BAD NEWS FOR LOCAL UNDERGROUND POKER PLAYERS

A poker-playing FrontBurnervian wonders if we’ve noticed the rash of police raids on underground card rooms this week. We have. Kind of. More detailed detailings can of course be found amidst the various levels of debauchery over at Pokerati. Stay tuned.

MAVS DRAFT PICK

God bless Bill Simmons. He live blogged the NBA draft so we didn’t have to. Here, his bon mots about the Mavs first-round pick:

10:20 — The Mavs take Maurice Ager at No. 28. He puts his head in his hands and starts sobbing hysterically as his entourage congratulates him. It’s about time we had some emotion tonight, dammit. Ager walks up to the stage in a triple-breasted, oversized beige suit, goes to shake hands with Stern and immediately gets whistled for a foul on Dwyane Wade.

It’s funny ’cause it’s true.

RUMORMONGERING, HANSEN-STYLE

A forum-reading FrontBurnervian passes along this suspect item. Apparently Dale told Randy Galloway that he and the Dallas Can Academy had parted ways. In fact, Dallas Can is allegedly suing Hansen. Anyone know anything more?

DOES THE DMN DARE TO WEAR ITS TROUSERS ROLLED?

I note without further comment or reference to TS Eliot the video from Washington in which veteran reporter (please don’t ‘buy’ him out) and one-time Media League softball foe Alan Pusey highlights the U.S. Supreme Court redistricting decision. To see it, you have to first watch a clip for Metamucil–”stay regular, stay strong.”

If I did have one more comment, it might have to do with newspaper demographics and revenues and layoffs, but a promise is a promise.

HOW POLITE

Kudos to Truman Duncan. The rail yard worker who was cut in two by a train in Cleburne was exceedingly kind to the 911 operator he called. From the story:

In a tape of the 911 call, Duncan tells the operator, “I need 911… I think I’m cut in two.”

“Someone got run over?” the operator asks.

“It was me,” Duncan responds. “I guess I’m going into shock. Hurry up, ma’am, because I’m about to pass out.”

TENET OUT OF THE WOODS

Tenet Healthcare has been under investigation for Medicare fraud. No longer. The Dallas-based company settled with the gubment for $900 million. Which apparently is good news.

RE: DEATH OF FRONTBURNER

Adam, I continue to write the back page column only so that you can make it great.

W HOTEL GRAND OPENING TONIGHT

Tonight is the W’s chichi opening party. But, from what I hear, it has been “opening” for weeks. Finnesse Mitchell and crew were the first to stay in the hotel last weekend when they were in town for the Celebrity Heroes Baseball Weekend. Laura heard that someone here (who was it?) attended a soft opening on Tuesday night where the condo salesman was whispering into the ears of party guests that Jessica and Ashlee Simpson and Angie Harmon have purchased places at the hotel. Stephanie, Jennifer, and I will be at the party tonight to get the scoop on the hotel, Bliss Spa, Ghostbar, and Craft Restaurant. Come here tomorrow (probably not early morning) for juicy details. I hear there are some celebs to attend.

RE: DEATH OF FRONTBURNER

…and yet you continue to write the back page column for D? Does not compute.

THE DEATH OF FRONTBURNER

I’ve got a big bag of nothing this morning. I say we shut this thing down. Tired of it.

RE: WHOLE FOODS

Our tip was obviously a little late. We had three dozen martinis for lunch.

KRLD has been covering since 12:50.

Here’s what the DMN website is reporting as of now.

WHOLE FOODS SHOOTING

A shooting has been reported at–of all places–Whole Foods on Lemmon. Two people reportedly down.

Developing

STAR JONES HEADED SOUTH?

A memory-having FrontBurnervian remembers this Dallas Voice interview with Star Jones. In it, Jones expressed a fondness for Dallas and hinted at moving here, all the more relevant now that the hostess has put The View behind her. Of course, that was before Daniel with the Dallas Voice got all up in her grill about Al.

MURDOCH ON MEDIA

A net-surfing FBvian points us to these thoughts on the future of newspapers and other media from Chairman Rupert.

MARY SUHM DOES HER DUTY

Thought I’d share a snippet of an e-mail I got earlier from our city manager. Thought it was funny. She was at jury duty.

I wish I could just stand up and say, “Nobody’s going to want me on a criminal jury, because I know lots and lots of cops. Can I go home?” I get called frequently for jury duty and never serve. Just do my duty in the big jury room for several hours.

