19 March 2008
At least one area crime lab isn't a fiasco...
KHOU-11's Shern-Min Chow reports on one area crime lab that (unlike HPD's crime lab) isn't making news for all the wrong reasons:
The Harris County crime lab is recognized as one of the top labs in the state.
Mike Sutton ran the FBI’s Houston crime scene unit. Often he sent his evidence to a Houston lab.
“I could take it to them — I was certain I would get it back done right in a timely manner,” the 35-year federal agent said.
Not HPD’s beleaguered crime lab, but one a few miles away you probably don’t even know exists.
Harris County has a combined medical examiner and forensics lab that is the largest in Texas after the Department of Public Safety’s state lab.
“It’s one of the top labs in Texas and perhaps even in the U.S.,” Sutton said.
So what is Harris County doing right? Self-policing, certification and state-of-the-art equipment, kind of like on TV.
Like any successful program, you have to be willing to pay for it. Since 2003, Harris County has upped the budget from $10 million to $18 million dollars, nearly doubling the staff to nearly 200 employees.
Mayor White and other municipal leaders balked at even paying for the Bromwich investigation into the problems at the HPD Crime Lab, so we're not holding our breath for a serious commitment of resources to fix its problems. There are trinkets to be pursued, after all.
A Harris County Lawyer had this amusing reaction to the story:
It's worth noting that in all of the DNA scandals caused by the HPD Lab, that Harris County's Lab never ran into the same problems.
Then again, Clarence Bradford wasn't ever the head of the Harris County Lab.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/19/08 10:08 PM |
18 March 2008
Kotkin: Lone Star Rising
A publicist for The American, a journal of ideas affiliated with the American Enterprise Institute, passes along an article about Houston ("Lone Star Rising") by Joel Kotkin in the latest issue. Here's an excerpt that captures Kotkin's thrust:
Given these trends, it seems likely that the next great American city will emerge from the ranks of the opportunity cities. The ultimate winner will come from those that keep up with the infrastructure needed to accommodate their growth. They also will have to deal with issues of education, crime, and creating a skilled workforce— issues that are important anywhere, of course, but can be particularly challenging in a rapidly growing metropolis.
Perhaps the key factor that will influence the rise of the next great American city is the ability to fit into the global economy. An opportunity city with only modest links overseas can certainly grow rapidly, but only an urban center with powerful ties to global commerce is likely to achieve greatness.
Opportunity Cities- U.S.This may be where the case for Houston’s emergence is strongest. From its inception, Houston has been oriented to markets outside the country, first through its exports of timber and cotton and later as a major oil port. Trade and the global connections of the energy industry have also paced the development of internationally minded banks, business-service firms, hotels, and specialized shopping areas. An indicator of Houston’s international reach: it now ranks third among U.S. cities, behind Los Angeles and New York, in the number of consulates located there.
Houston's willingness and ability to assimilate all sorts of people -- along with relatively cheap real estate (in real terms, but also in terms of minimally obtrusive development restrictions) that provides plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs (think of southwest Houston's "Chinatown" or the shops that dot Harwin) and international links via the port and a mostly well-managed international airport with plenty of capacity -- are certainly strengths in an age of global economic competition. So, too, is what has long been a prevailing sentiment/ethos against the sorts of restrictions and government heavy-handedness that choke growth and entrepreneurialism.
And over time, Houston has mostly scored well with one of Kotkin's keys: "Keep[ing] up with the infrastructure needed to accommodate... growth." The question is, are we keeping up well enough now? A city that becomes a murder capital because its leaders ignore for too long a manpower shortage in the police department is failing in terms of keeping up with public safety infrastructure. A city that ignores deteriorating public works infrastructure and flood/drainage improvements may be asking for trouble in this geographical area, in a time of growth. And an area that sinks so much of its public revenues into expensive trinkets like at-grade light rail (which transports few people), unnecessary convention hotels, and various sports facilities may find those commitments hinder the ability to fund the sorts of infrastructure improvements that Kotkin says will be needed for future growth.
