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.

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An investigation for Texas Watchdog:

Friend of Rep. Borris Miles runs Costa Rican ‘medical tourism’ firm; HISD approves $600K contract with doc linked to same firm
Wednesday, Jul 13, 2011, 07:55AM CST
By Trent Seibert & Jennifer Peebles

A state lawmaker and Houston schools vendor who arranged all-expenses-paid trips to Costa Rica for Houston schools trustee Larry Marshall has a friend and business associate who runs a Costa Rican medical tourism company — the same company that played a major role in the medical tourism event Marshall attended in Costa Rica in November.

State Rep. Borris Miles, a Democratic state House member from Houston whose insurance agency services some of the Houston schools’ flood insurance policies, is an associate of DiCarlos Davis, a Houston businessman who is CEO of International Healthcare Access. The firm’s website touts weight loss services, cancer treatments, dental care and cosmetic procedures that are available from its affiliated doctors in Costa Rica.

Records show Davis’ firm was a major participant in the November medical tourism “familiarization trip” that Marshall attended in Costa Rica, a trip Miles has said he arranged. Miles has said he wants to help people lower their health care costs by exploring medical tourism.

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An investigation for Texas Watchdog:

Houston ISD tech vendors spent ‘significant funds’ to entertain trustees Larry Marshall, Manuel Rodriguez, court filing alleges
Thursday, Jun 23, 2011, 09:08AM CST
By Lynn Walsh and Jennifer Peebles

Vendors selling computer equipment to the Houston public schools spent “significant funds” to entertain school trustees Larry Marshall and Manuel Rodriguez, attorneys representing whistleblowers and the federal government allege in court documents, calling the payments “unlawful” and “designed to secure business from” the Houston schools.

Meanwhile, the court documents also allege that one of the Houston Independent School District’s top officials in the early part of the last decade, Cathy Mincberg, had an extramarital affair with a consultant whom the school district paid more than $5 million — a consultant she was reported by the local press to have had a hand in hiring.

The federal government has taken over as lead plantiff in the lawsuit, and court filings do not elaborate in court filings on what, specifically, the “significant funds” included or how much money was involved. Calls for comment to the plantiff’s lawyers were not returned.

The revelations come on the heels of reports that a Houston schools vendor, insurance agent and state Rep. Borris Miles, offered to arrange all-expenses-paid trips to Costa Rica to most of the school system’s trustees last year — and that Marshall went on two of the trips. It also follows reporting by Texas Watchdog that school trustees president Paula Harris voted on $28 million in contracts that included work for a company owned and run by one of her closest friends.

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An investigation for Texas Watchdog:

HISD vendor state Rep. Borris Miles offered trustees all-expenses-paid Costa Rican trip, email shows
Thursday, Jun 16, 2011, 06:27PM CST
By Lynn Walsh, Trent Seibert and Jennifer Peebles

A state representative who services the Houston Independent School District’s flood insurance policy — and who is a close friend of two HISD trustees — offered to arrange an all-expenses-paid trip to Costa Rica to a majority of HISD’s trustees, according to an e-mail obtained by Texas Watchdog.

State Rep. Borris Miles, a Houston Democrat, offered in November to take most of the trustees to Costa Rica, saying he was arranging the free trip at the behest of the government of that Central American nation, the email shows.

It also shows Miles also offered to allow each trustee to bring along a guest, and wrote that the Costa Rican government would waive deductibles on “medical tourism” procedures, effectively offering the trustees and their guests deep discounts on the services.

It was not immediately clear whether any of the HISD trustees took Miles up on the offer. Three trustees reached by phone Thursday afternoon said they didn’t remember getting the e-mail. A fourth said he deleted it.

“I remember receiving it and thinking it was strange and deleting it,” said trustee Harvin Moore.

The revelation of the trip offer comes on the heels of Texas Watchdog’s recent story revealing that HISD trustees president Paula Harris, a close friend of Miles, voted on contracts that included work for a company run by another close friend, Pearland businesswoman Nicole West.

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An investigation for Texas Watchdog:

Houston ISD trustees president Paula Harris voted on millions of dollars in contracts involving close friend’s firms
Thursday, Jun 09, 2011, 06:07AM CST
By Lynn Walsh

When the Houston Independent School District has a problem, it increasingly looks to Nicole West to solve it.

Need schools painted or fences installed? HISD hired Nicole West’s firm Westco. Need security cameras and burglar alarms installed at schools? It hired Westco. Need drapes dry cleaned for a school auditorium? It paid Westco to do it.

