After decades of opposition from voters, Arlington will get its first taste of public transportation next week.

Bus routes will start Tuesday between downtown Fort Worth's Intermodal Transportation Center and Arlington park and ride lots at Parks Springs Boulevard and Interstate 20 and Cooper Street and Interstate 30.

Arlington is believed to be the largest city in the nation without mass transit, and voters there have repeatedly rejected efforts to change that.

The buses will run three times each during morning and afternoon rush hours. The yearlong pilot program, which expects to serve up to 210 people daily, is funded with help from a $75,000 grant from the Sue Pope Fund. The cost is $5 per round trip or $80 for a monthly pass.

For scheduling questions, call the Fort Worth Transportation Authority at 817-215-8600. Call 817-459-6653 for all other questions. Information also is available at www.the-t.com and www .arlingtontx.gov/bus.

Jeff Mosier

Authorities tracking two stolen motorcycles busted into a home in an Arlington neighborhood Wednesday to find rooms filled with bike parts.

Investigators tracked two Yamahas to the 7200 block of George Finger Road on Tuesday, police said.

After authorities obtained an arrest warrant, they returned to the home of Van Su Tran at 7 a.m. Wednesday to find him and parts belonging to more than 30 motorcycles. The parts included wheels, gas tanks and windshields and are believed to have been stolen, police said.

"It looked like a store," Arlington police Detective Jesse Minton said, who also is the Tarrant Regional Auto Crimes Task Force spokesman.

Mr. Tran, 32, was arrested and being held Wednesday afternoon in the Arlington Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail. He was charged with two counts of felony theft.

The task force has been investigating the thefts for about a month, Detective Minton said. Three other people have been identified as "persons of interest."

Blanca Cantú

A visiting judge has granted a defense request to disqualify state District Judge Mark Rusch from presiding over a Collin County murder-for-hire case.

Defense attorneys say Judge Rusch issued a search warrant in February to allow police to search the law office of McKinney attorney Keith Gore. Mr. Gore represents Mark Lyle Bell, who is accused of killing a Frisco man in a murder-for-hire scheme.

Prosecutors said they requested the search warrant because they believed the defense was hiding evidence in the case. The search yielded a sealed box, documents and handwritten letters from Mr. Bell to his wife.

Defense attorneys argued that Judge Rusch would be biased because he saw evidence that could be used against Mr. Bell.

No date has been set for the capital murder trial of Mr. Bell, one of three defendants charged in connection with the Dec. 26, 2007, death of Craig Nail. Vera Elizabeth Guthrie-Nail – Mr. Nail's estranged wife – and Thomas Edward Grace also have been charged with conspiracy to commit capital murder.

Wendy Hundley

Dallas police are asking the public for help identifying a suspect in the rape and robbery of woman abducted near White Rock Lake last week.

The woman's ordeal began about 1:30 a.m. Aug. 18 when she was pulled into a car by two men outside her apartment in the 7400 block of La Vista Drive, she said. They raped her, took her ATM card and abandoned her near Laurel Land Cemetery in the Red Bird area.

One suspect is seen on surveillance video using the victim's ATM card at a gas station near Camp Wisdom Road and South R.L. Thornton Freeway, police said.

The suspects were described as black men between 25 and 30. The one shown in the video was about 5 feet 8 inches tall and 150 pounds, and had been wearing white plastic sunglasses with slats across the front. His accomplice was about 5 feet 10 inches tall and 160 pounds, and wore a light tan hoodie and dark pants.

The men were driving a dark-colored, four-door Chevrolet Impala or Caprice with faded paint on the driver's side rear door and two thin white pinstripes along the length of the vehicle on both sides.

Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to arrests and indictments in the case. Anyone with information can call 214-373-8477 or Dallas police at 214-671-3584.

From staff reports

Closing arguments are scheduled to begin today in the capital murder trial of an Arkansas man accused of killing a woman who was expected to testify against him in a drug case.

Lavelle Evans would receive an automatic life sentence if the jury decides that he fatally shot Crystal Jenkins, 25, on the shores of White Rock Lake in 2006. Lavelle Evans and his brother, Johnny Evans, were convicted in the Arkansas drug case after Felicia Evans, Ms. Jenkins' sister and Johnny Evans' wife, testified against them.

April McGraw, a friend of Lavelle Evans, testified Wednesday that the morning of the shooting she received calls from the phone that authorities say belonged to Mr. Evans, 30. But she said she never talked to anyone and only heard static. Prosecutors pointed to phone records that showed multiple calls from the phone to Ms. McGraw in addition to Ms. McGraw calling the phone number.

Jarvis Moore, Mr. Evans' cousin, testified Tuesday that he had two missed calls from Mr. Evans that morning. When Mr. Moore called his cousin back a few hours later, Mr. Evans answered the phone and expressed worry about the upcoming drug case.

