Hank Stuever is one of the best writers in the country. He’s a Pulitzer finalist. Works at the Washington Post. Smart guy. Funny. And if you’ve been following along at home, you know that he wrote a book called Tinsel, which is, on its surface, about Christmas in Frisco. But it’s really about suburban America and our consumer culture. Great book. We excerpted it in our December issue.
Steve Blow hasn’t read the book, but he has an opinion about it. Here’s a post he put up yesterday:
I’m sure Hank Stuever is a very talented writer. But ever since I heard about his book on how Christmas is celebrated in Frisco, I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to read it.
Well, after reading most of the excerpt in yesterday’s Washington Post, I stand by that judgment. I couldn’t even bring myself to finish the excerpt.
Maybe it’s all just too familiar to me but somehow deeply fascinating to outsiders.
The various exotic tribes and cultures covered in National Geographic probably find those articles boring and obvious, too.
Seriously. He wrote that. A newspaper columnist working in the fifth-largest media market in America actually wrote that.
You know what? As long as Steve Blow is working at the Dallas Morning News, none of the other stuff matters. The editors reporting to salespeople? It doesn’t matter. Because whatever changes are made there, they will all be overshadowed by the fact that one of the paper’s most high-profile writers is such an embarrassment.
1. Call it the St. Michael Melee. The All Angels Altercation. The Douglas Avenue Donnybrook. Two heavyweights of the Episcopal episcopacy go head to head early Saturday in a war of words, battling for the very soul of the church. And there will be free coffee and donuts. At issue: whether belief in Jesus is the only path to salvation.
2. The White Rock Marathon is on Sunday. Apparently when times get rough economically, people turn to their inner Forrest Gump: “There’s so much in life that’s negative,” said Chuck Dannis, the White Rock Marathon board’s chairman emeritus. “Running is a way to release those tensions. People feel good about themselves when everything else is falling apart.”
3. Wick killed Renegade Bus.
Our DallasDirt diva shares her insights about Dallas real estate, Preston Hollow, and President Bush. And, no, she doesn’t reveal her real age.
God bless nonprofit journalism. The Texas Tribune put up an awesome application today that lets you look at red-light camera statistics and locations from all over the state.
From July 2008 through June 2009, Duncanville’s camera at U.S. 67 and Danieldale Road is the state champ, and the only intersection to generate more than $1 million in revenue. If Arlington’s Cooper Street and Pioneer Parkway can push just a little bit harder, it might be able to hit seven figures itself in the next year.
By comparison, Dallas’ biggest moneymaker was Lovers Lane and Northwest Highway (Location unknown: See update), with a paltry $777,735. (Wait, Lovers Lane intersects Northwest Highway?) Looks to me like there’s some real potential out there at Loop 12 and Northwest Highway. They generated $655,988 and still managed to have 54 crashes. Surely there’s some law-breaking that not even the camera is catching.
Time to pull this data into an Excel spreadsheet and have some real fun…
UPDATE: So Lovers Lane does intersect Northwest Highway, but there’s no traffic light there. Further, it’s not on the latest list of red-light camera locations from the city. So what intersection does Texas Tribune mean?
UPDATE UPDATE: Texas Tribune has answered in the comments. It’s Central and Lovers that brings in the most revenue of the red-light cameras in Dallas.
James Huffines, son of the late Dallas auto dealer J.L. Huffines, says he’s stepping down from his position as chairman of the University of Texas System Board of Regents. Huffines, who’s also a honcho with Dallas-based PlainsCapital Bank, explained his surprise decision this way: “I’m burned out.” Gotta give him points for candor.
Anybody in the market for an Arlington hotel? Some raw land in McKinney? You might get ‘em cheap. After hearing for awhile that commercial real estate will be the “next shoe to drop” in the fledgling recovery, we could see a bunch of shoes dropping when CRE Auction Group puts 28 commercial real estate properties up for auction at Prestonwood Country Club next week. Southlake-based CRE , which is teaming with Henry S. Miller Brokerage on the Dec. 15 event, hopes it’s the first of many similar auctions to come. Minimum bids will be placed on each of the offerings–total full-market value: around $100 million–and the bulk sale will be webcast as well. “This is reminiscent of the late ’80s and early ’90s, when the [Resolution Trust Corp.] held auctions in hotel ballrooms,” says Bill Vaughan, CRE’s president and CEO. “It’s definitely the biggest here in a decade–and maybe close to two decades.”
