DMN INVESTIGATES

Scott Goldstein, one of the DMN's terrific crime reporters, reveals today that Dallas police have made it much harder for the public to research violent crime data online.

This isn't just a matter of protecting minors or sex-crime victims. DPD's search tool also has removed homicide from its drop-down menu of offenses.

Why? And where is this coming from --- the chief's office? Dallas City Hall?

So far, no one is owning it.

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College presidents quit in mid-semester all the time, right? Two weeks' notice is standard, right?

So there's no need for the University of North Texas and its president, Gretchen Bataille (pictured here), to explain why she is suddenly resigning, right?

The taxpayer-funded school's Wednesday press release and Bataille's "message to the UNT community" total 755 words and explain nothing.

The stonewalling continues today at the UNT Board of Regents meeting, as the Denton Record-Chronicle is now reporting: "When approached at the meeting for comment as to why she is resigning mid-year, with only a few weeks' notice, Bataille only shook her head, making it clear she did not want to discuss her reasons for leaving."

Can somebody please shed some light on this situation?

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Over the weekend, fire departments in two of Texas' biggest cities were in the news again over allegations of employee misconduct.

The News' Selwyn Crawford told us about the lawsuit headed to court accusing some inside Dallas Fire-Rescue (Chief Eddie Burns shown at right) of "rampant sexual and gender harassment." One female worker claims she was touched and sent a photo of a naked woman. Another was "repeatedly propositioned," according to the lawsuit.

The Houston Chronicle followed with a story that summed up the issues there in the first sentence: "Racist graffiti, threats, profanity and a noose hanging in a locker; claims of harassment and a culture of accepted sexism, evidenced in part by a topless female firefighter posing in panties on a widely distributed calendar."

Fire officials in Houston and Dallas say these allegations are not indicative of their departments. Dallas, in addition, disputes the lawsuit allegations and cites an internal review that found some to be uncorroborated.

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Different types of concerns are on residents' minds in two different suburbs:

1. Arlington's mayor and council members have reaped free tickets and food at the city's luxury suite at publicly subsidized Cowboys Stadium, the Star-Telegram reports. The market value of the "perk of the office," as one leader called it, is around $400,000. Some observers fear this creates a conflict of interest.

2. In Frisco, residents living near a battery-recycling plant continue to worry that their health is at risk. The News' Valerie Wigglesworth and Matthew Haag cite study results from 15 years ago that found 45 children had "lead levels that today are linked to myriad health issues, from learning disabilities to behavior problems to brain damage."

Do you have thoughts or tips to share? Leave a comment or e-mail me.

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Steve Thompson, The News' ace Dallas Police Department writer, explains a few important caveats to yesterday's positive news that the city's crime rate dropped 6.4 percent in 2009.

1. This, of course, factors only reported crime.

2. Of those reported crimes, the total didn't reflect some that "appear to be undercounted according to federal guidelines," Steve wrote. As you may recall, he and Tanya Eiserer have found questions in DPD's reporting methods, such as omitting some car burglaries and classifying assaults and break-ins as lesser offenses. Their stories prompted Mayor Pro-Tem Dwaine Caraway to call for a review.

3. Even including the possible undercount of some crimes, the city's decrease missed the goal of a 10 percent drop, which had seemed attainable earlier in 2009.

Do you have thoughts or tips to share? Leave a comment or e-mail me.

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The reluctance of the Internal Revenue Service to discuss almost 1,000 suspicious claims filed by non-citizens from Texas for a first-time homebuyer tax credit leaves a lot of unanswered questions.

As I wrote today, IRS officials told Congress last fall that there are more than 160 active criminal investigations involving the homebuyer credit around the country. But where are those investigations? The IRS won't say.

Texas is disproportionately represented in the suspicious claims uncovered by the Treasury inspector general for tax administration? Why? Again, the IRS is mute.

IRS has made a point of saying that tax fraud is something they take seriously, and those who ignore the law will be held accountable. But so far, there has been only one prosecution and one civil lawsuit filed against tax preparers accused of filing fraudulent claims. Is that all there is?

Until the IRS talks, we're left wondering.

Dallas-Fort Worth commuters have begun paying tolls in recent years because, they were told, tax dollars were too few to expand all the congested roadways and build new ones.

The Star-Telegram did a nice job this weekend showing how there has been, in fact, public money to spare. Since 1991, nearly $1 billion has been dedicated to projects that had "little to do with mobility," the newspaper reported.

Two examples: $16.1 million for the Battleship Texas restoration project on the Texas coast and $262 million spent on highway rest stops across the state, including one for $10 million off Interstate 35 with Wi-Fi connections (shown at right).

Who's to blame? Texas transportation officials say the federal government ties their hands by requiring spending on enhancement projects, as these are called, in order to get a much larger chunk of construction change. Once the money is here, state lawmakers then push to use it on pet projects, such as $2 million for a Houston fire museum.

Do you have thoughts on how government is deciding to spend these transportation dollars? Leave a comment or e-mail me.

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The financial news coming out of Dallas County's public hospital last fall left an impression that money was tight.

Parkland Memorial eliminated 200 jobs and laid off 100 workers. Employees who remained only received modest merit raises, and top officials volunteered not to take any. And the hospital increased residents' taxes to pay for a new $1.2 billion campus.

That impression sure seems wrong today. The News' Sherry Jacobson reports that 27 of Parkland's executives received bonuses over the holidays -- presumably the same ones who'd months earlier declined merit raises. These bonuses ranged between 19 percent and 31 percent per person, and totaled nearly $2 million.

I should warn you against calling these bonuses. Incentive is the preferred noun, Parkland's board chairwoman says. That's because the executives met job-performance goals -- like reducing the hospital's hideously long emergency room waits, blamed in the death of one man in 2008.

To those improvements, I'm sure everyone will say, "Job well done." But will everyone agree with bonuses incentives that are worth -- as the chart I posted on the jump shows -- more than some people make in a year?

Do you have thoughts on the executive pay? Leave a comment or e-mail me.

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Hope you had a better holiday weekend than the three subjects of today's blog post.

1. Another public servant in trouble: A former Irving police officer pleaded guilty to defrauding a Housing and Urban Development program that sought to revitalize slumping neighborhoods by enticing law enforcers to live there with a 50 percent discount off the list price on a home.

2. Were you customers of these electric providers -- Pre-Buy Electric of Grapevine and National Power Inc. of Houston? If so, you may be due a refund after the Texas Public Utility Commission penalized each nearly $2 million.

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A new report Tuesday reiterates what anyone who drives by the Trinity River in Dallas and inhales already knows: It's icky. Filled-with-junk-from-sewage-treatment-plants icky.

The News' Randy Lee Loftis reminds us in his story that this is merely the latest dinging the Trinity has taken.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality -- an agency frequently accused of having a light touch -- previously deemed the river unsafe for extended human contact because of a high level of pollutants.

Not the kind of assessments Dallas city leaders want to hear as they seek to develop the Trinity into a business and recreation destination.

Fair or not, we expect the best of the best of behavior from our police departments. Most officers deliver. Some don't, and when that happens, things get messy for everyone, as two stories over the weekend show:

1. An officer who Dallas police has tried previously to fire is in trouble yet again, The News' Tanya Eiserer reports. His problem seems to be stealing from others in his own ranks, but it makes you wonder about his work protecting the public.

2. Fort Worth chief Jeffrey Halstead's first four months at the helm included excessive-force allegations against his officers: the raid of a local gay bar that turned violent and the death of a mentally ill man who'd just been Tased. He tells the Star-Telegram that "we want to correct behavior" in the department.

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New technologies are causing fits for open government advocates everywhere.

Up until recently, it was arguably easy to apply the Texas Public Information Act to access government communication using modern technologies. E-mails sent between public officials could be accessed relatively easily because they were stored on servers owned and usually maintained by government bodies.

Now we have Facebook, Twitter, text messages, instant messages --- all sorts of communication that isn't stored where government officials can easily retrieve copies when requested by the public. Now a story from South Florida shows the issue's importance (Full disclosure: The South Florida Sun-Sentinel is my former employer).

For $2,000 in cash, Fernando Hernandez promised he could keep his colleagues at IRS from launching one of those dreaded audits.

That bribe now has him staring down a maximum prison sentence of 15 years and $250,000 fine, as part of a plea deal he reached this week.

Any time a public official like this is involved in bribes, I'm interested. But authorities were a tad vague in court records and a press release on a few details. Now I'm even more curious.

They say the case involves just one bribe, way back in 2005, but had Hernandez had solicited others? They don't reveal his job at the IRS or describe the "U.S. taxpayer" who paid the $2,000. And they write that the case "is being investigated" by four federal agencies, so is there more to come?

I emailed U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Kathy Colvin about those points late yesterday. As I wait to hear back from her, I wondered whether any of you in blogosphere could fill in these blanks?

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News doesn't necessarily slow to a crawl during the holiday season. So let's continue catching up on more of the interesting items that published during New Year's week:

1. Politically connected Texas billionaire Allen Stanford may be in trouble with the feds over an alleged Ponzi scheme. But U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions of Dallas, shown at right, still loves him. Sessions said so in an email. It's not the first time in recent months that Sessions has shown himself loyal to campaign contributors.

