The public hearing concerned possible ordinance changes that will affect property owners on Mercer Street, and was held Aug. 22.

According to city staff, the error was on the part of the vendor, not West U. employees, and despite the embarrassing error, the city fulfilled all legal posting requirements for the hearing.

In July, city staff contacted CSG International to get a quote on inserting the notices in the July billing cycle. A representative responded with a quote, and the city completed the order and sent a copy of the notice to be mailed out.

When residents received their July water bills, there were no inserts. The city contacted CSG International, and a company representative told city staff that changes to their computer system caused the mistake.

“Staff immediately contacted our city attorney who confirmed that we were legally compliant and that we should move forward, which is what the city did under advice of counsel,” said Chris Peifer, assistant city manager and director of public works. “We all have been surprised and embarrassed when we were informed that the insert and now appeared included in the August water billing; noticeably after the fact of the Aug. 22 public hearing. “

Staff once again contacted the vendor, and informed them that the city will not be paying for the mistake.

“In summary, this occurrence albeit embarrassing, was outside of the control of the staff and the city; however, steps are being taken to eliminate the possibility of any reoccurrence,” said Peifer. “Further, the subject actions taken by City Council and the Zoning & Planning Commission were all completed compliant with the law.”

Russell Kryzkowski was driving a brown Honda westbound in the 4200 block of Bissonnet around 2:44 p.m. when an officer noticed that the car had a broken front windshield and multiple stickers in the rear window that obstructed the driver’s view.

Kryzkowski was pulled over, and according to reports, it was revealed that he had seven outstanding warrants from the Houston Police Department and the Bellaire Police Department. The warrants included charges of driving without insurance, driving without an inspection sticker, driving with expired registration and failure to appear in court.

Kryzkowski was driving with a suspended driver’s license and had no insurance. Police found two handguns inside his car and a 9-inch knife. According to police, carrying a knife with a blade longer than 5 inches is illegal.

Kryzkowski was arrested for unlawful possession of a weapon.

The truck is a blue, 1991 Fort pickup truck with the Texas license plate number 76CXM5.

Anyone who has seen the truck should call Officer Chris Fassel at 713-662-5393, Detective David McCurry at 713-662-5342 or Sergeant Darrell Blaylock at 713-662-5802.                     ,

“Once you get used to eating all the time, it gets progressively and steadily worse,” said Kloeber, who lives in Sugar Land. It didn’t help that she was living in New Orleans, a city known for rich cuisine and an immediate gratification lifestyle.

Sandra Kloeber before her weight loss.

Sandra tried every diet out there – Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, the grapefruit diet, the soup diet, Nutri-system, and even weight loss pills. The diets worked, but once she lost the weight she went back to her old eating habits and eventually gained back more than she lost. Once, she lost 100 pounds and gained back 130.

“Instead of doing a lifestyle change I would lose the weight and think I could go back to the way I was before,” said Kloeber.

Eventually Kloeber, at 5 feet 10 inches tall, was 272 pounds and 40-years-old. She had sleep apnea, joint pain, back pain, a hyperthyroid condition and, most importantly to her, she was having a hard time being active with her two children, a 10-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son.

“I would run out of breath,” said Kloeber. “I would get less motivated because I was so big – and riding a bike when you are 280 pounds is not easy.”

For Kloeber – who had tried almost every diet available, and worked for a bariatric surgeon in New Orleans – surgery was a “no-brainer.”

Sandra Kloeber after her weight loss.

A year ago, Kloeber got an adjustable gastric band, one of several surgical weight loss procedures available. Now she is four pounds away from her goal weight of 180 pounds.

But surgery isn’t a magic fix – once again, just as she realized with her other failed diets, a lifestyle change was required to maintain any weight loss.

“It’s an unusual operation because you are trying to induce change in behavior,” said Erik Wilson, Kloeber’s surgeon at The University of Texas Bariatric & Metabolic Surgery Center.

To increase his patients’ chances for success, Wilson encourages them to participate in an online program called Realize My Success that is associated with Kloeber’s procedure. The site is like “having a miniature Dr. Wilson on your shoulder,” said Wilson, who added that about 50 percent of his patients use the site, and those that do typically lose more weight.

