Showing posts with label discuss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label discuss. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Barbers Hill school board to discuss getting rid of paddling

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Tonight, the Barbers Hill school board will discuss getting rid of corporal punishment after a boy was brutally paddled.

Christina Douty says she gave permission for teachers at Barbers Hill Middle School to administer corporal punishment to her son. But when he came home with welts on his rear for making bad grades, she changed her mind.

She now says corporal punishment should be abolished statewide. The school district says district policies were followed in Douty's case.

Tonight's meeting starts at 6:30pm.

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


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Saturday, May 5, 2012

Why won't county attorney discuss alleged attack?

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Tonight a bizarre story: A county lawyer says she was brutally attacked because she's fighting human trafficking. But even her own boss admits there's no evidence.

We have an email trail that raises even more questions. And it gets more curious. When we wanted to see time sheets at the County Attorney's office as part of our investigation, somebody changed them, and we're crying foul.

This is the image Linda Geffin wants you to see -- her windbreaker emblazoned with the word 'LAW;' The head of Vince Ryan's special prosecutions unit, fighting human trafficking.

"Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world industry. It is a $32 billion industry," Geffin said in a TV interview.

So imagine the sympathy when the Houston Chronicle splashed this headline this month, 'Did assault victim pay price for crime fight?'

In it, Geffin says she was likely attacked in her home while she slept because she's fighting organized crime.

"You've got no evidence this is linked to human trafficking," we said.

HPD Sgt. JC Padilla replied, "That's correct."

We've been trying to get the County Attorney's office for weeks to talk about the Geffin attack. They said no.

"Wayne, I really can't do this. This is a security issue that is really not appropriate right now," said Assistant Harris County Attorney Terry O'Rourke.

But that didn't stop the County Attorney's office from then helping the Chronicle sound a public alarm

An unmarked county car now sits outside Geffin's home. But we know the county attorney turned down Geffin's request for a $22,000 security system for her home.

Geffin had compared her reported attack to "an officer down." In an email, Geffin says HPD confirmed it wasn't random. But HPD admits, they don't have a clue who did it.

"Right now, we're asking the public if they have information regarding what happened to Ms. Geffin to please contact us so we can keep this investigation active," said Sgt. Padilla.

Geffin woke up one Sunday morning in September with "considerable head pain, a swollen black eye." But she didn't call 911. A friend took her to the ER.

It was five days before Geffin told police. She admitted she has "no recollection of anything."

In this October email, Geffin admits she's uncertain "whether my house was broken into or if this is something different."

But by November, she's telling her bosses "fact is someone entered my house and assaulted me. I almost died."

In the Chronicle photo, Geffin is apparently able to now show us exactly what happened -- an uppercut to the chin.

Police say medical records show evidence of blunt force trauma. But HPD never sent a crime scene unit to her home, took no prints. Her home alarm didn't go off. Police can't even say where it happened.

"That's one of the things we did, is to see if there was forced entry into her house, not only from the inside, but from the outside," Sgt. Padilla said.

"No sign of that?" we asked.

Sgt Padilla replied, "No, there was not."

Houston police even tested DNA hair samples after Geffin complained. It turned out to be her hair. But she's been critical of the way HPD has handled her case.

"Everything HPD did was at my direction; they failed to do anything appropriate, not just according to me, but to other investigators in the LE community," she wrote.

That's cop lingo for law enforcement.

"I feel like I've been thrown under the bus by the HCAO and the HPD," she said.

We asked Vince Ryan, "Do you believe she was attacked because of her investigations of human trafficking?"

"There's no evidence directly linking that. It's an unfortunate situation, whatever the case may be," said Vince Ryan.

Vince Ryan didn't even call in the FBI to help, or Houston's Federal Task Force on Human Trafficking.

Even in the County Attorney's office, Geffin's case is controversial.

Her supervisor wrote, "It does concern me that she apparently was cleared by her doctor to work from home, but she is reporting she is making public appearances."

And putting as much as 13 hours a day on her time sheet with no one there to supervise exactly what she's doing for you. Geffin is not only making speeches, she's driving all around town. We even saw her shopping at Kroger.

But talking about Linda Geffin and her injuries is a sensitive subject downtown.

"I can't do that right now on television. It's most inappropriate and I think we'll discuss that another time," said Terry O'Rourke.

That's why we asked to see her time sheets. The date of our request was April 2. But look what happened -- her February time sheets were changed. The supervisor didn't sign them until after we asked to see them.

"When you see this, alarm bells go off?" we asked.

"Sure," replied Mike Post, Assistant Harris Co. Auditor.

And check out this time sheet signed by a supervisor seven days before Geffin signed it.

"I don't understand that at all," Post said.

But state law says its a crime to willfully "alter public information."

We complained when a Precinct 6 supervisor changed their time sheets after we asked to see them. Guess who we asked to help us enforce the law? The watchdog. Now we know they do it, too.

"You got to be disappointed; this is the County Attorney's office for gosh sakes," we said.

"I'm surprised," Post said.

On our 13 Undercover Interactive, you can see all the emails for yourself. There's a timeline with emails going on for months about the Geffin attack.

On Friday night, some of the most damaging discoveries yet. And new evidence your county attorney is taking credit for stuff he simply did not do.

Geffin's lawyer wrote us that she should be hailed as a hero. You can read the letter by clicking here.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more 13 Undercover »


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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Experts meet to discuss health of the Gulf

AP  HOUSTON -- Scientists, government officials and industry representatives convene in Houston to discuss the health of the Gulf of Mexico and the future of its ecosystem.

The summit titled "The State of the Gulf and a Common Vision for its Future" opens in Houston on Monday morning with a presentation from Lisa P. Jackson, administrator and chair of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The four-day summit concludes on Thursday.

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »


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Friday, April 15, 2011

HISD board to discuss plans to close 17 campuses

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Budget cuts in the state's largest school district means some schools may be shutting down. HISD has a big budget shortfall to account for. It's already discussed laying off teachers and today, it will consider a plan to shut down or merge 17 schools.

Initially, HISD said Love, Grimes, McDade, and Rhoads elementaries were at risk of closing down. But now that list has increased to 17 schools across the city. They include both elementary and middle schools. With current budget cuts, the schools may not be able to stay afloat.

Memorial Elementary is one of those schools. A lot of parents don't like the idea, but he superintendent says it has to be considered to meet the budget shortfall.


"I don't believe they should shut down," said concerned grandparent Kathy Howard. "I think there are plenty of children to keep it running. It would just be devastating. These kids have gone here forever."


"If you take two small schools and merge them together, you may end up saving around $600,000 and we need to save $63 million," said HISD Superintendent Dr. Terry Grier.


Just this week, HISD announced their latest numbers for teacher layoffs. Budget cuts mean 567 teacher positions so far have been eliminated. Add to that 163 teachers not renewed because of performance and the number is up to 730 teachers gone starting next year.


Another option for the school district would be raising its tax rate.


If HISD closed every one of those schools, it would save about $10 million, nowhere near what is needed to cover the $63 million budget gap.

HISD's board of trustees can raise property tax up to 7 cents per $100 valuation without voter approval. Each 1-cent raise in tax would equal approximately $9.9 million in revenue. However, the possibility of raising tax is on not any agenda for vote. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

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