Chris Heinbaugh

From WFAA to Dallas City Hall to the AT&T PAC, Chris Heinbaugh Keeps Trading Up

​You won't have Chris Heinbaugh to kick around any more -- at least, not as a city official. Four years after the former WFAA reporter left journalism to go to work for Tom Leppert as his chief o' staff, Heinbaugh's outta there as of the June 8 council meeting. He explains why below, but tells Unf ... More >>

Mayor Assembles Council Brain Trust, Or Something, to Review Ethics Rollback

City Attorney Tom Perkins and Mayor Dwaine Caraway at last week's council meeting​While I was on the phone with Chris Heinbaugh about the item just below this one, he mentioned that Mayor-Not-For-Long Dwaine Caraway informed his council colleagues today that he's ready to go with that whole ad hoc ... More >>

One Calatrava Bridge is Finished. And Paid For.

I received so many of these photos yesterday, featuring Heinbaugh's Calatrava headwear, I'm not sure where these came from. The two at right are Merten's, I believe.​By now construction crews were supposed to have hung several Calatrava cables, or what Schutze calls "Margaret Hunt Hill's Gee Strin ... More >>

Caraway, Cluck and Moncrief Tell Perry: Do "Not Pass the Buck" When Balancing Budget

​Late yesterday, Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm and I had a long talk about several subjects, one of them being her efforts to trim the budget, yet again, this go-round anywhere from $60 to $110 million -- depending, she said, upon how much the state and feds take from the city. But, she said, she ... More >>

Don't Shoot! We Know You're Conservative, Tom.

Say, Let's Meet at the Lily Pad Today

​Tuesday evening, Mayor Dwaine's not-quite-chief-of-staff Chris Heinbaugh sent word: At 2:30 today, Caraway, council member Ron Natinsky, Grand Ricchi's Leobardo Trevino, Arts District exec director Veletta Lill and Downtown Dallas Inc.'s CEO John Crawford will gather for a press conference to dis ... More >>

Hours Before He Becomes Mayor, Caraway Has Message for "Believers, Doubters and Critics"

​At midnight, Dwaine Caraway will erase the "pro tem" from his title and become, simply, Dallas Mayor. And though he will replace U.S. Senate candidate Tom Leppert for just a few months, Caraway tells Unfair Park this evening: "It's very humbling to be able to be in this position." He then goes on ... More >>

Tomorrow, Mayor Tom to Say When He's Done

Patrick Michels​About an hour ago, Rudy posted a piece saying Mayor Tom Leppert's announcing his resignation tomorrow, during the city council meeting. But that doesn't mean he's ending his term tomorrow.A little while ago I asked the mayor's chief of staff, Chris Heinbaugh, for further details. A ... More >>

Deck Park to Announce It's Making "Significant Progress in the Capital Campaign"

The latest view from the deck park construction cam​Before taking that mandated four-day break, Mayor Tom's chief of staff, Chris Heinbaugh, sent to media a copy of the mayor's coming-week schedule. And, on February 24, was this note: "2:00 PM -- News Conference (Not what you think)." Meaning, of ... More >>

Fly Southwest, Drive Herb Kelleher: Mayor Submits Street Name for "Texas Legend"

Southwest Airlines​Speaking of changes at Love Field ...Mayor Tom Leppert -- along with council members Delia Jasso and Linda Koop -- yesterday sent a memo to City Manager Mary Suhm proposing that the city change the name of a section of Cedar Springs Road to Herb Kelleher Way. In honor of the co- ... More >>

Dallas City Hall Gets Its "S" Straight

Photos by Jesse Sidlauskas​After Chris Heinbaugh's heads-up yesterday about the city repairing its broken seal, Intern Jesse stopped by Dallas City Hall toward Wednesday's end to check that "S" out. I showed the photo to the boy this morning before he left for school. He grinned and demanded a hi ... More >>

With $210-Million Purchase Order, DART Begins Transition to Compressed Natural Gas Fleet

DART provides this sneak peek at one of the 452 new CNG-powered buses due to hit Dallas streets in 2013.​In the fall of '09, the Dallas Area Rapid Transit board inched toward spending hundreds of millions of dollars on new buses that would be powered by compressed natural gas -- as opposed to the ... More >>

