Duncanville

Mouthy Kids Like Jeff Bliss Might Be the Best Measure of Teachers We Have

OK, I'll bite. Now that my two favorite psycho-moral philosophers have offered their opinions of the long-haired viral Duncanville kid who told off his teacher, I guess I will, too. I can't stay out of a debate where the word "cockeyed" has come into play. I can't tell you why. It's probably deeply ... More >>

Two Dallas Men Kidnapped and Raped a Stripper, the Feds Say, and Planned to Sell Her into Sex Slavery

The woman on the line was frantic. She had been kidnapped the day before and didn't know where she was, she told the 911 operator. She just knew she was in a house with one of her captors and could see a parked Dodge pickup from the tiny bathroom window. With that, the line went dead. Dispatchers ... More >>

Texas Lawmakers Beware: The American Federation of Teachers is Coming for You

Last spring on the steps of the State Capitol, it was possible to buy a highly metaphorical cupcake, one that would cost you just $100 million. The "Billion Dollar Bake Sale" was put together by an outfit called Save Texas Schools, and it was meant to draw attention to the $5.4 billion Texas lawmak ... More >>

Bobby Patterson Speaks About His Life Off the Airwaves

22-Year-Old Dallas Woman Murdered in Chicago Hotel Room

Media outlets in Chicago are reporting this morning that Brianna Gardner, a 22-year-old from Dallas, was fatally shot in the head in an upscale Chicago hotel. Gardner's body was discovered in her seventh-floor room by the Whitehall Hotel housekeeping staff. One guest told the Chicago Tribune they h ... More >>

Some Worried the City's Truckin' Around By Relocating, Storing Some Fire Engines

​Earlier this afternoon City Hall sent out the video you'll find after the jump, in which City Manager Mary Suhm walks you though the proposed FY2011-12 budget presented to media last week and council on Monday. And it reminded me: One of the smaller but more controversial items contained therein ... More >>

Kunkle and Rawlings Say That As Mayor, They'd Push for Gas Drilling Moratorium

Photos by Patrick MichelsDistrict 3 City Council candidates Dave Neumann and Scott Griggs joined all four mayoral candidates in a forum with Mountain Creek neighbors last night at Harmony School of Nature and Athletics.At a campaign forum in far western Oak Cliff's Mountain Creek neighborhood last n ... More >>

Super Bowl XLV Aces & Angels Party: My Top 10 Observer-ations

​10. Never really listened to Little Texas before last night's bash at Fair Park's Centennial Hall, but they do a pretty good rendition of KISS's "Detroit Rock City." Even Master of Ceremonies Gene Simmons was bobbing his head. 9. This just in: Nothing goes better with a cold shot of Jagermei ... More >>

Tonight, Tonight: Interpol at the Palladium, Widespread Panic at Verizon, Don Williams at the Majestic and Bones Thugs-N-Harmony at the House of Blues

What a packed Wednesday evening. And that's not even counting Your Texas Rangers playing in their first ever World Series game. Crazy, right?

Picture Show: Idol Finalists Do it Live at the American Airlines Center

Rachel ParkerCasey James, Fort Worth native, and shampoo salesman​If you're experiencing summer American Idol withdrawals, you had your chance last night to jump/scream at the best of the best on stage. The American Airlines Center hosted a big juicy chunk of the Idol favorites, including Tim Urba ... More >>

The Drive From Dallas to San Antonio: My Top 10 Observations

​Arrived safely in The Alamo City for some Dallas Cowboys training camp Sunday afternoon after a brisk 4:37:00 drive that included exactly zero stops. 10. There is no easy way to get onto I35 south from 75. On Woodall Rogers there is down-to-one-lane construction and falling walls. And I've b ... More >>

Ron Natinsky Wonders: If We're Gonna Save Southwest Center, Why Not Valley View, Then?

Sam MertenRon Natinsky​If nothing else, this'll be the last Southwest Center Mall item of the day -- only because there'll be nothing left to talk about till after the council returns from its summer recess. But Ron Natinksky, head of the city council's Economic Development Committee, called Unfai ... More >>

Idol Rich: The NTX2 Prove Not So Inspirational

​It's a big week in Idol World. Tonight marks the almost annual star-studded Idol Gives Back charity episode, and, no matter how hard-hearted you are, you have to admit that the show is an emotional, feel-good, do-good piece of prime-time. Celebs of every level will grace the stage and screen with ... More >>

Idol Rich: It's a "Hound Dog" of a Week!

