By Mark Seibel, McClatchy Newspapers, June 12, 2010
WASHINGTON — The Coast Guard has told oil giant BP that its proposed plan for containing the runaway Deepwater Horizon well does not take into account new higher estimates of how much oil is gushing into the Gulf of Mexico and demanded that the company provide a more aggressive plan within 48 hours.
In a letter dated Friday and released Saturday, Coast Guard Rear Adm. James A. Watson also said that BP was taking too much time to ready ships to capture oil spewing from the well.
"You indicate that some of the systems you have planned to deploy may take a month or more to bring online," Watson, who is the federal on-scene coordinator for the Deepwater Horizon disaster, wrote Doug Suttles, BP's chief operating officer. "Every effort must be expended to speed up the process."
The 48-hour deadline is the second the Coast Guard has given BP in the past week and indicates a growing recognition on the part of the Coast Guard that both BP and the Obama administration underestimated for weeks the amount of oil pouring from the well, which began leaking when an April 20 explosion shattered the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, killing 11 workers. The rig sank two days later, taking a mile of well pipeline with it.
For weeks, the Obama administration and BP said the spill was leaking 5,000 barrels a day — about 210,000 gallons. On May 27, a government task force of scientists revised that estimate to a minimum of 12,000 to 25,000 barrels a day, and possibly much more. Then on Thursday, the government doubled those estimates to between 20,000 and 50,000 barrels a day, saying those, too, may understate the size of the leak because a decision to shear off the well's riser pipe to add a "top hat" containment device may have unleashed more oil.
The intervention by the Coast Guard comes as the oil continues to spread across the Gulf. Alabama advised residents not to swim in areas near the Florida border and in the Mississippi Sound. An access route to the Inter-Coastal Waterway, the Pensacola Pass, was closed Saturday evening during flood tide until further notice to keep oil from entering the bay. And tar-ball fields detected in the Gulf appear to be headed toward the Florida Straits.
Watson said the new estimates were the reason for the new deadline, saying the plan Suttles outlined was only "consistent with previous flow rate estimates."
"Because those estimates have now been revised . . . it is clear that additional capacity is urgently needed," he said.
BP said it would respond to Watson's letter "as soon as possible."
The White House was asked Saturday what action it would take if BP doesn’t speed up its effort to containment.
”This isn’t open for discussion,” a senior administration official said. “BP must do better to plan a more aggressive response. In the same way we pushed for second relief well, additional redundancy, more transparency, paying for the berms, etc…we will push them to find better answers to contain the oil.”
The official, who asked not be named as a matter of policy, said the letter to BP was “a unanimous Obama team decision.”
BP and Coast Guard representatives have been meeting throughout the week, Coast Guard officials have said, to refine the plan, which Suttles outlined in a letter to Watson dated Wednesday — before the new flow rate estimates were released. In his letter, Suttles said the plan had been outlined on Tuesday to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Energy Secretary Steven Chu. "No objections were raised," he wrote.
Under that proposal, BP outlined two phases — a temporary one involving three recovery ships and a jerry-rigged system combining the "top hat" containment device with hoses already in place from the "top kill" procedure that failed to stanch the well last month, and a more permanent one that involves construction of two new risers from the well that would be serviced by two large recovery ships that are en route to the site now.
BP said that the temporary phase would bring the amount of oil captured to 20,000 to 28,000 barrels a day by the end of next week. Most of that oil would be recovered by the Discoverer Enterprise drilling ship, which has been collecting around its stated 15,000-barrels-per-day capacity through the "top hat" but that Coast Guard officials believe can be pushed to 18,000 barrels a day. The remaining 5,000 to 10,000 barrels per day would be taken up by a second vessel, the Q4000 drilling platform, which would burn the oil in a rarely used, if not unprecedented, procedure. BP vice president Kent Wells said Friday that burning could begin as soon as Monday.
The burning idea has provoked some experts to raise questions about the health and environmental effects of the process.