These are just a few of the interesting questions raised directly or indirectly by Kotkin's piece. Please offer your thoughts in the comments.
BLOGVERSATION: Houston Strategies, Houston's Clear Thinkers, Off the Kuff, Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/18/08 09:02 AM |
17 March 2008
The "rich experience" of METRO's Frank J. Wilson
If you've nothing else to do Thursday morning, you can go hear METRO President Frank "Procurement Disaster" Wilson talk about the future of mobility:
Frank Wilson, our March guest, will speak about the upcoming plans METRO has to take Houston into the next decade. With METRO making headlines throughout the entire City of Houston, the Starbucks Breakfast Speaker Series is a great time to get the information straight from the top. With rich experience in both the public and private sectors, Mr. Wilson will describe how commuting to Downtown Houston and mobility for the entire region will be transformed by infrastructure investments that go beyond rail and bus.
As Houston continues its dramatic growth, how can mobility improve without adding more lanes of roadway and worsening air pollution? Answers to these questions and others about METRO’s $2 billion expansion program will be addressed.
Houston Downtown Alliance invites all to submit questions to Mr. Wilson at downtownhouston.org.
The actual email address to submit questions is: [email protected]
As for the first bolded part, that's pretty interesting wording: "rich experience in the public and private sectors." Let's take a look back at Wilson's "rich experience" in the public sector:
[...]the Commission found that the procurement unfolded against the backdrop of events and circumstances that evidence the taint of multiple conflicts of interest. On one level, then-NJDOT Commissioner Frank J. Wilson engaged in private-sector employment discussions with companies doing business with the state, including two with corporate links to the procurement, one of which hired Wilson. Though he signed a letter purportedly recusing himself from the procurement process at the time, an examination of the full record suggests he violated the terms of that recusal at a critical stage in the vendor-selection process.
And let's recall Wilson's "rich experience" at hiring cronies to well-paying consultant positions:
Mr. Wilson stipulated in the contract he awarded to Mr. Russo that he would make $1 million over the first two years of his employment with Metro, at a rate of $300 per hour. The contract was amended this past April, where Mr. Wilson bumped up Russo's pay by $10 per hour and increased the contract ceiling to $1.1 million.
So what have Mr. Wilson and Mr. Russo done to earn such pay? Mr. Wilson and Mr. Russo have been together for a very long time, indeed Mr. Russo has been following Mr. Wilson around even before the people up in New Jersey salted them up before sending them down to Houston, much as Mr. Wilson's predecessor Shirley Delibero was before him.
So, by all means, soak up Wilson's "rich experience" as he talks about "investments that go beyond bus and rail." He knows of what he speaks!
RELATED: METRO CEO to Speak at Starbucks Breakfast Series (METRO's blog)
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/17/08 06:47 PM |
This has "revenue stream" written all over it
The Chron's Jennifer Radcliffe notes that a certain mayor who is fond of revenue streams is interested in West U.'s possible school zone cell phone ban:
Houston-area officials are watching West University Place as elected officials there consider banning cell phones in the school zone near the community's lone elementary campus.
The move would put the affluent suburb on the map as the first Houston-area municipality to take a stand against drivers talking on their phones as children travel to and from school. The community is following in the footsteps of Dallas and several North Texas suburbs that have recently approved bans.
"We'll be watching with interest to see what happens," said Linda Clarke, director of education and special projects for Houston Mayor Bill White. "We'll certainly be looking and wanting to know more about it."
I'll bet! The revenue possibilities are exciting.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/17/08 05:02 PM |
16 March 2008
Kirkendall tracks Skilling appeal (updated)
Local blog readers surely know that area attorney Tom Kirkendall's blog frequently offers an alternative perspective on business risk and the criminalization of business, resisting the easy populist critiques that grace so many newspaper pages.
Although he has recently been on a reduced blogging schedule, Kirkendall over the last week and a half has had some excellent blog posts (here, here, and here) on Jeffrey Skilling's appeal to the Fifth Circuit, even going so far as to obtain and post legal documents from the proceedings.
