Investigation continues after firefighter’s injury

By Brad Meyer in The Conroe Courier
Heavy smoke and reduced visibility contributed to an accident that caused a Montgomery firefighter to lose a portion of his hand Monday morning. The Montgomery Fire Department responded to a commercial warehouse fire on Commerce Row in Montgomery at 4 a.m. Monday. A firefighter using a saw to gain entrance through a metal door came in contact with a fellow firefighter, resulting in the accident, Montgomery Fire Department Chief Brian Edwards said.

The victim, Josh Cockrum, was transported by ground to Memorial-Hermann-The Texas Medical Center in Houston, where doctors are attempting to salvage his hand, Edwards said.

“They’re doing all they can,” he said, “but it’s too early to know for sure what will happen.”

Cockrum, a full-time firefighter, had been with the fire department for only three months, Edwards said. He attributed the accident to the reduced visibility caused by dense smoke. Assistant Fire Marshal Scott Burlin, of the Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Office, said officials were on the scene of the accident and continue to investigate the circumstances. A preliminary report is expected to be released later today.

Firefighers are making plans for a benefit in support of Cockrum, but they have not been finalized.

Man throws puppies off of Port Arthur sea wall.

PORT ARTHUR, Texas (AP) - Three rescued puppies are recovering after being thrown over a seawall and on to some rocks in Port Arthur.

Firefighters rescued the crying pups and placed the creatures with animal control.

KFDM-TV reports the man who tossed the animals on Sunday was heard saying he was "turning them into soldiers." A bystander noticed the abandoned puppies and summoned help.

Pat Lavergne with Port Arthur Animal Control says the puppies, with health problems such as mange, were at the shelter Tuesday and available for adoption. She described them as a retriever mix.

The owner of the dogs, who was not immediately located, could face animal cruelty charges.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry Speaks at LSC-University Park Event - Kingwood

The symposium was hosted by ProfilesHouston.com Magazine, along with the North Houston Association, the Houston North Economic Forum, and the Greater Tomball Area, Lake Houston Area, Houston Northwest and Houston Intercontinental chambers of commerce.

"Although Texas leads the nation in so many positive categories - from Fortune 500 companies to job creation - we owe it to our citizens to strive for more," Perry told the breakfast group. "We need to stay ahead of our country's tough economic situation by adhering to proven conservative fiscal disciplines.

"People still want a few basic things from their government, starting with freedom," he said. "They want to live their lives free of oppression to make a dollar and the ability to keep more of what they earn and have a safe place to live.

"Here in Texas, we believe that the government's job is to stick to the basics, sustain a competitive culture, and then get out of the way," Perry said.

Other speakers at the event, in addition to Gov. Perry, included: State Sen. Dan Patrick, District 7: State Rep. Patricia Harless, District 126; State Rep. Debbie Riddle, District 150; Jerry Eversole, Harris County Commissioner, Pct. 4; Craig Doyal, Montgomery County Commissioner, Pct. 2; and Dr. Richard Carpenter, LSCS chancellor .

Commissioner Eversole told the attendees that Harris County is in a financial stretch for the first time in 20 years. At the same time, Eversole was optimistic. "Things have bottomed out and should be moving upwards in 2010," he said.

Eversole praised college officials for the new facility at LSC-University Park and said it would "go down in history" as one of the most important things to happen to the northwest Harris County area.

Texas Sen. Patrick said that the entire nation would be looking at LSC-University Park. "This is a model for the United States, and definitely for Texas," Patrick said.

LSC-University Park opened in January with about 4,000 students, and in addition to two-year degrees, will offer four-year degrees later this year through a partnership with multiple four-year universities.

"I believe that within less than 10 years, there will be 16,000 to 20,000 students on this campus," Patrick said.

The symposium at LSC-University Park was held to analyze the greater north Houston area's economic issues and to allow the participants to create shared visions for the future, along with innovative strategies to accomplish the visions set.



SEE ORIGINAL POST AT KINGWOOD.COM

Man charged with murder in former area resident’s death

A Texas man has been charged with capital murder in the death of a former Whitfield County resident who was living near Houston.

Luis Eduardo Guzman, 31, was taken into custody on Wednesday by the Montgomery County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office and is being held without bond in the Dec. 21 home invasion death of Lisa Lynette Whitt-Ulloa, 34, who formerly worked as a real estate agent in Chatsworth and Dalton. Guzman was arrested without incident in the Waller County city of Brookshire at his place of employment as a welder, according to The Courier newspaper of Montgomery County, Texas (www.hcnonline.com).

A press release following the invasion said two masked men entered the home through an unlocked door and bound and assaulted family members with wooden clubs, including Whitt-Ulloa’s husband, Michael, 26, and her 18-year-old daughter. A son was staying with nearby relatives. The husband and daughter were taken to a hospital with injuries, but Whitt-Ulloa died by strangulation, according to a forensic report.

Whitt-Ulloa and her daughter were from Georgia, investigators said. Robbery is suspected as a motive.

Realtor Velma Ray recalled Whitt-Ulloa, whom she knew as Lisa Brock, as “bubbly” when they worked together at Peach Realty in Chatsworth.

