Articles for July, 2009
Robert Decherd Gives State Of the Media Report
The A.H. Belo CEO spoke to the Friday Club at the Fairmont today to a sizeable audience of journalists, investors, his major shareholder (hi, Brian, and thanks for the invitation), and retired people who like to attend luncheon meetings. Decherd was humble and humorous and, as usual, an excellent presenter, giving a very candid, pointed, and descriptive review of the state of the newspaper industry in general and the Dallas Morning News in particular. Jason Philyaw, a reporter for The Bond Buyer, was scribbling notes at our table, so I asked him to file a report, which he was kind enough to do and which appears, annotated, after the jump.
Hensarling On Cash For Clunkers, Ctd.
A qualm-having FBvian points out a drawback of the Cash for Clunkers program (official name: Cash Allowance Rebate System), which is only open to vehicles manufactured in 1984 or later that get 18 mpg or less:
I have a problem with the CARS program – not all cars older than 25 years are “classic” cars. Folks with these “clunkers” are out of luck because of this restriction.
Near as I can tell, the ‘84 cutoff was put in partly to appease classic-car owners, who feared the feds might start confiscating or otherwise messing with their older rides.
Matthew Stafford Is Preparing Very Seriously For His Rookie NFL Season, Ctd.
An Anchorman-enjoying FBvian offers a dissenting opinion:
I think that one thing that every red-blooded American male can agree upon is that the chief fringe benefit of becoming a highly-paid NFL quarterback is the amount of hot tail that flings itself your way (of course, Dirk could tell you that it’s also the nadir of being a highly-paid professional athlete in America, too). So why give Stafford a hard time — [play on words redacted just to be on the safe side] — about having fun with the ladies on what appears to be a July 4 party at the lake? It’s not like anybody’s at the Lions Practice Facility studying tape on July 4th.
In other words, give the kid a break. At least until he Dan Orlovsky’s his way out the back of the end zone for a safety.
As I replied: I mostly agree. But I forgot to mention I still think he has a chronic case of Cinder Block Head.
Hensarling On Cash For Clunkers: Why Not A Cash For Cluckers Program To Bolster Poultry Industry?
Dallas Congressman Jeb Hensarling had a few choice words about the Cash for Clunkers program, which the House voted to give an extra $2 billion today:
“Yes, people are hurting in the auto industry. There’s no doubt about it. But I would also note that the taxpayers are hurting. Eighty billion dollars to Chrysler and GM, but the auto industry does not have a monopoly on hard times in this economy. Recently, one of the largest poultry producers in America–Pilgrims Pride, just a few miles outside of my Congressional District–had to declare Chapter 11. Maybe we should have a ‘Cash for Cluckers’ program and pay people to eat chicken? Then after that we can have a program to pay people to buy TVs and then a program to pay people to buy lumber. It would pass the test. It has a clever title. It would help a large industry. It would put free money in the hands of consumers. But this is not a humorous affair. It’s not humorous because this is an extension of a program that has the government picking winners and losers. Why is the auto industry the winner? Why is the poultry industry the loser? This is one more step in enshrining us as a bailout nation.”
Hensarling, by the way, was on the losing side of today’s 316-109 vote.
Tarrant County Commissioners To Look Into Setting Up A Veterans Court
Given budget constraints (a phrase pretty much everyone should have on auto-fill), it might not happen this year, or it might get its start as part of the mental health court. A new state law allows Texas counties to set up such a thing, which would be similar to various other “problem-solving” courts (the ones that deal with drug offenders and mental health issues and so on), and a presentation should hit county commissioners’ desks in the next few weeks. As more veterans return home, it’s an idea whose time has come. And criminal judges look forward to the option.
“There are some dynamics affecting veterans that probably don’t affect the general population,” says Judge Brent Carr, who presides over County Criminal Court No. 9 and the county’s mental health court. “None of these programs can be all-comers. You have to be talented enough to pick the right person with the length of the program and the resources you have available so that they can successfully complete the program. You can’t treat the sociopath because that’s always going to be part of their personality.”
Dallas’ Brad Blauser Trying To Get Wheelchairs To Every Iraqi Kid Who Needs One
Brad Blauser moved to Baghdad in 2004 as a civilian contractor. But he gave up that job last year. He now provides part-time security consultation in exchange for room and board so he can focus on what has become his mission: trying to find a wheelchair for every Iraqi child that needs one, via his straightforwardly named Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids program. Since 2005, Blauser has delivered more than 650 pediatric wheelchairs, a great help for a country where, according to UNICEF, one in seven Iraqi kids between the ages of 2 and 14 is, in some way, disabled. Like, for example, 3-year-old Ali Khaled Irahim:
At 8 months old, Ali was struck by a mysterious fever that left him partially paralyzed. He cannot speak and experiences increasingly frequent and violent convulsions.
“Ali’s handicap affected the family a lot,” said his father.
His mother said she couldn’t carry out her daily chores and her “psychological state worsened.”
“When I heard the news of the distribution of these advanced wheelchairs, I was very happy deep down,” she said. “I thought maybe that will ease my work as a mother in the way I deal with my son.”
