07 February 2008
Why can't Houstonians have access to real-time crime info?
The Chronicle's Carolyn Feibel posts about a third-party subscription service that takes area crime data and moves it to easily searchable maps, and suggests that it might be a solution for the City of Houston if Mayor White and Chief Hurtt are actually serious about providing real-time crime data to citizens.
That might be one way to go, but we thought the City was moving forward with its not-Compstat technology, which supposedly will provide current crime data. Why can't that system have a public component, replete with maps? CAN the new system even provide searchable real-time data?
We know Compstat can provide searchable real-time data, and to see it in action, one only needs to visit the Compstat part of the Los Angeles Police Department's website. I was just able to look at current crime statistics. Then I clicked over to LAPD's crimemaps section, which combines real-time searchable crime data with maps. Very slick.
Since Jay Wall and associates began writing about Compstat regularly, Chief Hurtt has done his best to shrug off the tool, despite its proven effectiveness in New York (and now LA). So, we very much look forward to the announcement on Chief Hurtt's blog that MayorWhiteChiefHurtt's preferred system can do everything that LAPD Chief William Bratton's Compstat system can do. We sense we might be waiting a while on that.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/07/08 12:49 AM |
County considers immigration training for jailers; Mayor says no way
The Chronicle's James Pinkerton reports that Harris County Sheriff Tommy Thomas has announced plans for Harris County jailers to receive training from the feds to identify illegal immigrants:
Harris County would be the first law enforcement agency in Texas to receive training from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, joining 34 departments from Florida to California that have undergone the training. Thomas announced Friday that he authorized his department to pursue the program.
The training would give employees the ability to interview inmates more thoroughly about their immigration status and authorize them to detain those in the country illegally.
Seventy departments are on a training waiting list, including four in Texas, but an ICE official would not identify them until formal agreements are signed.
In Phoenix, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said ICE trained 100 deputies and 60 jailers at his county facilities. The officers are not only checking immigration status of jail inmates, but assisting in ICE criminal investigations, the sheriff said.
''Since the cops won't ask where they're from, we ask," said Arpaio, referring to local police who don't check the immigration status of those they arrest. ''We check everybody who comes in, about 300 or 400 a day, and we have determined over 8,000 illegals have been booked into our jail. It's been successful."
Asking the question doesn't seem like that big a deal. And it certainly doesn't seem as ominous or draconian as when fans of sanctuary policies start moaning about not wanting to create a police state and not wanting to devote manpower to doing the work of the federal government.
Speaking of which -- Carolyn Feibel asked Mayor White if similar training might benefit HPD, and the response was predictable:
White said, in essence, no.
"I think it will erode the capacity of local law enforcement if local law enforcement starts assuming more and more federal functions."
Lest residents think nothing is being done in the jail, White explained that the city does use the national fingerprint database to look for matches. And, more than 160 people wanted by federal immigration authorities have been handed over from the city jail since October 2006, White. said.
"I'd rather have our police figure out how to catch people who commit violent crimes, than become immigration lawyers."
The argument that we must ban HPD from asking about immigration status in most circumstances or HPD will not be able to catch people who commit violent crimes (or continue other important work like cracking down on renegade downtown jaywalkers, or more recently, cracking down on gentlemen's clubs) seems like overblown rhetoric. Why not have Council hearings on the matter, call in some experts, and give it some consideration? Why is that so scary?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/07/08 12:14 AM |
06 February 2008
Chris Baker will head to Minnesota
Mike McGuff passes along word that former KTRH-740/KPRC-950 talker Chris Baker will be headed to Minneapolis, where he'll do an early morning show for KLTK-100.3.
The folks at Radio-Info are discussing the move here.
Best of luck to Chris in the COLD north. Brrr!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/06/08 11:24 AM |
05 February 2008
HPD detectives give KHOU tour of dilapidated facilities
Yesterday, KHOU-11's Jeff McShan ran an important -- albeit depressing -- report on dilapidated equipment at HPD. Here's an excerpt:
They’re so frustrated with the conditions inside the city’s jail, Houston police detectives decided to give 11 News a tour. Their bosses probably wouldn't like it, so to avoid attention; a home video camera was used to capture the images.
The detectives wanted the public to see just how old, out of date and defective the equipment is inside the building that houses the city’s main jail.
Inside, you will find the stained ceiling tiles, exposed wiring, punctured walls, leaking pipes and worn chairs.
But what bothers investigators most is the interview room where criminal suspects are interrogated and video taped.
