Delia Jasso

The City of Dallas Just Renamed its Convention Center After Kay Bailey Hutchison

A couple of speakers showed up at the 1500 Marilla this morning to ask that the City Council to hold off on a fast-moving proposal to rename the Dallas Convention Center after recently retired U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. Former councilwoman Sandra Crenshaw called for a public hearing before a ... More >>

Trinity East's Vapor Chase

Drilling thousands of feet into the earth is a cakewalk compared with dealing with City Hall.

Getcher Program Here: An Inside Baseball Report on Maneuvering Behind the Trinity Road

Well thank goodness Friday has finally arrived so we can have a little privacy here on the lawn, without all those damned readers butting in. Normally when they're around I don't like to do inside baseball, because, you know, it just makes them get all anxious and nattery. Then that guy who uses my ... More >>

In Museum Tower vs. Nasher, Tower Officials Say the Only Sure Fix is Fixing the Nasher Roof

It seems like decades, or perhaps centuries, since we first started hearing about the feud between the Nasher Sculpture Center and its shiny new neighbor, Museum Tower, a high-end condo building owned by the pensioners of the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System. The latest development, aside fro ... 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 >>

LGBT Leaders Ask Council to Help Mayor Rawlings Sign That Same-Sex Marriage Pledge

Daniel Cates​The leadership of the Thomas Jefferson High School student council (sniff), guests of Ann Margolin at this morning's meeting of the Dallas City Council, got quite the treat this morning: a parade of public speakers once again thoughtfully, kindly but also forcefully berating Mayor Mik ... More >>

Despite RIF Process, Dallas Animal Services Still Has 30 "Urgent" Vacancies It Needs to Fill

Jody Jones​"It's mid-January," Dallas Animal Services Commission member Bonnie Matthias said emphatically. "And we're caught with our pants down again." As usual, there's good news and there's bad news at Dallas Animal Services. This week, shelter manager Jody Jones and head of Code Complianc ... More >>

Rawlings Declares "Let The Dirt Fly" as City Council Approves Sylvan Thirty Zoning

Brent Jackson, at left, and Monte Anderson​Just after that totally delightful discussion on the voting habits of trees, after which the city council OK'd a new Walmart, there came another momentous development matter: the West Dallas mixed-use project known as Sylvan Thirty, the one we've been ... More >>

City's Senior Affairs Commission Warned That Many Dallas Boarding Houses Are "Snake Pits"

If you happen to own or rent a house and you enjoy exploiting the elderly and the mentally ill, the city of Dallas has a legal loophole made just for you. A representative from Mental Health America of Greater Dallas warned the city's Senior Affairs Commission yesterday that despite years of public ... More >>

DPD Assistant Chief: Homicides Are Way Down For the Year, But Burglaries Still a Problem

​Dallas Police Chief David Brown sent a sub to address the city council's Public Safety Committee this morning: Assistant Chief Charles Cato, who explained the crime-stat summary you see above. Said Cato: Crime's down 4 percent overall citywide, but when pressed by council member Delia Jasso later ... More >>

Dallas City Hall Gets Occupied, For the Morning At Least, By the Latino Redistricting Task Force

Photos by Anna Merlan​As promised, the public comment period at this morning's Dallas City Council meeting featured several members of the Domingo Garcia-led Latino Redistricting Task Force . In the council briefing room, every chair was full, with many people wearing white-and-blue tees that read ... More >>

"It's Time to Take Action": Latino Redistricting Task Force Pledges to Fight New Council Map

Photo by Anna MerlanDomingo Garcia and, sitting to his right, Scott Griggs at last night's meeting over the map in Oak Cliff​Last week we sat through a very long, very ugly city council meeting, which ended with the members narrowly adopting a new redistricting plan. At that time, council member D ... More >>

Council Checks Out Our Libraries, Some of Which (Hint: Bishop Arts) Will Get Quite Fancy