Containment capacity would be pushed further during the temporary phase by the addition of a third vessel, the drill ship Discoverer Clear Leader, which would take on an additional 5,000 to 10,000 barrels a day when it is operational in mid July, Suttle wrote.
In the second, more permanent phase, Suttles said BP was building two permanent floating risers to provide oil to the Taisa Pisces and the Helix Producer recovery ships. Each riser takes about a month to complete, Suttles said. One is expected to be finished next week. Work on the second began Monday, June 7. Once operational, the new risers and ships would have capacity to receive between 40,000 and 50,000 barrels per day, BP said.
The plan foresees both the Q4000 and the Discoverer Clear Leader discontinuing operations once the new floating risers are operational, but says the Discoverer Enterprise would remain on site and could provide additional capacity, if needed.
In offering an estimate of the total capacity of the temporary phase, BP's plan is more cautious than numbers Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen used in press briefings with reporters. On Friday, Allen said capacity would reach 38,000 barrels a day once the Discoverer Clear Leader is operational.
BP's numbers may be more realistic, however. While Allen has said that the Discoverer Enterprise could be pushed to receive 18,000 barrels per day, the actual amount it's recovered has declined by a few hundred barrels since it peaked at 15,800 barrels on Wednesday. On Thursday, the ship recovered 15,400 barrels and on Friday, it recovered 15,500 barrels, BP reported Saturday.
How much oil will flow to the Q4000 and the Discoverer Clear Leader is also uncertain. Neither vessel will be "pumping" the oil up from the sea, but instead will rely on the oil's natural pressure to push it up through hoses that were originally used to push drilling mud into the well's dysfunctional blowout preventer during the "top kill" effort. Based on the size of the hoses, the maximum amount likely to flow through to those ships would be 10,000 barrels per day, but could be less, depending on the oil reservoir's pressure.
Both Suttles and Wells warned that there could be additional delays in the plans because of adverse weather and conditions at the drill site, which officials describe as crowded with dozens of ships.
It was also unclear how soon additional equipment could be made available. The Q4000 was under contract to another oil company and only began working the Deepwater Horizon spill after that company agreed to release it. A tanker that will work with the Taisa Pisces to shuttle the captured oil ashore, the Loch Rannoch, is available only because BP has shut down for maintenance the North Sea well it was working, oil industry publications said. BP has yet to identify a second tanker needed to work with the Helix Producer.
Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts
Prison Blog Post from Travis Bishop - G.I. War Resister
By Travis Bishop, Free Travis Bishop, Fort Hood war resister, Aug. 20, 2009
First off, hello to all those who still support me! Your support, kind words, and well-wishings have truly kept me going through this difficult time.
I want to assure everyone, well-wishers and nay-sayers, that I am still 100% confident that my decision was a smart one. Though I suffer a harsh personal loss, the gain for this movement is incredible. Already I have heard of others who have been influenced by mine and Victor’s decisions and actions, and it warms my heart.
Ultimately, the goal is to end these wars. And keeping that in mind, remember that my decisions are mine and mine alone. My hope is that others learn from mine and Victor’s sacrifices. They are small when compared to the ultimate gain.
To my supporters, Thank You and write me right now while I’m in Bell County even!
To those who think I was coerced, influenced or made to do this, please write me to. I would love to personally explain how I feel.
Yours,
Travis
You can write Travis at: Travis Bishop, Bell County Jail, 113 W. Central Ave., Belton, TX 76513
First off, hello to all those who still support me! Your support, kind words, and well-wishings have truly kept me going through this difficult time.
I want to assure everyone, well-wishers and nay-sayers, that I am still 100% confident that my decision was a smart one. Though I suffer a harsh personal loss, the gain for this movement is incredible. Already I have heard of others who have been influenced by mine and Victor’s decisions and actions, and it warms my heart.
Ultimately, the goal is to end these wars. And keeping that in mind, remember that my decisions are mine and mine alone. My hope is that others learn from mine and Victor’s sacrifices. They are small when compared to the ultimate gain.