[snip]
At the main city jail, HPD employees say there is only one interview room. One room for the fourth largest police department in the country.
And a tiny camera in the ceiling feeds to an outdated VHS recorder. A machine that one homicide detective says destroyed his tape and a confession.
There is plenty of space for more interview rooms and recording equipment, but most of the adjacent rooms are filled with trash and old equipment.
There is a leadership problem at HPD when detectives feel they must go to KHOU and other media outlets to try to get basic equipment needed to do their jobs.
Today, McShan ran HPD's response, in which assistant chief Michael Dirden says that some new equipment has been ordered, and that HPD has interview rooms in other buildings. That's certainly a better response than, say, Chief Hurtt's ghostblogger smearing the reporter. We hope McShan will follow up on the promised improvements in a month or so.
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/05/08 11:28 PM |
Cafe Express re-acquired by founders
The Chronicle's David Kaplan reports that Cafe Express has been re-acquired by its founders from Wendy's:
Schiller Del Grande expanded its pioneering fast-casual concept Cafe Express into a 16-store chain and then sold a major share of it to corporate giant Wendy's.
Now the Houston company's got it back and is returning it to its roots.
Why take it back?
"It's like kids," said Robert Del Grande, a Schiller Del Grande partner. "You raise them, and then they want to come back home."
Besides, CEO Lonnie Schiller said, they know Cafe Express inside and out.
And they still love the concept, a casual restaurant that serves salads, soups, pastas, burgers, sandwiches, and grilled and roasted entrees quickly.
I must confess that I like some of the salads at Cafe Express (even during the Wendy's era). At the locations I visit, though, the service has deteriorated badly over the past couple of months. It is silly to wait in a SLOW-moving line 15 people deep for the fare being offered by Cafe Express, especially when the food AND service are so much better at competitors like Pronto Cucinino. Perhaps the original owners can get the chain back on the right track.
BLOGVERSATION: Houston's Clear Thinkers.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/05/08 01:20 AM |
You decide 2008: Is Borris Miles a "gangsta" or a hugger?
The Chronicle's Allan Turner profiles some of the hits and misses of state Rep. Borris Miles:
At first glance, the June 30 concert at Reliant Arena might have seemed just a routine hip-hop affair. But this one was different. Even though 7,500 teens and young adults turned out to hear Lil' Wayne, J Xavier, Mista Madd and a host of other hip-hop celebrities, the only way to get into this event was to be tested for HIV.
Hip Hop 4 HIV was the brainchild of freshman state Rep. Borris Miles, a flamboyant insurance agent-turned-politician whose heavily black District 146 accounts for three-fourths of Harris County's HIV infections.
To Miles' supporters, the concert was characteristic of the fresh thinking the legislator had brought to his inner-city district after a surprise 2006 runoff victory over 27-year incumbent Al Edwards. But even as backers celebrate Miles' innovations, others are concerned about a series of incidents involving the lawmaker that ranged from awkward to frightening.
The episodes culminated in December when Miles crashed a party at the posh St. Regis Hotel. Party host David Harris said a drunken Miles shocked guests with loud, profane language before planting a Godfather-style "kiss of death" on his cheeks, handing him a pistol and declaring,"You don't know what I'm capable of doing."
After proclaiming himself a "gangsta," Miles then allegedly kissed a female guest on the lips while her husband was away from the table.
Prosecutors are scrutinizing the episode. Meanwhile, the female recipient of Miles' unsolicited smooch filed a lawsuit seeking $1 million in damages and demanding the lawmaker be tested for HIV. A hearing is set for Feb. 15.Other moments include Miles' unilateral decision to censor an anti-death penalty art exhibit at the State Capitol and his profane chastisement of former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell at a downtown party.
Miles, gearing up for a March primary rematch with Edwards, declined to comment on the Harris and Bell incidents. He defends his art exhibit action.
If Rep. Miles wants to call himself a "gangsta," we aren't going to argue with him (we wouldn't want to provoke unwanted groping and/or smooching, after all).
Several days earlier, KHOU-11's Leigh Frillici scored an interview with the "gangsta" lawmaker, who noted that he likes to hug people.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/05/08 01:10 AM |
Anti-Ashby high-rise ordinance might not stop high-rise, pleases no one
The Chronicle's Mike Snyder reports that nobody seems very happy over the current status of legislation that Mayor White rushed forward in response to the demands of affluent political constituents:
The city of Houston's high-density development ordinance, the focus of intense lobbying and hundreds of hours of work over the past three months, doesn't satisfy either the development or neighborhood interests helping to write it.
