3 family members fatally shot in Rowlett home
Police say man killed wife, son, then turned gun on himself
By MARGARITA MARTÍN-HIDALGO / The Dallas Morning News
ROWLETT, Texas - John and Lorraine Meyers doted on their 18-year-old son, the teen's baseball coach at Garland High School said.
The Rowlett couple were always at Ian Meyers' baseball games, and neighbors said Ms. Meyers would play catch with her son in their driveway.
A catcher at Garland High, where he had recently graduated, Ian had an academic scholarship to Elon University in North Carolina and planned to walk on to the school's baseball team, his Garland coach said.
"They were a tight-knit bunch," coach Kyle LaFevers said. "His parents were first-class parents, always at the games."
But behind the happy image, something apparently was very wrong.
On Tuesday, Rowlett police found all three members of the family dead in their trim brick home in the 1800 block of Indian Trail.
Lt. David Nabors said the evidence indicated that Mr. Meyers had shot his wife and son Sunday night and then turned the gun on himself.
Rowlett officers found the bodies about 9:20 a.m. after a co-worker at Taylor Publishing, a school yearbook company in Dallas, reported that Ms. Meyers, 42, and her son hadn't shown up for work this week.
Police found all the doors and windows of the home locked and saw a man's body in the foyer. It was Mr. Meyers, 59, who had been shot in the temple, Lt. Nabors said. He said officers found a 9 mm Beretta underneath the man, his finger still on the trigger.
Ms. Meyers, who was shot in the face and torso, was found in the master bedroom, and Ian, also shot in the face and torso, was in the master bathroom. There were no signs of a struggle, and police were unsure of the motive for the killings.
Lt. Nabors said no note was found, and there were no police records of domestic violence calls at the home.
"It's pretty self-evident" that the killings were a double murder and suicide, the lieutenant said.
Next-door neighbors said the family had lived in the Harbor Pointe subdivision about seven years.
Walter Metz recalled that he and Mr. Meyers would trim their pecan trees together and haul the clippings to the dump. He said Mr. Meyers, who was retired from the Air Force, was a friendly man and enjoyed going to Ian's baseball games.
"They'd make us Christmas goodies; we'd make them Christmas goodies," recalled Mr. Metz, looking at the Meyerses' home from a driveway across the street. "We just couldn't believe it."
He said he had last spoken to Mr. Meyers on June 13, when Mr. Meyers told him he was facing muscle-related surgery two days later.
Boyd Rosser, human resources director at Taylor Publishing, where Ms. Meyers was a billing manager, said he knew something was wrong when she didn't show up for work two days in a row.
"It's not typical for Lorraine not to call," said Mr. Rosser, who called police to check on her. "We always knew her whereabouts."
Some of the company's employees read on a news Web site Tuesday that three bodies had been found in Rowlett and feared the worst.
"She was a loyal, dedicated employee and a very good worker," Mr. Rosser said of Ms. Meyers, who had worked at the company for at least a decade. "She always had something to contribute to every topic discussed."
Mr. Rosser didn't know Ian Meyers well but said the young man was working in the marketing department this summer and helping prepare for the company's sales convention in July. Mr. Rosser said he had never heard Ms. Meyers mention any problems at home.
"It's shocking," he said. "They were wonderful people."
Mr. Rosser said grief counselors would assist co-workers today.
Mr. LaFevers said Ian loved baseball and tried hard to please his coaches.
"He was just a great kid – very well mannered and very well respected."
Of Mr. and Ms. Meyers, he said: "They were very involved – Mom and Dad at every game, Dad at every practice."
Staff writers Holly Yan, Matt Jacob and Ian McCann contributed to this report.
News from the Lone Star State
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Admitted drug dealer executed for Fort Worth triple slaying
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) – Proclaiming his innocence, an admitted drug dealer was executed Tuesday evening for a shooting spree that left three men dead and two others wounded outside a Fort Worth convenience store more than seven years ago.
Lamont Reese, 28, had to be carried into the death chamber.
"I want everyone to know I did not walk to this because this is straight-up murder," he said. "I am not going to play a part in my own murder. No one should have to do that."
He expressed love to his mother and to relatives of the murder victims as they watched from separate windows nearby.
"I do not know all of your names and I don't know how you feel about me," he said addressing the victims' relatives. "And whether you believe it or not, I did not kill them."
He said that he was at peace and he wanted them to be at peace.
"You have to move past it. It is time to move on," he said.
He said he was glad that the execution was occurring and that his time on death row was not "10 or 20 years."
As the drugs began taking effect, he said, "This is some nasty." Then he gasped.
At that moment, his mother, Brenda Reese, began pounding with her fists on the chamber window and began screaming repeatedly, "They killed my baby."
She kicked two holes in the death chamber wall and eventually was removed from the chamber. She sobbed loudly as she walked from the prison and nearly collapsed as she reached the prison administration building across the street.
Reese was pronounced dead at 6:27 p.m., eight minutes after the drugs began to flow.
He was the 12th inmate executed this year in the nation's busiest capital punishment state.
Reese, who described himself as "no angel" and acknowledged dealing crack cocaine for years, contended in an earlier interview he wasn't involved in the gunfire outside the convenience store the evening of March 1, 1999.
Anthony Roney, 26, Riki Jackson, 17, and Alonzo Stewart, 25, were killed. A 24-year-old man and 13-year-old boy were wounded.
"I was not at the crime," Reese insisted.
Reese's lawyers went to the federal courts to try to block the punishment, citing among their claims a U.S. Supreme Court ruling a week ago that condemned prisoners can file special appeals challenging the lethal injection method under a federal civil rights law after exhausting regular appeals. The high court, however, said inmates would not always be entitled to delays in their executions.
In Reese's case, the justices rejected his appeals about 20 minutes before he was scheduled to be taken to the death chamber.
Evidence at Reese's trial showed his 18-year-old girlfriend, Kareema Kimbrough, walked out of the convenience store about four miles southeast of downtown Fort Worth and drew the attention of several men who were drinking and playing dice outside the place. Reese became angry with the men flirting with Kimbrough.
The couple left, met up with three others, including a pair of juveniles, and armed themselves with handguns and assault rifles. With Kimbrough driving and accompanied also by her 2-year-old son, she dropped off the four near the store.
The gunmen then sprayed the scene with bullets. Kimbrough drove back around, retrieved her friends and they all sped off.
Police were told by the victim of another shooting of people bragging about the convenience store gunfire. That led to the arrests of Reese, Kimbrough and their companions. Detectives found ammunition in Reese's car that matched bullets found at the shooting scene.
Sean Colston, one of the Tarrant County district attorneys who prosecuted Reese, said evidence was clear that Reese was responsible for the slayings.
"When you're dealing with capital punishment, it's not that you get a sense of satisfaction," he said. "I feel it's a just punishment."
Reese grew up in Louisiana where he said he spent much of his childhood in state custody after his mother was sent to prison,
Kimbrough, now 26, is serving a life prison term on a capital murder conviction. The three others, including the two juveniles who were charged as adults, agreed to plea bargains and are serving sentences ranging from 35 to 50 years.
Scheduled to die next in Texas is serial killer Angel Maturino Resendiz, a former FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive, set for lethal injection June 27 for the fatal stabbing of Houston-area physician Claudia Benton in December 1998.
Benton is among at least 15 victims police in Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and Illinois have linked to Resendiz, who became known as the "Railroad Killer" because many of the attacks were near railroad tracks and because he was known to hop on freight trains to travel around the United States.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) – Proclaiming his innocence, an admitted drug dealer was executed Tuesday evening for a shooting spree that left three men dead and two others wounded outside a Fort Worth convenience store more than seven years ago.
Lamont Reese, 28, had to be carried into the death chamber.
"I want everyone to know I did not walk to this because this is straight-up murder," he said. "I am not going to play a part in my own murder. No one should have to do that."
He expressed love to his mother and to relatives of the murder victims as they watched from separate windows nearby.
"I do not know all of your names and I don't know how you feel about me," he said addressing the victims' relatives. "And whether you believe it or not, I did not kill them."
He said that he was at peace and he wanted them to be at peace.
"You have to move past it. It is time to move on," he said.
He said he was glad that the execution was occurring and that his time on death row was not "10 or 20 years."
As the drugs began taking effect, he said, "This is some nasty." Then he gasped.
At that moment, his mother, Brenda Reese, began pounding with her fists on the chamber window and began screaming repeatedly, "They killed my baby."
She kicked two holes in the death chamber wall and eventually was removed from the chamber. She sobbed loudly as she walked from the prison and nearly collapsed as she reached the prison administration building across the street.
Reese was pronounced dead at 6:27 p.m., eight minutes after the drugs began to flow.
He was the 12th inmate executed this year in the nation's busiest capital punishment state.
Reese, who described himself as "no angel" and acknowledged dealing crack cocaine for years, contended in an earlier interview he wasn't involved in the gunfire outside the convenience store the evening of March 1, 1999.
Anthony Roney, 26, Riki Jackson, 17, and Alonzo Stewart, 25, were killed. A 24-year-old man and 13-year-old boy were wounded.
"I was not at the crime," Reese insisted.
Reese's lawyers went to the federal courts to try to block the punishment, citing among their claims a U.S. Supreme Court ruling a week ago that condemned prisoners can file special appeals challenging the lethal injection method under a federal civil rights law after exhausting regular appeals. The high court, however, said inmates would not always be entitled to delays in their executions.
In Reese's case, the justices rejected his appeals about 20 minutes before he was scheduled to be taken to the death chamber.
