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VOTED BESTKING CAKE5 YEARS476.0060 • 120 EAST 7THKING CAKE!Mardi Gras Seasonbegins: Jan. 6Mardi Gras: Feb. 12LINK2ND graf, “Dec. 21, 2012”http://www.austinchroni-cle.com/news/2012-12-21/aisd-idea-down-travisheights-up/SingNEWSOne, three, or none: Those are the optionsfor new single-sex schools facing Austin ISD.But with a board vote on the issue coming upJan. 28, there’s little sign of consensus.Many thought the district’s two plans – turningPearce and Garcia into single-sex middleschools serving most of East Austin, and aseparate proposal to open a boys’ academyfunded in part by the Moody Foundation –died after they dropped off December’s votefor the 2013 Annual Academic and FacilitiesRecommendations (see “AISD: IDEA Down,Travis Heights Up,” Dec. 21, 2012). However,Board President Vince Torres had simplypulled them back for further discussion, andAISD board members attheir Dec. 17 meetingBoard Discord on Single-Sex Schoolsj o h n a n D e r s o nhe’s now asking his fellow trustees to considerthem for the 2014-2015 school year.Single-sex advocates point to the success ofthe all-girl Ann Richards School for YoungWomen Leaders. However, there’s a big differencebetween gender-segregating an entireneighborhood and Ann Richards, an application-onlycampus that trustees increasinglyconcede is a magnet school.District 1 Trustee Cheryl Bradley arguesthat sex-segregating Pearce and Garcia will createsafe havens for prepubescent minority kids.At-Large Position 8 Trustee Gina Hinojosa proposeda compromise: Place the Moody boys’school on a District 1 campus, and give neighborhoodkids priority admission. But theMoody Foundation doesn’t want exceptionsto its admissions policy, and Bradley vehementlydoes not want a Moody school in herdistrict, claiming the bad blood over the magnetprogram at Kealing Middle School andthe embedded Liberal Arts and ScienceAcademy at LBJ High proves that suchembedded schools-within-schools do notwork. She said, “You can feel the inferiorityas soon as you walk in.”Torres argues against melding the two proposals,calling them “apples and oranges”that are intended to solve different problems.District 7 Trustee Robert Schneider – nofriend of radical reform – has argued that thelack of a male analog to Ann Richards leavesthe district open to discrimination suits. Torres,who attended the Naval Academy backwhen it was all-male, said the longer the districtwaits, “the case gets stronger and stronger.”But there are two larger questions. First,whether single-sex education has any specialmerit – an idea hotly contended by many educationexperts – and secondly, whether thecommunity wants it. AISD conducted a phonesurvey between Nov. 29 and Dec. 4, and supportfor single-sex schools among District 1families was tepid. Only 45% of neighborhoodfamilies polled supported the concept, andonly 32% said they would consider sendingtheir kids to a single-sex campus. Moreover,56% of African-American respondents said theyactively oppose Brad ley’s plan. District 5Trustee Amber Elenz said that, as it is earlyin the process, there is plenty of opportunityfor AISD to do outreach to improve those numbers.However, while Super intendent MeriaCarstarphen argued that “there is interest,”she warned, “I don’t think there is overwhelmingsupport for the design.” – Richard WhittakerLINKS:“City Council 10-1 districtingprocess” [http://www.austintexas.gov/department/10-one]2nd paragraph: “comments posted”-- [http://trustaustin.org/agrscomments-to-the-auditors-draftinterpretative-guidelines/]10-1, Step One:Finding CommissionersThough it had been scheduled to end last week, just before thatdeadline the city auditor’s office extended the public comment periodon the city’s new City Council 10-1 redistricting process toWednesday, Jan. 16. City Auditor Kenneth Mory noted that thiscould be done without impacting the broader timeline – so why notget as much public input as possible?Austinites for Geographic Represent a tion already had its commentsposted and available for public viewing. The group not onlyspearheaded the 10-1 campaign, it also wrote the charter amendmentthat will govern the formation of the independent CitizensRedistricting Commission – the group ultimately responsible fordrawing district lines. AGR has also formed an