Today, Ali smiles at home as he sits in his new wheelchair. His siblings giggle and sprinkle his face with kisses. The toddler’s parents are thankful for the relief it has brought not only to Ali, but their entire family.
(Thanks to the sharp-eyed FBvian for the link.)
Matthew Stafford Is Preparing Very Seriously For His Rookie NFL Season
Deadspin has a round-up of Detroit Lions rookie QB (and Highland Park alum) strenuously preparing for his rookie season. You know: hitting the weights, memorizing the playbook, building a rapport with his receiving corps. Except the exact opposite of that. A sample:
U-S-A! U-S-A!
Belo TV Reports Profits Down, Things Stink
We tend to focus on A.H. Belo. Why? Because I like them? Because they mystify me? Because they keep inventing not-very-good print products that come suspiciously close to competing with me? Maybe it’s just because I’m a print guy who believes Dallas will have a newpaper ten years from now, produced by them or somebody else. So I follow them because I think it is a great business story, for good or for ill, that is unfolding before our very eyes.
Regardless, let us not neglect the spin-off broadcasting company, the one that has $1.069 billion in debt and today reported 2nd quarter earnings of $10.3 million, a 63 percent slide from last year (and last year wasn’t so hot either). The whole broadcasting sector is in a “state of disruption,” as business profs like to phrase it. For a description of how bad it is, a television GM in another market yesterday recommended I read Belo Broadcasting’s Annual Report.
You Have 3 Days To Avoid Legally Blonde
And do avoid it, says Elaine Liner over at Theater Jones. But if you have a hankering to drop by the Music Hall, you can always skip the musical and visit to Legally Blonde the Restaurant, says Nancy Nichols.
Leading Off (7/31/09)
1. The City Council kicked off its retreat at Garrett Creek Ranch in Paradise, where members will try to figure out how to solve the city’s budget deficit, set priorities for the new year, and see if Tripper can lead them to a victory over the rich jerks from Camp Mohawk.
2. The Dallas Zoo could get new ownership, as the City Council seems open to a plan to have it run by the Dallas Zoological Society. Dallas would still have to contribute annual lump-sum payments—which sound suspiciously to me like elephant loans.
3. And, high-end condo sales in Dallas are still suffering. This news brought to you by the years 2008 to 2011.
Author of Julie & Julia Was In Dallas Last Night
Julie Powell spoke at Arts & Letters Live last night at the DMN. After she finished her talk, I walked up to her and told her I didn’t like her one bit.
Tom Hicks Refinances Liverpool Loan, Ctd.
I got to wondering how Hicks — or Hicks Sports Group, whatever — who recently had to borrow money from MLB to make Rangers payroll, managed to retire his portion of the nearly $100 million in debt that made possible the refinancing of his $478 million Liverpool loan. I posed the question to a FrontBurnervian who isn’t afraid to theorize. He guesses:
I think that what happened with Hicks’ involvement with his Dallas teams was driven by the realities of his Liverpool co-ownership. Within the Premier League and Football Association, the members share mainly contract TV revenue from Sky B but are otherwise economic free agents in regard to the conduct of team finances. In short, there are no built-in safety nets — as available both through the MLB and/or NHL (although less so) — in terms of available emergency financing from the Premier League or league structural provisions that would pose a bar to foreclosure proceedings by lenders.
In his scramble to raise money for required debt retirement as a condition to rollover the Royal Bank of Scotland facility for Liverpool, Hicks knew that he could rely upon the collective support of the MLB and NHL. And as he had no structural supports available in Britain, it was more palatable for Hicks to default on his stateside obligations — which effectively, due to league and franchise rules, gave him a built-in stay of execution — than to face foreclosure as effected by Royal Bank of Scotland in Britain (where Hicks would have no ability to control his destiny in regard to the disposition of his Liverpool stake).
Not In My Neighbor’s Front Yard: Treehouse Controversy in University Park
The Johnson boys: breaking code and loving it.
Folks at our sister blog Overheard have been all over this treehouse story for more than a week, and now Good Morning America and the LA Times are getting into the mix. Intrepid community columnist Merritt Patterson reports that Brenk and Amanda Johnson, the parents who constructed a treehouse for their sons in the front yard of their University Park home, have been contacted by the national media outlets about the city’s threat to tear it down. The possibility of two cute kids (ages 8 and 6) losing their treehouse has caused quite a stir, but UP reps say city code restricts treehouses to the back yards of homes in University Park. It is unclear whether or not the city council will consider making an exception or change the code. Mr. Johnson, who says he spent 50+ hours building the treehouse and lost the tip of his thumb in the process, just wants his kids to have a treehouse—and doesn’t have a tree that can support a treehouse in the back yard. He was given 30 days to tear the treehouse down.
Report From Rick Perry’s Dallas Luncheon
Intern Bonathan has just returned from the Dallas County Republican Party luncheon for Rick Perry at Edison’s. Let’s jump.
