Articles for October, 2010
Neiman Marcus and JC Penney Report Strong Sales
Are we looking at a rebound in retail sales (I hope, I hope)? Two Dallas-based retailers, on opposite sides of the price spectrum, seem to be leading the way. Neiman’s same-store sales are up 4.7 percent. JC Penney’s are up 5.1 percent.
Leading Off (10/8/10)
1. If you’re a Rangers fan, and you have tickets for Sunday’s playoff game, at this point do you feel conflicted about Saturday’s game now that they’re up by two? If the Rangers win, they move on, but you don’t get to see the win. It’s like Sophie’s Choice for baseball.
2. Yesterday, I mentioned Andy Moreno’s quest to be homecoming queen. But now I think I should point everyone to this story in the Dallas Voice, which gives a better picture of her family, her school life, and her friends.
3. Remember how the city wanted to close down all the scrap yards and such near the Trinity so they could have pretty developments, but the scrap yard owners were verklempt? Well, it turns out that equal parts common sense, unacceptable ratings for levees, and bad economy have worked in the scrap yard owners’ favor.
4. Grits for Breakfast notes that the three-judge panel involved in the disciplinary proceedings for Judge Sharon Keller will rule today on her motion to dismiss the warning she received regarding the Michael Richard case.
5. Today’s earworms? Well, they all have something in common. If you can figure out what, you win exactly nothing, or maybe your wildest dreams will come true. Happy Friday, everyone, and have a good weekend. Take it easy.
Rangers Playoffs Are Tough on Ears
Listening to Buck Martinez on TBS reminds me of a question I’ve often asked about NBA analyst Bill Walton: Did the person who hired this guy to talk for a living get to hear his voice first?
Two Handsome Guys Go on a Ride Together
The D Empire has acquired two mean bicycles from our good friends at Dallas Bike Works. So let’s say you’re City Manager Mary Suhm. And let’s say you have a lunch appointment with Wick, and you’ve agreed to meet at our office and walk to your lunch destination. Don’t surprised if, when you get here, Wick hands you a bicycle helmet and says in an enthusiastic howl, “Let’s riiiide!!” You’ve been warned.
Meantime, Zac and I had to make sure the cycles were roadworthy. We just took them out for their maiden voyage, a brief trundle through the Arts District. Ask Zac how hard I totally shredded up that steep driveway at the Wyly.
North Dallas High Denies Transgender Teen’s Homecoming Queen Hopes
Andy Moreno wants the chance to be on the ballot for North Dallas High’s homecoming queen, a typically democratically decided honor where people are nominated, then students vote.
Only North Dallas High’s principal, Dinnah Escanilla, has denied Moreno’s request before she even made the ballot. Why? Because she’s transgender.
Admittedly, Dallas ISD officials said there’s no district rule to prevent Moreno from running, or even serving, as homecoming queen. And it seems to me that this, if allowed by the adults, would shake out democratically if they’d just allow it. If Moreno is nominated by students, and voted on by students, and she’s the one who is picked, would that really be such a horrible thing?
Things to Do in Dallas Tonight: Oct. 7
Have you settled on a Halloween costume yet? I know it’s early, but if you plan on renting, be aware that with giant parties like this one springing up, the pickings may be slim if you procrastinate. I’m considering going as Justin Bieber or a young Harry Potter, in case you were wondering.
Anyway, for lunch today you’re having fair food, because you’re going to be very hungry after watching the Guess What’s Cookin’ Contest, Central Market’s answer to the Food Network show Chopped. Not sure where to acquire your own meal? Read Allison Hatfield’s post on our Dallas food blog for inspiration.
If you’re A) single, B) coupled but morally flexible, or C) voyeuristic, you’ll want to check out the Red Light/Green Light party at RA Sushi in Plano. If you’re interested in cocktails but not swordfights, go hear Gary Floyd at the Stoneleigh Hotel. And if neither of the aforementioned activities appeals to you and you like modern instrumental music, consider checking out the New Sounds for a New Space show at Dallas Contemporary.
Not so much? Then browse these other things to do in Dallas, and have a great night.
DA Candidate Danny Clancy Gets His Wheels Boosted
From Dallas County GOP chair Jonathan Neerman:
Earlier this morning, Danny walked out of his house to find his car on blocks with the tires stolen. Also, in the last two weeks, his wife’s tires have been slashed twice at a local government building. These four attacks on the Clancy family seem terribly suspicious with an election in less than 30 days.
And the photo, which does make you wonder, given that it appears Clancy parks his ride behind a gate. Not exactly the most prime target for ordinary thieves. Then again, the PR he’ll get from this — “I’m running for DA because because I’m sick of having my car tires stolen!” — will be worth whatever the tires cost.
