Carolyn Davis

Carolyn Davis Comes Out Swinging Against School Reform, in Defense of Principals' Jobs

Everybody in school politics always says it's all about the children. That's almost never true. If you don't believe me, you should have been there last night. At a spirited, sometimes cantankerous meeting in the auditorium of James Madison High School in South Dallas, prominent black elected offic ... More >>

In South Dallas, Councilwoman Carolyn Davis Wants to Crack Down On Car Washes, Massage Parlors

Eleven years ago, the City Council set aside an enormous, 3,700-acre tract of land surrounding Fair Park and put in place detailed zoning restrictions stipulating what types of homes and businesses could go where. It was an attempt to promote positive development and fight the economic decay that ha ... More >>

Watch Yesterday's City Council Debate on Municipal Judges Get Ugly

Yesterday, the Dallas City Council approved a new slate of municipal judges after months of contentious debate. The city's court system was seen by some as too lenient and not generating as much revenue as it should. In shot, they were too damned fair. What had been a mostly arcane debate boiled ov ... More >>

Ending "Political Catfight," Council Votes to Help Uplift Sell Cheaper Bonds For Expansion

​The Dallas City Council council didn't waste much time getting 'round to the most eagerly awaited showdown of the day: Item No. 53 on its agenda, which creates that nonprofit that would allow Uplift Education to some $85 million in low-interest-rate bonds. As city Chief Financial Officer Jeanne C ... More >>

Some on City Council Continue to Pit Charters Against DISD. For the Children, Of Course.

​A little after 2:30 the council got 'round to that Uplift briefing, which was supposed to be about the city's creating a nonprofit corporation to help the charter school sell tax-free bonds for its expansion into Deep Ellum and Fort Worth. Which, as the council's been reminded over and over, will ... More >>

What's the Hurry? Why Does Council Have to Vote on Helping Uplift Sell Bonds This Week?

​You know the cell phones must have been burning all weekend when the first city council committee briefing of the week at City Hall on Monday morning starts off with a rebuttal. Wait, rebuttal already? While those of us out here in the peanut gallery are still wiping the weekend from our eyes, co ... More >>

Suhm: Bond Package Is "Absolutely Critical Stuff." Some on Council Have Their Own Ideas.

​City Manager Mary Suhm reminded the council, again and again, by way of introduction: Today's presentation on the 2012 bond program is very, very, very, very preliminary. There will be many more meetings, including February confabs in every district. The numbers are rough, very rough -- guesstima ... More >>

City to Spread Gospel of Complete Streets Far and Wide, With Workshops and Pilot Projects

​The poster at right is for what could be the best Better Block event yet, scheduled to take place in and around the parking lot of R.L.'s Blues Palace No. 2 in the shadow of Fair Park -- an institution. Jason Roberts, QB for Team Better Block, says there are several choirs lined up to perform -- ... More >>

Eight Outta 15 Council Members Like This Map, Which Caraway Says Still Needs "Tweaking."

​Another redistricting post, I know. Settle down. But this one's especially interesting: Dwaine Caraway, Tennell Atkins and Carolyn Davis have made it very clear that whatever the redistricting map ends up looking like, they want four "winnable" African-American districts. At last week's forum, th ... More >>

Your First Look at the 10 (!) Amended Redistricting Proposals Submitted by Council

One of two maps submitted by Mayor Mike. All 10 are available here.​In the end, it would be quicker to name the council members who didn't submit amendments to the Redistricting Commission by Monday's 3 p.m. deadline: Sheffie Kadane, Angela Hunt, Jerry Allen and Sandy Greyson. Everyone else had so ... More >>

Dallas Should Go With the Flow Control

The sweet smell of money covers up garbage's stink.

