17 May 2009
Morales' exaggerations shot down by Chron reporter (updated)
In one of his last stories for the Chronicle, Alan Bernstein reports that mayoral candidate Roy Morales seems to have problems describing his experience accurately:
Houston mayoral candidate Roy Morales told a group of voters in March, “I manage the Head Start program.”
The claim by the retired Air Force lieutenant colonel was untrue, which Morales acknowledged to the Chronicle last week.
[snip]
Since February, Morales has made several campaign assertions about his work experience that appear to inflate his record.
Politicians fib all the time, of course, but generally it is a matter of telling voters what they want to hear on certain issues, as opposed to lying about facts that can easily be checked. If he were a serious candidate, we'd expect the other candidates to give Morales some grief. But he's not, so this episode will probably be more of a comedic matter than an ongoing campaign issue.
UPDATE: Candidate Morales emails the following:
Dear Kevin,
We have talked in the past. The information in the Chronicle was misinformation and incomplete information. We have submitted a response to that inflammatory article. There was no exaggeration on my experience. In fact, I have always down played my credentials. Your blog and others should wait until all of the information is on the table because all you are doing is propagating the defamation of character. I would be willing to talk to you directly and provide you all of the documentation to back up my career. I have posted a document on my Facebook to clearly show my sterling career. As far as Head Start, just go to Harris County Department of Education web site to see that I am the Chairman of that committee.
Roy Morales
If Morales indeed did not acknowledge the alleged untruth (from the Chron's reporting, now bolded in the post), then we would fully expect the area's newspaper of record to run a correction to that effect, and we will be happy to note that correction as well.
BLOGVERSATION: Off the Kuff.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/17/09 03:16 PM |
A little exercise in compare and contrast -- local media edition
The Chronicle's indispensable Metro columnist Rick Casey is unhappy because a local citizen ran for commissioner of Harris County Emergency Services District No. 9, and won the seat. Casey's unhappiness stems from low election turnout, and the local citizen's belief that God led her to run for the position.
Compare that withering column to KPRC-2's recent multi-part investigation of Harris County Emergency Services District No. 1, detailing an exclusive contract the agency had with a private, for-profit helicopter company:
For the last 14 months, a private for-profit PHI helicopter has transported patients to hospitals in and around Houston, working exclusively for the nonprofit government agency Emergency Services District 1.
Anytime ESD 1 paramedics decided a patient needed to fly to a hospital instead of taking a ground ambulance, ESD 1 would dispatch PHI.
In 2007, before ESD 1 signed the contract with PHI, the district only airlifted 12 patients in the entire year. In 2008, after ESD 1 signed the deal with the air medical company, it transported 106 patients. That’s a 783% increase.PHI made its money by directly billing and collecting from the patients it flew.
In one case, an accident victim was transported by helicopter to the hospital, released several hours later having suffered no major injuries, and received a $12,000 bill from the helicopter company. An ambulance bill would have been under $1,000. After Channel 2's investigation, HCESD 1 ended its exclusive contract with the private helicopter company.
When the Chronicle talks about "tenacious, watchdog journalism," it's a safe bet Casey isn't included.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/17/09 01:01 PM |
Mayor White's 2010 budget
Yesterday, one of the Chronicle's two multiple editorial writers praised Mayor White's fiscal brilliance as Houston faces the "harsh economics" of today:
It’s a credit to the term-limited mayor’s management skills that the final spending plan of his six years in office significantly increases funding for public safety, which now accounts for more than half of general fund operating and maintenance expenses, while holding the property tax rate at its current level. White plans to re-evaluate spending levels in September and will issue a draft budget outline for 2011 before leaving office next January.
[snip]
“These are times when hard choices need to be made and we’re not punting any of those choices,” said the mayor in unveiling the proposed budget.
He cautioned that the economic downturn could be lengthy and would require both patience by residents and continuing efforts to reduce city spending.
Inquiring minds want to know if the hard choices include the mayor's plan to retrofit 11 million square feet of city buildings to meet the Clinton Climate Initiative's Energy Efficiency program standards.
