Identity Theft 

At 11:29 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the 4200 block of Ruskin in regard to an identity theft that already occurred. The officer made contact with the victim who advised that an unknown person(s) used her personalized information to open three credit accounts without her consent. The officer collected the necessary information to generate a report and the victim was provided with a case number.

02-21-12

Burglary of a Motor Vehicle 

At 1:04 p.m., an officer was dispatched to the 3800 block of University to meet a complainant in regards to a burglary of a vehicle that had already occurred. The victim stated she was dropping off her child and when she returned, she found her purse had been stolen from her vehicle. She advised an unknown person entered her vehicle and took her personal property without her consent. No suspects were located at this time.

City council last week gave the go ahead to set a schedule of events for the bond sale.

The city is refinancing debt from 2003 bonds that were issued for street, drainage and water and sewer improvements.

With a 3.7 percent interest rate, the city will see about $850,000 of savings with bank qualified refinancing.

Council was also presented with an option to issue $2 million in park bonds, but council said they did not want to include it in the sale.

The bonds are expected to be sold by April 10.

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That is according to Janet Thuot, who teaches Manners Matters Camp offered by the West University Place Parks and Recreations Department. Registration for this and many other West U summer camps is now under way.

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Police recently warned residents to look out for youths going door-to-door claiming to need donations for their athletic team’s travel to a game in areas such as Hawaii. Officer Katie Wilson said the teenagers are selling magazines and also offer services including window washing.

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Burglary of a Motor Vehicle 

At 7:53 a.m., officers were dispatched to the 2700 block of Cason in reference to a burglary of a motor vehicle that already occurred. Officers arrived and met with the complainant who stated that sometime between 8:30 p.m. 2/19/12 and 7:50 a.m. on 2/20/12 unknown suspect(s) entered her unlocked vehicle and removed her property without her effective consent.

02-20-12

Warrant Arrest 

At 11:12 p.m., an officer conducted a traffic stop in the 6600 block of Belmont for a brake light malfunction. During the course of the traffic stop, it was discovered the driver had open warrants with West University Place, along with other agencies. The driver was arrested on the strength of the traffic warrants.

City Manager Michael Ross announced at last Monday’s council meeting that some of the council members would be doing a test run in March of using electronic agendas on iPads.

The city is looking at eliminating paper agenda packets for city council and supplying them electronically through drop box, a free service that saves files and allows them to be accessed from any computer, phone or iPad.

The agenda packets would also be available to the public through the city’s website, Ross said.

Ross told InstantNewsWestU that he is going to recommend that the city provide new iPads to all five council members, which they will be able to keep once their term on council expires.

Ross said he is comfortable allowing the council members to keep a $500 device once their term is up and they would be issued every election cycle.

Ross said the iPads would be paid for with existing funds but it will not be city owned because they will not dictate what the council members use it for.

“It allows me to stay in touch with city council,” he said. “It’s a communication tool.”

Ross said other cities use electronic agendas and provide their council’s with iPads.

“It’s the 21^st century,” he said. “It’s here.”

Council is expected to consider the proposal in April.

Gov. Rick Perry, with the support of the National Weather Service and Texas Department of Emergency Management, has proclaimed this week as Severe Weather Awareness Week for the state of Texas.

In his proclamation, Perry reminds Texans of the threat to life that thunderstorms pose and stressed the importance of staying aware of weather conditions and being prepared.

Spring marks the time of year when severe thunderstorms and tornadoes occur most often in Texas. They bring all the devastating elements – tornadoes, lightning, large hail, damaging winds and flash flooding. This booklet is designed to serve as a guide to the dangers of severe weather and its impacts on southeast Texas.

This week is also a great opportunity to review and test emergency plans related to severe weather. Severe weather preparedness information, including severe storms and tornadoes, can be found at the Texas Department of Public Safety website and the National Weather Service website.

West U offers a number of ways for residents to stay informed during severe weather and emergency situations:

CodeRED: A high-speed telephone, text messaging and email emergency notification and information service, CodeRED provides 24-hour emergency notifications. All residents are encouraged to sign up to receive emergency notifications via CodeRED.

City Website & E-Notify: Used in conjunction with the city’s website, www.westutx.gov, E-Notify is the city’s email notification system. Residents can choose the types of information they wish to receive by calendar or news category.

West U C.A.R.E.: West U’s Community Alert and Response to Emergencies (C.A.R.E.) website, www.westucare.org, provides access to the city’s “virtual” joint information center. This website is an additional resource for residents and staff during a large-scale emergency. Residents are encouraged to bookmark this website.

Social Media: Used to supplement the city’s website, information about severe weather and emergency situations will also be posted on the city’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

The UCAL West U Methodist White Team recently took the title for the third year in a row as the Division B Champions.

