Freight Transportation

Port of Call

Whatta Load

Truckin' Up the Trinity River

Is Fort Worth-Based BNSF Trying to "Intimidate Its Critics"?

For Now, At Least, Mayor Leppert Won't Try to Sink the Inland Port

It's over.Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert just cried "Uncle!" in the battle over the Southern Dallas "inland port," an expandable map of which is available at right. Chris Heinbaugh, the mayor's spokesman, confirmed for me by e-mail mere minutes ago reports I heard yesterday afternoon that Leppert was pull ... More >>

Highway roulette

In Texas, more people die in truck crashes than any state in the country. It's not an accident.

Jim Foster Says They're Out to Get Him. Whatever Gives Him That Impression?

If this screengrab were at all legible, you'd see Dallas County Judge Jim Foster on the left speaking before the Senate transportation committee todayPerhaps you read Schutze's column "Democratic County Judge Jim Foster May be the Latest Target in the Inland Port Battle" in last week's paper version ... More >>

Season's Greetings

Misdelivered cards end up somehow in our mailbox

Somewhere, John Stemmons Sr. Is Shaking His Bony Fist and Laughing His Ass Off

Click the image to read the letter that more or less began the Trinity River Corridor Project in 1974.By now I'm way way too deep into the story of the Trinity River Corridor Project. I have actually developed a kind of side interest -- a hobby, maybe -- involving the history of the Trinity River P ... More >>

During Debate, Atkins Explains, Look, He's For Hotel Because He Didn't Want to Waste a Vote

Sam MertenTennell Atkins and LeVar Thomas debated for an hour last night at Paul Quinn College in South Dallas, as the two candidates in the District 8 city council race offered opposing views regarding the inland port, the convention center hotel and giving more power to Dallas Police Chief David K ... More >>

Democratic County Judge Jim Foster May be the Latest Target in the Inland Port Battle

Sam MertenTennell Atkins and LeVar Thomas debated for an hour last night at Paul Quinn College in South Dallas, as the two candidates in the District 8 city council race offered opposing views regarding the inland port, the convention center hotel and giving more power to Dallas Police Chief David K ... More >>

Slumdog Millionaires

If the Morning News considers itself the "conscience" of southern Dallas, it has a lot of explaining to do.

Port Whine: Delays on Inland Port Part of Familiar Pattern

On a clear day, you can see why development in southern Dallas has been screwed forever

Congresswoman Calls Out John Wiley Price for Shaking Down Development Deal

Local pols back off a master plan that would have put the squeeze on a major southern Dallas development

What's Commish John Wiley Price's Real Beef With the Inland Port?

Local pols back off a master plan that would have put the squeeze on a major southern Dallas development

Dallas' Inland Port of Gall

Old boys act like a bunch of hicks over the inland port that could mean progress in South Dallas

Why is Mayor Leppert Putting the Brakes on Dallas' Inland Port Future?

The Perots have solid business reasons to slow down Dallas' inland port. But why is our mayor helping them?

American Toxic

The railroad tie plant that gave birth to tiny Somerville may now be killing the town, residents claim

Highway Robbery

Crime doesn't pay? Tell that to truck cargo thieves.

Dying Breed

The economy and image take a toll on Dallas' bike messengers

Boxcar Willies

Increasing train traffic rattles nerves and homes in Fort Worth

Union Labeled

Contract mail drivers win a long struggle to unionize

Long Haul

Dirty tricks or no, Teamsters say they won't stop their efforts to organize at Saia trucking

Be Careful What You Ask: Judge Foster Spills the Beans About an Alleged FBI Investigation of John Wiley Price and the Inland Port

In a sworn deposition filed in Dallas today, Dallas County Judge Jim Foster is quoted saying he has spoken with the FBI "on many occasions" concerning an ongoing FBI investigation of Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price and the southern Dallas "inland port" project. Reached for comment this ... More >>

Maybe Northern and Southern Dallas Should Consider a Free-Trade Pact

In a sworn deposition filed in Dallas today, Dallas County Judge Jim Foster is quoted saying he has spoken with the FBI "on many occasions" concerning an ongoing FBI investigation of Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price and the southern Dallas "inland port" project. Reached for comment this ... More >>