Indeed, it appears that one Chronicle reporter is even making use of Kirkendall's research (without any attribution or even a thank you, as far as we know):
The Chronicle's Kristen Hays, who is the only mainstream media reporter who I know of following this story, has an article on the Skilling brief here (the Chronicle story links to the copy of the Skilling supplemental brief that I bookmarked in Adobe Acrobat to facilitate ease of review; the Skilling supplemental brief on file with the Fifth Circuit is not bookmarked).
It's good that the Chronicle reporter is reading Kirkendall (and getting an alternative perspective on the matter), but the reporter really should be obtaining these primary documents herself, and not simply downloading and posting the ones that Kirkendall obtains (and modifies for easier reading). Even if they're not as important as party pics!
UPDATE (03-17-2008): Chronicle business editor Laura Goldberg emails that reporter Kristen Hays received the PDF copy of the Skilling brief via email from a defense attorney in another Enron case at 6:58 pm Friday, and that it was later posted online with the accompanying story. Goldberg further asserts that the reporter did not see Kirkendall's posting on the matter until Saturday.
UPDATE 2 (03-17-2008): I thanked Goldberg for her clarification, but also suggested that the Chronicle might want to track down the official Fifth Circuit PDF post-haste, as the bookmarking (which is not as comprehensive in the official PDF available from the Fifth Circuit clerk) suggests the PDF posted by the Chronicle is almost certainly the one modified by Kirkendall. In any case, journalists should obtain and work with official, primary documents whenever possible. Had Kirkendall inadvertently changed the brief substantively with Adobe Acrobat, it could have been embarrassing for the newspaper to be working from that copy and not the official one available from the Fifth Circuit clerk.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/16/08 10:44 PM |
They may not have a Pulitzer, but they have their own awards!
In this week's Houston Press, Rich Connelly mocks the local Hearst daily for its full-page ads trumpeting the awards it gave its own people:
The Houston Chronicle offered up a full-page house ad March 7 honoring their award-winning journalists.
"We're Making Headlines, and Much More, For You! Award-Winning Journalism in Print & Online" blared the headline, over a collection of mugshots of the winners.
Winners of the paper's in-house contest, that is. Not the chain-wide Hearst contest, just a competition among the Chronsters. Including Peer Awards, voted by fellow employees.
This all seems one step above reporting on this year's Secret Santa operation, but the Chron thought it deserved a full page of space so readers could "join us in giving this year's recipients a big round of applause."
And so, the four people who put together the gardening blog, we salute you. And are grateful for the opportunity to read about your award.
This is certainly mock-worthy, but in my view it's not nearly as mock-worthy as the statement by the reader rep that party pictures are more important than news on the organization's website.
But that's just my opinion -- what do readers think?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/16/08 10:15 PM |
KTRK's Dolcefino continues looking into Harris County land deals
Last week, KTRK-13's Wayne Dolcefino continued his look into some suspicious Harris County land deals.
This story looks at how Michael Surface, David Blumhardt, and others figured in some really convenient (and profitable) wheeling and dealing for a property to replace Commissioner El Franco Lee's Annex A.
This story looks at another deal by the same cast of characters and a former city councilmember -- one Louis Macey. If that name rings a bell, that would be because Mayor White and most of his Council recently rushed through another profitable deal for Mr. Macey related to a possible soccer stadium for the Dynamo.
Finally, this story wraps up the series by asking if taxpayers got the winning hand out of at least nine deals involving some of the people now indicted by the FBI on other dealings.
The Chronicle also put out a story by Chase Davis on this topic. We're not sure if Davis is continuing an earlier practice of stalking the Undercover Man, but it's nice to see Harris County dealings getting some scrutiny in any case.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/16/08 10:03 PM |
Chron reader rep: Online party pics much more important than actual news!