Inquiring minds want to know if the hard choices include the mayor's plan to help subsidize a new soccer stadium.
Inquiring minds want to know if the hard choices include cutting back funding for the Houston Art Alliance, which has proven it fritters away taxpayer dollars.
Inquiring minds want to know if the hard choices include a pause in the city's hybrid vehicle-buying program (spend millions of dollars to save hundreds of thousands of dollars, you know).
The point is when times are tough, citizens do face hard choices with their budgets. Rarely do we see government officials make those hard choices -- they'd rather cut back on essential services and infrastructure improvements than actually get rid of non-essential fluff. And whenever possible, they like to sweep some things under the rug completely.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/17/09 12:20 PM |
16 May 2009
SF Chron: HPD Chief Hurtt in running for top police job in San Francisco
News reaches us from the Hearst newspaper in San Francisco that HPD Chief Harold Hurtt is in the running for a position there:
The field of candidates for San Francisco's new police chief has been reduced to a dozen or so semifinalists, including five from inside the department, according to sources with knowledge of the selection process.Inside candidates include Deputy Chief Kevin Cashman, now in charge of patrol; Capt. Greg Suhr, whom Chief Heather Fong recently demoted from deputy chief; Capt. Denis O'Leary, now in charge of the narcotics unit; Capt. Al Casciato of Northern station; and Capt. John Goldberg, now in charge of the department's tactical division.
[snip]
Among the outsiders, the most frequently mentioned candidates are Gascon, San Mateo Police Chief Susan Manheimer, Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt and Pasadena Police Chief Bernard Melekian.
Chief Hurtt has established himself as a true pioneer when it comes to reordering police priorities in Houston, not to mention the innovative use of technology to enhance safety (and municipal revenues), and has managed to pull this off while still maintaining very close ties to Phoenix, where he lived for many years previously.
While the little blog does not endorse political candidates, we are more than happy to endorse HPD Chief Harold Hurtt for a similar post in the great city of San Francisco. We sincerely urge San Francisco to make this hiring as quickly as possible. The truly good ones don't stay on the market for long, and we wouldn't want you to miss your chance!
UPDATE: The local Chron is finally on the case!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/16/09 12:40 PM |
MeMo riles the sisterhood on Supreme Court vacancy
Kyrie "Memo" O'Connor, the Chronicle's erratic features editor, recently offered this perspective on the Supreme Court vacancy:
If Obama appoints a woman to the Supreme Court, everyone will be happy. Two-ninths of the court will seem appropriate, even fair. Most people won't say hey, why aren't there three women, or six, or eight? all of which outcomes would actually be more fair to men than has been the history of the court since its inception.
Now, somebody -- do I see your hand raised, Matty B? -- will point out that something as important as a U.S. Supreme Court opening should go to the very best person, not the very best [fill in group here]. That it's never been handled that way -- certainly not in the past century -- won't persuade a purist. And of course if this were a perfect world the purists would be right.
But until there are eight women on the bench, I'm going to be grumpy.
We don't recall seeing any objections on MeMo's blog when diminutive Chron editor Jeff Cohen laid off the only two women on the editorial board a few weeks ago. Furthermore, we don't recall seeing any objections on MeMo's blog when Dai Huynh, the newspaper's award-winning food writer, was told not to return from maternity leave at that same time, and a male took her place.
What is that bumper-sticker phrase, "Think Globally, Act Locally?" Maybe that advice applies here.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/16/09 11:50 AM |
15 May 2009
Checking in on the Pavilions
Via KHOU-11, one of the developers of Houston Pavilions is optimistic the project can attain 60% occupancy by this summer:
Geoffrey Jones is the co-developer of Houston Pavilions. It’s a three block project near Dallas and Main Street.
”I don’t think anybody could look you in the eye and suggest that they haven’t to some extent been nicked by what’s gone on generally in the economy,” Jones said. “But really when you think about it, the Pavilions are a success story.”
The downtown mixed-use development opened in October of 2008 with House of Blues, XXI Forever and Books-a-Million claiming the anchor positions.
