Transitional home for former inmates raises concerns

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A facility that helps women recently released from prison is under debate, as the location of Angela House is being considered.

The archdiocese is considering moving the home from its current location in north Houston to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church on the southeast side, and not everyone is on board with that idea.

Delfina Echavarria is raising her four daughters across the street from to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, but now, she's worried.

She said, "I'm just scared of the unknown, what it will bring to the area, to the neighborhood."

She's upset because the archdiocese is planning to move a transitional women's home to the Mount Carmel campus. Angela House is currently on the city's north side, where it houses 10 to 15 women recently released from prison. Sister Maureen O'Connell is the program's founder.

"This is important work," she said. "Women who choose to make a change in their lives need all the support they can get."

Supporters point out all the women who would live at the home have been thoroughly screened before they can participate in the program, but the residents nearby say this is simply not what they want.

June Adams, a concerned neighbor, told the Houston City Council, "We support sisters' ministries, but our primary concerns are for the safety of the children and the many elderly people who live in that neighborhood."

Both sides took their concerns to city hall this week. Council member James Rodriguez supports the neighbors, but admits there may be no legal way to stop the project.

"Hopefully they'll be good neighbors, but I still oppose this facility," Rodriguez said. "There's no city money. This is not a city project. This is brought to us by the archdiocese."

Frustrated neighbors say they vow to return to city hall or protest anywhere else they can. Late Wednesday afternoon the archdiocese released a statement that said the cardinal supports Angela House, its mission and its move to Mount Carmel.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

local, miya shay

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Houston Auto Glass Replacement: Humidity and Temperature Concerns

Rezoning proposal sparks concerns in Pearland

PEARLAND, TX (KTRK) -- A group of Pearland residents are worried about the future of their neighborhood.

A proposal is in the works that would rezone a residential area along Pearland Parkway to make way for a medical complex. But a lot of people who live nearby are not buying into the idea.

Many of those neighbors will be gathering here at Pearland City Hall over that controversial zoning plan. So far, city staff supports the hospital idea. But some homeowners we talked to are saying, not in my neighborhood.

Howard Carter says his home at the Lake of Highland Glen in Pearland has been his piece of paradise -- until now. Carter says he's concerned a proposed zoning change could soon move a medical complex to this lot behind his house on Brighton Brook Lane.

"We're worried about possibly reduction of property values," he said.

And Carter's not the only neighbor worried about University General Health System's request to change 31 acres here from residential to commercial zoning.

"I'm concerned about the noise and light pollution that may affect us," homeowner Louis Caltzontzint said.

The president of University General Health System tells Eyewitness News a zoning change would allow it to build a small hospital and an Alzheimer's center among other offices on 17 acres of usable land close to the water treatment plant.

"Biggest concern is just the back side of a hospital that we really don't want to see what goes on back there," homeowner Ben Kasper said.

University General Health System says it's been listening to neighbor's concerns. And so has city staff.

"Some of the noise concerns can be mitigated through additional adding of shrubbery, and the developer has agreed to move the property a further distance back away from the residential homes in that area," said Sparkle Anderson with the city of Pearland.

Still some neighbors unhappy with the hospital idea plan to present a petition to council members.

The council meeting begins at 7:30pm. The council will read that zoning request for the second time. And up to this point, a majority of its members support the zoning change.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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pearland, local, demond fernandez
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HPD radios center of some officers' concerns

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Communication is critical for Houston police officers while they are on the job. But some say they're having a tough time staying in contact because of aging police radios. In some cases, they've had to resort to their own cell phones to stay in touch.

Members of the command staff at HPD headquarters say they are on top of it. This is all happening in the Clear Lake area of southeast Houston. Officers working the streets there say it's become a matter of safety.

In law enforcement, communication is critical and patrol officers will be the first to tell you having equipment that works is essential.

But Eyewitness News got to listen to police radio transmission from officers working the beat in the Clear Lake area of southeast Houston, and it was barely audible. A source who works patrol in that police district texted us that problems with the department's aging handheld radios are so bad, officers are using their personal cell phones.

"It's bad! There's no new radios and no parts for the old Motorolas we have. The city can't even buy parts if they wanted to! There's dead areas all over the city where handheld radios don't work," the text sent to Eyewitness News read.

"I pray to God that we don't have an officer hurt because of radios," said Ray Hunt with the Houston Police Officers' Union.

But a fix is right around the corner. New radios will slowly be phased in. The city is in Year 3 of a five-year plan to replace the outdated fire and police radio system with a state-of-the-art brand new one at a cost of more than $100 million.

"If we did not have this new system coming online soon, it would be a very, very serious situation," Houston City Council Member Mike Sullivan said.

Sullivan, whose district includes the Clear Lake area, says the first radios will be ready for use next year, starting with the fire department. While HPD admitted there are dead zones, a department spokesperson told us "the level of communication is not compromising officer safety. There are multiple avenues for officers to communicate."

"We need these radios as quickly as possible, and the lack of communication is a safety hazard for police officers on the streets, no doubt about it," Hunt said.

The current radio system is more than 30 years old. Hunt says he's heard similar concerns from officers before who work in other districts.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

clear lake, houston police department, houston fire department, local, andy cerota

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Planned Surfside beach party sparks concerns

SURFSIDE, TX (KTRK) -- The promise of a party on the beach has neighbors in Surfside scared for their safety.

It was not that long ago that this sleepy beach side village turned chaotic. There were a lot of cars leading into town, as far as the eye could see. Some residents tell horror stories from Easter weekend and now they're fearing a repeat.

Pirates Alley Cafe banks on weekend business, so losing an entire Saturday just doesn't cut it, especially since they already lost one last month.

"It was bad. It was crazy," restaurant manager Stephen Marsden said.

It was Easter weekend. Thousands flooded the island for a massive party promoted on social media, and the cafe was forced to close.

"People were in fear of their lives, honestly because they couldn't walk out of the house or say anything because of fear of something bad happening," Marsden said.

Law enforcement was overwhelmed, businesses under siege and when it was all over, 26-year-old Derrick Milam and two others had been shot, Milam fatally.

"Everybody was scared. They were totally scared," Longtime Surfside resident Donn Ebarb said.

Ebarb had never seen anything like it.

"Solid lights coming into our town," Ebarb said.

And hopes to never see it again, though now he's worried about the ads online promoting yet another big party. This one will be a biker beach bash. Surfside police are gearing up and locals are hoping they learned some lessons.

"We don't want another episode of what happened on that one Saturday," Ebarb said.

The Surfside police chief say they've canceled the reservation for the beach house that the promoter had rented for this weekend and they plan to barricade the street that it's on. He also says the city won't issue permits for entertainment and he plans to triple his police force this weekend and is meeting the with the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office on Thursday to strategize.

He says the party won't happen, although online, it looks like almost 300 people have made RSVPs so far and those ads are still acti

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