GULF SPILL

Panelweighscase ofdeletedtextsASSOCIATED PRESS

NEWORLEANS _ Afederaljury on MondaY startedweighing whether a formerBP engineer broke the law orharmlessly swiped his fingeracross a cellular phone whenhe deleted hundreds oftextmessages in the aftermath ofthecompany's massive zoro oil sPillin the Gulf of Mexico'

Jurors met for about an hourand a halfbefore askilg to go

home for the night, They werescheduled to resume delibera-tions Tuesday morning.

Prosecutors argued thât KurtMix, 52, of Katy was trying todestroy evidence when he de'leted two strings of text messag-es - one with a suPervisor andanother with a BP contractor.

"It's a crime, anrl Kurt Mixshould be held accountable,"

Justice Department ProsecutorLeo Tsao said in his closing ar-guments before the jury begandeliberating.

But a defense lawyer, MichaelMcGovern, told jurors that thecharges against Mix are "unfairand baseless" and the Productof investigators' "rank incom-uetence." He described Mix as a

Lrilliant engineer who workedtirelessly to seal the blown-outwell and "doesr¡'t have a corruPtbone in his body."

"You did not hear one badrvord about Kurt Mix' Not asingle one," he said during hisclosing arguments. "Not one

Inuestìgatort contJnues on B8

d FuetFix.comÐ Much ¡t ¡t¡ko: Go toFuetFlx,com on Tuesday toflnd out who has f¡red thelatest salvo ln the growlngdebate over exportlng U.5. olt.

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By Erin MulvaneY

A jury is weighing the fateofa zr-story high-rise Plannedin a Rice University neighbor'hood, after attorneys for eachside presented their final argu-ments on whether the Projectis appropriate for the area orwould become a nuisance'

The monthlong trial, whichcame to a close MondaY, hasbeen a battle ofexPerts and

perceptions after 3o residentsfiled a lawsuit against Hotls-ton-based Buckhead Invest'ment Partners to stoP the high-rise plannecl for 1717 Bissonnet,widôly relerred to as the AshbYhigh-rise.

During the trial, the resi-dents were portraYed bY thedefense as entitled and unrea-sonable but by their attorneYsas victims who will face dimin-ished property values. Con-

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flicting images of develoPersMatthew Morgan and KevinKirton were also Presented tothe ìury: relentless and greedY,

or lalr'fuI and victims of ha-rassment,

The project itselfwas Pre-sented two ways. The wrongproject at the wrong site. Or'a legal use ofProperty thatwill provide living oPtions forHouston's growing PoPulation.

During his closing argu'

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nrent, Jean Fìdzzell, attorneYfor the residents, Presentedrenderings of the project tow-ering over his clients' homesand said there could be noquestion that the tower wouldbe out of place in the mostlYresidential neighborhood.

"They are going to hurttheir neighbors for moneY.Period," Frizzell said. "TheYknow they can take advantage

Praþonents contlnues on 88

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Mayra Beltrán photos / Houston Chronlcle

Attorney Fred cook, teft, representing Buckhead Investment Partners, dellvers hls closing arguments Monday ln the Ashby

hlgh-rlse case. ettorney¡erå fVtzìuil,I"p"u"utttit g 3o resldents who oppose the towe¡ ftnishes his afguments'

Fate of Ashbyhigh-riseis in the hands ofjurorsTrial offers starhly different visions of what 2l-story tower would bring

t(l FUELFIX.COM Resutatíon

Inr¡estigators call for wide-ranging refinery reforms

B8 | Tuesday, December t?r 2o1il I Houston Chronide I HoustonChronicle.com and chron.com * * *

PH.A,RMA,CEUTICALS

Drugrnaker alters course on paying doctorsNEW YORK TIMES

The British drugmakerGlaxoSmithKline will nolonger pay doctors to pro-mote its products and willstop tying compensationof sales representativesto the number ofpre-scriptions doctors write,its chief executive saidMonday, efrectively end-ing two common industrypractices that critics havelong assailed as trouble-some conllicts of interest.