To my supporters, Thank You and write me right now while I’m in Bell County even!
To those who think I was coerced, influenced or made to do this, please write me to. I would love to personally explain how I feel.
Yours,
Travis
You can write Travis at: Travis Bishop, Bell County Jail, 113 W. Central Ave., Belton, TX 76513
Victory! - Family Detention Ends at Hutto
Grassroots Leadership, Aug. 17, 2009
We are celebrating these lines from New York Times August 6, 2009:
The Obama administration announcement is not just a victory for Grassroots Leadership's Campaign to End Immigrant Family Detention, but for an entire movement for justice that has come together to close Hutto and to end immigrant family detention.
Even with this victory, the fight for justice is not over. Hutto will remain open as a women's detention center, and some families will still be detained at another detention center in Pennsylvania. Please make an on-line donation to support continuing work of Grassroots Leadership at http://www.causes.com/grassrootsleadership.?m=898e4645 Also, please help us keep you informed about our work by signing up for our Action Team at www.grassrootsleadership.org.
Thank you for you support.
Bob Libal & Luissana Santibanez
We are celebrating these lines from New York Times August 6, 2009:
"[T]he government will stop sending families to the T. Don Hutto Residential Center, a former state prison near Austin, Texas, that drew an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit and scathing news coverage for putting young children behind razor wire. ...The past three years have seen thousands of people participate in dozens of Hutto vigils, two great documentary films on family detention, major media scrutiny, a landmark lawsuit settlement, 66,000 petition-signers, and the organizing of students, immigrant rights advocates, faith activists, and everyday people around the country to end family detention.
The decision to stop sending families there - and to set aside plans for three new family detention centers - is the Obama administration's clearest departure from its predecessor's immigration enforcement policies."
The Obama administration announcement is not just a victory for Grassroots Leadership's Campaign to End Immigrant Family Detention, but for an entire movement for justice that has come together to close Hutto and to end immigrant family detention.
Even with this victory, the fight for justice is not over. Hutto will remain open as a women's detention center, and some families will still be detained at another detention center in Pennsylvania. Please make an on-line donation to support continuing work of Grassroots Leadership at http://www.causes.com/grassrootsleadership.?m=898e4645 Also, please help us keep you informed about our work by signing up for our Action Team at www.grassrootsleadership.org.
Thank you for you support.
Bob Libal & Luissana Santibanez
Troubled prison firm's deal for new psychiatric hospital raises questions
By EMILY RAMSHAW, The Dallas Morning News, July 11, 2009
AUSTIN – A private prison company's history of filthy conditions, sexual abuse, suicides and riots in some of its Texas lockups isn't stopping the state from paying it $7.5 million to run a new psychiatric hospital near Houston.
Lawmakers inserted an earmark into the state budget to fund the future Montgomery County facility starting in 2011. But they said they didn't know until this week that the county had selected the GEO Group to operate it, although GEO lobbyists were pushing for it as early as February.
The new facility came as a post-session shock to mental health advocates, who acknowledge the need for it. But they say they weren't informed about it and never would have signed off if they knew Florida-based GEO was operating it.
"Why would we want to use an entity that hasn't had a stellar reputation?" asked Monica Thyssen, children's mental health policy specialist with Advocacy Inc. "If the process had been more transparent, there probably would have been other state officials who would've said, 'I don't know if GEO is the best use of state dollars.' "
GEO officials, who run more than 50 facilities in the United States, including five mental health facilities in Florida, declined to comment, saying in an e-mail that they don't discuss "specific business development efforts and/or contracts."
But state lawmakers say the psychiatric facility, which by 2011 is expected to house more than 100 criminal offenders awaiting trials or competency findings, will solve a major backlog. The Montgomery County jail has hundreds of inmates awaiting mental health treatment. The nearest state forensic mental hospital is more than 100 miles away, and when a bed opens up, it takes at least two deputies to take an offender there.