Tiara M. Ellis

A short-lived fire in a science classroom at North Dallas High School caused a brief evacuation Wednesday morning.

The fire started as a teacher did a demonstration, said Ed Hernandez, principal of the school in the 3100 block of North Haskell Avenue.

"They were doing an experiment on safety," Mr. Hernandez said, smiling sheepishly.

He said the teacher quickly used a fire extinguisher and no one was injured.

Dallas Fire-Rescue spokeswoman Sherrie Lopez said isopropyl alcohol had dripped onto some boxes and caught fire.

There was no significant damage.

Steve Thompson

Dallas police have identified two men arrested Tuesday during a traffic stop in which officers say they found more than 200 pounds of cocaine in a black Oldsmobile Cutlass.

Fredrick Kay, 47, and Roderick Fergerson, 30, were stopped in DeSoto about 4:30 p.m. heading south along Interstate 35E.

Officers said they found 100 kilograms, which could be worth as much as $2 million on the street.

Mr. Kay was being held Wednesday in the Dallas County Jail on $500,000 bail. Mr. Fergerson was being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

Steve Thompson

Farmers Branch residents may answer their phones early next month to find someone asking what may seem to be nosy questions.

National Service Research will be conducting a satisfaction survey on the city's behalf.

City officials said they get good feedback from residents at community meetings and via phone calls. But this will be a statistically significant survey, with respondents selected at random, to let officials know what they're doing right and where they can improve. The researchers need 400 completed surveys on such areas as parks and recreation, public safety, garbage collection and other city services.

Stephanie Sandoval

Irving confirmed its second human case of West Nile virus this season on Wednesday.

A 33-year-old resident who lives near East Northgate Drive in the 75062 ZIP code has tested positive. The residential area where the person lives was scheduled to be sprayed Wednesday night, weather permitting.

Walter Ritchie, Irving's aquatic and vector control supervisor, said crews usually spray in a half-mile radius around the address where the virus is confirmed. To report significant mosquito activity, call 972-721-3755.

Deborah Fleck

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality reported Wednesday that the city of Lancaster's drinking water exceeds the maximum contaminant level for trihalomethanes.

Trihalomethanes, a group of organic compounds formed when chlorine reacts with organic matter, reached 0.091 milligrams per liter, or 0.011 over the maximum level set by the commission's drinking water standards.

Those who drink excessive amounts of water containing trihalomethanes may experience liver, kidney or nervous system problems. There's also an increased risk of cancer.

City officials said most residents can still safely drink the water, but those with health concerns should talk to a doctor.

The city's water provider, Dallas Water Utilities, has made adjustments in its water treatment process to lower levels of trihalomethanes, city officials said. City officials also are looking into other options.

Jon Nielsen

A 2-year-old girl was returned to her grandmother unscathed late Wednesday after a carjacker stole the woman's car in Pleasant Grove with the child inside, authorities said.

A 16-year-old boy and one other male approached the woman outside a McDonald's on South Buckner Boulevard near Bruton Road as she was removing the child from a car seat, police said. The 16-year-old boy drove off in her car, with the 2-year-old still inside.

Later, police spotted the car and gave chase. The pursuit ended when the car crashed and the 16-year-old was taken into custody. His identity was not available.

By the time the car crashed, the girl wasn't in the car. At about the same time that authorities identified the vehicle, dispatchers received a call about a child who had been abandoned about 11/2 miles from the restaurant, on Daingerfield Drive near Buckner and Scyene Road. The child was later reunited with her grandmother and was in good condition, police said.

Police were still searching for the second suspect, who fled the McDonald's on foot.

Brian Whitley

Rockwall officials plan to raise the property tax rate for the fourth time in four years after public hearings Tuesday and Sept. 15.

The rate could go as high as 50.88 cents per $100 valuation, up from the current 48.65 cents. That would add about $45 to the annual bill on a $200,000 home.

City leaders said they hope to knock down the rate to 50.04 cents before approving it next month. Under that scenario, the entire increase would go toward debt service, which primarily funds road construction.

The city staff had initially proposed an additional increase for city operations, but Mayor Bill Cecil said the council was working to avoid that without significant budget cuts.

Both public hearings are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 385 S. Goliad St.

Jay Parsons

Police are searching for a driver who struck and killed a 26-year-old woman walking down the middle of a road late Tuesday in Far East Dallas.

Lacy Radford was walking in the 8300 block of Ferguson Road, about a mile south of White Rock Lake, when she was struck and dragged several feet, authorities said. The driver fled without providing assistance.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:50 p.m.

Descriptions of the driver and vehicle were not available.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Dallas police at 214-670-5817.

Brenda Gonzalez