Teacher Accused of Improper Conduct

Improper conduct seems to be the norm here in Texas. A substitute teacher has been accused of fondling a student. According to a released report:

“The Westfield High School administration was notified anonymously by a student on Nov. 26 of an improper student/teacher relationship. The notification was made through AnComm, an anonymous communication system, which the school encourages students to use when they have concerns.

Sam's sells fake Prada bags

Court documents indicate that a couple in Kentucky purchased a Prada bag at a Sam’s and mailed it to a family member in Italy. That family member took the bag into a Prada store for a repair and was told it was a fake.

The couple filed a lawsuit against Sam’s. As part of the settlement, customers can expect a full refund if they return the suspect handbags.

Billboards to be Removed

Clear Channel Outdoor Inc., one of the largest outdoor advertising companies in Houston soon will begin removing more than 800 of its small and mid-size billboards across the city, officials said Monday.

The agreement to remove about two-thirds of Clear Channel's 1,347 small and medium-sized billboards from private property is expected to end two decades of litigation with the city and speed the elimination of signs that were slated to come down in 2013 anyway, company and city officials said.

City officials estimate there are about 4,000 billboards in Houston and just outside its boundaries. Removing them has been a hotly contested battled since the city adopted an ordinance to regulate them in 1980. |Read on|

Texas Bird Watcher Leaves State

A prominent bird-watcher who was tried for shooting a cat to death said he left the state after someone shot at him. The bird-watcher, James M. Stevenson, founder of the Galveston Ornithological Society, said he had received death threats since his trial on animal cruelty charges.

A judge declared a mistrial last month when the jury failed to reach a verdict. Mr. Stevenson told the police that he was standing on his porch Wednesday when someone shot at him.

In his trial, Mr. Stevenson admitted shooting the cat but defended the action because he believed it was threatening endangered birds.

Texas Oilman Sentenced in 'Oil for Food' Case

Texas oilman Oscar Wyatt Jr. was sentenced Tuesday to 12 months and one day in prison for conspiring to violate the rules of the U.N. oil-for-food program.

Wyatt, 83, of Houston pleaded guilty last month and agreed to be sentenced to 18 to 24 months in prison. He also agreed to forfeit $11 million, conceding that he approved a $200,000 illegal payment directly to an Iraqi bank account in December 2001.

Astronauts Find Damage on Space Station

According to the Houston Chronicle, spacewalking astronauts uncovered new signs of damage within a crucial rotational mechanism of the solar power system aboard the international space station early today.

Dan Tani and Peggy Whitson made the discovery after they re-routed external cooling system lines to prepare the orbital outpost for the arrival of the European Columbus science laboratory module in December.

The troubled rotational mechanism is one of two circular joints on opposite sides of the station that enable outstretched solar panels to track the sun as the outpost circles the Earth. Constant tracking permits the most efficient generation of electrical power for the station's life support systems and scientific research.

DNA Samples May Bring Clues to Baby Grace's Identity

Investigators have requested DNA samples from the families of eight missing children, one of them from Spring, who fit the description of Baby Grace, a 2- to 3-year-old girl whose body was found in a plastic box on a sandbar in West Galveston Bay.

After receiving about 350 leads, investigators chose the eight cases from among 110 cases of missing children who matched the girl's description, Galveston County sheriff's spokesman Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo said Wednesday.

The eight cases are from all over the United States, he said.

Authorities requested a DNA sample from the father and mother of the Spring girl, Tuttoilmondo said. The father lives in Ohio and the mother lives in Spring, he said.

DNA results from Baby Grace are expected late this week or early next week. Tuttoilmondo did not know whether the DNA samples from the Spring girl's father had been received. He said it takes two to three weeks to obtain DNA results once the samples arrive at the lab.
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If anyone has any information, concerning the identity of this little girl, please contact your local authorities.

DNA Tested in 'Baby Grace' Investigation

Galveston County investigators have poured over the thousands of tips they have received in the case of Baby Grace, the girl whose body was found in a plastic storage case on a small island near Galveston last month.

But Galveston county detectives know little more about the child they've named Baby Grace.

Just knowing who the girl is would be a major key to solving the case.

“That’s all we’re looking for if you can (identify) this little girl tell us who she is,” said FBI special agent John Kinard. The FBI is assisting the Galveston County Sherriff’s office in the investigation.

On Tuesday, the FBI offered a $20,000 reward for help in confirming the dead girl’s ty.

Three weeks into this investigation, from the time a lone fisherman discovered the box off a remote area in Galveston's West Bay, detectives said they've received thousands of phone calls and nearly 300 solid leads, 100 of which have been specific to a missing girl said the sheriff's office.

Two of those leads have resulted in the submission of DNA samples from two different sets of parents living outside of Galveston who claim the child is theirs.

But it will be weeks before they make a comparison to Baby Grace’s DNA

“Unfortunately this is not as fast as we see on ‘CSI.’ These tests do take time,” said Galveston County Sheriff Office Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo

Detectives tell us they have taken each lead seriously, including a report from an Ohio man who says the mother of his daughter took her to the Galveston area.

A source tells 11 News that man called detectives 12 days ago and that for now, it’s a lead that's no more credible than any other is.

Temple's Lawyer Subpoena Chronicle's Reader

Attorneys for a former high school football coach convicted in the shooting death of his pregnant wife want the Houston Chronicle to identify a reader who posted a comment about the case on the newspaper’s Web site.

The thread, posted in the “reader comments” section, suggests that the juror spoke about the deliberations while the trial was still ongoing.

David Mark Temple’s attorneys issued a subpoena Friday calling for the Chronicle to appear in court Monday, with registration information the reader may have given the newspaper.

The comment was posted around 9 a.m. Thursday, about seven hours before a jury found David Mark Temple, 39, guilty of shooting Belinda Tracie Temple in January 1999. Belinda Temple, a special education teacher at Katy High School, was eight months pregnant.

In the posting, the reader, who goes by the screen name “REFster,” wrote: “Psst ... My boss is on the jury. Thinks they’ll have a verdict this afternoon.”

After another reader asked REFster if he knew how his boss would vote on the verdict, REFster replied: “He is playing it very close to the vest. I’m sorry to say at this point, I got nada.”

The last comment by REFster was posted about 6 p.m. Thursday.

About 2,000 comments were posted about the Temple case.

Jurors are not allowed to talk about a case outside the jury room while a trial is underway, and are instructed not to discuss the case with their spouses, family members or friends. They are also ordered to avoid any media reports. Jury deliberations are also supposed to remain confidential until a trial has ended.

Jurors in the Temple trial are scheduled to begin hearing testimony in the punishment phase of the case on Monday.

Defense attorney Dick DeGuerin said he did not know what he would ask the court to do about possible jury misconduct. The jury could be polled on whether they had violated the court’s instructions, DeGuerin said.

Prosecutor Kelly Siegler declined to comment Friday.

The Chronicle’s management said they had not decided how to

respond to the subpoena.