Star-Telegram.com: Cowboys Stadium

Award-winning singer B.J. Thomas to perform national anthem at Cowboys game

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:40 CST

ARLINGTON — Cowboys Stadium has a retractable roof, so there’s little chance that fans attending Sunday’s game against the Washington Redskins will have to worry about raindrops falling on their heads.

But they will be treated to a national anthem sung by five-time Grammy winner and Arlington resident B.J. Thomas, whose many hits include the 1969 tune Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.

Thomas is a longtime Cowboys fan and watches every game, even when he’s on the road, agent David Rubini said.

But just to be clear, another of his hit songs, I Just Can’t Help Believing, has nothing to do with his desire for the team to win a playoff game — something that hasn’t happened in 13 years.

Maybe Thomas is Hooked on a Feeling that this will finally be the year.

— Gordon Dickson

Arlington to expand special-events safety team

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:56 CST

By SUSAN SCHROCK

ARLINGTON — With the $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium already attracting 100,000-plus crowds and Super Bowl XLV events gearing up, Arlington has decided to expand its special events team charged with planning and managing public safety resources in and around the entertainment district.

The Arlington Fire Department expects to create a captain position as soon as next week to join the team, which also includes police, traffic and emergency operations supervisors.

Currently the city’s special events planning and management team has only one other full-time fire employee, a battalion chief, who helps with decisions regarding fire and medical staffing levels, bomb sweeps, hazardous materials cleanup, 911 dispatch operations and other duties, Fire Chief Robin Paulsgrove said.

The Arlington City Council authorized the $110,000 fire captain position Tuesday after learning that four firefighter positions that were being paid for from the general fund will now be covered for four years by a new $433,000 federal grant.

Cowboys Stadium will host the NBA All-Stars Game in February and the Super Bowl in February 2011.

"Clearly you have a lot of people at risk in a high-profile area. Protecting them and the resources and citizens of Arlington can be a challenge," Paulsgrove said.

Since opening this summer, the football stadium has been hosting events almost weekly, Paulsgrove said. Add a baseball game at Rangers Ballpark, a big convention or a busy day at Six Flags Over Texas and that can easily mean more than 150,000 people in the entertainment district, fire officials said.

"Our whole city is impacted when we have 100,000 or more guests on a weekend," Paulsgrove said.

As part of an agreement with the Texas Rangers and the Dallas Cowboys, the city determines the minimum public safety personnel necessary for events based on factors such as crowd size, threat of terrorism or proximity to other special events.

Arlington also adopted an ordinance this year that requires event operators outside the two sports venues, such as at the Levitt Pavilion across from City Hall, to submit their public safety plans to Arlington for review and to pay for city personnel deemed necessary for those events.

Arlington students set CPR record at Cowboys Stadium

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:15 CST

Jen Friedberg

ARLINGTON -- Plastic dolls and heavy breathing took over Cowboys Stadium on Tuesday, as 4,626 people -- most of them Arlington school district eighth-graders -- learned CPR and broke a world record in the process.

The session broke the Guinness world record for the largest CPR training session and helped with Arlington's goal set by Mayor Robert Cluck in 2005 -- to teach 10 percent of the city’s population CPR.

The previous record was set in Oslo, Norway, with 3,692 participants.

In the 30-minute training session Tuesday, the students were taught "CPR Anytime," which focuses on the nuts and bolts of cardiopulmonary resuscitation: 30 chest compressions and two quick breaths.

Arlington Assistant Fire Chief Don Crowson said the bare-bones system is effective and easy to learn.

“Kids will actually pay attention to a short time frame in which they can learn very important life-saving information, and then pass it on to their friends and family” Crowson said.

Nichols Junior High eighth-grader Stormy Alexander, 14, said she wasn’t sure she would be able to remember all the details.

“I’d do my best,” Alexander said “but I’d probably panic.”

Perry Watkins, 13, also an eighth-grader at Nichols Junior High, was more optimistic. He felt certain he could learn CPR by watching the video.

“I’m a fast learner,” he said.

“Everyone should learn it,” Watkins said, “because at a moment’s notice, if someone drops, you should learn CPR to revive them.”

Crowson said the training emphasizes performing CPR until emergency personnel arrive.

