Homemade clocks, t-shirts, jewelry and more items students created in an after-school program recently raised $1,270 for the Haiti relief efforts.

The Weekley Family YMCA and St. Stephen’s Havens Center’s after school program, R PLCE, held an Art Gallery and Ice Cream Social on Feb. 19 at the Havens Center.

The students designed and created clocks, candle holders, t-shirts, tote bags, jewelry and paintings during their weekley art class to be auctioned off at the event. Ben and Jerry’s volunteers scooped over 200 cones of ice cream for the art collectors in attendance.

“R PLCE” stands for Our Place and is a collaboration between the Weekley Family YMCA, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church and Lanier Middle School.  It is an after-school program for students who attend Lanier Middle School, offering varieties of classes like athletics, filming, African dance and drumming, and more.

Hannah Luedke, Andrew Jacobs, Conner Albert, Arin Drtil, Andrew McCulloch and Justin Bernard proudly showcase their first place trophy.

An academic decathlon team from Presbyterian School recently received first place in the Southeast Texas Academic Challenge, which tested students on depth of knowledge and speed of recalling answers.

The Southeast Texas Academic Challenge was held Feb. 20 at the John Cooper School in the Woodlands for 20 high school, 6 Junior Varsity, and 13 middle school teams. The winning team from Presbyterian School included eighth graders, Connor Albert, Justin Bernard, Arin Drtil, Andrew Jacobs, Hannah Luedke and Andrew McCulloch.

During the contest, students had to respond to questions from a variety of categories including science, math, history, current events, and more.

All three Presbyterian School teams qualified for the middle school playoffs, a single-elimination contest. Presbyterian School’s first place decathlon team is now invited to compete at the National Academic Championship in New Orleans on May 29 to 31.

Although Commissioner Donna Rickenbacker pushed strongly to postpone a decision, the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission moved forward to recommend approval for a specific use permit on plans for a new, 85,000-square-foot Horn Elementary. The new school would be comprised of a two-story main building and supporting campus structures, which can fit a maximum of 750 students.

The proposal essentially flip flops the current site plan. The new school at Holly Street and Avenue B would be on the fields where Bellaire Little League plays baseball games. After the new campus was finished, the old school buildings would be demolished to make room for new sports fields.

The site proposal for the new Horn Elementary School puts the school on the south and the ballfields on the north, which is flip flopped from the current configuration.

“It is the most logical use of the site because it allows the existing school to function during construction of the new school,” said Stan Winter of TBG Partners. Working on behalf of the Houston Independent School District, Winters presented information at a public hearing Tuesday about the Horn Elementary plans.

Rickenbacker wanted to postpone a decision until next month because she said she wanted to encourage more public comments about the plans. She was concerned that too few people attended the public hearing.

“I don’t think the notice that went out to the neighborhood adequately explained the extent of this expansion program,” Rickenbacker said.

Rickenbacker voted against recommending approval of the school’s specific use permit, but the motion still passed 4-1, with one commissioner recusing himself and another absent. The commissioners in favor of the plan said they had enough information to make a decision, and they were happy with the standard notices that were mailed and published to inform residents about the public hearing.

“I am pretty satisfied with the extent of the work that has been done on it,” said Commisioner Michael Doyle, who served as chair because Bill Thorogood was absent.

“Right now I guess I can’t justify holding on to it for any longer than this,” said Commissioner Paul Simmons.

“I’ve heard enough tonight to make a decision as far as going on for approving the application and moving it forward to council,” said Commissioner Lori Aylett.

Rickenbacker also said she wanted more information about traffic and enrollment numbers at the new school.

The plans include 146 parking spots for Horn employees and parents, which is a 78 percent increase compared to current parking. HISD ordered a traffic study that shows the new school building will not have adverse effects on traffic — In fact, it may help clear congestion, Winters said.

Three pick-up and drop-off locations surrounding the school will allow parents to pull out of traffic while waiting for their children. The new school will also have a parking area specifically for parents who want to walk their children into class.

