According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 35 percent of Harris County residents have completed and mailed back their forms, putting the county behind the national and Texas participation rates of 46 percent and 39 percent, respectively.

The state and federal government uses the U.S. Census to allocate funding for education, transportation and infrastructure, social services, healthcare and more. Population changes determine how many U.S. Congress Members an area receives — the 2010 count could add one member for the Harris County area. Texas leaders will use the census to redraw congressional and state legislative districts.

Harris County will analyze the 2010 census data to allocate funding for social services in the county, determine future transportation needs, and determine where to build new community centers, schools and other public buildings. School district boundaries could also be redrawn based on population changes.

Any households that do not mail back their forms can expect census workers to come door-to-door starting April 15, collecting answers for the 10 questions on the forms.

Two burglaries happened on March 25 in the 4100 block of Byron Street, the location of Colonial Park. Officers arrived around 4:30 p.m. and met with the victims, who said someone smashed the windows of their cars and stole their purses from inside.

Another car burglary happened near the same location several days before, on March 22. In that incident, someone smashed a vehicle’s window around 5:20 p.m. and stole the victim’s purse.

“They’re all three being investigated to try to figure out if it’s the same person,” said West University Place Lt. Charlie Deily.

Police have a lead in the cases and they are investigating two possible suspects, Deily said.

The fourth car burglary, probably unrelated to the others, last week happened on March 24 in the 2700 block of Fenwood. The victim reported to police around 10:15 a.m. that someone entered the car and took her property.

Landscape architecture firm Thompson + Hansen closed yesterday to purchase the property at Edloe Street and Rice Boulevard. Gregg Thompson, owner of the company, didn’t return messages seeking comment, but he confirmed the news yesterday evening in an email to West University Place City Manager Michael Ross.

“We closed on JMH late this afternoon,” Thompson wrote in the email. “I’d love to visit with you and any other city officials about our plans, at your convenience.”

Thompson — also a resident of West U. — is a co-owner of Thompson + Hansen, a landscape architecture firm that specializes in garden design, installation and maintenance. The company also runs a popular cafe called Tiny Boxwood’s that serves simple, fresh breakfasts and lunches of soups, salads and sandwiches. The cafe offers an upscale-gormet dinner menu.

Councilman George Boehme said that Michael Freeman, former owner of the JMH building, approached him before the sale to tell him the news that Thompson + Hansen planned to purchase the JMH building as a new location for Tiny Boxwood’s.

“I think it’s fabulous that a restaurant is going to go in down there. Tiny Boxwood’s is extremely popular with West U. moms … I think this is a big, big plus,” Boehme said. “This is a big deal in West U. — People all want to know what’s happening to JMH.”

Freeman was not immediately available for comment. He said he’s not trying to avoid commenting, but he’s been too busy over the past few days to talk.

News of the sale was a surprise to West U. City Planner Debbie Scarcella, who said it may have been advantageous for the buyers to approach the city before closing on the property to learn about parking requirements, especially if a restaurant may go into the building.

The land is currently in a commercial zone, and a restaurant would be “allowed by right,” Scarcella said. But a parking lot at the rear of the building is actually in a residential zone, although it has earned an exception to be used as a parking lot through 2020.

But even with that rear lot, it could be difficult to find enough room on site for all of the parking spots that the zoning code requires for a high-traffic use like a restaurant, Scarcella said. The code requires either 10 parking spots for each 1,000 square feet, or one parking spot for each three seats in the restaurant — Whichever number is higher. So the parking requirement could limit the number of seats the proprietors can offer in the restaurant.

“No one has called to ask about specifics like parking,” she said. “I sure hope they do soon, because that may be an issue … That’s a lot of things they really should be figuring out now, not later.”

Also, because the property is located so close to West University Elementary, the restaurant would be prohibited from serving alcohol unless owners apply for and earn an exception from the city of West U. and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

On March 24 around 8:50 p.m. the couple returned to the woman’s home in the 4000 block of Oberlin Street. The woman’s ex-husband of more than two years was there, and he assaulted the man when he was getting out of the car.

“The poor guy was on a date with the wrong girl, and was at the wrong place at the wrong time,” said West U. Lt. Charlie Deily. “[The ex-husband] was given a trespass warning and no one wanted to file any charges, they just wanted him to go away.”

Police didn’t have the legal authority to move forward with assault charges on their own because the incident wasn’t classified as a family violence situation.

On March 25, an officer responded to a burglar alarm in the 2700 block of Tangley Road and found that someone had forced open a window. No one was inside the home, and nothing appeared disturbed. When the residents returned home, they confirmed that nothing was missing. The officer recorded the incident as criminal mischief.

Three people were arrested during the week for driving with invalid driver’s licenses.

