Pantego mayor pro tem earns praise after stepping in to lead town

BY ROBERT CADWALLADER - Special to the Star-Telegram - Oct. 11, 2009

PANTEGO — As Mayor Dorothy Aderholt lay dying of brain cancer in August, many found it difficult to see Pantego’s most energetic booster suddenly immobilized.

"I told her that I thought her legacy would be that she was always an incredibly hardworking mayor," said Mayor Pro Tem Jason Williams, who had filled in for her when she couldn’t attend council meetings. "I plan to be the same way."

After Aderholt’s death, the Town Council appointed Williams to the role full time. His council colleagues voted unanimously to forgo a hurried special election in November and gave him the office until the May election, when Williams can run to keep the seat.

The council also decided, for now at least, not to fill Williams’ Place 4 seat before May.

The appointment also saved the expense of the special election, about $4,000.

Harriet Irby, who challenged Williams’ re-election bid in the past May election, said providing residents a choice would have been worth the cost.

"We’re not going to go broke in Pantego," Irby said. "There would have been a campaign and a discussion. I’ve had calls from people saying, 'So, who’s the mayor?’ "

'We did what’s best’

Councilman Don Surratt, who was elected to Place 5 in May, said the continuity brought by Williams’ appointment is even more important than the cost savings.

"Jason has visions for Pantego that are similar" to Aderholt’s, Surratt said. "He runs a tight meeting, a very organized meeting. We get in and get our business done. Right now, I think he’s doing an outstanding job for the town."

Surratt said the council would have had to rush its application to get on the Nov. 3 general election ballot by the deadline.

Although Williams and Aderholt both were re-elected to two-year terms in May, Williams will have to run for re-election in May and only to serve the remaining year of Aderholt’s term.

"I would essentially have to run three campaigns in three years," Williams said. "But I think we did what’s best for the town, because we’re not going to pay for a special election."

As mayor, Williams had to give up his vote. He now can vote only to break a tie, which could occur more often because the Place 4 vacancy leaves four voting members.

Plenty to do

In exchange, Williams takes a leadership position in the city of 2,600 people and has plenty to do.

Among the priorities: recruiting businesses to fill vacant storefronts on Park Row Drive, Bowen Road and Pioneer Parkway to support sales taxes, which provide more than one-third of the town’s budget. The 1-square-mile town has 680 businesses.

"We have to continually be thinking of economic development," said Williams, 40, a director and adjunct business professor at the Dallas Baptist University Hurst-Colleyville campus.

The town is also kicking off a "Shop Pantego" campaign and pursuing a $1 million grant to install sidewalks, landscaping and streetlights to make Park Row more pedestrian-friendly, said Williams, who has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in marketing.

He’s no stranger to leadership roles, also serving as vice chairman of the North Texas Collegiate Consortium and as a board member for the Colleyville and H-E-B chambers of commerce.

"It’s a natural position for me, to take a team of people and lead them in a direction to keep things good and make things better for the organization — in this case, the town," he said.
Read more in the Fort Worth Star Telegram

'Jay Leno Show' hits Arlington to investigate the fast-food obsession

BY JOHN AUSTIN - Fort Worth Star Telegram - Sept. 11, 2009


First, Men’s Health dubbed the city the fast-food capital of the nation. Now, Jay Leno’s people are on the case.

A six-person crew from The Jay Leno Show hit Arlington this week to poke around the city’s soft middle.

The story started when the magazine decided to take a look at, in its own words, "cities where fast-food reigns." Researchers counted per capita outlets for McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and Taco Bells; threw in stats on the percentage of people who visit fast-food restaurants and how often they do so; and wrapped it up with obesity numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What came out of that calculation was Arlington at No. 1. Hence, Leno’s interest. And while the talk show host has certainly been called funny, he’s not exactly been called svelte.

But he has reportedly shed more than a dozen pounds, so perhaps the focus on fitness isn’t a shocker. The show is set to debut Monday, but it’s not known when the Arlington segment will air.

The city decided to cooperate with the film crew, said Angie Summers, Mayor Robert Cluck’s executive assistant.

"I guess they’re going to poke fun at us," Summers said. "So we might as well be part of the fun."

The Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau took the same tack, helping with hotel reservations and presenting a welcome basket, complete with pizza boxes, said Diane Brandon, marketing and public relations vice president.

"Jay Leno is going to do a story whether we talk or not," Brandon said. "I think overall the story is going to be fun and funny."

Cluck, a physician, granted an interview at City Hall. The crew, aided by a couple of University of Texas at Arlington film students, checked out the city’s defibrillators and watched a CPR demonstration then walked around downtown, Summers said.

A Leno crew member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the show’s folks were surprised at the number of all-you-can-eat buffets.

But in fairness, they also visited Green’s Produce, a local fresh food favorite on Arkansas Lane — even though it’s actually in Dalworthington Gardens.

"They wanted to show that there’s healthy options," Patti White, the daughter of the owner of Green’s Produce, said of the crew. "They stayed quite awhile."

Among the customers interviewed was JoAnne Kolanko, 52.

"We mostly talked about vegetables," Kolanko said. "I don’t think I’m going to get on because I don’t think I said anything funny."

Summers, a former Star-Telegram columnist, said the visitors were pleased to learn that they didn’t need a permit to shoot in Arlington and "shocked" at the hospitality.

They also asked about the high price of fast food and parking at the new Cowboys Stadium. Summers agreed that those factors might cut consumption and prompt more walking in Arlington.

"I said, 'We’re fixing to slim up quick,’ " she said.

Read more in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Taking stock

By Faith Chatham - dfwrcc - August 14, 2009
There are times when we do what we can and our best efforts seem frail and inconsequential. It seems like we are needing a mountain to shift and we are picking up the earth minute particle by minute particle. It is frustrating when our words seem lite-weight when stacked-up against the resources of professional special interests, especially when children's lives are in jeopardy and the very earth beneath us is changing and shifting. As I take stock, there are some things which amaze me and fill me with thanksgiving.

Deep Holes:
For months we observed and photographed deep sump holes on pipeline construction sites in Arlington residential neighborhoods, playgrounds, parks, and apartment complexes. In March, April and May the pipeline company made no effort to cover them. They didn't seem to comprehend that they were hazards or needed a cover.

When school was letting out we were filled with fear, dreading the probability that a child would fall in one of them and be harmed. Harriet Irby photographed pipeline construction sites seven days a week from March through July. Triple digit temperature did not keep her in the house. Eddy Crosswhite did not let cancer treatments prevent him from photographing the construction sites. They fed me the information and verification needed to speak to media, the pipeline officials, public information officers and officials with Luminant, TXU, Oncor, TCEQ, the City of Arlington and the Railroad Commission. Jim Grimes of Channel 33 and Debbie Denmon of WFAA and their news teams covered the saga.

By mid July pipeline personnel were claiming that they "always cover the holes with sheet metal". They didn't, but that meant that they had come to understand that they should. We rejoiced when they went on record saying that they "always do" and "always have" because that meant that they probably would, at least some of the time. Some of the time was much better than the "never" or "rarely" we observed and photographed at multiple pipeline construction sites in Arlington from March through July. Small victories. The big victory is that thus far this year no child in Arlington has fallen into one of these sump holes. Vigilance is still necessary but at least there has been some improvement in consciousness.

Earthquakes
Last October a series of earthquakes began occurring in North Arlington, Euless, Irving and Cleburne. Speculation that injection well fracking on gas wells in the Barnett Shale circulated. For decades there has been technology to discern man-made earth quakes from natural earthquakes. A team from SMU and UT measured activity south of DFW airport and in Cleburne. Tonight's newscast on most DFW regional television stations include reports that Chesapeake Oil is voluntarily discontinuing injection well operations at wells "along a major fault line" at Cleburne and south of DFW Airport in response to data from the SMU study. It's a beginnning. Utilization of technology by the SMU team and coverage by area media contributed to the decision by at least one gas driller to reduce the risk to residents of this area.

Couplings and an Exemplary Example:
For years it has been known that some of the couplings used to connect gas delivery lines in this region are faulty. In many other states they have been banned from use and the gas company was forced to replace them years ago. In this region, despite knowlege that they were dangerous, hundreds of thousands of them have remained in the ground. Brett Shipps and the WFAA news team ran a series on these couplings two years ago. Newspapers reported the problem but most of them remained.

In Pantego, the Mayor picked up the telephone last year and phoned the gas company. A quiet-spoken, genteel lady, Dorothy Aderholt, inquired: "How many of those faulty couplings are in the City of Pantgo?" She didn't like the answer. She said: "When are you going to get them out?" They told her 30 to 60 days. She told them: "Do it."
Thirty days later she phoned them again and asked: "Are those couplings out yet?" They told her no, not all of them. She asked: "How many are still here?" They told her. She told them: "Get them out." A couple of weeks later she was informed that the last faulty coupling in Pantego has been replaced. This wasn't accomplished through Public Works or by an action of the City Council. It was accomplished by the mayor making a phone call and using her authority as the mayor. Few Pantego residents know that they are safer now because they elected a gutsy, determined woman as Mayor.

Unfortunately, Mayor Aderholt is very ill. She has earned our appreciation and respect. Most Mayors attend city council meetings and some mayors attend some committee meetings. During her years serving Pantego, Mayor Aderholt has been a very "hands-on" servant. She attended most committee meetings as well as City Council meetings. This summer she has been absent. People knew that something was wrong. It had to be serious for her to be "missing" that much. This week the City was officially notified of the seriousness of her situation. Knowing Mayor Aderholt, I suspect that there are other things she has done behind the scenes to help keep her beloved town and neighbors safer. There are bigger towns than Pantego in this area and Mayors who command more employees and more resources, but no city has any one leading it of higher stature than the Town of Pantego. She didn't have to agree with you to work with you. People didn't have to redstamp her opinions to have a place at the table and to be given opportunity to be heard and to contribute to the community. A dedicated Republican, she embraced Democrats and Independents who were civic-oriented and displayed a desire to give to the community. When she didn't understand something, she found people who did. She asks questions and listens and she consistently took information home to study to help her understand important things, especially when they pertain to the safety and security of the people of Pantego.

When DFW Regional Concerned Citizens was formed, we hoped to be able to identify governmental leaders in this region who were hallmarks of integrity and dedication to duty. We hoped that by pointing out the strengths in some, others might be inspired to be more like them. Today we are holding Mayor Dorothy Aderholt up to her colleagues. Hopefully, other Mayors will measure themselves by her gracious, effective, dedicated shadow and step forward to help make the citizens of their towns safer.

Technology Expo Scheduled in Arlington in March 2010

Six Flags Files for Bankruptcy

CNN - Sat. June 15, 2009(CNN) -- In an effort to shed $1.8 billion in debt, popular theme-park chain Six Flags announced Saturday that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The filing will not affect the operation of the company's 20 parks in the United States, Mexico and Canada, said spokeswoman Sandra Daniels.

"This restructuring will have no impact on families who come out to our parks. They will not see an inch of difference," Daniels said.

In an online letter to employees, President and CEO Mark Shapiro said Six Flags inherited a $2.4 billion debt load that "cannot be refinanced in these financial markets."

"This process is strictly a financial restructuring of our debt and that's how you should view it and speak about it," Shapiro said in the message posted on the Six Flags Web site.

He said Six Flags was seeking expedited approval from the for the District of Delaware of a pre-negotiated plan of reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.

He said the company actually performed well in 2008, attracting 25 million visitors and making $275 million. But it could not keep up with its debt obligations.

"That's a balancing act you just can't risk year in and year out," he said. "Today, we are moving to rectify our balance sheet once and for all. Believe me when I say we will emerge from this process stronger and more competitive than ever." Read Shapiro's online letter to employees

The restructuring would reduce the company's debt to $600 million.

Shapiro told employees that the company was on "solid ground" and the bankruptcy decision was "difficult." He assured them their paychecks and jobs were safe.
Read more on CNN

Daniel Drive DFW Midstream Pipeline Update

By Faith Chatham - DFWRCC - June 3, 2009

Photo by Harriet Irby @2009

By Faith Chatham - DFWRCC - May 3, 2009
In Texas, local ordinance do not apply to pipelines. Current laws in Texas do not stipulate how far a pipeline must be from a house or structure. The industry lobbies consistently for "self-regulation" stating that it is better for the people because "too much regulation" will be too "costly."
The Driver Pipeline (subcontractor) construction site in the ONCOR /LUMINANT 20' electrical easement through East Arlington is a blantant example of the INDUSTRY failing to self-regulate.

