February 2006 Archives

The New York Times is reporting Enron founder Ken Lay might be close to filing for bankruptcy.

It says his net worth has gone from around $400 million to less than $600,000. His retirement benefits have also reportedly plummeted from $68 million to $3.5 million.

If convicted,he and co-defendant Jeff Skilling, face decades in prison.

>> Continue reading: NY Times reports Lay might be close to filing for bankruptcy

Houston City Councilwoman Addie Wiseman posed tough questions in a release issued Tuesday afternoon about the investigation into improper bonuses paid to four mayor pro tem office employees.

>> Continue reading: Councilwoman has questions about bonus investigation

The entire city of Houston received an awarded Tuesday for its response to Hurricane Katrina and Rita.

Top officials including Harris county Judge Robert Eckels and Houston Mayor Bill White accepted the "Texan of the Year Award."

The Dallas Morning News gives the honor out every year to Texans who show resilience, resourcefulness, and make the state proud.

Video of award presentation: >> Continue reading: Houston receives "Texan of the Year Award"

A family from Louisiana needs help looking for a missing family member who suffers from schizophrenia.

>> Continue reading: Missing woman suffers from schizophrenia

Fort Bend Sheriff's County officials found a badly decomposed body of an infant Feb. 14.

>> Continue reading: Fort Bend officials find infant's decomposing body

11 News' Mike Zientek reports from the Harris County Criminal Courthouse where an unusual witness was on the stand in the capital murder trial of Max Soffar. Kinky Friedman testified he met the defendant in prison and had exchanged letters with the man when he was working on a story for "Texas Monthly" a few years ago.

>> Continue reading: Audio Report: Kinky Friedman testifies in capital murder case

11 News' Jason Whitely reports from Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Business owners, political leaders and New Orleans residents are very pleased with the turnout.

>> Continue reading: Audio Report: Bourbon Street getting crowded

11 News' Jason Whitely reports from the French Quarter where crowds have been growing leading up to the final Mardi Gras party. In an exclusive interview with 11 News, Mayor Ray Nagin said it is too early for official estimates, but more people than expected came to Big Easy for the celebration. He and his biggest challenger, Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu, have both plan campaign stops in Houston in their race for mayor.

>> Continue reading: Audio Report: Fat Tuesday in New Orleans; Mayor, challenger speak of campaign plans

11 News producer Juanita Jimenez reports from Randalls where students from St. Anne's Catholic School took refuge from a gas leak near campus. The all-clear was given, but school officials decided to have the kids stay at Randalls for lunch before returning to class.

>> Continue reading: Audio Report: School given all-clear after gas leak

Brandy Briggs' court date was reset again Tuesday.

>> Continue reading: Brandy Briggs' court date reset again

Students, from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade, were evacuated from St. Anne's Catholic School on Tuesday morning. 11 News Producer Juanita Jimenez was at the school when the evacuation was called and accompanied children to a nearby Randalls.

>> Continue reading: Audio Report: Gas leak forces St. Anne's Catholic School to evacuate

A judge is expected to decide Tuesday whether Andrea Yates' retrial will be postponed.

>> Continue reading: Judge expected to rule on Yates retrial

A chimney fire has left a family visiting a loved one back from Iraq with nowhere to stay.

>> Continue reading: Chimney fire burns Deerbrook apartment

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston and Houston is expected to announce the retirement of Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza.

>> Continue reading: Roman Catholic archbishop expected to retire

Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt will officially kick-off the March on Crime on Tuesday morning.

>> Continue reading: March on Crime kicks off

Two Dulles High School freshman boys are expected in court Tuesday morning for a due process hearing.

>> Continue reading: Hearing set for Dulles High boys accused in school plot

Brandy Briggs will be back in court Tuesday where a judge is expected to rule on whether she'll be retried for the death of her son.

>> Continue reading: Brandy Briggs to be back in court

Housing and Urban Development officials are giving hurricane victims a little more time to make good on their mortgage payments.

The agency announced Monday a 120-day extension to a program that stops foreclosures on FHA- insured homes along the Gulf Coast.

>> Continue reading: HUD extends hurricane victims mortgage payment deadline

Hurricane victims staying in the Houston area can get some help filling out tax forms from the IRS.

>> Continue reading: Free tax seminar Saturday

Four girls at Sheldon Intermediate have been suspended after allegedly putting something in their teacher's coffee.

>> Continue reading: 6th-graders suspended for teacher prank

Former Playboy Playmate of the year Anna Nicole Smith is headed to the highest court in the United States.

Tuesday the Supreme Court will hear her case, which involves the fortune of Smith's deceased husband J. Howard Marshall II.
>> Continue reading: Anna Nicole Smith heads to Supreme Court Tuesday

11 News' Jason Whitely reports from New Orleans where he has spent the last three days taking a look at the city six months after Katrina. Appears little has been cleaned up, but the mayor said that is a very deceiving scene because city, state and federal government have cleaned up about 7 million cubic yards of debris.


>> Continue reading: Audio Report: Fort Bend students accused of threats against school

Police are looking for a suspect who gunned down two men in northeast Houston Thursday afternoon.

>> Continue reading: Two men shot in northeast Houston

11 News' Nancy Holland reports form the downtown library, which will be closing for up to two years. After almost $15 million in renovations they expect the definition of the place to be, "Wow."

>> Continue reading: Audio Report: Downtown library to close for $15 million renovation

If you've ever needed rehabilitation for a catastrophic injury or illness you've probably heard of TIRR, The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research.

Friday it was announced TIRR would become part of Memorial Hermann Health Systems.

>> Continue reading: TIRR becomes part of Memorial Hermann Health Systems

11 News City Hall reporter Doug Miller has been looking into how council members handle their staff bonuses, in light of the investigation into unauthorized bonuses in the mayor pro-tem's office.

>> Continue reading: Audio Report: How other council members handle bonuses

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on Thursday warned Texans to be on the lookout for official-looking e-mails pretending to be from major financial institutions asking for personal account information.

>> Continue reading: Texas attorney general warns against bank e-mail scam

At 3 p.m. today, the Houston Public library will announce a $14.9 million renovation project that will close the Central Library to the public on April 3. It is not expected to reopen until the end of 2007.

>> Continue reading: Largest renovation in Houston Public Library history

A chase started in southwest Houston when a police ran a routine check on the car.

>> Continue reading: Routine check on car leads to police chase

11 News' Vicente Arenas reports that the search for the 65 trapped Mexican miners has gone no better today. He states that the gases and potential for explosions means that virtually no mechanized equipment can be used. In addition, the infrequent news conferences dispense limited and often contradicting information.