Book It to the Fair

City Council OK's Mixed Use Plans for Gold Metal Recyclers, Okon Metals on South Lamar

Carolyn Davis at today's council meeting​Most of the time, when the subject of scrap-metal recyclers comes before the Dallas City Council the conversation grows contentious, with southern sector council members and residents wondering, yet again, why their part of the city, which lacks grocery sto ... More >>

A Liveblog As City Council Meets Its First Round of Finalists for the Gas Drilling Task Force

Task force nominees await their turn to chat with the council. It only gets more exciting from here.​Welcome back to Dallas City Hall for the epic second episode of the gas drilling task force selection process, where the ad hoc committee of city council members will be meeting candidates for face ... More >>

This Morning, Council Members Took First Look at Gas Drilling Task Force Hopefuls

Linda Koop​Last Friday, Robert offered a first look at some of the big names that had applied to sit on the city's gas drilling task force: Margaret Keliher, Royce West II, Betty Culbreath, the train-bedeviled Chico Grimes and more. This morning, Linda Koop and the handful of other members on the ... More >>

City Officials Celebrate As Bexar Street Revitalization Project Begins to Take Shape

Photos by Patrick MichelsDallas Neighborhood Development Manager Cobbie Ransom outlines the progress so far along Bexar Street.Under a tent along Bexar Street in South Dallas this morning, city officials treated a crowd of more than 100 to an enthusiastic display of back-slapping and upbeat progress ... More >>

Wait a Sec. There's Something Wrong With the Levees? Somebody Tell Carolyn Davis ASAP!

Photo by Sam MertenThe six-headed Trinity monster (from left to right): Jill Jordan, Kelly High, Rebecca Rasor, Liz Fernandez, Col. R.J. Muraski and Kevin Craig​If little else, attending Trinity River Corridor Project Committee meetings is a constant reminder of the jaw-dropping ignorance of c ... More >>

In South Dallas Today, City Officials Cheer as the Drug Houses Begin Coming Down

Photos by Patrick MichelsCouncil members Carolyn Davis and Dwayne Caraway watched with community activists as the first of the Summer Breeze Apartments came down.​It's open season on drug houses in Dallas today, with the Texas National Guard kicking off its two-week Operation Crackdown campaign -- ... More >>

With Residential and Retail, Gold Metal Recyclers Promises to One Day Recycle Seven Blocks of South Lamar Street (With Video!)

Images Courtesy VAI Archictects/Gold Metal Recyclers​Previously scheduled plans precluded our attending Neil and Kenny Goldberg's late-called all-star wingding Sunday afternoon, during the so-called "Lamar-B-Q" held in front of the Goldbergs' Gold Metal Recyclers. Nevertheless, we did receive the ... More >>

Dallas PD Won't Press Charges Against Carolyn Davis For Interfering With Traffic Stop

Rebecca Lopez asks Davis about the traffic stop on WFAA-Channel 8 Tuesday.​That's the word just in from the Dallas Police Department, which has wrapped its investigation into whether or not the council member acted inappropriately when interfering with officers trying to do their job last week. Da ... More >>

Carolyn Davis Picked the Right (Election) Day to Piss Off Dallas Police Chief David Brown

Watching the real news some nights has its advantages. Like this gift sure to keep on giving, for instance, which was wedged almost unnoticed at 10:23 in between awkward election-result wraps: WFAA-Channel 8 just ran Rebecca Lopez's story about how city council member Carolyn Davis might well have i ... More >>

City Council Members Tour the Bridge for Latest Update on Housing Dallas's Homeless

Photos by Patrick MichelsCity Council members Jerry Allen, David Neumann, Carolyn Davis and Pauline Medrano look on as Jay Dunn shows off facilities at The Bridge.The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance's Mike Faenza and John Castle have been pretty regular faces at City Hall over the past few months, bu ... More >>

Camped Out at City Hall for the Latest Briefing on Permanent Supportive Housing

​Now that Steve Salazar's run the City Council's Public Safety Committee out of the briefing room, his Housing Committee is powering through the afternoon in here for a look at the latest on efforts to place homeless folks into permanent supportive housing. With bullet-pointed stats presented in s ... More >>

On Love Field -- Or Anything Else -- Carolyn Davis Ain't Got That Swing.