Need elementary school students tutored in reading? HISD paid Nicole West to tutor them. Need a high school decorated for a rededication ceremony? It paid Nicole West. Need an ambulance on standby for a high school football game? It hired another of West’s firms, a small, private ambulance service.

And when the nation’s seventh-largest school district wanted to hire a private investigations firm to track down truant high-schoolers, it didn’t pick any of the big PI firms in Houston, some of whom have dozens of investigators and have been in business for decades. It instead hired a small firm, only a few years old, owned and run by Nicole West. With two licensed investigators today, the firm’s current legal address with the state is West’s residence in Pearland.

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A story written for Texas Watchdog:

From Russia, with love? HISD procurement chief tries to find Russian bride online for subordinate
Friday, Jul 08, 2011, 08:32AM CST
By Lynn Walsh and Jennifer Peebles

“I live in Russia and am simple woman with good heart.”

“I the young woman, me of 29 years, I the blonde live in Russia, city Vologda.”

“I hope that you that the man which are possible can not only my friend, but also grow fond of me.”

Earl Finley needed to get married, his boss thought. So Stephen Pottinger did what any caring boss would do: He asked Finley for his personal e-mail address — and then, without telling Finley his plans, he went to online dating sites that specialize in connecting American men with Russian women, assumed Finley’s identity, and communicated with lovely Russian ladies who then sent Finley rambling e-mails (and photos of themselves) about how they were lonely and were looking for a guy with a good heart like him.

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A story written by Texas Watchdog:

Houston teachers’ union rep went on all-expenses-paid Costa Rica trip with trustee Larry Marshall, Rep. Borris Miles
Friday, Jun 24, 2011, 08:03AM CST
By Lynn Walsh

A representative of Houston’s largest teachers’ union went on one of the all-expense-paid trips to Costa Rica offered by Houston school system vendor state Rep. Borris Miles last year — after a union leader says the group “didn’t want to get cut short” by the Houston school system.

Zeph Capo, an executive board member for the Houston Federation of Teachers, said he went on the trip, which Miles arranged and for which the Central American nation’s government picked up the tab.

“I went because they were potentially looking at a plan where they would ship our employees overseas to have medical stuff done,” Capo told Texas Watchdog. “So, went down there to look and see what that stuff was.”

Capo said he believes he went in April of last year and that no other Houston Independent School District trustees except for Larry Marshall were on the trip with him.

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A story written for Texas Watchdog:

‘Blatant racism,’ Houston ISD trustee Larry Marshall says of Texas Watchdog, Houston Chronicle ethics coverage
Friday, Jun 17, 2011, 05:35PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

A Houston school trustee who went on all-expenses-paid trips to Costa Rica arranged by a politico who does business with the school district says he has probably voted on school contracts involving companies owned or run by friends — and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Larry Marshall, a four-term trustee of the Houston Independent School District, said there was nothing wrong with those votes or with the votes cast by trustees president Paula Harris, who voted to approve contracts involving a company owned by a close friend. He also labeled as “racism” the recent coverage by Texas Watchdog and the Houston Chronicle concerning ethics in HISD.

In a brief phone interview this afternoon, Marshall said having a friend involved with a school district vendor shouldn’t prompt a trustee to recuse themselves. “Number one, it’s not a requirement” to do so, he said. “Number two, simply because you serve on the board, you don’t end your relationships with friends. You are a volunteer on (the) board of education, and that should be an issue that should be totally separate.

“I think it would be extremely inappropriate to start removing yourself from voting on a contract simply because you have a friend. Members of your culture have done it for years — it’s never been an issue. It only becomes an issue when it happens to someone who is a part of an underrepresented group.”

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An investigation for Texas Watchdog:

Former principal of Houston ISD’s Yates High, Ronald Mumphery, will not face criminal charges: HISD
Monday, Jan 10, 2011, 02:32PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

The former principal of one of the city’s major high schools will not face criminal charges over allegations that he harassed female employees and once stuck his tongue into the ear of a school cheerleader during an alleged sexual advance, the Houston school district said.

Ronald Mumphery, the former head of Yates High School, will not be prosecuted after the Houston Independent School District’s own police department “found there was not sufficient evidence to support any criminal charges,” HISD spokesman Norm Uhl said.

Uhl said no report has been created on HISD Police’s findings in the case, though one may be written later.

In an e-mailed response to other questions posed by Texas Watchdog, Uhl suggested the news organization file a public information request.

Among the remaining questions is whether HISD police consulted with the Harris County district attorney’s office about Mumphrey.