Back row, left to right: Coach Burch, Ben Negron, Gunnar Greg, Connor Bailey, Thomas Keeling

Front row, left to right: Braden Dawes, Trent Burch, Alex Rivero, Cameron Roth, Coach Bailey

Police were called to the sandwich shop at 5404 Kirby around 8 p.m. on Saturday for a robbery in progress.

A man came into the store, ordered a sandwich and when he was being rung up he lifted his shirt, exposing a silver hand gun to the employee behind the counter, Sgt. Allan Gomez said.

The suspect made off with a couple hundred dollars, he said.

There were a few patrons in the restaurant at the time of the robbery but there were no reported injuries.

The suspect is described as a clean shaven black male, 6 ft. 2 inches and was wearing military clothes.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the West U Police Department at 713-662-0330.

Burglary of a Habitation 

At 9:51 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the 4200 block of Emory in regard to a burglary.  Upon arrival, officer(s) checked the perimeter of the residence and discovered that the side door had signs of forced entry.  Officers then made entry and did not locate any suspects inside the residence. Officers discovered that multiple rooms were ransacked.  Officers and the victim(s) entered the residence in which the victims advised that items were missing.

02-17-12

Theft 

At 10:11 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the 6000 block of Weslayan in reference to a missing fire hydrant. The reportee, a City of West University Place employee, stated the fire hydrant was missing and Public Works does not have record of it.

02-17-12

Theft 

An officer was dispatched to the office of the West University Place Police Department concerning a theft that had already occurred. Upon arrival, the officer met with the reportee who advised that her wedding ring had been stolen from her home. The officer obtained the information needed for the report and provided the reportee with the case number assigned to the incident.

02-17-12

Burglary of a Habitation 

At 6:18 p.m., an officer was dispatched to the 6300 block of Mercer in regard to a burglary of a habitation.  Upon investigation, it was discovered that entry was made through a broken window and several items were taken.

02-19-12

Fraud 

An officer was dispatched to the office of the West University Place Police Department concerning an incident of fraud that had already occurred. Upon arrival, the officer met with the reportee who advised someone hacked into her bank accounts and made money transfers. The officer obtained the necessary information for the report and provided the reportee with the case number assigned to the incident.

“The commercial zoning study and the town center is officially dead,” City Manager Michael Ross told InstantNewsWestU.

Council was expected to set a timeline for the project at its Feb. 13 meeting, but council told Ross during a closed executive session that night that they did not want to pursue the project at this time.

Council discussed the town center during an evaluation of the city manager prior to the regular council meeting.

“At this point and time, there is not an interest on the city council to pursue the commercial zoning study,” Ross said. “They’ve listened to the constituents and they’ve decided to let it go.”

Council was expected to vote on the second reading of the town center zoning ordinance on Jan. 9, but Mayor Bob Fry asked that it be removed from the agenda.

The decision to postpone a vote on the proposal came after the city council received more than 200 petition letters through a website called “StopWestUGalleria.org.”

The deferral came nearly a year after the ad hoc committee first presented its Town Center report to council.  The ZPC worked on drafting proposals for zoning amendments to Edloe Street after getting the go ahead from council last year.

The proposed zoning changes were going to create a new zoning district designation for the tracts of land located south of Rice Boulevard, north of University, east of Edloe and west of Poor Farm Ditch.

The changes were recommended because in the event of a catastrophic loss, the buildings would lose prior non-conforming status. The current code allows 50 percent of the existing floor space to be reconstructed, which could lead to an economically blighted area.

Town Center Ad Hoc Committee Chair Bruce Frankel told the news organization that he “supports the decision to hold off.”

Vernon Tyger, who owns property on Wroxton Street created the “StopWestUGalleria” website and encouraged residents to sign the petition.

“The community has expressed that they’d like to keep the town center the way it is,” he said. “The community overwhelmingly did not want a three story structure or a parking garage across from the elementary school.”

Ross said council has no spoken interest of doing anything in the future.

Texas Citizens Bank Chairman and CEO Duncan Stewart, VP and Banking Center Manager Irene Duque along with Carnival Chairs Susanna DePinho, Kari Findley, Blair Manley and Amanda McGee. Texas Citizens Bank has been the WULL Grand Carnival Sponsor for three years.

It’s time to play ball.

Saturday, March 3, the West University Little League season officially starts with the Opening Day Ceremony at 11a.m. on Wallin Field, followed immediately by the WULL Go Green Carnival.

All are welcome and admission is free.

A very special VIP will throw out the first pitch, and a number of local dignitaries will be on hand to help celebrate the start of another great season.

The carnival is sponsored by Texas Citizens Bank.