05/11/2008

Local shrimpers hanging up their nets
Independent shrimpers are feeling the pinch of cheap imports and rising fuel costs.

$1 billion in school bonds OKed; mayoral runoffs in Sugar Land & League City
There will be mayoral runoffs in League City and Sugar Land, while incumbents in Galveston were bounced from office.

05/10/2008

Texas Rangers called to audit Galveston PD
The Galveston County District Attorney drops 16 criminal cases bacause of compromised evidence following theft at police department.

More than 200 city, school, college district elections today
Turnout is expected to be light across the eight-county region as voters head to the polls in more than 243 local municipal, school district and community college district elections today. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.

05/09/2008

Dickinson High stabbing suspect caught
Dickinson police said they apprehended Osmand Osman Miftari at an apartment complex in Seabrook, which is just a few minutes drive from where the stabbing took place Wednesday.

New security measures for ’09 fair, rodeo
Metal detectors, surveillance cameras and undercover police officers could await Galveston County Fair and Rodeo patrons next year, after gunfire and a triple stabbing both in and near the site’s main attraction last month.

05/08/2008 Dickinson school stabbing suspect sought Dickinson police on Thursday released the name and a photo of a 15-year-old boy wanted for the stabbing of a fellow student at Dickinson High School earlier this week.

Galveston storm statue on 'Jeopardy'
Galveston’s famous Place of Remembrance statue honoring both the victims and the survivors of the 1900 Storm will be featured Friday.

Two dead, two hurt in Texas City crash
Two Houston men died Wednesday and a Texas City couple was injured in a two-vehicle collision on state Highway 146, police said.

Court: BP plea violated rights of blast victims
An appeals court says prosecutors violated the rights of victims of a blast at a BP plant in Texas by not consulting them on a plea deal.

05/07/2008

State Highway 146 wreck claims another life
Two Houstonians were killed Wednesday morning in a brutal collision on a troublesome stretch of State Highway 146. in Texas City.

05/08/2008

Reward offered for missing Galveston griffin
The 100-plus pound ordainment was reported missing Tuesday and is one of two griffins that guard the main entrance of the tourist attraction.

05/07/2008

Texas City church sprinkler flap heads to federal court
Whether Texas City can require a church and children’s day care center to install a sprinkler system will now be decided in federal court, where the church is arguing its constitutional rights to due process have been violated.

Salvation Army near fund goal but costs rise The Salvation Army is only $178,185 short of the $3.3 million fundraising goal it set two years ago, but rapidly rising construction costs means the money won't be enough to start work on a new building.

Century-old cast-iron griffin stolen from Galveston tourist landmark One of the griffins that stands guard outside Galveston’s famed Bishop’s Palace is missing. And while the mythical beast does have wings, officials doubt the cast-iron adornment flew off.

4 missing kids from Algoa returned
Four kids reported missing Monday night were back Tuesday, as officials continued a probe into their disappearance.

05/06/2008

Cops detain couple accused of abducting kids from foster parents
Gary and Rhonda Loeffler lost custody of their four children four years ago when a Brazoria County judge ruled the mother could no longer care for them. The father was recently released from prison.

Lampson calls for VA to look into clinics
U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Stafford, asked the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to investigate reports of poor staff performance at two health care clinics in Galveston County.

Texas City Firefighter gets promotion he sued for
The president of the Texas City firefighters' union is poised to get the promotion and back pay for which he sued the city in 2006.

Friends, family mourn slain teen from La Marque As police piece together the events that led to Friday’s stabbing death of Joshua "Happy" Evans, family, friends and coaches are mourning the loss of a teenager they say always had a smile.

Developers take demolition request to Galveston court
The two-story house at 1328 Church St. has been surrounded by a chain-link fence and decorated with spray-painted warning signs for more than a year, its faded yellow paint no longer a bright spot in the neighborhood.

05/05/2008

No jeers for Nazi swastika cheerleaders
It had been expected that a group of parents upset at what they characterized as favoritism for the girls would address the Dickinson school board and complain. But no one spoke up.

New boat won’t ease ferry wait A ferryboat under construction in Louisiana will be added to the Galveston-Bolivar fleet next year.

New science complex planned for Texas A&M University at Galveston
Professors at Texas A&M University at Galveston will one day have a much newer and bigger facility to study marine biology and engineering on the main campus on Pelican Island.