Evidence at Reese's trial showed his 18-year-old girlfriend, Kareema Kimbrough, walked out of the convenience store about four miles southeast of downtown Fort Worth and drew the attention of several men who were drinking and playing dice outside the place. Reese became angry with the men flirting with Kimbrough.
The couple left, met up with three others, including a pair of juveniles, and armed themselves with handguns and assault rifles. With Kimbrough driving and accompanied also by her 2-year-old son, she dropped off the four near the store.
The gunmen then sprayed the scene with bullets. Kimbrough drove back around, retrieved her friends and they all sped off.
Police were told by the victim of another shooting of people bragging about the convenience store gunfire. That led to the arrests of Reese, Kimbrough and their companions. Detectives found ammunition in Reese's car that matched bullets found at the shooting scene.
Sean Colston, one of the Tarrant County district attorneys who prosecuted Reese, said evidence was clear that Reese was responsible for the slayings.
"When you're dealing with capital punishment, it's not that you get a sense of satisfaction," he said. "I feel it's a just punishment."
Reese grew up in Louisiana where he said he spent much of his childhood in state custody after his mother was sent to prison,
Kimbrough, now 26, is serving a life prison term on a capital murder conviction. The three others, including the two juveniles who were charged as adults, agreed to plea bargains and are serving sentences ranging from 35 to 50 years.
Scheduled to die next in Texas is serial killer Angel Maturino Resendiz, a former FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive, set for lethal injection June 27 for the fatal stabbing of Houston-area physician Claudia Benton in December 1998.
Benton is among at least 15 victims police in Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and Illinois have linked to Resendiz, who became known as the "Railroad Killer" because many of the attacks were near railroad tracks and because he was known to hop on freight trains to travel around the United States.
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Firm plans two nuclear plants for Texas
By ELIZABETH SOUDER / The Dallas Morning News
NRG Energy Inc. announced on Wednesday plans to build nearly a dozen new power generation plants across the country in the next decade, including two nuclear plants in Texas.
The Princeton, N.J., company wants to add two more units to its South Texas Project nuclear plant, as well as build another coal-fired power plant and boost its natural gas-fired power capacity. The company will also add wind power in Texas.
NRG plans to also develop coal-fired plants in the northeastern U.S. and in the South, and gas-fired capacity in the Northeast and the West.
NRG said the new plants would cost $16 billion, which would come from outside investors and partners. The nuclear additions would cost $5.2 billion, the company said.
"NRG's development program is designed to meet the growing needs of these regions, while both reducing their dependence on natural gas for power generation purposes and making meaningful progress towards reducing our carbon profile," Chief Executive David Crane said in a statement.
The company said it will cut its emissions of pullutants and carbon dioxide in the process. Once the nuclear facilities are finished, NRG expects to have cut its total emissions in Texas by 20 to 30 percent.
NRG also said on Wednesday it bought Padoma Wind Power LLC, which is developing wind power in Texas, California and New Mexico.
The company said it filed on Monday a letter of intent with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build 2,700 megawatts of nuclear power at the existing South Texas Project nuclear facility.
NRG also said it filed last week an air permit application for a new 800 megawatt pulverized coal unit, as well as permits to boost the capacity of two other existing coal units.
Further, NRG will boost the output of its natural gas-powered generators in the Houston area.
By ELIZABETH SOUDER / The Dallas Morning News
NRG Energy Inc. announced on Wednesday plans to build nearly a dozen new power generation plants across the country in the next decade, including two nuclear plants in Texas.
The Princeton, N.J., company wants to add two more units to its South Texas Project nuclear plant, as well as build another coal-fired power plant and boost its natural gas-fired power capacity. The company will also add wind power in Texas.
NRG plans to also develop coal-fired plants in the northeastern U.S. and in the South, and gas-fired capacity in the Northeast and the West.
NRG said the new plants would cost $16 billion, which would come from outside investors and partners. The nuclear additions would cost $5.2 billion, the company said.
"NRG's development program is designed to meet the growing needs of these regions, while both reducing their dependence on natural gas for power generation purposes and making meaningful progress towards reducing our carbon profile," Chief Executive David Crane said in a statement.
The company said it will cut its emissions of pullutants and carbon dioxide in the process. Once the nuclear facilities are finished, NRG expects to have cut its total emissions in Texas by 20 to 30 percent.
NRG also said on Wednesday it bought Padoma Wind Power LLC, which is developing wind power in Texas, California and New Mexico.
The company said it filed on Monday a letter of intent with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build 2,700 megawatts of nuclear power at the existing South Texas Project nuclear facility.
NRG also said it filed last week an air permit application for a new 800 megawatt pulverized coal unit, as well as permits to boost the capacity of two other existing coal units.
Further, NRG will boost the output of its natural gas-powered generators in the Houston area.
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Pedestrian shot in Dallas; police puzzled
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A Dallas man was shot and killed early Wednesday while he was talking to his girlfriend on a cell phone.
Police said Tyree Sims, 22, was walking down the 4200 block of East Grand Ave., just north of the Fairgrounds, when shots rang out.
According to investigators, seven shell casings were found near the victim's body.
Police were trying to determine a motive for the slaying. They said he was apparently not involved in any fight or agrument before he was shot.
There was speculation that the gunman may have been targeting a group of people near Sims.
WFAA-TV photojournalist Robert Flagg contributed to this report.
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A Dallas man was shot and killed early Wednesday while he was talking to his girlfriend on a cell phone.
Police said Tyree Sims, 22, was walking down the 4200 block of East Grand Ave., just north of the Fairgrounds, when shots rang out.
According to investigators, seven shell casings were found near the victim's body.
Police were trying to determine a motive for the slaying. They said he was apparently not involved in any fight or agrument before he was shot.
There was speculation that the gunman may have been targeting a group of people near Sims.
WFAA-TV photojournalist Robert Flagg contributed to this report.
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Woman dies in Northeast Dallas shooting
By MATTHEW HAAG / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Police are investigating the shooting death of a 26-year-old woman at a Far Northeast Dallas apartment complex Tuesday night.
Neighbors at an apartment building in the 9900 block of Forest Lane called 911 after they heard gunfire around 8:15 p.m.
Dallas police Lt. Rick Watson said officers found Alisa Villarreal dead with multiple gunshot wounds inside an apartment.
Lt. Watson said there were no signs of forced entry at the apartment - the woman apparently opened the front door and was shot.
So far, investigators have not obtained any kind of suspect description.
Ms. Villarreal was from Waxahachie, but she was staying in the Dallas apartment that is leased under a man's name, Lt. Watson said.
“If we can find out who he is, we would definitely want to speak with him," he said.
By MATTHEW HAAG / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Police are investigating the shooting death of a 26-year-old woman at a Far Northeast Dallas apartment complex Tuesday night.
Neighbors at an apartment building in the 9900 block of Forest Lane called 911 after they heard gunfire around 8:15 p.m.
Dallas police Lt. Rick Watson said officers found Alisa Villarreal dead with multiple gunshot wounds inside an apartment.
Lt. Watson said there were no signs of forced entry at the apartment - the woman apparently opened the front door and was shot.
So far, investigators have not obtained any kind of suspect description.
Ms. Villarreal was from Waxahachie, but she was staying in the Dallas apartment that is leased under a man's name, Lt. Watson said.
“If we can find out who he is, we would definitely want to speak with him," he said.
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Dallas PD officer on leave after arrest
By TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - A Dallas police officer was placed on adminstrative leave after he was arrested early Tuesday in Mesquite on suspicion of domestic violence.
Officer Russell Binion faces one count of Class A misdemeanor assault, punishable punishable by a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
The officer was arrested after Mesquite police were called out to a residence and were told that he had assaulted his wife. Mesquite police declined to provide further details.
Officer Binion joined the department in 1991. During his career, he's twice been suspended, once for unsafe handling of a weapon. He's also been disciplined for making improper comments.
By TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - A Dallas police officer was placed on adminstrative leave after he was arrested early Tuesday in Mesquite on suspicion of domestic violence.
Officer Russell Binion faces one count of Class A misdemeanor assault, punishable punishable by a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
The officer was arrested after Mesquite police were called out to a residence and were told that he had assaulted his wife. Mesquite police declined to provide further details.
Officer Binion joined the department in 1991. During his career, he's twice been suspended, once for unsafe handling of a weapon. He's also been disciplined for making improper comments.
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Judge: 'Railroad Killer' should die next week
HOUSTON, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - A state district court judge Wednesday ruled serial killer Angel Maturino Resendiz, who gained notoriety as the "Railroad Killer" linked to at least 15 murders, is mentally competent to be executed next week for the rape-slaying of a Houston-area physician in 1998.
Defense attorneys for Resendiz, 46, argued the Mexican national, who gained his nickname by hopping on freight trains and committing murders near railroad tracks, did not believe he was going to die because he was half-man and half-angel and would return three days after he went to the death chamber gurney.
"He knows he's been convicted of capital murder," State District Judge William Harmon said at the conclusion of a three-day hearing. "He knows he's received a death sentence and he knows that today. And he knows he's going to be executed on Tuesday.
"No doubt in my mind."
HOUSTON, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - A state district court judge Wednesday ruled serial killer Angel Maturino Resendiz, who gained notoriety as the "Railroad Killer" linked to at least 15 murders, is mentally competent to be executed next week for the rape-slaying of a Houston-area physician in 1998.
Defense attorneys for Resendiz, 46, argued the Mexican national, who gained his nickname by hopping on freight trains and committing murders near railroad tracks, did not believe he was going to die because he was half-man and half-angel and would return three days after he went to the death chamber gurney.