​Elvis week, people. Elvis week. Lots to choose from. Lots of disappointments. And Idol alum Adam Lambert was the mentor, so that means there was lots of make-up... as well as inappropriate jokes about inches and tongues from Ryan Seacrest. Awkward!On a positive note, though, Lambert was one of th ... More >>

Idol Rich: Hey, Everyone It's Lennon & McCartney Week

​It was sorta-kinda-Beatles week. And Macca even sent a "Good Luck!" message via satellite from tour and everyone thought it was awesome. Looks were shared around the theater. People probably embraced, it was hard to tell. The band mates just played better knowing that message came from Sir with l ... More >>

Idol Rich: The NTX2 Search Their Souls

​Last night, we got to see the Top 10 taking the stage with soul and R&B hits from the likes of Chaka Khan, Aretha and domestic threat Chris Brown. Oh, and we also got to watch the weirdest backstage camera shots ever. Mmm, creepy voyeurism...Usher served as the mentor this week and somet ... More >>

Idol Rich: One North Texan in the Bottom Three

​Tim Urban was the second of the American Idol contestants to end up in the dreaded "Bottom Three" on the painfully long voting results show. It looked like Casey James might end up there too, but then it came down to him and Panhandle Texan Lacey Brown to fill the last space. The red-headed nymph ... More >>

Idol Rich: The Texas Two Take On the Rolling Stones

​So, this was the week that American Idol transitioned away from the gender-defined 3-day broadcast schedule, or what I like to call "over saturation." The Top 12 also moved from the in-the-round set-up and performed on the "new" stage--which is basically just the stage you saw last year with all ... More >>

Idol Rich: Yay for Queen and Enough With the "Hallelujah"

​I'm going to warn you, I am going to disagree with the American Idol judges today. Hard. So very hard. I realize you may not like it because you may be rooting for sweet-faced hipster-haired youngsters. But, I am not related to said youngsters and don't feel the need to support anyone who decides ... More >>

Hey, What Happened to Hockey?

​I still have a puck from the first Dallas Stars game, played at Reunion Arena on Oct. 5, 1993. Went to the game with Troy Aikman and I remember going into the locker room and meeting Mike Modano and seeing lots of hot women in the crowd and thinking "Whoa, ice is cool." Then along came Ken H ... More >>

Richie Whitt 1964-2009

Like it did with you, all these recent deaths - Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Alexis Arguello, Steve McNair and Best Damn Sports Show - got me to thinking about my own mortality. Today, the day I celebrate turning halfway to 90, I thought I'd dip my toe in the deep, dark water to see what it ... More >>

Rock With You

The Wooden Birds, Other Lives

Wednesday, June 17, at House of Blues

Whitt's End: 5.29.09

Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *Trust me, you'll be elated if David McDavid buys the Texas Rangers. Biggest reason: His dream is not to make more money, but to own a championship sports franchise in the Metroplex. *One of the thing ... More >>

Dude Food: Olive Garden

Olive Garden639 N. Cockrell Hill Road, DuncanvilleDude Factor: 3, or Roseanne (waitress/proprieter of loose meat sandwich specialty diner The Lanford Lunch Box), on a scale of 1 (Zach Braff in Garden State) to 10 (Jonah Hill in Forgetting Sarah Marshall)Last Saturday my lady and I--with tired bones, ... More >>

Is Dallas Boxer Luis Yanez a Future World Champion or Just a Suburban Myth?

He was an Olympic disappointment, but with his first pro fight on Friday, Yanez is out to prove he's the real deal.

Bonus MP3: Johnny Ringo feat. Bun B -- "Sweeping Up The Block"

Hilariously gritty press photos of Duncanville rapper Johnny Ringo stuffing people into the trunk of his Cadillac (like the one to the left here) aside, the rapper actually manages to boast a pretty interesting flow and a decent following, somehow amassing well over 350,000 profile views on his ... More >>

World’s Fastest Human Doubles As Hall of Fame’s Slowest Inductee

Dousing the Olympic Flame

A Footnote in History, Duncanville's Bacsik Wants Back in the Bigs

Is it March 5 Yet?

The Cooking World is Tré's Oyster

At 19 (Almost), Duncanville Fighter Is (Already) USA Boxing's Brightest Young Rising Star

God Is Not Dead|Belo the Belt

Catchings a Rising Star

Letters

Rude Boy

The life and times of John Soldier

Letters

Letters

Bring It On

Plus: Sack of Kittens, Who the Hell Are You?, What's in a Name?

The Orphan Chronicles

Dallas' own tribe of Oliver Twists can teach us much about the places they've been, and where we're all going

Happy Nappy Girls

Getting their hair straightened for the first time was a rite of passage. But a group of Dallas women has found freedom in reclaiming nappier days.

Bottom of the ninth

Permit hearings begin in TXI's quest to become the nation's largest toxic waste incinerator

A dream deferred

Gene Summers hasn't had to work a day job since 1958, but it took him more than 30 years to get back to the music he loved

Letters

Letters

Something In The Air

Downwind of TXI's Midlothian cement plant, people and animals keep getting sick. Instead of investigating whether the plant is to blame, state regulators appear ready to let TXI burn even more hazardous waste. Part two of A Dallas Observer Special Report

No Dough

Richard and LaJeanne Williams had big dreams for their bakery--until a bank figured their plan was just pie in the sky

Power Houses

A celebrity home tour of Dallas' rich, famous--and all too often tasteless--movers and fakers

Dance this Mess around

They're punk, they're pop, and in love with teen queens and Marcia Brady