Harold Simmons

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 >>

Mike Rawlings is Drowning in Cash, Bobby Abtahi Laps the Field, and Campaign News

Yesterday was the deadline for state and local candidates to report their fundraising totals for the last six months of 2012, which meant a flurry of last-minute clicks on the City Secretary's website. The reported figures first real glimpse at candidates' fundraising prowess and a suggestion of whi ... More >>

The Law that Let Harold Simmons Dump Nuclear Waste in West Texas Was Greased by Illegal Political Contributions, Says Ethics Ruling

Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons knows well that money, particularly when doled out in large quantities to candidates and political action committees, is the grease that keeps our democracy running smoothly. So it was only natural that, when it came time for the Texas legislature to consider a meas ... More >>

Blah, Blah, Blah -- Some Slippery Slope Blather About Marijuana Legalization

This is just between us libtards, OK? The rest of you, if you don't mind, could we have the room for a minute? You might want to step outside, check on your Tea Party stuff, see if any immigrant babies are making dirty bombs in your vicinity, something like that. We'll be just be a minute. Great. Se ... More >>

Meet Dallas Billionaire Harold Simmons, Radioactive Waste Magnate and Mitt Romney's Second-Biggest Donor

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has raised nearly $300 million, and it's largely been with the help of a coterie of extremely wealthy, and extremely prolific donors. The top donor, of course, is Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. But the second bigge ... More >>

Meet the Dallasites Who Made Forbes' List of Wealthiest Americans

Every year, the wealth fetishists over at Forbes compile an exhaustive list of the 400 richest Americans. It's a rarefied club, whose admittance requires an aggregate worth in the billions. Not surprisingly, a number of Dallasites made the cut -- 16 in fact. They range from oldies-but-goodies like ... More >>

Meet Naomi Aberly, the Dallas Woman Who's Raised $1 Million For Obama

Uber-Republican billionaire Harold Simmons is Dallas' biggest player in the presidential money game, having pledged to pump $36 million into the election by November. But Dallas has a well-heeled partisan on the other side of the aisle in Naomi Aberly, and she's doing her part to make this the most ... More >>

The White Rock Lake Boathouse is Just the Latest Attack on Inner-City Dallas

The lesson of the Highland Park Party Barge is the lesson of Winfrey Point is the lesson of 30 years of history in East Dallas. At key rubber-meets-the-road moments, City Hall becomes the single worst enemy that inner city neighborhoods can confront. Forgive the Parkies, for they know not how goof ... More >>

Rep. Ralph Hall From Rockwall Is Turning 89, Will Do Keg-Stands with Rick Perry, T. Boone Pickens, Harlan Crow

Congressman Ralph Hall, the near-nonagenarian, oldest serving member of Congress, who was elected to things five years after World War II ended, just turned 89 years old. What do you give the man who has everything -- a powerful committee chair; a devilish sense of humor (he loves Mormons!); and a f ... More >>

Harold Simmons' Radioactive Waste Dump Gets the Go-Ahead from State Regulators

A radioactive waste disposal company owned by Harold Simmons' Dallas-based Contran Corp. has been given the green light by state regulators to dispose of low-grade radioactive waste at a West Texas site. Representative Lon Burnam, who says he possesses confidential documentation exposing an undercu ... More >>

Rep. Lon Burnam: Let's Tell Texas What Scientists Think About Radioactive Waste Site

In a letter Monday, state Representative Lon Burnam called upon Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to allow him to release to the public confidential documents he says indicate Texas Commission on Environmental Quality scientists fear a West Texas radioactive waste disposal facility may contaminate ... More >>

Nancy Brinker, Komen Foundation Fell Victim to the Great Texas Echo Chamber

​Wait, wait. We haven't finished the conversation yet about whether Rick Perry has embarrassed Texas so badly we can never again show our faces outside the state. Are you telling me now we've got to have the same conversation already about Nancy Brinker? What if people start connecting the do ... More >>

Titanium Metals Shareholder Sues Harold Simmons Over His "Rampant Abuse of Power"

Happy New Year to Annette and Harold Simmons​Radioactive-waste-burying, Rick Perry-money-giving, Swift-Boating Harold Simmons begins his new year with a federal lawsuit brought by a shareholder in LBJ Freeway-HQ'd Titanium Metals Corporation, where Simmons serves as chairman of the board -- the sa ... More >>

Now That Tim Pawlenty's Out of the Race, Everyone Wants to Date Ray Washburne

​In mid-May, Ray Washburne explained his attraction to former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty thusly: "He's got a great story to tell." This was in a Wall Street Journal piece about how Pawlenty was attracting big-money men such as Washburne -- co-founder of Mi Cocina, owner of the Highland Park Villa ... More >>

Harold Simmons One Step Closer to Getting What He Wants: Everyone's Nuclear Waste

Annette and Harold Simmons​At the end of last year we spent quite a bit of time following Nuke Free Texas's efforts to stop  Governor Rick Perry's appointees on the Texas Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission from giving Waste Control Specialists the thumbs-up to bury nuclea ... More >>

For a Few Days, At Least, An Austin Judge Delays Vote on Harold Simmons's License to Bury 36 States' Nuclear Waste in West Texas

Annette and Harold Simmons​For those following along, it seemed all but inevitable that Gov. Rick Perry's appointees to the Texas Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission would sign off next Tuesday on Harold Simmons's license application to bury 36 states' nuclear waste out in We ... 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 >>

How Do You Get Texas to OK Burying Other States' Radioactive Waste? If You're Harold Simmons, You Give Rick Perry Lots of Money.