• On March 21, an officer pulled over a vehicle for speeding and learned the driver had a suspended license and no insurance, with a previous arrest history of the same. The officer arrested the driver.
• On March 22, an officer pulled over a vehicle with no front license plate. The driver had a suspended license and eight warrants from four law enforcement agencies. The driver was arrested for the offense and for the warrants.
• On March 23, an officer pulled over a car with a shattered front windshield. The driver was arrested for driving with a suspended license.

Other incidents reported to police last week include:

• On March 21, a resident reported someone had stolen pool equipment from his home in the 3300 block of Georgetown Street.
• On March 22, a resident reported someone had made deep scratches on the resident’s vehicle in the 4100 block of Ruskin Street.
• On March 23, a restaurant in the 5600 block of Kirby Drive reported someone ordered food and drinks and left without paying.
• On March 26, a West U. officer met a Missouri City police officer to pick up a prisoner who had outstanding West U. warrants.
• On March 26, an officer made a traffic stop, arrested the driver for traffic violations, and also arrested the passenger for possession of marijuana.

Robbie Tolan will compete to earn an outfielder position in early May during spring training for the Oakland County Cruisers of Waterford, Michigan. The team is part of the Frontier League, an 18-year-old independent professional ball club that includes 12 teams in seven states.

“We look forward to him hopefully earning a spot on the roster,” said Rob Hilliard, president and director of team personnel for the Oakland County Cruisers.

Tolan and his family did not return messages seeking comment, but InstantNewsBellaire will update this story if they do.

Hilliard said Tolan has medical clearance to play ball again. The team became aware of him because its new vice president, Dmitri Young, played on the Cincinnati Reds, the same team that Tolan’s father, longtime Major League Baseball player Bobby Tolan, played for in the late 60s and early 70s.

Team management knows about the incident on Dec. 31, 2008 when Bellaire Police Sergeant Jeffery Cotton shot Tolan in his family’s front yard after mistakenly thinking the 23-year-old man had been driving in a stolen vehicle. Cotton now faces felony charges of aggravated assault by a public servant, and his trial is scheduled for May 3.

“What happened there has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on our decision to offer him a contract,” Hilliard said. “This is based on what his performance was while he was in affiliated ball. We think it’s great he’s been able to overcome his personal situation, but he’s earned this opportunity based on his past performance.”

The Washington Nationals signed Tolan as a non-drafted free agent in 2007, and he spent a year playing in minor-league clubs affiliated with the Nationals. In 2008, Tolan played for the Bay Area Toros, a minor league team in Texas City.

Spring training for the Oakland County Cruisers is scheduled to begin May 5, which may actually conflict with Cotton’s criminal trial on May 3. Tolan may be required to testify at the trial, which may last one week or longer, but it’s possible the court will work with him if his baseball schedule conflicts with the trial.

“Work is not a valid excuse, although judges really try to accommodate witnesses when they can,” said Harris County Assistant District Attorney Donna Hawkins. “Most of the judges are pretty reasonable and will try to work with witnesses.”

The Oakland County Cruisers invited 38 players to spring training to compete for 24 spots on the team. Whomever wins a spot will begin playing May 21, and will participate in 96 games in the regular season through Sept. 5. If he wins a spot, this could be Tolan’s chance to get back on track with his baseball career. Last year, the Cruisers sold three players’ contracts to major-league teams, Hilliard said.

“This is really a league that’s invested in players. We think we have an upside potential, and an opportunity to get into affiliated ball, or back into affiliated ball,” Hilliard said. “The odds are long, certainly, but there is a path for those who persist and have the skill.”

On Wednesday, the Houston City Council will vote on an interlocal agreement that would form a partnership between the city of Houston, Harris County and the Houston-Harris County Sports Authority to work on building the stadium on the downtown site just east of U.S. 59. The Sports Authority agreed to participate on March 25, and the county will consider the contract on April 13.

“I’m very excited about the Dynamo team getting a new stadium, and I think it’s the right decision for them,” said Bellaire Mayor Cindy Siegel, who lead the charge to oppose a Bellaire-area stadium. “I think it’s a win for the Dynamo and their fans, which I’m one of. And I think it’s a win for Bellaire.”

If approved, the interlocal agreement would require the city of Houston and the county to each contribute $10 million for the stadium, while the Houston Dynamo would pay $60 million. The city and county would pay for their portions through tax increment reinvestment zones, which allow them to issue bonds and repay them with increased taxes from future developments, assuming the stadium spurs more development.

The Sports Authority would help negotiate a lease with the Dynamo, serve as a construction manager while the stadium is being built, and serve as the property manager for the stadium during its 30-year lease.

The agreement charts out a number of tasks that must be completed by Sept. 30, or the parties must reconsider what to do about the stadium, said Houston Chief Development Officer Andy Icken.

“We’ve defined a path to get us to a deal by September 30,” he said. “A number of things need to happen along the way. The interlocal itself is just an agreement to agree.”