Patrick Phelps, a resident of the 4500 block of Pine Street just across from Horn Elementary, said he has enjoyed having the school as a neighbor but he’s not as enthusiastic about being across the street from the future ball park.

“Basically what I see going on in the ball field is really not very good with the parking,” Phelps said. “People park on both sides of the road allowing one lane to go forward.”

School officials said they would open Horn Elementary parking spots to the public during non-school hours, so ball game visitors would have options for off-street parking.

Several Bellaire residents voiced enthusiastic support for the school’s construction plans.

“This has been something that has been a long time coming,” said Horn Elementary PTO President Steve Clark. “Know that there is a large portion population here that absolutely supports this project and are very, very excited at the prospect of it becoming part of our community.”

Bellaire High School Chess Team

The Bellaire High School Chess team won the Team Championship for the third year in a row at the Texas State Scholastic Tournament in Dallas Feb. 19 to 21. The tournament at UT-Dallas pits all high school grades against each other. Junior Matthew Michaelides took 2nd place in the tournament, and senior William Ong took the 3rd place. Joining them on the 1st place team were Jeff Feng and George Fan. Next on the Chess Team’s calendar is a huge tournament in Columbus, Ohio on April 16 – 18, the USCF National Championship.

“As the third-largest county in the nation, our communities stand to gain billions in federal dollars for transportation, infrastructure, health care, essential social services and more—but a complete count is necessary,” said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett in a statement.

Census forms will be mailed out on March 16 and must be returned by April 15. Harris County residents should not expect to have a Census worker knock on their doors unless they don’t return their completed questionnaires on time. But after the deadline, Census representatives hit the streets to ensure everyone in Harris County has participated.

To protect personal information from potential scams, residents should keep in mind the following:

• This week, residents will receive a letter from the Census Bureau director notifying them that their household will soon receive a form in the mail, a phone call from the Census Bureau, or a visit from a Census Bureau representative.
• Never give Social Security numbers or other sensitive financial information, including bank account numbers.
• The Census Bureau will never contact you via email, and questionnaires may not be completed online.
• Census employees will carry an official identification badge with an expiration date and a Department of Commerce watermark.
• Census takers are trained to conduct business outside the door, so residents should be cautious of people who insist on entering their households.

The Census gathers information to produce statistics, minus any identifying characteristics, and responses will not be shared with anyone, including other federal agencies and law enforcement. Additionally, all Census Bureau employees take the oath of nondisclosure and are sworn for life to protect the confidentiality of the data.

The mother called police on March 6 to report the father, 35-year-old Joshua Gonzalez, was drunk and had hit the baby girl. Assistant District Attorney Donna Hawkins said the mother reported Gonzalez was drunk when he arrived home to the 100 block of Whipple Drive. He wanted to hold the child, but the mother refused.

“He tried to strike her, but hit the baby in the head,” Hawkins said. “It doesn’t look like the baby was seriously hurt.”

The Bellaire Police Department dispatched six officers to the scene, and the first who arrived saw the mother emerge from a house in the 100 block of Whipple Drive with the baby.

After an investigation, officers arrested Gonzalez and charged him with reckless injury to a child. Hawkins said the charge is a state jail felony, which can bring six months to two years in state jail, and up to a $10,000 fine.

“Who he was aiming at and who he hit was irrelevant. His intent was to assault the wife, and it resulted in an injury to a child,” said Russell Brown, Bellaire police records manager.

The infant was taken to Texas Children’s Hospital, but did not have any internal injuries, according to the police report. Officers also contacted Child Protective Services about the incident. CPS spokeswoman Estella Olguin confirmed the agency will investigate the family.

“What we do in these types of cases is follow up with making sure we reduce future risk, whether that means providing services to the family to reduce the risk or referring them to resources in the community,” Olguin said. “And following up to make sure the child will be safe or she gets the medical care she needs.”

Gonzalez’ next court appearance for his charge is scheduled for April 15.

HISD Superintendent Terry Grier signs the $850,000 settlement. Photo courtesy of HISD Media Relations.

The settlement, which stems from a 2006 investigation that found HISD employees reportedly taking gratuities from technology vendors and falsifying information given to federal auditors, will free up millions of dollars in federal aid that was frozen following incident, the district said.