A look at its latest version shows that the measure wouldn't stop the Ashby high-rise, the project that inspired it. It wouldn't apply to any other planned development project in Houston, although it might affect future projects. Some of the developers and neighborhood activists working on it say it has little value.
Late last week, city officials decided the measure needs additional work and delayed its presentation to the City Council for two weeks and perhaps as long as a month. The council had been expected to review the measure this week.
"It seems to me that the current draft is going to make no one happy," said Kendall Miller, a shopping center owner who serves on a committee advising the city about the ordinance.
Jane Cahill, a neighborhood activist who also serves on the panel, said the costs of enforcing the latest draft would far outweigh any benefits.
Cahill said she was dismayed to hear Andy Icken, a deputy city public works director, say recently that the ordinance represents a "rifle" rather than a "shotgun" approach to development issues.
"A rifle aims a single bullet at a single target," Cahill said. "Aiming an ordinance at a single project is not a good way to develop public policy."
No, it is not.
But certain well-connected constituents demanded that Mayor White jump, and jump he did. We happen to think the mayor is pretty shrewd -- maybe he figured all along that this approach wasn't going to be all that effective, but that he'd still get credit for trying.
BLOGVERSATION: Off the Kuff, Inside Central Houston.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/05/08 12:45 AM |
Commissioners: But some of us want the boondoggle!
The Chronicle's Bill Murphy reports that some of Harris County Judge Ed Emmett's colleagues at Commissioner's Court are displeased with Emmett's recent efforts to end what has been an unproductive exclusive relationship with Astrodome Redevelopment Co.
Cory Crow offers his perspective on what's really going on in this post.
BLOGVERSATION: Houston's Clear Thinkers.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/05/08 12:23 AM |
04 February 2008
Another problem for Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University may be about to receive another black mark; this time, firing a president and putting her on trial isn't going to fix it. This issue goes deeper into TSU's ongoing failure to perform its duty adequately: preparing graduates (and post-graduates) for the real world.
In Los Angeles, later this week, the ABA is expected to approve an objective criterion for law school accreditation, for the first time. Nationally, thirty law schools will not make the cut, which is defined as a graduate performance no worse than 15 percentage points below the state average for passing the bar exam on the first try, with a minimum of 75% passing. While an individual gets three tries to pass the bar exam, for the school, only the first one will count. Results are averaged over five years, so one bad year would not doom a school to lose accreditation.
Nationally, seven law schools are well below the limit (albeit based solely on 2007 results, not an average) and could be in danger of losing their accreditation. Whether the five years is retroactive, or starts counting with next year may make a huge difference to another 23 that fail one or the other of the two requirements, but not both. Of the seven schools failing both requirements, it is likely a small comfort to TSU that it is the closest to the mark, at 63.1%, compared to a statewide 80% first-time pass rate. This leaves it almost 17 points below the state average (two points under requirement), and nearly 12 points below the 75% minimum.
Of the total of thirty schools in danger, only one has a larger minority enrollment than Texas Southern. Given that TSU's history and mission are minority-oriented, that is no surprise. Incoming President Rudley is right when he says in the Chronicle:
"I can't wait 21 days," Rudley said recently, a few days after regents named the tough-minded, bottom-line administrator as the only finalist for the presidency at the state's largest historically black university.
What's the rush? The high stakes are one reason. His personality is another.
TSU is at risk of losing accreditation because of its poor financial picture. Enrollment is at a five-year low. The graduation rate ranks among the nation's lowest.
Nationwide, the greatest resistance to the imposition of objective criteria is coming from minority schools, but the imposition of a more stringent standard is a foregone conclusion, what with the Department of Education set to review its delegation of accreditation authority to the ABA. That the institutions in question are fighting the standards, rather than seeking to meet them, is all too typical. Nor is this behavior limited to only minority institutions, even if that is where the majority of the resistance is coming from in this case. As a whole, academia is uncomfortable with the idea of being judged by real-world criteria.
Given the very real gaps in wealth and income that still plague our society, the African-American community is not being served well by institutions that fail to prepare tomorrow's professionals and leaders. It will be up to President Rudley and his team at TSU to avoid the pitfalls of politics and reverse this trend by bringing TSU into line with the expected criteria. If it's just more of the same old, same old, then no one will be served well, neither the taxpayers, nor especially the students who should be put first.
Posted by Ubu Roi @ 02/04/08 03:16 PM |
03 February 2008
Councilmember discovers public spaces ceded to homeless
KTRK-13 reports on an effort to get homeless people out of White Oak Bayou parks:
Police hope to crack down on crime by cleaning up public parks and getting the homeless the help they need.