Krista mentioned this morning that U.S. News and World Report ranked the Dallas ISD’s Talented and Gifted magnet and the Science and Engineering magnet among the best high schools in the entirety of the nation for 2009. Even though they were ranked Nos. 5 and 8, respectively, out of thousands of high schools in the country, this has to come as a bit of a disappointment.
That’s because those schools are used to topping the list (No. 1 and No. 2) of best high schools in the country, as designated by Newsweek. (Not to mention Highland Park High School, which falls from No. 23 to No. 71.) What the what?
The discrepancy comes from the differing methodologies. It boils down to the fact that Newsweek focuses purely on how many students at a school take an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exam (not how well those students do on those tests.) U.S. News and World Report gives much greater weight to the number of students that achieve a passing grade on the test, not just participation. When first reading this, I was entirely on the side of U.S. News and World Report (how well you do should matter), but then I saw this interesting line of argument from Newsweek: (more…)
In the current issue of D CEO, the general manager of KTVT-TV (CBS 11) and KTXA-TV (TXA 21), Steve Mauldin said he’d make his 10 p.m. newscast No. 1 in the market. And he did (at least briefly).
He’s been so successful that he’s now apparently jumping ship, headed to LA.
(H/T: Unfair Park)
Your present came early FrontBurnervians. God bless us, everyone. And God bless Kyle Kearbey and her video camera.
Doctors have been demonized lately as “greedy”–out to pad their wallets by performing unnecessary surgeries. They’re facing reams of new red tape that soon will make practicing more costly. And they’re about to be squeezed even further on reimbursements. So I was surprised this week by the weary response of a physician-acquaintance–a Dallasite who works longer, tougher hours than any six guys on a construction site–when asked about national health care “reform,” which now seems likely to pass. “What are you gonna do?” he shrugged, waving one hand. “I’ve decided to subscribe to the Clayton Williams philosophy. You know, if it’s gonna happen, you might as well relax and enjoy it.”
Ever wonder what happened to Kristine Kahanek after she was dismissed from Channel 11? Wonder no more. She has authored a weather-related kiddo book titled Katie and the Magic Umbrella on Snowflake Trail. It’s about a little girl named Katie who has a magic umbrella that she takes with her on trip to Snowflake Trail. She’ll sign copies and read at Legacy Books on December 18, from 6 to 8 p.m.
I love lists, so I can’t believe I missed this. A commenter pointed out that two DISD schools finished in the Top 25 of U.S. News and World Report’s Best High Schools. The School for the Talented and Gifted at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center is No. 5, and the School of Science and Engineering Magnet is No. 8. Highland Park High School came in at No. 71.
Over on our ReadingRoom blog, Christine Allison has been asking people what they are currently reading. You know who reads a lot? City Manager (and former librarian) Mary Suhm. Check out her list.
1. Congratulations, us! Dallas is now considered one of the top 10 terrorist targets. Apparently, that’s a good thing. It means more money for security. Some of the reasons that got Dallas pushed to the top of the list? Population growth, sports venues, economic impact, and good ole George W. moving here. Boston and Philadelphia were two other cities that moved to the top of the list. A grant allows for $832.5 million to be allocated to 64 cities. Of that money, 63 percent goes to the top 10 targets. Of the top 10, Boston is the only city that will get less than Dallas. So, we’re on the list, we’re just at the bottom of the top of the list. Still. Congrats.
2. I’m a sucker for a good motivational story. This upcoming Sunday’s White Rock Marathon gives me an outlet for plenty of these stories. Check here, here, or this story from our print product here for some motivation to lace up those sneakers and go for a run. Or maybe it’s just enough to inspire you to do a little more reading while eating peanut butter cups and vowing to run next year (whoever decided to put chocolate and peanut butter together is just plain brilliant).
3. New numbers released about sales tax indicate the economy is not faring as well as some had hoped. But you know what? It’s okay. You know how I know? Because it’s worse elsewhere.
“Revenue declined nearly a third in Midland, 22 percent in Round Rock, and 17 percent in Houston. Beaumont was among Texas’ hardest-hit cities, with collections dropping 36 percent. Statewide, revenues were down nearly 15 percent.”
Revenues only declined 5.3 percent in Dallas. So, congrats, I guess.