Articles for June, 2009
Texas AG: GM Can’t Close Texas Dealerships
Via the invaluable Quorum Report comes word that Greg Abbott has filed with the bankruptcy court to prevent GM for doing what GM desperately needs to do: close dealerships. To quote from Quorum Report:
“What GM is seeking to do is to gut Texas law,” Abbott said, adding that states have the right to regulate on behalf of auto dealers in order to prevent unfair trade practices. That right has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court as long ago as 1978, he said. “It is GM being the only auto manufacturer in the country who is seeking to evade the Texas structure and the Texas legal system that our legislators passed,” he said. Abbott said that Chrysler, which is also reorganizing under bankruptcy protection, has not sought to rework dealer agreements.
We’ll see what the judge thinks about his petition. But in fairness, after all the hooferall about Texas law, it is fair to point out that this bit of protectionism was passed at the behest of dealers — read, big campaign donors — and is less a states rights issue than a how-the-lobby-controls-the-Texas-Legislature issue. The judge, it is fair to assume, is not wearing blinders.
The Really Big News Of The Week
A new grocery store opened in South Oak Cliff. If you think Whole Foods was a big deal for East Dallas, it is nothing compared to what Save-A-Lot means to the area east of R. L. Thornton.
Why Jim Schutze Is Off Track (Part 17 In a Series)
Displaying his parochial colors, Schutze takes off on DART’s regional plan and, somehow, on “regionalism” itself. Ed Cognoski is not amused.
Leading Off, Ctd. (Cowboys Scoop)
My unique ability to irritate people is on full display today. Apparently, I annoyed Wick because he thought I hadn’t read Tim’s link to the Cowboys practice facility story yesterday. (Can’t prove that.) My point in putting up the links was to show that I thought the DMN wasn’t giving enough credit to the AP on that one story, primarily because they have broken all the big parts of this scandal so far. That led a FBvian to tell me that I’m too obsessed with this, that no one at the DMN cares about these little things.
Oh, but they do. Trust me, journalists are 30 times more thin-skinned than the sources they cover. And, to be fair, a friend inside the paper pointed out that the AP itself kind of skimped on mentioning the developments in the scandal to-date so it wouldn’t have to name the DMN several times in story.
My I’m not saying AP didn’t score a good interview that led to important material. I’m simply curious why AP, for its part, wouldn’t have folded in essential details that DMN been reporting for weeks — and AP has been putting on the wires with credits to us — in that same story. My theory is, AP wanted to focus on its exclusive. By citing that other material from our past work, it would be forced to credit the DMN more often throughout its story. If correct, then DMN isn’t the only one guilty of the violation you’re alleging.
Time To End Judicial Elections
The News this morning is right on the money: the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Caperton should kickstart a reform of the Texas judiciary, starting with the Legislative special session. The current Texas Chief Justice supports it. His predecessors, including John Cornyn, support it. What’s the argument against it?
American To Cut 1,600 Jobs
That’s the bad news. The good news is that it seems only 133 of them will be at DFW.
D Art Slam And Its Critics
Last week , over on RenegadeBus (which is a terrifc site, by the way) Lucia Simek published an interesting critique of our D Art Slam and my editorial about it. She wasn’t entirely happy with how I presented the event. In summary:
“…the impression the piece gives [is] that the successes in local art are happening in spite of – not because of – the city’s galleries and the artists they represent. He suggests to his readers that they need not look to these places to see what’s really good. “The lesson is to not pay attention to credentials. Pay attention to the art,” he says, and then promises to show his audience just what they’ve been waiting for, offering a new credential – the D Magazine stamp. It is precisely because D Magazine’s foray into the local art scene has the potential to reach a new and moneyed audience that this attitude is counterproductive, if not divisive and dangerous.”
Simek would have a valid point if her premise were correct. But it isn’t.
(more…)
Leading Off (6/12/09)
1. Former governor Bill Clements has given $100 million to UT Southwestern Medical Center, perhaps the largest such donation in Dallas history. Amazingly, the gift comes with no restrictions as to its use. (Note to future donors: If I’m in charge, that would be a bad idea. IJS.) When reached for comment, Clements, 92, said, “I did what?”
2. A day later, the News is reporting what we posted yesterday: The Dallas Cowboys knew when they built their practice facility that a similar structure built by the same company had collapsed. (Here’s the thing about this story: It was broken yesterday by Danny Robbins of the Associated Press, which is what you see on that link that takes you to the Star-Telegram. After that, the Morning News, which has to this point owned this story, called all the same sources and wrote up a story saying the same thing. Which is fine, except that when Danny Robbins follows a DMN story, he clearly states high up in the piece that the Morning News first reported it. The DMN editors didn’t do that. Kinda bugs me.)
3. DISD has proposed creating a high school for older students. This would alleviate concerns that there are 21-year-olds sitting next to 14-year-olds. Also, it would give Wooderson a place to hang out.
Dallas Economy “Bouncing Along The Bottom”
The Dallas Fed Biege Book gives this report:
Downward price pressures remain prevalent across industries. Staffing, legal and accounting firms continue to report pressure from clients to discount the price of their services. Retailers said selling prices were mostly steady, although prices of “day-to-day” goods continued to fall. Auto dealers said used car prices were holding up better than new car prices, and at least one contact expected domestic auto prices to drop further. Airline industry contacts noted substantial fare sales in recent weeks. Energy industry respondents said rates charged for routine wellhead work were under pressure as producers demanded concessions reflecting lower commodity prices and revenues.
You can get all the good news here, direct from the horse’s mouth.
UTSW Parking Garage Floods
An alert FrontBurnervian sends this image of a parking garage at UT Southwestern.
The Story of How Spider Monkey Saved Me From Drowning in the Trinity
I have just returned to my desk after piloting the Spider Monkey around town to take photos of the soggy destruction. After the jump, I bring you her work — plus the story of how she saved my life.
Dave & Buster’s: Managing Thru The Recession
Two days ago, I linked to an article on P. F. Chang’s secret to holding margins during tough times. Today, Dave & Buster’s is reporting good gains in margins even though business is down. Profit is up 3.7% while same-store sales are down 7.9%.
Home |
Masthead |
News from D |
About Us |
Contact Us |
Subscribe |
Advertise |
Privacy Policy |
Customer Service |
Awards | Archives | Reprints | d custom | Jobs | Advertiser's Index
Awards | Archives | Reprints | d custom | Jobs | Advertiser's Index