Dallas Native’s Gonna Turn it On, Gonna Bring You the Power

Good news for nostalgists with kiddos: The Electric Company makes its return to PBS January 19th, when the network sneak peeks the easy-reader with a two-hour marathon in advance of its official January 23 debut. Alas, no Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno or Bill Cosby this go-round, but says the media…

Judge Still Doesn’t Like Those Red-Light Cams, But Nothing’s Final Yet

Yesterday, shortly after State District Judge Craig Smith reaffirmed his earlier ruling that Affiliated Computer Services’s red-light cameras violate a state law requiring an investigations license, I e-mailed Kevin Lightfoot, ACS’s veep of corporate communications, for a comment. This is what he said: “Essentially, nothing is finalized in this case…

You Can’t Really Kill a Tow Company

On December 4, moments after the Permit License and Appeals Board upheld the city’s decision to revoke Lone Star Auto Service’s towing permit, Friend of Unfair Park “LoveULongTime” cautioned those cheering the company’s (at least temporary) demise: “You guys are funny. They will just get their lawyer to get them…

Clearing the Air Over EPA’s News Concerning DFW’s Clean Air Plan

So, the Environmental Protection Agency has approved the Dallas/Fort Worth region’s plan to reduce air pollution from ozone, making us the first in the nation to win the EPA’s nod for a “state implementation plan.” That’s nice an all, but don’t jump up and shout, “Woo-hoo, We’re No. 1!” just…

Peace Out: Dallas ISD Kiddos Decorate NorthPark Barney’s For Christmas

Earlier today our downstairs neighbors at Big Thought sent the image above, which you’ve no doubt seen if you’ve window-shopped at NorthPark Center during this most wonderful (enh) time of the year. It’s the storefront at Barney’s New York, where the theme’s “Have a Hippie Holiday,” which, I’ll assume, involves…

Charlie Brown Is a Blockhead, But he Did Get a Nice Tree

Seems appropriate that on this freezing-foggy night at 7, WFAA-Channel 8 will air A Charlie Brown Christmas, augmented with 30 minutes’ worth of needless extras: “a series of Christmas-themed animated stories entitled Charlie Brown Christmas Tales, based on Schulz’s work, in which each of the beloved PEANUTS characters — Charlie…

Dallas ISD Trustee Ellis Defends Superintendent Hinojosa. Kinda.

Last month, while reporting last week’s cover story on Dallas Independent Superintendent Michael Hinojosa, I had two long interviews with school board trustee Leigh Ann Ellis, pictured at right. Most people consider the soft-spoken Ellis one of Hinojosa’s most reliable supporters on the board, but I found her more ambivalent…

Those TxDOT Cams Need Deicing

A Friend of Unfair Park who travels up and down Central Expressway all day long and uses the Texas Department of Transportation cams before heading out sends word: Many of them are completely useless today, courtesy the ice that has glazed over a few of the lenses. But, on the…