Happy New Year!

The old give way to the young. New thoughts sprout from fertile ground.

While the New Year beckons us with many promises, don't forget to give the old year its due.

Learn from past mistakes and carry the lessons of time with you.

This year resolve to laugh more, love more, forgive more, friend more and learn more.

May 2011 be your best year yet!

Katy residents are suing a car wash after having their motorcycle detailed.

Jong Yi and Rebecca Yi, of 23107 Hazel Field Court in Katy, filed a lawsuit on Dec. 2 in the Harris County District Court against Texas Car Wash Co., alleging negligence.

The Yis say that on Jan. 13, 2010, they had their motorcycle detailed at Texas Car Wash Co., located 6016 N. Eldridge Pkwy. According to the brief, the car wash used excessive amounts of tire cleaner while cleaning the motorcycle, which made the tires on the motorcycle so slick that they wrecked.

The Yis are seeking compensatory and exemplary damages, as well as court costs.
They are being represented in the case by Woodlands attorney Nathan Beedle.

Harris County District Court Case No. 2010-78820.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Harris County Courthouse. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.

5 teens charged with car burglaries ...

TEXAS CITY, Texas — Five teenagers have been charged with stealing property from about 10 vehicles early Saturday on 15th Avenue North.

Around 4:23 a.m. Saturday, officers responding to a burglary call saw a young man running to a house near the 1500 block of 15th Avenue North, according to a police report.

Officers checked all the cars parked near the street and found about 10 cars that had been burglarized.

All the cars had been left unlocked by their owners, police said.

Three young men were arrested after officers searched an apartment at Tradewinds Apartment Complex and recovered stolen property.

A fourth teenager arrived at the apartment riding a bicycle, which had been reported stolen, and was taken into custody, police said.

At 7 a.m., another officer responded to a call of an intoxicated man at Burger King on 2500 Palmer Highway.

The young man was charged in the car burglaries, police said.

All five are younger than 17 and have been taken to the Juvenile Justice Center. They are facing charges of organized criminal activity.
This story was brought to you thanks to khou.com’s partnership with the Galveston County Daily News.

What's that smell?

TEXAS CITY, Texas — A smell similar to rotten eggs enveloped Texas City about 5 p.m. Monday afternoon after a leak from a subunit at BP’s Texas City refinery.

Workers were doing maintenance work on a sour water compressor on the refinery’s Power 2 unit when workers noticed a smell after a piece of equipment failed, company spokesman Michael Marr said. The odor, which forced some businesses on Palmer Highway about 13 blocks from the refinery to shutter their doors and close windows, lasted more than an hour.

The smell is believed to come from liquid in the subunit that contained hydrogen sulfide, which is a hazardous chemical that has a strong smell of rotten eggs, Texas City Homeland Security Director Bruce Clawson said. The Texas City Fire Department and BP industrial hygienists conducted ground-level air monitoring and did not find any readings of hazardous chemicals in the air, Clawson said.

Between one and two barrels of sour water — which is waste water that contains hydrocarbons and is pumped to an enclosed sewer system for disposal — spilled, causing the offensive odor, officials said.

There was not a shelter in place order for the city, but Clawson issued a phone and e-mail alert to residents notifying them of the situation.

There was a brief shelter in place order within the refinery for areas downwind of the leak, Marr said. BP set up an incident command center and the leak was contained at about 9 p.m.

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Human trafficking topic of lecture

CYPRESS, TX - Former Lone Star College System summa cum laude international student, Diana Velardo, will be the keynote speaker Nov. 16 during LSC-CyFair’s joint International Education and Global Entrepreneurship Week celebration.
Velardo, a multi-lingual attorney specializing in immigration law, serves as the Executive Director of Artemis Justice Center, a nonprofit organization she founded to help victims of domestic violence, human trafficking and victims of crimes. (For information, go to www.artemisjusticecenter.org.)

“I have always spoken up wherever there was injustice,” said Velardo, who was appointed to the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee by the Texas Supreme Court.

“My mother said that I was a born attorney from the day I could babble. I felt that the path to justice would be easier if I had a law degree.”
After graduating high school with honors in Germany, Velardo came to the United States in 1994 to pursue her dream of becoming an attorney. She began with an associate degree at LSC-North Harris (formerly a North Harris Montgomery Community College District campus.) She went on to earn a bachelor’s in psychology and minor in sociology at the University of Houston with honors and her Juris Doctor at the University of Houston Law Center.

Velardo, a co-founder and past chair of the Houston Coalition Against Human Trafficking, returns to LSC for her keynote presentation “Have you met a slave today?” in which she will address human trafficking, an international problem with local implications.

“I want the audience to understand that ‘you are the future’ means that it comes with the responsibility for building a better life, not just for themselves, but for all those who are not as fortunate,” said Velardo. “I want them to realize that slavery is alive and well and it is not a problem of the past. I want them to know that they have the power to make a difference and change the world, one small deed at a time.”

Velardo is making a difference as a legal expert on issues of human trafficking, domestic violence and victims of crimes who mentors to attorneys in her field of expertise, presents at conferences, conducts trainings and serves on boards of several nonprofit organizations. Her dedication to such issues comes from her mother’s example. Volunteering alongside her mother at demonstrations, safe houses, abused women’s houses, refugee camps and more, she saw a part of the world that most people shield from their children.

“Seeing the plight and devastation that trafficking, wars and domestic abuse have on our fellow humans instilled in me the need to do something about it when I grew up,” said Velardo, who’s setting an example now for her own daughters, Artemis and Aphrodite. “Seeing my mother spend her days searching for the next homeless family she could put in our home, the next orphan she could help, left an everlasting impression in my soul.”

Don’t miss Velardo’s keynote presentation set 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Conference Center, rooms 151-152 on the campus at 9191 Barker Cypress. For a full schedule of LSC-CyFair’s International Education and Global Entrepreneurship events Nov. 15 through Nov. 18, go to LoneStar.edu/cyfair.

Houston murders may be work of a serial killer

by Michelle Homer / khou.com
khou.com
Posted on November 1, 2010 at 1:38 PM
Updated today at 1:42 PM


HOUSTON – Police are looking into a possible link between the strangulation murders of at least three women since June.
The most recent cases involved homeless women. The body of Carol Flood, 62, was found on Oct. 10 in a stairwell behind the old YMCA building. She was partially nude. On Sept. 30, Retia LaFaye Long, 52, was found dead behind the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart at 1700 San Jacinto.

Now police believe the same killer may have strangled Raquel Mundy last June 17, then dumped her body in a field in the 300 block of St. Charles.
Mundy, 24, was murdered after accepting a ride from a stranger when she was stranded downtown.

She had dropped her mom and two kids off at the Greyhound bus station downtown around 1:30 a.m. Thursday. She then discovered her car had been towed from a McDonald’s parking lot across the street.
Mundy tried to call friends and relatives, but couldn’t find anyone to give her a ride to the tow lot. Witnesses saw her get into a grey car with an unknown man, according to police.

Mundy later sent a text message to her mother saying she thought she was in danger and feared the man was going to hurt her.
Angela Collins was still on the bus to California with her two grandchildren when she got the disturbing message.

She tried frantically to reach Mundy. Collins then called several relatives and asked them to try to find Mundy.
By the time the bus arrived in California, there was still no sign of her daughter.
"Next call we got, they had found the body. It was my baby, Collins said as she choked back tears. "This man took away my baby."
An autopsy revealed Mundy had been strangled.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE AT KHOU

Breaking: 3 Alarm Fire in NW Houston

HOUSTON – A three-alarm fire displaced at least 37 families Wednesday in northwest Houston.

The fire broke out at about 2:30 p.m. at the Driscoll Place Apartments in the 1300 block of Gears Road at Greensmark Drive.

