Good morning, Houston. In case you were wondering, the threat of a "sickout" by HISD teachers upset over the district's new merit pay program ended up not happening after all. "It never crossed my mind [to call in sick]," Anderson Elementary teacher Linda Burks told the Chronicle. "I had a job to do." She added that all her colleagues showed up for work Tuesday, too — but then again, most of them got bonuses.
>> Train hits bus, injures 32: Dozens of Shell employees were injured yesterday morning when a train hit a bus transporting them from a parking lot to a job site. About 40 people were aboard the bus, which was hit on the back left corner by a Port Terminal Rail Authority train near Highway 225 and Center Street in Deer Park; the train was going about 10 mph, officials said. "I can't explain it, man. It's like something in the movies," contract worker Donald Coffey said. "We all hollered at [the bus driver]. It was probably 20 or 30 of us guys hollering, 'Hey, hey.' Bam."
>> Treasure chest of crime: Ah, the Treasures saga continues: First there was the strippertute who police think led a robbery ring, then there was a police raid — and yesterday, the cops paid another visit and arrested four dancers for a variety of violations, including improper touching. Improper touching at a titty bar? Seriously, who knew?
>> Report: More prisons aren't the answer: According to a report that will be presented to state House and Senate criminal justice committees next week, Texas could save $442 million in the next five years by enhancing drug and alcohol treatment programs, reducing recidivism and paroling nonviolent substance abusers to halfway houses more quickly instead of building new jail cells. The report's author, Tony Fabelo, warns that if policies don't change, the Texas prison system could see 12,500 more inmates in the next few years.
>> Today's weather: Two words for today: cold and rainy. Expect a 50 percent chance of rain this afternoon, with a high in the upper 40s. After midnight, the chance of rain increases; we'll have a low in the mid-40s leading into ... more rain on Thursday. There is a light at the end of this tunnel, though: Looks like the sun will be out through the weekend. We can't wait.
More news after the jump.
- Shiraz Syed Qazi, one of the men charged with supporting terrorism by training to fight with the Taliban, was found guilty yesterday of unlawful possession of a firearm
- A dolphin was found on Jamaica Beach yesterday morning; though experts tried to save it, the dolphin died
- Two Houston men were indicted Tuesday on charged of driving a van full of undocumented workers through Alabama last week; the passengers said they had paid to be smuggled into the U.S.
- Did you notice the Mexican flag flying in front of the Federal Reserve building on Allen Parkway yesterday? Here's an explanation
- Hobby Airport officials celebrated the airport's 80th anniversary yesterday by unveiling a snazzy new logo
- Investigators have found the pickup truck that belonged to a pizza deliveryman shot to death while on a delivery call in southwest Houston on Friday, but they haven't found the gunman yet
- The Magnolia bus driver who had a heart attack and collapsed at the wheel while driving kids home Monday has died
- A man has sued Houston-based Continental Airlines for letting his ex-wife fly to Mexico City with his 3-year-old daughter without his permission; the child and the mother, who was charged over the summer with international parental kidnapping, haven't been found
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