The guy barreling this way has been in trouble before. Maybe as recently as five, 10 minutes ago. He’s a handful, 6 feet and change, 200 pounds of biceps and beer belly barely contained by his tight white T-shirt. Which is clearly splattered with blood. The red stain appears to…
Dallas has become known as the city in which they bust racy comic books, a reputation it has earned now that Jesus Castillo’s legal appeals have been exhausted. Castillo, a manager of Keith’s Comics in East Dallas, became something of a cause célèbre in comic-book circles after police brought him…
Crime Bites Why is Dallas No. 1 in crime among big U.S. cities for the sixth straight year? Because of you, you scum. That’s right. According to city and police officials, Dallas residents 1) are more inclined to report crimes; 2) have nicer, more steal-able stuff; and 3) have messy…
Crime City The blame game: While everyone talks about how horrible the crime rate is in Dallas, it seems everyone is pointing fingers (“No. 1 With a Bullet,” July 31, and “Protection Racket,” August 7, by Jim Schutze). Well, add mine to the list, because I point them at the…
Had he not been working off-duty at a T.G.I. Friday’s in suburban Arlington five years ago, he likely wouldn’t be in this mess. But Garry Ragsdale was there when a seedy opportunity knocked. He swung the door wide open. In fall 1997, the square-jawed, big-shouldered Dallas cop was sniffing around…
Though her enthusiastic manner does not suggest it, Margaret Collins, when pressed, admits to a growing frustration. Still, as she sits in her Stemmons high-rise office, the executive director of the Dallas-area chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) dutifully goes about her passion, ticking off her statistical talking points:…
Here’s how Shani George, a 20-year-old intern at The Dallas Morning News, got the biggest scoop in the country last week. Here’s why her interview and subsequent front-page exclusive story caused other journalists to wag their fingers at the News. And here’s why, in the end, it ain’t no big…
Readers of The New York Times were surprised to see that last week’s front-page obituary on Bob Hope was written by Vincent Canby, a longtime Times reporter who died in 2000. In fact, most newspapers write and continually update obits of famous local citizens years before they die, so they…
The Summer of Crime Mayor Miller, please help us: Your article put into words what my family and I have personally experienced (“No. 1 With a Bullet,” by Jim Schutze, July 31). In the three years that we have lived in Dallas (a city that I dearly love), we have…
In this week’s episode of Queer Views for the Straight News, we tune in to find the very straight, very sober Dallas Morning News in a tizzy as it tries to figure out just how modern it is supposed to be. Some background: On July 6, the paper began running…
The pope isn’t Catholic. John Paul II, the man most people believe to be pope, is really an impostor. He’s deliberately plotting to destroy the Catholic Church from within. Catholics have been lied to, and they have been robbed. These are the messages Hutton Gibson preaches in his crusade to…
It’s vacation time. Has to be done. The heat here is unbearable, and the sports aren’t much better–a good time to flee Dallas. A chance to get my head right, a little calm before things pick up. By the time you read this, I’ll be sunning myself on the beaches…
Lancing Plano Five-time Tour de France champ Lance Armstrong has always been one of Full Frontal’s fave athletes. He battled cancer, he has a schweet ride and he has the name of an action hero. After we read his autobiography–It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life (G.P…
Well now, that’s just plain rude. Buzz is referring to the Texas Senate Democrats’ sudden skedaddling to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to deny GOP efforts to redraw congressional district maps more to Republicans’ liking–or more to the liking of U.S. House Majority Leader Tom “Mr. Megalomania” DeLay. Eleven Democrats bolted for…
Bloodbath The crazy years: Julie Lyons’ article “The Girl Who Played Dead” (July 17) definitely gave me a clearer understanding of what was happening in South Dallas over a decade ago. I was actually in junior high at the time and would constantly hear these horrific stories of Jamaicans taking…
Pat Douglass steers his 31-foot cabin cruiser, the “Wet Rat,” away from its slip at Pier 121 Marina and slowly motors through the “no wake” zone on Lewisville Lake, about 20 miles north of Dallas. His business partner stands on the bow and watches boat traffic. His fiancee stands at…
The Dallas Observer is often incorrectly referred to as a “liberal” rag. We’re not really; we just run sex ads, which makes us relatively well-paid, not necessarily liberal. You doubt Buzz? Well, smartyboots, we have in our hands an official Republican National Committee “census document” that seeks to delve into…
Marie Grove is an unlikely candidate to rule a corner of Dallas nightlife. She conducts day-to-day business in flip-flops and jeans; her long blond locks unravel in irascible strands. She never raises her voice, even when the pressure of an August 2 restaurant opening seems unbearable. Instead of barking contractors…
It’s not much of a place, really: a bland, one-story yellow brick building hoping to remain innocuous to the small-town traffic that drives by. Its sign–Corsicana Health Services–also doesn’t arouse much curiosity. It’s better to remain low-key, to blend in rather than let everyone in town know the clinic is…
About a month ago I was in Shreveport on the back end of a 10-hour poker session. I was struggling to keep my eyes open. The cocktail waitress who was ostensibly en route with my coffee hadn’t materialized. It was hardly surprising. The employees at the Hollywood Casino move (and,…
Not a Polish Joke He may have served you a drink once upon a time at a Turtle Creek-area bar, or perhaps he integrated your company’s software. That was awhile back, before Josh Barker left Dallas for Los Angeles to become an actor, before he built a small résumé (in…
Attack of the Squid Responsible riders: I would like to commend your authors for doing a piece that is not the typical inflammatory stereotyping of motorcycle riders (“Where the Rubber Leaves the Road,” by Mark Donald and Merritt Martin, July 10). The stunt riders and squids are a small but…