Corinne Hill​Yesterday we got 'round to covering the first half of the council's Arts, Culture & Libraries Committee meeting -- the part about how other cities spend more on their arts organizations than Dallas, and how we might be able to fix that. (Smoke, smoke, smoke that cigarette tax.) Th ... More >>

New Owner of 1401 Elm Reassures Council Committee That He Will "Deliver" on Promise

Photo by Justin Terveen​For the first time since news broke that 1401 Elm was off the market, the city council got to hear all about the project -- one its new owner says could be a "tipping point" for downtown. Turkish investor Mukemmel "Mike" Sarimsakci, who purchased and plans to redevelop ... More >>

City's Gas Drilling Task Force Received a Public Education at Last Night's Hearing

Photos by Leslie MinoraJeffrey Jacoby, the Program Director of the Texas Campaign for the Environment, gave the task force a passionate three minutes, emphasizing their responsibility to protect Dallas citizens.​In the end, council members Delia Jasso, Dwaine Caraway and Scott Griggs skipped M ... More >>

Scott Griggs Makes His Debut at City Hall to Ask for Delay on Stevens Park Conservation District

Dave Neumann has some advice for you, Scott Griggs.​For as long as anyone can recall -- at least six years, right? -- there's been an attempt to create a Stevens Park Conservation District intended to preserve the neighborhood around the Oak Cliff golf course. Most of the homeowners in the area ar ... More >>

"Who the Hell is Herb Kelleher?"

​One week ago today the Dallas City Council made good on its promise to rename a small stretch of Cedar Springs -- from Mockingbird to Contrail Lane, which is the street just before Love Field's parking garages -- to Herb Kelleher Way, so named, of course, for the founder of Southwest Airlines. A ... More >>

Rawlings Nabs Top Spot as Mayoral and City Council Candidates Pick Ballot Positions

Photos by Sam MertenThe selection of the top spot by mayoral candidate Mike Rawlings turned out to be anticlimactic because it was the only envelope left.​City Secretary Deborah Watkins and her staff oversaw the selection of ballot positions this morning in the Flag Room at City Hall, as mayor ... More >>

New Web-Based Project And a Day in Dallas Will Prove That Even Now, Terry Southern Lives!

Photograph by Pud Gadiot, ViaTerry Southern​At this late date, tell me there's no need to remind you who Terry Southern is. No? We're good? Fantastic.Well, OK, in case you're still not clear: He's Alvarado-born, Oak Cliff-raised, SMU-educated writer who bridged the gap between the Beat 1950s and t ... More >>

Endorsements Aplenty For Ron Natinsky, Including Mayor Dwaine Caraway, Who Says There's No Time to Learn About Anyone Else

Photos by Sam MertenMayor Dwaine Caraway asked mayoral candidate Ron Natinksy to put an endorsement sticker on his blazer this afternoon.​Mayor Dwaine Caraway and 11 current and former council members endorsed council member Ron Natinksy for mayor this afternoon at City Hall Plaza. Caraway urg ... More >>

Before Mayoral Candidates Make Issue Out of Political Affiliations, a Look at Who's What

During the 2007 mayoral campaign, former city council member Ed Oakley sent out mailers depicting himself and convicted felon Don Hill as Democrats and Tom Leppert and former Mayor Pro Tem Max Wells as Republicans. Oakley also accepted the endorsement of the Dallas County Democratic Party and printe ... 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 >>

City, Animal Shelter Commission Differ On "Disaster" Year at Dallas Animal Services

From our slideshow here​On Friday, Assistant City Manager Forest Turner -- to whom I spoke for last week's cover story about cruelty, cronyism and incompetence at Dallas Animal Services -- sent out a memo to city council members updating them on progress made at DAS with regard to the Humane Socie ... More >>

At City Hall, A New Lease for XTO's Drilling Plans and An Update on Dallas' Budget Shortfall