If the agreement is approved, it could put to rest the protests that erupted from Bellaire when news leaked in late January that the soccer team was considering a tract at Westpark Drive and South Rice Avenue.

David Turkel, director of Harris County’s community services department, said that stakeholders did seriously consider that 30-acre tract near Bellaire, which is owned by Midway Companies.

“The other one was a better idea, we felt, and the Dynamo felt it was the area that would be better for them,” Turkel said. “Plus there was a lot of push back from the local residents over there, and the city of Bellaire. I think the city and county felt obliged to listen to them.”

Icken said in the end, the downtown Houston location was more attractive because it’s centrally located, the site already has good parking and street infrastructure, and two light rail lines are planned for the area.

Icken said negotiations began progressing again after Houston Mayor Annise Parker visited county officials. Her visit had the most weight behind steering the stadium back downtown, but Icken said he’s glad the Bellaire community voiced its opposition.

“Frankly, we shared some of the same concerns on the access and mobility of people being able to get to it,” he said.

When news broke that the Dynamo was eyeing the site near Bellaire, Mayor Cindy Siegel protested the idea in front of the news media. Bellaire residents showed up at city council meetings in force to complain the stadium would bring too much traffic, noise, parking issues, and generally decrease their quality of life.

Siegel worked on an official resolution opposing the stadium, and the Bellaire City Council passed the resolution in mid February. Afterwards, the mayor said Dynamo President Oliver Luck called her to say he understood the difficulties of the Bellaire-area location.

Dynamo President Oliver Luck told InstantNewsWestU that he thinks Houston and Harris County officials did listen to Siegel’s protests, and it helped move the stadium proposal forward.

“She made very strong points, and it was clear a majority of citizens really backed her up,” Luck said. “That underscored the fact that the vast majority of people in the east end wanted the stadium there.”

Over the next few weeks, Luck said the Dynamo will work to refine its stadium budget and talk with Metro about future light rail lines and train stops near the downtown site.

“We’re keeping our fingers crossed, and we think we may have all this done at some point in April,” he said.

Sports Authority Executive Director Janis Schmees said if the city and county approve the interlocal agreement, the sports authority will begin negotiating the lease with the Dynamo.

“The goal would be to turn over the land to the Dynamo for construction by October 1st of this year,” she said.

The Dynamo would try to complete construction by April 1, 2011, Schmees said.

With these types of visions in mind, the city today submitted an application to Google, beseeching the technology behemoth to choose the city of West U. for an experimental fiber optic network that would make Internet speeds up to 100 times faster than they are now.

“Those abilities for people do more from home, or more from our recreational facilities or libraries or anything else just has enormous attraction,” Ross said. “I think it could put a city like West University even more so on the map.”

But West U. has a lot of competition. According to the Google Blog, by 10 a.m. pacific time the company had received more than 600 applications from cities, and more than 190,000 responses from individuals. All of them are begging and pleading Google to choose their cities for Google Fiber, a new project that is seeking locations for an experimental communications network.

“The interest has been pretty significant,” said Google spokeswoman Erin Fors.

Google Fiber would transfer information at 1 gigabyte-per-second, which is basically light speed compared to the typical 100 megabytes-per-second speeds available in the majority of the United States. One gigabyte is equal to 1,024 megabytes.

According to the company’s web site for the project, Google hopes eventually there will be universal ultra-high speed broadband networks across the country that will allow people to do previously unimagined things on the Internet.

“Imagine sitting in a rural health clinic, streaming three-dimensional medical imaging over the web, and discussing a unique condition with a specialist in New York,” the Google Fiber site says. “Or downloading a high-definition, full-length feature film in less than five minutes. Or collaborating with classmates around the world while watching live 3D video of a university lecture.”

Some cities have resorted to crazy antics to attract the eyes of Google. The mayor of Duluth, Minnesota jumped into 35-degree Lake Superior and posted a video of the stunt on YouTube. In much warmer temperatures, the mayor of Sarasota, Florida went for a swim with sharks. West U. chose a much more tempered approach — The city hired a professional videographer to interview stakeholders about why the community is a good match for the network.

West U. has several characteristics that make it a strong candidate, Ross said. For example, many West U. residents work in fields that require the transfer of large amounts of information: Doctors, university professors, attorneys, and the like. Residents are highly educated, affluent and technologically connected.

Ross said he hopes Google notices the city’s location and high population density. With more than 15,000 people living in only two square miles, Ross said he thinks it’s “logical” for Google to come here.

“The bang for the buck for Google to come into the city and put in this infrastructure, you’re hitting a lot more people for a lot less wire than you would in a Sugarland or some other town in the country where it’s much more spread out,” he said.

Google Project Manager James Kelly wrote on the Google Blog this morning that the company plans to review all the applications and narrow down the choices for locations. Google employees will visit the top candidate cities and meet with local officials to learn more. The company hopes to choose sites for Google Fiber by the end of the year.

