Lynn Walsh

A story written for BrowardBulldog:

A First Amendment battle has erupted between a prominent South Florida developer and a blogger, who so far has only been identified as “John Doe.”

Raanan Katz, a minority owner of the Miami Heat, and his family-owned company R.K. Associates are suing the anonymous blogger for defamation and libel for reports he claims are false and malicious.

The blogger’s Fort Lauderdale attorney, Robert Kain, argues in court papers that his client is a “citizen journalist” deserving of First Amendment protection because his reporting on Katz is about “matters of public concern.”

“Doe is an anonymous citizen journalist critically reporting what he considers to be abusive litigation tactics and prior criminal convictions by a well know public person Raanan Katz and Katz’ companies,” the papers say.

Katz’s filed the case in state court in June, but it has since been removed to federal court in Miami. Katz dropped an additional claim for false advertising against the blogger last week.

(continue reading…)

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

HISD: Vendors can still give computers to schools as gifts despite gift-giving ban enacted in the wake of scandal

Monday, Nov 15, 2010, 03:44PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

School districts across the country are still able to accept technology gifts from computer companies despite gift-giving bans enacted in the wake of scandals in the Houston and Dallas school systems, documents show.
Just last week the federal government reached a $16.25 million settlement with Hewlett-Packard for violating the bidding process in the Houston and Dallas independent school districts as part of the federal computers-in-schools program E-Rate.

As part of the settlement HP signed an agreement that limits what kind of gifts and marketing materials employees of the computer giant can give to school districts — but it does not ban them from giving.

According to the agreement:

“HP and its employees may continue to provide gifts of equipment to section 501(c)(3) organizations and accredited educational institutions under HP’s Global Contributions Policy…HP may continue its various HP in Education grants initiatives pursuant to its
Global Social Innovation Policy…”

Would HP be able to donate a computer to HISD? The district’s E-Rate compliance officer, Richard Patton, said that is a difficult question to answer.

“My gut reaction is no,” he said. “But you can’t take one situation and apply it to all situations. Each has to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. I would shy away from a computer donation from HP because they are an E-Rate vendor.”

HP wasn’t the only vendor involved in the federal investigation into HISD’s E-Rate program. The school district wound up paying an $850,000 settlement, agreeing to hire someone solely to monitor ethics in the E-Rate purchasing system, and agreeing to a more strict gift-giving policy for employees and school district trustees.

In exchange for being able to donate, HP must provide documentation to the Federal Communications Commission of gifts worth $10,000 or more if the school district participates in E-Rate, according to the agreement. The gifts can also not be “made in a manner that would be, or create the appearance of being, a bribe, a kickback or other corrupt practice.”

According to the memorandum report in the HISD investigation, HP offered HISD employees $1,000 tickets to technology forums, a free computer and printer and possibly a trip to Las Vegas for a conference.

Because of HISD’s history with HP and other E-Rate technology vendors, Patton said he has asked that all donations, including scholarships and grants, from technology companies go through his office, “even if it directly benefits our educational mission and has nothing on the surface to do with E-Rate.”

HP is not the only technology company that is allowed to give gifts to school districts.

According to a presentation at a recent conference Patton attended on behalf of HISD:

“Gift rules are not intended to discourage companies from making charitable contributions to schools, as long as those contributions are NOT directly or indirectly related to an E-Rate related procurement.

Now that it is clear HISD is able to accept technology gifts, Patton said his office “will allow the District to steer clear of improprieties and the appearance of such. We will do what is right.”

Do you think HP and other technology vendors should be allowed to make donations to school districts if they are E-Rate vendors? Texas Watchdog wants to hear what you think. Contact Lynn Walsh at Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org or on Twitter @LWalsh.

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

Hewlett-Packard to pay $16M+ as more problems come out in HISD, DISD E-Rate program
Thursday, Nov 11, 2010, 05:28PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

A major computer company with strong local ties is being forced to pay more than $16 million to the federal government and people in Houston and Dallas in the aftermath of allegations of fraud in a federal program supplying computers to the Houston and Dallas school districts.
According to the settlement, five people, all from Texas, sued Hewlett-Packard for violating the bidding processes associated with the E-Rate technology program.

