By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX –
A veteran executive of the Texas system of state schools has been named to the newly created post of assistant commissioner for state-supported living centers.
According to a statement issued Tuesday by the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, Chris Adams will assume the post effective Monday.
He's worked in the state school system since 1979, starting as a social worker at Mexia State School and most recently serving as director of survey operations for the department's regulatory services division.
The position was created under recent legislation intended to provide greater oversight and the institutional reform needed to protect nearly 5,000 vulnerable residents. The legislation responded to scandals arising from deplorable conditions and abuse in some of the 13 state-run schools for the mentally disabled.
Airbus A319 drops parts on Dallas
A surprise awaited the flight crew making a test flight of an Airbus A319 jet undergoing maintenance in Dallas. An emergency slide and the door over the compartment in which the slide was stowed fell from the jet shortly after takeoff from Dallas Love Field on Tuesday afternoon.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Lynn Lunsford says the incident happened about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. He says the Aruban-registered jet was undergoing maintenance at the Associated Air Center at Love Field when the incident happened.
Lunsford said no injuries were reported, and the jet was able to land safely. He said the slide fell on the airfield, but Dallas police are helping search for the missing door.
Associated Air Center spokesman Mike Turner said the plane was a private executive jet but declined to identify the owner.
Ex-astronaut gets 1-year probation in attack
A former astronaut has been sentenced to one-year probation after pleading guilty to attacking a romantic rival.
Lisa Nowak, a Navy captain, pleaded guilty to felony burglary of a car and misdemeanor battery to avoid a trial scheduled next month. She had originally been charged with two felonies, attempted kidnapping and burglary, and misdemeanor battery.
Nowak, 46, confronted Colleen Shipman in the parking lot of Orlando International Airport in February 2007 after driving from Houston. Shipman had begun dating Nowak's love interest, former space shuttle pilot Bill Oefelein.
AMA votes to seek repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell'
The American Medical Association voted today to oppose the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. It also declared that gay marriage bans contribute to health disparities.
The AMA's vote took place at the group's interim policy-making meeting in Houston, a day after AMA delegates voted to affirm their support for health reform.
The nation's largest doctors' group stopped short of saying it would seek to overturn marriage bans. But its new stance angered conservative activists and provides a fresh boost to lobbying efforts by gay-rights advocates.
Whether the AMA's lobbying power will hasten efforts to overturn the "don't ask, don't tell" law remains to be seen. President Barack Obama has said he is working with congressional leaders to end the policy, and the AMA's stance will likely help. However, gay rights issues have been upstaged by Obama's health care overhaul battle.
In other action Tuesday, the AMA moved closer to supporting medical marijuana, adopting a measure urging a federal review of marijuana's status as a controlled substance. That would make it easier to do research, which the AMA said could lead to development of marijuana-based medications that don't require smoking. The group said its position doesn't mean it supports legalizing marijuana.