"He knows he's been convicted of capital murder," State District Judge William Harmon said at the conclusion of a three-day hearing. "He knows he's received a death sentence and he knows that today. And he knows he's going to be executed on Tuesday.
"No doubt in my mind."
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Arcadia theatre, restaurants on fire
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Dallas Fire-Rescue crews were on the scene of a six-alarm fire Wednesday afternoon in a historic shopping strip along Lower Greenville Avenue.
Officials said the fire broke out around 4 p.m. at a building in the 2000 block of Greenville. As firefighters sprayed water from atop ladders, flames shot from the roof of Nuevo Leon restaurant and the adjacent Arcadia Theater, which opened in 1926. The building also houses the Condom Sense boutique and Cafe Nostra.
A crowd quickly gathered to watch the fire along the strip of restaurants and bars across the street. Smoke from the blaze could be seen from as far away as Forest Lane and Central Expressway.
There was no early information on how the fire may have started.
Wednesday's blaze is the third large fire to hit that section of Greenville Avenue in less than five years. A six-alarm fire in February 2002 heavily damaged several businesses in the 1900 block of Greenville, and in January 2004 another blaze destroyed part of a Goodwill store in the 1600 block.
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Dallas Fire-Rescue crews were on the scene of a six-alarm fire Wednesday afternoon in a historic shopping strip along Lower Greenville Avenue.
Officials said the fire broke out around 4 p.m. at a building in the 2000 block of Greenville. As firefighters sprayed water from atop ladders, flames shot from the roof of Nuevo Leon restaurant and the adjacent Arcadia Theater, which opened in 1926. The building also houses the Condom Sense boutique and Cafe Nostra.
A crowd quickly gathered to watch the fire along the strip of restaurants and bars across the street. Smoke from the blaze could be seen from as far away as Forest Lane and Central Expressway.
There was no early information on how the fire may have started.
Wednesday's blaze is the third large fire to hit that section of Greenville Avenue in less than five years. A six-alarm fire in February 2002 heavily damaged several businesses in the 1900 block of Greenville, and in January 2004 another blaze destroyed part of a Goodwill store in the 1600 block.
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Irving police search for missing 2-year-old boy
IRVING, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Police are searching for a toddler that went missing at Lively Park just off O'Connor Road in Irving.
Sources said the 2-year old was with his family playing in the park when they noticed he was missing. The boy's brother told searchers that he last saw his brother on a trail leading to some nearby woods.
Elian Majano is described as a young Hispanic boy that was last seen wearing a white shirt, flowered shorts and flip flops.
Search teams set up a command post behind Lorenzo de Zavala Middle School; and rescue dogs and a helicopter equipped with infrared scoured the woods.
Police said they only had an hour and an half worth of light to look for the boy before darkness began to cover the area.
"The darkness was against us, but now we're hoping he will come to the light," an officer said. "We think he is just lost and stumbling around out there, but were not sure. We don't have any indication of foul play at this point."
Jim Douglas contributed to this report
IRVING, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Police are searching for a toddler that went missing at Lively Park just off O'Connor Road in Irving.
Sources said the 2-year old was with his family playing in the park when they noticed he was missing. The boy's brother told searchers that he last saw his brother on a trail leading to some nearby woods.
Elian Majano is described as a young Hispanic boy that was last seen wearing a white shirt, flowered shorts and flip flops.
Search teams set up a command post behind Lorenzo de Zavala Middle School; and rescue dogs and a helicopter equipped with infrared scoured the woods.
Police said they only had an hour and an half worth of light to look for the boy before darkness began to cover the area.
"The darkness was against us, but now we're hoping he will come to the light," an officer said. "We think he is just lost and stumbling around out there, but were not sure. We don't have any indication of foul play at this point."
Jim Douglas contributed to this report
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Arcadia theatre, restaurants on fire
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Dallas Fire-Rescue crews continued to pour water on hot spots late into Wednesday night after a six-alarm fire broke out in a historic shopping strip along Lower Greenville Avenue.
Officials said they believe the fire that began around 4 p.m. began in the kitchen of the Nuevo Leon restaurant in the 2000 block of Greenville. As firefighters sprayed water from atop ladders, flames shot from the roof of Nuevo Leon restaurant and the adjacent Arcadia Theater, which opened in 1926. The building also houses the Condom Sense boutique and Cafe Nostra.
More than 125 firefighters fought the blaze with more than 50 pieces of equipment. While there were zero injuries reported from the fire, there was millions of dollars worth of damage.
"These are what we call flashovers, and that just means the contents of a room instantaneously combust," said Lt. Joel Lavendar, Dallas Fire-Rescue. "And it sounds like an explosion or fireworks."
Many local business owners and residents expressed shock that the historic Arcadia Theater was among those building destroyed in the fire.
"These are all historic buildings," said Tim West, a nearby restaurant owner. "How do you duplicate something like that, you know? Arcadia is a Dallas landmark."
Some nearby residents watched their yards to protect against floating embers.
"I stayed out with a water hose to make sure if anything came down, I would just spray it real quick," said Kim Comerford. "But it seemed to be okay."
Wednesday's blaze is the third large fire to hit that section of Greenville Avenue in less than five years. A six-alarm fire in February 2002 heavily damaged several businesses in the 1900 block of Greenville, and in January 2004 another blaze destroyed part of a Goodwill store in the 1600 block.
Dan Ronan and Bert Lozano contributed to this report
DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Dallas Fire-Rescue crews continued to pour water on hot spots late into Wednesday night after a six-alarm fire broke out in a historic shopping strip along Lower Greenville Avenue.
Officials said they believe the fire that began around 4 p.m. began in the kitchen of the Nuevo Leon restaurant in the 2000 block of Greenville. As firefighters sprayed water from atop ladders, flames shot from the roof of Nuevo Leon restaurant and the adjacent Arcadia Theater, which opened in 1926. The building also houses the Condom Sense boutique and Cafe Nostra.
More than 125 firefighters fought the blaze with more than 50 pieces of equipment. While there were zero injuries reported from the fire, there was millions of dollars worth of damage.
"These are what we call flashovers, and that just means the contents of a room instantaneously combust," said Lt. Joel Lavendar, Dallas Fire-Rescue. "And it sounds like an explosion or fireworks."
Many local business owners and residents expressed shock that the historic Arcadia Theater was among those building destroyed in the fire.
"These are all historic buildings," said Tim West, a nearby restaurant owner. "How do you duplicate something like that, you know? Arcadia is a Dallas landmark."
Some nearby residents watched their yards to protect against floating embers.
"I stayed out with a water hose to make sure if anything came down, I would just spray it real quick," said Kim Comerford. "But it seemed to be okay."
Wednesday's blaze is the third large fire to hit that section of Greenville Avenue in less than five years. A six-alarm fire in February 2002 heavily damaged several businesses in the 1900 block of Greenville, and in January 2004 another blaze destroyed part of a Goodwill store in the 1600 block.
Dan Ronan and Bert Lozano contributed to this report
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'The end of an era'
'20s theater among businesses lost in Lower Greenville fire
By PAUL MEYER, HOLLY YAN and LAUREN D'AVOLIO / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - A tower of flames and smoke devoured part of historic Lower Greenville Avenue on Wednesday afternoon, destroying the landmark Arcadia theater along with neighborhood restaurants and bars.
The blaze that ignited about 4 p.m. quickly grew to six alarms and choked the residential and commercial area in a dark cloud.
Unable to enter the burning buildings, about 120 firefighters tried to contain the damage into the evening. Homeowners watered their roofs with hoses. Hundreds of others lined the street to watch the spectacle.
And when the fury died down, the neighborhood was left to survey the economic and emotional toll.
The Arcadia theater opened in 1927 as a combination movie house and vaudeville theater. Over nearly 80 years, it held a mirror to the times. As a live music venue, its stage was graced by Miles Davis, Wynton Marsalis, Metallica and Nine Inch Nails. As a nightclub venue, it drew throngs of young DJs and dancers.
"The more I think about it, the more it seems like the end of an era in Dallas," local business owner John Gasperik said. "They might bulldoze it and put up a shopping center. Greenville Avenue is not what it used to be. A lot of character just went up in smoke."
Fire officials estimated damage to the businesses at $1.6 million. They were investigating the fire's cause and precisely where it started, said Dallas Fire-Rescue spokeswoman Annette Ponce.
"It's a total loss for the whole strip," she said.
No injuries were reported.
Wednesday was the first day of summer, a start to economic boom times in the entertainment and shopping area. Angie Wood was working at Condom Sense when a stranger ran inside.
"Your building's on fire," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her outside. Soon, flames leaped onto the rooftops of adjoining businesses.
Erol Staraveci, owner of the nearby Syn Bar, turned on his television and saw the fire raging inside his club. A few doors down, Lance Hudes realized that his Café Nostra was also burning.
"Devastating to say the least," Mr. Hudes said.
The cornerstone of the neighborhood, the Arcadia theater building, was preparing for the opening of a nightclub called the Carousel Club. The project, which would have been an homage to Jack Ruby's Carousel Club, was set to open in the fall.
"Everything was built and ready to be installed," said John Kenyon, who developed the club's concept.
The roof burned and fell in. Bricks cracked. Steel girders collapsed.
"It is 100 percent destroyed," Mr. Kenyon said. "It's such a struggle."
He said he thinks insurance will cover the damage.
Theater memories
The Arcadia theater boasted the first and only Vitaphone sound equipment in Dallas.
"I used to go watch movies there when I was a little boy," said Wayne Smith, a 40-year-old construction worker watching the inferno. "Thirty- and 40-cent movies like Superman. Now it's just gone."