Self-regulation infers responsible practices. It infers being a good neighbor. It confers responsibility to the industry to respect the health and safety of neighbors adjacent to the pipeline.

A quiet residential street in East Arlington was transformed almost overnight two months ago into what looks like a war zone. Coring began by Driver Pipeline to install DFW Midstream's pipeline underneath ONCOR's 30 foot steel towers holding high-voltage electrical electrical lines. AT&T wires strung on telephone poles also run through this existing 20' wide utility easement. The operation to install the steel natural gas pipeline is similar to a gas well drilling operation in that they use horizontial drilling techniques to core down underneath the ground and drill holes underneath streets and other obstacles rather than trenching from the top of the ground. It was reported earlier this year in a FW Star-Telegram report that this pipeline installation is 75% coring and 25% trenching.

In East Arlington, on city property at New York Avenue, where no houses are nearby, they used a site at a reasonable distance from the recreation center building, steel electrical tower and at a reasonable distance from the tennis courts for their coring operation. There are no homes within several hundred feet at that site, but they installed sound-baffling anyway. The site is contained to minimize risk to children or other curious people. At Daniel Dr., a few blocks away, where houses are only 40' apart, they didn't bother to install sound-baffling. They used the 40' strip of land between Mr. Eddie Crosswhite's house and Mr. Zapatha's house as a coring (drilling) site and filled it with equipment used on the NY site. Because the NY Ave site is on City Property, City of Arlington Code Enforcement was able to say: "If you don't abide by our ordinances, you can't use our property." On Daniel Dr., it is not on city property. State Law gives oversight of pipelines to the Railroad Commission. The Railroad Commission, according Jodie Kerl of the Dallas office of the Texas Railroad Commission (on May 27th), had not inspected the DFW Midstreams Pipeline construction site in Arlington on Daniel Drive during the two months of industrial construction in the once tranquil neighborhood on Daniel Drive.

Despite numerous calls to Ms. Kerl, and to the Texas Railroad Commission's Austin office this week, we have not had a response to our inquiry if they have inspected it in the past 7 days. Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, an Arlington resident, is "traveling this week." His office says they do not expect him to be in Arlington. They do not know if he is aware of the problems at the Daniel Dr. DFW Midstreams /ONCOR Electric construction site.

This job site, in our opinion, is a black-eye to the industry which lobbies for "self-regulation." Both DFW Midstream Pipeline and ONCOR, owner of the utility easement, are under the same parent company - Texas Energy Futures Corp.
Problems we see at the Daniel Drive Site:
1. Insufficient prior notification for landowners before commencement of construction. The Pipeline Company claims they sent earlier notice than the residents report they got.
2. Too much equipment in too small a space.
3. Use of residential neighborhood as storage lot for heavy-duty construction equipment used on other job sites (i.e. a City of Arlington park where city code enforcement stipulated requirements that would probably have applied to the Daniel Dr. site if State law allowed City Codes to apply to pipeline construction inside city limits).
4. Encroachment into yards and onto land adjacent to right-of-way without homeowner's permission or payment.
5. Failure to properly fence job site from adjacent homes for safety of children. One family adjacent to the job site has several small children. There is a deep pit where they are coring, filled with drilling chemicals, saltwater, slime, and sludge brought up from the coring operation. If a child gets outside for a minute and wanders 5' outside their backyard line into that right-of-way easement, they will fall into a deep hole filled with quick-sand like drilling sludge. There is no barrier between this family's yard and the drill site except for a 2' wide nylon orange banner!
6. Noise.
7. Storage of equipment on resident's property. Harriet Irby was visiting Mr. Eddie Crosswhite last weekend while he answered a call from a pipeline official. He put the call on speakerphone. Ms. Irby videotaped stacks of pallets and other equipment still on Mr. Crosswhites property and caught the voice of the offical telling Mr. Crosswhite that everything had been moved off of his land!
8. No protection of homes from mud and sludge coming up from the well during coring operations. Adjacent homes (and automobiles parked) by the drill/coring site are coated with mud and sludge from the pipeline construction.
9. Families cannot stand in their yards and children cannot play in their yards without being splattered with debris and mud and sludge coming from the drilling.
10. Fumes and Odors. Too much diesel equipment in too small a space creates fumes and odors which prohibit enjoyment of adjacent homes and backyards.
11. Endangerment to health of fragile individuals. Studies show that children subjected to diesel are at risk. Mr. Crosswhite, who lives adjacent to this site, is a cancer patient. He recently recuperated enough to return to work full-time. If he were home all week, subject to continual exposure to this job site, he would probably be too exposed to the contaminants. If he has to undergo chemotheraphy while this construction continues, he will not be able to live in his house because of the fumes. The stress and fumes and contaminants he inhales after he returns home and on weekends inhibits his ability to fight off the cancer and to enjoy the precious time he has.
12. This pipeline is to transmit wet unodorized gas for Carrizo Oil. State law does not require that the gas be odorized and dehydrated at the wellhead. Just because state law doesn't require something, doesn't mean that it shouldn't be done. It also doesn't mean that the gas and pipeline companies CAN'T DO IT. For the safety of residents along this pipeline and for the safety of school children in Blanton Elementary School and S. Davis Elementary School which are adjacent to this pipeline we urge Carrizo Oil, DFW Midstream Pipeline, ONCOR and their parent companies TO ODORIZE THE GAS AT THE WELLHEAD and TO DEHYDRATE THE GAS AT THE WELLHEAD so that it will be less corrosive and safer to tranmit to the refinery.

To see two news reports on the Daniel Dr. Pipeline site from NEWS 33 scroll down on this blog four or five stories Both are embedded videos.

See related coverage on ABOUT AIR AND WATER

Cities must now look elsewhere for rail funds

By GORDON DICKSON - Fort Worth Star Telegram - June 1, 2009
Cities hoping for help from the state in paying for commuter rail service must now reassess plans after Texas lawmakers killed a proposed law that would have allowed local-option elections to raise taxes and fees for transit.

The Fort Worth Transportation Authority, also known as the T, has a service area that only includes about half of Tarrant County’s 1.8 million residents. Cities such as Arlington, North Richland Hills and Burleson must now find other ways to connect to the agency’s rail network.

In Arlington, elected leaders must now decide whether to ask city voters for permission to raise sales taxes for transit. Arlington has a quarter-cent available, but transit elections in the city have failed three times since 1980.

"Everything is back on the table. We’ll look at all the options and do the best we can do," said Arlington Councilwoman Kathryn Wilemon. "A decision will have to be made by the Arlington council."

Barring a sales tax increase for transit in Arlington, Wilemon said, "it just leaves Arlington out of the rail picture, pretty much. There’s no funding for that right now."

A quarter-cent would provide enough funding to build a Trinity Railway Express station near Farm to Market 157 in far north Arlington, and extend express bus service from that station to the entertainment district, said T President Dick Ruddell.

Projects continue

Other cities near Fort Worth are in much the same situation.

In Northeast Tarrant County, cities such as North Richland Hills and Haltom City may have to wait many years before building train stations on the proposed southwest to northeast commuter rail line that will cut through their city and is scheduled to have passenger service by 2013. Those cities don’t have any room under the state’s 8.25 percent sales tax limit, and were hoping for options such as a local gas tax or vehicle registration fee to generate revenue.

But several commuter rail projects already in the planning or construction phases will press on, and that’s good news for cities such as Fort Worth and Grapevine, which are combining forces to develop the rail line from southwest Fort Worth to the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport north entrance.

Grapevine voters already agreed to raise their sales tax by .375 cents to pay for commuter rail to their city.

Tough questions

As for the cities that can’t afford to join, the T will continue to keep their proposed stations in the master plan, Ruddell said. "It doesn’t cost anything to leave them in the plan."

The failure in Austin also won’t hurt the efforts of the Denton County Transportation Authority to get its A-train open from Denton to Carrollton by December 2010. The project is already funded, and rail cars have been ordered.

Private investment on the Cotton Belt portion of the southwest to northeast line could improve the financial picture — and Dallas Area Rapid Transit is actively seeking private partners. However, private funding likely would benefit cities such as Addison and Carrollton on the more densely populated North Dallas segment, Ruddell said.

County officials may now look at their options. In Tarrant County, officials in 2006 passed a $433 million bond package for roads.

"These are really tough questions, and we don’t have the answers for now," said Amanda Wilson, a council of governments spokeswoman. "If you’re not a member of the T, and not planning on it, I can imagine that rail is not in your future for the next two years."

Read more in the Fort Worth Star Telegram

Arlington's Pope Elementary likely to be designated Title I

By TRACI SHURLEY - Fort Worth Star Telegram - June 2, 2009
ARLINGTON — Teachers in the cash-strapped Arlington school district often have stories of buying their own supplies.

But, Pope Elementary art teacher Neina Chapman’s purchase was a big one.

Chapman wanted a $650 projection camera to show students how to weave and draw. She knew the school couldn’t afford it, so she asked her husband to buy it for her at Christmas.

"It was just so easy to show the kids how to do something, and they could all see it," she said. "Every teacher should have one."

Pope Principal Celina Kilgore said that kind of dedication is part of what makes the school great. And now, teachers like Chapman may see a little more financial help for the school and its 700 students.

Pope is likely to be designated a Title I school next year, qualifying it to get extra federal funding because of its high percentage of students on free and reduced-rate lunches. The money can be used for tutoring, updating technology and other needs.

That news has some teachers like Chapman excited about getting an extra $130,000, but it has been met with concerns and questions from some in the community.

Neighbors and parents at Pope have met twice with school officials to talk about what exactly a Title I designation will mean to their neighborhood. Neighbors have expressed fears that property values would drop, and not all of their questions have been met with concrete answers.

Hank Jacobs went to Pope and has two children there. He said that he wants the best for the school, but that he hopes that being Title I doesn’t stigmatize the school. And, what if the district’s calculations are wrong and Pope doesn’t really deserve the money?.

"I feel very strongly that people, if they need help, then they need to get help, but if people take help just because they can reach out and grab it, then they’re keeping other people that really need help from getting it," he said.

Changing demographics

Having an Arlington neighborhood school receiving Title I funds isn’t uncommon. The district is increasingly being called upon to meet the needs of low-income students, with the number of free and reduced-rate lunches rising more than 10 percent from October 2002 to October 2008.

Thirty-two of the district’s 52 elementary schools are designated Title I, with three added since 2006. According to the latest numbers available, 58.7 percent of Arlington’s 63,000 students are on the federal free and reduced-lunch program. That number has been rising for years.

Numbers at Pope have risen steadily. In September, the percentage of students receiving free and reduced rate meals went to 61 percent, well above the district’s 55 percent cutoff for Title I funding. Kilgore, who has been at Pope for 10 years, wasn’t surprised by the growing numbers.

"From the very beginning, when I first came here, I noticed our school was very diverse, not just ethnically but economically," Kilgore said.

Arlington schools are operating on a $16.8 million budget shortfall this year, leaving Pope with aging library books and classroom computers that are as much as nine years old. Still, Pope’s reputation is strong. It has been a state-recognized school for five years while receiving awards from state and national groups.

PTA President Betsy Bauer, mother of a third-grader, said she worries about the potential effect on home prices if the school becomes Title I. County officials said there’s no automatic adjustment in home appraisals for Title I schools, and any effect would depend on buyers’ and sellers’ perceptions.

"I love Pope Elementary. I love their staff. I love the teachers. My children have thrived there," Bauer said. "As a homeowner, I am concerned because my home is three blocks away."

Other concerns

Jacobs and Bauer are also concerned that an audit of families qualifying for free or reduced lunches is faulty. To qualify for free lunches, a family of four must make at or below $27,560; for reduced lunches, the threshold is $39,220 or less. By federal law, the district can request verification only from 3 percent of the people on the program.

This year, that audit included 417 families’ applications. Twenty-nine percent did not respond to requests and were automatically dropped. When responses were analyzed, 19 percent no longer met the income requirements.

Jacobs and Bauer wonder that if 48 percent of the audit sample had to be dropped because they couldn’t or wouldn’t provide qualifying income information, what do those results say about the accuracy of the numbers at Pope?

