Harold Simmons, the Dallas billionaire and owner of a West Texas radioactive-waste dump, won yet another tailor-made piece of legislation Tuesday. When all seemed lost, and his bill was hung up on a technicality — a point of order pushed by Representative Lon Burnam, his lonely, perennial opponent — the…
Yesterday when my wife, son and I were driving back from Lubbock, the news on my tablet told me that Phyllis Schlafly, president of the Eagle Forum, Judson Phillips, founder of Tea Party Nation, and Tea Party leaders in 25 states had released an open letter urging congress to dump…
John Carona, our Republican state senator from Dallas, learned some hard lessons this session about how his fellow lawmakers’ business interests tend to dominate the doings in the legislature. Last month, Carona’s bill to try to reform the incredibly predatory payday loan industry was picked down to its skeletal bones…
Ralph Isenberg and Domingo Garcia haven’t always been enemies. Back in 2010, in fact, they were all set to dine together at a fundraiser with President Obama, until Isenberg was unceremoniously disinvited by the White House. Their relationship has since gone south, reaching its nadir this month with Garcia’s Cinco…
Downtown’s city-owned Omni Hotel has been a roaring success since it opened a year-and-a-half ago, routinely filling up and helping score such convention-business coups as the annual gathering of the American Meat Institute and the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Expo. But the Omni was only one component of the city’s…
Oncor, the Dallas-based sticks-and-wires utility, has collected half a billion dollars from ratepayers since 2007 for federal income taxes. But according to a report, the IRS hasn’t received a dime. In fact, most of that cash has gone to its struggling parent, Energy Future Holdings, which is marching inexorably toward…
Tons of talk already, of course, about this morning’s announcement that City Manager Mary Suhm is stepping down. I tend to go with the end of the spectrum that’s viewing it as ushering in the End Times. But I would. Oh, not my End Times. Their End Times! The Citizens…
Last night the history group called Preservation Dallas gave a special award to Lindalyn Adams, one of the people who created The Sixth Floor, the Kennedy assassination museum downtown. That’s great. She deserves it. Now I want to know why The Sixth Floor got Robert Groden thrown in the slammer…
Say farewell to Mary Suhm. The Morning News’ Rudy Bush broke the news this morning that, come September, she’s stepping down as city manager. She said so to the City Council and top staff. The announcement begins the close of a remarkable 8-year career as city manager that saw the…
As we write this, the world’s top golfers not named Tiger are descending on Irving for the Byron Nelson Championship. It’s a big deal, one of the region’s biggest sporting events and driver of an estimated $35 million in economic activity. But before play begins on Thursday, the city of…
Washington is still reeling from the revelation on Friday that the IRS has been singling out Tea Party groups for extra scrutiny. The news immediately drew howls of bipartisan protest, and pretty much everyone agrees that using the tax system to target political enemies is not what happens in a…
Klyde Warren — the park, not the kid — was still just a twinkle in the city’s eye when Mayor Tom Leppert unveiled plans to kick the cars off the Continental Avenue bridge and transform it into a linear park over the Trinity River. The original plan was to have…
Even with two seats in limbo, the complexion of the new Dallas City Council looks decidedly unfavorable for Trinity East, the would-be fracker from Fort Worth that paid the city millions for the rights to its natural gas. Because the Plan Commission voted against the company’s drilling permits, four “no”…
Right now, the City Council is debating whether to lower fees and loosen the rules governing what businesses can put on sidewalks and public rights of way, the idea being that more sidewalk cafes and awnings and creative signage and landscaping can help create a more enjoyable urban experience. Planners…
There was a City Council election on Saturday and, if you’re like the vast majority of Dallas, you didn’t notice. But whether you were paying attention or not, some important things were decided and some interesting trends emerged. Here’s what you need to know: Angela Hunt’s legacy: Saturday’s most interesting…
You wouldn’t have expected a bill to rename a stretch of Central Expressway for George W. Bush to inspire a rare bipartisan kumbaya moment in the Texas legislature. His presidency is too recent and remains a source of bitterness for too many Democrats. But when the House vote was posted,…
Trina Triche, a regular at City Hall, had been preparing her remarks for nearly a week. She was going to address the City Council on the topic of government corruption and wanted to make sure she was signed up to speak during the open mic forum that closes each meeting…
HB 3520 designating a portion of US 75 the George W. Bush Expressway just passed. #txlege #txgop— Dan Branch (@TexansForDan) May 8, 2013 When State Representative Dan Branch introduced his proposal to change the name of a seven-mile stretch of Central to George W. Bush Expressway, we thought it might…
The final chapter appears to have been inked in the long, sorry saga of flow control, a moneymaking scheme that placed City Hall’s imprimatur on the idea that southern Dallas isn’t much more than a trash receptacle for the rest of the city. This week U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor…
It’s pretty frequent these days to experience Impotent Facebook Rage (IFR), in which the social media giant does something so profoundly irritating or angry-making that you immediately vow to get off the site altogether. And yet, you don’t cancel your account cold turkey (or at least I don’t), probably because…
You’d think the race for the Tarrant Regional Water Board would be a sleepy affair. Ensuring that Fort Worth and its environs enjoy an adequate water supply is undeniably important work, but not the kind that stirs the passions. As you can see from the mailing above, which was uploaded…
Burton Knight is declaring a qualified victory in his battle with City Hall over his water-friendly lawn. “I was able to negotiate keeping the cactuses and not the boulders,” Knight said. “I think that I’d rather have the biodiversity and the pleasures that cactuses bring than the rocks, even thought…
