Linda Koop

City Council Delays Vote On The Don't-Throw-Things-At-Bikers Ordinance

The city's proposed rules for drivers operating motor vehicles near cyclists -- that they must pass at a safe distance, can't turn right into their path, and, last but not least, aren't allowed to pelt them with things from car windows -- seem like no-brainers. Anyone who doesn't think they are a go ... More >>

City Council Dismisses Concerns About Burning Garbage, Adopts Long-Term Plan

Many people were not happy when the city unveiled its long-term solid waste management plan. It's goal of achieving zero waste by 2040 was admirable enough, but the plan pushed consideration of such measures as a plastic bag ban, mandatory recycling and increased composting efforts out a decade or m ... More >>

There's Another Gas Drilling Public Hearing Tomorrow. So Where Is City Heading, Anyway?

Photo by Taryn WalkerDrill, maybe, drill.​As chair of the city's gas drilling task force, Lois Finkelman has a pretty tough job, directing task force meetings, guiding discussions, fielding calls and emails from concerned citizens. (Did we mentioned she doesn't get paid? Strictly voluntary.). ... More >>

Above the Trinity River, Playing and Talking and Eating and Sitting on a Bridge Meant for Cars

​First there was a Better Block; then, a Better Boulevard; then, just yesterday, a Better Bridge. Of all the efforts to temporarily transform a piece of the city into something other than what it is, yesterday's brief installation atop the Cedar Crest Bridge, which connects Oak Cliff to South Dall ... More >>

New Owners of Former Macy's at Valley View Want to Fill Space With Retail of Some Kind

Prange Way/Labelscar​As we noted one month ago, the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce is coordinating efforts to repurpose Valley View Center, which has long been a shadow of a shadow of its former self. Bruce Bradford, the chamber's interim president, and city council member Linda Koop spoke of pl ... More >>

For Your Late Wednesday Listening Pleasure: Elliott Smith, Between the Bars at Trees in '99

​We had hoped to end the day by telling you which redistricting map the city council's going to send to the Department of Justice. That will not happen, at least not in the next little while: After Mayor Mike Rawlings took council members Tennell Atkins and Delia Jasso into a back room to hash out ... More >>

Well, We Were Going to Talk About Complete Streets. But Then the Council Ran Out of Road.

From today's briefing to the council's Transportation and Environment Committee​The council's Transportation and Environment Committee kicked off its 1 p.m. meeting with a review of the LBJ Express project, with TxDOT and Trinity Infrastructure reps telling council members: "There is possibility y ... More >>

This Week in Council Memos: Members' Budget Wish Lists, Flow Control and Looking Ahead

​Those in need of a little light reading this Saturday morning will find on the other side the stack of heads-ups sent to the city council last night, the highlight of which will probably the proposed budget amendments offered by council members before Monday morning's briefing and straw vote. And ... More >>

North Dallas Chamber President Outlines Possibilities For Valley View, Surrounding Land

Photo by Steve WalkerOn Tuesday, Friend of Unfair Park Ed D. sent us this photo taken by a friend who was there for the dismantling of Valley View's Sonic this week.​At the end of last week we spoke with council member Linda Koop about the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce's involvement in doing so ... More >>

Dallas Gas Drilling Task Force's Field Trip Was Practical, Educational and Quite Hot

Photos by Taryn WalkerThe crowd at yesterday's Arlington trip sizes up an actively drilling Chesapeake site.Tuesday, Dallas gas drilling task force members -- and city council members Angela Hunt, Linda Koop and, but of course, Sheffie Kadane -- poured out of two white 15-passenger vans and into the ... More >>

Through the Looking Glass at OCP HQ

Photos by Justin Terveen​To those who helped made last night's RoboCop-at-OCP HQ event happen -- Downtown Dallas, Inc.; Brent Brown and his staff at the CityDesign Studio; the Dallas Film Society; and, of course, the promotions staff at the Observer -- a mighty "much obliged" this morning. Couldn' ... More >>

"Welcome to the Future of the City of Dallas." Though Ross Could Use a Few More Trees.

Photos by Leslie MinoraJason Roberts took a moment to celebrate the birth of his brainchild, Ross Avenue as a much-improved Better Boulevard.​Yesterday afternoon, the stretch of Ross from North Hawkins to Pavilion temporarily became a pedestrian oasis of sorts as cars slowed into a narrowed t ... More >>

Gas Drilling Committee Trims List of Task Force Applicants to Nine Slated For Council Vote

Photo by Leslie MinoraLinda Koop, seated next to outgoing council member Dave Neumann, chaired yesterday's meeting.​After postponing last Thursday's meeting so council members could ride in the Dallas Mavericks' parade through downtown, the city council's Ad Hoc Gas Drilling Task Force Nominating ... More >>

A Liveblog As City Council Meets Its First Round of Finalists for the Gas Drilling Task Force

