The Insider

Oh, Donna
From a legal standpoint, you couldn't call it the best of years for Wayne Dolcefino, and it's not getting any better: he was recently named in a paternity suit filed by Donna Lynnese Hull. The 36-year-old woman claims the leader of Channel 13's Undercover Pack is the father of her eight-month-old son, and she's asking state District Court Judge Annette Galik to establish Dolcefino's parenthood and order him to make child support payments. Hull also is requesting that the judge enjoin Dolcefino from communicating with her in a "profane, obscene or indecent" manner and "knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury" to her or her child.

Dolcefino says he won't dignify the accusations with a comment. "Just part of being on TV," he says breezily. "If you guys are low enough to print this, then go for it, buddy." Meanwhile, the Emmy-winning reporter is still awaiting a municipal court trial early next year on a misdemeanor assault charge brought by Donna Kresch, a La Porte woman who claims Dolcefino forcibly kissed and fondled her after he had brought her home to his Montrose townhouse from The Pig "Live"! nightclub. There's more in common between the two legal actions than the women's first names. The attorney for the 38-year-old Dolcefino in both cases is pal and fellow hack musician state Representative Ron Wilson.

Hull is being represented by lawyer Ray Shackelford. You may recall that Shackelford was one of three principals in Bayou City Enterprises, the minority-owned firm that had a piece of a city ticket-collection contract held by redundantly named private eye Peary Perry's Municipal Collections Inc. Dolcefino and Channel 13 are appealing a judge's order that Dolcefino must testify about what role Perry played in the leaking of a damaging story on 1991 mayoral contender Sylvester Turner. Hey, who says Houston isn't really a little bitty Texas town where everybody knows everybody?

You Should Be So Lucky
UH System Chancellor Alex Schilt is on his way out, but some of his employees may hit the street ahead of him -- and with considerably thinner cushions. As Schilt notified his minions by letter last week, "the System is intensifying its efforts to better manage our resources by providing the necessary services at less cost ... it is likely that some of the changes recommended to meet this budgetary goal will involve reductions in work force." The victims will be notified on Friday.

One option for the future that the UH rank-and-file probably won't have is the one Schilt is asking the system's regents to approve this week for himself: a year's paid leave at his annual chancellor's salary of $186,759. Schilt closed his missive to the staff with a clever line: "We very much regret that anyone will be put in that position. There is no escaping, however, the mandate to demonstrate progress in our responsive reshaping." Well, he should know.

Dave's Destination
Dave Walden, mayor Bob Lanier's co-chief of staff, is set to become Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's state office director in Houston, but there's one delay: Walden, an aide to County Judge Jon Lindsay before he joined Lanier's staff, is waiting to see if the mayor draws a serious opponent for the November 7 election. If it's Bob and a mixed assortment of nobodies, Walden will bail out after the late September filing deadline. If a serious opponent enters the race, he'll stay through Election Day.

The Insider was assembled for your reading pleasure by Tim Fleck. He can be reached at 624-1483 or 624-1496 (fax).