El Paso

Months After Prime Prep Hired Former State Board of Education Member, A Lawmaker Aims to Shut the Revolving Door

Sometimes it seems like all we ever do here at Unfair Park is bitch about the dastardly and frivolous legislation our elected representatives concoct down at the capitol. But not every bill sends us lunging for the bottle. Take this measure, filed by Sen. Bob Deuell of Greenville, barring State Boar ... More >>

State Water Planners are Giving Lip Service to Conservation. Environmental Groups Want Them to Do More.

One of the few areas of bipartisan agreement in Austin this legislative season is that the state needs to take major steps to meet the state's long-term water needs. The arithmetic -- exploding population historic drought increasingly stressed water supply -- is simply too stark to ignore. The m ... More >>

Meet Texas' Six Newest Billionaires

Yesterday, Forbes released the billionaires list, its annual parade of the ridiculously, absurdly super-rich. This year, the list stretches to some 1,426 names worth a combined $5.4 trillion. Texas claims a small if significant portion of that, counting 50 billionaires among its 26 million resident ... More >>

Morrissey is Rescheduling his Dallas Show on Doctor's Orders

Morrissey, scheduled to play the Palladium on February 18, has just announced that he's rescheduling due to continued struggles with a bleeding ulcer and Barrett's esophagus. Medical issues already sidelined the songwriting legend in late January for six shows; he's expected to resume touring in Den ... More >>

Two Years After Murder, Suspect Turns Himself in On DPD's Facebook Page

On April 2, 2010, as 36-year-old David Garcia sat in the back seat of a car at an apartment complex in Northeast Dallas, he was shot several times, dying at the scene. The shooter fled in a white Dodge pickup. Homicide detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Augustin Gonzalez, but he had fled to M ... More >>

Ten of This Weekend's Best Shows, Starring Iron Maiden, Fang Island, Shonen Knife and More

Every Thursday, we bring you ten of the weekend's best shows. Of course, you can find even more of them with our handy concert calendar. Fang IslandThursday, August 16, at DadaMore on this show here. DJ Ruthless RamseyFriday, August 17, at Elm Street BarAudra's got a good preview about the world's " ... More >>

Michael Peticolas: The People's Brewer

I recently caught up with Michael Peticolas, owner of Peticolas Brewing Company, after a private tour for a one-on-one chat. Here's what he had to say ... You just finished up with a private tour. Talk about your tours; what type of experience are you trying to create? My tours are a little bit di ... More >>

Former DISD Administrator Pleads Guilty to Test Fraud in El Paso

Back in 2004, just after Superintendent Mike Moses leaped from DISD with his golden parachute, Lorenzo Garcia, the district's chief of instructional services, was a hair's breadth away from becoming interim superintendent. Maybe not a hair's breadth, since the board of trustees voted down his nomina ... More >>

Turnpike Troubadours, Dirty River Boys - Granada Theater - 5/25/12

Turnpike Troubadours Granada Theater Friday, May 25 Friday night, Oklahoma's Turnpike Troubadours and El Paso quarter the Dirty River Boys turned in a ferocious one-two punch that floored not only the packed lower level of the Granada Theater, but proved the newest generation of country and roots ... More >>

Hollywood Records' John Nicholson Knows How To Make Pyrotechnics Out of Tomato Juice Cans and Gunpowder

Welcome to Local Music 'Mericans, where we get to know the people behind the scenes in Dallas/Fort Worth music. Lima, Peru, native John Nicholson has helped out a lot of DFW musicians over the years. His early gigs included Sound Warehouse, Bill's Records and label promotion for Polygram, A&M and V ... More >>

Bad Design's First Time, Plus the Premiere of Their New Video For "Stained Glass"

Remember when we said it was a busy week for Bad Design? Add the premiere of their new video for "Stained Glass," directed and shot by Christopher Bryan and starring Ally Hoffmann, both of Denton's Peopleodian. In this week's print edition, a shorter version of the My First Show Q&A appears due to ... More >>

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Delta Spirit and This Week's Show Announcements

​It's been eleven years since Stephen Malkmus released his self-titled debut with The Jicks, and on that first tour, during a stop at the old Gypsy Tea Room (on the big side), he made good use of the musical elbow room his new band allowed him, ripping solo after solo. He also proved he's strong e ... More >>

Ask Indie Grandpa: The Coachella Lineup

With the release of Coachella's lineup yesterday, we decided to ask our resident curmudgeon and "good old days" music expert, Indie Grandpa, what he thought of the annual desert festival, which has now expanded to two weekends. What do you think about Coachella's lineup? First of all, morning ever ... More >>

The Dirty River Boys All-Time Top Five Texas Music Venues

Dirty River Boys - "Carnival Lights" from Compound Productions, LLC on Vimeo.Texas Music is a term so broad it barely means anything outside of basic geographical terms. And Texas Country is almost as uselessly generic, given the wide swath of acts and sounds that fit under the million-gallon hat th ... More >>

Report: Dallas County Jail Still Shackling Those Oh-So-Dangerous Women in Labor

When the contractions start, the restrictions end. In theory, anyway.​Chief Uterus Correspondent Anna Merlan is on assignment. I know Anna usually handles the lady stuff, but if it's OK with you guys, I'm going to dispense some quick advice to the Female Friends of Unfair Park: If you gals ha ... More >>

Robert Earl Keen Calls Kings of Leon "Sissies," Caleb Followill Says He's "Trying To Get Better."