The violations cited by the government also included non-competitive bidding by the district, as well as district officials receiving trips, meals and loans from vendors.

The E-Rate program, which Congress created as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, was designed to bridge the digital divide between more affluent suburban students and urban students who are at or below the poverty line. More than 78 percent of HISD students qualify for free and reduced-price school meals, which is an indicator of poverty.

Under the program, which is funded by fees collected from telephone users, schools apply for funds to pay for hardware and monthly connectivity service fees. The FCC oversees the E-Rate program.

Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division Tony West said the settlement resulted from an ongoing federal investigation of possible fraud and anti-competitive conduct in the E-Rate program in Texas by the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, and the FCC Office of the Inspector General.

“The E-Rate Program provides critical support for Internet access and wiring to the most under-served schools in the country,” Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division Tony West said. “We are committed to protecting the integrity of this important program that benefits our neediest children.”

For its part, the school district said it signed the settlement in order to release as much as $89.4 million in school technology funding awards that were frozen in 2006 when the investigation first uncovered wrongdoing.

As part of the settlement, HISD agreed to hire an e-rate compliance officer to closely monitor the program. The district picked veteran compliance officer Richard Patton to keep the program in check.

Patton has nearly 30 years of audit and compliance experience, the district noted. He spent 23 years with Duke Energy, Panhandle Energy and Texas Eastern Transmission in Houston in various financial audit and compliance capacities. For the past six years, Patton served as the chief compliance office for Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP and Koch LP in Houston.

Patton, who is both a certified public accountant and a certified fraud examiner, said the district “has shown incredible commitment and teamwork” to restore the funding.

“As part of that effort, the district has strengthened its gift policies to the point that any employee who deals with an E-Rate vendor can’t accept so much as a McDonald’s hamburger,” Patton said. “The funding can be used for telecommunications services, Internet access, internal connections and maintenance of internal connections.

HISD has been trying to restore the funding for several years. When Dr. Terry Grier became superintendent last year, he made it a priority reach an agreement with the government to settle the court action. The HISD Board of Education agreed and authorized the district’s attorneys to expedite the settlement process.

HISD Board President Greg Meyers called the settlement “sound business.”

“It is a sound business decision to settle this and move on in order to help level the digital playing field for our students.”

The car theft happened overnight on Feb. 28 in the 7500 block of West Loop South. The victim called police around 1:40 p.m. on March 1, claiming he had parked his car in a common private alley at home the night before, but it was missing. Houston police actually found the truck that same evening in the 6200 block of Luce Street.

Bellaire police found another stolen car that had gone missing in Houston. An officer on March 2 was driving in the 1200 block of Anderson Street when he noticed a Ford pickup that shouldn’t have been there. He ran the license plate, learned it was stolen, and contacted the vehicle’s owner.

Two other vehicle owners became the victims of car burglaries during the week of Feb. 28 to March 8.

• On Feb. 28, police responded to the 4600 block of Bellaire Boulevard because someone had broken into the victim’s vehicle and stolen a purse, money and a Bible.
• On March 1, someone called police to the 1300 block of North First Street to report a car burglary. Someone had popped out the driver’s side door lock and stolen a camera and four concert tickets.

Two homes were burglarized last week.

• On March 2 in the 5100 block of Mimosa Street because a resident reported that he entered his home and found furniture and other items that were out of place. He said several items had been stolen.
• On March 3, police responded to the 5200 block of Beech Street because a resident reported someone had broken into her home and stolen her property.

Bellaire police responded to five theft reports during the week.

• On March 3, a woman reported that someone had stolen a cell phone and cash from her son at Bellaire High School.
• On March 3, police responded to the 1000 block of Howard Street because someone reported that eight signs had gone missing from the property.
• On March 3, a resident visited the Bellaire Police Station to report that someone had stolen her son’s bicycle from her front porch in the 4600 block of Mimosa Street.
• On March 5, an employee of Neighborhood Centers at 4500 Bissonnet St. reported that someone had stolen two printers sometime between Nov. 6, 2009 and January 25, 2010.
• On March 6, police responded to the Blockbuster in the 5400 block of Bellaire Boulevard after employees called about shoplifting. Police found the suspect walking down the street and found he still had 11 stolen DVDs in his possession.

