VOL 5 No. 36
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FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2012
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Official newspaper of Fort Bend County, Missouri City & Sugar Land
DA concludes probe of open meetings act violation By SESHADRI KUMAR Fort Bend County District Attorney John Healey has decided to close the investigation into an alleged Texas Open Meetings Act violation by a Fort Bend ISD trustee. The complaint was filed by Sugar Land resident Nancy Dunham against FBISD trustee Bruce Albright, regarding his motion to build Elementary School No.46 at the June 11 school board meeting. Joe M. Davis of The Davis Law Firm in Boerne, representing Nancy Dunham filed the complaint with Fort Bend County Attorney Roy Cordes and District Attorney John Healey on June 28. At the June 11 board meeting Albright made a motion to accept the recommended “Attendance Boundary Changes” and added a proposal to construct Elementary School No. 46 for opening in 2014. The posted agenda caption read: Consider proposed attendance boundary changes for optimum building utilization within the district. Amending this motion to include “the addition of Elementary School 46” is a direct violation of the Act as a proposal to construct a new school was not included in the Public Notice issued prior to the meeting, Davis said in the complaint. Healey said his office investigated the complaint, but would not proceed with prosecution. Healey cited at least three factors which led him to close
Healey the case. The complaint does not meet the first criteria of possible conviction. If a jury heard the case, is there a reasonable chance that the jury will hold the trustee guilty of violating the open meetings act is the first question. The answer is not affirmative, according to Healey. Opinion may be divided on whether real violation occurred. While some may feel that inadequate posting was cause enough to prosecute, others may not agree. One could argue that the agenda item on deciding the elementary school boundaries was broad enough to include the building utilization committee’s recommendation of building elementary school no. 46, Healey said. Dunham and her attorney have themselves said in their complaint that the only course forward for the school board
is to re-post the elementary school. no 46 as a separate item and discuss it at a subsequent board meeting. The school board has already done that and the item has been approved by the school board after full discussion in a meeting in August, Healey said. In the June meeting when Albright made the motion, with the inclusion of the elementary school no. 46, the school district attorney did not raise any red flag. Further, all the trustees continued with the discussion and voted on it. If Albright was to be found in violation of the TOMA, other trustees would also be subject to a similar charge, Healey said. Dunham deserves to be commended for her alertness and interest in ensuring that the open meetings act was observed both in letter and spirit, Healey said. By filing the complaint and drawing attention to the matter, Dunham may have prompted the board towards greater transparency and more obvious compliance with the law. If found guilty, Albright would have faced a penalty of $500 and or up to six months in jail. Asked for his comment Davis said, “I do not respond to media requests without permission of my client. I will pass on your request to her.” Dunham has reserved her comment until she receives a response from the DA regarding a query.
Richmond’s 175th birthday celebration; Kevin Black headlines entertainment
Kevin Black On September 15, after a full day of activities, fun, events, and more during Richmond’s 175th Birthday Celebration, Kevin Black will take the stage, near City Hall
at 5:30, and sing some of his best-known songs. Yet, the audience will have an added thrill, his son Coleon will join him on stage. “My son has become an intricate part of the show for the past two years. There is truly something unique when family performs together,” Black said. The Blacks, who live in Katy, have visited Richmond numerous times. “Richmond is friendly and the history is amazing, and the fact that they have survived 175 years is worth celebrating,” Black said. Justine Huselton, chair, stage entertainment, Richmond’s 175th Birthday Celebration, noted, “We are very pleased to have Kevin coming to this
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county-wide event. Kevin and Coleon will make this event entertaining and it will be great when he sings, ‘Happy Birthday to Richmond,’ as we all celebrate this awesome historic milestone.” Growing up in Katy, the four Black boys stayed busy. Yet, around eight, Kevin Black was the first to pick up a guitar and imitate his idol, Elvis Presley. Kevin loved performing, and when his parents had friends over, they would put on an Elvis record and the show would begin. Other stage entertainment for Richmond’s 175th Birthday Celebration will be Gail Best, well-known local talent, Gregory Daniels, saxophone, Calvary Episcopal Contemporary Group, Terry High School Band, St. John’s Methodist Church, George Ranch High School Band, The Westbound Band and Ballet Forte, dance group. Stage entertainment kicks off at noon, near City Hall, after the parade that begins at 10 a.m. and the fashion show at 11. Closing ceremonies at 7 p.m. with a laser light show at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.historicrichmond.org or call 832-752-9645.
