SXSW: Day 1…ish

AUSTIN — Got into town about three hours ago. Since then, I’ve had two bourbons, three run-ins with dreadlocked kids who appeared to be staging some sort of Mad Max road company performance (not the same group, btw), seen one good band (Shearwater), one terrible one (not sure, doesn’t matter, drummer looked like Tommy Shaw, trumpet and xylophone featured prominently), and that’s about it. Tonight, there’s plenty going on. And I will see approximately 17.9 percent of it. Math may be off. Working on a wet cocktail napkin with a golf pencil. Also: looking as handsome as ever. Not that it needed to be said. More tomorrow morning. Or later tonight. Or both. Until then: this.

UT Journalism Head Heading North

Via Romensko:

Lorraine Branham, who has been director of the University of Texas at Austin journalism school, succeeds David M. Rubin at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Owen Wilson: On Mend, Prowl

Says here that there’s a relationship blossoming between Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston. It’s not the most convincing evidence, but at least we can officially spend company time thinking of how to meld their names when their couple status becomes official. (JJ I’m looking at you.)

Dallas Water Utilities Hosting Water-Wise Seminars

This seems timely since planting season is fast approaching.

Two Water-Wise landscape seminars – Water-Wise Landscape Design 101 and Fantastic Plants for North Texas – will be held this Saturday, March 15, at Brookhaven College. They will both feature Bonnie Reese, a well-known local landscape designer and author of Common Sense Landscaping. A drawing will be held at the end of each seminar for a free consultation with Reese.

For more information visit www.savedallaswater.com. To register, call Dallas Water Utilities Conservation Program between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday at (214) 670-3155 or register online in the comments/question section at www.ci.dallas.tx.us/forms/water_conservation_contact.html

There. I’ve done my part for the environment for the year. Now I’m going cruising in my Viper.

Playwright Mamet Changes His Mind

David Mamet, America’s greatest living playwright (Glengarry Glen Ross, among others.), will speak in Dallas in April at the Dallas Institute’s awarding of its annual Hiett Prize. As it happens, today he published a piece on why he is no longer a liberal, which is well worth the read. 

(Warning: The Village Voice is apparently unprepared for the amount of hits the Mamet piece is getting, so the server may take a while.)

Polyphonic Spree to Close out AFI Film Festival

Just another reason to buy a Premiere Pass to the AFI Dallas International Film Festival (did we mention Robert DeNiro and Charlize Theron are going to be in town for this? Oh, yes we did): The glorious Polyphonic Spree will be headlining the Closing Night party, on April 5 at the House of Blues. Follow the jump for more info and click here for tickets.

(more…)

Who Won Texas? Obama Now Leads 109-106

The latest report from CNN is here.

Tom Pauken to Head Texas Workforce Commission

Word from an amigo down in San Antonio is that Tom Pauken — co-founder of DallasBlog, former chairman of the Texas Republican Party, tax cut champion, Vietnam veteran, Bush critic, and all-around great guy — was “named chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission by Gov. Good-Hair.”

Slackers beware: Tom doesn’t brook no lollygagging or gold bricking.

Car Design “Rock Star” Looking For Another Hit

The guy known as the “rock star of U.S. car designers” blew into town today to show the 2009 Dodge Ram pickup to journalists at, appropriately enough, the Dallas Center for Contemporary Art. Haitian-American Ralph Gilles, whose main claim to fame is designing the smash-hit Chrysler 300 sedan, oversaw a complete overhaul/upscaling of the new Ram, making it a formidable rival to Ford’s F-Series trucks. North Texas is the Ram’s No. 1 nationwide market, and local dealerships will get the new pickup starting this fall. The busy and gifted Gilles said he’s off Friday to Southern California, where 1,000 300 owners will gather in Irvine to celebrate what’s been called the “Everyman’s Bentley.”

More Traffic Woes

Lots of bad highway news today. Now, a FBvian says Central southbound is shut down somewhere between Mockingbird and Knox-Henderson. Avoid if possible.

Follow Up on Fairfield Residential’s Development Plan

After Zac’s post last week (and Sam Merten’s great work over at the Observer) it looks like momentum is shifting in favor of Fairfield Residential’s cool transit-oriented development over at Lover’s Lane and Greenville. Word is more than 115 people (as counted by the Ozona servers) turned out at Ozona to meet with Councilmember Angela Hunt, and they all supported the project. The opposition was invited as well, but they declined and held a separate meeting with the District 14 leader — about 15 or 20 of them, we hear.

The Shaw Tragedy

The coverage team at the News on the Shaw murder-suicide deserves a clap or two for its excellent reportage on deadline. (Meanwhile, Rufus Shaw’s last column is still up on dallasblog.com, which I find, I don’t know, kind of eerie.)

SOUTHWEST: We Did Nothing Wrong, and This is a Witch-Hunt That … What’s That? … Oh. Murmur.

Remember when Southwest said they didn’t do anything wrong in not grounding planes they found with tiny cracks? The DMN has an exclusive report that the airline has now grounded 42 jets. Developing.

Eliot’s Mess Has Dallas Ties

As a couple of intrigued FrontBurnervians have pointed out, Eliot Spitzer’s involvement in the prostitution ring has Dallas ties. Yes, I know Big Bob has it too. (And yes, “Eliot’s Mess” is borrowed from Stephen Colbert.) From the NYT story:

A person with knowledge of the service’s operations said that Mr. Spitzer had begun meeting with the prostitutes of the Emperor’s Club about eight months ago and had had encounters in Dallas as well as Washington.

Fire at D/FW?

A curious FrontBurnervian wants to know what’s up:

Black smoke in a big way? Looking South from terminal B??

Anyone know anything?

Update: A knowledgeable commenter says not to worry:

That is the DPS/fire fighter training area. It’s on the western side of the airport. It’s running about once a week or so, and it always freaks people out. But that is all it is.

DallasBlog Raises Questions About DA Watkins Driving, Expense Records

Leaving aside some overreach and a misused expression in the fourth paragraph, DallasBlog is asking some good questions about Dallas County DA Craig Watkins double dipping from taxpayers for a car allowance while driving a county-owned car. Which he’s wrecked. Twice. Apparently, one time his own house stopped suddenly in front of him.

Leading Off

1) You know, some folks have trouble just getting neighbors to take down their Christmas lights.

2) A Plano man has a warrant out for him over shrubbery. That was not a typo.

3) Looks like the brand spanking new Glorypark development won’t be finished by the time the new Dallas Cowboys stadium opens. It’s a blow to synergistic development, but fans can still visit older hole-in-the-wall joints in Arlington.