Best of Texas Blogs: Deer Park. Pasadena, La Porte

Severe weather expected today in Houston area

2012-01-25T07:24:00.001-08:00

KRPC: You can see a wall of heavy rain," KPRC Local 2 meteorologist Anthony Yanez. "From 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock is the time to watch for these dangerous storms."

"Do not take these warnings lightly. Typically, whenever we get these and see a pattern like we had this morning, we'll see a handful of tornadoes," Yanez said.

Gusty winds and scattered showers moved through the area at 2 a.m., knocking out power to 30,000 CenterPoint Energy customers. As of 6:30 a.m., approximately 18,000 people remained without electricity.

"Earlier this morning, we had wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph," Yanez said. "That's what knocked down some of those trees and power lines. We could still see some 60 mph straight-line winds, hail and lots of lightning."

A low-pressure system is responsible for strong storms in central and northern Texas, which are expected to drench the Houston area most of the day.

"There's a couple of lines that we're tracking. The strongest one will arrive in Houston around noon. It's a concern for this morning until early afternoon. The radar is picking up a lot of twisting winds," Yanez said. "It's going to be wet from 8 o'clock all the way through 2 o'clock. By 5 p.m., this storm system will be in our eastern counties."

Yanez said south of Interstate 10 is not expected to see the strongest storms.

"It's a lot more scattered and not as well put together," Yanez said.

Power outages caused problems for some southwest Houston businesses.

Whataburger on the Southwest Freeway near Weslayan had to turn away customers when employees could not prepare food for the morning rush.

"Their lights just came back on (at 6 a.m.), but they weren't ready to serve yet," customer Carol Bennett said.

Many Houstonians were worried about flooding after severe weather left its mark on Jan. 9.

Houston firefighters performed about 140 water rescues when people became stranded in high water.

Officials warned drivers to "turn around, not drown" if they approached rising water.

Flooding is the most common hazard in Houston and many times, individuals are not able to judge the depths of water along roadways and find themselves in perilous conditions.

Officials said 6 inches of water can cause tires to lose traction and begin to slide, and 12 inches of water can float many cars. Two feet of rushing water will carry off pickup trucks, SUVs and most other vehicles.

Water across a roadway may hide a missing segment of road or a missing bridge, officials said.

In flash floods, waters rise so rapidly they may be far deeper by the time you are halfway across, trapping you in your vehicle.

Be especially cautious at night, when it's even more difficult to gauge the amount of water in a roadway.

The safest option is to simply avoid driving over water and find an alternate, safer route, or wait until the danger has passed.

Rare treat: Houstonians can watch as Space Station crosses Moon

2012-01-04T11:14:00.001-08:00

A slice of Houston will have a chance to view a rare treat this evening.

Not only will the International Space Station make an incredibly bright, six-minute track across the sky tonight, some observers will be able to see the orbital laboratory blink across the moon.

Beginning at 6:28 p.m. the station will rise above the northwest horizon in Houston, and disappear just above the southeast horizon some six minutes later. Skies are forecast to be partly cloudy.

Along this path, for some parts of Houston all the way to Galveston, the station’s track will bring it across the face of the moon.

The following map, made by Steve Clayworth of Observable Universe, shows the approximate area from which this will be visible.

Houston ship channel shut due to collision

2011-12-13T14:23:00.000-08:00

By Bruce Nichols

HOUSTON (Reuters) - The Houston Ship Channel, the busiest U.S. petrochemical port, was shut indefinitely on Tuesday after two vessels collided in heavy fog, a Coast Guard spokesman said.

There were no injuries or fires after a tanker and a cargo vessel collided at about 8 a.m. CST near the Texas City Dike, which is in the lower end of the channel between Galveston and Texas City.

There were no oil or chemicals spilled during the collision on the 53-mile (85-km) waterway that routes vessels from the Gulf of Mexico to the huge complex of refineries in Houston and Texas City, a Coast Guard spokesman said.

The tanker was believed to be carrying the chemical acetone, a cleaning solvent, the spokesman said. It was not known what the cargo vessel was carrying.

The vessels involved were the tanker Charleston and the cargo vessel Harvest Sun, both about 50,000 tons dead weight and about 600 feet long, the Coast Guard said.

The Charleston was northbound, headed to Houston. The Harvest Sun was southbound, headed from Houston to Texas City, the Coast guard said.

Both vessels anchored safely outside the channel, awaiting investigators, the spokesman said.

Houston Pilots had stopped boarding vessels due to the fog prior to the accident, the spokesman said, and it was unclear when the fog would lift or boarding would resume.

Houston refineries along the ship channel are Lyondell Basell's 268,000 barrel-per-day refinery, Pasadena Refining's 100,000-bpd refinery, Valero Energy Corp's (VLO.N) 83,000-bpd refinery and Royal Dutch Shell's (RDSa.L) joint-venture 327,000 bpd refinery in Deer Park.

Exxon Mobil Corp's 560,640-bpd refinery in Baytown, the country's largest, also receives crude via the waterway.

The refineries in Texas City supplied by the ship channel are BP Plc.'s 437,080-bpd refinery, Valero's 214,000-bpd refinery and Marathon Petroleum Corp.'s 76,000-bpd refinery.

(Editing by Chris Baltimore and Andrea Evans)

Widow of Navy Seal searches for lost wedding ring ...

2011-10-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

A Navy SEAL widow traveling through Houston lost her late husband’s wedding ring and has launched a campaign to try to retrieve it.

Kimberly Vaughn lost the ring Saturday, somewhere between a Super 8 in Deer Park, a Thrifty rental car and George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

She describes the ordeal on a Facebook page that already has more than 4,000 fans:

Aaron Vaughn (US Navy SEAL) was Killed in Action in Afghanistan on August 6th, 2011. I (Kimberly) wore his wedding band as a constant reminder of our love. Unfortunately I lost it on October 1st while traveling from Houston, TX (Houston George Bush Intercontinental airport) through the Charlotte, NC airport on my way back to Washington DC. Hopefully someone will find it?!

My path of mayhem… Saturday morning, October 1st at 8:30am I left the Super 8 hotel in Deer Park, TX and then returned a rental car (Orange colored Kia Soul) to IAH from Thrifty Rental car.

I checked in for US Airways flight 1864 out of IAH (Houston George Bush Intercontinental) and then went through security boarding my flight at gate A19. I sat in seat 18E of flight 1864.

In Charlotte I switched planes boarding US Airways flight 1327 to DCA (Washington’s Reagan Airport) at gate C13. I did stop at a women’s restroom … hopefully it did not slip off my hand when I washed/dried them… Then a quick stop at TCBY and finally boarded at gate C13. I sat in seat 10A when the horrible realization hit me… I HAD LOST MY HUSBAND’S WEDDING BAND! A flight attendant took every step to help me find it aboard, but to no avail (even dismantling my seat to check every crevice!)

IF YOU HAVE SEEN OR FOUND MY PRECIOUS MEMENTO, PLEASE CONTACT ME, KIMBERLY VAUGHN AT NavySEALring@gmail.com

Deer Park woman killed by alleged DWI.

2011-10-05T08:11:00.000-07:00

THE CHRON:

A car struck and killed a Deer Park woman and seriously injured a Cleveland man walking along the Galveston seawall before rolling onto the beach, police said.

Amanda Medlock, 34, was pronounced dead at the scene and Vincent Jeffus, 36, was taken to the University of Texas Medical Branch emergency room where he was in serious condition, Galveston police spokesman Cpt. Jeff Heyse said.

The driver of the 2006 Lincoln Zephyr, Felix Dominic Garza, 29 was charged with driving while intoxicated, manslaughter and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

READ MORE HERE AT THE CHRON

Bastrop is burning ...

2011-09-06T10:03:00.001-07:00

BASTROP

- The most destructive wildfire on record in Texas showed no signs of slowing down Monday, destroying 25,000 acres in Bastrop County and 476 homes, more houses than any single wildfire before and more than all other fires this year combined, according to the Texas Forest Service.

With more than 60 new wildfires raging across the state, Gov. Rick Perry left the campaign trail Monday in South Carolina to address the public and organize requests for more federal aid.

Closer to Houston, a fire in Magnolia burned 20 homes and more than 1,600 acres, and was threatening subdivisions in Montgomery and Grimes counties late Monday. It had moved southwest into Waller County last Monday.

It was one of several fires to hit the area, straining state and local resources as officials focused on the most dangerous blazes. One firefighter was injured and one fire engine burned in blazes in the Magnolia area, said Lt. Dan Norris, spokesman for the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.

Authorities did not yet know how much of the most dangerous fire had been contained Monday, but planned to continue fighting it "as long as necessary," Norris said.

Strong winds and dry conditions fanned the flames and aided the blaze's rapid growth, forcing the evacuation of more than 150 homes. Montgomery County officials were encouraging evacuations from the intersection of FM 1774 and FM 1488, about 42 miles northwest of Houston, up to the Grimes County line, an official said.

Magnolia fire

The Magnolia fire, located off FM 1774 and FM 1488, jumped FM 1488 late Monday and forced further evacuations, although some families were being allowed back to their homes. The Magnolia Independent School District canceled classes today because of the fires. Evacuation shelters were being set up throughout the area, including at Magnolia High School.

Another fire in the area had burned 100 acres and was 80 percent contained, Norris said. It had destroyed one structure and caused no injuries after 50 homes were evacuated.

A fire covering about 100 acres was burning in Oak Ridge North late Monday.

A fire near Nacogdoches that started Sunday night raged to 300 acres Monday and forced 60 families to evacuate their homes, said Ralph Cullom, a spokesman for the Texas Forrest Service. That fires grew with strong gusts of winds and fed off of dry conditions on the ground.

"This drought we're having is just unprecedented," Cullom said.

No injuries have been reported in Bastrop, but two people were reported killed in a North Texas fire Monday. A woman and her 18-month-old child died when a fast-moving fire near Gladewater, east of Dallas, set their mobile home on fire and they were unable to escape.

The Bastrop County Complex Fire, pushed by strong winds and fed by plenty of dry grasses, shrubs and trees, steadily moved south Monday and expanded throughout the day. It jumped the Colorado River twice.

"We will be working days on end," said Mike Fisher, the Bastrop County Emergency Management Coordinator. "The fire is so dynamic we really have no idea where it is."

'Lives at stake'

Perry said the wildfire burning in the central part of the state is "as mean looking" as he's ever seen.

Don't be alarmed - it's only an exercise ...Deer Park!

2011-09-02T11:29:00.000-07:00

Residents of Deer Park may see more emergency response personnel and vehicles than normal next week, but it’s only a drill hosted by Deer Park’s Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) to test and practice the coordination and response needed to mitigate large-scale incidents. The drill is scheduled from 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 7 through 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9.
The full-scale exercise will simulate a hypothetical oil spill from a ruptured pipeline.

In the drill scenario, oil will flow through the streets of Deer Park and into the Houston Ship Channel. The drill will test the ability of multiple agencies and organizations to stop and clean up the spill. No actual oil will be spilled during the drill, but emergency responders will be on-scene and drill activities may be visible to passing motorists and community residents.

“Drills and exercises are important tools to test the ability of the city and industry to work together,” said Deer Park City Manager and LEPC Chairman Jay Stokes. “Drills allow us to evaluate our emergency response plans, personnel, and equipment, and be better prepared to respond to any real incident in the future.”

The city of Deer Park will activate its Emergency Operations Center to test communications and coordination between emergency responders on-scene and city management in the EOC. “We must be able to react quickly and communicate effectively with one another,” said Sam Pipkin, emergency management coordinator for the city of Deer Park. “We will also establish a Joint Information Center to simulate communications with our community residents, neighboring cities, and local news media.”

More than 100 responders from several different organizations plan to participate in the 3-day exercise, including Deer Park Emergency Management, Deer Park Volunteer Fire Department, Deer Park Police Department, Harris County, Texas General Land Office, U.S. Coast Guard, Channel Industries Mutual Aid and area industry representatives.

Deer Park LEPC is composed of community, government and industry representatives who develop an Emergency Response Plan in case of a chemical release impacts the city of Deer Park. The LEPC has developed community education and warning systems such as the AM 530 radio station, telephone notification systems, and outside alarms or sirens throughout the city. The Deer Park LEPC also developed the Wally Wise Guy turtle mascot to teach school children and their parents how to Shelter In Place during a chemical emergency.

Driest year on record plagues Texas ...

2011-08-29T08:36:00.001-07:00

VOA: Weather forecasters and agriculture experts in the southwestern U.S. state of Texas say there is no relief in sight for what already is the worst drought year on record. The searing heat and dry conditions have caused devastating wildfires in the western part of the large state and led to crop losses, cattle deaths and water rationing in areas of east Texas that are normally wet at this time of year.

Driving through the countryside northwest of Houston, one sees dried up fields, dying trees and livestock ponds that are not much more than a puddles of fetid, algae-covered water. In some towns, farmers' markets have been cancelled because local growers have little to offer. Those with wells for irrigation are struggling with the high cost of fuel to run their pumps.

Debbie Cross, who operates a farmers' market near Cypress, Texas, says people are becoming discouraged by the lack of rain and the high temperatures, which are around 40 degrees most days.

“The drought is hurting everything. It is hurting all the crops, the cattle, the hay. There is no grass. The chickens are miserable. I mean everybody is just miserable. We need water,” Cross said.

Cross says local farmers are unable to supply much fruit and vegetables and that she is getting by with produce trucked in from other states where conditions are better.

“We are getting it from the local southern states and southwestern states are kicking in -- Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana, Oklahoma. Everybody knows that the Texas market is a great consumer market, so they are helping out a lot here,” Cross said.
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One of the hardest hit agricultural sectors is livestock. Texas is the biggest cattle producer in the United States and ships beef to many foreign markets. Earlier this year, ranchers endured one of the worst winters on record, with several days of subzero temperatures in a region where freezes are rare. The drought has made it even harder, driving up the cost of hay and leaving some areas so dry that cattle have died of thirst in their pastures.

One rancher who has managed to get through this crisis with most of her stock in fairly good condition is Dorie Damuth, owner of the Flying D ranch near Magnolia, Texas.

Damuth raises prize-winning Texas Longhorns for breeding and she has managed to find hay and enough water to keep them alive. She says she has seen dry spells before, but nothing that compares to this year.

“The drought is something I, as a cattle woman, and all of my fellow cattlemen and cattlewomen have never experienced before. This is probably the 100-year drought, just like you can have a 100-year flood. It is very devastating for all of us ranchers who work so hard to provide beef for our country as well as for around the world,” Damuth said.

In a dried up lake on her property, there is a Longhorn skull sitting on top of cracked earth that is muddy and soft underneath.

“We have had lakes and stock ponds on the ranch that have dried up because of no rain, no rainfall. They will dry down to a little mucky place in the middle that is still wet and the cattle will sometimes go down and try to get water and they can't. And they step into that mucky mud and it is kind of like quicksand, and they can't get out.”

Lately, there have been beautiful fluffy clouds floating over the area. But ranch hand Chris Quinters is not encouraged by them.

“Those are some nice clouds, but it don't look like they are going to bring any rain,” Quinters said.

Local Marine Punished For Fraudulent Recruitment

2011-07-26T14:15:00.001-07:00

Local Marine Punished For Fraudulent Recruitment: MyFoxHOUSTON.com

Mutilated boy thriving - family needs your help.

2011-07-08T09:32:00.000-07:00

Warning: This story involves some graphic and disturbing details.
HOUSTON -- Four years ago the world was horrified by a most unusual case of genital mutilation. The victim was a five-week-old baby boy.

In March of 2007, Holden Gothia’s mother, Katherine Nadal, took a knife and cut off all his private parts. She also cut deeply into his leg.
"His femoral vein was severed and his artery was punctured," said Patches Deshazo, Holden’s paternal aunt who adopted him.

Nadal got 99 years in prison for what she did. She claimed the small family dog was responsible for Holden’s brutal injuries. During trial, it was revealed that she used cocaine and appeared unconcerned in the minutes after she mutilated her baby.

Four years later, Holden is having the best life possible in Deer Park with the only family he has ever known. Not only did he survive the brutal attack, he is thriving.
"Holden is amazing," Deshazo said. He is the baby brother to the family’s three boys, ages 24, 17 and 14.

"He’s got ten times more energy than I do. He wears me out daily," said Parker Deshazo, a 17-year-old high school football player.

Holden doesn’t typically call his adopted brothers by name. Instead he refers to them as, "The Bubbas," collectively and individually, his mom Patches said.
He sat still just long enough for an interview about what he wants to be when he grows up.
"A football player and a Power Ranger and a drummer," Holden said.
He sings too.

"’Standing on the corner.’ That’s Dean Martin," he said. When told that’s an old song, Holden replied, "Well, not for me."

Then he grabbed the reporter’s microphone and started interviewing her and his family members.
"When’s your birthday?" he asked.

"September 16th," one "Bubba" answered. "July 3rd," said another.
Holden sees his biological dad, Camden, on a regular basis. But his mom said he doesn’t know about his biological mother. Patches said when the time comes she will tell him about her, and in an age-appropriate way, tell him what she did to him.

"His story is his story and it’s not gonna’ change no matter how we feel or how badly we want to change it," said Patches. "And so we don’t ever want him to feel shameful. I just feel like it’s going to be healthier for him to just own his story and for him to be really okay with it. "
She said Holden looks at his dad and his brothers and figures the only reason he doesn’t look like them is because he is too young. He thinks his penis and testicles will grow when he is older.

"There is nothing," where they should be, said Patches Deshazo. "There’s just a hole where the urethra meets the surface of the skin and it looks a lot like here," she said, pointing to the inside of her arm, "but with a lot of scar tissue, like a burn victim," she said.
Just before he hits puberty Holden will face extensive and expensive reconstructive surgery, estimated to cost at least half a million dollars.

To help pay for it, strangers, well-wishers, family and friends have donated $300,000 so far.
There was a benefit concert in Lake Charles, Louisiana on June 5. Holden took the stage to thank the crowd and was reluctant to give the mic back, his mom said. He also enjoyed playing a drum solo.
His family has created a website: Heroes for Holden.org for those wishing to show support.

2 killed in single-vehicle wreck in Pasadena

2011-07-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

by khou.com staff
khou.com
Posted on July 3, 2011 at 7:04 PM

PASADENA, Texas – Two people died in a single-vehicle car wreck in Pasadena on Sunday.
Authorities said a car was traveling south in the 8600 block of Red Bluff when for some reason the male driver lost control.

Police said the vehicle rolled over and hit a Centerpoint pole.
Both occupants in the vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene.
No additional details were immediately available.

Texas Local Web Site Blooms into a Flower for the Community

2011-06-15T05:49:00.001-07:00

New exciting things are developing in the Summer of 2011 for ExploreHouston.com

Best Publications wants to welcome the public to this new web business directory and informational mecca for ExploreHouston.com that will continue to be filled with. . . Community Links and Events, Guide Pages for Restaurants, Weddings, Florist, Services, Auto Sales, Entertainment, Real Estate, Eye Care, Dental, Medical, Employment, Shopping! Read a variety of Articles | Forums Topics | Daily Deals | Coupons | Directory Hot Links | Interact Page to Join the Community Fun!

Register with ExploreHouston.com site so you can gain the benefits. User can post Social and Public Events.

Take the opportunity for High School and University Students to announce Sports and School Events, Professional Sports Links and Ticket Information | Post a photo or comment on other people’s Photos, Comment of Articles or Forum Topics | Post a Scan of your Child’s Artwork | Free Classified Postings & Add Your Own

The staff of ExploreHouston wants the community to benefit from the information we can share... as well as encourage you to participate. Send us a comment.

Post your event or Your Organization Benefit in ExploreHouston.com Event section. We want our information to accurate, so we depend on our community to help us stay in touch.

Are you a writer that wants to be published? Got an article? Send it in a word document to info@ExploreHouston.com

Engage! Enjoy! Grow with us!

~ ExploreHouston.com Staff

Pasadena woman charged with rape of 12-year-old boy

2011-06-06T10:01:00.000-07:00

PASADENA, Texas - A Pasadena mother accused of raping her friend's 12-year-old son almost a dozen times is now behind bars. Police arrested Brandi Fuller, 30, in Hitchcock after receiving a tip from Crime Stoppers. The focus now turns toward DNA; there is an allegation the young boy fathered one of Fuller's six children.

Jimbo Cozad always saw kids coming and going from the trailer where Fuller used to live.

"I don't know what was going on in there because that's one of the stipulations I tell my tenants when I rent to them, what goes on in your house keep it because if I hear it I'm going to call police," said the landlord.

Now Cozad wishes he'd paid more attention. It's inside the trailer where police say Fuller began having sex with her friend's son. He was just 12-years-old at the time. The boy said it happened again and again, according to court documents.

"We believe it was at least a couple of years. There were ten to eleven sexual contacts between the defendant and the juvenile," said Amy McCauley, Harris County Assistant District Attorney.

Investigators say Fuller confessed to having sex once with the boy after he forced himself on her. She says she had sex with him because she didn't want to "make a big scene" while others were asleep inside the trailer.

"I don't believe it. I don't. I really don't," said Jennifer Fuller, the suspect's sister.

Jennifer Fuller is helping to care for her sister's six children. The youngest is ten-months-old. Investigators now want to know if the victim fathered that baby. Fuller says the baby's father is actually the victim's older brother.

"I know for a fact this is his, the older son's baby, because I was in the house when my sister was dating the older son and I was there when she took the pregnancy test," said Jennifer Fuller.

Read more: http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/110602-brandi-fuller-arrest#ixzz1OW3WaFGH

Mother Caught; Accused in Rape of Boy: MyFoxHOUSTON.com

Deer Park Boot camp : Exercise prevents strokes

2011-05-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

If you are health-conscious, you know how important our lifestyle is in preventing a host of serious diseases and other medical conditions, including stroke, which is the third leading cause of death right after cancer and heart attacks.

Since May is the Stroke Awareness Month, it is a good time to learn about some preventive measures to protect ourselves from the debilitating “brain attack,” which kills or disables someone in the United States every 45 seconds. Not coincidentally, May is also the High Blood Pressure Education Month, shedding light on this symptom-less condition that can, if left untreated, lead to strokes.

“Stroke happens when a blood clot blocks an artery, interrupting blood flow to the brain,” says Sara Oliver, CPT, owner of Bay Area TX Adventure Boot Camp. “We do know, however, that physical activity helps prevent the formation of blood clots by stimulating circulation.”