“…during the period from 2002 to 2005 in the Dallas and Houston Independent School Districts: (1) conspiring to rig the competitive bidding of E-Rate contracts; (2) subverting the competitive bidding processes for E-Rate contracts through the provision of gratuities, including meals, trips, and tickets, to school district representatives in violation of school district policies or rules and E-Rate Program rules; and (3) unjust enrichment from E-Rate contracts received as a result of violations of the competitive bidding processes.”

HP is based in California but has a substantial presence in Houston. It bought out Houston-based rival Compaq a few years ago.

HISD’s E-rate compliance officer, Richard Patton, told Texas Watchdog he had not been aware of the interaction between HP and the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission.

“I can tell you this, I was not aware of this … All of those things do not run through my office, either,” Patton said. “The Secret Service or the FBI may have spoken with the parties at the time, but it was a complete surprise to me.”

Patton was hired by HISD in February of this year. The district had been forced to agree to hire someone to look over its E-Rate contracting processes.

David Galbraith, a lawyer for HISD, said he was aware of the suits against HP but said HISD was not involved with them. “We did not get into any of that. We knew the suit was going on, and the suit did hold up our settlement a little, but we were not a party to the case.”

The latest settlements are a part of a string of investigations and lawsuits related to the E-Rate programs at both HISD and DISD, two of the state’s largest school districts.

HISD was forced to pay $850,000 to settle a suit earlier this year after allegations of E-Rate vendors giving gifts, sporting tickets and meals to district employees, including the HISD superintendent at the time, Abelardo Saavedra.

The investigations in Dallas led to prison sentences for a former DISD employee, Ruben Bohuchot, and a former DISD and HISD E-Rate vendor, Frankie Wong. The two men had been charged with bribery and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Appeals were denied this week for both men, the Chronicle reported.

In the HISD investigation, allegations against HP and other E-Rate vendors were outlined in a memorandum provided to the federal government by the school district. The allegations against HP in the memorandum include:

* In August 2006, Hewlett-Packard offered HISD two complimentary passes, worth more than $1,000 each, to the 2006 HP Technology Forum, which was held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.District employees Mark Landrum and Carl Bradley attended the event.

* In April 2005 HP sent a computer and printer to HISD technology employees Ken Eaton and Wayne Franklin as a “thank you” for serving on a panel. The computers were supposed to be donated to an HISD school but remained at the school district’s west region office. Franklin is no longer employed at HISD, a district spokesman said.

* HISD documents show that “an unidentified district employee” registered for a conference in May 2005 atMandalay Bay Resort and Casino, the memo says. But HISD is “unable to confirm” that Steve Kim, HISD’s networking manager at the time, “accepted a trip to Las Vegas from HP on any of these dates,” the memo says.

According to the most recent lawsuit settlement with HP, the computer company will pay $16.25 million to the federal government. More than $7.4 million is associated with allegations in DISD and more than $8.8 million for the allegations associated with HISD. HP will also have to pay more than $200,000 in attorney fees, according to the settlement.

Once the federal government receives the money, it will give more than $1.4 million to plaintiffs Dan Cain and Pam Tingley and close to $800,000 to Dave Richardson, Dave Gillis and Barry Clauss, according to the settlement. In the documents, all five of the individuals are listed as being associated with real estate companies, Cain Realtors and Richardson Realtors.

HP is currently on the approved vendor list for HISD, Patton said, and it most likely will stay on.

“We do not do a lot of direct business with HP. We will analyze that (whether HP should remain on the list) but I do not think it would be smart to remove a solid vendor like that. It could potentially be very costly to change midstream.”

According to Patton, HISD primarily buys HP equipment through resellers and does not do a lot of direct buying from the company. An HISD contract database obtained by Texas Watchdog shows payments HP receiving close to $20,000 in payments from HISD from 2005 to 2009. Hewlett-Packard banned ACS and Micro Systems Engineering, two HISD E-rate vendors accused of providing sporting tickets and other gifts to HISD employees, from selling its equipment in late 2006, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Patton said the only way HP would be removed from the district’s vendor list were if the federal government specifically asked the district to do so. He also said HISD will review the compliance and settlement agreements HP signed with the federal government but does not think they will have an impact on HISD.

