Articles for June 7th, 2010
In Dallas, the ACLU Pushes Back Against “Extremists”
“You see,” somebody smiled, reaching for another hors d’oeuvre, “there are liberals in Texas!” The scene was the ultra-modern new home of Charles MarLett and James Vasilas in Northwest Dallas (white walls, linoleum-looking floors, cutting-edge art). That’s where about 50 people gathered late yesterday afternoon for a fund-raising party with Terri Burke, a former Dallas Morning News editor who’s now executive director of the ACLU of Texas.
Among the guests were Dawn Rizos (shown in photo here by Jeanne Prejean). Rizos owns The Lodge, an upscale Northwest Highway gentlemen’s club that she used to run with her (now) ex-husband, Nick. Waiting for Burke to address the crowd, Rizos was talking about a new eatery called Elaine’s Brasserie she’s planning to open in Uptown this fall. Exotic dancers; New Orleans-style food; named after Dawn’s mother, who’s 90 and “may hostess” once in awhile. (Reason for the new joint? “I turned 48 and I’m bored,” Rizos said. “Plus, I wanted to do something on my own.”)
Accessory of the Week: Nathan Nash
While the ever-gorgeous Raya wrangles up Dallas’ “Ten Most Beautiful Women,” we think we’ve discovered another nice “Accessory of the Week” to dress up the blog. Our submission this week is Hunter Equity’s Nathan Nash (pictured). Besides being pretty darn adorable in person, he’s also president of the Texas Tech Alumni Association (Dallas Chapter) and membership chair for The Real Estate Council Young Guns.
Sports Agent Trennis Jones Doesn’t Want to Let Down Mom in Words With Friends Tournament
(This is the second of four mini-profiles of the semifinalists of the D Magazine Words With Friends Tournament. Trennis Jones will face Rhett Miller in one of our two semifinals on June 9. Read to the jump to see this member of our Finally Four answer the same questions as our 10 Most Beautiful Women in Dallas nominees.)
Trennis Jones
28, sports agent
Lives in: Uptown Dallas
Trennis Jones has worked for sports agency Octagon, in the basketball division, for 5 ½ years. The agency represents clients like Chris Paul, Rudy Gay, Stephen Curry, and Kirk Hinrich. His largest personal signing this year was Tweety Carter from Baylor University. He’s working hard to make sure Tweety’s name is called June 24 during the NBA Draft.
Free Tickets to See One of the World’s Best Choreographers
If you’ve never been to a professional dance performance not called “The Nutcracker,” seize the opportunity.
Dallas Fed Chief Richard Fisher: “Let’s Get Some Real Banking Reform”
Richard Fisher, the Dallas Federal Reserve chief, recently gave a talk to the SW Graduate School of Banking. Yesterday, Simon Johnson boiled the speech down to its essentials. Fisher is an elegant speaker, and Johnson is a good boiler. After having read this, you’ll feel smarter.
An Intern Reports on Last Weekend’s Dog Bowl
Hannah Boen is spending part of her summer learning all about journalism here at D Magazine HQ. Note to Mr. Boen: we are doing our best to turn her away from journalism as a career option and get her pointed toward something that might give you a better ROI for those college bucks. You’re cool having a plumber for a daughter, right? In any case, here’s what Hannah has to tell us about the pooch festival known as the Dog Bowl, which went down on Sunday at Fair Park (PS: the pics are hers, too):
Dallas Residents to Resolve National Debt Issue
Can a bunch of ordinary people really get together for a few hours, chew the fat, and then tell D.C. leaders how to get a handle on the national debt? That’s what an outfit called AmericaSpeaks says is going to happen Saturday, June 26, when Dallas becomes one of six main sites for an “unprecedented,” nonpartisan, national town meeting on ways to put the federal budget on a sustainable path.
Organizers are hoping as many as 500 people will gather at the Dallas Convention Center that day. They’ll be linked up there with other sites in other U.S. cities, using keypad polling and groupware technology. To make sure the attendees are racially, politically, economically and age diverse, the local participants are being solicited via groups like the League of Women Voters, the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce and LULAC. (You can also register on the web site.)
All of which sounds great. Whether anyone winds up listening to their ideas is something else again.
Rhett Miller of the Old 97s Dedicates Words With Friends Tournament Performance to His Grandma
(This is the first of four mini-profiles of the semifinalists of the D Magazine Words With Friends Tournament. Rhett Miller will face Trennis Jones in one of our two semifinals on June 9. Read to the jump to see this member of our Finally Four answer the same questions as our 10 Most Beautiful Women in Dallas nominees.)
Rhett Miller
39, Musician
Lives in: Upstate New York, with frequent trips home to Dallas
The question remains open: Is Rhett Miller just an all-round more impressive human being than you are? He’s already been a rock star for years, garnering a legion of adoring fans. Add to that the simple fact that he’s advanced all the way to the semifinals of the D Magazine Words With Friends Tournament, and he’s already achieved more in his time on this planet than a good percentage of the population ever will.
What To Do in Dallas Tonight: June 7, 2010
Neil Young is in town for a show tonight at the Meyerson. Insiders say he’ll be performing a few tracks that have never been heard before, so fans will want to check that out. A few tickets are still left.
This is very important. If you haven’t been to 48 Nights yet, the fabulous charity dinner featuring a new chef that happens twice a week for 48 nights, tonight might be your last chance. All the dinners are sold out EXCEPT FOR TONIGHT’S at 6:30. There are three spots left (as of 10:18 am). Any guesses on the chef? The menu is after the jump. Go!
The 10 Most Beautiful Women in Dallas Competition Starts Now
And as usual, we want your help rounding them up. Don’t worry, though. Our trips to the grocery store, dinners at Mi Cocina, and nights out on Henderson tell us this won’t be difficult for you. Good-looking ladies abound in our fair city. Your nomination(s) can be your friend, your lover, your best friend’s girlfriend, or your uncle’s second-cousin’s daughter-in-law. Just send us your finest. All we ask is that they can legally order a cocktail and live in North Texas. The best of the beauties will be featured in the December issue of D Magazine, so start your nominations. You have until July 2.
Leading Off (6/7/10)
1. One takeaway I had from the Dallas Morning News’ two part story (part 1 and part 2) on “black flight,” the steady decline in the number of African American students attending Dallas Independent School District schools: maybe the concept of geographically based public school is outdated. Is there an argument here for a re-segregation of public schools, with distinctions not drawn up along racial lines of distinction, but on need-based lines? Say we reorganize the district so that some schools specialize in raising math skills, some in reading skills, and some in language skills. There could be some schools that specialize in engaging immigrant families in their children’s educational experience and others that specialize in engaging families in certain social-economic situations. This might end up looking like racial segregation, and it opens up tons of room for abuse (cough, cough, Preston Hollow Elementary), so I’ll leave you to tell me why it’s a dumb idea in the comments.
2. After shooting John F. Kennedy (allegedly, right?), Lee Harvey Oswald hopped a bus to cross the Houston St. viaduct, but when it got caught in traffic, he jumped off the bus and hailed a cab. That cab had been in the collection of the now defunct Pate Museum of Transportation. On Saturday, it was auctioned off and sold to an Illinois museum. It’s not exactly our Elgin Marbles, but I hate to see that one get away.
3. And file this good news story under “Thank goodness there are people like this out there”: a couple in Azle, Texas, used money from their savings to buy a five-bedroom home and take in five special-needs foster children, because some people are just awesome like that, I guess.
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