Articles for February 10th, 2010
Yet Another Poll Says Perry Has 49%
This one puts Perry near the magical 50.1, with Hutchison at 29, and Medina at 19%. A curious fact: both polls show Hutchison with about the same level of support; the variance is between Perry’s and Medina’s numbers. It could just be methodology, or the margin of error (which I can’t find in this new one, but here are the cross-tabs for anyone who wants to do my work for me). For the sake of argument, let’s assume both polls use roughly the same methodology, with a margin of error of 4.8%. That would say to me that a substantial number of voters are swinging between Perry and Medina. The idea that Medina is taking votes from Hutchison appears to be fanciful.
UNT President Gretchen Bataille To Step Down
Does University of North Texas President Gretchen Bataille’s (pictured) announced resignation mean she’ll be spending more time with her grandkids?
Dallas Public Library’s Lillian Bradshaw Has Died
SweetCharity reports funeral plans.
Medina Now at 24% in GOP Race?, Ctd.
Good comments on my original post below. A non-resident FrontBurnervian political analyst adds his:
A Short Interview with Charles Barkley About the All-Star Game
When I interviewed Charles Barkley for my oral history of Dirk Nowitzki, one of the conditions of the interview was that I speak to Chuck about the All-Star Game, since TNT broadcasts it and they’re the ones who set up the chat. So I did. After the jump, you’ll find a handful of Qs and As that — I’ll be honest — I sort of raced through to get to the Dirk stuff. One genuinely funny response from Barkley about a former NBA ref had to be excised, because I promised a panicked TNT publicist in the heat of the moment. Stupid ethics.
An Artist’s Assessment of the Dallas Art Fair
We have been chatting about the Dallas Art Fair in this space over the past week or so. But what is an art fair? What does it mean for Dallas? And was the Dallas Art Fair any good?
These are the questions British artist and Dallas resident Richard Patterson takes up in a lengthy essay on FrontRow today. Assuming the tone of Miss Jean Brodie, the school teacher and title character of Muriel Spark’s novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Patterson takes a hard look at the fair and the role it could play in forming Dallas’ reputation as a cultural center. Some highlights:
Since arriving here I have heard the phrase, “we must take baby steps” in relation to Dallas’ art and culture, to which I say: “Time to step into daddy’s shoes, ready or not.” The world is too competitive not to, and third chances are rare.
Casual and benevolent Dallas art world rubber-neckers thought the fair marvelous, jolly and very successful. People who had little interest in contemporary art no doubt found it utterly mystifying. The participants who will ultimately underwrite its success are more critical.
If they can’t guaranty a far higher number of respected bigger galleries to participate, the Dallas art fair will be an entirely meaningless hoedown by year four and gone by year five.
So go on now – get reading!
How to Stalk Jet-setters Coming to NBA All-Star Game
I mentioned yesterday that it looked from our downtown vantage point yesterday that private jet traffic into Love Field was picking up, and I guessed it was because of the All-Star Game. Someone pointed out in the comments that the private jets normally take a different landing route and that they’d been rerouted yesterday for some reason, which would explain why to me it looked like traffic had picked up (when, in fact it hadn’t). In either case, a snoopy FBvian points us to this site, where you can watch the traffic into Love. It only gives tail numbers, so you’ll have to do some more work to find out who is actually onboard. For that, it would help to know someone who works at the Love Field FBO.
Texas Tribune Details Collin County GOP Three-Way Featuring Bikini-Babe Voyeur Video
UPDATED after the jump
The race to replace retiring State Rep. Brian McCall (R-Plano) brings a rare non-wonkish story to The Texas Tribune. Vying for the seat are Plano City Councilwoman Mabrie Jackson, Iraq War veteran Van Taylor, and the leader of a group called the “National Coalition for Defense of American Sovereignty,” a fellow named Wayne Richard. He never paid much attention to state or local politics until 2008, when he started getting angry and later got involved in the North Texas Tea Party. Richard’s bio is where the story gets interesting.
The candidates all have hurdles to overcome. Richard’s is his bio, which doesn’t read like he grew up with a political career in his sights. For starters, there’s FUBIOV — “Forget U Buddy I’m On Vacation” — which he says was the name of a boat he owned decades ago, a name he tried to turn into a brand with “FUBIOV!” t-shirts and www.fubiov.com, a now-defunct travel website. A web video advertising the site features a girl in a bikini walking near a pool, unaware that she’s being filmed.
Who Should Get Halftime Slot at Super Bowl XLV? (Not The Who)
Forget about who will compete in the Feb. 6,2011, Super Bowl in Arlington. Real gamblers are taking odds on who will play the halftime show. That’s a decision the NFL likely won’t announce until this fall.
