By Bill Zeeble & BJ Austin, KERA News & Wire Services
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-983616.mp3
Dallas, TX – U.S. Representative Pete Sessions says it's time to get the Dallas Trinity River Project going again.
At a Dallas Chamber lunch, he said negotiations between the U.S. Corps of Engineers and the city have remained unsolvable. The Corps is still looking into the cost and safety of the project. After Hurricane Katrina, The Corps also raised standards for levees, to help avoid flood protection failures.
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Sessions: Enough is enough. We need to get the thing done. Time is money. There's probably something like a billion dollar difference between what the Corps of Engineers and what the city of Dallas believes is reasonable.
Sessions says the cost should be about a third of the Corp's estimate.
North Texas residents to face water restrictions
The ongoing drought and brutal summer heat has prompted a North Texas water district that serves 1.8 million people, including residents in Fort Worth, to implement mandatory water restrictions.
The Tarrant Regional Water District is asking its customers to only water their lawns and landscapes two days a week and not between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Other restrictions include no hosing of paved areas or buildings.
The restrictions are set to begin on Monday.
The district said Wednesday it implemented the restrictions under its Drought Contingency Plan because its storage capacity is expected to drop to 75 percent by next week.
The water district serves residents in 11 North Texas counties and besides Fort Worth, includes the cities of Arlington and Mansfield.
Can Hensarling Work With Murray?
U.S. Representative Jeb Hensarling says the first meeting of the Congressional Super Committee to reduce the deficit is still a couple weeks away.
The North Texas Congressman is the Republican co-chair of the 12-member group. It is empowered to cut more than a trillion dollars off the federal deficit. He was asked how well he gets along with his Democratic counterpart, Senator Patty Murray, of Washington State.
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Hensarling: Never met her in my life. But based on several telephone conversations, so far so good.
Hensarling and Murray have issued a joint statement, but only about planning their meetings. He expects to find common ground on job growth and preserving some entitlement programs.
Parents Arrested: Denied 10 Year Old Water
The father and step-mother of a ten year old Dallas boy who died July 25th are now under arrest. At the time investigators suspected the death of Jonathan James might be "heat related".
Dallas Deputy Police Chief Craig Miller says that was not the case.
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Miller: The Medical Examiner's office has ruled this to be a homicide. Cause is dehydration. As a form of discipline, both parents, by act or omission, did not supply the child with enough water.
Chief Miller says the boy was under a punishment of "no water" from July 20th until his death on the 25th. Miller says the boy had played outside during that time and could have had "something" to drink. He fell ill about two days before the parents realized the seriousness of the situation and called 9-1-1. Miller says by then, it was too late.
42 year old Michael James and 42 year old Tina Alberson are charged with injury to a child, a first degree felony. It carries up to 99 years in prison upon conviction.
Gas Prices Down Two Cents
Gasoline prices in Texas are down two cents from last week.
The Triple-A Texas Weekend Gas Watch says the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded is $3.46 statewide.
Fort Worth joins Houston and Texarkana with the cheapest gas: $3.42.
The average price in Dallas is a penny higher.
We're paying 43 cents less than we did three months ago, when gas hit the current high for the year, $3.89.
Texas can soon begin deporting foreign convicts
Under a new state law, Texas parole officials can soon begin deporting some of the 11,000 foreign citizens who are incarcerated in state prisons.
The Austin American-Statesman reports the program could save taxpayers millions of dollars.
The state law, which takes effect Sept. 1, allows the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to approve convicts for parole on the condition they are deported to their home country. The law covers foreigners convicted of both violent and nonviolent crimes.
During a meeting Wednesday in Austin, the parole board was assured by federal immigration officials that foreign citizens who are deported - most probably back to Mexico - will actually be sent to their home countries and not turned loose in Texas.
Government detaining all Mexican papayas at border
The government is detaining all papaya imports from Mexico after testing showed high rates of salmonella contamination in the fruit.
Mexican papayas were linked to 100 cases of salmonella poisoning in 23 states earlier this summer. Subsequent Food and Drug Administration testing of papaya imports found a 16 percent salmonella contamination rate in papayas from all over Mexico.
The papayas will be allowed into the United States only if Mexican exporters can show valid lab testing that proves their fruit is not contaminated.
A Texas company recalled papayas linked to the outbreak last month. FDA officials say they are working with the Mexican government to find sources of the contamination and ensure better papaya safety in the future.