Patrick Michels When given the opportunity to explain his actions, Mayor Tom decided to keep his mouth shut.In this week’s paper version of Unfair Park, council member Angela Hunt and political consultant Pat Cotton spoke out loud and proud concerning Mayor Tom Leppert’s recent command to stop the broadcast of…
There’s a line where government stops and the rights of the people begin, and when Mayor Tom Leppert and nine of his council colleagues voted to strengthen Dallas’ smoking ordinance, that line wasn’t blurred, they drove right past it as if it didn’t even exist. But no matter where you…
Dallas voters rejected a proposal to increase the powers of the mayor three years ago, but critics say that hasn’t stopped Mayor Tom Leppert from becoming his own sort of “strong mayor,” most recently by trying to put a gag in the mouths of residents who show up at city…
Sam Merten Chief Ozumba Lnuk-X addresses the council today in opposition to the smoking ordinance. Hey, Adam Woods — his real moniker — totally stole our name! After more than three hours of tedious discussion and debate, the council voted today 10-5 to prohibit smoking in bars, pool halls and…
In last week’s paper version of Unfair Park, we took a look at the local GOP through the eyes of Dallas County Republican Party chair Jonathan Neerman. One of Neerman’s critics, Texas Workforce Commission chair (and my former boss) Tom Pauken, says Barack Obama was an important reason why the…
As we mentioned here a couple months ago, Ann Margolin seemed like a tough candidate to beat in May for Mitchell Rasansky’s open city council seat. However, comments she made to us about a certain $520 million boondoggle may have sparked Mayor Tom and others to find someone who will…
When Mayor Tom Leppert brought his Christmas list to Capitol Hill yesterday, he wasn’t shy about asking for $386 million from the government to pay for a shiny convention center hotel. After taking a look at our story, Becky Mayad, spokesperson for Build the Hotel, sent an e-mail to Robert…
The new ordinance would prohibit the sale of individual cigars and require cigars to be sold in packages of at least five, with a penalty of no more than $500 awaiting the perpetrator. Notably, it doesn’t apply to cigars sold in tobacco shops or other businesses. So what’s Caraway’s beef…
Moments ago, Assistant City Manager A.C. Gonzalez announced a GMP (Guaranteed Maximum Price) for the convention center hotel of $356 million to the council’s Economic Development Committee, which will be voted on by the full council in January, along with a final development agreement with Matthews Southwest. This number represents…
In case you missed it, Wednesday’s long city council meeting packed plenty of punch, highlighted by the morning open-microphone session and the late afternoon briefing about the smoking ban. After neglecting her blog for almost two months, Angela Hunt has pulled off a blogging trifeca (and I hear others are…
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 feet of…
Just an hour remains before the polls close on Election Day, but Dallas County Republican Party chair Jonathan Neerman seems remarkably calm. Maybe exhaustion has finally set in after working 13 hours straight, then making last-minute preparations for the Republican Election Night Watch Party at the Radisson Hotel on Central…
Back in June, Mayor Tom Leppert tried to slip some changes into the city council’s rules of procedure without asking input from his colleagues, but his plan was derailed when Angela Hunt took issue with one of the changes that would have eliminated the morning open-microphone session. Most recently, the…
Patrick Michels Harlan Crow plans on having an open-door policy with employees at his new office at Old Parkland Hospital since, well, there is no door leading into his office, which is really in a hallway. Much to our delight, Harlan Crow this morning invited local media over to the…
City leaders pushing Dallas to build a convention center hotel have been adamant: Money for the controversial $555 million project will not come from your property taxes. Loans to finance building the city-owned hotel will be paid back from money the hotel collects from visitors who stay there. Ah ha!…
There’s probably never been a worse time to build this sucker, which ain’t stopping Mayor Tom. The first sip: PKF Consulting of Atlanta revised its 2009 forecast of the hotel industry after the stock market crash and now expects a 4.4 percent nationwide drop in occupancy rate, which would result…
If it was up to Angela Hunt, you wouldn’t be able to light up in front of the kiddos in your own house. The first sip: The big city council news yesterday was the unanimous vote to keep Ross Avenue’s name intact and another renaming Industrial Boulevard “Riverfront Boulevard,” which…
Hurry, there’s only 380 available! The first sip: Thanksgiving is just around the corner, which means it’s time to start filling out your Christmas wish list. And, as a reminder, who wouldn’t love a Cowboys end zone in their backyard? Yup, for a mere $500,000, you’ll get your very own…
The first sip: After all the media hype surrounding the increased turnout in this year’s election, national numbers show it wasn’t really much different from 2004. The second sip: “So less than 48 hours after Democrat Barack Obama was elected president, Craig went out to buy an M-4 rifle.” The…
The first sip: In what is likely to be the first of many leaks in the aftermath of Tuesday’s election, McCain campaign aides told Fox News’ Carl Cameron that they had “great concerns” about Sarah Palin as second in command. Among the issues cited were Palin’s belief that Africa is…
The first sip: In last week’s Observer, editor Mark Donald described his early voting experience as not only a relief but “friggin’ cathartic.” My experience yesterday, however, was quite the opposite. After turning the dial and pressing the button for my choices, I walked around for the rest of the…
Sam Merten Lowell Cannaday and his wife Rose, who was choked up during her hubby’s speech After John Carona, Dan Branch, Angie Chen Button and Pete Sessions celebrated the handful of victories by the Republican Party in Dallas County, Lowell Cannaday — who I had been trying to track down…