While strokes usually happen to people over 55, a disturbing new report recently released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says the incidence of strokes is on the rise among young people, possibly due to the increase in obesity and generally unhealthy lifestyle.
Among controllable and treatable factors that increase a stroke risk are heart disease, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.

The good news, Oliver says, is that many of the stroke-inducing risk factors can be prevented or reduced with simple steps anyone at any age can take– such as a healthy diet and regular exercise.

“Numerous studies indicate that exercise has significant benefits when it comes to reducing the incidence of strokes,” Oliver notes. “Research also shows that people who are physically active before suffering a stroke may have a less severe loss of brain function and recover better than those who did not exercise before. Either way, physical activity is a stroke of luck – no pun intended.”

What workouts are best for stroke prevention?
“Any vigorous and sustained physical activity that tackles each of the risk factors will be beneficial,” Oliver says. “In other words, exercises that raise your heart rate, improve the overall quality of your blood vessels, lower your blood pressure, and reduce or maintain your weight, will be very useful.”

For example:
Brisk walking, jogging or even jumping jacks or jumping rope “will strengthen your cardiovascular system and increase the volume of blood and oxygen that moves through your body.”
Strength training “will reduce your body fat and blood pressure, lower your cholesterol level, and build up your endurance, keeping your heart healthy and strong.”

READ MORE HERE

al Queda possibly targeting oil and gas infrastructure ...

2011-05-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

Washington (CNN) -- The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI have warned police across the United States that al Qaeda has a "continuing interest" in attacking oil and natural gas targets, a department spokesman said Friday.

The warning came as a result of information seized during the May 2 raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, a U.S. official said.
"We are not aware of indications of any specific or imminent terrorist attack plotting against the oil and natural gas sector overseas or in the United States," said Homeland Security spokesman Matthew Chandler.

"However, in 2010 there was continuing interest by members of al Qaeda in targeting oil tankers and commercial oil infrastructure at sea."
Chandler said it is "unclear if any further planning has been conducted" since the middle of last year.

The U.S. official said there's "not a lot of detail" concerning the information, and strikes against the oil infrastructure have "long been part of the al Qaeda playbook." However, the official said, non-Muslim countries were mentioned.
"No specific attack method was identified in 2010 and there was no reference to a specific date or time of the threatened attack. The global marine industry operates under an international convention intended to prevent terrorist incidents from occurring on commercial ships and in port facilities," the official said.

READ THE COMPLETE STORY AT CNN

BEST Publications "Red Book" Celebrates 10th Anniversary

2011-05-16T14:39:00.000-07:00

BEST Publications,LLP started with a small group of seasoned yellow page account representatives, graphic artists and ad productions specialists in July of 2001. 10 years later the company is publishing it's 10th anniversary edition in the Pasadena-Deer Park-La Porte-Baytown area.

The 10th Anniversary edition will contain a helpful community guide section and a complete yellow pages section. The book is scheduled to hit the streets in late May of 2011. The complete book can also be found online at www.ExploreHouston.com and www.ExplorePasadena.com. The Pasadena, Texas yellow pages can also be found on the ExploreHouston i-phone, i-pad and Android app.

Once known as Account Representatives, BEST Publications representatives are now known as Marketing consultants as they are fully trained and knowledgeable on the many different types of marketing available to businesses.

Whether it's Direct mail, e-mail solutions, mobile text marketing, Daily Deals, Internet Yellow Pages, website building, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Integration or Pay Per Click, BEST Publications can design a solution that fits your company. BEST Publications is now poised to be the leader in business marketing solutions for decades to come.

Bus driver charged with sexual assault ...

2011-05-06T06:48:00.000-07:00

Bus driver charged with sex assault

By T.J. Aulds
The Daily News
Published May 5, 2011
DICKINSON — A Deer Park man who worked as a school bus driver for the Dickinson Independent School District was arrested Tuesday on charges he sexually assaulted an underage female family member.

The unidentified girl he is accused of assaulting is not a Dickinson student, officials said.

David Ray Tyler, 54, is charged with continued sexual abuse of a child, Deer Park police said.

Police in Deer Park were tipped to the alleged assault Monday after the girl had been taken to Texas Children’s Hospital.

Police did not confirm the extent of the girl’s injuries.

On Tuesday, Deer Park and Dickinson police arrested Tyler at the Dickinson school district transportation center in the 3300 block of Owens Drive.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE AT GALVESTONDAILYNEWS.COM

Texas City hit with power outages

2011-04-26T07:42:00.000-07:00

TEXAS CITY, Texas, April 26 (UPI) -- Dry weather may be to blame for knocking out power to three refineries and two chemical plants in Texas City, Texas, officials said.

Emergency management officials issued two different shelter-in-place orders overnight after a series of power outages hit the city, The Galveston County (Texas) Daily News reported Tuesday.

The first outage took BP's Texas City refinery and chemical plants offline, prompting the city to declare a level 3 emergency. Dow Chemical also had to shut down because of the lack of power, officials said.

Power went out at the Valero and Marathon Oil refineries, prompting both facilities to activate their flare systems. Texas City Homeland Security Coordinator Bruce Clawson said Marathon had its power situation under control quickly.

Texas City school officials canceled Tuesday classes and residents were advised to stay indoors and turn off their air conditioners.

Officials said a build-up of salt on power line insulators, caused by drought and windy conditions, may have been to blame for the outages.

Read more HERE

Refinery Status: Valero Restarts Port Arthur Hydrocracker

2011-04-11T08:46:00.000-07:00

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

The following table lists unplanned and planned production outages at U.S. refineries as reported by Dow Jones Newswires. The information is compiled from both official and unofficial refining sources and doesn't purport to be a comprehensive list.

Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) restarted the 45,000 barrel-a-day hydrocracker at its Port Arthur, Texas, on April 8, a company spokesman said.

Shell Oil Co.'s refinery in Deer Park, Texas, would attempt to restart the DU2 Unit Crude Column V-5102 during the weekend of April 9 after shutting it down on March 31 because of a light naptha leak, a trader said.

Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) said a small fire caused the shutdown of one of the two crude distillation units at its refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, on April 7.

Alon USA Energy Inc. (ALJ) restarted an FCCU at its 80,000 barrel-a-year refinery in Krotz Spring, La., after a loss of steam put it offline, the company said April 6.

Exxon Mobil Corp.'s (XOM) has resumed normal operations at its 500,000 barrel- a-day Baton Rouge refinery after a completed turnaround at the site's FCCU unit, the company said April 5.

Sunoco Inc. (SUN) is restarting the FCCU and crude distillation units at its Philadelphia refinery, according to government documents made public April 5. The company delayed restarting the FCCU at its refinery in Marcus Hook, Penn., according to a government agency.

Tesoro Corp. (TSO) completed the restart of unspecified units at its 97,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Wilmington, Ca., on April 5 following routine maintenance, a company spokesman said.

LyondellBasell restated the FCCU at its Houston refinery, two traders said on April 1. A Lyondell spokesman did not return calls seeking comment.

BP plc.'s (BP) refinery in Texas City, Texas, is emitting hydrogen sulfide into the air because of a malfunctioning valve, the company said in a government filing made public on April 1.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) said on April l it had restarted unspecified units at its refinery in Torrance, Ca., that had been shut down for unplanned maintenance in early March.

Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) said March 31 it had restarted an alkylation unit at its 72,000 barrel-a-day Texas City refinery that been shut down for repair on March 28.

Alon USA Energy Inc. (ALJ) said March 31 it had restarted its 50,000 barrel-a- day refinery in Paramount, Ca., after a months-long suspension of operations.

Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) reported emissions at its Corpus Christi West Plant starting March 29 resulting from the restart of the plant's units. The company said March 30 that the plant was moving to planned rates.

ConocoPhillips's (COP) Los Angeles refinery took its coking unit down for repair, traders said on March 28. The unit is expected to restart in mid-April, traders said.

BP PLC (BP) will begin about 60 days of scheduled maintenance at Reformer No. 4 and an alkylation unit at its Whiting, Indiana, refinery and the end of March. Separately, planned maintenance at the plant's Pipestill 12 has been delayed by three months; the work was scheduled to begin in November, a person familiar with operations at the refinery said March 25.

ICE busts Deer Park Man for video piracy

2011-03-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

ICE arrests man for allegedly streaming live sporting events online
By Gautham Nagesh

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a Texas man Thursday morning on allegations he operated a website dedicated to illegally streaming copyrighted live sporting events over the Web.

Bryan McCarthy, 32, of Deer Park, Texas, was taken into custody at his home and charged with one count of criminal infringement of copyright. ICE claims McCarthy made more than $90,000 by operating channelsurfer.net, which was seized by federal authorities on Feb. 1 as part of a crackdown on online piracy.

McCarthy allegedly sought to profit by intercepting and then streaming live sporting events, hiding behind the anonymity of the Internet to make a quick buck through what is little more than high-tech thievery," said Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

According to the criminal complaint, channelsurfer.net served as an online portal to pirated webcasts of NFL, NBA, NHL, World Wrestling Entertainment and Ultimate Fighting Championship events. Since its seizure the site has received more than 1.3 million hits.

ICE said McCarthy registered the domain name in December 2005 and ran it out of his home until its seizure. It claims at the time of the seizure the site was one of the most popular illegal streaming content sites on the Web. If convicted, McCarthy faces a maximum of five years in prison.

READ MORE ON THE HILL

Crime alert: Home invaders posing as Cable installer

2011-02-16T07:35:00.000-08:00

DEER PARK, Texas—Crime Stoppers and Deer Park police are seeking the public’s help identifying three suspects in a brazen home invasion.

According to investigators, the suspects – dressed in reflective work vests and hard hats, knocked on the victim’s door in the 1400 block of North Park Ridge around 9 p.m. on February 5th

They told the victim they had information that he’d been stealing cable service and asked him to meet them in the backyard of the home so they could inspect his cable box.

When the victim met the men in the yard, police said he was attacked.
The suspects bound the victim’s hands and feet and took him back into the house.
Police said the suspects ransacked the home, but they only stole a gun.
After they left, the victim was able to free his legs and contact a neighbor, who called 911.

Crime Stoppers will pay up to $5,000 for information leading to the charging or arrest of any suspects in this case. Tips can be made by phone at 713-222-8477 or online at crime-stoppers.org.
Tips can also be sent via text message – just type TIP610 plus your information and send to 274637.

Breaking: Explosions rock Belvieu plant!

2011-02-08T11:48:00.000-08:00

Multiple explosions, fire at Mont Belvieu plant

Credit: AIR 11
A fire at Enterprise Products in Mont Belvieu was burning out of control more than an hour after witnesses heard multiple explosions.

by Michelle Homer / khou.com
khou.com
Posted on February 8, 2011 at 1:05 PM
Updated today at 1:39 PM

MONT BELVIEU, Texas – Several explosions at a Mont Belvieu plant were followed by flames that could be seen from miles around.
The explosions happened at Enterprise Products at 135 Sun Oil Road around 12:25 p.m.

Witnesses reported seeing workers fleeing from the Chambers County plant. Other workers were being told to stay inside.
The company hasn't released any details about injuries. An employee, who didn't want to be identified, said at least one contractor has not been accounted for.

The employee said the explosion happened in a subsection of the plant.
Chambers County officials say there's no known threat to the public at this time. They have not called for evacuations.
State Highway 146 is closed near the plant.
The fire was still burning out of control nearly an hour after it began. The flames could be seen 25 miles away in Houston.

A Houston caller named Pat said she was talking by phone to a relative inside the plant when the first set of explosions happened. There were three more explosions while they were still on the phone. "Anywhere from eight to 11 explosions," according to Pat.

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Controversy surrounds teen beating by Houston police

2011-02-05T18:55:00.001-08:00

(CNN) -- Houston's mayor and police department were on the defensive Friday, two days after graphic video came out showing several police repeatedly kicking and beating a 15-year-old burglary suspect as he lay on the ground.
An internal police investigation of the incident last March led to the firing of seven police officers, said spokesman John Cannon of the Houston police department.

Two successfully appealed and returned to their jobs, said Houston NAACP President D.Z. Cofield.

Five other officers were disciplined in other ways, Cannon said. And a Harris County grand jury indicted four of the officers this summer, based in part on the video.
Harris County District Attorney Patricia Lykos opposed the video becoming public and felt doing so might prejudice potential jurors and force the indicted officers' trials to be moved out of the county.

Quanell X, a local activist, got hold of the surveillance tape showing the scene outside a storage facility and gave it to the media.
He said he had every right to obtain the footage and make it public.

"I will show my people what they deserve to see, and let the public see what you don't want them to see," Quanell X said.
Mayor Annise Parker said the police leadership and city acted properly.

"I resent any implication that we were trying to hide the tape," she said.
After viewing the footage, Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland Jr. fired the seven officers and a grand jury called for misdemeanor charges against four of them in June.

Lykos told reporters Thursday there was not sufficient evidence to pursue more serious charges, such as aggravated assault.
"Without revealing what was presented to the grand jury, in order to have aggravated assault you have to have serious bodily injury or impairment or use of a deadly weapon," she said. "None of that was apparent in this case."

The tape, first shown Wednesday on CNN affiliate WTRK, shows the 15-year-old boy -- being chased by police and falling to the ground after being upended by a moving police car. He then falls face first and places his hands on the ground.

A disciplinary letter from McClelland, dated June 23 and posted online less than two weeks later by CNN affiliate HTRK, says that the boy had his hands behind his head and neck area, in an obvious position of surrender.

Then, the letter adds and the tape shows, Officer Raad Hassan "then ran toward (the boy) and kicked him a total of 15 times," then later kicked him more times in the groin area even after he "was handcuffed and no longer a threat."

READ THE FULL STORY ON CNN

Bay City Substitute Teacher Arrested For Making Death Threats

2011-01-27T11:28:00.001-08:00

by khou.com staff
khou.com
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 11:23 AM
Updated today at 11:23 AM

BAY CITY, Texas – A substitute teacher has been arrested and charged in connection with death threats made to students in Bay City ISD, the Matagorda County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.

Paul Nolen May, 41, was arrested on Wednesday.
He’s charged with 12 counts of making a terroristic threat – all of which are third-degree felonies.

The threats began on December 28 when the district received a hand-written, profanity-laced letter, purportedly from the parent of a student.

In the letter, the sender expressed anger over their child being disciplined at school. The letter detailed new "rules" for the school to follow regarding discipline and threatened to "kill a random student" if the demands were not met.
About a week later, a second threat was sent via text message.

The message, sent from an anonymous source and forwarded among Bay City ISD students, said this: "Hey! Forward this to everyone…1 rule broken, two girls dies at the jr. high and 2 from high school, dnt go! The school will be on lockdown."

It was not clear if May was suspected in both threats. Investigators declined to release any additional information Thursday.

May was being held in the Matagorda County Jail on bonds totaling $240,000.

Michael Jackson's Doctor Clueless

2011-01-05T08:13:00.001-08:00

Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- The pretrial hearing for Dr. Conrad Murray continues Wednesday as a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge decides whether there is "probable cause" to try him on an involuntary manslaughter charge in the death of pop star Michael Jackson.

The hearing, which began Tuesday, is expected to last two or three weeks, with 20 to 30 witnesses testifying.
On Tuesday, Jackson's former security chief testified that Murray seemed not to know how to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation as he waited for paramedics to arrive at the singer's house.
Faheem Muhammed said he and and guard Alberto Alvarez saw Murray crouched next to Jackson's bed "in a panicked state asking, 'Does anyone know CPR?' "

"I looked at Alberto because we knew Dr. Murray was a heart surgeon, so we were shocked," Muhammed said.

Jackson's doctor heads to court Murray faces court hearing Events surrounding Jackson's death

When defense attorney Ed Chernoff asked if perhaps Murray was asking for help because he was tired, Muhammed said, "The way that he asked it is as if he didn't know CPR."

Jackson appeared to be dead at that time, with his "eyes open and his mouth open, just laying there," Muhammed said.

Prosecutor David Walgren earlier said that Murray used "ineffectual CPR with one hand while the patient was prone on a soft bed." Two hands with the patient prone on a hard surface is the proper method, he said.
Muhammed, the third witness on the opening day of the hearing, said he never saw

Murray performing CPR on Jackson before paramedics arrived and carried him to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
Jackson's mother, Katherine, sister La Toya and brothers Randy and Jackie sat in the second row of the courtroom during Tuesday's opening session.
Jackson's two oldest children, Prince and Paris, were at their father's bedroom door as the drama unfolded just after noon on June 25, 2009, Muhammed said.

"Paris was on the floor on her hands and knees and she was just crying," he said.
The children would learn two hours later that their father had died when Murray and Jackson manager Frank Dileo talked to them in a hospital room.
"Frank blurted out and said, 'Your daddy had a heart attack and died,' " Jackson personal assistant Michael Williams testified.

At the start of the hearing Tuesday, the prosecutor said that Murray waited at least 21 minutes after he found Jackson unresponsive before calling for an ambulance.

"By all accounts, Michael Jackson was dead in the bedroom at 100 North Carolwood prior to the paramedics' arrival," Walgren said.
The coroner concluded Jackson died from "acute propofol intoxication" in combination with "the contributory effects of the benzodiazepines," Walgren said.
Propofol is a powerful anesthetic used to "put people under for surgery," and the benzodiazepines were sedatives Murray later acknowledged giving Jackson in the morning before his death, he said.

"Michael Jackson was preparing for one of the most important tours of his life" in the months before his death, Walgren said.
Murray's defense team has hinted it would argue that Jackson was under pressure from the concert promoter, which led him to demand treatments to help him sleep.
Kenny Ortega, who was directing what would have been Jackson's comeback concerts, was the first of about 30 witnesses the prosecution is calling.
Ortega described Jackson as "involved, active, participating" at his last rehearsal, which ended 12 or 14 hours before his death.
"He was in a delightful mood, and we had an absolutely fantastic day," Ortega testified.

But Ortega described a different, "scary" Jackson at the Staples Center rehearsal on June 19, six nights before his death.
"I just felt that he appeared, you know, really lost," Ortega said. "It was scary. I didn't know what was wrong. I couldn't put my finger on it."

READ THE FULL STORY AT CNN

EPA Vs Texas

2011-01-03T07:58:00.000-08:00

HOUSTON — A longstanding tit-for-tat between Texas and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over how to regulate pollution has grown fierce in recent months, leaving industry frustrated and allowing some plants and refineries to spew more toxic waste into the air, streams and lakes than what is federally acceptable.

Both sides and conservation groups agree the battle has put the health of Texas residents and the environment at risk. But the back-and-forth over everything from who should issue permits to whether state agencies are properly cracking down on polluters shows no signs of slowing down.

The fight has gotten so ugly that the EPA took the unprecedented step this month of announcing it will directly issue greenhouse gas permits to Texas industries beginning in January after the state openly refused to comply with new federal regulations.

"Emissions are too high, the emissions are too toxic and Texas water is being harmed," said EPA regional director, Al Armendariz.

The EPA is "putting politics ahead of the environmental issues," said Bryan Shaw, chairman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Texas and the EPA have disagreed for years over pollution regulation, but the hostility intensified recently with Republican Gov. Rick Perry accusing the EPA and the Obama administration of overstepping boundaries and meddling in states' rights. With a more conservative state Legislature about to convene next year, there's appetite to keep up that fight.

The EPA, meanwhile, by flexing its muscles in Texas, may be able to send a message to other states that the days when the agency allowed contentious issues to languish unresolved have ended.

Other states have had their differences with the EPA, and at least a dozen have come together in a lawsuit — along with Texas — challenging new greenhouse gas regulations.

All are taking steps in the meantime to comply. Except Texas.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Wednesday declined to issue a stay that would delay the EPA's plans as Texas' lawsuit against the federal agency moves forward.

His heart is in Deer Park ..;

2010-11-16T06:30:00.000-08:00

Andy Pettitte said he's currently leaning towards retirement.

Don't read too much into it at this point. Pettitte said he's "going to wait and see what my heart wants me to do," but that "right now" his heart is in Deer Park, Texas, where he lives during the offseason.

The lefty said that if he does return for 2011, it will be for the Yankees, and it will definitely be his final season. Pettitte is coming off an All-Star campaign that saw him post an 11-3 record to go along with a 3.28 ERA and 1.27 WHIP over 129 innings.

LINK

Houston murders may be work of a serial killer

2010-11-01T12:06:00.001-07:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

READ THE FULL STORY HERE AT KHOU

Deer Park couple first to have baby through egg freezing,

2010-10-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

MELISSA WILSON
Health Reporter
DEER PARK, Texas - A couple from Deer Park is the first in Texas to deliver babies through a fertility treatment known as "egg freezing". This is a brand new option that doctors hope will help women undergoing cancer treatments and also women who just want to wait until later in life to have a baby.

Many couples dream of bringing a baby into the world. Christopher and Ivonne Pena sure did. Ivonne already had children from a previous marriage, but she and Christopher wanted a child of their own -- but she delivered two!

"It's a double the blessing," says Christopher.

After having problems getting pregnant, the Penas first looked into in-vitro fertilization. Then, they found out from Dr. Laurie McKenzie at Houston I-V-F, they could also help a lot of others by participating in a study. This is a new technique using new technology. Doctors have been able to freeze sperm and embryos for years but not oocytes, or eggs.

"This is a very new technique, simply because the egg is a very unique cell. This is the largest cell in the body and with traditional freezing techniques, there have been issues with ice crystals forming inside the cell which damages the cell and renders it unusable," explains Dr. McKenzie.

Read The Full Story HERE

9-11 call - backfires because of open laptop.

2010-10-13T08:49:00.001-07:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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The 911 caller disagrees.

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

No waiting: Houston ship channel back in business

2010-10-07T07:33:00.001-07:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Drug deal goes bad - two shot - one dead.

2010-10-07T07:28:00.001-07:00

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

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

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

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

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

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Man charged with killing his parents ..

2010-10-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

PATTIE SHIEH
Reporter

FOX 26
DEER PARK, Texas - He called police with a stunning admission. Now, Steven Fontes has been charged with capital murder.

Fontes, 55, contacted 911 Friday night around 9 p.m. He told the operator he had killed his parents. His 80-year-old father and 78-year-old stepmother were found shot to death in their Deer Park home. He walked outside and was arrested.

A neighbor had just arrived home with her family when she saw all the police cars and heard officers yell, "Get down, get down!"

"I saw police officers. They had him down and I noticed what was going on. I said, 'Hurry, hurry, hurry get in the house!' Got in and as we were pulling in, they picked him up. He was handcuffed and they put him in the car."

