Articles for June, 2010
Leading Off (6/23/10)
1. We should find out today whether we’ll get to have a referendum on our crazy patchwork quilt of wet and dry areas in Dallas. When the Council meets today, the city secretary will tell the members whether proponents of the referendum gathered enough verifiable signatures calling for it. Yesterday we heard that there might not be enough signatures to get the thing done. That’s just gamesmanship. I again say: we’ll have us a referendum.
2. The Mark Cuban-Ross Perot Jr. spat continues to entertain. Yesterday Cuban filed court papers saying of Perot is desperate for money: “His couch cushions having been turned over, Perot now wrongly looks to Cuban and the Mavericks as a remedy for his financial distress.” Here’s my guess, and it’s as simple as this: Perot wants out of his 5 percent ownership of the team. It’s not making him any money. And Cuban doesn’t want to pay him for it. All the rest of this stuff is just bluster.
3. From the annals of bad childcare: a 19-year-old is watching an infant. She goes inside the house and leaves the baby with a 15-year-old. Then the 15-year-old goes inside and leaves the baby with a 12-year-old. Can you guess what happens next? The 12-year-old gets on a motorcycle while holding the baby — and bad things happen.
Rick Perry, Bill White Tied, New Poll Says
A new poll by Public Policy Polling says the governor and his challenger are neck and neck at 43 percent. A Rasmussen poll five days ago said it stands at Perry 48 percent, White 40.
Rasmussen says 53 percent approve of the job Perry is doing; Public Policy pegs his approval at 36 percent. If Rasmussen is right, Perry has made an improbably strong comeback from the 39 percent of the vote he got in 2006. If Public Policy is more accurate with a number closer to the percentage Perry actually achieved four years ago, White has a real shot at winning the thing.
So which poll is right? It depends on who captured the best group of “likely voters.” Rasmussen provides no information on how it screens. Public Policy says it only approaches people who voted at least once in the last three elections., which seems generous for a mid-term election. On the other hand, Rasmussen had been criticized in the polling industry for using automated calls and is often regarded as an outlier. I don’t see any information on how Public Policy conducted its poll.
There are two flies in the ointment. The first: Rasmussen reports that anti-Obama sentiment in Texas in the highest of any state. The second: anti-incumbent fever is high. Does one negate the other? Can White squeeze through the narrow gap between the two to win?
Beer and Wine Petition Falls Short, Lawyer Claims, Ctd.
Nope. The signatures will be certified tomorrow. How do I know? We’re talking about access to beer (and wine). I know.
Triple play. Rogers says book it.
Lamplighter School Fires Back at Headmaster Cohen
This fight is going to get ugly. The school just sent out a statement saying that headmaster Arnold Cohen wanted to be bought out of the last two years of his contract. Only after those negotiations went south did he file the lawsuit. You can read the statement over on our Preston Hollow People blog, where Eric Nicholson is following the story. The school points out that Cohen, in his petition, violated privacy of one of the school’s families by “breaching the fundamental duty of a school to maintain the confidentiality of student academic records.” I will point out that, according to the most recent public records available (from 2008), Cohen makes about $250,000 a year. While that’s a comfortable wage to live on, it won’t afford Bill Brewer’s services in a protracted fight. Feels to me like the momentum just swung in the school’s favor.
Beer and Wine Petition Falls Short, Lawyer Claims
Sigh. Rudy Bush has the deets, but early (and somewhat biased) word on the street is that the petition to eliminate dry areas from Dallas has fallen short by at least 5,000 signatures.
Is Someone Diving Somewhere?
And does Candy know anything about it?
DPD Goes SCUBA Diving in Preston Hollow for Evidence in Old Cop Murder
Candy has the details. Some of them, anyway.
Dallas Police Dive For Evidence of Murder in North Dallas Pond
Candy Evans has the scoop over on DallasDirt.
Dallas-Fort Worth Out-sprawls the Rest of the United States in Census Numbers, Ctd.
I love the photo CNNMoney.com chose to run with the story. Hey, Dallas looks pretty when it floods! Hope the levees hold next time, because it turns out we’ve got a lot of people here!