Texas Foreclosure Sales Put on Hold, Tax Bills on Your Doorstep, and House Porn
It’s a busy week for real estate news over on DallasDirt: Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has popped a moratorium on foreclosure sales with 30 major lenders because they got kind of sloppy doing their foreclosure paperwork. (Can you imagine if you or I got kind of sloppy like that when we paid our mortgage or credit card bill? Yeah, right, that’s notarized: what’s a notary?) Dallas county property tax bills are arriving and we want to know, are you still happy? If you’re not, you will be when you see the House Porn we have on tap as D’s Sale of the Week.
Jessica Simpson Is Go-To Gal For All Things Upper and Lower GI
Two Jessica Simpson items that intersect somewhere in the small intestine:
1. Jessica Simpson is teaching people to fart less. (H/T: Jack E. Jett)
2. Answer: A helicopter ride and three Red Bulls. Question: What does it take to make Jessica Simpson throw up?
Oh, and good morning, y’all.
Leading Off (10/7/10)
1. This story is disturbing. An aide wrote a message to a mother on a special needs’ student’s arm. The article indicates that not only did the aide see nothing wrong with what she did, but she also didn’t seem worried that she got the name wrong nor that she had misspelled “tonight.” She was ashamed, however, that she forgot to include the phone number in the message.
2. So officials at DART think that the reason ridership during OU/TX weekend plummeted by a third was because of timing: good weather and the game wasn’t held on the last weekend of the fair this year. Um. No. I didn’t even attempt to take DART to the fair this year. I know the organization has been promising changes and efficiency since the debacle last year, but quite frankly, I didn’t want to chance it. And the fair during the game was as busy as it’s ever been. (Actually, it may have been worse. In years past, I’ve never been part of an angry mob focusing its energy on people trying to cut in line for a corny dog. Who knew fried food could evoke such anger?)
3. Two performers at the Lodge got scholarships for college. Yes. This is news.
Exxon Mobil: HQ Staying in Irving
Don’t believe the rumors about Exxon Mobil Corp. relocating its headquarters from Irving to The Woodlands area outside of Houston. The story began spreading after a report in today’s Houston Chronicle cited architectural documents for a 20-building, 3 million-square-foot campus on land Exxon owns near Interstate 45 and Hardy Toll Road.
Alan Jeffers, spokesman for Exxon Mobil, said the company is conducting a study of its long-term real estate needs in the United States: “We do it from time to time, as the population shifts and work requirements change.” He said Exxon has about 15,000 employees in Houston who work in a number of different buildings, and a couple thousand employees in Fairfax, Va. It also has about 400 at its corporate headquarters in Irving and others in Pegasus Place along Interstate 35W in Dallas.
So, the company is looking at real estate consolidations and creating space efficiencies for the long-term, but a corporate HQ relocation is not under consideration, Jeffers said: “It’s not even part of the study.”
Economic development officials in Irving, you may begin breathing easier again.
Republicans Fire Away at Watkins — And Eric Celeste Is Nowhere To Be Seen
The county Republicans sent this wanted poster out to the precinct chairs a bit ago. It’s in response to the recent dustup DA Craig Watkins caused when he got up in County Commissioner Maurine Dickey’s grill because he doesn’t like her vegetable and butterfly garden. I am not making this up. In an e-mail to his fellow Republicans, Dallas Country GOP chair Jonathan Neerman wrote:
Earlier this week, current Democrat DA Craig Watkins unveiled his latest initiative to fight crime in Dallas County. No, he isn’t tackling the meteoric rise in rapes. No, it has nothing to do with the high juvenile crime rate. Nor does it have anything to do with fighting public corruption. Hold on to your gardening hats.
Mr. Watkins is hot on the trail of some of the most wanted vegetables in County Commissioner Maurine Dickey’s teaching garden. Click here to read the full story. Doesn’t Mr. Watkins have something better to do than investigate the level of irrigation in Commissioner Dickey’s garden? Is this really the type of fruitless shenanigans we want our District Attorney engaged in?
Here’s what makes me sad: not that our political discussion has sunk to this level. No, I actually like this level. What makes me sad is that, with Eric Celeste no longer part of the Watkins campaign, there’s no one from his side who is qualified to fire back. The wanted poster isn’t that funny. They get points for effort, no question. But I just know that Eric would have had a great return zinger.
Hey, Eric, maybe a freebie for old time’s sake in the comments?
Study Finds Midlothian Air is … Actually OK
For years, media reports in concert with environmental activist groups like “Downwinders at Risk” have done a great job convincing people that the air in Midlothian–where there’s lots of heavy industry–causes little kids there to get asthma and just basically chokes everybody else in North Texas to boot. (Theory: Drivers on S.H. 67 see puffy emissions from smokestacks, assume worst.)
So the silence today is deafening, and interesting, after a year-long, $350,000 study found that the air in Midlothian poses, er, no risk to public health at all. While the report for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality called Midlothian one of the most-monitored sites in the state now, critics like Downwinders’ Jim Schermbeck are having none of it. “If there’s a way to exonerate industry,” Schermbeck said, “the TCEQ will find it.”
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