Articles for September 11th, 2009

Has Jeremy Halbreich Saved Chicago Sun-Times?

Newspaper observer Allen Mutter has called the Sun-Times “jinxed.”  It may certainly seem so to the dissident shareholder group that took over the paper earlier this year. Under the leadership of Dallas newspaper exec Halbreich they may have pulled the feisty Chicago tabloid back from the brink. This week Mesirow Financial CEO James Tyree and a group of investors agreed to buy the battered paper, pending union concessions. Even so, nobody’s expecting a big payoff.

posted by Wick Allison | September 11th, 2009 5:16pm | filed under Media | 1 Comment »

From AMR to Exxon Mobil: DFW Companies Ranked on Gender-Identity Issues

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is set to release its 2010 Corporate Equality Index, which rates companies on a scale from 0 to 100 based on their treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees, customers and investors. Local outfits that scored the best (100) on the group’s new index include AMR Corp., AT&T, Brinker International, Haynes and Boone LLP, Sabre Holdings and Texas Instruments. Other DFW companies didn’t make out as well: Affiliated Computer Services managed a 60; Perot Systems Corp. got a 53; both RadioShack Corp. and Tenet Healthcare were given 40s; and BNSF Railway scored a 20. And, don’t even ask the HRCF about Exxon Mobil Corp., which hews to a hard line on “partner” policies and benefits. The oil giant received a big fat goose egg.

posted by Glenn Hunter | September 11th, 2009 3:02pm | filed under Business, Local News | 3 Comments »

A Handful of Not Great But Possibly Edifying Photos From Today’s Inaugural Ride on the Green Line

After the jump, you’ll get what the headline promises. And captions, which weren’t promised, but were probably implied.

(more…)

posted by Zac Crain | September 11th, 2009 2:25pm | filed under Transportation | 6 Comments »

Fire Facility Spiffed Up, Thanks to 9/11 Volunteers

IMG_1632Dallas Fire-Rescue’s Dodd J. Miller Jr. Training and Maintenance Facility is looking a lot better, thanks to the efforts of 450 volunteers from about 45 local companies. The volunteers pitched in today to plant shrubs and trees, paint classrooms and replace ceiling tiles at the Dolphin Road facility in South Dallas, improving the environment for 1,700 firefighters. It was all part of the eighth annual 9/11 service event called Freedom Day, hosted by the Entrepreneurs Foundation of North Texas, part of the Communities Foundation of Texas. Among the volunteers was a hearty contingent from D Magazine including D Home Design and Style Editor Peggy Levinson (pictured), who wielded a paint roller with the best of them.

posted by Glenn Hunter | September 11th, 2009 12:38pm | filed under Local News, Super Heroes | (0) Comments »

My New Favorite Calligrapher: Ken Brown

kenbrownLoyal readers of the “print product” will recall a little ditty I wrote about the Duckbill money clip back in March. I still love that thing. Highly recommended. Well, the guy who engraves the Duckbills (if you so choose) is a man named Ken Brown. He does calligraphic engraving with a dental drill, a process he taught himself. Well, you know who’s a loyal reader of the “print product”? Ken Brown is. After reading this story about how Spider Monkey and I nearly drowned in the Trinity (slight exaggeration), Ken sent over an engraved bottle of wine (pictured). Here’s the poem writ thereon:

A toast to the Trinity/ And surrounding muck./ A toast to the Matrix/ That didn’t get stuck./ A toast to the Monkey,/ While shooting the news,/ With brute force she pushed/ And Tim saved his shoes!

Now all I have to do is drink this thing before Spider Monkey reads this post and demands her share.

posted by Tim Rogers | September 11th, 2009 12:24pm | filed under Arts, Drinking, Giveaways | 5 Comments »

Where in the World Is Zac Crain?

The photo he just sent me is a pretty big clue.green

posted by Tim Rogers | September 11th, 2009 11:34am | filed under Local News | 5 Comments »

Geoffrey Orsak Won’t Drop the Engineering Debate, But Edges Closer to Conceding My Brilliance

Let me give you a hint on how to live a peaceful life. It’s simple.  Never write an editorial dissing engineers. I don’t want to suggest engineers are senstive, but if you ever have the misfortune of stepping on one’s toes, be ready to call an ambulance.

Luckily, Geoffrey Orsak, dean of SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering, doesn’t seem so easily perturbed, probably because as an academic he’s developed some tough skin and sharp elbows of his own. In the forthcoming issue of Design News, he continues the debate we started on KERA’s Think a couple of weeks ago about engineering and the city.

posted by Wick Allison | September 11th, 2009 8:42am | filed under Education, Urbanism | 3 Comments »

Leading Off (9/11/09)

1. The Green Line rail opens four stops on Monday, including Deep Ellum and the South Dallas area near Fair Park. People hope it will help revitalize these areas. Spoiler alert: It will help once these areas are revitalized. Sorry to break it to you.

2. Dallas’ longest-running creepy HBO drama, The Clergy, has clearly jumped the shark. I mean, a stockbroker-priest scandal? Ridiculous.

3. And congrats to the Midlothian middle-schooler who saved a classmate who was choking on a chocolate muffin. And now, please fill the comments holding bin with immature comments that will make me giggle before I delete them.

posted by Eric Celeste | September 11th, 2009 7:59am | filed under Education, Religion, Transportation | 9 Comments »