Here's a telling exchange between a Chronicle reader and the newspaper's little-seen reader representative:
READER: Do Chron editors read this column for suggestions/input? I would just like to mention that I do not enjoy the "party reports" that are featured on the front page. It seems that every day, or several times a day, the headlining online news is a picture of people in bars. I would like to see more news stories features, with articles written by your writers, rather than photo albums of barflies.
READER REP: Sorry, that's not going to happen. Whenever chron.com features one of those party reports, the traffic spikes like crazy. You appear to be one of the few readers that doesn't care for that coverage.
The second-rate newspaper frequently provides intelligent people with all sorts of reasons to mock it, but that crystal-clear statement of the local Hearst daily's online journalistic priorities ranks among the best.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/16/08 09:27 PM |
Pedestrians on freeways
Back in January we discussed the problem of pedestrians who run across freeways, and the terrible outcome that often follows. It's hard to fathom why anyone would do something so dangerous.
This morning, Chron.com carried a story by Dane Schiller and Lise Olsen about the problem. Their story includes statistics, interviews with experts, and a look at the effects on drivers who have hit someone through no fault of their own.
A Houston Chronicle analysis of Houston Police Department reports from 2005 through 2007 shows that 84 people were killed while walking along or across the city's freeways and access roads.
Although pedestrians are dying on the freeway at a rate of about two per month, only a few incidents capture attention, such as the motorcycle officer hit while issuing a ticket or the 12-year-old who was killed, police said, while playing a traffic-dodging game.
Some crossers died seeking shortcuts. Their deaths left some drivers haunted for years.
[snip]
Over the past three years, most of those killed were men trying to cross highways at night, according to the analysis. About half died on the weekend. Four were children or teens; four were over 70. Their average age was around 40.
Based on an inspection of stretches of highways with multiple deaths, many victims try to cross where the roadways are level with feeder roads.
And this afternoon there's a new story on Chron.com -- a pedestrian was killed on the North Freeway today at about 2 p.m.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/16/08 03:24 PM |
14 March 2008
Antone's "neighborhood" prototype opens with wrong neighborhood name
The Chronicle runs some free PR for the company that now owns Ninfa's on Navigation and Antone's:
LEGACY Restaurants may be a new Houston company, but its businesses are familiar to almost everyone in town: Ninfa's on Navigation and Antone's.
That's why, as the company goes about making its mark on the two — creating a whole new concept based on the original Antone's, while freshening the menu and making other minor changes at Ninfa's — it is striving to maintain the character of the two local icons.
Ninfa's on Navigation, in particular, is a beloved landmark that is much like it was when it opened in 1973, so "the whole trick is to preserve and enhance it without changing it," said Chris Harter, Legacy's president and CEO.
With Antone's, the goal will be to modernize it while bringing back its original vision.
Some Houstonians can recall the original Antone's Import Co. on Taft near downtown. When Jalal Antone opened in 1962, he stocked it with gourmet Mediterranean imports. It was like a mini Central Market.
The original store is gone and the four Antone's sites that Legacy owns, to varying degrees, are less like gourmet markets and more like sandwich shops.
To return it to its gourmet market roots, Harter, former president of Chicago-based Levy Restaurants, hired chefs Philippe Schmit and Alex Padilla to come up with a fast-casual Mediterranean market-themed concept.
Schmit, who was the creative force behind Bistro Moderne, is Legacy's executive chef and culinary director. Padilla, developer of three restaurants in California, is its corporate chef.
The prototype, which opens Friday, is Antone's Market & River Oaks Cafe at 2311 W. Alabama. All future Antone's will match that format, but their names will vary to reflect the neighborhood.
That all sounds very exciting and well researched and focus-grouped and all, except for one minor matter: 2311 W. Alabama is not in River Oaks, but in Upper Kirby.
But hey, why let facts get in the way of good "neighborhood" marketing?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/14/08 11:34 PM |
Councilmembers beg kids not to paint things; KPRC reports graffiti "crackdown"
KPRC-2 is reporting that the city of Houston is "cracking down" on graffiti:
The city of Houston is cracking down on graffiti during spring break, KPRC Local 2 reported Friday.