2. Deporting immigrants who commit crimes is one thing. Enforcing penalties after they illegally re-enter the U.S. is a more complicated matter, The News' Jason Trahan reported.

3. We've highlighted the investigation into the Dallas police's methods of classifying -- or not classifying -- some crimes, leading to a rosier crime rate. News beat writers Steve Thompson and Tanya Eiserer updated their fine work with a story showing that the department will change the way it handles car burglaries.

Do you have tips to share? Leave a comment or e-mail me.

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A decade ago, federal transportation officials hired Traffic.com to install high-tech sensors that measure freeway speeds and volume. The data can trigger traffic-jam alerts to electronic signs and other equipment.

But state and local governments can't post the alerts unless they pay the contractor a fee, The New York Times reports today, citing a non-yet-public audit by the U.S. Department of Transportation's inspector general.

Never mind that taxpayers have committed more than $50 million to the project.

The transportation department responded to the audit, according to Times, by citing "nine letters from members of Congress -- many of whom had received frequent campaign contributions from executives at Traffic.com -- who demanded, among other requests, that it skip a competitive bidding process and give more money to Traffic.com."

The story does not identify the politicians. It says Traffic.com, a subsidiary of Chicago-based Navteq, didn't respond to a request for comment.

In case you're wondering, yes, Traffic.com alerts do appear on dallasnews.com.

Do you have a tip about traffic? Government contracts? Send me an e-mail and let me know. Or join the conversation by commenting below.

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Remember the little boy pictured at right?

His name was Darrell "Tre" Singleton III. On a hot day in September, his mom left him in a vehicle while she worked. She apparently did this deliberately. He was a little over a year old, and he roasted to death.

Child Protective Services had known for a long time about problems with the mom, Keashia Matthews (below). She lost custody in the 1990s of her first two kids because of abuse and neglect. And a few months before Darrell died, CPS determined that she had been leaving him and two young sisters home alone.

Matthews promised to get day care. The case was closed. Didn't work out too well, did it?

So CPS set out to review its handling of the matter. I've been asking about results since October. "Nothing yet" has been the standard reply.

Today spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales acknowledged that the review was done but refused to discuss the findings.

"Any issues identified in reviews are handled internally," she told me in an e-mail. "If there are any policy changes as a result of the review of the case, I'll certainly let you now."

I asked Marissa to explain what right she had under state law to withhold this information. That was a couple of hours ago. I'm still waiting for an answer.

Matthews remains free on bond. The initial injury-to-a-child charge against her has been changed to murder.

She has told Channel 8 that a person who was supposed to pick up her son never showed up. "I never expected him to be there all day," she said.

Today's a waking nightmare for the Texas officials who are paid to keep dangerous folks locked up:

1. Catherine Evans (right), a former state district judge in Dallas County, faces a felony charge of trying to smuggle a knife and other contraband into a Texas Youth Commission facility, reports Christy Hoppe of The Dallas Morning News. That's embarrassing all by itself. It's made worse by the fact that Gov. Rick Perry recently named Evans TYC ombudsman -- a job in which she was supposed to make sure that juveniles in state lockups were kept safe from harm. Evans has resigned and could not be reached for comment Monday. Why do we need an ombudsman? Well, the agency has a history of physical and sexual abuse scandals, as The News showed in a 2007 series of investigative reports.

2. Arcade Joseph Comeaux Jr. (right), a repeatedly convicted child rapist, used a smuggled gun Monday to overpower state prison guards and escape in southeast Texas, The Associated Press reports. TDCJ has a wanted poster up on its Web site but no information today about where Comeaux is or how he got the gun, prisons spokeswoman Michelle Lyons tells me.

Do you have a tip about TYC? TDCJ? Send me an e-mail and let me know. Or join the conversation by commenting below.

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The Dallas Morning News' front page today features two examples of government spending that wasn't all it was cracked up to be:

1. Officials overstated the number of Texas jobs created or saved with federal stimulus funds, reports Dave Michaels, who does investigative work in our Washington bureau. Want to check out stimulus spending for yourself? There are plenty of search tools on this Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board site.

2. Texas' $300 million investment in teacher merit pay did not boost student achievement, researchers from Texas A&M and other universities conclude.

Do you have a tip about stimulus spending? Send me an e-mail and let me know. Or join the conversation by commenting below.

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You're a high-risk patient. You need a swine flu vaccine. Your doctor has none. Where can you get help?

We're hearing this anguished question over and over again. The Texas Department of State Health Services knows the answer -- and isn't sharing it.

Its Web site has the obligatory FAQ section, but this question isn't on the list.

Another section of the site is labeled "H1N1 vaccine distribution," with categories for allocations by county, to local health departments and to private providers. But there are no links -- only the words "coming soon."

Early this morning, my colleague Jeff Weiss asked state health department spokeswoman Carrie Williams: "Why does the state not post on its Web site the names of every provider that you've ordered vaccine shipped to and the amount of vaccine that you have had shipped there to date?"

Her only responses:
* "We are working on a county-by-county list of totals. Hopefully we will be able to post those numbers soon."
* "Providers receiving vaccine at this point are getting amounts to serve their own patients. They are reaching out to their own high-risk patients and are quickly exhausting their supplies, which are limited right now due to national production."

So all most people know is what we've been able to figure out so far: Dallas County's health department is having a mass clinic tomorrow, aimed at high-risk people without insurance. And Farmers Branch entrepreneur Jeff Vitt (right) is selling vaccines for $20 a pop to anyone who walks through his door.

At DLA Piper, Dick Armey (right) made $750,000 a year lobbying for clients such as a wind farm that sought tax credits under the Obama stimulus package.

At FreedomWorks, the former House majority leader from Denton County makes $500,000 a year to proclaim, among other things, that "billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies have done little to make alternative energy sources more practical."

Dave Michaels, a reporter in The Dallas Morning News' Washington bureau, takes a long look today at Armey's dual roles.

While FreedomWorks is often "antagonistic to politicians of both parties ... the general disposition of the lobbyist is to be sweet to officeholders," Armey acknowledged. "This is always a problem, and people have struggled with it in Washington.

"Few have mastered it as I have."

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I'm starting to sound repetitive. Because once again, stories over the weekend remind me of my colleagues' State of Neglect series, which exposed how Texas' network of government agencies and regulators often operate with industry insiders first in mind.

1. Back in 2002, The News' Doug J. Swanson told you how Texas lets doctors keep licenses despite criminal behavior and other misconduct. The state pledged reforms after the stories, et cetera et cetera. Fast forward seven years. Enter another News reporter, Brooks Egerton. And you can guess where I'm headed. My question this morning: Is anyone in a position of power dialing the Texas Medical Board to ask why it let these doctors remain active?

2. A Boston firm seeking a billion-dollar contract from the Texas State Board of Education has given gifts to two key members who then failed to disclose them, News freelance writer Jeff Horwitz writes. Explanation from one of the two: He thought he had received the gifts out of friendship, not because he served on the board. The other member declined comment, which was probably a smarter move.

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The liberal Center for American Progress is calling out Texas lawmakers who voted against the $819 billion stimulus in January - and are now asking the Obama administration for $3 billion in stimulus funds to bolster the budget of NASA, a major Texas employer.

This comes on the heels of a September audit that questioned the use of federal tax dollars by another Texan who scorned the stimulus: Gov. Rick Perry. The federal audit found that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission under Perry had billed the Medicaid program for nearly $300,000 in care and prescription drugs it shouldn't have given legal and illegal immigrants.

President Obama has vowed to eliminate hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and fraud as part of a proposed overhaul of the nation's health care system. A federal report released on Wednesday identified yet another area where investigators should start digging.

The report from the federal Government Accountability Office identified possibly widespread fraud in Texas and other states involving purchases of controlled substances under Medicaid, the federal-state medical program for the poor. Among the interesting Texas tidbits was a case of "doctor shopping" by a Medicaid beneficiary who used prescriptions from more than 70 doctors to obtain 4,700 pills of Vicodin from 40 pharmacies.

In our recent "Cost of Care" series on why health care is so expensive in North Texas, I touched on fraud in the home health industry. Medicare and Medicaid are lucrative targets for fraudsters. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General recently reported that state Medicaid fraud control units across the country recovered $1.3 billion in fiscal 2008.

Hot Links looks today at how money gets spent in Austin:

1. Gov. Rick Perry's re-election campaign is paying "volunteers" to recruit more "volunteers," The Dallas Morning News' Gromer Jeffers reports today. My favorite quote in the story is from Dallas County Republican Party chairman Jonathan Neerman (right), who was a volunteer in Perry's 2006 campaign and said there were no cash rewards then. "I want my check," he said.

2. The $19 billion Texas Permanent School Fund is the second-largest educational endowment in the country. It pays for textbooks and other school supplies. And the State Board of Education has taken to rejecting the investment advice of the fund's professional staff and hiring a consulting firm that cost much more than the competition, free-lance writer Jeff Horwitz reports in The News. The key advocate of these moves: board member Rick Agosto (right), a San Antonio Democrat who had prior business contacts with the consultant. He denies wrongdoing.

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Hot Links today make the world seem somehow upside down.