Neighbors say Fontes had not seen his father in years. He moved in almost a year ago and kept to himself. His father and stepmother were different.

"We moved here about 7, 9 years ago. She was the first to greet us. Very neighborly. She was a wonderful lady," the neighbor told FOX 26 News.

On one quiet street, residents understandably have a tough time dealing with the violence that has come to their doorstep. They had never seen trouble at the home before. The woman who spoke with FOX 26 described the elderly couple this way: "They were just good neighbors."

Fontes is being held in the Harris County jail without bond.

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High speed chase in Pasadena

2010-09-28T06:38:00.000-07:00

by khou.com staff
khou.com
Posted on September 28, 2010 at 7:40 AM
Updated today at 8:23 AM

PASADENA, Texas –One man was taken into custody early Tuesday after leading police on a high-speed chase in Pasadena.
Pasadena police were responding to a disturbance with a weapon call around 1:30 a.m. While enroute, they got word that the suspect had left the scene.

One unit spotted the passing suspect based on a vehicle description and attempted to pull him over, but the suspect refused to stop.
The suspect led police on a short, high-speed chase down Viceroy until he crashed into a street light and stop sign at the Parkcrest intersection.

He then bailed out of the vehicle and fled on foot.
HPD assisted Pasadena police in locating the suspect about 45 minutes later.

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9/11 contrail explained.

2010-09-15T19:19:00.001-07:00

No - it wasn't aliens - or "chemtrails" or fighters on patrol on the anniversary of 9/11 - but rather a NASA high altitude research aircraft that caused the "mysterious" contrails over the Houston area Saturday.

Houston Airport Systems spokeswoman Marlene McClinton told Local 2 that NASA's WB-57 is a high-altitude aircraft, operating out of Ellington Field.
"It is taking air samples between 45,000 and 51,000 feet," said McClinton.

According to McClinton, it was a normal operation, but due to atmospheric conditions, the contrails were extremely visible.

Many callers said the plane looked like a big commercial passenger plane with the NASA oogo on it.
"It was just circling," said Cindy Hamilton who lives in Friendswood.
She saw the plane around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.

"It would go north and just circle back to the south. I was just concerned because of what day it is. Seeing the plane brought back memories," Hamilton said.
Karon Wisdom saw the plane in Channelview circling for hours.

"Because its 9/11, everyone's keeping their eye on the sky," she said. "I thought either someone was watching out for us on the Gulf Coast, or something weird was happening."

NASA officials said the aircraft was testing out a new instrument and that "they have made several flights this week. It's unfortunate for the atmospheric conditions that made it very visible on 9/11."
Officials said it was nothing to be alarmed about.

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Houston man charged in cold case murders.

2010-08-25T14:03:00.001-07:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Marathon & Dominion to pay 6 million

2010-08-20T16:56:00.000-07:00

HOUSTON -- Marathon Oil and Dominion Oklahoma Texas Exploration and Production will pay $6.9 million to resolve claims the two Houston-based energy companies separately underpaid natural gas royalties to the government and Native Americans.

The Justice Department announced the settlement Friday in Washington. Dominion Oklahoma Texas Exploration and Production Inc. will pay $2.2 million and Marathon Oil Co., $4.7 million.
Most of the settlement money will be distributed to federal, state and American Indian accounts affected by the underpayments. More than $1.8 million will go to heirs of a whistleblower who filed the suit in Beaumont.
Companies are required to report to the Interior Department the value of natural gas produced from their federal and Indian leases monthly. A percentage of that value is paid as royalties.

Houston Area Forecast: 100% Chance of Meteors

2010-08-12T06:59:00.001-07:00

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

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

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

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

So how about viewing tips?

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

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

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

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AG seeks civil penalties against BP for leak

2010-08-10T08:14:00.001-07:00

By T.J. Aulds
The Daily News
Published August 10, 2010
TEXAS CITY — The Texas attorney general on Monday charged BP’s Texas City refinery with violations of state air-quality laws over a 40-day release that sent more than 500,000 pounds of chemicals — including large amounts of benzene — into the air during April and May.

The legal action is the second by the state against BP since 2009. A Texas Commission on Environmental Quality investigation in July found the release was an “excessive emissions event” and referred the case to the attorney general’s office.

“The state’s investigation shows that BP’s failure to properly maintain its equipment caused the malfunction (that) could have been prevented,” Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a release. “BP’s own self reporting date indicated that seal filters protecting the compressor failed because of an iron sulfide buildup, likely because BP failed to properly maintain these devices.”

The attorney general also alleges that BP ignored the large amount of emissions.

“BP made very little attempt to minimize the emissions of air contaminants caused by its actions, once again prioritizing profits over environmental compliance.”

The lawsuit pinpoints six contaminants that were released by BP including benzene, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide as violations.

The lawsuit seeks up to $25,000 a day per contaminant plus attorneys fees as penalties for the emissions, attorney general spokesman Tom Kelley said. That could cost BP as much as $6 million.

The company has argued its air testing at the fence line and monitors maintained by the state did not show high levels of emissions during the 40-day period that started April 6 and continued through May 16.

BP adamantly denied any dangerous levels of toxins could be found in the community and insists residents were never at risk.

“We will continue to cooperate with the attorney general’s office and the TCEQ to resolve their concerns,” BP spokesman Michael Marr said Monday.

BP would not directly comment on the attorney general’s actions but defended its air quality measures at the refinery.

“Independently verified air-monitoring data from our Texas City refinery clearly indicates a substantial and sustained improvement in air quality since 2004,” Marr said in July.

“BP Texas City is also moving forward with a number of measures that will further improve environmental performance and reporting. These measures include industry leading technologies and programs.”

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Thousands sign on for $10 billion BP suit

2010-08-06T07:05:00.001-07:00

By MONICA HATCHER
HOUSTON CHRONICLE

TEXAS CITY — The revelation that BP's Texas City refinery emitted toxic benzene for more than a month has ignited a furor in the port community that has suffered its share of deadly industrial accidents and toxic spills.
Thousands of residents who fear they may have been exposed to the known carcinogen released at the oil refinery from April 6 to May 16 have been flooding parking lots and conference halls where local trial attorneys hosted information sessions and sought clients for class-action lawsuits against the oil giant.

BP faces the new challenge just as it is reaching a key milestone in another crisis — plugging the Gulf of Mexico well that blew out in an oil spill disaster that is costing the company billions of dollars.

On Wednesday, more than 3,400 people lined the hallways and sidewalks around the Nessler Center to sign on to a $10 billion class-action lawsuit filed Tuesday in Galveston federal court by Friendswood attorney Anthony Buzbee.
The lawsuit alleges the release of 500,000 pounds of chemicals - including 17,000 pounds of benzene - has jeopardized the health and property values of people who live and work in the area.

At the nearby College of the Mainland, a separate town hall meeting drew a crowd of 600.
"I've never seen anything like this," Buzbee said, looking at the lines waiting to enter a large room at the civic center where lawyers helped people fill out paperwork. "I can't believe this is mass hysteria and that everybody here is a faker," Buzbee said.
Webster-based lawyer Chad Pinkerton said he's met with about 8,000 residents over the past week. "I believe this is probably the largest prolonged release in Texas history and many, many people are sick," he said.
Word of the lawsuits spread this week, propelled in part by rumors that BP was cutting checks to head off the benzene claims from the $20 billion fund established to pay claims related to the oil spill.

BP spokesman Michael Marr said those rumors are untrue.
On Wednesday afternoon, a family used a convenience store copy machine to make dozens of copies of legal contracts. A clerk said the machine had been in constant use by would-be plaintiffs.
Lluvia Briones, 19, who signed up to join the lawsuit, said her colleagues at a Texas City fast-food restaurant were caught up in the fervor. "Everybody at work was like, 'go, go, go,' " she said.

Dozens of people the Chronicle interviewed complained of allergic reactions, sinus infections, headaches, nosebleeds and other symptoms consistent with exposure to noxious substances.
Linda Laver, 55, a former nurse, said she's enjoyed near-perfect health until she recently suffered an abscessed sinus infection, gall bladder failure and pneumonia.
"I told my doctor, 'You've known me for all these years and now all of a sudden I'm having all these things,' " Laver said as she stood in line at the Nessler Center.
Laver said she "freaked out" when she saw a Buzbee Law Firm newspaper ad describing the symptoms of benzene exposure. "It confirmed all my suspicions," she said.

Only two weeks before the well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers and triggered the oil spill, BP was experiencing problems with a hydrogen compressor at the Texas City plant - itself the site of a deadly explosion in 2005 that killed 15 people.
The trouble started April 6, when the company said a fire compromised a seal on an ultracracker's hydrogen compressor. The malfunction forced the company to flare off gases. It reported the "emissions event" to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality the following day. As it worked to fix the unit over the next 40 days, the plant released 538,000 pounds of pollutants into the air, BP told regulators.

BP said it operated the ultracracker at minimal capacity, reducing production and emissions. Buzbee says the unit should have shut down completely.
Information about the release became public when BP submitted a final incident report to regulators June 4.

After investigating, the environmental commission cited BP for an "excessive release" and, two weeks ago, referred its findings to the state attorney general for possible litigation.
"Based on a review of the incidents that occurred during the past year, there appears to be a pattern of poor operation and maintenance practices" at the plant, the report said.
The report said chemical concentrations in the air did not exceed state or federal standards, but that the commission could not determine the short-term health effects of the chemicals.

Coming on the heels of the oil spill, the lawsuits add new woes for BP and may aggravate an old one: BP North America - the company's refining division - is on federal probation for a felony environmental conviction related to the 2005 explosion, which also caused a massive release of benzene and other toxins.

Any further violations could be grounds for prosecutors to ask a judge to revoke BP's probation.
Already, lawyers representing victims of the 2005 blast have said a court should revoke BP's probation based on a complaint by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that BP has failed to comply with safety agreements it made after explosion.
The company denies OSHA's claims, and a hearing is scheduled for later this month.

As to the recent emissions, BP's Marr said in an e-mail that community air quality and fence line monitors, which measure for the presence of benzene and other substances, did not show elevated readings or ground-level impact.
Other monitoring by environmental specialists similarly found that the emissions did not exceed exposure limits set by the government, he said.

"BP does not believe there was a health impact associated with this event," Marr said.
Many residents are skeptical of that claim, and are angry that the chemicals were released for 40 days without public disclosure, even to Texas City's emergency management coordinator, Bruce Clawson. Even though BP complied with state reporting requirements, under an agreement with the city, the company should have alerted officials to the situation. Clawson said he's now dealing with irate residents calling the city for details he doesn't have about the release.
Chronicle reporter Lise Olsen contributed.

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Texas City hires two new coaches

2010-08-05T09:34:00.000-07:00

By Evan Mohl
The Daily News

TEXAS CITY — Texas City High School hired two new head coaches this summer to fill vacancies for volleyball and girls basketball.

Christian Dunn, a Clear Creek graduate and club coach, will lead the volleyball program. Jodi Thompson, who spent the last 12 seasons as the La Porte head coach, will take over the reins for the Lady Stings on the hardwood.

A Needed Change

Thompson has spent most of her basketball life at La Porte. She played for the Lady Bulldogs, including a trip to the 1989 state semifinals.

After graduating college, she got her first assistant coaching job at La Porte in 1994 before taking over as head coach in 1998. Thompson guided the Lady Bulldogs to nine postseasons in 12 years, three times advancing to the area round.

Despite the success and coaching where she played, Thompson wanted a change. She felt the need to do something new.

“I’ve always been there, and in some ways you kind of feel like and are treated like a kid — which can be a really good thing,” Thompson said. “I wanted something different, and I think change is good.”

Texas City’s proximity to her home helped.

“It’s a nice community, and it’s not too far,” Thompson said. “It’s a good place to make a change.”

It also will pose a big challenge. The Lady Stings have not advanced to the postseason since 2003.

Though Thompson has not met her team and possesses little knowledge of the Lady Stings — the La Porte-Texas City game got snowed out last year — she hopes she can make Lady Sting basketball competitive again.

Thompson plans to instill excitement and new ideas. Fans, parents and players can expect her traditional high-tempo style: full-court press and pressure defense that leads to offensive fast-break opportunities.

“I hope I can bring in some new blood and excitement,” Thompson said. “We’re going to make things happen.”

A Year-round Activity

For the last 13 years, Dunn coached club volleyball. He guided several teams to the Junior Olympics, including a handful ranked in the top 10 nationally. He sent athletes on to play at all kinds of colleges from Division I to NAIA.

Now, he wants to make volleyball a year-round job.

“I want to build something, and do it every month and every day from the junior high to the high school,” Dunn said. “It’s not just one team at a time and then starting over.”

Dunn started playing volleyball in high school at Clear Creek along Olympian Riley Salmon. He fell in love with what he thought was a girl’s sport because of volleyball’s quickness and speed.

It also helped that he was pretty good.

“It just came natural to me,” Dunn said. “So I thought I would keep doing this.”

Dunn inherits a team that did not make the playoffs last year and has been through four coaches in three years. The Lady Stings also graduated half their varsity roster.

Dunn will preach consistency — in coaching, development and playing style. He plans to teach the junior high players the same skills and system the Lady Stings will employ in a varsity match.

“It’s unlikely this would happen, but you want a seventh-grader to be able to take the place of a senior on the court and not be overwhelmed or confused,” Dunn said. “That’s how you build consistency and ensure growth. There’s a fundamental system that stays the same and that leads to growth — girls don’t have to try to change to adjust to something new all the time.”

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Test your hurricane IQ.

2010-08-02T07:43:00.001-07:00

By GREG AINSWORTH

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pettitte Has Plenty Left in the Tank

2010-07-12T08:01:00.000-07:00

BRIAN COSTA

SEATTLE — As Andy Pettitte showered and dressed after Thursday's game, his two oldest sons, ages 15 and 11, sat and waited for him by his locker.

To ease the toll of a major-league season on his family, Mr. Pettitte often takes his children with him on the road. And when the season is over, he may well go back to Deer Park, Texas, with them for good.

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At age 38, Andy Pettitte is 11-2 and headed to the All-Star Game.
But at the moment, he is making it difficult for the Yankees to imagine life without him.

At age 38, Mr. Pettitte is having one of his finest seasons. He is off to an 11-2 start with a 2.70 ERA. And with his family in tow, he was set to travel to Anaheim, Calif., Sunday night as a member of the American League All-Star team for the first time since 2001.

Contemplating retirement has become an annual rite of winter for Mr. Pettitte, and the next offseason will be no different. But he isn't making the decision any easier for himself.

Rather than showing signs of decline, Mr. Pettitte has instead performed better than in recent years, when he was a reliable but not a spectacular pitcher. He allowed only one run in eight innings Thursday against the Mariners in what was perhaps his best outing of the season. And he is on pace to win 20 games for the first time since 2003 and only the third time in his career.

If he does so, he would become only the 13th pitcher in major-league history to win 20 or more games at age 38 or older, according to Stats Inc. The last was Mike Mussina, who won 20 games at age 39 for the Yankees in 2008.

No one expected Mr. Pettitte to pitch poorly this season. But no one expected this, either.

"We always know that Andy is going to compete," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He's going to find ways to get out of jams. He's going to get double play balls. But I think if someone would have said Andy is going to be 11-2 at the break, it's hard to anticipate that."

There are only three other pitchers in the majors ages 38 or older who have started at least one game this season, and none of them have been anywhere near as effective as Mr. Pettitte.

Phillies lefty Jamie Moyer, 47, is 9-8 with a 4.51 ERA. Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, 43, is 3-7 with a 5.22 ERA. And Angels right-hander Brian Moehler is 1-4 with a 4.92 ERA.

It would be an exaggeration to call Mr. Pettitte ageless. He hasn't averaged above 90 mph on his fastball since 2007. And his legs tire earlier during games now than they did when he was younger, to the point that Mr. Pettitte said he modified his between-starts workouts recently to try to improve his stamina. But his age hasn't affected him where it counts.

"I know I'm getting older, because I can tell," Mr. Pettitte said. "It takes more to recover and stuff like that. But it's also a mindset, and I feel good.''

The first time Mr. Pettitte was an All-Star, in 1996, Mr. Girardi was his catcher with the Yankees. Now, Mr. Girardi said Mr. Pettitte has a better repertoire than he did then. But he hasn't overhauled his mechanics or his pitch selection so much as he has refined both.

"He used to be really a four-seamer, cutter inside or third-base side, and then curveball," Mr. Girardi said. "He threw his changeup, but he didn't have a lot of success with it. He didn't backdoor his cutter to righties like he does now. He didn't really have a sinker. He was more of a three-pitch pitcher. Now he's got four, but he uses them on different sides."

The one constant has been Mr. Pettitte's ability to work out of trouble. Only 18% of base runners have scored against him this season, according to Inside Edge, well below the major-league average of 24%. At some point, maybe a few months from now, Mr. Pettitte will decide he has had enough. He said last week he doesn't plan on pitching much longer.

But as he prepares to play in the All-Star game for the third and perhaps final time in his career, his retirement is the last thing the Yankees want to think about.

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Freedom Over Texas Fireworks Show!

2010-07-01T08:46:00.001-07:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

KBR Liberty Park

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

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

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

Walmart All American Kids Zone

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Teachers prevail in grading law suit

2010-06-30T08:03:00.001-07:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Recovery Effort in Gulf Expected to Continue Despite Storm

2010-06-28T14:35:00.001-07:00

By JOSEPH BERGER

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Alex may effect Gulf oil production ..

2010-06-28T14:22:00.001-07:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Brian Baskin and Angel Gonzalez contributed to this article

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Triple the love 3 sets of triplets born on same day mark a milestone - turning 1

2010-06-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

By JENNIFER LATSON
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
June 21, 2010, 6:39AM

Brett Coomer Chronicle

BY THE NUMBERS
At 1 year old, each set of triplets has gone through roughly:
7,300 diapers
4,745 bottles of formula
730 loads of laundry
$18,000 in expenses, not including nanny services or one-time costs such as strollers, cribs, etc.
Source: estimates by the three families

They didn't unwrap ties or enjoy breakfast in bed — no time for that. They didn't even get a day off from diaper duty: When you change 20 or more a day, there's never a break from diapers. But for three Houston-area dads, Father's Day brought at least three big reasons to celebrate.
Hugo Estrada, Justin Lacombe and Troy Elmore each spent the holiday with their own set of triplets, all born just over a year ago on the same day - June 11. In the past year, their triple-bundles of joy have taught them lessons about patience and time management. On Father's Day, the dads said the greatest gift was that their babies are healthy and thriving.

"We've come a long way," said Elmore, who doesn't even remember last Father's Day. He was caring for his oldest daughter, 5-year-old Brooke, while his wife remained hospitalized and the triplets - Reagan, Paige and Kara - were in intensive care after being born six weeks premature.
This Father's Day, Elmore played with all four girls in a corral constructed of couches at his mother-in-law's Deer Park home. He and his wife, Heather, are staying here while they have a home built in Friendswood.

"From them being in the hospital last year to having our dream house built - it's a great Father's Day," Elmore said.
Today, the staff who cared for all three families at The Woman's Hospital of Texas will host a birthday party for the babies, who weighed between 3 and 5 pounds when they were born at 34 weeks, all by cesarean section.
Parents are a team
Though the mothers get credit for most of the hard work in bringing the babies into the world - each endured some form of bed rest before the babies were born and suffered complications from high blood pressure to partial paralysis - the fathers do their share of the daily work of triplet-rearing.

"We're outnumbered," Stephanie Lacombe said. "You kind of have to work on it as a team."
At bathtime, one parent holds the babies while the other washes, she said, then one dries and one puts on the diapers. At meals, one parent prepares the food and the other one feeds it to the babies.

Now that the triplets sleep for longer stretches and eat less frequently, it's a little easier, said Justin Lacombe, the father of a girl and two boys: Emma, Noah and Carter.
"The first three months was a blur. We did feedings every three hours, and the feedings take 30 to 45 minutes," Lacombe said. "I don't even know how we made it on three to four hours of sleep a night, not to mention teething and reflux."

The trick is a combination of military discipline and laissez-faire flexibility: You have to schedule strictly and plan diligently but not be fazed when nothing goes according to plan.

"We just try to say it's controlled chaos," Lacombe said. "It's like working security at a rock concert: Even if they're all screaming, it doesn't matter. It's all fun."
Babies in rhythm
Some things are easier with triplets. They can entertain each other endlessly, and their biological clocks tend to sync up: They eat at the same times and nap at the same times, which is when parents can catch a rare moment of quiet.

"It's a lot of work, but I enjoy every minute of it," said Estrada, who spent Father's Day watching his three boys - Robert, Brian and Anthony - play at their Porter home while the TV broadcast a World Cup game.

"Last year the babies were still in the hospital. I wanted to hug them, but they were in the incubator and couldn't be touched," he said. "Now we can hug and play and everything."
jennifer.latson@chron.com

Texas governor says state a model for clean air

2010-06-14T07:08:00.000-07:00

(AP) – Jun 2, 2010
DEER PARK, Texas — Texas Gov. Rick Perry says the state should not be threatened with a takeover of its air quality program but instead be lauded as the poster child for regulating pollution.
At a news conference Wednesday in a Houston suburb, Perry said the federal government should stop what he called a "power grab" by the Environmental Protection Agency. Last week, the EPA's regional director threatened to remove Texas' regulatory authority by midsummer if the state fails to comply with the Clean Air Act.

The state and EPA disagree over the way Texas issues emissions permits.
Standing inside a warehouse that makes fluid sealing products for the petrochemical industry, Perry said the Texas program for permitting pollutants from petrochemical plants has helped improve air quality.

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Armand Bayou Nature Center to host artist exhibit

2010-06-02T08:59:00.000-07:00

By Armand Bayou Nature Center
Special to The Daily News
Published June 2, 2010

PASADENA — Four artists will show their work at the Armand Bayou Nature Center’s Second Saturday event from 10 a.m. to noon June 12.

At 11 a.m., wildlife artist and author Doug Hiser will discuss how an idea becomes a piece of art with his slide presentation, “From Pencil to Paint — Wildlife Art — ALIVE.”

Hiser, the author of 18 books, is working on a book from A to Z of unusual animal close-up portraits. His website, art-escape.com, has 14 galleries showcasing his work.

Nassau Bay resident Kelly Halbach has been sketching since she first picked up a pencil as a child on a West Texas dairy farm.

