editor

Thanks for the clarification. With all of the newscasts being cancelled on stations across the country, I wondered if it was finally hitting Houston.

DA Probe Leads to Woman's Arrest in Massive Online ID Thefts Houston, Tx - A District Attorney's undercover investigation has led to the arrest of a Houston woman suspected of stealing hundreds of identities for alleged theft of funds from victims' bank accounts, District Attorney Patricia Lykos announced Thursday. Possible victims include residents of the Houston area and elsewhere in Texas. They will be receiving letters from the District Attorney's Identity Theft Section, to alert them that forged IDs and bogus checks may have targeted money in their accounts. DA's investigators, assisted by the Major Offenders Division of the Houston Police Department, made the arrest of Jeranda Flowers, 29, last Thursday. She remains jailed in lieu of $50,000 bond each on two felony charges. Those include Identity Theft and possession with the intent to deliver about 28 grams of cocaine found in her apartment in the 4800 block of Chenevert. John Brewer, Chief of the DA's ID Theft Section, said her capture follows an investigation which revealed that she had used an Internet-accessible phone to search the Publicdata.com site for personal ID information on more than 1,200 people. The online information was then used in the creation of fake IDs and phony checks. As part of the probe, a DA's investigator went undercover to buy false documents and checks from Flowers, and more were found in her residence, Brewer said. "The best way to determine if you have been the victim of this scheme, or any other Identity Theft scheme is to frequently review all of your financial accounts," Brewer said. "Look for any unfamiliar transactions, and periodically check your credit profiles with the three major credit reporting agencies." The DA's unit is continuing the investigation to determine the extent of victims and losses. Several of the subjects of Flowers' online searches had already reported to police that they were ID theft victims, Brewer said. The drug and Identity Theft charges against Flowers will be heard in the 182nd District Court.

Welcome aboard. Is that picture of Esperson from your office?

Stewart Building, originally uploaded by pinemikey. This photo really brings out the vibrancy possible in historic architecture. Too bad all of Houston's historic buildings aren't this well cared for.

METRO RECEIVES FTA FINAL DESIGN APPROVAL ON NORTH AND SOUTHEAST LIGHT-RAIL LINES The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) gave METRO permission today to enter into Final Design on Houston’s North and Southeast light-rail lines. The FTA’s approval is the final prerequisite toward entering Full Funding Grant Agreements on both lines, which signals the federal government’s commitment to fund its part of the projects. The approval authorizes METRO to undertake construction preparation activities such as utility relocation, right-of-way acquisition, development of detailed specifications and preparation of final construction plans. In its letters, the FTA noted that METRO has adequately defined the North and Southeast Corridor’s project scope, cost estimate, schedule and potential risk areas. It also states that METRO has demonstrated the technical capacity and capability to construct and implement the projects and has sufficient technical and management resources to enter into final design work. The FTA also notes that it is working with METRO to finalize items pertaining to METRO’s Title VI program and the implementation of a detailed operational analysis of rail-car headways when the project is completed. In July, METRO issued a $121 million work order for the North and Southeast lines, including initial utility relocation work. The work order is part of a larger contract that calls for the initial spending of $632 million on the North, Southeast and East End light-rail lines. Small and local businesses are expected to receive $300 million to $385 million in eligible contract work by the time four lines, including Uptown, are completed. The overall project is expected to generate 60,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Upgraded DA's Anti-Truancy Program Partners with 12 School Districts Houston, Tx - District Attorney Patricia Lykos announced Wednesday that an upgraded Stay in School Program will partner with 12 school districts to fight truancy in the new school year, after it was used with 33,400 area truants and their parents during the 2008-09 academic year. The prevention program relies initially on warning letters from Lykos herself to parents and students. More unexcused absences trigger early intervention to attack underlying problems. Convictions may be avoided through closely supervised diversion plans that can include counseling, related assistance and community service work. Those who fail to honor their commitments face full prosecution. Students and parents may be subject to fines of up to $500 and other penalties, including criminal prosecution for contempt. Michael Moore, chief of the DA's Truancy Section, said most students and families get the message clearly with the DA's warning letter. Four of every five avoid truancy charges. "We've had proven success with this program," Moore said. "By keeping these kids attending their classes, we can cut the drop-out rate, reduce more serious juvenile crime, and get these youth back on the path to becoming productive citizens." High-tech allies are part of the effort. Advanced computer programs will closely track each case this year. The DA's unit has also been evaluating the potential use of GPS truancy monitors and advanced counseling regimens for chronic truants. Participating with the Truancy Section are 12 area school districts, four alternative schools and - for the first time - a charter school, the Richard Milburn Academy in north Houston. Other partners include seven Justices of the Peace, six Harris County Constable's Offices, and five supporting educational and social service agencies. (See below for the complete list.) During the last school year, the District Attorney's Office sent 33,397 warning letters. There were 7,681 students and/or parents charged with truancy. Of those, 3,343 signed pretrial diversion agreements. There were 2,566 convictions, and 78 truants were charged with contempt of court for failing to follow judicial sanction orders. The program covers kindergarten through 12th grades. Ninth graders had the largest percentage of truancy warning letters - 16.6 percent of the total. (See partnership list below) 2009-10 Academic Year: Stay in School Program Partnerships with the District Attorney's Office Aldine Independent School District Clear Creek Independent School District Deer Park Independent School District Galena Park Independent School District Klein Independent School District La Porte Independent School District North Forest Independent School District Pasadena Independent School District Sheldon Independent School District Spring Independent School District Tomball Independent School District Waller Independent School District Richard Milburn Academy charter school Harris County Department of Education (Highpoint Schools) Harris County Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program (Excel Academy) TRIAD Prevention Program Community Youth Services Communities in Schools Harris County Juvenile Probation Department Judge Dale Gorczynski, Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1, Position 1 Judge Jo Ann Delgado, Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2, Position 1 Judge Mike Parrott, Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3, Position 1 Judge J. Kent Adams, Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4, Position 1 Judge Zinetta Burney, Justice of the Peace, Precinct 7, Position 2 Judge Holly Williamson, Justice of the Peace, Precinct 8, Position 1 Judge Louie Ditta, Justice of the Peace, Precinct 8, Position 2 Harris County Constable Jack F. Abercia, Precinct 1 Harris County Constable Gary L. Freeman, Precinct 2 Harris County Constable Ken Jones, Precinct 3 Harris County Constable Ron Hickman, Precinct 4 Harris County Constable May Walker, Precinct 7 Harris County Constable Bill Bailey, Precinct 8