Duck acts a lot like a goose
Is it a duck? Is it a goose? It’s a black-bellied whistling duck!

Mayor, police group at odds on civil service
Mayor Ralph Stenzel is encouraging residents to vote against a referendum proposition that would put the police department under civil service rules, saying the small town’s budget doesn’t need the added burden.

05/03/2008

Abandoned rig loses a leg in Freeport
The so-called 'Tower of Trouble' is on its way to becoming history. The state tore down one of ZEUS’ platform legs Saturday.

05/02/2008

Teen critically stabbed in Texas City
Police are searching for the suspect who stabbed the teen several times.

School police chief silent about tape
For nearly a month, La Marque school district Police Chief Russel Washington has not responded to questions about why people have identified his voice on a tape recording discussing allegations of wrongdoing by elected officials.

Report: Harris, Galveston are toxic hot spots
Four environmental groups released a report Thursday saying governments at all levels haven’t done enough to enforce existing pollution laws or to create new standards to curb smog in highly industrial areas such as Harris and Galveston counties.

Grand jury investigating League City council
The grand jury hearing evidence in the League City trash deal investigation will subpoena more witnesses from the city and garbage company AmeriWaste next week, District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk said.

Sea turtles making a comeback in Texas An endangered species of sea turtle laid 109 eggs on a Galveston beach Thursday afternoon in front of an audience of biologists and onlookers. It was the first such nesting logged this year on the island.

05/01/2008 Alvin soldier's body arrives in Galveston As hundreds of people lined both sides of state Highway 6 near Highway 35, Bert Dawson sat in a lawn chair behind the crowds.

Boy drowns in marina's pool
A 2-year-old boy drowned Wednesday afternoon at Watergate Marina when he wandered away from one of his parents and fell into the swimming pool.

State: Bayou's bacteria exceed standard
The majority of Dickinson Bayou testing stations state regulators monitor show bacteria levels exceed clean-water standards nearly 90 percent of the time, a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality official said Wednesday.

04/30/2008 Galveston tackles popular bait camp The Nash family wants to keep its East End bait camp open, but the park board said it's been troublesome for years.

04/29/2008

Wreck victim phoned for help but drowned
A Galveston woman drowned after she phoned emergency dispatchers but couldn't tell them where her car had overturned in a shallow pond, authorities said Monday.

Galveston man gets 20 years for child porn
A jury Monday afternoon sentenced a man whose own lawyer described him as "the island freak" to 20 years in prison.

04/28/2008

Dickinson parents upset over swastika-drawing punishment
Two Dickinson High School cheerleaders were caught drawing swastikas on school property.

Early voting starts in Galveston, Fort Bend counties
It runs through May 6, and election day is May 10.

Butterflies to remember Holocaust children Fourth-graders at Roosevelt-Wilson Elementary School are creating 1.2 million paper butterflies — one for each child killed in the Holocaust.

04/27/2008 Ready to spend more green on groceries? Skyrocketing fuel prices, droughts in Australia and the weak U.S. dollar are causing food prices to rise at the fastest pace in nearly two decades.

04/28/2008 All about alligators Despite a lot of adverse conditions, gators have managed to survive an astonishingly long time.

04/25/2008

Cheerleaders disciplined for scrawling swastikas on school books, U.S. flag
District officials said the teen girls used permanent markers to draw the Nazi-era symbol on books, a school bulletin board, a campus wall and a U.S. flag.

04/26/2008

Adopt a Beach today in Galveston
You can help clean up our local beaches.

04/25/2008

Council in Galveston strikes free rein for high-rises
Developers will not be able to build any new buildings taller than The Hotel Galvez without special permission under guidelines adopted by the city council on Thursday.

Police: Sex offender, ex-priest didn't register in La Marque
A former Catholic priest who admitted to sexually abusing 11 boys two decades ago remained jailed Thursday on a charge of failing to register.

Galveston man admits to having child porn
Allen Castleschouldt faces charges of indecency with a child and criminal solicitation of a minor.

Texas City third-grader holds food drive for Houston children orphaned by fire
Paul Hayden read a newspaper article about a Houston family whose home was burned. The fire gutted the home in August, killing a father and son.

04/24/2008 CenterPoint destroys kids' tree house Letricia Banuelos says a contractor told her the tree house was too close to power lines.

Foster parents hope to adopt microwaved baby
A baby girl who garnered international headlines after her father burned her in a microwave oven could soon have a permanent home.