The site includes recipes, chat rooms, personal stories of weight loss success and a food journaling tool.

The theory behind Realize My Success is not limited to those who are losing weight through surgery – the issues of support, accountability and knowledge can help in any weight loss program, especially when it comes to food journaling, said Wilson.

“I’m a big believer, having looked across all channels of healthcare and sports and whatever, that if you measure something and look at what you’re measuring, you make it better,” said Wilson. “Knowing the number in and of itself makes you want to improve it.”

The food journaling concept is not new – the Internet is home to countless sites with food journaling tools, such as MyFoodDiary.com, Nutrimirror.com, Fitday.com and my-calorie-counter.com. Most well-known weight loss programs, such as Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig, also have food journaling tools on their websites.

“Food journaling helps, there’s no doubt about it,” said Wilson. “You don’t have to do it every day for the rest of your life, but if you do it two or three days a month you get a good sense of what you were eating.”

Kloeber admits that in the first few weeks after her surgery, she would “cheat” a little.

“Then I realized, ‘you know this isn’t worth it,’” said Kloeber. “It was also something that kind of held me to my responsibility. When you put it down and you see what you are actually eating and what you are supposed to and what you’re not supposed to it does make you accountable for what you’re doing.”

Kloeber, now 100 pounds lighter, bikes up to six miles a day, runs with her daughter and plays soccer with her son. She is sure that had she not lost the weight she was looking forward to a future of hypertension and possibly diabetes.

For those thousands of people who have started 2010 with the goal of finally conquering weight issues, by whatever method, Kloeber says the outcome is worth the struggle.

“I struggle every day,” said Kloeber. “Stick with it, the outcome is so worth it. It’s a struggle so just hang in there and get support. As long as you have support someone who is going to encourage you it makes all the difference.”

Kevin Kline will run 10 hours a day for 13 days in his 500-mile trek across Texas to raise money for the Texas Children’s Cancer Center.

For Sugar Land resident and 93Q morning radio show host Kevin Kline, it all begins and ends with the children battling cancer at Texas Children’s Cancer Center. It was one young patient four years ago that inspired him to start running, and it is for all the patients that he embarked Sunday on a history-making 500-mile run across Texas.

Kline left Dec. 20 from Dallas, and plans to begin at 7 a.m. every morning and running 10 hours a day for 13 days, making his way to the State Capital in Austin, the Alamo in San Antonio and ending on the steps of Texas Children’s Hospital in the Medical Center.

Kline is the president and founder of the Snowdrop Foundation, which raises money for Texas Children’s Cancer Center. The money supports the center’s work in pediatric cancer research, provides twice annual weekend excursions for patients, and awards college scholarships to pediatric cancer patients and childhood cancer survivors.

Kline started the foundation as a birthday present to the young woman, Chelsea, who was his inspiration to run his first marathon.

Kline was participating in his radio station’s annual fundraising event at Texas Children’s Hospital’s outpatient chemotherapy center in 2005 when he saw a young girl walk in. She walked over to a group of young children, all bald from the effects of the cancer treatment, and played with them for four hours.

Kline said he assumed she was a volunteer, noticing she had beautiful, long brown hair. During a break, he walked over to her and said he was impressed that she was spending her time helping the young patients, and she told him she was one of the patients, not a volunteer.

“I said you don’t look sick at all,” said Kline. “She said, ‘I’m not, I just have cancer.’”

The girl was 15-year-old Chelsea, who had been told she had only a 10 percent chance to live to see her 16th birthday because of a rare cancer. Chelsea did see her 16th birthday, but spent it in the hospital and passed away later that year. Kline served as a pallbearer at her funeral.

During her battle with the disease in 2006, she underwent a 28-hour surgery.

“I told her in honor of her ‘marathon surgery’ I would run a marathon for her,” said Kline, who ran his first marathon in 2007. After Chelsea passed away, he created the Snowdrop Foundation in her honor.

Kline relates everything about his 500-mile trek to children battling cancer – he says he will likely lose 8 to 10 lbs. during the 13 days as he runs between 7,000 and 9,000 calories a day, and look quite different in the end, not unlike the patients as they fight for their lives. He says the journey will have ups and downs, but it isn’t a race, he just needs to get from point A to point B.