"It's a problem we sorely need to address, instead of leaving people who need mental health care in prison," said Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, one of the Senate's budget writers.
But the budgeting process and the choice of contractor have raised some eyebrows.
Department of State Health Services officials, who oversee psychiatric care in Texas, say the Montgomery County facility was not something they requested funding for in the budget. It was added to the budget in conference committee.
Mental health advocates, who track psychiatric hospital legislation closely, say they never heard any public discussion about it.
And neither Deuell nor Sen. Tommy Williams, who represents Montgomery County, knew until a reporter's phone call that county officials had selected GEO subsidiary GEO Care to run the facility – though legislative documents indicate the company was pushing for it as early as February.
"I know [GEO] has had problems," said Williams, R-The Woodlands. "Certainly I would expect them to run it in accordance with our state guidelines. I'll insist on that."
GEO's track record in Texas has been rocky.
In the midst of the Texas Youth Commission's 2007 sexual abuse scandal, agency officials shuttered the company's Coke County Juvenile Justice Center, saying they had found atrocious conditions – including feces on the walls – at the facility. They also fired a GEO prison worker after learning he was a convicted sex offender.
Earlier that year, an inmate in isolation at GEO's Dickens County facility slashed his throat, leaving letters complaining of blood-coated blankets and pillows, and floors and walls covered in mold.
And in 2006, a woman committed suicide at a GEO jail in Val Verde County, after complaining that she had been raped by another inmate and sexually harassed by a guard.
As recently as this winter, inmates at GEO's Reeves County Detention Center rioted, starting fires and taking hostages, to demand better health care. And in April, a Texas appeals court upheld a $42.5 million verdict against the company for the 2001 death of an inmate who was four days from finishing his sentence at a Willacy County facility. The man was beaten to death by other inmates using padlocks stuffed in socks.
Montgomery County officials, who selected GEO to operate the psychiatric facility late last month, say that the company has a good track record with its other mental health hospitals and that they're not "overly concerned" with the problems that have been documented in a few of Texas' 17 GEO lockups.
A presentation that GEO prepared for Texas lawmakers in February boasts of improved clinical programming, shortened waiting lists, and the elimination of the use of restraints and seclusion in its Florida psychiatric facilities. Company executives say they won the support of wary mental health advocates in that state.
The GEO prison incidents "obviously shouldn't have happened," Montgomery County Commissioner Ed Chance said. "But when you're dealing with inmates, you're going to have problems. You're going to have some headlines."
After the 2007 TYC scandal, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle raised serious concerns with GEO. Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, said "a simple Internet search" should have made GEO a bad contractor choice for the state. And Rep. Jerry Madden, R-Plano, told lobbyists for the firm it was best if they didn't contribute to his campaign at that time.
But GEO has continued its full-court press in Texas. Within months, these lawmakers and 13 others had accepted campaign contributions from the company.
"Some of their facilities are pretty darn good, and some are not as good as the others," Madden said. "But that's the exact same problem we have with the state-run facilities."
GEO PROBLEMS IN TEXAS
2001: Inmates at a Willacy County lockup beat a man to death four days before his release date, using padlocks stuffed into socks.
2006: A female inmate commits suicide at a GEO jail in Val Verde County after alleging she was raped by another inmate and sexually harassed by a guard.
2007: An inmate in isolation at GEO's Dickens County facility commits suicide, leaving letters complaining of blood-coated blankets and pillows.
2007: The Texas Youth Commission shutters GEO's Coke County Juvenile Justice Center after finding horrific conditions and learning that the company hired a convicted sex offender as a guard.
2009: Inmates at GEO's Reeves County Detention Center riot, starting fires and taking hostages, to demand better health care.
Future Montgomery County Forensic Mental Hospital
Price tag: $35 million
Location: On a 61-acre plot in Conroe, next to 1,100-inmate detention center
Capacity: 110 beds, with potential to add 130
Completion date: 2011
Current waiting list: For mental health care at the Montgomery County Jail, about 200 inmates
eramshaw@dallasnews.com
AUSTIN – A private prison company's history of filthy conditions, sexual abuse, suicides and riots in some of its Texas lockups isn't stopping the state from paying it $7.5 million to run a new psychiatric hospital near Houston.
