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NEWS
THE BATTALION
Monday, June 18,1
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The Fantastico Chronicles BY J. GOLDFLUTE
Hearings scheduled after
mold lawsuits increased
CORPUS CHRISTI (AP) — Amid an
increasing number of mold lawsuits, the
Texas Department of Insurance has sched
uled a series of hearings to address how in
surers cover mold damage for homeowners
and others.
Insurance Commissioner Jose Mon-
temayor has scheduled a June 26 hearing in
Austin to address the issue'. Hearings in Cor
pus Christi and Houston are planned at a
later date.
Insurers are asking the agency to let them
exclude mold coverage from homeowner’s
policies because they are too expensive, said
Jerry Johns, a spokesman for the industry
group Southwestern Insurance Information
Service.
“Premiums in Texas are not sufficient to
support claims for toxic mold, and the costs
associated with determining mold and test
ing are extremely expensive,” Johns said.
According to the Insurance Information
Institute in New York, Texans already pay an
average of $879 annually for insurance,
nearly double the national average of $481.
Johns said a single mold claim can cost an
average of $10,000 in investigation and ad
ditional living expenses, and the amount
could rise to $30,000 if mold removal and
repair costs are included.
State Sen. Carlos Truan, D-Corpus
Christi, who requested a hearing in Corpus
Christi, said homeowners with mold damage
could be devastated if insurers get their way.
“This is an extremely important issue that
can cost people their life’s earnings, cause
them to lose their homes and their health,”
Truan said in Sunday’s Corpus Christi Caller-
Times.
Molds tend to thrive in moist and humid
climates, such as those along the Texas Gulf
Coast. Scientists say certain strains can be a
health hazard, but not all are toxic.
T here have been a flurry of recent law
suits regarding mold growth.
On Saturday, attorneys for some South
Texas educators seeking compensation for
damage caused by mold, mildew and other
contaminants reached a settlement with a
contractor which did plumbing and electrical
work on Memorial High School in Alamo.
In the settlement, Coastal Engineering
Inc. agreed to pay the Pharr-San Juan-
Alamo school district more than $3 million
to fix problems that allowed moisture to
creep into the $26 million structure and spur
mold growth.
And on June 1, a Travis County District
Court jury awarded a Dripping Springs fam
ily $32 million after finding that a subsidiary
of Farmers Insurance Group mishandled
the family’s homeowner’s claim for black
mold damage.
The jury said Farmers Insurance Ex
change committed fraud and failed to ade
quately and swiftly cover repairs for a water
leak, allowing the toxic mold stachybotrys
to overrun their 2 2-room mansion and dam
age their family’s health.
FBI investigates rape suspect
Man could be tied to series of
murders in the Midwest, Texas
PITTSBURGH (AP)
v*hether a truck driver accused
of raping a Pittsburgh woman is
tied to a series of murders in the
Midwest and Texas.
Law enforcement agencies
in the Midwest are working
with the FBI to determine if
Randall Bishop, 3 3, of Paoli,
Ind., is connected to six shoot
ing deaths along interstates 70
and 35, police in Indiana and
Missouri said.
Bishop is in the Allegheny
County Jail on a $100,000
bond after he was arrested for
allegedly raping a woman in a
Pittsburgh restaurant bath
room. Bishop faces charges
that include rape and involun
tary deviant sexual intercourse.
FBI Special Agent Bill Crow
ley, a spokesman for the FBI’s
office in Pittsburgh, said the
agency is working with law en
forcement groups in the Mid
west, but declined to say if there
is any evidence linking Bishop to
any murders.
St. Charles, Mo., homicide
detective Rich Plummer told the
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that his
U
There's a possibil
ity here, but I don't
know if this is the
right guy. It's very
early and this is an
old case. "
— Rich Plummer
detective
office is working with the FBI to
determine if there is evidence
linking Bishop to the 1992 mur
ders of five women and one man.
“(The) thing that sticks out is
his face. It’s his description, his
photograph, what we think our
killer looks like, his occupation
and other things I won’t elabo
rate on,” Plummer told the
newspaper. “There’s a possibili
ty here, but I don’t know if this
is the right guy. It’s very early
and this is an old case.”
Police also said they are in
vestigating whether there is any
evidence linking Bishop to oth
er unsolved murders in Texas,
Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and
Pennsylvania.
The six people who were shot
along the interstates were killed
with a .2 2-caliber weapon.
Their deaths* have been linked
through ballistic evidence.
Law enforcement officials
said they think the six deaths
could be related to three mur
ders in Texas in 1994, but they
do not have the evidence to
make a certain link.
Bishop is a truck driver for
R.B. Carriers Inc., of Jefferson
ville, Ind. Employees at the
company said the FBI contacted
them, looking for dispatching
and routing information.
Paoli, Ind., and Orange
County, Ind., police arrested
Bishop in 1998 for writing bad
checks.
But Paoli police Officer Matt
Gilmore said he was shocked
that Bishop was arrested for rape
in Pittsburgh.
