ALI MICHAEL

We wrote about local model Ali Michael in our April issue and how she was becoming a huge star on the catwalks of New York, Milan, and Paris this season. The current (June) issue of W Magazine features Ali as a new face of the season in their editorial “Fresh”.

RE: WELL-HEELYED

A memory-having FrontBurnervian asks if the Mannatech on the Hot Growth List is the same Mannatech that has been accused of giving misleading information. Yes. Yes, it is.

TAX ADVICE LEADS TO IRS TROUBLES

A legal-minded FrontBurnervian passes along this item wherein some Ernst & Young partners are charged with crimes related to tax shelters. (Deja vu, J&G.) One such (former) partner is Plano’s Robert Caplan. According to Forbes, he was once branch chief in the IRS’ Legislation and Regulations Division. He faces 18 years. Tsk, tsk.

SAMIR PATEL IS COASTING

By the way, Round 3 brought the “trumpery.” Samir brought the funk. He rolls to Round 4.

RE: EXXON

Well, that explains it. When I drove past the Meyerson this morning at about 8:30, the protesters (big signs, EXXON DOUBLE-CROSS, things like that) were already there, surrounded by TV camera crews. The first thing we saw, though, was a group of Dallas policemen on horseback, six of them, coming all Tombstone across Pearl Street. While we were waiting at the light, they arranged themselves on the grassy — what? not knoll, exactly — beside the access road, solemnly facing the Meyerson as though Trey Garrison might turn up. My daughter thought they looked very cool, these blue cavalieri. There were 15 or 20 other cops guarding the entrance to the Meyerson parking garage. So why the major police presence?

WELL-HEELYED

Kudos to Carrollton’s recently public Heelys. The shoemaker topped BusinessWeek’s list of the Hot Growth Companies, 100 small companies to watch. Perhaps you’ll recall I’ve mentioned them before. Perhaps you didn’t know I wear a size 10. (Hint, hint.) (Kidding.) (Kind of.) (Not really.) Other local companies include: TGC Industries out of Plano (no. 3), Mannatech out of Coppell (no. 12), and Eagle Materials out of Dallas (no. 40).

SHAREHOLDERS TO EXXONMOBIL: “KEEP DOIN’ WHAT YOU’RE DOIN’”

Shareholders voted today NOT to implement a plan to reduce emissions from refineries at the Irving-based energy behemoth. Not too surprising, that. But in the Bloomberg story is a delicious paragraph:

About 35 environmental activists gathered across the street from the meeting at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, holding a banner that said, “Protect the people, protect the planet.” Exxon Mobil discontinued the practice of distributing donuts to protesters after the 2005 annual meeting. The protest ended after 45 minutes when a thunderstorm erupted.

Okay, first of all, I had no idea ExxonMobil used to hand out donuts to protesters. That makes me want to protest. Secondly, the environmentalist protesters were sent home … by the environment. That’s, like, ironic, or something.

KELLY CLARKSON DESERVES YOUR RESPECT

Because she doesn’t get enough of it from her boss. Not that I needed this story to convince me that she knows what she’s doing and that some record execs are d-bags. But it’s nice to know I was right.

NEWFLASH: PLANO HAS GROWN A LOT IN THE PAST 30+ YEARS

Okay, so maybe the news isn’t so newsy. But the way it’s delivered is. The Trulia Hindsight project has an interactive map of Plano and a handful of other fast-growing cities in the country. The site plots properties as they were built, kind of a mapped timeline–or vice versa–so you can witness the growth of neighborhoods. Check it out.

SAMIR PATEL IS A SPELLER

In case you were worried Samir was going to choke in one of the early rounds of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, worry no more: His word was “décor” and he nailed it. (I wonder if he even gave the judges the “accent aigu” over the “e” to show off. I bet he did.)

RE: LEADING OFF (DEL HARRIS ITEM)

A scooping FBvian points out that Mike Fisher had the Del Harris story five days ago.

WHILE WE’RE IN THE DELUGE

Ironically, since we’re in the midst of a storm on steroids, an FBvian from the Big Easy sends this incredible link to “Women in Art,” something to soothe the nerves and pass the time until the sun comes back out. And, yes, I recognize every one of the faces.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: TREY TO TALK COPS ON KRLD

Our own Trey Garrison will be on with KRLD’s Ernie and Jay today from 1 to 2 p.m. to talk about the great story he wrote for our June issue. The story’s about Shanna Lopez, a woman who stumbled into a crooked ring of cops in her rookie year and got bounced off the force. It’s also a story about why the crime rate in Dallas is so high.

DFW: DUCK!

NIGHTLINE AIRS CHEESE REPORT

Last night, Nightline told the country all about our cheese problem. Um, not great PR for the “Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas.”

LOU DOBBS CAN’T STOP LYING

We’ve commented on Lou Dobbs’ biased coverage of immigration illegal and otherwise here previously, noting in the print version of FrontBurner (Feb. ‘07) that the influential anchor has “reinvented an entire CNN career as the media’s point man on the subject.” A couple of weeks ago, Dobbs, who has brought his road show to Dallas, appeared on “60 Minutes.” Among other things, he refused to back down from the lie he had perpetuated that illegal migrants had spiked leprosy cases in the U.S. to 7,000 in the past three years. The Southern Poverty Law Center called him on it, and he responded by attacking them. Now, the Gray Lady concludes that the SPLC was right and Dobbs was wrong. And more.

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LEADING OFF

1. Duck alert.

2. TXU’s stock price is really high. Whew! We were all worried there for a minute.

3. Del Harris has taken the job I coveted: lifetime basketball man consultant guy.