Morning Roundup: The buzz on campus edition

Good morning, Houston. We heard a few weeks ago about a bat infestation at TSU, but now there's something else happening in the halls of academia: a bee infestation at UH. It seems 100,000 of the industrious little critters have taken up residence in the walls of the Cullen College of Engineering, but rather than exterminate, the university is planning to move the bees to a wooded section of campus. Beekeeper Mike Knuckley will begin the process today by locating the hive using a heat sensor; he'll then measure its shape and size with a camera inserted into the wall. Knuckley will then disorient the bees with smoke, vacuum them into a transport box and cut out their honeycomb; he hopes to have the bees transplanted by Thursday. Officials didn't want to lose the bees, which pollinate flowers and trees around the campus — but they also realized they couldn't leave the insects where they were. "You can imagine — you're trying to take your exam and for whatever reason the bees decide they're going to swarm," UH custodial and grounds director Alex Alexander told the AP. "That kind of disruption we couldn't allow."

>> Cabbie shot, dumped in broad daylight: Investigators say a Yellow Cab driver was shot in the head and dumped in a west Houston parking lot early Tuesday afternoon, but they don't yet know who the gunman was. The driver reportedly picked up a fare in southeast Houston and drove to an ATM before the shooting, which happened just before 1 p.m.; he was dumped in the parking lot of a Chase bank branch in the 10400 block of Westheimer. "When I saw him, he wasn't moving. I thought he was dead," David Holbrook, a witness, told KPRC. "I haven't heard [of] this kind of crime in this neighborhood — not in the middle of the day. It's pretty frightening." The driver is in critical condition at Ben Taub; the cab was found in a townhome complex on Pagewood. Police are hoping the bank branch's cameras will provide more information on the incident.

>> Prosecutors: Keep Skilling in jail: The Department of Justice on Tuesday filed a reply to former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling's appeal, saying that they want Skilling to remain in jail and don't want to retry any part of his case. "The jury had ample evidence to hold Skilling responsible for the pervasive fraudulent conduct at Enron," the government reply said. "The record demonstrates, moreover, that Skilling had a fair trial before an impartial jury and that he received a reasonable sentence for his multiple crimes. This court should affirm his conviction and sentence." Skilling is serving a 24-year prison term on 19 convictions related to the collapse of Enron; his appeal claims that the judge gave bad jury instructions, that the government based its prosecution on a faulty theory and that the trial shouldn't have been held in Houston. Up to 14 of the 19 convictions could be sent back to trial if the appeals court agrees with all or part of the appeal.

>> Today's weather: Unfortunately, it'll still be hot today — but the good news is that tomorrow should be much, much better. We're beginning the day with some fog again, but look for that to burn off this morning and leave us with a mostly sunny day with an afternoon high of 86. Tonight, there'll be a slight chance of showers and gusty wind bringing cooler temperatures; expect a low of 60.

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