Been trying since yesterday without any luck to reach City Attorney Tom Perkins to talk about his scheduled appearance Monday in front of the council’s Quality of Life Committee. The topic, for which 45 minutes have been carved out: “Home Solicitation Ordinance.” Which, from the looks of the briefing documents…
Amidst all the ruckus over the Dallas Independent School District board’s more-than-likely decision to close James B. Bonham Elementary, one thing’s been overlooked: Its storied past as The School Where The Prettiest U.S. School Teacher once taught. That’s a certifiable fact: In December 1952 speech teacher Nell Owen was named…
Saw a piece outta Tulsa yesterday that said Mayor Dewey Bartlett Jr.’s in town trying to convince Dallas companies to move to his patch of God’s country. And, sure enough, when he called me back last night around 9 he was at dinner at Truluck’s on McKinney. First thing I…
Seems Mayor Mike wasn’t done talking about his decision not to sign the same-sex marriage pledge officially unveiled at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in D.C. today. Because hours after we spoke Thursday morning, he took to his Facebook page to post the following:Upon taking office, I made a conscious…
Back in November U.S. District Judges Orlando Garcia and Xavier Rodriguez down in San Antonio drew up new congressional and state House and Senate maps, since they so hated the ones submitted by the Texas Legislature. The judges claimed the state willfully ignored the state’s growing Hispanic population, and their…
The librarians have landed, as today’s the first day of the estimable American Library Association Midwinter Meeting at the Dallas Convention Center, so you know what that means. Good timing, then, for Reuters’ freshly minted “48 hours in Dallas/Fort Worth” itinerary, which is a little better than The Official List…
For the past seven years Teresa Woodard’s been a “popular” reporter and anchor for a Fox affiliate in St. Louis, where, as evidenced by the video sampler platter below, she’s donned many different looks for all kinds of stories. (Among then: The Banfield.) But it says here that Woodard’s about…
The Dallas Police Department has many, many photos of the man you see at right. They were all taken a little after midnight on December 20, on R.L. Thornton just off Grand Avenue, site of a Comerica Bank branch. But DPD does not know his name, which is why it…
The Dallas Voice ran a piece last night in which Mayor Mike Rawlings’s chief of staff, Paula Blackmon, explains why he’s not joining more than 70 other mayors in supporting same-sex marriage at a press conference tomorrow to be held during the U.S. Conference of Mayors in D.C. Todd Gillman…
A few years back there were some questions on the Dallas Historical Society’s chatboard about what in the wide, wide world of sports Exposition Plaza’s supposed to be. Because, sure, you drive by the circular mini-park at Canton and Exposition all the time if you’re heading from downtown to Fair…
So says CNN: “The Texas governor will make the announcement before the CNN debate in South Carolina.” And Politico: “Texas Gov. Rick Perry is expected to end his presidential campaign Thursday and endorse Newt Gingrich.” (Ooooh, speaking of.) A press conference has been scheduled for 10ish this morning, after which…
The space shuttle’s dead; long live the Orion Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle. That’s the future of space travel — the capsule that’ll take astronauts deep, deep into the final frontier … at some point in the near to very distant future. First orbital test flight’s in 2014, depending on how…
With a 4 p.m. deadline on the horizon, T.R. Sullivan wasn’t hopeful at daybreak: “The word Wednesday morning was that the Rangers’ optimism has waned a bit.” Sources have been saying in recent days that Japanese pitching sensation and magazine cover boy Yu Darvish wanted a five-year deal, the Texas…
Three days before Christmas we noted that Anland North, a limited partnership controlled by Ross Perot Jr. and his Hillwood, was threatening to block some Dallas Stars and Dallas Mavericks season-ticket holders from parking in their already-paid-for parking spots at the American Airlines Center. The only thing that kept Junior…
No doubt you’ve heard by now that a 65-year-old Little Elm woman was arrested at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport this morning for taking a .38-caliber pistol aboard an American Airlines flight. The Transportation Security Administration sent out a press release early this morning; a couple of hours later, DFW Airport…
Had a lengthy talk with Mayor Mike this morning about yesterday’s doings at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in D.C. Long story short, said the co-chair of its Work and Opportunity Task Force: “This is not about labor or business. I think the Democrats will say, ‘We’re pro-labor and pro-small…
CultureMap Houston this morning notes that city is tops when it comes to wage growth, especially between 2010 and the end of ’11. That’s per a PayScale report that came out at the end of last week, which thumbed through the check stubs of workers in 20 major metros and…
This is Ollie’s Place at 4909 S. Pacific Avenue, in the shadow of Fair Park. Till very recently the building, constructed in 1965, was owned by Martin Needom Jr., who lives not far away. It was once a neighborhood convenience store in an area zoned residential — not uncommon in…
We first told you the tale of Municipal Judge Phyllis Lister Brown in mid-November — when the city council-appointed judge sued the city to stop from being booted off the bench. Said the 17-year veteran of the muni court, she didn’t want to end up like Elizabeth Frizell, who, in…
Just got off the phone with tax attorney Mark Melton, who, as you’ll recall, is co-chairing EducateDallas, that political action committee with ties to the Dallas Regional Chamber. I had questions following receipt of a release this afternoon that says the PAC is endorsing two candidates for the Dallas Independent…
The trailer to Archway Pictures’ loooooong-awaited doc on the 1978 Texxas Jam was just (like, just) posted to YouTube, along with the note “Release Date: Summer 2012.” Which, fingers crossed, answers the follow-up question I get from time to time following last summer’s item in which Archway’s president, Bedford-born former…
Word got out that Michael Hinojosa was leaving the Dallas Independent School District ’round the exact same time Melody Johnson announced she was resigning as Fort Worth’s superintendent. Which means both school districts have known for eight months that they need new leaders. But several fellow DISD parents have asked…