Police charged Jason Stevenson, 30, and Ryan Shaw, 21, with burglary of a habitation for breaking into homes in the 4900 block of Imperial on Feb. 15, and in the 4500 block of Oleander on Feb. 20.

The two men were first arrested on Feb. 26 after a Bellaire resident saw them hiding behind a vehicle across the street from her house. She called police, who arrested the pair for criminal trespass after finding them hiding in the backyard of a house. The men had a laptop that had been reported stolen in a home burglary in the Woodlands earlier that morning.

Noticing similarities between that Woodlands burglary and some cases in Bellaire, a police detective interviewed Stevenson and Shaw. Both admitted they had committed the crimes in Bellaire, according to a police statement.

In one of the drugs violations on March 1, an officer with the Houston Independent School District detained a 17-year-old male student after someone else saw the teenager smoking pot. The HISD officer called Bellaire police, who arrested the boy and charged him with possession of marijuana.

On March 2, a teacher notified school officials because one of her students smelled like marijuana. A counselor removed the 17-year-old boy from class and called HISD police. The officer searched the teenager’s backpack and found a plastic baggy with three grams of pot. Bellaire police came to campus and arrested the student for possession of marijuana.

On Saturday in the early hours of the morning, Bellaire police found two drunk drivers and arrested them.

• In the first case, an officer saw a car fail to stop at a stop sign. The driver, 37-year-old Santos Cruz, couldn’t pass a field sobriety test, so the officer arrested him.
• In the second case, an officer found 36-year-old Robert Hedrick passed out behind the wheel of his car. The officer arrested Hedrick and charged him with driving while intoxicated.

A resident of the 4900 block of Cedar Street called police around 12:40 a.m. on March 4 and reported he had been robbed. After forcing the resident to drive to an ATM to withdraw more money, the suspect rode back to Cedar Street and left the victim unharmed.

Police couldn’t locate the suspect, but they are still investigating the incident. The suspect is described as a black male, 5-foot-11 to 6-foot-1 tall, approximately 230 to 260 lbs, wearing all black with a black leather jacket with a hood. He wore a cap and mask over his mouth and nose.

This compares with the national average that increased 4.6 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.74 per gallon, according to gasoline price website HoustonGasPrices.com.

Last week’s increase was on top of a 6-cent rise the week before.

Including the change in gas prices during the past week, prices today are 79.2 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago and are 11.6 cents per gallon higher than a month ago.

The national average has increased 9.6 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 80.7 cents per gallon higher than this day a year ago.

HoustonGasPrices.com is part of a 200-website national gas tracking and analysis organization operated by GasBuddy.com.

The trial was set to begin today, but another case in the 232nd Criminal Court of Harris County has taken longer than expected. Judge Mary Lou Keel reset the trial for May, when the court will be able to focus only on the Cotton case.

It’s the second time this year the trial has been pushed back. Originally scheduled for Jan. 25, the defense attorney asked for a later date because an expert witness was out of town.

Many facts about the criminal case against Cotton have been kept secret since his indictment in April 2009. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office went to the grand jury and secured an indictment with results from an investigation into the shooting. This bypassed the requirement for a probable cause hearing that would have made public the criminal complaint against Cotton.

Read more here.

The three new exhibits at Houston Center for Photography, 1441 W. Alabama St., include:

Anthony Goicolea’s Related
March 12 to April 25
Opening Reception: March 12, 6 to 8 p.m.
Artist Talk with Anthony Goicolea: March 12, 5:30 p.m.
HCP’s Main Gallery features first generation Cuban-American Anthony Goicolea’s Related. The artist strings together a complex series of dialectics denoting the Cuban-American experience of assimilation and desire to maintain ancestral histories. The focal point for this body of work is Goicolea’s family: four generations of Cubans who fled for the U.S. in 1961. They exited their country with little more than photographs – studio portraits of relatives in their prime, wearing their Sunday best.

