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How Many Suits Does Tom Leppert Own?

Laura Miller had a pin-striped suit she was partial to. So does Tom Leppert. Every big-time event he attends, I think he wears the same duds. No? Here’s his look from the Big D NYE (shot from my TV, if that gives you an idea of how many going-out suits I own).

FrontBurner For Your Ears (Sorta): Kiddie Edition

I could post a picture I just took of an orange-crowned warbler, but I’m not in the mood to get blasted by anti-birding comments. Instead, I put forth a (poor quality) video I took of two of my five perfect nieces, Mia and Katie, who sat on my couch and, unprovoked, burst into song singing (a capella) “Tape of Love” by Flight of the Conchords. To me, it was just one of the many special moments in our family holiday season. To you, it may just be a waste of time. But here goes. Ladies and gentlemen, two of my five perfect nieces. (Hi, LK!)

Happy New Year

Here’s hoping your 2009 goes like my 2008 is ending right now: alone, with no one to play with, cold, and frustrated with your inconsistency and lack of focus. Oh. Wait. That didn’t come out the way I meant it to.

Happy new year, everyone. If you’re running out the clock, here’s a time-wasting question: what are you doing for New Year’s Eve?

Medical Examiner: Jeanmarie Geis Killed Herself

The medical examiner said today that Jeanmarie Geis committed suicide. In a post to this blog earlier today, a commenter wrote:

Now is the time to ask why the Dallas Police Department didn’t think Child Protective Services should be consulted after the series of odd police reports.

This case raises a lot of questions. I hope we’ll get them answered in the coming weeks. But how do we know that DPS didn’t consult with CPS? Let’s be careful with the speculation.

Update: Our own Josh Hixson includes in his report the salient stuff about Eric Hansen, the man romantically involved with Jeanmarie.

Calling All Pets Has Made Its Last Call — Thank God

KERA is making some adjustments to its TV and radio lineups. For the full release, jump. But one change in particular thrills me: the insufferable Calling All Pets, which aired on Friday afternoons at 1, has been axed. Lest you think the programmers at KERA have made a New Year’s resolution to stop airing insufferable programs, the move was forced on them when Wisconsin Public Radio, producers of CAP, killed their own syndicated show. Replacing it on KERA will be something that sounds very NPR: A Way With Words, described as “a lively and informative discussion and Q&A program about language.” The grammar police that lurk in our comments section are, I’m sure, thrilled.

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Rawlins Gilliland On A “Glass Half Full”

Our star commentator — whose life may have been the inspiration of Forrest Gump — reflects on the New Year.

Leading Off (12/30/08): Good News Holiday Edition

1. U.S. home prices have fallen by a record 18 percent from October last year. In Dallas, though? Only a 3 percent drop. By my math, then, things in Dallas suck 15 percent less hard than everywhere else!

2. Over here, Dave Levinthal is asking people to vote on the most effective Dallas City Council member. So far, Angela Hunt is in the lead with three votes. That’s three people who took the time to vote!

3. A fan showed up yesterday at Valley Ranch to protest the lack of effort from the Cowboys. He got into a scuffle with Bradie James, who allegedly and perhapsedly broke the fan’s sunglasses. As James optimisticly noted: “[I]t just goes to show you are the heart of the city. When we lose, people take it personally.” Someone cared enough to protest!

Santa Was Good to Adam

Here’s a shot of Adam trying to figure out how to use his favorite Xmas gift, a Ripstick. No injuries. So far.

Tom Craddick Out As Texas House Speaker?

Democrats say they have the votes. Now the question is, which Republican will they throw them to?

“The Evaporation Of The American Newspaper”

I don’t know how many more of these pre-obituaries I can stand to read, but Joe Duggan has a good historical perspective. Also, I like the use of the word “evaporation” because it summarizes just how quickly this disaster has befallen the once-mighty monopolies of news.

Stephen Quinn Has A Bright Idea

I’m late in posting this. TCU’s professor of economics was included in the year’s roundup of best ideas by the NYTimes Magazine a couple of weeks ago for his proposal on how to handle the securitization mess. Out of the thousands of economists throwing out their pet solutions to the problems of the economic collapse, Quinn was the only one featured.

Bush Library To Be “White Elephant”?

Here’s a rather odd piece from yesterday’s Times of London by one Sarah Baxter. She intimates but does not say that the SMU library project is having difficulty raising its $300 million goal, wonders if it will be a white elephant because of the secrecy laws imposed by Bush, then introduces a quote that says all presidential libraries are white elephants.

