Maybe all you wise FrontBurnervians already knew this, but I’m reading this morning that the first health insurance plan in the country originated right here in Dallas, at Baylor University Medical Center:
For its beginnings we need to go back to 1929 to a man named Justin Ford Kimball when he became vice president of Baylor University in Dallas, Texas. He was an experienced administrator, as he headed the College of Medicine, School of Nursing, College of Dentistry, and the university hospital.
Soon after taking the job, he developed a health plan that guaranteed teachers 21 days of hospital care for 50 cents a month. The plan soon spread to other employee groups in Dallas, and then similar plans began to crop up nation-wide.
Yes, that Justin F. Kimball. And I read about it on two different websites, so come on, it’s got to be true, right? Maybe Dallas is the best place to figure out a new model of health care.
No kidding. Wade is tweeting now. Follow him at twitter.com/sonofbum. Some samples of his work:
“I don’t have as much time as Marty B to tweet—keep up with him and you will have fun”
“saw Julie and Julia thought it was good”
One of our contributing editors has an op-ed piece in the DMN today. Trey writes about the upcoming Obama address to schoolchildren. He says:
I know some people will say that we live in a democracy, he’s the national leader and the people voted for him. Those people are wrong on all three counts. We’re a republic. He’s the president of a federation of states. And a majority of the members of the electoral college voted for him.
You should read the rest of the piece. And then get really angry. Or super supportive. And then send Trey an e-mail: trey@treygarrison.com.
1. A damning revelation in the Don Hill corruption case, according to this story. Prosecutors played a tape of Hill linking payments to votes. He is quoted as saying the following:
“They need to get $50,000 to $100,000 together and get it to y’all by the end of the week. If I don’t see any money, I’m not voting on no maintenance contract.”
But, see, I think this absolves him. He says I’m not voting on no contract, suggesting he would vote on any contract. Double negative. Right? Right? Bueller? Bueller?
2. Former President George Bush tapped James Glassman to run his new policy institute at SMU, the News is reporting. This is important for two reasons. One, it gives hope to journalists that they can turn writing gigs into paying gigs someday. Two, his last name gives blog commenters an easy target.
3. The kids from Allen High School bonded with Mexican high schoolers from Prepa Tec of Monterrey before the two teams played each other last night. I blame Obama.
At a commercial real estate symposium presented by the North Texas CCIM chapter today, Mayor Tom Leppert said Dallas and Texas are poised to benefit from other states’ economic woes. Touting our low taxes and favorable regulatory climate, Leppert said he just got a letter from the head of a big New Jersey company who said “we’re looking more and more at relocation.” The mayor said he also thinks another large company on the East Coast will move to Dallas, as will a 400-employee company now based in California. Dallas is holding on to companies as well, Leppert said, pointing to one firm that recently considered leaving downtown for the ‘burbs, but decided in the end to stay put. “They need good young people,” he said, “and young people want to live downtown.”
Christopher Mosley, who apparently has band-commitment issues, now looks to be campaigning for a job running Plano’s Convention and Visitors Bureau. He writes:
As far as Plano, I have an actual interest in its history. People get put off by the fact that I have books about Plano, “Plano Texas: The Early Years,” “Plano: An Historic Walking Tour,” etc. when they come over. So I don’t like to just randomly take shots at the town without at least understanding the evolution behind the place and its inhabitants.
Indeed, part of the interview I quoted from is quite the history lesson: (more…)
In May, I suggested that I (and much of the world) didn’t believe Cristal Taylor when she said she was preggers with Dirk’s baby. Turns out we were right. Wondering if Brett Shipp is going to go back on the Ticket and explain again just what a jerk Dirk was for not visiting his pregnant girlfriend in jail. (Brett, luv ya bro.)
Anyone get tape of this, Glenn? Man, I wish I could have been there.
So says the luxury retailer on its numbers compared to the same month last year.
Was it backlash from all those people who ordered ocelot fur and got goat? Or was it cava?
Give this to Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert: When he’s sticking to a script, he sticks to the script. In the wake of Carol Reed’s disclosure yesterday that Leppert is indeed exploring a run for Kay Bailey Hutchison’s Senate seat, I tried today to get the mayor to confirm or deny it. During the Q&A at a Fairmont Hotel real estate symposium, I asked: “I was wondering how you–as a former CEO in the private sector–would have looked on a key employee who was said to be considering jumping ship before he’d finished the job he was hired to do?” “I’m just trying to make it through the week,” Leppert fired back, without missing a beat. “I feel really good about what we’ve done in Dallas. … I’m excited about what we’ve done and where we are. And that’s what I can tell you.” Seriously, though, how about that question, CEOs; what would your answer have been?
In other words, Lisa Loeb is pregnant. After the sister-blog-blogging FBvian sent me this link to the People story, I had one question: How did Kevin Federline from five years ago manage to impregnate the erstwhile Dallasite?
Yes, yes. This is fun to crow about. Forbes lists the top 10 “cultural tourism capitals” of the country. Dallas comes in at No. 7 (behind No. 6 Atlanta, ahead of No. 8 Houston, and crushing No. 10 San Francisco). This fact will no doubt soon show up on the CVB’s website, as it should. But just hang on a second. Check out the methodology:
To determine America’s top cities for cultural tourism, we measured the number of 2008 overnight visitors to each of the 40 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country, factoring in the number of cultural institutions — including museums, sports teams, and live theater and concert venues — according to New York-based AOL City Guide, an online database of local businesses, restaurants, cultural institutions and bars.
So it’s largely based on how many people visit each city. Whether they were here for the Texas-OU game or the Nasher we don’t know. And the number of cultural institution was factored in? How? In other words, there’s no qualitative measure here at all. It’s tough to build a ranking with qualitative measures, I know, but how about polling the country’s culture critics? That could have been interesting.
P.S. Yes, I realize that Forbes story went up August 20. But it’s new to me.
A university-lecturing FBvian has a suggestion for Jim Moroney III of The Dallas Morning News:
I showed your posting to my broadcast management students today as we were discussing media mergers and alliances. One student suggested the DMN (or Star-T) partner with a cable outlet so their subscribers would have access to the paper’s online content as a part of the cable service. Both cable and the paper get paid, subscriber feels he/she is getting added value. Tell Mr. Moroney he can thank my student later. Perhaps with a check.
Back in July, the WSJ wrote about how Dallas is a water hog (though as Rod Davis reported in the “print product,” that ain’t necessarily so). Now CNN is taking its turn. An alert FBvian points us to the video:
It ain’t like getting caught with 5,000 pounds of weed in the back of your good-times van (hello, Nate Newton), but Eugene “Mean Gene” Lockhart was indicted on mortgage fraud charges and arrested at his Carrollton home. Here’s my question: Lockhart allegedly ran his scheme using companies with names that hark back to his former employer. E.g., “America’s Team Mortgage” and “Cowboys Realty.” How are those not a violation of trademarks owned by the Cowboys?