Articles for March, 2009
The DMN Returns Fire Over Our Take On Their DISD Reporting
In our April issue, I wrote about how the Dallas Morning News covers Dallas ISD. You can read that here. Yesterday, DMN education reporter Kent Fischer protected his turf on their DISD blog, and today, his colleague Mike Hashimoto got Fischer’s back on one of the other 50 blogs they have over there.
I find both responses to be fairly disingenuous. My point wasn’t that the DMN shouldn’t go for blood when there is a real story there (the budget shortfall, various scandals at SOC, etc. — all of which Hashimoto is careful to add to the scoreboard). No. That’s exactly what the daily paper should do. That is its job. My point was the Morning News treats everything over at DISD like one of those scandals, which makes the situation seem worse than it is and which, yes, tends to scare off prospective parents. I stand by what I said.
Video of Hard Hat Tour of Center for the Performing Arts
Remember when we took that behind-the-scenes tour? The greatness that is Kyle Kearbey has produced a video of our little sojourn. Enjoy it. Hard.
Leading Off (03/24/09)
1. The Dallas City Council is considering regulations on parking lots that “boot” cars for non-payment. I would like them to decide what to do on this issue soon, because I have my own plans to start booting cars that take up two spaces at The Monk. You know who you are.
2. A city auditor says Dallas has left nearly a half a billion dollars on the table in not collecting delinquent court fines and traffic fees. Some rightly point out that since most ticket cases are dismissed for lack of evidence or because the officer doesn’t show when it is contested, these fines weren’t really ever due to the city. I would like to ask the city to return the $750 I paid, because, honestly, I had no idea how easy it was to get a ticket dismissed.
3. And a man was arrested this morning after barricading himself in his home with guns. To which Trey says, “And…?” To which Chazz says, “I hear you, Trey.”
Attention Artists: Submit Now to “D Art Slam”
What is D Art Slam, you ask? It’s a three-day juried exhibition we’re putting on with f.i.g. The gig itself won’t happen till late May. Go here for more info. But if you’re a Texas artist, now’s the time to submit your work for consideration (and the chance to be featured in the pages of D Magazine). Deadline for submissions is April 1. Follow the link for an entry form.
Lecture Alert: New Urbanist Andres Duany on Sustainable Neighborhoods
A bike-riding FBvian passed along the event info for a free lecture on Monday at SMU’s Hughes Trigg Student Center Ballroom. The man doing the lecturing will be New Urbanist bigwig Andres Dubany and the subject is pretty well delineated by its title: “Sustainable Neighborhood Re-Modeling: New Life for Tired Neighborhoods.” Should be great if you’re into New Urbanism, city planning, green issues, and/or guys named Andres. Potential downside: Mayor Leppert is introducing him. Don’t let him slap you on the back. Go here for the relevant details.
A Foreigner Asks: Who Controls Your Media?
So many of us are so absorbed with local media matters, it’s interesting to hear a broader take on the business. That’s what I got this morning talking in Dallas to 24 foreign-national “spokesperson” types attached to U.S. embassies in Africa, Europe, Asia, etc. Many of the hard-copy newspapers in their countries are under siege by evolving tastes, just like ours, it seems. And, one guy doubted that the demise of the American newspaper would be much of a loss. “They’re all controlled by corporations or the political parties anyway, aren’t they?” he asked. I said that wasn’t true, but wondered later if he might not have a point. The skull session was arranged by the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth.
Town Plans Shocking Event
Do the city fathers in little Malakoff, Texas, realize what’s about to happen in their town? Next month, the burg’s chamber of commerce will host the 12th Annual Cornbread Festival. One of the festival’s featured events, according to the CofC Web site: a “Cornhole Tournament.” Shockingly, the chamber is “working to sanction” the event even as we speak. Then again, they may just be talking about a beanbag game.
City Council Candidate Chazz Redd Smiles With Guns
Charles “Chazz” Redd is running for the District 7 seat of the Dallas City Council. Judging by his MySpace page, he’s a fan of Diana Ross. So far, so good. But problems arise for the candidate when you visit his friend Quanah’s MySpace page, specifically the portion where she posted some pics from New Year’s Eve. I suspect these pics will be taken down shortly, so I’ve provided a screen grab of my favorite. I’m sure Trey can tell us in the comments what Redd is packing. To my eye, though, they look like handguns.
I’m sure every voter in District 7 will share my outrage and bafflement about this. I mean, these people are still using MySpace?!
Update: Dave Levinthal at the DMN got an explanation from Redd. He said he’d been hunting quail and deer and had gotten some blood on his shirt, which is why he removed it for the photograph. Then, apparently realizing that not many people hunt quail and deer together — with handguns — he called Levinthal back and changed his story. This is one for the pantheon.
Jaap van Zweden Wows Em in Chi-Town
Over the weekend, Jaap van Zweden did another guest stint with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Says the Chicago Tribune:
Once again he scored a major success, lifting the performances well beyond the ordinary, infusing the entire orchestra with his intensity, spontaneity and penetrating musical vision.
I don’t know how conductors’ contracts work, but the DSO might think about giving this guy an extension now. Because methinks if he tests the free agent market, his price won’t go down.
Big Bad Bald News Over At InsideCorner
Looks Like Eric and I have a new partner and have now made being follicly-challenged the hip look of D Magazine. Tim? Zac? Wick? We can get a clipper over there soon.
UPDATE: Looks like I will join the BaD Radio crew over at The Ticket at 1:10 CDT to discuss stuff. I expect baseball to come up. Maybe the new arrangement on InsideCorner. Perhaps some talk about a nice refreshing beverage.
Team Impact Wants to Save Your Soul
In the current edition of the “print product,” I reported on a visit my 10-year-old son and I paid to Team Impact, an evangelical “feats of strength ministry” wherein big guys rip phone books in half, then save your soul. The article was accompanied by a wonderful illustration, so I thought I’d share some photos. (From left: blowing up the hot water bottle, preparing to get Medieval on a stack of boards, “making it rain” with a torn phone book.)
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Angela Hunt v. Wick Allison on the Trinity
Yesterday in the comments section to this post, Wick and Councilwoman Angela Hunt got into it over the Trinity (and I’m not talking Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Then, after they got into it, at about 2:30 this morning, they really got into it. So let’s get it all up in its own post, shall we?
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