Hensley Field, where XTO Energy hopes to begin Dallas' first gas drilling operation.​I'm wedged into the corner of the briefing room at City Hall -- no complaints, because really, Brad Watson needs his legroom. The council's running through its various opening proclamations -- Delia Jasso just in ... More >>

Just Don't Call John Barr the "Graffiti Czar"

​Sam's at City Hall for the council's Love Field briefing, but he got there in time for the 1:30 announcement of the city's new "graffiti czar," attorney John Barr. Only, Barr told Sam in their post-announcement chat, "Don't write that I'm a czar." Whoops. My bad.Anyway. You remember Barr, right? ... More >>

Oak Cliff Activists--Between Their Bikes And Gardens And Chickens And Goats--Seek To Redefine Their Community Without Destroying It

Belo Corp. Board Member, Convention Center Hotel Folks and Jerry Jones Top List of Mayor Tom Leppert's Fund-Raising Pals

Patrick MichelsThat hotel victory is the gift that keeps on giving.​While his political future remains unclear, Mayor Tom Leppert raised a combined $243,000 in donations in the first half of this year, according to campaign finance reports filed yesterday. Meanwhile, his officeholder account a ... More >>

Minority Council Members Blast Mayor For Not Supporting Love Field Contract Extensions

Photos by Sam Merten"Enough is truly enough," said Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway at today's press conference before explaining why he and Mayor Tom Leppert are on opposite sides.​The Dallas City Council's seven minority council members launched a counterattack this afternoon against Mayor Tom L ... More >>

Mountain View College VP of Instruction Files Federal Suit, Alleges Retaliation

Dr. Matilda Saenz​Last week, while looking for something entirely unrelated on PACER, I stumbled across a federal lawsuit filed by Dr. Matilda Saenz, who, for the last five years, has been the vice president of instruction at Mountain View College. One week ago today I asked Dallas County Communit ... 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 >>

Oak Cliff Becomes Cool Embracing What Other Parts Of Dallas Have Fought: Builders, Bikes And Immigrants

A Lance Armstrong Gateway in the OC?

Courtesy Bike Friendly Oak CliffClick to expand the vision for Bishop Avenue with bike-only lanes between Methodist and Bishop Arts​Another day, another bike plan for Oak Cliff. But Jason Roberts, founder of Bike Friendly Oak Cliff, says the Seventh Street proposal and another for Bishop Avenue ar ... 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 >>

Just When You Think You've Heard Every Last Bit of WTF Concerning the Trinity River ...

Patrick Michels Bonus: Since the city's Calatrava construction cam is still stuck in September, we decided to update it with some fresh pics available right here.​Oh, you caught me here at my desk doing a little quick calculation, totting some things up, always a dangerous exercise for a hi ... More >>

After Spending All Day Talking Ethics Reform, City Council Punts the Whole Shebang and Wraps It Up With a Freakin' Straw Vote

​As the Dallas City Council reached the end of its painfully long discussion about the proposed ethics reform, Dave Neumann said, "It was productive for the council to go through this briefing, but that's OK." Yup, the council began its agenda meeting this morning chatting about fine points o ... More >>

Finance Reports Confirm What You Already Knew: Harlan Crow and Ray Hunt Are Loaded

Sam MertenWhat recession? As Harlan Crow told us right after the losing the election and more than $5 million: "I'll get over it before I get home."The spending gap between the two convention center hotel campaigns predictably didn't mimic the narrow margin at the polls, as Harlan Crow's $5.2 milli ... More >>

Buzz: Guess which Dallas City Council member is looking all establishment now?

Transportation Committee Minorities Favor Concession Monopoly at Love Field; Booting Ordinance Briefing Delayed

Brian HarkinVonciel Hill wants concessions at Love Field to remain in the hands of one company, whose CEO is a director for the Citizens Council and contributed to her campaign. The city council's Transportation and Environment Committee yesterday afternoon met for 90 minutes in executive session a ... More >>