Lawmakers inserted an earmark into the state budget to fund the future Montgomery County facility starting in 2011. But they said they didn't know until this week that the county had selected the GEO Group to operate it, although GEO lobbyists were pushing for it as early as February.
The new facility came as a post-session shock to mental health advocates, who acknowledge the need for it. But they say they weren't informed about it and never would have signed off if they knew Florida-based GEO was operating it.
"Why would we want to use an entity that hasn't had a stellar reputation?" asked Monica Thyssen, children's mental health policy specialist with Advocacy Inc. "If the process had been more transparent, there probably would have been other state officials who would've said, 'I don't know if GEO is the best use of state dollars.' "
GEO officials, who run more than 50 facilities in the United States, including five mental health facilities in Florida, declined to comment, saying in an e-mail that they don't discuss "specific business development efforts and/or contracts."
But state lawmakers say the psychiatric facility, which by 2011 is expected to house more than 100 criminal offenders awaiting trials or competency findings, will solve a major backlog. The Montgomery County jail has hundreds of inmates awaiting mental health treatment. The nearest state forensic mental hospital is more than 100 miles away, and when a bed opens up, it takes at least two deputies to take an offender there.
"It's a problem we sorely need to address, instead of leaving people who need mental health care in prison," said Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, one of the Senate's budget writers.
But the budgeting process and the choice of contractor have raised some eyebrows.
Department of State Health Services officials, who oversee psychiatric care in Texas, say the Montgomery County facility was not something they requested funding for in the budget. It was added to the budget in conference committee.
Mental health advocates, who track psychiatric hospital legislation closely, say they never heard any public discussion about it.
And neither Deuell nor Sen. Tommy Williams, who represents Montgomery County, knew until a reporter's phone call that county officials had selected GEO subsidiary GEO Care to run the facility – though legislative documents indicate the company was pushing for it as early as February.
"I know [GEO] has had problems," said Williams, R-The Woodlands. "Certainly I would expect them to run it in accordance with our state guidelines. I'll insist on that."
GEO's track record in Texas has been rocky.
In the midst of the Texas Youth Commission's 2007 sexual abuse scandal, agency officials shuttered the company's Coke County Juvenile Justice Center, saying they had found atrocious conditions – including feces on the walls – at the facility. They also fired a GEO prison worker after learning he was a convicted sex offender.
Earlier that year, an inmate in isolation at GEO's Dickens County facility slashed his throat, leaving letters complaining of blood-coated blankets and pillows, and floors and walls covered in mold.
And in 2006, a woman committed suicide at a GEO jail in Val Verde County, after complaining that she had been raped by another inmate and sexually harassed by a guard.
As recently as this winter, inmates at GEO's Reeves County Detention Center rioted, starting fires and taking hostages, to demand better health care. And in April, a Texas appeals court upheld a $42.5 million verdict against the company for the 2001 death of an inmate who was four days from finishing his sentence at a Willacy County facility. The man was beaten to death by other inmates using padlocks stuffed in socks.
Montgomery County officials, who selected GEO to operate the psychiatric facility late last month, say that the company has a good track record with its other mental health hospitals and that they're not "overly concerned" with the problems that have been documented in a few of Texas' 17 GEO lockups.
A presentation that GEO prepared for Texas lawmakers in February boasts of improved clinical programming, shortened waiting lists, and the elimination of the use of restraints and seclusion in its Florida psychiatric facilities. Company executives say they won the support of wary mental health advocates in that state.
The GEO prison incidents "obviously shouldn't have happened," Montgomery County Commissioner Ed Chance said. "But when you're dealing with inmates, you're going to have problems. You're going to have some headlines."