Task force nominees await their turn to chat with the council. It only gets more exciting from here.​Welcome back to Dallas City Hall for the epic second episode of the gas drilling task force selection process, where the ad hoc committee of city council members will be meeting candidates for face ... More >>

Council Told If The City Doesn't Pony Up for Studio, TNT Won't Shoot Dallas in Dallas

WireImageMary Crosby, Larry Hagman, former Dallas and Walker, Texas Ranger director Michael Preece and Sheree Wilson at the auction of Hagman's memorabilia in Beverly Hills last week​Saturday morning we sneak-peeked an item that was just the subject of much debate during this morning's meeting of ... More >>

This Morning, Council Members Took First Look at Gas Drilling Task Force Hopefuls

Linda Koop​Last Friday, Robert offered a first look at some of the big names that had applied to sit on the city's gas drilling task force: Margaret Keliher, Royce West II, Betty Culbreath, the train-bedeviled Chico Grimes and more. This morning, Linda Koop and the handful of other members on the ... More >>

Gas Drilling Activists Not Happy With Council Component of Task Force Caraway's Assembled

Photo by Patrick MichelsRay Crawford and his petition signed by those opposed to gas drilling in the Dallas city limuts​As we noted a couple of weeks back, Dallas City Hall's taking applications for the gas-drilling task force Angela Hunt demanded after Dave Neumann failed to make good on his prom ... More >>

Want to Be on Dallas's Gas Drilling Task Force?

​After council member Angela Hunt pushed the city council to form the gas drilling task force Dave Neumann only talked about, it's time to assemble the dream team: Moments ago, Dallas City Hall sent word that it's taking applications from those interested in serving on the task force. For those wh ... More >>

DART's CFO and Linda Koop Talk About How Streetcars Will Be Funded and When They'll Operate (Weekdays Only, Unless ...)

This is for sale right now on eBay. Seven bids so far, up to $31, 23 hours left. Cheaper than a time machine.​So. David Leininger, Dallas Area Rapid Transit's chief financial officer, and council member Linda Koop just called to talk -- what else? -- streetcars, on both the DART board and city cou ... More >>

Liveblogging City Council's Look at Gas Drilling Task Force. Or: The Return of Lois Finkelman!

Welcome back to City Hall, where the council's settling back into their seats in the briefing room after a much-needed break for lunch. Word was that the council was going to treat us to its gas drilling update in the morning -- but after taking an extra-long executive session to work out just who' ... More >>

"Regionalism" Just Means Dallas is Going to Get Drilled When It Comes to Fracking

​So-called regionalism is a rip-off, a scam and a hoax designed to neuter cities and sell them down the river to the damned suburbs. A few weeks from now the Dallas City Council will take up the issue of fracking, the kind of natural gas drilling in which drillers pump millions of gallons of ... More >>

From the West, Dallas to Receive a Visitor Dressed Up in 500 Single-Use Plastic Bags

​You probably don't remember, but back in October 2008 there was a very brief discussion at Dallas City Hall that maybe the council mightcouldaoughta ban the single-use plastic bag. Which went nowhere after council member Linda Koop said the city's not gonna outlaw the bag, but will instead educat ... More >>

Liveblogging the Transportation and Environment Committee Meeting

​Good afternoon, Friends. Here we gather in City Hall's icy 6ES to commence the Transportation and Environment Committee Meeting, at which is promised discussion of both transportation and environment: street cars and community gardens are both on the agenda, with a bonus presentation on the North ... More >>

Liveblogging the Transportation and Environment Committee Meeting

Maybe, at some point, we should tell Andrea that council committee meetings are streamed online.​Good afternoon from the hoppin'est club in Downtown Dallas, Room 6ES inside City Hall, where the Transportation and Environment Committee is presently meeting, as Bobsky told you earlier today, about i ... More >>

At City Hall, It's Back to the Drawing Board On Community Garden, Downtown DART Plans

​Well, soon as the Trash-Attack Code Compliance crew cleared out, this afternoon's party at City Hall sure died fast. Blame it on this bummer of a PowerPoint from DART, explaining the long-term impact of having flat sales tax revenues over the last 10 years, referred to simply as "The Lost Decade" ... More >>

Linda Koop: And Where Are the Promised Developments Around DART Rail Stations?

Dallas Area Rapid TransitThis is what DART says Walnut Hill Lane and Denton Drive will look like once the Green Line gets that far into Northwest Dallas. OK ...​We attended today's meeting of the council's Transportation and Environment Committee in the hopes of finding out from DART officials whe ... More >>

Schutze's High on City Hall as Council's Transportation Committee Chair Puts Positive Spin on DART's Texas-OU Mishap

Brian HarkinLinda Koop​Linda Koop, chair of the city council's Transportation and Environment Committee, and Gary Thomas, president of Dallas Area Rapid Transit, are having a mutual smooch-fest today at this afternoon's committee briefing, congratulating each other on what a terrific job DART ... More >>

The Waters Are Murky as Dallas City Council Seeks Clarity Before Ethics Reform Vote