“This enthusiasm is much bigger than Google and our experimental network,” Kelly wrote. “If one message has come through loud and clear, it’s this: people across the country are hungry for better and faster Internet access.”

InstantNewsWestU requested a copy of the drainage study in mid February after city leaders became concerned that flood restrictors on the Bellaire Boulevard Bridge in Southside Place would stop intense flood waters from fully draining out of West U. The study researches how more flood water from drainage improvements on Bellaire Boulevard would affect down-stream areas like Poor Farm Ditch, a water detention area called the Meyer Tract, and eventually Brays Bayou.

The flood control district refused to release the study, arguing it is exempt from public disclosure because it is an internal draft study the district was using to create public policy, and it was subject to the “deliberative process privilege.”

But City Manager Michael Ross said on Monday that the district told him the study should be finalized by this Friday.

“It’s released everywhere, it’s public,” Ross said. “The draft is taken off.”

The city maintains a positive working relationship with the district, he said, and he doesn’t think administrators are trying to keep documents secret without cause.

City leaders hope the study shows that more water coming from drainage improvement projects on Bellaire Boulevard and within the city of West U. will not negatively impact downstream areas. They want the flood control district to authorize the removal of the flood restrictors on the bridge.

West U. Mayor Bob Kelly said he was not aware the drainage study existed until he learned about it from InstantNewsWestU. He requested InstantNewsWestU send him a copy of the letter and legal brief that Harris County sent to the Texas Attorney General asking that office to exempt the drainage study from public disclosure.

“After looking at this I came to the conclusion there’s nothing we can do,” Kelly said. “We can just wait and see what the Attorney General’s office response is to whether they have to release it or not.”

City Attorney Alan Petrov said part of the drainage study could contain engineering-related factual information, but part of it could contain policy-related information that would be subject to the “deliberative process privilege.”

“Often the A.G. rules in those cases that portions of document can be withheld, put portions must be released,” Petrov said. “Of course, we don’t know without seeing the document.”

However, the attorney general’s decision may be a moot point if the flood control district publicly discloses the final version of the drainage study. If that happens, West U. leaders are likely to examine the document with a fine-toothed comb.

“I’m hoping this will all be resolved peacefully by hurricane season,” Kelly said.

After the aggravated robbery, which happened just before midnight noon, the pair continued walking to the corner of Amherst Street and Kirby Drive, where officers met them and took information for a crime report. Police are investigating the incident.

Four people reported thefts to West University Place police during the week of March 14 to 20.

• On March 15, police responded to a home under construction in the 4000 block of Riley Street. Someone had entered the site and stolen copper tubing that was already installed in the house.
• On March 18, the city of West U. became the victim of theft. Someone entered an electrical closet in the 4200 block of Bellaire Boulevard and stole electrician’s tools that belonged to the city.
• On March 19, police took reports of a theft of a back flow valve that had happened overnight in the 5300 block of Buffalo Speedway.
• On March 20, officers responded to the 4200 block of Byron Street because a resident reported that someone stole a bag of precious coins.

Two people were arrested for public intoxication last week.

• In the first case on March 18, an officer approached a vehicle with an unconscious person inside, learned the person was drunk, and took him into custody.
• On March 20, an officer responded to a disturbance in the 2600 block of Bissonnet Street. One person there had slurred speech and smelled like alcohol. The officer investigated, determined the man was drunk, and arrested him.

Officers arrested three suspects for driving with suspended licenses.

• On March 14, police pulled over a car because it had defective equipment. The driver had no license or car insurance, and when the officer looked up his record, he found past convictions for driving with no insurance.
• On March 17, an officer pulled over a pickup truck for speeding, and learned the driver had a suspended license and no car insurance. During the traffic stop, police also found two grams of marijuana.
• On March 18, an officer conducted a traffic stop and ended up arresting the driver for driving with an invalid license.

Other incidents reported last week included:

• On March 17, an officer spotted a man walking in the 5900 block of Community Drive carrying folders similar to door-to-door solicitors’ folders. The officer checked the man’s ID and found he had four outstanding felony warrants for forgery of financial instruments. Police arrested him for the warrants.
• On March 17, a resident in the 4100 block of Byron Street reported that someone smashed her vehicle’s window and stole her purse with money, credit cards and other property.
• Also on March 17, a resident in the 2600 block of Bissonnet Street reported someone had smashed his vehicle’s window, but no property was missing. Police recorded the incident as criminal mischief.

Along the way the council decided to change its procedures on calling and closing public hearings, after the rezoning applicant raised questions because comments continued streaming in after the first public hearing in early February. From now on when the city calls public hearings, officials will not officially close the hearings at the end so that residents can continue providing feedback until the council issues final votes at later meetings.

“The action we just took was to call another public hearing to allow you and your neighbors and anyone that’s interested in the city to come and speak,” said Councilman George Boehme.

