26 November 2007
Chief Hurtt blasts "inaccurate and misleading" report
Last week, Chief Hurtt's blog promised to address Mark Greenblatt's KHOU-11 report criticizing HPD's refusal to classify some deaths as murders.
Today, Chief Hurtt's blog repeated the HPD PR talking points that Greenblatt's reporting was "inaccurate and misleading" and complained that Greenblatt failed to go into a lengthy discussion of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting protocol.
Unfortunately, Chief Hurtt's blog failed to address any of the specific cases discussed in Greenblatt's reporting.
However, HPD last week conceded that at least one case should have been classified as a murder:
We also asked about other homicide cases like a 2006 arson fire on Delmar Street in East Houston, the day before Valentine’s Day.
Joseph Chryar died in that fire. The Houston Fire Department’s conclusion?
HFD Arson Chief Roy Paul: “I know this fire's a homicide. And it should have been reported as a murder.”
11 News: Your response?
HPD Captain Jett: “You're exactly right. Chryar's death should have been ruled a murder."
It's the first homicide the Department is admitting to making a mistake with and to leaving it off last year's report.
Apparently that aspect of the investigation by KHOU's award-winning reporter was neither inaccurate nor misleading!
Greenblatt also is reporting that HPD has changed its internal process for reviewing and classifying homicides:
The Houston Police Department announced internal changes to how it will review and report homicides in Houston. That announcement came Tuesday, less than 24 hours after an 11 News investigation exposed the department has been keeping many homicides off the books.
Do most city departments change procedures in response to "inaccurate and misleading" criticism by journalists? Just wondering.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/26/07 10:37 PM |
This Friday: Holiday Tree -- yes; Pancho Claus -- no
Mayor White would like you to join him Friday night as he lights the city's "Holiday Tree":
Mayor Bill White invites Houstonians to get into the holiday spirit with a festive Noontime Concert Series this week outside City Hall and the annual Mayor's Holiday Tree Lighting and Celebration featuring Grammy Award-winning songwriter / recording artist Peabo Bryson on Friday, November 30 at 6 p.m.
Music, fireworks, entertainment and the lighting of the City's official holiday tree will take place in Hermann Square. In addition to Bryson and KHOU TV's Debra Duncan, the celebration will include performances by Grupo Kache, the Bayou City Chorale, The Woodlands Dance Company, Planet Funk, the Star of Hope Voices of Hope Choir, and the Parker Elementary School Chorus. There will also be a special guest appearance by Santa Claus.
Apparently, after 2005, Christmas Trees went out of style.
PREVIOUSLY: Pancho Claus archives
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/26/07 06:40 PM |
25 November 2007
2007 Turkeys of the Year
The Houston Press had lots of candidates for its Turkeys of the Year this time around -- METRO, Michael "Babe Pages" Berry, Priscilla Slade, the rodeo, carpetbagger City Council candidates, and more.
Click here to find out who won the awards this time around.
Congratulations (is that the right word?) to all the deserving winners!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/25/07 09:50 PM |
New park will surely attract residents
KTRK-13 has an interesting headline to a story by Miya Shay posted to its website:
Since Downtown and Midtown have effectively been ceded to aggressive panhandlers, we imagine the new park will attract quite a few residents indeed.
Shay's story isn't really about those sorts of residents, though.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/25/07 02:34 PM |
HPD "secretly" tests unmanned surveillance aircraft
Back in September, we were first alerted that HPD wanted to add drones to its force, to help with traffic and tactical situations:
Executive Assistant Chief Martha Montalvo confirmed the department is close to making it happen.
“And what's important and what needs to get out there is we are doing this in cooperation and assistance with the FAA,” said Montalvo.
[snip]
“I can tell you right now, I don't want to get into specifics, but we are looking at state of the art, actually drones that have been used by the military,” said Montalvo.
