this year

40,000-plus participated in PSA sports

105 area nonprofit youth sports organizations with annual revenue of more than $100,000 are open.

22 area nonprofit youth sports organizations has annual revenue of more than $500,000

Salary of Hassan Nazari, director of coaching for the Dallas Texas soccer club is $146,090.

[TexasStooge]

Dallas entertainment districts too dispersed

Dallas struggles with entertainment districts that visitors never see

By SUZANNE MARTA / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - When it comes to Dallas' nightlife and entertainment, how much is too much?

From the West Village to the West End, from Deep Ellum to Main Street, Dallas has plenty of entertainment close to downtown. But the city has struggled to shake off perceptions by visitors and locals alike that there's nothing to do here.

Some say the number of entertainment districts could spread the city's resources too thin, offering several places to visit but few that stand out or hold a visitor's attention.

Others say the key is diversity, offering something visitors can't find in other cities and something locals can't find in the suburbs.

Could more entertainment do the trick?

The developers of the $3 billion Victory complex and the newly proposed entertainment district behind the Dallas Convention Center hope so.

Surrounding American Airlines Center, Hillwood's 75-acre Victory would create an upscale, urban center with coiffed plazas, high-end boutiques, marquee restaurants and luxury condos when its first projects open next summer.

Victory's scale is difficult to comprehend, simply driving by the cranes and building skeletons. But at the project's stylized Discovery Center on Cedar Springs, the scale model of planned buildings and streetscapes paints a picture of city transformed.

"Victory is the ultimate urban neighborhood in Dallas," said Jonas Woods, who oversees the project as president of Hillwood Capital. "There's a vibrancy in our streets you won't find in our nearest neighbors in Uptown."

Buildings in the current phase of construction begin opening next summer but represent a mere third of the overall project.

Dallas City Limits

Across downtown, near the convention center, Dallas City Limits LLC wants to build a $100 million entertainment district that would host more than a dozen restaurants and entertainment venues, and act as a gathering point for Dallas residents and visitors.

Planners envision a master-planned development akin to the Universal CityWalk centers in Orlando, Fla., and Universal City, Calif., or Orlando's newly revived Church Street. People would go there, then wander among venues to fill a day or evening.

"We want it to be a place where you can go have dinner, see some jazz and then go out for coffee and beignets afterward," said Bill Beuck, a partner in the development with Billy Bob Barnett.

Both developers want their projects to change perceptions about Dallas.

For Dallas' $13.5 billion visitor industry, Dallas City Limits' project could fill an important gap by creating a major entertainment district within view of the Dallas Convention Center.

"We'd like conventiongoers to be able to look in any direction and see things to do," said Phillip Jones, chief executive of the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau.

It's a critical opportunity for the bureau, which has been working to attract meetings and events that had migrated to more entertainment-heavy destinations.

Although recent sales efforts have boosted bookings for future years, the city hasn't recovered to pre-Sept. 11 business levels.

Visitor-friendly nightlife and leisure activities – once considered a bonus – can now swing the pendulum for cities selling convention space.

Dallas has several entertainment districts, but they're not connected. And they aren't next to the convention center, so visitors don't notice them.

At the Dallas City Limits project, visitors could find shopping, restaurants and nightlife on foot or by light rail from the convention center to the West End and on to the new Victory development.

"It creates a seamless entertainment district," Mr. Jones said.

Alive after 6

Those connections are important, industry experts say, because they help show a critical mass of activity.

Dallas has worked to change perceptions by visitors and locals that downtown dies after 6 p.m. As the city works to develop more than 10,000 residential units downtown by 2010, downtown boosters say the sleepy image will change.

"People want lots of choices," said Alice Murray, president of the Central Dallas Association. "When you go to San Francisco, look at how many districts you can go to. That's what we're hoping for in Dallas."

The visitors bureau has identified at least 10 distinct entertainment districts downtown and nearby, including Uptown and its West Village shopping and entertainment complex, Deep Ellum and Main Street. Others, such as the Dallas Arts District, Oak Lawn, Mockingbird Station and the Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff, are less obvious to visitors and even some residents.

Like Victory, the Dallas City Limits development would be "another bow in the city's quiver," said Greg Crown, a Dallas-based hospitality industry consultant with PKF Consulting.

But the sheer number of places could pose a risk.

"Up to a point, more is better," Mr. Crown said. "There's a danger in having multiple districts of moderate success but nothing that is a spectacular success. You have to have enough critical mass."

Spread out

Part of the problem, officials and frequent visitors say, is that the city's entertainment areas are too spread out.

"This has been one the hardest cities I've been to figure out what's there and what's fun," said Michael Crosno, who commutes to Dallas every week from Austin.

Mr. Crosno makes his Dallas base in Uptown at the fashionable Hotel ZaZa, where he can walk to several restaurants and nightspots.

"Other cities have a centralized area," Mr. Crosno said. "In Dallas, there are all these villages of restaurants and boutiques. It's hard to put a finger on the pulse of Dallas."

And in the heart of downtown, especially close the convention center, that pulse is even tougher to locate.

"If you don't have a thriving urban core, then people will have the perception that there's nothing to do in the city," Mr. Jones said.

Steve Vissotzky, general manager of the Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion – the city's closest hotel to the convention center – said customers have complained about a lack of leisure activities nearby for years.

"Conventioneers say we have everything, but it's too far flung from the convention center," Mr. Vissotzky said. "They want something recognizable and close enough that they can see."

From the Dallas Convention Center, visitors can't see any of the city's restaurants or nightlife, including those they can walk to, like the West End.

Gilley's Dallas and Poor David's Pub are even closer to the convention center, but they're on the backside of the facility, where conventiongoers seldom venture.

In the plans

Dallas City Limits would create a 22-acre complex with a concentration of activity that would be obvious to convention visitors.

Mr. Beuck said the project is in the early planning stages and faces numerous development-related hurdles. Planners are juggling with access to existing roads and freeways and how it would interface with the convention center and the proposed convention center hotel, not to mention funding issues.

Conceptually, planners say, the project would highlight the city's music culture. Plans include more than a dozen restaurants, shops and performance venues, and even a recording studio to make the music experience seem more authentic.

"People could try six different things in one place rather than having to drive from place to place," Mr. Beuck said.

It would also have a festival space that could accommodate 50,000 people, and Mr. Beuck said he hopes to add cooling misters to ease Texas' oppressive heat.

"We want it to be pedestrian-friendly," he said.

The group hopes to unveil a more comprehensive plan, with renderings and other details, as early as September.

Don't forget personality

Steven Hacker, president of the Dallas-based International Association for Exhibition Management, said personality is also important.

"It's not a matter of too many entertainment districts," he said. "It's a question of diversity. People are easily bored. They don't want to do the same thing all the time."