“She was always a happy-type person,” Ray said. “I had not kept up with her, but it’s just so sad. She was so young, too.”

Mike Doran, owner and broker at Re/Max Select Realty in Dalton, also knew Whitt-Ulloa.

“She was very likable, and a hard-working person who did well,” he said. “She did a lot of new construction (real estate) with her late husband, Danny Witt. I was glad to see on the Internet posting where the guy who did it was arrested.”

Danny Witt, a Whitfield County contractor, died in August 2008 from what authorities determined was a self-inflicted gunshot to the abdomen.

Whitt-Ulloa was listed as an agent with ERA Trinity in an area real estate listings magazine in November 2006, and as working with Re/Max Select Realty in March of 2007 in a similar publication.

Officials with the Montgomery County sheriff’s office and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office declined comment on whether either department had additional suspects in connection with the home invasion, the newspaper reported.

Capital murder is punishable by life without parole or death by lethal injection in Texas. Prosecutors did not say whether they would seek the death penalty.

Condemned Montgomery Co. killer loses DNA appeal

By RENÉE C. LEE Houston Chronicle

After nearly a decade on death row, Larry Swearingen has hit another roadblock in his fight to prove his innocence in the murder of a 19-year-old college student in 1998.

The Texas Criminal Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld the trial court's decision in January 2009 to deny Swearingen's motion for DNA testing of evidence in the capital murder case.
In the unanimous decision, the appeals court agreed that some evidence had already been tested and that Swearingen could not prove other evidence contained biological materials that could be tested for DNA. The law says there must be biological material present for a defendant to pursue post-conviction testing.

“In light of the overwhelming evidence of the appellant's guilt, even if we were to grant appellant's request,” the court said, Swearingen cannot show the test results would create at least a 51 percent chance that he would not be convicted.
In November, a federal district judge denied Swearingen's petition of actual innocence.
Despite Swearingen's numerous petitions and two stays of execution, he has not yet exhausted the appeals process.
His attorney, James Rytting, said he plans to file an appeal with the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Houston attorney said he believes the state appeals court is trying to close the gate on Swearingen by engaging in “political murder.”

“They're greasing the skids toward execution of an innocent man,” Rytting said. “I will fight up to the last minute.”

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Local author publishes first children’s book

By Jim Higgins
Special to The Daily News
Published February 10, 2010

LEAGUE CITY — Hurricane Rita uprooted trees and lives in East Texas in 2005, but one young woman who evacuated from the storm put down new roots in League City and began writing new chapters of her life.

The path she followed and the career she chose would at first glance seem incongruous to everyone except Christina Smith, who is as comfortable around pumps and compressors as she is reading Dr. Seuss or reciting Leonard Cohen poems.

But it is writing children’s stories and poetry that Christina Smith enjoys the most after a day of studying pumps and compressors in College of the Mainland’s process technology associate degree program.

“My dad has an English degree and reads more than anyone I have ever known but decided to work in the plants back in Orange where I grew up,” the full-time COM students and single mother of a 2-year old, said.

“My dad and mom read to me as a child. My mom wrote poetry. I guess I got my love of words from them.”

Her love for her young daughter, Samantha, coupled with a love of words led her to pen her first children’s book last year, “Skeeter Sneeter Doodlebop.”

“I came up with the name Skeeter Sneeter Doodlebop one day just talking nonsense to Sam, my little girl, when she was barely born.

“I wrote the name down and just built the story around it. Amy, a friend and illustrator who lost everything in Hurricane Ike, went with her own imagination to draw the characters.

“They are very unique-looking characters, unlike any I have seen before.”

After several rejection letters from publishers, Skeeter was picked up by Nimblebooks and became the publisher’s first children’s book.

Smith said the book, which can be purchased online, is doing quite well for an unknown author.

“Children’s books are the best. They are the happiest books on earth. They are filled with imagination and hope and offer a peacefully simplistic outlook on life in comparison to other genres.”

She already is working on her second children’s book, “Skeeter Uses Manners.” It will be available this spring. A book of her poetry, Orange Smiles and Simple Truths also was published this year.

Smith also works 25 to 30 hours a week for a local diving company.

So how will this single mom with a toddler in tow and a passion to write balance all that plus shift work once she graduates in December 2010?

“My mom and sister moved up here to help me out when I had Sam. It is because of them that I can actually do homework or go to Phi Theta Kappa events. It works out great, and Sam never has to be anywhere but at home even if I have a night class. I honestly couldn’t do it without them.

“Lone Star Diving Inc. is my adopted family. They have helped me with everything from actually getting into school, truck repairs, feeding me and even helping me study for tests. I am blessed to be surrounded by people who care about me and my future.

“I know there will be times that are hard because of shift work, but I also know that it is the quality of time you spend with a child that outranks the quantity. I am doing this all for her and I know that one day she will understand. We are going to be just fine.”

Atascocita growing by leaps and bounds!

Business Week:

Tired of reading about how rotten the real estate market is? Here's some good news that shows that even during the worst of the recession plenty of American cities, towns, and suburbs continue to grow.