Her paintings reflect her travels in South Africa, Europe, New Mexico, the Southwest United States and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Now living on the Texas Coast, she’s inspired by the shorebirds and scenery found along the coastline and birding trails.

Her website is kellyhalbachart.com.

James D. Phillips was taught to draw as a child by his mother, Geraldine Bova Phillips, but it was only four years ago when he taught himself to sculpt.

He’s becoming a celebrity as an artist who turns the remains of trees lost in Hurricane Ike into works of art. He prefers marine life subjects.

Award-winning Bejat McCracken, a muralist, photographer and nature artist, spent her early childhood on a small farm in Ohio.

She travels often to the Ecuadorean Amazon to paint. Some of her work can be seen at the Bradford Gallery in Kemah.

For more about her art, visit her website at bejat.com.

There also will be activities for young artists to add their personal touch to line drawings by Hiser.

A door prize drawing will be held for one of Hiser’s prints.

There also will be a guided trail hike through the forest.

Admission is free to members, $3 for nonmember adults and $1 for children ages 4-12 and seniors 60 and older.

Call 281-474-2551.

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Texas Gulf Waits & Worries

2010-05-28T06:17:00.001-07:00

LAPORTE -- Richard Arnhart spends much of his days monitoring wind trajectories, scientific bulletins and TV newscasts.

Parts of an oily blob three times the size of Rhode Island -- and growing -- are believed by many experts to be lumbering closer to the Texas Gulf, and Arnhart is part of the first line of defense.
As a regional director for the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Program in the Texas General Land Office, Arnhart is paid by the state to fight oil spills, and he's heavily involved in state and federal contingency planning for any possible impact on Texas from the massive oil spill lurking in the Gulf of Mexico.

Communities all along the Texas coast are making similar preparations as they join the rest of the world in tracking daily developments in one of the worst oil spill disasters in history.
No one knows for sure if remnants of the spill, which was about 160 miles east of the Lone Star State late last week, will reach Texas waters. The consensus seems to be that if there is an impact it will be in the form of tar balls or a frothy substance resembling chocolate mousse. Experts don't expect any residue to hit this far west for several weeks.

Beyond that, just what threat the spill poses for a region of the state whose economy and culture is tied to the gulf is difficult to gauge. Environmentalists warn of possibly irreversible damage to the state's fragile ecosystems and endangered wildlife. Others worry about potential losses to fishing and tourism, though local officials say they have yet to see any signs of an economic backlash.
"It's going to have an impact one way or another," said state Rep. Aaron Pena, D-Edinburg, chairman of the state House Select Committee on Emergency Preparedness, which has scheduled a Monday hearing in McAllen to examine Texas preparations for the spill. "We swim in that ocean. We eat the food that comes out of that ocean. It's part of our [committee's] charge to be prepared for emergencies, and this is certainly an emergency that Texas should be prepared for."
'No news is good news'

Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, whose office would be in charge of fighting residue from the spill and enforcing the cleanup, took steps late last week to calm fears about the oil slick.

"We're watching and waiting, but it's just not time to go to general quarters," said Patterson, who is scheduled to testify at Monday's hearing. "No news is good news."

Patterson sought to dispel TV reports that tar balls from the spill are already showing up on Texas beaches. Although tar balls occasionally wash ashore along the Texas Gulf, they may be decades old and could come from natural seepage or earlier spills, the land office said. An analysis on tar balls collected from Jamaica Beach on Galveston Island last week proved conclusively that the substance did not come from the oil slick in the gulf, said Cmdr. David Berliner of the Coast Guard.
Nevertheless, an out-of-control underwater gusher dumping more than thousands of barrels of oil into the gulf each day is impossible for Texans to ignore. Houston area residents watching TV last week, for example, might have seen ads aired by attorney Jim Adler offering his service to victims of the spill.

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Small fire at Shell Oil

2010-05-26T08:40:00.001-07:00

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Shell Oil Co. on Monday said a small, early day fire at an unspecified location at its joint venture, Deer Park, Texas, oil refinery was quickly extinguished.

For competitive reasons, the company wouldn't provide details on the operational status of the plant.

"There was no impact to employees, the surrounding community or industry neighbors," company representative Ted Rolfvondenbaumen said.

The Deer Park refinery has the capacity to process 340,000 barrels of crude oil a day. It is jointly owned by a unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA, RDSB) and Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex.

-By Rose Marton-Vitale, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2146; rose.marton@ dowjones.com

Read more: http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=201005171230dowjonesdjonline000279&title=shellsmall-fire-at-deer-park-refinery-quickly-extinguished#ixzz0p3BWvPB1

Oil spill threatens Gulf Coast

2010-04-29T19:33:00.001-07:00

(CNN) -- A huge oil spill oozing toward the Gulf Coast on Thursday threatens hundreds of species of wildlife, some in their prime breeding season, environmental organizations said.
The Coast Guard said Wednesday that the amount of oil spilling from an underwater well after an oil rig explosion last week has increased to as many as 5,000 barrels of oil a day, or 210,000 gallons, five times more than what was originally believed.

Although efforts to minimize the damage are under way and options under consideration include asking the U.S. military for assistance, wildlife conservation groups say the oil could pose a "growing environmental disaster."

"The terrible loss of 11 workers (unaccounted for after the rig explosion) may be just the beginning of this tragedy as the oil slick spreads toward sensitive coastal areas vital to birds and marine life and to all the communities that depend on them," said Melanie Driscoll, director of bird conservation for the Louisiana Coastal Initiative, in a statement.
Coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida could be at risk, the organization said.

"For birds, the timing could not be worse; they are breeding, nesting and especially vulnerable in many of the places where the oil could come ashore," she said. "The efforts to stop the oil before it reaches shore are heroic, but may not be enough. We have to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, including a true catastrophe for birds."

"The best case is, the wind shifts and the oil doesn't hit," said Tom MacKenzie of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "I'm not real confident about that. ... We're doing everything we can to prevent it, but it could be a bad one."

It's not just birds that could be affected, although they are usually the first to feel the effects, said Gregory Bossart, chief veterinary officer for the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. The birds are right at the surface, get covered in the oil and swallow it, causing liver and kidney problems.

"They need to be rescued and cleaned," he said.
But the coastline of Louisiana, with its barrier islands and estuaries, "is a very unique ecosystem. It's very complex," Bossart said.
Plankton found in the estuaries nourish organisms all the way up the food chain. Crabs, mussels, oysters and shrimp feed on the plankton, he said. Oil smothers the plankton, meaning they cannot eat.

Also, "the estuaries here are a nursery ground, literally a nursery ground, for the entire fish population in this area," Bossart said.

River otters in the region eat mussels and other animals. And "we know, in this area right now, that there are sperm whales. There are dolphins right in the oil slick," he said.
If an oil spill is small enough, animals can leave the area.
"Some of them can get away," Bossart said. "It's totally dependent on the size of the slick, and this is huge."

Exposure to the oil for a prolonged period of time can result in a toxic effect on the skin, and mammals can suffer lung damage or death after breathing it in, Bossart said.
"When the oil starts to settle, it'll smother the oyster beds. It'll kill the oysters," he said.

The Audubon Society, which is affiliated with the Louisiana Coastal Initiative, is recruiting volunteers in Florida and making its Center for Birds of Prey available for bird cleansing and rehabilitation. Elsewhere, Audubon said it was gearing up to mobilize volunteers and provide assistance as the oil reaches land.

The spill also threatens the Louisiana and Mississippi fishing industry, as crab, oysters and shrimp along the coast could be affected, along with numerous species of fish. Gulf shrimp are in their spawning season.

More than 400 species are threatened by the spill, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported Thursday, citing the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
"When you stop and begin considering everything that this could impact, it really is stunning," Karen Foote, biologist administrator with the department, told the newspaper.

A handful of "Important Bird Areas" -- designated because of their value to bird species -- face immediate threat from the oil, the initiative said. They include the Chandeleur Islands and Gulf Islands National Seashore areas in Louisiana and Mississippi, along with the Active Delta area in Louisiana, which includes Delta Island National Wildlife Refuge and the Pass-a-Loutre Wildlife Management Area.

Several species of birds are cause for special concern, the Louisiana Coastal Initiative said. They include the brown pelican, the state bird of Louisiana, which nests on barrier islands and feeds near shore. The brown pelican's breeding season just began, according to the Initiative, and "many pairs are already incubating eggs."

The species was taken off the federal endangered species list last year, but "their relatively low reproductive rate means any disruption to their breeding cycle could have serious effects on the population."

More than 800 brown pelicans died when a smaller oil spill hit Louisiana's Breton Island National Wildlife Refuge a few years ago, MacKenzie said.

Species of beach-nesting terns and gulls, beach-nesting shorebirds, large wading birds, marsh birds and ocean-dwelling birds are also at risk, along with migratory shorebirds and songbirds, the Initiative said.

The migratory songbirds move across the Gulf during a two-week period from late April to early May, for instance.

"The journey across 500 miles of open water strains their endurance to its limits," the Initiative said. "They depend on clear skies and healthy habitats on both sides of the Gulf in order to survive the journey."

According to a 1998 study by Louisiana State University, more than 500 million birds fly over the Gulf and enter the United States along coastal areas in Louisiana and Texas each spring.
The barrier islands east of Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain have still not recovered from the blow dealt by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Bossart said, and a spill such as this one could seriously threaten their recovery.

"I think at this point it would be wrong to say it's catastrophic, because it really hasn't hit any area except out in the Gulf proper," he said. But "it's certainly a very serious thing" that could pose a long-term environmental challenge.

Plans have been under way to protect wildlife since the spill was discovered, MacKenzie said. "We know what we're doing to try to protect those key assets. ... A lot of people are leaning forward in the foxhole to address this."

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Auto Show set for May 7

2010-04-27T07:59:00.000-07:00

April 27, 2010 9:02 am Greg May wrote:
The Motorhead Maniacs Auto Show returns to the city of La Porte from 4-9 p.m. May 7 at Five Points Town Plaza.

In addition to the unjudged show of cars that has been on display in the past, this year’s show will also feature a judged car section, as well as vendors and live entertainment from two bands, Red Box Harbor and JJ Dynomite.

The bands will perform at the plaza beginning at 4:30 p.m.

The show is free and open to the public.

Unjudged cars will be displayed up and down Main Street, while the judged cars will be featured on Broadway in front of the Five Points Town Plaza.

To register a vehicle

All vehicles must be pre-registered to be considered for judging.

There is no entry fee for unjudged vehicles, but vehicle owners will be required to check in before being granted entry to the show.

Check-in for unjudged vehicles will begin at 2 p.m. May 7 at La Porte Community Church, 200 South First St.

No vehicles will be granted access if they have not been checked in and received a vehicle identification card from event staff the day of the show.

There is a $15 entry fee for judged cars. Judged vehicle owners must check in before they will be granted entry to the show.

Check in for judged vehicles is from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. May 7 at Wayne Wicks & Associates, 110 N. Broadway.

In addition to live entertainment and a car show, there will be a raffle the day of the show.

The $5 raffle tickets will be available at the event at the check-in locations.

Proceeds will benefit Boys & Girls Harbor. The city is still seeking donations for the raffle; items will be accepted through May 3.

For more information, visit the event Web site at www.motorheadmaniacs.com.

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Area voters have plenty to ponder

2010-04-27T07:52:00.000-07:00

April 26, 2010 3:05 pm Carol Christian wrote:
One of the busiest ballots in the May 8 suburban election is Deer Park’s, with a four-way race for City Council Position 5 and three contenders for Position 6.

Position 6 Councilman Jeff W. Pound, 44, filed for re-election Feb. 8, the first day to request a place on the May 8 ballot.

Pound is co-owner of Fairmont Funeral Home & Cremation Services and was first elected to council in 2008.

His two opponents are Eddie Dove, 55, a real estate broker, and E. Dale Wortham, 51, an electrical worker.

Pound said his goal in seeking a second term is to continue serving the entire city and to keep Deer Park vibrant.

He pledged to work with all residents to provide activities for all age groups and to promote “solid, clean economic growth.”

“The future of Deer Park is bright, and I look forward to helping drive solutions to the noise, traffic and drainage issues that affect parts of our city,” Pound said. “We have good people working on these issues, and I will continue to focus on them while I am on council.”

Pound also said he would continue to be a strong advocate for the men and women in the city’s police, fire and emergency medical services.

“Needless to say, I am not perfect, but I have always sought to be a council member the citizens of Deer Park can be proud of and to make decisions based on what’s best for everyone,” he said.

Dove, who said he has run for council several times since the 1980s, said one reason he entered this year’s race is that the city’s code enforcement program is too punitive.

“The town is like a homeowners’ association and is getting worse,” Dove said.

One indication that some code enforcement officers are overzealous, he said, is their practice of checking the registration status of vehicles in residents’ driveways.

In the past, he said, residents received notices if vehicles on their property were obviously wrecked or junked.

“Now they’ll send you a citation over an expired inspection sticker,” he said. “This has gotten out of hand.”

Dove said he also was concerned at reports the city’s emergency medical service sometimes called a private ambulance company for patients who were not considered to be seriously ill, rather than transporting the patients in city ambulances. He said his mother had that experience about a year ago.

Wortham, who ran in 2007 for Position 3, said he’s running again because he wants to help shape the city’s approach to growth.

“We’ve had a lot of good growth in Deer Park, but I don’t believe we did it in a way our infrastructure could support,” Wortham said.

“Some of that growth has contributed to flooding.” he said. “If we’re going to forecast growth, we at least need to have a plan in place to make sure the infrastructure keeps up.”

Wortham said he took issue with the city’s recent decision to bring in four or five hotels without drainage improvements to support them.

“I’m not anti-hotel, and I’m not anti-business,” he said. “We need to expect growth and plan for that growth.”

Wortham said he would also like to see the city explore funding options for creating a quiet zone along the railroad tracks adjacent to Texas 225.

Jason Morris, a 30-year-old director, also entered the race for Deer Park Council Position 6, but later withdrew.

These are other contested races in the May 8 election:

DEER PARK

Position 5

Beckie Stockstill Cobb (i), 56, insurance agent

John J. Janatsch, 67, retired

G. Terry Lutz, 63, retired

Bill Zastrow, 67, retired

LA PORTE

For or against

Reauthorization of a quarter-cent sales tax for city street maintenance and repair.

District 4

Charles “Heavy Fed” Gilliam, 40, activist

Tommy Moser (i), 49, electrical consultant

District 5

Louis Rigby (i), 61, retired

Abraham Rosa, 33, self-employed

MORGAN’S POINT

Position 2

Jimmy Sledge Jr. (i), 52, attorney

Sammi Hammers, 61, accountant

SHOREACRES

Alderman

G.T. “Gerry” Victor (i), 72, marine consultant

Nancy J. Schnell, 39, student/homemaker

DEER PARK ISD

For or against:

A $158 million school bond issue.

The school board race is uncontested.

LA PORTE ISD

Position 4

Jim Schul, 52, chief information officer

Lee Wallace, 56, sales

Position 7

Bill Fennell, 61, principal, Houston Learning Academy

Dee Anne Thomson, 45, customer service supervisor

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Breaking News: Officials: Explosion sparks fire at La Porte warehouse

2010-04-08T15:48:00.000-07:00

VIA KHOU:

LA PORTE, Texas – Emergency crews rushed to the scene of a fire in an electrical warehouse Thursday afternoon.
Officials said there were reports of an explosion inside the Texas Electrical Equipment warehouse located in the 9400 block of Hwy 225 just after 4 p.m. That explosion sparked a fire, but it has since been extinguished by the La Porte Fire Department.

No injuries have been reported at this time.
Texas Electric Equipment sells and repairs electrical equipment such as air conditioners and electrical motors.

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Area Teacher Faces Charges

2010-04-06T05:51:00.001-07:00

PASADENA, Texas — A substitute teacher in the Houston area has been fired as he faces charges of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old female student.

Reynaldo Martinez was in the Harris County Jail on Thursday with bail set at $150,000.

The 30-year-old from La Porte was booked Wednesday on two counts of having an improper relationship with a student, two counts of sexual assault of a child between the ages of 14 and 17 and one count of possession of child pornography.

Martinez was fired March 26 by the Pasadena Independent School District, after a criminal complaint alleges that hours earlier he had sexually assaulted the girl in a classroom.

The student at Bondy Intermediate School initially reported she had exchanged sexual text messages with him earlier last week.
Electronic jail records did not list an attorney for Martinez.

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Warrant roundup begins ...

2010-03-05T07:15:00.001-08:00

Thayer Evans wrote:
If you have any tickets you haven't gotten around to paying, this is the week to take care of them.

League City, Friendswood, Houston and other cities around Clear Lake will join hundreds of jurisdictions participating in the Great Texas Warrant Roundup this weekend.

Starting Saturday, March 6, police will be visiting homes, schools and workplaces to arrest those with outstanding warrants from municipal courts.

Most of the offenses involve unpaid traffic or parking tickets but more serious violations are included, and no amnesty is being offered. Those with outstanding warrants can be arrested at any location.

Cities are mailing notices to the last known address of those with warrants.

League City Police Chief Mike Jez said those with warrants needs to resolve them before the roundup. His police department will have “quite a few” officers participating in it this year, he said.

“The message to folks right now is avoid getting arrested on your job site or an embarrassing moment,” Jez said. “Come take of things. It’ll save you time, money and embarrassment. It’s something that’s easily avoidable. Most of them are minor offense violations anyway.”

If you think there may be a warrant out on you, contact your local municipal court to find out how to post a bond.

Clear Lake's Houston residents can call 713-731-3950 or visit the city's Clear Lake police station at 2855 Bay Area Blvd. from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Job fair draws more than 1,000 job seekers

2010-02-18T09:22:00.001-08:00

By Laura Elder
The Daily News
Published February 18, 2010

GALVESTON — In April, when Tony Salas lost his job in Pasadena as a pipe designer for the petrochemical industry, he wasn’t too worried.

Salas, who was earning about $93,000 a year, had built up some savings and decided to use the time off for a long vacation. He figured he’d find a job within a week when he began looking in October.

But weeks have turned into months, and the Texas City resident found himself Wednesday among nearly 1,500 people — some who’d lined up hours before the doors opened at 9 a.m. — to meet prospective employers at the Oceans of Opportunities Job Fair.

“I socked some money away, but it’s going away quick,” Salas, 34, said.

Attendance was nearly double that of last year’s job fair, organized by the city and several island organizations and employers, including the Galveston Chamber of Commerce and the University of Texas Medical Branch and held in the city’s seawall convention center.

As job seekers lined up, some as early as 6:45 a.m., to drop off résumés and shake hands with prospective employers, the Federal Reserve announced it expected the pace of the nation’s economic recovery to be restrained by uncertainty and only gradual improvement in labor market conditions and a slow easing of credit restrictions.

The national unemployment rate this year could hover between 9.5 percent and 9.7 percent, the Fed said.

Still, not all is bleak locally. The unemployment rate in Galveston, which surged after Hurricane Ike in September 2008 knocked hundreds of small businesses out of commission, is stabilizing, according to data from Texas Workforce Solutions, which manages employment services and training in the region.

In Galveston, unemployment was at 8.1 percent at the end of December 2009 — the latest data available — compared with 9.6 percent for the same period the year before.

The improvement on the island can be attributed to the reopening of small businesses, Joel Wagher, labor market analyst for Workforce Solutions, said.

Countywide, unemployment was at 8.9 percent in December 2009, compared with 7.6 percent for the same period the year before.

But while the large crowd was a symptom of the lingering recession, it also showed some promise to Gina Spagnola, president of the Galveston Chamber of Commerce.

Many participants Wednesday were seeking to return to the island, which lost 20 percent of its population after Hurricane Ike destroyed hundreds of homes.

Also promising was that the fair featured 75 employers, most of which were filling well-paying positions.

“If you want to work, the jobs are out there,” Spagnola said.

Banks, retailers and hotels had plenty of openings, as did government agencies and large corporations.

Among the participants were American National Insurance Co., the city of Galveston, College of the Mainland, the FBI, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, IBC Bank, the medical branch, ISP Technologies, Randalls and Remington College, to name a few.

Saralyn Harris was among former Galvestonians seeking to return to the island.

Harris, 59, is applying for federal funding through the city to help repair her house in the 3900 block of Sealy, which was badly damaged in the storm.

She has been earning a living as a substitute teacher for the Galveston Independent School District, but most of her pay is getting burned up in fuel costs as she commutes from Webster, where she lives with her daughter as she awaits repairs to her house.

Harris was hoping to get an office job with the city, she said.

Most prospective employers interviewed said they were pleased with the turnout and the quality of candidates.

Bambi Teaff, educational director for The Goddard School for Early Childhood Development, had a thick stack of résumés at her booth.

She was seeking lead teachers and assistants for the Friendswood private school that takes in children ages 6 weeks to 6 years.

An assistant position pays from $8 to $10 an hour, while a lead teacher position pays from $10 to $15 an hour but requires a college degree.

Malin International Ship Repair & Drydock Inc., which operates on the island, was seeking welders and fitters. Before 11 a.m., the company already had lined up several candidates.

Island resident Jim Brennan, 52, recently was laid off by a small island firm that he declined to name. A victim of the recession, the firm was losing revenue.

Brennan works in safety and Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance.

He was hoping Wednesday to get a job with a larger firm with various departments that allowed lateral transfers.

Brennan had been earning about $40,000 a year when he was laid off. Single and without children, he’s getting by, he said.

“But the days are getting longer,” he said.

Still, the job fair was encouraging, he said.

“Seeing what opportunities are available, I’m excited by the possibilities,” he said.

Man dies in Deer Park jail

2010-02-17T08:17:00.000-08:00

DEER PARK, Texas (AP) - Autopsy results are pending after an inmate failed to wake up after being booked in a Houston-area jail.

Deer Park police are investigating the death of 26-year-old Nicholas Moreno of Shoreacres.

Police Chief Gregory Grigg says Moreno had been sleeping alone in his cell for almost five hours when guards noticed he was not breathing early Monday.

Grigg says Moreno was in a wreck over the weekend and Shoreacres police later arrested him Sunday at his home after learning he was wanted on two outstanding traffic warrants.

Grigg says Moreno asked if he could take a soft drink and what he called his "sleep medication" into jail. The police chief says Moreno was not allowed to take any of the antidepressant and the medicine was turned over to a jailer.

An internal investigation will be done.