The United States Postal Service Swears It's Not Shutting Down the Dallas Main Post Office

After the jump you'll find a copy of a letter sent on July 10 "to the citizens of Dallas, TX" by the local chapter of the American Postal Workers Union, in which union president Larry Crawford warns of the United States Postal Service's plan to close the Dallas Main Post Office on I-30, just west of ... More >>

Mayor Leppert Has "Grave Concerns" About USPS's Proposal to Move Operations to Coppell

Sam MertenYesterday, several of you wondered why the city of Dallas wasn't doing anything to keep the United States Postal Service from moving some of its operations from the Dallas Main Post Office on I-30 to Coppell, as the USPS is considering. Well, this morning, Sam got hold of this missive Mayo ... More >>

Now, It's Eddie Bernice Johnson's Turn to Send a Letter of Concern to the USPS

Eddie Bernice JohnsonOn Friday, we acquired a copy of Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert's letter to the United States Postal Service, in which he enumerated his "grave concerns" regarding the USPS's proposal that calls for moving some operations out of the Dallas Main Post Office and out to Coppell. Today, i ... More >>

Eddie Bernice Johnson Demands USPS Inspector General Get Involved in Dallas Study

 When we first reached out to Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson's office last week to discuss the United States Postal Service's study concerning moving some operations from the Dallas Main Post Office to Coppell, we got no response. Then came a brief statement. A few days later, there was th ... More >>

(Last?) Mail Call: The USPS is Considering Shutting Down the Oak Lawn Post Office

View Larger MapJennifer Fulbright, a United States Postal Service employee for 39 years till her retirement in March 2008, is the secretary and treasurer of the Dallas chapter of the American Postal Workers Union. And she called late last week to dispute the USPS's claim that it's not looking to shu ... More >>

The Inland Port Files For Chapter 11, Which Doesn't Surprise Given The Economic Climate And The Political One (aka John Wiley Price)

View Larger MapJennifer Fulbright, a United States Postal Service employee for 39 years till her retirement in March 2008, is the secretary and treasurer of the Dallas chapter of the American Postal Workers Union. And she called late last week to dispute the USPS's claim that it's not looking to shu ... More >>

Something Stinks About the News' Position on Moving Smelly Businesses Along the Trinity

View Larger MapJennifer Fulbright, a United States Postal Service employee for 39 years till her retirement in March 2008, is the secretary and treasurer of the Dallas chapter of the American Postal Workers Union. And she called late last week to dispute the USPS's claim that it's not looking to shu ... More >>

All Aboard

View Larger MapJennifer Fulbright, a United States Postal Service employee for 39 years till her retirement in March 2008, is the secretary and treasurer of the Dallas chapter of the American Postal Workers Union. And she called late last week to dispute the USPS's claim that it's not looking to shu ... More >>

Railroad Museum in Fair Park Gets a Prized Piece, And It's Headed Straight to Frisco

​Once upon a time, the City Attorney's Office had hoped to get the Museum of the American Railroad outta Fair Park by August 1. But that was way back in February -- before the myriad court hearings and legal filings that ultimately led to Judge Martin Hoffman setting a January 2011 trial date in t ... More >>

Feds Roll Out $15 Million to Begin Studying Feasibility of DFW-to-Houston High-Speed Rail

​About a month back we looked at docs the Texas Department of Transportation submitted to the Federal Railroad Administration in the hopes of landing some federal money dough for that loooooong-discussed Dallas-Fort Worth-to-Houston high-speed rail line. Long story short: The state wanted $18 mill ... More >>

The Word on John Wiley Price: Judas

​Southern Dallas, especially the ministerial leadership, seems to be pretty locked up behind mayoral candidate Mike Rawlings. In explaining that to myself, I do allow for Rawlings's charismatic personality and his track record on community issues. He's got things going for him. (Well, maybe no ... More >>

Suddenly, the Morning News Cares About Minority Neighborhoods

Anyone smell a rat?