1. The more you need help, the less likely you are to get it. That seems to be the logic transportation officials are using in deciding how to spend federal stimulus money. Reports USA Today: "Dallas trails only Los Angeles in miles of bad roads, yet it has received less than 1% of the $530 million that Texas approved for road repairs." A TXDoT official says our roads are so bad that fixes would cost too much to be eligible for funds.

2. The Dallas Morning News' Victor Godinez has a fascinating back story today about the Perot family confidant who's accused of insider trading. Reza Saleh, it turns out, helped rescue Perot employees from a prison in his native Iran 30 years ago. Now he's adding to the embarrassment facing Perot-affiliated investments this year. My colleagues Gary Jacobson and Brendan Case wrote a few months ago about the multi-billion dollar collapse of a family hedge fund.

Do you have a tip about street repairs? Hedge funds? Send me an e-mail and let me know. Or join the conversation by commenting below.

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Our first item in Hot Links explains what your bank account has probably been feeling.

1. The idea was competition would lower Texans' health-care costs. What patients got instead were fatter bills and less effective treatments, according to a Dallas Morning News multi-day series called "The Cost of Care" that began Sunday. Some of my colleagues who contributed reporting will be blogging here on their findings this week.

2. Closing arguments are expected to begin later this morning in the Dallas City Hall corruption trial, The News' Jason Trahan reports. After these end, jurors will deliberate on a verdict for what could be weeks.

3. I didn't hear NBC give a shout-out last night to the Arlington voters who agreed to subsidize the new Cowboys Stadium. The upshot: NBC did compare it to the pyramids, Parthenon, Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal and Roman Coliseum. We'll see if it attracts similar numbers of tourists so that Arlington can recoup the tax dollars residents are giving Jerry Jones.

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I aced college geography. But I wouldn't have been able to find Mbabane, Swaziland, on an African map before reading a Fort Worth Star-Telegram story about two Cowtown city council members who are traveling there this week at taxpayer expense.

The trip is part of Fort Worth's Sister Cities program, which sends a delegation to seven locales around the world to glad-hand and talk a little business. Fort Worth has provided about $350,000 in public funding toward this and usually pays the cost of a couple of elected officials to attend -- in this case, two to Swaziland at a cost of nearly $10,000.

The timing could not have been worse. Just last week, the council approved budget cuts and fee hikes for residents. One of the traveling council members insisted, "This is not about tourism. This is about AIDS in Africa and the significant issues that are faced in that part of the world. It is very important we have these exchanges."

The Sister Cities trip reminded me of other recent examples of big-ticket municipal travel -- Rowlett, Dallas and Mesquite. Leaves you wondering taxpayers believe they're getting a good value, or whether they'd like their neighborhood library open a few more hours.

Do you have tips to share about Sister Cities travel or other trips your local city officials are taking? Leave a comment or e-mail me.

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Today's Hot Links look at twists in ongoing Dallas scandals:

1. What has become of Robert Peters? He was principal of Lang Middle School (right) but "left" DISD after a TAKS cheating scandal recently came to light, my co-worker Tawnell Hobbs reports. Dallas school district boss Michael Hinojosa says Peters bears some responsibility for what happened and has quit cooperating with investigators. Teachers probably aren't responsible and students definitely aren't, Hinojosa adds. Check out Tawnell's DISD blog, where skeptical commenters are already having a field day.

2. Hold your breath: The FAA says Southwest Airlines can take until Christmas Eve to replace unauthorized parts on its planes, as The Dallas Morning News' Eric Torbenson reports.

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All of the questions in today's two Hot Links have the same short answer. Read on:

1. This is 2009, right? And entering a suspect's bail info in one Dallas County computer doesn't get it into other computers? And a man (Ezequiel Moreno, right) accused of sexually abusing a teen and plotting her kidnapping can get out of jail because the computers aren't connected, as my colleagues Scott Goldstein and Jennifer Emily report today? And Dallas County commissioners want to cut spending on criminal justice?

2. Do shrinking newspaper budgets make it easier for government officials to hide what goes on in courtrooms, as The New York Times reports today? Does a bear poop in the woods?

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Ronnie Dawson of Greenville couldn't pay his electric bill and was worried about how he'd survive. It wasn't the heat so much as the lack of refrigeration for the insulin that he takes daily for his diabetes.

Dawson just bought and moved into his mobile home in May. He was floored by his first electricity bill when it arrived. "I got this high-dollar light bill, and it killed me," Dawson said. "I've gotten in over my head."

The bill from city-owned Greenville Electric Utility System was initially a little more than $365. But Dawson, 56, asked for another read of his meter. That did knock $89 off the total, but the clock was ticking. He now had fewer than 48 hours to come up with $276.

"It might not be much to you, but it is to me when I don't have [the money] and they won't work with me," said Dawson.

Why is the RISD boss gone? What is the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas going to do with a priest who got in trouble as a stockbroker? Read Today's Hot Links:

1. The Richardson school district is back in session today. And David Simmons (pictured at right) is being paid $300,000 not to be superintendent any more, as Dallas Morning News reporter Jeff Weiss explains. Why? School board members suggest that the payoff is the most efficient way to get rid of Simmons, who quit Aug. 3. And why did they want him out, given that the district has a balanced budget and four straight years of "recognized" status? They aren't giving much of an explanation.

2. Securities regulators told William Warnky last week not to work as a stockbroker because he defrauded a former client and disregarded an order to repay him $50,000. What will become of Warnky's other career as a priest? We're waiting to hear from Dallas Episcopal Bishop James Stanton or his No. 2, Bishop Suffragan Paul Lambert.

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Does wearing a black robe mean never having to say you're sorry? Do you deserve a taxpayer-funded car allowance? Today's Hot Links make me wonder:

1. Sharon Keller says she would do it again. The presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (at right, waiting for her misconduct trial to begin) testified Wednesday that there was no reason to keep the court open late in 2007 for a death-row inmate's last-minute appeal. Hours later, the killer was executed. Now that the tables are turned and she's facing trial, Keller faces possible removal from the bench. And this isn't the former Dallas County prosecutor's only legal woe; another stems from her failure to list millions in personal assets on a financial disclosure form, as my colleague Steve McGonigle's investigation showed.

2. The Dallas suburb of Richardson spends more than $800,000 a year on employee car allowances, Dallas Morning News reporter Ian McCann finds. Many of the employees do lots of on-the-job driving -- but some are just getting perks. How does this compare to what other cities do? Are city-owned car fleets a better alternative?

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Today's Hot Links focus on some lurking dangers:

1. A new study raises questions about the promotional campaign for a cervical cancer vaccine that Gov. Rick Perry unsuccessfully tried to mandate for Texas girls. Gardasil manufacturer Merck funded messages by medical groups that "did not address the full complexity of the issues surrounding the vaccine and did not provide balanced recommendations on risks and benefits," the study says. It was published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

2. Lake-wrecking zebra mussels are emerging in North Texas, WFAA-TV (Channel 8) reports. What is to be done about these little pests, which can clog public water-supply pipes?

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Two questions this morning: Is Texas using its regulatory resources wisely by focusing on small-time gambling operations? And does probation really mean anything in this state?

1. Execs of Dallas-based Aces Wired have pleaded guilty to running a gambling operation, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. The company, which runs game rooms in several Texas counties, previously insisted that its machines met state requirements by not awarding cash prizes. Now it will forfeit more than $1 million, and the bosses will be put on probation. Prosecutors had planned to present allegations at trial that the execs bribed a Fort Worth police officer, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times reported recently.

2. Plano resident William Fletcher pleaded guilty to securities fraud three years ago and was put on probation. Now he's been charged with doing it again and using the proceeds to pay court-ordered restitution from the 2006 case, The Dallas Morning News' Elizabeth Souder reports. Will Fletcher -- who did business under the names Texas Oil Equities and Raptor Oil & Gas -- get probation again?

Do you have a tip about gambling? Regulators? Another subject? Send me an e-mail and let me know. Or join the conversation by commenting below.

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Several interesting items from the weekend. The first three we'll bring you have a trend in common: peculiar financial transactions involving public officials.

1. What is going on in the offices of Dallas County constables Jamie Cortes and Derick Evans? The News' Kevin Krause brings us another in an increasing list of stories on their activities, which always seem to involve vehicles or a towing company they're employing.

2. Dallas' Mexican consulate office is under investigation for financial improprieties, The News' Alfredo Corchado tells us. Similar allegations arose a few months ago. Trend or coincidence?

3. Tarrant County College trustee Robyn Medina Winnett was arrested on suspicion of shoplifting, the Star-Telegram reports. It's the latest unflattering headline for TCC's administration.

4. Haven't heard from former U.S. House Majority Leader and Texas' own Dick Armey in a while. Talking Points Memo's Muckraker blog explores how Armey's lobbying firm apparently received blowback from his advocacy group's role in organizing health-care protests.

Do you have thoughts or tips to share? Leave a comment or e-mail me.

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Several items in the news today reminded me of the State of Neglect series that my colleagues on the investigations team produced earlier this year. That explored how Texas government, through its mangled bureaucracy or deference to big business, leaves the little guy lacking.

1. Oncor customers will pay a total of $115 million more statewide after the Public Utility Commission agreed to the company's request for higher rates, The News' Elizabeth Souder reports. That move ignored a previous ruling by a panel of administrative law judges that found Oncor should get only $30 million to subsidize an "imprudent" purchase of high-tech meters that didn't meet PUC requirements.