Right, September Quail Valley Yard of the Month Winner is Virginia Hodges, 3527 Thunderbird. Virginia and her deceased husband, Jot, were Founders of Quail Valley and instrumental in making it beautiful. Virginia is still doing her part and her “wrap-around” corner lot is a gold mine of ideas from using color to incorporating unusual plants such as the Japanese Blueberry Tree or the yellow-flowered Candletree. Pictured with QV Garden Club Yard of the Month Chair, Inge-Lise Braswell (right), Vinca, Caladium and exotics including Hibiscus, Bird of Paradise, and palms provide many ideas; but there were so many, it was difficult to select which view to use. So you’ll want to drive by. Virginia received a lovely plant from Flowers by Adela as well as a Certificate of Appreciation. Attend our meeting on herbs, September 13 at 9:30. For details call Sharon Wright at 281 438-3653 or http://traction.typepad.com/QVGC
Calendar kids needed
Hope for Three, a Fort Bend-based nonprofit whose mission is to raise community awareness and provide assistance to families with children on the autism spectrum, is now accepting photos for the 2013 calendar “The Many Faces of Autism.” The deadline for entry is Sept. 16. The Calendar will feature an extraordinary compilation of unique children on the autism spectrum. 100% of the funds generated from the sale of this calendar will benefit families in need of assistance to obtain treatment and services they might not otherwise afford. The official rules are available online at http://hopeforthree.org/photo-calendar-contest/ or by calling 800-317-0787. Autism is a growing epidemic and the leading development disability in the U.S. today. Recent statistics show one out of 88 children may be affected by autism. Studies also show that autism is three to four times more common among boys than girls. An estimated 1 out of 54 boys and 1 in 252 girls are diagnosed with autism in the United States. By way of comparison, this is more children than are affected by juvenile diabetes, pediatric cancer and AIDS combined. Above, Brendan Shaw reigns as the 2012 September calendar winner.
Civil liberties group demands release of records on surveillance operation By SESHADRI KUMAR The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) has appealed the City of Chicago’s efforts to withhold records and information related to the Chicago Police Department’s operation of a mass surveillance license plate recognition and tracking system (also known as “tag readers”). The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund has been demanding the records on Chicago’s surveillance operation since earlier this year as part of its major national campaign to expose and stop a covert national mass surveillance grid being implemented across the United States. This technology scans and records data on the movements of law abiding persons with no suspicion whatsoever to believe that any particular individual is engaged in a crime, according to the PCJF. For more information visit www.BigBrotherAmerica.org.
Based on two years of investigation, including Freedom Of Information Act requests to police departments throughout the country, the PCJF has developed a comprehensive analysis of a new national surveillance system that makes “what was once an Orwellian dark fantasy a current day reality in the United States,” according to Carl Messineo, the legal director of the Washington D.C.-based constitutional rights legal and educational organization. The records that the public is entitled to review are effectively maintained in secret, kept by a closed government which maintains an apparently unregulated mass surveillance system which it refuses to subject to public oversight, and in so doing acts in clear violation of the public records law under which the PCJF’s requests have been made. Most people are not aware that silently, but constantly,
the government is now watching, recording your everyday travels and storing years of your activities in massive data warehouses that can be quickly “mined” to find out when and where you have been, whom you’ve visited, meetings you’ve attended, and activities you’ve taken part in. This is all done by using an elaborate network of Automatic License Plate Recognition cameras, also known as tag readers. The PCJF has established a national campaign, One Nation Under Surveillance, with a proactive website providing the tools and information to take action now. For more information go to: www.JusticeOnline. org. The city of Sugar Land plans to install similar license plate recognition and video cameras In light of the Chicago lawsuit, the city was asked to respond. See CAMERA, Page 3
Quail Valley’s yard of the month