Air 11 video showed thick black smoke stretched across the sky as firefighters battled the large flames that burned through the units.

At least one person was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, fire officials said.

At least 37 units were affected by the fire, according to a preliminary damage assessment by the Red Cross. Red Cross volunteers were assisting families with emergency-disaster relief.

There was no word on what started the fire. Arson investigators were on scene.

9-11 call - backfires because of open laptop.

by Courtney Zubowski / 11 News
khou.com
Posted on October 12, 2010 at 11:37 PM
Updated today at 9:54 AM

HOUSTON -- A woman who called 911 to anonymously report a crime says she’s in fear for her life after the man she turned in called her just minutes after she placed the call.

According to the woman, who does not want to be identified, on Oct. 1, she was driving near Beltway 8 and Veterans Memorial Drive when she witnessed a man in the car next to her beating his passenger. She did not know either one of them.

“I saw him hitting her and he was taking his fist and he was just hitting her, aside her, just hitting her and I’m like this is crazy,” said the woman.

She placed the 911 call at 1:28 p.m. and thought that would be the end of her involvement, but 30 minutes later she learned it was just the beginning.

“About 1:54 p.m. my phone rang back and it was the suspect,” she said. “He was asking me ‘Who was this, who is this’ and I am like, ‘Who is this, you called my number,’ and then he hung up."

After that call came another, and this time it was a woman’s voice, she said.

“She called me just as he hung up and it was like, ‘Ma’am, are you the concerned lady that called about my welfare,’ and I am like,

‘Excuse me,’ and she said, ‘Well I’m OK,’ and I said, ‘Excuse me,’” said the woman.

She received another call the next morning from the Harris County Jail where the suspect was in custody. He was arrested for outstanding warrants, but never charged with assault.

“My phone rings again and it says, ‘You have a call from Harris County processing jail,’ and I immediately hung up,” she said.
“I will never, ever get involved with anything else again, not when it comes to me being fearful of the surroundings in my life.”

A spokesperson for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office says as far as she knows, this is the first time something like this has happened in their department.

HCSO spokesperson Christina Garza said the suspect was put in the back of a Harris County patrol car while the deputy talked to the woman he was accused of hitting. It was then he was able to read the woman’s phone number off of a laptop computer the deputy had left open in the front seat.

“It’s a very unique situation,” Garza said. “It’s never happened and we certainly don’t want this to discourage her, or anybody, from reporting crime to authorities.”

Garza said it’s common practice to keep laptops closed, but it’s not policy. In some situations, deputies are forced to rush out of cars quickly.

”If anyone is to blame in this situation, it’s the suspect who violated such important information and took it upon himself to do this,” said Garza.

Garza said the department is sending out e-mails to all deputies to remind them to keep their laptops closed.

The suspect is not facing charges for memorizing the information, or calling the woman. Garza said there is no proof that he ever threatened the woman.


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The 911 caller disagrees.

“I was threatened,” she said. “I was threatened when he received my information. My information should have been protected. I was threatened at that point, so what point of threat do they not understand?

13 Houston schools receive powder letters

by khou.com staff
Posted on October 8, 2010 at 8:09 PM

HOUSTON – At least 13 HISD schools received envelopes Friday containing a white powdery substance, according to an HISD spokesperson.
A Houston Fire Department Hazmat team was sent to each school to collect the envelopes.
Preliminary testing showed the substance appeared to be non-hazardous. The powder was tested for radiation, explosives and volatile chemicals. Further tests are being conducted.

The schools were Alcott Elementary, Almeda Elementary, Anderson Elementary, Ashford Elementary, Attucks Middle School, Barrick Elementary, Bastian Elementary, Black Middle School, Blackshear Elementary and Browning Elementary.
Fonville Middle School, Briar Meadow Elementary School and Bellaire High School were added to the list Friday evening.
HISD said its top priority is making sure all schools are safe before students return on Monday.

"All of our school administrators are going through their mail and are trying to identify any envelopes that may look suspicious," said HISD Police Chief Jimmie Dotson.
The typewritten envelopes were addressed to the schools, not individuals, and contained no notes. Each contained about a teaspoon of white powder.
The FBI, U.S. Postal Service, HPD and HFD are assisting HISD with the investigation.


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No bullies!

Cy-Fair ISD will seek help on stopping bullying
by Ericka Mellon / Houston Chronicle
khou.com
Posted on October 8, 2010 at 11:21 AM

Administrators from Cypress-Fairbanks ISD said Thursday that they will form a committee to study school safety issues and seek advice from bullying experts following the recent suicide of an eighth-grader whose family contends he repeatedly was harassed on campus.
Superintendent David Anthony, in his first public comments since the suicide of Hamilton Middle School student Asher Brown, said the district needs to work with the community to try to prevent bullying.

"As far as bullying activities, if you want to get an idea of that, you can go to the theater or to the mall or to the churches … because it’s not limited to schools," Anthony said Thursday at the first school board meeting since Asher shot himself in the head at home last month.
To curb bullying, Anthony said, the 106,000-student district must "work with everyone because it’s going to have to happen at home, at school, after school, in church. That’s where we cure it."
‘This is a tragedy’

Board member Larry Youngblood countered that the district needs to focus on what it can do for students at school.
"We get to train them on these kind of things — what to do and what not to do," he said. "I don’t worry about the malls. There’s nothing I can do about that. That’s their parents. We have to control as best we can, support the teachers as best we can, when they’re in and under our control."
Anthony responded, "And we do. I think we’ve found that true. I mean, this is a tragedy we’ve had to go through."
Anthony said that Hamilton probably had as many or more student behavior and support programs than any of the district’s 80 campuses.
"I don’t think there is one fail-safe (program)," he said. "If there were, every campus in America would have it right now."
Cy-Fair Independent School District officials did not discuss who would serve on the school safety committee or what it would do, other than to say it would review best practices and talk to experts.

Associate Superintendent Teresa Hull gave a slide presentation that listed various anti-bullying and behavior programs already in place.
Last spring, for example, the district issued a series of 10 curriculum lessons addressing bullying and drug awareness that were to be taught monthly at all grade levels, Hull said.

She also said the district was implementing a tip line that students could call or text with concerns.
School denies contact

Asher’s mom and stepfather, Amy and David Truong, said they called Hamilton school officials and visited the campus several times over the last 18 months to complain that their son was being bullied. They said some students would perform mock gay sexual acts on him in physical education class.
David Troung said Asher told him he was gay on the morning of his death, and said the family didn’t condemn the disclosure.

According to a written statement from Cy-Fair ISD, the district’s initial investigation concluded that Asher’s parents made no contact with the school regarding bullying. The district said his mother contacted his school counselor about two weeks before his death asking Hamilton’s staff to monitor his behavior "due to a significant emotional struggle within the family."
The investigation was ongoing as of last week, but the district has not released an update.

This story was brought to you thanks to khou.com's partnership with the Houston Chronicle.

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No waiting: Houston ship channel back in business

UPDATE 1-Coast Guard says no wait to exit Houston Channel

HOUSTON Oct 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Coast Guard said no ships were waiting Thursday morning to leave the Houston Ship Channel, and 33 ships were lined up to enter the waterway to the busiest U.S petrochemical port after a three-day outage, which ended on Wednesday.

As many as 67 ships were waiting to enter or exit the waterway by the time early on Wednesday that workers had removed a leaning electrical highline tower that threatened to tumble into the waterway after being struck by a barge on Sunday morning.

Four Houston refineries were unable to receive crude oil by ship during the closure, but none said prodcution was cut during the wait that ended Wednesday when the first ships up the channel were crude tankers.

About 44 ships were waiting to enter the channel when it reopened on Wednesday morning and it might appear only 11 have moved up the channel, but the Coast Guard said several ships were added to the line waiting in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday.

