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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1994)
September s race i friendly see ... Governs aunch untrue perso: on my family and m ireer,” Bush said aid said the Bin ’s advertising hs listorted” Richard find their shock hei using,” he said, r radio ad campaign says rnor” has broug! to East Texas, win s Bush over proper ■rring to a lawsuit owners over acquis operty for The Bai lington complex, ,er spot says, in pa; W. Bush says he's y rights. Says he d« re government coirii 1 ring your land aw , to the private prop in Arlington, Texas ho had the misfortr: veen George W. Bu: ruck." said the Rangers t downers have npensated for the they have a right led, “If Ann Richar: le people of Arlingt: nppy with The should go to Arlingt! he people there thf vrong way” in appro ney for the facility voters timistic s numerous assail! pay for more ind funds social pro ent crime. Id have voted e Republicans' ght basketball leapi s one of former Pres ight, as hypocrisyd tion’s sake.” 1 Democrats' new* lation is to tellfe t of gridlock. You ate lenger also saidhewas nd-raising letter Iff ra Bush touting “a il business person." afford a profession! meone who hasra ;d and paid taxes, is worked in his col so to speak,” the 11 r was about me. 1« ?r endorsement,” jc mire businessman, lalf of Bush’s son, ft iush, who is runniti in the gubernatori September 1, 1994 • Thursday Property owners sue Bush Suit charges gubernatorial candidate of coercion ARLINGTON (AP) — Prop erty owners fighting for control of land surrounding The Ball park in Arlington have sued Texas Rangers managing gen eral partner George W. Bush, other Rangers owners and the ball club’s law firm accusing them of conspiring to illegally obtain the land. The lawsuit, filed Friday in Harris County district court, ac cuses Bush and his Rangers partners of coercing the city of Arlington to condemn private property for ventures benefiting the Rangers. Bush, the Republican candi date for governor, has cam paigned in part on landowners rights. He owns 1.8 percent of the Rangers. Bush campaign spokesman Reggie Bashur referred com ments concerning the lawsuit to Rangers officials. Rangers president and limit ed partner Tom Schieffer, who also is named in the lawsuit, said Wednesday he had not yet seen the lawsuit, but dismissed it as a political ploy. “This is the silly season in politics, and George is running for governor. So I guess you kind of have to expect things like this because of his running for gover nor,” Schieffer said. “There certainly was no con spiracy,” he said. “We don’t have anything to be ashamed of. I think we built the finest facility in baseball, and 1 think people would agree with that.” Members of the Charles Robert Mathes family accuse the Rangers and the club’s law firm, Jackson & Walker, of violating fair business practices by con spiring to obtain their property. Jackson & Walker was repre senting both the Rangers and the Matheses when the city of Arlington began proceedings to acquire the land for the Rangers’ sports-entertainment complex, the suit says. The property owners contend the firm and the Rangers worked together to drive down offers to buy the land and coerce city officials to condemn the land for private use. Cities generally are autho rized to condemn land only for a public purpose. “(The Rangers) wanted to have a monopoly on that entire location and the only way for them to get the monopoly ... was to use their political power to change the law in Texas and use their political power to coerce the city to use this new law to condemn all of their competitors in the area,” said Glenn Sodd, a Corsicana attorney representing the landowners. “They used the threat of leav ing Arlington — a place we don’t think they ever intended to leave — to coerce city officials into giving up S135 million in taxpayer funds to induce them to stay in Arlington,” Sodd said. The lawsuit seeks an undis closed amount of actual and punitive damages. Messages left Wednesday at the public relations office of Jackson & Walker were not re turned. Jackson & Walker, based in Dallas, has offices in Houston. Rangers limited partner Ger ald Haddock, who worked at Jackson & Walker from 1990 to early 1994 and is named in the lawsuit, said he had not yet seen the lawsuit but that the allegations appeared to be un warranted. “I’m not familiar with the cur rent status of the proceedings, but based on my knowledge of the various transactions, the al legations are without merit,” Haddock said. The condemnation involves approximately 12 acres of land located just east of the new ballpark that the Rangers al ready have developed for park ing and other facilities. The city of Arlington and the Ar lington Sports Facilities Devel opment Authority filed suit to acquire the land in 1991. The landowners filed a counter claim in 1992 contend ing the condemnation was illegal because the land is for private use. That claim is pending in a Tarrant County court. City and Rangers officials ar gue that the complex will benefit the public, although an agree ment between the team and the city allows the Rangers to keep all revenues. Plans for the com plex include a 12,500-seat am phitheater, office buildings and a “riverwalk” featuring shops and restaurants. Even though the city will own the land, charging the Rangers up to $3.5 million a year, the agreement gives the team total control over its use. The agree ment also applies up to $1.5 mil lion of each year’s rent to an eventual purchase by the Rangers in as few as 12 years. Bush has