So it's unclear why the assistant police chief tried (unsuccessfully) to be all stealthy when HPD recently tested the surveillance drones, as KPRC-2 reported last week:
Neighbors in rural Waller County said they thought a top-secret military venture was under way among the farmland and ranches, some 70 miles northwest of Houston. KPRC Local 2 Investigates had four hidden cameras aimed at a row of mysterious black trucks. Satellite dishes and a swirling radar added to the neighbors' suspense.
Then, cameras were rolling as an unmanned aircraft was launched into the sky and operated by remote control.
Houston police cars were surrounding the land with a roadblock in place to check each of the dignitaries arriving for the invitation-only event. The invitation spelled out, "NO MEDIA ALLOWED."
HPD Chief Harold Hurtt attended, along with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and dozens of officers from various police agencies in the Houston area. Few of the guests would comment as they left the test site.
News Chopper 2 had a Local 2 Investigates team following the aircraft for more than one hour as it circled overhead. Its wings spanned 10 feet and it circled at an altitude of 1,500 feet. Operators from a private firm called Insitu, Inc. manned remote controls from inside the fleet of black trucks as the guests watched a live feed from the high-powered camera aboard the 40-pound aircraft.
"I wasn't ready to publicize this," Executive Assistant Police Chief Martha Montalvo said. She and other department leaders hastily organized a news conference when they realized Local 2 Investigates had captured the entire event on camera."We still haven't even decided how we were going to go forward on this task, so it seemed premature to me to announce this to the media," Montalvo said.
How could it be premature to announce it when there had already been a story in the media about it? And what's up with her saying "I wasn't ready to publicize this"?
Who's actually in charge at HPD?
KPRC's story continues with a few more Chief Montalvo highlights:
Montalvo told reporters the unmanned aircraft would be used for "mobility" or traffic issues, evacuations during storms, homeland security, search and rescue, and also "tactical." She admitted that could include covert police actions and she said she was not ruling out someday using the drones for writing traffic tickets.
[snip]
Houston police contacted KPRC from the test site, claiming the entire airspace was restricted by the Federal Aviation Administration. Police even threatened action from the FAA if the Local 2 helicopter remained in the area. However, KPRC reported it had already checked with the FAA on numerous occasions and found no flight restrictions around the site, a point conceded by Montalvo.
Montalvo wants to use the drones for writing traffic tickets! And HPD tried to intimidate a local media station as it was covering what is a pretty important story.
What the heck is going on at HPD?
The department has been fudging statistics, including numbers of homicides as we just learned; it has a severe manpower shortage that requires reactionary policing; response times are through the roof; and yet the department's leadership continues to focus on technological gadgetry.
As Scott Henson notes, Chief Hurtt has a "surveillance fetish." That sounds about right. Red light cameras, surveillance cameras, and now spy drones. Just remember, Chief Hurtt says if you aren't doing anything wrong, you've got nothing to worry about.
Is this really the kind of policing Houstonians want?
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/25/07 06:24 AM |
23 November 2007
Bye-bye Wi-Fi
KPRC-2 reports that Houston's deal with Earthlink for city-wide wi-fi is a no-go:
A public wireless network for the city of Houston is apparently dead, KPRC Local 2 reported Wednesday.
EarthLink, the company that was supposed to set up the Wi-Fi network, announced it is not doing that type of service anymore.
[snip]
"They had a change in their corporate leadership, looked at the business model and for whatever reasons decided they couldn't make it work financially," said Frank Michele with the mayor's office.
"For whatever reasons" is pretty funny. Government, of course, doesn't have to work under the constraints of a business model (as evidenced by the light rail boondoggle), so the notion that something could cost more money than it would bring in, and that outcome might not be good business, is mysterious reasoning to the mayor's spokesman.
But don't cry for Houston -- the mayor got $5 million out of Earthlink before the deal went kablooey.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/23/07 10:51 AM |
21 November 2007
Happy Thanksgiving
Posting is likely to get slow here as we gorge on turkey and dressing and football and such over the next few days.