Besides movies, the theater hosted variety shows, operas and beauty pageants in its almost 80-year history.
In 1973 the theater was the center of attention when Dallas vice officers staged a series of raids on screenings of the notorious adult films. The theater owner, two managers and two ticket sellers were eventually convicted on felony charges of conspiracy to exhibit obscene material. The convictions were overturned in 1975.
Dousing in a hurry
Mr. Gasperik lives at the Shake Rag Music Store directly behind the Arcadia. He was outside watering his lawn when he saw an ominous gray plume of smoke.
When he noticed the fire yards away, the 52-year-old grabbed his garden hose and started dousing his roof, yard and wooden fence.
Flaming debris flew into his yard. One piece landed on the shed of a vacant house and burned the roof. Each time a flaming piece of cinder flew overhead, Mr. Gasperik aimed the hose.
"It was like shooting ducks," he said.
A few doors down, Una Rei Saldaña stood on the roof of her metaphysical health business, watering the roof.
"It's a sad day on Greenville Avenue," said her partner, Cerina Wrye. "For six businesses to go out like that, it's devastating for the economy down here."
Gay Hopkins has been vice president of the Lower Greenville Neighborhood Association for more than two years. She has been a resident of the neighborhood since 1964 – before it was trendy. Any fire of this magnitude would certainly hurt the whole street, she said.
"It's a bad business blow," said Ms. Hopkins, who believes that a resurgence would depend on the will of property owners to rebuild.
Neighborhood activist Avi Adelman called the properties "the center of the universe for Greenville Avenue." But he said the rebuilding would probably lead to a neighborhood dispute over development in the area.
"That was a major anchor of the neighborhood. It had some good business in it," he said. "I'm looking at it about six months when it's a parking lot. This is going to be the next development battle on Greenville. This is going to be the next fight.
"I want to see an anchor for the redevelopment of Greenville, making Lower Greenville a community of shops and businesses again, not just bars."
Staff writers Michael Grabell, Chris Vognar, David Renfrow and Ty A. Allison contributed to this report.
'20s theater among businesses lost in Lower Greenville fire
By PAUL MEYER, HOLLY YAN and LAUREN D'AVOLIO / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - A tower of flames and smoke devoured part of historic Lower Greenville Avenue on Wednesday afternoon, destroying the landmark Arcadia theater along with neighborhood restaurants and bars.
The blaze that ignited about 4 p.m. quickly grew to six alarms and choked the residential and commercial area in a dark cloud.
Unable to enter the burning buildings, about 120 firefighters tried to contain the damage into the evening. Homeowners watered their roofs with hoses. Hundreds of others lined the street to watch the spectacle.
And when the fury died down, the neighborhood was left to survey the economic and emotional toll.
The Arcadia theater opened in 1927 as a combination movie house and vaudeville theater. Over nearly 80 years, it held a mirror to the times. As a live music venue, its stage was graced by Miles Davis, Wynton Marsalis, Metallica and Nine Inch Nails. As a nightclub venue, it drew throngs of young DJs and dancers.
"The more I think about it, the more it seems like the end of an era in Dallas," local business owner John Gasperik said. "They might bulldoze it and put up a shopping center. Greenville Avenue is not what it used to be. A lot of character just went up in smoke."
Fire officials estimated damage to the businesses at $1.6 million. They were investigating the fire's cause and precisely where it started, said Dallas Fire-Rescue spokeswoman Annette Ponce.
"It's a total loss for the whole strip," she said.
No injuries were reported.
Wednesday was the first day of summer, a start to economic boom times in the entertainment and shopping area. Angie Wood was working at Condom Sense when a stranger ran inside.
"Your building's on fire," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her outside. Soon, flames leaped onto the rooftops of adjoining businesses.
Erol Staraveci, owner of the nearby Syn Bar, turned on his television and saw the fire raging inside his club. A few doors down, Lance Hudes realized that his Café Nostra was also burning.
"Devastating to say the least," Mr. Hudes said.
The cornerstone of the neighborhood, the Arcadia theater building, was preparing for the opening of a nightclub called the Carousel Club. The project, which would have been an homage to Jack Ruby's Carousel Club, was set to open in the fall.
"Everything was built and ready to be installed," said John Kenyon, who developed the club's concept.
The roof burned and fell in. Bricks cracked. Steel girders collapsed.
"It is 100 percent destroyed," Mr. Kenyon said. "It's such a struggle."
He said he thinks insurance will cover the damage.
Theater memories
The Arcadia theater boasted the first and only Vitaphone sound equipment in Dallas.
"I used to go watch movies there when I was a little boy," said Wayne Smith, a 40-year-old construction worker watching the inferno. "Thirty- and 40-cent movies like Superman. Now it's just gone."
Besides movies, the theater hosted variety shows, operas and beauty pageants in its almost 80-year history.
In 1973 the theater was the center of attention when Dallas vice officers staged a series of raids on screenings of the notorious adult films. The theater owner, two managers and two ticket sellers were eventually convicted on felony charges of conspiracy to exhibit obscene material. The convictions were overturned in 1975.
Dousing in a hurry
Mr. Gasperik lives at the Shake Rag Music Store directly behind the Arcadia. He was outside watering his lawn when he saw an ominous gray plume of smoke.
When he noticed the fire yards away, the 52-year-old grabbed his garden hose and started dousing his roof, yard and wooden fence.
Flaming debris flew into his yard. One piece landed on the shed of a vacant house and burned the roof. Each time a flaming piece of cinder flew overhead, Mr. Gasperik aimed the hose.
"It was like shooting ducks," he said.
A few doors down, Una Rei Saldaña stood on the roof of her metaphysical health business, watering the roof.
"It's a sad day on Greenville Avenue," said her partner, Cerina Wrye. "For six businesses to go out like that, it's devastating for the economy down here."
Gay Hopkins has been vice president of the Lower Greenville Neighborhood Association for more than two years. She has been a resident of the neighborhood since 1964 – before it was trendy. Any fire of this magnitude would certainly hurt the whole street, she said.
"It's a bad business blow," said Ms. Hopkins, who believes that a resurgence would depend on the will of property owners to rebuild.
Neighborhood activist Avi Adelman called the properties "the center of the universe for Greenville Avenue." But he said the rebuilding would probably lead to a neighborhood dispute over development in the area.
"That was a major anchor of the neighborhood. It had some good business in it," he said. "I'm looking at it about six months when it's a parking lot. This is going to be the next development battle on Greenville. This is going to be the next fight.
"I want to see an anchor for the redevelopment of Greenville, making Lower Greenville a community of shops and businesses again, not just bars."
Staff writers Michael Grabell, Chris Vognar, David Renfrow and Ty A. Allison contributed to this report.
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TexasStooge
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Parkland bills to know no borders
Dallas County: Nations whose citizens get care will be asked to pay up
By KEVIN KRAUSE and SHERRY JACOBSON / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Dallas County is planning to bill Mexico and other foreign countries for treating their indigent citizens at Parkland Memorial Hospital, a practice that county leaders say is becoming a drain on their resources.
County Judge Margaret Keliher said she doesn't expect the foreign countries to pay up, just as she doesn't expect neighboring counties to pay for treating their indigent residents.
But that's not the point, she said.
"If you're not Dallas County residents, then we think that where you're from should pay for indigent health care," she said.
The county is already preparing to send bills to several counties for treating their residents. Last year, the county had $76.5 million in health care costs associated with treating noncounty residents, according to numbers prepared by county staff.
Of that, $26.8 million was not reimbursed. However, only about $300,000 of those unpaid bills was for patients who qualified as indigent in other counties.
Collin County owed the most, according to county numbers, with $7.6 million in unreimbursed costs, of which $66,017 was for indigent care.
There are no laws that require counties or foreign nations to reimburse Dallas County for treating their residents.
Dallas County tried unsuccessfully to change the law during the last legislative session to require counties to reimburse indigent-care costs at higher rates.
Commissioner Maurine Dickey said county leaders want to send a message beyond North Texas.
"What's wrong with sending them a bill?" she said, referring to foreign countries. "We have the hope that they would think about paying up."
Under a new federal law, Parkland has already been reimbursed by the federal government for a portion of the costs of treating illegal immigrants. The payments are only for the first 48 hours of emergency care, but those reimbursements fall short.
For example, of the $4 million Parkland requested from the government for two recent quarters, it received just short of $2 million in reimbursements. A bill to the government for $2.9 million more is still pending.
"It's inappropriate for the court to just sit on this and not send a bill," Ms. Dickey said. "We owe it to Dallas County taxpayers."
Most of the unpaid bills for Parkland's out-of-county patients, however, did not involve indigent care. A report to county commissioners, dated June 6, indicated that the Dallas County hospital was stuck paying $298,161 for unpaid out-of-county indigent care in 2005. The total cost for out-of-county indigent care that year was $672,649, according to figures provided by Parkland's financial staff.
Much of the uncompensated care for out-of-county residents stems from underpayment by Medicaid, the state-federal insurance program for low-income people. Medicaid payments for non-Dallas County residents fell $11.9 million short of reimbursing Parkland's costs in 2005.
The unpaid costs were for patients who were seen in Parkland's emergency room, burn unit and neonatal intensive care unit.
John Gates, Parkland's chief financial officer, said the hospital supports the commissioners' decision to bill foreign countries.
"County commissioners have the ultimate authority to decide what we do," he said.
As of Tuesday, the hospital began documenting the number of indigent foreign nationals treated at Parkland, Mr. Gates said.
Parkland does not ask patients about their citizenship, he said, but under some circumstances, they know what it is. For example, some patients may carry foreign ID cards. But those represent a fraction of the number of foreign patients treated, he said.