made government control of private land an issue in the governor’s race, criticiz ing Democratic Gov. Ann Richards for changing her posi tion on federal control of sever al lakes in Texas. Richards ini tially supported federal inter vention, but has since said she opposes such a move. Richards spokesman Chuck McDonald said Wednesday the lawsuit shows Bush has been hypocritical in what he says on the campaign trail and how he conducts his personal business. “The irony here is really overwhelming,” McDonald said. “Here is the self-professed champion of property rights be ing sued over unfair condemna tion practices.” Bashur said there was a “day- and-night difference” between the issues surrounding the ball park and federal control of pri vate property. “If Gov. Richards has a prob lem with The Ballpark in Arling ton, she should visit the resi dents of that community and state so in a loud and clear voice,” he said. State audits TSU Findings include improperly alterecf athletic transcripts AUSTIN (AP) — A state audit of Texas Southern University re leased Wednesday said student athletes’ transcripts were improp erly altered apparently to make them eligible for athletic events. A review of 250 athlete tran scripts revealed five that con tained various improper alter ations, the report said. Among other findings, the audit also said the Houston uni versity had no plan to control hundreds of thousands of dol lars in athletic operating losses, and that it hadn’t fully imple mented all recommendations from an earlier state probe into its “Ocean of Soul'* band. The band, known for its showy dance routines, was dis mantled for a time in the wake of 1992 allegations that some members stole $22,000 worth of electronics during a trip to Tokyo. It later was revealed that one-fourth of the band members weren’t students. TSU’s response, which is in cluded in the state auditor’s re port, said the board of regents has worked diligently over the years to encourage university management “to effect neces sary changes in operations while maintaining a stable learning environment.” The university named in 1993 a new president, Joann Horton, who has made “sweep ing changes,” and an internal auditor was named this Febru ary, TSU said. The state audit evaluated uni versity management control sys tems in place as of this March. The university recently an nounces job cuts due to an antici pated budget shortfall, and au thorities have looked at its phar macy program following allega tions that students had been cheating on state licensing tests. The reported alteration of student athletes’ transcripts appears in a section of the au ditor’s report that says the reg istrar’s office hasn’t been prop erly managed. Allowing ineligible students to participate in athletic events would violate NCAA require ments, the report noted. Changing transcripts could be a criminal offense because state law forbids altering gov ernment records, said Mark Smock, who oversaw the audit. The state auditor’s investiga tion is continuing into who al tered the records, Smock said. He would not release the names of the students whose records were altered, and he wouldn’t say whether the matter had been referred to the Harris County district attorney’s office. District Attorney Johnny Holmes said, “The report, if and when we receive it, will be fol lowed through on.” Holmes said he would want to look further into the law be fore saying whether a university would be classified as a govern mental agency. Carrie Thompson/THF Battauon Book exhibit opens today Steve Smith, Head of the Special Collections Library, careful ly sets up a book exhibit in the J. Wayne Stark Gallery. The exhibit opens Thursday, September 1 and will run through Oc tober 16th. This particular book is an Ethiopian manuscript of the Book of John, dating from the fifteenth century. Sports Injuries For operative and non- operative conditions of the extremities. •Therapeutic exercise to restore range of motion and restore strength in the upper and lower extremity musculature. •Therapeutic massage for pain control and muscle relaxation. Sports o Back Clinic 2011 A. Villa Maria Bryan, Texas 77802 (409) 776-2225 ADULT VIDEO 603 Texas Ave., College Station Novelties, Gift Items, Books Magazines, Movies, Arcade, Theater, Movies $15 & up, 2 Day Movie Rentals Aadiet ‘TVdetune Open 24 Hours ^ 7 Days a Week. ^ I COUPON On Routine Cleaning, X-Rays and Exam (Regulady $76, With Coupon $44) Payment must be made at time of service. BRYAN COLLEGE STATION Jim Arents, DOS Dan Lawson, DDS Karen Arents, DDS Neal Kruger, DDS 1103 Villa Maria Texas Ave. at SW Pkwy. 268-1407 696-9578 CarePlus ^fit Dental Centers | Exp. 09-30-94 _ __ J HURRY, BUT KEEP YOUR PANTS ON! THIS 1$ THE LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER YOUR ORGANIZATION FOR THE MSC OPEN HOUSE! SPACE IS LIMITED!! DEADLINE: Sept. 6,1994 at 5:00 P.M. PRICE: $22 (For one table only) HOW: Reserve a table from 8-5 with Nancy Adams in the Student Programs Office, Rm 216 MSC. a.c j.l '-Tlr ro©vfl[B>i!(B> by Y®(ym umt-. 'Tfr THE MSC PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE ^ Word's „ g ,/t4 ( ft V AND WE WANT YOU TO WORK ON IT! Rudder Theatre Complex Needs Student Workers For Stagehand and Spotlight Work SOUND INTERESTING? Come to Rudder Auditorium Mon., Sept. 5, 7:00 pm COME SIGN UP! Nr Backstage Pass to the mATT/mDE GRAND OPENING SEPTEMBER 2 nd » qR£Arm&C • NO B.g.// Ladies Over 21 - NO COVER AWESOME Happy Hours: 7-10 p.m. 50# Drafts • $1.75 Pitchers • 75c Mixed Drinks M 00 CHUGGERS ALL NIGHT Open: Thursday, Friday and Saturday until 2 a.m.
