Subject:

Texas Department of Public Safety

  • Blogs

    February 9, 2012

    Kaleem Stephens: Tells Undercover Cop of Plans to Rob Armored Car with "Bin Laden-Style Gun"

    Kaleem Stephens and his colleagues had big plans. They were going to knock over an armored car, with the help of some employees on the inside. The take would be about $250,000. The plans included Stephens using what he called "a Bin Laden-style gun" on the driver which, evidence showed, apparently ... More >>

  • News

    October 27, 2011

    Sex & the Coach

    Cops say she raped, sexted 14-year-old girl

  • Blogs

    October 18, 2011

    Magazine Publisher: LGBT Caucus Prez Threatened Me

    A disagreement over Ellen Cohen​The publisher of abOUT magazine, which targets Houston's gay community, has accused the president of the GLBT Political Caucus of making threats against his safety. So who are the players? The publisher is Michael Lance Williams, better known as Cade Michals. H ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 14, 2011

    DPS: The Mexican Drug Cartels Are Coming After Texas High Schoolers

    They're coming for your high schoolers.​The Texas Department of Public Safety issued a warning today to state residents that didn't sound at all alarming; it just mentioned that "the Mexican Cartels are Recruiting Texas High School Students." Yes, those innocent kids you blithely send off to ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 20, 2011

    Drive Carefully, Texas: One of Four Trucks On The Road Are Violating Safety Regs

    Maybe safe. Probably is. Yeah, probably​The Texas Department of Public Safety has wrapped up its latest "Roadcheck" campaign, where they flood the highways with inspectors and pull over trucks willy-nilly. Almost 8,000 trucks were stopped and inspected in a 72-hour period, and the results wer ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 10, 2011

    River Battle on the Rio Grande: The Aftermath, On Video

    The Texas Department of Public Safety has released this snippet of raw video from the maybe-not-so-epic shootout on the Rio Grande yesterday. It shows the drug-filled inflatable raft, but the best shot is four U.S. boats, proudly and meacingly facing towards Mexico. Take that, drug cartels! Meanwh ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 12, 2011

    The 10 Hottest Women On The Texas Sex Offenders List

    You probably would not be too surprised to learn that the vast majority of people in the Texas Department of Public Safety's sex offender list are male. And most are not good-looking. But there are females on there, too. Most of them are not good-looking, true, but who takes a good mugshot besides ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 29, 2011

    Donna Crites: Probation for Mom Who Gave 200 Jell-O Shots to Teens

    Donna Crites: Jello shots for the kids.​Mom of the year candidate Donna Crites, of the town of Hutto just north of Austin, was sentenced to three years probation on Thursday after pleading guilty last month to five counts of providing alcohol to a minor. One of those minors later crashed her c ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 4, 2011

    No Mexico? No Problem! Five (Very Lame) Spring Break Alternatives

    The Texas Department of Public Safety has strongly warned Spring Breakers from going to Mexico. whether it's one of the famous tourist cities or the border towns that for years have attracted college students. What's a person to do with their free time if they can't cross over to a magical land whe ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 3, 2011

    DPS's Driver Responsibility SALE-A-Bration: No One's Taking Them Up on Their Great Deal Offer

    Act NOW!!​As we told you in January, the Texas Department of Public Safety is offering a great deal for people who've gotten behind on the various fees that come with DWI and other offenses -- just pay 10 percent of what you owe, and you can get your license back. That's 90 PERCENT OFF, peopl ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 1, 2011

    DPS Warns the Three People Thinking of Going to Mexico Border Towns for Spring Break Not To

    A classic goin' to Mexico movie, without the cartels​The Texas Department of Public Safety has told Spring Break revelers they shouldn't go into border towns in Mexico, leading to the question: Were people actually planning to go into Mexican border towns this Spring Break? Apparently so. DPS ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 15, 2010

    DPS To Recruit, Use, Possibly Brainwash Schoolkids

    Everyone's an informant​A shocking program by the Texas Department of Public Safety will transform young, impressionable schoolkids into snitches who just might get their own parents arrested, DPS spokeswoman Tela Mange has confirmed to Hair Balls.Not in so many words, to be sure, but the implicat ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 1, 2010

    DPS Tells Falcon Lake Jet-Skiers To Stay On The U.S. Side If They Value Their Lives

