Pauline Medrano

Developer Unveils Plans To Turn Eyesore Across From City Hall Into Hilton Hotel, Apartments

In 2006, a developer announced plans to transform the century-old Butler Brothers building, the warehouse-turned-vacant eyesore across the street from City Hall, into condos. Then the economy tanked, the development went bankrupt and the historic structure was left to rot. That was where things sto ... More >>

"A Catch-22": Medrano Sheds More Light on Uplift's Intention to Open Charter in Deep Ellum

​I warned you: Yesterday's item about Uplift Education's intention of opening a charter school in the old Baylor building in Deep Ellum was just the first of many to come. Here's the second, because yesterday I'd left a message for Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Pauline Medrano, in whose district Deep Ellum ... More >>

City Council Delays Giving DISD Rezoning It Wants in Jubilee Park, Pending Trustees' Vote on School Closures Tomorrow Night

​Best I can tell using our half-baked search engine, we began writing about Jubilee Park-ers' battle with the Dallas Independent School District over a new-and-improved O.M. Roberts in April 2010, when residents told Dallas County commissioners they were terrified of losing their homes in an emine ... More >>

Council Nixes Late-Night SUP For Proposed Greenville Bowling Alley. And That's That.

A conceptual rendering of the proposed bowling alley that will not go in next to Good Records after all​At long last, that proposed Greenville Avenue bowling alley, next to Good Records, just went before the Dallas City Council -- its last hope following the City Plan Commission's gutter ball over ... More >>

City of Dallas Has a New Budget, But Not Before Suhm Says She'll Deal With DFR Concerns

​When it came time for the city council to vote on the FY2011-12 budget moments ago, it wasn't without a few bumps in the road. Several council members told City Manager Mary Suhm they weren't at all thrilled with her plan to shuffle fire trucks with the intention of retiring one of them. And Suhm ... More >>

Pauline Medrano Responds to Billy MacLeod's Complaints About Polling Location

From Carlos Medrano for JP CampaignCarlos and Pauline Medrano​Till a few minutes ago, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Pauline Medrano and I had been playing a marathon game of phone tag in recent days, following District 2 council candidate Billy MacLeod's efforts to get the city, county and even the Departm ... More >>

Billy MacLeod Steps Up Fight to Move Polling Location From Medrano Elementary

The polling location in dispute​By week's end, District 2 council candidate Billy MacLeod expects to file in state and federal court a lawsuit over the city's decision not to remove Esperanza "Hope" Medrano Elementary School from its list of polling locations for the May 14 election. As you're no ... More >>

Council Candidate MacLeod Takes Concerns Over Polling Place to the Justice Department

​A couple of weeks back, Sam mentioned that Billy MacLeod, who's running for the District 2 city council seat against incumbent Pauline Medrano, has a few problems with the coming elections. Chief among them: Votes will be cast at Esperanza "Hope" Medrano Elementary School -- which so happens to b ... More >>

Billy MacLeod Upset Over Pauline Medrano's Ties to Polling Location, Election Judge

​In a letter posted this morning to his website, District 2 city council candidate Billy MacLeod urged city and county officials to move the polling location for one of the district's highest-voting precincts and questioned the appointment of its election judge by the office of his opponent -- ... More >>

Outside the Statler, a Celebration. Inside the Statler, a Sneak Peek at the Work to Be Done.

Photos by Sam MertenWho can you name in this gathering of officials the mayor pulled together for a press conference-closing group photo?​When Sam and I got to Main Street Garden around 2:15 this afternoon for the Statler-sale press conference, there weren't a lot of people around -- just a few fo ... More >>

"A New Day on Lower Greenville" as City Council Approves Planned Development District

Patrick MichelsDPD Deputy Chief Mike Genovesi with council members Angela Hunt and Pauline Medrano​After hearing from a coalition of business and property owners in the Lower Greenville area that represent 5,500 households, the city council voted moments ago to approve the Lower Greenville Planned ... More >>

A Barking Dog Wants to Take a Big Ol' Bite Out of That Lower Greenville Avenue Ordinance

​From the sound of Andrea's December 16 liveblog from the City Plan Commission, not to mention the myriad other sit-downs Angela Hunt and Pauline Medrano have had with Lower Greenville Avenue stakeholders in recent months, the council members' Planned Development District ordinance has a lot of su ... More >>

Before Tomorrow's CPC Hearing, Hunt Offers "A Few Facts" About Lower Greenville Ordinance

Patrick MichelsAngela Hunt and Pauline Medrano when they debuted plans for the new-n-improved Lower Greenville last month ​We mentioned this yesterday: The City Plan Commission will hold a public hearing tomorrow to discuss Angela Hunt and Pauline Medrano's proposed ordinance requiring businesses ... More >>

