School District Settles WebcamGate

We believe this settlement enables us to move forward in a way that is most sensitive to our students, taxpayers and the entire school district community. The agreement is comprehensive, and effectively resolves all components of the laptop litigation, including the Robbins and Hasan cases and the Graphic Arts insurance case. It is the product of a lengthy, court-ordered mediation involving the active participation of Judge DuBois and Chief Magistrate Judge Reuter. The terms of the agreement have been thoroughly reviewed in a number of executive sessions over the past few weeks. Throughout the entire process, the Board has aggressively sought to protect the interests of our taxpayers.

Earlier this summer, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI and the Montgomery County District Attorney cleared the District, and its employees - current and former -- of any criminal wrongdoing. That was an important moment for us -- it confirmed the results of an independent investigation and the District's own initial findings. The District acknowledged and apologized for any mistakes and addressed them immediately. We revised our policies and procedures, reaffirmed our commitment to technology and put safeguards into place to ensure the privacy of our students, staff and school families.

Ebby claimed that a recent insurance agreement played a large part in the timing of the settlement:

A major impetus behind settling this matter now is the recent agreement by our insurance carrier, Graphic Arts, to cover more than $1.2M of the fees and costs associated with this litigation to date. The proposed settlement costs include $175,000 to be placed in a trust for Blake Robbins, $10,000 for Jalil Hassan and $425,000 for plaintiff's counsel. This settlement is not under seal because as a public entity, we have a responsibility to report all terms of the agreement.

Back in February investigators began to look into WebcamGate after Harriton High School student Blake Robbins and his parents filed a lawsuit accusing officials of remotely taking video and photos through Robbins’ school-issued MacBook.

As many as 1,800 Lower Merion School District students from Lower Merion and Harriton High Schools were given the MacBook notebooks as part of a school program.

The case gained national attention and put into question Harriton’s and Lower Merion’s laptop program.

Couple: State took our baby

An Epsom couple says state social workers seized their newborn baby hours after her birth because of the father's affiliation with an organization that opposes government tyranny. State officials, however, cited domestic violence and child abuse allegations against the baby's father in taking her into state custody.

The issue turned the parents, Johnathan Irish and Stephanie Taylor, into instant celebrities in the online libertarian community. By mid afternoon, about 20 people who had never met the couple gathered at Concord Hospital to protest what they termed the state's unconstitutional interference in a family matter. None claimed to know anything about government's allegations that Irish had beaten his fiancee or her young children, but they said they were outraged that the affidavit supporting the taking of his newborn mentioned Irish's association with a group called the Oath Keepers. The group's website describes it as an affiliation of current and former military and law enforcement members who promise to resist totalitarian actions by the government.

Irish said that on Thursday, one day after Taylor gave birth to their daughter, a group of police officers and state social workers took her from them. He said he and Taylor did not know where their daughter had been taken.

"She's either in the nursery there or in a foster home," said Taylor, who was on hand with Irish to greet protesters and grant interviews.

But according to an affidavit provided to Irish by the state Division for Children, Youth and Families, state officials took the child because of Irish's long record of violence and abuse. According to the affidavit, a judge determined that Irish abused Taylor's two other children. She is still married to the father of those children, though Taylor said yesterday that her husband has refused to accept her divorce petition for the past two years.

The affidavit also says that the police in Rochester report a "lengthy history of domestic violence" between Taylor and Irish, and that she accused him of choking and hitting her on more than one occasion. According to the document, Irish failed to complete a domestic violence course as ordered by the state, and that a hearing was held last month to terminate Taylor's parental rights over her two older children.

Taylor "has failed to recognize the impact of domestic violence in her life and the potential danger it poses to a newborn baby," the affidavit reads. "Mr. Irish has not acknowledged any responsibility to date and remains a significant safety risk to an infant in his care. . . . Without the intervention of the court, the infant will be at risk of harm."