Beatrix Reinhardt: Members’ Only America
March 12 to April 25
Opening Reception: March 12, 6 to 8 p.m.
Artist Talk with Beatrix Reinhardt: March 13, 5 p.m.
Social space – how we sculpt it, utilize it, and interrelate within it – is the subject of artist Beatrix Reinhardt’s work. While conducting a residency in Australia, Reinhardt took an interest in the world of private clubs, sites where social networking occurred. The East Germany-born artist was struck by how common it was for many Australians to embrace these institutions, often belonging to several clubs at once. Within the club environs are physical remnants of events past: trophies, carpet worn in a particular fashion marking the flow of human traffic, stacked metal chairs, team posters. The physicality of such spaces suggests the importance of “togetherness” – social landscapes where commonalities such as values, hobbies, ethnicities, and heritage unite individuals in celebration.

American Photographs Before 1950 from Collection Blind Pirate
March 12 to April 25
Opening Reception: March 12, 6 to 8 p.m.
Discussion with W.M. Hunt and Edward Osowski: March 12, 5 p.m.
W.M. Hunt will curate an exhibition of his recently formed personal collection of American groups in HCP’s X&Y galleries. This assemblage, known as Collection Blind Pirate, has never been exhibited before and is at once a massive and eclectic collection representing various societies, clubs, schools, rallies, and posses that make up part of the history of 20th century America. This selection of photographs at HCP includes over 150 groups of people and speaks to the importance of group culture.

The administrators are all leaders who will provide coaching, mentoring and support to HISD elementary, middle and high school principals and staff to improve student achievement and share best practices.

Instead of working with multiple school levels in a feeder pattern like the current executive principals, the school improvement officers are assigned to either elementary, middle or high schools. They will report to three chief school officers.

The search resulted in more than 200 applications from all over the country. Grier said in a statement that it was important in the search to find educators whose values aligned with the district’s beliefs and vision.

“We have a good mixture of leading educators from HISD and across the country and I am very excited to welcome them to Team HISD,” Grier said in the statement.

The School Improvement Officers named today are listed below along with their current positions:

Elementary School
Ann Sledge, Executive Principal, HISD
Deborah Crowe, Executive Principal, HISD
Kim Fonteno, Executive Principal, HISD
Ted Villarreal, Executive Principal, HISD
Marshall Scott, Principal, Alcott Elementary
Karla Loria, School Improvement Officer, San Diego ISD
Rodney Watson, Principal, Hickman School District, MO
Jocelyn Mouton, Executive Principal, HISD
Andre Spencer, Network Team Leader, Baltimore City Public Schools

Middle School
Anastasia Lindo-Anderson, Principal, Revere Middle School
Julia Dimmit, Executive Principal, HISD

High School
John Allen, Principal, Sharpstown High School
Pamela Randall, Regional Manager, HISD
Armando Alaniz, Executive Principal, HISD

Two of the three chief school officers have been appointed. Current East Region Superintendent Sam Sarabia will be the Elementary School chief and former Richardson ISD Superintendent David Simmons has been appointed chief for high schools. After the first candidate decided he didn’t want the job after all, the nationwide search continues for a middle school chief officer. The district is also looking for the remaining eight school improvement officers.

Cadet Sergeant First Class Devin Davis

Devin Davis, a Bellaire High School student and JROTC cadet, recently won second place in a Houston-area essay contest with his essay about how ROTC has transformed his life.

Coming from a broken home, Davis said in his essay that JROTC taught him to be a leader and taught him values like respect, loyalty and courage. Each year, schools hosting an Army JROTC program are required to submit one essay on a chosen theme. The theme this year was: JROTC Builds Character and Leadership. Nicque Robinson of Westside High School won first place, and Shervon Dixon of Jones High School won third.

Following is the winning essay Davis wrote to win second place in the contest.

My story, as with many others, did not start with high school JROTC. This is just the midway point on my way to a brighter future. I have had so many doors closed in my life, and JROTC has given me the keys to open these doors on my own.