In the next few months, Jones says Lucky Strike Lanes, Yao Restaurant & Bar and Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar will open their doors. Polk Street Pub, Cork Wine Bar and Mia Bella are under construction. III Forks Steakhouse, Great Wraps and Qatar Airways are also renting space in the downtown development.
”There’s not a day that goes by that my partner Bill Denton and I don’t thank our lucky stars that this project is located here,” Jones said. “We don’t believe there’s another city anywhere in the nation where we could experience the same measurement of success we are experiencing here.”
Of course, he thanks his lucky stars the Pavilions is in Houston -- local taxpayers gave generously to his project.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/15/09 05:03 AM |
13 May 2009
Chron revisits downtown HOV lane question
Roughly four years ago, the Chron's transit columnist at the time was asked about downtown HOV/"Diamond" bus and carpool lanes, and basically told readers that the regulations are not enforced, and indeed would be nearly impossible to enforce.
In this week's transit column, the question returns, but the newspaper ran the more "official" answer:
The diamond lanes in downtown Houston and Midtown run along Smith, Louisiana, Milam, Travis, Fannin and San Jacinto. During certain hours—which vary and are marked by signs—only “mass transit vehicles” or vehicles making right turns can use the lanes, said Raequel Roberts, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Any type of peace officer can enforce the law, including Houston police, Metro police and Harris County deputies.
The maximum fine for a violation is $200, says Randy Zamora, senior assistant city attorney. Usually, the ticket is $170 with court costs. Zamora said he couldn’t calculate how many bus lane violations had been issued in the past five years because the tickets are lumped together with violations for “failure to obey an official traffic control device.”
Hmm, our best guess is that the regulations still are not enforced, because they still are nearly impossible to enforce. But if you do get a ticket, please don't blame us. It would hardly be shocking if city officials started working a Downtown HOV/Diamond-Lane Violators revenue stream!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/13/09 10:09 PM |
If it sounds like, looks like, and smells like The Houston Way...
On Monday, the Chronicle ran a followup on the Rivercrest street-closing issue ("Debate reopens over Rivercrest street closures").
In the story, reporter Bradley Olson notes that the debate continues over the closing of the street, and whether any sort of regular policymaking process took place. Mayor White, of course, contends that everything was aboveboard, and The Houston Way played no role at all (we're not sure if he said it in that "aww shucks" voice of his and winked, but we are imagining it might have gone that way).
Still, the bolded phrase in this lonely little graf seems telling:
City officials said that while there was no council discussion or vote on the one-way closure, they took pains to notify residents in both neighborhoods of the proposed changes, including meetings with both groups.
Maybe if such controversial executive moves that seem to favor the politically connected were subject to council discussion and voting, there would be fewer accusations of a lack of due process. Just a thought!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/13/09 09:44 PM |
Chron's Bernstein leaving newspaper to work for Sheriff Garcia
Yesterday, Unca Darrell posted the news that veteran political reporter Alan Bernstein will soon be leaving the Chronicle, to go to work for Sheriff Adrian Garcia. We've since confirmed the news with another knowledgeable source.
It's not clear who will take over Bernstein's duties. We've sent a query to Chron reader rep Jim Newkirk, but since he doesn't answer emails, we are not holding our breath for this to be the exception. Maybe he will post something about it on his blog.
BLOGVERSATION: Hair Balls, Campos Communications, Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/13/09 09:11 PM |
Some area officials resist release of full ethics disclosure forms
On Monday, Texas Watchdog reported on the roadblocks they have faced recently in obtaining full ethics disclosure forms from city and county officials.
Area officials have redacted information related to spouses reported on those forms.
Upon first glance, a reasonable person might think this is only right -- why drag spouses further into the nasty business of politics? However, as anyone familiar with The Houston Way knows, spouses of Houston's movers and shakers are quite often movers and shakers in their own right, and those sorts of connections (and potential benefits that accrue from them) can actually be of great interest to watchdogs (and, of course, the public).
Furthermore, when Texas Watchdog faced similar obstacles in Corpus Christi and objected, the state attorney general instructed Corpus Christi officials that the full disclosure forms were in the public domain, and parts could not be selectively withheld from the public. So the precedent for the release of this public information has been clearly established.