City Hall To Get Its "S" Back Today

​Chris Heinbaugh, the mayor's chief of staff, e-mailed this morning with the good news: "I am told the seal in front of City Hall should be fixed today." He wanted me to pass along that info to the Friends of Unfair Park -- and the 7-year-old who lives in my house, who first noticed the "S" had go ... More >>

Mayor Tom on Kay Bailey's Announcement

​No, no, it has nothing to do with whether or not Tom Leppert's going to run for her Senate seat following today's bit o' breaking news. Sorry. That announcement's still a few weeks off -- after the Super Bowl, that's my guess. Chris Heinbaugh, the mayor's chief of staff, sends this instead:"I wan ... More >>

"Dallas Is the Lavender Heart of Texas."

So says Mayor Tom Leppert's chief of staff Chris Heinbaugh in this just-posted Gay Travel look-see at the city. It accompanies these out-and-abouts on Cedar Springs, at Fair Park, the W Hotel in Victory Park, Gay Bingo, Cyclone Anaya's, the Nasher Sculpture Center and the original Sonny Bryan's.Just ... More >>

Sarah Palin's Show at the Majestic Next Week Is Turning Into Quite the Texas GOP Jam Session

​A few weeks back we noted that Sarah Palin will be performing her one-woman show at the now-city-of-Dallas-run Majestic Theatre on November 10 on behalf of Austin-based Heroic Media, self-described as using "mass media advertising to help women facing unexpected pregnancies with hopeful alternati ... More >>

Portrait of the Mayor as a Young Baller

Courtesy the Leppert Family​This photo of Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, taken when he was adorable years old, ran with this morning's New York Times piece to which I linked earlier. But because I didn't want to lift it from the paper of record, I asked Chris Heinbaugh, the mayor's chief of staff, if w ... More >>

Mayor Tom: "Dallas Is At the Heart of What is Happening in the U.S. Economy Today."

Chris Heinbaugh​On the other side is the final dispatch from Chris Heinbaugh, Mayor Tom Leppert's chief of staff, who's among the traveling party wrapping up that trade mission to Spain and France. The quote in the headline comes from the release that follows, in which Leppert says the Euros are r ... More >>

Only Leppert Could Go to Valencia, or: Now, See, That's an Impressive Calatrava Project

Courtesy Chris Heinbaugh, who's at far rightNo idea what Jack E. Jett means when he says Leppert's the "most photographed Mayor in the history of the WORLD!"​Right now, you're probably wondering to yourself: Hey, how's Mayor Tom enjoying his European vacationtrade mission to Spain and France? Well ... More >>

Mayor Tom: Dallas and Spain Have "Long, Close Relationship" Getting "Stronger Every Day"

Pardon this blurry screengrab from one of Heinbaugh's iPhone videos. Next time I should just go with.​(Note to self: Stop. Watching. Baseball.)OK, then. Just received the latest postcard from Chris Heinbaugh, who's tagging along on Mayor Tom & Co.'s trade mission to Europe. It follows. But lon ... More >>

Under Madrid With Mayor Tom, or: How a Tunnel in Spain May Hint at Dallas's Rail Future

Chris HeinbaughA postcard from Mayor Tom and the Dallas delegation from the tunnel in which they spent part of their first day in Madrid​Funny thing: Yesterday, in the comments below, longtime Friend of Unfair Park Montemalone asked this about the Dallas delegation's trade mission to Europe: "I wo ... More >>

So, You Want to Know Who's Paying for The Mayor's European Vacation? Well, Then ...

Remember when I said you'd never see this picture again? Apparently, I was wrong.​Right about now, Mayor Tom Leppert, council member Ron Natinsky, state Rep. Rafael Anchia, Office of Economic Development head Karl Zavikovsky and a few other folks on the Dallas trade mission to Europe are probably ... More >>

U.S. World Cup Bidders Are Really Pushing Cowboys Stadium and Meadowlands Stadium

​Like I said Friday, the the FIFA World Cup Soccer Site Selection Committee's coming to town -- tonight, if Hermine doesn't mind. Last night, Mayor Tom Leppert's chief of staff, Chris Heinbaugh, sent a few more details concerning the visit in advance of the December 2 decision -- as in, when the c ... More >>

Guess We'll Have to Wait Till Noon to Hear About Mayor's Plans to "Ease Budget Situation"