In November 2009 the owner of the Shipley property at 5800 Kirby Dr., Bob Orkin of Kirby Retail Fund Ltd., asked the city to rezone his land so he can tear down the old Shipley building and construct a Potbelly Sandwich Works. Although the land is zoned as a townhouse district, Shipley has operated commercially as a pre-existing, non-conforming use. Orkin would lose that exception if he constructed a new building for Potbelly, so rezoning is necessary to reach his goals.

At the first public hearing in February, many residents reacted negatively to the rezoning application because they said they feared the sandwich restaurant would bring traffic, parking problems, noise and trash. Some residents said they bought their homes near the tract because they knew it was a townhouse district, and they held out hope the land would one day be residential.

At the next meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission, residents spoke out about similar concerns. City Manager Michael Ross said Orkin’s attorney, Reid Wilson, had questions about whether additional public comment was actually legal, since the city council and the commission had officially closed the public hearings in February.

Ross said after researching the question, City Attorney Alan Petrov found that Wilson was right: Public comment on an issue is not allowed after the official closing of a public hearing.

Because the council still wanted to hear what residents have to say on the rezoning application, they decided to change the city’s procedure and leave public hearings open until a final vote closes the matter for good.

Councilman Steven Segal cast the lone vote against calling another public hearing about the Shipley tract, because he said the city needs to examine its rules on prior nonconforming status first and call another hearing afterwards.

“I feel there may be a domino effect here and if we take action on one property we may find ourselves in a box,” Segal said. “I think it would make more sense to wait until we have a better idea about where we want to go on this issue.”

Two residents of Tangley Road, just blocks from Shipley Donuts, signed up to speak about the rezoning application but the council told them they couldn’t speak until the next public hearing in May. However, both residents chose to comment generally to express themselves instead of specifically mentioning 5800 Kirby Dr.

“I would like to remind city council that the city of West University Place is a city of homes first and primarily, and a city of commercial entities secondarily,” said David Kyle. “I would like to ask city council not to be so quick to rush to judgments, whatever those may be, and to consider at all times, under all circumstances to consider their constituents and their residents.”

Dr. Christina Joy Clardy, who lives in a $1.6 million house in the 6600 block of Sewanee Avenue, now faces a felony charge of engaging in organized criminal activity along with three associates: Tawny Hughes, Brandon Harris and Wilfredo Duran. The group allegedly collaborated to sell prescriptions for drug “cocktails” to 171 patients who came from all across the nation, paying $80 in cash for written prescriptions.

Authorities have now closed two clinics that Clardy operated, the Uptown Medical Clinic at 7231 F.M. 1960 in Humble, and the S&G Medical Clinic at 9110 Jones Road in Houston.

Dustin Deutsch, an investigator with the Harris County Fire Marshall’s office, uncovered the scheme after a fire on Jan. 23 at the Uptown Medical Clinic. According to court documents, Deutsch became suspicious because “there were few contents in the clinic which was inconsistent.” For example, there were no patient files.

The clinic’s hours of operations were abnormal, and Deutsch discovered the business hadn’t filed important paperwork like sale tax permits, licensing papers and more. He did find “doing business as” paperwork filed in December 2009.

Deutsch investigated the business and the four suspects and learned that Clardy allegedly received $14,000 per month to sign the blank prescriptions. Hughes and Harris ran the day-to-day operations of the Uptown Medical Clinic. Court documents accuse Duran of seeing patients, diagnosing them and writing their prescriptions, although has never been licensed to practice medicine in Texas, the court records say.

When Deutsch secured an arrest warrant for Hughes, “she admitted they were running a pill clinic where the primary goal was to sell prescriptions,” the court records say.

Deutsch learned that the group had removed patient files from the clinic just before the fire on Jan. 23 on Clardy’s orders.

“She had a feeling that someone from S&G Medical Clinic was going to do something bad to the Uptown Medical Clinic,” according to court documents.

Eventually, the investigator did examine the medical records of patients who visited the Uptown Medical Clinic, which was only open for 11 days before the fire tipped off officials about the clinic’s dubious operations.

Court documents say the medical records revealed the clinic had treated 171 patients, and about 95 percent were diagnosed with lumbar problems. Many received prescriptions for a combination of drugs including hydrocodone, soma and Xanax. Deutsch said in court documents the combination is “referred to on the streets as a ‘cocktail’” and it is commonly abused by drug users.

According to the Texas Medical Board, Clardy graduated in 1976 from the Meharry Medical College in Nashville. She completed her residency at Baylor College of Medicine in 1981. Clardy has been licensed in Texas since 1983, and during that time the Texas Medical Board has not investigated her or issued board actions against her. She lists her specialty in the fields of anesthesiology and pain management.

After officers served Clardy with an arrest warrant, “she admitted that she knew that the prescription forms that she signed for Uptown Medical Clinic were not used for medical purposes,” the records say.

