Letters

A decent man Congratulations to Robert Wilonsky for his fair and accurate portrayal of former chief Jesse Curry and his work [“Officer down,” November 26]. True, Curry made an unforgivable mistake in moving Oswald on November 24 in full view of the international media. Yet, as Wilonsky notes, this event…

Regional velvet

The Dream varies according to talent, of course, but also according to circumstance and tradition. Young hoopsters on city street corners may fantasize about a ticket to the NBA, while Canadian boys dream of ice and pucks, and prep-schoolers of glory in tennis, crew, or lacrosse. And for young women…

The garden of life

The act of stepping in off the street through this gate, into this place, is a silent shock to the system, a trick on the soul. You begin at the curb of North Fitzhugh Avenue at Live Oak Street in East Dallas, ankle-deep in fast-food wrappers, awash in racket and…

Got milk?

Late in the morning after he has already put in what would be to most people a full day of chores, Larry Don Keith, a farmer from Como in East Texas, can sound downright philosophical about his predicament. “They’re looking for someone to blame,” says the 48-year-old third-generation dairy farmer…

Buzz

Go ahead, make grandpa’s day Someone once said that the only things invariably fatal to a political career are being found in bed with a dead woman or a with live boy. We’d like to add a third to that list: getting crosswise with old people. You would think that…

Letters

A kinder, gentler Albertson’s In response to Rose Farley’s article on Albertson’s [“It’s Your Store (Like it or Not),” November 19], I would like to clarify many misconceptions regarding the construction of a new Albertson’s on Live Oak at Collett. First, I’d like to reiterate Albertson’s strong commitment to meeting…

Math wars

At 4:30 on a Wednesday afternoon, 11 grade-school kids sit quietly at metal desks in a borrowed classroom. The only sounds are the scuffing of pencil on paper and occasional sighs. Heads bent in concentration, the children mow down pages and pages of math problems while their teacher paces unobtrusively…

Officer down

Until the early afternoon of November 24, 1963, Dallas police chief Jesse Curry had been everything the media asked of him. He was courteous, impossibly patient, willing to answer their questions–every damned one of them. At 50, Curry–a burly, soft-spoken man who looked like the smartest football player in the…

Voted out

When former Dallas city election manager Jeff Watson announced 14 months ago he had accepted a job as elections administrator for Denton County, he thought the new position was an opportunity he just couldn’t pass up. The new gig came with expanded responsibilities in a considerably larger political arena, which…

Arresting development

At press time, paroled killer Michael Lee Davis, also known as Walter Waldhauser Jr., was being held in the Collin County Jail without bail. In the 1970s, Waldhauser arranged the contract murders of four Houston residents, including a 14-month-old boy. Though Waldhauser was convicted of three counts of capital murder…

Buzz

If at first you don’t succeed… So Jesse Diaz is all set to attempt yet another ascent up the greasy pole and run for the Dallas school board seat so quickly vacated by Don “See ya later” Venable. That leads to the obvious question–no offense to Diaz–Is this the best…

Letters

PTA split The Dallas Council of PTAs (DCPTA) board of managers voted not to support the districtwide Sirota survey [“Trojan horse,” November 12] based on its belief that the survey would promote a voucher system and that the survey would not be owned by the district but by the Sirota…

The biggest pump wins

Bart Sipriano sits on the hood of a run-down pickup truck parked outside his shack and takes in a slice of East Texas he’s proud to call his very own. There’s a meadow, flowering weeds and tall grasses rippling in the breeze. There’s an old barn, exposed to the elements…

Enough is enough

Call it the little airline that could–if someone only would let it. Legend Airlines basically had its wings clipped before ever taking to the sky. The airline that launched a thousand lawsuits after announcing plans to fly long-haul service out of Love Field has been caught in the acrimonious, costly…

Cheating death

Walter Waldhauser Jr., the middleman in one of Houston’s most infamous greed-driven murder-for-hire plots who is apparently still attempting to make money off the deaths of others, could soon find himself behind bars again. Following an October 22 article (“Death merchant”) that appeared in the Dallas Observer and its sister…

Buzz

The Thrilla on Marilla, Part 2 Buzz is not a regular at Dallas City Council meetings, but after sitting in on last week’s session, that may change. This isn’t because of any newfound fascination with City Hall, we’re ashamed to say. It’s because we’re swine, and we would hate to…

Letters

The guy who loves the Mavs Fantastic article on Kevin Sullivan [“Hoop dreams,” November 12]. I grew up in Dallas just as the Mavs were born. As a nine-year-old, I remember attending the team’s first pre-season game. When I read about Sullivan’s passion for the Mavericks, it didn’t strike me…

It’s your store (like it or not)

As Albertson’s readies for the biggest zoning battle Dallas has seen in 20 years–a fight prompted by the grocery giant’s plan to build a mammoth, suburban-style store in East Dallas despite objections from many who live there–the company’s local team is learning how important it is for them to get…

Up in smoke

Beverly Hills wine retailer Dennis Overstreet is animated. He enters the dining room of Lone Wolf, the restaurant-cigar lounge he operates with Texas television and film star Chuck Norris and actor Jim Belushi, wearing a dark suit with a long scarf hanging from his neck. He stops by one table…

Invasion of the bodyshoppers

It is Saturday in Plano, a day when droves of well-heeled suburbanites gather at the mall or on the soccer field. As usual, Mali Subbiah is not among them. Instead, the Indian immigrant toils in a drab, crowded room in his suburban office suite. A “cheesy little sign,” as one…

Buzz

We hardly knew ye The Irrelevant Party, formerly known as the Texas Democratic Party, held a series of wakes around Austin on election night. The Republicans, on the other hand, gathered all their statewide candidates together for a single huge election-night celebration at the Austin Convention Center. (Buzz will refrain…

Trojan horse

Dallas public school moms are mad as hell. Not all the mothers who send their children to DISD, mind you, and not even all the moms who serve on the PTA, those tireless saints who give their blood, sweat, tears, and baked goods to their children’s schools. No, the moms…