2. Star-Telegram watchdog columnist, Dave Lieber, has a nice piece on a 78-year-old military veteran who can't get his food stamps allotment renewed because of confusion within the Health and Human Services Commission. Some residents have sued to try and get results.

3. An employee who helped stage those infamous fights among the mentally disabled residents at a state-run Corpus Christi school was convicted Thursday. Those were not the only problems at the facility, which operates under the oversight of the Department of Aging and Disability Services.

Do you have thoughts or tips to share? Leave a comment or e-mail me.

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Testimony is reaching a critical stage in the Dallas City Hall bribery trial. Jurors will earn their $40-a-day pay after times like Wednesday.

1. Federal prosecutors, in the meat of their case, scored as developer-turned-informant James R. "Bill" Fisher testified about paying a load of money to Don Hill's associates and finally winning his vote. However, in a boost to Hill's defense, Fisher acknowledged Hill never asked for cash and Fisher never paid him directly. (Trial is recessed until Monday, fyi.)

2. We know Rick Perry is the longest serving governor the state's had. And we know before then, he toiled in Austin as well. So why was he also claiming a home in College Station to get a tax exemption? He dropped it after the Associated Press broke the story this week.

3. Now for a little media talk: The Texas House is apparently blocking a Houston-based online news organization from covering an upcoming session. I know this news org, Texas Watchdog, is a competitor to The News. But c'mon, House. We Texans need more -- not fewer -- journalists covering Austin. Give them access.

Do you have thoughts or tips to share? Leave a comment or e-mail me.

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The state's academic testing program in grammar and high schools has fed a running argument over whether it puts emphasis more on scores or learning. Critics surely will seize on this data analysis by The News:

1. Holly K. Hacker's Sunday story found half of college-bound graduates from some North Texas high schools earned less than a C average their freshman year. That includes middling results from kids at Dallas' nationally recognized magnet school. The state's higher education commissioner said it was a "serious problem" that students are "stunned when they arrive on a college campus." Look up your school with this online database.

2. Current and former members of the non-profit that runs the Alamo has been squabbling over finances. That brings this to light: The state may own the landmark, but no agency provides management oversight. That worries San Antonio's mayor, The News' Marjorie Korn reports.

3. News reporters aren't the only ones who fight for records. An audit released this morning shows the FDIC wouldn't share documents with the State Auditor's Office as part of a review of the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending.

Do you have thoughts or tips to share? Leave a comment or e-mail me.

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What a weird week in the Richardson school district.

Superintendent David Simmons (shown at right) abruptly resigned at a board meeting Monday after what appeared to be a rosy tenure. And resigned weeks before the start of a new school year.

The board president, Kim Quirk, said that she and her colleagues weren't happy with a focus on test scores and wanted a leader with a "more strategic vision." Seems an ambigious explanation. But Simmons, for his part, chose not to speak.

Did he do something wrong? Did someone do him wrong?

Now this: Simmons signed an agreement to receive a separation payout $300,000 that also calls for him and his former employers from making "disparaging remarks" about each other, The News' Jeffrey Weiss reports.

For $300,000, it is only fair and reasonable that taxpayers get more answers.

The folks in University Park thought the Texas Open Meetings Act would let them speak about controversial plans to renovate their public pool at Curtis Park.

University Park's attorney, Robert Dillard, read the law differently. He advised the City Council to block residents from addressing the issue when it came up during a meeting Tuesday because doing so may be a violation. That's after they had waited an hour for their turn.

Needless to say, the residents were confused by the city's logic. So were experts interviewed by The News' Lori Stahl, whose story today quotes them as saying the Open Meetings Act allowed residents to have their say.

"There is absolutely no basis for the city attorney's advice that allowing these comments would have been a violation" of the law, one expert told Lori.

Dillard, incidentally, wouldn't talk about not letting the residents talk.

There's a lot in the news today. Let's start exploring what's out there:

1. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is saying "mistakes were made" in the controversial raid on a Fort Worth gay bar after an internal report rips agents, The News' Scott Goldstein reports. However, the report seems to tiptoe around one of the biggest complaints -- allegations of excessive force. One patron, you may recall, sustained a brain injury in the incident, which sparked protests and national news coverage.

2. Former Dallas Mayor Laura Miller remains on the witness stand in the City Hall bribery trial, which you can follow on Jason Trahan's live blog. In testimony yesterday, she described defendant Don Hill as an official bristling at ethics reforms. Other interesting nugget: Developer and Miller supporter Brian Potashnik fed her negative information about his employee-turned-rival James R. "Bill" Fisher, yet she said she was in the dark about similar unflattering details regarding him.

3. Beyond Dallas, we have a series of ethics scandals making news: a NASA official who steered millions to a consulting client, resignation calls for University of Illinois trustees and a House Democrat who got sweet deals on loans.

Do you have thoughts or tips to share? Leave a comment or e-mail me.

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How many times must the State Auditor's Office -- not to mention news reporters -- ding the State Board of Dental Examiners for problems that impact Texans? We may need two hands to count.

1. In its latest audit released yesterday, the auditor's office cited 19 examples in which the dental board's online database didn't have up-to-date disciplinary actions against practitioners. Because the public can use that information, the gap "puts patients at risk of receiving services from licensees who have committed repeated violations." The audit is dense reading. So I recommend you first check out the story by The News' Terrence Stutz.

2. Dallas City Hall trial item A: The state passed laws requiring community approval for the type of low-income housing projects at the heart of the corruption case. Testimony reiterated how some co-defendants feigned community opposition to allegedly extract kickbacks from developers.

3. Dallas City Hall trial item B: Laura Miller's name came up again, as I predicted. The defense questioned Dallas' housing director about Miller's appointment of Brian Potashnik, a major campaign contributor of hers, to a task force that created policy benefiting his company.

Do you have thoughts or tips to share? Leave a comment or e-mail me.

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That's probably a trio of topics you wouldn't have expected to see in a headline. Let's read on:

1. Good news, bad news at the Dallas City Hall bribery trial, The News' Jason Trahan tells us. If you're Don Hill: You probably look more favorable to jurors after you were heard doubting the ethics of your co-defendant, D'Angelo Lee, on phone conversations secretly taped by the FBI. If you're Lee: Your co-defendant is heard doubting your ethics on phone conversations secretly taped by the FBI.

2. Supporters of the federal stimulus package said it was a chance to make $65 billion in repairs to crumbling, aging bridges. Want to guess where I'm headed next after that set-up? The Associated Press found that nearly half of the ones slated for funding are in good shape and wouldn't have qualified for money in normal circumstances. Best use of the stimulus?

3. This isn't our typical watchdog story to highlight: Lewisville High School cheerleaders had illegal drugs, such as Ecstasy, at a weekend clinic, KXAS (NBC-5) reports. As school district officials investigate, they should ask this of themselves: When was the last time they tested cheerleaders for drug use? District policy allows it, and athletes have been subjected to it after reports of steroid abuse.

Do you have thoughts or tips to share? Leave a comment or e-mail me.

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We have updates on some stories that have been in the news in the last few months -- and been the subject of our blogging:

1. The legendary football coach at Mesquite High School who pawned more than $100,000 in school equipment agreed to plead guilty late last week if the felony charges against him were reduced, The News' Matthew Haag reports. Questions still remain, though: Like why didn't the school board get to the bottom of this sooner? And why isn't the district's auditor digging deeper to root out other hints of financial fraud?

2. Did your schools see an improvement in the latest TAKS tests? Mine did. But don't forget this: The grading got easier this year, as some kids who failed were counted as having passed, The News' Holly K. Hacker explains.

3. We're learning a major narrative of the upcoming trial of the state's highest criminal court judge, Sharon Keller. She was the one who closed her office before a death-row inmate could file a last-minute appeal, ensuring his execution. The narrative: Did computer crashes really delay the inmate's lawyers from completing paperwork sooner? Keller is trying to raise those doubts, the Austin American-Statesman tells us.

Do you have thoughts or tips to share? Leave a comment or e-mail me.

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Interesting how things aren't always what they seem. That's a theme in our stories today:

1. Dallas Congressman Pete Sessions has ripped earmarks. And yet he gave a sweet one worth $1.6 million to an Illinois company that wants to build a blimp the military could use, Politico reports. A former aide to Sessions just so happens to lobby for said company, which said it had no government contracting experience.

2. Were you one of the Texas parents who locked in cheaper college tuition for your kiddo by prepaying years ago? Well, that piggy bank is nearly broke, the Houston Chronicle tells us. The state comptroller asks you not to panic just yet.

3. Jury of your peers? A Dallas County judge said prosecutors unfairly eliminated minorities from hearing the death-penalty case of a black man, leaving only whites, The News' Jennifer Emily reports. This reminds me of our investigation team's 2006 series, Striking Differences. It found both prosecutors and defense sought to remove jurors based on race.

Do you have thoughts or tips to share? Leave a comment or e-mail me.

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Three very different stories. But they all come back to money: how to get it, or how to keep it.

1. One of the feds' star witnesses in the Dallas City Hall bribery trial, Southwest Housing Development's Brian Potashnik, finished four days of testimony yesterday. Some observers and blog commenters thought Potashnik stumbled at times to show Don Hill personally benefited from contracts given to associates. But Unfair Park's Jim Schutze had a different take.