In a followup today, Texas Watchdog reports that County Judge Ed Emmett voluntarily disclosed the information about his wife to the group, after being informed that it had been redacted by county officials.
We would hope that area officials who have withheld this information are prepared to be as forthcoming as Judge Emmett, because it is difficult to imagine the attorney general is going to reverse his previous finding and reward the local stonewallers.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/13/09 10:19 AM |
12 May 2009
Wayne Dolcefino on Probation
David Barron of the Houston Chronicle reports that Channel 13's undercover reporter Wayne Dolcefino pleaded no contest to charges of criminal trespass in Austin County:
"KTRK (Channel 13) reporter Wayne Dolcefino will serve nine months of probation-like supervision after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor trespassing charge in Austin County."
"Dolcefino, 52, was sentenced by Austin County Court at Law Judge Daniel Leedy to deferred adjudication, which means he will not have an official conviction if he successfully completes his unmonitored “community supervision” and pays his $500 fine and $330 court costs.
He was accused of trespassing Jan. 8, 2008, on the Austin County ranch of Houston architect Leroy Hermes, said Austin County Attorney Travis Koehn.
“(Dolcefino) was videotaping at the entrance of Mr. Hermes’ property in Austin County. The gate had a keypad electronic lock, and they messed with that to the point that it opened up, and then went onto the property and videotaped it and then left,” Koehn said."
The reason I highlighted this story was to make a point. We're all for reporters and watchdog groups watching the government and keeping elected and public officials in line; however, for someone to grandstand at other people's misdeeds and then commit one himself seems just a little hypocritical. Police cannot use evidence obtained illegally to make a case against a person suspected of a crime. Police and elected officials are also held to a higher standard of conduct because they are charged with monitoring and judging the public's behavior. So, if news reporters feel it is their mission to expose corruption or misbehavior, that's fine. However, shouldn't they also hold themselves to a high and ethical standard of conduct lest they be nothing more than common hypocrites?
As of 11:31 PM, I couldn't find this story on any of the other news websites, particularly Channel 13's own site. Perhaps the story aired on the evening broadcast. If so, I missed it.
BLOGVERSATION: Hair Balls.
Posted by Jason @ 05/12/09 11:37 PM |
11 May 2009
Chron wants Congressional hand (not handout or bailout)
One of the Chronicle's two editorial writers* weighed in today on the matter of "saving" newspapers.
Cory Crow was as unimpressed as we were, and much more motivated to explain why, so go read him here.
"Newsosaur" Alan Mutter did a nice job last month debunking the notion that somehow Google is to blame for the decline of newspapers, and suggested that editors and publishers need to get to work trying to figure out how to remake their enterprise.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has recently taken some steps in that direction, and seems to be trying hard to re-engage potential readers. The Chronicle, on the other hand, has exorcised a blog from its blogrolls, rolled out this website, cut its delivery area, and shrunk the size of the newspaper. It's hard to see how those moves (or punishing Google, or changing antitrust provisions, or continuing to lay off quality journalists, or having an invisible, unresponsive "reader representative") are going to fix the problems locally.
BLOGVERSATION: Unca Darrell.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/11/09 10:20 PM |
Chron picks up on HPOU sanctuary-directive criticism
Last month, various blogs noted that Houston Police Officers' Union president Gary Blankinship had pointedly urged Mayor White to scrap General Order No. 500-5, the city's sanctuary directive.
James Pinkerton has a lengthy story on that bit of "olds" in today's Chronicle.
When putting together a story like this, a certain type of comment always has to run:
Houston Assistant Police Chief Dan Perales, said the necessity of combating crime in immigrant communities prompted the implementation of General Order 500-5 in 1992. That need has not changed, he said.
“We want to make sure that individuals do come forward to report crimes” without fear of arrest or deportation, Perales said.
If that's true -- and we're not saying it is or is not -- then wouldn't a public debate over the 17-year-old sanctuary directive (put in effect by an unelected police chief) only serve to legitimize it? So why not have that debate, and invite in experts for testimony?
Those questions are not explored in the story.
