Steve Salazar

Expenses Sure are Expensive

Red Light District

Cleaning Up the Filth

Getting Racked By City Hall

Headache Hotel and Other Dallas City Council SUPs and WTFs

Towing the Line at City Hall

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

Before Council Votes to Ban Smoking, a Lot of Smoke is Blown at City Hall

After nearly three hours of discussion, the city council wrapped up yesterday's briefing on the proposed strengthened smoking ordinance seemingly prepared to vote on the item at next week's agenda meeting. Council members appear poised to approve a ban on smoking in bars, pool halls and within 15 fe ... More >>

Blood sport

There are two to blame for the Kirk-Fielding feud

Never mind

The public can have some say on the site for a new cultural center. But not too much.

On S. Lamar, Drinks Are on the Council!

View Larger MapThis council meeting leftover, which is no small morsel: Mayor Tom Leppert was vehemently against granting Augustine Ekukpe a specific use permit to open a bar called Neighborhood Sports Cafe on South Lamar Street, between Starks Avenue and Haven Street. Said the mayor during the coun ... More >>

Flying blind

With the mayor and city manager leading the charge, the city council moves full speed on an arena deal that doesn't even exist yet

Hispanic enough

Dallas' new city manager steps from Mr. Inside to role model

DFW Airport Board Member Ousted Because of Opposition to Trinity River Toll Road

Brian HarkinMayor Pro Tem Dr. Elba Garcia admits she helped remove John Loza from the DFW Airport board based on his position on the Trinity River toll road referendum.When the Dallas City Council last week replaced former council member John Loza on the DFW Airport board with Brenda Reyes, we were ... 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 >>

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 ... More >>

What's in a Nombre?

Diversity be damned. You want to rename Industrial Boulevard, it better "market" the city.

Playing Tag | Boyd vs. the Dead Man

Diversity be damned. You want to rename Industrial Boulevard, it better "market" the city.

Never say die

And you thought the Reaper was grim

Laff in the Dark

For Dallas, for the city council, for now, this was good

No Girlie Girl

Sharon Boyd just keeps going and going

Bottle Rockets Downtown

A lawsuit complaining about election fraud could bust things wide open

A Day of His Own

Dallas' Cesar Chavez holiday draws some unexpected critics-- his family

Brave New City

What if people downtown actually got smart?

Deep Doo-doo

One side or the other broke the law in a messy city council race, Dallas' top election official says

The Salazar Doctrine

Dallas' deputy mayor pro tem says people can vote wherever they want. His family certainly does.

Politics makes strange enemies

Why Domingo Garcia is running against the father of his godson

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 >>

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 >>

Adios, César Chávez. For Now, Anyway.

Patrick MichelsEight days ago, Unfair Park broke the news that the city was looking to rename at least a section of Young Street for César Chávez. What a difference a week makes, as city council member Steve Salazar -- head of the mayor's task force charged with finding a suitable street following ... More >>

Got Something to Say About the City's Budget? Then Let City Council Hear From You.

Mary Suhm and Tom Leppert, from yesterday's Dallas Zoo briefing​By no later than tomorrow, we should get our first look at City Manager Mary Suhm's proposed budget for the coming fiscal year -- specifically, what stays and what goes to clear out the $190 million shortfall. (Suhm had told Unfair Pa ... 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 >>

And If City Council Members Stay for the Whole Meeting, They Get a Gold Star

​Two weeks ago, at the last minute Mayor Tom Leppert -- or was it City Secretary Deborah Watkins ... or Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway? -- added to the Dallas City Council's agenda several controversial rules changes that were tabled the night before they were to be discussed. One of those proposed ... More >>

Twenty-Third Time's a Charm? City Finds Yet Another Street to Name for César Chávez.

Patrick MichelsThe latest shot in our ongoing series of these signs around town.​Clearly if at first you don't succeed, you try, and try, and try and try again.In its endless effort to find something to name for César Chávez, the city has, as evidenced by the photo here, clearly set its eyes upo ... More >>

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 >>

Dallas Homeless Czar Keeps It Simple: "The Answer to Homelessness Is a Home."

Sam MertenMike Rawlings​As the city digs out from under a record snowfall -- and with the forecast calling for below-freezing temps and a freezing fog advisory -- it's hard not to think about the city's homeless population as Dallas attempts to move ahead with its plans to establish 700 units ... More >>

News & Notes: Immigration Reform, César Chávez, Garland Road & Gay Jesus

​Some news and notes on this light-commenting Thursday:Domingo Garcia's got himself a whole new immigration-reform MegaMarch to promote -- this one, a May 1 parade that'll start at the Santuario de Guadalupe on Ross Ave. and end at Dallas City Hall. Says Garcia on the Web site, "Our immigrant comm ... More >>

Cesar Chavez Street Signs Debuted Today At City Hall, Along Cesar Chavez Blvd.