Former DMN Restaurant Critic Waltrina Stovall Died on Tuesday

Teresa Gubbins reports Waltrina Stovall, former restaurant critic for the Dallas Morning News, died on Tuesday at Baylor Medical Center. She was 71. Waltrina’s voice in the food-writing community will be missed–she was straightforward and never shy to tell you how she really felt. Teresa was a long-time colleague and friend of Waltrina’s. For more, read Teresa’s story.

The Year in Music: Part 3

In 2008, nothing was as awesome as this.

A Gift For Christmas: The Best Football Game Of The Year

Rick Reilly on Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School.

Bethany Anderson, You Have a Delivery

Wanna know the power of FrontBurner? Even our commenters get holiday gift baskets delivered to the office. Bethany, yours will be waiting for you at the front desk. Assuming it doesn’t get eaten today.

Dustin Hoffman Tells a Dirty Story (That Involves Dallas)

Worth your time:

Eric Celeste Has Lost as Much Weight as Tim Rogers Has Hair

Today’s the last day we will be in the office until the new year. Will we post during the break? I guess you’ll just have to check in and see. But so here’s a fun comparison. One year ago today, we put up this post. I know, I know. It’s weird for us to pull back the curtain like that. Maybe it was the Bloody Marys. Here’s the pic from last year (left), along with today’s update. Some things change. Others remain the same.

Here’s to a safe, happy, relaxing break for all FrontBurnervians. Cheers.

A Christmas Miracle: Wick and Jim Schutze Agree

Leppert wouldn’t carry Dallas if he decided to run for senate. Which he — wink wink, nudge nudge — has no plans to do.

On A Slow News Day, We’re Happy To Help The DMN

At 10:13 a.m., Wick put up a post with Tom Leppert’s non-denial denial regarding his possible run for KBH’s seat. At 12:19 p.m., Rudy Bush put up a story on Dallasnews.com with the same non-denial denial, saying that Leppert was knocking down “rumors.” Gosh, where did those rumors come from? Guys, we’re seven people in a near-deserted office just before the holidays, but please give us credit when you follow us. We give you credit, all 350-plus of you, with plenty of links and nods and hat tips every day.

Erin Wasson Burgled

An alert FBvian points us to news that the D cover girl got taken for some high-fashion goodies.

Who the Heck Is Ellis Short?

Because a FrontBurnervian just pointed me to a story in the Telegraph identifying him as a Dallas-based multimillionaire who is poised to complete his takeover of a Premier League team — and I’ve never heard of the guy. He used to work at the mysterious Lone Star Funds, but says here he’s retired. Also says he owns a rather large castle in Scotland. I did a little digging through public records and couldn’t immediately find a residence for the guy in Dallas. So here’s my question: does Ellis Short really live here? Anyone ever cross paths with him?

Tom Leppert To Run For Senate Seat?

Republican sources have told me that the mayor is seriously interested in Kay Bailey’s seat. So I called him yesterday to confirm. He was clearly not happy about the leak. After he stammered around a bit, I told him to take his time and get back to me with a response. This is it:

I’m flattered that people have suggested me for such an important seat. Clearly, there is a long list of candidates and Senator Hutchison has not even indicated her plans concerning the seat. I’m proud to serve the citizens of and eager to continue working with the City Council on the opportunities and challenges ahead of us.

That is not a no.

I could leave it at that, but I won’t. The mayor’s major initiative in his first year has been the convention hotel. It is an expensive undertaking, and its fast-tracking through the City Council mainly is due to the mayor’s contention that it will not be a drag on the city’s finances. To my mind, it would be irresponsible of Leppert to leave this for others to manage. When Ron Kirk stepped down to run for Senate, his major priorites — the Trinity bond program, the arena — had been accomplished. Leppert has barely begun. If he were to abandon his post now to seek a higher office, I doubt he would even carry Dallas.

An Easy Way to Help the Less Fortunate

Got an extra blanket lying around the house? Then here’s how you can help someone who has neither a blanket nor a house. Details:

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Texas Population Up, Home Prices Steady

It’s a weird recession or depression or repression or decession or whatever you want to call it — at least here it is. The great North-South migration continued in 2008, with Texas adding 483,542 more people, undoubtedly the major factor in the small rise in home prices in Texas metro areas. (Meanwhile, I hear that NorthPark total sales are up over last year.)