"It's a consant flow," said a Coast Guard spokesman.

There are about 12 ships more than on a average day waiting to move into the channel, the spokesman said. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by John Picinich)


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Drug deal goes bad - two shot - one dead.

khou.com
Posted on October 7, 2010 at 7:26 AM
Updated today at 8:45 AM

HOUSTON—A 24-year-old man was killed and his brother injured after the two were shot in what appears to be a drug deal gone bad Wednesday evening, according to HPD Homicide detectives.
Police officers responded to a home on Winter Briar at Winter Seasons in southwest Houston for reports of a drive-by shooting.

They arrived around 9 p.m. to find two brothers had been shot. They said the actual shooting took place at another location about a half-mile away, but the brothers somehow made it back home.
Police believe the brothers drove their Cadillac a few blocks from their home to meet a group of men and purchase drugs. Some sort of altercation occurred and one of the men opened fire on the brothers.

"The exact circumstances are unclear as to what transpired a t the two locations, but we have one dead," said Sgt. Thomas Biggs, HPD Homicide Division. "We believe we have all of the players in custody.

The bullet traveled completely through one of the brothers. Police said he was shot in the chest or the back, but it is unclear which point is the entry and exit.
The other brother was shot in the foot. He was taken to Southwest Memorial Hermann Hospital, where he was treated and released. He returned to the scene to talk to police.
Several suspects were taken in for questioning and police said they definitely know one of them is the shooter.


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Breaking: Houston Ship Channel Closed!

HOUSTON, Texas

—A four-mile stretch of the Houston Ship Channel remained closed to marine traffic Monday after a barge slammed into a tower supporting a high-voltage electric transmission line, threatening to topple it into the channel.

Coast Guard officials said a towing vessel named Safety Quest was pushing three barges loaded with scrap metal about 6 a.m. Sunday when it smashed into a Baytown power line, which remained upright only with the support of one of the barges.
No injuries were reported, but the six-member boat crew moved to another vessel and to safety.
Officials said the section from Crystal Bay to the Blackwell Peninsula would remain closed until at least Tuesday night.

"The situation is a little bit unstable right now," said Capt. Marcus Woodring. "The lines are sagging and we cannot allow any vessels to pass underneath with the unstable situation and chance of those lines falling in the water."
Centerpoint Energy officials said the power had been shut off to the line because crews had previously been working on a nearby tower. They said no customers had lost electricity following the crash.
Eighteen inbound vessels attempted to get into the port early Tuesday afternoon, and many remained anchored off the coast of Galveston. Twelve outbound commercial ships were also stuck.
The 25-mile waterway is lined by the nation’s biggest complex of petrochemical plants. The Port of Houston ranks first in the nation in foreign waterborne tonnage and imports and second in U.S. export tonnage and total tonnage.

"Anytime you see something like this, you hate it, because it’s affecting people and how they make their money," said Richard Zeno, a tugboat captain who was not involved in the crash but watched the teetering tower as he was fishing with his family Sunday.

Coast Guard officials said the ship channel handles more than $320 million in cargo and crude daily, meaning the Port of Houston would lose about $1 billion if the waterway stayed closed until Tuesday night.

"Commerce, of course, is very, very important," said Chief Warrant Officer Lionel Bryant. "But we don’t want to put lives in jeopardy doing so."

"This is actually very difficult because the tower is actually sitting on the barge," Bryant said.
The Coast Guard said the boat’s owner is St. Louis-based AEP River Operations.

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Tomball police on the hunt for suspect in Compass Bank heist

by khou.com staff

TOMBALL, Texas—Tomball police were on the hunt for a bank robbery suspect after a holdup at a BBVA Compass Bank Tuesday afternoon.

It happened around 1:20 p.m. at a bank in the 1100 block of West Main Street.

According to police, the suspect walked into the bank, approached a teller window and handed over a note demanding cash.

Bank employees complied, giving him an undisclosed amount of money, and the suspect left the bank on foot.

Tomball police are working with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI Bank Robbery Task Force to identify and arrest the suspect.

Police said a similar robbery was reported in Montgomery County about an hour prior to the Compass Bank heist.

Investigators said the suspect is between 40 and 50 years old and stands about 5 feet, 6 inches tall. He was wearing what appeared to be prescription glasses at the time of the holdup.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to call Investigator Albert Chambers at 281-290-1390 or submit their tip online through the "silent hotline" at tomballpd.com.

Ike-damaged schools want insurance help

School districts affected by extensive property damage caused by Hurricane Ike in 2008 have seen their insurance premiums skyrocket and want the state to help pay for it.
District officials in Galveston County have had discussions with state Reps. Craig Eiland of Galveston and Larry Taylor of Friendswood, according to the Galveston County Daily News.
"There are a lot of us in the same boat south of Interstate 10," Paul McLarty, Clear Creek's chief financial officer, said. "We've got concerns here in Galveston County that districts in Montgomery County, for example, don't have to worry about when you look at our premiums."

Clear Creek in 2009 spent $3.6 million on property casualty insurance, which is driven up by windstorm coverage, McLarty said. The district receives a maximum of $50 million for windstorm coverage, but the district's assets are valued at about $1 billion.

Legislators who convene in January face a budget shortfall estimated at $18 billion.
The state should incorporate higher insurance premiums for school districts along the Gulf Coast when calculating school funding, said Eiland.
"We recognize and allocate funds in West Texas to rural districts for their excess transportation costs because they have to run buses over large stretches of the county to bring kids to school," he said.

Galveston ISD will spend $1.8 million on insurance this year. After Ike, which hit on Sept. 13, 2008, premiums increased by 40 percent, said finance director David Dworsky. Adjusters classified the damage at each Galveston campus as flood-related.
The district has spent about $42 million on Ike recovery, said Dworsky.
"You have to weigh the high cost of excess coverage versus when you think the next event will happen," he said.

Clear Creek's premiums increased by 230 percent in 2006, the year after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The state didn't provide additional funding that year for insurance spike, so the district began reserving funds to offset premium spikes.
Insurance premiums for Texas City Independent School District have increased by 825 percent in the past nine years, said district spokeswoman Melissa Tortorici. The district will pay $1.2 million on insurance this year.

"It would be nice for the state to at least take our location into account for funding issues knowing how high our insurance costs have gone," said Tortorici. "Every dollar we pay on insurance is $1 less we have to use for kids."


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Plane crashes in NW Harris County

HOUSTON—A small plane crashed Monday in a parking lot near Hwy. 290 at Telge Road in northwest Harris County, according to the Cy-Fair EMS.
Four people onboard the plane survived. They were treated at the scene and released.
The plane, however, was a total loss.

It went down around 1 p.m. in the parking lot of a business that sells used buses. The crash scene isn’t far from Weiser Air Park.

Officials said the plane apparently overshot the runway and crashed through a fence before coming to a rest in the parking lot.

The identities of the pilot and passengers were not known.

Breaking: Fire destroys Houston complex

by khou.com staff
khou.com
Posted on September 15, 2010 at 11:20 AM

HOUSTON—Eight units were completely destroyed and several families were displaced after a two-alarm fire damaged part of a southwest Houston apartment complex Wednesday morning.
Fire officials rushed to the burning apartments on Wilcrest at South Drive around 6:45 a.m.
HFD said they had a slight water pressure issue in the beginning, but managed to quickly get the fire under control. No firefighters were injured and all of the families got out safely.
One child standing outside was checked for smoke inhalation at the scene. He was determined to be OK.

Arson investigators do not know how the fire started at this time.


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Hawaii beats Pearland for Little League World Series title shot.

