Mark Graham

The NYT Loves Fort Worth's Museums, But Not Its Restaurants

Mexican Consulate Comes to Garland to Counsel Day Laborers

Watkins: "I Enjoy Manipulating the Government." Oh, Really?

Special Olympics' "Renegade" Coach

Sitting in With "Our Man Downtown"

Dallas Dems Donkying Up the Dough

Kerry Max Cook, From Wrongly Imprisoned to Rightfully Nominated

How She Went Grocery Shopping and Wound Up Running a Caucus

Fashion Tips, Prom Advice, Period Planning and Transgender Talk

Ride 'Em, Jewboy, Part Two: Kinky Friedman Mulls Yet Another Run at Guv

Yes, Absolutely, Do It For Santos

Harris County GOP Boss Says Fred Baron's Money is "Tainted"

If You Thought Things Were Bad at State Schools, It's Probably Worse

Dallas: On the Most Bang For the Buck Meter, We Come In At the No. 7 Spot

A Crusader for the Mentally Disabled Has Mixed Feelings Over DOJ Report

Mark Graham Haseeb Chishty On Tuesday night, Farhat Chishty got the news: The U.S. Department of Justice, after months of investigating, had completed a scathing report on the Texas State Schools for the disabled and was threatening to sue the state for violating residents' constitutional rights. ... More >>

Letters

Mark Graham Haseeb Chishty On Tuesday night, Farhat Chishty got the news: The U.S. Department of Justice, after months of investigating, had completed a scathing report on the Texas State Schools for the disabled and was threatening to sue the state for violating residents' constitutional rights. ... More >>

Letters

Mark Graham Haseeb Chishty On Tuesday night, Farhat Chishty got the news: The U.S. Department of Justice, after months of investigating, had completed a scathing report on the Texas State Schools for the disabled and was threatening to sue the state for violating residents' constitutional rights. ... More >>

Rocketman

To boldly go where many have ralphed before

20 Bands 7 Days

For one week, Sarah Hepola saw every band that invited her. God help her.

Magnet Schools? Learning Centers? Great Ideas. So Of Course DISD Wants to Cut Them.

Mark GrahamDISD Superintendent Michael HinojosaThe Dallas Independent School District board of trustees seems to be moving toward Draconian cuts in staff and budget for the district's two most distinctive programs, magnet schools and learning centers. The board appears likely to acquiesce to the urg ... More >>

After Years of Trying, Mother Can Sue State Over Son's Abuse at Denton State School

Mark GrahamBefore Haseeb Chishty was released from the Denton State School last year, his mother Farhat visited him nearly every day.Last year, Jesse Hyde wrote several stories for the Dallas Observer and Unfair Park about Farhat Chishty's quest for justice for her son Haseeb, who, till last fall, h ... More >>

Hunt Ready to Support Hotel Funding if Protections Are in Place, Claims Special Meeting Called to Avoid Input From Margolin

Mark GrahamAngela Hunt is making sure taxpayers are protected as much as possible before voting to approve bonds for the convention center hotel.After a special June 19 city council meeting popped up on Wednesday's addendum, we reached out to City Secretary Deborah Watkins and Danielle McClelland, a ... More >>

Weekend Photos: Cowboys with Bunnies, Cheerleaders and Dirtbikes, and Russ Martin Onstage

Danny Hurley Commence jealousy. Miles Austin loving that it's his birthday.We've got a handful of photo sets up from the weekend that, even if they're not quite sports shots, are at least sports-related. Well, close enough they're worth a mention here in the Sportatorium.First off, got to poi ... More >>

Neftali Feliz: Deal or No Deal?

Mark GrahamShould Feliz and his 100 mph-plus heater be headed to Arlington or Toronto?While Ian Kinsler's bat - the first player with both a lead-off and walk-off homer in the same game - last night gave the Texas Rangers a momentary pulse, let's talk about the future of a dominant arm down on the ... More >>

Dallas's Mexican Consulate May Have a New Leader, But the Hits Just Keep on Coming

Mark GrahamFormer Mexican Consul General Enrique Hubbard Urrea​Dallas's Mexican Consulate began operating under new leadership earlier this month, but the dust-ups of tenures past continue to cloud the office's legitimacy. In the months since the former consul returned to Mexico amid accusations o ... More >>

