Delia Jasso

City Manager Mary Suhm is Stepping Down

Say farewell to Mary Suhm. The Morning News' Rudy Bush broke the news this morning that, come September, she's stepping down as city manager. She said so to the City Council and top staff. The announcement begins the close of a remarkable 8-year career as city manager that saw the city become a sa ... More >>

Trinity East's Fracking Plans Might Be Screwed with the New Dallas City Council

Even with two seats in limbo, the complexion of the new Dallas City Council looks decidedly unfavorable for Trinity East, the would-be fracker from Fort Worth that paid the city millions for the rights to its natural gas. Because the Plan Commission voted against the company's drilling permits, four ... More >>

Angela Hunt and Scott Griggs Want a Vote On Trinity East Drillsites in 30 Days

Before term limits and elections change the complexion of the Dallas City Council in unknowable ways, Scott Griggs and Angela Hunt want an up-or-down vote on proposed natural gas wells along the Trinity River. Last month, the Dallas Plan Commission voted down the permits for drilling outfit Trinity ... More >>

City Council's Muncipal Court "Reform" Smells a Lot Like Bad Patronage

Pretty good time this morning on Get Off My Lawn on KNON Radio (7a.m. every Monday), where I talked about a bunch of stuff but especially this morning's upcoming Dallas City Council budget briefing where a council member will be introducing the proposed new Cheryl, Tim and Ruth Law. The Cheryl, Tim ... More >>

Developer Still Plans to Raze 1929 Humble Service Station in Oak Cliff

Neighbors have pretty much given up on saving the vaguely octagonal white-and-blue building at the corner of Zang and Beckley that housed a long-departed Humble service station. Developers Jay Song and John Chong plan to demolish the 1929 structure to make way for a convenience store. It's going to ... More >>

The Race for Texas' New Congressional District Is Going To Be Very Interesting. And Crowded.

Let's just call it: Everyone in town is running for Congress. Okay, not everyone, but the race for the newly-created, much-argued-over Congressional District 33 has gotten very, very crowded, especially on the Democrats' side. Last night we watched as former Dallas city council member -- and may ... More >>

Mayor Backs Out of Citizens Meeting Tonight. "Unexpected Circumstances." (LGBT Protest.)

​Left a message this morning for Paula Blackmon, chief of staff to Mayor Mike Rawlings, to talk about his decision to pull out of a long-scheduled meet-and-greet with the citizens tonight at Kiest Park on Hampton. It's been on our schedule for a month, and just Monday morning he (or someone, Black ... More >>

City Sends Word That the Justice Department Doesn't Object to Its Redistricting Plan

Like it or not, this is the map that will be used in the 2013 city council elections. The giant version is here.​It's possible we're not yet done with issues concerning the city of Dallas's new council-districts map. Lawsuits, after all, have been threatened by Hispanic leaders demanding five majo ... More >>

Your First Look Inside City Performance Hall, Which, Again, Could Really Use Some Rentals

Photos by Anna MerlanCouncil members and others took their first tour of the City Performance Hall yesterday, beginning in the lobby​Yesterday afternoon the Arts Culture and Libraries Committee took its quick tour of the construction site that will soon be the City Performance Hall, which they ... More >>

Six Council Members Request Mayor Add "Redistricting Alternative" to Voting Agenda

​Speaking of issues with redistricting ...There's an online petition being virtually circulated concerning the new council districts map sent to the Department of Justice earlier this week; so far it's been signed by 105 who also want Justice to slap down the city's official submission. Among the ... More >>

All The Sound and The Fury From Yesterday's City Council Debate Over Redistricting

Below, Anna told you all about how fugly it got 'round the horseshoe Wednesday afternoon and evening before the council finally voted, 9-6, to send a new map of districts to the Department of Justice. But many have asked to see the whole debate -- or, at least, what happened after Mayor Mike Rawling ... More >>

Tune In Now For Today's Redistricting Fight

​Anna, of course, is at today's council briefing, where, Mayor Mike just said, they're going to spend the next 90 minutes or so fighting over the three council-submitted redistricting maps. She'll recap later today -- the mayor said they oughta wrap the chat at 11:30, though it could go longer. Bu ... 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 >>

"A Moment of Truth for the City": Mayor Demands Council OK Flow Control. It Did.