It did not start in high school; coming from a broken home, I went to five different elementary schools, and was beaten up and bullied almost every day. Eventually I gave up on school and myself, so my mother gave up on me and shipped me off to my father when I began middle school. Being a former Marine, he was tough from day one, putting me on the path of becoming not just a man, but a leader. While life in middle school was better, it wasn’t until I joined JROTC in high school that things finally came into focus for me.

I fell in love with JROTC because it is a place where I am surrounded by friends; not just good friends but wonderful people who respected me for whom I am. JROTC taught me how to be a leader, and just as importantly, how to be a good follower. I’ve learned that if I show people the values that I have, such as respect, service, loyalty, friendship and courage, they will respond in similar fashion.

Now when I go out with my friends, I don’t concentrate on people staring at me or worrying about being bullied or beaten up. I’ve learned that my fellow cadets are people who I can rely on in order to be successful in both school and life. Most importantly, JROTC has given me the keys to unlock my future and to allow me to be all I can possibly be.

The analysis of 2009 crime reports shows that home burglaries, auto thefts and assaults increased, but there were decreases in reports of other theft, car burglaries and non-residential burglaries. Twenty-two robberies were reported in 2009, the same number reported in 2008. There were no sexual assaults or homicides.

During the year, police received 29,904 calls for service, with an average response time of three minutes and 43 seconds. Police made a total of 1,190 arrests during the year.

By The Numbers

• Assaults — 65 reports (22.6 percent increase)
• Home Burglaries — 59 reports (increase from 50 cases in 2008)
• Identity theft — 55 reports (increase from 44 cases in 2008)
• Auto theft — 17 reports (up from 14 cases in 2008)
• Robberies — 22 reports (same as 2008)
• Non-residential burglaries — 13 reports (decrease from 47 cases in 2008)
• Car burglaries — 120 reports (decrease from 121 cases in 2008)
• Theft — 279 reports (4 percent decrease from 2008)
• Homicide, sexual assault — No reports

Bagpipers perform at last year's Scottish Festival. Photo courtesy of David Graves.

The 7:30 p.m. show on March 11 is at the Toyota Center, 1510 Polk St. It features the St. Thomas’ Episcopal pipe and drum band – five-time juvenile world champions in 1985, 1995, 1998, 2004 and 2006. The performance also features Scottish Highland dancers from a program that has won the United States Highland Dancing Championships more than twenty times.

For the past 45 years, this event has enlightened and entertained audiences in Houston—keeping alive the music and dance of the rich Scottish culture and heritage. Tickets may be purchased online at www.toyotatix.com, or call St. Thomas’ Episcopal School, (713) 666-3111. for more information visit www.scottishfestival.net.

The trial on Cotton’s charges of aggravated assault by a public servant is set for May 3 March 8 in the Harris County 232nd Criminal Court, but it could be postponed because another trial is still ongoing in that court, said David Donahue, legal administrator for Cotton’s attorney, Paul Aman.

“I believe prosecution is ready, and we’re ready. Now it’s just a matter of getting in there,” Donahue said. “It’s tough on everybody.”

Many facts about the criminal case against Cotton have been kept secret since his indictment in April 2009. Cotton is accused in the Dec. 31, 2008 shooting of Bellaire resident Robbie Tolan, who was stopped by police on his front lawn after officers mistakenly thought he and his cousin were driving a stolen vehicle.

After the shooting, the Bellaire Police Department released statements that an “altercation” lead to Cotton shooting Tolan. But a civil lawsuit the Tolan family filed in April 2009 against Cotton, city officials and the police department challenges that story.

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office investigated the incident, and in April 2009 prosecutors went strait to the grand jury with the investigation findings and secured the indictment. In a rare occurrence, this bypassed the requirement for a probable cause hearing that would have made public the criminal complaint against Cotton.

Donahue said that once Cotton’s trial begins, he estimates choosing a jury could take a full day. The actual trial could begin in the late afternoon, or the next morning.

“We feel the prosecution is going to take at least a day, maybe a day and a half,” Donahue said. “We’re looking probably to take the rest. Probably three days, maybe four.”