“However long it takes,” said Kline. “Just like cancer patients. There are bumps along the way, nausea, complications, infections, but their ultimate goal is to remain positive and strong and get to the next point.”

He says the fact that he will run most of the time alone will mirror the isolation some young patients feel.

“When kids get diagnosed with cancer their friends stop coming around because they look different and the kids don’t know how to deal with it,” said Kline.

The ultimate goal of the run is to raise awareness of the Cancer Center and to raise $500,000 – twice what the Snowdrop Foundation has raised in its three-year existence. The money will be raised through corporate sponsors, individual donations, fundraisers from schools along the route and the sale of merchandise at the nightly stops, where there will be a “tent city,” food, music and the opportunity to spread the word about the work being done at the center.

Kline said he thinks many individual donations will come in after he finishes the run.

“There are a lot of people who don’t think I can do this,” said Kline. “Once we prove to those people how serious and passionate we are about this endeavor and that I have actually done it (the donations will come in.)”

Kline has dedicated a year to training for this endeavor, and has run the equivalent of seven marathons and three ultra-marathons since Jan. 1. The peak of his training was in October, when he topped out at 137 miles in one week.

He has gone through eight pairs of running shoes this year, which he is donating to another charity organization. He expects to go through three pairs of shoes during the 13-day run, and will auction those off to raise more money for the cause.

Kline said he started to get nervous a few weeks ago, when he realized what “a big torch” he was going to carry. He called Chelsea’s mother, and asked her if Chelsea was scared before she went into her 28-hour surgery.

“Her mom said no, because she knew what the outcome would be,” said Kline, an answer that eased Kline’s own apprehension.

During his training for the run, he ran the Grand Canyon, and talking about it leads him once again back to the children fighting for their lives.

“It was the hardest most grueling thing I have done, but it was also the most beautiful,” said Kline. “Obviously it’s the hardest thing they (the children) have done but when they get the news that they are in remission there are no more beautiful words in the world.”

Those interested can follow Kline as he runs across Texas on Facebook at
facebook.com/SnowdropFoundation and on Twitter at twitter.com/kkline. To donate visit
www.stridesacrosstexas.org.

The Houston Astros will honor the West U. Little League Senior World Series Champs prior to their 7:05 p.m. game Sept. 22. The WULL Senior League team captured the 2009 Senior Little League World Series in Bangor, Maine on Aug. 22. The Seniors won the title by defeating a team from Fremont, California 9-7 in the championship game.

A Weekend of Texas Contemporary Dance is scheduled for 8 p.m. Sept. 25 and Sept. 26 at Miller Outdoor Theatre, 100 Concert Dr. Presented by Dance Source, the evening program showcases a wide range of contemporary choreographic styles featuring solos, duets and large company pieces, set to both live and recorded music. The annual weekend includes a special family matinee, Dance Around the World, featuring Houston Ballet II and J&L New Arts Company at 11 a.m. Sept. 26.

Emery/Weiner School 7th graders Sebastian Biondi and Nicholas Dennenberg participate in a rock identification experiment in Earth Science class.

James Richard “Ricky” Thompson

Barnett and Goosey were both recent University of Texas graduates who grew up in West U. and attended Lamar High School. They were discovered shot to death in their apartment at 904 West 21st Street by friends Tuesday, July 21, after Barnett failed to show up at her parents West U. home as expected.

Goosey allegedly told mutual friends that Thompson was coming over to pay him money he owed for marijuana, which police say Goosey had been dealing for about three years. Thompson allegedly owed about $8,000 for drugs he received from Goosey to sell.

GROCERY WARS - Just in time for the planned Aug. 5 opening of HEB Buffalo Market at Bissonnet and Buffalo Speedway, the Kroger grocery store at Buffalo Speedway and Westpark announced the completion of a four-month remodeling project. New features at Kroger include a community room available to rent at no cost, a specialty cheese shop, an olive bar, prepared meals at the “Chef on the Run” counter, compounded prescriptions at the pharmacy, expanded selection of organic, soy, vegetarian, when and gluten-free products in the “Nature’s Market” section, made in-store tortillas, an expanded party planning center and floral and greeting card department, and nearly 2,000 selections of beer and wine.

