Mission Impossible

If this works in the interest of public health, it's not clear how.
Conversely, however, being six months or a year behind schedule and ignoring the highest-risk establishments for months on end hardly benefits the public, either.

At this point, however, it appears to be an either-or proposition. No new staff positions are on the board for the foreseeable future, according to Tannis. "I guess I could say it wouldn't hurt if we had another five or six sanitarians in the field," he says. "Of course it wouldn't hurt. [But] I want to make sure we're getting all the work we're supposed to be getting with what we have."

To reach Bob Burtman, e-mail him at bob_burtman@houstonpress.com.