Subject: Southern Dallas

• Mayoral Candidates Like to Ac-cent-thcu-ate the Positive. If Only We Could Vote For All of Them!

  April 6, 2007

• Why All the White Wanna-Be Mayors Might Be Rooting For a Don Hill Candidacy After All

  January 3, 2007

• Skinned

  September 12, 2006

• Of Course

  March 20, 2006

• Ed Oakley Sends South Dallas Voters a Campaign Flyer...For Don Hill? WTF?

  May 9, 2007

• Doing Some Quick Math

  June 16, 2007

• Mayor Tom: Man, What An Amazing Year! And It's Gonna Get Awesomer.

  June 25, 2008

• There's Great Hope for Central Dallas Ministries' eMagazine

  Larry James, president and CEO of Central Dallas Ministries, sent out an e-mail this morning directing folks to the second issue of CDM's online magazine, which is more or less a compendium of videos, all of them worth a peek. Among the contributions is the story of the great Brent Brown, the UT Arlington School of Architecture adjunct professor and architect behind buildingcommunityWORKSHOP, which is attempting to rebuild sections of Southern Dallas. In his video, Brown explains his reasons

  November 14, 2008

• 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 pulling his support from a so-called "master plan" for the Southern Dallas inland port. This is a very big deal.

  December 11, 2008

• Foster's Brook, or: The Dallas County Judge is Smarter Than He Lets On

  This should be said: One of the heroes in the otherwise ugly stupid saga of the inland port development in Southern Dallas has been Dallas County Judge Jim Foster.First of all: He figured it out. A very good source close to the county commissioners told me, "He's like a little detective. He's quiet, and he doesn't say much, but he sleuths things out."Foster figured out sooner than most people that a so-called "master plan" for the inland port dreamed up by Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley P

  December 19, 2008

• A Dash of SALT, or: Inside the Infamous Inland Port Proposal

  Santa came to my desk a day early. I have been papering City Hall with public-records requests for several weeks, and today, just in time, I finally got the one document I was hoping for: the written proposal to developer Richard Allen from three businessmen who wanted to be his Southern Dallas consultants.It's an eye-opener. And the whole thing's after the jump. A little history, though, before you make the leap.In last week's paper version of Unfair Park I explained how three African-American

  December 24, 2008

• Note to News Editorial Board: It's Not a "Conspiracy" When It's the "Truth"

  The Dallas Morning News editorial page this morning takes another swipe at The Allen Group, the warehousing and logistics company trying to turn Dallas into a continental shipping hub. As usual, today's offering is an exercise in convoluted insider speak that, if to be understood, requires the translation talents of a brave, experienced, handsome and highly skilled cipherologist. Luckily for us all, I am here.The purported point of the editorial is that it's really important to impose a new "mas

  January 7, 2009

• Best African-American art gallery

  September 21, 2000

• It's Not Like John Wiley Price Has Hidden His Intentions Concerning the Inland Port

  The real tragedy of the Inland Port situation is illustrated by the sound file you can listen to at the bottom of this item -- an excerpt from Cheryl Smith's long-running program Reporter's Round Table on KKDA-FM (104.5). If you listen to this carefully, you will discover some important things about the way some officials in southern Dallas view economic development.In the clip, Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price states categorically that he is not interested in the jobs that will be pr

  March 4, 2009

• Jerry Allen and the Former Dallas City Council ... All-Stars? Sure. Go With That.

  Bill Blayes, Alan Walne and Donna Halstead -- The Ex-Council Members out of costume!Few days back we peeked at Carolyn Davis and Dwaine Caraway's what-updates as served up on Dallas Delivers, the city's riotous no-holds-barred talk show served up on Time Warner Cable Channel 16. Alas, some of us don't have the cables, so the city's been posting throughout the week the entire series on YouTube; I'm totally getting the boxed set for my father for his birthday. There are so many episodes from which

  March 13, 2009

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

  December 11, 2008

• Color Code

  Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle's honeymoon is about to end, if white, black and Latino officers have anything to say about it

  September 2, 2004

• The Pathetic Factor

  Miller recall leaders won't show their cards

  July 7, 2005

• The Ride, Stupid

  Instead of calling for riots, just say where you got your car

  August 25, 2005

• Nyuk-nyuk

  To understand the new charter proposal, think Larry, Moe, Curly

  August 11, 2005

• Shoe One

  ...was the FBI. Watch out, City Hall. Shoe Two's comin'.

  June 30, 2005

• Mayorzilla

  Inside the monster battle over strong mayor

  April 7, 2005

• No Shame

  At long last, Al, have you no sense of decency?

  March 10, 2005

• Fear Factor

  Ever wonder what's inside the Great Trinity Forest? Enter if you dare.

  February 3, 2005

• United They Stand

  And the lion shall lie down with the lamb

  January 13, 2005

• Best Place to Eat in the Southern Dallas Dining Wasteland

  Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen

  October 14, 2004

• The Same, but Different

  Plus: Panic Button; Ready, Aim...

  August 26, 2004

• Royal Police

  Kunkle must teach them to spell d-e-m-o-c-r-a-c-y

  July 22, 2004

• Doo-doo

  Mary Poss sure stepped in some, didn't she?