After the 2007 TYC scandal, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle raised serious concerns with GEO. Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, said "a simple Internet search" should have made GEO a bad contractor choice for the state. And Rep. Jerry Madden, R-Plano, told lobbyists for the firm it was best if they didn't contribute to his campaign at that time.
But GEO has continued its full-court press in Texas. Within months, these lawmakers and 13 others had accepted campaign contributions from the company.
"Some of their facilities are pretty darn good, and some are not as good as the others," Madden said. "But that's the exact same problem we have with the state-run facilities."
GEO PROBLEMS IN TEXAS
2001: Inmates at a Willacy County lockup beat a man to death four days before his release date, using padlocks stuffed into socks.
2006: A female inmate commits suicide at a GEO jail in Val Verde County after alleging she was raped by another inmate and sexually harassed by a guard.
2007: An inmate in isolation at GEO's Dickens County facility commits suicide, leaving letters complaining of blood-coated blankets and pillows.
2007: The Texas Youth Commission shutters GEO's Coke County Juvenile Justice Center after finding horrific conditions and learning that the company hired a convicted sex offender as a guard.
2009: Inmates at GEO's Reeves County Detention Center riot, starting fires and taking hostages, to demand better health care.
Future Montgomery County Forensic Mental Hospital
Price tag: $35 million
Location: On a 61-acre plot in Conroe, next to 1,100-inmate detention center
Capacity: 110 beds, with potential to add 130
Completion date: 2011
Current waiting list: For mental health care at the Montgomery County Jail, about 200 inmates
eramshaw@dallasnews.com
Sheehan leads group of protesters near Bush home
AP, June 8, 2009
DALLAS — Around 50 people joined antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan as she led a brief protest Monday afternoon near former President George W. Bush's Dallas home.
Sheehan's son was killed in the war on Iraq.
The event also brought out about a dozen people protesting the protest and about two dozen members of the media.
The march was sponsored by the Dallas Peace Center, which has been involved in protests with Sheehan since 2005. That year, Sheehan staged a prolonged demonstration outside Bush's ranch near Crawford. She said that her issues with Bush didn't end with his presidency.
"My guess is that the neighbors would probably rather that we not be there," said Trish Major, communications director for the Dallas Peace Center.
"But it's also important to remember this is the neighborhood that welcomed the Bushes warmly, and they knew that by having a person of this stature in their neighborhood, this is something they would have to deal with."
Protesters met at an intersection and then walked about a mile to John J. Pershing Elementary School, across from Bush's new home. Sheehan carried a sign that read, "For what noble cause."
Debbie Valentine, who lives down the street from the Bushes, told The Dallas Morning News, "I understand their right to protest, but this is just disrespectful."
Bush supporters carried signs that said "Pro Bush" and "Go Home Cindy."
Television footage showed children operating a lemonade stand that had been set up near the protest.
DALLAS — Around 50 people joined antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan as she led a brief protest Monday afternoon near former President George W. Bush's Dallas home.
Sheehan's son was killed in the war on Iraq.
The event also brought out about a dozen people protesting the protest and about two dozen members of the media.
The march was sponsored by the Dallas Peace Center, which has been involved in protests with Sheehan since 2005. That year, Sheehan staged a prolonged demonstration outside Bush's ranch near Crawford. She said that her issues with Bush didn't end with his presidency.
"My guess is that the neighbors would probably rather that we not be there," said Trish Major, communications director for the Dallas Peace Center.
"But it's also important to remember this is the neighborhood that welcomed the Bushes warmly, and they knew that by having a person of this stature in their neighborhood, this is something they would have to deal with."
Protesters met at an intersection and then walked about a mile to John J. Pershing Elementary School, across from Bush's new home. Sheehan carried a sign that read, "For what noble cause."
Debbie Valentine, who lives down the street from the Bushes, told The Dallas Morning News, "I understand their right to protest, but this is just disrespectful."
Bush supporters carried signs that said "Pro Bush" and "Go Home Cindy."