South Williamsport, PA (Sports Network) - Noah Shackles went 2-for-2 with a homer, two RBI and three runs scored to back Ezra Heleski's two-hitter, and the Waipahu, Hawaii little league team beat Pearland, Texas, 10-0, in the United States championship game of the Little League World Series.

In the international title game, Ryota Norimatsu tied the game with an RBI single in the sixth, and Ryo Motegi's run-scoring single in the seventh won it, leading Japan to a 3-2 victory over Chinese Taipei.

In addition to striking out six over five shutout innings, Heleski went 2- for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Kahoea Akau added three hits in the resounding win, helping Waipahu win its second U.S. title in three years. In 2008, this same Little League squad beat Matamoros, Mexico to win the championship.

Mason Van Noort had one of the two hits for Pearland, which came back against Georgia to reach this U.S. title game.

With two runners on and one out in the opening inning, Kaimana Bartolome opened the scoring with a two-run double. Shackles homered later in the inning to plate Bartolome for a 4-0 advantage.

Shackles scored in the third on a wild pitch, and Heleski's RBI single later in the same at-bat made it a 6-0 game. Akau's run-scoring double provided a seven-run cushion.

Three more runs from Hawaii ended the game in the fifth due to the 10-run rule. Shackles walked and scored on Cody Maltezo's triple, and Heleski followed with another RBI single. A wild pitch later scored Heleski to end the game.

Japan trailed, 2-1, heading to the bottom of the sixth, but Koutaro Kamikura singled to left to lead off the inning. Following a strikeout, Kamikura advanced to second on an error by the catcher before Norimatsu's hit tied the game.

Kamikura stayed on to pitch a scoreless seventh -- striking out two -- before Masaya Ishii singled with one down in the home half to start the winning rally. A wild pitch sent Ishii to second, and Motegi's two-out single to center won the game.


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Houston man charged in cold case murders.

by khou.com staff
khou.com
Posted on August 25, 2010 at 10:22 AM
Updated today at 10:54 AM
HOUSTON – A man long-suspected of killing a Houston woman and an infant in 1984 was finally arrested and charged this week.

Charles Leon Smith, 56, is charged with capital murder in the slayings of 23-year-old Pamela Clarence and 1-month-old Tashona Clarence.

Twenty-six years have passed since the young mother and her baby were killed in their home in the 4300 block of Rogers, but even after the case went cold, investigators never gave up.

The murders occurred on August 2, 1984. Police said Smith and Clarence were in a relationship at the time and had recently had a child together.
But that night, when Smith went to visit his girlfriend, investigators believe Pamela Clarence confronted Smith about another relationship.
Police said Clarence had discovered Smith had another girlfriend, who’d just given birth to Smith’s son.

When Clarence told Smith they should end their relationship, police believe he snapped.
Investigators said Smith strangled Pamela Clarence with an electrical cord and then smothered Tashona with a pillow.

The bodies were later found by concerned family members.
From the beginning of the investigation, police said they thought Clarence knew her killer, and they originally identified Smith as one of two suspects in the murders.
But investigators were unable to collect enough evidence to charge either suspect, and case went cold, lost among more than 700 other killings in Houston that year.

Then, when HPD cold case investigators reviewed the murders this year and again identified Smith as a suspect, things changed.
Police said Smith was taken into custody on August 23 and confessed to his role in the crimes.
He was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning, and was behind held in the Harris County Jail without bond.


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Houston stripmall destroyed in blaze.

by Lisa Chavarria / 11 News
khou.com
Posted on August 25, 2010 at 8:23 AM
Updated today at 9:21 AM

HOUSTON—A three-alarm fire swept through parts of a southwest Houston strip mall, destroying several businesses in its path early Wednesday.
Houston Fire Department officials said the fire began inside the M. Trading Wholesale Shop on Fondren at Harwin just before 5 a.m.

The business houses wholesale supplies sold to dollar stores. HFD said there may have been hair products or chemicals on the racks that helped fuel the flames.
Two more businesses next door to the wholesale shop, Jessie’s Nail Salon and Sloreria Lee’s flower shop, were also destroyed.

The owner of Star Korean Karaoke Bar said he was inside his business when a man riding a bicycle knocked on his door and alerted him to the fire. He was able to get out safely and call 911. His business was not damaged by the flames, but may have smoke damage.

One firefighter was injured battling the blaze. He was treated at the scene for a laceration on his hand.


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Students, faculty and staff give back year round.

CYPRESS, TX -- The start of a new academic year brings another year of community outreach at Lone Star College-CyFair and LSC-Fairbanks Center benefitting residents and organizations throughout Cy-Fair.

“Right around the corner is Cy-Fest, the college’s annual gift to the community, a labor of love that brings our staff, faculty, students and community members together,” said Michelle Tran, college relations director.

This day of free food, festivities and family fun will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9 on the campus at 9191 Barker Cypress. Cy-Fest 6 features activities for all ages with a petting zoo, pumpkin patch, face painting, Radio Disney, moonwalks, duck races, a train ride and laser tag. New this year will be the 1st Airborne Adventure and the Adrenaline Rush Obstacle Course. In addition, there will be refreshments as well as information available on college offerings and area non-profit organizations.

“But Cy-Fest is only one of LSC-CyFair’s many outreach efforts positively impacting our community,” said Tran.
LSC-CyFair partners with area non-profit organizations, such as Reach Unlimited, Habitat for Humanity and area assisted-living centers. With more than 10,000 community services hours, students in courses with Service Learning designations helped earn the college national recognition with a place on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.

A partnership between Mission of Yahweh and LSC-Fairbanks Center, a satellite campus at 14955 Northwest Freeway, began when shelter residents were given one-on-one guidance and the chance to earn their GED or an occupational certification. More recently, LSC-Fairbanks Center employees donated their community garden harvest of 20 pounds of carrots, onions, radishes and strawberries to the shelter’s food pantry.

“Many of our student organizations hold various food, clothing, toy and supply drives benefiting community groups in need,” Tran said. “For example, the Technology Society’s Electronics Recycle Drive collected more than 2,300 lbs in televisions, computers, cell phones and more for Goodwill of Houston.”
T
he college's Counseling, Career and Disability Services Department teamed up with Dress For Success® Houston for a community-wide drive collecting interview-appropriate suits for disadvantaged women seeking employment. Dresses for teens in need are also collected for the college library’s annual Prom Dress Give-Away, which provides free dresses and accessories for prom and other events for teens in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District and five other school districts.

The Student Ambassadors and the Tennis Team partnered with Adopt A US Soldier (AAUSS) last fall to honor the brave men and women serving in the United States Armed Forces.
“Their project reached across the world with involvement from students, faculty, staff and campus visitors in writing letters to the soldiers and donating items for care packages,” said Tran. “This year, our ambassadors have adopted Lieder Elementary School. They recently held a back-to-school supply drive and volunteered as Bus Buddies.”
College employees also participate in CFISD’s annual Bus Buddies program, as well as chamber events, are involved in middle school and high school student visits to the college campus and mentor students at area schools.
Players on the Women’s Soccer Team and the Tennis Team have also mentored young athletes on the soccer field and the tennis courts. Tennis players were trained as Special Olympics Texas (SOTX) Certified Tennis Coaches, volunteered at SOTX events and hosted a basic skills tennis clinic for Special Olympics athletes ages 16 and older.
“From its inception, LSC-CyFair has built a foundation of helping others in our area through fund-raising efforts and countless volunteer hours,” said LSC-CyFair President Dr. Audre Levy who launched a new campus initiative last spring called Community 10.
Bins were made available to collect donations of shampoo, soap, toothpaste, deodorant and lotion and deliver to Cypress Assistance Ministries.
“LSC-CyFair and LSC-Fairbanks Center students, faculty and staff are making a difference in Cy-Fair throughout the year,” Tran said. “We are honored to give back in so many different ways to a community so supportive of our college.”
For information on college programs, events, registration and more, go to LoneStar.edu.

