Articles for June 25th, 2010
Rangers Mess Gets Kinda Ugly in Court
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Lynn delivered a stern warning, apparently, to Major League Baseball and the Nolan-Greenberg crew today during an emergency hearing to discuss a return to a July 9 date to make a decision on the bankruptcy plan for the Texas Rangers.
The story described Lynn’s lecture:
“We will not decide based on what the fans want … what the media wants … what Mr. Ryan or Mr. Greenberg wants, or what Bud Selig wants,” Lynn thundered from the bench.
At least one MLB lawyer didn’t like it so much. Lawyers for MLB commissioner Bud Selig were listening in via phone during the hearing, and one of them, Stephen Shimshak, kinda forgot he was still on the phone when he reacted, saying, “If he doesn’t confirm the plan we’ll just terminate the franchise. We’ll take over the (expletitive) franchise.”
Something tells me the Rangers will spend all summer in bankruptcy.
Where, Oh Where Can We See the Topping?
Just wondering where the best spot would be to see the topping of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge tomorrow morning besides watching it on television or here?
Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge to Top Off Tomorrow
The good folks from the Trinity Trust Foundation had scheduled a topping-off ceremony on Monday morning in the Haynes and Boone offices, where guests could watch the final piece of the Calatrava-designed Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge’s arch get dropped into place. Only problem: the work is progressing more quickly than anticipated. While the ceremony will still take place Monday morning, with Kay Bailey Hutchison and Tom Leppert in attendance, the bridge piece will be installed tomorrow. To my mind, this makes Monday morning’s event a little less attractive. Where once folks were going to get to watch the crane lower a huge piece of steel into a structure that will change the face of Dallas, now they’ll get to — hear Hutchison and Leppert talk about it.
Harold Simmons Has a Waste Control Headache
In our February issue, Laray Polk wrote about Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons and his Waste Control Specialists. There are many people who believe his company shouldn’t be burying radioactive waste in West Texas. The site isn’t right for it. There’s an aquifer to consider. And the earthquakes. Well, comes news today from the Associated Press that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will issue a Notice of Violation to WCS for storing “hot” waste longer than its permit allows. Too, there are questions about the stability of the containment facilities. State inspectors found cracks up to an inch wide on a 10-acre asphalt pad near where canisters of radioactive material sit.
Leppert Lauds Lively’s Fund-raising Knack
Bill Lively has helped raise hundreds of millions of dollars over the years for SMU, the AT&T Performing Arts Center and the 2011 Super Bowl. So, maybe he should try his hand at bailing out the cash-strapped city of Dallas. Mayor Tom Leppert may have been thinking something like that last night when he introduced Lively for the Entrepreneurs for North Texas outfit at its ninth annual Spirit of Entrepreneurship bash honoring Lively in Dallas. The other day, City Council member “Ron Natinsky and I Googled, ‘Need to Raise Money.’ And guess what came up?” Leppert cracked to an A-list crowd including Ray Hunt, Charles Wyly and Jim Keyes. “A picture of Bill Lively.”
Main Street Garden: A Work in Progress
At long last, the Lily Pad has opened at Main Street Garden. On a rare cool(ish) day, I figured it would be slammed. Not so, alas. As I type, there are eight patrons on the patio. Nine if you count the dog. Big Bob over on the Unfair Parks has noted that the place can be less than inviting when the fountain is off and it’s sweltering. Not so today. The patio misters are blowing. The fountain is burbling. And the guy who sold me my True Blonde Ale for less than $3 tells me they’ll be open today “till 9, 9:30, depends on how it goes tonight.” If you have a real job and can’t peel away for a beer now, I suggest a quick stop after work. Happy hour runs till 7.
Local Comic Artist Part of “The Most Anticipated New Series of the Year”
So says Comic Book Resources of Morning Glories #1. Full disclosure: Joe Eisma, the artist I mentioned in the headline, went to high school with me in West. But I would have mentioned it anyway. You can see more of his work here.
David Callahan Should Find Better Examples For His Arguments
David Callahan has an interesting piece in The New Republic about how the new-economy rich are more liberal than the old-economy rich. He may be right. But one particular example he uses doesn’t inspire confidence in his thesis:
New economy wealth will keep reshaping the electoral map, and in ever more surprising ways. The once-conservative metro area of Omaha, for example, is being transformed by white-collar industries and, in 2008, went for Obama. Even the upscale precincts of Dallas, now a major tech city, are growing more liberal. Obama raised far more money than any other candidate except for Rudy Giuliani, the least conservative of the Republicans, in Preston Hollow, the wealthy neighborhood where George W. Bush moved after he left the White House. Put that together with the movement of rural and a lot of white, working-class Americans into the Republican camp, and you have a map that looks dramatically different from New Deal America. [my bold]
That intrigued me, so I took a look: what I found were predominantly doctors, lawyers, and housewives. Nice people, yes. New economy, no.
(Sidenote: To my surprise, I didn’t see the usual suspects, trial lawyers. After supporting John Edwards, they probably donated through the Democratic National Committee. )
49er Fans Try To Skewer Cowboys, Fail
So sometimes, when I’ve got a few minutes and there’s no vodka, I search for blogs that talk about Dallas. Today, I found this one called Niners Nation, which is apparently about the cute little San Francisco 49ers.
And I found this post, entitled, “At Least We’re Not … The Dallas Cowboys!” And apparently, I need to explain satire to these adorable little misshapen-headed Niners fans, because it ceases to be satirical if you essentially apologize and insist you’re just joshing both before and after your unimaginative attempt at skewering the Cowboys.
True satire needs no disclaimer.
For instance, I could point out that you’ve been a sad shell of your former self since Montana left, and that would be the truth. I could say that Cowboys fans find you adorable, because we really save most of our abject hatred for the Redskins. That, too, would be the truth.