advisory committeeto monitor the process. Last week, the group sent a nine-page letterto the city auditor’s office, suggesting four changes to the currentinterpretation of the law.Most significantly, the letter calls for the voting requirement toinclude May and Nov em ber elections in tallying whether applicants tothe districting commission have voted in the last three out of five“City of Austin general elections” – charter language that could beconstrued to mean only the May municipal contests. Roger Borgelt,Travis County Republican Party vice chairman and co-chair of the AGRAdvisory Committee, explained, “AGR intended to include those[November] elections. … We want to make sure that the people whovoted for CD 10-1 are getting a chance to participate in the processof drawing district lines.”j o h n a n D e r s o nTwo Austinitescheck out a mapof the city at anOctober rally infavor of 10-1.But will they? In its letter, AGR cites an analysis done by OpinionAnalysts that estimates this change would just about double the poolof qualified applicants (from 35,418 residents to 68,627.) The reportalso shows a potentially troubling lack of diversity in the pool – forexample, a pool of Hispanic voters that is about 10% if only May electionsare counted, and just under 12% if both elections are counted.(The effects of other criteria remain to be seen.)AGR’s letter also calls for the panel of aud itors to ensure that theapplicant pool reflects the diversity of Austin, that party precinctchairs be qualified to serve, and that the three auditors (who willassess the applicants for the CRC) be paid for their services.Mory said that he had seen the letter, and that he was “still consideringsome of the points on there.” He anticipates some changes,but declined to get into particulars during the public comment period.– Elizabeth Pagano16 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E JANUARY 18, 2013 a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m

Appeal Filed in Day Care Abuse CaseAn appeal filed Monday morning inTravis County district court reopens aninfamous chapter in Austin history and setsout to prove, once and for all, that formerOak Hill day care operator Frances Kellerwas wrongfully convicted of sexual assaultand has spent the last 20 years behind barsfor a crime that never happened.Fran Keller was sentenced to 48 years inprison for allegedly sexually abusing a3-year-old girl, Christy Chaviers, who’d beenan infrequent drop-in at the home-based daycare center Keller and her husband Dan ranin 1991. (Dan was also convicted and sentencedto 48 years; this appeal concerns onlyFran Keller’s conviction.) After a day at theKellers in the summer of 1991, Christy toldher mother, Suzanne Stratton, that DannyKeller had spanked her; that allegationquickly morphed into an allegation of sexualabuse. Before long, two other children who’dbeen in care at the Kellers, and whose parentshad become friendly with Christy’smother, also claimed they were abused bythe Kellers. By the fall, Christy’s therapist,Donna David Campbell, concluded thatChristy had been a victim of “ritual abuse.”Indeed, the Kellers were among hundreds ofday care workers across the country who inthe Eighties and early Nineties were accusedof being part of “satanic cults” that abusedchildren placed in day care.Although Christy ultimately testified incourt that nothing bad ever happened toher at the Kellers, the state had severalother pieces of evidence upon which tomake its case: the testimony of a youngemergency room doctor who examinedChristy and opined that lacerations to herhymen appeared consistent with sexualabuse; testimony from Austin Police whosaid they’d used a helicopter armed with aninfrared device to determine that graves ina small private cemetery near the day carehad been disturbed – consistent with storiesthe children told about rituals the Kellerswould perform there; and the opinion ofRandy Noblitt, a Dallas psychologist withan alleged expertise in ritual abuse.According to the 128-page writ filed thisweek by veteran Austin defense attorneyKeith Hampton, those key pieces of evidencehave now been discredited. Indeed,the faulty medical evidence – based on sciencethat has evolved since 1991 – and evidencethat Austin Police withheld, not onlyfrom the defense but also from prosecutors,key