Hiring the expert was brought to the table by Mayor Bob Kelly, who said the city’s participation in the Texas Municipal League’s retirement plan needs to be reviewed while looking for ways to fund a possible new police station.

Kelly’s primary concern is the city’s “unfunded liability” caused by the new 5 percent guaranteed rate of return on the employee’s investment. The city currently matches employee investment 2 to 1 up to 7 percent of the employee’s salary.

“I think we have a very rich pension plan,” said Kelly. “I would like to bring in consultant who is familiar with TMRS (Texas Municipal Retirement System) and the world market, and compare what we have got.”

City Manager Michael Ross said that compared to the private sector, the city’s plan could be considered “rich,” but is on par with other municipalities.

“It’s hard for staff to recommend departing from what 99.9 percent of the cities in the state and country are doing if we want to be able to attract the best and brightest,” said Ross. “And if we want to be what council said they wanted us to be – an employer of choice.”

According the Finance Director Rhonda Daugherty, as of Dec. 12 2008, the city owed $12.4 million in unfunded liability, caused by a less than 5 percent return that the city is now responsible for. The city can pay the money over an 8-year period – during that period, as the economy recovers, the fund could earn enough to wipe out the city’s liability. Daugherty told council that the last year was the only time the fund has earned less than 5 percent.

Ross also said that is decreasing benefits was on the table, staff needed to know from a hiring perspective. The police department has already begun a hiring freeze until it is known what, if any, benefits and salaries will be cut.

“I personally don’t have an answer to that,” said Kelly. “Every year and every budget, everything’s on the table.”

Councilman Steven Segal said he would like to hear from a TMRS representative before considering paying an expert to speak to council.

“I have some real problem with having TMRS giving their opinion on what the city should do,” said Kelly. Ross said TMRS would not express an opinion on what the city should do, but would explain the plan and the city’s responsibilities.

Councilman George Boehme said that while he views the mayor’s concerns as valid, he thinks the market drives what the city offers in terms of total compensation.

“My fear is we get an arrow in our back (if we cut compensation),” said Boehme. “If we are going to continue to want to go out and attract the best people, we are not going to be able to go out and reinvent the wheel; we are going to have to be competitive. I think we need to look at his but when we are through we are stuck with the reality of the marketplace. I think we do whatever we do quickly and tread lightly and not reinvent the wheel because we are not out of step with what everyone else is doing.”

Councilman Chuck Guffey said he thinks salary is more of a determining factor for employees than the retirement package – an opinion Ross and Boehme disagreed with in terms of municipal employees.

“This is not the same world we were in five or ten years ago,” said Kelly. “The world has changed…I feel somewhat duty bound to citizens of this city to have that pension plan looked at.”

“This is how cities may get behind (on employee compensation compared to other benchmark cities),” said Ross. “Last year I was criticized as to how we got behind.”

Boehme said he thinks the TMRS representative could come in and show council that continued economic recovery could self-correct the retirement plan.

“I think this might be the case,” said Boehme

“What I want is an independent guy,” said Kelly. “I don’t want to get us into a bind on this.”

.

The item stems from information released to the media concerning the interest of Molina’s Mexican restaurant’s alleged interest in West U.’s land on Westpark behind RecylExpress. A July 24 article in the Houston Business Journal quotes Councilman George Boehme as confirming Molina’s interest in the property, which is currently leased to Good Company for parking.

The article spurred e-mails between the mayor, other councilmen and City Manger Michael Ross concerning matters discussed in closed session. Although an article in InstantNewsWestU.com a month prior to the HBJ article quoted Mayor Bob Kelly on the issue, Kelly told Ross that several entities involved in the possible deal were “outraged” because of the information’s release.

Boehme responded by saying he did not discuss anything that had not already appeared in the public domain – namely, a June 10 article in InstantNewsWestU.com in which Kelly discussed the deal in public prior to a regular council meeting.

“Once an issue originally discussed in executive session is credibly placed in the public domain, in this case by Mayor Kelly, I feel no prohibition on its discussion,” wrote Boehme in an e-mail to Ross. “If we have a rule or practice that conflicts with this practice, please let me know.”

Councilman Steven Segal chimed in on the discussion, questioning the public discussion of items that appear in closed session.

