1. Mayor Tom Leppert spent some time with the DMN’s editorial board, talking about the convention hotel. In so many words, he said, “Fear my mighty, mighty hands! They will build the hotel! Damn the torpedoes! And those 60,000 signatures!”
2. I’m still trying to figure out this story about the inland port in South Dallas and the development that will occur around said port. Mainly because Commissioner John Wiley Price said the cities of Wilmer and Hutchins were doing a “Jed Clampett routine.” Does that make Dallas Mr. Drysdale?
3. Jessica Jones hasn’t been paying her tolls as she drives to and from work in Lewisville, and now TxDOT says she owes $26,400. Come on, Jessica. Do the right thing. Give them their money, all in small change.
27 comments
#3 – She should have never quit D Magazine.
It was a rare moment of sanity for County Commission.
The DMA annual meeting yesterday was all about building the hotel. There was talk that many conventions will only book in locations that have one. Is this true? If we would lose millions/billions of dollars by not having one, why wouldn’t we?
Does anyone else think Jessica is kind of hot?
1. Re-edit the last sentence. You have an extra “those.”
2. As in, Don Drysdale? Oh, wait, he was a guest on “Leave it to Beaver” and “The Brady Bunch.”
3. Loved the story about her last night on Channel 8. Not only did she want her five minutes of fame, but she acts like a dumb exurbanite who can’t understand why she has to face consequences for ignoring toll fees and subsequent warning letters. I bet she’s upside down on her 10 year car note, too.
Jessica claimed she drove the tollway everyday. She must have taken off the two months the signs were up saying that tolling was starting soon.
@ James -
No.
Edit – only if you think Lili Taylor is “kind of hot”.
While not absolving toll runners, overhauling the NTTA customer service and payment options is a good start.
True story. I think I owe $.40 cents to NTTA from an old car I had (that’s what they said in the letter they sent)…this story reminds me to call and get this fixed. I’m pretty sure I zeroed out the tolltag but whatever.
I sent them a check for $.40 a while back. Wasteful, I know…but there are no NTTA offices in the OC. NTTA sent it the payment for a bad address. Which is funny since I sent it to the NTTA payment office on Inwood.
Today I log on and it shows I owe $8.25 from other stuff (”violations awaiting invoice”). From 3-5 years ago? News to me. I want to pay it but you can’t pay less than $10 online. WTH? Remember, I got rid of the car and my new car has a different tolltag.
Then the cust service guy tells me the same. Then I get put on hold. After being on hold for a while the serviceperson says the can charge me the exact amount. Problem solved…finally.
No matter – I paid it, but it shows that their system needs some review.
Why do people get hassled that want to pay their bills? IJS
And by the way, do they really office next to Broadway Porsche in Willow Bend? Nice work.
If the city is so darn interested in getting into the hotel business, then they need to design said hotel not to look like a government building.
And if it is just revenue that is driving this, why not get In-&-Out to sell them some Dallas franchises. I’m sure that would make more money and then the city won’t have to worry with design either.
She can’t help it. Her brain is a third the size of a man’s. It’s science.
@Michael Davis – Don’t you mean Boardwalk Porsche/Audi? Yes, they do have offices out there in a nondescript office building that is hidden by trees. Probably intentionally, considering public opinion.
don’t pay any tolls on my eastward commute down Fort Worth Ave. each morning…nor any tolls on the westward way home either
and i usually leave my house about 8:50 and sit down at my desk no later than 9:15, and that includes a stop at 7-11 for coffee
just a couple more benefits to living in Oak Cliff
the suburbs are for suckers that don’t heed the warnings of the giant flashing signs on the shoulder and for guys with small penises that overcompensate for that by driving monster trucks with blaring stereo systems all the while feeling it necessary to carry a loaded gun around with them all the time
Meh. I don’t blare my stereo system.
