Articles for April 27th, 2010
Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo Won’t Be Coming to Dallas, But David Brown Will Be Staying. Probably
The Austin American-Statesman is reporting that Austin police chief Art “Spirit Fingers” Acevedo will remain in Austin. Word is that he may have gotten a nice raise to stay. WFAA is reporting that City Manager Mary Suhm will announce Dallas First Assistant Police Chief David Brown got the job as early as tomorrow.
New MasterCard Commercial Shot at Norma’s in Oak Cliff
Josh Hixson has the scoop on the Norma’s spot, and it is served with this shocker as a side item: Mayor Tom Leppert is the first Dallas mayor since 1986 who has not eaten at the place.
Terri Hodge Gets a Year in the Joint
Little did the court know that Hodge spent the months prior to today’s sentencing hearing getting a blueprint of the prison tattooed on her body via a series of intricate codes and symbols that only she can figure out, thus no one’s the wiser. Plus, she only got caught in the first place because her older brother, Linc, was set up by a shadow government for a murder he didn’t commit, and is sentenced to die in a matter of days. Take that, justice.
Revisiting the Rise–and Fall–of a Dallas Icon
Once upon a time North Texas had an airline called Braniff International for whom Tom Landry, Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali made TV commercials. Then the colorful carrier went bust, putting 10,000 people out of work in the nation’s first major airline bankruptcy. Saturday, business analyst David Johnson–who made an award-winning documentary about Braniff for PBS called Tailspin–will screen the doc and moderate a panel discussion with some of the old airline’s principal players. Let’s just hope none of the 10,000 show up with tomatoes. We hear some of them are still pretty hacked off.
Dolphins GM to Dez Bryant: “Is Your Mom a Prostitute?”
Newly minted Dallas Cowboy Dez Bryant has apparently told quite the tale to Yahoo! Sports, one of Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland asking him if his mom was a prostitute during a pre-draft visit.
The Dolphins are not commenting, other than for PR flack Harvey Greene to say, “It’s our organizational policy that we don’t discuss publicly the process we use to evaluate potential draft choices.”
I’ve never been drafted by the NFL, so I don’t know. But, “Is your mom a prostitute?” within the general list of questions all other NFL teams ask?
Mayor Leppert is Now On Twitter
Disappointingly, he chose to go with @MayorLeppert. Not as good as our choice: @MayorOfHandtown. And, now that I bring it up, @comegetsuhm needs to happen. Step up, Mary Suhm.
Warrior Dash Update
UPDATE: It’s on!
Just hung up with attorney Michael Cramer. He said the hearing about Warrior Dash will start again at 5:30 (but we already knew this). He’s hoping they’ll have a decision by 7 or 7:30. He said it’ll be posted on the group’s website, Facebook, and Twitter. I asked him what happens after the decision’s made. “If it’s back on, great,” he says. “If not, then we have to see if we can go to the Court of Appeals in Dallas fast enough for this event to take place.” He said he assumed someone was working on whether or not the event could be moved to another county by this weekend.
When asked about worst case scenario and what happens to participants’ registration fees, he says, “I don’t know. I haven’t talked to my clients about that issue yet.”
Fingers crossed.
Texas Tribune Has a Look at DISD’s Good and Bad High Schools
A politically minded FrontBurnervian points us to a Texas Tribune story that takes a look at why DISD has some of the best high schools in the state — and some of the worst. The short answer (and the title of the story): smaller is better.
New Facebook Page Calls for Reinstallation of DMA’s Stake Hitch
In the current issue of the “print product,” Willard Spiegelman (aka the Good Professor), writes about the curious disposition of Stake Hitch, by Claes Oldenburg and his late wife, Coosje van Bruggen. You remember Stake Hitch, right? Big, red. About 5,500 pounds. The iconic sculpture used to stand in the Dallas Museum of Art’s Barrel Vault room. To this day, when I think of the DMA, images of Stake Hitch still come to mind, even though the thing was taken down and stuck in storage long ago. Thing is, though, the museum promised it would reinstall the piece and even set a deadline — a deadline that has come and gone. So what gives?
While we wait for an answer to that question, a Facebook page dedicated to the reinstallation of Stake Hitch has sprung up. Show it some love with your browsing and your clicking.