"The likelihood of them paying us is not high," Mr. Gates said. "But we would know that it is an appropriate claim to bill them for. We're not going to bill anybody if we do not know for sure."
Dallas County: Nations whose citizens get care will be asked to pay up
By KEVIN KRAUSE and SHERRY JACOBSON / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Dallas County is planning to bill Mexico and other foreign countries for treating their indigent citizens at Parkland Memorial Hospital, a practice that county leaders say is becoming a drain on their resources.
County Judge Margaret Keliher said she doesn't expect the foreign countries to pay up, just as she doesn't expect neighboring counties to pay for treating their indigent residents.
But that's not the point, she said.
"If you're not Dallas County residents, then we think that where you're from should pay for indigent health care," she said.
The county is already preparing to send bills to several counties for treating their residents. Last year, the county had $76.5 million in health care costs associated with treating noncounty residents, according to numbers prepared by county staff.
Of that, $26.8 million was not reimbursed. However, only about $300,000 of those unpaid bills was for patients who qualified as indigent in other counties.
Collin County owed the most, according to county numbers, with $7.6 million in unreimbursed costs, of which $66,017 was for indigent care.
There are no laws that require counties or foreign nations to reimburse Dallas County for treating their residents.
Dallas County tried unsuccessfully to change the law during the last legislative session to require counties to reimburse indigent-care costs at higher rates.
Commissioner Maurine Dickey said county leaders want to send a message beyond North Texas.
"What's wrong with sending them a bill?" she said, referring to foreign countries. "We have the hope that they would think about paying up."
Under a new federal law, Parkland has already been reimbursed by the federal government for a portion of the costs of treating illegal immigrants. The payments are only for the first 48 hours of emergency care, but those reimbursements fall short.
For example, of the $4 million Parkland requested from the government for two recent quarters, it received just short of $2 million in reimbursements. A bill to the government for $2.9 million more is still pending.
"It's inappropriate for the court to just sit on this and not send a bill," Ms. Dickey said. "We owe it to Dallas County taxpayers."
Most of the unpaid bills for Parkland's out-of-county patients, however, did not involve indigent care. A report to county commissioners, dated June 6, indicated that the Dallas County hospital was stuck paying $298,161 for unpaid out-of-county indigent care in 2005. The total cost for out-of-county indigent care that year was $672,649, according to figures provided by Parkland's financial staff.
Much of the uncompensated care for out-of-county residents stems from underpayment by Medicaid, the state-federal insurance program for low-income people. Medicaid payments for non-Dallas County residents fell $11.9 million short of reimbursing Parkland's costs in 2005.
The unpaid costs were for patients who were seen in Parkland's emergency room, burn unit and neonatal intensive care unit.
John Gates, Parkland's chief financial officer, said the hospital supports the commissioners' decision to bill foreign countries.
"County commissioners have the ultimate authority to decide what we do," he said.
As of Tuesday, the hospital began documenting the number of indigent foreign nationals treated at Parkland, Mr. Gates said.
Parkland does not ask patients about their citizenship, he said, but under some circumstances, they know what it is. For example, some patients may carry foreign ID cards. But those represent a fraction of the number of foreign patients treated, he said.
"The likelihood of them paying us is not high," Mr. Gates said. "But we would know that it is an appropriate claim to bill them for. We're not going to bill anybody if we do not know for sure."
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TexasStooge
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- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Irving police searching for 2-year-old boy
He was at park with family, was last seen on trail near woods
IRVING, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - Irving police were searching Wednesday night for a toddler who went missing in the evening at Lively Park just off O'Connor Road.
Two-year-old Elian Majano had been playing in the park with family members when he disappeared. The boy's older brother told searchers that he last saw Elian on a trail leading to some nearby woods.
Elian was wearing a white shirt, flowered shorts and flip-flops.
A command post had been set up behind Lorenzo de Zavala Middle School. The surrounding area was being searched by at least 100 people, including police and fire personnel, and volunteers.
"We had about an hour and a half of light to look for him. The darkness was against us," said Officer David Tull, Irving police spokesman. "But now we are hoping that he will come to the light. We think he's just lost and stumbled around out there. We don't have any indications of foul play right now."
Dog teams also were being used in the search, along with a helicopter that performed an infrared search around the area, Officer Tull said.
He was at park with family, was last seen on trail near woods
IRVING, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - Irving police were searching Wednesday night for a toddler who went missing in the evening at Lively Park just off O'Connor Road.
Two-year-old Elian Majano had been playing in the park with family members when he disappeared. The boy's older brother told searchers that he last saw Elian on a trail leading to some nearby woods.
Elian was wearing a white shirt, flowered shorts and flip-flops.
A command post had been set up behind Lorenzo de Zavala Middle School. The surrounding area was being searched by at least 100 people, including police and fire personnel, and volunteers.
"We had about an hour and a half of light to look for him. The darkness was against us," said Officer David Tull, Irving police spokesman. "But now we are hoping that he will come to the light. We think he's just lost and stumbled around out there. We don't have any indications of foul play right now."
Dog teams also were being used in the search, along with a helicopter that performed an infrared search around the area, Officer Tull said.
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TexasStooge
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- Contact:
Still no sign of missing boy
IRVING, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) — Police continued their search early Thursday for a toddler who was last seen at a city park in Irving.
Sources said the two-year old was with his family Wednesday playing in Lively Park just off O'Connor Road when they noticed he was missing. The boy's brother told searchers that he last saw his brother on a trail leading to some nearby woods.
Elian Majano is described as a young Hispanic boy who was wearing a white shirt, flowered shorts and flip-flops.
Search teams set up a command post behind Lorenzo de Zavala Middle School; and rescue dogs and a helicopter equipped with infrared sensors scoured the woods.
Police said they only had an hour-and-a-half worth of light to look for the boy before darkness began to cover the area.
"The darkness was against us, but now we're hoping he will come to the light," an officer said. "We think he is just lost and stumbling around out there, but were not sure. We don't have any indication of foul play at this point."
City crews were relieved to find no sign of Elian after draining a sinkhole Thursday morning.
WFAA-TV reporters Jim Douglas and Cynthia Vega contributed to this report
IRVING, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) — Police continued their search early Thursday for a toddler who was last seen at a city park in Irving.
Sources said the two-year old was with his family Wednesday playing in Lively Park just off O'Connor Road when they noticed he was missing. The boy's brother told searchers that he last saw his brother on a trail leading to some nearby woods.
Elian Majano is described as a young Hispanic boy who was wearing a white shirt, flowered shorts and flip-flops.
Search teams set up a command post behind Lorenzo de Zavala Middle School; and rescue dogs and a helicopter equipped with infrared sensors scoured the woods.
Police said they only had an hour-and-a-half worth of light to look for the boy before darkness began to cover the area.
"The darkness was against us, but now we're hoping he will come to the light," an officer said. "We think he is just lost and stumbling around out there, but were not sure. We don't have any indication of foul play at this point."
City crews were relieved to find no sign of Elian after draining a sinkhole Thursday morning.
WFAA-TV reporters Jim Douglas and Cynthia Vega contributed to this report
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TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Cause of fire probed
'20s theater among businesses lost in Lower Greenville fire
By PAUL MEYER, HOLLY YAN and LAUREN D'AVOLIO / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Fire investigators were combing through the rubble Thursday as they searched for clues to the origin of a fire that destroyed a historic piece of Lower Greenville Avenue.
The blaze that ignited about 4 p.m. Wednesday quickly grew to six alarms, devouring the landmark Arcadia theater along with several restaurants, bars and other businesses and choking the residential and commercial area in a dark cloud.
Dallas Fire-Rescue Lt. Joel Lavender said crews remained at the scene Thursday morning snuffing out hotspots and investigating how the blaze began.
“Hopefully we will have some kind of conclusion in the next two or three days,” Lt. Joel Lavender said. “They are in the building now, so that’s the good news.”
Unable to enter the burning buildings during the fire, about 120 firefighters tried to contain the damage into the evening. Homeowners watered their roofs with hoses. Hundreds of others lined the street to watch the spectacle.
And when the fury died down, the neighborhood was left to survey the economic and emotional toll.
The Arcadia theater opened in 1927 as a combination movie house and vaudeville theater. Over nearly 80 years, it held a mirror to the times. As a live music venue, its stage was graced by Miles Davis, Wynton Marsalis, Metallica and Nine Inch Nails. As a nightclub venue, it drew throngs of young DJs and dancers.
"The more I think about it, the more it seems like the end of an era in Dallas," local business owner John Gasperik said. "They might bulldoze it and put up a shopping center. Greenville Avenue is not what it used to be. A lot of character just went up in smoke."
Fire officials estimated damage to the businesses at $1.6 million.
"It's a total loss for the whole strip," Dallas Fire-Rescue spokeswoman Annette Ponce said.
No injuries were reported.
Wednesday was the first day of summer, a start to economic boom times in the entertainment and shopping area. Angie Wood was working at Condom Sense when a stranger ran inside.
"Your building's on fire," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her outside. Soon, flames leaped onto the rooftops of adjoining businesses.
Erol Staraveci, owner of the nearby Syn Bar, turned on his television and saw the fire raging inside his club. A few doors down, Lance Hudes realized that his Café Nostra was also burning.
"Devastating to say the least," Mr. Hudes said.
The cornerstone of the neighborhood, the Arcadia theater building, was preparing for the opening of a nightclub called the Carousel Club. The project, which would have been an homage to Jack Ruby's Carousel Club, was set to open in the fall.
"Everything was built and ready to be installed," said John Kenyon, who developed the club's concept.
