Nursing Home Rates Lower In Houston

If you are looking for the cheapest nursing home for your loved one, then Houston may wind up being your first choice:

According to a survey released Tuesday by Genworth Financial Inc., Houston has been able to side-step the rising cost of nursing-home care over the past five years.

The Richmond, Va.-based financial security company's Cost of Care Survey found that the cost of nursing-home care in Houston today is down 1 percent compared with 2004. San Antonio, the most expensive city in Texas for this type of care, saw an increase of 34 percent, while in Austin costs have increased 20 percent and in Dallas they are up 14 percent.

Costs in the rest of Texas rose 24 percent over the five years, higher than the national average of 17 percent. When it comes to the cost of one year in a private nursing home, however, Texas is doing better than the nation as a whole.

Make sue you check out other things such as who owns the company; hint legals or illegals.

Student Stabbed By Assault Victim's Father

Father decides to take law into his own hands:

According to district spokesperson Regina Curry, around 8:30 this morning, a student of Wunsche High School was on campus with her parents. The parents wanted to speak to a school administrator about the alleged sexual assault of their daughter by another Wunsche student that happened over the weekend, at an off-campus location.

While the parents were waiting, they saw another student who they say was a witness to the attack. The father of the student who was assaulted stabbed the young man who was a witness. The student was stabbed three times, and taken to a hospital in The Woodlands.

Another case of vigilante justice in the state of Texas.

Hazing Misdemeanors, Uh

This activity seems a bit serious to be called misdemeanors:

Four former University of Texas fraternity leaders were charged with cultivating a dangerous culture of hazing that included shocking pledges with cattle prods, beating them and making them drink large amounts of alcohol.

Pledges were repeatedly shocked with the electric cattle prods, beaten with bamboo sticks and at least once kicked "field goal style" by the fraternity president. They also were made to drink large amounts of alcohol and perform manual labor.

What would have happened if one of those students died?

Beloved Doe Case Finally Solved

A heart wrenching case that has had police investigators baffled for the last five years has finally been solved.

The boy, dubbed " Beloved Doe," was believed to be between the ages of 3 and 6 and of Hispanic descent. Police say his mother, Ma Dana Martinez, 30, caused the boy's death.

She's now charged with felony murder—injury to a child by omission. Investigators say it was a call from the child’s father to police that led to Martinez’ arrest.

May his mother rot in hell.

Children from polygamy sect to reside in group homes

Some of the 437 children from a polygamist compound in arid West Texas soon may be bound for group homes in green, tree-shaded locations in Harris, Montgomery and Brazoria counties.

Buses carrying the first 114 children left San Angelo on Tuesday after state District Judge Barbara Walther issued a placement order telling officials to make every attempt to place sibling groups together.

The order listed facilities from the Panhandle to Southeast Texas, including Kidz Harbor in Brazoria County, Boys and Girls Country near Hockley, and Arrow Child and Family Ministries in Montgomery County.

Exec. with connections get light sentence for drug possession

A stripper dies in your home from a drug overdose--your ex-wife is married to the President's brother---wow, this sounds like the makings for a new reality show.

Robert Pace Andrews, 52, was placed on two years’ deferred adjudication on Monday. That means he will not have a conviction on his record if he successfully complies with the terms of his probation.

Andrews pleaded guilty to possession of less than a gram of cocaine. According to the terms of the plea agreement reached with prosecutors, he must pay a $2,000 fine, perform 80 hours of community service, submit to drug and alcohol counseling and undergo random urinalysis.

Gotta love it!!!

Texas and the "me speak no english" problem

Have you ever walked into a store, in Houston, and was greeted by an employee who did not speak English? Well, the following may shed some light:

"We have a disease in Texas — our students do not know how to write and speak English well," Garner said. "We need to treat the disease aggressively.

"The skills need to build upon each other as the student progresses from one grade level to the next. Learning the basics of the English language will provide students with a strong foundation upon which to write sophisticated papers and upon which to base clear communication," she said.

The integration of grammar with writing has been taught in Texas for the past 15 years without much success, Garner said, citing statistics showing half of Texas college freshmen are in need of remedial education, compared to only 28 percent nationally. Teachers, parents and employers are appalled by the lack of speaking and writing skills, she said.

Now this is really pathetic.

Polygamy Compound Call May Have Been Hoax

Could the call concerning abuse at the Eldorado polygamy compound been a hoax? Well, there is a strong possibility.

Rozita Swinton, a 33-year-old black woman, was charged with falsely reporting abuse to authorities in connection with a separate incident in Colorado Springs two months ago. Texas authorities say Swinton is a person of interest in their search for the girl whose call prompted them to raid the Yearning for Zion Ranch.

Even if the call was a hoax, the religious sect should still be investigated.

Houston Opens Books To Online Scrutiny

This is such a good idea.

This week, purchasing officials unveiled a new Web site that allows anyone to easily get detailed information about city contracts and one-time purchases.

The online catalog is among several searchable features on the city's homepage, including restaurant inspections and campaign-finance records.

The digital disclosure follows a trend of governments using technology to open their books to Web visitors. Transparency advocates say that can save agencies money by automating requests for information from the public.

This will help eliminate fraud and waste. More cities should follow Houston's example.

Harris County Gearing Up For Executions

Feeling they have the green light to proceed, Harris County prosecutors pledged Wednesday to move forward in seeking execution dates for six local killers.

Among Harris County killers likely headed to the death house are Charles Douglas Raby, 38, who in October 1992 repeatedly stabbed 72-year-old Edna Mae Franklin, then cut her throat, after his rape attempt failed. Also facing execution is Jose Ernesto Medillin, 33, who in June 1993 kidnapped, raped and strangled Elizabeth Pena, 16, and Jennifer Ertman, 15, when they stumbled into a gang initiation rite at T.C. Jester Park.

After hearing the news, Gov. Rick Perry gave a hallelujah shout out to Texas' brand of justice.