Mary Suhm was right about one thing: When I asked her Thursday where she saw the council pushing back on her proposed FY2011-12 budget, she said, well, probably pools — specifically, her suggestion that the city shutter five of its 17 pools in the coming fiscal year. Those pools: Bonnie…
At 9 this morning, City Manager will present to Mayor Mike Rawlings and the city council the FY2011-12 budget first shown to media Thursday afternoon; watch Suhm’s presentation here, during or after. And: The entire 571-budget is available here for those interested in taking longer, harder looks at proposed additions…
The end is near … sort of. The city’s Redistricting Commission is inching towards putting together a city map it can forward on to the city council, and everyone — the public and commissioners alike — is trying to get in a parting shot before then. Last night’s meeting was…
A blow has been struck in the name of fun: Owners of the ultra-lounge Plush fought for their right to party and won today at the City Plan Commission, when the panel voted to extend the club’s specific use permit (SUP) for one year. As we mentioned yesterday, the club…
On the other side is the budget briefing handed to media members when we arrived at City Manager Mary Suhm’s fourth-floor conference room for a 3:45 meet-the-presser. Long story short: She managed to balance the budget without cutting too much, she said, thanks to the state taking less than originally…
Yesterday City Hall put out the call: It’s now accepting entries in something called the 2011 Dallas Great Streets Visual Essay Contest. Which is …? Well, long story short, the city wants you to take up to six pictures or shoot a video no longer than two minutes in length…
The Woodall Rodgers Deck Park is still a good year from opening; as you can see in the construction-cam screengrab of moments ago, there are still 64 concrete crossbeams in need of installation, and that won’t happen till October. Crews will spend the summer waterproofing, and fireproofing, the deck. The…
First, let me apologize for the headline — I was listening to Billy Bragg and friends on the way into work this morning, and it could not be helped. Now, then. It’s been a whole two days since last we discussed flow control — I know, right? — which, as…
CBS Early Show’s Marysol Castro’s in town — can’t imagine why. Oh, right. It’s hot. Still, not so hot that two high-school footballers can’t spend their after-practice hours toiling in the sun — one on a construction site, the other decorating doorknobs with fliers, both hoping to buy a car…
Behind closed doors this afternoon, the back-to-work Dallas City Council will be briefed by city attorneys on a handful of lawsuits, all of which we’re quite familiar with: City of Dallas v. Museum of the American Railroad (which, last we looked, is close to being settled); Marcus Wood, et al…
Redistricting Commissioners Elizabeth Jones and Domingo Garcia, who have tough and thankless jobs for which they aren’t paid a penny, are displeased with me at the moment for nay-saying their incomplete maps. Garcia chided me in the comments, writing that it appears I’ve graduated from “the Rupert Murdock school of…
Earlier this summer we told you about how state lawmakers slyly tucked into the school-finance bill a new law requiring illegal immigrants to prove their legal status before receiving a driver’s license. Although civil libertarians and certain pinko newspaper guys decried the legislation as unnecessary, it actually contained some protections…
Reason I missed Sanitation Services head Mary Nix last week was because she was on a plane bound for California — Roseville, specifically, site of a “resource recovery” facility that converts trash into renewable energy. Which means … get ready … we’re about to talk about flow control, the proposed…
One month ago, Jim broke down exactly how Kathy Nealy spent the $270,000 paid her by Mike Rawlings’s campaign: $50,000 to phone-bank workers, $15,000 on “religious outreach,” $65,000 on the so-called “walk program” and so on. A few days later it was revealed that Rawlings, whose campaign offices were visited…
Early last month, Leslie dropped by the Landmark Commission’s Fair Park Task Force meeting during which Friends of Fair Park President Craig Holcomb introduced us to the cell-phone tour signs that’ll be planted around Fair Park — 60 of ’em, looks like. That’s from the Landmark Commission’s agenda for today’s…
Back in April Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm warned the city council that the state’s $27 billion budget shortfall would end up having significant impact on the city’s coffers. On Wednesday, Assistant City Attorney Larry Casto, the city’s Director of Legislative Affairs, will outline to the council exactly how it…
Still having a hard time figuring how Mayor Mike or his staff could schedule a dinner with the council tomorrow night — the same night as one of only two gas drilling task force public hearings. A couple of council reps think it’s important enough to mention to their constituents…
The city council returns to the city’s business on Wednesday … or is that Tuesday? But till mid-September, at the earliest, committee meetings are canceled: Mayor Mike’s asked the chairs to scratch meetings till at least mid-September, when he’ll reshuffle the deck chairs — and we’ll find out whether he’s…
For folks with a direct line to God, the prayer warriors behind Rick Perry’s rapidly approaching Houston prayer rally are some shitty communicators. Calls and emails to the event’s leadership team go unanswered, messages go unreturned. If you do get someone on the phone, they can’t get you off fast…
We told you it was getting weird in there: At last night’s meeting of the city’s Redistricting Commission, the most important person in the room wasn’t even in the room. That would be Sandra Crenshaw, cactus juice addict, Schutze co-star and, increasingly, the commission’s biggest headache.Crenshaw was scheduled to appear…
Hey, that’s not me bestowing that particular appellation upon Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Eddie Burns — that’s from last year’s round-up of America’s Worst Bosses, where Burns ranked No. 1. You probably know why — all those sexual harassment and discrimination suits piled up at Burns’s feet, which have cost the…
Back in mid-June we attempted to make an offer on a Bell 407 helicopter, which was being auctioned off by the city. But the bids piled up, and after 60 the $985,000 starting price climbed to $1,467,500, which was $1,467,500 out of our price range. And, besides, the Dallas Police…
