Today, the Mayor and the city council voted to continue the Safe-Clear program despite information that indicated 10-12% of the drivers may be violent felons and another 20% have criminal records. Michael Berry, who called into my show today, basically said he was not too concerned that these drivers were out there because he was confident the city would clean the situation up in a few days. This was quite arrogant considering Berry admitted that he had no idea of how many drivers had violent records or who they were. His confidence in the city to clean it up is rather shocking considering that they had promised that these drivers would undergo some of the toughest background checks ever conceived. (I have a tape of the Mayor making that claim on my show two weeks ago) (note: council members Wise and Gibbs voted to suspend the program)

However, even more outragious than the Mayor and the council continuing the program under these circumstances, is the fact that most of the media in Houston is ignoring the story. I think the people of Houston have a right to know about the potential danger; my brothers in the media apparently feel differently.

I watched the news last night and scanned the channels. I may have missed a short mention somewhere, but I did not see 13, 11 or 2 even mention the issue of criminals in the program. This story should have been the lead local story. The Chronicle did not even mention this side of the story in their article this morning. How is it that the media is refusing to report on what is clearly a story of public interest and a scandal at city hall?

The answer is troubling by any standard. One answer is they are unaware of the story and it’s potential danger to the citizens. The second answer is that they don’t want to make the Mayor mad at them because they preceive he will be Mayor for the next 5 years and don’t want to make him an enemy. The last reason, which I believe is the biggest reason they are burying the story, is really frightening; they are jealous that a competitor, Fox News 26, broke the story.

For the Chronicle and the other local TV stations to report this story they have to admit they missed it. (Channel 11 did do a small report after 26 on Tuesday) They do not want to give credit to a competitor. This is standard operating procedure in our industry. I have accused KPRC radio of this type of small mindedness by not supporting our effort on Prop 2, the Rain Tax, or most importantly, property taxes and appraisal caps. Under this type of reasoning if one TV station discoverd that a deadly virus was spreading across the city wiping out thousands, other stations would ignore the story. Remember, ratings and money come before the public interest. This story and the lack of coverage of it is a great example of why the public continues to lose faith in the media.

I hope that there are no incidents involving former criminals who are now drivers and the passengers they tow. If something does happen, God forbid, the city will be responsible and the Mayor and the cowardly council members who supported him, will be to blame.