LA Times: Capybara puts Alvin on map

2010-02-10T08:33:00.001-08:00

LA TIMES:

It's one thing to get a goldfish because your daughter begs for one. It's quite another to end up with a 100-pound rodent who has more than 2,700 Twitter followers.

Caplin Rous is a capybara. Related to the guinea pig, the capybara is the largest species of rodent. Though they're native to South America, Caplin was born in Texas and lives in the town of Buda with Melanie Typaldos, who never expected this animal to take over her life quite the way he has.

Typaldos says it all started on a trip to Venezuela, when her daughter Coral got to hold a young capybara and "fell in love."

"After we got back, she pretty relentlessly pestered me about getting one for a pet," Typaldos says. "Since Coral lived in an apartment and was planning on spending a year in Asia, she couldn't have a pet capybara herself so, she felt, it was up to me to fulfill her capybara vision."

Even capybaras that are bred in captivity like Caplin are not domesticated animals, so early handling and contact is critical for them to be comfortable living with people. Typaldos got Caplin when he was only 11 days old, and took him to work every day for the first three months. Then, "someone complained there was a furry, pig-like animal in the building," and she took a month of vacation and stayed home with him.

Caplin Rous is now 2 1/2. The second part of his name, which Typaldos pronounces like "rose," stands for "Rodent of Unusual Size" (a reference to the movie "The Princess Bride"). He's also a rodent of unusual abilities. He can walk on a leash and even do some tricks, but Typaldos says it's important not to exaggerate any similarity to a dog doing tricks.

"Dogs have thousands of years of being trained to be subservient to people," she says. "A capybara will not do a trick just to make me happy. The quality of the trick is very dependent on the quality of the treat."

Most people who keep capybaras keep them as farm animals, like a sheep or goat, but Caplin basically lives indoors with Typaldos (he eliminates in a pan of water in her bathroom). Outdoor space is necessary as well for grazing and swimming in his pool; in the wild, capybaras are semi-aquatic, diving into rivers to escape predators. Somewhat ponderous on land, capybaras are surprisingly graceful in the water.

"On land he's not very active," she says. "When he's in the water he's like another animal. That's where he's really the happiest."

There's no way of knowing how many private individuals own capybaras, but Justin Damesta, a breeder in Alvin, Texas, says that he sells five to 10 of them a year as pets.

Damesta recommends that a pet capybara be raised indoors for the first few months and then kept outdoors with sturdy fencing, a heated shelter and a pool. Potential buyers who contact him are usually fairly well informed, but, he says, "I have and will turn down people I don't consider qualified or capable."

Some other pet capybaras also can be followed on the Internet, such as Dobby in Seattle. But Typaldos is probably unique in the way she has made the capybara her mission: She spends a couple of hours a day updating Caplin's Internet presence on a blog and social networking sites.

When asked how much time it takes to care for a capybara, she says, "I spend all my time with him, but that's a matter of choice."

Caplin's Web activities are partly fun -- such as interactive games of "Rodent Jeopardy" -- with a serious educational purpose, too. "When I was thinking of getting him, there was nothing on the Web about getting a pet capybara," says Typaldos. "That was a large impetus for the blog. They're not the right pet for most people."

Typaldos has a background in biology, and also keeps horses and reptiles. Her property is big enough that Caplin can graze and swim, and she lives in a climate appropriate for a tropical animal.

On her blog, she's honest about the problems in caring for a capybara. When people ask her about getting one, she tells them first to read her whole blog, including the entries about when he has bitten her.

But Typaldos also sees Caplin as an ambassador of sorts.

"People don't like rodents," she says, but many rodents make good pets. Her kids had pet rats when they were young. "If someone says something bad about rats, on the blog or Facebook, he'll always step in and say something."

LINK TO ORIGINAL STORY WITH MORE PHOTOS

Deer Park car burglaries under investigation

2010-02-10T08:07:00.000-08:00

DEER PARK – The Town of Deerpark Police Department is investigating several larcenies and burglaries that have occurred throughout the town. The larcenies are happening mostly during the overnight hours.

Many of the vehicles being broken into were unlocked.

Atascocita growing by leaps and bounds!

2010-02-03T10:52:00.001-08:00

Business Week:

Tired of reading about how rotten the real estate market is? Here's some good news that shows that even during the worst of the recession plenty of American cities, towns, and suburbs continue to grow.

One such place is Atascocita, Tex. A mostly residential community 20 miles from Houston, it gained more than 1,800 households in 2009, an 8% year-over-year increase, according to new data from Little Rock-based data firm Gadberry Group. Over the decade, amenities that have helped attract residents to this wooded locale include Lake Houston, just east of the city; the school district; and proximity to the city of Houston. With new roads in the area under construction, "we're starting to see major industry start to take a look at the area," says Mike Byers, president of the Lake Houston Area Chamber of Commerce.

Migration levels nationwide stayed low last year as homeowners saddled with pricey mortgages stayed put—but there are some positive trends. Research by the Gadberry Group shows that some areas, resisting the effects of the recession, continue to attract both domestic and foreign migrants and, as an effect, bring in new businesses to provide services. While other cities across the U.S. have contracted, these have continued to grow.

Some states are better off than others, though. As thousands of people left places such as New Orleans and Flint, Mich. (the country's two fastest-shrinking cities), in the last decade, communities with the best mix of economic activity, proximity to job centers, and a good environment for families continued to grow. While not entirely spared by the economic downturn (some homes in these areas are now in foreclosure), people continued to move in during 2009.
Texas Grew the Most

Texas came out on top of Gadberry's survey, with four high-growth cities: Atascocita, Katy, Mansfield, and Wylie. The report only included areas larger than 10,000 occupied households that met requirements for growth rate, household income, length of residence, and other factors.

Larry Martin, principal of the Gadberry Group, says many of the places with the biggest housing growth at the beginning of the last decade, such as Nevada, Florida, and Arizona, also saw the biggest drop-off since the economy sank. Texas, however, enjoyed relatively strong housing and job markets over the last 10 years, thanks in large part to the presence of major employers in the robust energy business. As of December, the state unemployment rate was 8.3% (lower than the national rate of 10%), according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It also had the largest state population growth between July 2008 and July 2009, according to a December release by the Census Bureau. "New homes are still being built and people are still moving into these homes" in Texas, says Martin.

Part of the state's strength, says Mark Mather, a demographer at the Population Reference Bureau in Washington, D.C., is its diversified economy. Main industries include petroleum refining, chemical production, aerospace, and information technology.

Meanwhile, areas that depended on the housing boom are now dealing with high foreclosure rates. Places such as Summerlin South, Nev., which appear in Bloomberg BusinessWeek's slide show of fast-growing cities, gained population but, like the rest of the state, may be dealing with high mortgage default rates.

"If you live by migration, you also die by migration," says Kenneth Johnson, senior demographer at the University of New Hampshire's Carsey Institute. "It doesn't guarantee continued growth."
New Business Opportunities

Migration is typically highest among people in their 20s seeking jobs near large urban cores, but employment opportunities are not the only draw. "Amenities are also important in migrational decisions," says Johnson. Many families consider factors such as schools and recreational amenities like scenic areas and parks.

This is a consideration now in Spring Hill, Tenn., which gained 7,645 households since 2000 as many young families moved to the town for affordable housing and work at the General Motors plant, which is now idle. Dustin Dunbar, chairman of the Spring Hill Economic Development Commission, says this has created demand and opportunity for businesses that provide youth activities and entertainment. "We hope to recruit some businesses to cater to our largest demographics," he says.

While migration in 2010 may remain sluggish, "we'll see a continuation of urban sprawl once the economy bounces back," says Mather.

Dr. Conrad Murray to surrender today.

2010-02-03T06:31:00.001-08:00

Dr. Conrad Murray is expected to surrender to authorities in Los Angeles this week on charges related to Michael Jackson's death, according to The Associated Press and CNN. Murray arrived in Los Angeles recently from Houston in anticipation of a decision from the district attorney's office, spokeswoman Miranda Sevcik told the AP..

"Dr. Murray is in Los Angeles for a dual purpose — on family business and to be available for law enforcement," Sevcik told the AP. "We're trying to be as cooperative as we can."

"Dr. Murray is more than ready to surrender and answer to any charges," Ed Chernoff, one of Murray's lawers, told CNN, adding that prosecutors have not announced any charges, and Murray has not been told how or where he should surrender.

No official comment has been made about when charges might, come; David Walgren, the deputy district attorney handling the case, declined to comment to the AP on Tuesday (February 2).

Law enforcement officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the AP that Murray is likely to be charged with involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's June 25 death from an anesthetic overdose. Murray has denied criminal wrongdoing.

"We continue to maintain that Dr. Murray neither prescribed nor administered anything that should have killed Michael Jackson," Sevcik said.

Earlier this year, TMZ reported that the Los Angeles Police Department had completed its investigation into Jackson's death and was preparing to send the case to the DA's office within weeks.

Murray has told investigators that he administered the surgical anesthetic propofol, as well as other tranquilizers, to Jackson several times in the hours leading up to his death, and the coroner has ruled the singer died of lethal levels of the drug. Involuntary manslaughter charges would require prosecutors to show that Murray engaged in gross negligence in his actions but did not intend to cause harm or death to Jackson.

Cleanup under way in 462,000-gallon oil spill off Port Arthur

2010-01-25T06:13:00.001-08:00

CNN) -- Crews removed about 46,000 gallons of oil from waters near Port Arthur, Texas, on Sunday, roughly 10 percent of the oil spilled a day earlier when a tanker collided with two barges, a U.S. Coast Guard officer said.

An estimated 462,000 gallons of crude oil leaked from barrels aboard the tanker, forcing the closure of the port in southern Texas, Petty Officer Larry Chambers told CNN. The Sabine Neches Waterway near Port Arthur also was closed. It was unclear Sunday when the port, about 100 miles east of Houston, Texas, will reopen or when crews will finish the cleanup, he said.

"We certainly want it to be done as soon as possible, but with that said, safety is the main issue," Chambers said. "We're not going to open the port until it's determined that vessels can pass through cleanly, safely and not cause any further damage."

No injuries were reported when the Exxon Mobile-chartered tanker -- the 807-foot Eagle Otome -- collided Saturday with two barges being towed by a tug boat. The tanker was carrying about 570,000 gallons of crude oil to Exxon's Beaumont refinery when it crashed, Exxon Mobile spokesman Kevin Allexon told CNN. The cause of the crash was unknown, but is under investigation, he said.

"We are very concerned about how this could have happened," Allexon said. "We are very concerned about the impact to the environment, to the community. No one wants to see this happen."

The port is primarily for industrial use, but it is not far from wetlands. None of the nearby marshes or sensitive wildlife were adversely affected, Chambers said, but one heron was "oiled." The bird was alive and undergoing treatment, he said.

An evacuation order that was imposed in a 50-block area around the port after the collision was lifted. That area was evacuated Saturday out of caution, as the tanker was carrying a type of oil containing sulfide.

Fifteen skimming vessels sailed the area recovering the oil and workers dropped more than 45,000 feet of boom -- fencing-like material -- to keep the oil from spreading, Chambers said. More than 500 people were involved in containing and cleaning the spill, said Darrell Wilson, spokesman for Malaysia-based AET Tanker Holdings, the owner of the tanker.

The biggest oil spill in U.S. history occurred in 1989 when the Exxon Valdez ran aground on a reef in the Gulf of Alaska, resulting in the spill of 11 million gallons of crude.

Bullritos opens in Deer Park

2010-01-05T07:15:00.000-08:00

DEER PARK, Texas - December 16, 2009 - After opening its first location in La Porte, Texas, in 2008 and quickly becoming a local favorite, Bullritos(r) is proud to open its fourth franchised location, located at 3709 Center Street in Deer Park, Texas. Bullritos serves burritos (bullritos), tacos and bowls (bullritos without tortillas).

In celebration of opening day, the first 50 qualified participants in line at the new Deer Park Bullritos received an Unbelievabull Giveaway-one free bullrito per week for a year. Bullritos fans started camping out at the Deer Park location at 10 p.m. the night before opening day.

"We wanted to thank the Deer Park community for welcoming Bullritos with open arms," said Jonathan Kim, Bullritos franchisee. "And this giveaway was the perfect opportunity to not only give back to guests, but to also allow them to have the full Bullritos experience."

Bullritos was founded by Russell Ybarra, president and founder of Gringo's Mexican Kitchen. Motivated by his personal experience of running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, Ybarra extended his culinary palette into a Spanish-inspired, hip burrito joint complete with high-quality ingredients, frozen lemonade and talented "burristas" (burrito rollers). Bullritos, bowls and tacos are loaded with any combination of freshly grilled and prepared meats, two styles of rice, three options of beans (all vegetarian), chile con queso, freshly-cut veggies and mild to spicy salsas. To create a "Custom Bull," patrons indicate their order by marking their desired style and ingredients on bull bags with red markers. Burristas create the bullrito, bowl or tacos, and put them in the bag for the guest to "run with it," emphasizing the "bag 'n' go" concept.

"We hope to impact more communities in a positive way with every new Bullritos location," said Ybarra. "The philosophy behind Bullritos has always been to deliver delicious food with the finest ingredients as well as to give back to the community."

Captured escapee says prison staff helped him

2009-12-09T06:42:00.001-08:00

by KHOU.com Staff

Posted on December 9, 2009 at 6:50 AM

CONROE, Texas—The escaped prisoner who was the focus of a week-long manhunt told a local activist that he had help from the inside. Convicted child rapist Arcade Comeaux said the weapon he used to hijack guards was in his cell for at least three weeks.

Questions still surround the prison system that allowed Comeaux to dupe authorities for years. The supposedly partially-paralyzed man managed to walk away from the guards and right into controversy.
Authorities are asking two questions; why didn’t prison officials realize Comeaux was faking his medical condition, and where did he get the gun?
Local activist Quanell X said Comeaux told him he had help from the inside.

“He named that guard and he also named someone who is involved in medical who had been giving him medical assistance,” Quanell X said.

But prison officials said Comeaux has not shared that information with investigators so there are no arrests at this time.
“This feels like the inmate is running the asylum,” said a former TDCJ staff member who remembers Comeaux clearly.
“He would sit in the food. Of course it would dry and start smelling. He refused to shower, refused to clean himself, basically saying ‘I’m immobile, I need someone to do this for me.’”

The former staff member said Comeaux orchestrated a deliberate campaign of extortion, despite medical reports that he was able to care for himself. He said Comeaux manipulated the system to get health assistance and better housing.
A grand jury on Thursday will hear the case against the convicted sex offender who was captured in northeast Houston Monday morning.
Comeaux is now facing aggravated kidnapping and felony escape charges. He was in custody in the Montgomery County Jail Tuesday, awaiting his hearing. Comeaux, who is currently serving three life sentences, was found when a salesman saw him trying to hitchhike in front of a business on East Little York.

The salesman called HPD, who came and took Comeaux into custody without incident.
Investigators said Comeaux escaped during transport from a prison unit in Huntsville to one in Beaumont.
As the prison van passed through Conroe, investigators said Comeaux pulled out a gun, held two transport guards hostage, handcuffed them in the back of the van, drove the van to Baytown, took the guards’ weapons, put on one of their uniforms and escaped.

Officials launched an extensive manhunt, but Comeaux managed to elude them for seven days before he was captured.
He had been confined to a wheelchair since 1997 when a stroke purportedly left him partially paralyzed, but when he was taken into custody, Comeaux was walking.

He has been in and out of the Texas prison system for 30 years.
Comeaux was first sent to prison in 1979 on three 10-year sentences for rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child and burglary of a building—all out of Harris County. He was paroled four years later.

His parole was revoked and he returned to prison in 1984 to serve a 20-year sentence on a new charge of indecency with a child out of Harris County. He was paroled in 1991 but was in and out of prison for parole violations until 1996.
In June 1998, he was given a life sentence for aggravated sexual assault in Brazos County.
Comeaux was given two extra life sentences after he was convicted of stabbing his wife and another person in 1999. That attack occurred in the Jester III Unit in Fort Bend County when his wife came to visit him. The other person stabbed was a man who tried to stop the attack.

Still, those at the top want to correct the miscommunication between the workers inside prison walls.

“If you are in charge of a prison, and you see there is a disputes between medical’s and correction’s, come to us and ask for laws that would eliminate the controversy, ”said John Whitmire, chairman of the senate criminal justice committee. He is calling for a full investigation of prison and medical staff.

WATCH KHOU VIDEO REPORT HERE

News Alert: Comeaux now on most wanted list

2009-12-06T06:36:00.001-08:00

(CNN) -- A Texas inmate in a wheelchair, who escaped on foot from two armed guards as he was being transferred between prisons, is now on the U.S. Marshals' list of the 15 most-wanted fugitives.
Arcade Comeaux Jr., 49, "produced a weapon and fired upon two correctional officers, took them hostage and forced them to drive to Baytown, Texas," the U.S. Marshals Service said in a statement.
He then put the officers in the back of the van and took their weapons and one of their uniforms, the statement said.

Comeaux was serving three life sentences for aggravated sexual assault and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He escaped Monday during transport from Huntsville, Texas, to Stiles, Texas.
The 6-foot, 200-pound man was shackled and in a wheelchair, "which he had claimed was needed for mobility," Michelle Lyons, director of public information for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Huntsville, said in a statement.

About 45 minutes into the trip, as they were driving through Conroe, 40 minutes north of Houston, the prisoner pulled out a pistol and ordered the guards to drive south to Baytown, east of Houston.
He fired once, but hit no one during the escape about 9 a.m., officials said.
Law enforcement officers found the unharmed officers an hour later.

Comeaux was being transferred so he could be near John Sealy Hospital in Galveston for treatment of the supposed paralysis he had suffered during a reported stroke, officials said.

At least $16,000 in reward money has been offered for information leading to Comeaux's rearrest and a task force of more than 100 investigators is searching for him, focusing on the Houston area, where he grew up and has family.
His escape has led the man who oversees Texas' criminal justice system to call for a shakeup of the prison system.
"I just think enough's enough," said Sen. John Whitmire, the Texas Democrat from Houston who is chairman of the state Senate's Criminal Justice Committee.

"We need a complete shakeup of the leadership of our prison system and/or an outside review by third parties," he told CNN by phone Wednesday. "We just can't have security breaches of this nature."
Whitmire said the guards had failed to pat down Comeaux while he was in his wheelchair and before they began the trip.
"Sure enough, he has a firearm," he said. "The question is, are there others (in the prison system)? I think you have to assume that there are until you find out differently."

So far this year, more than 900 cell phones have been confiscated from the 112 locations that house the state's 158,000 prisoners. "It's pretty rampant," he said.

"I want the director to come forward and tell us what it's going to take" to solve the problem, he said.
John Moriarty, inspector general of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, said such lapses are highly unusual in the state's penal system. "We have no open gun investigations other than this one," he said. "The last one was several years ago."
Texas Department of Criminal Justice Executive Director Brad Livingston, who has been in the job since 2005, did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.

Snow forecast in Houston area !

2009-12-04T05:40:00.001-08:00

On average, once every four years even Houston gets visited by the Snow Gods. Although, this could be the second year-in-a-row for Houston snow. And if snow does indeed fall this Friday as forecasted, it would be the earliest snowfall on record.

Fred Schmud of ImpactWeather said to the Houston Chronicle, “Most of our forecasting data is caught right in the middle, meaning any subtle change in the position of the upper level disturbance will have huge consequences on how much, if any, snow falls across the Greater Houston area."

Right now NOAA is predicting a 70% chance of snow on Friday.

Christmas on the Island

2009-12-02T07:01:00.000-08:00

Moody Gardens lights up its pyramids and more for Festival of Lights which shines through Jan. 8.

By Carol Rust
Updated: 11.30.09
Galveston Island will be the host of Christmas Past and Christmas Futuristic with twin annual attractions – the 36th annual Dickens on the Strand – back in full festive force after Hurricane Ike – and the Moody Gardens Festival of Lights, transforming the Gardens’ glass pyramids into spectacular, sparkling mountains of incandescence. Both offer an array of entertainment for all ages.

Christmas carols and cockney accents alike will fill the air in Galveston’s historic district this Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5-6, when the 19th-century characters from the world of Charles Dickens come alive, sauntering along a 10-block area crowded with Victorian-era costumes, entertainment, wares, choirs and boutiques and featuring artifacts from London’s Charles Dickens Museum.

New this year is the Dickens Victorian Bed Races, in which costumed contestants pull and push their mattress-topped chariots, complete with pajama-clad passengers, along a two-block route toward the finish line. Halfway through, members of each team must switch places – and costumes – with members who have been riding in the beds, Chinese Fire Drill-style.

The fun-filled festivities will represent a boisterous comeback from last year, when event sponsor and attendees valiantly kept the spirit of Dickens on the Strand alive in half the usual festival area in the wake of Hurricane Ike, aka Scrooge, which flooded many buildings in the district with 8 to 13 feet of corrosive water, shuttering numerous shops whose owners typically participate in Galveston Island’s unique Christmas holiday. Some sold their merchandise from the second floors of their businesses and others erected outdoor booths.

“There is no better place in Texas to be than on the historic streets of Galveston during the first weekend in December,” said Dwayne Jones, executive director of Galveston Historical Foundation, which has turned its annual Dickens on the Strand into one of the premier holiday festivals in the nation. “This year’s festival is very special to Galveston. Hurricane Ike forced us to scale back last year’s Dickens on the Strand. This year, we have even added to all the wonderful features that have made attending the festival a tradition for thousands of Texas families over the years.”

The Dickens Emporium, another new feature this year, highlights the famous painting “Dickens’s Dream,” never before been seen in the United States. In the painting, the beloved author dozes in his office chair as images of the characters he made famous in his novels float in the air around his head. The exhibit also includes artifacts from the Charles Dickens Museum, including the author’s chair, where festival patrons may sit to pose for Victorian Christmas portraits. Retail items depicting the “Dickens’ Dream” image will be on sale.

Advance tickets may be purchased only at www.galvestonhistory.org. for $9 for adults and $4 for children ages seven to 12. At the gate, tickets will be $12 and $6 for children ages seven to 12. Attendees dressed in period costume get in free.

Across the island, holiday visitors get a different kind of treat with the Moody Gardens’ Festival of Lights, with more than 100 sound-enhanced light displays and nightly entertainment. Even on this Gulf Coast island, visitors can don a pair of ice skates and glide around the specially made outdoor skating rink — a first this year — along the scenic Offatts Bayou.