Television footage showed children operating a lemonade stand that had been set up near the protest.
Activist Cindy Sheehan in Dallas to renew anti-Bush protests
By SCOTT FARWELL, The Dallas Morning News, June 8, 2009
Cindy Sheehan, the antiwar activist whose son was killed in the war on Iraq, plans to lead a protest this afternoon near former President George W. Bush’s Preston Hollow home.
The march is sponsored by the Dallas Peace Center, which has been involved in protests with Sheehan since 2005, when the California mother staged a prolonged demonstration outside Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas.
“I think this is going to be the protest of the summer,” Sheehan said. “It’s really picking up a lot of energy.”
Protesters plan to gather about 4:30 p.m. at the southwest corner of Preston Road and Royal Lane. From there, they will walk about a mile to John J. Pershing Elementary School, which is across the street from gates leading to the Bush home on Daria Place.
Organizers did not apply for a permit from the city and will be required to stay on sidewalks and not cross or impede major streets, said Trish Major, communications director for the Dallas Peace Center.
“My guess is that the neighbors would probably rather that we not be there,” Major said, anticipating a cool reaction.
“”But it’s also important to remember this is the neighborhood that welcomed the Bushes warmly and they knew that by having a person of this stature in their neighborhood, this is something they would have to deal with.”
Sheehan said people who live near the former president will be joining the march. She would not provide names.
“I’m sure most people who live there won’t be happy with the protest,” she said. “But we’re going to be exercising our rights as Americans to do this and hopefully people who don’t agree with us, and us with them, will agree that all sides have the right to express their opinion.”
“There won’t be any civil disobedience or anything,” Major said. “There will be no climbing of the gates.”
sfarwell@dallasnews.com
Cindy Sheehan, the antiwar activist whose son was killed in the war on Iraq, plans to lead a protest this afternoon near former President George W. Bush’s Preston Hollow home.
The march is sponsored by the Dallas Peace Center, which has been involved in protests with Sheehan since 2005, when the California mother staged a prolonged demonstration outside Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas.
“I think this is going to be the protest of the summer,” Sheehan said. “It’s really picking up a lot of energy.”
Protesters plan to gather about 4:30 p.m. at the southwest corner of Preston Road and Royal Lane. From there, they will walk about a mile to John J. Pershing Elementary School, which is across the street from gates leading to the Bush home on Daria Place.
Organizers did not apply for a permit from the city and will be required to stay on sidewalks and not cross or impede major streets, said Trish Major, communications director for the Dallas Peace Center.
“My guess is that the neighbors would probably rather that we not be there,” Major said, anticipating a cool reaction.
“”But it’s also important to remember this is the neighborhood that welcomed the Bushes warmly and they knew that by having a person of this stature in their neighborhood, this is something they would have to deal with.”
Sheehan said people who live near the former president will be joining the march. She would not provide names.
“I’m sure most people who live there won’t be happy with the protest,” she said. “But we’re going to be exercising our rights as Americans to do this and hopefully people who don’t agree with us, and us with them, will agree that all sides have the right to express their opinion.”
“There won’t be any civil disobedience or anything,” Major said. “There will be no climbing of the gates.”
sfarwell@dallasnews.com
FAA looks into what pilot saw over Liberty
By ALLEN REED, Houston Chronicle, June 3, 2009
The FBI, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Liberty County Sheriff’s Department met Tuesday to compare notes on an unidentified flying object reported late last week by an ExpressJet Airlines pilot.
The pilot reported a “missile or rocket” flying near his airplane Friday at 8:09 p.m., shortly after takeoff from Bush Intercontinental Airport, according to sheriff’s officials.
“The FAA then contacted the Liberty County department dispatcher and reported their pilot reported an object flying straight at his aircraft and passed 100 feet under it,” said Ken DeFoor, chief deputy for the Liberty County Sheriff’s Department.
FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap said the agency was aware of the sighting.
“While we have no information to indicate there was a criminal act we certainly do not rule anything out and certainly would not want to speculate on what it may or may not have been,” she said.
