Gina Miller’s going to be the sole familiar face on Channel 21’s new news show debuting next week. So, that’s one reason to watch. But will it be the only one? We’re reserve the right to reserve judgment. TXA 21–the former UPN affiliate stranded by the merger with WB that…
City council agreed to give ACS $13 million to install and operate red-light cameras. ACS–ya know, the company being investigated by the feds. Kinda like City Hall, come to think of it. Saw this morning that the city council yesterday OK’d a deal to give Affiliated Computer Services $13.29 million…
I’m standing amongst of slew engineers, businessmen, cattleman, and local pols dressed in boots and Stetsons in the Spicer Gripp Memorial Rodeo Arena while Asleep at the Wheel executes an impressive run of fiddle and steel guitar calisthenics. The foam sleeve snuggling my Bud Light reads “Poop 2 Pump. Yep,…
This morning, Dallas Morning News publisher Jim Moroney sent this missive to the remaining, what, 450 folks helping their pals pack their desks at Dallas’ Only Daily. Turns out, when 111 people are asked to git, it’s sad…and exciting! “This week, we say farewell and thank you to a number…
Two things we’ve learned about Terrell Owens: He can catch a football. And he can hold a grudge. In my cover story on Owens’ first training camp as a Dallas Cowboy, he talks about being “done” with former Eagles teammate Donovan McNabb. In last week’s ESPN The Magazine, Owens’ first…
Some Morning News staffers we know have taken to calling Belo CEO Robert Decherd “Howard Hughes” because he’s been kinda absent of late. Well, we assume that’s why. Nothing to do with jarring, we don’t think. Well, at least there’s no more guessing to be done about the final number…
Since Bill Parcells won’t, let me be perfectly clear: Drew Bledsoe’s three-interception pratfall in Jacksonville last Sunday did not create or ignite this Dallas Cowboys quarterback controversy. Neither did those damned media. Duane did. How’s that, you ask? Harken back to January 1 and recall what Duane “Bill” Parcells didn’t…
There was a time, before the lawsuits, the criminal complaints and the machinations of a has-been actress, when the Saabs and the Rhoduses were friends, although what they had in common besides Park Cities addresses is a mystery. Tom and Debbie Rhodus are both attorneys, nearly as intelligent as they…
There are some professions that should be as selective as possible: doctor, teacher, crocodile hunter and, of course, firefighter. But when asked why the brand-new test the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department gives to potential firefighters is so damn easy, Pat Marsolais, who heads up the department’s Civil Service division, didn’t exactly…
From the outside, Paul Westbrook’s house looks pretty normal. White brick, two stories, a few shrubs out front, nothing special. Judging by appearances, it’s a house owned by someone who doesn’t care much about appearances. But the ’70s-era-looking house is hardly normal. Its walls have a Styrofoam core, its roof…
Low standards: Well, apparently if you’re a male and you flunked the fire department’s new physical agility test, you may be in danger of losing a footrace to late actor Chris Farley. In his current state. But as long as we’re on the subject of just how easy it is…
Lost Highway Hunter, then Hyde: All I have to say is…WOW! (“Cruising With the Whore Cop,” by Jesse Hyde, September 7.) Nice journalism. Very graphic. It shows a point of view like no other I’ve been acquainted with. A bit Thompson-esque. Give this man a raise! He deserves it. Rachel…
Deep Ellum Film Festival founder Michael Cain, with Jane Seymour, is merging his baby with the American Film Institute. It’s a big deal–and a bad deal, say some folks who probably wish they’d thought of it first. For months now, it’s been the worst-kept secret in the Dallas film community:…
Bible Girl finds the, well, fundamental problem with Mel White’s argument that every good God-fearin’ Christian is out to get the gay community. In 43 years of attending evangelical churches, one thing I’ve never seen is a decent conspiracy. I have seen really bad Lutheran basement potlucks. I’ve seen quite…
Just ran into a Dallas Morning News staffer who took the paper’s buyout, and said writer had this tale to offer before departing for the world of freelance. Before they leave at week’s end, staffers are supposed to attend a handful of meetings, where, they believed, they were going to…
I guess I normally read the paper with two hats on. One is the sort of media critic hat, because I’m in the business, and I’m here at the Dallas Observer where we beat up on the mainstream media a lot. And they deserve it. But the other one is…
Dear Press Release I received Last Week From Some Girl At Ketchum Communications Concerning The Weight Watchers Account, I don’t think we should see each other any more. I knew our relationship was a sham from the very beginning. I know, at first you were very attracted to me. Or…
The Atlantic has a story (subscription required) this month on how “America’s educated elite is clustering in a few cities—and leaving the rest of the country behind.” Basically, college graduates are increasingly moving to “superstar cities” (places like Seattle, New York and San Francisco) and their surrounding suburbs partly because…
When two of the NFL’s top three most valuable franchises play at Texas Stadium Sunday night, a lot will be riding on the outcome. Like, for example, the season. Only once in the franchise’s 46-year history have the Dallas Cowboys started 0-2 and made the playoffs. That was back in…
It’s so interesting to see Dallas Mayor Laura Miller pop up on TV now. She was on twice in the last 24 hours–while in Washington lobbying for the Wright Amendment and then touring power plants with Sarah Dodd of Channel 11. I thought, “Oh, yeah! Laura Miller! I was wondering…
The Dallas Morning News has a story today on the $14 million Bexar Street redevelopment project in South Dallas, which Councilman Leo Chaney would like to present to this city as his legacy. Full disclosure: My church, The Body of Christ Assembly, falls squarely within the redevelopment area. In fact,…
A 2,000-word story about the Emily Dowdy case–“Drugged or Drunk?” by Adriana Gardella—appeared on Salon.com August 30 and prompted more than 60 letters to the editor. (My story on Dowdy, “Oklahoma Railroad,” appeared July 21, 2005 in the Observer.) A former architecture student at OU, Dowdy is now serving 40…
