By BJ Austin, KERA News & Wire Services
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-929622.mp3
Dallas, TX – Fort Worth's pension plan is one of the top-10 "underfunded" in the U.S., according to a study by the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
The study says the pension plan could be broke by 2023.
Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief led a workshop on the troubled pension plan today.
Moncrief: It's a terrible place to find ourselves; and embarrassing place to find ourselves. And it is a frightening place for our employees who have no social security and are counting on this fund.
The Mayor says the first place to make changes is with "new" employees.
Some experts have called the Fort Worth pension plan overly generous.
Texas prosecutor defends comment in arson case
The chairman of a panel examining an arson investigation that led to the execution of a Texas man is defending his description of the man as a "guilty monster."
Texas Forensic Science Commission members said Friday that prosecutor John Bradley's remarks about Cameron Todd Willingham raise questions about the impartiality of their inquiry. Bradley is the commission's chairman.
He says lawyers seeking to clear Willingham's name are motivated by an effort to abolish the death penalty and he has a right to express his opinion.
The commission is investigating whether fire investigators committed professional misconduct in determining arson caused a 1991 Corsicana house fire that killed Willingham's three daughters. Willingham was executed in 2004.
Major Highway To Close Over Weekend
This weekend, all main lanes of east and westbound Highway 114 will be closed at Loop 12. It starts at 10 tonight.
Steel girders for part of the Loop 12/114 interchange makeover will be set in place.
The freeway should open before rush hour Monday morning.
Perry: My private time is my own
Texas Gov. Rick Perry says it's nobody's business what he does in his private time.
The issue arose during an interview by the online Texas Tribune, which asked Perry why he keeps two different schedules - one containing official state events, and the other with political meetings and sometimes personal matters. Perry said he was following state guidelines by keep dual schedules.
"What I do with my private time, frankly, except for for the voyeurs of the world out there, is my business," Perry said.