Sometimes I think city staff may be demon-possessed. I’m sorry, I know it’s a very weird thing to say. But I can’t come up with another explanation. One day they’re so bouncy and positive and totally can-do. The next day they’ve been taken over by the negativity goblin. I attended…
Damn. I almost forgot. Other things intervened. Please don’t let this year get behind me without my taking an opportunity to say what I think of the White Rock Marathon, a foot-race carried out in my part of town on December 4. Let me relate to you just one of…
Wait a minute. The Dallas Morning News today publishes a story in which the top cop in the local transit agency gets away with blaming the economy and too much bling for a sharp increase in robberies and other crimes on the light rail system. Did anybody think to point…
So, Lakewood is in southern Dallas now. Either that, or all black Dallasites are residents of southern Dallas, no matter where they live. Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price tells The Dallas Morning News in a story today that the proposed appointment of Matrice Ellis-Kirk to serve on the board…
Dear Mexican: I read in your book that Mexico is due for a revolution about every 100 years or so. Do you think the drug war presently being fought between the cartels and the Mexican government is actually just a revolution being funded by drug money? —The Ugly American Dear…
Here are some things I never ever thought I would hear myself saying. In fact, I’m having a hard time spitting it out. But truth is truth. Sometimes even I have to face that. Of all the people in this country who live in cities where per capita water-consumption is…
Hey, one last shout out here for the Occupy Dallas people who camped at City Hall. I know you took a lot of grief from people who didn’t understand why you were doing what you were doing, including me a little bit at one point. I hope you took note…
Welcome to Local Music ‘Mericans, where we get to know the people behind the scenes in Dallas/Fort Worth music. Drue Mitchell has worked for 97.1 KEGL in promotions, as on-air jock at (old frequency) 94.5 KDGE and 89.7 KVRK, and now does television for a Christian music network in Los…
This is Day Two of Trinity River levee stories from me, which I realize is Day Too Many, but … well, sorry. I’m just sorry about it, but I cannot let this moment pass without making an observation. Possibly an observation and a half. It’ll be over quickly. First, half…
Buried between the lines in a 246-page document released by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today is a significant national story about the future of flood control in American cities. I doubt very many reporters will dig it out. I’ll give you the thumbnail sketch. You may wish I…
Today, a commenter on a previous blog item of mine about GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain suggested it was mighty mysterious that President Obama doesn’t have any sexual peccadilloes in his closet when so many Republican presidential contenders seem to. “Joshua,” the commenter, suggested the “Chicago mob of politicos” probably…
Dear Mexican: Having been called a “gabacho” by “Mexicans” much lighter than I and “wetback” by those whose parents (or themselves) crossed several rivers as they migrated west to California, I’m curious as to which group you believe I should hold in the greatest disdain. While Anglo wetbacks are much…
The 50th anniversary of the murder of President John F. Kennedy in Dealey Plaza is still two years off, but somebody is already trying to shut down the plaza for the entire week of November 22, 2013. I’m not sure who yet. It’s either the Sixth Floor Museum or City…
I am in contact with a woman whose identity I have agreed not to divulge, a middle-aged affluent Republican homemaker in the snooty Park Cities portion of Dallas, who says that she has not had an affair with Herman Cain. Of course I found her story difficult to believe at…
Welcome to Local Music ‘Mericans, where we get to know the people more behind the scenes in Dallas/Fort Worth local music. Local Music ‘Mericans officially debuted on November 16, 2010. Close enough for rock and roll, as far as some sort of an anniversary commemeration is concerned, right? Our first…
I have been thinking a lot lately about dog shit. It seems to be the answer to one of my more persistent inner puzzles. Dog shit is a surprisingly deep topic. Dallas enacted a so-called pooper-scooper law in 1997, a moment in local history I remember well, because I got…
Oh, no. The ice-driving season is about to come back to Dallas for its annual reign of terror. We’re all going to die. When I moved to Texas from Michigan about 100 years ago, the common wisdom was that people from the North knew how to drive on ice and…
Dear Mexican: GOP Senator Mel Martinez authored a decent compromise bill to resolve the growing illegal immigration problem. He broke up the group of 11 million illegals into three classes. Those in the United States for two or fewer years would be expelled. Those in the country for two to…
Riddle: What does the city of Dallas have in common with Westchester County, New York? This is a hard one. They’re a county. We’re a city. They’re Yankees. We’re not. Their median home value is $559,800, according to the census. Ours is $128,800. Getting tired of this? OK, I’ll tell…
Wolf Blitzer of CNN takes on the Republican candidates tonight for the second foreign policy debate. This is the do-or-die moment for our homeboy: Either Rick Perry repairs his fortunes and escapes the back-bench or he’s toast. Perry’s people know that, so our governor is going to be all-in tonight,…
Welcome to Local Music ‘Mericans, where we get to know the people more behind the scenes in Dallas/Fort Worth local music. Tom Morningstar’s art can be seen adorning the walls of a few Gaston-area spots of Deep Ellum: The Elbow Room, Big-E’s Convenience Store (killers tacos there, by the way),…
Excuse me. Pardon me. Sorry to bother you. Got a second? Hey, I’m not asking for money. I just need a favor. Do you know this guy, Frank Librio? Would you be able to get in touch with him for me? He’s the spokesman for the city of Dallas. Very…