The initiative is called Operation Clean Sweep. Officers on horseback are patrolling the parks along White Oak Bayou just north of downtown. Police linked a rise in property crime to homeless people who have been camping in the woods. Some of the clean up includes getting rid of mattresses and tarps found in the parks.
HPD Captain Mark Holloway explained, "We just want to make it so the citizens that want to use this area have an opportunity to do so and not have a fear of being victimized in doing so."
"We're finding campsites and things of that nature and we know that that's not what needs to be happening," said Houston City Councilmember Adrian Garcia.
The man who wants to be Harris County sheriff has just found out that homeless people have taken over local public spaces?
Wow. You'd think the Houston councilmember might have noticed the problem around downtown and midtown.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/03/08 09:39 PM |
02 February 2008
Going overboard on the Rosenthal proceedings
Attorney and blogger Tom Kirkendall today calls out the local media for going overboard on the Chuck Rosenthal "contempt" proceedings. Here is an excerpt:
It's become fashionable around Houston to be critical of outgoing Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal. Frankly, much of the criticism is deserved. But given what Rosenthal has been going through over in federal court over the past couple of days, one has to wonder whether the media firestorm over Rosenthal has reached the point that otherwise rational observers have taken leave of their senses.
Take this latest Chronicle article on the hearing over Rosenthal's destruction of emails that he had been ordered to turn over in connection with a civil lawsuit in federal court. The Chron article, which is representative of the newspaper's vitriolic coverage of Rosenthal's political demise, calls the hearing a "contempt hearing" in which the judge could "hold Rosenthal in contempt, . . .[and] put the DA behind bars for six months."
H'mm. I don't think so.
Although the plaintiffs in the civil lawsuit are having a field day excoriating Rosenthal in court and in the media, I can't see how the judge could hold Rosenthal in contempt of court, at least at this stage.
Kirkendall then lays out his legal reasoning in his usual efficient manner.
In addition to Kirkendall's blog, two other local legal blogs (blawgs) have been providing excellent commentary on the Rosenthal matter, albeit from very different perspectives:
* Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center
and
* Defending People: The Art and Science of Criminal Defense Lawyering
Much local blog commentary (and ensuing discussion) on the Rosenthal matter has exceeded the quality of the dreck that has been regularly served up by the area's newspaper of record.
BLOGVERSATION: Defending People.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/02/08 01:10 PM |
And now, the rest of the story (on Peden's fundraising)
Yesterday, the Chronicle's Alan Bernstein reported the following:
In the neighboring 14th District, Republican incumbent Ron Paul and primary challenger Chris Peden each raised less than $50,000 in the last three months. But thanks to funds from previous campaigns, Paul had a balance of $144,000 at year's end, twice as much as Peden. Paul can use in the congressional campaign some of the millions he raised to run for president.
At some point, David Benzion of the Lone Star Times (a weblog ostensibly independent from KSEV-700) noted that the numbers were reversed, and that Peden (a KSEV favorite) actually had twice as much money on hand as Paul (not a KSEV favorite). Shortly after Benzion's post appeared, the Chron.com story was corrected in the usual annoying nontransparent fashion, with no mention of the previous error.
Today, the Chronicle runs a correction:
Friendswood accountant Chris Peden, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Ron Paul in the Republican primary, had about $144,000 in campaign funds on hand at the end of 2007, more than twice the amount saved by Paul. An article on Page B2 Friday listed incorrect figures.
That correction isn't nearly as interesting as today's blog post at the County Seat, though. We encourage you to read the entire post, but here's the punchline regarding the Peden fundraising juggernaut (or perhaps that should be juggerNOT):
$150,424.49 out of $174,750.80 raised (of which $143,949.92 remain unexpended on banner ads), did not simply come from "local" addresses in towns like Friendswood. It came from one single address in Friendswood: 1878 Flat Rock Street, as in the abode of the candidate himself.
Additionally, the County Seat points out that Peden's family donated another $16,100 to the candidate, "[placing] just over $166,000 of Peden's claimed total haul of $174,000 'in the family.'"
Peden's financial support certainly doesn't seem very deep among the grassroots, despite the KSEV efforts (and Peden's advertising campaign on the ostensibly independent Lone Star Times) -- a nifty bit of insight from the County Seat (or, to channel Paul Harvey, the rest of the story)!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/02/08 12:44 PM |
Metro's backward Solutions
This story in the Katy Times is (unintentionally) enlightening about the widening gulf between what Metro officials want vs. what Metro customers/taxpayers need:
On Monday, Metro opened its 222 Grand Parkway Park and Ride in the Cinemark Movie Theater parking lot.
