Chris Bowers

Scott Griggs Thinks The City's Being "A Little Misleading" About Its Power to Regulate Boarding Homes

Immediately after Mayor Mike's extremely non-surprising show of support for the Trinity River toll road yesterday, the city council members retreated into executive session to continue talking about how to regulate the city's boarding homes . After more than an hour off-camera, they came back and ... More >>

Council to Sign Resolution Putting Columbia Packing Company on Code Compliance Clock

​Speaking of the council's Wednesday briefing and sewers and so forth ...There are a few things council will actually vote mid-week, seeing as how they're on spring break next week. Among 'em: a resolution tsk-tsk'ing the Columbia Packing Company in Oak Cliff, infamous for having been caught turni ... More >>

600 Elsbeth, Site of Rotting Apartment Complex In Which Lee Oswald Once Lived, Is For Sale

​Speaking of the assassination of John F. Kennedy ...For a long while now we've written about the ongoing fight between the city of Dallas and Jane Bryant, owner of the decaying apartment complex on 600 Elsbeth near Bishop Arts where, in 1962, Lee Harvey Oswald and wife Marina briefly lived. Just ... More >>

Train Museum Was to Roll Out of Fair Park By Saturday. That Won't Happen. Now What?

​Just checked the calendar and noticed: The Museum of the American Railroad should be rolled outta Fair Park by ... well, by Saturday, would you look at that. Except, no: Two years after the city sued the train museum, telling it to chugga-chugga thee to those new digs in Frisco or a temporary hol ... More >>

The End of the Occupation: Scenes From Dallas Police's Raid on Occupy Dallas's Encampment

Photos by Justin Terveen, slide show hereIn the shadow of Dallas City Hall, officers on horseback and in riot gear prepared to raid the Occupy Dallas encampment early this morning.​A little past 11 last night, one of the protesters camped out behind Dallas City Hall was walking from tent to te ... More >>

Protestor Accused of Assaulting Cop Now Accused of Punching a Fellow Occupier

Photo by Brantley HargroveStephen Benavides​Earlier this morning, Occupy Dallas posted to its website an item headlined: "OccupyDallas supporter assaulted." That supporter: Glynn Wilcox, who was among those who helped hash out the agreement between City Hall and the protesters that allowed them to ... More >>

Will Occupy Dallas Stay at City Hall? Will Its Case Be Heard in Federal Court? Who Knows!

Photo by Chris Howell​Right now we were supposed to be at the Earle Cabell for a federal hearing over Occupy Dallas's camp-out behind Dallas City Hall. Alas, that was not meant to be: Friday's agreement, which said the Occupiers could occupy City Hall's bathrooms and kept the city from making ... More >>

Occupy Dallas Can Stay Put, Temporarily and Conditionally, Pending a Hearing on Monday

Photo by Chris Howell​This afternoon, U.S. District Judge David Godbey helped City Hall and Occupy Dallas come to a verbal agreement that protestors can not only keep camping outside City Hall, but can also use City Hall restrooms and keep their current signage -- two issues disputed in the te ... More >>

Suhm's "Very Disappointed" By Turn of Events as Occupy Dallas, City Head Back to Courthouse

Photo by Chris Howell​Below you'll find the original agreement the city of Dallas and Occupy Dallas entered into last month after that trip to the courthouse that was all fist-bumps and high-fives. Problem is, the agreement is affixed as an exhibit to even more legal docs Occupy Dallas's attorneys ... More >>

An Offended Occupy Dallas Responds to City's Demands; Last Arrestee Due Out of Jail Today

Photo by Chris Howell​At the end of business yesterday City Hall sent that memo from City Manager Mary Suhm and that letter from First Assistant City Attorney Chris Bowers. Both said more or less the same thing: Occupy Dallas has till 5 p.m. Saturday to clean up its mess behind Dallas City Hall, o ... More >>

Citing "Numerous Breaches" of Agreement, City Hall Tells Occupy Dallas to Clean Up or Get Out

Photo by Anna MerlanFirst Assistant City Attorney Chris Bowers, at left, just last week​Never did hear from City Manager Mary Suhm about what she intended to tell Mayor Mike Rawlings concerning Occupy Dallas's continued camp-out behind Dallas City Hall. No matter: Moments ago Suhm sent to the mayo ... More >>

