State regulators are finally getting tough with the Dallas County Community Action Committee, the anti-poverty agency where nepotism, sweetheart contracting, and other shenanigans have flushed tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money down the pipes. In a letter dated December 30, the state demanded repayment of the $66,963 the…
Winners and whiners Buzz has conducted its own statistical analysis and concluded that at least 1,643 pro-arena votes–last Saturday’s margin of victory, plus one–can be attributed to the ghastly presence of Sharon Boyd, treasurer of the It’s a Bad Deal! campaign. In numerous interviews, and most notably in a televised…
Pick the Mayor’s pocket I’ve heard the pro-arena forces swear up and down that the new tax on hotels and auto rentals is only going to affect those that travel to our fair city and not our existing hard-working, over-taxed citizenry. Well, there’s an easy way to prove this—just waive…
This should be a routine collection matter. Two federal marshals, a locksmith, several appraisers, and a lawyer armed with a court order approach the two-story mansion at 3815 Beverly Drive, making ready to seize art, jewelry, antiques–anything of value to satisfy a judgment that has remained outstanding for far too…
Parting shots The fat lady is warming up her voice, and by the time Buzz rolls around again, the Mavs and the Stars will be laying plans for a new Dallas arena or reserving a U-Haul to move out to the sticks. So, here it is, our last chance to…
No matter what bleeding-heart notions lured them in the beginning, eventually those who toil at the business of crime and punishment tend to develop tough hides. But every now and then, a case makes its way through the criminal justice system that awakens outrage in the most scabbed-over heart. Like…
The change certainly was swift. In less than 48 hours last week, Dallas Independent School District trustees made a 180-degree turn in their position about the release of more of the notorious Peavy Tapes. At least, that was how it appeared from letters board lawyer Kim Askew sent to federal…
Sack man I remember the Dallas Cowboys’ ’77 season very well. Harvey Martin [“The comeback of Harvey Martin,” January 8] is correct on his sack total. The Dallas Morning News kept a running total that year. He ended up “Martinizing” quarterbacks 23 times. The NFL tends to glorify Reggie White,…
The football field is a dull, dry brown against the blue December sky. It’s generous even to call it a football field; it looks more like an enormous patch of dead grass bookended by goalposts so lopsided, it seems a strong gust of wind could blow them over. Along one…
Thin air Enough is enough. In the past, Buzz has tried to show compassion when KERA radio talk show host Glenn Mitchell dragged out his intro or lingered over an anecdote a little too long, obviously trying to fill what otherwise would be dead air. But this week, Mitchell hit…
Samuel Abraham’s cell in the Dallas County Jail offers, as one would expect, few amenities. On one side of the small quarters where Abraham has lived since his arrest November 4 sits a narrow, hard bed. On the other, a stainless steel contraption doubles as a toilet and sink. But…
More than a year has passed since 16-year-old Misty Murphy scuffled with a black schoolmate at Madison High School after he called her a “redneck peckerwood” during a class discussion on slavery. Following a trip to municipal court, where Misty was acquitted of assault charges for scratching the boy with…
Up the academy I am shocked and dismayed about the horrific attack against Marine Military Academy Cadet Gabriel Cortez [“The few, the proud, the battered,” December 25]. The perpetrators of this cowardly and criminal act need to be brought to the most severe justice. However, I am more shocked about…
Back of the line, pal Add Matthew Harden’s name to the list of people queued up to get their hands on the infamous Peavy Tapes. Lawyers representing the embattled DISD chief financial officer surprisingly came one step closer this week to hearing selections from the two-year-old tapes of former school…
U.S. Attorney Paul Coggins–once referred to on these pages as “Publicity Paul”–usually seems more than happy to chat with reporters. Frequently, he sends them cards. He calls them with tips, and he has appeared at dozens of news conferences during his tenure to tout his office’s good works. But even…
Unless you were a law enforcement official, it used to be next to impossible to find out if a person was convicted of a crime in Texas, but a new state database may soon make that information available to anyone who has access to the Internet. In January, the Texas…
Rich man’s welfare Ms. [Laura] Miller, thank you for your informative article [“That giant sucking sound”] in the December 11 issue concerning Ross Perot Jr. and his arena scheme. I believe that the whole idea is a bad deal for the citizens of Dallas, but until I read your article,…
William R. “Bill” Morgan still remembers the phone call that led to the most mysterious presidential fundraising episode of 1996, which led to the strangest political story of 1997, which in turn promises to spawn several entertaining crime stories in 1998. It came on the afternoon of October 22, 1996…
At 3 a.m. on a humid night in early October, Gabriel Cortez’s screams awoke his fellow cadets in the Bravo Company barracks at the Marine Military Academy in Harlingen. Boys rushed into Cortez’s darkened room to find the 18-year-old high school senior soaked in blood and lying in his lower…
It’s eight minutes before opening time on a chilly Sunday morning, and two suburban moms are huddled outside the locked doors of the LiL’ Things store in Plano, waiting for the signal to charge. The women peer through the doors of the 30,000-foot store, identifying their targets and paths of…
Well-known Dallas journalist and author Jim Schutze has joined the Dallas Observer as a staff writer. Schutze, 51, was an investigative reporter and columnist for the Dallas Times Herald for several years and also served on its editorial board. While at the Times Herald, Schutze won the Texas Headliners Award…
Mending fences Pardon us while we strut our stuff. Two weeks ago, staff writer Thomas Korosec reported on the crappy state of a privacy fence at the home of City Manager John Ware. Neighbors complained that the 6-foot fence around the back yard had been tipped over for at least…