Former Ranger Jose Canseco Wishes To Challenge You to Fisticuffs
Or so he tweets. He is also just willing to take a challenge regarding any sport. I suggest curling.
How the Mavericks Can Beat the Spurs
Short answer: at this point, I’m not 100-percent certain they can. I will believe it’s possible until when (or if) the Spurs knock them off. But I’m not certain it’s going to happen. Anyway. After the jump, my longer answer.
Dallas Morning News Circulation Slips Even Further
Newspaper circulation numbers came out yesterday, and — surprise — they aren’t going up (except in the case of the Wall Street Journal). How did the Morning News do? It shed nearly 22 percent and now claims a daily circulation of 260,659. I’ve received several e-mails from people saying, “Wow. Can you believe that? End times.” Eh, not so fast. Back in 2006, Wick wrote a story for the “print product” wherein he charted a course for the News‘ survival. Obviously it was brilliant. That guy — he’s gifted. Four years ago, Wick wrote:
There was a reason for the circulation scandal of three years ago. The News — once again, operating on the delusion that everything is still the same — is still trying to maintain an inflated subscription and single-copy sales base for advertisers. The most expensive customer is the marginal one. That’s the customer who only subscribes if offered a very cheap price and then doesn’t renew. He then needs to be replaced to maintain the circulation base. The acquisition cost of a new subscribers is high and getting more expensive every year. … They need to go. All subscription discounts, prizes, contests, and other promotional gimmicks should be eliminated. Circulation must be allowed to float to its natural level.
At the time, the News’ daily circ was 480,484. Wick said its natural level was 300,000. But I can tell you he pulled that number from a dark, unattractive orifice. So maybe the real natural level is 260,659. I can tell you that A.H. Belo’s stock price doesn’t seem much affected by the news.
In-N-Out Burger in Dallas: Good or Bad?
Solid rumor (good name for a band) has it that In-N-Out Burger is opening nine locations in the suburbs around Dallas. Over on SideDish, we are discussing the ins and outs of the plan.
What To Do in Dallas Tonight: April 27, 2010
Have you been to 48 Nights yet? I haven’t either. (What’s wrong with us?) We got word that this week’s chef is Kent Rathbun of Abacus, Jasper’s, and Blue Plate. Want to go? Check here for reservations.
In nightlife news, the W Hotel has revamped their Living Room Bar and the unveiling is tonight. I’ve always preferred this bar to the Ghostbar upstairs, and they are having events all week long to promote the new look. They tell me the bar looks totally different now, with an oversized black plush sofa as the focal point and a wall made of cowhide hats. I’m more interested in the food (as usual) and really like the sound of the new bar menu (think polenta fritters and short rib paninis).
Tony Bennett was amazing last night. Jason Heid tells us all about it on FrontRow, but if you were there, I’d love to hear your thoughts. A reader emailed me late last night to tell me about seeing David Sedaris. He describes it this way: “Alternately profane, disgusting and hilariously cold-hearted, the guy puts on a good show.” Wish I could have been two places at once.
As always, find more of today’s events here.
Leading Off (4/27/10)
SUBHEAD: Late Because I Lost My Neighbor’s Extremely Weak WiFi Signal So I Came In Early For Work But Late For Posting Leading Off Edition.
1. An immigration protest march is planned for Saturday at 1 p.m. The march, under the heading “We Are All Arizona,” starts at the usual spot — Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe on Ross Avenue — and 100,000 are expected to participate. As always, I hope that you choose to come downtown on the weekends, but you should probably stay at home this weekend. Or go to Lower Greenville. I don’t think they care about anything over there.
2. Terri Hodge will find out if she gets prison or probation today. I’m interested to see if a third option emerges. Like, she has to sign up for one dangerous mission in service of the U.S. government in exchange for her freedom. Or maybe there is a nuclear threat somewhere in the city, and she has to be freed because the terrorist is her former partner and she is the only one who can bring him down. I don’t know. Just throwing that out there.
3. Shawn Marion believes the Dallas Mavericks can escape their 3-1 series deficit, starting tonight against the hated San Antonio Spurs. I do, too. And if not, I’ll see you guys in a week or so. Maybe longer.
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