“The key here is, know how to do it ... and don’t be afraid to do it,” he said.

“We think eighth-graders are smart enough, mature enough and capable of performing a life-saving skill and sharing it with others."

The record attempt was part of Arlington’s CPaRlington initiative, which started in 2005 with the goal of training 10 percent of the city’s population within five years.

North Texas officials tightening public safety for 2011 Super Bowl

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:02 CST

By SUSAN SCHROCK

ARLINGTON — Police Chief Theron Bowman’s message to fellow Super Bowl planners Monday was clear: North Texas will be the safest place in America on Feb. 6, 2011.

Area public safety officials have been planning for Super Bowl XLV since May 2007, when the NFL named the new $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium in Arlington the site of the 2011 game, Bowman told a group of about 50 mayors gathered for a North Texas Super Bowl Host Committee meeting at the stadium.

Although details are still being drafted, game day plans include a no-fly zone 10 miles within Cowboys Stadium, increased screenings at regional airports and thousands of police officers working with federal and state agencies under the coordination of a regional public safety executive board.

Because of the increased vigilance and police presence leading to the Super Bowl, expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people to game-related events across North Texas, Bowman said he is not expecting a spike in crime.

"We want everyone who comes to the area to have a great time and be respectful of people. If they come with the wrong idea, we will have a place for them," said Bowman, who chairs the regional public safety executive board.

Each city hosting a game-related event will be responsible for its own public safety planning but those plans will be reviewed by the executive board, comprised of several police and fire chiefs, an FBI Special Venue Agent, a Super Bowl host committee member and a Dallas Cowboys representative, Bowman said.

In addition to security highlights, the mayors also received updates on regional transportation plans, which include possibly bringing people from Dallas and Fort Worth to Arlington via the Union Pacific rail line. The city does not currently have a passenger train station but could under plans being finalized between the rail line and other agencies, said Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments.

Regional airports also are busy readying themselves for an additional 1,200 to 1,500 aircraft for the event, said Bob Porter, Arlington Municipal Airport manager. Airports will have additional security measures in place, including customs agents for international travelers as well as screeners, and the Federal Aviation Administration is considering installing temporary control towers in outlying airfields to help with the expected demand, Porter said.

A regional aviation team has been meeting monthly to plan for safety issues, airspace management, security for dignitaries and how to help air passengers connect with ground transportation to get to their hotels, the stadium or other event venues, Porter said.

One thing is for sure, Porter said. Air traffic will be heavy and will be closely monitored. Non-critical air travel on that day is not recommended. Aircraft will not be able to fly in Arlington or Grand Prairie between 4 p.m. and midnight on game day without a special waiver and flights will be restricted up to 30 miles from Cowboys Stadium during that time.

Public safety and transportation officials said they have learned many important lessons from meetings with cities that have managed past Super Bowls and will closely watch how the upcoming Super Bowl XLIV in Miami is handled.

Bill Lively, president and CEO of the host committee, also told the mayors and other Super Bowl planners that fundraising to help prepare North Texas for the game has been impressive despite the economy. So far, at least $14 million has been raised, including several $1 million sponsors.

Lively said one of the fundraising goals is to collect $1 million — a record not yet reached — for local food pantries during the Taste of the NFL event that will be held the day before the game at the Fort Worth Convention Center.

"We are making extraordinary history here," Lively said. "We won’t all get to go to the game but we’ll share the experience."

Super Bowl XLV Feb. 6, 2011

Cowboys Stadium,

Arlington

Super Bowl XLV host group working to meet fundraising goals

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:59 CST

By ANDREA AHLES

Super Bowl XLV may be 15 months away, but the clock is ticking for the region’s host committee.

The North Texas Super Bowl Host Committee has raised close to half of its $30 million budget. But it recently had a nine-month drought in which it landed no new $1 million sponsors, and it appears certain to miss an initial goal of signing 15 founding sponsors by the end of 2009.

Companies have been reluctant to commit to large-dollar donations, because they don’t have the cash and because it just doesn’t look right when millions have lost their jobs.

Bill Lively, executive director of the host committee, remains optimistic that North Texas will land the sponsorship dollars it needs to put on the big game.