A pint glass is among the things for sale in the Kings of Leon online store. Interesting.​Not too much more to report on the Kings of Rip Off Leon front today; we already know that the band has canceled all remaining dates on their U.S. tour and that the rest of the band may or may not be encourag ... More >>

Taking Back Sunday Takes Back Their Original Lineup

Tonight, Tonight: Jeff Beck at Verizon Theatre, Papercuts at The Loft, Chris Johnson at Bar Belmont, and Smells Like Green at Hailey's

Not a bad bunch of shows we have this Monday evening, especially if you like legendary guitarists and cool indie pop.

Separate Your Own Damned Checks

I love the self-checkout line at the grocery store. I prefer the online banking option that prevents me from having to interact with another human being. And when I go to the movies, I always buy tickets at the kiosk rather than deal with the surly teen behind glass. But when I go to a restaurant, ... More >>

Are Latin Americans' ghosts and goatsuckers made in the U.S.A.?

Dallas-Fort Worth, Deep in Credit Card Debt

​Late Wednesday, we received in the in-box this list of 25 cities ranked by the average amount of credit-card debt its residents carryin their back pockets. At the top of the pops was San Antonio with $5,177, but, as you can see, Dallas wasn't far behind at No. 5; says credit-reporting agency Expe ... More >>

Sure, Simmons May Bury Nuclear Waste in West Texas. But It Has To Get There Somehow.

Nuke-Free Texas​We've noted a couple of times in recent days that Gov. Rick Perry's appointees to the Texas Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission are but days away from closing comment on Harold Simmons's permit application to bury 36 states' nuclear waste out in West Texas. Ah, ... More >>

Why would a Mexican-American want to move to Mexico?

Need to slur a Mexican? We can show you how.

Dallas Is Fat City. And It's Only Getting Fatter.

​When last we took a peek at Men's Health's list of America's fattest cities, Dallas came in at No. 6. But that was two years and, apparently, 13,923 trips to Whataburger ago. Because now: We're No. 4! We're No. 4! We're No. 4! And that ain't all: Corpus Christi comes in at No. 1; El Paso at No. 3 ... More >>

Bonus MP3: Fear Me, Paris - Machine Floor Monster

You know you're getting old when a guy in a band emails and says that he can be contacted after 3:35 on weekdays because that's when school lets out.Hayden Doskocil, 15-year old guitarist for local metal band Fear Me, Paris, was the culprit this time--but hey, kudos for the guy for staying in school ... More >>

Buzzkill: Senate Keeps Burleson Sex-Toy Crusader Off Pardons and Paroles Board

Guess this will be the last time we run this photo of Shanda Perkins.Scott Henson at Grits for Breakfast sent Unfair Park a note to point out this "amazing" development from yesterday: Burleson's Shanda Perkins bid to become a member of the state's Board of Pardons and Paroles was killed dead in the ... More >>

Ask a Mexican

In corn vs. flour, wheat gets a smackdown

Play Ball! Notes from Texas Rangers Spring Training, Thus Far.

Clinton's Coming to Texas, While Obama Takes His Campaign to Spanish-Language Radio

Two Local Reasons to Watch Runway, Like We Need 'Em

Hard Rock Life

How I learned to love an old new genre

Kicking Down the Door at the "House of Death"

Various Artists

Why the Hell Not... The Songs of Kinky Friedman (Sustain Records)

Odds & Ends

Get your recommended weekly allowance of three Dallas staples--down-souf hip-hop, cheeky alt-country and hot chicks

The New Ashlee Simpson

Bubba Patrol

The Minutemen are ready to patrol Texas' border. Are we ready for them?

Work Out

Walk Across Texas without leaving your ZIP code

Heavy Traffic

Border drug lords get rich while attorney Mike Barclay gets worn out defending the poor smugglers

Say Goodbye

Like most people who cancel their newspaper subscriptions, I have my reasons

Tired of Waiting

The center of the musical universe, Austin welcomes the beautiful and the ugly

Dave Matthews Band

Tireless touring

Out There

Keeping the pita puffed

Hedary's Lebanese Oven & Grill offers reverent interpretations of ancient dishes

Stolen thunder

Morales anoints himself hero

Dust and wind

Joe Ely sends a sad, beautiful Letter to Laredo

Letters

West Texas waltz

Pop-rockers return from the dark side of the Moon Festival

Lambs to the slaughter

Laws to speed executions will make it harder to save Death Row's innocent

Rough road ahead

NAFTA road warriors fight it out for federal funding