Mayor Mike Rawlings Gets Rowdy as City Hall's Halloween Party Also Gets Occupied

Photos by Anna MerlanNo, I can't imagine we'll ever see this photo at right ever again. Not at all. No, never.​My most terrifying night at Dallas City Hall involved a six-hour Redistricting Commission meeting, during which I was forced to eat 1,000-year-old, partially fossilized peanut butter ... More >>

At Feel-Good Hearing, City and Occupy Dallas Hash Out Deal to Move Downtown Campsite

If you need one of Dallas's occupiers come Sunday evening, this is where they'll be.​A hearing this morning at the Earle Cabell could have been a First Amendment showdown over Occupy Dallas's right to remain in Pioneer Park in downtown. Instead, it became a simple formality after protesters ca ... More >>

City Settles With Owner of Land Where It Will Build the "New" Park Forest Library Branch

The present-day Park Forest branch on Forest and Cromwell, which will sit empty once its replacement is built​At some point this morning, the city council will vote to pay something called 11900 Marsh Lane, L.P. out of Houston a little more than $800,000 for a piece of land currently on the tax ro ... More >>

Railroad Museum at Fair Park Now Says It Has Money to Begin Building Frisco Site

Says the museum, the Sante Fe Tower that's been at Fair Park since '96 "will be the most challenging structure to move due to its excessive height."​There hasn't been much action in the city's case against the Museum of the American Railroad at Fair Park, which city attorneys took to court at the ... More >>

What's the Deal With 500 S. Ervay? Well, Funny You Should Ask. There's a Hearing Next Week.

Photo at left courtesy the Dallas Public Library Texas/Dallas History Division500 South Ervay as it looked in 1955, and a more recent photo on the DCAD website​Speaking of vacant downtown landmarks ...Two weeks ago, a City Hall employee asked if we knew what was up with 500 South Ervay, which sits ... More >>

Drink Down The City of Dallas's Response to Dry Side's Motion For Summary Judgment

​The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission continues to dole out those permits to the would-be beer- and wine-sellers of Dallas. The 21-page of list of March sweepstakes winners alone, which follows, includes a handful of Aldi locations (from the one at Forest and Audelia to grocery at Illinois and ... More >>

Never Mind That September Trial Date in Beer, Wine Case. There's Now An April Hearing.

​If you click to embiggen the image at right you'll note it's  an invite to a beer-and-wine "launch party" at the Preston Forest Whole Foods scheduled for tomorrow; it arrived this morning with the header "It's the end of Prohibition at Preston Forest's Whole Foods Market." Soon as it landed ... More >>

Depositions and More Delays in City's Case Against Museum of the American Railroad

From the Museum of the American Railway's computer-generated look at its future home in Frisco​In case you'd forgotten all about City of Dallas v. Museum of the American Railroad, rest assured: It's alive and well in Dallas County District Court, where, in recent days, there have been myriad filin ... More >>

City Plan Commissioners Recused Themselves from Gas Drilling Talk Last Week for Owning Stock in XTO Energy Parent Exxon

​Even before their meeting last Thursday afternoon, City Plan Commissioners had decided to hold off voting on XTO Energy's second application for a gas drilling site in Dallas -- leaving time for the city council to figure out what to do with XTO's first application, maybe even delaying that call ... More >>

Four Years Later, Jury Finds TCI West End Guilty of Fraud For Razing MKT Freight Station

Justin TerveenFor the past four years, the demolition of this building has been much discussed on the Dallas Fort Worth Urban Forum.​On Monday I noted that city officials were anxiously awaiting a verdict in the 4-year-old case of City of Dallas v. TCI West End Inc., which concerned the demolition ... More >>

After Delaying Vote on Potential Sale of Samuell Farm, Park Board Opts to Take a Pass. For Now.

Courtesy Friends of the Farm​No doubt you recall the brouhaha in June over Park and Recreation's proposal to ask voters if it'd be OK to maybe, some day, sell Samuell Farm and Samuell New Hope Park, neither of which the city has dough enough to tend to. Long story short: The Texas Attorney General ... More >>

Court Orders City of Dallas to Respond to Wet-Dry Opponents' Writ By July 19

Andy Siegel​One week ago, as you no doubt recall, attorney Andy Siegel filed a writ of mandamus in which he claimed, among other things, that the organization formerly known as Progress Dallas did not garner enough legit signatures to trigger a local option election concerning the off-premise sale ... More >>

After Texas AG Swats Down Proposed Samuell Parks Sale, City Attorney Says, "Nuh-Unh."