As he points out, there’s no choice: North Texas promised the National Football League that it would come up with the money to cover security, transportation and other events during Super Bowl week.

Lively said he was able to confirm a ninth founding sponsor in the last week of October and has a few more interested donors. He said he’s not ready to announce the identity of the ninth sponsor.

"We have four companies and one family that we’ve been talking to since the middle of September," he said. "None of those may come in, but at least two of those are very, very promising, and in this business you never know until it’s done."

Lively said the committee has covered about $14 million, primarily through nine $1 million founding sponsors and two $1 million grants, for a youth center and service-learning initiatives.

The remaining $2 million comes from hotel rebates, visitors bureau contributions and contract revenue from the bid to the NFL, and a $1 million in-kind donation from Corporate Magic. The Dallas-based entertainment company is helping the committee design, manage and run events, including news conferences, events for sponsors and several large parties that the committee is responsible for on Super Bowl weekend.

"This is the most productive period we have had since the very beginning, before the economy . . . went south," Lively said of the fall. "I think we can realize our goal of finishing up this program sometime early in the first quarter of next year, after the NFL season is over."

The 2010 Super Bowl will be in Miami on Feb. 7.

Even with the economic troubles, the North Texas committee has far outpaced the Tampa, Fla., committee, which raised less than $8 million to defray security, transportation and event-related costs for the 2009 game.

Lively said the fundraising is on schedule.

But he and committee Chairman Roger Staubach originally said they expected to sign two more $1 million sponsorships this summer and had wanted to have all 15 founding sponsorships on board by year’s end.

Almost all of the sponsorships were announced in 2008, with only one, oilman Boone Pickens, announced this year, making it unlikely that the committee will reach its initial goal. It has been tough sledding for everyone. Few companies can justify spending a million dollars or more on sports sponsorships in a recession. Bank of America and other companies were criticized by shareholders and the media for sponsoring parties and other Super Bowl-related events in Tampa.

Even the Dallas Cowboys, who opened a stadium in Arlington in June, have been unable to secure a naming-rights deal for their new home.

But the sports sponsorship market may be starting to come back as the economy improves, said David Carter, executive director of the University of Southern California’s Sports Business Institute.

"Premier events like the Super Bowl will always do well," Carter said. "The public backlash against corporate hospitality may be waning a little bit, provided the sponsor can articulate why they are there."

Lively acknowledged that the recession has hampered fundraising and said the committee has decided to split the benefits of a $1 million founding sponsorship into two $500,000 sponsorship to make it more palatable to businesses or wealthy individuals.

At this point, Lively said, the challenge is getting people excited about the game, which is more than a year away. "We still have Super Bowl XLIV that has not been played yet," he said. "So the sense of urgency for the community does not really kick in until we come back from South Florida in February 2010."

Dallas Cowboys fans make Lot 14 their home away from home

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:16 CDT

By DAVID THOMAS

ARLINGTON — Kim and Shauna Hedin decided to wrap up their honeymoon at a place with a scenic view: Lot 14 of Cowboys Stadium.

The Canadian couple’s older, light-brown recreational vehicle was one of about 25 RVs and buses parked in Lot 14 south of the stadium Sunday morning.

The parking lot at the corner of Division Street and Legends Way is where Dallas Cowboys fans can spend a night — or two or three — to turn a Sunday game into a complete weekend.

For Kim Hedin, who grew up in Canada as a Cowboys fan, the weekend was a perfect way to wrap up a month-long honeymoon from Calgary to Las Vegas, then through Phoenix and into Arlington — and the perfect wedding gift from his wife.

At Shauna’s suggestion, Kim bought tickets to Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons about a year ago when the two became engaged.

"I’m a Cowboys fan," Kim said, "so we thought, 'Why not take a month off and go to a game?’ "

Little more than a first down from the Hedin’s RV, two bigger, newer, fancier motor homes were the weekend residences of not-so-newlyweds enjoying their first stay in Lot 14.

Don Morris — who is retired and splits time between Rockwall, Mount Vernon and their bus — is a Cowboys season-ticket holder. At an earlier home game, he happened by Lot 14, saw the overnight crowd, and told old friend Rex Tillery of Mount Vernon that their families should bring their motor homes and make a weekend of a Cowboys game.