“I don’t think the district will be at a loss as a result of this agreement. We were not a part of the investigation,” he said. “Prior to our settlement agreement we had gaps and holes but we have closed those.”

Cain, from Dallas, spoke for the first time about the lawsuit in a recent story in the Dallas Observer. According to the story, Cain, a Realtor, did not work for DISD but his cousin, Chuck Spivey, did, serving as a district assistant superintendent and chief technology officer.

“One day in the fall of 2002, Bohuchot told Spivey that he and some dude from Houston named Frankie Wong were going in on a big ol’ boat together — a 46-foot Post Yacht dubbed the Sir Veza. It was worth more than $300,000. Spivey knew just the perfect folks to work that sucker: His cousin Pam — Danny Cain’s sister — and her husband, Dan Tingley. Dan would captain; Pam would serve as first mate — hostess, in other words…”

According to the story, Cain soon began receiving mail at his house from Coast Guard about the yacht and other pieces of mail that were addressed to Wong and Bohuchot.

“…he was furious: ‘Here were all these people stealing money from school kids — and they were using my house for an illegal enterprise,’ he says. ‘I didn’t care if it was my brother-in-law and sister.’”

Wong was sentenced to 10 years in prison, Bohuctot received 11 years. According to an article in the Houston Chronicle, both were denied appeals Tuesday in a New Orleans-based federal court.

Contact Lynn Walsh at Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter @LWalsh. You can also follow her at @TexasWatchdog.

A story featured on 39 News Houston:

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

Former Yates High Principal Ronald Mumphery accused of sexual harassment, HISD records show
Friday, Nov 05, 2010, 08:44PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

A former principal of one of Houston’s largest public high schools is currently under investigation for multiple allegations of sexual misconduct with former employees and a former student, records show.

The allegations against Ronald Mumphery, former prinicipal of Yates High School, date back to the early 1980’s and include allegations of staff members exchanging sexual favors for preferential treatment and overtime pay from the principal and allegations that Mumphery grabbed and sexually touched a 17-year-old cheerleader and student back in 1984.

Multiple witnesses and alleged victims’ testimonies are outlined in a Houston Independent School District investigation report made public to Texas Watchdog Friday. The district reassigned Mumphery in late September, saying publicly only that Mumphery had been accused of unspecified “professional misconduct,” without elaborating. He filed paperwork with the school system a few days later to retire.

A 30-year veteran of the Houston schools, Mumphery, reached by telephone Friday afternoon, said the accusations were news to him. “I don’t know anything about that and nothing like that ever happened,” he said, but said he does have a lawyer.

The news in September that Mumphery had been reassigned made headlines across the city. He had taken the helm in 2008 at Yates, one of the city’s most historic schools, and one whose history is closely intertwined with that of the surrounding Third Ward.

Mumphery has previously served as principal at Houston’s Cullen Middle School and an assistant principal at Jones High. He earned more than $109,000 last year, according to an HISD salary database.

The allegations came to light, records show, after Houston school Superintendent Terry Grier received an anonymous letter in mid-September alleging sexual misconduct by the former principal.

HISD investigators then reached out to numerous former students and employees of Mumphery, including a current HISD employee who said she was accosted by Mumphrey when she was a student of his 16 years ago.

The women told investigators she was a cheerleader at Yates at the time, and the report says Mumphrey was a teacher and coach there.

In the report, the former cheerleader said Mumphery called her into his office after school one day.She said she “thought nothing of it” because Mumphery was her coach, and she worked as an office worker so “she trusted Mr. Mumphery.”

In an interview with the school district, the former cheerleader detailed the incident that occurred back in 1984:

“She alleged that as soon as she came in the room he started talking sexually to her. She said she was shocked and about to leave when he grabbed her arm, pulled her to him and stuck his tongue in her ear.”

The former cheerleader said she immediately ran out of his office to the principal at the time, Osby Mitchell. According to the report, Mumphery allegedly ran after the young woman, telling her to stop, but she kept running.

“Someone is out to smear me, I have never heard of that report, and I have never heard those allegations,” Mumphery said in an interview with Texas Watchdog Friday afternoon.

He said he is not sure why someone is out to smear him: “I can’t answer that and I really don’t want to talk anymore and I don’t know anything about it. Wow.”

