This morning, Bloomberg News takes a peek at public pension funds across the country and, after adding up the dwindling numbers, finds a crisis-in-the-making: “With stock market losses this year, public pensions in the U.S. are now underfunded by more than $1 trillion.” Among those Bloomberg examined is the Teacher…
One week ago today, state Sen. John Carona introduced proposed legislation, S.J.R. No. 31, that would allow for at least 12 casinos scattered throughout the state — seven “in different urban areas,” two “located on islands in the Gulf of Mexico that are tourist destinations with at least 1,000 guest…
Paul Rudd’s on the cover of the April Vanity Fair — also on the inside as Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein. Oh, and he was in Dallas today too, at the Ritz-Carlton with I Love You, Man director John Hamburg. We all made out. Oh, sorry — like bandits. Totally…
A Friend of Unfair Park sends along this just-posted piece from Politico detailing Ron Kirk’s taxing issue before the Senate Finance Committee, which just today announced it was pushing back his confirmation hearing as U.S. trade ambassador till next Monday. According to a missive sent to journalists by Finance Chairman…
Speaking of Southwest Airlines … The Federal Aviation Administration today announced that at long last it has reached an agreement with the Dallas-based carrier concerning those 46 planes that were allowed to fly despite their not having been inspected for fuselage cracks. Southwest will pony up $7.5 million in civil…
Fortune just posted its list of the World’s Most Admired Companies — at least, admired by the other bidness folks surveyed by the magazine. Five Dallas-based companies made the list of 363, and they are, in alphabetical order: AT&T, Brinker International, Centex, Southwest Airlines and Texas Instruments. (Twenty-two Texas-based companies,…
As he promised last week, right after we first mentioned Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway’s offer to swap guns for $50 Kroger gift cards, D contributing editor Trey Garrison went out to Reunion Arena to make folks a better offer. (The city collected 147, incidentally.) What he and Best…
Speaking of historic properties … an entirely unrelated eBay search over the weekend turned up this gem: a very hard-to-find, hand-colored page from the American Architect and Building News, dating back to November 21, 1896, and yours for the low, low price of $49 plus shipping. What you’re looking at…
Ever since last summer, the city — specifically, Development Services and the City Attorney’s Office — have been attempting to streamline the process that allows for the demolition of buildings in historic districts that it considers “an imminent threat to health or safety.” Initially, the Landmark Commission was horrified by…
Every so often in city council committee briefings, you’ll see the words “Forward Dallas!,” which kinda rings a bell? Anyway, there’s that phrase again this morning — this time in the Economic Development Committee’s briefing package labeled Streetscape Licenses. As “walkability” is the new buzz word, this morning the committee…
There are plenty of interesting council committee briefings scheduled for Monday; we’ll get to them in the a.m., as usual. But this early sneak preview courtesy the Public Safety Committee: the results of Public Trust and Confidence in the Police: The 2008 Dallas Community Survey provided by the recently created…
You’re a fan of the Beatles, right? What’s that you say? No? Hunh. My bad. So sorry. Then if I were you, I most certainly wouldn’t bother with this. Didn’t mean to trouble you on a Friday night. Never mind then. Get back to what you were doing…
As you no doubt recall, Dallas police Senior Corporal Victor Lozada was killed on February 22, 2008, when his motorcycle hit a curb as he was escorting Hillary Clinton to a campaign rally in Oak Cliff. Lozada was 49, and he’d been on the job for 19 years. One year…
Chip Babcock’s representing Judge Sharon Keller in her fight with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, which last week alleged five violations of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct that could lead to her removal from the bench following a public hearing. And he’s plenty upset about how much this…
Producer-director Michael Roland Williams has a tough sell on his hands: a documentary about black mold and how it led to the shuttering of the 264-unit Saratoga Springs Apartments apartment complex in Addison, the subject of this Wall Street Journal story. Williams and girlfriend Karen Noseff, then attending law school…
Moments ago, the city of Dallas posted a little more than eight minutes’ worth of video from the mayor’s press conference Tuesday, during which he and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers representatives discussed the “unacceptable” rating given some parts of the Trinity River’s levee system. As Jim and Sam have…
When last we heard from former Dallas Cowboys QB Quincy Carter, he was starting all over (again) down in South Texas. Two weeks before Christmas, he signed a contract with the Rio Grande Valley Dorados of arenafootball2, whose GM, Grant W. Buckborough, welcomed him as a savior: “Not only do…
A few days back, a Friend of Unfair Park wondered what was up with the old LTV Tower, once a crown jewel in downtown courtesy its bright night lights. Turns out, a couple weeks back there was a joint meeting of the Downtown Connection TIF Board and Downtown Dallas Development…
Schutze is due shortly with his round-up from last night’s town hall meeting, where Mayor Tom totally rocked Harold Wendell Lang Sr. Middle School. Till then, fun with cutlines…
We’ve been hearing the rumors for some time, well before Matt Pulle began writing his story about the struggling Victory Park: Quiksilver, among the first tenants in the Hillwood project, would be closing sooner than later, as word was the place would go days without posting a single sale. Well,…
You’d think with A.H. Belo’s ongoing fiscal woes that Robert Decherd hisself would make every effort to get The Dallas Morning News to folks who actually want home delivery. Alas, not so much, says Laura Bush in an interview set to air this evening on ABC’s World News with Charles…
At the end of January, state Sen. Bob Deuell of Greenville introduced S.B.No. 605, which would dramatically alter the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program — by, well, actually offering incentives. Right now, the state has but $22 million to give to folks looking to shoot their movies or TV…