But, Trey, I bet ya have a monster…
@SE – Thanks for the correction.
jrp…the tollmeisters will come for us someday. At least we have our side streets.
true, MD, and we already pay in other ways, of course, as i was nailed doing 49 in a 35 on said avenue the other week
and we could use some sidewalks out my way
trey, all in good fun, dude, it ain’t personal, as i don’t even know ya
@ DM – I am new to this whole “hotel” conversation, but it appears a great deal of tourism dollars in DFW come from the convention business. We currently compete with cities like Chicago and Denver to host conventions, and many of those cities have built convention hotels. 195,000 rooms have been booked by conventions that will come to town believing we will have that hotel. Another 200,000 are in waiting to see what happens. Just a few years ago the CVB only booked 500,000 rooms annually. So, increasing that number by 80% by simply building the hotel seems logical to me.
Another argument I have heard is we will lose market share without the hotel. It will be hard to keep the tourism dollars we have now, let alone increase tourism revenue in our area.
Like I said, I am new to this argument. I don’t see the negative. Yet.
Dallas is more like Mrs. Drysdale. You know which parts of town I mean..
Robb, the problem isn’t with Dallas having a convention center hotel, the problem is with Dallas owning a convention center hotel. If it tanks, taxpayers are on the hook for the hotel’s losses.
The developers need to put some skin in the game, but Leppert, Natinsky, and Caraway want the taxpayers to assume all of the risk while the developers assume none.
where does the profit go IF it is successful? And when do I get my check for the AAC profits?
Ethan, who will see the profits from the hotel? And, I assume the studies have been done that show the positive and negative effects of the many cities that have built them? How many of those cities are showing losses?
@ the cynic – DFW has been somewhat sheltered from the economic woes of the rest of the country. When our local government does well enough to shelter us from some of the challenges the rest of the country is experiencing, you are getting your check.
Hotel keeps conventions coming in (and possibly increases the number we have). The conventions make up a portion of our tourism dollars. Tourism dollars are good for our local economy. A good local economy is good for you.
@ Robb
You seem to have a pretty well-formed opinion about this issue for someone who “[is] new to this whole ‘hotel’ conversation,” but I’ll indulge you nonetheless.
Denver’s publicly-owned hotel has done fine. St. Louis’ publicly-owned hotel hasn’t. (They’re struggling to pay off the bonds.) And Ft. Worth changed their plans to build a publicly-owned hotel after a petition drive. Now they’ve got a private hotel (with public tax abatements and such) coming online in January.
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2008/10/06/story2.html?b=1223265600^1710802&brthrs=1
IMO, the Ft. Worth example is the one we should follow. But that would take a mayor and council willing to bargain, not just throw my tax money at the issue.
While listening to today’s council meeting about this issue, I heard a lot of talk like: Victory is AWESOME! SEE?! The Art’s District! AWESOME! THE TRINITY?! AWESOME!!! WE HAVE TO HAVE THIS HOTEL RIGHT NOW!!@!@!@!111!!@
Well, the Arts District is being built with over 90% private funding. Our share in the Trinity is capped at $245 million. And sure, Victory is great, but that wasn’t an “either or” proposition. The city could have cut a much better deal that would have served taxpayers better, while still getting the project built.
I’m beginning to think that our mayor will say and do anything to get this hotel built because he thinks the end will justify the means. The hotel will also pad his resume for when he runs for higher office. The only problem is that when he bolts, we’ll be stuck with the mess if things don’t work out as planned. That will be fine with him, as he’ll be off to bigger and better things. But those of us who have families and are tied to Dallas and our communities, we’ll end up footing the bill.
This little exchange begs the question… who is running PR for this hotel? Does the firm start with an “A”?
I used to be in the convention business and almost never worked in my hometown because of the hotel situation. Clients for whom I worked – AstraZeneca, Ford, IBM – preferred cities where their people could all stay in the same hotel close to the convention center. Easier to plan their activities, travel, etc. that way, plus much more cost effective.
Dallas is an attractive convention city because it’s smack dab in the middle of the country and has an international airport. Weather is generally good, unlike a Denver or Chicago.
Dallas is an unattractive convention city because we’re limited to golf and shopping as leisure activities. That’s why Orlando and Vegas are top convention cities.
Just my 2 cents seen from the client’s perspective.
does anybody know how i can get in touch with jessica??? i need to find her, i have not seen or talked to in a while