​Brantley's been at Dallas City Hall for this morning's flow control vote, which began with that promised pre-game protest by the students of Paul Quinn College, who stood throughout the entire discussion that ran close to two hours. (Save for one protester, who fainted during the discussion, prom ... More >>

"Please, Respect": Council Seems to Settle on Combo Platter During Redistricting Meeting

Photo by Anna MerlanRoy Williams, whose lawsuit helped lead to 14-1, addresses the council during Saturday's redistricting meeting.​As the redistricting process goes on (and on and on), you might expect the public to become less involved, especially when a meeting takes place late on a college-foo ... 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 >>

Pure Imagination: At Its First Meeting, Council's Arts & Culture Committee Talks New Revenue

​I'm dialed into the inaugural meeting of the council's Arts, Culture & Libraries Committee, tasked by Mayor Mike, as you'll recall, with finding "alternative funding sources" to help make Dallas "a smart, cultured and creative city." And God bless her, Maria Munoz-Blanco, director of the city ... More >>

Council Members Wrestle Over Park Clean-Up, Pothole Fixing and Cleaning Up After TxDOT

Scott Griggs and Jerry Allen at this morning's meeting​A little after 9 this morning, the city council just took up those budget amendments we mentioned Saturday morning. First up was the slam dunk: the en masse suggestion, led by Mayor Mike Rawlings, to eliminate one more city-worker furlough day ... More >>

Dwaine Caraway Isn't About to Let the City Close Pools, Especially Two In His District

​Mary Suhm was right about one thing: When I asked her Thursday where she saw the council pushing back on her proposed FY2011-12 budget, she said, well, probably pools -- specifically, her suggestion that the city shutter five of its 17 pools in the coming fiscal year. Those pools: Bonnie View, Ex ... More >>

July 5 Will Mark City Secretary Deborah Watkins's Independence Day From City Hall

​Say this for Deborah Watkins: The city secretary always hops on the phone whenever we have a question. And I've gotten to see her in action quite a bit in recent months -- including on the witness stand, when the attorneys trying to re-dry Dallas got her to testify about how and when she signed o ... More >>

Because, Apparently, You Don't Need to Spend $1.5 Million on a Dog Park. In Oak Cliff, Anyway.

FIDO Oak Cliff co-founder Michael Reagan, left, and Jason Roberts on Saturday​Remember back in February, when council member Ann Margolin said, sorry, but she just couldn't support spending $1.5 mil in bond funds on a dog park, which the city couldn't afford to maintain in the first place? No. Of ... More >>

Former District 3 Councilman Ed Oakley Really Doesn't Want Dave Neumann Back at City Hall

Photo by Sam Merten​Ed Oakley, who once sat in the District 3 seat at the Dallas City Hall horseshoe, is already listed among Scott Griggs's supporters, alongside, of course, Dallas County Commissioner Elba Garcia, former Dallas ISD school board trustee Jose Plata, former Dallas City Manager Jan H ... More >>

In Front of Dallas City Hall, Grabbing a Bite on The Living Plaza. "And It Only Took 30 Years."

Council member Jerry Allen tosses a Frisbee to Trinity Trust President Gail Thomas on the City Hall Plaza today at noon.​I'd intended to spend, oh, maybe half an hour in front of Dallas City Hall today, where, decades after William H. Whyte first proposed the idea of making that expanse of concret ... More >>

Before Dallas Proclaims It Terry Southern Day, Stock Your Virtual Bookshelves With His Works

Perhaps you've forgotten: On May 1 council member Delia Jasso will officially proclaim it Terry Southern Day to coincide with a screening of Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb at the Texas Theatre, after which Terry's boy Nile and I will talk about Oak Cliff's "lo ... More >>

Ron Natinsky Unveils Five-Pronged Approach to Implement New Urban Plan For West Dallas

Photos by Sam MertenLeft to right: West Dallas Chamber of Commerce vice chair Randall White, former Oak Cliff council member Ed Oakley, mayoral candidate Ron Natinsky and council member Delia Jasso​Standing near the pool at the Belmont Hotel in what 2007 mayoral race runner-up Ed Oakley called ... More >>

Press Release o' the Day: Councilman Salazar to Present KISS's Gene Simmons With Key to Dallas

​No doubt you're aware that KISS's Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed (who I wouldn't Google Image search from the office too hard, if I were you) are among the myriad celebs hosting Super Bowl shindigs next week. Theirs is the Aces & Angels Salute to the Troops at Fair Park, which will lick it up ... More >>