Here's wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!
ANNE ADDS: Don't forget the shopping, Kevin!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/21/07 09:03 PM |
Chief Hurtt refuses to answer questions about homicide stats (updated!)
It looks as if KHOU-11's Mark Greenblatt struck a nerve with his story about HPD fudging homicide numbers. As reported by Matt Stiles and Mark Greenblatt, Chief Hurtt held a press conference yesterday to refute KHOU's report:
Using strong language, Hurtt challenged the story and defended his department, saying his employees follow FBI guidelines while classifying homicides in public crime statistics. Hurtt said the story didn't distinguish between the various types of homicide. Some are justifiable, he said, or caused by accidents or negligence, and therefore not "murders" under the FBI's terms.
"That the news report failed to make this distinction grossly misinforms and fails to properly educate the public," he said.
That's from Matt Stiles on the City Hall blog. As Greenblatt notes, though, experts guided him in determining different types of homicide:
Chief Hurtt called 11 News’ report on hidden homicides, "inaccurate and misleading."
He wanted to make sure 11news understood this: that a homicide at the Medical Examiner's Office really means one human being has killed another. Not all deaths ruled a homicide there should be reported as a murder according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting rules. For instance, justifiable homicides such as a person shooting a burglar are excluded from the reporting requirements.
It's something KHOU already knew. It's also why we asked two expert criminologists ( Dr. James Fox and Dr. Lawrence Sherman) to review cases and help Channel 11 rule out any deaths that should not have been reported, long before we broadcast our first report.
And then Chief Hurtt did something that is just inexcusable -- he exited the room without answering questions, and left his subordinates to take the heat:
I was hoping an exchange between the chief and KHOU's reporter, Mark Greenblatt, might help clarify the issue. But Hurtt left without answering questions. (I asked why, and Hurtt's spokesman, Capt. Bruce Williams, actually said, "You'd have to ask him that.") Nonetheless, Greenblatt got to pepper the department's chief homicide investigator, Capt. Steve Jett, with some questions.
Maybe he had to pack for Thanksgiving weekend in Arizona. Who knows? But it's outrageous that the chief refused to deal with questions surrounding some very serious findings. Homicide numbers are an integral measure of how a police department is doing its job, and the chief, after mustering up all the righteous indignation he could, refused to answer questions about some very serious allegations.
So Capt. Steve Jett was left to deal with the mess that has been created under Chief Hurtt's watch. When Greenblatt asked about the case of a man who was shot in the back of the head, and was classified as a suicide by HPD, here's the response:
11 News: The medical examiner ruled it was scientifically impossible for Steven McCoy to kill himself. What's your response?
Captain Steve Jett: “I don't necessarily agree with that. We've had differences of opinions before.”
Medical Examiner spokesperson Beverly Begay notes the M.E. stands behind its ruling.
Further, they tell 11 News the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office is one of the few offices in the nation to hold two of the most prestigious accreditations in forensic pathology. Begay also notes more than one forensic pathologist reviewed McCoy’s autopsy before coding it a homicide.
So we asked HPD homicide Captain Steve Jett if he still thought McCoy really shot himself.
“It's unusual. Very unusual. But it does happen,” said Jett.
As Stiles noted, Greenblatt has five Edward R. Murrow awards. Chief Hurtt and HPD will have to do better if they have any hopes of putting a dent in this story.
Thankfully for MayorWhiteChiefHurtt, the Thanksgiving weekend is upon us, and with it folks will turn their attention to other things.
They hope.
UPDATE: On his blog, Chief Hurtt responds to a commenter, and leaves us all in suspense:
Anonymous said...