NW Houston toddler found in hot car dead

by Courtney Zubowski / 11 News
Posted on August 19, 2010 at 7:32 PM
HOUSTON – A 2-year-old boy has died after being found locked in a hot car in northwest Houston, according to authorities.

The incident happened Thursday around 2:30 p.m. at 13813 Dentwood.
According to police, parents were arriving home from the grocery store when their 7-year-old child, who is autistic, began having seizures. While the parents went inside their home to tend to the 7-year-old, the 2-year-old boy was left locked inside the vehicle.

After going inside to help the 7-year-old , the parents realized their younger child was missing and eventually found him in the back seat of their SUV. Police said the boy was trapped inside the vehicle for about two hours.

One of the parents called 911 when they saw the toddler was not breathing. The boy was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators said the temperature inside the vehicle was 122 degrees when the toddler was found.
Neighbors of the victim’s family said it was an unfortunate incident that happened to good people.

"This is a good family, their children comes first with them," said Michael Carey. "I know for a fact that it was not intentional."

Investigators said the parents will probably not face charges, but the case will go to a grand jury.



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Houston Area Forecast: 100% Chance of Meteors

After a week-ling lead-up, tonight, August 12/13, 2010, is finally the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower. Wit this event, meteor season 2010 will kick off in a big way.

Every August, Earth passes through the stretch of space junk shed by comet Swift-Tuttle, reaching the deepest concentration of debris tonight. According to some estimates, under ideal conditions (dark country skies), one can expect to see 60 meteors per hour. The reason the meteors are called Perseids is because the meteors seem to radiate from the constellation Perseus. The best time to view the shower is in the pre-dawn hours, with 3-5am being best.

Don't want to stay up that late? Don't worry, Perseus rises in the Northeast around midnight and will climb higher as the night progresses. However, unless one lives out in the country, the early post-midnight hours will probably involve Perseus being low in a light pollution dome. To improve odds of seeing meteors, travel out of light-polluted Cleveland and to the suburbs or, even better, the country if you can. In the suburbs, just going from the front to back yard can make a dramatic difference as this will eliminate glare from those pesky street/house lights to a large extent.

Two things can ruin the meteor shower: clouds and the Moon. The clouds? Well, that's a regional thing. Check your local Clear Sky Clock to see what the clouds have in store for your location tonight. For us Northeast Ohioans, tonight is looking good. As for the Moon, that's an Earth-wide issue. The good news is that, this year, the Moon is just a few days past new, which means that there will be no Moon up during the time of the meteor shower. There will be a slight lunar glow in the South (opposite Perseus), but this will disappear about midnight, which is about the time Perseus clears the Northeast horizon.

So how about viewing tips?

First, plan to stay out awhile, as it takes the human eye about 15 minutes to get optimal night vision capability. The bad news is that, even one bright flash of white light will wipe out night vision, requiring you to start the process all over again. Next, grab a lawn chair or, even better, a lounge-type chair. Trying to lean back with a straight-back lawn chair can be a pain in the neck, literally! Eyes ready for dark and with something to sit/lay on, settle in for a night of hopeful meteor watching (or at the very least, stargazing), just try not to fall asleep and don't forget the bug spray!

Besides meteors, tonight can be a great time for binocular viewing, owing to your use of a chair. Under suburban (maybe) or rural skies (definitely), a pair of medium power (10x50) binoculars can yield some stunning wide-angle sights. For someone truly dedicated, why not try and keep a tally of how many meteors you see for every complete hour? Really ambitious? Why not try photographing the meteors?

Whatever you plan to do tonight, good luck and clear skies!

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NatureFest set for September 25th

CYPRESS, TX -- Waterskiing squirrels, frisbee-catching canines and circus-performing birds are just some of the highlights of Bridgeland’s annual Nature Fest, slated for 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25, in Bridgeland’s Oak Meadow Park.

Thousands attend the yearly event, packed with nature-themed activities and entertainment. Twiggy, known across the globe as the famous waterskiing squirrel, will make her debut appearance at Nature Fest, performing three times during the day. Life jacket always buckled tight to educate children about water safety, the pint-sized phenomenon has appeared in numerous books, magazines, newspapers and television shows and is sure to be a big draw at this year’s festivities.

Joining Twiggy during Nature Fest are Birds of Prey and the Cocteau Circus, each performing twice. Also on tap is a performance from the Houston Canine Frisbee Disc Club and guided hayride tours of the Cypress Creek Nature Trail by volunteers of the Katy Prairie Conservancy who will discuss the flora and fauna of the area and initiatives of the conservancy.

Children will enjoy rides on ponies and a baby camel, as well as a chance to pet a wallaby, ring-tailed lemur, coatimundi and other animals. Train rides, face painting, outdoor laser tag and the always entrancing release of native Texas butterflies also will keep young visitors engaged.

Adding to the fun will be a caricature artist, a live band, street performers, food concessions, a farmer’s market and more than 30 vendors.

Admission to Nature Fest is free; however, visitors can bring a $10 donation to the Katy Prairie Conservancy and receive a reusable grocery bag packed with an event T-shirt and other Nature Fest goodies. The Katy Prairie Conservancy is a land trust committed to protecting a sustainable portion of the Katy Prairie for the benefit of its wildlife and all Texans forever, and Bridgeland supports that initiative by helping to raise funds for the KPC, sponsoring their events and spreading the word about the activities and tours the organization hosts throughout the year.

The KPC already has conserved nearly 18,000 acres and offers monthly public tours, classes, children’s camps and other programs on its preserves. The Katy Prairie is considered an oasis for migratory birds, with millions of birds, especially waterfowl, arriving there each fall. Visit www.katyprairie.org or e-mail info@katyprairie.org for more information.

Habitat for Humanity Northwest Harris County (NWHC) will run the “Create a Bug House” arts and crafts area where families can make a $5 donation and children can make a bug house to take home.

Other craft projects also will be available. Proceeds will help raise funds for its mission of building affordable housing and promoting home ownership. Since 1989, Habitat NWHC has built more than 150 homes for needy families in suburban northwest Harris County. The organization is an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, the corporate charity of choice for General Growth Properties, Inc., developer of Bridgeland. For more information about Habitat NWHC, contact Rachael Wright, 281.820.2307, ext 306 or rwright@habitatnwhc.org.

For more information about Twiggy, the waterskiing squirrel, visit http://www.skiingsquirrel.com/index.htm.
For details on Nature Fest, call 281.304.5588 or visit www.bridgeland.com. Also, keep up-to-date on Nature Fest and other Bridgeland events on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/Bridgelandcommunity and Twitter, http://twitter.com/BridgelandTX.


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Test your hurricane IQ.

By GREG AINSWORTH


This year's hurricane season in the waters adjacent to the Southeastern United States is drawing more attention than usual, thanks to the oil spill in the Gulf. The National Hurricane Center expects a busier than average year, so it's time to energize our hurricane IQ.
Whether you call them hurricanes, typhoons or cyclones, they are the scourge of tropical locales worldwide. Ocean water temperatures of at least 80 degrees seem to be one of the key ingredients in their formation. Think hot and muggy -- and lots of evaporation. If other conditions are favorable in the atmosphere, winds near the surface may begin to converge, and a low-pressure system may form.


In the Northern Hemisphere, those cyclonic winds spiral in a counter-clockwise direction. All of that water vapor in the atmosphere rises and condenses inside thunderstorm complexes, releasing a great amount of energy in the process. Bands of thunderstorms stretching from the system's outer margins to the center of circulation help feed the massive heat engine with warm, moisture-laden air.

