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Red Light Cameras Make Millions

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 19 Februari 2013 | 23.47

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In the city the Dallas Cowboys call home, some red light cameras write checks as big as an NFL salary.

One camera at northbound Cooper and Pioneer Parkway in Arlington dished out $2.5 million in red light tickets in just four years.

In the City of Fort Worth, records show cameras have generated $23 million.  The top money maker is on the West Freeway Frontage Road at Ashland Avenue, bringing in $1.7 million since 2008.

Red light cameras were installed to save lives to prevent dangerous crashes and to catch people who are breaking the law, and there's evidence cameras work.

A Texas Transportation Institute study found a 26 percent decrease in red light crashes at intersections after cameras were installed. 

But some e-mails obtained by NBC5 Investigates raise questions about whether some city officials are more interested in reducing crashes, or collecting millions of dollars to fill gaps in city budgets.

Through an open records request, NBC 5 Investigates obtained a Dallas City Hall e-mail string talking about red light camera revenue.

In one email, a city staffer said someone in the City Manager's office "needs an explanation of why the following items are reporting low on revenue and what will be done to address the issue."

The list includes parking fines and red light cameras.

Another staffer writes back explaining, "Red Light Cameras are projected to be under-budget due to a decline in the number of violations per site."

An Assistant City Manager replies, "…who is picking the red light sites and what department are they in?"

"I think it's really dangerous when city officials from any city begin to tell us that we have a certain quota or certain expectation of how much money red light cameras are going to produce," said University of Texas at Arlington Criminology Professor, Alex del Carmen

Del Carmen said there's a danger that a noble, lifesaving program could become driven more by a need to boost city budgets than by the safety goals cameras were intended to achieve.

"They were never meant to produce a dollar figure that at some point it would be an expectation," del Carmen said.

Despite the emails, the City of Dallas insists camera locations are chosen only on the basis of crash statistics and other safety concerns.

Raul Magdaleno, who heads the City of Dallas commission that helps decide where to put red light cameras, admits the city does move cameras sometimes if the number of tickets decreases at an intersection.

But Magdaleno said decisions on where to put cameras are based on which intersections have the greatest safety need, not on any dollar amount target.

"No that is never discussed. The target is never discussed in any of the commission," said Magdaleno.  "As a commission, that is not -- we do not take that into consideration."

In Texas, state law said cities can only spend red light ticket money on traffic safety programs.

In Fort Worth, the city uses their portion of the money to make roads safer.

"Intersection improvements, traffic signals, school sidewalks and pavement markings," said Randy Burkett, Fort Worth traffic engineer.

In Arlington it pays for a police DWI program.

Arlington and Fort Worth told us they'd find other ways to pay for those things if tickets dropped and the money dried up.

"If we have fewer accidents, I don't think anyone is going to quibble with that and we'll consider it a success," said Rebecca Rodriguez, spokesperson for the City of Arlington.

And, in Dallas, where a camera at Lovers Lane and Central Expressway wrote 30,000 tickets in four years, the city said the program will stay focused on the mission of changing driver behavior to save lives.

"Try talking to a mom who's just lost her kid because somebody passed a red light because they were texting and passed a red light -- to them this is not about revenue," said Magdaleno.

But as the cameras flash and the money rolls in, cities are getting used to a giant pot of extra cash.

"I do expect to see more and more of these cameras to appear on your way to work and my way to work on a daily basis," said del Carmen.


Under Texas law, cities are also required to split red light camera money they collect with the state. 

That money is supposed to fund regional trauma centers.  But the state comptroller's office tells NBC 5 Investigates $64 million is just sitting in that fund.  The legislature has not given it to the hospitals yet.

In a statement, State Sen. John Carona, told NBC 5 Investigates, "We told the taxpayers this money would go to a specific purpose, and we need to live up to that."

Locations of the top money making cameras:

Arlington*

  • Northbound Cooper @303 $2,450,877.47
  • Northbound Watson @ Avenue H $2,060,015.17
  • Northbound South Cooper @ West Park Row $1,456,919.00
  • Northbound North Cooper@ Road to Six Flags $1,293,168.16
  • *Represents money from 2008-2012

Dallas*

  • Westbound Lovers Lane @ North Central Expressway $2,283,673
  • Forest Lane EB + EBLT @ Plano $1,469,475
  • Westbound Mockingbird Lane @ Central NBSR $1,308,675
  • * City of Dallas dollar amount figures are based on the number of citations issued x $75/ per citation since Fiscal Year 2009.