What do you think about channel 11's report on HPD covering up the murder rate?You'll hear more about that next week. -- Chief Hurtt
Ooooo! Next week. Stay tuned!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/21/07 05:18 AM |
New traffic signal timing causes rush hour headaches
The city is working through some traffic signal issues, as rush hour traffic was a mess Monday and Tuesday. From the Chron's Rad Sallee:
Motorists were supposed to be able to drive through downtown at 28 mph without encountering a red light. The new timing may have worked well enough with sparse weekend traffic, but problems multiplied Monday when people returned to work.
It was "a disaster" for drivers on Louisiana, the major northbound artery that leads from downtown to the Katy Freeway, according to motorist David Rodi.
"This morning, I was lucky to go two blocks at a time before getting stopped by a red light, and traffic is much more congested overall," he wrote in an e-mail to the Houston Chronicle.
And from KHOU-11:
Instead, drivers said the new system has led to gridlock during rush hour.
“It’s not working,” said one driver.
“Once we got into town on Smith everything started to back up,” said Kathie Miller who drives in the area.
[snip]
It’s a different story at rush hour. Drivers said in some cases their commute time through downtown has doubled or tripled.
So, after two days of rush-hour gridlock, the Public Works Department has put a so-called “tweak team” on the streets, making changes to unclog the trouble spots.
City spokesman Alvin Wright said the problems were not "entirely unexpected," but Rad Sallee's initial story on the new sequencing didn't mention that the city anticipated problems during rush hour.
Downtown drivers have had enough headaches, what with years of road construction and light rail. Here's hoping the city gets it right...fast!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/21/07 04:49 AM |
20 November 2007
A community wins one against TxDOT
Well here's something you don't see every day: the little guy came out on top in a battle against TxDOT (via KUHF-88.7)
TxDOT has been planning to build two overpasses -- one at the intersection of Westheimer and Highway 6 and the other at the intersection of Bellaire and Highway 6. David Harbers, who owns a Shipley's Donuts franchise, and several other business owners and community members made comments at H-GAC's Transportation Policy Council, urging the members to vote against the project because they say it will destroy commerce and do nothing to truly alleviate congestion and mobility in the Highway 6 corridor. Turns out, the council agreed. Harbers says he's overwhelmed by the decision.
"The little man was finally able to win. They finally listened to the people that are in the public rather than just doing it because we got money."
And there definitely was money -- $36 million to be exact. The money was a chunk of safety bond funding awarded to the Houston region specifically for these overpass projects. And since the projects were scrapped, the money goes back to the state for use elsewhere. TxDOT District Engineer Gary Trietsch says he's not disappointed about losing the money, as much as he's concerned this decision will delay any progress in that corridor.
[snip]
Three members of the council voted to move forward with the project, but the remaining members voted it down, including Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, who says the voice of the community underscored the need for a long-term plan to relieve congestion in that area.
"There are a lot of cases where the community doesn't want a transportation improvement, but it's still the right thing to do.
I do hope that's not an omen for Grand Parkway F-2 segment. Judge Emmett has already said it's a top priority of his to get it completed, but, as long-time readers of bH know, Tomball and Spring residents do not want it. It will just devastate our communities.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/20/07 07:24 PM |
KHOU: HPD is undercounting homicides
This is a stunning discovery by KHOU-11's Mark Greenblatt:
In murder after murder and case after case, KHOU has discovered the Houston Police Department has found ways to wipe homicides off the books.
They don’t report them for Uniform Crime Report purposes.
The result?
An undercounting of how many murders take place in Houston, leaving some cases un-investigated and even possible murderers walking our streets.
“Cases that are clear cut homicides are not being counted,” said Dr. James Fox, a professor of criminology at Northeastern University.
He has gained worldwide attention for his expertise in homicide cases. Further, the U.S. Department of Justice trusts him to maintain a federal database on homicides.
11 News: Do you believe the City of Houston is lying to the public?
Fox: “Well someone is. Someone knows because someone is making these calls.”
What’s he talking about?
In 2006, HPD reported 377 murders to the FBI, and 334 in 2005.