City, Preservationists Come to Agreement About Permit Fees for Homes in Historic Districts

​At the very bottom of today's city council agenda you'll find a topic first introduced back in August, when the city was looking for every possible penny during the latest budget squeeze -- a proposal to increase fees for zoning, development and building permit applications. Last summer, preserva ... More >>

Mayor Tom, Prominent Doctors and the Great Cliff Harris All Come Together To Fight Diabetes

Photos by Andrea GrimesDallas Cowboy football legend Cliff Harris came to hear Mayor Leppert and crew call for participants in a new diabetes study at UT-Southwestern.​Mayor Tom Leppert and wife Laura, representatives from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, city council member Delia Jasso, ... More >>

City Manager Mary Suhm Clarifies That New "No Public Parking" Policy at Dallas City Hall

Patrick Michels​A couple of weeks back, as you no doubt recall, Assistant City Manager Forest Turner sent the mayor and city council a memo in which he wrote that come January 3, the general public would no longer be able to park beneath Dallas City Hall. One James Reginald Calloway Schutze was no ... More >>

Past, Present and Future to Officially Collide at Tonight's Texas Theatre Ribbon-Cutting

​If you need me this evening I'll be at the Texas Theatre for the ribbon-cutting ceremony that officially marks the re-opening of the Oak Cliff landmark. Scissors come out at 5, and it should be an intriguing shindig: Not only will Mayor Tom Leppert and council member Delia Jasso be there, but als ... More >>

At the Council's Transportation and Environment Committee Meeting, Where DART and Downtown Plan Are on the Menu

Among the recommendation in the downtown plan to be discussed shortly: Plant "glass box" retail downtown pronto!​It's dudes in suits on parade here at City Hall this afternoon, as the Transportation and Environment Committee Meeting -- which, in due time, will finally get 'round to the Downtown Da ... More >>

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust: Rubble Is Now All that Remains Of Oak Cliff Christian Church

Photos by Melissa Hennings​There's no need to recap the recent history of the Oak Cliff Christian Church -- that's all been well-documented here, beginning with the initial December '09 post warning of its inevitable demise. At this late date I'll say only this: Last weekend, I was out with the 7- ... More >>

iWatch So You Don't Have To: Liveblogging Today's Public Safety Committee Meeting

​Afternoon, Friends of Unfair Park. Here I am in bristly cold City Hall prepared to bring you the latest in how Dallas is going to keep you safe. Or, how you're going to keep your damn selves safe with iWatch. Between that and Dwaine Caraway's magic crime-reducing cameras, we should be set. See so ... More >>

More From This Weekend's Blues, Bandits and Barbecue Shindig in North Oak Cliff

Photos by Sam MertenSchutze's been having a tough time tracking down council member Dave Neumann for comments. So close.​As Robert pointed out below, Go Oak Cliff hosted the inaugural Blues, Bandits and Barbecue street party and Better Block Redux this weekend around the Kessler, where a clay ... More >>

How'd We Miss This? Caraway Went on Cavuto to Discuss Garage Sale Permit Fee Proposal.

Below, Andrea's still liveblogging today's tax-hike showdown at City Hall -- and Dwaine Caraway just wrapped up his prolonged, passionate north-vs.-south speech, which was accompanied by a video presentation filled with boarded-up, burned-down houses and trash-and-weed-strewn lawns in the southern s ... More >>

Mayor Had to End Tax Hike Briefing Before It Began When He Found Himself Sans Quorum

Patrick MichelsTennell Atkins​Well, I was about to tell you to tune into the tax-hike briefing, which was about to get underway, like, five minutes ago. But then the damnedest thing happened: As the briefing was getting going, there was much giggling. Much guffawing. Then, the briefing stopped. Th ... More >>

Trying to Understand What Led to DPD Chief's Comments About Drinking and Date Rape

Illustration by Andrea Grimes​Update at 8:35 p.m.: The Dallas Police Department has sent a statement from Chief David Brown regarding his comments about the increase in the number of reported sexual assaults this year -- and the reaction to them. It reads, in full:Chief Brown wants to emphasize, " ... More >>

Minority Council Members Say Leppert "Mischaracterized" Their Support of Love Field Concession Contracts Delay in Campaign E-Mail

Sam MertenThe seven who claim the mayor needs to be clear when talking about their stance on the Love Field concession contracts (from left to right): Delia Jasso, Dwaine Caraway, Pauline Medrano, Carolyn Davis, Tennell Atkins, Vonciel Hill and Steve Salazar​On Monday, we told you about an e-m ... More >>