Why pay for a hotel room, Tillery said, when he has a rolling home?

"We can’t just let it sit there. We gotta use it," Tillery said as he pointed to his motor home with two pots of yellow mums wife Carolyn had set near their front porch — the step at the side door — to render a homey touch.

Besides, Morris said with a laugh, "We’ve been kicked out of all the places we’ve stayed." That Morris was relaxing in a chair and drinking an iced tea favored his laugh more than his claim.

Staying in Lot 14 allowed the Morrises and Tillerys to host family, including the Tillerys’ grandchildren, during the weekend.

"Here and Walmart," Rex Tillery said when asked where all he had been since rolling into the parking lot Friday night.

Other than Walmart runs, the weekend was reserved for spending time with family and friends old and new, including the Hedins. The Morrises and Tillerys provided "The Canadians," as they became known in their area of the lot, a sampling of Texas hospitality.

"It’s been a blast," Shauna Hedin said. "Everybody is extremely friendly."

Around the lot Sunday morning, flags flew atop RVs and buses, with Cowboys and Texas state flags the most popular choices. Dads and kids tossed footballs on the blacktop playing field, with painted parking slots serving as yard lines. And everybody had a grill.

Lot 14 has to be the most nose-pleasing game day spot outside Cowboys Stadium.

Richard Escamilla had fajitas and ribs on the lunch menu outside the RV he shared with five family members, including his father, for a boys weekend trip up from San Antonio and their first game at the new stadium. The six split the $150 cost for parking in the lot.

They arrived Saturday evening, then spent the rest of the night, Escamilla said, "trying to get the TV to work and drinking beer until time to go to bed."

From Escamilla’s seat outside the RV, the parking lot sloped down toward the north, providing a picturesque view of the stadium. In fact, throughout the morning, temporary residents of Lot 14 posed for photos with the massive stadium looming over their shoulders.

Near stadium, Cowboys have a new rival: Satan

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 06:02 CDT

BUD KENNEDY

ARLINGTON — A wee bit o’ Scotland has come to the outskirts of Cowboys Stadium, and with it a foggy auld controversy over whether a Scottish sculpture park is also a pagan shrine that might hex the Dallas Cowboys.

City leaders and the family of late philanthropist Jane Mathes Kelton gathered Thursday to rededicate Caelum Moor, a former $3 million corporate sculpture park now relocated as public art along the bonny banks of Johnson Creek.

The same day, nursing home chaplain Michael Tummillo of Stephenville posted on a Web site: "Occultic landmark resurrected near home of the Dallas Cowboys." He warned Arlington about a "demonic backlash."

"Ridiculous!" said Norman Hines, now 70, creator of the 1985 park of 22 granite sculptures, some up to three stories tall and with Celtic markings reminiscent of the ancient English monument Stonehenge.

Tummillo was part of a 1996 witch hunt in Arlington, when 20 evangelical pastors signed a letter complaining that Caelum Moor, then near Interstate 20, was attracting pagan and Wiccan religious events.

The letter was headlined, "No Witchcraft Park in Arlington."

In a Thursday phone interview, Tummillo called Caelum Moor "a mockery of Christianity" and said those near the park — including the Cowboys — are "in a dance with the devil."

Kelton’s son, Andrew, now a real estate executive in North Carolina, said: "That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard in my life."

Former Mayor Richard Greene, the target of the pastors’ protest, was among dedication speakers on a foggy, rainy night that made Randol Mill Road feel like Randol Moor.

"I was amazed," he said after his speech. "It’s a work of art that any community would want. I never understood what they were talking about."

Tummillo was a youth pastor with the now-disbanded Redeeming Love Covenant Church when the Rev. Danny Smith and his wife, Dena, took their witchcraft warnings nationwide on CNN and even to the syndicated TV entertainment show Strange Universe.

Church members said they saw pagans and Wiccans worshipping in the park, just as pagans have at the original Stonehenge. Police had no reports. But reporters found a local Wiccan "high priestess" who had been there.

In a time when evangelical pastors were really worried about (1) teenagers’ dabbling in Satanism and (2) getting lots of free publicity, the ministers accused the city of supporting satanic worship.