Houston police will be out in full force to make sure there is no vandalism.
There is normally an increase of graffiti during spring break, officials said.
"Please enjoy spring break," city councilwoman Sue Lovell said. "Please use your talents in a productive way. Please don't go about our city putting graffiti on buildings without permission that will cost us millions of dollars."
Councilman James Rodriguez warned students that painting graffiti is a crime.
"Read a book. Get a sketchpad if you feel the need to draw," he said. "Definitely do not go out and vandalize public property. It's a serious offense and we're going to be out there in full force this week enforcing our laws."
A "crackdown" is two councilmembers begging kids not to paint things?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/14/08 10:18 PM |
Nothing like a decisive opening editorial paragraph...
The Chronicle Editorial Board, which is tasked with producing a whopping two editorials per day, came up with this winner of an opening paragraph today:
If Houston's air is to be cleaned and made safe to breathe, industry and government must work together. In some instances industry and government are working together, but toward the opposite end.
And that incoherence would be the intelligent reader's cue to stop reading.
Do any sections of the Chronicle have editors these days?
(Hat tip to Cory Crow for spotting this latest Chronsense).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/14/08 10:12 PM |
12 March 2008
Chron: Perry close to naming Magidson as Harris County DA (updated)
Earlier today, the Chronicle's Allan Turner and Peggy O'Hare reported that Gov. Rick Perry was close to naming an interim Harris County District Attorney.
Tonight, Alan Bernstein and Clay Robison are reporting a name, along with the hard-hitting "news analysis" you expect from Houston's leading information source:
Gov. Rick Perry plans to name Kenneth Magidson, an assistant U.S. attorney in Houston, as the new Harris County district attorney, once he gets approval from the U.S. Department of Justice, a source close to the process said today.
It wasn't known when that approval would be received.
Magidson was waiting to get an assurance from the Justice Department that he would get his job back after a district attorney is elected in November, the source said.
Magidson would not comment about the appointment today.
He would succeed Chuck Rosenthal, who resigned under pressure earlier this year amid a controversy over e-mails sent on his county computer.
Magidson, 59, was a Harris County assistant district attorney in the early 1980s and became an assistant U.S. attorney in Houston by 1985. His wife Anita is a former administrator of a state felony court.
He has a Northern accent and frequently comes across as nonchalant.
That little bit of useless editorializing suggests that he didn't return some self-important reporter's phone call at some point in the past (maybe even from one of the reporters who wrote this story!).
That possibility alone is enough for us to be optimistic about this appointment!
UPDATE (03-14-2008): KHOU-11 just sent out an email news blast that Gov. Perry has officially named Magidson to the post. As of 11:23 am, the lead story on Chron.com is a promo for a Lost chat.
BLOGVERSATION: Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/12/08 09:04 PM |
Working hard to find that local angle
KHOU-11's Leigh Frillici drew the short straw in the newsroom today:
Finding high-price call girls in Houston
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/12/08 07:33 PM |
New home for HPD's Mounted Patrol
Not everyone is happy with the new location currently under construction for HPD's Mounted Patrol (via KHOU-11):
When they’re not on patrol, the 37 horses in HPD’s Mounted Patrol unit live in Memorial Park.
The area is cramped says Lt. Randy Wallace.
It’s also muddy, there’s no grass, and there isn’t much for the horses to do.
“What we have here is just the bare basics,” said Lt. Wallace.
It is three acres surrounded by heavy traffic, but very close to some of the parks the horses patrol.
The new, $7 million facility will have 46 stalls.
It’s five times larger with room to run.
The catch is it’s in the county, not the city.
Crews are already clearing the land along Little York and it was only when this work started that Frank Watson noticed. He opposes the new location. “For four years now they knew about it but they didn’t tell us about it.”
The new patrol headquarters is technically just outside Houston city limits—so the city didn’t have to hold a public hearing.
“And it will cripple any kind of economic growth we have in mind,” said Watson.
