Live from City Hall

John Fregonese, the proud papa of ForewardDallas!, is in the house, but has kept quiet. He's been walking around, standing and sitting and stroking his beard, looking alternatively bored, frustrated, aghast and elated as his baby gets batted about the room. His name has been evoked a hundred times today--sometimes...

By Patrick Williams

June 14, 2006

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John Fregonese, the proud papa of ForewardDallas!, is in the house, but has kept quiet. He's been walking around, standing and sitting and stroking his beard, looking alternatively bored, frustrated, aghast and elated as his baby gets batted about the room.

His name has been evoked a hundred times today--sometimes positively, sometimes as a perjorative, sometimes just plain wrong. ("Freakin' Easy" has been my fave thus far, courtesy of a South Dallas property owner.)

The pro-FD'ers are up to bat now, and the room has cleared out considerably. Even the anti faction has started to leave, resigned, perhaps, to the inevitable. "They've made up their minds," Virginia McAlester, well-known local preservationist, says of the council. Nonetheless, she insists she is holding out hope for the passing of the Plan Commission's version.

What Jim and I hope for? The mayor.

--Robert Wilonsky

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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