News

It’s been precisely one year since we first wrote about efforts to rewrite the ordinance that clarifies when, why and how the city can demolish a structure in a historic district. In the months since then, there have been myriad meetings during which preservationists and city attorneys have attempted to…

View Larger MapJennifer Fulbright, a United States Postal Service employee for 39 years till her retirement in March 2008, is the secretary and treasurer of the Dallas chapter of the American Postal Workers Union. And she called late last week to dispute the USPS’s claim that it’s not looking to…

Just as a Friend of Unfair Park was sending along photos of Jose Escobedo’s phony front lawn, Melissa Crowe, one of our summer interns, walked into my office to report that the lawn’s no mow … pardon, the lawn’s no more. At least, that’s how the Landmark Commission ruled moments…

That’s right — get ready to call the Fort Worth-based chain “The Shack” starting Thursday. The name change ain’t official: It’ll still be known by its more formal and familiar moniker. But according to Lee Applbaum, RadioShack’s chief marketing officer, well, just forget about that whole “Radio” part of the…

View Larger MapJust returned from Dallas City Hall, where, in just a few, the Landmark Commission will meet to formally discuss all the items you’ll find listed here. Sadly, we won’t get to see the Statler shroud: Mark Doty, the city’s historic district planner, told the commissioners that AIA Dallas…

As the city’s hotel development corporation prepares to sell what is now $505,230,000 in revenue bonds to build the convention center hotel, Moody’s Investors Service has issued an A2 rating to the financing — a decent, but unspectacular rating — which will be funded by more than $459 million in…

The steel for the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge’s been down by the Trinity River for, oh, a few days at least — I breathlessly ogled the two cylinders, each 36 feet long and 17 feet across, only yesterday while driving from Oak Cliff to downtown (surprisingly, no one else was…

Hadn’t planned on going to Landmark Commission this morning, but the briefing session at least does look irresistible. First up is that much-worked-over ordinance that would allow the city to tear down historic structures with nothing more than a court order. We’ve been writing about this thing for a year,…

To see more of the ball, the cast panel, and the rest of the con from a safe distance, check out our Twicon slide show.Thousands of Twilight fans formed a sea of flashing cameras and upraised cell phones at the Twicon cast Q&A session in the Sheraton’s Lone Star Ballroom…

Word came earlier this week that Mayor Tom Leppert wants to turn over to the Dallas Zoological Society the keys to the Dallas Zoo in order to shave a few million off a staggering budget deficit of $190 million. But what says the City Council? We should have a pretty…

We end the work week with this awfully golden oldie. Seems our photo-loving, history-having pal Justin Cozart’s been digging in his grandpa’s box of photos again, and this time ’round he’s come up with something particularly fascinating: slides from the 1950s-era study “documenting the advent of sprawl in Dallas.” Visit…

Twicon 2009 is in full effect downtown at the Sheraton Hotel, where organizers say 3,000 fans have registered for the weekend’s celebration of all things Twilight — or even, “Twilight-inspired.” Here’s looking at you, “Essence of Twilight” perfume table, where the fragrances are “Hand-made to match the description of your…

The Dallas Regional Chamber just posted to YouTube this short film made to commemorate its 100th anniversary, and it’s star-studded: Ebby Halliday, Erle Nye, Ray Hunt, Jan Hart Black, Bob Estrada, Wright Lassiter and, of course, Mayor Tom Leppert talking Trinity. Also, it’s absolutely loaded with old movies and photos…

Last year, The New York Times noted a sharp increase in violent crimes committed against the homeless — up 65 percent from ’05 to ’07, according to statistics kept by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. But at the moment, attacks on the homeless aren’t considered hate crimes…

After the jump you’ll find a photo Patrick Michels took ’round 6ish in front of the Kidrobot joint in Mockingbird Station. In it, you’ll see only a handful of the 400-plus lined up to get one of the free 200 golden dunnies created by artist Huck Gee, who was on…

The battle over the Disney Streets in Northwest Dallas — pitting those who want the neighborhood to become a conservation district against those vehemently against it — has been going on for more than a year now, with the “No” Conservation District signs taking deep root in some homeowners’ front…

Back, for a moment, to that item about concrete-maker Ash Grove suing the city of Plano for refusing to buy its cement, made with the dirty, antiquated wet-kiln method. I do need to clarify a few things: Yes, Plano was originally sued by Ash Grove — along with Dallas and…