Fort Worth*

  • Westbound West Freeway Service Road @ Ashland Ave $1,765,186.15
  • Eastbound E Rosedale Street (West Side) @ South Freeway Service Road South $1,172,461.47
  • *Represents money collected from 2008 to September 2012
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Marriage Counselor Affair Trial Resumes

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A Tarrant County jury will resume deliberations Tuesday in a sexual assault case involving a marriage counselor accused of abusing her position to exploit an emotionally dependent client.

The jurors are deliberating on the case involving Loven who was a licensed counselor at the time she allegedly counseled a couple to divorce and used her position to have sex with the husband.

Loven could face two to 20 years in prison, if she is found guilty.

Jurors received the case around 3 p.m. on Friday, but were sent home shortly after 5 p.m. They sent a note around 4 p.m. asking for the definitions of exploitation and emotional dependent, as well as coffee.

The trial resumed Friday afternoon with a handful of prosecution witnesses, before the state rested. The defense put on no witnesses, as it is not required to do so.

Jurors Deliberate in Marriage Counselor Trial

Friday afternoon jurors began deliberating the case of Shelia Loven, the marraige counselor accused of sexual assault. Prosecutors say she exploited someone who was emotionally dependent on her.

Marriage Counselor Accused of Sexual Assault

Marriage counselor Sheila Loven was charged with sexual assault, prosecutors say she had sex with one of the clients she was supposed to be counseling.

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During closing arguments, the prosecution and defense said Loven was a bad counselor and what she did was wrong, but both sides disagreed on whether it was illegal.

Prosecutors Betty Arvin and Sean Colston compared the counselor and patient relationship to preacher and parishioner or student and teacher.

They argued that the victim, who NBC 5 will not identify, was emotionally dependent on Loven as a licensed counselor, and she exploited that relationship for sex.

Text messages, allegedly from Loven to the victim and his wife, were brought up during closing arguments.

"It tells you that Sheila knew (victim) was emotionally dependent on her," Assistant District Attorney Colston argued.

Defense Attorney Mark Scott admitted his client's actions were immoral and argued that his client didn't take advantage of the victim or manipulate him and his wife, rather she simply developed feelings for him.

"I know you don't like Sheila, I don't blame you," Scott said. "What she did is terrible, it's disgusting. They want you to believe that leaving love notes for him was manipulative, that telling him he was handsome was manipulative. Ladies and gentlemen she fell in love with (the victim), it's a bad idea, terrible. Immoral, unethical, improper, goes across boundaries, not right, not illegal."

Colston said it is illegal and if the genders were different there would be no doubt.

"What if this was a woman treated by a counselor, we would have no doubt that she was exploited, that that was an illegal act," Colston said.

"Divorce Counseling"

The wife took the stand on Thursday and testified about her relationship with Loven, which she described as "visiting her best friend once a week to talk."

The wife said Loven spoke unfavorably about her husband for months and encouraged the two to divorce. 

"It wasn't marriage counseling, it was divorce counseling," the wife said in court. 

In Sept. 2009, after the wife filed for divorce, she met Loven at Flip's in Grapevine, Texas. Throughout lunch she disclosed to Loven suspicions she had about her husband seeing someone. She testified that after a possible girlfriend was mentioned, Loven admitted her involvement.

"It's me, it's me," the wife said Loven told her. "She had developed an interest in my husband and wanted to seek a relationship with him," she said in court.

The wife added that she was numb after the conversation with Loven and eventually got up and left the restaurant. 

The Fort Worth Star Telegram reports that Loven and the husband had an affair for two months in 2009 before the couple reconciled after realizing that Loven had been deceiving them during their separate counseling sessions.

"I thought she was my friend, I thought she cared," the wife testified.

After the couple's reconciliation, they started receiving sexually graphic, threatening and insulting text messages in Jan. 2010, allegedly from Loven. 

The defense argued in court that the messages could not be authenticated. Judge Ruben Gonzalez over ruled the objections.

Prosecutor Betty Arvin quoted in court a text message to the husband that read: "When are you going to figure out that you are nothing without me? I made you a man." 

A text sent to the wife read: "I want you to suffer."

The couple is now divorced.

