As the mayor and city council keep marching forward with the convention center hotel project despite an upcoming vote in May — and it’s safe to assume the anti-hotel folks wouldn’t have turned in the petitions so early if they weren’t 100 percent sure that at least 20,000 would be…
Among the better films of the last decade is Being John Malkovich, which was the breakthrough movie for director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman. Jonze was best known for directing music videos by acts such as R.E.M. and The Beastie Boys, including one of the best videos of all…
Angela Hunt snapped this photo of the city hall in Brussels, joking it’s “just like ours.” The Dallas City Council has retreated to the Trinity Audubon Center, with council member Angela Hunt absent as she tours Europe during her Marshall Memorial Fellowship. Surely she misses the important discussion among her…
Scattered among the minutia related to the convention center hotel project lies the distinction between the political action committees started by the anti-hotel folks and the pro-hotel peeps. On August 27, hotel opponents backed by Crow Holdings started a specific-purpose committee called Citizens Against a Taxpayer-Owned Hotel, which was later…
The Cowboys and Bengals last faced each other four years ago in Cincinnati at a time when the teams were headed in opposite directions. Dallas was hammered 26 to 3 that day and finished the season at 6 and 10. Cincinnati appeared to be emerging as a serious contender in…
Ann Margolin Sure, the city council elections are still more than seven months away, but candidates are starting to file, and none may be more significant than Ann Margolin. After spending a year on the Dallas Park and Recreation Board representing District 13, Margolin quit the board and filed to…
Mitchell Rasansky Even for City Hall junkies, the budget process can be a bit overwhelming to follow closely. So when the council passed the city’s $2.7 billion budget last week, it’s unlikely much interest was generated — other than relief that the council was able to make the necessary amendments…
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway Before last week’s pro-hotel shindig in the Flag Room at City Hall, I decided to attend Wednesday’s council meeting. No particular reason, although the Fairfield zoning case was on the afternoon agenda. Ironically, I ran into Kat Truitt on my way down the elevator…
Two days before Washington Mutual became the biggest bank failure in U.S. history, board member Tom Leppert received more than 2,000 shares of WaMu stock, increasing his holdings to more than 21,000 shares. The price listed on the SEC filing — from yesterday — of $3.20 per share valued his…
The only Bond worth a damn Despite a petition drive against the convention center hotel that even proponents are certain will result in a referendum, the mayor and council members, along with developer Jack Matthews, are continuing to move forward with the final stages of the project. But as the…
As plans by Mayor Tom Leppert and the Dallas City Council to build a convention center hotel move forward, a petition drive that could kill the project is gathering momentum with five hoteliers leading the way, three council members opposing the city’s plans and a convention center expert accusing city…
Sam Merten Said Mayor Tom today, “If we turn our back on the convention center hotel, we’re turning our back on the City of Dallas and the future of this city.” As I awaited the beginning of today’s Build the Hotel press conference, council member Dave Neumann approached me. After…
Sam Merten If you don’t support the hotel, Mayor Tom will destroy you. Just got back from the big Build the Hotel pep rally in the Flag Room at City Hall, where Mayor Tom and friends announced they’ll be doing some signature gathering of their own. Apparently, they are asking…
Over the weekend, Don — didn’t catch his last name — was at Dallas Farmers Market collecting petitions for the no-hotel folks. Amazing how many farmers market shoppers claim they are not registered to vote in Dallas County … Citizens Against the Taxpayer-Owned Hotel, which has already changed its name,…
Anne Raymond at the CATOH press conference today The mayor and city council have used secret meetings to devise a plan to fund a convention center hotel with millions in taxpayers’ dough, and its time to give voters a say, since they’re the ones assuming the risk. At least, that’s…
Anne Raymond As we mentioned yesterday, Crow Holdings and its political action committee, Citizens Against a Taxpayer Owned Hotel, are announcing this morning plans to call for a referendum that would prevent the city from becoming hoteliers. Anne Raymond, who handles Crow Holdings’ hotel investments, will be joined by Vance…
In the May 15 paper version of Unfair Park, we danced around the notion of Crow Holdings spearheading an effort that would allow taxpayers to have a say in their financing, to the tune of $550 million, a convention center hotel. Since then, the creation of a political action committee…
A.C. Gonzalez, who, when you glance at him real quick, kinda looks like Dean Stockwell in Blue Velvet Among the many items under consideration by the city council this morning is addendum item 13, which authorizes $4.4 million in costs for the convention center hotel. When the item is likely…
Sam Merten Mayor Tom points to the two Trinity bridges, but does he know which is which? The big unveiling of the model for the Trinity River Corridor Project was held today at the Trinity Center, and, as expected, all the Trinity folks gathered to pay homage. A short press…
While our recap of Tuesday’s Trinity River Corridor Project Committee meeting didn’t yield answers to delay-related questions associated with the Dallas Floodway Extension, it did turn out to be a fun meeting — if only to hear council member Carolyn Davis ask for an explanation of what the acronym “TRCP”…
When Jack Jett sits in front of the microphone on September 6 and hits the airwaves for the first time, he’ll be trying to succeed in a market that might not be prepared for what he brings to the table. Jett has never done radio before and is trying his…
As mentioned earlier, I spent this afternoon at City Hall digesting PowerPoint presentations during the council’s Trinity River Corridor Project Committee meeting in hopes of getting to the bottom of some possible delays in the Dallas Floodway Extension outlined here. But having been to enough of these get-togethers, I should’ve…