When you bring up that we grossly overpaid for Roy Williams, we know this. And it’s fact. It’s hardly satirical to point out the obvious. And we thought we were getting this Roy Williams (See what I did there? Satire).
And yes, yes, we know that our quarterback’s last name rhymes with homo. And if he were one, we’d be OK with that. Ironically, you, San Francisco, bring this up, and make it sound like a derogatory thing.
So in conclusion, satire is funny. Come to Dallas, and we’ll teach you it.
Why Dallas Should Rewrite Its Parking Laws
Tom Vanderbilt over at Slate has a great piece on the stupidity of city parking codes, which I highly recommend to Dallas, Plano, and any other city trying to revitalize its downtowns. In Dallas, a city code written in the 1950’s continues to hamper development, encourage sprawl, and keep downtown Dallas blacktopped with ugly parking lots. My last artillery attack on the city’s restrictive and absurdist parking codes was in 2005. I quote myself:
For some reason, decades ago, somebody got it into his head that it was the city’s responsibility to make sure every Tom, Dick, and Harry had a place to park. To make sure there was enough parking, ordinances were enacted that required anybody who did anything to provide off-street parking. The requirements were written with a precision that would make a Soviet planner quiver with delight.
Do you want to build an office building? You must provide one off-street parking space for every 333 square feet. Do you run a catering service? You must have one off-street parking space for every 200 square feet. You’re a lithographer? You need one space for every 300 square feet. You have a call to build a church? You need “one space for each four fixed seats in the sanctuary.”
Vandervilt quotes a Purdue University study found 85,000 unused parking spaces in one county they studied. The antiquated city code is why you see empty spaces where you don’t want to go and no spaces where you do want to go. Why not turn the matter over to the private sector? If a business doesn’t have enough parking, it goes out of business. If it has too much parking, it has wasted precious capital. Why is the city bureaucracy allocating private dollars?
What To Do in Dallas This Weekend: June 25-27
Single ladies. Let’s chat. You know how you were planning to go to The Londoner tonight at talk about that guy you like but you’re not sure if he likes you because he called a few days ago but you haven’t heard from him but probably he likes you because he called? Skip it and go to Electric at the House of Blues. It’s the annual pre-party before the Heroes Baseball Game tomorrow (proceeds benefit the Heroes Foundation and Mike Modano Foundation), and this event brings in some actual (cute and nice) celebrities like this one. And this one. And this one. Also on the list: Mike Modano, Mark Cuban, DeMarcus Ware, Bradie James, and Kidd Kraddick. And the Fray is playing. But don’t just show up at the House of Blues expecting to get in. You must email lb@heroesbaseball.org for tickets.
Also exciting me: the breathtaking Planet Earth Live show at the Meyerson, the amazing combo of painting and music at the Euphoria Live show, and losing our voices watching the next USA World Cup match tomorrow at 1:30 pm at one of these spots.
Thrillist Gives Local Man Strange Honor
I have heard from several people this morning who want to know why Thrillist thinks I’m man’s best friend. I don’t have an answer for those people. But I do like to lick their hands. Did you eat a breakfast taco this morning? That tastes like eggs. Mmm! Oh, yesss. Scratch my belly. Yes, yes, yes-yes-yess. Hey! Was that a squirrel?!
Feeling “Recession-Proof” This Morning?
I ask because, according to CNN Money, you are living in the 7th (out of 21) most recession-proof city in America. Just thought you’d like to know
(As usual, the editors go ga-ga over Austin. Don’t even mention the #1 city, Albany, NY. Maybe they were embarrassed about all that borrowed money NY State is living on — and which is coming due. But props to Buffalo. Who wouda thunk?)
Leading Off (6/25/10)
1. Last night, the Rangers extended their winning streak to 11 by beating the Pirates 6-5. It’s the longest in the MLB this season, and the second-longest in club history. We should probably also mention that former Ranger and current color guy Tom Grieve will be inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame next month. Me? I don’t give a … (I kid, I kid).
2. I really hope that the Dallas Mavericks did more than interview South Florida guard Dominique Jones, who the Mavs picked up for $3 million in the draft last night, before deciding he was their guy. Because this story kinda reads like he said, “Hey, I’m a cross between Dwayne Wade and Rodney Stuckey,” and the Mavs were all, “Hey, that sounds good, you’re hired!” If it really was as easy as that, well, I’m a cross between Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan. Draft me. I’ll take $1.5 million, so I’m a bargain.
3. Alternate headline for this story: “Dallas Officials Hope You Don’t Poop in the Pool This Summer.”
4. OK, maybe I lack imagination, but this North Texas dad who thinks this Happy Meal toy is saying something dirty? I do not hear it. I hear an annoying toy I’d probably “lose” first chance I got. Is he sure the toy’s just not annoying and he needs an excuse to chuck it? And why is it necessary to insist on only your first name if you’re going to go on camera anyway? I recommend listening to the video so you can judge for yourself, and if you have the intestinal fortitude to listen to several repeats of what the toy says, it’s worth it to hear Lori Barager say, “Oh! He hoofed! He poofed!”
5. Bruce Felps riffs on Dwaine Caraway’s opposition to the beer and wine referendum here. Felps makes a few good points, but I’d also like to point out this: Is it at all helpful to South Dallas’ image when its own council member feeds a stereotype? I’m willing to bet there are residents of South Dallas that are not fans of Thunderbird and likely drive into a wet area right now to purchase a nice bottle of wine.
Home |
Masthead |
News from D |
About Us |
Contact Us |
Subscribe |
Advertise |
Privacy Policy |
Customer Service |
Awards | Archives | Reprints | d custom | Jobs | Advertiser's Index
Awards | Archives | Reprints | d custom | Jobs | Advertiser's Index