Articles for June, 2010
You Have a Phone. You Make Movies
You haven’t heard of “The Texture of Dallas,” FrontRow and the Dallas Video Festival’s collaborative video competition for all? Now you have.
Nothing to See Here, Except Maybe a Funnel Cloud?
So, I don’t want to be all alarmist, but I do think that a funnel cloud is typically considered to be Serious Weather. The climb-int0-the-bathtub-with-a-mattress kind of serious weather. Where I’m from, funnel cloud = you might die of weather.
So I was a little perplexed at CBS11’s latest tweet.
ATM Thieves Create New Breezeway at NorthPark
FOF had it first, and then the Dallas Police sent it via Nixle next, but apparently some would-be thieves drove into an exterior entrance to NorthPark Center and then into some security doors at Dillards in an attempt to take an ATM.
Granted, this was at 3 a.m. or so, but still, after a spate of violent crime at the mall, wasn’t there supposed to be more security?
Parker, Texas, Is the Best Suburb of Dallas
You already knew that, of course. You’ve read our rankings of 62 suburban Dallas communities to see that Parker tops the list. And you’ve taken a little tour of the top 10 that firmly establishes that you might want to live there.
But would you want to visit — you know, if you had absolutely no interest in the Ewing clan? We’ve sent D Magazine online editorial intern Ryan Jones on a suburban safari to find out.
What To Do in Dallas Tonight: June 28, 2010
What a weekend. Actually, what a Saturday. The elbow-connected-to-the-tubes to top off the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, followed by a fist-biting loss by the home team to Ghana in World Cup Soccer. Well, it was fun while it lasted. If you don’t have total FIFA fatigue by now, I say just pick a new team to cheer for, and head to Trinity Hall to watch the game. Isn’t your distant relative from Slovakia? They are battling the Netherlands at 9 am. Didn’t you always want to visit Brazil? Good enough–they are playing at 1:30 today. It’s the summer for goodness sakes. Let’s continue the day drinking as long as possible.
Another thing to do tonight: eat for free. Trece restaurant is offering free dinner on Monday nights. The restaurant has been doing this for a little while, but people still really don’t seem to know about it. Yes, you have to pay for your drinks, and you also pay 20% gratuity. But a little flask full of vodka in your purse goes a long way toward a cheap meal out (or you could just get a Diet Coke, drunky).
We’ll Take Our Arch Topping Well Done
Thousands gathered early one weekend morning in April to watch the implosion of Texas Stadium. Irving city fathers and mothers made it an event and even made some cash on the deal. They had a tent party to shelter VIP-types from the elements and sold sponsorships. Many thousands more watched from their home thanks to live-TV coverage.
So when the topping of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge’s first arch (pictured) was announced Wednesday, there was some confusion. The topping of the 40-story arch would take place Saturday at 7 a.m. because the crew was ahead of schedule, but the champagne celebration would not take place until Monday morning in the air-conditioned Haynes & Boone offices overlooking the site. Gee, it seemed like the real action was watching the connecting of the two white tubes. Shouldn’t take very long and it was such a exciting moment in this Dallas landmark-making project to see the magnificent arch completed.
So what happened Saturday morning? Since there was no live-TV coverage of this has-to-be-perfect topping of the arch and you probably didn’t attend, here is a blow-by-blow of the topping and how the event nearly got the best of Mary Ellen and Fred Holt (pictured). (more…)
Leading Off (6/28/10)
1. The Dallas Morning News reports on a great contradiction in U.S. immigration policy: we offer illegal immigrants education in our public schools, only to forbid them to obtain jobs after graduation. That includes 50,000 to 70,000 young men and women a year nationwide, and up to 16,000 in Texas.
2. The Huffington Post has picked up this story: two Dallas men were killed after guns were introduced to a dispute about “an upcoming World Cup soccer game.” Ridiculous and senseless, though when I first read the headline, I figured it had something to do with Carlos Tevez’s absurd offside goal, and I could imagine the flaring tempers. But the dispute happened before any of yesterday’s games, which is even more ridiculous and senseless.
3. This seems like a poor decision: the funeral of David Brown Jr., son of Dallas Police Chief David Brown and the man who authorities say shot and killed two men in a Lancaster apartment complex, including a police officer, had a police escort. The city manager says she is going to investigate the decision to give Brown’s funeral a police escort, and there was talk of a possible protest, which now seems to be on hold.
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. )
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