Fatal Distraction

So Mayor Laura Miller, The Dallas Morning News reports, was vacationing in La Jolla, California, last week, just blocks from Tom Hicks' "summer retreat" offices. Miller wanted to take the opportunity to discuss renegotiating the no-compete clause that the city's Reunion Arena has with Hicks' and Mark Cuban's Center Operating...

By Patrick Williams

August 1, 2002

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So Mayor Laura Miller, The Dallas Morning News reports, was vacationing in La Jolla, California, last week, just blocks from Tom Hicks' "summer retreat" offices. Miller wanted to take the opportunity to discuss renegotiating the no-compete clause that the city's Reunion Arena has with Hicks' and Mark Cuban's Center Operating Co., which manages American Airlines Center. That clause, which guarantees the best events for AAC, is what's technically known in legal circles as "a high hard one."

Hicks wouldn't take the meeting.

So, wouldn't you like to know how that sat with her honor? Well, thanks to the "fact" that someone sent us Hicks' voicemail password, plus the fact that Buzz is willing to lie through our teeth, you can. Here is a transcript of unreturned messages Miller left Hicks in La Jolla.

Miller: Hi, Tom, it's Laura. I'm in town--isn't the weather beautiful?--and I thought maybe we could get together to talk about Reunion. Let's have lunch.

Miller: Hi, Tom, it's Laura again. I didn't hear from you and thought there might be some confusion. I meant Reunion Arena. I'm not from your old high school, ha, ha.

Miller: Oh, voicemail again. Dang. My phone rang, but it stopped before I could pick up. Thought it might be you. If it was, I'm here. Give me a ring.

Miller: Yeah, Tom. Laura again. Laura Miller. M-I-L-L-E-R. The mayor...of Dallas. Dallas, Texas. Call me.

Miller: OK, buddy. I'm parked outside your office right now, and I see you through the window, so I know you're in there and can hear me. Pick up the phone, Tom. Pick up, pick up, pick up. Jerk.

Miller: Oh, so I hear from your little tart of a press agent that this is your "family time" and you won't see me. Well, if you think you can have your fun with the city of Dallas and then hide behind your family, think again. I won't be ignored, Tom.

Miller: Hey, Tommy boy, you [expletive deleted]! Did you like the little hot dish I left you? Hope you and your precious family enjoyed the hasenpfeffer.

Regrettable relations: When Brian Cummings was chairman of the worldwide public relations consortium known as Worldcom, he wanted to keep the title even though clients sometimes confused the group with the telecom giant WorldCom. Now that he's vice president of Michael A. Burns & Associates, a Dallas PR agency that is a member of Worldcom, he no longer opposes changing the group's name. Smart man.

"We have to do something," Cummings says, "because even more clients are confused now. We spent 15 minutes of a recent 45-minute presentation trying to tell the clients, 'No, we're not that WorldCom.'"

Buzz's suggestion: Pick a name that doesn't have as negative a connotation as WorldCom, such as "Al-Qaeda R US."

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Patrick Williams is editor-in-chief of the Dallas Observer. Before joining the staff in July 1997, Patrick worked for the Southern Illinoisan, Amarillo Globe News and San Antonio Express-News. As editor-in-chief, he oversees the newsroom and guides the coverage of both the Dallas Observer’s printed publication and online website.

Contact: Patrick Williams