The roof burned and fell in. Bricks cracked. Steel girders collapsed.
"It is 100 percent destroyed," Mr. Kenyon said. "It's such a struggle."
He said he thinks insurance will cover the damage.
Theater memories
The Arcadia theater boasted the first and only Vitaphone sound equipment in Dallas.
"I used to go watch movies there when I was a little boy," said Wayne Smith, a 40-year-old construction worker watching the inferno. "Thirty- and 40-cent movies like Superman. Now it's just gone."
Besides movies, the theater hosted variety shows, operas and beauty pageants in its almost 80-year history.
In 1973 the theater was the center of attention when Dallas vice officers staged a series of raids on screenings of the notorious adult film Deep Throat. The theater owner, two managers and two ticket sellers were eventually convicted on felony charges of conspiracy to exhibit obscene material. The convictions were overturned in 1975.
Dousing in a hurry
Mr. Gasperik lives at the Shake Rag Music Store directly behind the Arcadia. He was outside watering his lawn when he saw an ominous gray plume of smoke.
When he noticed the fire yards away, the 52-year-old grabbed his garden hose and started dousing his roof, yard and wooden fence.
Flaming debris flew into his yard. One piece landed on the shed of a vacant house and burned the roof. Each time a flaming piece of cinder flew overhead, Mr. Gasperik aimed the hose.
"It was like shooting ducks," he said.
A few doors down, Una Rei Saldaña stood on the roof of her metaphysical health business, watering the roof.
"It's a sad day on Greenville Avenue," said her partner, Cerina Wrye. "For six businesses to go out like that, it's devastating for the economy down here."
Gay Hopkins has been vice president of the Lower Greenville Neighborhood Association for more than two years. She has been a resident of the neighborhood since 1964 – before it was trendy. Any fire of this magnitude would certainly hurt the whole street, she said.
"It's a bad business blow," said Ms. Hopkins, who believes that a resurgence would depend on the will of property owners to rebuild.
Neighborhood activist Avi Adelman called the properties "the center of the universe for Greenville Avenue." But he said the rebuilding would probably lead to a neighborhood dispute over development in the area.
"That was a major anchor of the neighborhood. It had some good business in it," he said. "I'm looking at it about six months when it's a parking lot. This is going to be the next development battle on Greenville. This is going to be the next fight.
"I want to see an anchor for the redevelopment of Greenville, making Lower Greenville a community of shops and businesses again, not just bars."
Staff writers Kimberly Durnan, Michael Grabell, Chris Vognar, David Renfrow and Ty A. Allison contributed to this report.
'20s theater among businesses lost in Lower Greenville fire
By PAUL MEYER, HOLLY YAN and LAUREN D'AVOLIO / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - Fire investigators were combing through the rubble Thursday as they searched for clues to the origin of a fire that destroyed a historic piece of Lower Greenville Avenue.
The blaze that ignited about 4 p.m. Wednesday quickly grew to six alarms, devouring the landmark Arcadia theater along with several restaurants, bars and other businesses and choking the residential and commercial area in a dark cloud.
Dallas Fire-Rescue Lt. Joel Lavender said crews remained at the scene Thursday morning snuffing out hotspots and investigating how the blaze began.
“Hopefully we will have some kind of conclusion in the next two or three days,” Lt. Joel Lavender said. “They are in the building now, so that’s the good news.”
Unable to enter the burning buildings during the fire, about 120 firefighters tried to contain the damage into the evening. Homeowners watered their roofs with hoses. Hundreds of others lined the street to watch the spectacle.
And when the fury died down, the neighborhood was left to survey the economic and emotional toll.
The Arcadia theater opened in 1927 as a combination movie house and vaudeville theater. Over nearly 80 years, it held a mirror to the times. As a live music venue, its stage was graced by Miles Davis, Wynton Marsalis, Metallica and Nine Inch Nails. As a nightclub venue, it drew throngs of young DJs and dancers.
"The more I think about it, the more it seems like the end of an era in Dallas," local business owner John Gasperik said. "They might bulldoze it and put up a shopping center. Greenville Avenue is not what it used to be. A lot of character just went up in smoke."
Fire officials estimated damage to the businesses at $1.6 million.
"It's a total loss for the whole strip," Dallas Fire-Rescue spokeswoman Annette Ponce said.
No injuries were reported.
Wednesday was the first day of summer, a start to economic boom times in the entertainment and shopping area. Angie Wood was working at Condom Sense when a stranger ran inside.
"Your building's on fire," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her outside. Soon, flames leaped onto the rooftops of adjoining businesses.
Erol Staraveci, owner of the nearby Syn Bar, turned on his television and saw the fire raging inside his club. A few doors down, Lance Hudes realized that his Café Nostra was also burning.
"Devastating to say the least," Mr. Hudes said.
The cornerstone of the neighborhood, the Arcadia theater building, was preparing for the opening of a nightclub called the Carousel Club. The project, which would have been an homage to Jack Ruby's Carousel Club, was set to open in the fall.
"Everything was built and ready to be installed," said John Kenyon, who developed the club's concept.
The roof burned and fell in. Bricks cracked. Steel girders collapsed.
"It is 100 percent destroyed," Mr. Kenyon said. "It's such a struggle."
He said he thinks insurance will cover the damage.
Theater memories
The Arcadia theater boasted the first and only Vitaphone sound equipment in Dallas.
"I used to go watch movies there when I was a little boy," said Wayne Smith, a 40-year-old construction worker watching the inferno. "Thirty- and 40-cent movies like Superman. Now it's just gone."
Besides movies, the theater hosted variety shows, operas and beauty pageants in its almost 80-year history.
In 1973 the theater was the center of attention when Dallas vice officers staged a series of raids on screenings of the notorious adult film Deep Throat. The theater owner, two managers and two ticket sellers were eventually convicted on felony charges of conspiracy to exhibit obscene material. The convictions were overturned in 1975.
Dousing in a hurry
Mr. Gasperik lives at the Shake Rag Music Store directly behind the Arcadia. He was outside watering his lawn when he saw an ominous gray plume of smoke.
When he noticed the fire yards away, the 52-year-old grabbed his garden hose and started dousing his roof, yard and wooden fence.
Flaming debris flew into his yard. One piece landed on the shed of a vacant house and burned the roof. Each time a flaming piece of cinder flew overhead, Mr. Gasperik aimed the hose.
"It was like shooting ducks," he said.
A few doors down, Una Rei Saldaña stood on the roof of her metaphysical health business, watering the roof.
"It's a sad day on Greenville Avenue," said her partner, Cerina Wrye. "For six businesses to go out like that, it's devastating for the economy down here."
Gay Hopkins has been vice president of the Lower Greenville Neighborhood Association for more than two years. She has been a resident of the neighborhood since 1964 – before it was trendy. Any fire of this magnitude would certainly hurt the whole street, she said.
"It's a bad business blow," said Ms. Hopkins, who believes that a resurgence would depend on the will of property owners to rebuild.
Neighborhood activist Avi Adelman called the properties "the center of the universe for Greenville Avenue." But he said the rebuilding would probably lead to a neighborhood dispute over development in the area.
"That was a major anchor of the neighborhood. It had some good business in it," he said. "I'm looking at it about six months when it's a parking lot. This is going to be the next development battle on Greenville. This is going to be the next fight.
"I want to see an anchor for the redevelopment of Greenville, making Lower Greenville a community of shops and businesses again, not just bars."
Staff writers Kimberly Durnan, Michael Grabell, Chris Vognar, David Renfrow and Ty A. Allison contributed to this report.
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TexasStooge
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Ex-SMU pledge testifies in man's frat hazing trial
Dallas: He says he was made to guzzle water; defense denies force
By ROBERT THARP / The Dallas Morning News
The "water night" ritual at a fraternity member's northeast Dallas apartment began with orders to guzzle salsa and hot sauce.
Then, Braylon Curry testified Wednesday, he and other pledges to Southern Methodist University's Alpha Phi Alpha chapter were peppered with fraternity trivia questions and forced to perform dances and sing fraternity songs. Mistakes were rewarded with demands by fraternity brothers to guzzle water, he said.
Mr. Curry said he drank 3 to 5 gallons of water that evening in 2003. He collapsed, had seizures and spent 10 days in the hospital as a result of the near-death experience.
Raymond Lee, 26, is on trial for aggravated assault in the case and faces to to 20 years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors say Mr. Lee, who had already graduated from college at the time of the incident, was the ringleader in the hazing.
"He was pushing the jug up to my mouth and slapping me on my arms and torso – it was pretty forceful," Mr. Curry testified Wednesday during Mr. Lee's trial.
"He did most of the hitting," prosecutor Josh Healy said during opening statements. "He was the most aggressive, and he forced most of the water down Braylon's throat."
Mr. Curry, now 23 and enrolled at Howard University, said he still suffers from memory loss and concentration problems as a result of the hazing.
After he collapsed, fraternity members began frantic Internet research on the effects of "over hydration," Mr. Healy said. They didn't call for an ambulance until Mr. Curry began having seizures, he said.
Attorneys for Mr. Lee suggested that Mr. Curry and other pledges voluntarily subjected themselves to the initiation ritual because the fraternity had an alternative method of acceptance that only involved a written application.
Attorney Ray Jackson also said that Mr. Curry was not under duress and could have stopped drinking the water at any time.
But Mr. Curry testified that fraternity members who did not go through the rituals were treated with ridicule. He said he drank the water because Mr. Lee forced the jug to his mouth.
"I got to the point that I was incoherent and had trouble standing," he said.