But over that same time period, 11 News found nearly 30 homicides left off the books that experts say should have been counted.
Further, dozens more remain in question after HPD would not release case files to KHOU to review.
And if the Department had reported just two of many 2005 homicides we found?
It would have changed Houston’s national murder rate ranking, moving Houston past Dallas as the murder capital of Texas and into second place in the nation for cities with a population larger than 1 million.
Further, Fox says police undercounting might have lead to another serious consequence.
“Well a crime was committed and someone is not being charged with that crime,” he said.
A murderer is walking around, free to kill again. And HPD's response?
We're told the department won’t allow a single person out of their 6,000 employees to go on camera and explain its decisions.
That includes police Chief Harold Hurtt, who formally declined our repeated requests to talk.
HPD did issue a written statement, which says in part:
"We are in the process of looking into the cases you have brought to our attention.”
Wow.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/20/07 09:08 AM |
City ready to cough up millions for new Dynamo stadium
What was the first thought that went through your mind when you learned the Dynamo had won their second MLS championship?
Let's give them a stadium!
The Houston Dynamo, fresh off the team's second straight championship, could have a private-public deal to build a stadium in place within weeks, city and team officials said Monday.
"I'm hopeful we can put a good deal together," said Andy Icken, the city's deputy director of public works, who is heading negotiations for the city. "If we're going to be successful, we'll be successful in the next two weeks."
Some members of the team, which won its second straight Major League Soccer championship Sunday by defeating the New England Revolution, said they are wondering why it is taking so long to secure a stadium deal.
"Mayor White, listen up: This team deserves it (a stadium)," Dynamo defender Craig Waibel said.
Feel free to kick in some money there, Mr. Waibel. No one "deserves" a stadium that uses taxpayer dollars, but the city is still willing to give the Dynamo millions:
White is seeking a deal that would not require the city to contribute public money. While AEG's proposal calls for the company to bear most of the construction costs, it still would require the city to provide millions of dollars in needed infrastructure improvements, city and team officials said.
"We're prepared to put in the preponderance of the money for the stadium," Luck said. "I'm reluctant to say whether it would be $60 million, $62 million or $72 million," he said. "But we are asking the city for some financial help, no two ways about it."
Infrastructure improvements could include building streets to a stadium site and paying for expanded water lines and other utilities, Icken said.
AEG and the city are negotiating a second deal that would call on the city to provide land for a team practice facility. It could be located in a proposed city soccer complex in south Houston near Texas 288 and Almeda-Genoa.
Recall back in February, Andy Icken admitted the city had not yet worked out how to pay for the millions the city has decided to invest. And remember when Mayor White worked hard to gut Proposition 2, because he thought it too limited the city's ability to "improve" Houston?
Millions for infrastructure improvements for a new soccer stadium should make Houston very Manhattan-like.
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/20/07 05:12 AM |
19 November 2007
Red light cameras get a mixed review on safety
Here's a local media outlet that has been keeping track of some red light camera stats: KPRC-2 has been keeping a tally of accident numbers at intersections with red light cameras. After one year, the conclusion is mixed:
We discovered at many intersections the cameras appear to be working.
On the west side, the intersection of Bellaire and Wilcrest had 23 accidents the year before red-light cameras. The year after, there were only 10. That's a 57 percent drop.
At Richmond and Dunvale, there were 16 accidents before red-light cameras. There were just eight after red-light cameras were installed. Accidents dropped 50 percent.
And I-10 east and Uvalde, the accidents went from 10 down to six -- a 40 percent decrease.
"We've seen a dramatic decline," said Houston Mayor Bill White.
White said the city's numbers show the total amount of accidents at all 50 intersections with red light cameras dropped from 529 to 345 this year compared to last year. "That is a dramatic decrease," White said. "It was cut down by a third."