“I’ve dealt with him a couple
of times and I thought he was a
real nice guy,” Gilmore said. “I
always thought he was really re
ligious. I remember when we ar
rested a buddy of his for drink
ing and assaulting a woman.
Bishop and a minister came
down and prayed for his soul.”
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Elections
Continued from Page 7
has also requested that each
group submit a summary of re
quirements for each position
within their organization. This
will help in providing informa
tion to students who are apply
ing for office.
The election process begins
when candidates gather for an
orientation held by the elections
committee.
This orientation is a general
meeting, and thus excludes the
specifics requirements of each
student group.
“The [elections commission]
Aggies
Continued from Page 7
background. Perry was visibly
pleased to see thousands of Ag
gies in the stands but was coy
when asked which team he was
rooting for.
ii
I kept telling the
commissioner how
important it was
that we do this.
That having the
two Texas teams
not playing each
other is like Texas
not playing Texas
AStM every year."
— Drayton McLane
Astros owner
“I’m rooting for the Texas
team to win,” he said with a grin.
“[Aggie Night] shows the
power of the Aggie Network,”
said Kim Trahan, a senior ac
counting major.
Trahan was with a large
group of Aggies sitting in the
third deck. Most were Astros
fans, except for Trey Clemens,
a senior accounting major and
focuses more on the actual ek
tion,” Jackson said.
In recent years, the coranii
sion has been more focused*
rules and regulations for nn
ning a fair election and less*
individual qualifications.
“We will now have the as
plication that [students] filloi:
and a clear statement say
that it is the student’s respon
hility to review the informatK
relative to grades, hours ar
qua 1 i fications,” he said. “We:
putting more responsibility:
all partners in this to make
that everyone is equally
formed about what their r
sponsibilities are.”
Rangers fan.
“T hey’re giving me a k
time,” he said, noting thatos
of his friends had told himt
Rangers would choke onepi:.
before 1 louston’s MoisesAl
hit a home run to give the Ast
the lead back.
Clemens would have diet
laugh, however; as the Ransr
rallied to win the game 12-9,
Most Aggies were impress
by Enron Field, but missedL
atmosphere of A&M’s w.
()lsen Baseball Field.
“T he fans are much motet:
here, but you can’t take the.k
out of us,” said Seth Marat);;
senior entomology major,.
Astros owner Dray:
McLane said he was thriller
finally have the two Tag
teams playing one anotk|
pointing to the record crow:
43,203 as proof of thestic:
of the Lone Star Series.
“I kept telling the com:®
sioner how important it was:
we do this. That having they
Texas teams not playing c
other was like Texas notplay:
Texas A&M every d
McLane said.
And wh a t d i d McLane, a E; ,
lor graduate, think of k
Night?
“We’ll take their money
time,” he said, laughing.
Texas Rar
pops up
pitcher V
Ra
Lone
T his
He
the
faced off
claim the
winner ol
ries. The
what fans
ready kne
give the I
Houste
the city’s
Execution
Continued from Page 7
understand and be accountable
for his actions.’”
Current Texas law takes into
account whether a defendant is
competent to stand trial, in
cluding whether the defendant
can aid his own defense, and
whether a defendant was in
sane, unable to distinguish
right from wrong, when the
crime was committed. Plus, a
jury can consider retardation as
a mitigating circumstance dur
ing sentencing.
Mental retardation should be
a defining issue, not a mitigating
factor, Ellis said in a statement.
Fifteen other states have bills
banning the execution of the
mentally retarded. Florida Gov.
Jeb Bush signed the Florida bill
last week.
Texas is the country’s No. 1
death penalty state. Eight peo
ple have been executed dais year,
247 since 1982.
President Bush never had to
face the decision Perry did when
he was governor. In 1999, the
state Senate passed a similar bill,
but the legislation died before
reaching Bush’s desk.
Ellis said Texas has executed
six mentally retarded people
since the death penalty re
sumed. Two of those came un
der Bush’s watch.
Perry disputes those claims
and said that four of the six that
Ellis claims were mentally
tarded did not raise mental
tardation as an issue duringi
trial.
The bill was one of their
contentious for Perry in hist
term as governor.
Supporters of the billy-
held numerous news conic
ences to drum up support:
the bill, said die banwasank
of humanity.
Crime victims joined pro
cutors in pleading for there:
saying a ban would openti:
door for unprecedented, £
unwarranted, appeals. Vied
and prosecutors stood belli:
Perry when he announce!
veto at a news conference.
David Weeks, president
the Texas District & County 1 ,
torneys Association, called Pei
ry’s decision an act of “politl.
courage.”
The U.S. Supreme Conn
expected to ride this fall oil
North Carolina case thatcot
outlaw executions of retard:
killers.
In that case, Ernest McL
er, described by his lawyer
having the mind of a 10-ye
old, was sentenced to death:
the 1987 murder of a 71-yfc
old cafeteria worker who!
befriended him.
Perry said he believes
Supreme Court ruling outh
ing executions of the ment;
retarded would have no eft
on Texas law.
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Jeff Kempf, Editor in Chief
The Battalion (ISSN #1055-4726) is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall and springscr-
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