“What happened to the confidentiality of Executive Sessions? Maybe we need to put this on the Agenda and have a discussion with our attorney about fiduciary obligations,” wrote Segal to Ross. “I have been told some councils make it a crime to disclose confidential matters discussed in Executive Session.”

Councilman Chuck Guffey also wrote to Ross about the matter.

“I thought we were meeting in confidential sessions about this issue,” wrote Guffey. “If Molina’s or the other parties want to release this info, fine, but I don’t think the city should be doing this.”

The special session also includes discussion of employee compensation and public safety facilities.

The comments stem from a recent e-mail from Kelly concerning a new police department. In the e-mail, Kelly asks City Manager Michael Ross to find a way to pay for a possible new police station without a tax increase – specifically naming budget cuts in personnel expenses as a way to do so.

“Please find a way for the City to pay for it without a tax increase….i.e. cuts in the existing budget (I realize this may have to come from some employee expenses since that item is a major part of the City’s budget) and/or additional revenues,” wrote Kelly. “I will have a hard, if not impossible, time supporting anything that calls for a tax increase. I realize this will be difficult, but with the recreational facilities expenses, we will not be able to get citizen support for a new Police Station if we have to increase taxes to do so….regardless of financing method….i.e. bond election or not.”

Kelly is referring to the $13.8 million bond election passed last November for the new West U. Rec. Center and Colonial Park pool. A new police station is estimated to cost around $6 million.

“I can’t believe there isn’t a way we can do some budget cutting and I would hate to go to the taxpayers and increase taxes at this point after we already did that for the Rec. Center,” said Kelly in an interview with InstantNewsWestU.com.

Kelly also told Ross that employee retirement benefits should be carefully examined during budget discussions, including contemplating reducing the city’s matching policy of 2 to 1 and discussion of leaving the Texas Municipal League retirement plan and exploring municipal versions of a 401K.

Kelly said he does not think a reduction in benefits would inhibit the city from hiring qualified personnel, especially considering recent economic changes.

“The fact that the city is even matching at all is very generous,” said Kelly, who added that many cities are lowering how much they match or eliminating matching altogether. “I think West U. is a very attractive place to work – couple that with the economy right now, there are a lot of people looking for jobs. I don’t believe it would be hard to find good, qualified people to replace anyone who decided to leave if they decide to leave on the basis that some f their benefits were reduced.”

The e-mail led Walker to discontinue the search for a new officer and new dispatcher, citing an already lean department and the ethics of decreasing benefits once an employee is hired.

“Hiring a new employee and then being forced to cut the position would destroy our credibility with all applicants and be devastating to the person and their family,” wrote Walker in an e-mail to Ross. “It is less traumatic to cut an open position than eliminate a position that is filled.   Also, hiring an applicant then reducing the benefit plan after the person is on board is unethical.  Therefore, I have instructed our staff to cease the hiring process until we have a clear picture of what the Council will propose for the 2010 budget.  Because we are so lean, not filling the positions could put us in a very difficult position should we experience increased turnover.  The process to fill a police officer position can take a long time.”

Kelly said he was unaware that a hiring freeze was in effect, and also questioned the necessity of one.

“It is my understanding…that the city is allowed to change its compensation system any time it wants to,” said Kelly. “So, I don’t see the fact that it may be contemplated that there might be a change would preclude us from hiring someone. I don’t see how they equate to each other – everybody would like to know what they are going to be paid when they come in. If we knew for sure there was going to be a change in the works, you would tell them – but at this point, nothing is fixed.”

Kelly also said the police department has gone two years without filling those positions, and said he has asked Walker to attend a special council meeting Monday night to address that issue. Walker says that while the city may have had a position open for two years or more, it isn’t necessarily the same position, as turnover in police departments is high. Walker said the city recently hired for two positions, then one employee moved, leaving another position open.

Kelly says he is unsure where budget cuts could be made, but they likely would not come from personnel positions. Kelly says the city is already “lean and mean” when it comes to staffing, and will actually need to hire more employees once the new West U. Rec. Center open in 2010. Ross says eliminating staff at this point would likely result in a reduction of services to residents.

Although all of the e-mails surround the subject of a new police station, Kelly says he is not certain the city even needs one.

