Articles for September 22nd, 2010
Dallas PD Warns of Impersonator
The Dallas Police Department is warning of a man impersonating a police officer and performing a traffic stop at Lemmon Avenue and Wycliff Avenue, and included some blurry pictures in the warning. The press release is after the jump. (more…)
Getting Up Close With Glenn Close, Ctd.
As previously mentioned, I really would’ve liked to have been at my alma mater today for Glenn Close’s visit. But the pressure of deadlines (which are still looming) made that impossible. So we dispatched intern Taylor Walker (pictured), whose report with photos from Christina Barany was far better than anything I could have pulled off.
Garland Won’t Put Up Any Stinking Cell Phone Signs, So There
I really don’t understand Garland. They gas their kittens and puppies, and it’s probably the only place left in the state where you can still talk on your cell phone in a school zone.
Why? Because they refuse to put up the signs that would make it possible to enforce the state law prohibiting the use of cell phones. Why? Because they just don’t want to. So there.
Vincente Fox to Keynote for Dallas Man’s Launch of Evolv in Mexico
That headline is a bit much to digest, isn’t it? Let’s start with the Dallas man. His name is Trey White. Or, if you prefer the name his momma gave him: Roscoe F. White III. Public records show that he pleaded guilty to felony possession of a controlled substance in 1985 (though the charges were subsequently dismissed). Then, in 1997, he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor assault charge. These things happen, though, right?
Now let’s move on to this stuff called Evolv. Trey/Roscoe is claiming he’s a billionaire, and he’s peddling a special bottled water called Evolv. You can watch a Channel 8 Story about it. I haven’t tried to the stuff, so I can’t say whether it works or not. But let’s just say Trey/Roscoe White claims the stuff will not only help you heal from injury faster but it’ll get you better gas mileage, too. (I jest, but only slightly.) He also has said Evolv’s claims are backed by researched conducted by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. That led to a lawsuit that Big Bob wrote about on Unfair Park. And you can learn more than you ever wanted to about Trey/Roscoe White and Evolv right here.
But what about former Mexican President Vincente Fox? Well, on October 2, says here, he’ll keynote a ceremony that will mark the launch of Evolv in Mexico.
They send us Topo Chico. We send them Evolv. Advantage America.
Correction: The headline of this post originally called Trey White a felon. He is not. Though he did plead guilty to the charge, White explains that he was not convicted, telling me through his PR rep: “I am not, nor have I ever been, a felon. Twenty five years ago, during my high school prom, I made a mistake. The charge against me was dismissed in its entirety through deferred adjudication. Attached is my official Dallas County public record. It’s unfortunate that there has been an attempt to discredit me prior to the launch of Evolv Mexico. I have devoted my life to creating opportunities through leadership and entrepreneurship and will continue to do so.”
Dallas City Council Raises Taxes
From the DMN email news alert I just received (story’s not on their site yet): “After a lengthy debate centered on inequities between the city’s northern and southern sides, the Dallas City Council voted 8-7 to increase the property tax rate by 6.5 percent to fund millions of dollars in street maintenance, park upkeep, recreation center programs and a host of other services.” I think that should read 6.5 cents per $100 valuation of your property. But whatever. Thanks a lot, Obama.
Update: As was made clear in the comments, the hike tacks 4.91 cents onto the 74.79 cents per $100 valuation. Yup, that there is actually a little more than a 6.5 percent increase. I hate Joe Biden, too.
What to Do in Dallas Tonight: Sept. 22
Oh hi. I know where you’re having lunch today: Norma’s Café. Why? Because this may be the one time in your life you can stuff your face with biscuits and gravy and not hate yourself afterward.
Tonight is your first chance to take free dance lessons at Watters Creek in Allen. Ladies, if your husband balks at this, just cheerfully explain: “It’s OK, honey. They’ll just match me up with a stranger if you don’t go.” That should get him off the couch.
Who is that jerk with your wife?
You’ll have just enough time to grab a quick bite at Mexi-Go or Grimaldi’s before heading downtown, where you will party like it’s 1995 with Billy “Cue Ball” Corgan and friends at the Smashing Pumpkins concert.
For other options, including a Shakespeare play, fancy dinner, or artsy-fartsy movie, browse these things to do in Dallas.
Sessions Cancels Appearance with Log Cabin Republicans
From the Dallas Voice, word has it that Pete Sessions will not be in attendance at a Log Cabin Republicans fundraiser tonight, instead opting to attend a GOP caucus meeting.
The folks at the Voice question the reason, pointing out that both Sessions and Cornyn – both were to receive awards tonight – received a lot of criticism for even accepting the invitation. When the Voice called Sessions’ office to find out the timeline – was the caucus meeting announced before or after the invitation was extended – they didn’t get a response.
Join FrontRow and TITAS for a Screening of Carlos Saura’s Movie Tango at Dallas Hub Theater
It is time for the third installment of FrontRow’s film series. We asked six local arts leaders what film they believe people living in Dallas need to see. For September’s edition, TITAS’s Charles Santos picked the film Tango by Spanish director Carlos Saura. Nominated for an Academy Award, the movie features cinematography by the great Vittorio Storaro, whose other credits include such mind-bogglingly beautiful films as The Last Emperor, 1900, and Last Tango in Paris.
