As Tim mentioned earlier, Dallas was the place for protesters today, and the Planned Parenthood of North Texas luncheon at the Hilton Anatole was no exception (Dallas Dirt’s Candy Evans and I made it through the back entrance and avoided abortion protesters). Once inside, guests were treated to a charming introduction by Elaine Agather of JPMorgan Chase; the Kay Bailey Hutchison supporter seemed a bit surprised to be there herself—she quipped that last year someone asked her to write a check, and this year she was the emcee. Conservative politics aside, Agather said she recognized the need for Planned Parenthood when she realized that more than 50 percent of her company’s employees were women, many of whom needed access to basic health services. Keynote speaker Anna Quindlen gave a heartwarming speech with one sour note that offended a few of the well-heeled ladies: She asked attendees to take a look at the lovely suits they were wearing, consider how much the ensembles cost, and donate at least that much to the nonprofit.
Our good, close, dear friend Bryan Garner will guest author the New York Times‘ “On Language” column in this Sunday’s paper. Get excited.
Count Mayor Tom Leppert among the “victims” of Dallas’ recent record snowstorm. In a talk today to the Dallas Friday Group, the mayor recalled how he was driving his wife, Laura, to dinner that weekend when they encountered a downed tree in the street. Leppert veered sharply to avoid the tree and wound up off the road, mired in the muck and slush. At that, he said, “I did what any guy would do: I started gunning it.” Didn’t work. Then he threw the vehicle in reverse, but that didn’t do it, either.
Just then, Leppert said, a “giant tree” fell on top of the car–”and Laura thinks we’re under attack.” A policeman pulled up next, looked in the window and said, “Oh shoot, it’s the mayor.” (Only he didn’t say “shoot.”) Then a couple of guys in a big truck stopped and tried to pull the car free, to no avail, Leppert said. So they produced a chainsaw to hack at the trees–only to watch the saw’s chain fly off. Finally, though, the samaritans brought out handsaws and proceeded to rescue the mayor and his wife and “the world went on,” Leppert concluded. He added that the experience “was probably easier on us than it was on the poor policeman.”
This is a very strange story. Bill McNutt was arrested on February 15 by SMU police for trespassing. You know McNutt from his famous Collin Street Bakery, which ships fruitcakes all over the world (he’s on the board, and I think it’s his brother Bob who handles the day to day). He is also chairman of the Texas Commission on the Arts. Students had complained about McNutt, and he’d been told not to visit the campus for any reason. SMU officials released a statement saying: “This action was based on SMU’s receipt of multiple student complaints against Mr. McNutt alleging behavior that violates University policy, such as offering alcohol to minors.”
Some questions: first, the Dallas Morning News story says that SMU confirmed on Wednesday that McNutt had been arrested. Why is the story not being reported until Friday? Second, students complained about someone offering them alcohol?
The official study contracted by the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee has found that more than $611 million in revenue will come to the region as a result of the game being played on Feb. 6, 2011, in Arlington. That’s far higher even than the more-than-$500 million figures we’ve heard from the event’s organizers in recent months. If accurate, that would indeed be a record–outperforming the $500 million that some credit Super Bowl XLII with generating.
The number was determined by Marketing Information Masters, a La Mesa, Calif.-based firm that has conducted economic impact studies for previous Super Bowls, as well the 2007 NHL All-Star Game and the 2010 NBA All-Star Game in North Texas. Their work was sent to the Texas State Comptroller earlier this month for review.
The report states that $611 million is the estimate of “direct spending” by all non-local residents during a two-month period leading up to game day. That seems high compared to the direct spending figures I’ve seen for previous games (more in the ($125-$300 million range) so I asked the Host Committee about whether that includes any indirect spending or multiplier effect–or to make any comment on the report. Their spokesman said it’s premature to comment on these numbers, since the committee doesn’t consider them final and official until after the Comptroller’s review of the data (due to be complete by March 8). There could be adjustments to this information at that time.
For more tidbits from the report, take the jump. We’ll start with how Dallas may make out better than Arlington in this deal.
Great question you pose there in leading off, Jason, with that nice link to Steve Brown’s story on how we maybe shouldn’t jump for joy that D/FW foreclosures have fallen to their lowest levels in three years. (There’s a four million dollar foreclosure not too far from moi!) There are programs out there trying to keep folks in their homes, like the Mortgage Banker’s Association’s new forbearance program I wrote about yesterday. First American CoreLogic reported yesterday that one out of every four Americans is underwater in their mortgage. Well, I was at a Metrotex Association of Realtors event last night and learned, thank you Jesus, we are not as bad as the national stats: about 12 to 15% of D/FW homeowners may be underwater, but our days on the market are far shorter than the national average. Then there’s all this confusing data coming in — our values are up, our sales are down. There’s a few other things to consider as well, so stay tuned to DallasDirt -- I’m trying to make sense out of all of it and, of course, get you some decent House Porn.
There are some guys who “protest” outside our building nearly every morning. They’ve got a beef with the Canadian Consulate, which is a few floors down from us. These guys are horrible protesters. They stand around in day-glo vests, listening to music with earbuds in or talking to each other. When someone walks by, the protesters silently offer a flier that explains their grievance. These are some seriously low-energy, ineffective protesters.
All of which I offer as background so that you’ll understand why I’m pumped up for John Yoo’s speech today at noon at the Belo Mansion. Depending on where you sit, Yoo is either a) a patriot who, as a Bush administration lawyer, courageously fought in the war against terror or b) Dr. Waterboard. Some contend he committed war crimes in issuing memos on what our soldiers were allowed to do during interrogation. Last summer, the Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) concluded that Yoo committed “intentional professional misconduct” when he “knowingly failed to provide a thorough, objective, and candid interpretation of the law.” The OPR recommended a referal to the Pennsylvania Bar for disciplinary action, and Deputy Attorney General David Margolis let Yoo off the hook just last month. His Wikipedia page is fun to read.
Yoo has book out called Crisis and Command: The History of Presidential War Power from George Washington to George W. Bush. That’s what brings him to the Belo Mansion today. And I expect some protesters to greet him — some real protesters. I mean, like, I want to hear chanting. I want to see actual protest signs. Maybe even a fake waterboarding for the TV cameras.
Don’t disappoint me, people.
1. Run for City Council? Apparently there are some perks to the gig. But those can get you into trouble. Don Hill will find out today just how much.
2. Is it a good or bad time to enter the real estate game? The experts says that the latest foreclosure numbers are artifically low.
3. Teach? Shape young minds? Mold the leaders of tomorrow? And try not to get discouraged by a rise in crime and violence in the schools?
4. Maybe Vandelay Industries is still looking for a great latex salesman.