    There be pirates on the border​The Texas Department of Public Safety has issued a warning telling people who jet-ski on Falcon Lake, which is divided by the U.S.-Mexico border, to stay the hell on the American side.David Michael Hartley, 30, was shot yesterday afternoon and is believed to be dead. ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 21, 2010

    There's a One In Four Chance The Truck Behind You Has Got Crappy Brakes

    Kris Kristofferson's abs & Ali MacGraw's hair don't care about no DPS crackdown​The Texas Department of Public Safety has wrapped up its latest crackdown on truck inspections, and the news isn't good, if you enjoy things like surviving trips on the interstate.About 25 percent of the trucks DPS ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 17, 2010

    Gil Costas: Fired BARC Whistleblower Gets $70K From The City

    Photo by blue_sharpieThis guy's got questions​Houston City Council members Wednesday approved a $70,000 settlement with a former Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care veterinarian who filed a whistleblower suit against the city in 2009.Gil Costas was fired in February 2009 for what a BARC spokesper ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 30, 2010

    Criminal-Background Checks Delayed In Texas Due To Census

    ​As if that damn census wasn't so bad already, what with their nonsensical questions and such, now comes word that the Texas Department of Public Safety is going to have to put on hold criminal-background checks because of it.The FBI is going to be so busy doing fingerprint checks on 484,000 prosp ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 31, 2009

    Former BARC Vet Sues City Over His Firing

    ​Veterinarian Gil Costas, fired from the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care last February for an alleged registration violation, has sued the City under the Texas Whistleblower Act.Filed today, the suit accuses the city of "trying to hurriedly squelch Dr. Costas and discredit him" after Costa ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 7, 2009

    DPS Will Recruit You With Its Really Keen Graphics

    Get ready for some highway excitement from the DPS!!As part of a new recruitment campaign, the agency is painting seven of its vehicles with detailed images of troopers in action. Recruiters will drive them to appearances around the state."These vehicles will be rolling billboards for DPS, featuring ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 22, 2009

    More BARC News: The Hammer Comes Down On Two Vets

    Photo by maarjaara The Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners has fined BARC Chief Veterinarian Eunice Ohashiegbula and former BARC vet David Rundell for violating U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and Texas Veterinary Licensing Act requirements. In Texas, veterinarians who dispense cont ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 22, 2009

    An Interview With The New Head Of BARC: This Time, Things Really, Really Will be Fixed. Really

    Photo by Craig MalisowAs BARC's new bureau chief, Ray Sim has his work cut out for him. He now heads an organization that has historically resisted change and ostracized volunteers who have made claims of cruel conditions, with the full support of an administration and city council that believes the ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 27, 2009

    No Vets At BARC, And A Struggle To Get The Story Straight

    Photo by bf_photosGetting a veterinarian to work weekends at the animal control facility for the nation's fourth-largest city is a real pain.Take Saturday. No vet showed up, even though, according to Health & Human spokesperson Kathy Barton, the city had arranged for a relief vet through a temp ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 7, 2009

    City Still Hiding BARC Documents, Despite AG's Ruling

    Photo by Daniel KramerAs Hair Balls has previously noted, the City of Houston apparently doesn't want its citizens knowing what's going on at the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care. For the past few months, advocates concerned for the health and safety of the more than 20,000 animals BARC processe ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 27, 2009

    Not Your Usual Doctor's-License Suspension (This One Includes a 107 MPH Cop Chase)

    Hair Balls reads many Texas Medical Board notices of license suspensions, and they usually involve doctors keeping poor records or maybe popping a few pills. But Thursday's announcement of the suspension of Victoria doctor Shirley Pigott's license was in a league of its own.Pigott has had a long-sta ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 4, 2009

    BARC's Firing Of Vet Doesn't Add Up

    On Tuesday, Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care veterinarian Gil Costas was fired for what Health and Human Services Department spokeswoman Kathy Barton said was not having proper state certification.Barton said Costas did not have "site-specific" Texas Department of Public Safety controlled-su ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 3, 2009

    DPS Officer Finds Magic Bus Full of Marijuana

    The Texas Department of Public Safety has sent out a release, bragging about its latest haul. On Saturday a DPS officer saw...oh, man, that's a lot of weed. Just look at that shit. It's an entire school bus, filled with bricks. Wow. Found on US 59 in Webb County, the 560 bundles weighed 9,210 p ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 3, 2009

