Morning Roundup: Flaming potato chips edition

Good morning, Houston. As faithful Houstonist readers, you know we have trouble resisting a good crime report, so we were nearly beside ourselves when we read about the family that might have set a grocery store potato chip display on fire in February. Seriously. It happened at a Sellers Brothers on Telephone Road on Feb. 10, and surveillance video — which you can see if you follow the link — shows a young man and a woman police believe is his mom touching the chip display moments before it burst into flame. If you know anything about the incident, call Crime Stoppers at 713.222.TIPS; otherwise, enjoy the thoroughly bizarre video.

>> Looking for the bottom line on crime stats: Last week, KHOU reported that Houston police hadn't told the FBI about more than 1,000 arrests for certain crimes — and that doesn't make victims' advocates and the police union too happy. One example of the odd reporting: DWIs, where Channel 11 found HPD keeping three different records that showed anywhere from 1,300 to 5,000 arrests in 2005. "I mean, it's preposterous," former Harris County prosecutor and victims' advocate Randy Burton said. "The general public has a right to know are problems getting worse and what are our leaders going do about them." City Councilman Adrian Garcia, a former police officer and chairman of the city's public safety committee, said he'll open his own investigation into the numbers: "The bottom line is our information should tell a consistent picture," he said. "We need good information to help set policy, help set budgets." The police department, in a statement, said it works "very, very hard to provide the public and governmental entities with the most accurate stats possible."

>> Changes ahead for Hermann Park?: There's a proposal floating around to move North MacGregor Way where it runs through Hermann Park, a change that would make about 10 acres of parkland more accessible and that could simplify the traffic flow to and from the Medical Center. The realigned street would cross Brays Bayou on a new bridge and would simplify the complex intersection at the Dick Dowling statue — and it would be farther from the golf course, which means fewer balls would fly into traffic. It would also enable park users to access the part of the park that's now on the other side of the street, which would, in effect, enlarge the park: "Suddenly, you’ll be able to access this part of the park really easily from the middle of the park," Doreen Stoller of the Hermann Park Conservatory told KHOU. Sounds good to us.

>> The governor, the vaccine and time: Gov. Rick Perry has until midnight tonight to sign or veto a bill that would block the state from requiring teenage girls to be vaccinated against HPV — but Perry's taking his time in making a decision. "Governor Perry is thoughtfully reviewing HB1098, and will announce his decision when he feels it is appropriate," spokeswoman Krista Moody said Monday. It's not clear what Perry's move will be: If he signs the bill, he could lose some political face, and if he vetoes it, the Legislature will likely overturn the veto. At this point, it looks like the most likely option is for Perry to let the bill become law without his signature and claim that the debate over the requirement in Texas has helped fuel a national discussion on the HPV vaccine. "I am quite satisfied that people in this state, people in this country now know that there is a very deadly silent killer that is devastating and that we have a vaccine that can prevent it," Perry said at a press conference last week.

>> Today's weather: Looks like another warm, humid day today — mostly cloudy this morning, partly cloudy this afternoon, with a high of 85 and a 20 percent chance of rain. By tonight, skies should clear up and temperatures should fall into the mid-60s.

Now, more news — but unfortunately, no more burning potato chips.