“That’s the first issue I am going to raise –do we really need one?” said Kelly. “There have been stories of problems with air-conditioning – air conditioners can be replaced. I think even more telling is whether or not there are really structural problems with the building and space limitations. I think basically we have to get through that – I think council has to be convinced we need that.”

Kelly says he has not seen the 2002 report by Brinkley Sargent Architects on the police station, although Ross provided the report to council earlier in July.

Brinkley Sargent Architects did a “needs assessment” of the facility in 2002, and estimated a cost of $4.5 million to $5 million to build a facility that would meet the future needs of the department. That cost is now estimated at $6 million.

“The police department has outgrown the available space within the facility and the building shows signs of structural and roof problems,” according to the 2002 report. The current building, built in 1984, is 5,600 sq. ft. Brinkley Sargent recommended a 16,300 sq. ft. facility to provide enough space for the next 25 years.

“All areas are in need of space,” read the seven-year-old report. “Several staff members share many of the offices with inadequate areas for general office and supervisory functions. The space for processing and storage of evidence is severely undersized and not properly ventilated…the vehicle sally port is extremely small…the facility does not meet current ADA or Texas Accessibility laws.”

The recent heat wave has exacerbated recent air-conditioning issues, with the room housing the city’s DirectLink alarm monitoring system climbing to 99 degrees near the end of June. Earlier in June the city’s 911 equipment sounded a temperature alarm, and is now cooled by two portable fans. The building is also prone to flooding.

“We’ve had problems in the summer before, but we haven’t had the frequency of the problems we are seeing now,” said Walker recently.

STATE CHAMPIONS - It has been a record year for West U Little League All Star teams with the 10s, Juniors, and Seniors all taking the District 16 title for their divisions. 10s and Seniors went on to secure the Section 3 titles, as well. Both then headed to state in Tyler, Texas and the Seniors brought home the state title for the first time since 1990. The team heads to regionals next week.

Last school year was the first year for the city’s ordinance, which prohibited the use of cell phones in the city’s school zone – including hands-free devices. House Bill 55 trumps the city’s ordinance, and makes hands-free devices legal, although handheld devices are still prohibited.

“We don’t intend to change signs or anything else that says no cell phone usage,” said West U. City Manager Michael Ross. “We aren’t going to try to get a sign that is so specific that it breaks out what type of device can be used, but obviously our police are not going to be ticketing for using hands free.”

The new legislation will also require the city to lower the cost of the ticket for using a cell phone in the school zone from the current $200 to $50.

Recently, SB1410 made moot West U.’s recent code requiring new homes to have residential sprinkler systems – a bill signed by Governor Rick Perry, which caused West U. Fire Chief Steve Ralls, Councilman George Boehme, Mayor Bob Kelly and Ross to question how much control the state should have over local law.

“Cities feel, and counties feel, that the state government shouldn’t be telling us what building codes we should have…or if we want to be safer in school zones, then we should have that right,” said Ross. “If residents in that city feel differently, they will elect a new council. We still believe, and so do the experts, that a cell phone call is distracting, no matter if it’s in your hands or in your ear.”

Police Chief Ken Walker says 14 citations were issued last school year for cell phone violations, although it is not known how many, if any, were for using hands-free devices.

“I’ve been in the business for a while,” said Walker of the new legislation. “I shouldn’t be surprised when our elected representatives in Austin don’t act in what I think is in the best interest of their constituents.”

A woman was arrested for public intoxication after police received a call around 3:36 a.m. July 19 concerning an unknown woman knocking on a door in the 4100 block of Emory. Police found the woman in the 5600 block of Academy, and placed her under arrest.

A traffic stop for a broken taillight led to the arrest of the driver July 19 for having four outstanding West U. warrants. A broken brake light led to the arrest of another individual on July 23 after police discovered the driver had a suspended driver’s license and multiple warrants. A suspicious person call on July 20 in the 6400 bock of Westchester ended in the arrest of the suspect for a warrant with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office. A man turned himself in to the West U. Police Department July 23 for two warrants, and was booked into West U. jail. On July 24, West U. police picked up a suspect from the Harris County Sheriff’s Department for an outstanding West U. warrant.

A driver was arrested for possession of cocaine around 3:31 a.m. July 20 in the 2800 block of Bissonnet.