Courtesy Friends of the Farm​If you thought the Park and Rec board's decision yesterday to defer a vote on a proposed sale of Samuell Farm and Samuell New Hope Park meant that was that till August 5, so sorry. But, hell, might as well go five-for-five this work week with one final item on the city ... More >>

Ain't Gonna Work on Samuell Farm No More? The City Would Like to Sell Beloved Property.

The entirety of Samuell Farm in an aerial snapshot taken by Hugh Brooks's now-defunct Friends of the Farm​I expect this won't be our last item on this subject today, given the years of blood, toil, tears and sweat that have been spilled over Samuell Farm. But just a little more than a year after t ... More >>

Don't Raze Me, Bro Redux: Council Delays Vote on Teardown Ordinance For One Month

​First person I saw at City Hall yesterday was Katherine Seale, exec director of Preservation Dallas, who'd come to council in an attempt to stall a vote on the historic demolition ordinance we've been discussing since, oh, August '08 and the one that, as currently written, would allow the city to ... More >>

Looks Like the Train Museum May Be at Fair Park Till Well After the New Year

​Got to Judge Martin Hoffman's courtroom in the George Allen a few minutes past 9 this morning for a long-scheduled injunction hearing in the case of City of Dallas v. Museum of the American Railroad. It figured to be an interesting hearing, what with all the he said-he said going on between First ... More >>

Public Safety Committee Shuns Preservationists, Approves New Historic Demolition Ordinance

Sam MertenYup, Dwaine. This briefing was way over the collective heads of your committee.​Baffled and outraged preservationists quietly vacated Monday afternoon's Public Safety Committee meeting after the city council committee voted unanimously to adopt a new historic building demolition ordi ... More >>

The City's Still Debating How to Tear Down Safety Threats in Historic Districts

In August 2008, this was among the houses depicted in the initial council committee briefing regarding the need for a new teardown ordinance.​If it feels like City Hall's been debating the issue of how to tear down blighted properties within historic districts since forever, well, it's only been . ... More >>

Amazing But True: City's Not Giving Up On, Um, "Problematic" Bama Pie Project

This is what the Bama Pie building looked like when I drove by it on New Year's Day of this year.​Longtime Friends of Unfair Park probably don't need a recap concerning the tragicomic goings-on at the former Bama Pie Co. building across the street from Fair Park. This blog is littered with stories ... More >>

What a Train Wreck: City Doesn't Know Anything About That "Tentative Agreement" With Railroad Museum

​Yesterday I got word that the Dallas City Attorney's Office and the Museum of the American Railroad were in the midst of hashing out an agreement that would allow the museum to stay at Fair Park till August 1, 2011 -- a full year later than the city's been demanding. Till Monday, last I'd heard w ... More >>

U.S. Supreme Court Drowns City of Dallas's Hopes for Taking Water From Neches River

Schutze, unlike the city, is not up the Neches River without a paddle.​The U.S. Supreme Court today has ruled against the city of Dallas in its lawsuit over the proposed Neches River Reservoir -- an 11th hour reprieve for the state's last wild river. It's a two-word ruling - "certiorari denied" - ... More >>

Railroad Museum Files for Temporary Restraining Order, Wants City to Back Off

​So, 'round 3ish tomorrow, expect the latest update in the case of the City of Dallas v. the Museum of the American Railroad. At 2:30 p.m. tomorrow a hearing been scheduled in Associate Judge Teresa Guerra Snelson courtroom, during which city attorneys and lawyers representing the museum will face ... More >>

Train Museum Lawsuit Kept A-Rollin': City's About to Stop Paying For Water, Power

​I called council member and Economic Development Committee chair Ron Natinsky late last week about the downtown parking study agenda item, which the council didn't get around to discussing yesterday. (An hour was spent instead on talking about how to create a revolving fund from which to make loa ... More >>

So, Come On, Does the L.A.-Based Owner of the Old Dallas High School Really Want to Sell

On and off, the old Dallas High School has been on Preservation Dallas's most-endangered list.​OK, fair warning: This is going to be one in a series of items over the next couple of days dealing with Crozier Tech (or, as long-timers know it, the 103-year-old city-designated landmark Dallas High Sc ... More >>

Owner of Lake Cliff District Home Can't Blame City, Bank For Calling In the Bulldozers

500 E. 6th Street in the Lake Cliff Historic District​Henry Spruiell does not disagree with the city of Dallas: The house he owns at 500 E. 6th Street in the Lake Cliff Historic District does indeed pose what's known as an "imminent threat to public health and safety" and probably should be torn d ... More >>

Is the City Finally Taking Legal Action Over that Failed Bama Pie Motor Sports Museum?