As the system matures, the characteristic cloud-free and relatively calm eye may form at the center of circulation. But surrounding the eye is the eyewall, where the most intense convection and highest wind speeds occur.

Hurricanes pose a major threat to life and property because of their ability to wreak havoc in so many different ways. Perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is wind damage -- not surprising since a storm isn't called a hurricane until it has sustained winds of at least 74 mph. In August 1969, Hurricane Camille made landfall along the Mississippi coast with sustained winds estimated at 200 mph.

An important, but often overlooked hurricane impact is the storm surge. This refers to the ocean water pushed onshore into low-lying areas by hurricane-force winds. Depending on the status of the local tides during landfall, storm surges of 15 to 20 feet are not out of the question. If you happen to live in a near-shore area at say, 10 feet above sea level, the surge can be bad news indeed. Hurricane Opal caused a 24-foot storm surge near Pensacola, Fla., in September 1995.

Even days after landfall, hurricanes, or their remnants, are still capable of producing tornadoes and flooding rains. After slamming into the coast of south Texas in September 1967, Hurricane Beulah spawned more than 100 tornadoes. Tropical Storm Claudette, whose winds didn't reach hurricane strength, nevertheless dropped 45 inches of rain on Alvin, Texas, in 1979.

For further information about these storms, check out the website for NOAA's National Hurricane Center.

Greg Ainsworth keeps an eye on local weather and climate issues. Contact him at ainsworth@theglobal.net.

Hundreds honor fallen firefighter

by Gabe Gutierrez / 11 News
khou.com

WHARTON, Texas – Hundreds of mourners packed a funeral Sunday for a fire captain killed in the line of duty.

Capt. Thomas Araguz’s body was discovered July 4 after he became trapped in a massive fire at a Boling egg farm.

He was just 30 years old and is survived by his wife and two young sons.
"Firefighting is always a brotherhood," Cy-Fair District Chief Doyle Venerella said.

More than 100 fire vehicles – including dozens of engines – parked near the Wharton Civic Center. A black ribbon was placed on one of them and dedicated to Capt Araguz.
Firefighters from several counties marched past the ribbon into the civic center for the service that lasted roughly 90 minutes.

"He loved what he did,” said E.J. Gutierrez, a lifelong friend. “He loved being with the fire department. You could tell this was his life."
After the funeral, the procession drove Araguz’s casket by the Wharton Volunteer Fire Department one last time.

Graveside services followed at Evergreen Memorial Park.
An account has been established for Capt. Araguz’s family at The First State Bank of Louise, 505 E. Boling Hwy, Wharton. The bank may be contacted at 979-532-0404.
Donors are asked to make checks payable to The Thomas Araguz III Memorial Fund.



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Tar balls found on Texas beach

(CNN) -- Texas authorities have traced a small number of tar balls found near Galveston to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Coast Guard and state officials said Monday.
The tar balls collected from beaches in Galveston County over the weekend could fit in a five-gallon bucket, but have been confirmed to have originated from the ruptured BP well off Louisiana, said Jim Suydan of the Texas General Land Office.

Galveston is about 400 miles west of the site of the worst oil spill in U.S. history, which began in late April with the sinking of the offshore drill rig Deepwater Horizon. Coast Guard Capt. Marcus Woodring said authorities weren't sure how the tar balls made it that far, but tests confirmed that at least the first batch collected Saturday came from the Deepwater Horizon spill off Louisiana, he said.
None were found Monday, and the area's beaches and waterways remained open.
"Until we see a greater sum of oil, I can be cautiously optimistic that maybe this is something that will pass," Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski told reporters.


Tar balls occasionally strike the Texas coast, in part because of seepage from undersea oil deposits or from sunken vessels, Woodring said. "Seventeen or 18" cases of tar balls unrelated to the

Deepwater Horizon disaster have been reported to Woodring's Houston-Galveston Coast Guard sector since the spill erupted in April he said.

And though the ones found Saturday and Sunday were confirmed to have come from the ruptured well off Louisiana, they were less weathered than officials would have expected -- leading the Coast

Guard to suspect the oil was either stuck to the side of a ship's hull or mixed in with ballast water from a passing vessel, he said.

Ships passing through the spill are are supposed to be decontaminated before they head into port, he said.


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Freedom Over Texas Fireworks Show!

Houston will set the stage for an extraordinary patriotic celebration at Mayor Annise Parker’s official Fourth of July event, Freedom Over Texas with Fireworks Presented by Shell. Texas singer-songwriter Pat Green will headline the annual event held from 4 to 10 p.m. on Sunday, July 4, with his performance culminating in the nation’s largest land-based fireworks show, presented by Shell Oil Company. Admission to the event is FREE with the donation of one canned item per person to the Houston Food Bank.

"As Americans, I believe it is our civic duty to celebrate the birth of our nation and reflect upon those brave men and women who have made great sacrifices for us to live in a free country," said Mayor Annise Parker. "I invite fellow Texans to join us in honoring our country, respecting the values of the founding fathers and instilling pride in our diverse community.”

Headlining the evening’s celebration on the Freedom Stage is Pat Green (with Cowboy Mouth and Little Big Town), an artist who has blazed his own trail and recorded a total of 10 studio albums. Fifteen of his singles have charted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, of which the highest-peaking is the #3 "Wave on Wave" from his gold-certified album. Green has toured with many popular country music artists including Keith Urban, Gretchen Wilson, Kenny Chesney, and many more. At this year’s event, Green will be presented by the Texas Music Charts with an award recognizing him as the “Most Played Texas Artist” of the last decade.

When the concert comes to a close at 9:30 p.m., eyes will turn skyward for an extraordinary fireworks spectacular perfectly set to a selection of America’s favorite tunes, from patriotic songs to rock ‘n’ roll hits to classic bestsellers. Shell Oil Company is the underwriter of the 2010 fireworks show for the fifth consecutive year, and with their contribution, the city’s official fireworks show will enliven Houston’s skyline. Producing the show will be world-renowned fireworks artists from Pyro Spectaculars North by Souza.

"For more than 80 years, Shell has been a strong supporter of the Houston community and our nation. As a country, we have much to celebrate, and we at Shell are thrilled to participate in the festivities this year,” said Ben Dillon, Vice President Corporate Affairs, Shell Oil Company.

In addition to this year’s entertainment headliner, the festival will also spotlight a top-notch selection of local and regional music. Throughout the day, four stages will keep toes tapping with music ranging from country western and rock 'n' roll to Latin, R&B, and oldies.

Booth exhibits and family friendly patriotic activities will encompass Buffalo Bayou and Eleanor Tinsley Park:

KBR Liberty Park

Encompassing more than three football fields in length, KBR Liberty Park will showcase military artifacts and vehicles including representation from all five military branches and more. The branches and the Houston Police Department will offer recruiting on site.
The U.S. Army will showcase an Apache Helicopter flight simulator and a 55-ton M-60 Battle Tank.
The Museum of Printing History and the Military Museum of Houston will exhibit historical items that have helped shape our nation’s history in this area.
Bud Light Zone

Cool off with a cold one at the Budweiser Beer Garden, and enjoy a prime view of the sixth annual Bud Light Texas Volleyball Championship Series Finals.
Make a rest stop at the Bud Light Build-A-Bar, which will offer a shaded sitting area equipped with plasma TV screens. Also, don’t miss a sneak peak of an event performer during their official Bud Light Sound Check.

Be sure to stop by the Budweiser Good Sport’s Booth and learn how you can save lives by being a designated driver.

Walmart All American Kids Zone

More than 30,000 square feet of free educational programming and entertainment await children.
Houston Public Library’s HPL Mobile Express computer lab, will teach child how to use a computer.
Houston Fire Department’s Smokehouse will teach kids the importance of fire safety.
Historical costumed characters will talk with children about the documents that defined our government.