One such place is Atascocita, Tex. A mostly residential community 20 miles from Houston, it gained more than 1,800 households in 2009, an 8% year-over-year increase, according to new data from Little Rock-based data firm Gadberry Group. Over the decade, amenities that have helped attract residents to this wooded locale include Lake Houston, just east of the city; the school district; and proximity to the city of Houston. With new roads in the area under construction, "we're starting to see major industry start to take a look at the area," says Mike Byers, president of the Lake Houston Area Chamber of Commerce.

Migration levels nationwide stayed low last year as homeowners saddled with pricey mortgages stayed put—but there are some positive trends. Research by the Gadberry Group shows that some areas, resisting the effects of the recession, continue to attract both domestic and foreign migrants and, as an effect, bring in new businesses to provide services. While other cities across the U.S. have contracted, these have continued to grow.

Some states are better off than others, though. As thousands of people left places such as New Orleans and Flint, Mich. (the country's two fastest-shrinking cities), in the last decade, communities with the best mix of economic activity, proximity to job centers, and a good environment for families continued to grow. While not entirely spared by the economic downturn (some homes in these areas are now in foreclosure), people continued to move in during 2009.
Texas Grew the Most

Texas came out on top of Gadberry's survey, with four high-growth cities: Atascocita, Katy, Mansfield, and Wylie. The report only included areas larger than 10,000 occupied households that met requirements for growth rate, household income, length of residence, and other factors.

Larry Martin, principal of the Gadberry Group, says many of the places with the biggest housing growth at the beginning of the last decade, such as Nevada, Florida, and Arizona, also saw the biggest drop-off since the economy sank. Texas, however, enjoyed relatively strong housing and job markets over the last 10 years, thanks in large part to the presence of major employers in the robust energy business. As of December, the state unemployment rate was 8.3% (lower than the national rate of 10%), according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It also had the largest state population growth between July 2008 and July 2009, according to a December release by the Census Bureau. "New homes are still being built and people are still moving into these homes" in Texas, says Martin.

Part of the state's strength, says Mark Mather, a demographer at the Population Reference Bureau in Washington, D.C., is its diversified economy. Main industries include petroleum refining, chemical production, aerospace, and information technology.

Meanwhile, areas that depended on the housing boom are now dealing with high foreclosure rates. Places such as Summerlin South, Nev., which appear in Bloomberg BusinessWeek's slide show of fast-growing cities, gained population but, like the rest of the state, may be dealing with high mortgage default rates.

"If you live by migration, you also die by migration," says Kenneth Johnson, senior demographer at the University of New Hampshire's Carsey Institute. "It doesn't guarantee continued growth."
New Business Opportunities

Migration is typically highest among people in their 20s seeking jobs near large urban cores, but employment opportunities are not the only draw. "Amenities are also important in migrational decisions," says Johnson. Many families consider factors such as schools and recreational amenities like scenic areas and parks.

This is a consideration now in Spring Hill, Tenn., which gained 7,645 households since 2000 as many young families moved to the town for affordable housing and work at the General Motors plant, which is now idle. Dustin Dunbar, chairman of the Spring Hill Economic Development Commission, says this has created demand and opportunity for businesses that provide youth activities and entertainment. "We hope to recruit some businesses to cater to our largest demographics," he says.

While migration in 2010 may remain sluggish, "we'll see a continuation of urban sprawl once the economy bounces back," says Mather.

Dr. Conrad Murray to surrender today.

Dr. Conrad Murray is expected to surrender to authorities in Los Angeles this week on charges related to Michael Jackson's death, according to The Associated Press and CNN. Murray arrived in Los Angeles recently from Houston in anticipation of a decision from the district attorney's office, spokeswoman Miranda Sevcik told the AP..

"Dr. Murray is in Los Angeles for a dual purpose — on family business and to be available for law enforcement," Sevcik told the AP. "We're trying to be as cooperative as we can."

"Dr. Murray is more than ready to surrender and answer to any charges," Ed Chernoff, one of Murray's lawers, told CNN, adding that prosecutors have not announced any charges, and Murray has not been told how or where he should surrender.

No official comment has been made about when charges might, come; David Walgren, the deputy district attorney handling the case, declined to comment to the AP on Tuesday (February 2).

Law enforcement officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the AP that Murray is likely to be charged with involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's June 25 death from an anesthetic overdose. Murray has denied criminal wrongdoing.

"We continue to maintain that Dr. Murray neither prescribed nor administered anything that should have killed Michael Jackson," Sevcik said.

Earlier this year, TMZ reported that the Los Angeles Police Department had completed its investigation into Jackson's death and was preparing to send the case to the DA's office within weeks.

Murray has told investigators that he administered the surgical anesthetic propofol, as well as other tranquilizers, to Jackson several times in the hours leading up to his death, and the coroner has ruled the singer died of lethal levels of the drug. Involuntary manslaughter charges would require prosecutors to show that Murray engaged in gross negligence in his actions but did not intend to cause harm or death to Jackson.