School officials defend the results. They say the 19 percent who were disqualified possibly got a job or a raise after they applied. Officials also don’t know why the 29 percent didn’t respond, said Jackie Anderson, the district’s food service director.

And, Anderson points out that about 33 percent of families on free lunches are "direct-certified," meaning that they got on the program because they get other government assistance that requires income proof.

What now?

School district leaders will decide this month what to do at Pope.

"What we don’t want to happen is we add a Title I school and then their numbers change or drop and we have to remove them from Title I," Deputy Superintendent Marcelo Cavazos said. "It’s a significant impact to the school in terms of how they use the funds."

Teachers and administrators at Pope have already begun training on how to implement Title I status. Part of the preparation will be a needs assessment to determine how the money should be spent.

Jim Labenz, incoming president of the Pope Dads’ Club, said he feels that becoming a Title I school is a good thing.

"If we qualify, it only makes sense to use all of the resources we can to provide everything we can for the education of our children," he said.

Read more in the Fort Worth Star Telegram

Drilling Rigs in Arlington/Grand Prairie Area

By Tx Sharon - Blue Daze - June 1, 2009
STATE DATA SUPPORTS CONCLUSIONS OF EDF/SMU STUDY ON BARNETT SHALE EMISSIONS
from the desk of Al Armendariz, Ph.D.
May 27, 2009
Dallas, Texas

STATE DATA SUPPORTS CONCLUSIONS OF EDF/SMU STUDY ON
BARNETT SHALE EMISSIONS

Oil and gas sector emissions in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are significant, but cost-effective solutions are available to reduce the environmental impact and increase revenue for oil and gas producers.

From 2004 to 2007, officials from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) worked to develop the latest version of the clean air plan for the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, with input from other stakeholders including US EPA, local and regional governments, the business community, EDF, and other environmental groups. In May 2007, at the hearing when the TCEQ adopted the clean air plan, testimony was presented which indicated that oil and gas sector sources in the Barnett Shale area around the city of Fort Worth were greatly underestimated in the clean air plan. This testimony cast serious doubt on the accuracy of the photochemical modeling at the core of the state’s plan. Nonetheless, the TCEQ commissioners adopted the plan.

In the state’s May 2007 clean air plan, oil and gas sources in the 9-county DFW metropolitan area were estimated to produce only 26 tons per day (tpd) of smogforming nitrogen oxides and volatile organic emissions.

There is a common misconception that all the natural gas being produced in the Barnett Shale is “clean” gas, with no impact to the environment. While it is true that the use of natural gas for electricity generation results in much lower emissions of sulfur, mercury, and greenhouse gases compared to coal, the production (upstream) and processing and transport (midstream) parts of the natural gas sector can have very large environmental impacts. The official records from the Texas Railroad Commission demonstrate that oil/gas activity in the approximately 20 counties of the Barnett Shale area produces hundreds of thousands of barrels of condensate liquid and crude oil, which are stored in thousands of above-ground tanks that vent to the atmosphere.

Since May 2007, independent efforts were undertaken by both the TCEQ and SMU/EDF to estimate the real magnitude of oil and gas sector emissions. The SMU/EDF effort was lead by me and coordinated by Dr. Ramon Alvarez of the Austin office of EDF.

The new data compiled by the TCEQ after May 2007 estimates that smogforming emissions in the 9-county D-FW metropolitan area were approximately 90 tpd. This new data also estimated that emissions for the entire 19-counties of the Barnett Shale area were approximately 200 tons per day.

These updated state results are extremely consistent with the independently produced results of the SMU/EDF study that I released in January 2009. For the 2007 calendar year, I estimated emissions in the 9-county metropolitan area to be 112 tpd on average and I estimated estimates for the entire 19-county Barnett Shale area to be 191 tpd on average. These numbers are within 10-20% of the TCEQ estimates (90 vs 100, 200 vs 191).

In my report I also accounted for the increase in VOC and HAP emissions that occurs on peak summer days because of heating of volatile compounds in storage tanks. I estimated emissions to be 165 tpd in the 9-county metro area and 307 tpd in the entire Barnett Shale area during a hot summer day.

The fact that separate efforts by the TCEQ and SMU/EDF to correct the emissions inventory for oil/gas sector sources in the D-FW area are coming to the same approximate answer is satisfying. Claims earlier this year by some gas company representatives that my estimates were too high by a factor of 5 or more appear to be completely unsupportable.

While it would have been best to have the updated TCEQ data in the emissions inventory and photochemical computer modeling prior to TCEQ adoption of the DFW clean air plan in May 2007, it is clear that in the future, state and federal regulators will have a more accurate picture of the true magnitude of emissions from the oil/gas sector in this part of Texas.

It is unfortunate that the oil and gas sector chose to lobby against common sense measures that were introduced in the Texas Legislature this year that would have both reduced emissions, plus resulted in increased revenue to producers from the capture of excess hydrocarbons that are otherwise being vented to the atmosphere.

Nonetheless, I hope the industry realizes that the days of venting methane and hydrocarbons to the atmosphere are probably numbered. If I was their lobbyist, I would be strongly advising them to take all necessary measures to reduce emissions starting today, to give themselves time, lessen the impact that future initiatives are bound to require, and help protect the environment.
my emissions inventory, references, and additional information can be found at:

http://lyle.smu.edu/~aja/barnett-shale.html

TCEQ Emissions Table

Read more on Blue Daze

Summer Campers at Theatre Arlington to Produce “Law & Order: Fairy Tale Unit”

Arlington, TX – The longest-running crime drama in television history, which has prompted two successful spin-offs now takes the stage at Theatre Arlington. The main difference between the Law & Order viewed on NBC every Wednesday, and the Law & Order that you will see at Theatre Arlington is, while the television series is geared for adults, the stage version is strictly for the young… and the young at heart.

June 16 – 18, 2009 the Centerstage Campers at Theatre Arlington will proudly present, Law & Order: Fairy Tale Unit. In the fairy tale criminal justice system, the characters from fairy tales and nursery rhymes are represented by two separate yet equally ridiculous groups: the fairy tale police who investigate the fairy tale crime, and the fairy tale district attorneys who prosecute the fairy tale offenders. These are their stories.
This show differs from other Arlington Theatre productions in three ways:
First: all performers are between the age eight and fifteen.
Second: campers audition the first day of camp, learn their lines, blocking and mount the entire show in one week.
third: tickets for this zany show are only $5 a person!
For groups of ten or more, tickets are discounted to $4 a person.

Law & Order: Fairy Tale Unit runs June 16 - 18
with performances at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. each day

Gas Industry Goes Unscathed This Session

CLICK HERE TO SEE NEWS 33 VIDEO
News 33 Team - May 28, 2009
Fort Worth - Texas lawmakers have just days until the end of the session, and the natural gas industry has emerged without a scratch.

"The gas industry has completely controlled the legislative process," said Rep. Lon Burnam of Fort Worth.

Burnam was among the lawmakers who filed bills aimed at tighter regulations for gas companies. Those bills addressed eminent domain, environmental and safety issues. "None of that's going to be addressed in this legislation," said Burnam.

Gary Hogan who sits on the Fort Worth Gas Ordnance Task Force said, "most people would see we are building ourselves into a catastrophe."

Burnam also wanted gas to be odorized at the wellhead, which he said would allow the highly combustible gas to be detected in the event of a leak.

Industry expert Ed Ireland said odorizing gas would be ineffective in an outdoor setting. "These companies have stockholders to answer to," said Ireland.

Copyright © 2009, KDAF-TV
Watch more on News 33

Bill to protect neighborhoods from natural gas leaks killed in Texas House Committee

By Faith Chatham - DFWRCC - May 27, 2009
State Rep. Lon Burnam wrote a good bill, which would have made life safer for residents in the Barnett Shale. The House Energy and Resource Committee, chaired by former Speaker, Rep. Tom Craddick, butchered Burnam's bill (HB1537), removing requirements for gas to be odorized and dehydrated at the wellhead, and relaxed pipeline inspection standards from 2 years to 5 years. C.S.H.B. 1537, the committee's version, has few of the protections Burnam tried to get for the people of this region.

BACKGROUND

In 1937, several hundred students and their teachers were killed when a spark ignited odorless natural gas in a school in New London, Texas. In order to prevent such catastrophes in the future, the state passed a law requiring gas to be odorized under certain circumstances.

Over 9,000 drilling permits were issued by the Railroad Commission of Texas for natural gas wells in the Barnett Shale in the past three years, and production doubled over the same time period. For the first time in Texas, gas drilling is proliferating in a densely populated urban area. The risks associated with drilling and transporting gas through a county of 1.7 million inhabitants are high, but can be mitigated through appropriate safety measures.
Current law sets no minimum distance between gas pipelines and homes, schools, or other structures frequented by people, nor does it require the gas in the gathering lines being constructed throughout the county to be odorized so that leaks can be easily detected. Gathering lines are not subject to the corrosion prevention measures, such as internal inspection and pressure testing, required under state or federal integrity management programs.

C.S.H.B. 1537 reduces the likelihood of catastrophic pipe failure by requiring new safety measures for gathering and transmission pipelines in Tarrant County and in a Class 3 or 4 location as defined by federal law.

SITUATION IN NORTH TEXAS:
Gas pipelines are necessary to get gas from producing wells to market. Frequently natural gas producers do not trust each other. Often they want their own pipeline, and do not want to mix their gas in the same pipeline with their competitors. Residents want as few pipelines as possible. The industry doesn't want to add odor to the natural gas until it gets to the refinery. Many residents want natural gas, if it is traveling near their homes or children's schools, to be odorized. If odorized at the wellhead, people will be able to detect gas leaks or accumulations of gas. The industry, under current law, is not required to odorize natural gas until it gets to the refinery.

Existing law allows pipelines to be laid in existing utility easements without notification of adjacent property owners. Along the major electric transmission lines running through Arlington and Pantego, Driver Pipeline is the contractor laying a natural gas pipeline for DFW Midstream. Luminant Electric (TXU) owns the 20 ' utility easement. The path of the pipeline is easy to detect. The large electric towers are spaced through a 20' utility easement from Grand Prairie to Pantego. One stands a few feet from the entrance of Hugh Downs Recreation Center. Driver Pipe is laying pipe in the park south of the tennis court.

Farther west, at Daniel Drive near Tucker, neighbors were given only 12 hour notice before they moved in heavy equipment and began coring to lay the pipe under the electric tower. They have created a large sink hole of quicksand. It is not fenced, and some neighbors fear that children may step over the 2' barrier and sink into the quicksand. Sludge from the work site encroached into the yards of homeowners who live only 20' from the pipeline work site. Homeowners on both sides of the job site report shifts in the foundation of their homes. Doors and windows do not open and close as completely as prior to commencement of work on that site.
Sewage service has been disrupted. Eddie Crosswhite, who lives just south of the pipeline, reports that his toilet only flushes when he empties water from a 5 gallon pail into it. The city has been attempting to correct the sewage problem. However, City Ordinances do not apply to pipeline construction sites.

RAILROAD COMMISSION:
In Texas the Railroad Commission has authority to inspect and regulate intra-state pipelines. In a call to the Dallas Region of the Railroad Commission Tuesday, May 26, Jodie Kerl told us that the Railroad Commission had not been to the pipeline work site in Arlington. "The gas will probably not be odorized. Natural gas usually rises upward so we don't think it is important for it to be odorized." She said that pipelines near schools are subject to more frequent leak-testing. The utility easement where this pipeline is being laid runs adjacent to the playground of Blanton Elementary School and by South Davis Elementary School. It will run in back of the A.I.S.D. District Office on Pioneer Parkway and through the parking lot of Fielder Road Baptist Church.

Language in Rep. Lon Burnam's original bill required permission of homeowners who lived within 50' of the pipeline

C.S.H.B. 1537 differs from the original by prohibiting a gathering gas pipeline from being constructed within 30 feet of an established permanent structure that is used by human beings on a regular basis and provides specified exceptions, whereas the original prohibits a gathering or transmission gas pipeline from being constructed within 300 feet of such a structure.

C.S.H.B. 1537 removes a provision in the original requiring gas produced from a well to be odorized at the wellhead in accordance with the methodology prescribed by federal regulations before the gas enters a gathering pipeline.

