Jeffrey R. McKinney, Andrew Velez and Ted Westhusing are not statistics. They are sons, husbands, brothers and fathers who committed suicide while fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan. But in recent months, they have become nothing more than numbers that keep adding up to what’s become one of the most under-reported…
A Friend of Unfair Park mighty proud of his Woodrow Wilson High School roots sends word that last night’s Nightline featured two Texas-born aviation heroes: Denison’s Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, but of course, and Dallas native and Woodrow grad Al Haynes. Haynes is an “aviation legend” who was among those whose…
I say this with zero amount of snarkiness or sarcasm: Ticketstock is cool. From Nolan Ryan last year to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar this weekend, 1310 AM The Ticket has created a perfectly-timed phenomenom affording sports geeks (myself included) the unique – and FREE – opportunity to rub elbows with legends of the game…
CNN this morning visits D’gala Bridal Boutique on W. Jefferson Boulevard, which pockets a major chunk of its change outfitting girls for their quinceañeras. Alas, sales at the end of last year were the worst in more than a decade — one guess why. Which means discounts are to be…
The Playmaker. Searching for the next star. If your dream is to join an organization that: *Hasn’t been anywhere near the top of its industry in 13 years. *Has a CEO who runs off management by forcing them to punch a time clock. *Enjoys all the image of Cell Block…
On this Friday morning, let’s sneak a peek at the Sunday New York Times travel section, which spends “36 Hours in Dallas” and serves up this howdy-do: “DALLAS may not be a world-class city, but it’s pulling out all the stops to get there.” Alas, not much new here for…
Dallas’ convention center hotel made news in Denver today as the ABC affiliate out there featured StimulusWatch.org as its “Web Site of the Week.” The site allows users to cast votes and comment on projects they feel to be most critical, or in the case of the hotel, least critical…
While the city council continues to face delays regarding the selection of an operator for the convention center hotel, the holdup is unlikely to have any effect on Mayor Tom Leppert and the council’s plans to begin construction on the project in April. However, the current status of the financial…
Dallas Area Rapid Transit today issued a media release that says the 28-mile, $1.8 billion Green Line expansion, scheduled to open in September, “is proving to be the Dallas region’s own local economic stimulus program with the creation of more than 2,200 jobs.” When contacted by Unfair Park today, DART…
Credit where credit is due. Seems like a simple concept. But in today’s 24-second news cycle the genesis of “breaking news” often finds himself as nothing more than the guy at the bottom of the dog pile. Forgotten. Squashed. Raped of credit. Example #1: The Ticket’s George Dunham. Got a…
Bryan Burrough was in town earlier this week to sell a few copies of his must-read tome The Big Rich: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes. Been looking forward to the book ever since September, matter of fact, when Vanity Fair excerpted a chapter that made…
Just had a lengthy talk with Wade Hampton, marketing director for N9NE, who does confirm the bad news: The steakhouse in Victory Park is no more. And, he says, there is no single reason for its shuttering last night. “I think that you could probably come up with a pretty…
Look, I love Lucille Hester “as my big sister”, but this thing’s gone too far for too long. With new discrepancies in her story cropping up on the hour every hour, if I’m in her corner I throw in the white towel. Watching a sweet, old forgetful/manipulative lady get bludgeoned is never pretty…
… landed himself on Richie’s Sportatorium early this morning, but only because such behavior resulted in the former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver’s arrest by Irving police in late January. Dr. Whitt has the full details. And in totally, absolutely-no-way-related news, Spike just sent us a media release with the news…
Friend of Unfair Park Peterk, who knows well my soft spot for Dallas antiquities, kindly sends this link to an eBay auction due to close in two days. What you see here’s a 1924 paper boy convention outside the Adolphus Hotel — or, as they were known back then, “Juvenile…
Dan Reeves – who played for and coached for and still bleeds for the Dallas Cowboys – soured on the inner workings of Valley Ranch in 48 hours. Question: What took him so long? Reeves, remember, turned down the offensive coordinator’s gig with the San Francisco 49ers to serve as a consultant to…
Reports out of Canada this week have Sean Avery back on the ice by next week, around the same time he wraps up his stint in the NHL and NHLPA’s Behavioral Modification program. But Dallas Stars manager of hockey administration Mark Janko tells Unfair Park this morning that Sean Avery…
Early this morning, Christina Hughes Babb wrote on the Advocate’s blog that N9NE Steakhouse in Victory Park sent its employees packing last night. Nothing official, just the word of staffers who found their way to Kenichi last night in search of a drink or a job. It’s been a difficult…
On December 23, Dallas-based PlainsCapital Bank received a mighty generous Christmas present from the Treasury Department: $87.6 million in bailout bucks, which seemed like a lot given that PlainsCapital isn’t publicly traded and didn’t even need the money to stay afloat. (The feds gave Alan White the long green to…
BUZZ Higher purpose: Here are a couple of surprising facts: First, the Texas Legislature has yet to provide property owners with adequate protection from government misusing its power to acquire private property through eminent domain. Second, when the Texas chapter of the Institute for Justice, a libertarian legal nonprofit, was…
It’s a cold Thursday night in mid-January, and two police SUVs pull up in front of an Academy Sports and Outdoors store in North Richland Hills, an otherwise peaceful community between Dallas and Fort Worth. The squad cars represent protection for a group of Texas Rangers players and executives preparing…
“Empty Victory,” by Matt Pulle, January 29 New York State of Mind Victory will not survive without condo landowners who care about their neighborhood and investment. Renters and flippers do not make a stable neighborhood or foundation for future growth. Therefore, a simple solution is for Victory to quit trying…