Four students were expelled after the incident, and Alpha Phi Alpha was banned from SMU's campus.
Prosecutors said in court that it wasn't the first time Mr. Lee had been accused of going too far with fraternity pledges.
As a University of Texas at Dallas student in 2001, Mr. Lee was accused of hazing and suspended from Alpha Phi Alpha. For punishment, he was ordered to perform community service and write a paper on the dangers of hazing.
"Hazing is an act of power and control over others," he wrote at the time. "It's victimization."
Testimony in Mr. Lee's trial is to resume today.
Dallas: He says he was made to guzzle water; defense denies force
By ROBERT THARP / The Dallas Morning News
The "water night" ritual at a fraternity member's northeast Dallas apartment began with orders to guzzle salsa and hot sauce.
Then, Braylon Curry testified Wednesday, he and other pledges to Southern Methodist University's Alpha Phi Alpha chapter were peppered with fraternity trivia questions and forced to perform dances and sing fraternity songs. Mistakes were rewarded with demands by fraternity brothers to guzzle water, he said.
Mr. Curry said he drank 3 to 5 gallons of water that evening in 2003. He collapsed, had seizures and spent 10 days in the hospital as a result of the near-death experience.
Raymond Lee, 26, is on trial for aggravated assault in the case and faces to to 20 years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors say Mr. Lee, who had already graduated from college at the time of the incident, was the ringleader in the hazing.
"He was pushing the jug up to my mouth and slapping me on my arms and torso – it was pretty forceful," Mr. Curry testified Wednesday during Mr. Lee's trial.
"He did most of the hitting," prosecutor Josh Healy said during opening statements. "He was the most aggressive, and he forced most of the water down Braylon's throat."
Mr. Curry, now 23 and enrolled at Howard University, said he still suffers from memory loss and concentration problems as a result of the hazing.
After he collapsed, fraternity members began frantic Internet research on the effects of "over hydration," Mr. Healy said. They didn't call for an ambulance until Mr. Curry began having seizures, he said.
Attorneys for Mr. Lee suggested that Mr. Curry and other pledges voluntarily subjected themselves to the initiation ritual because the fraternity had an alternative method of acceptance that only involved a written application.
Attorney Ray Jackson also said that Mr. Curry was not under duress and could have stopped drinking the water at any time.
But Mr. Curry testified that fraternity members who did not go through the rituals were treated with ridicule. He said he drank the water because Mr. Lee forced the jug to his mouth.
"I got to the point that I was incoherent and had trouble standing," he said.
Four students were expelled after the incident, and Alpha Phi Alpha was banned from SMU's campus.
Prosecutors said in court that it wasn't the first time Mr. Lee had been accused of going too far with fraternity pledges.
As a University of Texas at Dallas student in 2001, Mr. Lee was accused of hazing and suspended from Alpha Phi Alpha. For punishment, he was ordered to perform community service and write a paper on the dangers of hazing.
"Hazing is an act of power and control over others," he wrote at the time. "It's victimization."
Testimony in Mr. Lee's trial is to resume today.
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TexasStooge
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TAKS online testing option raises concerns
Aim is to save money, time, but cheating, fairness are worries
By JOSHUA BENTON / The Dallas Morning News
If you own stock in a company that makes No. 2 pencils, now might be a good time to sell.
After a few years of tiptoeing, Texas is preparing to take its first big step into online testing. School districts have the option to administer next spring's TAKS test by computer.
"Students have become more and more accustomed to a computer environment," said Susan Barnes, associate commissioner for standards and programs at the Texas Education Agency. "That has become the mode of how they interact."
Some worry that the shift, designed to eventually save money and time, could have substantial implications for the tests' fairness. Not every school has access to the same quality or quantity of computers.
It could also be a solution to Texas' cheating problems – or make them worse, depending on who's talking.
How many kids will take the TAKS online? Somewhere between zero and 1.6 million. It's up to each school district to decide whether students will be clicking checkboxes or penciling in bubbles. Only students in grades seven and higher will get computer time; younger kids will remain paperbound.
Tackling Mount Paper
For those who don't work in schools, it's difficult to conceive of the amount of paper that Texas' testing process requires. For weeks before test day, stacked boxes of test booklets and answer documents line the rooms of Texas schoolhouses. Each of those heavy boxes has to be shipped twice at great expense, first out to schools and then back to the scoring factory.
Multiply all those boxes times 7,000 schools to understand the small forest Texas destroys in the name of TAKS each year.
"I once justified the job of testing coordinator of this district by adding up the tonnage of paper we handled," said Whit Johnstone, the director of testing and research for Irving schools.
The total, circa the mid-1990s: 15 tons. "It hasn't gone down since then," he said.
Testing online eliminates all of that. In a letter to school districts sent last month, TEA's director of student assessment encouraged districts to move online because of the reduced paper handling and quicker grading turnarounds it promises.
"More importantly, within three years it is possible that some of the state assessments will be administered exclusively online," wrote the official, Lisa Chandler.
All that paper lying around can also have an impact on test security. Some Texas schools have come under fire in recent years for potential cheating on the TAKS, driven either by students sharing answers or teachers providing them.
Moving tests online would prevent teachers from getting access to test questions days before the test or doctoring answer sheets once students are finished.
"So much of the security issue is counting booklets and answer sheets and making sure everything is secure and accounted for," said Cynthia Bean, principal at Irving MacArthur High School. Until last month, she was principal at Austin Middle School, which has given the eighth-grade TAKS test online the last two years.
But Stephanie Gertz, a private testing consultant based in Boston, said she doesn't think online testing will reduce cheating in the long term.
"I think you'll see a dip in cheating initially, as they switch to the computers," she said. "But if people want to cheat, they can cheat. I guess I don't have much faith in people. Or you could say I have a lot of faith in people's ingenuity."
If hackers can break into Defense Department computers, there probably will be some 15-year-old who can break into a test company's server, she reasons. It may be difficult to restrict access to other programs on a computer – like a Web browser or instant messenger client that could help kids find answers – during test administrations.
And if schools are allowed to give tests within a window of time – instead of all on the same day – students may find ways to distribute answers to friends, using screen-capture programs or other tools.
"Students are creative," Dr. Barnes of the TEA said. "We will be vigilant."
What about fairness?
The fairness issues are perhaps the thorniest. With the paper-and-pencil TAKS, a testing classroom in Brownsville is virtually identical to one in Beaumont. But not every school offers the same quality of or access to computers.
Dr. Gertz said she expects that problem to go away with time, as computers become more common in poorer homes and classrooms. Until then, she said, Texas is smart to make online testing optional for districts.
Texas has dipped its testing toes in the online waters before. It has allowed schools to volunteer their eighth-graders as TAKS guinea pigs for the last several years. In addition, kids who have failed the exit-level TAKS – required for graduation – have been able to take some retests online.
Those attempts haven't always been smooth. Last December, during an exit-level TAKS retest, server problems led to crashes and nerve-wracking problems. Dr. Johnstone said Irving staff spent most of the morning one test day trying to connect their computers to the state servers that held the test.
"There have been some hiccups," Dr. Johnstone said. For the teenagers who were taking the most important test of their young lives: "It wasn't comfortable."
Dr. Barnes acknowledged the past issues but said the system will be able to scale to the size required if hundreds of thousands of children are to take an online test at the same time.
An informal survey of North Texas school districts did not find any ready to commit to giving the TAKS online next spring, but for the most part those decisions are yet to be made. In Irving, for instance, the decision will be left up to individual principals, Dr. Johnstone said.
"I think it would be fabulous," Ms. Bean said. "I think it's the wave of the future, and I would want to be a part of that."
Texas isn't quite at the leading edge of online testing. It's still many electrons shy of states like Virginia, where 90 percent of this spring's state high-school assessments were taken on computers. The success of online testing there has encouraged the push down into middle schools and, starting this spring, elementary schools.
In Virginia, schools can receive their students' results the same day the test is given, which means they can push weaker kids into remediation more quickly. In Texas, getting back test results is a question of weeks, not hours.
"We were looking for ways to speed up the process, and online testing was one way to do it," said Julie Grimes, a Virginia Department of Education spokeswoman.
Aim is to save money, time, but cheating, fairness are worries
By JOSHUA BENTON / The Dallas Morning News
If you own stock in a company that makes No. 2 pencils, now might be a good time to sell.
After a few years of tiptoeing, Texas is preparing to take its first big step into online testing. School districts have the option to administer next spring's TAKS test by computer.
"Students have become more and more accustomed to a computer environment," said Susan Barnes, associate commissioner for standards and programs at the Texas Education Agency. "That has become the mode of how they interact."
Some worry that the shift, designed to eventually save money and time, could have substantial implications for the tests' fairness. Not every school has access to the same quality or quantity of computers.
It could also be a solution to Texas' cheating problems – or make them worse, depending on who's talking.
How many kids will take the TAKS online? Somewhere between zero and 1.6 million. It's up to each school district to decide whether students will be clicking checkboxes or penciling in bubbles. Only students in grades seven and higher will get computer time; younger kids will remain paperbound.
Tackling Mount Paper
For those who don't work in schools, it's difficult to conceive of the amount of paper that Texas' testing process requires. For weeks before test day, stacked boxes of test booklets and answer documents line the rooms of Texas schoolhouses. Each of those heavy boxes has to be shipped twice at great expense, first out to schools and then back to the scoring factory.
Multiply all those boxes times 7,000 schools to understand the small forest Texas destroys in the name of TAKS each year.
"I once justified the job of testing coordinator of this district by adding up the tonnage of paper we handled," said Whit Johnstone, the director of testing and research for Irving schools.