A bill favorable to the industry, HB 472 (authored by Rep. Hilderbrand) releasing common carriers who report leaks or spills from liability from contamination that a common carrier or an owner or operator of a pipeline observes or detects. HB472, which passed both houses and was sent to Gov. Perry for his signature on May 27, amends the

Natural Resources Code to authorizes the Railroad Commission to spend funds from oil-field cleanup fund to assess and clean-up nature and extent of contamination caused by oil and gas wastes or other substances or materials regulated by the commission that a common carrier or an owner or operator of a pipeline observes or detects on or after the effective date of this Act (Sept. 1, 2009). Contamination that a common carrier or an owner or operator of a pipeline observes or detects.

Pollution from diesel engines on the site is not regulated by city, county or state officials. A complaint about air pollution from the diesel equipment used by Driver Pipeline on the Daniel Dr. site was made to the Railroad Commission. The Railroad says that they have no authority over air quality, and recommended contacting TEQC. TEQC said that they have no authority over diesel equipment which is not stationary. There is no restriction on how much diesel equipment can be used per work-site in residential neighborhoods.

City Ordinance do not apply to pipeline construction sites. The Railroad Commission is charged with inspecting and overseeing pipeline construction and operation in Texas. The Dallas office of the Railroad Commission stated May 27 that they had not visited the pipeline project in the Luminant utility easement through Arlngton. Construction at that site began about 2 months ago.
Bills in Austin to protect homeowners were consistently changed or blocked in Committee. Even a bill requiring notification of local elected officials and State Representatives and State Senators when permits for pipeline or gas drilling project were filed for projects in their districts was defeated.

Childen living near the pipeline through Arlington, sick people like Mr. Crosswhite who is a chemotherapy patient, and children in Blanton Elementary School and South Davis Elementary will not have protection from unodorized natural gas in pipelines running within only a few feet under a high voltage electrical transmission line near their homes and schools. No one is attempting to protect residents throughout the region from air-pollution from diesel engines used in pipeline construction. This region is in danger of losing Federal dollars for being out of federal clean air attainment. The pollution from pipeline construction is not regulated by any agency. Politicans in Austin and Washington D.C. did not see the value in protecting them, at the cost to the natural gas industry of odorizing the gas at the wellhead.

Pipeline companies can lay pipe in existing utility easements with only a few hours notice. Common sense need not rule. They can (and are) running natural gas pipelines underneath major high voltage electrical grid transmission towers and high voltage electrical lines. A blow-out under those towers can distrupt electrical service to large sections of this region. Luminant's 20' wide utility easement through Arlington and Pantego is becoming a corridor for unodorized wet natural gas running in a pipeline directly underneath the major electrical transmission lines in this region. The pipeline is being laid directly underneath the towers.

State Representatives Lon Burnam tried to get sensible legislation passed to require safeguards for people living along the path of gas development in the Barnett Shale. His bill to require natural gas to be odorized at the wellhead, was stripped of its protections, when it emerged from Committee. Another attempt by Burnam, HB 1536, which prohibited a single oil company from condemning property for a gas pipeline in large counties of over 1.4 million, fizzled, never leaving committee. Powerful, shrewd politicians such as Rep. Craddick, chair of the Energy Resource Committee, blocked most of Burnam's energy bills in committee. Texas law still allows one company to exercise eminent domain for a pipeline to be used to carry it's gas to market. There are no requirements that gas companies with producing wells near each other must share pipeline to ease disruption of neighborhoods. People who signed gas leases after being assured that the wells would be drilled far underneath their land and not disturb the ground level of their property have no protection from a pipeline company exercising eminent domain and laying a natural gas pipeline near the surface of their property.
There is some legislation in the U.S. House which may give some relief to homeowners, but the petroleum and pipeline industry is a very well-financed powerful lobby and the future of Federal legislation is hazy.
Source of quotes: Texas Legislature On-Line

Minor earthquake reported in North Texas

The Associated Press - Fort Worth Star Telegram - May 16, 2009
EULESS, Texas -- A minor earthquake shook parts of North Texas but no damage nor injuries had been reported.

Jesse Moore with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth said Saturday's earthquake at 11:24 a.m. came in at 3.3, according to the National Earthquake Information Center.

Moore said he had not heard of any reports of damage nor injuries. Moore said the earthquake was centered about four miles south of Euless and 18 miles west of Dallas.

Robert Budack, who lives in Irving, told The Associated Press he was on his bed and got bounced to the wall, but was not hurt.

Budack said he felt an aftershock that "was enough to make the couch and chairs shake."
Read more in the Fort Worth Star Telegram

3.3 quake hits north Arlington; no damage or injuries reported

By MITCH MITCHELL - Fort Worth Star Telegram, May 17, 2009
A minor earthquake centered in north Arlington shook residents as far away as Grapevine late Saturday morning, but no damage or injuries were reported.

The earthquake registered a magnitude of 3.3, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

That is enough to disturb pictures hanging on the wall but not much else, said Jesse Moore, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

"Most people would not have realized it," he said. "We did get a dozen reports or so about the ground shaking and that sort of thing. You generally don’t start seeing any sort of damage until it’s a 5."

The Geological Survey listed the coordinates of the epicenter as 32.796 degrees north and 97.091 degrees west. That placed it in undeveloped north Arlington east of Collins Street and north of the Trinity River. The survey reported the time as 11:24:06 a.m.

It was the third North Texas tremor in less than seven months. Two small jolts hit southwest Irving late Oct. 30 and early Oct. 31. The first was a 2.5, the second a 3.0. They awakened residents in Fort Worth, Irving, Euless and Grand Prairie.

"We do get earthquakes in this area, but they are relatively rare," Moore said. "We are not in an area with a lot of tectonic activity. Most of the earthquakes will be in West Texas."

Robert Budack, who lives in Irving, told The Associated Press that he was on his bed and got bounced to the wall but was not hurt. Budack said he felt an aftershock that "was enough to make the couch and chairs shake."

Some may have thought the shaking was due to one of several thunderstorms that rumbled through the area Saturday. The National Weather Service recorded 0.46 inch of rain at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport just before 5 p.m.

This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives and The Associated Press.
Read more in the Fort Worth Star Telegram

Almost 1,000 animals seized in feed-store raid in Dalworthington Gardens

By ROBERT CADWALLADER - Fort Worth Star Telegram - May. 02, 2009
DALWORTHINGTON GARDENS — A police raid on a feed store this week netted about 240 dead animals and more than 700 live animals that were for sale as pets, the Humane Society of North Texas estimated Thursday.

Sorting and counting the wide variety of exotic and livestock animals were still under way as the Humane Society prepared to seek animal cruelty charges against the owner of Adam’s Feed Store at 2601 W. Arkansas Lane in Dalworthington Gardens.

Animal cruelty resulting from improper care is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. Officials estimated that 2,200 live fish were also confiscated. The many dead fish were not officially counted.

The animals housed at the feed store included dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, rats, mice, ferrets, turtles, lizards, tarantulas and boa constrictors.

The actual number of dead animals was higher, said Tammy Hawley, the Fort Worth-based group’s operations director.

"We were only counting whole carcasses," she said. "Some of them had been cannibalized by the other animals, so we weren’t able to count those parts."

Police raided the store Tuesday morning based on Humane Society allegations that animals had been mistreated and neglected. Hawley said several store customers reported seeing dead animals in their cages, and an animal cruelty investigator confirmed it.

Adam Zduniewicz, who has owned his business for about 25 years, said again Thursday that he took good care of his animals. But with so many animals, he said, some deaths are to be expected.

He contended that the allegations were exaggerated because of his long-running dispute with city officials over zoning regulations.

"We don’t mistreat animals," he said. "They’re fed and watered every day. Their pens are cleaned. We have a vet come in at least once a month, and a vet tech comes in every week."

But Hawley said her veterinarians paint a different picture.

"We’ve had the vets look at them, and we’ve not had anything that’s been determined as the cause of death other than not receiving proper care," she said.
Read more in the Fort Worth Star Telegram

Incumbent faces heated challenge in Arlington District 5 council race

By SUSAN SCHROCK - Fort Worth Star Telegram - Wed, Apr. 29, 2009
ARLINGTON — Council member Lana Wolff said revitalization and eradicating neighborhood blight are the top issues in her east central Arlington district, which includes downtown.

Opponent Terry Meza agrees that urban renewal is a key concern, but she said demolition isn’t always the answer. She wants the city to build new parks, better streets and sidewalks to encourage District 5 reinvestment.

Wolff’s and Meza’s disagreement about how to pump new life into the oldest part of the city is only one example of how the two candidates are sparring in one of the most heated Arlington municipal races on the May 9 ballot.

"I feel like we have the opportunity to continue to grow a great city," Wolff said at a recent candidate forum. "I love the fact that we are about to open the Dallas Cowboys stadium. But if no one wants to live here or raise their family here, it doesn’t do anybody any good."

Meza said after having Wolff serve the district since 2003, it is time for a new approach.

"There are creative things we can do to help stop the decline in east Arlington," Meza said at a recent forum. "If you are not better off than you were six years ago, it’s time for a change."

Airline pilot Michael Driscoll is also on the ballot for the District 5 seat but could not be reached for an interview. Early voting for the elections continues until May 5.

Experience

Meza said her advantages over Wolff are her formal education, which includes a law degree from Texas Wesleyan University, and her years of professional experience in areas of economic and work-force development, neighborhood revitalization and historic preservation in Fort Worth.

Her experience includes attracting a farmer’s market to an abandoned, dilapidated carwash and setting up a program where low-income families could borrow mowers and other lawn equipment to maintain their properties.

Meza said she would also bring more diversity to the council, which has one Hispanic member. She said her experience in Fort Worth can easily translate to east Arlington, which is facing similar socioeconomic and aging-infrastructure issues.

"I believe we can have redevelopment without sacrificing historical preservation and neighborhood stabilization," said Meza, who added that she was disappointed in the council’s recent decision to tear down the historic Purvis House on Cooper Street to make way for redevelopment.

Wolff, a longtime community volunteer who grew up in Arlington, said it doesn’t take a college degree to be a leader.

"I have two years of college and 35 years of community service," said Wolff, who added that she was the vice president of economic development for the Chamber of Commerce and helped create a tax increment reinvestment zone to provide incentives for redevelopment downtown.

Wolff said her accomplishments include encouraging the First Baptist Church to swap land with the city so that a new park could be built across from City Hall.

While on the council, Wolff also supported significant federal grant money and bond-funded investments in downtown and in east central Arlington neighborhoods. She added that 89.5 percent of residential street rebuilding money was spent in District 5 in the past five years.

She also said the city needs to continue aggressively working to identify and remove dilapidated properties that become a blight. Wolff said 22 houses and commercial buildings have been demolished through the Dangerous and Substandard Structure program since she has been in office.

Endorsement trouble

Wolff’s re-election bid has been plagued by ex-council member Dick Malec, who has widely publicized details about her husband, Jimmy Wolff’s, legal and financial problems, which include pending felony fraud charges in Oklahoma and an unresolved multimillion dollar lawsuit.

Wolff has maintained that she has nothing to do with her husband’s financial dealings and that Malec’s ill will comes from her not choosing him as a political consultant.

Wolff did acknowledge this week that at least two people have told her they were surprised their names appeared on an endorsement mailer without their permission. One of those was longtime attorney James Cribbs, who lives in west Arlington.

"I did not authorize or consent to the use of my name in the political endorsement piece that was sent out by Lana Wolff," Cribbs told the Star-Telegram on Monday. "I’m not eligible to vote in District 5, but if I were eligible to vote I would cast my ballot for Terry Meza."

Wolff said she has apologized to Cribbs, whom she characterized as a past supporter, and to a woman who donated money to her campaign but did not want her name used in a mailer.

"I take full responsibility, and I apologize," Wolff said.

Wolff’s political consultant Craig Murphy said Wolff has become a "punching bag" during the campaign and that Meza deserves scrutiny for illegally running her law practice from her former home on Kimberly Drive.

Meza said her furniture and equipment are being stored at the Kimberly address but she has not been actively working as a private attorney since 2005. Until last month, Meza said, she worked for the federal Office of Disaster Assistance preparing loan closing documents for disaster loans on homes and businesses affected by hurricanes.