A driver not wearing a seatbelt in the 2900 block of Rice was arrested for driving without a license on July 20.

A resident told police on July 20 that an unknown person used his personal information to buy cruise tickets in Florida. On July 25 a woman reported that someone used her full name and Social Security number to purchase items and services.

Police believe a burglary suspect was frightened away by a burglar alarm around 10:30 p.m. July 20. The alarm was activated in the 2600 block of Fenwood. When police arrived, they found forced entry, but nothing was stolen and there were no suspects inside the house.

A resident in the 4100 block of Rice told police on July 31 that a revolver was missing from his home. He said his house had been in various stages of remodeling for a few months, and he recently discovered that the gun was missing.

A resident in the 6700 block of Rutgers reported on July 22 that the front passenger window of her car had been broken and her purse stolen. The next day, a resident in the 2600 block of Carolina Way reported that the rear driver’s side window of his car had been smashed and a brief case stolen.

A traffic stop for a defective left brake light in the 5300 block of Sewanee July 25 ended in arrest when it was discovered that the car was uninsured and the inspection sticker was fake.

Police were called to the 6700 block of Buffalo Speedway July 25 regarding a recently released psychiatric patient. According to reports, police were able to calm the patient down, and transported the patient back to the hospital without incident.

Around 7:33 p.m. July 25 a resident in the 3300 block of Pittsburg told police that someone followed him from U.S. 59 to his home. The suspect was arrested for driving with a suspended license due to a previous conviction for driving while intoxicated.

Of the three state-mandated boards, only one woman currently serves.

“We have three statutory boards that are required by state law,” said Boehme at a recent council special session. “Of those three boards, we have one female, and I think we need to do a netter job. I never thought I was going to get an award from NOW (National Organization for Women), but I have to tell you I think we have to do a better job. We need to recruit people, we need to be more assertive. I don’t want to belittle people who have served over and over, because I think it’s great, but we need some new blood.”

Interviews for the volunteer positions are still being scheduled, but should take place late August. For more information or to obtain an application, contact City Secretary Thelma Lenz at 713-662-5813 or visit the city’s Web site to download an application at http://www.westu.org.

West U. Little League Seniors and Tens were undefeated and headed to the State Championship games last night, July 28. West U. Little League Seniors remain undefeated, winning 3-2 vs. Crockett, But the WULL Tens lost 9-8 to Lamar American and will play a determination game at 10 a.m. today.

Residents who use 12,000 gallons per month would see their total bill, including solid waste, rise from $113.13 to $114.29. Councilman Steven Segal had issues with some of the math in the report, but approved the first reading with the agreement that Finance Director Rhonda Daugherty would send him more information on the calculations.

West U. is currently required to use 50 percent surface water and 50 percent well water – down from 80 percent surface because of credits recently purchased from another district.

“We have already been somewhat informed that there will bean additional increase from Houston,” said Daugherty. “We anticipate this coming again the 2010 budget year, a 20 percent increase.”

“We may be discussing or bringing to council some suggestions on how we might choose to argue that point with the City of Houston,” said Michael Ross, who said Houston is in the process of performing a study to determine appropriate water rate increases. “We will get out own expert opinion on that.”

Councilman Bob Fry, who met with City of Houston representatives two years ago to discuss a previous large rate hike, doesn’t see much hope in arguing against the increase.

“It was pretty clear that the City of Houston has been asleep at the wheel and not raised rates as they should have for a number of yeas, and were looking at a substantial increase just to catch up,” said Fry. “I don’t see a lot of hope for appeal for this. The data is there.”

“We have definitely entered a stage where some of the insurance companies decided we cleaned up,” said Bob Treacy, a consultant for the city hired a couple of years ago as health insurance costs rose by as much as 25 percent due to high claim rates. “We are starting to see our rates come down across the board and hopefully that can continue.”

The city budgeted for a 14 percent increase in insurance costs, but the contract with Aetna reflects only a 5 percent increase. Council approved $1,400,000 for the contract, which includes a lower cost HMO and an option for employees to “buy up” to a higher cost PPO option.

“United Healthcare still had the old baggage,” said Treacy. “The new carrier said ‘hey, that’s not out loss.’”