The former cheerleader told school authorities she told Mitchell what had happened and asked him to call her parents; the young woman said her parents were “very upset,” but said she as unsure whether Mumphery was punished by the school system over her accusations.

“She stated she does not know exactly what Mr. Mitchell did to Mr. Mumphery but she thinks her father confronted Mr. Mumphery and told him to leave her alone because he never approached her again.”

There was no mention of the former cheerleader’s allegations in Mumphery’s personnel file when Texas Watchdog reviewed it recently.

“I don’t know anything about it and have never even heard about it,” Mumphery told Texas Watchdog. “I have no response and don’t know anything about it.”

When asked if the allegations were true, Mumphery said, “I have no comment.”

Even though it happened more than 20 years ago, the woman told HISD “it still haunts her every day.”

HISD investigators also spoke with a former district employee who worked with Mumphery while he was a principal at Cullen Middle. According to the report, the woman said Mumphery “was extremely flirtatious with her but she rebuffed his advances.”

The woman said after she refused Mumphery’s advances she was reassigned to another school because Mumphery “did not want her on his team.”

Other allegations against Mumphery in the report include:

+ A former Yates employee who said she was sexually harassed by Mumphery and was forced to relocate because “she could not take it anymore.”

+ Allegations from a former HISD employee that school workers earned overtime pay for being “good” and attending “late dinners with Mumphery.”

+ A former employee who worked for Mumphery who said, “they had a name for all of us that came from Cullen with him. We were all women you know, they called us ‘Mumphery’s girls.’” When the woman was asked whether she had ever had sex with Mumphery, she said, “I did everything but have sex with that man.”

+ A former employee at Cullen who said she complained about Mumphery’s behavior but was told “they could not do anything to him because it was her word against his since there were no witnesses.”

The internal HISD investigation found some of the interviews with alleged victims and witnesses to be credible, the report shows.

According to the investigation report, HISD found the former cheerleader’s allegations to be “highly credible” and that the woman “had no motive for lying.” Several other interviews in the report were also found to be credible.

Despite finding the interviews with alleged victims and witnesses to be credible, HISD “found no evidence that Mr. Mumphery was currently engaging in inappropriate conduct with students at Yates High School.”

The report continues to say:

“It is more likely than not that Mr. Mumphery established a pattern of engaging in inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature with subordinates … there were two additional complaints by subordinates during his employment at HISD.”

One of the formal complaints against Mumphery was made in October 2000, according to documents obtained by Texas Watchdog through the state public information law.

A teacher at Jones High School, where Mumphery was assistant principal at the time, accused Mumphery of sexual harassment in late September 2000, the document says. The investigation found “no evidence to substantiate” the charges, but the school’s principal at the time asked Mumphery to write a letter of apology to the woman and be careful of his actions around employees in the future.

In the letter of apology, Mumphery said:

“It is always my intent to serve the students and staff at Jones High School in a professional manner and always within the policies of the Houston Independent School District. At no time will you or any other staff member be addressed in an unprofessional manner. I apologize for any embarrassment that you perceived that I have caused you. You will always be addressed in a professional manner.”

The other complaint, which was referenced in the investigation report made public Friday, was described only as being filed in 2003 by someone who witnessed the undescribed event. A copy of this report did not turn up when Texas Watchdog reviewed Mumphery’s personnel file.

The report “confirmed that Mr. Mumphery engaged in unacceptable conduct of a sexual nature with student … when she was 17 and a senior at Yates High School in 1984.”

According to an HISD lawyer, the police department for the school district is currently investigating the allegations against Mumphery.

Contact Lynn Walsh at lynn@texaswatchdog.org or 713-228-2850 or on Twitter at @lwalsh.

An story written for Texas Watchdog:

Former Yates High School principal resigned after being accused of multiple acts of sexual misconduct, HISD records show
Friday, Nov 05, 2010, 05:07PM CST

By Lynn Walsh

The former principal of Houston’s Yates High School resigned after being accused of multiple acts of sexual misconduct with teachers and other Houston school district employees and one former student, some of which date back to the early 1980s, school system records show.