    Much-Loved Veterinarian Fired by BARC

    Photo by Daniel KramerGil Costas, a part-time veterinarian at Houston's Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care, was fired today for lack of state-mandated certification, Houston Health and Human Services Spokeswoman Kathy Barton told Hair Balls. The news was originally broken by Nicole Sica, editor o ... More >>

  • News

    January 29, 2009

    BARC Sucks

    The city's animal shelter just can't get its act together

  • News

    December 18, 2008

    Hispanics Delivered by Border Midwives Are Having Trouble Getting U.S. Passports

    Post-9/11 worries target South Texas

  • Blogs

    December 2, 2008

    Possible Loophole To Get Out Of Those Red-Light Camera Tickets

    A Dallas judge has ruled that the company operating that city's red-light cameras violated state law by operating without a private investigation license. So what's the big deal?Well, American Traffic Solutions, the Arizona-based company that operates the cameras in Houston, isn't licensed in Texas ... More >>

  • News

    October 30, 2008

    Pleasure, Brains and K.A. Paul

    A Dallas judge has ruled that the company operating that city's red-light cameras violated state law by operating without a private investigation license. So what's the big deal?Well, American Traffic Solutions, the Arizona-based company that operates the cameras in Houston, isn't licensed in Texas ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 27, 2008

    Drunk Drivers: Here's The Person Who's Giving You Hope

    A Dallas judge has ruled that the company operating that city's red-light cameras violated state law by operating without a private investigation license. So what's the big deal?Well, American Traffic Solutions, the Arizona-based company that operates the cameras in Houston, isn't licensed in Texas ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 15, 2008

    They Stayed In The Flagship Hotel -- And Survived

    A Dallas judge has ruled that the company operating that city's red-light cameras violated state law by operating without a private investigation license. So what's the big deal?Well, American Traffic Solutions, the Arizona-based company that operates the cameras in Houston, isn't licensed in Texas ... More >>

  • News

    May 22, 2008

    Truck Drivers Falter Under the Weight of High Fuel Prices

    The rising price of diesel hits independent owner/operators the hardest

  • News

    February 14, 2008

    Mescaline on the Mexican Border

    Texas is the only state in the country where peyote is sold legally. Really.

  • News

    September 13, 2007

    Cold Case

    Woman found dead 17 years ago in Manvel remains unidentified

  • Blogs

    February 22, 2007

    There Are Some Real Creeps on That Site

    Woman found dead 17 years ago in Manvel remains unidentified

  • Blogs

    February 1, 2007

    Truth in Advertising

    Woman found dead 17 years ago in Manvel remains unidentified

  • News

    January 18, 2007

    Car Trouble

    A new Honda is ticketed for expired registration…of a 1982 Chevy Blazer

  • News

    July 6, 2006

    Bad Checks

    Sure you can ferret out the slimeballs in our midst? Guess again if you're relying on standard background searches in Texas

  • News

    February 5, 2004

    Free-Fire Zone

    Interrupt a sheriff's deputy's beer? Prepare for a hailstorm of lead!

  • News

    September 18, 2003

    Soldiers of Misfortune

    Ranch Rescue finds its welcome mat withdrawn

  • News

    March 27, 2003

    Letters

    Ranch Rescue finds its welcome mat withdrawn

  • News

    April 12, 2001

    Zeroing In

    So the DPS doesn't play favorites with VIPs? Just check out their licenses.

  • News

    March 29, 2001

    Hotze's Blue Angels

    Not-so-divine DWI help arrives for a conservative kingmaker

  • Best of Houston

    September 21, 2000

    Best Local Song About Drivin'

    "Supercop," by the Road Kings

  • News

    June 29, 2000

    A Yenne for Your Thoughts

    Brazoria's D.A. raises privacy issues over DPS emissions tests

  • News

    January 7, 1999

    Up To Date on '98

    Brazoria's D.A. raises privacy issues over DPS emissions tests

  • News

    December 3, 1998

    D.on't

    P.olice S.emis?

  • News

    July 30, 1998

    An Open But Shut Case

    Paul Beauchamp's death was ruled a homicide. So why isn't the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office investigating?

  • News

    December 18, 1997

    Justice Lost -- and Found

    Austin police may finally file charges in the death of courts activist Donna Ringoringo

  • More >>
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