Belo accuses Armey of retaliation for stories

DALLAS — Belo, the parent company of The Dallas Morning News, accused House Majority Leader Dick Armey of trying to retaliate against the newspaper for its coverage of his son’s failed congressional bid.

The newspaper reported that the Texas Republican tried to have language inserted into a $10 billion military appropriations bill to force Belo to divest itself of one of its three Dallas media properties.

Belo owns the News, three other daily newspapers and 19 television stations across the country. The provision, which failed, did not mention Belo by name.

Belo executives said Armey was retaliating for the newspaper’s coverage of his son, Scott Armey, a former Denton County judge who lost an April runoff for the seat of his father, who is retiring.

“We are extremely disappointed that Congressman Armey would attempt to use the legislative process and the Federal Communications Commission punitively to harm Belo, its employees and the many communities that depend on our company,” Robert Decherd, Belo's chairman and chief executive, said. “There is no substantive reason or explanation for this unprecedented action.”

Leading up to the election, articles published in the News and sister newspaper the Denton Record-Chronicle, looked at Scott Armey’s record as judge, including his votes for contracts benefiting political associates.

At the time, the elder Armey, accused the newspaper of “vicious unprofessionalism.”

“I'm not finished with this issue,” Armey said. “It is an important issue. It goes to the strength of our democracy. It is critical for a democracy to function in such a way to have competitive points of view in the press, which is the mediator of democracy.”

The amendment said that any media company that owns a network-affiliated TV station; a newspaper with a Sunday circulation of 750,000 or more that doesn't have a competitor with a Sunday circulation exceeding 350,000; and a second daily newspaper with a Sunday circulation of 25,000 or less — all in the same market — would have to divest the smallest property.

Those parameters describe Belo's North Texas holdings.

Comptroller sues AG over employee’s photo

AUSTIN — State Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander is suing Attorney General John Cornyn’s office over the release of an employee’s photo.

The AG’s office ruled that the agency must release the badge photo of a state employee whose estranged husband stabbed her in a state parking garage before killing himself and their 12-year-old son.

Austin station KEYE-TV filed an open records request for the photo and Rylander sought an opinion on its release. She then sued when Cornyn ruled the photo should be released.

UTIMCO investments finally made public  

AUSTIN — The University of Texas Investment Management Co. released certain investment records following an attorney general’s opinion that ruled the data should be public.

UTIMCO, which oversees investment funds benefiting the UT and Texas A&M systems, released investment returns for the individual managers of the high-risk, $1.7 billion private equities portfolio for the Permanent University Fund, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The UTIMCO board and UT Board of Regents voted to release the information in reaction to a Chronicle report about how UTIMCO broke a 1999 promise to publicly disclose returns on the secretive funds that directly invest money in businesses.

The Chronicle reported that the flow of information dried up after turmoil hit the nation’s financial markets and UTIMCO quietly changed its policy to remove some details from public scrutiny. The reports were being released with two columns showing remaining value and internal rate of return blacked out.

Attorney General John Cornyn twice earlier this year ruled the information could be withheld but changed the stance after the boards’ votes last month.

2 legislators draft bill to cover chambers in TOMA

EDINBURG — Two local legislators are working on a bill they hope to file in the next session that would subject chambers of commerce to the Texas Open Meetings Act, The Monitor in McAllen reported.

State Sen.-elect Juan Hinjosa, D-McAllen, and state Rep.-elect Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, are drafting the proposal. Peña said most chambers receive tax money and should be subject to the open meetings law, even though an attorney general’s opinion excludes chambers of commerce.

City seals affidavits, then seeks ruling

SOUTHLAKE — In August the city attorney here asked the municipal judge to seal probable cause affidavits that police used to obtain search warrants for a day care center and the residence of the center’s director.

But when attorneys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram petitioned for the affidavits’ release the city sought an attorney general’s opinion. A month later however the city attorney said the city no longer sought an opinion and had asked the judge to release the records.

The day-care center director was arrested on suspicion of child indecency charges after a month-long investigation.

Huntsville officials kick press out of budget meeting

HUNTSVILLE — City officials made a reporter and a photographer from The Huntsville Item leave an Aug. 27 meeting on the fire department’s budget.

The meeting included firefighters, the city manager and police chief and was held at a local fire station to discuss fire department budget issues. Only one elected official was present.

A day after the meeting the city manager told the newspaper he was unaware that the staffers were not allowed to attend but that the meeting was for city staff and not subject to the Open Meetings Act.

San Angelo holds police report 9 weeks 

SAN ANGELO — The police department here waited more than nine weeks to release the initial report on the death of a local man who was found burned beyond recognition in his wife’s car.

The San Angelo Standard-Times filed a request for the report but was told the city would not release it due to the pending investigation. The city asked the attorney general’s office to rule on whether it had to release other records related to the case.

The city earlier had released a report on the same man’s arrest two weeks before his death. Officials declined to comment on why the initial report finally was released.

Regents oust president after meeting controversy

WICHITA FALLS — The Midwestern State University regents voted unanimously Sept. 20 to sever ties with the college’s former president.

The regents held a five-minute meeting and terminated Dr. Henry Moon’s administrative leave and paycheck.

The meeting was a revote on the issue that had been decided at a June meeting but a judge ruled violated the Open Meetings Act after The Wichita Falls Times-Record-News sued the college.

E-N reviews senator’s claims made in ad

SAN ANTONIO — The Express-News reviewed allegations of inaccuracies that Sen. Jeff Wentworth made in a Sept. 1 advertisement regarding a previously-published story on campaign spending.

The newspaper corrected and clarified parts of the Aug. 25 article and reasserted the accuracy of the rest of the article and the reporting of political writer Sherry Sylvester.

The newspaper ran a story about the corrections instead of running a standard correction due to the “unusual nature of the advertisement,” the newspaper reported in its Sept. 8 edition.

Gag order seals talks in capital murder trial 

FORT WORTH — A state district judge issued a gag order in a capital murder trial just one week after the court reporter was dismissed during jury selection, the Star-Telegram reported.

The judge excused the court reporter after she passed a note to the defendant. The contents of the note were not released and the judge would not discuss whether the gag order was issued because news reporters began asking about the dismissal.

FOIFT honors jailed Houston author 

AUSTIN — The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas presented Vanessa Leggett with its 2002 James Madison Award Sept. 20.

“Leggett showed great selflessness in placing the protection of the First Amendment above that of her own well being,” FOIFT said in announcing the award.

Leggett and her attorney Mike DeGuerin spoke at the FOIFT’s conference luncheon. She spent 168 days in jail in 2001 for protecting sources and refusing to turn over notes she took for her book about a high-profile 1997 Houston murder. The book is slated for publication in 2004 by Crown Publishers.

Pennsylvania press corps, officials reach compromise

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Capitol press corps and state officials have agreed to a revised set of rules for building access.

Reporters can apply for a photo ID badge with no criminal-background check. The news organization must verify employment and the reporter must pass through metal detectors at the visitors’ entrances before getting access.

Another badge requires a reporter to submit to a criminal-background check by the state police. Results are sent to the employer who would notify the state of crimes that warranted concern. The state public safety director would decide whether to issue this badge that allows reporters to bypass security and use any entrance.