Juno Baby will have sing-a-long activities for children and little aspiring stars are invited to perform in the Rising Stars Search contest for a chance to win an all-expense paid trip to San Francisco and be featured in the next Juno Baby production.
Free games, rides, face painting and interactive activities will be open to children of all ages.
Additional activities:

Gexa Energy will be giving US Flag hand fans to the first 30,000 people who enter the gates. Booths will be setup for families to take fun photos with Shrek The Musical characters, enter for a chance to win a trip for two to Hawaii or Cancun, and also for a chance to win a Home Theater System, which includes a Sony Bravia 40’ LCD TV.
Visit KBR’s five primary beneficiaries on site: Career and Recovery Resources, Goodwill Industries, Houston Community College, Soldier’s Angels and Wreaths Across America-Houston.
The 2010 Land Rover models will be on display including the all new 2010 Land Rover LR4 and award winning Range Rover and Range Rover Sport.
Freedom Over Texas with Fireworks Presented by Shell will be simulcast on ABC-13/KTRK-TV from 7-10 p.m. on Sunday, July 4, and will be syndicated statewide from 8-10 p.m. In addition, KILT 100.3 FM will simulcast the music medley specially choreographed for the fireworks spectacular.

With the donation of one canned item per person to the Houston Food Bank, admission for the event is FREE. Without the donation, tickets will be $8 per person. Children two years and under will be admitted free. In keeping with last year’s theme, Freedom Over Texas with Fireworks Presented by Shell will expand its offering of recycling receptacles, encouraging all patrons to recycle.

Freedom Over Texas with Fireworks Presented by Shell sponsors include: Fireworks sponsor: Shell; Anchor Sponsors: Gexa Energy, Bud Light/Silver Eagle Distributors, KBR, Houston Area Land Rover Centres, and Walmart; Co-producers: City of Houston/Mayor’s Office of Special Events; Additional sponsors include Doubletree Hotel Houston Downtown; Houston Chronicle; 100.3 KILT; HOT 95-7; Mix 96-5; SportsRadio 610 and Mega 101 FM; Texas Lottery; Juno Baby; Enterprise Rent-A-Car; Texas Southern University and LifeGift. In-kind sponsors include Houston Dynamo, Houston Rockets, Houston Astros, Houston Aero and Metro. The event benefits Houston Central Improvement, Inc.

For more information, call 832.393.0868 or visit the Freedom Over Texas with Fireworks Presented by Shell Web site at www.freedomovertexas.org or www.houstonspecialevents.org.

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Teachers prevail in grading law suit

AUSTIN — Texas school districts no longer can force teachers to give students higher grades than they earned on class assignments or on their report cards, a Travis County judge ruled Monday.
Eleven districts — mostly in the Houston area — had sued Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott over his interpretation of the so-called truth-in-grading law that was passed last year. They argued it applied only to assignments and exams and were fighting to keep their policies that ban cumulative report card grades lower than a certain number, typically a 50.

The school districts suing were Aldine, Alief, Clear Creek, Deer Park, Dickinson, Fort Bend, Humble, Klein, Anahuac, Eanes and Livingston.

The superintendents say their minimum-grade policies help discourage students from dropping out by giving them a mathematical chance at passing a class, even if they blow one grading period. But teacher groups and the bill’s author, Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, counter that such policies are dishonest and don’t prepare students for college or the work force.
State District Judge Gisela Triana-Doyal ruled against the districts’ reading of the law, which effectively means that schools across Texas must abolish minimum-grading policies unless the decision is appealed and overturned. The state does not track how many districts have such policies.

May appeal
Richard Morris, the attorney for the school districts that filed the lawsuit, said he would consult with the superintendents about pursuing an appeal or trying to lobby the Legislature for a change.
The judge said the statute was “not ambiguous,” even though it didn’t specifically mention that it applied to cumulative six- or nine-week grades that appear on report cards. But Triana-Doyal emphasized she wasn’t opining whether the law was good or bad education policy, noting that both sides made valid points.

“People have different opinions about what’s in the best interest of kids,” she said.
Nelson, a former teacher, said the ruling was “a victory for Texas teachers, students and parents because now all grades — on class assignments and report cards — will accurately reflect how well students have mastered their course work.”

She said she doubted her colleagues would retreat from the law next session after unanimously passing her bill last year.
Dropout strategy

Clear Creek ISD Superintendent Greg Smith, the only school chief to testify, said the district’s minimum-grading policy has been an effective dropout strategy over the last 13 years. At one high school last year, he said, more than 30 students benefited from the policy and were able to pass.

Without the policy, he said, “I think you close the light at the end of the tunnel for some students.”
For example, if a student earned a 20 grade during one six weeks, he still would fail the semester if he earned a 90 the next two grading periods.

The Texas chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, which intervened in the case on the side of the Texas Education Agency, argued that minimum-grading policies take important authority away from teachers and are “not in the best interest of students in the long run.”
“I feel like it’s unethical,” Mary Roberts, a teacher in Humble ISD, testified about her district’s policy, which bans report card graders lower than a 50.
ericka.mellon@chron.com



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Recovery Effort in Gulf Expected to Continue Despite Storm

By JOSEPH BERGER

A tropical storm moving across the western Gulf of Mexico that is likely to strengthen into a hurricane is not expected to seriously disrupt efforts to capture oil gushing from the stricken BP well, officials of the Coast Guard and BP said Monday.

Adm. Thad W. Allen, of the Coast Guard, who is commanding the federal response to the disaster, said at an afternoon press conference that high seas produced by Tropical Storm Alex should not force the evacuation of rigs and other equipment from the blowout site, which is 50 miles off the Louisiana coast. Should an evacuation take place, he said, it could halt the work of collecting oil and drill relief wells for about 14 days.

“As it stands right now, absent the intervention of a hurricane, we’re still looking at mid-August," to have relief wells shut off the gusher entirely, Admiral Allen said.

However, BP officials said that what could be delayed, even by current wave heights, is an effort to prepare what is known as a “floating riser system” that will help raise the daily total of collected oil from, about 25,000 barrels to as much as 50,000 barrels. At a briefing Monday morning, Kent Wells, a senior vice president of BP who is overseeing BP’s efforts, said the storm is expected to follow a track that will take it well west of the blowout site, but it may produce waves of 10 to 12 feet, which Mr. Wells said was too high for the “very precise work” on the surface needed to prepare the floating riser system.

Mr. Wells said the containment cap and a second system that are collecting 25,000 barrels of oil a day would not need to be disconnected and the drilling of two relief wells should continue on schedule. The first relief well is supposed to pump in heavy mud and shut off the gusher sometime in August.

Tropical Storm Alex is on a course heading for northeastern Mexico and a stretch of Texas. Meteorologists at Accuweather.com said they are anticipating a landfall between Tampico, Mexico and Brownsville, Tex. Wednesday night or early Thursday.

Meanwhile Associated Press reported that BP had filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission that indicate the cost of capping and cleaning the spill have reached $2.65 billion. BP has lost more than $100 billion in market value since the drilling platform the company was operating blew up April 20. The costs include spill response, containment, relief well drilling, grants to gulf states, claims paid, and federal costs, but not a $20 billion fund for damages the company created this month.

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Recovery Effort in Gulf Expected to Continue Despite Storm

By JOSEPH BERGER

A tropical storm moving across the western Gulf of Mexico that is likely to strengthen into a hurricane is not expected to seriously disrupt efforts to capture oil gushing from the stricken BP well, officials of the Coast Guard and BP said Monday.

