March 27, 2009 - The Austin Chronicle

news16 On the Lege 20 City Counseling 21 The Hightower Report 22 Believing the ChildrenJOHN ANDERSONHeadlines› Cap Metro’s plans to launch the CapitalMetroRail Red Line have been put on indefinitehold after allegations of violations of state andfederal safety rules by rail contractor VeoliaTransportation. See “Cap Metro: The WheelsCome Off,” p.18.› By unanimous vote on March23, the Austin IndependentSchool District board of trusteesconfirmed MeriaCarstarphen (r), the sittingsuperintendent of publicschools in St. Paul, Minn., asAustin’s next superintendent.She takes charge July 1. See“AISD: Carstarphen Seals the Deal,” p.18.› Endorsements in the mayor’s race continue tocome in, while at council, news that a Californiafirm may redesign the city website has become acampaign issue for Brewster McCracken; hesays he won’t vote yes unless it “improves governmentefficiency and stimulates the localeconomy.” (He says it doesn’t.) See “City HallHustle,” p.14, and “City Counseling,” p.20.› In the Capitol, theHouse finally broke thelegislative logjam bypassing House Bill 873,Rep. Dawnna Dukes’ (l)film incentive bill. On theSenate side, lawmakerstackled the thorny top10% university admissionsrule. Both chambersare still talkingabout a special session.› At press time, the State Board of Educationwas poised to throw the book at science as thecreationist-leaning board moved toward a vote onscience curriculum in public schools; a final voteis expected late this week.› Mixed news for Texas pollution: In the latestToxics Release Inventory, released by theEnvironmental Protection Agency, Texas hasmade significant cuts in its emissions, but it’sstill one of the biggest polluters in the nation.› Austin Chronicle fashion columnistStephen Moser (r) wasarrested Monday and chargedwith arson after a March 13 carfire at City Hall.› Rest easy, Tweeple: Popularsocial media site Twitter suspendedthe account of userAustinPD after complaintsfrom the city of Austin LawDepartment and Texas attorney general that theaccount amounted to police impersonation.Yeah, because tweets like “Trollin flickr for crimenotes” sound real official.› With her career onefoot in the grave,Sharon Keller (l), presidingjudge of thestate Court of CriminalAppeals, deniedresponsibility for closingher court before alast-minute appealcould be filed onbehalf of death rowinmate MichaelRichard on the day ofhis 2007 execution.12 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E MARCH 27, 2009 a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o mJANA BIRCHUMSANDY CARSONLast week’s South by Southwest created some fascinating streetscapes, including this one at Sixth and Red River.Legitimate Public ConcernThe Keller prosecution is an enduring stain on Austin’s honorBY MICHAEL KINGVijay talked about going to Zilker Park in thevan. They got a baby gorilla. Danny took Christiinto the park. Fran stayed with Vijay. Fran cut afinger off of the gorilla and drained the bloodinto a water can.– From the 1992 Austin Police Departmentinvestigative report of the Fran andDanny Keller child molestation caseJordan Smith’s story in this issue,“Believing the Children,” p.22, is theresult of several months of her hardand detailed work – reviewing the trialdocuments and related materials of the1992 Fran’s Day Care prosecution, interviewingas many of the principals she could find whowere willing to talk, plus doing a good deal ofbackground research into the period and thedecadelong era of “satanic ritual abuse” hysteriaof which it was a part. It’s one of the longest andmost difficult stories we’ve ever attempted, andwe hope readers will see why we did so. Webelieve it recounts a fundamental miscarriage ofjustice, one that condemned to ruin at leastthree lives and sadly affected many more, withdamage that persists to this day.Already difficult enough, Smith’s tale took yetanother tangent in her attempt to get access tothe Austin Police Department investigative reporton the Keller case. Rather than provide the publicdocument, city attorneys requested an advisoryopinion from the state attor ney general, whoseoffice responded that the 17-year-old materialcould be withheld as “private” (“highly intimateand embarrassing”) and “not of legitimate concernto the public.” That opinion waswrong on both the facts and the law,but the city attorneys relied on itpointaustinand convinced a judge to supporttheir discretion. Thanks to theChronicle’s attorney, Pete Kennedyof Graves Dougherty, the 3rdCourt of Appeals found the argumentsof the city, the A.G., and thehearing judge unpersuasive andordered the report released. (Kennedyworked on the case essentially pro bono; whengovernment agencies violate open records law, hegets really annoyed.)The APD document Smith finally receivedserves the very legitimate public interest of confirmingwhat a travesty the entire Keller investigationhad been. Indeed, if the city had argued itdidn’t want to release the report because its contentsare deeply “embarrassing” to the APD, thecity, and Travis County prosecutors, it would havehad a much stronger case.Absurdities and AtrocitiesVoltaire famously remarked that those whobelieve absurdities can be made to commitCONTINUED ON P.15JOHN ANDERSONQUOTEof theWEEK“You’re not fromMoscow. Weunderstand that.”– Sen. Craig Estes, placatingSen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston(pictured), who took umbrageover suggestions that hisamendments to Senate Bill175, the top 10% rule,amounted to Soviet-stylecentralized planning