Watch Carefully as The Dallas Morning News Tippy-Toes Away from John Wiley Price

​If you are a regular reader of The Dallas Morning News, Dallas's only daily newspaper since 1991, and if you are following the federal corruption investigation of John Wiley Price, the county's most powerful black politician, then from here on out you need to put on your magnifying specs and ... More >>

Some SALT to Season Those Subpoenas

​So, the feds want Pettis Norman and Jon Edmonds to appear before a grand jury on July 20 -- can't imagine why. Oh, wait. My bad. And speaking of the Inland Port, for those who knocked off early for the Christmas holidays in '08, after the jump is a doc you might want to read (or re-read) this mor ... More >>

Fun With Audio, Part 2: EBJ and JWP Talk About the Inland Port, Kathy Nealy, Ross Jr. (and Me)

​This weekend I have been sitting around ruminating on the last three years of reporting I have done on the Inland Port story, which now seems to an element in the FBI corruption probe of Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price. By the way, I happen to know the FBI has been hearing about this ... More >>

Unintended Consequences, or: How Our John Wiley Price Reporting Helped Birth a Bad Bill

​Our coverage of the Inland Port scandal in Dallas may yet produce some new federal law. If it does, I don't think it's going to be anything we will be bragging about. Yesterday Wilonsky posted a 2-year-old deposition he found on the website of embattled Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley ... More >>

Mike Rawlings Vowed to Clean Up Dallas, But the Feds Are Spilling Dirt Everywhere

To keep his promise, Dallas' new mayor will have to distance himself from the city's political machine. Good luck with that.

As USPS Looks to Shrink Service, Three Dallas Post Offices Are in Danger of Being Closed

The Haskell Avenue post office in danger of being shuttered following USPS's study​This morning the United States Postal Services announced it's looking at some 3,700 retail offices that may be in need of shuttering to save dough. Because, per the release, "As more customers choose to conduct thei ... More >>

Price Investigation's Royal Pains

"Queens for a day" could be a sign that feds are getting really ambitious.

The Perots Gave Willis Johnson's Wai-Wize Its Start, and It's Been Hot Ever Since

​Digging back through old files, I can see some patterns emerging that I missed back in the day. For example, the connection between Willis Johnson, the luckiest radio host in the world, and Ross Perot Jr. Johnson is a close personal and political associate of Dallas County Commissioner John ... More >>

Dntel: Brought To You By The Postal Service

​Digging back through old files, I can see some patterns emerging that I missed back in the day. For example, the connection between Willis Johnson, the luckiest radio host in the world, and Ross Perot Jr. Johnson is a close personal and political associate of Dallas County Commissioner John ... More >>

The Inland Port Is Still Screwed. Score One for the Perots.

​I guess if you took a pickax and a fire hose to it, you could have dug out a little bit of the truth from this morning's City Hall briefing on the inland port, but you needed to have your tall rubber boots on. Before we wade into the bullshit, please allow me to tell you what's really going ... More >>

On Wednesday, Public To Be Told USPS Study Recommends Closing Dallas Main Post Office

​Here we go again.Ever since I read this last month, I've been trying to nail down whether the United States Postal Service intends to shutter the Dallas Main Post Office on IH30. I went so far as to contact Eddie Bernice Johnson's office; two weeks ago her spokesperson said, "We are going to hold ... More >>

A "Very Concerned" Mayor Mike Sends Letter to U.S. Postmaster General Over Possible Closures

​As it turns out, the United States Postal Service is looking at shuttering several post offices in the city -- not just the main processing facility on IH-30, but also its locations in the Earle Cabell Federal Building (known as "Station C"), the Belmont Finance Station on Greenville Avenue and t ... More >>

John Wiley Price, West Turn Up For Tense Forum on Fate of Dallas's Main Post Office

Photos by Anna MerlanDallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price attended, but did not speak at, last night's town hall. He sorta mailed it in.​Technically, the U.S. Postal Service hasn't yet made a decision about whether it will close the processing center at the main post office near Sylvan ... More >>