Toyota, Pulte learning crisis management
Toyota's issues with unintended acceleration, floor mats, brakes and recalls and Pulte/Centex Homes' association with a frightening retaining wall failure have absorbed big chunks of San Antonio news media attention in recent weeks. Both situations offer useful lessons about crisis management to other organizations.

Centex wrong about wall threat
The day after a towering retaining wall collapsed in a Northwest Side neighborhood, officials with Centex Homes told anxious residents that the San Antonio Fire Department was leaving the neighborhood because the danger had ended. The San Antonio Express-News received a video of the entire private meeting on Jan. 25 at a Drury Inn & Suites between Centex and residents of Rivermist and The Hills of Rivermist, filmed by an attendee. It shows Centex Homes’ Trey Marsh telling scores of families, “They don’t feel like there’s a threat anymore based on the work that we’ve done since this whole deal started.”

New homes built in landslide neighborhood
Homeowners affected by a landslide in a Northwest Side neighborhood are asking why their builder is still building new homes in the neighborhood. Homes started sliding down a hill in the Hills of Rivermist subdivision in January when a retaining wall failed. The builder, Centex, has begun constructing several new homes nearby. News 4 WOAI checked with city officials and independent engineers Monday to see if the new construction was safe. News 4 WOAI was told the new homes are on solid ground, but that the builder needs to follow construction standards. "In the end, if they don't, then they won't get a certificate of occupancy," explained District 8 City Councilman Reed Williams. "So, there's still another checkpoint or two obviously."  Councilman Williams also said Centex is scheduled to be finished with an overall evaluation of the Hills of Rivermist problem by the end of February.  News 4 news report

San Antonio Builders Create Temporary Manmade Premium Hillside Views
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Rivermist Trickle Down
Some residents at the Hills of Rivermist say Centex officials aren't addressing the problem as a whole. Many who live in the subdivision, but not right by the collapsed retaining wall, say their homes are falling apart. Elsa Gonzalez says she's noticed many cracks and leaks in the past week and fears what's next. She is not one of the residents who was forced to evacuate as a result of the landslide. Centex officials tell us some movement is expected because of the rain, but that the land is stable and shored up. They also are inspecting all of the homes where families were forced to evacuate. Still, residents like Gonzalez say the only appropriate response by the company would be to buy back their homes. 

See KABB FOX news video report...

Landslide neighborhood homeowners look for support from lawmakers
It was a busy morning Saturday at the post office for some Northwest Side homeowners who say they are desperate for help. Residents of the Hills of Rivermist subdivision have seen their home values plummet since a landslide tore apart a retaining wall three weeks ago.We caught up with some of them at the post office in Helotes. They were mailing out letters, asking for help. The letters are addresses to lawmakers at every level; from San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro all the way up to President Barack Obama. “Hoping, hoping for answers,” explained Hills of Rivermist resident Will Ansel. “We haven't heard anything from Centex. It seems like they're hiding from us. It'd be nice to hear what they have to say.” Back at the subdivision our cameras caught a rather bizarre sight Saturday. On one side of the street a police officer stands outside a home that's now unsafe to set foot inside because of the landslide. On the other side of the street crews are busy at work on the foundation of a new home. 

View Video News Report: Landslide neighborhood homeowners desperate for help

Cracks beginning to show in more Rivermist homes
by Chris Sadeghi / KENS 5 TV  February 14, 2010 As time drags on at the Rivermist subdivision, residents are growing more and more frustrated. Saturday, dozens of residents began a letter-writing campaign, many saying even if the wall is fixed, the problems created by the shifting soil will remain. Chris Sadeghi has the latest.

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San Antonio builders must check all retaining walls built in past three years
An interesting status report was posted online tonight by San Antonio officials who are examining the retaining wall collapse at the Hills of Rivermist. Officials met with local builders, who were told they must review all retaining walls built over the past three years that are more than four feet tall. The builders must make sure an engineer designed each wall and that the structure was built correctly. And the builders must pull permits for each wall by March 31. The builders raised several concerns about the city’s permitting requirements, some of which were discussed in our story about the city’s lack of oversight of retaining walls.

Bexar commissioners look to learn lessons from Hills of Rivermist collapse
by KENS 5 staff Residents remain on edge in the Hills of Rivermist subdivision as measures continue to shore up the collapsed retaining wall there. Bexar County Commissioners are taking steps to avoid a similiar situation elsewhere. They'll hear a report Tuesday about the state of retaining walls on property in unincorporated ares of Bexar County. Meantime, developer Centex has hired a private firm to investigate exactly what happened at Rivermist. It should take about six weeks for that report