Articles for February, 2009
Leading Off (2/19/09)
1. For now, it looks like we’re still getting that city-owned convention center hotel. And it’s still pretty low on the list of things I wish the city would pay for, right after a maximum-level contract extension for Erick Dampier and just before a kissing booth for that lady on the train last night with no teeth.
2. Two UNT astronomers say they’ve found pieces of a meteor that caused the explosions in the sky that some folks saw over the weekend. Those people include Spider Monkey, who claims to have seen them while in her car — but also can’t remember where she was going, where she was coming from, and didn’t bother to check the internet or the news after seeing something explode in the sky. So, you know, grain of salt.
3. And finally, a high-speed police chase ended this morning when the woman driving stopped to pay a toll at D/FW Airport.
Don’t Mess With Ebby
Property doyenne Ebby Halliday didn’t reach the top of her industry by being a shrinking violet. That was evident during a lunch at the Adolphus’ French Room today celebrating her 98th birthday (it’s actually next month) and a new book, Ebby Halliday: The First Lady of Real Estate, by Mike Poss. While Poss was writing the book, the diminutive Realtor conceded to interviewer Jocelyn White, she threw him onto her desk using a half-nelson wrestling hold, something she learned growing up. Why? Just to prove she could still do it. Ebby also recalled an exchange decades ago with her doctor, after she’d asked him for some investing advice. “I don’t advise women,” the doc said. “Why not?” Ebby inquired, surprised. “Because if they lose, they cry.” “Well,” Ebby retorted evenly, “you try me.” He did; she wound up making several thousand dollars off cotton futures. So what’s the living legend’s next great goal? “Tossing the coin at the Cowboys’ Super Bowl in 2011.”
Falling Debris Still Falling, Mystisfying
A curious FrontBurnervian sends along this news alert slash info request:
I am just wondering if you guys have heard anything about more flying space junk in the Dallas area? Just got off the phone with my roommate who works off of Preston and Frankford. She and a few other people were outside when they saw something zooming through the sky straight down. It then just disappeared. They are assuming it burned up. No noise or sonic booms with it. I’ve looked on the local news station websites and haven’t seen anything regarding this. Just wondering if any more people have contacted you guys about it.
I haven’t seen anything since Zac’s Leading Off the other day. Anyone got anything? Comments, on.
A Sad Tale Amidst The A-Rod Nonsense
I just now stumbled across George Vecsey’s recent NYT column about Don Hooton and his son Taylor, who played high-school baseball around these parts. Here’s the heart-wrenching part:
The son gained 30 pounds in a few months before the family noticed his mood swings, known as roid rage. A psychiatrist urged him to stop taking the drug, but it can take a year for the body to produce testosterone again. Going through withdrawal, Taylor Hooton began experiencing depression.
“June 10 was his birthday,” Don Hooton said. “We rented a suite at the Rangers game.” The father did not remember how Alex Rodriguez, then in his third year of using a steroid, performed that night. He does know that his son committed suicide on July 15, 2003.
Information on the foundation Don started can be found here.
Moving Day For The Bushes
Looks like the Bushes are moving in. If you don’t think Candy Evans is covering that, you’d be wrong, wrong, wrong. Go to DallasDirt for more details and many, many photos.
A Premature Posting About M. Ward’s Upcoming Concert
Clear your calendars, fans of talented singer-songwriters, for M. Ward’s March 15 concert at the DMA’s Horchow Museum. Ward was on Letterman last night, which you can see here. I’ve been a fan of Ward for years and years, ever since I saw a flier for his first album in the men’s room at the Gypsy Tea Room that described him as Tom Waits meets Elvis Costello. I guess that description is accurate enough, though he’s pretty much developed a signature style of his own by now: Americana-slash-folk-slash-old-timey-radio. His new cd, Hold Time, came out yesterday, and his project with Zooey Deschanel is recent (and awesome) enough to mention, too.
Update: A helpful, museum-employed FrontBurnervian passes along ticket info: Tickets are $20 via Ticketmaster. Doors @ 7:00 p.m. Presented by AEG. They go on sale Friday, she thinks.
Tom Colicchio Not Selling Craft to the W
Despite what you may have heard, he’s not selling. Find out about it over here.
The Dallas Auto Show Is Here! The Dallas Auto Show Is Here!