The multiple-week event, which attracts some 85,000 visitors each year and runs through Jan. 8, also features an array of holiday-themed films at the IMAX Theater. Movie-goers can experience “Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” starring Jim Carrey, in three-dimensional delight. Polar Express 4D offers special effects such as falling snow, the sensation of blowing wind and the smell of hot chocolate to appeal to all the senses.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. daily. Admission to Festival of Lights is $5.95. Tickets for additional attractions, including the Aquarium Pyramid, the holiday IMAX film, holiday Ridefilm, the Discovery Museum and the Colonel Paddle Boat, are $5 each.

Moody Gardens also offers a savory alternative to the pressures of holiday meal preparation with its Holiday Dinner Buffet at the Garden Restaurant or at the “Gift of Christmas Live” Show and Dinner, combining a fine-dining experience with a lively performance of some of the state’s tall talents. Tickets to this event are $43

Michael Jackson's doctor returns to work in Houston

2009-11-23T07:53:00.001-08:00

Michael Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray, who is the subject of an investigation into the death of the singer, has returned to work.

The cardiologist has resumed work at his medical clinic in Houston for the first time since the late singer's death on June 25.

"He has not been able to earn a living since the death of Michael Jackson," his lawyer Ed Chernoff told the Associated Press. "His legal fees are enormous and his debts have mounted to the point where it is unclear whether he will be able to keep his house or support his family.

"His intentions are to attend to these patients who have continued to support him, despite the attention and despite the threats."

Battleground course offers fair fight

2009-10-28T07:08:00.000-07:00

Layout not overly demanding or high-priced
By TODD HVEEM
Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Oct. 27, 2009, 8:56PM

Sharon Steinmann Chronicle

The Battleground at Deer Park offers a day of relaxation and a history lesson every time a player decides to load up the clubs and drive to the course.
Located near the site of the Battle of San Jacinto, the Battleground course features narrow fairways and large, undulated greens.

Water hazards come into play on 15 of the 18 holes, and most run along the right side of the fairway. In other words, don't slice.

“The water really comes into play out here,” said Battleground's William Wamble, who has worked in the pro shop for the past six years. “We always hear a lot about that.”

The Battleground's signature hole is No. 17, which is a 175-yard par 3 that requires a 150-yard carry over water to a green that features a dynamic waterfall in front.
The picturesque hole usually plays into the wind, though at this time of year, the north winds can make it quite a tee shot into a severely sloped green.

“We have heard a lot of great things about the course,” Wamble said. “They almost always say it is a great layout with a very reasonable price.”
The tee markers on each hole offer a little trivia about how Sam Houston helped Texas win its independence at the Battle of San Jacinto. It is a nice touch to a very well-kept course.

The fairways also drain fairly well, and there are more than 35 bunkers on the course.

READ MORE HERE

North campus students make ‘Heavenly Hats’ a success

2009-10-20T06:42:00.000-07:00

By RICHARD TEW
Updated: 10.19.09
The Heavenly Hats Foundation is a foundation that was set up some four years ago to aid cancer patients or patients suffering from other diseases that might lead to hair loss, with a decorative hat.

Anthony D. Leanna, a 17-year-old high school student from Green Bay, Wisconsin, started the organization when he was just 10-years-old. The motivation for the service is best summed up in his own words from his website: “Hair loss during the battle of a disease can be uncomfortable, depressing and at times even a little humiliating. The hat is just a small symbol of hope and love, but my wish is that it will have the power to brighten the patient’s day so that they can look to the future with a smile.”

Citing his grandmother’s own battle with breast cancer when he was a child; Leanna decided at that point that he wanted to do something to help those brave souls fighting for their lives, in some small way.

Deer Park High School answered the call to service by organizing and putting on a ‘Hat Parade’ of its own. The idea originally came from Arnold Adair, who is the superintendant of schools for Deer Park. From there, Ernie Salazar, who is the north campus principal, picked it up and sent it to Sara Soto. Soto, who along with her duties as a science teacher and science department chair, is also a student council sponsor. Once the idea was presented to the student council sponsors, it was decided to make this project the first student council project of the new school year. “It looked like a worthy cause and I thought it would be a neat project for the kids to do,” said Soto.

The effort paid off as some 330 armbands where sold at $1 a piece, netting $330 for the Heavenly Hats Foundation. The winners of the hat building competition were Sergio Sanchez and Christopher Scholz; Sanchez’s hat, he made himself.

LCROSS Moon Smash Viewing Party In Humble

2009-10-08T08:38:00.001-07:00

Administaff Observatory - Humble ISD
2505 S. Houston Ave, Humble, TX 77396
http://www.humble.k12.tx.us/observatory.htm
The Administaff Observatory will be recording and projecting the event as seen on their 20-inch Planewave CDK telescope and viewing it with our eyes on the 16-inch Meade LX-200 telescope. Aaron Clevenson - aaron@clevenson.org, Observatory Director, Adminstaff Observatory

Related article: Earth’s closest neighbor is holding a secret. In 1999, hints of that secret were revealed in the form of concentrated hydrogen signatures detected in permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles by NASA’s Lunar Prospector. These readings may be an indication of lunar water and could have far-reaching implications as humans expand exploration past low-Earth orbit. The Lunar CRater Observing and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission is seeking a definitive answer.

In April 2006, NASA selected the LCROSS proposal for a low-cost, fast-track companion mission to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The main LCROSS mission objective is to confirm the presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed crater near a lunar polar region.

LCROSS launched with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on June 18, 2009 at 2:32 p.m. PDT. The LCROSS shepherding spacecraft and the Atlas V’s Centaur upper stage rocket executed a fly-by of the moon on June 23, 2009 (LCROSS lunar swingby video stream coverage) and entered into an elongated Earth orbit to position LCROSS for impact on a lunar pole. On final approach, the shepherding spacecraft and Centaur will separate. The Centaur will act as a heavy impactor to create a debris plume that will rise above the lunar surface. Projected impact at the lunar South Pole is currently: Oct 9, 2009 at 4:30 a.m. PDT. Following four minutes behind, the shepherding spacecraft will fly through the debris plume, collecting and relaying data back to Earth before impacting the lunar surface and creating a second debris plume.

The debris plumes are expected to be visible from Earth- and space-based telescopes 10-to-12 inches and larger.

The LCROSS science payload consists of two near-infrared spectrometers, a visible light spectrometer, two mid-infrared cameras, two near-infrared cameras, a visible camera and a visible radiometer. The LCROSS instruments were selected to provide mission scientists with multiple complimentary views of the debris plume created by the Centaur impact.

As the ejecta rises above the target crater’s rim and is exposed to sunlight, any water-ice, hydrocarbons or organics will vaporize and break down into their basic components. These components primarily will be monitored by the visible and infrared spectrometers. The near-infrared and mid-infrared cameras will determine the total amount and distribution of water in the debris plume. The spacecraft’s visible camera will track the impact location and the behavior of the debris plume while the visible radiometer will measure the flash created by the Centaur impact.

NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., is overseeing the development of the LCROSS mission with its spacecraft and integration partner, Northrop Grumman, Redondo Beach, Calif. LCROSS is a fast-paced, low-cost, mission that will leverage some existing NASA systems, commercial-off-the-shelf components, the spacecraft expertise of Northrop Grumman and experience gained during the Lunar Prospector Mission in 1999. Ames is managing the mission, conducting mission operations, and developing the payload instruments, while Northrop Grumman designed and is building the spacecraft for this innovative mission. Ames mission scientists will spearhead the data analysis.

Public viewing parties:

Sci-Quest Museum
102-D Wynn Drive, Huntsville, AL 35805
www.sci-quest.org
Overnight lock-in at the Museum. Evening of Thursday, Oct. 8 with viewing opportunities Friday, Oct. 9 (Impact week is also Fall Break for our local schools). We will have LCROSS programs and activities throughout the evening and show NASA TV live coverage in the Sci-Quest auditorium. Members of the Von Braun Astronomical Society will bring out telescopes for observations. Sci-Quest can accommodate 80 children and 40 adults. LPRP is working with MSFC Academic Affairs to select the students for participation.
Tentative: live feed to MSFC auditorium for employees.

Von Braun Astronomical Society Planetarium, Monte Sano State Park
Monte Sano State Park , Huntsville, AL 35805
www.vbas.org
October 9th - LCROSS Mission's Lunar Impacts -- Early Friday morning (Gathering at around 5 - 5:30 am), October 9th, VBAS Members and news media only are invited to join us at our observatory facilities located within Monte Sano State Park to view and record the two plumes for the LCROSS (Lunar CRater Observatory and Sensing Satellite) mission's lunar impacts! Watch for additional details to be posted soon.
October 10th - Astronomy Day -- On Saturday, Oct. 10th from 3 pm to mid-night, VBAS will host our annual "Astronomy Day" which will include children activities, planetarium programs, an outdoor concert from 5 to 9 pm that the entire family will enjoy featuring the Maple Hill Band & Moondust Big Band, and a star party from 9 pm to mid-night that any one with a telescope is welcome to attend! During our event, we will be showing the video footage of the lunar impact's plume and will celebrate, share the exciting historical moment with the public. Admission is free for children and students, with a $10 donation for adults. Members wishing to help this year should contact Melissa Snider at 256.684.9036 and those with telescopes who would like to reserve a spot for the star party from 9 to mid-night should contact Eric Johnson at 256.682.2401.

California (CA)

Lewis Center for Educational Research
17500 Mana Road, Apple Valley, CA 92307
http://www.lewiscenter.org/
Doors open to the public beginning at 4am. The Lewis Center can accommodate ~320 and has a small overflow area as well. NASA Channel will all be on all TVs and computers in Mission Control area. The Lewis Center will also have 65 students in house all night. They will be tracking, from the in house mission control, the spacecraft as it impacts the Moon using a 34-m radio telescope. You can see the Mission Control from their website at: http://gsc.lewiscenter.org/gavrt/mission_control.php

Antelope Valley Astronomy Club
P.O. Box 8545, Lancaster, CA 93539
Antelope Valley - LCROSS Lunar Impact Event Page
The Antelope Valley Astronomy Club is planning a star party for the morning of the impact. The party will be at a private residence in Antelope Acres and some really cool observing equipment will be present.

Lucerne Dry Lake
Lucerne Valley, CA
LCROSS Viewing Party at Lucerne Dry Lake
There will be an 8" Celestron telescope with a low-light video camera going to a projector, so many people will be able to view the event. Camping is allowed on Lucerne Dry Lake, and portable toilets will be available. The event will occur a day before the Rocketry Organization of California (ROC) rocket launch at the lakebed. Directions and camping information can be found on ROC's website at www.ROCstock.org.

NASA Ames Research Center
Moffett Field, California 94035
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/events/2009/10.08.09.html
Ames will be hosting an all-night event that is open to the general public and free; however, no-cost tickets are required for each guest wishing to stay overnight. See site for details and schedule of events.

Chabot Space & Science Center
10000 Skyline Blvd. - Oakland, CA 94619
Chabot - NASA/LCROSS Lunar Impact Event
As NASA’s LCROSS Mission to investigate the presence of water on the Moon comes to a close, get up early and join us at Chabot to view the impact of the spacecraft and the debris plume it is expected to produce through a special live NASA broadcast in our Planetarium, and through the eye of Chabot’s own 36-inch telescope, Nellie. Advanced registration required -- Members FREE / Guests $3 -- Register: (510) 336-7373

California Academy of Sciences
55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco, CA 94118
LCROSS event during the day Oct. 9
For those who aren't early risers, drop by the California Academy of Sciences to attend one of four debriefings during the day. At 10:00 a.m., noon, 2:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m., Academy educators will highlight original footage of the impact as well as up-to-the-minute results as the day progresses. Visit the "Science in Action" exhibit on the first floor for updates. Free with Academy admission.

The Fremont Peak Observatory
PO Box 1376, San Juan Bautista, California 95045
LCROSS Lunar Impact
The observatory will open to the public starting around 3:00 a.m. and continue until about 5:00 a.m. The telescope is a large 30" f/4.8 modified Newtonian style telescope. We will be attaching a sensitive video camera and recording the event. The recorder will be connected to the projector in the classroom adjacent to the observing room. This way, we can accommodate about 50 or more people with the ability to see the event live. If more interest picks up, we might move the projector screen outside to the amphitheater -- that configuration can accommodate over 100 people. Other members will have smaller telescopes set up around the observatory also. Campsites are available on first come first serve basis. State Parks requires RSVP's. See www.fpoa.netfor details.

Tierra Del Sol Remote Observation Facility
Tierra de Luna Rd, Tierra del Sol, CA 91905
http://sandiegospace.org
The San Diego Astronomy Association will host a special star party event at the Tierra Del Sol remote observation facility 90 minutes east of San Diego. Members of the public who wish to attend should call 858-877-3103 or send an email request for a ticket to publicity@sdaa.org to RSVP, as the event will be limited to a total of 300 attendees. Overnight camping is available and full details about how to reach the Tierra Del Sol site, and what to bring with you to the event will be emailed to those who RSVP in advance of the event. You must RSVP to attend.

Colorado (CO)

Fiske Planetarium
Regent Drive, University of Colorado, Boulder CO 80301
http://fiske.colorado.edu/
Fiske Planetarium and Sommers-Bausch Observatory will hold a Lunar Bagel Breakfast. The observatory has 16", 18" and a 24" telescope that will be used for the general public to view the impact.

Star Light--Star Bright Observatory
2015 Wickes Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80919
www.gateway2space.com
Will have a 10" Mac-Newtonian telescope and video camera system to display the impact to students, teachers, and members of the public who plan to come out early in the morning on the 9th of Oct., weather permitting.

Connecticut (CT)

Discovery Museum and Planetarium
4450 Park Ave., Bridgeport, CT 06604
http://www.discoverymuseum.org/
Discovery Museum and Planetarium will be hosting an LCROSS breakfast to view the impact event. Light breakfast will be served, planetarium show, short lecture and live impact downlink followed by discussion and celebratory toast.

District of Columbia (DC)

Newseum
555 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20001
www.newseum.org
Will present the NASA TV live coverage, will open up the museum free at 6:30 a.m. EDT.

Florida (FL)

NASA Kennedy Space Center
FL 32899-0001
www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/home/index.html
KSC guest operations is considering options to open one of their theaters at the Visitor’s Complex and dedicate it for the week of impact to show various LCROSS launch videos and replays of press conferences. This would be available for viewing by the general public during their visits.

Hawaii (HI)
The State has declared that the week of October 2-9 is Hawai’ian Aerospace Week.

Mauna Kea
Great University of Hawaii-owned UH-88 telescope on Mauna Kea is going to be made available for outreach. Details in the works: Andy Chaikin will be at the telescope, amateur involvement with the gathering of the images. John Herrington and Todd May will also be there.

'Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai'i
600 `Imiloa Place, Hilo, HI 96720
Free NASA LCROSS Mission Talk and Presentation.— Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 10:00 AM to Noon

Lanihuli Observatory
Windward Community College, 45-720 Keaahala Rd, Kaneohe, Hawaii 96744
Observatory open and free to the public from 10:00 p.m. Oct 8 through 2:00 a.m. Oct 9.

Maui Astronomy Club
Institute for Astronomy, 34 Ohia Ku Street, Pukalani HI 96768
www.mauiastronomyclub.org
Open to the public from 11:30 pm to 2:30am. Astronomers are advised to arrive early to set up telescopes, video and CCD cameras. Attendees will be instructed and educated as to timing and nature of event. We will be watching the NASA TV live feed on line as well. Hot chocolate will be served.

Idaho (ID)

College of Southern Idaho’s Herrett Center for Arts and Science museum
315 Falls Ave, Twin Falls, ID 83301-3367
'Moon Bomb' breakfast at the Herrett Center
The Center is planning a public event to view the LCROSS impact. The Center has a public observatory with a 24” f/8 research-grade telescope, and a 144-seat planetarium theater with multiple video projectors. Event includes sky gazing, viewing the impact in the auditorium and a breakfast. The Herrett Telescope will be focused on the point of impact by 4:30 a.m. when the doors open.

Illinois (IL)

The Adler Planetarium
1300 S. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL 60605
http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/special/index.shtml#lcross
The Adler Planetarium will show the planned impact of NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) live on the morning of October 9, 2009 in the Definiti Theater. The event will begin at 6:00 a.m., alongside a live feed from the Adler's own 20-inch Doane Observatory telescope (weather permitting) as we attempt to see the impact plume through our telescope, as well. This event is FREE, but advance registration is STRONGLY encouraged. Registration is ONLINE ONLY. If space is available on October 9, seating will be first come, first served, based on the capacity of the theater, though there is no guarantee that day-of space will be offered. Doors open at 5:50 a.m.; the event ends at 7:00 a.m.

NIU Geology Department
Northern Illinois University, Davis Hall Room 308, Normal & Locust Rds., DeKalb, IL 60115
The Northern Illinois University Geology Department, hosted by Sigma Gamma Epsilon (Geologic Honor Society) will be hosting a NASA TV viewing party for the LCROSS impact on October 9th. The viewing will be from 6:00am until whenever there is nothing left to see, and the event will be catered by a local restaurant. For more information on attending the event (and having hot food!) please email niu.sge.info@gmail.com for more information.

NIU Observatory
Northern Illinois University, Normal & Locust Rds., DeKalb, IL 60115
http://www.niu.edu/physics/observatory/
The NIU Davis Observatory will be hosting an event from 5:00am—7:00am on October 9 to attempt to view the dust plume resulting from the impact. We expect this to also be an excellent time to observe other objects, including Mars and Venus. For more information or for directions to the observatory, please e-mail observatory@niu.edu, call 753-1305 or go to www.niu.edu/physics/observatory.

Kentucky (KY)

Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd, Bowling Green, KY, 42101
The WKU Physics and Astronomy Department, Hardin Planetarium and the Hilltoppers Astronomy Club will host a Star Party starting at 5:00 am Friday October 9th. There will be bagels and juice, talks by professional astronomers and more. Come and be a part of this unique event and watch NASA's video broadcast of the LCROSS spacecraft impacting the Moon live from the Hardin Planetarium. Adults and children welcome. Free. Please contact Dr Rachel Campbell if you would like more information.

Gheens Science Hall and Rauch Planetarium
University of Louisville, 108 W Brandeis Ave, Louisville, KY 40292
LCROSS Public Viewing Event
The free, public event starts at 7 a.m. EDT (the crash is scheduled for 7:30 a.m.) and will feature a live broadcast of the collision, behind the scenes videos and a question and answer session with planetarium director Rachel Connolly. Light refreshments, including “moon rocks” (donut holes), will be served. Those planning to attend the event should check to make sure details of the mission have not changed by calling the planetarium at 502-852-6664.

Morehead University Space Center
4133 Us Highway 60, Morehead, KY 40351
LCROSS Public Viewing Event
Join the Faculty and Staff of the Morehead State University Space Science Center Friday October 9th at 6:30 am CDT to witness the culmination of the LCROSS mission, part of NASA’s revived robotic exploration of the Moon. Live coverage from NASA TV will be shown on the Star Theater dome as the LCROSS satellite observes the impact of its Centaur upper stage into a crater permanently shadowed near the moon’s South Pole at approximately 7:30 a.m. CDT, followed four minutes later by the impact of the LCROSS vehicle itself.

Louisiana (LA)

Highland Road Park Observatory
13800 Highland Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70810
http://www.bro.lsu.edu/
Public event from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 9. For more information, contact hrpodesk@brec.org

Massachusetts (MA)

Boston Museum of Science
61 Science Park, Boston, MA 02114
"Target: Moon!"
Watch a NASA video broadcast of the experiment, and join Museum staff and guest scientists in a discussion on its implications for future human exploration of the Moon. Our guests include Nick Gross, PhD, Boston University Astronomy Department; and Tony Case, graduate student from Boston University Center for Space Physics. Starts at 9:00 a.m. EDT, with the re-broadcast of the LCROSS impacts at 10:00 a.m. EDT.

Minnesota (MN)

Jackson Middle School Observatory
6000 109th Avenue North, Champlin, Minnesota 55316
www.anoka.k12.mn.us
Public event from 5:45 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 9. Please check the Web site to make sure the session is still on as planned (due to weather conditions) or call 763-506-5372 to listen to the recorded message.

Willmar Senior High
2701 30th St. NE, Willmar, MN 56201
www.willmar.k12.mn.us/srhigh
Willmar Senior High's Earth Space Science class will have 2 telescopes set up 1 - 8" Celestron Scmidt-Cass with digital camera and a 10" Orion Skyquest light bucket at 6:00 a.m. for the 6:30 a.m. EDT impact.

Mississippi (MS)

Rainwater Observatory & Planetarium
1 Fine Place, French Camp, MS 39745
www.rainwaterobservatory.org/
Talk and public observing event the night of Oct. 8. Our telescopes will be observing and imaging the event on Friday morning. We will have an open house on Saturday afternoon and another talk Saturday evening at 7pm followed by observing.

Montana (MT)

Montana State University - Northern
300 West 11th Street, Havre, MT 59501
www.msun.edu/
Montana State University - Northern is hosting an observation of the LCROSS impact ejecta plume Oct. 9th, starting at 4:30 am CDT on the campus at the Student Union Building (Sled Hill). We will be setting up several large telescopes and pray for good seeing. Contact info: Professor Trygve "Spike" Magelssen trygve.magelssen@msun.edu; 406-265-4123, and Dr. Virgil Hawkinson hawkinson@msun.edu. We'll have the hot chocolate and coffee on!

Nevada (NV)

University of Nevada, Reno
1664 N. Virginia St., Reno, NV 89557-0208
www.unr.edu/home/
The University of Nevada, Reno will be offering public viewing in the parking lot south of the campus baseball field from 4:00 AM to Dawn on October 9th 2009. The University will have its 11" Meade, equipped with a CCD camera to try to get an image of the impact, and Tahoe Star Tours will have an 11" CPC for visual observation, with an additional 8" telescope for general viewing.

New York (NY)

Inwood Astronomy Project
Inwood Hill Park, W 207 Street and Seaman Ave, New York City, NY
http://www.moonbeam.net/InwoodAstronomy/events-20091009.shtml
Early morning stargazing then breakfast and watch the Impact on NASA TV.

Hirsch Observatory
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th St, Troy, NY 12180
www.rpi.edu/dept/phys/observatory/
Event starts at 6:30 a.m. EDT. We will attempt imaging the event with the Hirsch Observatory's 16" telescope and live video feeds from NASA and major observatories will be presented. Event is weather permitting. In the event of clouds the event will be canceled. You can email astro@union.rpi.edu for more information. The observatory phone number is 518-276-6090.

