Inside Today: New coach, same domination on the links for Waltrip • Page 9B
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SATURDAY | April 13, 2013 | Vol. 59 | No. 24 | www.theleadernews.com | @heightsleader
THE BRIEF. sponsored by
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Warning: Driveway robberies are back
Houston police are warning Oak Forest area residents to “be on the lookout” after two similar armed robberies in driveways within two hours of each other April 5 in which residents may have been followed home. The first occurred at 10:05 p.m. in the 2000 block of Hewitt, when a black male brandishing a pistol approached a woman who had just arrived home from the grocery store and demanded money. She had no money but gave other property to the man, described as 20-22 years old, 5-feet-8 to 5-feet-9 and 160 pounds. The second robbery took place at 11:45 p.m. in the 1700 block of Candlelight Lane, when a couple was robbed by a black man with a pistol who threatened to shoot them. On the Oak Forest Facebook page, the female victim said they believed they had been followed from the Walgreens in Oak Forest, and handed over their purse and wallet. The man, described as 20-25 years old and bald, fired a shot as he fled in an unknown white 4-door car.
Read about what matters the most....Our Health. From the latest health trends, newest medical developments, and the providers who deliver them to our area. Discover this and more. Turn to our newest section • Page 1B
Flood costs going down?
“If I don’t learn something each day, I haven’t had a productive day.”
by Michael Sudhalter michael@theleadernews.com
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Can YFindOUInside BEAUTIFUL DEEP BLUE SOFA: Lane matching coffee and end tables. 713-957-1671. ATTENTION - WANTED: Child’s violin. Must be in good condition. 713-290-0411. LAST ESTATE SALE: 855 Fisher. Saturday and Sunday, April 13-14. Tools, stove, dining table. Everything must go. 8 a.m. HANDYMAN: Build, repair fences, garage doors or decks. Carpentry – install Hardi-plank, cabinets, windows, doors, locks. Painting, home theater set up. 35+ year Oak Forest resident. Call David, 713-688-1839, leave name and number.
PAGE 6A
THE INDEX.
Public Safety Hipstrict Topics Obituaries Coupons Puzzles Sports Classifieds
2A 3A 4A 7B 8B 5A 9B 6A
Constructive Vision
Houston ISD Director of Athletics Marmion Dambrino, a Heights resident for the past 25 years, enjoys working with coaches and athletes on a daily basis. For full story turn to • Page 10A
Insurance rates for homes and automobiles may be on the rise, but property owners along White Oak Bayou area are in for some good news. Based on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) White Oak Bayou Physical Map Change, released March 20, areas of the Bayou will either have no change or a reduction in flood risk. “The map is not based on physical construction,” Houston City Council member Ellen Cohen said. “It’s based on a re-study and better technology in determining what the watershed looks like, a more sophisticated way of measuring it.” Will Cooper, an Allstate Insurance agent in the Heights, said some residents will have a reduced risk while others will be out of the flood plain map altogether. He said customers will soon be notified of the changes in their flood insurance, based on the map. Flood insurance is essential, since it’s not covered under standard homeowner’s insurance. Residents will get a 90-day appeal period to comment on the preliminary maps. They can find out how the new maps impact their property by going to riskmap6.com or visiting the city of Houston Floodplain Management Office at 1002 Washington, third floor, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. According to Alvin Wright, public information officer for the city of Houston’s Public Works Department, Houston has the highest possible rating for FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System (CRS). “CRS is a discount program that rewards cities with better floodplain management practices with flood insurance discounts for its citizens,” Wright said.
see Flood Plain • Page 10A
HISD revives debate over magnet schools The Houston ISD board was scheduled to tackle the issue of setting criteria for both eliminating and establishing magnet school programs at its monthly meeting Thursday – too late for The Leader’s deadline. Coverage of the meeting will be available at www.theleadernews.com after the meeting Thursday night. HISD board President Anna Eastman, who represents most of The Leader’s neighborhoods, had pulled the item from last
month’s agenda. The issue had gone into hibernation for two years after a controversial study and report by Magnet Schools of America, ordered by Superintendent Terry Grier. At that time, the programs educated about 42,000 youngsters in pre K-12 and were largely offered as one of HISD’s “school choice” initiatives as an alternative to private and parochial schools. Still, the consultants recommended
that HISD eliminate the magnet designation from nearly half of its 113 programs, including Oak Forest and Travis elementary schools, Hamilton Middle School and Scarborough and Reagan high schools. The study was critical of schools whose programs weren’t showing effectiveness and weren’t drawing families from outside their neighborhoods. HISD spokesman Jason Spencer told The Leader the administration’s current propos-
al and board’s consideration merely seeks to establish new standards. “This vote would not demagnetize any schools,” Spencer said. “It would set up the method to demagnetize if a school can’t show that it’s drawing from outside its neighborhood, and it creates standards for setting up new magnets.” Details of the proposal, as well as HISD’s recorded broadcast of the meeting, can be viewed at www.houstonisd.org.