evidence related to the graveyard, areissues that were first raised bythe Chronicle in a reinvestigationof the Keller case,“Believing the Children,” publishedMarch 27, 2009.Although the children saidthey were filmed or photographednumerous times duringthese ritualistic and sexualassaults, the only physical evidencethat prosecutors broughtto court was a medical assessmentperformed by a youngER doctor, Michael Mouw.Stratton brought her daughterFrancesKellerto Brackenridge one night after catchingChristy crying in the bathroom. Mouw testifiedthat he tested for semen and foundnone, but that he did find “what appeared tobe lacerations” on Christy’s hymen.Mouw told us in 2009 that he learned laterthat what he saw was likely not an injury. In anaffidavit filed with Keller’s writ, Mouw elaborates:“Years after the trial, I attended a medicalseminar which included a slide presentationof hymens with normal variants,” Mouwwrote. “One slide of a normal hymen was sosimilar to what I had observed when I examinedChristy, I realized I had mistakenly identifiednormal discontinuity at those locationsLegeLines› BUdGET BLUES RETURn Democrats and education advocates are furious after Republicans filed statebudgets reinforcing spending cuts passed in 2011, despite Comptroller Susan Combs’ forecast projectingincreased state revenues over the next two years. On Jan. 14, House Appropriations Chair Jim Pittsfiled House Bill 1, a draft budget with $89.2 billion in general revenue spending for 2014-15, though theCenter for Public Policy Priorities calculates it will take at least $97.2 billion just to maintain currentservices. Senate Bill 1, as presented by Senate Finance Committee Chair Tommy Williams, R-TheWoodlands, is even worse, allocating $174 million less. The CPPP blasted both proposals for leaving $6billion in forecast revenue unallocated – a worrying sign when Gov. Rick Perry has said he wants more taxcuts. Both HB 1 and SB 1 would cover enrollment growth for schools, but would not restore the $500-perstudentcut passed last session. Texas AFT President Linda Bridges drily commented, “The best that canbe said for today’s initial spending plans is that they are just the starting point, not the ending point.”› PoinT oF oRdER The House finally adopted its new rules on Jan. 14, with yet more defeats for TeaPartiers. The hardliners failed to pass amendments that would tie the hands of committee chairs bycreating new paths to fast-track controversial bills out of committee. However, Rep. Phil King,R-Weatherford, found support to rewrite points of order, meaning bills could no longer be derailed justbecause of small technical and grammatical errors. In a genius flourish of political ju-jitsu, King remindedDemocrats that this would be a return to the 1990s rules of Democratic Speaker Pete Laney.› HURRY UP And WAiT Both House and Senate are out until Wednesday, Jan. 23. When they return, the toporder of business will be the drawing of Senate terms. Because of redistricting, all Senate seats werecontested in last November’s election. However, since they are held for staggered four-year terms, with halfthe seats on the ballot every two years, senators have to draw balls to see who gets the full four years andwho will be running for re-election in 2014. While no one wants to pull a two-year term, ambitious lawmakerseying higher office in 2014, like governor or attorney general, are much more likely to risk a statewiderun if they know their senate seat will still safely be there for them if they lose. – Richard Whittakeras lacerations. … While my testimony wasbased on my good-faith belief at that time, Inow realize my conclusion is not scientificallyor medically valid, and that I was mistaken.”Furthermore, Hampton argues that Austinpolice failed to reveal not only to Keller’sdefense counsel, but also to prosecutors,that “evidence” they had that graves hadbeen disturbed at a small private cemeterynear the Kellers’ home was false.In court, police testified extensively aboutusing an infrared-equipped helicopter tosee below the surface of the Oliver Cemetery.