Bill White answers a rotary member's question about border security on Thursday as Bellaire/Southwest Houston Rotary President Byron Holloway listens.

White talked to about 40 members of the Bellaire/Southwest Houston Rotary Club about his six years as mayor of Houston and his thoughts on the Mexican violence, funding for NASA and alternative energy. He recalled working together with the cities of Bellaire and West University Place when he was Houston’s mayor, and said he was happy to visit with local residents.

“Whether there’s 40 citizens or 500 citizens, I want people to have a chance to know who I am and to ask questions,” he said. “Letting people know who you are, not in some environment controlled by consultants and media gurus, but by citizens who get a chance to talk to you.”

White took the chance to make jabs at Gov. Rick Perry, his opponent in the November general election. A Bellaire rotarian asked the candidate whether he would still take time to visit the club if he were elected governor.

“Old so-and-so has been in office too long,” White jokingly responded. “Whenever you get some politician who is too big in his britches to come see you, that’s when the public needs to impose term limits.”

White told rotarians that after speaking with law enforcement on the border, if he were elected he would order more drones to patrol the area to gather real-time intelligence for border security personnel. He said he thinks the state should use modern technologies to better identify the masses of ordinary, innocent people crossing the border every day, versus the drug traffickers.

Bill White chats with Rotarians Craig Wooten, left, and Don Beckner before his speech to the club.

White said he doesn’t fear the violence in Mexico will spill over to the U.S. unless traffickers are targeting the relatives of their Mexican enemies.

“We have honest law enforcement on this side of the boarder,” White said. “Generally the bad guys, they don’t want to commit a crime where there’s honest and effective law enforcement.”

White told InstantNewsBellaire he remembered working with Bellaire leaders in the past on solid waste and freeway projects, and partnering with West U. officials on sidewalks and street construction on Kirby Drive. Those interactions were “cordial and businesslike,” White said, and he’d use the same skills of merging diverse viewpoints to run the state if he were governor.

“We need folks who will work in particular to cut the drop-out rates and to remove barriers to higher education so we could move our economy forward in the future,” he said. “People in West U. and Bellaire are deeply committed to access to public education. Some of the best public schools in our state are in those communities. They should be proud of that.”

Joni Hruska Fichter

Joni Hruska Fichter has been the face of the Friends of West University Place Parks Fund, a nonprofit that has gathered nearly $4 million in donations over the decade for park renovations and most recently, helped fund the new West U. Recreation Center. In June, Fichter will step down as chair of the group and longtime volunteer Leah Ragiel will take her place.

“One of my goals before I did that was to make sure we were in tip-top shape … I feel really secure in handing over a great board,” Fichter said. “It’s been a long time and I feel like we’ve accomplished so much. It’s been wonderful, and a truly good experience.”

Fichter said with two teenagers with hectic schedules, the oldest preparing to enter college, she plans to spend more time with her family and other endeavors. However, she will remain as chair through the opening of the West U. Recreation Center and Colonial Park pool. She also will remain on the Friends advisory board.

“We were lucky to have her for that long,” said Friends Executive Director Donna LaMond, who said Fichter has become one of her closest friends.

LaMond describes Fichter as an inspirational leader who trusted others to do good jobs without micromanaging, and was skilled at keeping board members focused on important goals. She said those who work with Fichter develop a deep level of respect for her.

“It’s been a wonderful camaraderie, and there’s no words to adequately convey what she’s done,” LaMond said. “She eats, sleeps, breathes West University parks.”

Parks and Recreations Director Tim O’Connor said he was “kind of freaked a little bit” when he learned Fichter was stepping down, but he took “consolation” in knowing she would still volunteer on the advisory board and be available to answer questions when Friends volunteers need help.

Leah Ragiel

“I was definitely more than a little nervous and scared until I found out her successor would be Leah Ragiel,” O’Connor said. “Joni’s successor is going to be someone I think very highly of, who doesn’t lightly take on commitments.”

Ragiel, a stay-at-home mother of two children, has been committed to being an active Friends volunteer for the past 10 years. She has served on important subcommittees of the Friends, including chairing the Park Lovers Ball, the group’s major fundraiser. She helped organize the first Fathers and Flashlights event an also founded the West U. Friends and Neighbors Guild. Her 10-years’ volunteer experience has prepared her to take over the chair position, she said.

“I think it’s a personal challenge. It’s an opportunity to do a good job and have the satisfaction of having done good for the community,” Ragiel said. “I know there are some new directions we can take out there, and I look forward to figuring out what they are with this new group of people.”

Some new ideas that Ragiel said she’s interesting in pursuing include the creation of a community garden, the development of a new park in one quadrant of West U. without a park in walking distance, and coming up with new ideas for fundraising events. Ragiel said she understands it will be a challenge to juggle the time commitments of being the Friends chair. But all the board members contribute so much time and energy, she said.

