Articles for August 26th, 2009
Verbal Atrocities of the North Texas Commission
I just had a pleasant chat with Dan Petty, the president and CEO of the North Texas Commission. I’m pleased to report that not once during our talk did he refer to our region using the M-word. This is notable (and Tim noted they were moving away from it last year) because they invented the phrase.
They confirmed that “North Texas” is their now preferred term. Sure, some people elsewhere in the country still think they’re talking about the Panhandle. But they think that will all change when the national spotlight begins to focus on the region next year in the lead up to Super Bowl XLV. By the time the big game is played in early 2011, they expect everyone from Anchorage to Key West will know that North Texas means Dallas-Fort Worth and its surroundings.
In the meantime, Mr. Petty asked that I get Wick’s opinion on another term he hopes will gain some traction. He didn’t coin it, but he’d like to make it the mindset of organizations across the region: (more…)
When Ross Perot Questioned I.M. Pei
Dallas’ much-praised Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center turns 20 years old next month, and one of the people behind its success is EDS founder Ross Perot, who ponied up $10 million to build the place. During an event at NorthPark Center last night to announce a Sept. 12 gala marking the Meyerson anniversary, the diminutive billionaire recalled an early exchange he had with I.M. Pei, the symphony hall’s world-renowned architect. Perot noticed that some of the center’s ceiling tiles were cut at different angles, and he asked Pei why. The architect replied it was because he wanted the ceiling tiles to match the floor tiles exactly. “Who would ever notice that?” Perot asked. Replied Pei: “I will!” To which Perot said: “Well, you are I.M. Pei–and I am ‘I Will Pay.’ “
Mark Cuban’s Theater Chain Coming to Highland Park Village
It looks like Cubes’ movie company is movin’ on up. Sarah Scott, of People Newspapers fame, is reporting that Landmark Theaters will be the new operator of Highland Park Village’s theater space once renovations are completed in May.
What Will Be the Next Thing to Go Wrong At Cowboys Stadium?
It seems every football columnist and talking head from every media outlet in the history of ever has chimed in on the ridiculous “punts hitting the giant TV” debacle. Listen: love him or hate him, Jerry Jones is doing the exact right thing here. He asked the league. They signed off on the height. He’s holding his ground until they pony up some cash to raise it up 20 feet. So there.
But we know the rest of the season won’t pass without people pointing the flamethrowers at the new stadium a few more times. What are the likely culprits? A short list, off the top of my head:
• concession prices
• something to do with tailgating
• parking and/or traffic
• the team
• the Native American burial ground it is built on top of
DSO’s Challenge: Trying to Hold on to Jaap
Like many bosses, Dallas Symphony Orchestra president Doug Adams is concerned these days about retaining a key employee. In Adams’ case it’s Jaap van Zweden, the DSO’s widely praised music director. “He’s magic,” Adams (pictured here) says of van Zweden. Unfortunately for Dallas, the conductor’s white-hot allure makes him appealing to other, bigger orchestras that might try to steal him away. So the key now, Adams says, is to make the DSO so attractive that the Dutch-born conductor doesn’t want to leave. That means pumping more dough into the orchestra, Adams says, making it bigger and attracting the greatest musicians. Toward that end, he adds, the DSO will be unveiling a strategic new campaign soon to raise money and awareness.
SideDish Readers Tell Gross and Funny Stories
Yesterday on SideDish, I asked readers to report the worst meal they ever ate in Dallas. Close to 100 people replied with their tales of woe. Really funny stuff.
A. H. Belo a Hot Stock!
Or to be exact, an active one, according to last night’s list from the Wall Street Journal. For how long is open to question, as the Journal reports:
A.H. Belo Corp.’s (AHC, $3.56, -$0.14, -3.78%) shares slid as peers gained slightly, leaving analysts questioning the move. The stock has more than tripled since mid-July and is up 61% so far this year. Morningstar analyst Tom Corbett said the sector has seen a substantial rally since the last reporting period, driven by investors rewarding “trenchant levels of cost-cutting” that aren’t sustainable. He adds on that basis, stocks have gotten ahead of themselves and he wouldn’t be surprised at a pullback.
Leading Off (8/26/09): Done With an iPhone While Walking Briskly on a Treadmill Edition
1. Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher says the recession has ended. Isn’t that a little reckless? I mean, let’s not taunt the recession like that, eh, buddy?
http://m.dallasnews.com/tdmn/db_22036/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=J2RKspAh&src=cat
2. The battle over illegal aliens continues. Biologists are trying to figure out if the dreaded and feared zebra mussel has found its way into Lake Lavon. Look for Farmers Branch to pass an ordinance aimed at keeping them out of that city’s apartments.
http://m.dallasnews.com/tdmn/db_22036/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=VYOdTnU5&src=cat
3. A woman returning to DFW Airport from her grandmother’s funeral says that a portrait of the selfsame grandmother was stolen at the airport. She thought her husband packed the painting; he thought she did. Just doesn’t make sense to me that someone would steal it. Sounds very “Home Alone.” I bet the painting is right now rigging a series of booby traps to defend the airport against Islamic jihadists.
http://m.dallasnews.com/tdmn/db_22036/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=yBjkWPC3&src=cat
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