Articles for December 17th, 2009
Cupcake Car Demolishes David Letterman’s Set
During a segment on Christmas toys, David Letterman tore a path of destruction through the set of the Late Show tonight with one of Neiman Marcus’ $25,000 cupcake cars.
ShopTalk Has a New Format: Sales and Deals
Perhaps you’ve noticed that in the last few weeks, our shopping blog has come into focus. It’s now the daily destination for the Dallas deal seeker—which is especially handy for holiday shopping in these troubled times. In addition to sales, we’ve got solid info about affordable presents, so take a look. Speaking of gifts, you might want to browse our exclusive holiday gift guide for ideas for everyone on your list. Know a foodie? Then check out Todd Johnson’s piece in the current issue of D Home. If you’re looking for a dose of humor with your shopping inspiration, look no further than Laura Kostelny’s gift guide for her famous Dallas friends.
London Deal Closes, Bolstering Dallas’ e-Rewards
Hal Brierley of Dallas’ e-Rewards online-research company says he just added the “easiest $75 million in revenue” to his company ever without getting on a plane. He’s talking about e-Rewards’ acquisition of London-based Research Now plc, an outfit that’s in the same line of business, for $140 million. “The deal is done,” Brierley says, “and it has been celebrated.” After getting the green light from a London court on Monday, the acquisition takes the Dallas company from $105 million in annual revenue to $180 million–and from 350 employees to nearly 800. Brierley (pictured) had been chairman and CEO of e-Rewards, but he’s giving up the latter post in favor of Chris Havemann, previously the CEO at Research Now.
Super Bowl XLV Has 12 Million-Dollar Sponsors
That’s the latest count from the Super Bowl XLV Host Committee, which has had a goal of securing 15 of these $1 million contributors. (Some are providing services or resources in kind rather than just cash.) Among the latest to join are Gene and Jerry Jones, who have pledged $1 million to fund the host committee’s portion of the NFL’s Youth Education Town.
There are two other big corporate sponsors that have not yet been announced officially. Should be made public early next year, and they are big names.
The Observer’s love letter to Roger Staubach this week says the Texas Rangers are a million-dollar sponsor. I’m told by the committee that the original intention was for the Rangers to be the name behind the money. But because of the limbo in which they exist pending their sale, it looks like it’s officially owner Tom Hicks’ contribution.
As for the economic impact figure for Super Bowl XLV that’s touted — $500 million — I was surprised to see that presented as a fact, and not coated with the Observer’s usual skepticism and desire to poke a stick into the eye of the man. (more…)
Annual Tipping Conundrum: Some Q’s and A’s
It’s that time of the year again to pause for a moment and reflect seriously on things. Things like, how much dough to tip the people who provide you with services all year. (KRLD’s got a poll up on tipping today.) So, for sure I know you’re supposed to give housekeepers an amount equal to the cost of one regular visit. But, how much do you tip your haircutter? And, do you still pony up if he or she owns the shop? And what about mail-delivery people and garbage collectors? If you work away from home, how do you get a tip into the garbage folks’ hands? Pinning something to your tied-off Hefty bag probably isn’t smart.
Can Traffic Congestion Be Good for Dallas?
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is looking for money to fund new road construction projects, and the need for them seems rather clear. As Rodger Jones points out on the DMN’s transportation blog, three Dallas area roads make the top 10 in a list of congested Texas roadways. But is traffic congestion necessarily a bad thing? While studies have shown (including this British survey from 2006 and this Maryland study from 2002) that widening roads and adding new roads are not effective in reducing congestion, congestion itself offers some benefits to dense urban areas that are accessible to multiple means of transport, like Dallas’ urban center. Congestion offers an incentive for commuters to use alternative means of transportation and move closer to their places of employment, while offering businesses an incentive to locate near public transportation hubs. While wider roads may make it a little easier to get out to the ‘burbs in the short run, long term congestion could mean more economic development right where Dallas wants it: in its core.
The Fake Gerry Fraley Causes Problems on Twitter for the Real Gerry Fraley
There has been much hubbub on Twitter about a person tweeting as DMN sportswriter Gerry Fraley under the name BioDome10. The fake Fraley tweeted that Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry has died before the news made its way to mainstream channels. The fake Fraley even tweeted that the real Fraley, DMNGerryFraley, was actually the impostor. Are you following all this? I’m happy to have cleared it all up.
Leading Off (12/17/09)
1. A couple companies that (wrongly?) requested extra amounts of the scarce H1N1 vaccine back when it was forecasted everyone would get the virus and become very ill have been cleared after an investigation. It appears it was simply a “misunderstanding.”
One misunderstanding was a typo: Star Medical Group had intended to serve 50,000 close contacts of infants 6 months or younger but accidentally registered for 500,000.
So what does all this tell us? That people are not always great in a crisis. But when that crisis ends up not being that much of a crisis, people are really forgiving. And everyone lives happily ever after.
2. Some parents are just selfish. Their kids each gave a quarter to raise enough money to buy their Frisco principal a designer handbag for her birthday. And now the parents are complaining that the gift sent the wrong message and the money should have been raised for a charity instead. Sheesh. What would the principal have worn with her designer shoes (last year’s birthday gift) if the kids didn’t come through this year? The principal found out about the surprise and ended up donating the money. Again, this was just a misunderstanding.
3. Thirteen city of Dallas employees in the water department have filed a lawsuit claiming racism at the workplace. They were threatened and intimidated by graffiti on bathroom walls. (I think the same could be said for the male employees of D.) And maybe this situation with the water department is all just a misunderstanding, too. Maybe.
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