Comerica Inc.

Stacey Hargraves' Mary Kay Job Didn't Pay Well, So He Became a Terrible Bank Robber

Stacey Hargraves was pulling in $300 per week from his job in the sanitation department at Mary Kay, but it never seemed to stretch far enough to support his wife, children and his propensity to gamble and go to sporting events. And so, according to the FBI, he walked into the Comerica Bank on Illi ... More >>

Comerica Donates $15,000 Worth of E-Books and Readers, Setting a Trend, Rawlings Hopes

With its budget shrinking and shrinking over the past several years, the Dallas library system has an acute need for a Daddy Warbucks. Several, actually. More specifically, branches need deep-pocketed donors who can pick up the public book-houses by the boot straps, smack them in the behind and prop ... More >>

Clearly, Mary Suhm's In No Rush To Find a Library Chief, as She Names Another Interim

Kris Sweckard​Received a note earlier in the day that on Tuesday, Mayor Mike, Comerica CEO Ralph Babb, Serita Ann Jakes (Mrs. T.D. to you) and a host of city council members are meeting at the North Oak Cliff Library Branch for "a major announcement" that will involve the "unveiling of [an] e-book ... More >>

This Man Spent A Very Long Time Trying to Break Into an ATM on R.L. Thornton

​The Dallas Police Department has many, many photos of the man you see at right. They were all taken a little after midnight on December 20, on R.L. Thornton just off Grand Avenue, site of a Comerica Bank branch. But DPD does not know his name, which is why it dispatched to media several of his pi ... More >>

Conference USA Is Taking Over TicketCity Bowl (Which Will Feature Houston and Penn State)

​Far as lower-tier bowl games go, the second-ever TicketCity Bowl -- to be played January 2 at 11 a.m. at the Cotton Bowl -- is about as intriguing as it gets: The University of Houston (so, so, so close -- a one-loss team, thanks to Southern Miss over the weekend) will take on Penn State (well, y ... More >>

Why Downtown Dallas Inc.'s Fine With Ad Agency Moving Its Digs to Victory Park

​I called John Crawford, president of Downtown Dallas Inc., on Monday morning, about something -- can't remember, not important. But in between my leaving a message and his calling back, I received a press release: TM Advertising, which moved from Irving into the Comerica Bank Tower at 1717 Main S ... More >>

Well, You Know, Ron Natinsky Could Have Opened Up His Own 8-Track Museum ...

... but instead, he's running for mayor. Above you'll find the spot set to premiere on local TV tonight, which is good timing -- Sam's cover story about the Dallas mayoral race is set to hit newsstands tomorrow. And in it, he discusses when and why "bringing businesses to Dallas" became the overarch ... More >>

"Nonsense" and "Rubbish": It's Natinsky's Turn to Respond to Rawlings's Campaign Mailer

​We've already gotten former Dallas Police Chief-turned-Dallas mayoral candidate David Kunkle's response to Mike Rawlings's latest campaign mailer. Now, it's Ron Natinsky's turn to respond to the flier, which says -- without naming him -- that Natinsky served as chair of the city council's Economi ... More >>

Downtown Dallas 360, Meet The Community

To get to last night's Downtown Dallas 360 meeting you had to walk through the Chase set, which was using the convention center as Chicago O'Hare International Airport.​Last night a hundred or so folks interested in downtown development gathered at the Dallas Convention Center -- where they were f ... More >>

Dallas, Show Me the MoneyGram!

Kimberly Thorpe​Speaking of things that make the mayor happy ...MoneyGram International is moving its HQ from Minnesota to 2828 N. Harwood. It's bringing 75 people to Dallas; could grow to double that in coming years. Says Mayor Tom Leppert in an official release just dispatched by Chris Heinbaugh ... More >>

Comerica to Announce It's Putting Bucks Back Into Books at Two Southern Sector Libraries

​Late last night, a Friend of Unfair Park sent word that this morning Mayor Tom Leppert would be inviting media to the City Hall Flag Room to announce that Comerica will be "adopting" the North Oak Cliff Branch Library with "a large donation." Said the note, "It will be in hopes that they set the ... More >>

In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night: City Seemed a Little Dimmer This Earth Hour

Justin TerveenSaturday night was Victory Park's moment to shine. (Click to expand into a larger window. Or compare to this shot.)​ It was easy to go home a little unimpressed last year by Dallas's Earth Hour 2009 showing -- but then again, you know they were just setting up a sequel. Sur ... More >>