2. Speaking of the Dallas City Council, some of its members are reluctant to trim their own office budgets amid a $190 million shortfall, The News' Rudy Bush reports. I'm sure city workers and residents will sympathize.

3. College sports' umbrella organization, NCAA, is facing lawsuits from former athletes who accuse it of cashing in on their likenesses in video games without sharing the proceeds. A ranking member of a Congressional panel has questioned why the NCAA still receives tax-free status as a nonprofit when it acts more like a commercial enterprise.

Do you have thoughts or tips to share? Leave a comment or send me an e-mail.

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You may have missed this item deep inside The Dallas Morning News' metro section today: The University of Texas at Dallas forwarded complaints against its own police officers to the Collin County district attorney.

The action comes two months after UT Dallas' police chief, Colleen Ridge, resigned. A few weeks ago, the assistant chief and an officer who had been on leave were fired. Another employee also quit, and one more remains sidelined.

That's a lot of HR paperwork. But what makes this potentially criminal?

UT Dallas and prosecutors continue not to discuss it publicly. News reporter Holly Hacker did manage to narrow things down after receiving a letter from the University of Texas System's lawyers seeking permission from the state attorney general to keep records about the complaints private.

The UT System lawyers indicate the police matters involve these multiple choices: a) ethical questions, b) standards of conduct, c) financial reporting and/or d) internal accounting practices.

If you know the correct answer, post a comment or e-mail Holly or me directly.

Today's stories of public interest feature a constable in trouble for policy violations and a state lawmaker in trouble for alleged criminal wrongdoing.

1. Dallas County administrators are starting to take action against constables who violated policy by doing work outside their precincts to boost their statistics, helping them lobbying for more staff. The News' Kevin Krause reports that constables -- such as Jaime Cortes, who did this most frequently -- will lose a total of 31 positions. The taxpayer savings: $1.7 million.

2. A grand jury indicted South Texas state Rep. Kino Flores on allegations he didn't disclose sources of income, real estate deals and gifts, including one from a lobbyist, the Associated Press reported.

Do you have a tip these or other subjects? Send me an e-mail or leave me a comment.

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We have key developments in several stories that we've tracked here -- from Dallas County constable contracts to document destruction in Irving to Fort Worth police action.

1. Dallas County commissioners decided to consider instituting policies to control towing contracts of vehicles by law enforcement agencies under their control. The News' Kevin Krause has been telling us about two constables who have an arrangement with a troubled businessman that includes no oversight.

2. The Irving City Council will hear details today about how the staff there retains planning and inspection documents, an issue that arose after the Dallas Cowboys' indoor practice facility collapsed months ago. Some building records had been destroyed, as The News' Brandon Formby first reported. City councilwoman Beth Van Duyne has called for an investigation.

3. Sensing distrust in the gay community, the Fort Worth City Council requested an independent federal investigation into last month's police raid at a gay bar that turned violent. Meanwhile, newly released records show the supervisor for one of the raid's officers had previously warned that he had "a history of poor decisions and bad judgment," The News' Scott Farwell reports.

Do you have a tip these or other subjects? Send me an e-mail or leave me a comment.

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There are flies in the ointment of some Texas crime-catching innovations, as today's Hot Links show.

1. We all know canines can help track escaped prisoners. But can they correctly ID crime suspects? There are growing questions about the only dog handler in Texas who does scent-identification lineups, the Victoria Advocate reports. A faulty dog ID recently sent a South Texas man to jail for a rape he didn't commit. Some judges have now barred the handler -- Fort Bend County Deputy Sheriff Keith Pikett -- from testifying.

2. Gov. Rick Perry gave sheriffs $2 million to install Webcams on the Mexican border. But few arrests and drug busts have resulted, an El Paso Times investigation shows.

Do you have a tip about dogs or dog handlers? Drugs? Another subject? Send me an e-mail and let me know. Or join the conversation by commenting below.

If you're on Twitter, follow our blog at "DMNInvestigates."

Today's Hot Links touch on books, religion and traffic.

1. Who are the Texas textbook advisers saying that Thurgood Marshall and Cesar Chavez are not major figures in U.S. history? One is a Massachusetts evangelical named Peter Marshall, whose Web site would be happy to sell you books, DVDs and more. The other is a North Texas evangelical named David Barton, whose Web site would be happy to sell you books, DVDs and more.

2. Most of America lives in major metro areas. But we urbanites and suburbanites aren't getting our fair share of federal transportation stimulus money, a New York Times analysis suggests.

Do you have a tip about textbooks? Stimulus spending? Another subject? Send me an e-mail and let me know. Or join the conversation by commenting below.

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Let's catch up on a couple of mind-bending education stories that you probably missed over the holiday weekend:

1. George Orwell would have appreciated this: Some students who failed the TAKS test are counted as passing for purposes of new school accountability rankings, Dallas Morning News reporters Holly Hacker and Jeffrey Weiss showed. Why? A formula predicts that these failers are likely to pass the next time. What if the prediction is wrong? No problem. The schools' rankings don't drop.

2. Charter schools are privately run, but we taxpayers finance them. So the government exercises fiscal oversight, right? Wrong, reports The Dallas Morning News' Matthew Haag. Onto that stage steps Imagine Schools, a nationwide charter school management company with a real estate program that some officials say hurts students. It's planning to expand into McKinney next year. State officials OK'd the move despite concerns that Imagine lacked non-profit status.

Do you have a tip about school testing? Charter schools? Another subject? Send me an e-mail and let me know. Or join the conversation by commenting below.

If you're on Twitter, follow our blog at "DMNInvestigates."

Today's Hot Links are about two things you cannot escape in life: death and databases.

1. Here's the most interesting proposal I've heard in a while: a a national database of undiagnosed diseases. The idea was inspired by the mysterious death of a suburban Austin boy named Charles August "Cal" Long, the Austin American-Statesman reports. It summarizes the goal this way: "doctors and scientists could describe symptoms, exchange information and compile data that could be used to solve medical mysteries." Two Texas legislators recently introduced a bill in Congress -- Rep. Michael Burgess, who is a physician from North Texas, and Rep. John Carter of Central Texas, who long ago lost one of his own children to an unknown disease.

2. The Social Security Administration is not only paying benefits to the dead, it's also denying aid to living folks who are misclassified as deceased. Here's the inspector general's report on which McClatchy Newspapers based its story.

Do you have a tip about death, or databases, or another subject? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

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You'd better run for your life if you can, because here come today's Hot Links:

1. Another day, another long high-speed chase: This morning a woman eluded Dallas-area police officers for almost two hours. Yesterday a man did it for about 90 minutes. Dallas police themselves stayed out of the way -- their tight restrictions on speeding got even tighter last year after an officer racing to a disturbance without lights or siren killed a 10-year-old boy named Cole Berardi (lower right). Dallas County constable Michael Gothard explained in The Dallas Morning News today why he still believes in risky pursuits: "If everybody quits chasing people, then everybody's just going to run."

2. The latest reason to fear Veterans Affairs hospitals: A doctor who treated prostate cancer patients delivered faulty radiation implants in 92 of 116 cases, The New York Times reports. This comes right on the heels of the scandal over dirty colonoscopy equipment, which apparently infected patients with AIDS and hepatitis. Here's a full report from the VA's inspector general.

Do you have a tip about police policy? VA hospitals? Another subject? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

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My post last week exploring whether dealings between a Dallas ISD trustee and a college-prep program's founder had posed a conflict reminded a reader about the state laws for disclosing such relationships.

Reader "STC" was correct that Texas' Local Government Code, chapter 176, requires public officials to fill out forms disclosing conflicts of interest with prospective government contractors.

But there appears to be several loopholes in the law.

The biggest seems to be that the state law defines a conflict as a financial relationship, employment or business. Friendship -- which you and I might think warrants a heads-up to the public -- does not.

Even if there is a financial relationship, it may not have to be disclosed under chapter 176, depending on the money at stake and the timing of the transaction.

Like sand through the hourglass, these are the Hot Links of our day:

1. If you missed this yesterday, don't miss it now: My enterprising colleagues Lee Hancock and Katie Fairbank showed that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has known for decades about sand issues related to Dallas' levees. But now, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the agency is finally digging for more info. That could mean many millions in extra expenses for the Trinity River Corridor Project.

2. Friday's Hot Link #2 wondered about the safety of DART's automated systems that are supposed to keep trains from getting too close to one another. Here are some answers from transit agency spokesman Morgan Lyons, courtesy of Dallas Morning News transportation writer Michael Lindenberger. These questions are on our minds, of course, because of last week's Metrorail disaster in DC that killed nine people.

Do you have a tip about the Trinity project? Commuter trains? Another subject? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

If you're on Twitter, follow our blog at "DMNInvestigates."

There's an interesting new twist to Dallas ISD's controversial use of a program touted as prepping local students for Ivy League colleges.

Come to find out, the Academic Success Program's biggest backer, trustee Edwin Flores (at right), brought it to Dallas after its founder had approached him about securing its intellectual property rights more than 10 years, reports The News' Lori Stahl.

Flores, a patent lawyer, said he did no work for Tom Urquidez. The businessman went on to make at least $250 in donations to the trustee's school board campaign in 2005. His son piloted the program in Flores' district.