Annette and Harold Simmons​A nuke-free Friend of Unfair Park forwards this morning this just-released add-em-up from Texans for Public Justice, which asks: Can anyone seriously believe Governor Rick Perry or his appointees on the Texas Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission are go ... More >>

Harold Simmons Waits As TCEQ Moves Quickly, Quietly on Radioactive Waste Dumping

Harold Simmons and the missus​Back in February 2009, then-Observer-er Alexa Schirtzinger wrote about how General Electric was burying millions of cubic yards of Hudson River carcinogens out at the West Texas dumping ground owned by Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons, the wizard behind Waste Control ... More >>

Welcome to the Forbes 400, Darwin Deason!

Kelcy Warren, proof that a UT-Arlington graduate can make the Forbes 400​I've been told: Everybody loves lists, especially this one -- Forbes' annual countdown of the richie-richiest 'Merkins, which contains more than its share of locals, as usual. Tops, through, is a Fort Worth resident who I'm p ... More >>

Salon: Dallas Is Almost Single-Handedly Funding Karl Rove's American Crossroads

​And by "Dallas," we really mean three rather familiar figures: oil man Trevor Rees-Jones, waste-ing away Harold Simmons and hotelier Robert Rowling. Reports Justin Elliott this afternoon, they're among the four major donors who've contributed almost all of the $4.7 million raised so far by Rove a ... More >>

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 >>

Monday Morning Time Kill: Did You Make the List of Dallas-Fort Worth's 500 Most Powerful?

That's Wick Allison in the middle; Schutze, at far right. One of them did not make the 500 most-powerful list. Hard to believe.​While I report out some more, um, substantial items, here's the perfect kick-start to your work week -- because, so I hear, everyone love lists. And the DFW Most Powerful ... More >>

Would-Be Owner Chuck Greenberg has the Money and Moxie to Lead the Texas Rangers Back to Relevancy and into the Playoffs

An Over-Served, Highly Questionable, Ponzi Schemed Monday Morning Grab Bag

University of Texas at DallasYou know what'll make this picture more action packed? Beer. And wine.​According to the University of Texas at Dallas's own press release, more than 80 percent of students surveyed want the school to sell beer and wine at The PUB in the student union -- which seems sho ... More >>

It's a Grind in Deep Ellum is more than just a coffee shop, it's a sanctuary for second chances.

PCB or TYA: Those Hudson River Carcinogens Are Finally Rolling Into Texas

Back in February, Alexa wrote about the pending transport of Hudson River sludge to West Texas, where Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons's Waste Control Specialists will turn one state's trash into one man's treasure. That trash in question are millions of cubic yards of PCBs -- or polychlorinated bi ... More >>

Out in West Texas, Harold Simmons Is Burying Hudson River Carcinogens

Ever wondered what's at the bottom of New York's Hudson River? Andrews, a small West Texas town 350 miles west of Dallas, is about to find out.Last month, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality approved an application to allow the disposal of low-level radioactive waste in a site just outside ... More >>

Ann Margolin Leads the Pack As City's Finance Report Deadline Looms

As we mentioned a while back, District 13 city council candidate Ann Margolin appeared to be the heir apparent to Mitchell Rasansky with a long list of notable supporters and a strong résumé. And as the 5 p.m. deadline approaches for candidates and committees to file their finance reports, Margol ... More >>

In Deep Ellum, Courtesy the Demeter Project, the Baristas of Human Kindness

Good and trustworthy Friend of Unfair Park Bill Holston directs our attention to a new biz in Deep Ellum he says is worth a look-see: It's a Grind Coffee House on Indiana Street, which opened its doors about a month back. It's especially notable, says Bill, because its a venture of The Demeter Proje ... More >>

The Other Bailout: Donors Spending Big Bucks on Texas GOP This Week

Not Schadenfreude, Swear: Harold Simmons Is Down a Few Billion

At Last, Harold Simmons Gets His Money's Worth From Ayers Ads

Finally, We Step Inside Harlan Crow's "New" Old Parkland Hospital

Harold Simmons Hates Barack Obama, But Really Likes the Dallas Zoo

Facts Are Slippery

What Texas Delegation?

Obama's Attorney Clearly Does Not Like, Um, Howard Simmons?

Obama's Counsel Wants DOJ to See if Harold Simmons Broke Election Law

Dallas Billionaire Harold Simmons Has Money, and Democrats, to Burn

Mazel Tov to Our Local Billionaires!

Who Paid for Your Politics?

You're a Rich Man, Harold Simmons

Lucky 13

Right Hand of God

Two Texas leaders of the extreme Religious Right get ready to flex their political muscle

Bubble Brains

Think a strong mayor is a good idea? See who agrees with you.

Don't cry for me, Amarillo

T. Boone Pickens Jr. has lost millions, been booted out of his own company, and his wife wants a divorce. Miriam Rozen chronicles the downward spiral of the once-fearsome Learjet Cowboy.