From this morning's property tax hike briefing​At 9 this morning, the council will yet again sit down to debate the budget, and most of the briefing will likely focus on cuts to Park and Rec, which is looking to lose around $15.4 million out of its budget in the coming fiscal year (from $64,266,76 ... More >>

Consultant Says Part of New Love Field Concessions Proposal "Just Doesn't Make Sense" and Extending Contracts is "Fairly Common"

Airport consultant Pat Gleason​As Mayor Tom Leppert told DMN'er Rudy Bush last night, there will be at least four options for the city council to evaluate at Wednesday's briefing about the Dallas Love Field Airport concession contracts, two of which contain the mayor's input. We asked Leppert's ch ... More >>

Where's the Subsidized Housing in Dallas Located? Let's Go to the PowerPoint.

​Forthcoming, my very early-morning chat with Mayor Tom Leppert, during which we touched on, among other things, his call for a citywide fake-weed ban, the now-sidelined Dallas Watersports Complex and the fallout from Monday night's surprise announcement concerning Cliff Manor. But during the inte ... More >>

Federal Lawsuit Threat Scares DHA Into Moving 17 From The Bridge to Cliff Manor Even Before Task Force Gets Down to Discussions

Cliff Manor on Fort Worth Avenue, which will begin taking Bridge residents next week​When last we left the furor over Cliff Manor, where the Dallas Housing Authority and Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance plan to turn 100 units into permanent supportive housing for the "chronically" homeless, Mayor To ... More >>

So, If The Mayor's So Unhappy With Love Field Deal, What's He Gonna Do About It?

Tomorrow, the role of Laura Miller will be played by Tom Leppert.​So tomorrow's shaping up to be a very interesting Dallas City Council meeting: As Rudy Bush wrote yesterday, the mayor's mighty unhappy with the no-bid concession contracts being doled out to Dallas Love Field Joint Venture and Huds ... More >>

It's Official, Finally: Coming to a Cotton Bowl Near You, the Dallas Football Classic

​Dallas Football Classic officials were in Arizona this week making their final pitch-presentation to NCAA officials. You remember that game, right? New Year's Day? 11 a.m. kick-off? Beginning this January? At the Cotton Bowl? Pits the No. 6 team in the Big Ten against a rotating cast of cast-offs ... More >>

And You're All Invited to Meet Mayor Tom and Sarah Palin at the Fairmont!!

​So says the Friend of Unfair Park who sent us the link to the most astonishingly named Web site in the history of ever: Palin4Life.com. What you see above is the only thing on the Web site, which was created on March 8. And, ooof, tickets ain't cheap -- unless $75,000 for four's in your ballpark, ... More >>

Meanwhile, Down at the Convention Center Hotel Construction Site ...

Someone doesn't look like they want to be in this photo with the mayor, the U.S. treasurer and some council members.​Like I said, we're a wee bit shorthanded at the moment, and I couldn't find anyone willing to spend a damp afternoon at the Omni construction site with Mayor Tom Leppert and U.S. Tr ... More >>

Build America, Eff Yeah! U.S. Treasurer to Visit Convention Center Hotel Site Tomorrow.

Sam MertenNo, this is not the same picture we've run before. Merten's got a ton of them for his coffee-table book.​Took, oh, 'bout four months, but I see the city finally got around to posting The Official Convention Center Hotel Groundbreaking Video, which I've embedded after the jump. Good timin ... More >>

Love 'em or Leave 'em, Part 2: Mayor Has Another List of Vacant Downtown Buildings

View Larger MapThis time, there was no spectacle on a downtown sidewalk, no star-studded press conference in the rain, only a sunrise e-mail from Mayor Tom Leppert's chief of staff, Chris Heinbaugh. Fourteen months after Mayor Tom Leppert began his crackdown on vacant downtown Dallas buildings, he h ... More >>

Just as He's Prepping the LTV Tower for a Redo, Developer Gets Warning From City

​Earlier today, I asked Chris Heinbaugh, Mayor Tom Leppert's chief of staff, why the City Attorney's Office sent a letter to Leobardo Trevino, in which the new owner of 1600 Pacific Avenue was warned to clean up dozens of code violations or face fines (up to $1,000 a day per each penalty) and a po ... More >>

Leppert: Asian Trip "Will Translate into Economic Investment, More Jobs in Dallas"