It's the latest turn for the $2 million Academic Success Program. Lori continues to tell us that despite promoting itself as a way to give a boost to low-income or would-be first-generation college kids, the program recruited students who didn't really need it: valedictorians and salutatorians, or those from middle- and upper-class families. That included Superintendent Michael Hinojosa's son.

Do you think Flores and Hinojosa should recuse themselves from today's DISD board discussion about expanding the program?

It's trickling down into the public sector and ramping up again in the corporate world. Here are a few examples from The Dallas Morning News and the Web-o-sphere:

1. Employee indignation over job cuts and executive compensation is increasing at Dallas City Hall, The News' Rudy Bush reports. City workers warn that losing 800 more of them is "nothing short of sabotage" if Dallas wants to maintain services for residents. City Council members bristled.

2. Over in the private sector, Citigroup has found a way to outsmart the Obama administration's effort to restrict bonuses for muckity-mucks at bailed-out firms: Roll that cash into their base salaries. Well played, Citigroup.

3. And Star-Telegram columnist Mitchell Schnurman gives us a stunning example of a merit (?) raise. Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon got a new contract and pay hike even though the company's stock fell nearly 60 percent. His take: $112 million. Wonder if my bosses would go for that?

Do you have an opinion? Or do you have a tip? Post a comment or send me an e-mail.

If you're on Twitter, follow our blog at "DMNInvestigates" or me at "ReeseDunklin".

Tommy Gonzalez became one of Texas' most handsomely compensated public administrators last week. The Irving City Council likes him so much -- the mayor calls him perhaps the nation's best -- that it threw in a $150,000 loan with sweet interest rates.

So why won't Gonzalez talk about the pay or loan?

He has failed to respond to multiple requests for comment left by The News' Irving beat writer, Brandon Formby, during the last week. These went to Gonzalez via phone and e-mail, to his secretary and to Irving's public information officer. Two print stories and several blog posts have published.

Residents have spoken up. So have several council members. Why no Gonzalez?

We know he's got opinions on other topics.

That was one thought I had this morning while looking at some of the public-interest items in The Dallas Morning News:

1. The city of Dallas raised taxes in 2007, faced a funding deficit in 2008 and is staring down a "brutal" one right now. Council member Carolyn Davis, though, stands by the $1,700 that she spent to travel to sunny Belize last year for what she described as a "trade mission." She's not on the city's economic development committee, and officials cannot cite for The News' Dave Levinthal any tangible benefit from the trip.

2. Up in Frisco, city officials reported having a $3 million shortfall four months ago, forcing a 4 percent budget cut and freezing of 28 unfilled jobs. But the council voted this week to shell out $25,000 to plan ornamental entry markers at the city limits -- and set the stage to spend more to commission artwork and designs, The News' Valerie Wigglesworth reports.

In the grand scope, this spending is a small fraction of the two cities' budgets, I realize. But you have to wonder about the message it sends to residents at a time when services will be cut or taxes will be raised.

Do you have an opinion? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail.

Here's a look at public-interest stories in The Dallas Morning News and around the Web-o-sphere that had me asking some questions over morning coffee:

1. Will we never know where $15,000 in missing ticket revenue in Mesquite ISD's athletic department went? A secretary responsible for depositing it quit after questioning, and the internal auditor said costs to dig deeper were twice as much, The News' Matthew Haag reports. It's the latest financial scandal for Mesquite sports.

2. Why did Cheryl Potashnik miss a pretrial conference Monday in which all defendants charged in the FBI's Dallas City Hall public corruption case were present or had written excuses? Speculation is the co-owner of Southwest Housing Development Co., who along with husband Brian is accused of bribing public officials, may have struck a plea deal, The News' Jason Trahan tell us.

3. How will Texans vote on a proposal to limit eminent domain powers of government? Protect property owner rights? Or leave government with its ability to seize land and give it to private developers?

Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

When Irving city council members approved a significant increase in the city manager's compensation last week, they did so without first disclosing the proposed terms, releasing copies of the agreement or discussing the merits publicly.

Seems like basic information, no?

This led Brandon Formby, The News' beat writer in Irving, to explore in a story Sunday other less-than-transparent moves by the council and the impact on city business.

A couple of council members took umbrage with the story's thesis -- and the Gonzalez flap in particular. They put the onus on residents to pay closer attention.

"You've got to participate in the process," said City Council member Rick Stopfer. "You can't just sit back and say, 'They didn't tell me everything I wanted to know.' "

We were reminded of how Rick Perry, through his longevity, has become perhaps Texas' most powerful governor through his appointment powers in two of today's public-interest stories from The News and Web-o-sphere:

1. One backdrop to Texas A&M president Elsa Murano's resignation is an emphasis among Perry friends and associates in commercializing research, the Austin American-Statesman reports. Perry, an A&M alum, is said to exert influence in other ways. This increasingly upsets the faculty members "by what they perceive as a command-and-control management style" by the Perry-picked chancellor and Board of Regents.

2. The state Insurance Commissioner, Perry appointee Mike Geeslin, will decide how much State Farm Insurance owes -- if anything -- as part of overcharging complaints on homeowner policies. The options: The state consumer advocate's office says $785 million plus interest; the Texas Department of Insurance says $250 million plus interest; and State Farm says zip.

Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

Let's catch up on a couple of public-interest stories in The Dallas Morning News and around the Web-o-sphere:

1. Judges must not hear cases involving major campaign contributors, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. So what do we do in Texas with litigation involving billionaire home builder Bob Perry, who has given big bucks to all nine justices on the state's highest court?

2. Many new details of the tainted-syringe scandal are emerging in a ProPublica/Chicago Tribune report. It paints a chilling picture of problems at the Food and Drug Administration. Among the four people who've died is a Texas toddler.

Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

A reader using the name "Taxpayer" left a comment Thursday wondering why the Plano Economic Development Board removed most all its meeting agendas and minutes from the city's Web site.

"PLANO SHOULD BE ASHAMED," the reader wrote, "OTHER CITIES HAVE THEIR RECORDS ONLINE!"

I first touched base with our Plano beat writer, Ted Kim. He told me the Plano Economic Development Board recently overhauled its Web site. That could explain the limited number of agendas and minutes, he said.

Then I contacted Sally Bane, the board's executive director. I e-mailed her a link to the blog post with the comment and asked four questions:

Here's a look at some of the public-interest stories in The Morning News and around the Web-o-sphere:

1. The interesting part of Matthew Haag's story on the felony indictment of Mesquite's legendary ex-football coach is that school board initially declined a year ago to prosecute. Instead, they opted to let the coach retire "due to health problems." Then the board expressed surprise upon learning the severity of the charges stemming from him pawning more than $100,000 in district equipment.

What message is the board sending to its other employees? Why didn't it act when the allegations were first brought to its attention?

2. As a soon-to-be father, stories about day cares catch my attention. The Star-Telegram is reporting this morning that a worker at a Grapevine center was arrested on suspicion of fondling a youngster there. I checked the center's licensing history and found that it had fired a worker in the last year after a child was injured.

Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

Brandon Formby brings us a fascinating story today on text messages that Irving city officials sent each other after the Dallas Cowboys' indoor practice facility collapsed last month.

We get some finger-pointing. We get some wagon-circling. And, ultimately, more questions about the city's watchdog role in this.

Nugget No. 1: City Manager Tommy Gonzalez, right, referred to the team as an organization that "pushes things thru." That feeds suspicions of residents and at least one elected official who believe the franchise held sway in Irving.

Nugget No. 2: Gonzalez goes on to write that the facility was a "big ole tent" that "probably never was structurally sound enough" to hold up against straight-line winds.

Here's a look at some of the public-interest stories in The Dallas Morning News and around the Web-o-sphere:

1. More public servants in legal trouble: News broke late last night that two Dallas police officers are under criminal investigation for allegedly beating up a prisoner in the city's drunk tank, Tanya Eiserer reports. They were apparently caught on video, too.

2. Transportation officials blame the increase in wrong-way driving deaths on the Dallas North Tollway primarily on drunks behind the wheel, Scott Goldstein tells us. They're taking safety measures, but a MADD rep says it's not enough. What do you think?

3. The Texas Department of Transportation is a frequent whipping boy of residents and politicians frustrated over congestion and construction. Sometimes it's deserved, sometimes it's not. But Michael Lindenberger's story raises the question: What happens if the agency can't be rescued from closure?

Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

I recently got an email alerting me that I had some unclaimed money in an IRS account. Wow, that sounded too good to be true.

And, in fact, it was.

Turns out that my email is a perfect example of a modern scam called "phishing," which involves the criminal use of the Internet to try to gain access to sensitive information, such as credit card and social security numbers.

In this case, the fake IRS message attempted to trick unsuspecting victims, like me, into revealing personal information that could then be used to access the victims' financial accounts.

"This is a big topic," said Clay Sanford, an IRS spokesman in Dallas. Taxpayers have forwarded more than 33,000 of these scam e-mails to the IRS, he said, and there are more than 1,500 different schemes to date.

Here's a sign that the federal stimulus package is reaching into North Texas: Funding for local transportation projects.

In the latest installment of our Citizen Watchdog column, Jennifer LaFleur shows us a new online tool that we can use to keep track of the $2.2 billion in funding for new roads, bridges, bike paths and walking trails due to Texas.