The History Lesson Carolyn Davis Needed Before Telling the Mayor He Owes Her

Brian HarkinCarolyn Davis​As I said after Mayor Tom Leppert's huge convention center hotel victory, the man simply knows how to win. So that, combined with a sneak peek at Angela Hunt's thoughts, didn't make me fret about missing the big vote on the concessions at Dallas Love Field Airport. ... More >>

At the Poor People's March, Davis and Caraway Demanded Tax Hike to Cover Budget Shortfall

Photos by Evan ClintonCarolyn Davis briefly joined John Fullinwider, left, at the Poor People's March in front of City Hall today.​About 75 people gathered outside Dallas City Hall today -- accompanied by a 20-foot banner that said, "To Redeem the Soul of America" -- and accused city leaders of wa ... More >>

Demolition Girl on Top, or: Liveblogging the Council's Housing Committee Meeting

Carolyn Davis makes a point -- several, actually -- concerning a proposed ordinance that makes it easier to demolish historic homes.​What it do, Friends? Today's Housing Committee meeting, which Robert warned you I'd be liveblogging, got a late start because of the overflow of the previous Pub ... More >>

Carolyn Davis Does Her Best Angela Hunt Impression, But Not Before Doing Her Best Carolyn Davis Impression

Sam MertenRobert told me to get a pic of Dave Neumann, who had a conflict during today's floodplain ordinance presentation. So. Here. It. Is.​It was déjà vu at this morning's Trinity River Corridor Project Committee meeting as Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway preached about revitalizing the Ceda ... More >>

At City Hall, It's Back to the Drawing Board On Community Garden, Downtown DART Plans

​Well, soon as the Trash-Attack Code Compliance crew cleared out, this afternoon's party at City Hall sure died fast. Blame it on this bummer of a PowerPoint from DART, explaining the long-term impact of having flat sales tax revenues over the last 10 years, referred to simply as "The Lost Decade" ... More >>

So Why Does the City Use Those False Trinity Drawings? It's All About the "Prime Real Estate," Duh.

Sam MertenCarolyn Davis to Jill Jordan: "Just tell it like it is."​Although the city council's Trinity River Corridor Project Committee didn't vote on a plan to transform Riverfront Boulevard into a not-really-a-"complete street," committee members voiced support of the $54.5 million project, ... More >>

A Big Green Thumbs Down: Council Sends Staff "Back to The Drawing Board" on Neighborhood Farmers Markets

Daniel RodrigueFarmers, bakers and lotion makers -- all wanting to voice their concerns to council member Delia Jasso and assistant city manager Jill Jordan. ​More than two dozen folks -- several of whom broke meeting protocol by talking to council members and city staff -- showed up yesterday a ... More >>

Amidst Poorly Run Trinity Committee Meeting, We Learn the City is TxDOT's Contingency Fund for the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge

Patrick MichelsDave Neumann​Dave Neumann kicked off the city council's Trinity River Corridor Project Committee meeting this morning by revisiting last week's decision by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which approved levee remediation plans regarding construction of the Margaret Hunt Hill B ... More >>

The Waters Are Murky as Dallas City Council Seeks Clarity Before Ethics Reform Vote

Sam MertenCouncil member Carolyn Davis talks to zoning lawyer Kirk Williams as Willie Cothrum (right) listens.If nothing else, the city council's hastily planned ethics reform briefing early this morning showed that this group is capable of a spirited debate. For the most part, Mayor Tom Leppert has ... More >>

The Dallas City Council, Paper Dolls

The city manager and mayor look awful beaten down by this particular discussion.​If you've got some time this afternoon, you may wanna tune into the city council's budget amendment briefing, which has turned its attention to the council members' proposal to cut their own budget. As you may know, t ... More >>

Several Council Members Say That, You Know, a Teensy-Tiny Tax Hike Ain't a Bad Idea

​Speaking of the council and the budget and fees versus taxes ...As we mentioned yesterday, Tennell Atkins's budget amendment called for a 1-cent property tax increase -- which I didn't think would get terribly far, given council members, the mayor and the city manager's oft-repeated vows not to r ... More >>

After First Claiming It Couldn't Without Trinity Parkway, City Prepped to Do the Wright Thing

Once more, a proposed S.M. Wright realignment, which you'll need to click to enlarge​Here's another early peek at the Dallas City Council's briefing agenda -- this one concerning the list of projects, major and minor, the City Manager's Office is proposing to pay for out of the bond sale scheduled ... More >>

Angela Hunt on City's Budget Crisis: "We're Cutting Muscle; We're Cutting Bone."

