| The Story | "Hillwood Chairman Ross Perot Jr. said [on Tuesday] the Alliance development is going strong and should continue to grow for several decades." |
| News worthiness (on a scale of 0 to 5) | * |
| The Spin | Shocking that he said that. Truly shocking. |
| The Story | Plans to relax building requirements in order to allow for 400 homes in Rodden Estates hits a road block as the Decatur Planning and Zoning Commission worries about "small lot size and traffic congestion." |
| News worthiness | ** |
| The Spin | Wasn't an apartment complex killed a few years ago because the P&Z Commission was worried about traffic? |
| The Story | State Senator Craig Estes gets a front page spread in the Messenger. "The best ideas don't originate in Austin. The best ideas comes from Wise County and Decatur." |
| News worthiness | * |
| The Spin | When speaking in Gainesville, the line was "I firmly believe that the best ideas don't come from Austin, but from people right here in Cooke County and elsewhere across this great state." |
| The Story | Some person or persons is using a tanker truck to steal crude oil in Wise County. On or about March 20th he/she pumped out 340 barrels and on April 6 some 117 barrels were stolen. |
| News worthiness | * |
| The Spin | Where exactly do you go to sell 457 barrels of crude oil? |
| The Story | A mysterious chemical shuts down FM 730 on Thursday afternoon. "[Officials] said the chemical may have been used, or was going to be used, in manufacturing of illegal drugs" when it fell out of a vehicle. |
| News worthiness | ** |
| The Spin | As a result, the Wise County Crank Cookoff 2003 was postponed. |
| The Story | County officials prepare to spend $9 million on a jail expansion. |
| News worthiness | **** |
| The Spin | We don't mean to go on a rant but . . . . . . When talking about jail overcrowding we couldn't help but note that in the same issue of the Messenger it was reported that a 27 year old had her bond set at $45,000 after her arrest for allegedly Possessing a Controlled Substance in an amount less than one gram. (April 10, 2003 issue, page 10A). Please note: (1) a gram is the amount of a Sweet-N-Low packet, (2) the charge is a State Jail Felony that carries with it a maximum of two years in a state jail, and (3) a State Jail Felony is the lowest level of all possible felonies and ranks just above a Class A misdemeanor. If that person can't afford bail, it is the taxpayers that will house and feed her before her case is disposed of. Get enough of those and it costs you $9 million. |