More child abuse allegations made; Forum tonight on rail station
Statesman [Austin TX]
June 27, 2007
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/06/27/0627roundup.html
The City of Austin on Tuesday approved the new site plan for a Wal-Mart store at Northcross Mall, officials said.
The city's Watershed Protection and Development Review office signed off on the plan. Wal-Mart said it will incorporate changes it agreed to make after some neighbors objected to the store's plans.
But those changes won't quell the debate.
Jason Meeker of Responsible Growth for Northcross, a group fighting the Wal-Mart, said Tuesday night, "We will be having a press conference on Thursday to address our legal response to this illegal approval of the site plan."
Lincoln Property Co. plans to redevelop Northcross Mall into the Wal-Mart and other stores. Wal-Mart has agreed to reduce the store's size and hours, make changes to roads in the area and eliminate a gas station and other services at the site.
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| Harry Whittington Photo by David Kennedy |
Diocese reports new abuse claims
A former St. Stephen's Episcopal School chaplain accused of molesting students in the 1960s may have also sexually assaulted minors at a church and school he later served in Houston, according to a letter sent last week from the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.
The Rev. James L. Tucker, who retired in 1992, worked at St. Stephen's just west of Austin for a decade before becoming rector of St. James Church in Houston in 1970. The Rt. Rev. Don Wimberly, bishop of the Houston-based diocese, last month informed St. Stephen's alumni of the allegations.
Wimberly sent another letter last week to people affiliated with St. James Church and School saying he thought that the abuse claims had substance. Diocesan officials said they are investigating the matter and have alerted authorities in Austin and Houston.
Tucker has not been charged with a crime.
The bishop asked anyone with information about abuse to call the Rev. Canon Andrew Doyle, (713) 520-6444.
Forums on commuter rail stops set
The City of Austin will hold forums tonight and Thursday on development around coming commuter rail stops.
The city is creating "station plans" for what is generally referred to a transit-oriented development that would occur in the vicinity of the stations.
Capital Metro will open the area's first passenger rail line in late 2008, with nine stations between Leander and downtown Austin.
Tonight's meeting, concerning the Plaza Saltillo stop near Comal and Fifth streets, will start at 5:30 p.m. at the A.B. Cantu Pan American Recreation Center, 2100 E. Third St.
The Thursday meeting, also at 5:30 p.m., will be at Koenig Lane Christian Church, 908 Old Koenig Lane, and involves the stop near Lamar and Airport boulevards.
Ex-newspaper employee charged
Austin police have charged a former Austin American-Statesman contract employee with selling fraudulent subscriptions.
Cedric Laverne Adams, 42, is charged with theft, a state jail felony, and faces up to two years if convicted.
According to an arrest affidavit, Adams sold fraudulent subscriptions at a Randall's on Ben White Boulevard after he had been fired from the newspaper, and he offered at least one person a subscription for $90, plus a $45 gift card to Randall's as a special promotion. He told the customer that she must pay in cash, the affidavit said.
Harry Davis, vice president of the Statesman's circulation department, said that the Statesman accepts checks, credit cards and cash and that customers should be wary of anyone who tells them the newspaper accepts only cash.
Davis said the newspaper has identified 15 people who said they paid Adams a total of $825 for subscriptions.
Judge rules in Whittington case
A judge has upheld most of a jury's findings in a land-condemnation case.
About seven years ago, the City of Austin condemned a downtown block owned by Austin lawyer Harry Whittington to build a parking garage and cooling plant. Whittington has been fighting the city since.
Last month, a jury ruled that the city illegally condemned the block for economic development rather than a public purpose, and acted in an arbitrary and capricious way.
Judge Joseph Hart ruled Tuesday that there was not evidence to support the jury's conclusion that the city condemned the land for economic development.
However, Hart upheld the jury's verdict that the city acted in bad faith. He also said that the city failed to properly condemn a 20-foot alley on the block.
The city might appeal the ruling, said Howard Newton, the lawyer representing the city.
WILLIAMSON COUNTY
Arrest made in ambulance theft
Georgetown police on Tuesday arrested a woman suspected of stealing an ambulance from St. David's Hospital in Georgetown early Monday morning.
Janna Marie Grazdan, 43, of Round Rock, was charged with the state felony of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, which is punishable to up to two years in prison. Her bail was set at $15,000.
Emergency workers noticed that the ambulance was gone at about 3 a.m. but surveillance video showed that the vehicle was gone about 12:15 a.m.
The ambulance was found at a Round Rock apartment complex later that morning.
Officials said that the vehicle was not damaged and that no medication was gone but that a purse belonging to one of the paramedics was missing.
Shelter to get more staff, money
The Williamson County Commissioners Court approved two more staff members and a proposed $692,209 spending plan for the regional animal shelter Tuesday.
The county pays 50 percent of the shelter's costs.
Through a partnership, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander and Hutto split the remaining costs, and they also would need to approve the budget, county officials said.
The shelter has been overpopulated and inadequately staffed since it opened in March, residents and officials have said.
Despite two more staff members, some of the dozens of residents who raised concerns at the meeting Tuesday said they weren't satisfied.
"They're putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound," said Lori Rogowski, a Leander resident who has volunteered at the shelter.
Police traffic enforcement
Police will be watching for traffic-law violations in these areas today:
Morning: 800 block of West Slaughter Lane; 1900 to 2300 blocks of Red River Street; 1500 to 4500 blocks of East Riverside Drive; 12000 block of North MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1).
Afternoon: none
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