“I won’t be alone,” Ragiel said. “I invite anybody, no matter how new they are to the community, to please contact us and get involved because we welcome new ideas, new people, and we need all the support we can get.”

InstantNewsWestU requested copies of the West U. Police Department’s 2008 and 2009 Uniform Crime Reports, which contain statistics that local police departments submit to the FBI for a program that tracks nationwide crime.

A review of the 2009 crime reports reveals an overall decrease of 8.7 percent compared to 2008, which includes decreases in reports of rape, assaults, home burglaries and thefts. Reports of robberies remained the same year to year, and the number of arrests also remained virtually the same.

However, reports of non-residential building burglaries increased 27 percent, car burglaries jumped 22 percent, and vehicle thefts climbed 14 percent. Even considering the scattered increases, the number of crimes reported in each category remain very low. Following are the findings of InstantNewsWestU’s analysis.

2009 crime compared to 2008 reports

• TOTAL CRIME — decreased from 229 to 209 crimes in 2009 (8.7 percent drop)
• Rape — decreased from 2 to 0 reports in 2009
• Robbery — 4 reports each year
• Assault — decreased from 20 to 6 incidents in 2009 (70 percent drop)
• Home burglary — decreased from 44 to 30 reports in 2009 (32 percent drop)
• Building burglary — increased from 11 to 14 reports in 2009 (27 percent climb)
• Car burglary — increased from 82 to 100 cases in 2009 (22 percent climb)
• Car theft — increased from 7 to 8 incidents in 2009 (14 percent climb)
• Other theft — decreased from 59 to 47 reports in 2009 (20 percent drop)

Other comparisons

• Arrests — increased from 159 to 161 arrests in 2009 (1 percent climb)
• Total value of stolen property — decreased from $476,829 to $443,363 in 2009 (7 percent drop)
• Total value of recovered property — decreased from $103,746 to $22,291 in 2009 (78.5 percent drop)

The incidents reported to West U. police from March 7 to 15 include:

• On March 7, a resident found a bicycle in the 3700 block of Arnold and police took it to the police station.
• On March 7, a man in the 2900 block of Wroxton reported that someone broke into his car and stole items.
• On March 8, an officer pulled over a car for speeding and ended up arresting the driver for giving a fake driver’s license.
• On March 9, a woman reported someone used her identification to open an account with Synergy Bank and then wrote a bad check at Wal-Mart.
• On March 10, a woman reported someone had damaged the door of her vehicle in the 6600 block of Academy.
• On March 11, a resident found a silver boy’s mountain bike and police took it to the police station for safekeeping.
• On March 12, an officer pulled over a car for having an expired registration sticker and ended up arresting the driver for driving with an invalid license.
• On March 13, an officer picked up a prisoner with outstanding West U. warrants.

“We’re just glad no one was injured and we were able to get him in custody without him or the officers being injured,” said Bellaire Police spokesman Tim Quimby.

Quimby said the Bellaire Police Department was getting frequent furious calls from motorists stuck in traffic because of an overturned, leaking gasoline tanker that forced emergency personnel to close Loop 610 nearly all day.

But the incident involving 67-year-old Nolan Keller was the most extreme by far. When people called 911 reporting a man with a gun, officers responded to Keller’s home in the 5300 block of Evergreen Street around 4:20 p.m.

“Traffic was backing up, people were trying to get around the city,” Quimby said. “He got irate with someone stopped too long at a stop sign at Evergreen and Ferris. He said some profanity at her, basically. While that person was walking their dog by the house, he went and got a rifle and pointed it at them.”

Although traffic made it difficult, officers arrived at Keller’s home relatively quickly and found the man in his backyard with the gun leaning against his house. Quimby said Keller told police he had been gardening and didn’t do anything, but multiple witnesses told police they saw Keller point the weapon at the woman walking her dog.

“I think personally, since it happened with all the traffic, a lot of people can’t take that type of stress,” Quimby said. “We were getting calls all day, people telling us they were going to jump the curb and run over stuff.”

Police charged Keller with 2nd degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The sentence for the charge ranges from two to 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine, said Assistant District Attorney Donna Hawkins.

The commission’s recommendation to approve the rezoning application is a significant victory for Bob Orkin, whose company Kirby Retail Fund Ltd. owns the tract at 5800 Kirby Dr. But final approval must come from the West U. City Council.

“I think the Planning and Zoning Commission is a reasonable group of people,” Orkin said. “I feel like it was the right decision.”

Orkin began the arduous rezoning process in November 2009, asking the city to turn his tract into a commercial zone to allow him to demolish the Shipley Donuts store and construct a new building for Potbelly Sandwich Works. Right now the land is in a townhouse district, but it has prior non-conforming status for a commercial use. That status would not carry over if Orkin constructs a new building, making rezoning mandatory to achieve his goals.

