Love of children, compassion for children, the instincts that propel us to shelter and nurture our young: These are profound and innate. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be tricky. Back in the ’90s I was on the board of directors of Head Start of Greater Dallas. Briefly. African-American leaders…
Dear Mexican: I have a Mexican friend at work, and we happened to get in a discussion that started off fine — but I believe that I offended her as the discussion progressed. We were talking about an upcoming celebration, and I asked if she knew the true meaning behind…
Dallas is two months shy of its commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the murder of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy in Dealey Plaza, which probably will come off somewhere midway between tragedy and comedy. For more than two years, The Sixth Floor Museum, the city’s official assassination museum in the…
Superintendent Mike Miles didn’t write the letter. Mike Miles didn’t tell Kevin Smelker to write the letter. Mike Miles didn’t edit the letter. The narrative painted by Paul Coggins in his recent investigative report to the Dallas school board is a fiction. Last week former U.S. Attorney Coggins gave the…
Lloyd Banks runs Rockin’ Rodeo in Denton, but he’s been perched up north doing live music venues for a decade and a half: national touring acts mixed with local and regional bands, not only as opening acts, but also plenty as standalone showcase acts. He’s managed a band or two…
Dallas is talking about a ban on disposable plastic shopping bags. And I’m all for it. Because plastic bags are lazy. They break right when you need them. They refuse to hold as much as a paper bag. They make your cool bathroom trash can look dumb. They float around…
Naughty little secret I will share with you from my own craft, the news business. In my line of work it is by no means unheard of for a reporter who is about to get sacked to suddenly invent an untrue story to the effect of, “They’re trying to silence…
Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Ask Fan Landers! Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist and is the author of The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to…
More than just today, maybe every day this week we need to talk here about the Dallas school superintendent and school reform, mainly because this may all be over by the end of the week. The school board will meet later this week, and the anti-reform wing of the board…
Police have arrested somebody they hope will turn out to be perpetrator of nine or more serial rapes in the area around Fair Park in South Dallas. Those rapes have sparked an important conversation about law enforcement in the city. Let’s get down to brass tacks. The community in the…
Hey, guys. Can I talk to you about something? Every year when this time rolls around we try to send you into your fall festing season with some proper tips. Usually, this is our not-so-subtle way to share with you the ways to make new friends or sneak, um, stuff…
You get a lot of dumb and dumber news here, so I figure I owe it to you to mention when things might be trending the other way. It’s just possible the county’s efforts to control West Nile disease could be headed in that other uncustomary direction. Smarter. Believe it…
Story in The New York Times today talks about the Bush dynasty reclaiming its influence in the Republican Party by championing immigration reform. I have another idea for them, based on their legacy in Dallas: school reform. But this is grudging, man. Why do I want the Bushes to reclaim…
It’s been a spell since we’ve touched base with Lance Yocom, the ever-busy man at the head of Spune. Lance has been in this column before , and shortly thereafter, gave us all a start when he fell seriously ill while in Arizona, and spent over two weeks in a…
Hey, sorry, I didn’t want you to think I was falling down on the job with the “New York Times discovers Wendy Davis” story-story. Remember I did catch you up Friday. See also: Wendy Davis Is Sort of a Laura Miller Candidate. So How Did that Work Out? I reminded…
Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Ask Fan Landers! Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist and is the author of The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to…
The New York Times today contains what apparently is going to be a regular feature on how cool Wendy Davis is. Today’s installment is called “Democrats see value in Texas in candidacy for governor.” The one two weeks ago was, “Democrats see hope in Texas star.” The one three days…
Once, Deep Ellum bouncer Anthony Streeter paid the bar tab of a guy he had just thrown out. He didn’t know him and it didn’t matter. The guy was shitfaced, riled up and ready to fight, too. “Look,” Streeter said, trying to talk the guy down from wherever the night’s…
Dear Readers: The Mexican wants to beat you to the carne asada case this Labor Day fin de semana, so behold two oldies-but-goodies I amazingly haven’t yet passed off as new in this columna. The first one is extant and one of the favorite questions the Mexican ever got; for…
Ever have this feeling? Something pops up in the news in Dallas like, “Ribbon Cutting Today on Gigantic Mississippi Riverboat Floating Country Club for Rich People in White Rock Lake.” And you’re saying, “Wait. Ribbon cutting? Riverboat? Floating country club?” Sometimes I pick up the newspaper, and I immediately look…
Welcome to Alice Column, in which Alice Laussade writes stories about things on (roughly) the same day of (roughly) every week, making it (roughly) a column. Got an idea for a column? Start your own blog and write it up, you lazy shit. You decide to go to Cane Rosso…
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings wants the Dallas school board to fish or cut bait on the school superintendent. “We need the school board to decide whether Mike Miles is going to be our superintendent of schools,” Rawlings says in today’s Dallas Morning News. “If a majority says that we don’t…