​It may be a few weeks before we know for sure, but after years of wondering what to do about the Bama Pie mess, the city's inching closer to filing a lawsuit over the empty building in South Dallas. Oh, right -- what Bama Pie building? Longtime Friends of Unfair Park know the whole sordid story. ... More >>

Zoning Committee Amends Historic Demolition Ordinance: Houses Only, If You Don't Mind.

Back in August 2008, this was among the houses depicted in the council committee briefing regarding the need for a new teardown ordinance.​Speaking of vacant downtown buildings ... When Mayor Tom Leppert unveiled his list of Central Business District buildings that needed to be brought up to code ... More >>

Don't Raze Me, Bro: Considering the Latest Ordinance Allowing for Historic Demolitions

​Tomorrow morning, the Dallas City Attorney's Office will present yet another version of its ordinance that would allow for the demolition of buildings in historically designated districts. Surely you know what this is all about -- we've been down this road since, oh, August 4, 2008, when the the ... More >>

Ain't Gonna Work on Samuell Farm No More? Per City Docs, Four Options for the 320 Acres.

The Pavillion at Samuell Farm, which the city is considering tearing down -- unless a gust of wind beats it to the punch​Last Friday, we broke the news that the Texas Attorney General's Office is threatening to take control of the W.W. Samuell Trust if the city of Dallas doesn't turn over by Septe ... More >>

City Misses Samuell Trust Reports Deadlines; Texas AG Threatens Dallas With Legal Action

Once a popular hangout at the Samuell Farm, the Pavillion is a rotting, open-door shell of its former self.​Long story short: Since March 2008, the Texas Attorney General's Office has been investigating precisely how well the city of Dallas is taking care of the park properties and money left to t ... More >>

Once Again, the Mayor Had the City Attorney Rewrite Rules for Council, Public Speakers

Natalie Dee​I see Rudy's already posted his item about tomorrow's vote on Dallas City Council rules changes, which showed up earlier this week on the addendum for tomorrow's meeting. (It's Item No. 2.) But what he doesn't get into is why the council will vote on reducing and, in some cases, elimin ... More >>

Plethora of City Attorneys Unable to Push New Demolition Ordinance Past Committee

Sam MertenCity plan commissioners Neil Emmons (right) and Robert Ekbald (left) watched as Katherine Seale of Preservation Dallas spoke this morning to the Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee.Much to the chagrin of the half dozen city attorneys attending this morning's Zoning Ordinance Advisory Comm ... More >>

City Tells 508 Park Avenue Owners: Clean Up or Pay Up ... A Small Fortune, Every Single Day

As promised here's the city's complaint brought against Colby Properties today in Dallas County District Court. In the complaint -- and the request for a temporary and permanent injunction against the owners of 508 Park Avenue -- the city is seeking $1,000 per day for every listed violation of both ... More >>

Get lost with Jim Schutze while canoeing the Neches River and find the wildlife refuge Dallas wants to dam to secure its water supply

City, Texas AG's Office Close to an Agreement Concerning W.W. Samuell Land, Trust Fund

View Larger MapOn Wednesday, the Dallas City Council is expected to get a look at the Texas Attorney General's Office's findings concerning its yearlong look into how the city manages the W. W. Samuell Permanent Foundation, the Samuell Trust Fund and the properties willed to the city by the physicia ... More >>

Downtown Dallas at the Crossroads

The city's effort to clean up downtown could cost us important parts of history.

In East Texas, Further Efforts to Keep Neches River Water Out of Dallas

The City of Dallas has maintained for years that it needs the proposed Fastrill Reservoir in East Texas to meet the city's future water needs; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and environmentalists looking to protect the Neches River disagree. Hence, the lawsuit filed by the city in January 2007, ... More >>