“Devotion by the police of so many of itsinvestigative resources toChristy’s cemetery-related”abuse claims “lent her fantasiesthe imprimatur of officialcredence,” reads the writ. Butwhat police failed to mentionwas that the cemetery caretaker,Frances Balta, told policein 1991 that there was no evidencethat any graves in thecemetery had been disturbedat all, and that there were perfectlynatural reasons that severalgraves appeared disturbed,such as erosion or theaddition of new dirt to a sinking plot.The failure to inform anyone about theperfectly innocent explanation for the “disturbed”grave sites amounts to a Bradyviolation (the duty of the state to turn overevidence favorable to the defense, per the1963 U.S. Supreme Court case styled Bradyv. Maryland), Hampton argues in the writ.Moreover, he says, the “use of false or misleadingevidence to convict” constitutes aviolation of Keller’s due process rights.Hampton also argues that the state’s ritualabuse “expert,” Noblitt, actually manipulatedprosecutors in order to further hiscareer, and more pointedly, to bolster hiscontention that satanic ritual abuse is notonly real, but also widespread. Reads thewrit: “The prosecutors likely were unawarethey were working with no expert, but a witnessbetter described as a man with a doctorateand fantastical theories of reality.” Nocourt and “no jury should ever rely on thetestimony of Dr. Noblitt,” Hampton wrote.“No person should be sent to prison basedin any way on his fringe, self-promoting,and imaginary expertise. The admission ofhis quack testimony was egregious error.”Ultimately, Hampton argues that theadvancements in medical science, the Bradyviolation, and Noblitt’s “quackery” underminewhatever confidence one might have had inKeller’s conviction. “When viewed in its totalityand with clarity of mind, the evidence andcircumstances involved in the prosecution ofFran Keller leads to the conclusion that she isinnocent and became the unfortunate magnetfor the hysteria of her time,” reads thewrit. “A 21st century ought to be able to recognizea 20th century witch-hunt, and renderjustice accordingly.” – Jordan SmithRead the full version of this story online ataustinchronicle.com/news.j a n a b i r c h u m(512)450-11213707 Kerbey LaneAustin H Texas 78731www.franzettijewelers.coma u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m JANUARY 18, 2013 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E 17

VOTED BESTKING CAKE5 YEARS476.0060 • 120 EAST 7THKING CAKE!Mardi Gras Seasonbegins: Jan. 6Mardi Gras: Feb. 12LINK2ND graf, “Dec. 21, 2012”http://www.austinchroni-cle.com/news/2012-12-21/aisd-idea-down-travisheights-up/SingNEWSOne, three, or none: Those are the optionsfor new single-sex schools facing <strong>Austin</strong> ISD.But with a board vote on the issue coming upJan. 28, there’s little sign of consensus.Many thought the district’s two plans – turningPearce and Garcia into single-sex middleschools serving most of East <strong>Austin</strong>, and aseparate proposal to open a boys’ academyfunded in part by the Moody Foundation –died after they dropped off December’s votefor the 2013 Annual Academic and FacilitiesRecommendations (see “AISD: IDEA Down,Travis Heights Up,” Dec. 21, 2012). However,Board President Vince Torres had simplypulled them back for further discussion, andAISD board members attheir Dec. 17 meetingBoard Discord on Single-Sex Schoolsj o h n a n D e r s o nhe’s now asking his fellow trustees to considerthem for the 2014-2015 school year.Single-sex advocates point to the success ofthe all-girl Ann Richards School for YoungWomen Leaders. However, there’s a big differencebetween gender-segregating an entireneighborhood and Ann Richards, an application-onlycampus that trustees increasinglyconcede is a magnet school.District 1 Trustee Cheryl Bradley arguesthat sex-segregating Pearce and Garcia will createsafe havens for prepubescent minority kids.At-Large Position 8 Trustee Gina Hinojosa proposeda compromise: Place the Moody boys’school on a District 1 campus, and give neighborhoodkids priority admission. But theMoody Foundation doesn’t want exceptionsto its admissions policy, and Bradley vehementlydoes not want a Moody school in herdistrict, claiming the bad blood over the magnetprogram at Kealing Middle School andthe embedded Liberal Arts and ScienceAcademy at LBJ High proves that suchembedded schools-within-schools do notwork. She said, “You can feel the inferiorityas soon as you walk in.”Torres argues against melding the two proposals,calling them “apples and oranges”that