  May 22, 2003

• Now We Like Belo

  We just don't want to get caught inside after dark

  February 20, 2003

• Snooze Alarm

  What will The Dallas Morning News look like when you wake up in 2010? If Editor Bob Mong has his way, it'll be the best damn paper the 'burbs will buy.

  February 13, 2003

• School for Scoundrels

  They get elected with stolen votes, and then they start divvying up the goodies

  June 27, 2002

• Money, Honey

  That's all the city council cares about in the big debate over downtown development

  April 18, 2002

• Miller Behind Closed Doors

  She's cooler and more collected than the harpy you saw in those Dunning ads

  March 21, 2002

• Selling Ron

  A pro-business black Democrat who appeals to white voters, Ron Kirk is the sport utility vehicle of Senate candidates. But will voters buy him?

  March 7, 2002

• Mayor Nuke

  The bad guys in the Sheetrock drug cases better be up on their game

  February 21, 2002

• Fixing the Fixers

  Dallas makes slow but steady progress in cleaning up mail-in ballots

  February 21, 2002

• A Hole in Every Pot

  A city gone shabby yearns for a mayor to put things right

  January 10, 2002

• SNAFU

  Buzz looks back on 2001 and proves once again that the boy just ain't normal

  January 3, 2002

• One Moe

  Even if Domingo Garcia can't win the mayor's race, he can slap the other two into shape

  December 6, 2001

• Down the River

  Dallas is still using flood control money to scam black people

  October 25, 2001

• Absentee Minded

  Hey, Mr. Zillionaire Developer, got a big public project you want to sell? Black Dallas has the votes you need--dirt cheap.

  August 30, 2001

• Filler

  For immediate release

  September 14, 2000

• Trinity Toll Road Isn't a White Deal. It's a Bad Deal.

  May 28, 2009

• Before the Prayer Vigil, South Dallas Ministers Ask Eric Holder to Review Don Hill's Case

  Hey, Don Hill, how many weekdays left till your trial starts, anyway?And the press releases keep coming from the Don Hill camp: Only a few days after inviting us to a Sunday-eve prayer vigil for Don Hill and Sheila Farrington in advance of Monday's start date in the City Hall corruption case, Ken Carter at Focus Communications last night sent out yet another notice -- this one, concerning a letter sent by "several prominent Southern Dallas ministerial organizations" to U.S. Attorney General Eric

  June 18, 2009

• Brian Potashnik Will Appear in Federal Court -- To Testify Against Don Hill (Now, a Live Blog)

  Cheryl and Brian PotashnikI'm at the Earle Cabell Federal Building and Courthouse waiting for the afternoon session of the City Hall corruption trial to launch. The feds presented their case this morning. The only substantial news was a confirmation that affordable housing developer Brian Potashnik will, as expected, testify against former Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill and former city plan commission member D'Angelo Lee.The government's case paints Potashnik as having been a willing, even avid c

  June 29, 2009

• Loose Ends: Layoffs at City Hall, Another Win for History and Blockbuster's Still Bleeding

  ​A few afternoon follow-ups to some morning items, plus a note from City Hall, where pink slips are going out in advance of tomorrow's scheduled layoffs. (Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm says she's laying off 840, with the hopes of hiring back 500.) Rudy has word about some losses at the Meyerson Symphony Center, but Unfair Park has also been told that the city's historic preservation staff has been cut substantially -- from seven employees down to three. Chief planner Kate Singleton had been wa

  August 13, 2009

• A New Defense Emerges in the Dallas City Hall Federal Corruption Trial: Entrapment!

  Sam MertenD'Angelo Lee, who's apparently going to claim he was entraped by the feds​Big news. Doug Greene has just revealed the core strategy of the defense in the federal Dallas City Hall corruption trial.Entrapment.He has also just been administered a smart spanking from the judge for wasting her time.I missed this morning's proceedings in federal district court. I kept up, though, via Jennifer Emily's very capable coverage on The Dallas Morning News's live blog. So here I am, back in the a

  August 19, 2009

• Zoning Committee Amends Historic Demolition Ordinance: Houses Only, If You Don't Mind.

  Back in August 2008, this was among the houses depicted in the council committee briefing regarding the need for a new teardown ordinance.​Speaking of vacant downtown buildings ... When Mayor Tom Leppert unveiled his list of Central Business District buildings that needed to be brought up to code or else, preservationists fretted that he had his sights set on razing, oh, the Statler Hilton or 508 Park Avenue, for starters. It made a certain amount of sense -- because, after all, just two mont

  September 10, 2009

• One Day We'll Write a Book About the City and the Bama Pie Building. Till Then, We Wait.

  View Larger MapWhen I was talking to First Assistant City Manager Ryan Evans yesterday about the city's decision to deny parking-citation scofflaws their vehicle registration, I also asked him about the old Bama Pie building across from Fair Park. No real reason why, except that three looong years ago, Evans had mentioned that the city was considering taking administrative and/or legal action against Derrick Mitchem, who got a total of $364,000 from the city -- in South Dallas/Fair Park Trust Fu

  October 30, 2009