The facility's impact was immediate.
"We had 392 boardings, which was our second highest first day boardings," Rosie Torres, Metro spokeswoman said.
Only the Cypress park-and-ride had more first day boardings, 478, when it opened in January 2007.
The park-and-ride can be found in a designated area at the Cinemark Movie theater lot, 1030 W. Grand Parkway North. Metro has a long-term lease on 500 spaces in the theater's lot. Torres said additional spaces could be added should the need arise.
The need for the new facility stems from a word commonly heard in Katy - growth.
"The park-and-ride at Kingsland seems to get filled-up all the time," Torres said. Torres said the new lot also helps Metro fulfil its mission to reduce traffic congestion along the areas major arteries.
The new lot will provide direct service between the Grand Parkway and downtown Houston. Buses will depart every 15 minutes between 5:30 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. and return every 15 minutes between 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
For patrons transferring, a one block connection to Metro's light rail will be available from a stop adjacent to the Downtown Transit Center in the mornings and afternoons. "This makes it easy for people traveling to the medical center and other places along the light rail," Torres said.
Talk about illustrating the need for commuter rail. Instead, Metro has focused on creating a heavily subsidized, world-class, inner-loop taxi service. So now Metro has had to open new Park and Ride lots (that use buses!!) in areas that should be getting commuter rail lines. The very last quote is the most ridiculous of all when the Metro spokeswoman says transfers to light rail will be easy for all those stops along the 7.5 miles of light rail. Wow! That was surely a half billion dollars well-spent.
As we've suggested before, Metro did this whole thing backwards: Commuter rail should have been built first, ending at a transit center near downtown, where customers could then catch buses to their final destinations. Buses have much greater flexibility to get customers closer to where they need to go, but Metro and rail supporters frown on buses, and buses aren't as cool as light rail trains.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 02/02/08 11:47 AM |
Ideating the Dome
This is pretty amusing (via KUHF-88.7):
Leave it to the Astrodome to get people's creative juices flowing. Just days after an exclusive agreement between Harris County and an investor group expired, others are stepping up with ideas for the future of the dome.
[snip]
County Judge Ed Emmett says he's gotten some calls already.
"Some ideas are good and some ideas are really off the wall. We'll see and we'll see what ARC comes up with because they still say they're moving forward and at this point they have several years head start, so they are still in the best position to have a proposal that we can consider."
The Dome is empty and isn't cheap to maintain. Emmett says the sooner Harris County can decide on the stadium's future, the better.
"The residents of Harris County and probably the entire region view the Astrodome is an icon and they want it to be saved if at all possible. But we still owe $30 million in bonds on it and it's costing us $3 million a year to maintain. We do have to make a decision about it, but we need to make the right decision."
Emmett wouldn't give details on the ideas he's heard. He says it's too early in the process to talk about them. Astrodome Redevelopment Corporation officials say they're close to a final plan for the Dome themselves.
We want to hear some of those "off the wall" ideas.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 02/02/08 08:43 AM |
01 February 2008
Chron columnist questions misleading SEIU publicity stunt
The Chronicle's L.M. Sixel questions a recent SEIU publicity stunt:
The hearing was scheduled for 3 p.m.
But at 2:13 p.m. — nearly an hour before the session was to begin on Monday — the Service Employees International Union sent an e-mail with the results: "Aramark Workers Expose How Aramark Cheats Workers and Customers at Marquee Houston Venues."
The release included quotes of what the panelists told members of Houston City Council, the Texas Legislature and a representative of Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia's office. Complaints covered food safety, pay practices and other concerns at several publicly owned venues.
But there was a problem. A former George R. Brown Convention Center waitress — who according to the post-event news release testified how Aramark refrigerates and reheats leftover banquet food to the point that it's "spoiled and inedible" — wasn't at the hearing. She didn't speak. Instead, someone else read her prepared remarks.
SEIU spokeswoman Erin Smith said the union typically issues its post-event news release before events take place in an effort to get the news out.
The comments come from prepared talking points and everyone is a confirmed speaker, Smith said. The absent waitress was unavailable because she was working at her new job after getting fired from Aramark last fall, Smith added.
