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DAILY NZ P A G E 1A C O L O R CMYK P U B D A T E 07-09-02 O P E R A T O R CCI D A T E 07/08/02 T I M E 23:57

DAILY NZ P A G E 1A C O L O R CMYK P U B D A T E 07-09-02 O P E R A T O R CCI D A T E 07/08/02 T I M E 23:57

From theSan AntonioExpress-Newsand KENS 5. Get personalizednews and information.

S E R V I N G S O U T H T E X A S S I N C E 1 8 6 5

Todays WeatherChance of storms

High 95, Low 74

Full weather report, Page 8C INDEXBusiness 1E Deaths 4B Movies 3D Sports 1C

Classifieds 1F Editorials 6B Puzzles 8D Stocks 4E

Comics 6D Metro/State 1B S.A. Life 1D TV listings 5D

137th year, No. 279,52 pages. Entirecontents copyright2002, San AntonioExpress-News.This newspaper isrecyclable.

D

Pilot received contradictory messages just before collision / 7A

50

TUESDAYJULY 9, 2002 METRO EDITION

Natures waySan Antonians celebrateNude Recreation WeekS.A. Life/1D

Clock at :00?Terry Porter weighinglimited career optionsSports/1C

BY KARISA KING

EXPRESS-NEWS STAFF WRITER

The San Antonio Police De-partment lacks more than 1,500officers to be on par with othernational cities with similarcrime rates, a new study com-missioned by police union offi-cials shows.

Of the 29 cities included inthe analysis, San Antonio

Released last week to cityleaders as they head into con-tract negotiations with theunion later this month, the re-port portrays the departmentas an anemic police force thathas failed to keep pace with thegrowing population over thepast 10 years.

Union officials hope thestudy will add momentum totheir most persistent and con-

tentious claim that the de-partments ranks are danger-ously thin, as evidenced by fall-ing arrest rates.

In March, the FBI rejectedthe departments clearancerates because they were too farbelow the national average.

But police administratorsdispute the study and contend

ranks second to last for thenumber of police employeesand officers compared to thesize of the population.

We need to acknowledgethat a staffing problem existsonce and for all, said Rene Ro-driguez, president of the SanAntonio Police Officers Associ-ation. Were hearing from adifferent source now that wehave a problem.

Study says SAPD understaffedPolice union commissioned analysis

EXPRESS-NEWS GRAPHIC

San Antonio has the lowest number of police officers per100,000 population among major Texas cities.*

Police staffing

Source: Crime Control Research Corp.

*Cities with a population of more than 500,000 and facing similar crime risks.

Houston

283.1

Dallas

255.7

Fort Worth

224.4

Austin

185.8 171.1

El Paso San Antonio

163.1

See STUDY/5A

BY DEBORAH KONG

ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOUSTON An NAACP re-port inspired by the 2000 presi-dential election, when thou-sands of minority voters bal-lots didnt count, has found thatmost states have made littleprogress in reforming their

election sys-tems.

Six states re-

ceived failinggrades in anNAACP reportreleased Mon-day, thoughsome officialsimmediately

disputed the findings. Thestates that received an F wereDelaware, North Dakota, Penn-sylvania, Tennessee, Texas andVermont. Florida, where the re-sults of the 2000 presidentialrace remained in dispute for

more than a month, got a D.It was disappointing to look

at the grades of some of the

states knowing they could bebetter, NAACP PresidentKweisi Mfume said.

Many states have been wait-ing in vain for the federal gov-ernment to make the first moveon election reform, he notedduring a news conference atthe annual convention of theNational Association for theAdvancement of Colored Peo-ple.

Texas flunks election reformNAACP survey reveals

most states havent

improved much.

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See TEXAS/6A

MFUME

BY AMY DORSETT

EXPRESS-NEWS STAFF WRITER

As a sunny sky aided inspections inrain-swollen South Texas on Monday,

the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency declared an additional 11 coun-ties national disaster areas, boostingthe tally to 24.

Damage estimatesare slowly trickling in,and Gov. Rick Perrysaid the flood damagecould reach $1 billionacross the state. Thatwould be greater atleast fiscally thanthe October 1998 flood-ing that killed 31 andcaused almost $800 million in damage.

This flood is going to have an im-pact for some time to come, said Perry,who was in San Antonio on Monday totour the Woodlawn Lake area hit hardby flooding last week.

Its going to be substantial.The 11 counties declared disaster ar-

eas Monday were Brown, Caldwell,Eastland, Frio, Goliad, Gonzales,Karnes, La Salle, Real, Taylor and Wil-son. The designation means residentsand businesses can qualify for federalaid.

Perry requested Sunday that 17 coun-ties be added to the list. More countiesstill could be added, FEMA spokesmanDavid Passey said.

Additional counties can be addedon, particularly as floodwaters proceed

11 more

countiesdeclareddisasters

FLOOD OF 2002

KEVIN GEIL/STAFF

Bill Miller starts to remove debris that was caught in his home on Rio Drive inNew Braunfels. He was cleaning up Monday from last weeks flooding. Miller

bought the property and built his home in 2001. He had only minor damage in-side. While many cleaned up, some kept an eye on a storm brewing in the gulf.

BY MARO ROBBINS

EXPRESS-NEWS STAFF WRITER

A judge issued an order Mon-day keeping the door open forlocal voters to decide whetherthe city subsidizes a luxurioustourist attraction over the envi-ronmentally sensitive EdwardsAquifer recharge zone.

U.S. DistrictJudge FredBierys ruling

temporarily for-bids city offi-cials from mov-ing forwardwith the con-tentious propos-al to create atax-subsidized

golf resort over land that iscrucial to the citys water sup-ply.

The restraining order freezesthe PGA Village project at leastuntil Wednesday, when the City

Council is scheduled to acceptthe PGA referendum petitions.

Once thats done, the council

must either rescind its supportof the development or let itsfate be settled by a public refer-endum.

Buffeted by months of ardentdebate, two rounds of laboriouspetitioning and, so far, one civillawsuit, the project has polar-ized groups focused on econom-ic development, the environ-ment and, most recently, mi-nority voting rights.

Judge freezes resort projectRestraining order

closes loophole in City

Charter to block a vote.

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See JUDGE/5A

VILLAGE

PGA

DE BA T E

BY GARY MARTIN

EXPRESS-NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON Texas lawmakersurged the Bush administration Mondayto assess the integrity of South Texasdams and bridges that have withstoodtwo record-breaking floods in four years.

Last weeks storm, which droppedmore than 30 inches of rain on portions

of South Texas, sending rivers cascading

out of their banks and forcing the evac-uation of more than 48,000 residents, alsounderscores the need for additional damsto be built, said Reps. Ciro Rodriguez andLamar Smith.

There is no doubt that after all is saidand done, we need to ask the Corps ofEngineers to assess the dams andbridges, said Rodriguez, D-San Antonio.

Most of those bridges and dams goback to the Roosevelt days. We need toreinvest.

Perry says damage costs

could reach $1 billion.

D

Congressmen wantarea dams inspected

2 record-breaking floods in

4 years raise concerns.

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See LAWMAKERS/5A

BAHRAM MARK SOBHANI/STAFF

Gov. Rick Perry talks to Roman and Hilda Mendoza at their home. Perry wastouring flood damage in the Woodlawn Lake area Monday. See 11 MORE/4A

Farmers andranchers arereeling/1E

Storms slowfreight/1E

Mosquitoesbecoming amenace/1B