Articles for January, 2010
Leading Off (1/18/2010)
1. I like the idea of the convention center hotel funding the much-needed second downtown DART alignment. If that deal was on the table at the time of the vote, it would have influenced this voter, at least. Only, please, everyone stop talking about urban renewal around the convention center. Loads of makeup salespeople traveling through underground tunnels directly into a hotel, whose design is already at odds with the surrounding streets, is not going to do anything for downtown street life. Really, it’s not.
2. If you talk to the heads of local arts organizations you hear an often repeated complaint: it’s difficult to raise money in this town now that the AT&T Performing Arts Center has turned out the pockets of Dallas’ philanthropists. How hard is it out there? Now the PAC itself is faced with stagnant fundraising.
3. Oh, and classless? Doesn’t matter.
Belo Should Admit Debate Snafu, Let Medina In
Belo Corp. and The Dallas Morning News have painted themselves into a corner on the GOP gubernatorial debate they’re sponsoring Jan. 29. Days before Thursday’s public-TV debate in Denton, which featured Gov. Rick Perry, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and libertarian/constitutionalist Debra Medina, Belo declared that Medina wouldn’t be allowed to join their upcoming party, for a variety of (sometimes labored) reasons.
Then something happened: the constitutionalist performed so well Thursday that some observers–including an analyst for CBS11–say she might have “won” the thing. Now the DMN/Belo is scrambling to defend its call against an onslaught of criticism. (If you don’t believe it, read the 80-plus commenters to the Trail Blazers post.) I have a simple solution for the Dallas-based media company: admit you made a bad decision, reverse it ASAP, and allow Medina to have her say on stage. It’s the right thing to do, guys.
National Nonprofit Taps Dallas CEO
Fritzi Woods has made her mark on Dallas’ business scene, holding a top post at The Dallas Morning News/Belo and turning around PrimeSource FoodService Equipment. A couple of years ago, she was a finalist for Ernst & Young’s prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year award. Now Woods (pictured) is moving onto the national stage to become president and CEO of the Minneapolis-based Women’s Foodservice Forum. The WFF is a leadership and education group for women in the food-service industry, and the industry’s key voice on gender diversity. Woods won’t be abandoning her hometown, though. “I’ll be commuting to Minnesota a lot initially,” she says. She doesn’t know how long she’ll commute after starting the new gig in May, but says the forum’s Minnesota lease expires in 2011. So, might she move the nonprofit to Dallas at that point? Says Woods: “That’s definitely an opportunity.”
Pickets Target Local Canadians, Eh?
The folks at the Canadian Consulate General here must be the most evil people in the world. Awhile back, their offices at St. Paul Place–which also houses D Magazine–were targeted by protesters who said Canada likes to club baby seals to death. These days the consulate is being picketed regularly by the Texas Carpenters & Millwrights Regional Council, which calls it a “bad corporate citizen” for “desecration of the American way of life.” (The council’s handouts depict a rat chewing on an American flag.)
The council contends the Canadians are allowing one of their hired subcontractors at 500 N. Akard St.–where the consulate is constructing new offices–to provide wages and benefits that fail to meet area standards. We don’t know what the consulate says, because it hasn’t returned phone calls first placed late last year. Another thing we do know, though, is that the Akard Street protesters (pictured) are downright musical with their earsplitting chants. First Tom, a big guy in a white cowboy hat, yells out, “Who’s a rat?!” Then the picketers respond with the name of the sub.
Never a dull moment in the big city.
The People Living in The Path of Adamson’s Progress
Much has been written about the buildings involved in DISD’s plan to build a new Adamson High School just blocks from the current one.
What’s made fewer headlines are the people who stand to lose their homes and jobs when the school district acquires their property — either by negotiating the sale of the property with the current owner or through eminent domain.
This is their side of the story: (more…)
Neiman’s Names New Men’s Fashion Director
With a name like Nickelson Wooster, how can you not be men’s fashion director for Neiman Marcus?
Wait, he’s got more tattoos than I expected.
You’ll remember that Tommy Fazio, the previous men’s fashion director, left the company last fall — reportedly because he wasn’t too happy about having responsibility for both the Neiman’s and Bergdorf stores.
UPDATE: I’m told Wooster’s Facebook page (linked above) has disappeared. You can still find his photo on Twitter.
JCPenney Earns Customer Service Honors
Earlier this week, the National Retail Federation Foundation released the results of its 2009 Customers’ Choice Awards. Plano-based JCPenney landed in the top 10 (No. 9). The department store has routinely ranked high in the last four years of this nationwide survey.
The only other North Texas company to crack the top 50 this year was Fort Worth’s Radio Shack (or “the Shack,” or whatever it is they want to be called these days.)
Scott Diener Leaves Channel 11 “Rudderless”
NewsBlues (sub. req.) is reporting that Channel 11’s news director, Scott Diener, has left the station to join his buddy Steve Mauldin in Los Angeles. As NewsBlues puts it: “The restructuring in Los Angeles leaves CBS’s Dallas duopoly suddenly rudderless without either a general manager or a news director. Station manager Gary Schneider has been acting GM there on an interim basis.” If you’re sailing, you need a rudder, right?
The Senator, The Guv, and the Tea Partier
The debate had not even ended last night when I received this text from a Republican FrontBurnervian:
Kay b whom I do not like is strong. perry is an idiot. medina is hanging in there.
Jason told you what the pundits think. What do you think?
Lucky Shakes His Money Maker for Office Happy Hour
As mentioned earlier, the good folks from Bolsa were kind enough to bring their special brand of mixcraft to our staff meeting. You see here a gentleman by the name of Lucky mixing up a Kentucky buck for me (Maker’s, white peach purée, lime, Peychaud’s bitters, ginger beer). I highly recommend it. (Statement of material connection: Lucky and I are now dating. And he didn’t charge me for the drink.)
Very Little Work to Be Done in D Offices for Remainder of Day
We are having our all-staff quarterly meeting this afternoon for the first time in our fancy new office (thanks, Gensler!). Afterward, we will have refreshments. I bring you two pics of what the boys from Bolsa have done to our kitchen.
Ben Fountain on How to Help Haitians
Noted local author Ben Fountain has spent a lot of time in Haiti. He has made more than 30 trips to the island nation. So I asked him where his head is at right now and how people can best donate to the relief effort. He said he’ll have an op-ed piece in the DMN this Sunday and that he’s trying to wrangle his way down to Haiti right now. Also:
A few of my friends are accounted for and seem to be basically okay (as of now). But no word of or from many others. Haiti is a very tough place to live, and it just got a lot tougher. The best thing that most of us in Dallas and North Texas can do for Haitians is to send money to one or more of the very fine aid organizations working in Haiti. Here are two suggestions: Catholic Relief Services (www.crs.org) and Partners in Health (www.pih.org). The Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Save the Children, St. Joseph’s Home for Boys — all of these groups are also doing outstanding work, and any one of them would make good use of your donation.
AT&T, Dr Pepper Shut Out of Super Bowl XLV Fun
After our discussion about the sponsors of Super Bowl XLV, the CEO of the North Texas Host Committee, Bill Lively, told me today that there are seven other possible “founding $1 million sponsors” in some stage of negotiation. While it’s unlikely that all seven of those will come through, he said he’s confident that they’re close to securing deals with at least two of them, possibly a third.
Two North Texas companies that won’t be among those are AT&T and Dr Pepper. Both would love to be involved with supporting the efforts behind the Feb. 6, 2011, game at Cowboys Stadium, according to Lively. The Host Committee would love to accept $1 million donations from each of them, and believes that it would have already, except that the NFL’s rules have gotten in the way.
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