Husband Testifies

Throughout Thursday's trial the husband testified. He detailed the issues in his marriage, why he and his wife went to counseling, and how the sexual relationship with Loven, started, continued and ended. But the man, who NBC 5 will not identify, said if he only knew what Loven was up to he wouldn't have done it.

"If you had the knowledge that you had on Sept. 19, 2009, would you have ever had sex with Sheila Loven?" Asked Tarrant County Assistant District Attorney Sean Colston. "No," the victim testified.

The husband said he entered into marriage counseling because that is what his wife wanted and he wanted to keep his marriage together. He testified that he and his wife were manipulated in separate counseling sessions by the defendant, Loven, and those manipulations eventually led the victim into going to a night club with Loven.

He said Loven touched him inappropriately at the time, but he thought it was merely an accident. In the days that followed, the victim went to Loven's house to bring her some supplies. That's when he said Loven first kissed him and he kissed back.

"I kissed her, then I was like oh (expletive), what have I done?" said the victim.

The kiss then led to to a sexual relationship that ended only after Loven told the victim's wife about the affair. The husband and wife reconciled when they realized what was going on, although the two have since divorced.

Loven's defense attorney tried to get the victim to paint the relationship as purely consensual, and one that isn't coerced.

"You were a willing participate in that," asked attorney Mark Scott.

"Nobody had showed me attention like that in months and here, yes, my counselor," the victim testified.

The victim also said Loven told him she loved him repeatedly. It's affection the victim testified he liked because he was having a rocky stretch in his marriage.

"Finally, I just started saying it (I love you) because I didn't know what to say, I wanted her to say," the victim testified. "She keeps saying it and I didn't know what to say."

But the victim ultimately wanted to get back together with his wife.

"I still felt like I was connected to my wife and it felt like I was doing something wrong here with Sheila," the victim testified.

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One Dead After Shooting Outside Nightclub

Kendra Lyn, NBC 5 News

One man is dead after a shooting outside an Oak Cliff nightclub early Tuesday morning.

Man Dead After Shooting Outside Nightclub

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One man is dead after a shooting outside an Oak Cliff nightclub early Tuesday morning.

The deadly shooting happened just before 1:30 a.m. near Chocolate City, a club off Beckley and Illinois.

Dallas police identified the victim as 35-year-old Tommy Heads from Lancaster, TX.

Officers believe Heads exchanged words with some people inside of the club and the fight spilled outside into a nearby parking lot.

Investigators say Heads walked out of Chocolate City with his girlfriend and down the block to his car at Beckley and Ohio.  Two men confronted them. At least one man had a gun and shot Heads in the buttocks, seriously wounding him.  Paramedics gave him CPR and rushed him to Methodist Hospital where he died a short time later.

Police reports state that the people that shot Heads also took $100 from him before fleeing from the scene.

The victim's girlfriend did not get hurt. Investigators are talking with her and hope she can provide some information about who shot and killed her boyfriend.

Dallas police are searching for the gunman and his accomplice.

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Conn. Lawmakers Consider Car Smoking Ban

A Connecticut state representative looks to ban smoking in cars where a child is present.

Lawmakers Consider Ban on Smoking in Cars

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Connecticut lawmakers are considering a state law to make smoking in cars illegal if there is a child under 7 years old inside.

Smoking is already banned in restaurants and businesses in Connecticut and some parents welcome broadening the ban to protect children in cars. 

"We want our kids to be in safe places, always," parent Chris Liss, of Granby, told NBC Connecticut.

A 2006 Harvard University study of smoking in cars shows that even with the windows slightly opened, a single cigarette can produce hazardous levels of contaminants. 

"It's going to help," said Rep. Henry Genga, the bill's sponsor. "No question about it."

But opponents are concerned that a new law may be too intrusive and wonder how it will be enforced. Genga said he has supporters in the law enforcement community who tell him it will be as easy to enforce as the seatbelt law.

The first time someone is caught, they will get a warning. The second time will involve a penalty.

"When you put a child in, you have a responsibility," Genga said. "The right thing to do is to take care of that child."

Lawmakers on the transportation committee will hold a public hearing on the bill Wednesday morning.

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At Least 4 Dead in Shootings Near Calif. Freeways

Officers at one of several locations in a shooting investigation early Tuesday in the Tustin area.

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At least four people are dead after a series of shootings and carjackings early Tuesday near two freeways in southern California's Orange County.

Map: Shooting Investigation Locations

It was not immediately clear whether the gunman was among the deceased from the shootings in the Tustin and Villa Park areas.