The total, circa the mid-1990s: 15 tons. "It hasn't gone down since then," he said.
Testing online eliminates all of that. In a letter to school districts sent last month, TEA's director of student assessment encouraged districts to move online because of the reduced paper handling and quicker grading turnarounds it promises.
"More importantly, within three years it is possible that some of the state assessments will be administered exclusively online," wrote the official, Lisa Chandler.
All that paper lying around can also have an impact on test security. Some Texas schools have come under fire in recent years for potential cheating on the TAKS, driven either by students sharing answers or teachers providing them.
Moving tests online would prevent teachers from getting access to test questions days before the test or doctoring answer sheets once students are finished.
"So much of the security issue is counting booklets and answer sheets and making sure everything is secure and accounted for," said Cynthia Bean, principal at Irving MacArthur High School. Until last month, she was principal at Austin Middle School, which has given the eighth-grade TAKS test online the last two years.
But Stephanie Gertz, a private testing consultant based in Boston, said she doesn't think online testing will reduce cheating in the long term.
"I think you'll see a dip in cheating initially, as they switch to the computers," she said. "But if people want to cheat, they can cheat. I guess I don't have much faith in people. Or you could say I have a lot of faith in people's ingenuity."
If hackers can break into Defense Department computers, there probably will be some 15-year-old who can break into a test company's server, she reasons. It may be difficult to restrict access to other programs on a computer – like a Web browser or instant messenger client that could help kids find answers – during test administrations.
And if schools are allowed to give tests within a window of time – instead of all on the same day – students may find ways to distribute answers to friends, using screen-capture programs or other tools.
"Students are creative," Dr. Barnes of the TEA said. "We will be vigilant."
What about fairness?
The fairness issues are perhaps the thorniest. With the paper-and-pencil TAKS, a testing classroom in Brownsville is virtually identical to one in Beaumont. But not every school offers the same quality of or access to computers.
Dr. Gertz said she expects that problem to go away with time, as computers become more common in poorer homes and classrooms. Until then, she said, Texas is smart to make online testing optional for districts.
Texas has dipped its testing toes in the online waters before. It has allowed schools to volunteer their eighth-graders as TAKS guinea pigs for the last several years. In addition, kids who have failed the exit-level TAKS – required for graduation – have been able to take some retests online.
Those attempts haven't always been smooth. Last December, during an exit-level TAKS retest, server problems led to crashes and nerve-wracking problems. Dr. Johnstone said Irving staff spent most of the morning one test day trying to connect their computers to the state servers that held the test.
"There have been some hiccups," Dr. Johnstone said. For the teenagers who were taking the most important test of their young lives: "It wasn't comfortable."
Dr. Barnes acknowledged the past issues but said the system will be able to scale to the size required if hundreds of thousands of children are to take an online test at the same time.
An informal survey of North Texas school districts did not find any ready to commit to giving the TAKS online next spring, but for the most part those decisions are yet to be made. In Irving, for instance, the decision will be left up to individual principals, Dr. Johnstone said.
"I think it would be fabulous," Ms. Bean said. "I think it's the wave of the future, and I would want to be a part of that."
Texas isn't quite at the leading edge of online testing. It's still many electrons shy of states like Virginia, where 90 percent of this spring's state high-school assessments were taken on computers. The success of online testing there has encouraged the push down into middle schools and, starting this spring, elementary schools.
In Virginia, schools can receive their students' results the same day the test is given, which means they can push weaker kids into remediation more quickly. In Texas, getting back test results is a question of weeks, not hours.
"We were looking for ways to speed up the process, and online testing was one way to do it," said Julie Grimes, a Virginia Department of Education spokeswoman.
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TexasStooge
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Arlington restaurant destroyed by fire
By EMILY GOLDSTEIN / The Dallas Morning News
ARLINGTON, Texas - Fire ravaged a Black Eyed Pea restaurant in north Arlington early Thursday, fire officials said.
Firefighters were called around 1 a.m. and arrived to find heavy smoke billowing out of the eatery in the 1400 block of North Collins Street, Arlington assistant fire chief Don Crowson said.
Crews were unable to enter the building and the structure collapsed about 25 minutes after they arrived, Crowson said.
Deputy Fire Marshal Keith Ebel said the fire is believed to have started in the kitchen or in the attic above the kitchen.
Investigators are still working to determine the cause, but said the blaze caused $500,000 in damage.
By EMILY GOLDSTEIN / The Dallas Morning News
ARLINGTON, Texas - Fire ravaged a Black Eyed Pea restaurant in north Arlington early Thursday, fire officials said.
Firefighters were called around 1 a.m. and arrived to find heavy smoke billowing out of the eatery in the 1400 block of North Collins Street, Arlington assistant fire chief Don Crowson said.
Crews were unable to enter the building and the structure collapsed about 25 minutes after they arrived, Crowson said.
Deputy Fire Marshal Keith Ebel said the fire is believed to have started in the kitchen or in the attic above the kitchen.
Investigators are still working to determine the cause, but said the blaze caused $500,000 in damage.
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TexasStooge
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- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
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Dallas scientist honored
$1 million Shaw Prize awarded for research on birth and death of cells
By SUE GOETINCK AMBROSE / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - A Dallas biochemist has received a $1 million prize from a Hong Kong foundation that rewards individuals who achieve significant breakthroughs in scientific research.
Xiaodong Wang, 43, was awarded the third annual Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine from the Shaw Prize Foundation, which cited his work on how the body balances the birth and death of cells in order to remain healthy. The prize was announced Wednesday.
"The people who have won the Life Science and Medicine awards in the last two years have been superb," said Dr. Alfred Gilman, Nobel laureate and dean of the medical school at UT Southwestern Medical Center. "Xiaodong Wang's work is spectacular and has become very well-known."
Dr. Wang, a faculty member at UT Southwestern since 1996, has made significant contributions to unraveling the biochemical pathway that the body uses to kill unwanted cells. This controlled elimination of cells helps shape the body even before birth and continues throughout life to eliminate unneeded cells. And since cancer cells thrive, in part, by avoiding this natural death sentence, Dr. Wang's research could lead to better treatments for cancer or other conditions.
Dr. Wang said that although he and his laboratory had made progress in understanding cell death, there was still much to discover about the process.
"We also want to take what we've discovered into applications," he said. "Hopefully developing more specific anti-cancer drugs."
A native of China, Dr. Wang received his undergraduate degree from Beijing Normal University. He earned his doctorate in biochemistry from UT Southwestern in 1991 and worked as a postdoctoral researcher with UT Southwestern Nobel laureates Dr. Joseph Goldstein and Dr. Michael Brown. He also is an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Run Run Shaw, a Hong Kong media mogul, established the prize, now in its third year. The $1 million is awarded to Dr. Wang personally and does not have to be spent on research projects.
In addition to the Prize in Life Science and Medicine, the foundation also awards $1 million prizes in astronomy and mathematics. This year's mathematics prize is shared by David Mumford of Brown University in Providence, R.I., and Wu Wensun of the Chinese Academy of Sciences at Beijing. The astronomy prize went to Saul Perlmutter of the University of California's Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Adam Riess of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore and Brian Schmidt of Australian National University in Canberra.
The prizes will be presented in Hong Kong in September. Winners will receive medals displaying a portrait of Mr. Shaw and, in Chinese, the phrase "Grasp the law of nature and make use of it."
$1 million Shaw Prize awarded for research on birth and death of cells
By SUE GOETINCK AMBROSE / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - A Dallas biochemist has received a $1 million prize from a Hong Kong foundation that rewards individuals who achieve significant breakthroughs in scientific research.
Xiaodong Wang, 43, was awarded the third annual Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine from the Shaw Prize Foundation, which cited his work on how the body balances the birth and death of cells in order to remain healthy. The prize was announced Wednesday.
"The people who have won the Life Science and Medicine awards in the last two years have been superb," said Dr. Alfred Gilman, Nobel laureate and dean of the medical school at UT Southwestern Medical Center. "Xiaodong Wang's work is spectacular and has become very well-known."
Dr. Wang, a faculty member at UT Southwestern since 1996, has made significant contributions to unraveling the biochemical pathway that the body uses to kill unwanted cells. This controlled elimination of cells helps shape the body even before birth and continues throughout life to eliminate unneeded cells. And since cancer cells thrive, in part, by avoiding this natural death sentence, Dr. Wang's research could lead to better treatments for cancer or other conditions.
Dr. Wang said that although he and his laboratory had made progress in understanding cell death, there was still much to discover about the process.
"We also want to take what we've discovered into applications," he said. "Hopefully developing more specific anti-cancer drugs."
A native of China, Dr. Wang received his undergraduate degree from Beijing Normal University. He earned his doctorate in biochemistry from UT Southwestern in 1991 and worked as a postdoctoral researcher with UT Southwestern Nobel laureates Dr. Joseph Goldstein and Dr. Michael Brown. He also is an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Run Run Shaw, a Hong Kong media mogul, established the prize, now in its third year. The $1 million is awarded to Dr. Wang personally and does not have to be spent on research projects.
In addition to the Prize in Life Science and Medicine, the foundation also awards $1 million prizes in astronomy and mathematics. This year's mathematics prize is shared by David Mumford of Brown University in Providence, R.I., and Wu Wensun of the Chinese Academy of Sciences at Beijing. The astronomy prize went to Saul Perlmutter of the University of California's Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Adam Riess of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore and Brian Schmidt of Australian National University in Canberra.
The prizes will be presented in Hong Kong in September. Winners will receive medals displaying a portrait of Mr. Shaw and, in Chinese, the phrase "Grasp the law of nature and make use of it."
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