UPDATE (05-12-09): Charles Kuffner also comes a little late to this topic, with this observation/query:
I really don't know why it is that the Houston Police Officers Union has decided it wants HPD to be different from every other urban police force in the state and start questioning residents about their immigration status.
Really? Okay, we'll take a stab at it -- maybe Blankinship is tired of attending funerals of fellow cops killed by illegal immigrants, and honestly thinks that a less accommodating stance by HPD on illegal immigrants might reduce the number of those funerals he has to attend?
But Blankinship doesn't run a Dem Party politics blog like Kuffner, so he may not understand this policing stuff as well. Fine. Let's have a public discussion at Council, invite in immigration and law-enforcement experts, and sort it out. Why is that so scary to Mayor White?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/11/09 09:38 PM |
City hires BARC director, doesn't want to talk about it
At the end of last week, the Chronicle's Bradley Olson reported that the city's troubled Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care (BARC) is under the supervision of a new director:
Ray Sim, most recently the director of Animal Care and Regulation in Broward County, Fla., has been on the job for two weeks, said Kathy Barton, a spokeswoman for BARC. Barton said he would not be available for an interview until next week. More detail about how he was selected also would not be available until then, she said.
[snip]Sim, a University of Utah graduate who also studied business administration at Brigham Young University and Westminster College, has worked in animal care since at least 2004, according to a copy of his application. He left his previous post in Broward County in January after only three months because, according to his application, county officials anticipated privatizing that facility.
Sim spent one year before that in El Paso as deputy director of animal services and led an animal services department in the Gainesville, Fla., area from 2004 to 2007, he stated on the application. He became a “certified animal welfare administrator” in 2004.
Sim will head an agency that receives far less funding relative to the city’s population compared with Dallas, Austin and San Antonio.
Will head? Apparently he has been heading.
So why all the secrecy about his hiring, especially from an administration whose mayor claims to favor transparency?
On the topic of BARC, here's another sad tale of ineptitude. We wish Mr. Sim luck in cleaning up that mess. He's going to need it.
BLOGVERSATION: Hair Balls.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/11/09 09:02 PM |
10 May 2009
A month in, Chron discovers METRO Solutions cost discrepancies
Way back at the beginning of April, KHOU-11's Jeremy Desel reported on cost discrepancies related to METRO's big expansion plans.
The Examiner News's Mike Reed followed up on the story nearly a week ago.
The Chronicle finally decided the story was worthy of mention this weekend.
So, great for he-says/she-says "reporting." But where is the analysis? The watchdog coverage?
Here's hoping the TV stations or Tom Bazan or Texas Watchdog are up to that task moving forward. Because we are talking about a LOT of money up for grabs, and a guy who doesn't exactly have the best record when it comes to spending the public's money.
UPDATE: Carolyn Feibel emails and explains that her reporting relied upon updated figures she obtained herself (rather than Magaziner's), that she interviewed relevant parties, and that this took some time. She also points out that this took place as she was learning a new beat, and vows that she'll certainly be watching the money.
Those are all fair points, and in retrospect, my question about the analysis was too harsh. Mea culpa! I do think the Chron might have run a filler blurb about this news while Feibel developed the longer story, and that would have been timely, but those are not decisions made by the reporter. It's also worth noting that the newspaper really didn't seem to have much of a contingency plan to cover the beats of reporters it laid off, and the news product has suffered while able reporters scrambled into new roles. That's a management problem, not a reporting problem, and I regret that I am belatedly making that point/clarification. We're looking forward to reading Feibel the METRO Watchdog moving forward!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/10/09 10:53 PM |
Correction adventures from the Chron web team
Here is an interesting correction from the Chron:
In his Friday column, Rick Casey erroneously reported that Susanne Daviscq was the only candidate for commissioner of Harris County Emergency Services District #9 in today’scq election. She is opposed by incumbents Phil Whithamcq and Don Groggcq. The two receiving the most votes will fill two slots on the board.
Back when Casey plagiarized from a Washington Post reporter, he was allowed to "correct" that problem in his own column. Apparently, the standards for Casey corrections are more "flexible" these days, and corrections are made in the corrections section.