are intended to solve different problems.District 7 Trustee Robert Schneider – nofriend of radical reform – has argued that thelack of a male analog to Ann Richards leavesthe district open to discrimination suits. Torres,who attended the Naval Academy backwhen it was all-male, said the longer the districtwaits, “the case gets stronger and stronger.”But there are two larger questions. First,whether single-sex education has any specialmerit – an idea hotly contended by many educationexperts – and secondly, whether thecommunity wants it. AISD conducted a phonesurvey between Nov. 29 and Dec. 4, and supportfor single-sex schools among District 1families was tepid. Only 45% of neighborhoodfamilies polled supported the concept, andonly 32% said they would consider sendingtheir kids to a single-sex campus. Moreover,56% of African-American respondents said theyactively oppose Brad ley’s plan. District 5Trustee Amber Elenz said that, as it is earlyin the process, there is plenty of opportunityfor AISD to do outreach to improve those numbers.However, while Super intendent MeriaCarstarphen argued that “there is interest,”she warned, “I don’t think there is overwhelmingsupport for the design.” – Richard WhittakerLINKS:“City Council 10-1 districtingprocess” [http://www.austintexas.gov/department/10-one]2nd paragraph: “comments posted”-- [http://trustaustin.org/agrscomments-to-the-auditors-draftinterpretative-guidelines/]10-1, Step One:Finding CommissionersThough it had been scheduled to end last week, just before thatdeadline the city auditor’s office extended the public comment periodon the city’s new City Council 10-1 redistricting process toWednesday, Jan. 16. City Auditor Kenneth Mory noted that thiscould be done without impacting the broader timeline – so why notget as much public input as possible?<strong>Austin</strong>ites for Geographic Represent a tion already had its commentsposted and available for public viewing. <strong>The</strong> group not onlyspearheaded the 10-1 campaign, it also wrote the charter amendmentthat will govern the formation of the independent CitizensRedistricting Commission – the group ultimately responsible fordrawing district lines. AGR has also formed an advisory committeeto monitor the process. Last week, the group sent a nine-page letterto the city auditor’s office, suggesting four changes to the currentinterpretation of the law.Most significantly, the letter calls for the voting requirement toinclude May and Nov em ber elections in tallying whether applicants tothe districting commission have voted in the last three out of five“City of <strong>Austin</strong> general elections” – charter language that could beconstrued to mean only the May municipal contests. Roger Borgelt,Travis County Republican Party vice chairman and co-chair of the AGRAdvisory Committee, explained, “AGR intended to include those[November] elections. … We want to make sure that the people whovoted for CD 10-1 are getting a chance to participate in the processof drawing district lines.”j o h n a n D e r s o nTwo <strong>Austin</strong>itescheck out a mapof the city at anOctober rally infavor of 10-1.But will they? In its letter, AGR cites an analysis done by OpinionAnalysts that estimates this change would just about double the poolof qualified applicants (from 35,418 residents to 68,627.) <strong>The</strong> reportalso shows a potentially troubling lack of diversity in the pool – forexample, a pool of Hispanic voters that is about 10% if only May electionsare counted, and just under 12% if both elections are counted.(<strong>The</strong> effects of other criteria remain to be seen.)AGR’s letter also calls for the panel of aud itors to ensure that theapplicant pool reflects the diversity of <strong>Austin</strong>, that party precinctchairs be qualified to serve, and that the three auditors (who willassess the applicants for the CRC) be paid for their services.Mory said that he had seen the letter, and that he was “still consideringsome of the points on there.” He anticipates some changes,but declined to get into particulars during the public comment period.– Elizabeth Pagano16 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E JANUARY 18, 2013 a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m

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