But not all the intersections recorded decreases in accidents:
But we discovered intersections FM 1960 and Tomball Parkway tell a much different story. And it's one the mayor can't explain. There were five accidents at the intersection before red-light cameras and 16 after. That's a 220 percent increase in accidents.
At Gessner and Beechnut in southwest Houston, accidents increased from six to 11 -- up 83 percent.
In Clear Lake, at the intersection of Bay Area Boulevard and El Camino Real, accidents jumped from 16 before red-light cameras to 22 after they were installed. That's a 38 percent increase.
Out of the 18 intersections we tracked, 10 had fewer accidents, seven had more wrecks, and one intersection's accident numbers stayed the same.
Mayor White goes on to say the city has commissioned a study to figure it all out.
The first thing the city should do is make sure all engineering issues are dealt with at these intersections. That could be a big part of the problem, and could be a reason for the dramatic differences in accident rates.
RELATED: Matt Stiles notes on the City Hall blog that red light cameras may not be a "cash cow," after all.
We'll have to wait and see what Houston's numbers look like.
BLOGVERSATION: Houston's Clear Thinkers.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/19/07 08:06 PM |
Some local reporters muff news story comment controversy
Local reporters seem to be having trouble today reporting on the controversy that erupted over a comment left on a Chron.com news story related to the David Temple murder trial.
Here is KHOU-11's Wendell Edwards:
In a brief hearing a man named Robert Fleming testified that he was a blogger.
His boss is on the jury.
He blogged Friday that his boss told him that the jury could have a verdict by the end of the day.
That happened.
The judge, however, said he saw no evidence of jury misconduct.
Here is KTRK-13's Mark Garay:
There was concern about a Chronicle blogger who stated that his boss was on the jury panel and who had predicted a verdict seven hours before the verdict came down.
The blogger took the stand and was identified as Robert Fleming. He did admit to speaking to one of the jurors at the office where he works with the juror at CenterPoint Energy. But he says he only asked the man if he thought he would be back to work soon, to which the juror replied, 'We may be done today.'
And here is KPRC-2's Phil Archer:
Before testimony began in the punishment phase of trial of a man convicted of killing his pregnant wife, the defense attorney filed a motion alleging jury misconduct.
David Temple was convicted Thursday of killing Belinda Temple in their Katy home in 1999.
The claim of juror misconduct was based on a blog entry in the Houston Chronicle on Thursday.
The entry was written by Robert Fleming, a CenterPoint Energy employee whose supervisor is the jury foreman.
Fleming's comment on the blog was in response to a story on final arguments in the case.
"My boss is on the jury," Fleming wrote on Thursday morning. "Thinks they'll have a verdict this afternoon."
The defense was concerned because jury members are prohibited from discussing the case with anyone, including fellow jurors, while testimony is still under way.
Fleming took the stand Monday and indicated there was no real discussion between him and his boss.
"I asked him how long he would be going through the deliberation process and his response was, 'Actually, we could be done today.'"
Judge Doug Shaver denied the defense motion, ruling there was no juror misconduct.
Three different reporters, three similarly inaccurate descriptions.
Here is a primer for folks reporting/editing this story:
The text in question was a COMMENT, not a BLOG ENTRY.
The COMMENT in question was not left in response to a Chron.com BLOG, but to a NEWS STORY.
Mr. Fleming was a COMMENTER on the Chron.com NEWS STORY, not a CHRONICLE BLOGGER.
Cindy George's coverage for the Chronicle actually gets the terminology right. Maybe the other reporters should read her before they continue reporting on that newfangled internet. Substantively, this bit is interesting:
Attorneys for Temple on Friday issued a subpoena to the Houston Chronicle seeking information that would help them identify the reader.
The story did not answer the question of whether her employer provided that information. I've emailed her to ask.
UPDATE: Neither the reporter nor interim reader representative Steve Jetton deigned to answer my email (very professional, folks!), but the story has been updated to include the following:
The Chronicle did not release the identity of REFster.