North Carolina (NC)

High Point, NC
Astronomy Lecture featuring LCROSS
(more info forthcoming)

Ohio (OH)

Cleveland Museum of Natural History (in partnership with NASA Glenn)
1 Wade Oval Drive University Circle Cleveland OH 44106-1767
www.cmnh.org
CMNH has a planetarium and a 10.5” refractor telescope. Because sunrise is at 7:32 a.m., they are not optimistic in being able to see much, but they are going to try. They will put a TV camera feed to a public viewing area (as well as to a video recorder) and allow visitors to walk through the observatory. Media will also be invited to the event. NASA TV will be broadcast in the planetarium and perhaps an auditorium. Glenn will provide an LPRP banner it has been in storage since the Oshkosh air show, a model of the Centaur rocket, a pop up exhibit on Centaur history, and possibly a “speaker” to answer questions from a NASA perspective.

Nielsen Observatory
12882 Diagonal Road, Elyria, Ohio 44050
www.BlackRiverAstro.org
We will open the gates at 5:30 a.m. We will have live NASA Broadcast feeds, canned video, and a camera attached to a C-14 telescope, hoping to capture the plumes as they occur. Other telescopes will be setup so our guests can view the Moon before and after the LCROSS events occur, weather permitting.

Oregon (OR)

ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum in Ashland
1500 E. Main St., Ashland, OR 97520
www.scienceworksmuseum.org/
The ScienceWorks preview of the impact, illustrated with NASA mission video and new lunar images, will be held October 8th, 7:00-8:00 p.m. in the ScienceWorks auditorium. Admission for the event is free.

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI)
1945 SE Water Avenue, Portland, OR 97214
http://www.omsi.edu/events
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) will offer space exploration enthusiasts the opportunity to watch the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) crash-land on the Moon Friday, October 9. The LCROSS will crash into the Moon in order to gather data from the 6-mile-high impact cloud it will create. OMSI will be showing the impact in the auditorium live via satellite on NASA TV beginning at 3:30 a.m., with the impact scheduled at 4:30 a.m. PDT. Admission for the televised impact is free.

Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory
57245 River Rd, Sunriver, OR‎ 97707
www.sunrivernaturecenter.org
The Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory will be open for viewing to watch the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) crash-land on the Moon Friday, October 9. The observatory will have up to 10 telescopes viewing the event. We will also be showing the impact on our big screen TV via satellite on NASA TV. Doors will open beginning at 4 a.m., with the impact scheduled at 4:30 a.m. PDT. Admission for the event is free, donations gladly accepted.

South Carolina (SC)

Copeland Auditorium
The Citadel, Charleston, SC 29409
Reveille on the Moon
Friday, October 9th: 7:00 a.m. – 8:50 a.m. A live view of LCROSS’s impact and resulting regolith plume will be shown using streaming data from the LCROSS spacecraft via NASA. Also a live Earth bound view will be projected from the large telescope at the MMT Observatory in Arizona.

Texas (TX)

El Paso Community College
Valle Verde Campus, 919 Hunter, El Paso, TX 79915
http://www.epcc.edu/collegeinfo/campus/vvindex.cfm
The college will open its dome at 4:30 a.m. CDT to the public to watch the LCROSS impact. The dome is in front of the North Loop entrance of the Valley Verde campus.

Administaff Observatory - Humble ISD
2505 S. Houston Ave, Humble, TX 77396
http://www.humble.k12.tx.us/observatory.htm
The Administaff Observatory will be recording and projecting the event as seen on their 20-inch Planewave CDK telescope and viewing it with our eyes on the 16-inch Meade LX-200 telescope. Aaron Clevenson - aaron@clevenson.org, Observatory Director, Adminstaff Observatory

Nova Hill Observatory
San Angelo, Texas
http://www.AngeloAstronomy.com
The San Angelo Astronomy Association will have an Impact Party on Friday morning, Oct. 9. Impact is 6:30 a.m. CDT. There will be 20" and 30" Dobsonians aimed at the moon, as well as two 12' scopes.

Scobee Planetarium
1300 San Pedro Ave, San Antonio, Texas
http://www.accd.edu/sac/ce/scobee/
The Scobee Planetarium will be taking live video feeds through their CCD video cameras and displaying them on various screens at the observatory.

Utah (UT)

Clark Planetarium
110 South 400 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
http://www.clarkplanetarium.org/news.php
On Saturday, October 10 from 3:30-4:30pm, the Hansen Dome Theatre at the Clark Planetarium will present its original fulldome digital mini-show “Flight to the Moon: LRO and LCROSS” followed by a live-narrated presentation by Programs Manager Mike Murray. The presentation will include images, video and other feedback about the impact of the Centaur rocket booster and LCROSS in the crater Cabeus-A near the lunar south pole.

Washington (WA)

Central Washington University Astronomy Club
400 E University Way, Ellensburg, WA 98926
www.cwu.edu/~astroclb
This event will be hosted by the CWU astronomy club and physics department in Lind Hall on the southeast corner of the CWU campus. (See the campus map for details.) Doors open to the public at 3:30 am PDT. NASA channel will be showing the event in room 204. We'll be tracking the collision live with our 12-inch telescope on the roof of Lind Hall (weather permitting). There will be various smaller telescopes available for general sky observing, as well. For more information, contact Bruce Palmquist at palmquis@cwu.edu.

Hamblen Park Presbyterian Church
4102 S. Crestline, Spokane, WA 99203
www.hamblenpres.org/
We will have 4 telescopes set up for the event; two 8 inch schmidt cassigrains, a 12 inch dobsonian and a 16 inch dobsonian. One of the 8 inch scopes will be hooked to a camera and a projector. Viewing will begin approximately one hour before impact.

W.M. Keck Observatory
Pacific Lutheran University, 10th Ave S and 124th St S Tacoma, WA
LCROSS Breakfast Bash
The Tacoma Astronomical Society will be hosting an LCROSS Breakfast Bash at the PLU Observatory from 3:45 am PDT to 30 minutes post impact. We will stream NASA LCROSS footage as well as our own images from the 16" W.M. Keck Observatory.

Fire Prevention Week begins today; festival set for Saturday

2009-10-05T07:33:00.001-07:00

Sparky the Fire Dog demonstrates the Get Low and Go technique to children at last year's fire prevention festival at the Strawberry Park Pavilion. This year's festival is scheduled for this Saturday.

By JERI MARTINEZ
Updated: 10.04.09
Sunday marks the beginning of the 2009 Fire Prevention Week, and with combined efforts of the Pasadena Volunteer Fire Department and the Pasadena Fire Marshal’s Office, the 9th annual Pasadena Fire Prevention Festival is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 10.

Everyone is invited to come out to the Strawberry Park Pavilion between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The event is open to the public and is free.

The event is planned to go on rain or shine since the majority of the activities are under the pavilion.

“We would like to invite everyone out to have a fun time and make sure to bring your family and friends,” said Pasadena Fire Marshal David Brannon.

The past festivals have been successful by bringing out large numbers of people and attendance has increased each year with the hope for more this year.

This year’s theme for fire prevention week is- Stay Fire Smart! Don’t Get Burned, which focuses on burn awareness and prevention as well as keeping houses safe from catching on fire.

Many stations will be set up for the children to go through that will involve different topics on fire prevention to earn their Jr. Fire Prevention Officer certification. They can do this by completing six of the nine fire disciplines.

“If they do this then at the end of the program they will receive a certificate from our office,” said Brannon.

Other activities planned for the afternoon include a moon walk, rock wall, petting zoo, a fire safety tattoo table and drawings for door prizes. Children will get the chance to visit with Sparky the Fire Dog.

READ THE REST OF THE STORY HERE

New business offers classic arcade games sales and rental

2009-09-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

With titles ranging from Paper Boy to Space Harrier to Super Mario Bros., all fans of '80s arcade games will have a place to play.

By KEVIN KOLOIAN
Updated: 09.23.09
When Totally Amused Classic Arcade opens its doors on October 5, a world of childhood memories will reopen to the over 30 crowd that grew up on video games of the ‘80s.

Located at 19333 I 59 South in Humble, the business has over 100 classic arcade games and pinball machines for sale and event rentals.

It will also be open the second and third weekend of every month on Saturday and Sunday where people can play all day for a $15 fee and kids up to the age of 12 can play free.

“I played all of these games as a kid and always wanted to own my own arcade,” said co-owner Brian Steinberg, of Spring. “The thing that sparked the business is that people come over my partner’s place or mine and they want to play the games all day. They can’t believe they still exist because they haven’t seen them in so many years. It’s fun to help people get that experience.”

Steinberg and co-owner Callen Hendrix, an arcade game technician from Humble, has been planning on opening Totally Amused Classic Arcade since May, but Steinberg had the idea for the last 25 years.

Hendrix had about 20 machines stored at the location with some at restaurants and bars, and almost all the rest were at Steinberg’s house.

“About four years ago, my wife got me a ‘Punch Out’ game and she wanted ‘Centipede.’ Then it became kind of an addiction,” Steinberg explained. “You just start buying them. You remember this game and that game and you got to have them all.”

Working in advertising, Steinberg said he would love to turn the business into a full time job.

“Starting small, the goal isn’t so much about selling the games but to allow people to come in and play games from years ago,” Steinberg said. “It’s fun to see their childhood memories come poring back to them within five minutes of walking through the door.”

READ FULL STORY HERE

Industries encouraged to plan for accident response

2009-09-23T07:56:00.000-07:00

MARK FLEMING

Updated: 09.22.09
The state of Texas and the Coast Guard are encouraging industries to plan ahead for what role, if any, volunteers may play in responding to industrial or ecological accidents involving their facilities.

Maren Harding, an oil spill response officer for the Texas General Land Office, told the Southeast Regional Local Emergency Response Committee the request was driven by a California oil spill in which people volunteering to assist in the cleanup instead became a hindrance in the effort.

Speaking at the group’s Monday meeting, she said planning in advance of catastrophic events is the only way to effectively use available resources and prevent problems.

David Gray, of the group’s Emergency Warning System committee, said they are working with the Pasadena Municipal Channel to produce a public information segment about notifications in instances of industrial accidents.

The Southeast Regional Local Emergency Response Committee brings citizens, industry and local government together to plan for and coordinate responses to chemical emergencies.

It includes the cities of Pasadena, El Lago, Seabrook and Taylor Lake Village.

Actor Patrick Swayze Dies; Houston Native Had Battled Cancer

2009-09-14T20:32:00.001-07:00

LOS ANGELES (September 14, 2009)—“Dirty Dancing” actor Patrick Swayze, 57, has lost his yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer.

Swayze died Monday with his family at his side, his publicist Annett Wolf said.

In March 2008, it was disclosed that the Houston native had been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Despite the grim prognosis, Swayze continued to work on the A&E series “The Beast,” in which he starred, although he said the cancer put him “through hell.”

Swayze became a star in 1987 with his performance in the coming-of-age classic “Dirty Dancing.”

Three years later, his role in “Ghost” made him a big screen favorite.

Patrick Swayze was born on August 18, 1952 in Houston, Texas, the eldest child of Patsy Yvonne Helen (née Karnes; b. 1927), a choreographer, dance instructor, and dancer, and Jessie Wayne Swayze (1925-1982), an engineering draftsman.[6][7] He had two younger brothers, actor Don (born 1958) and Sean Kyle (born 1962), and two sisters, Vicky Lynn (1949-1994) and Bambi, who were adopted into the family.[8] His surname originated with an English immigrant ancestor named "Swasey".[7]
Until the age of 20,

Swayze lived in the Oak Forest neighborhood of Houston, where he attended St. Rose of Lima Catholic School, Oak Forest Elementary School,[9] Black Middle School,[9][10] and Waltrip High School.[9] During this time, he also pursued multiple artistic and athletic skills, such as ice skating, classical ballet, and acting in school plays. He studied gymnastics at nearby San Jacinto College for two years.

Patrick Swayze on Wkipedia.

Waterspout comes ashore in Galveston

2009-08-31T12:35:00.001-07:00

By Chris Paschenko & Rhiannon Meyers / The Daily News & Kevin Reece / 11 News
GALVESTON, Texas — The National Weather Service confirmed a waterspout came ashore in Galveston on Sunday damaging buildings, knocking out power and injuring at least three people.

It happened soon after a strong line of storms moved into the county, and the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning. A waterspout is a tornado that forms over water.

Dolphin World, a souvenir shop in the 2900 block of Seawall Boulevard, was damaged about 9:45 p.m. Debris covered the streets.

Ironically, Dolphin World survived Hurricane Ike with very little damage. But after this storm, things were different.

“It’s very, very bad. Very difficult. Basically everything inside is gone. Brings back memory of Ike,” Schlomo Hamo of Dolphin World said.

Witnesses told The Daily News that a piece of the roof from Dolphin World struck a man who was pushing his bicycle down the seawall. They said he was taken away by ambulance.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

CNN) -- Three boaters who were stranded at sea for more than a week were being reunited with their families Sunday.

2009-08-30T13:46:00.001-07:00

Three missing boaters were returned safely to Port Aransas, Texas, after their rescue on Saturday.

A day after the U.S. Coast Guard said it was suspending its weeklong search for the boaters, the men were found alive Saturday night.

The crew of a Good Samaritan vessel found Curtis Hall, 28, James Phillips, 30, and Tressel Hawkins, 43, sitting on top of their capsized 23-foot fishing vessel about 180 miles from Port Aransas, Texas, the Coast Guard said in a news release.

The men had been missing at sea since they failed to return from a fishing trip on August 22.

The Coast Guard had called off their search Friday after it said it had looked over more than 86,000 square miles.

Hall went to a hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas, but left after he waited too long in the emergency room, his mother told CNN. He returned to his home in Palacio, Texas, to rest and will see a doctor later on Sunday for what he thinks are second-degree burns on his legs from sun exposure, she said.

After the rescue, Phillips was on his way home to reunite with his family, his wife, Shane, told CNN. He did not seek medical attention, she said.

Hawkins suffered open sores on his legs after floating in the water for eight days, he told CNN from the emergency room of a Corpus Christi hospital. He plans to leave the hospital soon and head to Fort Worth, Texas, to reunite with his family, he said. E-mail to a friend | Mixx it | Share

Remembering Officer Hamilton

2009-08-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

By Kevin Reece / 11 News
PASADENA, Texas—Friends, family and fellow law enforcement officers gathered Wednesday morning to say goodbye to a Pasadena police officer who was killed in the line of duty last week.

Officer Jesse Hamilton, 29, was shot in the head while responding to a disturbance call in a trailer park at Shaver and Queens on Friday.

Early Wednesday morning, a large crowd of officers gathered at the funeral home to escort Hamilton’s body to the service.

Patrol cars filled the funeral home parking lot and spilled into a long line on Spencer Highway.

Officer Hamilton's casket arrives at Grace Community Church.
Around 7:15 a.m., the officers, along with Hamilton’s family, started their procession to Grace Community church for the 10 a.m. service.

A hearse led the long line of officers in patrol cars, who drove with their lights flashing.

round 7:15 a.m., the officers, along with Hamilton’s family, started their procession to Grace Community church for the 10 a.m. service.

A hearse led the long line of officers in patrol cars, who drove with their lights flashing.

More than 100 color guard members from surrounding police departments took part in the ceremony.

The funeral was followed by a 21-gun salute and a flag presentation to Hamilton's widow.

Hamilton, a four-year veteran of the force who served as a dispatcher before becoming an officer, leaves behind a wife and two young children.

Hamilton was only the fourth Pasadena police officer to lose his life in the line of duty and the first to be killed in 16 years.

Friends and family said Hamilton was excited about the next phase in his law enforcement career – training to try out for the SWAT team.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Houston hair glue bandit victim videos prankster with cell phone

2009-08-05T20:10:00.001-07:00

HOUSTON -- Another woman has come forward saying she too, was a victim of the so-called hair glue bandit. The woman says it happened in a Marshalls in Southwest Houston. She was looking at cookbooks when she felt something in her hair.

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"There was this man standing about a foot and a half beside me. He said, ‘Excuse me,’ and I said, ‘It's ok.’ But then I felt something warm on the back of my head," said the hair glue bandit’s latest victim, who wishes to remain anonymous. "There was this white substance on my hand. It dried instantly."

The victim says she was able to pull out her cell phone and capture video of the man who poured the glue on her.

Plus, because she didn't want him to disappear into a busy parking lot, she followed him out and took down the license plate of the car he was in. She then passed the information over to the police.

Over the past few weeks, glue victims have been studying a surveillance video taken from another attack. The latest victim claims the same man poured the glue in her hair.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Gear Up Summer Academy introduces teens to college life

2009-07-27T09:26:00.001-07:00

San Jacinto College Central’s Gear Up Summer Academy, a partnership with Pasadena ISD high schools, combines education and fun, while giving teens a taste of college life.

“The Gear Up program helps our students to become proactive in their education,” commented Karen McCarley, Pasadena ISD Gear Up coordinator. “They are asking the campus coordinators about outside programs rather than waiting for the coordinators to deliver the information to them.”

In the program, PISD high school students termed “rising ninth-graders” (passing from ninth to tenth grade) attend a series of instructional sessions at San Jacinto College Central in Pasadena that are taught by faculty members of the College. The high school students are accompanied by PISD teachers. This year’s four-day camp sessions finished in late June, with courses being held from 9 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. each day that also included a group lunch at the end of each day’s activities. Transportation to and from the College’s Central campus was provided by PISD.

“San Jacinto College has been focusing on providing additional opportunities for pre-college students, especially during the summer,” commented Dr. James Braswell, San Jacinto College Central’s academic dean. “This partnership is working extremely well and is providing unexpected benefits for both parties. It is opening new lines of communications between college and high school faculty members and helping find new avenues of cooperation which can only help high school students in our communities.”

The Gear Up camps included daily courses that introduced young people to a wide range of the College’s academic and technical programs, such as art, music, journalism, math, welding, web design, cosmetology, and process technology. The camp sessions are designed for learning, but McCarley says some of the sessions also mix in some fun for the sake of variety and enrichment.

“For instance, one of the camp sessions had a Crime Scene Investigation theme that ran through all of the academic classes, which was a way to incorporate fun into the curriculum,” she remarked. “So much of the classes are so hands-on and project oriented that the students forget they are actually learning something.” Gear Up campers have also competed in college trivia games, and staged impromptu talent shows during lunch as enrichment activities that incorporate fun.

McCarley said there has been nothing but positive feedback from students about the Gear Up program.

“Many of our students, although they live in the Pasadena area, are not fully aware of what San Jacinto College has to offer,” she noted. “Participating in both academic and technical programs allows them to find out at an early age about careers in which they may have an interest. We have been so fortunate to have this partnership with San Jacinto College. The school has so much to offer our students and parents and they are always willing to help us in our pursuit of post-secondary education.”

For more information about San Jacinto College, call 281-998-6150 or visit www.sanjac.edu.

Glue Attackers Strike in Pasadena

2009-07-21T20:14:00.001-07:00

PASADENA, Texas (AP) - Pasadena police have a sticky investigation.

Somebody put glue on the hair of three shoppers in two stores.

A 12-year-old girl told KHOU-TV that she was shopping at a drug store last week when she felt a wad of something "sizzling" in her ponytail. The substance turned out to be glue.

The child had to cut off some of her hair to get rid of the mess.

Managers say another customer had glue sprayed into her hair earlier Thursday at the same drug store.

Pasadena police are investigating a similar incident at a nearby grocery store.

Assistant Chief Bud Corbett said Monday he has never heard of any assault like the glue attacks.

So far no arrests.

Plane Crashes in La Porte

2009-07-18T18:38:00.001-07:00

By Nakia Cooper / KHOU.com
La Porte, Texas -- La Porte residents are surprised when a plane falls out of the air and lands on their lawn.

La Porte police were called to the 10,600 block of North H Street for reports of a plane that crash landed in a backyard.

Investigators say the experimental single engine aircraft had just taken off from the La Porte Municipal Airport when it dropped out of the sky.

The pilot said he lost control of the aircraft after the plane failed to gain altitude.

The left wing clipped some trees and the plane went down, crashing into a nearby backyard.

Residents ran over to over to help the pilot who had broken his leg.

The pilot was airlifted to Memorial Hermann by PHI helicopter for emergency treatment.

Rescuers said the pilot also appeared to suffer head trauma.

FAA and DPS are investigating.

No one on the ground was injured.

Suspect in deputy's shooting found dead after SWAT standoff

2009-07-14T05:48:00.001-07:00

By Michelle Homer, Leigh Frillici & Courtney Zubowski / 11 News
CHAMBERS COUNTY, Texas – A man suspected of killing a Chambers County deputy was found dead inside a mobile home Monday night, ending a 10-hour SWAT standoff.

A neighbor said the trouble began in the Tower Terrace subdivision at West Osage and Apache around 9:30 a.m. when someone went to Gilbert Ortez’s mobile home to shut off the water because the bill hadn’t been paid.

Another neighbor, who was outside with her dogs at the time, said she was shocked to see what happened next.

“The wife came out and they were having words, so she shot at the water lady,” said the woman. “And that’s when the water lady ran and she must have called the cops.”

Chambers County deputies went to the home to arrest the woman, who investigators identified as Ortez’s girlfriend, Pamela Leggett.

But when deputies arrived, the neighbor said Ortez opened fire, hitting Deputy Shane T. Detwiler in the head.

“The guy started pop, pop, pop, shooting,” the neighbor said by telephone.

Deputy Detwiler died at the scene. His colleagues had to wait for the gunfire to stop before they could retrieve his body.

Officers from the Chambers County Sheriff’s Department and DPS, as well as ambulances, fire trucks and a Life Flight helicopter, were called to the scene.

The frightened neighbor said she spent hours hiding in her bathroom until deputies evacuated her late Monday afternoon.

“This is ridiculous. I want to get outta here,” she said by telephone.

The neighbor said deputies also went to Ortez's home last Friday because of a disturbance.

The neighbor's name was withheld for her protection.

At one point during the standoff, a robot took a phone inside the mobile home to try and establish communication with Ortez. Officers also tried to smoke him out with tear gas around 4 p.m., but he didn’t budge.

Officers had not been in contact with Ortez since the morning. When they entered the home around 7:30 p.m., they found him dead. Ortez had been shot, but investigators aren’t sure if it was suicide or if he was killed by one of the officers’ bullets.