"This strikes me as a very bad public relations tactic," said Sandy Fruhman, a longtime area public relations professional who runs her own firm and has no connection to either side. Not only is it risky, but providing quotes in advance also "raises tremendous credibility issues" by giving the appearance that witness testimony has been carefully scripted to serve the purposes of the group.
We consider it a misleading (even dishonest) public relations tactic.
But, it was also an effective public relations tactic, since the Chronicle's City Hall blogger basically posted the press release, uncritically, as if it were completely factual, without as much as a response from Aramark on the wild accusations or any indication that the waitress making the wild accusations wasn't even present, and therefore didn't take any press questions.
Obviously, we like the spontaneity and timeliness of blogging (by journalists and amateurs alike), but that is one blog post that doesn't reflect well on the reporter or the Chronicle.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/01/08 09:01 AM |
31 January 2008
Editorial LiveJournalists (finally) comment on Schatte, Surface arrests
On January 25, news broke that the FBI had arrested Andrew Schatte and Michael Surface on corruption charges.
Today, the Chronicle Editorial LiveJournalists finally got around to commenting on the matter.
It's nice to see the Editorial LiveJournalists are as timely as ever in "leading [their] daily discussion with Chronicle readers."
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/31/08 11:50 PM |
Pretty silver buses coming to METROpia soon!
Today, METRO's expensive blogger reported that METRO will "soon" be offering a new type of express bus service ("soon" meaning August) along three routes.
Christof Spieler had already covered this development (for free!) several days ago.
The development of express bus service is a welcome, overdue development in Houston (but will Yellow Cab allow a true Airport Express route eventually? As one local blogger likes to say, stay tuned).
We were amused by this bit of cheerleading from Spieler:
There’s been some concern that METRO’s focus on expanding rail might cause the bus system to be neglected. Until recently, METRO’s silence about the bus improvements promised in the 2003 referendum justified that concern. These announcements indicate otherwise, but they’re only a start.
Might cause? One's head really has to be in the sand to ignore the significant cuts in bus service (dubbed "service improvements" by METRO) since the 2003 referendum, a referendum that promised a 50% increase in bus service. Three express routes and pretty silver paint for the buses that will run them don't exactly negate all the bus service reductions that we've seen in recent years (except perhaps in the happy fun land known as METROpia!).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/31/08 11:01 PM |
Great moments in public education: Klein Oak High School
Mid-year class leveling is bad school policy, and high schools should make every effort to avoid it. But apparently it is a routine practice in Klein ISD, and it doesn't take an expert to understand how harmful it is to a student's education.
(Note: What follows may interest only readers within Klein ISD.)
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 01/31/08 04:49 AM |
30 January 2008
When pols don't have enough to do...
KTRK-13 reports tonight that two Hispanic leaders are upset that Go Tejano day at this year's rodeo doesn't feature enough Tejano music:
It's one of the most popular events at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, but some are angry about the musicians chosen for Tejano Day.
That event is scheduled for March 16, but some are upset there aren't any Tejano stars actually on the lineup. They met with rodeo officials to find out why that happened.
For more than an hour and a half rodeo officials met behind closed doors with County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia and State Senator Mario Gallegos.
"Obviously we're not happy this has happened," Garcia said.
Garcia says her office has received a number of calls from people concerned that there are no Tejano artists on the rodeo's calendar this year, a fact she personally finds offensive.
"It's part of our history, it's part of our culture for all Texans," Garcia said. "So for us 'Go Tejano Day' means Tejano music."
But unlike years past, the artists performing this year on 'Go Tejano Day' play not only Tejano. Duelo & Los Horoscopos de Durango play a mix of genres, including Tejano.
So there isn't Tejano music on Go Tejano Day. Except there is. But it's not Tejano enough. Enough apparently being exclusively Tejano.
Got it?
UPDATE (01-31-2008): The Chronicle decided to cover the story!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/30/08 11:29 PM |
KTRK: METRO cops hogtie woman!
KTRK-13 reports tonight on a bit of police work that doesn't make the news every day:
An altercation on a METRO bus ended with a woman being shocked by a Taser.
It happened around 5pm near Mesa and Tidwell in northeast Houston. METRO bus marshals on one bus spotted a woman assaulting another woman on a different bus across the street. They entered the bus to attempt to stop the attack.
The 29-year-old woman accused in the attack was shocked at least once and arrested. After she was placed in a squad car, she reportedly tried to kick out the windows. Authorities then hogtied the woman.
Give the METRO Cop Academy credit for teaching the important art of the hogtie!
RELATED COVERAGE: KHOU-11.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/30/08 11:06 PM |
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