Photos by Patrick MichelsMayor Tom Leppert injected some pomp into the street sign changeover, along with city council members Steve Salazar, Delia Jasso and Tennell Atkins.​Two years and a million misfires ago, local Latino groups began a push to rename a street in Dallas in honor of Cesar Chavez ... More >>

The Dallas City Council Becomes the First to Tag Calatrava's Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge

Photos by Patrick MichelsMayor Tom Leppert joined the City Council in signing the inside of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge's center arch.​We've been watching from Unfair Park HQ as pieces of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge have been lifted into place, and earlier today Mayor Tom Leppert and the rest ... More >>

Liveblogging Today's City Council Meeting, That Is, At Least Until They're Done Talkin' About the Interesting Stuff

Sam MertenCity Manager Mary Suhm and Mayor Tom Leppert early this morning at today's city council meeting.​With my trusty laptop in hand, I prepared to liveblog the heck outta today's city council meeting -- the last one before the council leaves for its July recess and then returns to tackle ... More >>

Camped Out at City Hall for the Latest Briefing on Permanent Supportive Housing

​Now that Steve Salazar's run the City Council's Public Safety Committee out of the briefing room, his Housing Committee is powering through the afternoon in here for a look at the latest on efforts to place homeless folks into permanent supportive housing. With bullet-pointed stats presented in s ... More >>

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 >>

Whaddya Know, the City Council Decides Legal Businesses Along Trinity Are Still Legal After All

​Private property still legal in Dallas! Or should I say, legal again. The Dallas City Council just voted unanimously to approve a plan to keep several businesses on Rock Island Street, right behind the Trinity River levee down by the Corinth Street bridge. Council members Steve Salazar, Pauline M ... More >>

West Dallas Chamber Chair Is Not Pleased With Plan to Put Salvage Yard Near Trinity River

From Victor Toledo's PowerPoint​On May 20, the City Plan Commission gave Bruce Heydarian the okee-doke to plant an enormous scrap yard on Singleton Boulevard and Pluto Street, not terribly far from the Trinity River. Only two commissioners voted against the plan, among them Michael Davis; the rest ... More >>

Press Release o' the Day: Councilman Salazar to Present KISS's Gene Simmons With Key to Dallas

​No doubt you're aware that KISS's Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed (who I wouldn't Google Image search from the office too hard, if I were you) are among the myriad celebs hosting Super Bowl shindigs next week. Theirs is the Aces & Angels Salute to the Troops at Fair Park, which will lick it up ... More >>

City Hall Gives Gene Simmons a Big KISS

Photos by Patrick Michels​Well, that was ... surreal.When I left Dallas City Hall at 4:50 this afternoon, Gene Simmons was still there -- in the mayor's fifth-floor conference room, surrounded by cameras and politicos and one or two fans who'd managed to work their way into the room. Laid out befo ... More >>

Can't Believe You're Not on This List of People Who've Received Keys to the City of Dallas

​You have asked, and Frank Librio, the public information officer at Dallas City Hall, has answered by providing a recent sampling of the famous, infamous and who's-that?'s who have received keys to the city of Dallas. At last, a list I can get behind. Because, as I've been reminded more than once ... More >>

Hunt Asks: What Makes a "World-Class City"?

​As Sam notes below, Angela Hunt was the lone council member to vote against paying architect Santiago Calatrava $10.7 million to design a second version of the Margaret McDermott Bridge. The District 14 council rep believes spending all those many millions on a "signature" component added to a ... More >>

Because We Have Nothing Better to Do Than Pore Over Campaign Finance Reports

Photo by Sam MertenDonna Starnes raised more than former city council member Sandy Greyson in the race to succeed Ron Natinsky.​Now that you've had time to chew on our analysis of the mayoral candidates' fund-raising prowess, we thought it was time to take a quick look-see at how the city coun ... More >>

Dallas's E.D. Problem: Nothing Several Tons of Steel Won't Fix

Photo by Sam MertenDonna Starnes raised more than former city council member Sandy Greyson in the race to succeed Ron Natinsky.​Now that you've had time to chew on our analysis of the mayoral candidates' fund-raising prowess, we thought it was time to take a quick look-see at how the city coun ... More >>