Causeway jumper landed safely
A man who jumped from the causeway bridge Wednesday morning was a construction worker who landed safely a few feet away.

Another blow to Galveston insurance
Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin this week rejected a measure that would have allowed thousands of owners of second homes and investment properties along the coast to insure against loss of rental income caused by hurricanes and storms.

Animal airlift to ease shelter overcrowding Overcrowded animal shelters across the area could get some needed relief from above.

04/23/2008

Judge mulls whether to terminate parental rights of microwave baby's mom
The mother of an infant who was placed in a motel room microwave in Galveston may lose her parental rights.

Kinky to perform at animal fundraiser There's a black cowboy hat full of lessons to be learned about life, love and wagtail dogs. And if the teacher is an offbeat Jewish singer and philosopher who wears Waylon Jennings' vest and smokes cigars, then you better pay attention.

Birthday party photographer on trial for indecency with children
Trial starts today for a man accused of sexually abusing underage girls, after his attorney on Tuesday failed to quash the search warrant that led to his arrest.

Third tower planned for Palisade Palms
Development firm Falcon Group says it plans to add a twin-peaked, 300-unit tower to a project that already boasts the island’s tallest building — the $170 million East Beach residential high-rise Palisade Palms.

Coast Guard: Man jumps from Galveston Causeway Bridge
A city worker called the Galveston Police Department early Tuesday morning after seeing the man jump.

04/22/2008

Galveston luxury condos tower high above the beach
It’s a first for Galveston – a skyscraper on the beach!

Galveston church plans to restore stained-glass windows
Trinity Episcopal Church is planning to restore its Tiffany windows. The church’s stained-glass windows, which were commissioned in memory of George Sealy by his wife, Magnolia, are by famed artist Louis Tiffany.

Twist to the eco-friendly bulb story
Compact fluorescent light bulbs are either the best hope for daily energy savings or a toxic danger threatening to poison homes, landfills and the environment, depending on who's describing them.

Help slow to arrive for dying crewman
A barge crewman might not have died Sunday had ambulances and paramedics responded sooner, one ambulance driver said.

04/21/2008

Burned toddler recovering, mother says
The mother of the 2-year-old boy burned Saturday morning from a trash pile said her son is recovering from his burns.

Car hits Harley, killing Hitchcock woman
A Hitchcock woman died when a car exiting the Galveston County Fair and Rodeo pulled out of a private drive and collided with her motorcycle.

04/20/2008

Teens injured in county fair knife fight
Three teenagers were hospitalized with stab wounds and another jailed for firing a gun after a night of fighting at the Galveston County Fair and Rodeo.

Galveston's Beach Party a bust for some
Partiers strolling down Seawall Boulevard with customized cars, blaring music and video cameras to capture the scene said they were disappointed at the scaled-back crowds during this year’s Beach Party weekend.

Toddler drowns in grandparents' pool A family barbeque turned tragic Saturday night when a toddler drowned in his grandparents' swimming pool in Channelview. The boy's brother discovered his body floating facedown in the water.

04/19/2008

Don't expect much of a Beach Party
A promoter once associated with the event has officially declared it dead after 22 years and the city is expecting light crowds on the island this weekend.

04/18/2008

Man pleads guilty in deadly shooting
A Dickinson man captured in New York more than a year ago pleaded guilty Thursday to murder.

Galveston's height fight enters new phase
Cooks and waiters, some still in uniform, and one electrician representing a punch list of other construction trades, filled city hall to overflowing Thursday.

City plans to buy more properties
Some residents of this small island town may be skeptical about plans by a city-formed corporation to control development, but others are afraid of what could happen without that governmental intervention.

Storms push through, leaving gusty winds
The cold front is already through most of the Houston area, but a few showers are still coming in from the west.

04/17/2008 Police: Man found in Galveston Bay killed because he didn't pay prostitute Texas City police said Gary Wayne Bell had a tryst with a prostitute. When he didn't pay, her boyfriend and another man beat and hog-tied him, then dumped his body into Galveston Bay.

Baby Grace's pregnant mom appears in court The mother of Riley Ann Sawyers was in a Galveston court Thursday. The judge told the 19-year-old that he set her court date for November 3 to give her time to recover from giving birth.

Texas City woman charged in dog-hanging A grand jury Wednesday indicted a woman stemming from her dog being hanged the day after police said it hurt a toddler.