Dallas After Dark: Tomorrow Night, It's Lights Out, Yet Again, For Earth Hour

Justin TerveenDowntown Dallas as it looked during last year's Earth Hour​Speaking of our pal Justin ...Last year we enlisted him to shoot the city as it went dark for World Wildlife Fund's Earth Hour. Only problem: Despite the lengthy list of buildings scheduled to join the 60-minute blackout, it ... More >>

A Parade of New Year's Parade Photos

All photos by Harry Wilonsky"Who's Ron Jackson?" asks the boy. "That's Jason Castro," I tell him. "Who?" "Exactly."​It's no longer the Cotton Bowl Parade that snakes through downtown Dallas on New Year's Day. Wouldn't make sense -- the Cotton Bowl's now in Arlington, in case you missed that break ... More >>

Main Street Garden, Between Hard Rock and a Green Space

Robert Wilonsky​The missus, wee one and I are presently sucking in the '70s downtown, where Effects, a riff-rockin' import from Nashville is warming up the chilly throng-lite for Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights with decent Plant and Page and Joe Walsh offerings original and ... More >>

Willis Winters Gives Us a Slightly Soggy, Kind of Early Walking Tour of Main Street Garden

Less than one month from now, this very spot will be where the city plants Thomas Balsley's 60-foot-tall Christmas tree.​Willis Winters, assistant director of the city's Park and Recreation Department, was kind enough to give Unfair Park a tour of the $17-million Main Street Garden this morning -- ... More >>

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

A sneak peek at the new-and-improved Dallas skyline, if you look close enoughI'll leave it to Sam to interpret the convention center hotel documents that went online Sunday in advance of the city council's Economic Development Committee's jam-packed meeting this morning. (Takeaway: Open by Jan ... More >>

As Downtown Struggles Back To Life, It’s Survival Of The Fittest For Urban Pioneers

How to Spend Your Fourth of July and New Year's Day. Yom Kippur? Yer On Your Own.

Two items from the community bulletin board, beginning with the more pressing item of business: how to spend the Fourth of July. Last year, a few Unfair Park'ers actually went to the Fair Park Fourth -- as did one, ahem, "PDiddy," who noted in our wrap-up that the fireworks were indeed "awesome," bu ... More >>

Leppert Pokes Holes in Charter Amendment, Responds to Anti-Hotel Group's Ads and Much, Much More From the Campaign Trail

Sam MertenMayor Tom Leppert made two stops on his tireless convention center hotel campaign tour Tuesday as he dropped by for "coffee and conversation" with the Dallas County Council of Republican Women shortly before squaring off with anti-hotel group leader Anne Raymond at the Westin Galleria. Le ... More >>

Well, At Least We Know Where Kwame Kilpatrick Won't Be Working in Dallas

Former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, now a Dallas resident?As Jim noted last week, disgraced former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is out of the joint and heading to Texas -- where, no kiddin', he has a job interview tomorrow. So reports The Detroit News today, which eliminates one potential emplo ... More >>

Banks on Bailout: What Money?

The Associated Press had the temerity to ask the banks that pocketed more than $1 billion in bailout dough, Um, so where'd the money go, anyway? To which every single one said, None of your business. Included on that list: downtown Dallas-based Comerica."We're not sharing any other details. We're ju ... More >>

Man Behind Dallas Fish Market is Now Planting a Steak Downtown

GM's CEO Wagoner Insists GM Ain't Going Nowhere. But Where's the Beat?

Mayor Tom: Man, What An Amazing Year! And It's Gonna Get Awesomer.

Lions, Tigers and a Mayor Tom Fund-Raiser -- Oh, My!

Death in the Inner Circle

Apparent murder-suicide cuts to the heart of the mayor's southern Dallas advisors

Lynn Flint Shaw's "Inner Circle"

A Different Kind of Social Security Card

Intelligent Design for Living Here

Observer Staff Bee Real Smart

Oh, Sweet Irony

Mo' Comerica

Toys "R" Dallas

Coming to Comerica

Souled out

After 25 years of Texas' best rock, Q102 bids a tearless farewell

Lex and Terry's wet dream

Can two transplants from the land of Lynyrd Skynyrd and fart smells find the key to radio fame at Dallas' Q102?

Meltdown man

John Spano was just a dull, two-bit Dallas businessman before he tried to buy a professional hockey team. Now he's been charged with bank fraud, and his claims of wealth and business prowess are dissolving in the glare of scorching publicity.