The announcement

appears to be a first fora major drug company

- although others mâybe considering similarmoves - and it comes at âparticularþ sensitive timefor Glaxo. It is the subjectof a bribery investigationin China, where authori-ties eontend the companyfunneled illegal paymentsto doctors and govern-ment officials in an effortto lift drug sales.

AndrewWÏtty, Glaxo'schief executive, said ina telephone interview

Monday that its proposedchanges were unrelatedto the investþation inChina, and are part ofayearslong effort "to tryand make sure we stay in'step with howtheworldis changing," he said.

For decades, pharma-ceutical companies havepaid dóctors to speak ontheirbehalfat confer-enceg and other meetingsof medlcal professionals,under the assumptionthat the doctors ere mostlikely to valuethe advice

oftrusted peers.But the practice has ,

also been criticized bythose who questionwhether it unduly influ-ences the information.doctors give each otherand can lead them toprescribe drugs inappro-priately. Allsuchpay-metrts by pharmaceuticalcompanies are to be madepublic next year under theObama administradon'shealth care law. ';

Undertheplan, whichGlaxo saidwould be

completed worldwide by2016 thecompanywillno longerpay health careprofessionals to speakon its behalfabout itsproducts or the diseasesthey treat, "to audienceswho can prescribe orinfl uence prescribing,"it said in a statement. Itwill also stop providingfinancial support directlyto doctors to attend medi-cal conferences, a practicethat is prohibited in theU.S. through an industry-imposed ethics codebut

that still occurs in othercountries. ln China, theauthorities have saidGlaxo compensated doc-tors for travel to confer-ence5 and lectures thatnever took place.

Glaxo wif continue topay doctors consultingfees for market researchbecause Witty said itwas necessary for thecompany to gain insightfrom doctors about theirproducts, but he said thatactivity would be limitedin scope.

Proponents,foes of towerwrapthingsup

Board says preventionneeds to be emphasized

Prtþorrcnts ftþrn þage B6

ofthe iaet that it is abnor-mal and out of place."

He said the trial is notabout altering cþ zoningor permitting laws butabout keeping a check onirresponsible develop-ers building irrespon-sible projects. He saidthe developers tried tomislead cþ officials to getthe required approvals tobuild.

He and co-counselJeremy Doyle reiteratedthe evidence presentedduring trial that theysaid proves the residentsare owed damages. Theresidents' case includedexpert and personaltestimony that shows theproject would cause ex-cessive trafüc congestion,foundation damage andinvasíon ofprivacy.

FYed Cook, attorneyfor the developers, saidthe residents believe theyhave the right to circum-vent cþ laws, such asthe permitting processin unrestricted areas,because they believethey are special and havemore sensitivity to pettyannoyances than others.He argued it is natural forinner-city neighborhoodsto become more dense.

"We are in the inner

city of Houston in a his-torically mixed-use areâon unrestricted property,"Cook said.

Cookjuxtaposed twoimages for the jury one ofa leering cartoon tower,used by the oppositiongroup to protest the proj-ect, and the rendering ofthe aetual project, to sug-gest the residents do notsee what most see whenlooking at the rendering.

"They don't like themodern facts of lifg"Cook said. "They thirkthey should get to decidenot only the character ofthe area, but also enforcethat perceived characteron the area, regardless ofrules."

Cook also argued thealleged nuisances cited,traftc, lighting shadow,privacy and structurefoundation damage, wereexaggerated by the resi-dents'experts. He told thejury that because the proj-ect is not built, residentscannot reasonably ask fordamages,

The jurybegan deliber-ating Monday afternoonand will continue Tues-day, The rz-person panelis charged with answeringwhether the project - ifbuiltasplanned - wouldcause a nuisance that ismore than a slight incon-

Houston Chfonlcte

DlsfictJudge Randylüllson speaks to Jurorsat the end ofcloslngarguments.

venience or petty annoy-ance for a reasonableperson and interfere withthe use and enjoyment ofthat person's property.