Details of Brian Barnaud’s Memorial Service
Brian Barnaud was a longtime Dallas photographer and a frequent commenter on FrontBurner (when that was possible). He died last Friday of a heart attack, at the age of 46. Brian was a bright guy, and he was intimately involved with the rejuvenation of downtown and Deep Ellum. His friend Jeff Swaney sends along details for those who wish celebrate Brian’s life and mourn his passing. The service is just a little over an hour from now, but there’s a gathering tonight:
Please join us for a Memorial Service THIS THURSDAY, July 30, 2009 held at Restland Memorial Chapel at 3.30pm. Restland is located at 9220 Restland Road, Dallas, TX 75243. Thursday evening there will be a post memorial gathering at 7.30pm at Pepe & Mito’s in Deep Ellum. Happy hour prices and chips and dip will be provided. Pepe & Mito’s is located at 2911 Elm Street, Dallas, TX 75226. Pepe & Mito’s was one of Brian’s favorite haunts.
Worst Human In Dallas, Ctd.
Well, it now looks like the worst human in Dallas is either me (for posting this) or the mom (for making the story up). Either way, I apologize for the rush to judgment.
No, wait, the worst humans in Dallas are still Alfred and Abneris Santiago. But I do apologize.
Komen Founder Nancy Brinker To Receive Presidential Medal Of Freedom
The White House says that Nancy Goodman Brinker, founder of Dallas’ Susan G. Komen for the Cure, will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, on Aug. 12. Kudos!
Rep. Pete Sessions Gives $1.6 Million Of Your Money To a Blimp Project
Great story on Politico about Rep. Pete Sessions. The guy earmarked $1.6 million for a company that wants to build a fancy dirigible. As if that weren’t goofy enough, the company is based in a Chicago suburb, it has no experience building dirigibles, and its lobbyist is a former Sessions aide with a criminal record.
Dallas Multicultural Expert, Ctd.
A free-thinking FBvian maintains that, contrary to Ed Rincon’s point, stereotypes are generally accurate and helpful, and points to this piece to prove it.
Dallas City Councilman Sues Former Employee For Embezzlement
It’s beginning to look like Dallas City Councilman Dave Neumann has a little trouble balancing his check books. First, the Morning News reports in February that Neumann overspent a $16,400 budget the city set aside for him to run his office by $8,000. Now, Oak Cliff People, following a dallas.org post, is reporting that one of Neumann’s former employees embezzled more than $1.9 million from a women’s apparel company he owns with his wife, Frances.
Judge John Ovard Appoints Incompetent To Bench
Speaking of bar ratings, Judge Charles Sandoval had the lowest rating the last time the Collin County Bar did its evaluation. (Here’s another lawyers’ survey where he was given a grade of D.) He was subsequently defeated in the GOP primary (thank you, fellow Republicans!). The ex-judge has spent the last two years trying to cajole colleagues in Collin County to give him a temporary or visiting judging job, with no success. The Collin County Observer reports this morning that Judge John Ovard in Dallas finally came to rescue, appointing the lowest-rated judge in Collin County– a distinction hard to achieve, btw — as a visiting judge in June to drug courts in Dallas County. Interestingly, Dallas County prohibits defeated judges in Dallas County from serving as visiting judges. Perhaps it should extend that prohibition to other nearby counties, or pretty soon we’ll end up with a rotation of incompetent judges from Dallas in Collin, bad judges from Denton in Tarrant, bad judges from Tarrant to Collin, etc.
THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED: Thanks to the legal-observing FrontBurnervian who offered corrections.
Local Band Debuts Pajama-Inspired Clothing Line
Back when I was writing about music for the Observer, one of my favorite underdog bands was the Foxymorons, the Mesquite-born duo of Jerry James and David Deweese. Hadn’t thought about them in a while, at least until this morning, when a studio-owning FrontBurnervian passed along this blurb from Valet. mag about James and Deweese’s new pajama-inspired clothing line, American Viceroy. The FBvian even helped pick out a quote from said blurb:
Casual, idiosyncratic and a tad preppy, the pieces are more Wes Anderson than Hugh Hefner. “Yeah, Hefner is the antithesis of what we’re doing,” says Jerry James, who co-designs the line with David Dewese—both native Texans who run the American-made label’s operation (including production) out of Fort Worth.
Dallas Multicultural Expert Recalls Another Stereotyping Incident By The Cambridge Police
Whatever you think about the Cambridge, Mass., flap that’s led to today’s beer-drinking session at the White House, Dallas’ Edward T. Rincon says it was “not an isolated incident” with the Cambridge Police Department. Rincon, president of multicultural research firm Rincon & Associates, recalls a 1999 Dallas Morning News story describing how Cambridge training officers once contended that pepper spray doesn’t work on Mexican-American suspects. Why not?, the cops were asked. Their answer: because “Mexicans grow up eating too much spicy food, and because they spend so much time picking peppers in the fields.” Rincon says the remark, which drew outrage from Latino groups and a quick apology from the cops, “illustrates the power of stereotypes and how easily they can be translated to public policy.”
Tom Hicks Refinances Liverpool Loan
A soccer-loving FrontBurnervian points us to news that Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. have gotten themselves out of trouble on their bank loan across the Pond. They will pay back about $100 million of the original $478 million they borrowed to buy the team and then refinance the rest.
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