"What about separation of church and state?" Tummillo asked Thursday, even though the sculptures represent Scottish and Celtic tradition, not religion.

In an online religious tract, The Battle of Caelum Moor, Tummillo even sadistically blames Hines and Caelum Moor for a series of divorces, deaths and church and business failures.

"I believe there’s a devil and that we tugged on his cape," he said by phone. "There was a demonic backlash. That satanic spirit has been lying dormant. It’s back now."

I took a look around Caelum Moor last week.

I didn’t see anything satanic. One sculpture has a triangular Celtic knot emblem.

Another has a big hole in the middle. It looks like a good place for Tony Romo to practice his passing aim.

Come to think of it, maybe we ought to worry about that hex.

Cowboys Stadium hosts 'Star Wars: In Concert’

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 06:17 CDT

By PUNCH SHAW

ARLINGTON — It is not hard to succeed if you have "the force" and the world’s largest TV screen on your side.

"Star Wars: In Concert," a presentation of clips from the six films in the iconic series accompanied by a live orchestra aggrandizing John Williams’ indelible scores, relied on both at Cowboys Stadium on Friday night — especially if the concept of the force encompasses the passion of the fans of George Lucas’ space operas.

The link between the concert stage and the movies was Anthony Daniels, the actor who donned a metal suit to play C-3PO.

The debonair host told the saga’s story between film montages that were organized around themes and bore titles such as A Hero Rises, Dark Forces Conspire, A Fateful Love and to showcase Daniels’ character and his buddy, R2D2, Droids.

It looked and sounded great. Seeing the familiar clips on the gigantic screen was impressive, and there was nothing to fault in the music led by conductor Mark Watters.

The only quibbles might be that the show didn’t really dazzle as much as it could have, and it was a little too much like seeing the movie in a (really large) theater.

Laser lights were used very sparingly, for example. The laser light show we see every summer in the Concerts in the Garden series is far better. And other special effects, such as some plumes of fire, came and went too quickly.

The fact that the music was heartily amplified, just as it would be in a theater, minimized the impact of the live playing.

The shots of the orchestra performing, which were sometimes interspersed with the film clips, were a real plus because they reminded us that the musicians were there with us.

Daniels was smooth and actorly in his straightforward delivery of his lines. The audience, estimated at 12,000, did not get any amusing anecdotes or gossip from this charming insider.

So the central elements — grand music, epic film imagery and intense nostalgia — were all in place. But, given how innovative and memorable the films were, it just felt like this salute could have learned a little more from its source than it did.

First one is super, but it may be just a start

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:49 CDT

By RAY BUCK

Drew Pearson wants all the buzz surrounding Super Bowl XLV to qualify North Texas as a host, on a regular basis, in a set rotation, for many more Super Bowls to come.

"I think that’s the goal," Pearson said Monday. "I don’t mean just back into it, either ... but let’s do everything possible so that the NFL just can’t turn us down."

Multiple Super Bowls have been in the backs of minds ever since the North Texas Super Bowl Host Committee set up shop eight months ago to begin multi-platform preparation for the Feb. 6, 2011 game at Cowboys Stadium.

It will be the third Super Bowl held in the Lone Star State, but the first in North Texas.

Pearson, former wide-receiver great of the Tom Landry Cowboys, joined Bill Lively, president/CEO of the North Texas Super Bowl Host, as guest speakers at a North Texas Chambers of Commerce luncheon at Cowboys Stadium on Monday.

Close to 350 members — representing 52,000 businesses and 95 chambers across a four-county region — were brought up to date on the economic impact that will hit North Texas roughly 15 months from now.

"We think the economic impact here will be as much as $700 million," said Lively, comparing this favorably to an estimated $300 million Super Bowl windfall on the Phoenix, Ariz., area two years ago.

Lively continued: "Now the NFL is intrigued with the college football Bowl Championship Series concept in which the [title game] rotates among the different bowl venues ... and now the NFL may well adapt to a "set" [number of Super Bowl stadium sites] across the country."

Lively’s best guess is that the rotation would include Florida, New Orleans, Southern California, Arizona ... "and, of course, North Texas."

His reason for optimism is Cowboys Stadium, a $1.2-billion structure with a six-digit capacity.