If the juryfindsyes, itwill be asked to determineany damages due eachresident ñling suit.

The attorneys forthe residents, however,tressed that the case isnot about money and thatthe true intent is stop thehigh-rise from being builtat that location. Ifthejurysides with the residents,the attorneys hope stateDistrictJudge RandyWilson will rule to stopthe project.

"Itt about more thanmoney. Itb about homes;it's about community,"Frizzell said. "Theywant to call these peoplespecial; they are frghtingfor thei¡ homes and theircommunity."

erin,mulztøn qt @ chrcn, comtrtt i t t e n c o m /e r i n m u lv ø n ejl

BoardfmrnþogcB6

lost 9o percent of its wallthickness - had been leftin place for years despiteinternal recommenda-tions to replace it, investi-gators said.

Serles ofaccldentsThe report released

Monday outlines a pathforward for the industry,noting there has beenvirtually no progress inimproving safety despite astring of deadly accidents,including the zoo5 frre atthe Texas City refinerythen owned by BP thatkilled rS workers.

The board laudedCalifornia's plan tohire rg more workplaceinspectors followingthe Richmondfirebutsaid bringing in morestaffand issuing morecitations would not beenough. The regulatoryapproac'h across tlte U.S.is too static, reactive andfoeused on after-the-factffnes, when it should seekto drive down accidents,investigators said,

"The regulatorysystemboth in the U.S. and Cali-fornia for petroleum doesnot effectively preventmajor accidents," saidDon Holmstrom, head ofthe board's Western re-gional ofhce. He said theU.S. lags behind the restofthe wodd,

a KBR co-worker, and an-other case alleged briberyovefseas.

A jury cleared KBR ofnrongdoing in the rapeallegation and the com'

Theboard touted asan alternative the "safetycase" regulatorysystemused in England, Nor-way and Australia, aprevention-based modelthat holds the industryaccountable for demon-stratingit is drivingdown the risk ofdisastersto the lowest level pos-sible.

Holmstrom said thatprocess could have pre-vented the accident lastyear because Chewonwor¡ld have had to iden-tifu all hazards and dealwith thembyreplacingpipe at-risk of corrosion.

Under the system,governments hire highlyqualiñed, well-compen-sated experts to assurethe industry is reducingrisks. But making such asystem work in the U,S.would require better payand training for regula-tors, so they could be atleast curnpetitive with therefineries they oversee,the board's report found.

Taklng actlonChewon said in a state-

ment that itwouldworkwith the Chemical Safetyboard, local govern-ments, industrygróupsand others "to implementappropriate measuresthat enhance safety at ourRichmond facility. Whilewe await the release of theboard's ûnal report, we

zo percent frominitial projections.

Utt has been CEOof KBR since March ofzoo6, a year before thecompletion of its spinofr

are already taking a seriesofaetions in responseto the August 2012 inc!dent."

The statement also thatover the past t6 months,Chewon has worked toaddress issues identifiedbyit, the safetyboard andstate regulators, noting:"Weworked morethanr.9 million hours over 259days to repair and im-prove the crude uhit."

A'stepforward'InJuly, a state task

force appointed byCalifornia governor's toreview refinery safetyregulatory efforts issueda report calling for re-forms, including adoptingthe "safety case" ap-proach.

the Chemical SafetyBoard on Monday hailedthat report as "an im-portant step forward inimproving petroleumrefuiery safety and envi-ronmental perforrnanceboth in California andnationally."

Mike Wilson, chiefscientist with the stâte'sDepartment of IndustrialRelations, read a state-mentMonday welcomingthe safety board's recom-mendations as a "veryuseful foundation" for'the reforms being consid-ered in California.

Brian Ferraioli.KBR has nearly

doubled its net incomethrough the ffrst ninemonths of¿o$ after adown year in aolø,

in ndfu *¿n@{c}mni cle. øn

KBR has engineering rolesin projects around the globe