While the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee has no say in who gets the gig, CEO Bill Lively told us that they’ve considered asking the NFL to use the same act that’s booked for the committee’s concert at Cowboys Stadium in September (Part of their series that begins with Faith Hill next month.) He wasn’t optimistic that that could actually happen, since they want to have their September concert announced soon, and the NFL may not want to commit that early.
Anyway, this blog speculates that the Super Bowl performer has got to be a country act. (Since this is Texas?) His guesses are Kenny Chesney, Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Brooks & Dunn, and Jimmy Buffett(?). I think he’s far off the mark.
But whom should the NFL bring to Arlington?
Dallas Cowboys’ Odds For Super Bowl XLV
We know that Irving Mayor Herbert Gears wouldn’t mind if the Cowboys don’t make it to Super Bowl XLV, to be played next February in Arlington. No team has ever made it into a Super Bowl played at its own home field–the closest was when the San Francisco 49ers beat the Dolphins at the 1985 game played at Stanford University in nearby Palo Alto.
So no one really knows how the economic impact of the game would be affected. Most observers believe that the crowd that comes to the Super Bowl comes no matter who is playing, therefore plenty of out-of-town guests can be expected regardless. Others predict that several million fewer dollars would flow into the region if the Cowboys are the NFC champion, but that it would be a lot of fun to see anyway.
Well, a host of odds on next year’s game have come out since the Saints claimed Super Bowl XLV. Most of them are along these lines, giving the Cowboys about a 12-1 shot of winning the next championship. Of course, Dallas is the second-highest NFC team on that list, suggesting that their odds of simply making it to the title game are even better than that.
Fun With Billboards
A billboard along I-35 near Wyoming, Minnesota is making some headlines. It has a picture of former president George W. with yellow text next to him saying, “Miss Me Yet?” The people at Minnesota Public Radio are trying to find out who bought the billboard. Yesterday, they discovered it was purchased by a small group of business owners who “feel like Washington is against them.” I like billboards. They’re fun. The best one I’ve seen is in OKC along I-35. It says something along the lines of “Let us help you with the ABC game,” and it lists words with letters that are difficult to find. And, as Jason mentioned, this is a good one, too.
Medina Now at 24% in GOP Race?
A new poll by Public Policy puts the race at Perry 39, Hutchsion 28, and Medina 24. How the methodology differs from Rasmussen I do not know, except that Rasmussen is often disparaged by other polling outfits for using automated calls. The margin of error is 4.8% — which means Perry could have it in the bag, or it’s a three-way tie, or what? One thing is clear: Medina has gone from a Perry irritation to a major factor. It also seems clear to me that Hutchison made a major mistake in trying to flank Perry on the right, where Medina already was. If she had stuck to her moderate conservative base in the suburbs, she might be leading now. Give me your tactical interpretations below. Let’s read the tea leaves together.
Mea Culpa to the DMN for Assailing Its (Lack of) DISD Coverage
Yesterday I said I was troubled by how the Dallas Morning News seemed to be ignoring good news out of DISD. Now I offer an apology. Diane Rado and Tawnell Hobbs have a story in today’s paper about the 24 DISD schools recognized as “distinguished” by the TEA. That number was up from just eight in 2008. Yes, it was — and yet. A comparison of how many schools made the list in 2009 and how many made it in 2008 isn’t fair because of a bit of statistical legerdemain used by the TEA on the 2009 data. Without something called the Texas Projection Measure, 13 of those 24 schools would not have made the list.
If I see a press release on Monday, I expect a report in the next’s day paper. The Internet has conditioned me — all of us — to feel like a news cycle lasts about as long as it takes to hit the refresh button. But the sort of reporting that Rado and Hobbs did takes time — figuring out what the Texas Projection Measure is (figuring out that it even exists), getting comment from the TEA, etc. In this case, the reporting took about a day.
So cheers to them. I’ll take my lashes in the comments section.
Leading Off (2/10/10)
1. Here’s a helpful list of all the fancy All-Star Game parties. Me? I got an invitation to “Diddy Does Dallas,” on Friday at the Palladium, but I had to turn it down. The wife has book club that night, which means I’ve got the kids. But otherwise I’d totally be there.
2. It looks like 7-Eleven will open a store at the American Airlines Center. You know, so that you can pick up a gallon of milk at halftime of a Mavericks game. (And, no, you won’t be able to buy beer in the 7-Eleven and take it into the arena.)
3. The Dallas city manager has released an initial list of people who are auditioning for a guest role on Code 58.
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