Meza said she plans to re-establish her private practice at an undetermined location after the May 9 election.
Read more in the Fort Worth Star Telegram

Spending records of Barton's charitable foundation raises questions

By LAURA ISENSEE - The Dallas Morning News - Tuesday, April 7, 2009


WASHINGTON – Rep. Joe Barton's charitable foundation, which has drawn headlines for the Arlington Republican, has spent more in overhead than on public causes, according to a published report.

A story in Monday's Washington Times noted that the charity started by Barton, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, raised money from industries with a stake in his committee's business and took credit for some donations that corporations made directly to local nonprofits.

The fundraising is "perfectly legal and by the books," said Sean Brown, a spokesman for Barton.

In its first three years, the Joe Barton Family Foundation spent more on overhead – about $130,000 – than it gave to charity. In 2006, it donated $90,000 to construct a new 10,000-square-foot facility for Boys and Girls Club of Navarro County, according to the group's tax reports.

The organization formed as a tax-exempt public charity in 2005. Its mission is to help nonprofits, primarily in Barton's district, build large-scale capital projects. His daughter-in-law runs the Arlington-based organization.

Overall, Barton's foundation has spent less than a quarter of its funds on public causes, according to the Times.

The typical charity rated by the watchdog group Charity Navigator spends about 75 percent on programs and services and 25 percent toward administration and fundraising costs.

There is no one-size-fits-all for how much charities should spend on overhead, said Elizabeth Boris, who directs the Urban Institute's Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy.
Read more in the Dallas Morning News

Dallas Cowboys fans will park in Texas Rangers lots

By Gordon Dickson - Honkin' Mad - Fort Worth Star Telegram - April 2, 2009
ARLINGTON — The Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers have reached a deal to share parking spaces. The move ensures there’ll be room for most ticket holders at the new 80,000-seat Cowboys stadium in Arlington to park within about a mile — or a 20-minute walk.

It also means the two teams must work closely together each year on scheduling. The football and baseball seasons overlap between August and October, including the preseason and playoffs.

“We’ll work within our dates to ensure we don’t have games going on in the same time period,” Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones said.

The Cowboys and Rangers each control about 12,000 parking spots. Together, they can provide most of the parking needed for regular season events at the football stadium. A capacity crowd of 80,000 people could bring as many as 26,675 cars into the area. And, the stadium can be expanded to 100,000 seats for big events such as the 2011 Super Bowl, when as many as 33,350 parking spots may be needed. For those extreme cases, Cowboys officials have identified parking spaces within a two-mile radius.

The Texas Rangers will keep almost 100 percent of the game-day parking revenue generated by football traffic on their lots, said Rob Matwick, Rangers executive vice president of ballpark operations.

The only exception is a small number of spots that may be presold by Cowboys ticket representatives, who would then get a small percentage of the sale as a commission.

Matwick declined to disclose how much Cowboys fans will be charged for parking in Rangers lots. For baseball games, the regular price is $12 per car. But the cost could be higher for football parking.

Cowboys officials have already disclosed that they’re charging $750 per season — or the equivalent of $75 a game, including preseason and regular season contests — for premium parking up close to the stadium. Other parking prices have not been publicized.

“Our prices will be a step down from what they’re paying in the Cowboys lot,” Matwick said. “Proximity to the stadium will play a major factor.”

On Cowboys lots, the cost to motorists includes a $3 parking fee, which according to the team’s agreement with the city goes toward repayment of $147.8 million in construction bonds. But football fans who park in Rangers lots will not pay that $3 fee, Matwick said. Bonds sold for the Texas Rangers’ facility are already paid off.
Read more on Honkin' Mad

E-mail, phone campaign targets Arlington councilwoman, husbandE-mail, phone campaign targets Arlington councilwoman, husband

By SUSAN SCHROCK - Fort Worth Star Telegram - Thursday, April 2, 2009
ARLINGTON — City Council member Lana Wolff is being attacked in e-mails and automated phone messages, but not by one of her challengers in the May election.

Ex-council member and political consultant Dick Malec is again trying to convince voters that Wolff’s husband’s financial and legal troubles could impair her ability to represent east Arlington, comparing the couple in one e-mail to Bernie and Ruth Madoff.

Bernie Madoff, accused of bilking investors out of billions of dollars in a Ponzi scheme, pleaded guilty on charges of fraud, money laundering and perjury last month.

"Would you elect Bernie Madoff’s wife to oversee Arlington’s budget?" Malec wrote.

Wolff said Malec has a history of attacking candidates who don’t use his consulting services. She says she is not distracted by Malec’s attacks or by the charges against her husband, Jimmy, which she believes will be dropped.

"I don’t get any of those e-mails, but most people say, 'Eh, consider the source,’ " said Wolff, who is seeking her fourth term. "They are what they are, and that is what he does to everybody. If you don’t pay him money to work on your campaign, he goes against you."

Campaign repeat

Malec began handing out copies of public records outlining criminal allegations against Jimmy Wolff when his wife first ran for office in 2003. This campaign season, Malec has posted those documents online and has been mass-calling and e-mailing residents, urging them to Google "Who is Lana Wolff?"

Malec contends that the Wolff family’s unresolved problems and past bankruptcy could distract her from her duties and embarrass the city.

"If you look into Lana’s background, you will find corruption, greed, moral/financial/ethical decay, and a steady move away from the things that made Arlington great," he wrote in one e-mail.

Malec said he has not been hired to provide campaign consulting advice to attorney Thresa Meza or pilot Michael Driscoll, who are challenging Wolff for the District 5 seat.

Jimmy Wolff is awaiting trial in Oklahoma on 11 felony charges of conspiracy, racketeering and filing a false financial statement. The Oklahoma attorney general’s office alleges that Wolff and his business partner, Rodney Williams, transferred money from another company they controlled and reported grossly inflated or fictitious profits to make their insurance company appear solvent in reports filed with the Oklahoma Insurance Department.

Lana Wolff said she doesn’t understand why her character is being attacked because of her husband’s situation.

"What does that have to do with me?" she said.

'Perfectly content’

Last year, Malec sent out computerized phone messages to more than 16,000 potential voters urging them not to vote for Vera McKissic, who was running for an at-large council seat. McKissic told the Star-Telegram then that she believed Malec was "angry because we did not keep him on board" as a consultant.

The Wolffs are also facing a lawsuit to collect a judgment on a past lawsuit. In 1992, Jimmy Wolff was sued by four companies that said he had misappropriated their investments. The investors won a $2.4 million judgment, plus interest, but Wolff hasn’t paid, according to the new lawsuit. The new suit also says Lana and Jimmy Wolff have hidden their assets from creditors.

The Wolffs filed for bankruptcy in 1992, stating that they had $97 million in unsecured debt, according to public records. Lana Wolff said that she is not involved in her husband’s business matters but that she believes the criminal charges and the lawsuit will be dismissed.

"I’m not going to be distracted. I’m perfectly content and will continue to serve like I have for the last six years," she said.

Malec, who lives in west Arlington, cannot vote for the District 5 council candidate but said he wants those who can to make an informed choice. "To me there are too many danger signs with her past and her husband’s past," Malec said. "She has not exposed any of these things. I think that is pertinent information. I’m trying to let the people know before they make a decision to vote."

Malec, who served on the Arlington City Council from 1986 to 1992, also filed for bankruptcy in 1995.

Staff writer Max B. Baker contributed to this report, which includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.
Read more in the Fort Worth Star Telegram

Report: Hicks Sports Group defaults on loans

By Andrea Ahles and Randy Galloway _ Fort Worth Star Telegram - Friday, April 3, 2009


Rangers and Stars owner Tom Hicks is seeking investors to buy minority stakes in the teams.

Hicks Sports Group, which owns the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars, has failed to make interest payments on $525 million in loans, according to a report Friday morning.

A financial website, FINalternatives, cited a source who said Hicks defaulted on a $350 million bank term loan, a $100 million second-lien loan and a $75 million revolving credit facility.

Dallas billionaire Tom Hicks, who runs the professional baseball and hockey teams through HSG, announced earlier this week that he was looking to sell up to 46 percent of his 95 percent stake. In an e-mail Friday morning, he responded to the news that the teams were in default.

"There is no possibility of banks owning the teams," Hicks said. "I am working closely with both leagues to find quality partners that share my long term vision of building these two great franchises. I will continue to fund the teams' operations. I am the largest creditor to HSG and need 51 percent of the banks to agree with my plan."

Opening day for the Texas Rangers is on Monday.
Read more in The Fort Worth Star Telegram

Settlement of $325,000 ends land acquisition for Cowboys stadium

BY JEFF MOSIER - The Dallas Morning News 0 March 25, 2009

ARLINGTON – Land acquisition for the new Dallas Cowboys stadium is complete after nearly four years and $80 million.

The City Council approved a settlement Tuesday with Paul D. Jordan for his house and two duplexes, the last properties in dispute at the site of the $1.1 billion stadium, which opens in June.

Years after moving, Jordan gets animated when talking about the stadium and his old neighborhood, which he said reminded him of a Norman Rockwell painting.

"It's one of those rare neighborhoods that you don't often find that had a sense of community," he said. "I knew everyone around me on a first-name basis."

Jordan agreed to a payment of $325,000 for his three properties after a court fight over their condemnations. Some property owners sold their land right away, and others had their property condemned to make way for the stadium.

"It was a long process, but it wasn't something that we didn't anticipate," said council member Mel LeBlanc. "It would have financially benefited both sides had it been able to be expedited."

Mayor Robert Cluck said the land cost much more than anticipated.

The original budget for the land was a little more than $40 million, which eventually doubled.

The city's share was capped and did not increase when the land cost increased.

"Our estimates were low, and obviously more people took it to court," Cluck said.

The city won most of its eminent domain cases, but he said the few that it lost were costly. In one case, a homeowner was offered $351,000 for her house and 4 acres on Randol Mill Road but eventually settled for $2.75 million.

Jordan said he misses his neighborhood, but his nostalgia is mixed with anger.

"We were paying more taxes than they [Cowboys] will ever pay," Jordan said. "That's such a lopsided, one-sided, bad deal for anybody but Jerry Jones."

The stadium is owned by the city, so there is no property tax levied on that site.
Read more in the Fort Worth Star Telegram

Former Star-Telegram staffers launch mag - 360 West

Dallas Business Journal - Wednesday, March 25, 2009

A new lifestyle magazine catering to readers living on the West side of the Dallas-Fort Worth area has launched with some recognizable names featured in the masthead.

360 West Magazine, a new lifestyle publication, will release its premier 100-page issue in April and has an online edition catering to readers who are looking for fashion, dining, shopping and arts news that is occurring on the West side of the Metroplex — more specifically news occurring west of Highway 360, hence the name 360 West. The magazine is not available on newsstands, but subscriptions are available through the magazine's Web site for $24 per year.

The editorial staff and leadership team includes former Fort Worth-Star Telegram staffers. Among them is former Star-Telegram vice president of marketing Jerry Scott, who is publisher of the new publication and online edition.

Former Star-Telegram Arts Editor Marilyn Bailey has joined the editorial staff as managing editor and Meda Kessler, who is a former editor of the Star-Telegram’s INDULGE lifestyle section, will serve as editorial director.

The magazine’s premier edition is a 100-page publication supported by luxury advertisers.

“Despite the current economic environment, we think the area is at a tipping point where retailers and affluent consumers in particular want and need a publication that serves their interests, something not presently offered by other local publications or Dallas-based magazines,” said Scott, the publisher of 360 West.

The online edition is available at www.360westmagazine.com .
Read more in the Dallas Business Journal

Groups hit Texas Capitol to oppose spending stimulus money on toll roads

By DAVE MONTGOMERY - Fort Worth Star Telegram - March 4, 2009
AUSTIN — Beverly Branham’s message to lawmakers was neatly summarized in the four-word placard on her bright red hat: "No Stimulus Toll Road."

The Fort Worth grandmother and scores of like-minded Texans fanned out across the state Capitol on Tuesday, demanding that legislators spend not one penny of federal stimulus money to finance toll roads.

"It’s double taxes," Branham said, "and we’re already tax slaves."

The daylong lobbying mission was organized by several transportation watchdog groups, which contend that using federal stimulus money for toll roads essentially represents a double whammy on their pocketbooks: First, through the federal taxes that finance the huge stimulus package, and second, through the fees they will have to pay at the tollbooth.

"Taxpayers should not have to pay for the roads through repayment of stimulus funds and pay tolls to use the highways," according to a statement from the Arlington-based DFW Regional Concerned Citizens.