This Week, Plan Commission to Hear How Folks Feel About Lower Greenville Ordinance

​For the past several months, Angela Hunt and Pauline Medrano have been touting the proposed ordinance that would turn a huge swath of Lower Greenville Avenue into a so-called Planned Development District. Among the requirements contained within the ordinance: Any venue hoping to stay open past mi ... More >>

Seven Council Members Tell Suhm: Find Some Way to Allow Free Public Parking at City Hall

Patrick Michels​Seven council members have signed a memo to Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm telling her to figure out some way not to bar the public from parking in the garage underneath Dallas City Hall (well, the fountain, actually). Unfair Park was told that more members would have signed it, but ... More >>

"Food Park!" A Detailed Look At the City's New Plans for Lower Greenville Avenue.

Photos by Patrick MichelsMadison Partners' Jon Hetzel, right, and Larry Vineyard unveiled their plans for a one-acre food truck lot along the revamped stretch of Lower Greenville. Jump for a closer look at the drawing.​As you may have read here earlier, Angela Hunt and Pauline Medrano debuted thei ... More >>

Tomorrow Morning, Hunt and Medrano To Debut Plan to Make Greenville Ave. "Friendly"

Sara KerensAngela Hunt on Lower Greenville, site of tomorrow's big announcement​If you can't stop by 2010 Greenville Avenue tomorrow morning, round 10:30, don't worry -- Patrick Michels already has it down on his to-do list. We wouldn't miss it for the world, not after the thousands of words we've ... More >>

City Council Members Tour the Bridge for Latest Update on Housing Dallas's Homeless

Photos by Patrick MichelsCity Council members Jerry Allen, David Neumann, Carolyn Davis and Pauline Medrano look on as Jay Dunn shows off facilities at The Bridge.The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance's Mike Faenza and John Castle have been pretty regular faces at City Hall over the past few months, bu ... More >>

Dallas City Council Members Angela Hunt and Pauline Medrano Have A Plan To Help Rid Lowest Greenville Avenue Of Crime. If Only They Can Get Neighborhood Businesses To Cooperate.

This Just In: Eight Council Members Tell Mary Suhm They Want a 4.91-Cent Tax Hike

Do not expect a repeat of this scene any time soon, at least when it comes to the FY2010-11 budget.​Moments ago I received from council member Angela Hunt's office a memo that follows, in which Hunt and seven of her colleagues (Delia Jasso, Vonciel Hill, Steve Salazar, Carolyn Davis, Pauline Medra ... More >>

Inside Pre-Meeting Meeting With Businesses On Proposed Lowest Greenville Rezoning

Photos by Daniel RodrigueClick to embiggen this "Where's Waldo?" snapshot of Lower Greenville familiars at yesterday's Kush confab. Name 'em all?​Late last week, the newly formed Lowest Lower Greenville Avenue Business Association requested a meeting with council member Angela Hunt and Deputy Mayo ... More >>

New Lowest Greenville Business Group Seeks Pre-Meeting Meeting on Rezoning Plans

Service Bar's Neil Ludwig is one leader of the new Lowest Lower Greenville Avenue Business Association.​In the last few weeks, before and after the early July 4 pepper-balling incident on Lower Greenville, we've had many late-night, mostly curbside conversations with folks who manage, ow ... More >>

Our Brilliant Idea for a Love Field Compromise.

At City Hall, Democracy Had Nothing To Do With Deferring Love Field Concessions Vote

​An extremely important thing happened at the city council meeting this morning. Nothing happened. I can't tell you how big that is. Angela Hunt won. Mayor Tom Leppert told a packed house that the city council had agreed informally not to vote on the contentious Love Field concessions issue, direc ... More >>

Mayor Leppert Just Stopped Checking His E-Mail to Chime In on the Love Field Concessions

Sam MertenMayor Leppert, five minutes into the presentation.​Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Pauline Medrano began this afternoon's Love Field Concession Committee meeting by letting folks know why the committee was formed -- to clear up "perception issues reported by the newspaper" -- and what the groun ... More >>

Leppert Not Too Worried About Budget Crunch

Photos courtesy Lower Oak Lawn​Mayor Tom had busy morning: At 7:30 a.m. he dropped by the Annual North Dallas Chamber Membership Breakfast at the Hilton Dallas Lincoln Center, where he addressed the looming $131.1-million budget shortfall and said, hey, could be worse: "With all the challenges we ... More >>

Why Do The Powers That Be In Dallas Want To Regulate A South Dallas Scrap Metal Yard Out Of Existence?