This month’s screening will take place at the Dallas Hub Theater, and, as usual, it is completely free. There may even be some actual tango-ing before the screening. So come out and join us on September 30 at 7:30 p.m. For your free tickets, RSVP here.
Will They Need To Demolish the Trinity Levees?
In Leading Off this morning, I pointed to Jim Schutze’s assertion over on Unfair Park that he has talked to unnamed people who have talked to people at City Hall who have told them (the unnamed people) that the Trinity levees might need to be demolished and rebuilt with concrete to get things square with the Army Corps of Engineers. Schutze wrote:
[B]ased upon their [the unnamed people's] talks with city officials, it’s their understanding that the corps will demand as a levee fix that concrete curtain wall that’ll bedrock pretty much the length of the levees. The question is whether the curtain wall can be dug and poured from the top of the existing levees — by digging a trench 20 to 100 feet deep — or whether the levees have to be demolished first.
This notion struck me as nuts, so I called Rebecca Dugger Rasor, the director of the Trinity River Corridor Project. She’s an engineer. She works at City Hall. If anyone at City Hall knows what’s going on, it’s Rasor. She says that the idea of lining the entire levees system with what’s called a “slurry cutoff wall” (what Schutze calls the concrete curtain) has been brought up. But neither side sees that as an option to be taken seriously. What they are discussing in earnest is building slurry cutoff walls at the toe of the levees, where the levees meet flat ground southeast of downtown.
But demolishing the levees to build these walls? That’s Schutze’s fantasy. First, you’d have to build levees outside the existing levees if you wanted to demolish them. Is that even possible? As Rasor said, you ask an engineer if something’s possible, they’re always going to say yes. But she called the idea of demolishing the levees to install slurry walls “so far afield that it’s not even funny.”
How Not to Get an Internship at D
My mom (love her dearly!) is a helicopter mom. And, quite frankly, from years 13-18, I thought she was the helicopter mom. I’ve since grown up and realized there are those who are worse. And I feel sorry for their kids because I understand what they’re going through. But, ladies and gentlemen, I do believe I have found the queen of helicopter moms. I’ll give you a sneak peak at a little convo I had with said helicopter mom, and you let me know if I’m correct.
HM: Hi. I’m calling on behalf of my daughter, a student in high school. I was wondering if she could have an internship at D Magazine.
Collin County Judge to Collin County DA: I See Your Special Prosecutor and Raise You a Grand Jury
DA John Roach, who has called himself the “most powerful man in Collin County,” is a veteran fighter, used to getting his own way. But he may have met his match in freshman Judge Suzanne Wooten, who can get down in the mud and fight with the big boys.
The DA has been trying to indict Wooten for over a year over what he claims are campaign law violations. Wooten claims that the DA is on a vendetta on behalf of ex-judge Charles Sandoval (whom she beat at the polls).
This spring Judge Wooten won a skirmish against Roach when Judge Ray Wheless ruled in her favor over recalling an already dismissed Grand Jury who the DA and an Assistant Attorney General wanted to use to indict her.
She’s now got her very own grand jury, and her Grand Jury has asked for and received a special prosecutor to investigate the DA.
Yesterday, Wooten filed a motion before District Judge Mark Rusch demanding that he either confirm and make public his rumored appointment of a special prosecutor to take over the DA’s investigation of Wooten, or publicly deny that he did so.
Some will remember that it was Judge Rusch who signed a search warrant targeting the defense attorney in a capital murder case. For the last several months the DA and Judge Rusch have squabbled over who lost some of the evidence seized in that raid. The DA and Frisco PD blame the judge, and the judge blames the Frisco PD.
Abortion Clinic in For Long 40 Days
As I cruised Upper Greenville Avenue yesterday afternoon, it seemed to me that rush hour on a Tuesday was an odd time for a band to be performing in Harry Moss Park. The shindig I spied was apparently a precursor to the 40 Days For Life vigil that begins today. Similar vigils are happening nationwide, but this one targets the Southwestern Women’s Surgery Center.
Leading Off (9/22/10)
1. Yesterday Jim Schutze of the Phoenix-based Dallas Observer reported that unnamed sources have told him that unnamed people at City Hall have told them (the unnamed sources) that the Trinity levees will need a “concrete curtain” installed along its entire length, a process that might require demolishing the levees. That’s what you’d call a bombshell, the sort of news that I’d like to see squared away a bit more before it’s released to the internet.
2. I thought we already went over this. The Morning News runs another story about how DA Craig Watkins has spent his campaign funds on, among other things, a tuxedo. His opponent, Danny Clancy, says Watkins has spent his contributors’ cash on “jet-setting around the country.” But all these expenses are, we know, legitimate. Seems like a great opportunity to issue a solid smackdown in your rebuttal to Clancy, but all campaign spokesman Eric Celeste can muster is this painfully dull quote: “They are just trying to create an issue where there is no issue.” Come on, Celeste! Earn your paycheck!
3. If you live in a $150,000 house, you’ll be paying about $18 more in taxes every year. No, you didn’t miss the Dallas City Council’s vote on whether to raise taxes. That was the county commissioners that jacked up your taxes. I expect at least $18 worth of outrage in the comments section. Don’t disappoint me.
4. A Highland Park guy named Charles Nearburg broke the 45-year-old land-speed record with an average speed of 414.4 mph. That’s fast.
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