Liveblogging Today's City Council Meeting, That Is, At Least Until They're Done Talkin' About the Interesting Stuff

Sam MertenCity Manager Mary Suhm and Mayor Tom Leppert early this morning at today's city council meeting.​With my trusty laptop in hand, I prepared to liveblog the heck outta today's city council meeting -- the last one before the council leaves for its July recess and then returns to tackle ... More >>

A Blunt Opening to Today's Public Safety Committee Meeting Liveblog

​Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway opened today's Public Safety Committee meeting with a gift to his fellow committee members -- what appear to be candy-scented, hold the phone, rolling papers. As the city council members bumbled with tearing open what looked like metallic Airhead wrappers, Caraway nam ... More >>

Why's City Messing with Farmers Markets When There Ain't Many to Begin With?

​On Monday, Daniel went to the council's Transportation and Environment Committee meeting where council members couldn't agree on how to regulate neighborhood farmers markets -- as in, how much it ought to cost, how many permits vendors would need and how many other roadblocks City Hall could thro ... More >>

Cesar Chavez Street Signs Debuted Today At City Hall, Along Cesar Chavez Blvd.

Photos by Patrick MichelsMayor Tom Leppert injected some pomp into the street sign changeover, along with city council members Steve Salazar, Delia Jasso and Tennell Atkins.​Two years and a million misfires ago, local Latino groups began a push to rename a street in Dallas in honor of Cesar Chavez ... More >>

The Big Red Glove Offers Updates on Fair Park's "Major Dallas Event" (Or Not) and City Council's Request for a Briefing From Oncor

Harry WilonskyAn advertisement for the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey fight at Cowboys Stadium scheduled for March 13​Still no word on what will "ROCK" Fair Park -- though White Rock Marathon chairman Phil Baker swears his organization isn't up and leaving Victory Park as the starting point and fin ... More >>

A Beacon of Hope: Council Committee Not Terribly Fond of Those 120-Foot Towers

​So, back to those Trinity Beacons for a second. We went to this afternoon's meeting of the Trinity River Corridor Project committee convinced the council would bite on the 120-foot-tall light towers, which would cost $3 million in '98 bond money earmarked for the so-called Loop 12 Gateway. But we ... More >>

Twenty-Third Time's a Charm? City Finds Yet Another Street to Name for César Chávez.

Patrick MichelsThe latest shot in our ongoing series of these signs around town.​Clearly if at first you don't succeed, you try, and try, and try and try again.In its endless effort to find something to name for César Chávez, the city has, as evidenced by the photo here, clearly set its eyes upo ... More >>

Even Stephen Hawking Couldn't Figure Out the Fuzzy Math Behind How We Are Going To Pay For the Trinity River Park.

Leppert at Council Inauguration: Dallas Won't Succeed "By Cowering When the Storms Hit"

Patrick MichelsUpdate: Check out more photos in this slide show.Not far from a downtown courtroom filled with memories of a time when cash allegedly flowed more freely through City Hall, Mayor Tom Leppert officially welcomed aboard two new City Council members with a promise to work together to do m ... More >>

Hunt Uses Low Voting Success to Rally Supporters at Post-Inauguration Lunch

Sam MertenAfter this morning's city council inauguration, Angela Hunt celebrated her third term with a lunch at the Stoneleigh Hotel, where approximately 100 invited guests watched her open a copy of today's Dallas Morning News. She read from Dave Levinthal's article about the council members' voti ... More >>

Bringing Out the Dead? There's More to District 1 Runoff Than Voter Fraud Allegations.

Justin EpkerMore than once in recent days, Dave Levinthal's had to warn City Hall Blog commenters to stay on topic and stop shouting, "Voter fraud!" in the District 1 Dallas City Council runoff pitting Delia Jasso against Justin Epker. Seems there's been a lingering question about whether 65-year-ol ... More >>

At the Pro-Hotel Party, It's all Hugs and High Fives as the Counting Nears the End

Sam MertenDCVB CEO Phillip Jones, a very happy man right about nowWith 510 of 534 precincts reporting, and the convention center hotel now looking more like a sure thing -- it's 42,433 for, 40,484 against -- Pulle reports that it's all hugs and fist bumps at The Loft at Gilley's. Says Matt, Mayor To ... More >>