I'm not sure I understand why having the Mounted Patrol as a neighbor would cripple surrounding growth, but regardless, there are benefits to choosing a county location -- fewer building restrictions, and the land was probably cheaper. Plus, the horses clearly need a better home.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/12/08 06:00 AM |
Harris County posts restaurant inspections online
Following up on what the city of Houston did a year or so ago (thanks to some prodding by KHOU-11), KHOU reports Harris County will now be posting health department restaurant inspections online as well:
Now you can find the reports on the almost 6,300 retail food establishments in unincorporated Harris County and the 20 smaller cities in which HCPHES conducts food inspections.
Each restaurant is inspected one to six times a year.
Dr. Herminia Palacio, Executive Director of HCPHES, said, “While an inspection is simply a snapshot of the conditions of a food establishment at a particular point in time, we are excited about bringing this capability to Harris County residents. This new service will help them make informed choices about a food establishment prior to dining there.”
Here’s how it works “0” means no violations
Each violation is worth a number of demerits.
So, the higher your score, the more problems or violations a restaurant has.
The county says a score of more than 20 is a problem. “If the situation is really bad we have the ability to go get a court injunction or to commence the process of either suspending or revoking the permit of an establishment,” said one county worker.
Here's the link to the county's page where you can search inspections.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/12/08 05:09 AM |
11 March 2008
Danger Train art
METRO would like to invite you to view art for its future light rail lines:
Artistic themes designed to represent neighborhoods around Metro's future light rail stations will remain on display for public comment through March 18.
Metro has chosen artists for the project, similar to the art on the Red Line boarding platforms, and last year exhibited some of their ideas for initial comment. The artists have refined their proposals and the results have been on display since Feb. 28 at each corridor's office, said Metropolitan Transit Authority spokeswoman Sandra Salazar. "Evenings with the Artists" also are scheduled at each office:
•North: 2613 Fulton, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. tonight.
•Southeast: Palm Center, 5330 Griggs. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday.
•Uptown: Hilton Houston Post Oak, 2001 Post Oak Blvd., 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday.
•East End: 6215 Harrisburg, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. tonight.
An artist's rendering of a Danger Train crash would be most appropriate.
UPDATE: As commenter "Buffalo" Bob Speedway notes, the linked photo above is of the one fatality that has ocurred on the light rail line. That was not intentional, and I do apologize.
RELATED: METRO Solutions Public Art Program hosts evenings with the artists (METRO press release)
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/11/08 07:02 PM |
Doctor Councilwoman Congresswoman goes to Washington (cont'd)
Matt Bramanti spots an interesting post about the excellent (albeit brief) D.C. adventure of Doctor-former-Congresswoman Shelley Sekula Gibbs on Politico's Shenanigan's blog. This part amused us:
Here's a nice example of Gibbs' style: She left a message for a staffer to return the call of “Doctor Councilwoman Congresswoman Shelley Sekula Gibbs.”“Few Members of Congress, over the course of long careers, have been able to completely alienate their colleagues and to absolutely make a mockery of their own service, something she accomplished in a couple of weeks," riffed the insider.
Here on the little blog, we started referring to her with the title "Doctor-[Political Office]" some time ago, as a way of gently mocking the fact that she frequently liked to remind Council colleagues of her medical degree with public putdowns such as, "Well, you didn't go to medical school, so you might not know [details about some topic]."
We think maybe she didn't understand that the multiple titles were meant as a joke.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/11/08 08:43 AM |
A new ordinance will put an end to convenience store crime
This weekend's news included the sad story of a convenience store owner who was murdered in northwest Houston:
Family and friends hung red and white carnations on the door of the Independence Heights store that Moses operated for about 35 years.
"He gave his heart and soul to this community," said Moses' 23-year-old grandson Cris Moses. "He could have turned his back on this community many times and he didn't."
Known as "Mr. Joe" to the community, Moses was a giving man and a devout member of the Bella Vista Baptist Church, Cris Moses said.
"If you needed groceries, money, prayers, he gave it to you," he said. "He gave you whatever he could."