As Pearson pointed out, "What matters with the NFL, just like any other business, is the bottom line ... and 100,000 people at $1,000 [per ticket] is going to be hard for anybody to top."

Lively gestured to the far reaches of the stadium.

"For our Super Bowl, there’ll be 20,000 more seats in here that aren’t in here now," he said. "The eastern plaza will be fenced in, with tents, stages, food and beverage — even heaters — to accommodate another 10,000 fans."

The Super Bowl attendance record is 103,895 for SB XIV (Steelers-Rams) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., Jan. 20, 1980.

Super Bowl XLV is expected to draw 110,000 fans, according to Lively.

"North Texas doesn’t do anything small," said Pearson, drawing a parallel between the "teamwork and class" that characterized the Landry Cowboys and now what it will take to turn North Texas into a great Super Bowl host.

"People are going to be talking about this Super Bowl for years to come," Pearson said. "But it’s going to take everybody to roll up their sleeves and get on board."

Arlington worries that pedicabs around Cowboys Stadium are unsafe

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:16 CDT

By SUSAN SCHROCK

ARLINGTON — Rex Lee is one of dozens of pedicab drivers who have rolled into the city’s entertainment district, hoping to cash in on Cowboys Stadium by giving rides to fans walking to and from cheaper, but distant, parking lots.

During last week’s U2 concert, Lee, a driver with Pedal Express of Houston, parked near Nolan Ryan Expressway and Road to Six Flags, about a mile northeast of the $1.2 billion stadium.

"The stadium is very lucrative," Lee said. "Any big event like this works for pedicabs when people have to walk a long ways. It’s always a good venue for us."

Business may be good, but some city officials worry that the pedal-powered vehicles could create traffic or public-safety problems. Unlike Dallas or Fort Worth, Arlington has never permitted pedicabs, and the City Council is now considering whether to allow them to stay.

"We have pedicabs out there operating in an unregulated environment. We have concerns about traffic congestion and public safety that have to be counterbalanced with the service they are providing," Deputy City Manager Trey Yelverton said. "We want to make sure it’s a safe experience for our guests."

If council decides to allow pedicabs, an ordinance regulating their operation in the entertainment district could be passed as early as next month, he said.

Besides requiring permits and a criminal background check on drivers, as is required of taxicab drivers, Arlington could cap the number of pedicabs during stadium events and limit where and when they can operate.

"The problem we’re seeing is the pedicabs are not obeying any traffic laws at all," Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck said. "They are going the wrong way; some of them are running red lights. If we can regulate them where they would be safe, I’d be OK with that. If we can’t control that, I’m not OK with it at all."

Ready to roll

Pedicabs work only for tips, and some drivers said they can make $200 or more per event.

Lee said his tips range from $5 to $40, depending on how far he takes passengers and how much they enjoyed the experience.

"Kids just love it," Lee said. "The more you entertain them, the more money you make. It’s more entertainment than transportation."

Brian Becksfort, with Ready 2 Roll of Houston, said most of his experiences in his nine years as a pedicab driver have been pleasant. He said he typically works the bar areas in downtown Houston or travels with his company to work sporting events or concerts at major cities across the state. The U2 concert was his second event at Cowboys Stadium.

Becksfort said it will take a while for people to learn how pedicabs operate.

"I’ve had people run off or they give you a quarter," he said. "It doesn’t happen very often, but it does happen. People take advantage of you."

Yelverton said the city will talk with pedicab operators and review other cities’ regulations when drafting an ordinance. If allowed, pedicabs will likely be allowed only on days of events to minimize their interaction with everyday traffic, Yelverton said.

Fatal crash

Other cities have safety concerns about pedicabs and have either banned them, as Las Vegas has, or strictly regulated them.

San Diego, for example, recently passed tougher rules after a 60-year-old passenger suffered a fatal head injury after falling from a pedicab this summer. The city has hundreds of registered pedicab drivers, who now must ensure that passengers wear seat belts, must carry proof of insurance and cannot ride on sidewalks and streets with speed limits over 25 mph unless they use bike lanes.

San Diego City Councilwoman Marti Emerald said the city adopted the rules and limited the number of pedicabs in response to complaints about aggressive and reckless drivers. Many drivers attracted to the job are international students without a driver’s license, she said.