Something Stinks Near Cadillac Heights, And It's Not the Sewage Plant

​Couple weeks ago I wrote a column about the sudden anomalous enthusiasm of The Dallas Morning News editorial page for getting rid of scrap yards and a dead animal transfer station on Pontiac Street at Cedar Crest, next to the Cadillac Heights neighborhood. The News said they wanted to do it becau ... More >>

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

Attorney Makes His Case for Not Changing the Name of S. Central Expressway Downtown

Patrick Michels​As you're no doubt aware by now, the City Plan Commission yesterday voted unanimously to change the name of South Central Expressway downtown, between Pacific and Grand Avenues, to César Chávez Boulevard (not Parkway, as originally proposed). The council will now get to vote on t ... More >>

Council Members (At Least Those Without Rent Homes) Supportive of Registration Idea. Except Dave Neumann, Who Blasts "Tax."

​If the Dallas City Council winds up passing an ordinance requiring rent-house owners to register with the city -- a proposal we mentioned Sunday and just discussed at the council's briefing -- it'll apparently have to do so without three members' input. In the middle of Code Compliance's presenta ... More >>

At Last, a Parking Boot Ordinance!

​It took long enough, but the Dallas City Council finally got around to the parking-lot booting ordinance -- and it passed council almost unanimously. There was but one "nay" vote: newcomer Ann Margolin, who said, well, "I understand there has been a lot of work to get this done, but I have to say ... More >>

Park and Rec Director Paul Dyer: "There's Not a Sheet in This Budget That Makes Me Smile."

Park and Recreation Department Director Paul Dyer​If you've got the time this morning, you should check out the live feed of the city council's budget workshop, where, at the moment, the topic of discussion is the Park and Recreation cuts. Earlier, council member Ann Margolin told City Manager Mar ... More >>

City Council Kicks Booting Ordinance to August

Patrick MichelsMayor Tom Leppert huddles with Angela Hunt, Linda Koop, chief of staff Chris Heinbaugh, deputy chief of staff Paula Blackmon and, with her back to the camera, Pauline Medrano before booting the booting ordinance.A conference broke out during this morning's city council meeting shortly ... More >>

If Nothing Else, This Is Our Last Item About Parking Lots Till August, So There's That

Seconds ago, literally, Angela Hunt posted to her blog an explanation concerning what went down at Dallas City Hall this morning, when she and Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Pauline Medrano convinced the council to yank from today's meeting agenda a vote on the proposed parking boot ordinance. As Sam mentione ... More >>

Angela Hunt on City's Budget Crisis: "We're Cutting Muscle; We're Cutting Bone."

Hey, at least Dallas doesn't have budget problems like Conan is facing out West. So we've got that going for us, which is nice.As we mentioned yesterday, the city council's Quality of Life & Government Services Committee got a look-see Monday afternoon at some of the proposed budget cuts before the ... More >>

Transportation Committee Minorities Favor Concession Monopoly at Love Field; Booting Ordinance Briefing Delayed

Brian HarkinVonciel Hill wants concessions at Love Field to remain in the hands of one company, whose CEO is a director for the Citizens Council and contributed to her campaign. The city council's Transportation and Environment Committee yesterday afternoon met for 90 minutes in executive session a ... More >>

Who's No. 1? Dallas City Council Candidates Pick Ballot Positions.

Sam MertenPauline Medrano and Sheffie Kadane were two of only three (Vonciel Hill was the other) incumbents who showed up this morning.City Secretary Deborah Watkins and her staff this morning in the Flag Room at City Hall announced the ballot positions for the May 9 city council elections, as Billy ... More >>

In the Cedars, Central Dallas Ministries Struggles to Find Support for Housing Project

View Larger MapOn Tuesday, the Dallas City Council's Housing Committee discussed 13 projects seeking low-income housing tax credits, among them Akard Plaza, which is being developed by Central Dallas Ministries' 7-year-old affordable-housing subsidiary Central Dallas Community Development Corporatio ... More >>

"Don't Push That Smoke Down My Lungs!" Or: "Communistic!" Either Way.

Courtney Clenney Having a hard time figuring where this person stands on the smoking issue ... Yesterday, of course, was the second meeting of the City Smoking Ordinance Special Ad-Hoc Committee -- and it was supposed to be the final one before the briefing on December 3, when the entire council i ... More >>

Ross for Less

They're Not Free Tickets. Live Nation's Just Paying Back the City, Silly.

If Nothing Else, It'd Mean Downtown Dallas Will Be Much, Much Brighter

Plans Today? Hillary Clinton's in Dallas and Fort Worth Today, If You Don't.

The View from Clinton's Oak Cliff Visit (Now, With Video!)

Tom Leppert: Predictable and Classy

Deep Ellum, or Deep Doo-Doo

Much Ado

Building mysteries--for those who care