Deputy Shane Detwiler [left] leaves behind a wife and three small children and was a decorated veteran of the Iraq war.

READ THE FULL STORY AT KHOU

Palm Tree Arsonist Strikes Again

2009-07-13T07:05:00.000-07:00

GALVESTON, Texas — Early Thursday, a tree arsonist set ablaze three more of the island’s palms, bringing the number of torched and blackened trunks to 34, authorities said.

Meanwhile, the Galveston fire marshal’s office enlisted the help of a trained dog and handler from Pasadena’s Fire Department.

As Texas Forest Service crews marked trees killed by Hurricane Ike’s September saltwater flood, one or more arsonists have been burning palms since May.

Galveston Fire Marshal Gilbert Robinson said one man, who police said was carrying an empty gas can while fleeing police last month, has not been charged with arson and there have not been any other arrests related to the burned trees.

A resident phoned authorities about 5:45 a.m. Thursday, giving police a description of a man on a bicycle seen leaving the scene of three burning palms at 16th Street and Avenue M.

Although the three trees were close together and just a foot or two from a two-story house, the flames didn’t impinge on the structure, Robinson said. The trees have mostly been set ablaze south of Broadway, Robinson said.

Robinson asked anyone who sees someone setting a tree ablaze to call 911.

This story is available through KHOU, Ch. 11's partnership with The Galveston County Daily News.

UPDATED: Houston Area 4th of July Fireworks Events

2009-06-29T06:27:00.001-07:00

HOUSTON—The 4th of July means fireworks across the U.S. and Houston is no exception.

There are dozens of celebrations in our area, but the largest is the Freedom over Texas festival this weekend. It is presented by Shell.

The free event is at Eleanor Tinsley Park. This year, organizers are honoring Houston’s military heroes and the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. Country singer, Texas native Clay Walker will be the main act. He will take the stage at 8 p.m. Right after that at 9:30, fireworks will light the sky.

If you’re thinking about heading there you should know about some road that will be closed.

On Thursday, a couple of lanes along Allen Parkway were closed. They include roads between Taft Street and downtown.

Also, starting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Allen Parkway will be completely closed to traffic.

If you’re in The Woodlands, there are several events where you can celebrate.

First there is the Star-Spangled Salute which is being held Friday night at the Cynthia Wood Mitchell Pavilion.

You’ll hear patriotic music presented by the Houston Symphony.

Friday at 9 a.m. you can see the South Montgomery Parade which runs through The Woodlands Town Center and Market Street.

Finally, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. you can head to the Red, Hot and Blue Festival and Fireworks Extravaganza at Town Green Park and Waterway Square.

There’s also a lot to celebrate in Fort Bend County Saturday, July 4 th.

In Sugar Land, the festivities include The Red White and Blue Fest at Oyster Creek Park. Those events begin Saturday and run from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The city of Stafford and the Fort Bend Symphony will celebrate by treating the public to a free patriotic concert.

Freedom Rings 2009 will be held at the Stafford Centre and starts at 5 p.m.

In Missouri City, the public is being treated to a July 4 celebration at Buffalo Run Park.

The fun begins at 5:30 p.m. and the fireworks blare into the night sky at 9.

Chevy Freedom Over Texas Fireworks
Location: Eleanor Tinsley Park
website: www.chevysfreedomovertexas.com
This is by far the largest celebration in the city of Houston, and the fireworks display is one of the biggest in the state. Montgomery Gentry will headline. The festival starts at 4 p.m. with performances by local acts. If you don't feel like braving the crowds, you don't have to miss our on the fun; just tune in to ABC13 from the solitude of your couch.

The Houston Symphony 4th of July Celebration
Location: Miller Outdoor Theatre, Herman Park
Led by principal pops conductor Michael Krajewski. Enjoy an All-American salute to commemorate Independence Day, and end the evening with fireworks presented by the Miller Theatre Advisory Board.

Sam Houston Race Park
website: www.shrp.com
The park celebrates Independence Day with special family-friendly activities and a spectacular fireworks display.

Firecracker Hotbox
Location: Gulf Greyhound Park
website: www.gulfgreyhound.com
Come see some of the nation's hottest greyhounds compete.

Kemah Boardwalk
website: www.kemahboardwalk.com
The 4th of July fireworks launch at 9:30 p.m.

SplashTown Fireworks Spectacular
website: www.splashtownpark.com
The park sends up the explosives after dusk.

Fire destroys Galveston seawall condos

2009-06-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

By Chris Paschenko
The Daily News

Published June 4, 2009
GALVESTON — At least 60 units of a Galveston resort were gutted Wednesday by fire, which was started accidentally by welding contractors who were renovating the complex damaged by Hurricane Ike, fire officials said.

Firefighters were called at 2:19 p.m. to Maravilla Resort Condominiums, 9520 Seawall Blvd., and found fire spreading between the second and third floor.

“It was the workers out there doing welding and cutting,” Fire Chief Mike Varela Sr. said of Fire Marshal Gilbert Robinson’s determination. The contractors had a city permit for renovations and were employing a fire watch, Varela said.

Galveston firefighter Gary Vasquez suffered from heat exhaustion and was taken by ground ambulance to Mainland Medical Center in Texas City and released, Varela said.

A medical crew treated some of the contractors at the scene, but they weren’t taken to a hospital, Varela said.

The blaze began in the rear of the complex, working its way toward the seawall side of the structure. About 120 firefighters, including those from Jamaica Beach, Santa Fe, Hitchcock, La Marque and Texas City were called to the island and helped evacuate about 30 or 40 people from the building. They also fought the blaze and manned fire stations here. There were no further injuries, Varela said.

Firefighters focused their attack at the center of the complex, where Varela said a fire break helped them control the blaze about 5:30 p.m.

Much of the upper units of the three-story complex were gutted, and many more sustained smoke and water damage, Varela said.

Lloyd W. Rinderer, an assistant city manager for Galveston, said he lost his condo of six years to the blaze. Rinderer, who is also treasurer of the condo’s homeowner’s association, said he would reside on his boat at The Galveston Yacht Club, just as he did not long after the storm.

“We were a month from completing Hurricane Ike repairs,” Rinderer said of the Sept. 13 storm’s damaging effects. “There were 164 units and there were about 10 people who were actually living there.”

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Massive fire destroys dozens of beachfront condos in Galveston

2009-06-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

Massive fire destroys dozens of beachfront condos in Galveston
06:50 PM CDT on Wednesday, June 3, 2009

By Michelle Homer / 11 News
GALVESTON -- Every firefighter in Galveston battled a huge 5-alarm fire on the island's West End Wednesday afternoon. The blaze at the beachfront Miravilla Resort Condominiums burned out of control for several hours.

The fire broke out around 2:15 p.m. and Galveston fire crews were on the scene minutes later.

Even off-duty Galveston firefighters were called in to help battle the blaze.

They also brought in help from surrounding communities including Jamaica Beach, Texas City, La Marque and Santa Fe.

When Air 11 first arrived, the flames were confined to one corner of the complex.

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Within minutes, the fire had spread to dozens of other units. There are 164 units in the complex.

"We went from an offensive to a defensive fire real quick to not put the firefighters in harm's way because the fire was spreading so quickly," said Galveston Fire Chief Mike Varela.

The wind shifted in the middle of the fire, adding to their challenge.

Everyone inside was evacuated safely, according to Galveston officials.

The flames spread quickly through dozens of units at the Miravilla condos.
One firefighter was transported to an area hospital after suffering heat exhaustion.

"His blood pressure was down real low and they were trying to get it stable again," said Varela.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

2009-06-03T15:28:00.001-07:00

County hurricane advice: ready supplies, ice, digital TV

By JARED SEROTA
Updated: 06.02.09
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is projecting a near-normal hurricane season for 2009. Still this prediction does not mean that Harris County residents should not be prepared for the worst.

That was the message from Harris County Judge Ed Emmett at a press conference in the Houston Transtar emergency command center on Monday, the first day of the 2009 hurricane season.

And the county has made its own preparations to handle distribution of emergency supplies, Emmett revealed.

“FEMA and the state of Texas will be responsible for getting the supplies to us, and then we will take it from there,” he said.

Emmett advised all residents to stock Emergency Supply Kits and those with special needs to register for evacuation transportation by dialing 2-1-1.

Emmett said that there is no way to guarantee how soon relief will arrive after a disaster and urged every resident to “Get the supplies in your home that will allow you to survive for 72 hours or even longer without having any relief come from any agency.”

After Hurricane Ike hit Houston last year, many residents were without ice and could not keep their medicines cool. In order to ensure that residents have ice, Emmett suggested that all residents fill up empty milk jugs with water and freeze them.

Potential TV problem

Stephen Lee, a resident agent for the Federal Communications Commission, spoke at the press conference to urge residents to be ready to make the switch from analog to digital television. “I cannot emphasize enough the importance of being ready for this transition,” said Lee.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

2009 Hurricane Forecast To Be Released Today

2009-05-21T05:38:00.000-07:00

Forecasters to make predictions about 2009 hurricane season

Top federal weather forecasters on Thursday will be announcing their eagerly anticipated predictions for this year's Atlantic hurricane season -- a season likely to be as active as last year.

Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and others will make their forecast public at a news conference to be held at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in northern Virginia.

On hand will be Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco and Bill Read, NOAA's National Hurricane Center director, along with a host of other federal officials.

Government forecasters were right on the mark with their 2008 predictions -- a very active hurricane season. The numbers: 16 named storms, eight hurricanes, five of them major.

Scientists had projected that the 2008 season would bring 12 to 16 named storms that would grow into six to nine hurricanes, two to five of which would be Category 3 or stronger.

Gerry Bell, NOAA's lead seasonal Atlantic hurricane forecaster, has said the gradual warming of the Atlantic Ocean, combined with an active tropical era of storms that began in 1995, will likely mean busy hurricane seasons in the future.

Florida was spared the worst of last year's hurricane season. Only Tropical Storm Fay struck the region hard.

That was not the case for our Caribbean neighbors. Cuba and Haiti got pounded by a succession of major hurricanes and storms, resulting in heavy damage and lost lives.

Man possibly involved in financial scheme with Hispanic immigrants

2009-05-11T06:18:00.000-07:00

A 49-year-old Galena Park man who was reported missing earlier this week was found dead in the trunk of his car in a Pasadena apartment complex parking lot Saturday morning, authorities said.
Officers discovered the body of Salvador Rojas in the trunk of his silver 2000 Volkswagen Jetta shortly before 11 a.m . in the 4300 block of Shaver after a resident in the apartment complex reported a foul smell coming from the car, said Assistant Pasadena Police Chief Bud Corbett, adding that Rojas' hands were bound together at the wrists.
While questioning residents at the apartment complex, detectives learned that Rojas' car may have been seen in the parking lot on Wednesday night, which is the last time anyone heard from the man, Corbett said.

Decomposition of the body made it difficult to determine any injuries. An exact cause of death will be determined by the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office, Corbett said.
Rojas, who owns a small boot business at a southeast Houston flea market, was last heard from about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday when he called friends to say he had a flat tire and was running late to meet them, said FBI spokeswoman Pat Villafranca.
By midnight, Rojas had not returned to his home in the 12300 block of Kayla. His wife became worried and began calling his cell phone, but got no answer.

When the call was returned, Rojas' wife told investigators she heard strangers' voices on the line.
``She said 'Who are you? Where is my husband?' And they didn't say a word,'' Villafranca said. ``They just hung up.''
When the woman tried to call back, the phone had been turned off. Rojas wife immediately called Galena Park police, who then later requested the assistance of the FBI, Villafranca said.
During the investigation, Pasadena police detectives learned that Rojas was allegedly involved in a financial scheme loaning money to Hispanic immigrants for outrageous fees and interests, making it difficult for people to ever repay the loan, Corbett said.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

First reported US swine-flu death occurs in Houston

2009-04-29T06:41:00.001-07:00

The first reported death in the United States from the swine flu outbreak was that of a 23-month-old Mexican toddler who fell ill in Brownsville and was transported for treatment in Houston, where the child died Monday, city officials said.
Kathy Barton, spokeswoman for the Houston Department of Health and Human Services, did not say which hospital treated the child or give any other details about the toddler.

There still have been no reported Houston-area cases of the disease, which is thought to have begun in Mexico but is being detected around the world. However, Barton said Houston should expect to see cases originate here.
She added that hospitals that handle any flu cases, swine or otherwise, take precautions to prevent its spread, such as masks, frequent handwashing and other sanitation measures.

"Even though we've been expecting this, it is very, very sad," said Dr. Richard Besser, acting chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who made the initial announcement of a Texas death on several nationally televised morning shows today. "As a pediatrician and a parent, my heart goes out to the family."

Germany today reported its first three cases of swine flu. The number of confirmed swine flu cases in the United States before today rose to 66 in six states, with 45 in New York, 11 in California, six in Texas, two in Kansas and one each in Indiana and Ohio, but cities and states suspected more. In New York, the city's health commissioner said "many hundreds" of schoolchildren were ill at a school where some students had confirmed cases.

The world has no vaccine to prevent infection but U.S. health officials aim to have a key ingredient for one ready in early May, the big step that vaccine manufacturers are awaiting. But even if the World Health Organization ordered up emergency vaccine supplies — and that decision hasn't been made yet — it would take at least two more months to produce the initial shots needed for human safety testing.
"We're working together at 100 miles an hour to get material that will be useful," Dr. Jesse Goodman, who oversees the Food and Drug Administration's swine flu work, told The Associated Press.
The U.S. is shipping to states not only enough anti-flu medication for 11 million people, but also masks, hospital supplies and flu test kits. President Barack Obama asked Congress for $1.5 billion in emergency funds to help build more drug stockpiles and monitor future cases, as well as help international efforts to avoid a full-fledged pandemic.

"It's a very serious possibility, but it is still too early to say that this is inevitable," the WHO's flu chief, Dr. Keiji Fukuda, told a telephone news conference.
Cuba and Argentina banned flights to Mexico, where swine flu is suspected of killing more than 150 people and sickening well over 2,000. In a bit of good news, Mexico's health secretary, Jose Cordova, late Tuesday called the death toll there "more or less stable."

Mexico City, one of the world's largest cities, has taken drastic steps to curb the virus' spread, starting with shutting down schools and on Tuesday expanding closures to gyms and swimming pools and even telling restaurants to limit service to takeout. People who venture out tend to wear masks in hopes of protection.
New Zealand, Australia, Israel, Britain, Canada and now Germany have also reported cases. But the only deaths so far have been Mexican citizens, baffling experts.
The WHO argues against closing borders to stem the spread, and the U.S. — although checking arriving travelers for the ill who may need care — agrees it's too late for that tactic.

"Sealing a border as an approach to containment is something that has been discussed and it was our planning assumption should an outbreak of a new strain of influenza occur overseas. We had plans for trying to swoop in and knockout or quench an outbreak if it were occurring far from our borders. That's not the case here," Besser told a telephone briefing of Nevada-based health providers and reporters. "The idea of trying to limit the spread to Mexico is not realistic or at all possible."
"Border controls do not work. Travel restrictions do not work," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said in Geneva, recalling the SARS epidemic earlier in the decade that killed 774 people, mostly in Asia, and slowed the global economy.

Authorities sought to keep the crisis in context: Flu deaths are common around the world. In the U.S. alone, the CDC says about 36,000 people a year die of flu-related causes. Still, the CDC calls the new strain a combination of pig, bird and human.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Medical Center Boot Camp

2009-04-14T05:56:00.000-07:00

Friday May 1, 2009 at 6:00am Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute 6411 Fannin Houston, Texas
WHO: Anyone looking for a jumpstart to help achieve their fitness goals

WHAT: The Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute will host a fitness boot camp to help individuals lose weight, improve their fitness levels, strengthen and tone muscles and increase cardiovascular endurance. Participants will also receive nutrition and food coaching to learn how to regulate protein, fat and carbohydrate intake to improve individual results. One-on-one personal training can also be scheduled at a cost of $65 a session. Full-size lockers are available to rent as well for $30 a month, which includes access to showers and towels. Price: $185.

WHEN: Monday, Wednesday and Friday Time: 6 a.m. – 7 a.m. Session 1: May 1st to May 27th Session 2: June 5th to July 1st Session 3: July 10th to Aug 5th For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 713-222-CARE
WHERE: Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute Memorial Hermann Medical Plaza 6411 Fannin, Suite 1620 Houston, Texas 77030

WHY: At the Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute, highly trained physicians and staff are here to push every level of athlete – recreational, competitive or professional athletes – to a higher level of performance. As all athletes know, there is always a way to get better. Whether it’s getting better after an injury, getting better at your game, or trying to promote a healthy, active lifestyle, we’re here to help.

Pasadena-area residents have a new commute option beginning April 6.

2009-04-14T05:53:00.000-07:00

Harris County Transit, working with the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, has created a Park & Ride route along State Highway 225 between Pasadena and downtown Houston.

The new service also serves residents of Deer Park, Galena Park, La Porte and surrounding areas along S.H. 225.

The 244 Monroe/Pasadena Park & Ride will operate four trips each weekday morning and five trips each weekday afternoon, with service running from 5:48 a.m. to 7:23 a.m., and 4:05 p.m. to 5:58 p.m. The bus will make a stop at the Monroe Park & Ride lot before heading into downtown on the normal 244 Monroe route.

The one-way fare will be $3.75 and customers are encouraged to use the Metro Q Fare Card, which offers five free trips for every 50 paid trips.

‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’

2009-04-02T05:59:00.000-07:00

Favorites art Art Park whenever they return are The Plaids, (from left to right) Larry Mitchell, Fred White and Rusty Groos. (Missing member Ed Fitzsimmons is represented by the Canned Ham.)

By GLORIA WALKER SMITH
Updated: 04.01.09
A lot of excited people played “Dress Up” at Art Park Theatre on Saturday, March 28, as they anticipated the variety show, “Puttin’ on the Ritz.”

In the lobby, guests were greeted with the sight of sophisticatedly decorated round tables filled brim to brim with delectable finger foods. The caterer, Sherry Hale, was ably assisted by scores of Art Park volunteers and the result was elegant-looking, as well as wonderfully tasty.

Each table was classy with black and silver appointments entwined with ropes of pearls. As participants ambled among the tables filling their plates, Dr. Tommy Hysler entertained with piano selections. Eating at Art Park is always a pleasure, because the seating arrangements are comfortable for dining or watching a show.

Promptly at 8 o’clock, Emcee Rusty Groos opened with his own brand of hilarious comments. He reiterated his support of education and revealed that he had a 4.0 when graduating from college – however, that was not his GPA, it was his blood alcohol level!

One of his first announcements was an explanation of the Canned Ham Award to be given to the act on the program receiving the most monetary support from the audience. Murline Staley, the Tip Fairy (or as she preferred, the Tip Queen) circulated throughout the theater with her huge crystal goblet collecting donations for Mead-Holm Scholarships, awarded to theater students.

Interspersed between musical acts was something new for Art Park and proved to be very enjoyable.

Fashions from Casanova’s Downfall and Adelaide’s were modeled by local ladies AND gentlemen: Arnold Adair, Bennie and Christina Boles, Beckie S. Cobb, Brenda Cothran, Gaylyn DeVine, Beth Dombrowa, Jim Fox, Charles Garrison, Greg Grigg, Thane Harrison, Larry Johnson, Sharon McLean, Donna Mills, Darrell Morrison, Dana Philibert, Rae Sinor, Chris Swanson, Donna Thomas, Ryan Taylor, Dana Tuggle, Sheri Vaughn, Grady West, Holly Williamson and Sandra Womack.

From Barbra Streisand’s role in “Funny Girl,” Julianne McBride belted out her version of “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” while Tyler Duke and Margo Staley giggled their way through a cute “Romeo and Juliet.”

Then the stage was filled with Art Park kids bringing “Consider Yourself” from “Oliver

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

Annual prayer breakfast quickly approaching

2009-03-30T08:08:00.000-07:00

By ROY N. KENT
Updated: 03.27.09
The annual Pasadena Kiwanis Club Annual Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast is quickly approaching and spots are filling up.

The event is scheduled for 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 8, in Campbell Hall at the Pasadena Rodeo Fairgrounds. Breakfast will be served around 6:45 a.m.

Table sponsorships include platinum for $500; gold for $400; silver for $300; and general for $120. Individual tickets are $16.

The featured speakers at the event are Commissioners Paul and Jajuan Kellner, formerly officers with The Salvation Army. They retired on Oct. 1, 2000, from the Zimbabwe Territory, concluding nearly 40 years of active service as officers of The Salvation Army.

Following their commissioning as officers in 1963, the Kellners served in corps appointments in Panama City and Fort Myers, Fla., at the College for Officer Training, in divisional work in the National Capitol and Virginia Division and in ministry among Vietnam refugees.

They were then appointed to the Caribbean Territory where they were given responsibility for youth work.

In 1977, the Kellners transferred to the Haiti Division, first as corps officers and later as Divisional Secretary and Divisional Finance Officer respectively. In addition, they operated a workshop for blind and handicapped men.

In 1980, the Kellners returned to the United States and had divisional headquarters appointments in the Maryland and Northern West Virginia Division and the Florida Division, before being assigned to Territorial Headquarters in Atlanta to inaugurate the new Adult Ministries and Evangelism Department.

From there, the Kellners were appointed as chief secretary and territorial home league secretary in the Zimbabwe Territory. After nearly five years in Zimbabwe, they were appointed to the Congo (Brazzaville) Territory as territorial leaders. In June of 1998 they returned to Zimbabwe to assume leadership of that territory until the conclusion of their active service as officers.

The Kellners are products of the Tampa, Fla., Corps, but entered officer training from Miami. Prior to their entry into officer training, Paul Kellner obtained a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Florida State University, and was a public school music teacher, bandmaster and songster leader. He has had several of his musical compositions published by The Salvation Army. Since September, 2001, he has been bandmaster of the SAROA Brass, is the Corps Songster Leader, and conducts the corps band.

Read the full story HERE.

Jajuan Kellner is known as a very creative person in many areas including programming, public speaking, writing, and home making. The Kellners together have written and produced a number of musical plays down through the years.

Deer Park Egg Hunt April 4th

2009-03-23T06:41:00.000-07:00

For more information click HERE.

Deer Park Police Crime Analysis

2009-03-05T06:19:00.000-08:00

Click HERE to download .pdf

The link above goes to the City of Deer Park's Crime stats on .PDF

The police Department also has a crime analyst, Lucie Corley.