The flight was over the southern edge of Liberty County flying at 13,000 feet when the incident occurred, officials said. ExpressJet flies regional routes for Continental Airlines as Continental Express.
“We haven’t found anything yet — either something on the ground where it launched or on the ground where it came down,” said Liberty County Sheriff’s Cpl. Hugh Bishop.
DeFoor said the agencies consolidated their notes and information at the meeting.
“The FAA is in the process of debriefing the pilot today (Tuesday),” he said. “We are going to try and come up with a more definite track of this object and its path. We are trying to find out where it came from, where it went, and who may be responsible for it.”
The Continental Express jet was on a commercial flight to Greenville, S.C.
“No people were injured and no evasive action on part of the airplane was taken,” DeFoor said.
DeFoor said he was aware of local hobbyists who fire rockets but did not know if any were in the area at the time.
“We're checking with club owners and presidents,” he said. “If we can get a correct track of what this object was there is no need to check with hobby fields.”
DeFoor said if the object was a rocket, it was fired illegally.
“They have to have permits to use the airspace,” he said.
In May 2008, a Continental Airlines pilot reported a similar incident.
“It was the same situation, almost identical,” DeFoor said. “The FBI are pulling their records on that one. It was roughly in the same area almost a year ago.”
The Boeing 737, en route to Cleveland, Ohio, with 148 passengers, was not damaged.
“We looked into that, along with the FAA and some local law enforcement,” Dunlap said. “To my knowledge, it was never determined what may of been observed during that incident.”
The FAA referred all questions about Friday’s incident to the Liberty County Sheriffs Department.
The FBI, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Liberty County Sheriff’s Department met Tuesday to compare notes on an unidentified flying object reported late last week by an ExpressJet Airlines pilot.
The pilot reported a “missile or rocket” flying near his airplane Friday at 8:09 p.m., shortly after takeoff from Bush Intercontinental Airport, according to sheriff’s officials.
“The FAA then contacted the Liberty County department dispatcher and reported their pilot reported an object flying straight at his aircraft and passed 100 feet under it,” said Ken DeFoor, chief deputy for the Liberty County Sheriff’s Department.
FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap said the agency was aware of the sighting.
“While we have no information to indicate there was a criminal act we certainly do not rule anything out and certainly would not want to speculate on what it may or may not have been,” she said.
The flight was over the southern edge of Liberty County flying at 13,000 feet when the incident occurred, officials said. ExpressJet flies regional routes for Continental Airlines as Continental Express.
“We haven’t found anything yet — either something on the ground where it launched or on the ground where it came down,” said Liberty County Sheriff’s Cpl. Hugh Bishop.
DeFoor said the agencies consolidated their notes and information at the meeting.
“The FAA is in the process of debriefing the pilot today (Tuesday),” he said. “We are going to try and come up with a more definite track of this object and its path. We are trying to find out where it came from, where it went, and who may be responsible for it.”
The Continental Express jet was on a commercial flight to Greenville, S.C.
“No people were injured and no evasive action on part of the airplane was taken,” DeFoor said.
DeFoor said he was aware of local hobbyists who fire rockets but did not know if any were in the area at the time.
“We're checking with club owners and presidents,” he said. “If we can get a correct track of what this object was there is no need to check with hobby fields.”
DeFoor said if the object was a rocket, it was fired illegally.
“They have to have permits to use the airspace,” he said.
In May 2008, a Continental Airlines pilot reported a similar incident.
“It was the same situation, almost identical,” DeFoor said. “The FBI are pulling their records on that one. It was roughly in the same area almost a year ago.”
The Boeing 737, en route to Cleveland, Ohio, with 148 passengers, was not damaged.
“We looked into that, along with the FAA and some local law enforcement,” Dunlap said. “To my knowledge, it was never determined what may of been observed during that incident.”
The FAA referred all questions about Friday’s incident to the Liberty County Sheriffs Department.
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