It didn’t take Mayor Mike Rawlings long to make up his mind. Just after meeting with state health officials and reading all those helpful Facebook comments yesterday, Rawlings declared he’s all in for aerial mosquito spraying. “Since public safety is my No. 1 job, I think it’s paramount to step…
Remember last time Mayor Mike Rawlings went to Facebook to ask for feedback on a controversial topic of citywide import? And how he ignored the overwhelming majority of comments and pledged his full support for the Trinity Parkway? Well, he’s put out another call for feedback on Twitter and Facebook:…
Highland Park’s city council has decided to ban fake plastic grass from the town’s front yards, a scourge which according to one city official has overtaken at least three (3) properties. The Morning News reports that council members voted on the new ordinance on Monday. Artificial turf will still be…
Pop quiz: Which presidential candidate, whose name will appear on the ballot in all 50 states, paid his way through college as a door-to-door handyman? Which one earned the nickname “Governor Veto” by rejecting more than 750 bills passed by his state’s legislature? Which one competed in a re-enactment of…
Mitt Romney did himself no favors in Iowa when a spokesman told the Des Moines Register the candidate would “allow the wind credit to expire, end the stimulus boondoggles and create a level playing field on which all sources of energy can compete on their merits.” In Iowa and much…
Since its inception in 1996, the City Center TIF has captured property taxes from that neighborhood and flowed them back into downtown projects — nearly $59 million for projects like the Joule Hotel and Republic Tower. Its neighbor, the Downtown Connection TIF, was established in 2005 and has poured $188…
The Inland Port, the sprawling warehousing and transportation center meant to be an economic boon for southern Dallas County, has never really taken off. It opened in 2005 and has seen some development, but the project was stalled by a rocky economy and the bankruptcy of its largest property owner,…
Over the past six years, the number of 5Ks, 10Ks, half-marathons, marathons, fun runs, not-so-fun runs, French-themed bicycle showdowns and other organized races has exploded in Dallas, up 60 percent, according to the city. It speaks well of the city, both that it indicates that more and more people are…
If you’ve played a round of golf at one of Dallas’ half dozen municipal golf courses, you may have skipped out on the state-mandated 8.25 percent sales tax on your green fee. The city contracts with independent golf pros who collect green fees but haven’t traditionally collected sales tax. It’s…
Dallas PD just passed along word that former City Councilwoman Sandra Crenshaw was arrested today at about 4:45 p.m. at the downtown library on a theft warrant for a rental car. According to CBS 11, Crenshaw claimed she was having medical issues when officers arrested her and was taken to…
It’s been almost a month since Beau Chandler and Mark “Major” Jiminez walked into the Dallas County Records building to apply for a marriage license. Chandler and Jiminez being men, and this being Texas, they were denied, but the couple had the foresight to bring handcuffs, which they placed on…
Six Flags was a summer ritual when I grew up in North Texas. Getting dropped off by parents as far from the gate as possible, stuffing oneself with overpriced, sticky-sweet funnel cakes, trying to get a basketball through an undersized and slightly lopsided hoop for the plush Looney Toons character…
You remember Craig James, right? The SMU football star-turned ESPN broadcaster-turned stick-pin doll of Red Raiders everywhere? And how he ran for Senate and lost in embarrassing fashion? Well, losing that badly isn’t cheap, and seeing as he doesn’t really have a job at the moment, he’s having trouble paying…
We promised you a throwdown during yesterday afternoon’s gas drilling hearing before the city council, the first step towards an updated ordinance on drilling within city limits. Dallas Drilling, meanwhile, guaranteed a “smackdown.” It’s possible in retrospect that those were slight overstatements, designed to interest you in an issue that’s…
We knew it already, but Ted Cruz is Texas’ next U.S. Senator. Sure, he still has to face Democrat Paul Sadler in the November general election, but this is Texas, where so long as you promise to cut taxes and put a big ‘R’ somewhere near your name, you’re good…
A friend of Unfair Park passed along an interesting email exchange between some members of the Gas Drillng Task Force in advance of tomorrow’s throwdown public hearing. Seems that some are none too happy that Councliman Scott Griggs chose task force member Terry Welch to speak in favor of tighter…
Can’t say we didn’t see this coming, but a pair of Dallas voters are alleging that the recently redrawn City Council districts illegally dilutes the Hispanic vote. The city redrew its 14 council districts following the release of the 2010 Census. It adopted the final maps in October. According to…
It didn’t make the marquee for tomorrow’s “Thrilla on Marilla,” but there are a couple of other things the City Council will be briefed on, same day, same place. One of those is a rather dry study, the first since 2006, comparing the pay and benefits of city of Dallas…
First Baptist Pastor Robert Jeffress has made his predictable entree into the newly opened front of the culture war centered on Chick-fil-a. “The liberals have gone into a frenzy,” said Jeffress, according to the Christian Post (via DMN). “Their first response was to try to stop the expansion of businesses…
This was all supposed to be wrapped up months ago. The City Council formed the Gas Drilling Task Force more than a year ago, which was initially scheduled to wrap things up and have a final recommendation by November. A handful of issues — proper setbacks, whether to allow drilling…
Imbroglios don’t get more prosaic than this: A USDA newsletter suggests its employees practice “Meatless Mondays,” thereby shrinking their ecological footprint. Skip the Salisbury steak at the cafeteria and eat a plant instead. Take into account the ever-swelling asses of the American public and this isn’t such a bad idea…
It seems nothing associated with the Trinity River project has gone according to plan. That $38 million soccer complex is being built next to an asphalt-crushing plant, the delightful kayaking feature is such a threat to human safety that you can’t go near it, there’s not enough money for all…
