FBN: Missouri City Officials Scrambling Over Recent "Crime Picture" Of The City (Based On KHOU Investigative Series)

'Damage Control'

Missouri City Police Department Questions Validity Of ‘Crime In Suburbia’ Report
Thu, May 27, 2010News

When Missouri City Police Department officials saw the first segment of the “Crime in Suburbia” story aired on KHOU Channel 11 last week, they were shocked and confused to see their city’s property crime rate reported as being higher than the City of Houston.

In the report, Missouri City was described as having one of the highest crime rates of the areas covered in the investigation...(click the title link for the full piece)

Related:

http://www.fortbendnow.com/category/news/investigative

http://www.khou.com/news/Crime-How-Houstons-Suburbs-Rank-94483884.html

http://www.khou.com/home/related/Tracking-Property-Crimes-in-Houstons-Largest-Suburb-Communities-94586799.html

Traffic Problems For Waterbrook & Silver Ridge Subdivisions--off Sienna Pkwy--

Get the full FB Sun report by clicking the title link...

FB Sun Update: Settlement In 3 Year Landfill Dispute--click the title link--

KHOU Channel 11 Reports: Missouri City Has Some of the Highest Suburban Crime In Houston Area---click here for report--

Follow the title link for the full KHOU report based on a FortBendNow piece....

Related: http://www.fortbendnow.com/category/news/investigative

KHOU Part II 5-21-10: http://www.khou.com/home/related/Tracking-Property-Crimes-in-Houstons-Largest-Suburb-Communities-94586799.html

"Across the country, home burglaries, car burglaries and auto thefts are on the rise. So for months, 11 News has been looking into the numbers and pulling property crime reports for 10 of Houston’s biggest suburban communities.

We then took those numbers to a nationally recognized institute (NICAR) to have them analyzed. Here’s what they uncovered: Ranking communities as high, average and low, the property crime rate per capita was the highest in Humble and Missouri City – even higher than what was found in Houston." KHOU

Don Smith Returned To City Council Seat After Failed Gary Run Against Heavily Developer Backed Mayor Allen Owen...--click here--

See: http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2010/05/18/fort_bend_sun/news/sws_-_mc_selects_mayor_pro_tem.txt

FBN Update: http://www.fortbendnow.com/2010/05/19/45693

Chronicle Update 5-19: http://www.ultimatefortbend.com/2010/05/councilman-lashes-out-insurgents

UPDATE FORTBENDNOW (Wyatt calls for FBN boycott as retaliation for campaign coverage): http://www.fortbendnow.com/2010/05/18/45682

See Wyatt's CFRs (8 day reports): http://mcelectioninformation.blogspot.com/2010/05/wyatt-8-day-cf-reports.html

MCC Comment: Don Smith was the incumbent being pushed by Mr. Owen and backed by Houston developers in the 2007 run-off election whereby reform candidate, Cynthia Gary, won in a landslide. Now the special interest appoint him back to the district "B" seat...

Visit This Property Rights Advocacy Group In TX--click here for more--

See related for a list of lawyers that engage in defending this industry and writing the property code to protect their profits:

http://pages.prodigy.net/hoadata/

CABRLE Concedes Defeat In Attempt To Stop Republic's Proposed Expansion Of The Blue Ridge Landfill Near Missouri City To Nearly 20 Stories--click here

FB Sun Reports On Controversial Settlement (update 5-16): http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2010/05/16/fort_bend_sun/news/sws_-_landfill_settlement_514.txt

Group fails to defeat landfill expansion
May 13, 2010 2:23 pm Zen T.C. Zheng, Houston Chronicle

The three-year fight to stop the expansion of a landfill in east Fort Bend County is over this week with a deal struck between the last group of opponents and the company operating the landfill.

Gary McCuistion, a spokesman for BFI, which is now Republic Services after their merger, said his company and the group, Coalition Against Blue Ridge Landfill Expansion, signed an agreement Tuesday.

As part of the settlement, the group is no longer opposed to the expansion and withdrew its original request for a contested case hearing, essentially a trial that would have been conducted by the State Office of Administrative Hearings...

MCC Comment: After several local politicians signed agreements in Missouri City (Allen Owen) and at the County Commissioners level (Bob Hebert+) not to oppose the expansion several years ago, few options were left to the coalition. Search this site for more on this very controversial issue in Fort Bend County.

KTRK ABC13: Body Found In Blue Ridge Landfill Near Missouri City...

Get more on the controversial Blue Ridge Landfill by searching this site and the latest related news by following the title link above...

