Articles for July 15th, 2010
Budapest Solves Dallas’s Parking Problem
A mere 19 years ago Hungary was a broke Communist country. Now it has solved the most perplexing problem that any downtown faces. John Crawford and Mary Suhm, how fast can you get on a plane?
Men in Hats Are Intimidating
I was going to blog about the fact that Craig Watkins is slightly ahead in fundraising efforts and how happy that must make a certain gentleman who used to work here. (I’m sure Eric would want me to point out that’s he’s much slimmer now. And a thousand times more handsome than this picture might suggest.) But then I realized, that’s not my beat. I’m an entertainment girl. So, on to bigger things. Do you work with a man who wears hats? If so, you should send him this. (Special thanks to JJ.)
White Ties Perry in Campaign Donations
Here’s a surprise. The Austin American-Statesman says that Bill White raised $7.4 million and Rick Perry $7.1 million in the reporting period ending June 30. Perry has $5.9 million cash on hand; White has $9 million.
The Statesman also says a new Rasmussen poll gives Perry 50% to White’s 41%. I went to the Rasmussen site but couldn’t get the poll to load. If you have better luck following the link, check out the underlying numbers and give us a report.
Chupacabra Shows Up in Time for Sweeps
Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob? I’m neither. I’m Team Chupacabra. So you can imagine how excited I was to hear that, according to WFAA, chupacabras might be roaming around North Texas. Unfortunately, the whole thing might only be a grab for ratings. Boo.
Thursday Afternoon Bright Idea: How’s About We Buy Us a Baseball Team?
So the Rangers go up for auction Aug. 4. There’s at least a million Frontburner readers, I’m sure*. So why don’t we all pool our money and buy us some Rangers? I have just emptied the change cup on my desk, and I have $1.78 and a loonie to contribute.
Who else is in?
*Actually, I’m not sure. I’m guessing, or engaging in hopeful estimation.
Mike Judge to Resurrect Beavis and Butt-head
Yes! Dude! They totally rule! And the two slackers will now be watching Lady Gaga videos and the like. MTV sources confirm that former homeboy Mike Judge, who created the series, will do the new episodes, too.
Hey, Laura, how did I beat you to this information? This would have been perfect for one of your two mandated posts per day. Shame.
Cigar Program Gives the Troops a Break
When a nephew of mine, an Army Special Forces guy, shipped out recently for his fourth tour in Iraq/Afghanistan, I asked if we could send him anything, imagining Hershey bars like in the old WWII care packages. He laughed and said, “The infrastructure over there is insane. We’ve got everything we need.”
One thing they don’t have, though, is many hand-rolled cigars. So, since 2009, Dallas’ Johnny Mikes–an Army vet who owns the City Cigars store in Richardson–has been shipping boxes of good stogies to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan (pictured) on a regular basis. He does it through a program he set up called Hero Cigar, whereby folks all over the U.S. can buy a box ($89, including shipping), then communicate by e-mail with the units that get them.
What to Do in Dallas Tonight: July 15
The British Open kicks off today. Current weather conditions on Scotland’s coast: 64 degrees and partly cloudy. Just saying.
We know you’ll spend today compulsively hitting F5 on Golf.com’s live blog of the event. Perhaps you’ll further embrace the game with 18 sweaty holes at your favorite public course after work (it’s a wee bit too miserable out there for my taste, but different strokes, etc.), followed by a pint of Belhaven St Andrews Ale at the Ginger Man. These would all be perfectly acceptable ways to spend your time today — really. But here’s a different idea to consider:
Rating the Suburbs: Let’s Hear Your Thoughts
In our July issue, we undertook our biennial ranking of the Dallas suburbs. Earlier this week, we were paid a visit by the city manager of a burb that shall remain unnamed. He wanted to know how his city could have ranked as low as it did. (An intelligent guy, by the way. His city is fortunate to have him.) I explained that while we determined the formula that weights the various data points we gather on each city, the stats are the stats. Crime, education, house values — we don’t make that stuff up. But we do make up one piece of data that goes into the ranking: ambiance scores. As a staff, we give each burb a score that reflects how a place feels. Is the place beautiful? Does it welcome you? Does it offer a variety of experiences both spiritual and commercial? Assigning an ambiance score to a city is a very subjective undertaking, we admit. Highland Park got a 96, while Hutchins got a 50 (the lowest score possible).
As far as I know, we’ve never published the ambiance scores — I think, really, because we didn’t want to argue about them with city managers and residents. Which is cowardly. So today I’m sharing the ambiance scores for each city that we used in our most recent ranking, and I’m inviting you to give us your own scores. Yeah, it’s tough to give one score to a city as large as, say, Irving. But it has to be done. The magazine gods demand it. We gave Irving a 72. After the jump, you get your turn. (PS: You need not provide a score for every city; just those with which you are familiar.)
Dallas PD Would Like To Show You “Operation Triangle”
Every lede I type to go along with this sounds like a third grade boy wrote it. So, presented without comment and after the jump, this press release from the Dallas Police Department. FYI, if you’re going to use all the key words you used in the last two graphs, you’re going to make it hard for me to write without giggles. Fact.
Rick Perry: Don’t Let Dropouts Drive
Want to instill some passion for education in a teenager who is about to drop out of high school? Don’t give him a driver’s license if he does drop out. Without the license, he can’t get a job. With no job possibility, there’s no family pressure or reason to drop out. I think I like this idea, Governor. No diploma, no license. It just may have possibilities.
Leading Off (7/15/10)
1. More news is coming out from Coppell as investigators look into the apparent murder-suicide of the mayor and her daughter. There was a note on the front door explaining what police would find inside the house. Then there were three suicide notes throughout the house. According to the Dallas Morning News, these notes didn’t explain the reason for the act. They more so highlighted things that needed to be taken care of, such as the family’s two dogs.
2. A young father asked his friend to shoot him so he could blame the shooting on his ex’s boyfriend, thus gaining custody of his 3-year-old son. The shot ended up being fatal. I have nothing to add but this quote from Sr. Cpl. Kevin Janse: “There’s legal ways to get custody of a child and taking a bullet, and ultimately dying, is definitely not one of those ways.”
3. Yesterday Tim told you about a dead zebra. Today I tell you about a dead cat. Allegedly, the cat was left inside a wall at the Dallas Animal Shelter and not attended to until after it died. Seven staff members were subpoenaed and are testifying in front of the grand jury. This is a sad story. In fact, this whole Leading Off is rather depressing. The only amusement I can bring you is in the video of this story. Judging from Jonnie England’s choice of wardrobe, I can say without a doubt that this woman is committed to her job.
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