Before OK'ing New Report Card for Superintendent, Trustees Alter Criteria

Mark GrahamDISD superintendent Michael Hinojosa​A couple of weeks ago we noticed that the Dallas Independent School District's board of trustees was considering a new "Superintendent Evaluation Instrument," which broke down the criteria into three separate categories: "student achievement," "sound ... More >>

The Year/The Decade: Best Restaurateurs

Mark GrahamTristan Simon, circa 2003, when everything was in black and white.​Diners generally care more about the chef than the restaurant owner. After all, you visit Nana for Anthony Bombaci's brilliant touch rather than for decisions made in some distant Hilton boardroom.Yet the best restaurate ... More >>

In One Day, Dallas Loses Two Cultural Figures: Kim Dawson and Ted Pillsbury

Mark GrahamTed Pillsbury in a 2006 photo taken when he went to work for Heritage Auction Gallery​Late last night word spread that Kim Dawson, the model-turned-modeling-agency brand name, died at the age of 85 after a long battle with Alzheimer's. Dawson, of course, is credited with having discover ... More >>

Watkins to Texas Tribune: "If You Throw Punches at Us, We'll Drop a Bomb on You"

Mark Graham​While he's been dodging us and other local media outlets, Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins apparently had no qualms about granting an interview to former DMN'er Emily Ramshaw, who profiled his November race against Republican candidate Danny Clancy for the Texas Tribun ... More >>

DISD Superintendent Hinojosa's In D.C. This Morning Testifying Before Senate

Mark Graham​I can tell you one person who won't be at that Jubilee Park meeting at DISD HQ taking place right now: DISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa, who's testifying right now in Washington, D.C., in front of the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee about the reauthorizatio ... More >>

At Noon Tomorrow, The "Poor People's March" On City Hall to Protest Expected Budget Cuts

Mark GrahamJohn Fullinwider​A "poor people's march" at Dallas City Halll at noon tomorrow will kick off a campaign of protests aimed primarily at Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert. Veteran community activists blame Leppert's political ambitions for what they insist is a one-sided assault on city programs f ... More >>

Clear Channel Makes It Official: Russ Martin to Return to The Eagle on July 12

Mark Graham​'Bout one month ago today, over on Sportatorium, Richie called it: Russ Martin would be taking over as morning-show host on KEGL-FM (97.1) some time this month. J.D. Freeman, Clear Channel's market manager, just made it official: The one-time Observer cover boy begins July 12 at 6 a.m. ... More >>

Will Dallas Police, Sheriff's Department Taking Prostitutes' DNA Make a Difference?

Mark GrahamOfficers bring women arrested for solicitation to the command post set up just off Interstate 20. ​There is a massive (like, so big you kind of can't even imagine it) difference between what we often imagine sex work to be, based on romanticized programs like Secret Diary of a Call Girl ... More >>

Community Gardeners Pledge To Keep Growing Despite "Disappointing" City Regulations

Photo By Mark GrahamMariana Griggs vows to continue her renegade gardening.​The City's slow move against community gardening continues, as evidenced by the latest set of do's-and-don'ts -- the sixth try at this -- given the green-thumbs-up by the council's Transportation and Environment Committee ... More >>

"Honky Tonk Heroes" and Other Waylon Jennings Hits at Abbott High School in 1973

Billboard's account of Willie Nelson's all-star homecoming concert in Abbott in the fall of '73​This is not your work-week rock-and-roll-and adios -- that'll more than likely come tomorrow morning. But this'll do. While we await a piece from Patrick Michels about some doings at Cliff Manor this af ... More >>

State Rep. Johnson "Cannot Stand" For Wiping Out Re-Entry Program, Homeless Help Funds

Mark GrahamMetro Dallas Homeless Alliance President and CEO Mike Faenza at The Bridge, which could lose $1 million annually in state funds in budget cuts​Aside from those education cuts, there's also the very real possibility that the state will do away with the Project Reintegration of Offenders ... More >>

Kunkle Wants Dallas to Become "No-Kill City"

Mark GrahamLieutenant Scott Walton, interim division manager at Dallas Animal Services​The myriad issues with the Dallas Animal Services have been well chronicled, especially in our January cover story on the shelter, which described the conflicting mindsets there thusly: "The old dog catcher ment ... More >>