After considering West U. residents’ comments at a public hearing on Feb. 8, Commissioners Bob Higley and DeDe DeStafano lead an extensive debate at last month’s Zoning and Planning Commission meeting about whether the city should grant the rezoning application. The two-hour discussion stalled a decision until the March meeting.

But Higley and DeStafano were absent on Thursday, and Vice Chair Bruce Frankel, who has voluntarily abstained from voting for the entire process, decided to leave the room. Frankel is Orkin’s brother in law, and he helped negotiate the deal with Potbelly Sandwich Works.

Residents near the Shipley Donuts raised concerns on Feb. 8 that the sandwich restaurant would bring more traffic, parking problems, noise and trash into their lives. They said they purchased their properties knowing the tract and others adjacent to it were zoned for town homes, and they always hoped one day the townhouse-district strip would turn residential.

“I’m very disappointed,” said West U. resident Rosemary Beauvais, who attended the Feb. 8 public hearing and both subsequent commission meetings. “I think that it is setting a precedent, and I think the other properties will end up going commercial. And I think that’s not what the residents expected.”

Orkin and his associates have shown a willingness to work with residents to allay their concerns. They agreed to install sound abatement walls and landscaping, and approached neighboring businesses to secure parking spots for restaurant employees. Most recently at Thursday’s meeting they announced another measure to stop employees from parking on West U. streets.

“The property is going to be restricted so employees can’t park within 500 feet of the property,” said acting City Attorney Josh Golden, interpreting a declaration letter from Orkin’s attorney. “This is bound to the property itself … The consequence of the violation would be up to the city to determine.”

The offer has one catch: If the city doesn’t grant final approval to the rezoning application by May 30, the employee-parking safeguard will expire. Now that the commission gave its thumbs-up to the rezoning request, the application is headed to city council.

“A random spark or anything could cause an explosion or pretty major fire,” said Bellaire’s Assistant Police Chief Byron Holloway.

He said police do not know what caused the truck to flip, but they are diverting traffic away from the intersection of the Loop 610 frontage road and Bellaire Boulevard as fire personnel try to clean up the mess.

“It started to leak. Some of the gas leaked into the storm system. We’ve been able to stop that,” Holloway said. “They’re trying to determine how safe it is to approach the truck.”

Loop 610 is completely closed between the Southwest Freeway and Beechnut Street. Holloway said he doesn’t know how long the freeway will be closed. Emergency personnel from Houston, Bellaire, West University Place and state agencies are on scene helping determine what to do about the overturned tanker and deal with the traffic backup.

Another gasoline tanker recently arrived on the scene to try to transfer the remaining fuel from the overturned truck and cart it away from the accident scene, Holloway said.

“Things are happening pretty fast and changing just as fast,” Holloway said. “We are suggesting people detour around the Bellaire area at this time.”

Rain water flows under the Bellaire Boulevard Bridge during a rain storm in mid February. Construction should be complete by late March.

InstantNewsWestU requested a copy of the drainage study from the Harris County Flood Control District after West U. leaders became concerned that flood restrictors on the soon-to-be-completed Bellaire Bridge in Southside Place would stop flood waters from intense storms from fully draining out of West U. The drainage study researches how more flood water would affect down-stream areas: Poor Farm Ditch, a water detention area called the Meyer Tract, and eventually Brays Bayou.

But in a Feb. 23 letter to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, Turner argued on behalf of Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan that the flood control district should not have to disclose the drainage study. Turner is asking for an exception to the Texas Public Information Act.

Turner wrote that the flood control district is working with other governmental entities involved in the process to review a draft version of the drainage study. Eventually, the district will release a final version to the public.

The attorney argues the draft drainage study should remain secret under the “deliberative process privilege,” which holds that internal communications consisting of advice, opinions or recommendations can be kept secret if they relate to processes that help the governmental body fulfill its policy mission.

“The mission of the District includes planning and constructing flood control and drainage projects,” Turner wrote. “The engineering study requested, which is still in the process of being formulated, is essential to carrying out those purposes.”

West U. leaders said at a Feb. 8 city council meeting that they hope the flood control district allows the removal of flood restrictors on the Bellaire Bridge that control the flow of water leaving West U.

Engineers assured the city council that during ordinary rain storms, the restrictors would not hinder efficient drainage out of West U. But during rare, massive storms like Tropical Storm Alison in 2001, the restrictors could cause water to back up into the city. West U. Mayor Bob Kelly said he hopes the flood restrictors will be gone before hurricane season, which officially begins in June. Read more here.

But before approving the removal of the flood restrictors, the flood control district must know how more water would affect the down-stream areas. The drainage study requested by InstantNewsWestU essentially answers that question.

The Texas Attorney General will make a ruling within the next couple of months about whether the flood control district can withhold the drainage study as an exception to the Texas Public Information Act.