Adm. Thad W. Allen, of the Coast Guard, who is commanding the federal response to the disaster, said at an afternoon press conference that high seas produced by Tropical Storm Alex should not force the evacuation of rigs and other equipment from the blowout site, which is 50 miles off the Louisiana coast. Should an evacuation take place, he said, it could halt the work of collecting oil and drill relief wells for about 14 days.

“As it stands right now, absent the intervention of a hurricane, we’re still looking at mid-August," to have relief wells shut off the gusher entirely, Admiral Allen said.

However, BP officials said that what could be delayed, even by current wave heights, is an effort to prepare what is known as a “floating riser system” that will help raise the daily total of collected oil from, about 25,000 barrels to as much as 50,000 barrels. At a briefing Monday morning, Kent Wells, a senior vice president of BP who is overseeing BP’s efforts, said the storm is expected to follow a track that will take it well west of the blowout site, but it may produce waves of 10 to 12 feet, which Mr. Wells said was too high for the “very precise work” on the surface needed to prepare the floating riser system.

Mr. Wells said the containment cap and a second system that are collecting 25,000 barrels of oil a day would not need to be disconnected and the drilling of two relief wells should continue on schedule. The first relief well is supposed to pump in heavy mud and shut off the gusher sometime in August.

Tropical Storm Alex is on a course heading for northeastern Mexico and a stretch of Texas. Meteorologists at Accuweather.com said they are anticipating a landfall between Tampico, Mexico and Brownsville, Tex. Wednesday night or early Thursday.

Meanwhile Associated Press reported that BP had filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission that indicate the cost of capping and cleaning the spill have reached $2.65 billion. BP has lost more than $100 billion in market value since the drilling platform the company was operating blew up April 20. The costs include spill response, containment, relief well drilling, grants to gulf states, claims paid, and federal costs, but not a $20 billion fund for damages the company created this month.

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Alex may effect Gulf oil production ..

HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--Tropical Storm Alex, expected to become a hurricane Tuesday, seems to be headed on a path away from the bulk of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico's oil and gas production and refining infrastructure. But some production impact will be felt as one of the largest energy producers in the Gulf said Monday it was shutting down several platforms as a precaution.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) said it had pulled 700 workers from its Gulf operations, and some 835 workers remained offshore. The company is shutting in production from its Western and Central Gulf of Mexico assets to prepare for the potential full evacuation of personnel Tuesday. The company started pulling workers from the Gulf over the weekend. The company didn't specify how much production would be shut or how many platforms were being evacuated.

At 11 a.m. EDT, Alex was located about 85 miles west-northwest of Campeche, Mexico, in the western Gulf of Mexico, and was heading towards southern Texas and northern Mexico. Most U.S. offshore oil and gas platforms are located in the eastern part of the Gulf, far from Alex's forecast path.

Alex "is not likely to have a major impact on production or refining in the U.S.," Doug MacIntyre, senior analyst at the Energy Information Administration, told Dow Jones Newswires Monday. "Alex's current path appears to avoid most of the oil and gas production platforms and any of the major refining centers."

Energy markets Monday seemed to take the storm in stride. Light, sweet crude for August delivery ended 61 cents lower at $78.25 a barrel a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Natural gas for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled 2.96% lower at $4.717 million British thermal units.

Gulf producers Apache Corp. (APA), Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) also said Monday they have started evacuating non-essential workers from the offshore facilities expected to be in the path of the storm but none have so far reported any impact to their production.

BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) said Monday it pulled non-essential personnel from three offshore facilities in the the Gulf, and that production was not affected. The company evacuated workers from Atlantis, Mad Dog and Holstein platforms.

Alex may delay BP PLC's plans to increase the amount of oil collected from a leaking well in the Gulf by a week, a company official said Monday.

While the storm's winds are expected to stay far to the west of the Deepwater Horizon spill, high seas are likely to become an issue this week, said Kent Wells, a senior vice president with BP, in a press briefing. Waves up to between 10 feet and 12 feet would prevent BP from hooking a third rig up to an underwater containment system, a process that needs three days of good weather, Wells said.

Two rigs, the Discoverer Enterprise and Q4000, are already collecting between 20,000 and 25,000 barrels of oil a day from the well, which has gushed ever since a rig working at the site caught fire and sank in April.

Chevron Corp. (CVX) and ConocoPhillips (COP) said that they have not evacuated workers, but that they are closely monitoring the forecast for Alex.

A hurricane watch was issued for parts of the south Texas Gulf coastline area and parts of northern Mexico, the National Hurricane Center reported Monday on its website.

The NHC, in its advisory, also said Alex likely will become a hurricane Tuesday and has increased in strength, now with winds of 60 miles per hour.

The watch area for the U.S. extends from south of Baffin Bay to the mouth of the Rio Grande in Texas, with Mexico issuing a hurricane watch from the Rio Grande to La Cruz.


-By Isabel Ordonez, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9207; isabel.ordonez@dowjones.com

(Brian Baskin and Angel Gonzalez contributed to this article

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New movie-plexes open!

LANO, Texas, May 27, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (CNK 15.41, -0.09, -0.57%) , a leading motion picture exhibitor, announces the opening of two new Cinemark XD auditoriums, Cinemark's Extreme Digital Cinema experience, in Lakewood, CO and Cypress, TX. The Lakewood, CO Cinemark XD auditorium opened May 21st at Century 16 Bel Mar, and the Cypress, TX Cinemark XD auditorium opened on Friday, May 28th at Cinemark 12 Cypress.

Cinemark has transformed one auditorium at each location to showcase the state-of-the-art elements of this premium movie-viewing experience. From the plush new seats, to the large wall-to-wall & ceiling-to-floor screens, Cinemark XD auditoriums provide a complete entertainment environment. Crisp, clear digital sound is delivered through custom JBL sound systems and digital images are delivered by Barco digital projectors and Doremi servers.

"Cinemark is thrilled to bring the excitement of these new XD auditoriums to our valued customers in Denver & Houston," states Alan Stock, Cinemark's Chief Executive Officer. "We have opened 26 XD auditoriums across the country and exhibit the newest summer blockbusters every week, including 2D and Real D-3D movies, in these incredible viewing environments."

Reckless Robber who robbed Cypress bank killed.

The Texas “Reckless Robber,” wanted by San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Dallas police and the FBI, has finally met his fate.
Mouafak Kazzaz, regarded as an “armed and dangerous” man for his escalating number of Central Texas bank robberies, was killed on May 22, 2010 in a shootout with sheriff’s deputy in Fort Bend County.

Deputies pulled over the 24-year-old Kazzaz in a van that matched a description of one involved in a robbery that day at a Bank of America near Grand Parkway and U.S. 59, in Houston.
Tagged “Reckless Robber” by law enforcement officials because of his aggressive use of a handgun, say the robber had been robbing banks since December 2008, primarily in the Houston area.

Kazzaz brought his escalating and violent style to San Antonio Saturday, January 9, 2010 at a Wells Fargo Bank on the 18000 block of Blanco Road near Loop 1604. FBI officials think he is responsible for at least 20 robberies.

His mode of operation was to take command with a black, semi-automatic handgun and point directly at tellers and people in the banks.

At a Cypress, Texas Bank of America late last year, he started pointing his gun at other employees of the bank after receiving the money. He demanded more cash and fled on foot.

The FBI, who announced the shootout and killing on Friday, May 28, 2010, said Kazzaz was from Katy, Texas, just west of Houston.


Kazzaz was known for using several disguises in his aggressive robberies.


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FBI officials indicate that when Kazzaz was pulled over by deputies, he flew open the van door and used an automatic rifle to fire at Deputy Charlie Scott.

After a 20 minute gun battle, Deputy Scott was shot twice in the wrist and an abrasion on his head.

Another deputy fatally shot Kazzaz after his van crashed a fence on West Bellfort.