By policy, DA Pat Lykos’ office does not discuss whether it is investigating a case or whether a case has been forwarded to it for potential prosecution. “We do not confirm or deny whether we are investigating a case until a case gets filed,” Terese Buess, with the DA’s office, said Monday.

A 30-year veteran of the district, Mumphery was reassigned by the district in late September. At that time, HISD said Mumphery had been accused of unspecified “professional misconduct,” without elaborating. He filed paperwork with the school system a few days later to retire.

The allegations against Mumphery 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.

The sexual harassment allegations were outlined in an HISD investigation report and include multiple witnesses and alleged victims’ testimonies.

There was no answer at Mumphrey’s home telephone listing earlier today.

Mumphery had previously served as principal at Houston’s Cullen Middle School and an assistant principal at Jones High. He earned more than $109,000 during the 2009-10 school year, according to an HISD salary database.

The allegations against Mumphery came to light, records show, after Houston school Superintendent Terry Grier received an anonymous letter in mid-September.

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

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

According to the report:

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. According to the report, Mumphery allegedly ran after the young woman, telling her to stop, but she kept running. (To read the full report and details about the other allegations. click here.)

Have questions about the Mumphery investigation or other HISD issues? Texas Watchdog wants to hear from you. Contact Lynn Walsh, Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter @LWalsh.

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A story written for Texas Watchdog:

Houston ISD, others to push legislature for upfront payments for public records
Monday, Jan 10, 2011, 10:51AM CST
By Lynn Walsh

Want public records from your local school system? You might want to be ready to fork over the cash before you get the records.

Houston’s public school system will be among the Texas governments asking legislators to allow them to require people to pay up front for public records requests before the district makes the records public– something not currently allowed by Texas’ open records law.

This isn’t the first time local government agencies in Texas have asked for such a change, an open government advocate said.

“In recent years, HISD — and, it’s my understanding, other districts, too — have seen an increase in public information requests, and although we do not have a problem complying, we felt that the district should be adequately compensated to reflect the time and resources we spend on complying with these requests,” Rebecca Flores, the Houston Independent School District’s government relations director, said in an e-mail.

Lawmakers have also asked school districts to identify situations in which the districts are legally obligated to do something, but for which the state does not provide the funding to cover the costs, Flores said. The state legislature convenes next week in Austin.

Right now the law requires a government agency, like HISD, to “provide a requestor with an itemized statement of charges” if the request will cost the district more than $40. This statement, according to the law, is “to be provided before copies are made … the itemized statement must be provided free of charge.

The Houston district also wants the ability to ignore requests from anyone who still owes money from a previous records request.

“The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas believes there are fair and reasonable cost allowances already on the books,” said Keith Elkins, the foundation’s executive director. “Providing public information should not be about making a profit but about providing quality customer service to taxpayers, who already pay HISD’s bills.”

According to the legislative agenda trustees unanimously approved in October, the school district wants legislators to:

“Allow districts to charge the actual costs for the production of all materials, including the recovery of actual costs of personnel time, to comply with open records requests. Districts should be able to require actual payment of costs prior to compliance and failure to pay after committing to pay relieves districts of any obligation to comply with additional open records requests made by that entity until past balances are paid.”

Right now the Texas Public Information Act requires school districts, like all government agencies, to only charge what the state attorney general allows them to, unless they submit a request for an exemption, said Joe Larsen, a Houston attorney who is also a board member for the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.

“Governmental bodies must provide a detailed cost estimate for any charges in excess of $40,” Larsen said. “The requestor must either confirm within ten days that he/she will accept the charges or the request is considered withdrawn. As a practical matter, the requestor must pay before he/she gets the stuff.”

Texas public information laws outline specific costs for some items like a DVD, which is $3, and a CD which is $1. Other items like a tape cartridge or magnetic tape can be charged at the actual cost of the item, according to the law.

The law also allows HISD and other government groups to charge for computer programming costs and the labor costs associated with gathering the information.

According to Elkins, this is not the first time government agencies have gone to the Texas legislature to try exempt their records from the law’s cost provisions. “The bill is worded slightly differently each time, but the bottom line is the same: They want to make a profit from the sale of electronic copies of their records to the public,” Elkins said.

HISD is also asking that school districts be allowed the same exemption from infrastructure fees that state agencies colleges enjoy, like the new Houston drainage fee, Proposition 1, passed by Harris County voters in 2010. HISD trustees took a stand against the fee last year and said it would cost the district 70 teaching positions.

The 82nd session of the Texas Legislature is set to begin next Tuesday, Jan. 11.

Do you think government agencies should be allowed to charge upfront costs for public records? We want to know what you think. Contact Lynn Walsh at Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter @LWalsh.