Ronald Mumphery quit his post a few days after his reassignment by the Houston Independent School District in late September, after more allegations against him emerged, according to HISD records released to Texas Watchdog under the state public records law.

It was not clear this afternoon whether Mumphery resigned or retired, as the document uses both terms.

“I have never heard of this. I don’t know anything about that, and nothing like that ever happened,” Mumphery said in an interview with Texas Watchdog this afternoon. “Someone is out to smear me, I have never heard of that report, and I have never heard those allegations.”

Mumphery said he is not sure why someone is out to smear him, adding, “I can’t answer that, and I really don’t want to talk anymore, and I don’t know anything about it. Wow.”

The allegations against him include sexually assaulting a female Yates High School cheerleader who was 17 at the time, and awarding overtime pay and providing preferential treatment to other HISD employees in exchange for sexual favors, according to a report from an internal investigation by the school district.

The report details first-hand accounts from the former Yates cheerleader, other former employees and former students. According to the report, allegations against Mumphery were documented at least twice but no disciplinary action was taken against the principal.

The HISD Police Department is currently investigating the allegations. Mumphery has not been charged with any crime.

When asked if the allegations were true, Mumphery said, “I have no comment.”

Look for more updates on Texas Watchdog later today. See the full report by clicking here.

Contact Lynn Walsh at lynn@texaswatchdog or 614-859-6194 or on Twitter @LWalsh.

Videos produced for RTDNA Edward Murrow Awards multimedia coverage:

Brian Williams:

Ann Curry:

Keith Olbermann:

John Roberts, 2010 presenter:

John Roberts, 2010 presenter:

John Roberts, 2010 presenter:

A story produced for Texas Watchdog:

School board to take final vote on ban on HISD employees taking gifts from vendors
Thursday, Oct 14, 2010, 02:05PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

All Houston Independent School District employees may soon have to sign conflict-of-interest forms prohibiting them from accepting gifts from current or prospective district vendors — a requirement currently imposed only on HISD’s high-level administrators.
Gift pic

The ethics proposal bans employees from accepting “any gift, favor, service, entertainment or anything of more than token value.” If approved by trustees Thursday, all employees would sign the statements twice a year.

The proposal is one of two measures aimed at accountability that HISD trustees will take up this week. The new rules come in the wake of allegations that district employees got cash and other freebies from potential vendors in a scandal that cost the district $105 million in federal technology funding, plus another $850,000 in federal fines.

The other ethics-related proposal on Thursday’s agenda would prohibit employees who work closely with vendor contracts from communicating with bidders after the district requests a vendor’s services.

This “code of silence” would ban any communication “regarding a request for proposal (RFP), bid or other competitive solicitation” between any company or individual seeking work from the district and certain HISD staffers, including any:

“… Board member, the superintendent of schools, and any senior staff member, principal, department head, director, manager, or other district representative who has influence in the evaluation or selection process.”

The proposal will allow others to see the school system is being transparent, HISD Chief Financial Officer Melinda Garrett said. “We (HISD) are not going off in some back room and signing contracts,” she said.

But HISD Superintendent Terry Grier, who has been at the helm of the nation’s seventh-largest school district for about a year now, has called the district’s contracting process into question.

“I have seen a procurement department made up of independent folks rate bids from a variety of different companies across the district to do a lot of different work,” Grier said in May. “And then I’ve seen staff — just for whatever reason — pull names off of a list and put other names back on a list, (with) no rhyme or reason except, quite frankly, influence where influence has no business coming from.” View his entire comment in the video below.

Grier said the goal of the two policies is to inform vendors trying to do business with HISD that the Houston district operates differently than some other school systems.

“In school districts across the country, vendors will come into a district and offer sport jerseys to district employees in exchange for computer contracts. Don’t think it doesn’t happen because it does,” Grier said. “HISD will not allow for this type of behavior, so we are banning all gifts.”

The proposed new conflict-of-interest policy allows for “items of token value” to be given as gifts. According to the proposal that includes “coffee mugs, key chains, caps, and the like.”

The policy does not consider plaques or other commemorative items as gifts, but it bans any meals from a single person or vendor worth more than $100 single calendar year. Any meals given in the $50-$100 range in one calendar year can be accepted, but must be disclosed on the biannual statements.