"There are no other shooters and there is no threat to the community," Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino told NBCLA. 

Investigators responded to six locations in connection with the shootings, including a home in Ladera Ranch. The body of a woman was discovered at the home Tuesday morning.

Details regarding the Ladera Ranch shooting were not immediately available.

The police response in the Tustin area began with a carjacking and shots fired report at about 5:30 a.m. near Red Hill and Nisson Road, just off the 5 Freeway. A bystander was shot during the carjacking, according to Tustin police.

A second shooting and carjacking was reported near the 55 Freeway at Village Way. The carjacking victim was killed.

Aerial video showed a pickup and several patrol vehicles on the exit ramp from the 55 Freeway.

A third report in connection with the shootings was received near Edinger Avenue and Newport Avenue. Officers discovered two carjacking victims, one of whom was pronounced dead at the scene.

The second carjacking victim was hospitalized in critical condition.

Aerial video showed patrol vehicles in the parking lot of a nearby electronics store in the 1100 block of Edinger Avenue.

Officers located the subject in a stolen vehicle in Orange.

"When a stop was initiated, the suspect shot and killed himself," according to a Tustin police statement.

Aerial video also showed Tustin police and California Highway Patrol vehicles at the intersection of Wanda Road and Katella Avenue, just east of the 55 Freeway. A body was discovered at the location, but it was not immediately clear whether the investigation was connected to the earlier shootings.

Traffic on the southbound 55 Freeway was slow near the site of the investigation.

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Dallas Co. Approves Expanded West Nile Program

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Dallas County Beefs Up Battle Against WNV

Dallas County officials are beefing up their battle against the potentially deadly West Nile virus after last summer's outbreak, but county officials say the city plan falls short.

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Dallas County Commissioners Court on Tuesday approved a $350,000 contract to add outside help with the war on mosquitoes infected with West Nile Virus.

The contract with Vector Disease Control International of Little Rock, Ark., would provide 24 additional mosquito traps each week and mosquito spraying services for 5,000 miles each year.

These services would be included on top of the efforts Dallas County Health and Human Services did in the summer of 2012 – which included new brochures to launch an earlier public education campaign about West Nile Virus prevention.

"If you take 2012, a once in a 50-year episode, that is causing everyone to relook at their programs, considering we don't want a repeat of last year," Dallas County Health Director Zach Thompson said.

Dallas County reported 398 human cases of West Nile Virus last summer, resulting in 19 deaths.

The outbreak came after several years with very little West Nile Virus detected in North Texas.

"If you take the totality of 2002 to 2011, there probably wouldn't have been a need to add additional spraying application. Right now, based on what we experienced in 2012, we'd rather be in overkill mode, we'd rather add additional ground application," Thompson said.

County Commissioner Elba Garcia praised the health department's plans for improvements from last year's response when the plan was in discussion last week.

"I believe part of what happened was the lack of coordination, the lack of funding, we got too comfortable, all the way around, and that's what we're taking care of today," Garcia said. "We're putting the funds where we needed to for a coordinated effort."

Dallas County is responsible for mosquito control in 14 smaller cities and the unincorporated area of the county, but not the city of Dallas.

City of Dallas Mosquito Control Plans

Larger cities within the county provide their own mosquito control.

The city of Dallas announced an expanded plan for 90 mosquito traps during the peak season, three times more than the city used last year. Plus, the city of Dallas intends to receive lab testing of samples in half the time and expand public education.

Dallas County Health Director Zach Thompson said the city of Dallas should also hire an outside vendor to provide even more protection than what the new city plan includes.

"We recommended the 90 traps," said Thompson. "That was our recommendation based on our review. And that's why we're still saying we think there needs to be an additional vendor brought in to even ramp that up higher. 90 was our minimum number."

County Commissioner John Wiley Price serves on the committee that coordinates public health issues between the county and cities.

Price agreed with Thompson.

"The 90 traps, most of us on public health don't think that's sufficient," Price said. "But that's going to be incumbent on that city to make that determination."

County Judge Clay Jenkins had no complaint about the city of Dallas plan and said mosquito control for the coming summer is still a work in progress.

"But the important thing is we're all going to communicate together, we're all going to work together, with one goal and that is to keep you and your family safe," Jenkins said.

NBC 5's Scott Friedman, Ken Kalthoff, and Kendra Lyn contributed to this report.

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