Branham and Nina Spears, also of Fort Worth, drove to Austin together. They said they are also concerned about foreign companies’ involvement in toll-road projects and the development of a "NAFTA highway" to funnel international shipping through Texas. The groups outlined their priorities in a midmorning news conference and through visits with lawmakers.

"If anybody grins at us, we walk up and talk to them," Branham said.

The groups also demanded that lawmakers clamp down on the Texas Department of Transportation and scrap any vestiges of Gov. Rick Perry’s Trans-Texas Corridor, which originally called for a $184 billion network of toll roads.

"TxDOT needs to pull back its horns a little bit," said Jimmy Simmons of Waxahachie, a retired engineer at the General Motors plant in Arlington.

Asked whether he thought lawmakers should ban the use of stimulus money for toll roads, Branham responded: "I wish we wouldn’t take any."

Many of the protesters oppose toll roads in general.

"Generation after generation is going to be paying for these roads," said Bruce Burton of Austin. A woman nearby clutched a sign reading, "Texans Against Tolls."
Read more in the Fort Worth Star Telegram

Bills could boost DFW schools to Tier 1

By GENE TRAINOR - Fort Worth Star Telegram - March 5, 2009

Area universities would be given incentives worth millions of dollars to become nationally recognized research institutions under plans filed by two state legislators.

Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, and Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, have filed separate bills that limit the competition to become a Tier 1 institution to research or "emerging" universities, schools that have the potential to become the next Texas A&M or University of Texas at Austin. The list includes: the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of North Texas in Denton and University of Texas at Dallas.

Funding bills are expected to be filed later, but the estimated cost will reach more than $200 million, Branch said.

UT-Arlington President James Spaniolo said both bills create a level playing field that allows the universities to compete for the Tier 1 mantle. UT-Arlington is in a good position, given that it ranks second in research spending among the seven state-designated emerging universities, he said.

"I think it’s a great step forward to get this on the table," Spaniolo said. "I think it’s an indication that this is important to Texas, that Texas needs to take a step, even if it’s a small step in this session."

David Daniel, president at the University of Texas at Dallas, called for a competitive system in a widely circulated May 2008 report. The legislation includes incentives similar to those that Daniel recommended.

Business leaders plan to support the bills because of the potential of a Tier 1 university to create hundreds of companies and thousands of jobs.

The Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce will write letters of support and possibly have its president, Bill Thornton, speak on Branch’s bill at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, said Brinton Payne, the chamber’s senior director of government and urban affairs.

"We would definitely try to be as supportive as possible," Payne said.

Universities typically achieve Tier 1 status by spending more than $100 million a year on research; offering doctorate degrees in at least 50 academic areas; doing well in national rankings, such U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges report; and being a member of the Association of American Universities, which includes the 62 leading research institutions in the United States and Canada. UT-Austin, Texas A&M and Rice universities are the only Tier 1 institutions in the state.

UT-Arlington has made long-range plans to find space to expand its 420-acre main campus. That includes building garages to better use the 20 percent of its property now used for parking.

"We have plenty of space for expansion on our existing campus," Spaniolo said.

Tier 1 The criteria to reach Tier 1 status includes spending more than $100 million a year on research and offering doctorate degrees in at least 50 academic areas.


Emerging Texas Research Universities Degree Programs (FY07) Total Research Expenditures (FY08)
University of Houston 54 $84,852,078
Texas Tech University 59 $52,839,081
University of Texas – Dallas 30 $59,300,868
University of North Texas 77 $16,798,880
University of Texas – Arlington 36 $66,610,534
University of Texas – San Antonio 22 $34,601,445
University of Texas – El Paso 22 $47,907,759
Source: Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

Bill highlights House Bill No. 51 filed by Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, and Senate Bill No. 9 filed by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, set up state incentives so schools can become Tier 1 universities. Under Branch’s bill the state would match money:

A university receives in research grants.

A university spends to recruit and keep professors or researchers recognized for their excellence.

A university spends on scholarships, fellowships or other merit-based financial aid for undergraduates, graduate students and professorships.

Source: Texas Legislature
Read more in the Fort Worth Star Telegram

Theartre Arlington Youth Auditions

Theatre Arlington - January 10, 2009
OPEN YOUTH AUDITIONS FOR
Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr.
Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009 at Noon
Ages 8 to 18 ONLY
REQUIREMENTS: Prepare one upbeat song and one ballad. Bring sheet music in the correct key. Be dressed to move. Cold readings from the script. Perusal copies are available at the TA office.

Auditions will be held at Theatre Arlington at 305 W. Main St. in downtown Arlington

METROPOLITAN CLASSICAL BALLET OPENS SEASON

Fall Repertory - Richard Adler will be special guest.By MCB - Oct. 14, 2008
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - Opening the 2008 / 2009 Season with a dramatic mix of Bolshoi and Broadway, Metropolitan Classical Ballet continues its distinctive artistic identity by offering the audience an incredible evening of ballet. The Fall Repertory production will be held on October 27 at 8:00 PM at the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth. The Metropolitan Classical Ballet Orchestra under the direction of guest conductor Bernard Rubenstein will accompany the one night only performance.

The first work of the evening will be Alexander Vetrov’s abridged version of Yuri Grigorovich’s great epic ballet Spartacus, which premiered at Bass Hall in April 2004 to great acclaim. The ballet, considered to be one of Grigorovich's greatest masterpieces, premiered at the Bolshoi Ballet, Moscow in 1968. In 2004, Grigorovich granted Mr. Vetrov permission to create an abridged version of the famous ballet. Metropolitan Classical Ballet premiered this version with Mr. Vetrov dancing the role of Crassus, the same role he danced at the Bolshoi when he was the leading male principal dancer. For this Fall Repertory performance, the role of Crassus will be danced by Andrey Prikhodko. Olga Pavlova and Marina Goshko will dance the two principal female roles. Shea Johnson has been cast in the title role of Spartacus. This will be Mr. Johnson’s first significant role since his appearance in Diana and Acteon in the Company’s Summer Gala performance last June where he garnered the attention of audience and critics alike.

The second work of the evening will be Paul Mejia's highly acclaimed ballet, Eight by Adler, a ballet that has always enjoyed the reputation of being an audience favorite. Mr. Adler granted the right to use eight particular songs for Mr. Mejia's use in choreographing Eight by Adler including some of his biggest hits: You Gotta Have Heart, Hey There, Hernando's Hideaway, Rags to Riches, and Everybody Loves a Lover. The ballet premiered in 1984 at the Chicago City Ballet when Mejia served as co-artistic director with Maria Tallchief. Last performed by Metropolitan Classical Ballet on June 26, 2004, the ballet was the first collaboration between Mr. Adler and Mr. Mejia; the second was Notes on My Life, which premiered in February of 2007. Olga Pavlova will dance the only female role in Eight by Adler.

Richard Adler composed both music and lyrics with his collaborator, Jerry Ross, for the musicals The Pajama Game (1954) and Damn Yankees (1955), both of which won Tony awards for best musical and best score. In 2006, a major Broadway revival of the Adler and Ross musical, Pajama Game opened at the American Airlines Theater on 42nd Street. It won the 2006 Tony Award for Best Musical Revival. The 2008 NYC Encores production of Damn Yankees received great critical acclaim. In addition to his two Tony Awards, Richard Adler has been the recipient of numerous other awards and honors. During the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, he staged and produced numerous Presidential entertainments as White House Consultant for the Arts. He also served as a Trustee for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. for fourteen years. Between 1978 and 1993, he composed numerous symphonic works including four Pulitzer Prize nominees. Mr. Adler will be in attendance the night of the Fall Repertory performance.
Programming, program order and casting for all productions is subject to change without notice.

Single ticket are $10, $25, and $38 and are available by calling Bass Performance Hall Ticket Office at (817) 212-4280 or by calling Metropolitan Classical Ballet at (817) 275-0598, or online at www.mcballet.org. Group discounts are available.

Caelum Moor monuments will find new home at park near new Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington

By JEFF MOSIER - The Dallas Morning News - Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Arlington’s praised and briefly vilified 540-ton granite Caelum Moor monuments are about to re-emerge after nearly a dozen years in storage.

The city intends to spend about $1 million to install the 22 pink Texas granite stones — arranged as five different monument sets — in a park near the new Dallas Cowboys stadium. The work is expected to start early 2009 and should take about six months to complete.

“It’s going to be in a high-visibility location,” said George Guernsey, a landscape architect who worked on the plans. “It lends itself to becoming a landmark.”

The Caelum Moor sculptures — which have a style reminiscent of England’s Stonehenge — were first installed on commercial property along Interstate 20 more than two decades ago. The set was intended as an artistic centerpiece for an office park that never materialized.

The owner donated the sculptures to the city in hopes that they would find their way into a public park.

About that time, a local church claimed that pagans or Satanists were using the site for rituals. Police officials at the time said they never found evidence backing up those claims. A coalition of local pastors urged the city to not to display the monuments on municipal property.

Since 1997, the stones have been stored at the Pierce Burch Water Treatment Plant. Now the city has a design to incorporate the stones into a 3.8-acre section of Richard Greene Linear Park along Randol Mill Road and next to Johnson Creek.

The current plans include walking paths and landscaping in addition to the stone structures. The city and RTKL architects, which prepared the site plan, also received input from Norm Hines, the California-based sculptor who created the monuments.

They used old photos documenting the site as well as a PBS documentary about the original project to help design the new layout.

“It’s magnificent work that we’re very lucky and very fortunate in this city to have,” council member Sheri Capehart said.

Read more in the Dallas Morning News

Arlington Cowboys Stadium Lawsuit over eminent domain

Ex-land owners seek to invalidate lease for new Cowboys stadium

By JEFF MOSIER - The Dallas Morning News - September 11, 2008


FORT WORTH – The owners of some property condemned for the new Dallas Cowboys stadium are seeking to have Arlington's lease with the team invalidated and force the city to reacquire the land.

A lawyer representing the owners of 17 parcels acquired via eminent domain argued in front of an appeals court panel Wednesday morning that the team has too much control over the city-owned stadium. The lawyers involved said that appeals court decisions often take at least several months.

Attorney Bob Cohen said he's not trying to stop work on the $1.1 billion stadium, which opens next year. But he said that a court victory would mean that his clients would go through the condemnation process again, and now property values would likely be higher.

"We'll go from a Prius to a 550 Mercedes," said Clyde Godfrey, who owned 1 ½ acres adjacent to Randol Mill Road.

Mr. Cohen said not only are property values in that area higher, but mineral values weren't a serious consideration a few years ago. Now, Arlington property owners often get $25,000 or more per acre for leasing the rights to drill for natural gas in addition to an average of 25 percent of the royalties.

The city acquired the mineral rights when it purchased and condemned land for the stadium.

Team's authority
Arlington City Attorney Jay Doegey rejected Mr. Cohen's argument that the lease gives the Cowboys too much authority over stadium operations. He said that a lease is essentially a contract giving the tenant exclusive use of a facility.

"It's just like we would do if we had somebody that wanted to lease counter space at our airport or any other kind of city facility," Mr. Doegey said. "If we enter into an agreement to permit someone to use a recreation center, they have the use, the exclusive use of that facility or the part they're renting."

The two sides gave their oral arguments for about 45 minutes Wednesday morning at the 2nd Court of Appeals in Fort Worth. Mr. Cohen filed an appeal in April after Tarrant County Court at Law Judge Vincent Sprinkle ruled in favor of the city.

There are still 20 other pending eminent domain cases related to land acquisition for the stadium. Nearly one-third of the stadium's cost is funded by the city, and rest is paid by the Cowboys.

Mr. Cohen told the judges Wednesday that he didn't dispute that Arlington had the right to build a stadium for the Cowboys. But he said the legal problem is the team has complete control over bookings at the stadium and would receive all revenue generated by it for at least the next 30 years.

He said that the city wouldn't be allowed to use its own property without the permission of the Cowboys.

"Leases that go that far are not allowed," Mr. Cohen said. "That's why we are here."

Specific purpose
He said that the condemnation of his clients' property was based on this contract. If the contract isn't valid, Mr. Cohen argued, then the eminent domain cases must be voided.

Jim Harris, a lawyer with the Dallas-based firm of Thompson & Knight, which was hired by the city, argued that the stadium was built for a specific public purpose permitted by state law. The rights the Cowboys have as the lone tenant don't change that, he said.

