Leading Off (5/12/10)

1. In 1983, a man named Billy Allen killed two people in University Park. Largely based on the dying words of one of the victims, Billy Frederick Allen went to prison for the crime. But a different Billy Allen, a Billy Wayne Allen, might actually have done the deed. And now the DA intends to retry the case. I think this one’s pretty obvious, though. History has shown us that Wayne is the middle name of evildoers, has it not?

2. This story drives me nuts for the details it omits. Three people were shot in Pleasant Grove when a huge fight broke out during the filming of a video for which 1,000 people had gathered. A VIDEO OF WHAT? And did the cameras catch the fight? Cause that could be one krunk video. (And, no, I’m not making any assumptions here about the race of the people involved with the making of this video just because there was gunplay and also because it went down in the Grove. White people say “krunk,” too. For instance, I’m white.)

3. This one’s a bit farther afield than we normally go on FrontBurner, but a story out of Odessa is too good to overlook. A homeless kid shows up at famed Permian “Friday Night Lights” High. He’s 6-foot-5. The basketball coach takes him in. The team goes on to win state. Someone call Michael Lewis! The movie writes itself! It’s The Blind Side on the hardwoods! Except it turns out the kid is a 22-year-old man who, in a former life, was a high school basketball star in Florida. (I’d still watch the movie. Skip Hollandsworth, are you reading this?)

Jim Schutze and Michael Davis Have a Conversation About Scrap Yard

Only, it’s hard to follow because part is on Unfair Park and the Dallas Observer, and part of it is on Michael Davis’ blog.

So I will help.

First, Jim said this. And this.

And then Michael  says, “Nuh-uh. This and this.”

And then Jim says, “Oh yeah? This. And totally THIS.”

And today, Michael says, “Haters stay losing – THIS.”

So there you have it, in chronological order, the conversation. In one place. You’re welcome.

Dear Richardson Police: What the What, and Really?

I’ve been traveling 635 to 75 from Midway to Plano nearly every day for two years now. Once a month or so, you encounter some heinous gridlock right about the time you approach the High Five – right about at the top of the ramp.

You always think it’s a wreck. Something monstrous. You diddle with your traffic app on your iPhone, and it doesn’t say anything about a massive wreck. The giant parking lot eventually creeps up to the culprit: Two Richardson squad cars and one unmarked, on the side of the road, with at least two cars pulled over.

So I have to ask: Really, Richardson? Setting up a speed trap during rush hour is a good thing? City revenue so tight you really need to run a speed trap at the bottom of the High Five? And how is this safe, exactly?

Leading Off (5/11/10)

1. Ross Perot Jr. is suing Mark Cuban, claiming the Mavericks are insolvent or on the verge of it. Cuban responded by cuing up “Thunderstruck” and laughing sort of creepily.

2. A security guard accused of burglary at the Sixth Floor Museum is claiming conspiracy. Oliver Stone is in talks to bring his story to the big screen.

3. “CJ Davila was playing on the train tracks behind his family’s Garland home when he admittedly made a bad choice and tried to grab onto the train for a ride.”