Council Preparing To Replace Duly Elected District B Council Member--click here--

FBN: FBISD Property Tax Rate Increasing Again To Service The Debt!!!

"The increase to the debt-service portion of the tax rate would be the third since the district passed the 2007 bond referendum." FBN

http://www.fortbendnow.com/2010/05/11/45560

Chron Update: http://www.ultimatefortbend.com/2010/05/fort-bend-isd-seeks-higher-tax-rate

FBN: Covers FBISD "RIF" Mistakes & Growing Controversy-

See: http://www.fortbendnow.com/2010/05/10/45539

Chron: http://www.ultimatefortbend.com/2010/05/fbisd-wont-bend-union-request

Machine Candidates Sweep In Missouri City--click the title link for full results--

FBN: http://www.fortbendnow.com/2010/05/08/45531

Chonicle: http://www.ultimatefortbend.com/2010/05/fort-bene-election-results


MCC comment: Although the council seats in MC can still be bought, significant improvements seen in numbers for reform candidates over the at large races of 2006 and 2008 (44-45% voted against Nguyen while Owen's numbers dropped by almost 10%). Jim Babb wins in the FBISD race on a fiscally accountable platform. Thank you for your efforts Alumbaugh with strong numbers on a very minimal campaign budget! Congratulations also go out to reformers Silhavy, Tuffly for victories in their races!

FB SUN: FINAL INTERVIEWS WITH MISSOURI CITY CANDIDATES FOR HOTLY CONTESTED POSITION 2!

FORT BEND SUN FINAL INTERVIEWS WITH CANDIDATES: http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2010/05/07/fort_bend_sun/news/sws__position_2_candidates.txt

Chron: Public Forum In Missouri City Becomes Closed--click the title link for more--

Follow this chronicle piece for the high handed tactics of the developer backed "slate" of candidates seeking to continue their long-term control over Missouri City politics....stay informed and keep in touch!

School Board & City Election Day Saturday--get locations by clicking here--

Polling locations for Saturdays races: http://www.co.fort-bend.tx.us/getSitePage.asp?sitePage=5660

MCC suggests the following:

Mayoral position: Cynthia Lenton-Gary

Pos. 1: Anthony Maruolis

Pos. 2: Kevin Tunstall (or Yolanda Ford)

School Board Races:

Clay Alumbaugh

Jim Babb

Local Newspaper Publisher Has Harassment Charges Leveled Against Her

Local Newspaper Publisher Has Harassment Charges Leveled Against Her
Staff Report

In a recent twist of local politics, we have learned that harassment charges have been filed through the federal governments IC3 division, a partnership of law enforcement agencies including the FBI, NW3C & BJA (the Justice Department) against a local newspaper publisher who may have become over zealous in her work.

According to the report filed against a “Beverly Carter” of 4655 Techniplex Dr. in Stafford on Friday April 30th, the publisher was engaging in harassing activity against campaign volunteers in the Quail Valley subdivision of Missouri City, TX in an attempt to stop their lawful and federally protected efforts to inform the community of their candidates positions.

The report from the campaign volunteer stated, “Yesterday while campaigning in Quail Valley block-walking and distributing election materials, a person, later identified as Beverly Carter (a local newspaper publisher and supporter of the opposition candidates) started following myself and another campaign worker through the subdivision in an attempt to harass us and keep us from lawfully campaigning. She chased us through the neighborhood in her 3000 lb. SUV and then stopped at a friend of hers house (the Youngs) and began to take pictures of us in what I believe was an attempt to further harass us into leaving the neighborhood. Once I drove to another section of the neighborhood, she continued to follow and even cut off two lanes of traffic in front of me in an attempt to stop my forward progress and almost wrecked another vehicle coming the other direction.”

These charges have been reported and are forwarded to the local law enforcement entities. In this case the Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office for further investigation. One eyewitness of the alleged harassment, by Ms. Carter, later stated in a local blog that, “I was talking with the voters and handing out voter information with one Dr. Calvin on the day Bev Carter made many obscenely untrue claims in her paper. No one was running, stealing, going inside houses, or doing anything illegal, bizarre or slanderous except Ms. Carter. I was there, and I know this empirically. It is frightening that when people get involved in the political process, as more people desperately NEED to do, they are targeted, lied about publicly, marginalized by some in our news media.”

This report will be updated as needed…

Chron: Proposed Missouri City Budget Shows Major Challenges For The Year Ahead--click here for the full story--

Follow the link above for more on the cities current budget problems!

INTERESTING ELECTION SIDE PIECES: http://www.fortbendnow.com/2010/05/04/45456

http://www.fortbendnow.com/2010/05/05/45476 -More