Mr. Harris also questioned whether Mr. Cohen's clients have standing to ask for a ruling about the lease.
Read more in the Dallas Morning News

- - -


Arlington landowners fight eminent domain to appeals court
By ANDREA AHLES - Fort Worth Star Telegram

Arlington landowners argued in court Wednesday that the city acted unconstitutionally when it obtained their land through eminent domain for the new Dallas Cowboys stadium.

An attorney for four landowners argued before a three-judge panel in the 2nd Court of Appeals in Fort Worth that the city’s lease with the NFL team is illegal because it is too broad and the city has no control over the new stadium.

"You can’t take [my land] for a private individual like [Dallas Cowboys owner] Jerry Jones," said landowner Walter Herrington after the one-hour hearing.

The landowners are asking the appellate court to overturn previous rulings that allowed the city to take their land for the project. If they succeed, the city could be forced to renegotiate the long-term stadium lease with the Cowboys and the land purchases. A group of 17 lawsuits were heard together Wednesday; twenty additional cases are still pending.

The city argued that it legally obtained the property needed for the stadium project and that Texas’ local government code allows the city to make leases with private entities.

"In our view, there was a take for a very public purpose," said Jim Harris, outside counsel for the city, during his presentation to the court.

To date, the city has spent over $80 million to purchase about 150 parcels of land covering about 200 acres for the stadium. The $1.1 billion stadium is expected to be ready by fall 2009.

"At the end of the day, they are dissatisfied with the amount of money they received," Harris said. "They are not asking for their land back."

For Charlie Scott, who owned 11 parcels where the new Cowboys stadium is being built, the issue is that not all landowners were treated equally by the city during the land acquisition process.

"I have nothing against the Cowboys or Jerry Jones, it was the way it was handled," Scott said. "I want to see the little man treated fairly."

Read more in the Fort Worth Star Telegram

Volunteer Corner

Volunteers are needed to answer the 2-1-1 phones in four hour shifts between 7 am - 11 pm. If you are interested in helping answer the phones to help evacuees, please contact Sue Matkin at smatkin@uwmtc. org or Estela Jimenez at ejimenez@uwmtc. org . Training is provided. The 2-1-1 call center is located in Arlington.

Arlington Organizations wishing to list calls for volunteers on this site:
Send e-mail to dfwrcc@gmail.com.
Put "VOLUNTEERS NEEDED" in subject line.

Youth Auditions for The Little Mermiad

By Theatre Arlington - September 10, 2009Youth Auditions for The Little Mermiad
Saturday, Sept. 20 at Noon

Theatre Arlington is holding open auditions for our youth fall play The Little Mermaid by by Linda Daugherty and based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. This story was made famous by Disney's musical version with Ariel. This play adaptation focuses on the mermaid Pearl and the Sea Witch. Auditions are Saturday, Sept. 20, 2008 at noon at Theatre Arlington located at 305 W. Main St. in downtown Arlington.

ABOUT THE SHOW: In the harmonious world under the sea, the little Mermaid dreams of the world above. Cautioned by her sea-bound family and friends and enchanted by the Sea Witch, she ventures forth to find true love and a happy ending with the handsome Prince and learns a few lessons along the way!

Directed by Chelsea Wilson Thayer, we are seeking an ethnically diverse youth cast of 10 boys and 10 girls ages 8 to 18.
The auditions consist of cold readings from the script. Bring a headshot and resume if available. Rehearsals are usually Sunday through Thursday evenings. Some Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays will be added closer to opening date. There will be a rehearsal calendar available at auditions. Write down any conflicts you may have.
The Little Mermaid runs Nov. 7-16, 2008. Performances are held at at the Allan Saxe Mainstage at Theatre Arlington. Show times are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.
For more information, go to www.theatrearlington.org or call Theatre Arlington at 817-261-9628.

Theatre Arlington is located at 305 W. Main St. in downtown Arlington at the corner of West and Main Streets. For information about our 35th Anniversary Season and other information about Theatre Arlington, please visit the Theatre Arlington website.

DFW area receives Gustav Evacuees

DISASTER RELIEF

The Volunteer Center of North Texas is working in collaboration with the American Red Cross, the North Texas Food Bank and The Salvation Army to prepare for a possible mass evacuation as a result of Hurricane Gustav.

As of Saturday, August 30, it has been announced that 4,100 individuals will be evacuated to our area. However, depending on where the hurricane makes landfall, it has been projected that 45,000 people, or more, could evacuate to the DFW Metroplex. Here's how the four organizations will coordinate the response:

• The American Red Cross will manage and oversee shelter operations.

• The Salvation Army will provide meals at all mass shelter locations.

• North Texas Food Bank will provide food for meal preparation.

If you wish to sign up to volunteer as needs arise, please download and fill out an application and email to volunteerme@volunteernorthtexas.org. You will be contacted and scheduled, as needed. For more information, call 1-866-797-8268.

URGENT NEED!

The Volunteer Center is in immediate need of volunteers to help serve meals at shelters that are already open for Hurricane Gustav evacuees. As the evacuation continues, volunteers will be needed for other roles as well. All volunteers must complete a volunteer application form. Volunteers SHOULD NOT go to a shelter expecting to volunteer without prior approval, as every volunteer must pass a criminal background check in order to serve. If you have any questions, please contact the Volunteer Center at 866-797-8268.


The Volunteers of North Texas web site for updates as they become available.

NOTE: The American Red Cross will hold volunteer training this weekend in Dallas and Fort Worth. The trainings will be offered 9:00 am - 5:00 pm at chapter headquarters in both cities. For more information, please visit http://www.redcrossdallas.org/ or call (214.678.4800) OR http://chisholmtrail.redcross.org/ or call (817) 336-8718).






By WFAA - Aug. 31, 2008

FORT WORTH — The City of Fort Worth is preparing to open three more shelters for guests leaving the Gulf Coast as Hurricane Gustav approaches, bringing the total to eight.

Ten buses with evacuees from the New Orleans area were expected to arrive at the Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center, 5201 C.A. Roberson Boulevard, by 7:30 p.m. From there, they will be dispatched to the following shelter sites:

• Worth Heights, 3551 New York Ave.
• Highland Hills, 1600 Glasgow Road
• Greenbriar, 5200 Hemphill St.
• Handley/Meadowbrook, 6201 Beaty St.
• Eugene McCray, 4932 Wilbarger St.
• Martin Luther King Community Center, 5565 Truman Drive
• North Tri-Ethnic Community Center, 2950 Roosevelt Ave.
• Fire Station Community Center, 1501 Lipscomb.

Pets will be housed at the Fort Worth Animal Care and Control Division, 4900 Martin St. Guests can call 817-392-3737 to make sheltering arrangements for their pets. All pets will be microchipped to ensure they are returned to their owners.

Want to help? Contact the Volunteer Center of North Texas at 817-335-9137.

The American Red Cross is welcoming cash donations at this time.

By Faith Chatham - DFWRCC - Aug. 31, 2008
In Arlington Davis Street Church of Christ and the Salvation Army expected the arrival of several hundred evacuees Sunday night. A few had arrived at the Salvation Army shelter in Arlington by mid day Sunday.

ATTENTION PARENTS: Did your blonde teenage son return home Sat. without his black and white athletic shoe?

By Faith Chatham and Harriet Irby - DFWRCC - Aug. 10, 2008
Several of my friends were in Starbucks in the Tom Thumb at W. Park Row and Bowen Road last night. Late evening shoppers were drifting in and out. Not very much seemed to be going on when one spotted two teen-age boys stuffing boxes of beer under their arms. Seated in view of the check-out lanes, my amigos noted that the lads had not paid for the boxes of lite brew they'd nabbed. Before my friends could say "Hey!", two security guards dashed out of the store in pursuit of the boys.

Approaching the boys, they asked to see their drivers license and receipt. Realizing that they were in serious trouble, the lads dropped the beer, took off running and disappeared from view. One was so scared that he ran so fast that he left his white athletic shoe on the pavement of the Tom Thumb Parking lot.

The boys got away. Cheers and applause from patrons and store employees greeted the security guards as they re-entered the store carrying the beer. Hoots of glee filled the store as another Tom Thumb store employee walked in carrying the black and white athletic shoe and handed it to the manager on duty.

There are several possible morals to this tale.
1. Don't expect boredom when drinking a cup of coffee at Starbuck's after nine.
2. If you steal beer, is lite beer worth it?
3. Don't shoplift if your shoes are untied.
4. Underage drinkers beware in Tom Thumb.
5. Security guards at Tom Thumb have quick reflexes.
6. Saturday night entertainment is sometimes cheaper than a movie!
7. If you're the blonde teenage boy who lost your black and white athletic shoe Saturday night, be prepared for your mom to eye-ball it's mate next time she buys groceries.!

Theatre Arlington Audition Notice

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Two Arlington City Councils seats determined in Run-off election

By Faith Chatham - DFWRCC - June 15, 2008
Robert Shephard and Jimmy Bennett were elected to the Arlington City Council At Large seats vacated by Ron Wright and Steve McCollum..

Robert Shepard received 4,994 (65%) votes to Vera McKissic's 2,668 (35%) votes for the Place 6 At-Large Arlington City Council seat.

For the Place 7 Seat of the Arlington City Council, Jimmy Bennett received 4,253 (55%) votes to former AISD School Board member Michael Glaspie's 3,427 (45%) votes.

Both Shephard and Bennett were first-time candidates for public office.

Worker dies at Dallas Cowboys stadium site

By MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER - The Dallas Morning News - Sunday, June 15, 2008
Just days after three workers were injured in a crane accident at the new Dallas Cowboys stadium, an electrician was electrocuted there Saturday while performing tests on some of its wiring.

Timothy Mackinnon, 45, of Arlington was standing on a ladder when he touched a high-voltage line in the ceiling of the stadium's concourse level, said Neal Strasser, a battalion chief with the Arlington Fire Department.

Mr. Mackinnon, a journeyman electrician, was knocked off his feet but became wedged between the ladder and the stadium wall, where he hung until a co-worker spotted him and carried him to the ground, Chief Strasser said.

"When we arrived, one of his co-workers was already performing CPR," Chief Strasser said. "We took over and began performing advanced life-saving efforts. They performed CPR on him all the way to Arlington Memorial Hospital."

The Tarrant County medical examiner's Web site confirmed Mr. Mackinnon's death Saturday afternoon. He was pronounced dead at the hospital at noon. Officials said the accident occurred around 11 a.m. The Fire Department received a call by 11:05 a.m. and arrived within five minutes.

The Cowboys issued a statement Saturday from the stadium's general contractor, Manhattan Construction, that said it and JMEG Electric, the subcontractor for whom Mr. Mackinnon worked, are cooperating with investigations by police and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Chief Strasser said construction continued at the stadium after the electrocution. "They were still working as we were walking out," Chief Strasser said. "The workers were visibly upset."

The stadium site has already been under scrutiny, following a crane accident on Thursday afternoon. That day, a crane connector "failed," prompting cables and other parts to fall.

Three workers leapt off a nearby crane to avoid being hit and were injured in the 10- to 12-foot fall. All three were taken to area hospitals, though two have been released. The third, Wesley Harlow, remains in Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas. Hospital spokeswoman Susan Hall said Saturday evening that he is in serious condition.

More than 170 injuries – mostly minor – have occurred at the stadium site, where about 1,400 workers are engaged each day.

Two other high-profile accidents have happened during construction of the $1.1 billion stadium, which is scheduled to open for the Cowboys' 2009 season. A construction worker was injured in August when crane cables struck him in the back while on an upper deck of the new stadium. In January 2007, another worker fell 20 feet from scaffolding onto the field.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Here are construction accidents at the new Dallas Cowboys stadium:

January 2007: A worker was injured when he fell 20 feet from scaffolding onto the field.

August 2007: A construction worker was injured when crane cables struck him in the back.

Thursday: Three construction workers were injured, one critically, when they jumped off a crane cab to avoid equipment falling from another crane. Wesley Harlow, one of the injured workers, was in serious condition Saturday.

Saturday: An electrician testing an electrical wire died when he touched the high-voltage line.