Sam MertenCouncil member Carolyn Davis talks to zoning lawyer Kirk Williams as Willie Cothrum (right) listens.If nothing else, the city council's hastily planned ethics reform briefing early this morning showed that this group is capable of a spirited debate. For the most part, Mayor Tom Leppert has ... More >>

Tooth Marks: The Brawl at City Hall Over Real Ethics Reform Is Only Just Beginning

Patrick MichelsDallas City Attorney Tom Perkins​Angela Hunt is putting the bite on the mayor today on the issue of ethics reform.The council is being briefed on possible new ethics rules growing out of the City Hall corruption case. Council member Hunt and four other members signed a letter a coup ... More >>

Off Track, or: Some Notes from the City Council's Downtown Streetcar Briefing

Courtesy Justin CozartThis piece from 1945 must be what DowntownDallas's Kourtny Garrett means when she writes, "I'd say we're coming full circle."​Grudgingly, I have to say that the two Dallas City Council members who asked the best questions at today's council briefing on downtown trolleys were ... More >>

"Very Exciting Stuff" as Dallas and Fort Worth Apply for Federal Money for Streetcars

Courtesy Justin CozartIn 1945, Dallas city and transit officials, among them Mayor J. Woodall Rodgers, introduced "the first of twenty-five new, silent, streamlined street cars."Almost two months ago, the Dallas City Council's Transportation and Environmental Committee got a peek at the proposed ali ... More >>

Leppert Leads Trade Mission to Canada in Search of Sustainability, Whatever That Is

Patrick MichelsWe suggest Leppert make it a short trip -- arrive wearing these shades and demand all of Canada's sustainability secrets "or else."A group of city officials and business leaders will join Mayor Tom Leppert today for a four-day trip to Toronto, Canada, where they're set to tackle the ... More >>

Hunt Attributes Delayed Car Booting Ordinance to Budget and The Reeds; Deep Ellum Group Uses Petition to Lobby Council

Sean FitzgeraldThe Deep Ellum Community Association used a petition measuring more than 50 feet with more than 850 signatures to push the council to take the car booting issue more seriously.We're already breaking our promise, but because we're strangely obsessed with the city's struggle to get a ca ... More >>

Reeds Confirmed as "High-Priced Lobbyist" Pushing to Allow Car Booting Without Receipts

Save Deep EllumUpdated at 3:07 p.m. As we mentioned yesterday, the freshly inaugurated city council is set to approve a booting ordinance after the Economic Development Committee voted unanimously June 16 to put a modified version of the staff recommendation on tomorrow's addendum. This didn't mak ... More >>

Yet Again, Council Committee Wastes Time and Gets Nowhere With Booting Ordinance

The city council's Transportation and Environment Committee failed Monday afternoon to vote on a proposed ordinance to regulate booting vehicles in private parking lots, opting instead to hold a third meeting on the issue. After some committee members asked questions already outlined in the briefing ... More >>

Council Doesn't Want to Raise Taxes, Cut Key Services to Trim Budget. Good Luck With That.

Sam MertenThe city's budget is $190 million in the hole because of "revenue erosion," according to CFO Dave Cook.The Dallas City Council yesterday afternoon wrapped up a lengthy discussion on how best to tackle the city's $190-million budget deficit by agreeing that a tax increase and making cuts to ... More >>

At Some Point, Maybe, the Council Will Run Out of Trinity Parkway Alignments to Approve

Patrick MichelsToday's meeting of the Dallas City Council's Trinity River committee -- during which the committee endorsed this alignment for the proposed Trinity River toll road - was dull and uneventful in ways that were of keen interest to trained Kremlinologists. By observing which members of th ... More >>

Sooner Than Later, "New LBJ" Freeway Construction Will Take Its Toll

The Texas Department of Transportation announced this morning that LBJ Development Partners will be responsible for the so-called New LBJ Freeway -- which, as we pointed out in September, will feature among its renovations six managed toll lanes sunk smack in the middle. TxDOT spokesman Tony Hartzel ... More >>

NYC Mayor Does What Dallas Wouldn't: Proposes a Fee on Plastic Bags

San Francisco Banned Plastic Bags. But Dallas? Not Going to Happen.

Clang, Clang, Clang Goes the Downtown Trolley, Just Maybe?

Land Owners' Rep Insists He Isn't Hustling City Over Price of Convention Center Hotel Land

Dallas to Get in the Hotel Biz -- And Turndown Service Won't Be an Option

Tom Leppert: Predictable and Classy

The Amazing Schutzini

The plan for Dallas' future: blood in the 'hood, Mayor Hunt and the Venerable Rasansky

Live from City Hall

Zoo-hoo

Single with children

A year ago, Linda Koop took in two homeless boys on a moment's notice. Now she wants them to call her mom.

Finding a home

Relatives take in homeless boys under single woman's care

Accidental angel

A single Dallas businesswoman stumbles into parenthood