Irish, 24, said in an interview yesterday that he had never abused his fiancee or her other children. He said he was unemployed and collected disability because he is blind in his left eye from a childhood accident. He said that Taylor suffers from "stress-induced seizure disorder" and that complications during her pregnancy required him to tend to her almost constantly. He said he has no lawyer, though a hearing in the matter has been scheduled for next week.

The affidavit also states that Irish is "associated with a militia known as the Oath Keepers and had purchased several different types of weapons including a rifle, handgun and Taser."

It's that sentence that riled up Irish and his allies yesterday, who saw it as proof that he was being persecuted for his political beliefs.

"They're saying that is the reason they're taking my daughter," Irish said.

Most of the couple's supporters shared that interpretation - even if they knew nothing about Irish's legal record.

"All I heard was that a baby was kidnapped, literally kidnapped, because the father posted on an online forum," said Ofer Nave, a Manchester man who did not know Irish or Taylor but described himself as active in "pro-liberty" causes. He said he heard about the protest from a friend, who likely heard about it through Facebook. (next page »)

soros: I Can’t Stop a Republican ‘Avalanche’

George Soros, the billionaire financier who was an energetic Democratic donor in the last several election cycles but is sitting this one out, is not feeling optimistic about Democratic prospects.

“I made an exception getting involved in 2004,” Mr. Soros, 80, said in a brief interview Friday at a forum sponsored by the Bretton Woods Committee, which promotes understanding of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

“And since I didn’t succeed in 2004, I remained engaged in 2006 and 2008. But I’m basically not a party man. I’d just been forced into that situation by what I considered the excesses of the Bush administration.”

Mr. Soros, a champion of liberal causes, has been directing his money to groups that work on health care and the environment, rather than electoral politics. Asked if the prospect of Republican control of one or both houses of Congress concerned him, he said: “It does, because I think they are pushing the wrong policies, but I’m not in a position to stop it. I don’t believe in standing in the way of an avalanche.”

Mayor says he's confident Dallas can still beat FEMA remapping

Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert says he's been having conversations during the past two weeks with senior officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

"Through those conversations, I have a high confidence level that we're gonna meet the FEMA deadlines," Leppert said during a phone interview this afternoon, asked for comment about doubts raised by a Corps decision this summer that more soil sample testing is needed.

"Clearly we're frustrated by the delay," the mayor said. "We've communicated that to the Corps and told them how important it is that we deal with this issue in a judicious and expedient manor, understanding that we want to get it right."

"We have got to move forward and accomplish some things, just move forward and get this thing done, and the Corps understands that too," he said. "We've had conversations over the last couple weeks, at least I have, with some of the senior members of the Corps, just communicating to them how important it is that we move forward and get things done and that there clearly is a frustration at times when we'll go down one path and be told that's the path that we need to go down, and we'll go down it, and then all of the sudden there's another path."

Leppert said it's important for people to understand that the fixes needed for the levees don't have anything to do with the parks, lakes and toll road planned there.

"This doesn't have anything to do with the project," he said. "If we weren't doing anything with the project, we'd still have to be doing the exact same thing that we're doing now."

FEMA denies request for disaster declaration for Tropical Storm Hermine

City of Round Rock and Williamson County officials have received notification that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has denied Gov. Perry’s request for a disaster declaration for Tropical Storm Hermine.

Local emergency management officials are working to identify the remaining unmet needs of affected residents and match them to any community resources that may be available to assist them.

If you have any remaining unmet needs, such as needing building materials, help with home repairs, or replacing essential appliances, please go to the “Tropical Storm Hermine Unmet Needs Assessment” on the Williamson County website at www.wilco.org and complete the survey or call (512) 943-3839. This phone number will give you the opportunity to leave a message and receive a return call as soon as possible.

The Williamson County VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) has established a Tropical Storm Hermine Long-Term Recovery Committee (LTRC) to assist local residents affected by Tropical Storm Hermine. Information about the Williamson County VOAD LTRC will be posted on the Williamson County website at www.wilco.org as it becomes available. If you do not have access to the internet, you should call (512) 943-3839 for more information.