Mind you, I am not complaining. It is just that I have been thru my reading material, finished the crossword puzzle, and am getting fidgety.

RUMORS BEHIND THE RESTAURANT NEWS

This week’s hot topic of discussion is the closing (or not) of Nobu. Two weeks ago, a black-clad FrontBurnervian Foodie brought the possibility to my attention. Yesterday, a D staffer, who lunched in the “almost empty” restaurant, said their waiter told them Nobu was set to close at the end of the month. Thirty minutes ago, another D employee yelled, “Hey did you hear Nobu is closing?” to me in the parking lot. Last night at Shinsei, he/she overheard Dean Fearing, who’s hanging around the kitchen of his wife’s new restaurant, claim the same. I called Nobu (I know, a startling development) and asked to speak to a manager. A surprised Ms. Christine Williams denied the rumor. “We have a five-year lease and we aren’t going anywhere.” There you have it. For today.

LOCAL AUTHOR CONTINUES TO DO GOOD

Local author (and, full disclosure, “person I’ve had lunch with once or twice”) Cristina Henriquez has a fiction story in the current New Yorker. Yes, that makes two stories in the New Yorker for Henriquez. Check out her site if you want more.

DELAY PREVAILS, MOSTLY

Word just in that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld most of the Delay-engineered GOP redistricting plan, except for District 23, in southwestern Texas and the border, currently occupied by U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla.

BUT LOOK OUT FOR THE KRYPTONITE

An FBvian who probably was an English major with a penchant for avoiding the Critical Theory classes notes:

I thought a portion of Chris Vognar’s suggestion in Over The Top’s “Lessons from the Daily Planet” on the front of today’s GuideLive section could have been a veiled response to his newsroom’s recent distress.

Vognar’s tip: “Boost circulation: If you want to keep circulation figures up, follow the advice of DP editor Perry White (Frank Langella): ‘Three things sell papers: tragedy, sex and Superman.’ Where’s the Man of Steel when we need him most?”

It’s interesting that he said “we.”

JESSICA SCRAPES BOTTOM

Rumor has it that Jessica Simpson is secretly dating Dane Cook, the most unfunny, untalented, yet somehow successful comedian since Carrot Top (without the killer props, natch). Even is the rumor isn’t true–and I doubt that it is–such gossip is sad, sad, sad. [sigh] I bet she misses Nick as much as I do.

In other Jessica news, she won’t be Lucy Ewing after all. Supposedly, Katie Cassidy from 7th Heaven snagged the gig.

LIVE BLOG FROM CITY COUNCIL MEETING

It’s the last meeting before a month-long recess. A FBvian with a BlackBerry will file dispatches throughout the morning. Check back often:
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CULBREATH HOSPITALIZED

Michael Davis’ blog reports that Betty Culbreath was hospitalized last night for emergency surgery. No more details at this time. Have a good thought for her. Developing.

RE: DMN WEED-EATER

An FBvian with good contacts for the Super Keen Buyout Sweepstakes at the DMN has a new number for the potential winners, and a question about spinoff consolidation:

At lunch with a DMN staffer (who for the first time is worried about his job), I heard the number of desired buyouts at 75. He also lamented the fact that the cuts would likely all be of newsroom people, bringing the ratio of middle managers and paper pushers (no pun intended) to writers closer and closer to 1:1.

Ummm…regardless of ‘delivery method’, ‘medium’ or ‘publication’, doesn’t there need to be someone left to actually write copy for all of these ‘cool, new media outlets’? By the way, I’m still looking for the melding of Al Dia (Spanish language paper) and Quick (free daily) into a hip, free, Spanish language daily. “Pronto,” anyone?

RE: DMN WEED-EATER

Big Bob “Flying Fingers of Fury” Wilonsky, he whose blogging word-count is approaching mythical level, has a pertinent reminder about the overall circulation litigation in which the current round (isn’t it sad to say “current”?) of DMN layoffs is probably a subtext.

However, one must note that phrase “Belo the Belt” unfortunately has groaned onstage. But we forgive. We must.

RE: DMN WEED-EATER

A well-connected FBvian says the previous estimates on the buyout universe at the DMN may be expanding. First guesses were 30, then 60. Now much more:

I’m hearing now, though, that the buyout will be offered to the entire newsroom with the goal of cutting 100 or more….I’ve actually heard numbers as high as 150-200, but I don’t really believe those. But there are lots of rumors flying around. I sure wouldn’t want to be one of those left trying to put out the paper.