D

Re: Mass Transit and DART

When even Rod agrees with me, I declare victory. Muhahaha.

Re: Mass Transit and DART

Rod might have left us for the Southern Poverty Law Center, but he’s still reading the blog. He saw my post about his 1991 DART story and returns fire:

D hardly got the DART story “wrong,” as you snark in your post, back in 1991. Perhaps my attack on DART’s light rail plans as a bureaucracy-driven boondoggle that ill-served the majority of the city and the suburbs, and that shifted resources from a far more sensible and flexible expansion of bus routes, is not how you, in your wisdom, see the issue. But “wrong” is just not right, as it implies accuracy rather than evaluation.

I would suggest that FBvians read the linked piece and decide for themselves. Some of the numbers have changed over the years but DART light rail still loses far more money than it ever contributes to the social good (beware DART’s own PR). Meanwhile DART’s bus system, the one true (though less sexy) possibility for making mass transit mesh with the actual, not theoretical, geography of expansion, remains underfunded and underutilized. No accident there.

As I said in the piece, everyone is “for” mass transit. The questions are how best to make it serve the needs of the people, not highly paid executives, developers, and heavy equipment salespeople.

Good lord, I sound like Schutze. Now that is “wrong.”

You still have to admit, Rod: that headline was horrible.

Where You Should Be Tomorrow Night

If you’re not in Austin, or at the Ritz for this or this, that is. Pull out your sparkly bra and tiny undies, stick a diamond stud in your belly button, zip up your knee boots and practice your best 2007 Britney Spears dazed-and-confused dance moves. It’s the House of Blues First Ever Hollywood Nights Dance Party, and the best part is, the host is Perez Hilton, the Queen of All Media, and everyone’s favorite celebrity blogger (okay, debatable, but still). Perez will crown the best-dressed celeb look-alike, and that person will win 2008 season tickets to Smirnoff Music Center.

This is sure to be a crazy night. On that note, if anyone has ideas about which celebs the D staffers should dress up as, please send the info along as we are looking for suggestions.

Re: Mass Transit in Arlington

A self-identified grumpy FBvian who read my slight against socialized transportation (aka Big Transit) takes me to task and takes the whole thing a step further. Comes after the jump. (more…)

Woot.com Sells Out… And They Know It

Tired of us praising Woot.com? Sorry. Here’s yet another post in favor of the snarky, one-item-per-day e-tailer. A Woot-appreciating FrontBurnervian passes along word that the Woot empire has grown yet again, this time by selling out to The Man (in a sense) and partnering with Yahoo! shopping. In typical Woot fashion, the new site is called sellout.woot.com.

Re: Mass Transit

Pfft. I’m sticking with Homer, Tim. So are you unless that’s not your ride down on P3.

Oy Vey!

Three injured when an 81-year-old man dropped his sidearm during Rosh Hashanah services at Temple Emanu-El last night, discharging the weapon. And if you think that’s a little old to be packing, earlier this year I was doing some research and learned that somewhere in Texas, at least one 91-year-old was issued a concealed handgun license. I’m not saying one way or another, IJS.

Re: Mass Transit and DART

Trey, I have to side with Adam on this. Public transit is supposed to be subsidized. The ROI from our tax money comes in the form of cleaner air, a more livable city, and economic development (see Mockingbird Station). And DART is doing very well, thank you. If you haven’t, read Joe Bob Briggs’ story “Get on the Bus” (August 2006). (But don’t read Rod’s 1991 story “DART Doesn’t Rule, OK?!” We got it wrong back then. And it might be the worst headline we’ve ever run, too.) One more thing: DART recently got a boatload of cash from the federal government for its project to connect to Love Field. My understanding is that you don’t win those grants unless and until Uncle Sam has taken a very hard look at your bottom line and figured out just what sort of operation you’re running.

Bottom line, Trey? DART works. Thanks for asking.

Re: Mass Transit in Arlington

Whom to trust could be a moot point, Adam, according to one FBvian.

Well, of course it can’t be charitable. Arlington has used all of its sales tax money that could be used to subsidize it paying for various stadia. Dallas, on the other hand, has used that portion for DART. Light rail or Cowboys, your choice.

For-Profit Mass Transportation Is Called “Cabs”

I don’t think the environment is a part of this one, Trey. Seems the lack of enthusiasm for mass transit in Arlington, at least according to that story, is class-based. And as for mass transit not being a charitable endeavor, if Warren Norred — “the president of Norred Sales and Engineering in Arlington, who helped spearhead the campaign that defeated the most recent bus system at the polls in 2002″ — said it, it must be true.

Arlington Ponders Mass Transit

A business-minded FBvian points us to a piece in today’s Wall Street Journal about how Arlington is weighing a tax-gobbling public transportation system. The story includes a quote that will make some of my environmentally correct colleagues cringe.

“A mass-transit system should not be a charitable operation.”

Say, what is DART’s bottom line these days? (Either way, I defer to the wisdom of Homer Simpson on the subject.)

Re: Robot Boy

“I’m a friend of Sarah Connor. I was told she was here. Could I see her please?”

Belo Doesn’t Want A Recession

According to Moody’s, it ranks with the NYTimes and Clear Channel as the three most vulnerable media companies if the national economy goes south.

Hanson Brings Robot Boy to Life

You may remember David Hanson, CEO of Hanson Robotics, from the saga of the missing Phillip K. Dick head. (There has to be a better way to say that.) Today, Hanson has made plenty of headlines as he unveils Zeno, his latest project, today at Wired’s NextFest in LA. Zeno, named after Hanson’s real-life kid, is a robot boy that sees, hears, remembers names, and generally freaks people out. Or amazes them. There are bunches of pictures on Gizmodo. Check ‘em out.

And Speaking of Dallas Blog

Great video of Mayor Tom Leppert doing the Kids in the Hall move.

Fighting Words?

Big Bob? Anything to say about this?

In the Pink Blogger Goes Legit

I know I’m way behind on this news. So behind that it’s not news; it’s “newsish.” But it still bears mentioning that Texas Monthly recently hired a full-time editor for their site, texasmonthly.com. Her name is Eileen Smith, and she announced her hiring last week on her blog In the Pink, shortly after TM Editor Evan Smith announced it on his.

Small-Business Owners Feel They’ll Stay That Way

A Dallas-based marketing firm called The Price Group surveyed about 500 companies nationwide and found that the owners aren’t so bullish on their bidness. Three-Fourths of respondents said they felt their businesses have “stagnated.” Point people suggest it’s because they don’t plan for growth (99 percent of the owners had no written plan) and have no formal organizational structure. My theory: Too much coffee. My mom always told me it’d stunt my growth.

Leading Off

1. Dallas is installing 40 more red-light cameras, which brings the total to 100. Angela Hunt wanted to know if they could increase rear-end collisions. Uh, you bet, folks. Yes. Here’s three more stories.

2. It was such a mild summer, for the first time in about 15 years, I didn’t threaten to move somewhere cooler. That may change next summer.

3. At Lake Grapevine! Zooids! Bryozoans! Tribbles! Run! Aaaaagggghhh!