"We showed up this morning and all of a sudden he was there with a lawyer," DeGuerin said late Monday.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/19/07 01:39 PM |
18 November 2007
This is what happens when yellow-light times are too short
A Dallas TV station timed yellow lights at intersections with red light cameras and found something interesting (via TheNewspaper.com):
The city's second highest revenue producing camera, for example, is located at the intersection of Greenville Avenue and Mockingbird Lane. It issued 9407 tickets worth $705,525 between January 1 and August 31, 2007. At the intersections on Greenville Avenue leadding up to the camera intersection, however, yellows are at least 3.5 or 4.0 seconds in duration, but the ticket producing intersection's yellow stands at just 3.15 seconds. The yellow is .35 seconds shorter than TxDOT's recommended bare minimum.
"For 30 miles per hour, if your yellow time was less than three and a half, you would not be giving that driver enough time to react and brake and stop prior to getting to the intersection," TxDOT Dallas District office transportation engineer supervisor Chris Blain told KDFW.
Sounds like shenanigans! Too bad Dallas doesn't have a Mayor White to guard against such things.
A small change in signal timing can have a great effect on the number of tickets issued. About four out of every five red light camera citations are issued before even a second has elapsed after the light changed to red, according to a report by the California State Auditor. This suggests that most citations are issued to those surprised by a quick-changing signal light.
[snip]
Dallas likewise installed the cameras at locations with existing short yellow times. A total of twenty-one camera intersections in Dallas have yellow times below TxDOT's bare minimum recommended amount. The Texas Transportation Institute study also found that shorter yellows generate a 110 percent jump in the number of tickets, but at the cost of safety. Increasing the yellow one second above the recommended minimum cut crashes by 40 percent.
Maybe one day one of our local news outlets will undertake a yellow-light timing investigation, just to make sure Houston is shenanigan-free.
BLOGVERSATION: Mike McGuff
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/18/07 04:04 PM |
HEC dispatcher scolds 911 caller; city refuses to release tape
It's been awhile since we checked in with the Houston Emergency Center. So, anything new going on?
Two city of Houston Emergency Center dispatchers have been sanctioned over a 911 call that a motorist placed as he was being shot at on the West Loop.
Local 2 Investigates reported that the citywide policy is now being changed because of this call, but city leaders refused to release the tape recording of exactly what happened.
Uh oh.
Former military service member Patrick Fitzgerald dialed 911 as he was being shot at on Loop 610 near Bellaire on the morning of Aug. 28.
[snip]
He complained to the mayor's office that the dispatcher refused to take a description of the car or the gunman who was firing at him. He saw the car speed up the entrance ramp to U.S. 59, but since he was unsure whether the car headed north or south, he said the dispatcher scolded him.
Fitzgerald said, "Because I could not give a direction to the operator, she actually said to me, 'What, you want me to pull resources for this?' I was totally shocked. I was actually furious now at that point."
The city of Houston routinely releases 911 audio recordings, but in this case the tape was kept secret despite a formal Public Information Act request from Local 2 Investigates. The city asserted that the case is still under investigation, so releasing the recording would jeopardize that case.
However, Fitzgerald said he never received a single follow-up phone call from police, and the official offense report that was filed shows absolutely no entries detailing follow-up investigative work.
Nope, nothing new. Just the same old HEC.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/18/07 03:32 PM |
A big welcome back to Houston's newest Bikram Yoga instructor
For the past nine weeks or so, our fine copy editor Cathy has been out of town, immersed in intensive classes with none other than Bikram himself to become a Bikram Yoga instructor.
The training is finally done, and Houston's newest certified Bikram Yoga instructor is back among us.
We're really happy to welcome back our copy editor and favorite Bikram instructor. Well done, Cathy!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/18/07 11:14 AM |
17 November 2007
Better late than never on traffic signal synchronization
The Chronicle's Rad Sallee reports that the city is finally beginning to synchronize traffic signals in a way that makes sense:
In recent years, the lights have changed color simultaneously in stretches several blocks long, a setting adopted to simplify traffic patterns during the Metropolitan Transit Authority's eight-year reconstruction of downtown and Midtown streets.