Hey, at least Dallas doesn't have budget problems like Conan is facing out West. So we've got that going for us, which is nice.As we mentioned yesterday, the city council's Quality of Life & Government Services Committee got a look-see Monday afternoon at some of the proposed budget cuts before the ... More >>

Yet Again, Council Committee Wastes Time and Gets Nowhere With Booting Ordinance

The city council's Transportation and Environment Committee failed Monday afternoon to vote on a proposed ordinance to regulate booting vehicles in private parking lots, opting instead to hold a third meeting on the issue. After some committee members asked questions already outlined in the briefing ... More >>

Look Out, Kids! Because Starting Next School Year, There's a Daytime Curfew!

Moments ago, the Dallas City Council voted on the 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.daytime curfew ordinance -- and, not surprisingly, it passed almost overwhelmingly, by a vote of 12-2. The vote was taken shortly after Mayor Tom Leppert stressed that the ordinance (which you can read here, beginning on Page 63) i ... More >>

Hotel? No Hotel? Hard to Say, as Early Voting's Split Darned Near Right Down the Middle.

One of the city of Dallas's official renderings of the convention center hotelMerten and Pulle are out; Schutze is about. They'll offer their reports from hotel shindigs pro and con -- and, just maybe, some council member throwdowns -- later in the night, as Dallas County Elections begins kicking ou ... More >>

The Ready for Prime Time Players

This morning, Danielle McClelland in the Dallas City Hall Public Information Office posted to YouTube updates from District 4 and District 7, courtesy Dallas Delivers on Time Warner Cable Channel 16. Hosted by Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway and Carolyn Davis respectively, they're the very defin ... More >>

When Al Lipscomb's the Voice of Reason About the Convention Center Hotel, We're All Screwed

Sam MertenLeppert was too focused on the hotel votes to enjoy today's performance by the Dallas Black Dance Theatre.In separate 10-2 votes, the Dallas City Council approved developer and operator agreements with Matthews Southwest and Omni Hotels for the convention center hotel, leaving the $525 mil ... More >>

Carolyn Davis Demands City Build New MLK Bridge, Makes Another Gaffe at Trinity Meeting

Brian HarkinDistrict 7 council member Carolyn Davis isn't doing herself any favors in a potential campaign face-off against DISD trustee Ron Price. Humor me for a minute. Imagine you're a city council member on the Trinity River Corridor Project Committee. You walk into yesterday's meeting and Page ... More >>

A New Year's Resolution for Carolyn Davis: Get Better at Fund-Raising, Math

Brian Harkin Whilst searching city records, we stumbled upon council member Carolyn Davis's semiannual campaign finance report. She filed the document November 17, which was nearly two months ahead of the January 15 deadline. Since Davis is hardly the model of punctuality when it comes to filing r ... More >>

Why the New Smoking Ordinance Should Have Been Delayed, and Sorting Through the 10 Amendments

There's a line where government stops and the rights of the people begin, and when Mayor Tom Leppert and nine of his council colleagues voted to strengthen Dallas' smoking ordinance, that line wasn't blurred, they drove right past it as if it didn't even exist. But no matter where you stand on the ... More >>

The ABC's of Carolyn Davis' "TRCP" Question, Complete With Audio!

In the Absence of a Trinity River Project, Fun and Fascinating Meetings

Towing the Line at City Hall

Till Today, Andrea Grimes Had Never Been in City Council Chambers

Tom Leppert: Predictable and Classy