Jenkins on Dickey's Decision to Get Back to BBQ

Photo by Mark Graham​Maurine Dickey's decided two terms as Dallas County Commissioner is plenty; can't really blame her. So it's back to the family business -- barbecue, but of course.  Which is why, moments ago, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins just sent to media this not-exactly-tear-staine ... More >>

Rawlings Responds to Caraway's "Payday Loan King" Ads, Discusses Tenure on Lender's Board

Photo by Mark GrahamMike Rawlings​Mike Rawlings called this evening to discuss, sort of, those ads in which Mayor Dwaine Caraway blasts the mayoral candidate as the "Payday Loan King," a reference to Rawlings's six-year stint on the board of directors of Ace Cash Express -- the very sort of high-i ... More >>

Again, Times Writes About Isenberg's Efforts to Help a Student Here Illegally Live the Dream

Photo by Mark GrahamRalph Isenberg​By now you're likely well aware of Ralph Isenberg's ongoing efforts to bring Saad Nabeel back to North Texas, after the the 20-year-old Frisco Liberty High grad was sent to Bangladesh last year by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials -- after Saad's pare ... More >>

Months After Hanschen Was Chased Off Bench, New Child Support Law Says: He Was Right

Mark GrahamJudge David Hanschen's controversial child support rulings are vindicated by new state law. ​The state Legislature addressed Texas's baby-mama drama this session when, on May 12, Governor Rick Perry signed a bill that immediately relieves men determined not to be the biological father o ... More >>

Dickey's So Angry About Redistricting Map She Wants Texas Attorney General, DOJ to Intervene

Photo by Mark GrahamMaurine Dickey​No doubt you recall Dallas County Commissioner Maurine Dickey's blow-up over that redistricting map sprung on her during commissioners court a couple of weeks back. Long story short: She'd agreed to one map, only to have John Wiley Price give her, at the last sec ... More >>

"Let's Focus on Great Expectations, Not our Limitations": Mayor Mike's Inaugural Speech

Photo by Mark Graham​Leslie's already summed up Mayor Mike's first-ever official speech as Dallas mayor, which was given at this morning's swearing-in of the new council. And she's up shortly with a recap from the ad hoc gas drilling committee vote, which took a bit of a twist; she'll let Scott Gr ... More >>

Mayor Mike's Dinner With Council Conflicts With Gas Drilling Task Force Public Hearing

Photo by Mark Graham​Mayor Mike Rawlings's office confirms: From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on August 2 he's throwing a dinner for the city council -- a sort-of get-to-know-me BBQ-flavored wingding in advance of the council getting back to work. Problem is, that conflicts with one of only two public hearin ... More >>

Mayor Mike's Dinner With Council Ain't Open

Photo by Mark Graham​A couple of times, including this morning, we've noted that Mayor Mike Rawlings has scheduled a dinner with the entire city council on Tuesday, which has prompted a few Friends of Unfair Park to wonder: Like, isn't that a violation of the state's Open Meetings Act? Technically ... More >>

What the 53 Layoffs in Dallas Animal Services Will Mean as City Reorganizes the Department

Photo by Mark Graham​Straight off, City Hall spokesman Frank Librio would like us to clarify something he told Anna yesterday: It's not that new Dallas Animal Services director Jody Jones isn't ready to handle media requests, as we noted, it's just that she's "focusing on operations at the moment ... More >>

Not Sure if Mayor Has New Redistricting Map. We Do Know When Council Will Discuss 'Em.

Photo by Mark GrahamWonder if Mayor Mike will keep Dwaine Caraway and Vonciel Jones Hill in the same district ...​Thanks to Anna's unswerving dedication to documenting the entirety of the redistricting process, I've become addicted to the proposed maps that may or may not decide council districts ... More >>

Mayor Mike Rawlings Offers American Airlines and Its Employees His "Emotional Support"

Photos by Mark Graham​Over the course of the day a few items have rolled in related to American Airlines and AMR's Chapter 11 filing this morning. Among them: A Q&A from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport about how the bankruptcy might but probably won't affect the airport (it follows in ... More >>

Twenty-Four Years After She Was Left to Die, Peggy Railey, Wife of Walker, Is Gone

Photo by Mark GrahamPeggy Railey in the Tyler nursing home where she's spent the last 20 years​In 1989, two years after the attack that left her in a vegetative state, People described Peggy Railey's existence as "death-in-life." Our Mark Graham documented as much years later when he visited her i ... More >>