One does wish the online corrections would at least spell the names correctly, though.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/10/09 10:30 PM |
The University life IS the life
KTRK-13's Undercover Man Wayne Dolcefino documented this week that the life of state university administrators IS the life.
Having lived the university (low)life through grad school, I became aware of the nice lives led by university administrators during stints in Missouri, Illinois, and dear UH, so these stories were not particularly surprising or shocking. But maybe commenters feel differently. Do tell!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/10/09 10:20 PM |
Thin-skinned mayor reacts to Chron reporting on Rivercrest irregularities
Houston's thin-skinned Mayor can let no negative news story go unchallenged (however rare those negative stories may be).
To that end, here is a letter to the Chronicle from our part-time* mayor:
Rivercrest Drive is a residential road more narrow than current standards, built like an upside-down U with an entrance and exit on Westheimer. The street was developed when the area was “in the country” and public entities later built a thoroughfare, Briar Forest Drive, parallel to San Felipe, cutting right through the east and west segments of Rivercrest. Other thoroughfares running north and south were built to each side of Rivercrest, to protect neighborhoods from cut-through traffic. As West Houston was transformed from prairie to suburb, a limited number of drivers each day — about 100 during rush hours — chose to cut through this neighborhood rather than using the thoroughfares. Residents of Rivercrest sued the city and prevailed in court. That suit was mediated, but the city rejected the recommendation of the mediator to, essentially, close the street because of public objections from other residents. Instead, at an open Council session on May 28, 2008, after an extensive public discussion with many citizens living on Rivercrest and in adjacent neighborhoods, we instructed the Department of Public Works to institute traffic calming measures on Rivercrest that would discourage cut-through traffic while allowing complete public access. The Department of Public Works has also developed alternatives to the standard “speed bumps” which may be used in narrow residential streets where cut-through traffic becomes a particular safety problem. It was clear from the discussion at the public meetings that many residents of Rivercrest believed their street was unsafe unless it was closed to through traffic. It was also clear that some nearby residents objected to any measure taken to reduce cut-through traffic on Rivercrest, although not a single citizen stated that they needed to cut through this neighborhood in order to get someplace. All of these citizens were sincere, and we do not question their motives.
The history of Rivercrest is fairly unusual. It would have been simpler if measures to reduce cut-through traffic were implemented when Briar Forest Drive was built, although there was much less traffic than exists today. The Department of Public Works implemented the “one-way” exit solution after a decision was announced in open public session following input from both the residents and adjacent neighborhoods. The balance between mobility and reducing cut-through traffic may not have been perfect, but it was not done in the “back room” or a result of some kind of corruption.
- Mayor Bill White
Does he REALLY want to go there?
Because all of the relevant Rivercrest traffic documentation can be obtained (and published) by area watchdogs fairly easily. However, chances are good that the contenders for the U.S. Senate seat that has not yet come open have probably already requested those documents now that Mayor White's crack communications staff has highlighted them with this letter. Doh!
BLOGVERSATION: Houston Politics.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/10/09 10:01 PM |
Houston real estate, Chron style
The Chronicle's Nancy Sarnoff reports that former mayor Bob Lanier's River Oaks home is now on the market.
Previously, Sarnoff reported that the swine-flu epidemic might boost Houston's sagging hotel business (er, perhaps not).
The daily newspaper is cutting-edge when it comes to real estate, no?
At least we have Swamplot.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/10/09 09:45 PM |
09 May 2009
Hey! We thought these things were the cause of unworldclassness
The Houston Press' Hairballs blog notes that there's some serious visual blight at Discovery Green:
Nothing says seat belt safety like five oversized inflated balloons in the shape of a cowboy, duck, bull, Godzilla monster and Elvis look-alike.
At least that's what the Texas law enforcement community is hoping, as they unveiled the 24-foot-tall "safety ambassadors" this morning at Discovery Green as part of the 8th annual TxDOT "Click It or Ticket" seat belt safety campaign.
Did TxDOT get permission from Mayor White and City Council?
Oh! Maybe the city is classifying these as "residential lawn decorations." Yeah, that's probably it.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/09/09 11:39 AM |
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