Stand With Hillary Rally Saturday, May 17th in Pantego

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Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau names new Executive Director

Fort Worth Star Telegram - Tuesday, May 6, 2008
The Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors announced Tuesday the hiring of Jay Burress to helm the destination marketing organization during its next phase of growth. He was most recently Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau, and will begin his new duties on June 2.
Jay Burress, 43, has been named the new chief executive of the Arlington CVB after working 20 years for the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau. Burress signed a three-year contract and will be paid $155,000 annually.


The Arlington CVB has been without an executive since Linda DiMario stepped down in December. Former Fort Worth CVB director Doug Harman has led the bureau while it searched for a new leader.

In an interview with the Star-Telegram on Monday, Burress said he was excited to lead the city’s efforts to promote its attractions like Six Flags, the new Dallas Cowboys stadium and the town center project, Glorypark. Although he lives in Dallas, Burress said he is planning to move to Arlington with his wife, Jill, and three young children.

Read more in the

Fort Worth Star Telegram

Homeowners near Dallas Cowboys stadium seek an exit from a parking lot-to-be

By ANDREA AHLES - Star-Telegram Staff Writer - Mon, May. 05, 2008

When Chris Cavanaugh moved into his house nearly two years ago, he expected to live on a tree-lined street lined with single-family homes in Arlington.

But in about a year, Cavanaugh's house may be surrounded by a parking lot.

Cavanaugh, who lives less than a block from the new Dallas Cowboys stadium, is one of a handful of residents on Web and Slaughter streets who have not sold their property to the NFL team. More than a dozen have already sold their property to a team executive who then transferred the land to a company run by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

The remaining residents say they are increasingly worried that the team will simply build the parking lot around them if they are unable to reach an agreement to sell -- and that when the lot opens, they'll be disturbed by rowdy tailgaters and drunk concertgoers.

"I'm perfectly happy living here, but it's changing around the neighborhood," Cavanaugh said. "It's not going to be a residential area anymore, and I don't want to live next to a parking lot."

Cavanaugh is caught in the middle: As a firefighter, he was able to buy his home for half-price as part of a Housing and Urban Development program that requires him to live in the house for at least three years. If he sells, he will owe the government tens of thousands of dollars.

Other holdouts say they haven't been offered enough to cover their costs and the inconvenience of buying another home.

Plans for the area

In February, Dallas Cowboys executive Jud Heflin sold more than a dozen parcels on Web Street and Randol Mill Road to a firm headed by the Jones family.

The team said the land will be used as a parking lot for the new stadium.

That news led adjacent residents to wonder whether the city of Arlington might use eminent domain to force them to sell to the Cowboys.

Deputy City Manager Trey Yelverton said the city has no plans to use eminent domain to acquire these houses for the stadium project.

"As far as the city acquiring additional property, the answer is no," Yelverton said. "We've already identified what we need for the stadium."

The stadium project contains about 12,000 parking spaces for the 80,000-seat stadium, scheduled to open in 2009.

The homes on Web Street that have been purchased are being rented out, and nothing has been bulldozed for the parking lot. Cowboys spokesman Brett Daniels confirmed that the team plans to build the parking lot around parcels that the Jones firm does not currently own.

"I can't speculate as to what may take place in the future, but I can say that we are not currently in negotiations for any additional parcels," Daniels said.

Last year, Arlington passed an ordinance that prevents the creation of new commercial parking lots in the city. However, the team could petition the city to earmark the property as part of the stadium project, which would allow parking lot construction. The City Council would have the final say.

Suspicious activities

The Whalens had lived in the 900 block of Web Street for more than 21 years and had every intention of staying in their home for the rest of their lives.

But Bill Biesel, a real estate agent who has been negotiating land terms in the area for Heflin, began contacting them in August 2006. Over the next year, he would repeatedly stop by the house unannounced; he also left phone messages, sometimes weekly, Connie Whalen said.

"He kept calling and coming around ... he was very persistent," said Whalen, adding that several sale contracts were slipped under her door. "He said, 'You're not going to want to live here because of the construction and when 2009 comes, it will be horrible.'"

Shanna Medrano was also approached by Biesel in 2006 about her property in the 400 block of Slaughter Street, which abuts the former Bethel Baptist Church site, bought by the Cowboys that year. Biesel's initial offer was $105,000 for her property, which is valued by the Tarrant Appraisal District at $71,500.

"He also had attached an addendum saying we had to pay his 6 percent commission and I laughed in his face," said Medrano, adding that the offer isn't enough for her to pay off her mortgage and relocate her family of six to a new house.

Medrano said she didn't hear from the agent again until January.

Then one day this spring, she noticed a surveyor in her front yard.

"He said he had been called by the Dallas Cowboys to survey the property for a parking lot," Medrano said.

Rise in crime

Cavanaugh had not seriously considered selling his house until the break-ins occurred. Between May and December last year, his house was burglarized four times.

During one of the incidents, the robbers spent the night in his house and drank his beer while Cavanaugh was working an overnight shift. The results of the police investigations were inconclusive but Cavanaugh said he feels it is partly related to the stadium construction.

"It's definitely not a coincidence in my opinion," said Cavanaugh, adding that a Heflin employee who has been maintaining the rental houses approached him about selling after the initial break-in. "He came up after the first time and said, 'It's just going to get worse and I know somebody that wants to buy these homes.'"

The multiple burglaries at Cavanaugh's house are partly what led the Whalens to agree to sell their house in August 2007.

"After the break-ins my husband started worrying about me and I think that was a big part of the decision," said Whalen, adding the only crime she had experienced in the neighborhood was when her lawnmower was stolen 15 years ago.

Looking ahead

Medrano has listed her house with a Re/Max real estate agent for $350,000; in the past two weeks. she has gotten another call from Biesel.

"I want to get out of here," Medrano said. "It's not going to get any safer here if you build a parking lot. You're going to have car break-ins and you're going to have people tailgating and getting drunk. That is not a safe environment for my kids."

Cavanaugh says he has no choice but to stay in his house. He will fulfill his deal with HUD in October 2009.

"I'm to the point now, if we had a decent offer I'd probably take it, but it would have to get me out of my contract with HUD," he said. "I don't want to get stuck with a worthless home next to a parking lot."

[A real estate agent] kept calling and coming around ... he was very persistent. He said, 'You're not going to want to live here because of the construction and when 2009 comes, it will be horrible.'

What's next

Several steps will need to be taken before the Dallas Cowboys can build a parking lot as planned next to their new stadium in Arlington.

A Cowboys executive has bought a number of homes adjacent to the stadium project and sold the land to a company owned by Jerry Jones. Several homeowners have not yet agreed to sell.

The team could petition the city to include the newly purchased property, which is more than 10 acres, as part of the stadium project.

If the property is included, the team could then build a parking lot on the property.

read more in the Fort Worth Star Telegram

The Visiting Nurse Association of Tarrant County will be conducting a grief recovery workshop called “Good Grief” for adults who have experienced the

By Robert Smith - April 2008

The Visiting Nurse Association of Tarrant County will be conducting a grief recovery workshop called “Good Grief” for adults who have experienced the loss of a loved one. The workshop will be held Monday, May 19 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Visiting Nurse Association of Tarrant County office on 6300 Ridglea Place, Suite 801 in Fort Worth. Information and support will be provided on topics that include common grief experiences, coping with grief, myths about grief, and resources for help. There is no cost to attend the “Good Grief” workshop. Reservations can be made by contacting Sue Rafferty, VNA Manager of Hospice Bereavement Services, at 214-689-2922, 1-800-442-4490 extension 2922, or rafferts@vnatexas.org.

Study finds pharmaceutical drugs in tap water - Tiny amounts found in Arlington, other cities; experts differ on effects

By Jeff Donn, Martha Mendoza and Justin Pritchard -Associated Press - Monday, March 10, 2008
A vast array of pharmaceuticals – including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones – have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.

The concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose.

Utilities insist their water is safe.

But the presence of so many prescription drugs – and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen – in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.

In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas.

Several Texas cities were included in the study. Dallas officials said the results of drug screenings are not complete. Five drugs were found in Arlington water, but officials would not identify them, citing security concerns. Austin officials said tests there were negative and Houston doesn't test for drugs.

The drugs get into the water through human waste. When people take medicine only some of it is absorbed by their bodies. The rest passes through and is flushed down the toilet. It is treated at least twice before it reaches consumers, but most treatments do not remove all drug residue.


Resistant to treatment

Some drugs, including widely used cholesterol fighters, tranquilizers and anti-epileptic medications, resist modern drinking water and wastewater treatment processes. Plus, the Environmental Protection Agency says there are no sewage treatment systems specifically engineered to remove pharmaceuticals.

"We recognize it is a growing concern, and we're taking it very seriously," said Benjamin H. Grumbles, EPA assistant administrator for water.

The federal government doesn't require testing and hasn't set safety limits for drugs in water. Of the 62 major water providers contacted, the drinking water for only 28 was tested.

Some providers screen only for one or two pharmaceuticals, leaving open the possibility that others are present.

In several cases, officials at municipal or regional water providers told the AP that pharmaceuticals had not been detected, but the AP obtained the results of tests conducted by independent researchers that showed otherwise.


Smaller providers

The AP also contacted 52 small water providers – one in each state, and two each in Missouri and Texas – that serve communities with populations about 25,000. All but one said their drinking water had not been screened for pharmaceuticals.

Even users of bottled water and home filtration systems don't necessarily avoid exposure. Bottlers, some of which simply repackage tap water, do not typically treat or test for pharmaceuticals, according to the industry's main trade group. The same goes for the makers of home filtration systems.

The problem isn't confined to surface water. Pharmaceuticals also permeate aquifers deep underground, the source of 40 percent of the nation's water supply. Federal scientists who drew water in 24 states from aquifers near contaminant sources such as landfills and animal feed lots found minuscule levels of hormones, antibiotics and other drugs.

Pharmaceutical industry officials say the contamination is not a problem.

"Based on what we now know, I would say we find there's little or no risk from pharmaceuticals in the environment to human health," said microbiologist Thomas White, a consultant for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

But at a conference last summer, Mary Buzby – director of environmental technology for drug maker Merck & Co. Inc. – said:

"There's no doubt about it, pharmaceuticals are being detected in the environment, and there is genuine concern that these compounds, in the small concentrations that they're at, could be causing impacts to human health or to aquatic organisms."

Effects

Recent laboratory research has found that small amounts of medication have affected human embryonic kidney cells, human blood cells and human breast cancer cells. The cancer cells proliferated too quickly; the kidney cells grew too slowly; and the blood cells showed biological activity associated with inflammation.

Some scientists stress that the research is extremely limited, and there are too many unknowns. They say, though, that the documented health problems in wildlife are disconcerting.

To the degree that the EPA is focused on the issue, it appears to be looking at detection. Mr. Grumbles acknowledged that just late last year the agency developed three new methods to "detect and quantify pharmaceuticals" in wastewater. "We realize that we have a limited amount of data on the concentrations," he said. "We're going to be able to learn a lot more."

So much is unknown. Many independent scientists are skeptical that trace concentrations will ultimately prove to be harmful to humans. There's growing concern in the scientific community, though, that certain drugs – or combinations of drugs – may harm humans over decades because water, unlike most specific foods, is consumed in sizable amounts every day.

Our bodies may shrug off a relatively big one-time dose, yet suffer from a smaller amount delivered continuously over a half-century

"We know we are being exposed to other people's drugs through our drinking water, and that can't be good," says Dr. David Carpenter, who directs the Institute for Health and the Environment of the State University of New York at Albany.


TESTING THE WATERS
Members of the AP National Investigative Team reviewed hundreds of scientific reports, analyzed federal drinking water databases, visited environmental study sites and treatment plants, and interviewed more than 230 officials, academics and scientists. They also surveyed the nation's 50 largest cities and a dozen other major water providers, as well as smaller community water providers in all 50 states.

Here are some of the key test results:

• Officials in Philadelphia said testing there discovered 56 pharmaceuticals or byproducts in treated drinking water, including medicines for pain, infection, high cholesterol, asthma, epilepsy, mental illness and heart problems.

• Anti-epileptic and anti-anxiety medications were detected in a portion of the treated drinking water for 18.5 million people in Southern California.

• A sex hormone was detected in San Francisco's drinking water.

• The drinking water for Washington, D.C., and surrounding areas. tested positive for six pharmaceuticals.

Read more in the Dallas Morning News

INTERACTIVE: See how pharmaceuticals enter the water supply