The Dallas Auto Show is here, as previously mentioned with ironic usage of exclamation points. It runs through February 22. I was going to hobble on over to check it out and report back, but whatever I typed would be a poor, poor facsimile of what Hank Stuever at the Washington Post wrote for the Washington Auto Show a couple of weeks back. I imagine the experience would be strikingly similar, even if my description of said experience paled in comparison. (Reg req. or, search “Driving into the Sunset” in Google News and you can get there directly.)
Adios, Movin’ 107.5 FM
Listeners of Madonna remixes and oonce-oonce music (during daylight hours, no less) got a bit of a surprise yesterday when Movin’ 107.5 FM switched formats to Mega 107.5 FM, targeting 25- to 54-year-old Spanish-speaking adults. The change was sudden (mid-song) and, from three people I’ve heard from, not welcome. Methinks, however, station owners at CBS Radio know what they’re doing.
Leading Off (2/18/09)
1. “Damn the torpedoes!” That’s the sentiment of Mayor Leppert and most on the City Council. Yesterday evening a judge denied a temporary restraining order request from Citizens Against the Taxpayer Owned Hotel. And today the Council will vote on a hotel operating agreement with Irving-based Omni Hotels. Except, of course, the whole thing comes up for referendum in May, when we the voters get to decide if Dallas should own a hotel. Are you following this? We’re building a hotel. Until we (most likely) decide in May not to. Awesome.
2. The folks who make Twinkies are relocating to Dallas. Interstate Bakeries (not to be confused with Interstate Batteries) is moving its management team here, though the Twinkies will continue to be manufactured in Kansas City, Missouri. And how big is that management team? Oh, 20 people. Right now, Boeing is surely kicking itself for picking Chicago.
3. I can’t provide you a third item this morning, because the DMN’s website just did that fun thing where it asks you to become a member of Dallasnews.com before it lets you read a story, even though I’ve signed up about 20 times.
Update: 4. Bud Kennedy at the Star-Telegram brings us an interesting dispatch about the chilly reception that Kay Bailey Hutchison’s gubernatorial campaign is getting in North Texas.
Stanford Financial, The Cricket Implications
Those implications are huge. Sir Allen Stanford is a big cricket fan. He bankrolled $20 million for a winner-take-all all-star match between England and West Indies. The Twenty20, it’s called. Or was called, as the cricket boards have suspended negotiations with Stanford.
A.H. Belo Real-Estate Sell-Off On Hold
This dovetails with Wick’s previous post. What caught my ear in today’s A. H. Belo conference call (it was a webcast earnings report) was that the company’s plans to sell real estate to shore up its bottom line are on hold, Belo President, Chairman and CEO Robert Decherd said in the earnings call. Jump for details. (more…)
Stanford Financial: The Shoe Drops
Apparently the investigation didn’t take long. The SEC has charged the Houston financier with “massive fraud.”
Trying To Figure Out The Bachelor
Laura’s likely to weigh in on this later, but I tore away from O’Reilly and Hannity last night long enough to catch The Bachelor “reality” show, where Melissa, the Dallas contestant, is in the finals to win the hand (or some part) of Jason. This show is a Hefnerian Everyman’s fantasy; are women seriously into it? Two observations: The bachelor is super-slick and obviously not to be trusted; when the surviving beauties tell him they “love” him, he just sort of smiles and mumbles. Then, he gets to pork spend a night in the “Fantasy Suite” with not just one, but all three of the ladies (separately). Now, each of these gals has got to know that if he spent the night with her, he likely did so with the others too–don’t they? But when our hero gives one of the lovelies the old heave-ho, she’s torn up because she thought they had the “real thing” going on? Gotta be a script.
A. H. Belo Announces Full-Year Results, Confuses Me
The financial wires are playing the company’s announcement straight, comparing its 2008 $33.1 million loss against last year’s $343.6 million loss (which was due to gigantic and mostly non-cash write-downs). But I have questions. From the company’s statement:
The Company generated $5.9 million and $6.1 million in consolidated EBITDA for the fourth quarter and full year 2008, respectively, excluding the $14.0 million non-cash pension obligation. The aggregate newspaper EBITDA margin excluding all special charges mentioned above was 13 percent in the fourth quarter and 10 percent for the full year.
Full-year revenues were $637.3 million. How is $6.1 million a 10 percent margin? Maybe a FrontBurnervian with a better grasp of corporatese can explain what I’m missing. Regardless, $6.1 million is thin gruel (or working capital) on which to feed $600 million or so of revenues. Which is why the company recently announced a renegotiated credit line of $50 million.
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