At the time, city engineers said deteriorating mechanical control boxes and a mix of new and old equipment would have made sequencing difficult.
Motorists responded by speeding to cover as much ground as possible before all the lights turned red. But the now-sequenced lights do not reward the speeder, who will have to slow down or stop at every intersection.
Sequencing makes driving easier and reduces long waits at red lights and their resulting emissions, Wright said.
The sequenced lights extend from Bagby to Chartres and Commerce to Webster — the inner freeway loop.
Wright said the cost of timing them was about $90,000. The program moves next into Midtown and then to north and west Houston, he said.
It was really nice of Sallee to help the administration push off blame for the first round of synchronization that wasn't done quite right. Funny, though, that the Mayor's press release announcing his big synchronization initiative in 2004 didn't mention any of that.
Back in June 2007, city officials seemed to treat Chron columnist Lisa Falkenberg in an exceedingly condescending manner when she raised questions about the city's flawed synchronization efforts. Five months later, it looks like the city is finally conceding her point(s).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/17/07 09:49 PM |
Mayor and Council finally approve Mecom Fountain light replacement
Back in May, the Chronicle reported that Mecom Fountain had been dark for seven months, because brazen thieves stole the lights and nobody in municipal government seemed to care all that much about replacing them.
Finally, six months after that report (and after 13 months of darkness), Mayor White and his Council have acted to replace the lights in Mecom Fountain:
[N]o one’s found the vandal who pulled out all the light fixtures last fall. Now, the Houston City Council has approved the $77,000 it'll take to fix it.
"It's long overdue and one of the great visual icons in the city of Houston,” said Councilman Peter Brown.
[snip]
Houston’s Parks Department says it will take 4 to 6 weeks to install the lights once they’re delivered – so the fountain may remain dark for another few months.
It's embarrassing that vandals were able to darken a city landmark for 13 months (and counting).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/17/07 09:14 PM |
Lawyers subpoena Chronicle for data on a commenter
The Chronicle reports that the newspaper has been subpoenaed for registration information of a commenter who left comments allegedly recounting statements from a juror in an ongoing trial. Here is an excerpt from Peggy O'Hare's reporting:
Attorneys for David Mark Temple issued a subpoena Friday to the Houston Chronicle, seeking information about a reader who suggested a juror inappropriately spoke with people outside the jury room about ongoing deliberations in the former high school football coach's murder trial well before the guilty verdict was announced.
Temple's attorneys are hoping to identify the reader, who claimed his or her boss was on the jury and predicted a verdict would come Thursday afternoon.
The reader, using the screen name "REFster," posted the remark in the "reader comments" section on the Chronicle's Web page about 9 a.m. Thursday — a full seven hours before the jury returned its verdict.
"Psst ... My boss is on the jury. Thinks they'll have a verdict this afternoon," REFster wrote.
[snip]
REFster's remark concerns Temple's attorneys because jurors are forbidden from discussing the case with anyone outside the jury room while the trial is still in progress. Temple's trial is set to resume Monday, when jurors will begin hearing testimony in the punishment phase of the case.
[snip]
The newspaper's management called the situation highly unusual and could not recall any other subpoenas received previously for a reader's Web page registration information. They have not yet decided how to respond to the subpoena.
"We're studying the situation," Chronicle editor Jeff Cohen said.
It will be interesting to see if the Chronicle defends the privacy of its user (and its data), or gives in on the matter.
Personally, I operate under the assumption that much personal information on the internet isn't as "private" as most people think, and act accordingly.
What do you think? Do you expect Chron.com to resist legal efforts to obtain personal data (such as email addresses, age, address, etc.) of registrants? What about this website?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/17/07 04:23 PM |
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