Independence Heights Civic Club President John Branch, 47, said Moses supported his community and would have given anyone the shirt off his back.
"It was just a senseless killing of a neighborhood hero," Branch said.
Yesterday, a Houston City Council committee sprung into action, approving a new ordinance:
On Monday, the Houston City Council Public Safety committee took the next step in getting a new law on the books.
“I think this is a great opportunity. It’s going to resolve a lot of problems,” said Councilmember Adrian Garcia.
The ordinance requires every convenience store owner to register their business. The process would be free and each worker must go through safety training. There must also be at least two color surveillance cameras inside the store.
The key word is visibility.
That’s something, police say, that wasn’t evident in Moses’ shop.
They say that in addition to blurred windows, the surveillance cameras weren’t working on Saturday.
Would working cameras have made a difference? No one knows, but they could have helped.
Psssst, Councilman Garcia! You know what would really resolve a lot of problems? More Houston police officers!
How many times have we seen camera footage on the evening news of a robbery taking place in a convenience store? Do the bad guys look as though they are afraid of the cameras? Nooooo. Cameras are reactionary. Cameras can help identify a bad guy after the crime has already occurred.
A visible police presence, with routine patrols, on the other hand, is a deterrent.
The city really should focus on making the job of being a Houston police officer more inviting. The signing bonus was a step in the right direction, but how about addressing the starting pay gap, and making sure requirements are common sense: Can former military folks without a college degree sign up? Is the no-facial-hair policy really necessary?
It's all about priorities.
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/11/08 05:21 AM |
10 March 2008
Chron: Train driver who smashed bicyclist had permission
The Chronicle's Rad Sallee has the following update today on that bicyclist who was rammed by a Danger Train that ran a stop signal:
The driver of a light rail train that struck a cyclist in the Texas Medical Center had received permission to pass with caution through a track signal that warns not to proceed, according to documents on the Feb. 8 accident.
[snip]
Metro previously said the accident was preventable and that the train operator received a five-day suspension and 40 hours of retraining. Metro also released a video that shows the train moving forward while a horizontal bar signal, similar to a red light for motorists, is visible ahead.
The police report quotes Granderson: "I was told to go through the horizontal bar, and as I was passing the crosswalk, a lady on a bicycle rolled out in front of me."
A report on her disciplinary action confirms that Granderson "had been given authorization to pass horizontal bar signals as needed, due to an existing emergency situation."
Metro has said there was an earlier accident on the line that had delayed Granderson's train and others.
"She sounded her gong and proceeded southbound," the report says. "A bicyclist entered the path of the train and Operator Granderson was unable to stop short of making contact."
Since the accident, it says, she has been "counseled regarding the importance of proceeding cautiously" when authorized to go through a bar signal.
Training reports as late as Feb. 22 grade her as satisfactorily performing supervised runs on the line.
That column raises at least as many questions as it answers.
At a newspaper with editors, an editor might have insisted that the following questions actually be answered:
1) Did the earlier accident on the line cause signal malfunctions that contributed to this accident? 2) Did the earlier accident on the line lead METRO to disregard safety in order to try to "make up" for delays? 3) WHO gave the train operator the order to go through the horizontal stop signal? 4) Were any personnel assigned to stations and traffic intersections to help train operators monitor potential safety issues with the train disregarding the horizontal stop signals? 5) Do the safety issues raised by this preventable accident caution against building even more at-grade rail lines in the middle of busy pedestrian/traffic corridors?
Sadly, the Chronicle doesn't seem to have any editors these days, and reporters rarely venture into territory that might be critical of METRO, so those questions went unanswered in this column.
We looked to the METRO blog today hoping to see some elaboration/spin on these issues, but instead, METRO's expensive blogger has a features-style post about a thirteen-year-old who really likes METRO.
Dwight Silverman should sign that kid up as a featured Chron transit blogger. He'd be a perfect (uncritical) fit for the local Hearst daily and its featured blogger stable!
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/10/08 09:46 PM |
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