Assistant District Attorney Clint Greenwood, who is prosecuting the case, agreed the trial may take about a week. Greenwood has said previously he is unable to divulge information about the case due to the secretive nature of grand jury proceedings.

Afterwards, the jury will deliberate on the verdict — Jurors must agree unanimously, which can take time if there are any holdouts. If the jury finds Cotton is guilty, the sentencing phase of the trial will follow.

“It’s just going to be an acquittal, they’re not going to find him guilty,” Donahue said.

Previously, the trial was scheduled to begin on Jan. 25. Cotton’s defense attorney, Paul Aman, asked the court to postpone it because an expert witness was not available at that time, and another of Cotton’s attorneys was scheduled to be in court on another case. Also, Aman was still waiting on completion of a court order for Robbie Tolan’s medical records from the Bellaire Fire Department Emergency Medical Service.

According to court documents, expert witness Jim Conley said he couldn’t attend the Jan. 25 trial because his family had planned a homecoming in Florida for his daughter, who was on leave from serving in Iraq with the U.S. Army Reserves. Aman plans to call Conley as a witness to “testify about the use of force by police officers and police tactics,” according to court records filed on Jan. 11.

Because facts in the criminal case haven’t been aired in public, and Bellaire officials will not discuss the case, the most information about what happened that night comes from the Tolan family’s civil lawsuit. The lawsuit accuses Cotton of throwing Robbie’s mother, Marian Tolan, against the garage door when she protested there was a misunderstanding, and her son was not driving a stolen vehicle.

While he was laying on the ground as police had instructed, Robbie Tolan then yelled at Cotton, “Get your f***ing hands off my mom,” the lawsuit said. (Note: InstantNewsWestU removed the expletive.)

“Immediately after Robbie told Cotton to stop assaulting his mother, Cotton drew his gun and shot Robbie in the chest,” the lawsuit said. Doctors couldn’t remove the bullet from Tolan’s liver, casting doubt about whether he will be able to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a professional baseball player, like his father Bobby Tolan. After the shooting, police separated the Tolan family in the backs of police cars and refused to tell them whether Robbie was dead or alive, the lawsuit said.

The Tolans’ lawsuit claims the incident was a result of racial profiling and there is a culture of racism running rampant in the Bellaire Police Department. The Tolan family is black, while the officers involved in the incident are white. Read more about the family’s lawsuit here.

Phone calls to Assistant District Attorney Clint Greenwood, who is prosecuting the case against Cotton, were not immediately returned today. InstantNewsWestU will update this story later if he calls back.

But everything will come out in court next week, or whenever the court is clear for the trial to begin. Check InstantNewsWestU for updates about the proceedings.

Former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby

Former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby Jr. will talk Texas people and politics in his free presentation, “A Political Atlas of Texas,” at 1 p.m. on March 10 in the Robertson Auditorium in the Academic Building at the University of Houston-Downtown. UHD will hold a reception for Hobby after the lecture at 2:30 p.m. in the Coffee House next to the auditorium.

Hobby served 18 years as the state’s lieutenant governor and two years as chancellor of the University of Houston System. His book, “How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics,” will be out this fall.

In his UHD presentation, Hobby examines the Republican vote percentage and election results in terms of the Voting Rights Act variables considered in redistricting. He also uses county census data and demographic information such as age, race, ethnicity, income and education. The numbers produce some interesting results. For example, 27 percent of all Texans live in two counties, Harris and Dallas.

His new book deals more with how the legislature works from his unique perspective. Hobby notes that the Texas political climate has changed in recent years and not all of those changes have been for the better.

“Partisanship now is as important as it ever was in Washington and that’s a change for the worse,” Hobby said. “For many years, partisanship wasn’t a big thing (in the state legislature). When they take the oath of office it doesn’t say, they swear to defend and protect the Democrats or Republicans. It says they swear they’ll do the best job they can. In other words, they need to read the directions.”

Hobby’s lecture is one of the week’s highlights as UHD officially welcomes its fifth president, William V. Flores. The formal academic ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. on March 11 at the Wortham Center.