Commission OKs seawall high-rises
The City Council will consider the commission’s recommendation Thursday and vote on the new regulations April 24.

04/16/2008

Police: Suspects in murder of Santa Fe man part of ID, credit card theft ring
Eight people being questioned in the death of a man whose nude body was found in Galveston Bay over the weekend, have been charged with a series of unrelated crimes as Texas City police continue their investigation into his murder.

DA defends not seeking death in Baby Grace case A November trial date in Galveston was set Wednesday for the stepfather accused of killing the 2-year-old girl, putting her body in a box and throwing it into the bay.

Family shares Texas City Disaster memories
Robert Gallaway Jr. had a front row seat to the Texas City Disaster, obscured only by his mother’s dress.It was on that day that a ship explosion in the dock area of Texas City set off a cascade of destruction that killed almost 600 people and nearly killed the town as well.

Masturbating driver suspect arrested A 25-year-old man is jailed, accused of cruising around League City for four months exposing himself and masturbating in front of women, police said.

Ex-promoter: Beach Party Weekend dead City officials are preparing for Beach Party this weekend, but one local promoter formerly associated with the event says it’s officially over.

Galveston man who made way for Jackie Robinson
When Jackie Robinson was placed in the Brooklyn Dodgers starting lineup 61 years ago, someone had to move to the bench. That someone was Brooklyn's regular first baseman Ed Stevens.

04/15/2008

Galveston's planning commission to vote on new rules
The planning commission will make its recommendation on the proposed height and density master plan today after listening to what likely will be hours of comment from island residents.

One of Galveston's oldest buildings demolished The original Mario's Ristorante, one of the oldest buildings on 61st Street, was demolished Monday to the surprise of some islanders who frequented the Italian eatery.

Body found in water near Texas City might be missing crewman
The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a 29-year-old crew member who disappeared from a tanker near Port Bolivar between midnight and 4 a.m.

Woman, 81, killed, caretakers burned in fire
While Fire Marshal Gilbert Robinson said early evidence indicated the fire was accidental, he also said that a couple of simple changes could have kept the fire from becoming deadly.

Four sharks die at Moody Gardens They've survived on this planet unchanged for 100 million years, so imagine staff members' surprise when they arrived at the aquarium Monday morning to find dead sharks.

04/14/2008 Murder of man found in Galveston Bay may have been result of love triangle The Galveston County Medical Examiner determined that Gary Wayne Bell was severely beaten, but still alive before being tossed into the water.

First land-based LNG terminals in decades opening on Gulf Coast
Days after New York and Connecticut leaders opposed plans to build a massive liquefied natural gas terminal in Long Island Sound, the Gulf Coast is welcoming two new LNG terminals—the first such land-based ports to open in the U.S. in roughly a quarter-century.

Coast Guard searches for missing boater, crewman
The Coast Guard is conducting two different searches in the Gulf of Mexico Monday.

Old Galveston County jail conversion begins
Money to convert the old county jail for new uses isn’t available yet. But the Galveston County Commissioners Court last week voted to spend more than $200,000 planning the project.

04/13/2008 Dream vacation ends in bloody brawl on Carnival cruise ship The Chapmans say they were having a good time in the cruise ship’s nightclub when a passenger started beating three members of the family with a metal baton.

04/14/2008

Social Security office might relocate
The island’s Social Security Administration office might move to League City in the next year and a half.

04/13/2008

Bound, naked body found in Galveston Bay
Cops fished the body of a man wearing only socks with his hands and feet bound together out of Galveston Bay on Sunday morning and are investigating his death as a homicide.

Plans to fix FM 518 hit roadblocks
Despite a 4-year-old study identifying FM 518 as one of the most dangerous roads in the Houston region, the suggested fixes for the worst sections of the road in League City have not been made.

Kids bust muttons for fun at fair, rodeo
Junior cowboys and cowgirls got to see what bull riding might be like in the Galveston County Fair and Rodeo's mutton bustin' competition.

Friendswood woman opens fire on intruder The woman shot at the intruder after she heard him break into her home. He ran through a glass door to make his escape, and police say he's still on the loose.

12/18/2007 Baby Grace's family finds peace in Galveston Bay The family of Riley Ann Sawyers on Wednesday stood in front of a cross bearing her name on the tiny island where she was found, taking comfort in the compassion of complete strangers.