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Investigative journalism in the public interest. That’s what we focus on in Dallas-Fort Worth and throughout Texas. Join the conversation. Help us expose the problems and provide solutions. November 2009
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Hot Links: Why is Dallas County getting so much more swine flu vaccine per capita than neighbors? Texas law: It's OK to show porn to your kids Hot Links: Another city in North Texas cuts services, but elected officials keep traveling Problem Solver: E-mail bike lady to donate Citizen Watchdog: Stimulus fueling road work Categories
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November 5, 2009
Dallas County: 8.3 Dallas County's rate is also higher than that of major urban counties elsewhere in the state: Travis County (Austin): 7.7 The allocation figures only cover shipments to private health-care providers. They have received the vast majority of vaccine in Texas. Want to check my math or look up another county's allocation? Click on the "Doses by County" link on this Department of State Health Services site. Then look up the county population total on the U.S. Census site. State health officials say they consider several factors when allocating vaccine, including its current scarcity, providers' requests and the need for geographic balance. Do you have a tip about swine flu vaccine allocation? 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. You can also check us out on Facebook.  Comments (13) Leave comment
|  E-mail entryThe entry "Hot Links: Why is Dallas County getting so much more swine flu vaccine per capita than neighbors?" is tagged: allocation , Bexar County , Census , Collin County , Dallas County , Denton County , Department of State Health Services , Ellis County , H1N1 , Harris County , Johnson County , Kaufman County , Parker County , Rockwall County , swine flu , Tarrant County , Travis County , vaccine , Wise County October 28, 2009
Now a Panhandle prosecutor wants the Texas attorney general's office to check his reading of the penal code section on showing harmful material to minors. An AG's spokesman said the matter is under review and declined further comment. Randall County District Attorney James Farren's request grew out of a divorced Dallas-area woman's experience. Her three grade-school-aged daughters were living with their dad earlier this year when he allegedly got liquored up late one night and showed two of them porn on his computer. They later told a counselor, who alerted authorities. Amarillo police investigated, found the girls believable and sought advice from the DA's office before proceeding. Farren concluded that that his hands were tied. No search warrant ever got issued, so there's been no independent look at evidence. "We have to convince the Legislature to review this issue," Farren told me. State Sen. Bob Deuell, a Republican from Greenville, said he will push for change in the next legislative session. "It's not going to be an easy issue," he warned. Why? There will be talk that the state is trying to dictate what parents can teach their children.
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| E-mail entryThe entry "Texas law: It's OK to show porn to your kids" is tagged: Bob Deuell , children , Dallas Children's Advocacy Center , district attorney , harmful material , James Farren , Lillian Smith Family Violence Foundation , obscenity , pornography , Randall County , Tati Santiesteban , Texas penal code , Wynne Shaw September 18, 2009
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.
Use social-networking media to get your news? Follow the blog or me on Twitter, or join our Facebook group. Comments (10) Leave comment
| E-mail entryThe entry "Hot Links: Another city in North Texas cuts services, but elected officials keep traveling" is tagged: Dallas , elected officials , foreign , Fort Worth , Mesquite , municipal , overseas , Rowlett , Sister Cities , Travel , trips September 14, 2009
But the group doesn't have one. If you are interested in donating a bike, bike parts or money, you'll need to contact Pamela Jackson through e-mail at spokesfolks@aol.com. Comments (0) Leave comment
| E-mail entryThe entry "Problem Solver: E-mail bike lady to donate" is tagged: bicycle charity , bike , Problem Solver , Spokes For Folks June 1, 2009
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. Comments (1) Leave comment
| E-mail entryThe entry "Citizen Watchdog: Stimulus fueling road work" is tagged: bike paths , bridges , Citizen Watchdog , federal funding , infrastructure , Jennifer LaFleur , online data , Recovery and Reinvestment Act , road construction , search tools , stimulus , tax dollars , TxDOT April 29, 2009
The main problem is that there's no one right way to measure progress against smog. The official version says Dallas-Fort Worth is making pretty good progress. The American Lung Association, in its 10th annual State of the Air report being released Wednesday, finds things getting worse. As is so often the case, both versions of reality arise from the same raw data. It's just shaken and stirred with different goals in mind. Comments (3) Leave comment
| E-mail entryThe entry "North Texas smog: Making clean-air progress? " is tagged: air , American Lung Association , environment , EPA , health , North Texas , ozone , smog April 9, 2009
News reporter Sarah Perry tells us that a "bridge over State Highway 114 near the Texas Motor Speedway could be closed for nearly two months for emergency repairs." "The bridge on FM 156 was closed Wednesday after crews discovered a damaged beam on its underside, said Keith Nabors, a maintenance supervisor for TxDOT." Bridge and roadway quality was thrust into the national spotlight when the I-35W bridge across the Mississippi River collapsed Aug. 1, 2007, killing 13. The collapse was caused by design flaws. More than 1 in 4 of America's bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. So take some time and check the bridges near where you live and drive on our new searchable database.
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| E-mail entryThe entry "Check the health of bridges across North Texas" is tagged: bridges , collin , dallas , denton , infrastructure , north texas , rockwall , tarrant , texas |
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