Articles for April, 2009

Leading Off (4/2/09)

1. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its Trinity floodway assessment. Grab a cup of coffee and settle in. Spoiler alert: they don’t like the levees. Mayor Leppert says, despite this huge double guns from the Corps, the bridges and toll road can still be built. Of course, the Trinity could turn into a Stygian river of fire and he would still say that, so I’m not telling you anything you couldn’t have guessed.

2. One of the jurors in the capital murder trial of Terome Omar Richardson — who allegedly killed Daniel Barron in an Oak Cliff drug house for $7 and some coke — can’t seem to stay awake.

3. Dirk Nowitzki outperformed Dwyane Wade in the second half, and a couple of crucial close calls went the Mavs’ way in the endgame in a 98-96 comeback win over the Miami Heat. It’s three years late, but I’ll take it.

posted by Zac Crain | April 2nd, 2009 7:18am | filed under Crime, Local News, Sports | 9 Comments »

Officer Robert Powell No Longer Officer Robert Powell

Because he’s resigned. His statement:

“With a heavy heart and great sadness, I resigned from the Dallas Police Department this morning. I made this decision in the hope that my resignation will allow the Dallas Police Department, my fellow officers, and the citizens of Dallas to better reflect on this experience, learn from the mistakes made, and move forward. I still hope to speak with the Moats family to personally express my deep regret, sympathy, and to apologize for my poor judgment and unprofessional conduct. I also want to apologize to my fellow officers. I have sincere respect and admiration for the men and women of the Dallas Police Department and the work they perform daily, and I wish them well.”

UPDATE: Just saw this, via Busted Coverage. It is allegedly a cache of the since-removed Xanga site of Robert Powell. A highlight (?):

The count downs begin:

18 days of work then the real work starts and I can shoot people

33 days then own apartment, with cable and high speed internet

So. This could have been a lot worse.

posted by Zac Crain | April 1st, 2009 2:56pm | filed under Local News, Police | 20 Comments »

Mark Cuban: “They Used to Drink and Smoke in the Locker Room, So I Can Think of Worse Things”

What’s Cubes talking about? Twitter, of course.

Should players be allowed to Twitter? Even during games?
Sure of course. During games, it depends on the coach. Different coaches have different routines during the fifteen minutes or whatever you have. Different players have different routines. If a part of a routine for a player is to change their uniform and just chill, catch their breath and there is nothing going on with the coaches … then fine, who cares.

Charlie Villanueva made a great point; a Twitter update is about the same as a halftime interview.
He is right. Before I took over for the Mavs back in the day they used to drink and smoke in the locker room, so I can think of worse things.

(H/T: Jonah Ballow, via TrueHoop)

posted by Zac Crain | April 1st, 2009 1:44pm | filed under Science&Technology, Sports, www. | 3 Comments »

Local Restaurateur Steve Hartnett Is Trying To Save Capitalism

Steve Hartnett, the man behind many local restaurants (Cool River, Fox & Hound, Flip’s, Bob’s Steak & Chop House in Grapevine, to name just a few), is also an astute futures trader. He’s a rich man and he is on a rabid campaign to make a difference. Hear him out:

Dear Friends and business associates,
About a month ago we sent out 1000 copies of the below letter to all the Senators, House members, administration folks, relevant government servants, along with hundreds to the media.  My/our goal is to support capitalism and reign in excessive pay packages.  We are receiving encouraging written response from government officials (SEC), senators and house members.  The most treasured hand written response came from billionaire John Bogle—founder of Vanguard.  To address the problems outlined in our letter he volunteered to serve with Warren Buffett in advisory capacity to our government.  He also offered his warm encouragement—advocating we “press on.”
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posted by Nancy Nichols | April 1st, 2009 12:38pm | filed under Business, Education, Hold On To Your Effin Hat, Law, Local News, Politics, Super Heroes | 32 Comments »

Alibaster K. Abthernabther Unmasked: Meet Geoff Johnston

Today, an era comes to an end. Alibaster K. Abthernabther, who has written a humor column for Quick for, um, a specific period of time, is quitting his gig. Alas. His last column will go live on their site tomorrow. The man behind the nom de plume has agreed to out himself on FrontBurner — since, in a way, we gave Alibaster his start (which we’ll get to in a second). To my mind, the Alibaster character is one of the funniest things to come out of Dallas. Thank God the Internet will memorialize it in perpetuity. Toward that end, last week I conducted a professional journalism-style instant message chat with Alibaster alter ego, Geoff Johnston (pictured). Enjoy:
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posted by Tim Rogers | April 1st, 2009 9:24am | filed under Media | 44 Comments »

Leading Off (4/1/09): April Fool’s Day Edition

1. The Dallas Cowboys just traded Tony Romo to the Denver Broncos for Jay Cutler. Gotcha! I’m only kidding!

2. Frito-Lay has launched a nationwide recall on its pistachios over fears of salmonella contamination. A Frito-Lay spokesman made a gesture toward his slacks and said: “I got your salty nuts right here!” No he didn’t! That’s a joke! I had you going there for a minute!

3. According to mandatory personal financial statements submitted this week by Dallas City Council candidates, District 7 challenger Chazz Redd owns 100,000 shares of Citigroup, which could cause a conflict of interest. Zing! Pow! That look on your face was priceless! Oh, man. Classic.

posted by Tim Rogers | April 1st, 2009 8:34am | filed under Local News | 13 Comments »
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