Chris Heinbaugh/Office of the MayorPretty sure the woman at the far right is Linda Kao, the SMU Cox School of Business Assistant Dean of Global Programs and daughter of Buck Kao. Which reminds me: Royal China for dinner.​Mayor Tom Leppert and council member Ron Natinsky are wrapping up their trade ... More >>

Catching Up With Mayor Leppert in Asia If Only Because We Miss Him When He's Gone

All photos courtesy of the Office of the MayorLeppert and the trade delegation make a stop during their trip to Daedeok Innopolis (Hmm ... seems familiar)From the looks of the photos sent along by Mayor Tom Leppert's chief of staff, Chris Heinbaugh, it appears as though Leppert and the other 21 memb ... More >>

Don't Worry. Mayor Leppert's No-Show at Kunkle's Goodbye Wasn't a Slight. Just Turns Out He Had Somewhere Else to Be. Or Not.

flickr member: Angela HuntHeinbaugh and Leppert at the Death StarSomething was missing from Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle's retirement press conference this morning. OK, maybe not something so much as someone. More than a hundred folks found their way to DPD headquarters this morning to hear Kunk ... More >>

Leppert Calls for Another Ethics Reform Briefing, Doesn't Want This "Petering Out"

​Chris Heinbaugh, Mayor Tom Leppert's chief of staff, tells Unfair Park this morning that the mayor still hopes to get those ethics reforms passed at Wednesday's regular city council meeting. (Good luck with all that.) We should have a better idea of what they actually look like later this evening ... More >>

Mayor Tom and His Tiny Scissors

While fast forwarding through a TiVo'ed version of Friday night's 6:30 p.m. rerun of The Office on KDFI channel 27 (the one where Ryan burns his cheese pita in the toaster oven), none other than Mayor Tom Leppert appeared in a commercial break for yet another ribbon cutting -- this time for the fake ... 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 >>

Much, Much More About That Controversial Agenda Item the Dallas City Council Now Won't Even Talk About Tomorrow

Some call 'em "orbs"; others, "balls."​Late this afternoon, Chris Heinbaugh, Mayor Tom Leppert's chief of staff, called to discuss those proposed changes to council meetings, which would put stricter limits on public speakers at City Hall and put a deadline on when council members can remove conse ... More >>

César Chávez Lives! Or: Looks Like the City Council's Found a Street to Rename After All.

Too bad Belo Corp. killed its Young Street show ... If you're unaware for whom Young Street downtown is named, here's a brief history lesson courtesy the Texas/Dallas History & Archives at the Dallas Public Library:Young Street was named for Methodist minister Reverend William C. Young. Young ha ... More >>

With the Statler Hilton's Future in Question, Last Night a Loving Look Back at Its Past

Scott DornJo Fischer, who worked at the Statler Hilton even before it officially opened in 1956Organizers of last night's "Story of the Statler" presentation at the Dallas Center for Architecture expected, oh, maybe 30 or 40 folks to show for architect Marcel Quimby's talk about the historic, neglec ... More >>

On the Mayor's To-Do List This Week: Santiago Calatrava and Judge C. Victor Lander

A peek at Mayor Tom Leppert's schedule this week reveals two intriguing appointments. Like tomorrow, for instance: The mayor's getting together with one Santiago Calatrava, who's in town for some kind of a dinner tomorrow night -- though maybe he's helping workers unload the steel for the Margaret H ... More >>

For Now, At Least, Mayor Leppert Won't Try to Sink the Inland Port

It's over.Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert just cried "Uncle!" in the battle over the Southern Dallas "inland port," an expandable map of which is available at right. Chris Heinbaugh, the mayor's spokesman, confirmed for me by e-mail mere minutes ago reports I heard yesterday afternoon that Leppert was pull ... More >>

After Their Murder-Suicide, Questions About Rufus and Lynn Flint Shaw's Shady Dealings Haunt Dallas

Mayor Tom Leppert Needs to Walk the Ethics Reform Talk

If the mayor wants to raise the ethical bar at City Hall, he won't have far to reach

Mayor Tom's Going to the Super Bowl! (Just Not the Game, Apparently.)

Rock the Vote -- Or, At Least, the Candidate Who Doesn't

Hill and Heinbaugh: Issue-Makers