Dallas-Fort Worth Out-sprawls the Rest of the United States in Census Numbers
According to the latest Census Bureau numbers, released today, Dallas-Fort Worth was the fastest-growing metro area in the whole of the USA in the past decade. We added 1.3 million people, up 25 percent over the year 2000. We’re still No. 4 in terms of metro size, with a good bit to go before we could catch Chicago at No. 3 (with about 9.6 million to our 6.5 million).
And please don’t read too much into my joke of a headline. I’ve got no problem with someone who chooses to buy a much bigger house way out in Frisco, even if they work in downtown Dallas and transform themselves into road-raging maniacs because of the 2 to 3 hours they have to spend on the road commuting each day. It’s not my own choice, but I know just how much value some people place on a good-sized yard, better schools for the kids, and a monster-sized family room. To each his own.
Why Herb Kelleher’s Lousy at Retirement
Herb Kelleher, Southwest Airlines’ irrepressible co-founder and chairman emeritus, admits to being a failure at not working. “I still come into the office every day,” Kelleher (pictured) said last night during a reception at the Fairmont Dallas. “I do mostly long-term strategy–I’m not involved in the day-to-day operations anymore–but sometimes people ‘come in to see me.’ [Southwest executive] Ron Ricks once said that I’ve flunked retirement.”
Kelleher, who stepped down as Southwest CEO and president nearly a decade ago, was at the Fairmont to give the keynote address at a B’nai B’rith International dinner honoring Gary Kelly, Southwest’s current chairman, president and CEO. Why the honor from B’nai B’rith, the Jewish humanitarian, human rights and advocacy group? “I think they’re very admiring of Southwest and Gary Kelly,” Kelleher said. “We’ve got a lot in common, like disaster relief and helping the community–from low fares to 37 years of consecutive profitability.”
What To Do in Dallas Tonight: June 22, 2010
Everyone is talking about It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s Superman, the Dallas Theater Center’s latest production that opened last Friday. Tim Rogers gave a little non-review review on FrontRow yesterday, and he gave it two thumbs (almost all the way) up. But I think seeing it tonight is a good idea. Here’s why. 1) Not everyone has seen it yet, so you can avoid knowing what happens before you actually go. 2) The show starts at 7 tonight (instead of 8 pm, as it does many other nights) so you won’t be out too late on a week night. 3) There are still good seats available. I like Tim’s idea of sitting in one of the balconies so your kid can run back and forth between you and your spouse. I also like this idea because I can spy on all the people sitting below me and pick out which one is the most attractive (sadly, yes, a game I play). Tickets for the balcony start at $15.
Alternatively, Frank Sinatra “tribute” performer David Hallam is performing at the Pocket Sandwich Theatre tonight. This guy usually does his act on cruises and in Las Vegas. So he’s good. They have cocktails and food (yes, pocket sammies) so you can grab your lady and pretend like it’s 1961 and you are still allowed to smoke inside and you’re wearing a much cooler suit and you work for Sterling, Cooper, Draper, and Pryce. Or something like that.
Richardson ISD Employees Dump Hazardous Waste in White Rock Lake
Great bit of detective work by Dallas Water Utilities and great reporting over on Lake Highlands Today: the source of the hazardous waste that has been found in Dixon Branch Creek, which flows into White Rock Lake, was boneheaded workers at Lake Highlands Junior High. Here’s hoping charges are brought against the district and the individuals responsible.
Izzy Has No Nose for News This Week
If you’re wondering where WFAA-Ch. 8’s Cynthia Izaguirre is this week, she’s MIA because of her boyfriend. Well, because of her BF’s garage door. Uncle Barky has the whole story plus photos of Izzy’s broken-nose episode.
Suggestion to boyfriend: Get a sensor for your garage door.
Leading Off (6/22/10)
1. I don’t want to get into a fight in the comments — have a lot to do today — so I’ll just say that the triple shooting involving Chief Brown’s son will be the biggest story around for some time.
2. Terri Hodge is going to the joint today. She’s already laying the foundation for, I don’t know, something. “I have yet to have my real say about it, sweetheart,” she told a DMN reporter.
3. That’s a lot to think about this morning. So watch this, and stop thinking.
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