Drilling is complete on the first well on a 3-acre site near the corner of Bonnie Brae and Scripture streets. The company plans to drill and fracture the second and third wells back to back starting in about two weeks, senior vice president Rodney Waller said in an interview.

Production results from those wells will determine whether the company drills more, Waller said. The Texas Railroad Commission has permitted up to five wells at the site, which is north of a hospital and retirement community and within several hundred feet of homes and McKenna Park.

Copies of the form are available on the Texas Ethics Commission Web site. We ask that candidates download the form, fill it out, and submit a copy to us by e-mail, fax or mail.

While candidates in cities with fewer than 100,000 people are not required, under Chapter 145 of the Local Government Code, to complete the form with the Texas Ethics Commission, Denton candidates will likely be required to do so after the 2010 census. In addition, we aim to provide voters the kind of information that helps evaluate potential conflicts of interest.

The final deadline to submit completed forms to the Denton Record-Chronicle newsroom is 5 p.m. April 16.

Update: Hughes is resigning for personal reasons. His resignation letter is attached. JC 2-26-10.doc

The Ruggiero family live near the Denton-Wise County line and have had problems ever since Aruba Petroleum assumed about three acres of their 10-acre horse ranch for a gas well.

Along with the video, she shared the lab results, which show high concentrations of ethane, propane and butane, which in turn are carrying with them benzene, toluene and xylenes. Gas from Vent Pipe.wmvSumma Results Aruba 1-17-10.pdf

District officials met with school board trustees Tuesday and discussed all the ideas it has prepared for how to: increase and maintain enrollment, improve daily attendance rates, make necessary short-term financial adjustments, make long-term financial adjustments and generate revenue.

All the ideas prepared by district officials were presented in the Tuesday meeting and there seem to be no need for holding a second discussion today, Superintendent Ray Braswell said.

"We were just able to cover the topics quicker than we thought," he said in an e-mail Wednesday.

Look for coverage of the meeting later this week in the Denton Record-Chronicle.

Congress recently directed the EPA to revisit its 2004 study on fracking -- the practice of pressure-pumping a high volume of chemical-laden water deep underground to fracture shale formations in order to release the natural gas. A whistle-blower inside the EPA helped discredit the study, in part for being selective about the potential threat to human health and the environment.

EPA Region 6 director Al Armendariz has said previously that this latest study of hydraulic fracturing would be an important one, but said it remained unclear whether it would be a cradle-to-grave look at the use and contamination of fresh water supplies.

Earthjustice's letter calls for just such a cradle-to-grave examination. While none of the environmental groups who submitted the comments to the EPA come from Texas, nor does the letter mention any contamination in Texas, spokeswoman Deborah Goldberg said any thorough examination of the hydraulic fracturing would have to include development of the Barnett Shale.

"It's been at the front and center of this from the beginning," Goldberg said. 2010-elg-comments.pdf

Nikolai reported that, even though it was 32 and frosty outside, he recorded a balmy 70 degrees at his south fenceline because of the flare.

Here is one of the photos he took.

I've attached the agenda for both the workshop meeting cca0301.10worksession.doc and the regular session. cca0301.10.doc

Here are some actions approved by regents in their Feb. quarterly board meeting:

- The first proposed joint, international graduate degree program was improved by regents. The program, a Master of Science with a major in International Sustainable Tourism, will blend hospitality services with environmental practices, sustainable programs and 'green' tourism. Students will have students earn 18 hours of coursework at UNT and 18 hours at a university in Costa Rica. The cost of the program is expected to be more than $1 million over a five-year contract.
- Regents approved a $42 million budget for an energy savings performance contract with Schneider Electric Buildings Americas, Inc. The firm will complete a detailed energy audit with an estimated yearly savings of $3.2 million.
- Regents approved the hiring of joint venture Beck Warrior as the construction manager at risk for the preconstruction and the construction on the UNT System building in downtown Dallas, which is budgeted at $21 million. The project includes the completion of two floors in the building and other general building improvements. Beck Warrior was chosen among 17 responses from firms.
- Regents approved the selection of an architect to design an expansion to the Mezzanine in Discovery Park, which will make 17,000 square feet available for research purposes. UNT System officials chose Freese and Nichols, Inc., after reviewing responses from 13 firms. The project is estimated to cost $2.4 million and will be paid with by HEAF funds over the next two fiscal years.

The organization is opening a Texas office and has set its sights on the state's drilling rules and regulations, calling for the industry to use best practices. OGAP helped re-write rules in New Mexico and Colorado to be more protective of human health and the environment.

State Rep. Lon Burnham, D-Fort Worth, sat in on the call for a while and said that, up to now, the legislative process has been frustrating, not only at the state, but also the local level.

"Many lack the political will to do what they can do," Burnham said, renewing his call for a moratorium until better regulations can be crafted.

City Council member Dalton Gregory, fresh from a transportation conference in Austin, addressed the council's mobility committee Tuesday on ways to make Denton more bicycle friendly, including possibly enacting a "safe passing" ordinance based on one adopted in San Antonio this month.

That ordinance requires motorists to allow a "safe distance"--at least 3 feet for cars and 6 feet for heavy trucks--between their vehicles and "vulnerable road users" such as pedestrians, bicyclists, children and physically disabled people. Violators can face fines of up to $200.

"They don't get ticketed, generally, if they get too close, but if there ends up being an accident involving an automobile and a pedestrian or an automobile and a bike rider, clearly they got within 3 feet," Gregory said. "So the presumption is the driver is probably in the wrong. It's not always the case, but at least we're working from a different point of view and making the big guy, who is not likely to get hurt, think a little more carefully before they operate."

Austin was the first Texas city to adopt a safe-passing ordinance after Gov. Rick Perry vetoed a statewide law last year. The nonprofit Texas Bicycle Coalition is urging cities to pass the protections.

Gregory serves on the mobility committee along with Mayor Mark Burroughs and Mayor Pro Tem Pete Kamp. No date was set for a vote on the proposed ordinance.

Meanwhile, the council plans to meet at 11:30 a.m. April 5 at City Hall to discuss the potential for more bicycle and pedestrian lanes on Denton roads.