The Texas Department of Transportation is operating the site. The information is organized by county. After clicking on a particular project, you can pull up a construction schedule, location map, funding breakdown and construction company in charge.

Jennifer used the TxDOT site to find that Harris County leads the state so far in the number of projects with 18. Tarrant County has the highest dollar amount, more than $1.2 billion.

Did you find the TxDOT site helpful? Did you spot an interesting trend? Leave us a comment and let us know.

Another Monday. Another month ahead. Here's a look at some of the public-interest stories in The Dallas Morning News and around the Web-o-sphere:

1. The city of Dallas' budget deficit just got a little worse. The Trinity River toll road and park project will require $29 million and 20 additional months to test the shaky levees, Michael Lindenberger reports. City council members have already had trouble letting go to favored programs.

2. Texas lawmakers have spent lots of time this session trying to tweak controversial college admissions rules. Up in Illinois, legislators have been much more hands-on, a Chicago Tribune investigation found: They've influenced which students get into the University of Illinois and even overruled the admissions department.

3. The former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman kept enforcement staffers from pursuing cases against companies and punishing violators. The Washington Post reports his predecessor is trying to increase such investigations of abuses linked to the financial crisis.

Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

Hope you had a good Memorial Day holiday. Let's catch up on a few of the public-interest stories in The Dallas Morning News and around the Web-o-sphere:

1. Remember the FBI's public corruption investigation involving affordable housing deals at Dallas City Hall? Nearly five years after it began, we may finally see the start of the long-awaited trial, Jason Trahan tell us. Unless former Mayor pro-tem Don Hill and his co-defendants decide to make last-minute plea deals.

2. Interesting story line in Jeff Mosier's profile of Arlington mayor Robert Cluck is that a predecessor, Richard Greene, isn't convinced the publicly subsidized Cowboys Stadium will bring the city the national profile it craves. Greene cites as evidence Rangers Ballpark, another recipient of taxpayer money.

3. Hundreds of airplane mechanics may have been improperly licensed during the last decade, raising safety concerns and questions about the Federal Aviation Administration's regulation, WFAA (Channel 8) reports. It is the latest installment in an ongoing investigation.

Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

Before everyone breaks for Memorial Day, let's take a look at a few of the public-interest stories in The Dallas Morning News and around the Web-o-sphere:

1. Carla Ranger -- the popular, watchdogging Dallas ISD board member -- learned this week that she would lose her job at the Dallas County Community College District after two decades of service. The Dallas Observer's Robert Wilonsky asks the right question: Why? Her bosses aren't talking. But she is. She blogged that she was given no warning, that it "appears someone has ordered my removal" and that "it smells of politics."

2. State lawmakers are bogging down as they try to reform eminent-domain laws allowing property seizures for, among other things, economic development, Marcus Funk reports.

3. The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts -- the shimmering new home to the opera, ballet and theater shows -- may not get a $1.7 million public subsidy as soon as it hoped, City Hall reporter Rudy Bush blogs. Question: Does the center need the subsidy at all, given the city's budget woes?

Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

Today we launch a regular feature that spotlights officials who won't talk.

Dallas Museum of Art boss Bonnie Pitman (right) is our first subject. She has refused for months to answer basic financial questions about the King Tut exhibit, which closed yesterday. It fell far short of attendance projections, as Dallas Morning News reporter Michael Granberry reported.

The News had to file a series of formal records demands just to get the taxpayer-subsidized DMA to claim that it and the city of Dallas would lose no money on the deal.

But the museum won't let us see any records to back that up. Why? Pitman and her staff say they promised the exhibit's for-profit organizers absolute confidentiality, as I reported yesterday. Museum officials say they can't even tell us how many people saw Tut for free.

Pitman initially said she'd do an interview for Granberry's story but backed out at the last minute. Too busy, her PR lady said.

It's Monday. We have a theme for today's edition of Hot Links: Open government. So let's dive in:

1. The News' Dallas City Hall reporters used the Texas Public Information Act to make an interesting discovery. City officials, in asking the Attorney General's office to reject a request for convention center hotel records, seemed to acknowledge having information it once said didn't exist.

2. A federal appeals court's ruling questions whether Texas' Open Meetings Act violates government officials' free-speech rights. The Austin American-Statesman reports that several states now fear that transparency and accountability may come under attack there.

3. We've blogged about proposed legislation that would restrict the public's ability to check whether public-school teachers have criminal histories. Ryan McNeill reports that a major teachers union drafted some of the bills and gave thousands in campaign contributions to the lawmakers pushing them.

Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

Here are a couple of public-interest stories from around the Web-o-sphere:

1. Dallas' venerable Majestic Theatre is in deep trouble, Channel 8 reports. DSM Management Group is punting control back to the city at a time when the overall economy stinks and the Majestic is about to face new competition from the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts.

2. Worried about those bus/train drivers who love their cell phones too much? Massachusetts is cracking down after a trolley operator who was texting his sweetheart injured nearly 50 people in a crash. Should DART follow suit?

Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

Let's catch up on a couple of the public-interest stories in The Dallas Morning News and around the Web-o-sphere:

1. Looking for broader perspective on the case of the North Texas soldier accused of killing five fellow troops in Iraq? Check out this award-winning investigation by the Hartford Courant.

2. Federal law bars nonprofit groups from engaging in partisan politics. But it apparently allows a foundation funded by some of Gov. Rick Perry's wealthiest backers to court pastors at election time, according to Dallas Morning News writer Wayne Slater. Here's a tax filing by the Niemoller Foundation, which dubbed its wooing campaign the Texas Restoration Project.

Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

State lawmakers moved one step closer today toward slashing funding for the state's high school steroids testing program.

The action comes months after 29,000 tests found 11 violators. Critics called the program, budgeted for $6 million in its first two years, expensive and wasteful. Gov. Rick Perry suggested it should be scaled back.

Sen. Florence Shapiro of Plano told The Associated Press that lawmakers didn't want to stop testing all together: "I think it's such an issue nationally. To say we tried it for just two years and then trash it would not have sent a good message."

Texas is one of three states nationally with such a program. It came to fruition after a Dallas Morning News series by Gregg Jones and Gary Jacobson, The Secret Edge, found steroid use had trickled down to high schools.

As parents or athletes, do you think this is a good move?

Let's catch up on a few of the public-interest stories in The Dallas Morning News and around the Web-o-sphere:

1. One question lingering from the arrest of Dirk Nowitzki's love interest is: Who blew the whistle? Brad Townsend, Steve Thompson and I write today that the woman was a fugitive who goes by multiple aliases and had a history of financial crimes spanning a decade and two states. It's unclear what all Dirk knew, but team sources said he clued in at some point. What happened from there?

2. Rowlett's city government just slashed $2 million to make up for a budget shortfall. But Richard Abshire tell us it is spending $25,000 to send a dozen employees to the coastal city of Tampa, Fla. to lobby for an award.

3. Here's a lawsuit to monitor: People who sought advice from the Mexico consulate in Dallas allege they were steered to lawyers whose help they didn't want or need, the Associated Press reports. The lawyers were accused of paying consulate officials for the referrals.

Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

My first question about the collapse of the Dallas Cowboys' practice facility was why Saturday's storm caused no other major structural damage nearby (right).

Since then the questions have multiplied: Why did the Cowboys hire a designer/builder that had just suffered a collapse of another of its large steel-framed, fabric-wrapped buildings, in Philadelphia? What happened to the city of Irving records that are supposed to show which engineer approved the design? Is it a coincidence that other records show the same engineer supervised design of both failed structures?

Our latest story makes me wonder: Is anybody in government going to seriously investigate what happened here?

No answers so far. So we'll keep digging. Thanks to all who've joined the conversation here in recent days.

A few things were left out of our story today that shows the state is making millions of dollars a year selling driver information that includes dates of birth, while lawmakers are seeking to hide that same information about government workers.

We've started asking authors of the legislation if they have reactions to our report. But so far we've haven't be able to reach them.

Quick background:

Dates of birth are the key identifier the public can use to identify whether government workers have criminal records. This newspaper has used that information multiple times to show the hiring of people with criminal histories in schools and the juvenile justice system.

Organizations representing public employees across the state say dates of birth could be used for identity theft.

But dates of birth of every Texas voter are public record. And, as the story notes, dates of birth are part of a package of information sold by the state to private companies.

Even the Texas House of Representatives posts their members' dates of birth.

Let's catch up on a few of the public-interest stories in The Dallas Morning News and around the Web-o-sphere:

1. Have you heard the one about the two judges standing in a courtroom office? The first said he wanted a chat. The second said the first wanted to throw down. Next thing you know, a bunch of investigators and attorneys are called in to sort it out. It's no joke, Kevin Krause reports.

2. An Austin outpatient clinic improperly charged veterans for treating trauma from sexual assaults they had in the military, The New York Times reports. The Veteran Affairs Department was supposed to provide free care.

3. We have blogged about state lawmakers trying to strip date-of-birth information on government employees -- an important tool for conducting accurate background checks -- from the Texas Public Information Act. The concern, they say, is preventing identity theft.

If DOBs were really a culprit, then why would the Texas Department of Public Safety have sold the same information for $50 million last year to country clubs, pizza delivery companies and driving schools, as Ryan McNeill tells us.

Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

U.S. Rep. Joe Barton of Arlington likened it to "communism" and called it "BS" -- a system that "you can't fix." Colleague Rep. Bobby Rush of Illinois wondered "how is this fair"?

Barton demanded corrective action or else he'd blitz with proposed legislation. After the House subcommittee hearing in Washington, a spokesman for the lambasted system said, "Any time Congress speaks, you take it seriously."

So what pressing matter is at issue? College football's method for picking its best team.

Now, I love college football. Great atmosphere. Better than the NFL, I say. But as the Associated Press reminds us, "Congress is grappling with a crowded agenda of budgets, health care overhaul and climate change." I might add one of the worst economies since the Great Depression and two years-long wars.

Setting aside any discussion about whether college football actually needs a better system, I wonder if this is really the best use of congressmen's and their staff's time? How much did the travel and preparation for this hearing cost taxpayers?

Watch an excerpt from the hearing and tell me what you think.

Here are a few public-interest stories catching our eye in The Dallas Morning News and around the Web-o-sphere:

1. Rich guys with money trouble, Part I: Dallas sports magnate Tom Hicks is dumping his rodeo (left), Dallas Morning News reporter Gary Jacobson writes. Hicks recently quit paying interest on Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars loans. Will he lose the teams?

2. Rich guys with money trouble, Part II: Another Dallas financier has been accused of participating in a pay-to-play scheme involving a big New York pension fund, Dallas Morning News reporter Brendan Case writes. This time it's Saul Meyer of Aldus Equity, who denies wrongdoing. Previously, hedge fund manager/classical music impresario Barrett Wissman pleaded guilty in the case.

3. For much of the world beyond our borders, today is Labor Day. So here's a sweet little tale from the Austin American-Statesman about government rewarding strike breakers.

Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

Here are a few public-interest stories catching our eye in The Dallas Morning News and around the Web-o-sphere:

1. I said it in yesterday's Hot Links, and I'll say it again: Swine-flu news coverage needs more perspective. Every kind of flu kills. Today's gold star for combating hysteria goes to this report in the Los Angeles Times.

2. Dallas Morning News reporter Tanya Eiserer dug out the outrage story of the day: A police officer who was branded a liar, fired and banned from testifying got his job back and went right on testifying. Now an untold number of court cases may be ruined.

3. Federal transportation officials are finally ordering a national review of bus safety. This comes after a series of deadly accidents, including one blamed on a retread tire that killed 17 religious pilgrims near Dallas.

Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

Today we have another update on the Coppell seller of test-prep software that consumers have been complaining about and that two arms of state government are checking into.

Here's what I've learned: SAT and ACT Prep Center co-owner John Joseph Stuart (right) is a registered sex offender. He was convicted of sexually exploiting a child in Arizona six years ago.

State law requires offenders to tell authorities where they live and work. Stuart apparently did fine on the first requirement -- he disclosed his address to police in the Dallas suburb of Cedar Hill, where he owns a home.

But he didn't tell the cops about the prep center, which shares a parking lot with a day care center and is around the corner from Coppell Middle School West. He said he was self-employed as a housing remodeler.

Stuart, who is 32, didn't respond to my messages this week. His wife told me to call their attorney, who didn't respond to a message either.

Here are a few public-interest stories catching our eye in The Dallas Morning News and around the Web-o-sphere:

1. I understand why people are concerned about swine flu. But how about a little perspective? Other kinds of influenza kill tens of thousands of people around the U.S. every year, as this government report reminds us.

2. No Child Left Behind, the law that Dallas' W touted so highly, isn't closing the achievement gap between whites and minorities, The New York Times reports.

3. Texas appears ready to join many other states in protecting reporters who protect their sources, writes Dallas Morning News reporter Terrence Stutz.

Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

Federal aviation authorities wanted to hide records on bird vs. plane collisions.

Now that they've lost that fight, we're learning that there have been at least 19 serious strikes at D/FW International Airport in recent years and two more at Dallas Love Field.

The Dallas Morning News and other media sought the data after North Texas native Chesley Sullenberger (right) landed a bird-crippled jet in New York's Hudson River.

Check out the Federal Aviation Administration data for yourself, if you like.

Here are a few public-interest stories catching our eye in The Dallas Morning News and around the Web-o-sphere:

1. A sports development without public financing? Minor league baseball near downtown Dallas? That's what these guys say. The site was once considered for the new Cowboys stadium, which is now going up in Arlington. Last we heard, development was not exactly booming in that area. Or at Dallas' Victory project.

2. I like wine just fine. But I'm not so sure about the Texas Legislature's priorities. Lawmakers can't seem to pass a bill requiring pharmaceutical companies to report the gifts they give to health care providers, Dallas Morning News investigative reporter Emily Ramshaw reports. But they are suspending rules and fast-tracking a bill that would allow BYOB at restaurants. Here's the official analysis of S.B. 2523.

3. When illegal immigrants go to jail in the United States, what happens to their children? Some are being adopted by citizens, The New York Times reports.

Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

Non-profit groups around the nation have made questionable loans to their executives, an Internal Revenue Service investigation is finding.

IRS officials won't name targets. But they say they're focusing on loans over $100,000 -- and are troubled by "loans with no real terms for repayment or loans where there are terms for repayment but no follow-up if the repayment is not made."

The Dallas Morning News reported in January on a local arts exec who got a loan of more than $500,000: Jeremy Strick (right), who recently became director of the Nasher Sculpture Center.

The lender was his previous employer, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. A written contract required him to repay any balance when his employment ended.

But Strick -- who quit his MOCA job under pressure in December, as the museum's finances crumbled -- now says he didn't meet the contract's terms. "When I left, we changed that," he told me.

Remember my recent post about consumer complaints against a Coppell company that sells test-prep software? Well, now I've learned that it hasn't been paying sales tax.

I called the Texas Comptroller's Office after I couldn't find The SAT and ACT Prep Center in the state's online database of sales taxpayers. The comptroller will investigate, spokesman R.J. DeSilva said.

Company co-owner John Stuart gave me this reason for not paying: "We don't sell in Texas."

But the Better Business Bureau in Dallas says it has received complaints from Texas and around the country.

The Texas Attorney General's office now says it, too, is reviewing consumer complaints about the company.

You might have heard a few cheers coming from proponents of openness in government on January 21. That's when President Obama ordered federal agencies to "adopt a presumption in favor" of releasing documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act.

The Freedom of Information Act is the federal law that governs what documents held by the executive branch that you --- the public --- are entitled to view.

For years, openness advocates bristled at the so-called Ashcroft Memo, a Bush administration admonition that reversed a previous standing order that documents should be presumed open unless a significant reason to withhold them exists.

For comparison sake, many states have similar laws that require a presumption a document is open.

But it apparently hasn't changed the way the Federal Aviation Administration does things. The Dallas Morning News has struggled for months to get the agency to release bird strike data and top officials have repeatedly ignored the newspaper.

Here's a little background:

Here are a few public-interest stories catching our eye in The Dallas Morning News and around the Web-o-sphere:

1. Happy Tax Day! Now sober up and consider this question: Is your tax preparer a crook? No problem, a Fort Worth Star-Telegram investigation finds. It focuses on a woman who has a history of financial crime but continues to work as a storefront tax preparer -- a profession that Texas and most other states don't regulate. Nor are there national standards, the IRS admits. The Fort Worth woman now faces charges that she helped clients cheat the IRS out of millions by claiming bogus dependents and bogus business expenses.

2. Plano ISD is shelving a proposal to quit penalizing middle-schoolers for cheating or late assignments, Dallas Morning News reporter Matthew Haag reports. This comes just a week after Matt showed, using an open-records request, that teachers were dubious about the plan.

3. Dallas investor Barrett Wissman has pleaded guilty to securities fraud, The New York Times reports. Wissman (right) is cooperating with an ongoing investigation of corruption in the New York state pension fund. Wissman reportedly was a managing director for HFV Asset Management, a money manager for Dallas' big-name Hunt family. The Times reports that the Carlyle Group, the prominent private equity firm, is also under scrutiny in the New York investigation.

Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know.

The Legislature is still attempting to remove dates of birth from the records of public employees. I'm going down to Austin tomorrow to testify before the House State Affairs Committee against House Bill 4207.

This is a companion bill to Senate Bill 1912.

You can find the direct video feed of the proceedings tomorrow by clicking here. We'll try and give you a more direct link tomorrow.

There's a few important things to know about this bill (by the way -- my birthday is July 27, 1977).

Here are a few public-interest stories catching our eye in The Dallas Morning News and around the Web-o-sphere:

1. Do you let your child sleep in bed with you? The state recommends you stop. More than 80 kids died between November and March -- by suffocating under bedding or clothes, by an adult rolling on top of them, or by falling between the bed and a wall, the Houston Chronicle reports.

2. Taxpayers shouldn't fund state employees' personal use of government vehicles, state Rep. Terri Hodge of Dallas says. She estimates such usage at four state agencies cost a combined $3.8 million in one year, the Austin American-Statesman reports.

3. We've been blogging steadily about legislative efforts that would curtail government accountability by making private state workers' date-of-birth information. Supporters say they're trying to prevent ID theft. But the legislation does nothing to prevent cases like this one reported by The News' Katherine Leal Unmuth.

Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know.