In 2008, HISD employees and the district were at the center of a federal investigation following allegations of employees accepting gifts, meals and entertainment from vendors associated with a federal technology program, E-Rate. Three HISD technology employees at the time allegedly accepted meals, birthday parties and cash from E-Rate vendors that were doing business with HISD at the time.

Those three former HISD employees all signed conflict-of-interest statements with HISD stating they did not receive any gifts or meals worth $100 — even though public records said they did accept meals and gifts worth more than that amount. The three former employees also did not report receiving any meals worth $50-$100.

The individuals subject to the “code of silence” would be notified when the quiet period is to begin for each contract process. The period of no communication would continue until HISD trustees have approved the bid or awarded the contract.

According to HISD, if a vendor broke the rules by contacting a board member or employee during the quiet period, that company would be banned from doing business with the school system for at least two years.

Thursday is the second time HISD trustees will take a vote on these proposals. The HISD trustees approved both of them unanimously last month. The policy change requires two votes by the trustees before it can be put into effect.

The trustees will meet after a public meeting on the district’s financial accountability rating that begins at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Hattie Mae White Building on West 18th Street.

Contact Lynn Walsh at Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter: @LWalsh.

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

Houston school system looks for volunteers to oversee $800M bond-backed building program
Tuesday, Oct 12, 2010, 02:32PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

Want a say in how the Houston Independent School District manages its $1 billion construction program?
Cake

HISD is taking applications for three openings on a board responsible for overseeing the $800 million in bond money that is funding the bulk of the building program.

The nine-person HISD Bond Program Oversight Committee has vacancies after some members chose not to re-apply for their positions.

In late August, HISD Chief Operating Officer Leo Bobadilla required members of the committee to re-apply, even if their terms weren’t up yet. They also had to agree to a new committee charter — one including a prohibition on conflicts of interest.

Five existing members and one new member have been approved — Chris Hudson, Mary Nesbit, Ber Pieper, Carroll Robinson and Gary White are returning, while Sonny Flores is the new appointee.

Flores replaces Manuel Barrera Jr., who stepped down earlier this year. Barrera was recommended to the committee by former HISD trustee Diana Davila.

Two outgoing committee members, Terrence Cheng and Edmond Gor, chose not to re-apply.

According to the new charter, at least one member must have experience in engineering or building design. However, in a break from past practice, no seats are reserved for specific community groups like the Houston Citizens Chamber of Commerce or the Greater Houston Partnership.

In July, the Houston Chronicle reported that Dávila attempted to get her husband, Abel Dávila, on the bond committee last November. According to the story, HISD Superintendent Terry Grier ultimately denied the request, but approved Barrera.

Abel Dávila is the former chairman of the Houston Community College Board of Trustees and is at the center of a conflict of interest investigation there.

According to an HISD spokesman, an online application will be available for those interested in serving on the oversight committee. An internal group will then make recommendations to Grier and, ultimately, HISD trustees will have the final say.

The deadline for applications was unclear at press time. Calls and e-mails to district spokesmen and Bobadilla were not returned — but Texas Watchdog will update this post if we find out more.

Contact Lynn Walsh at Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter: @LWalsh.

A story produced for Texas Watchdog:

Learn how to investigate schools and school districts on next Tuesday’s TrentTV webinar
Thursday, Sep 23, 2010, 02:16PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

Investigating education can be overwhelming. With all of the meetings, lots of staff turnover and complicated budgets, it can be hard to know where to start.

That is why Texas Watchdog is dedicating the next episode of “TrentTV” to education. Learn some tricks of the trade that I’ve picked up while covering the Houston Independent School District.

From understanding the different allocations of funds to scanning over school board members’ conflict-of-interest forms, TrentTV is going to cover it all. Join us for our broadcast at 11:30 a.m. CDT Tuesday, Sept. 28, on www.newmediatv.org.

Trent TV is a free monthly webinar for journalists, citizen-journalists, activists and bloggers. The episodes are streamed live in partnership with New Media TV. All previous episodes are available on our YouTube channel.

Follow along in the discussion on Twitter — follow us at @TexasWatchdog or search for “#TrentTV.” Contact me with any questions or topics ideas you would like to see discussed on Twitter @LWalsh, Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org or 713-228-2850.