There are some professions that should be as selective as possible: doctor, teacher, crocodile hunter and, of course, firefighter. But when asked why the brand-new test the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department gives to potential firefighters is so damn easy, Pat Marsolais, who heads up the department’s Civil Service division, didn’t exactly…
There was a time, before the lawsuits, the criminal complaints and the machinations of a has-been actress, when the Saabs and the Rhoduses were friends, although what they had in common besides Park Cities addresses is a mystery. Tom and Debbie Rhodus are both attorneys, nearly as intelligent as they…
Pat Summerall is a legendary broadcaster, the longtime ying to John Madden’s yap. But underneath his cool, soft-spoken exterior lies a troubled, haunted man plagued by alcoholism. Until he disclosed his problems a few years ago, no one would have guessed that he was the one in the booth who…
Death of a Salesman is Arthur Miller’s signature play and a staple of American theater; however, it hasn’t exactly aged like fine wine. Willy Loman’s floundering salesman seems more like a relic of a forgotten time than a tragic hero of a tragic economy. If Miller were writing it today,…
Rose Renfroe didn’t exactly call her Democratic opponent Scott Chase a pedophile, but she came awfully close. Now he’s refusing to support her in her race against Republican incumbent Ken Mayfield, bucking the time-honored political convention of putting party ahead of principle. “I’m not supporting Rose Renfroe or Ken Mayfield…
At first glance, it would seem as though Dallas County Judge Margaret Keliher was vindicated. After she questioned why the county was funneling millions of Homeland Security dollars into a flawed computer database, the state said the same exact thing last month in an audit of the county’s emergency preparedness…
The unwritten rule in Dallas is that you don’t complain about the heat. You can be dressed in a suit and stuck in a one-sided conversation on a rental car lot while the glare of a 105-degree sun batters you like Farrah Fawcett’s husband in The Burning Bed, and you…
Weekend Comedy doesn’t exactly have a high concept: Two couples are inadvertently forced to share a cabin for Memorial Day weekend. Wackiness ensues. Directed by Jeff Fenter, Weekend Comedy stars Don Long, Emily Roberts, Andy Copes and Lucia Welch. The play, presented by AmeriStage Players, runs Thursday through August 20…
Only two years ago, Lupe Valdez was an obscure candidate for sheriff, pledging to reform a department marked by scandals and plunging morale. At the midpoint of her first term, however, Valdez’s decision not to fire one of her top chiefs for keeping an automatic weapon in his storage cabinet…
The hapless promoters of Nashville Star once tried to bill their alleged talent show as a country version of American Idol—but better because their contestants often played their own instruments and wrote their own songs. In this case, all that means is that their south of Stepford performers feel empowered…
If you’re looking for one more reason why the Rolling Stones were better than the Beatles, consider 1964: The Tribute, a Beatles Tribute show, coming this week to Fort Worth. At a recent concert in Liverpool, 1964: The Tribute drew 35,000 fans, or close to twice the capacity of the…
With VH-1 and other cable stations broadcasting an endless array of programs offering flighty commentary on pop culture and nostalgia, a new kind of pundit is in demand. Someone who can crack an easy Paris Hilton joke when the latest gossip demands it or unleash a one-liner about Gloria Gaynor…
Imagine applying for the top job at a company that has taken you to court. Well, in a variation of the saying “if you can’t beat them, join them,” Craig Watkins, the Democratic candidate for Dallas County district attorney, once had a legal run-in with the office he now hopes…
Ron Price is fond of speaking in clichés, using phrases like “that dog won’t hunt” as if he were punctuating a closing argument before the U.S. Supreme Court. So it’s fitting that when trying to describe the plight of the veteran school board member whose political future has dimmed over…
Following the traumatic Mavericks meltdown, it may seem cruel to transfer any passion to the Texas Rangers, who are to late season swoons what Pat Conroy is to selling out your family. But at the risk of sounding like a Lifetime TV wife—”really, this time he’s really going to change”—I…
Think of it as Garland’s version of the Alexander Hamilton-Aaron Burr duel, only this suburban showdown didn’t hinge on honor or ambition, and no one got shot. At least not yet. In 2003, City Council member Harry Hickey wanted to pass an ordinance restricting citizens from parking recreational vehicles in…
Gloria Allred belongs to that odd subset of celebrities whose fame comes from dispensing opinions on topics they know nothing about. One of the more irritating television commentators just white of Starr Jones—I’ve heard her speak dozens of times and can’t recall a single provocative thought—Allred never turns down an…
What do you call someone who can’t run or bike? A duathlete. OK, maybe that’s the bitter runner in me talking, but I just wish cyclists, duathletes and triathletes didn’t have to advertise their lifestyle at every opportunity. Between the Cliff Bar decals on the Nissan XTerras and the Verizon…
ESL: In the last 10 days, the Dallas Observer and The Dallas Morning News both reported on the plight of Jeffrey Ellard, an inmate at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center who needed a hastily arranged court hearing to ensure he received medical treatment for a festering gash in his left…
There are any number of reasons why the U.S. Justice Department decided to investigate the health practices at the Dallas County jail, but perhaps none of them cut to the core like the gaping gash in Jeffrey Ellard’s left leg. On the morning of his court hearing, he shows off…
Goodfellas has everything you need in a flawless movie—memorable, career-making performances; dramatic, heartbreaking moments; memorable lines and scenes; and Robert DeNiro in what was probably the last grand slam performance of his career. (If you make a good enough case, I might give you Bronx Tale or Heat. If you…
For Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, the summer of 2006 could define the rest of her political career, as she’ll be forced to retake a licensing test, come up with a plan to quell her department’s rising overtime costs and mollify the subtle criticism of her qualifications for the job…