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I wouldn't say that, exactly. It still has a long way to go to return to the levels it was at one year ago, but things certainly have improved since June. It looks like we're getting a lot more new users who aren't afraid to post right away. That's good. It looks like a number of the old regular crowd have moved on. This is bad in the sense that some were very active posters. This is good in the sense that a few were just angry old men trying to stir up arguments to give themselves something to do. Also, I don't know if it's the new verification system in the updated software or what, but the number of spam accounts registering on HAIF is down dramatically. We used to get 1-2 a day. After the HAIF-HD upgrade, that came down to 1-2 a week. I just vetted all the most recent registrations, and we haven't had a spammer in two weeks. Good to see. I'm going to have a new batch of HAIF Cards printed up. If you don't know what those are, click here. We had pretty good participation the last time -- about 30 HAIFers spread over 5,000 cards around Houston. If anyone wants a pack to distribute to their friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors just PM me your mailing address. They're free and I appreciate everyone spreading the word about HAIF.

77074, originally uploaded by jarrod-drew. Jarrod Drew turns a strip mall into a work of art. It's simple in form, but there's a lot going on here. From the use of the roofline to lead the eye through the photo, to the angle created by its intersection with the wall cloud, to statements about prosperity and the future represented by sunset, and the juxtaposition of red and blue. Or maybe it's just a lucky shot. Either way, welcome to the HAIF photo pool, Jarrod Drew.

Sounds like a bug. There's a new version of the forum software out, but I've been reluctant to install it. I'll see if it fixes this, or not.

going up..., originally uploaded by jfre81. This is the future Texas Women's Hospital. Makes me think of those snooty department stores that call the bra and undies department "Women's Foundations."

<iframe src ="http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/HAI/Weather/Stormpulse/2009-06.html" width="1030" height="600"> <p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p> </iframe> Powered by hurricane-tracking software from Stormpulse.com.

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, originally uploaded by jfre81. This is either a contrast of pretty and ugly, ugly and pretty, or a scene of both pretty and pretty, depending on you philosophy, politics, and whether it's your property that got tagged.

Updated thread title to "Tropical Storm Claudette." This looks like it'll just be a soaker, which is good because both Florida and Georgia need rain badly. Probably some neighboring states, too.

<iframe src ="http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/HAI/Weather/Stormpulse/2009-04.html" width="1030" height="600"> <p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p> </iframe> Powered by hurricane-tracking software from Stormpulse.com. Here's #4 of the season. Well, #4 in the last couple of days. Things sure are getting busy quickly.

Almost all of the forecast models (click "Forecast Models" in the graphic at the top of this thread) have Ana going into the Gulf. Fortunately, even 117 hours from now it's projected to remain a tropical storm.

Updated thread title to "Tropical Storm Bill." Although it looks like I'll have to change it to "Hurricane" by the end of the day.

What Osteen and similar preachers are doing is nothing new. It's been going on for hundreds of years; read your Mark Twain. The only difference is now it's done in stadiums instead of tents.

What's the best weather app for the iPhone? Of course, HAIF has its own Houston weather iPhone web app, but I'm thinking of something I can use to keep an eye on tropical storms and hurricanes, too.