Articles for December 7th, 2010
Just in Time for Christmas: A Beautiful Texas Atlas
Ray Stephens is director of the Texas History Institute, which is at UNT. Carol Zuber-Mallison is — not to put too fine a point on it — the world’s greatest carteographer. For some reason, this new Texas treasure was published by the University of Oklahoma Press. Go figure.
There’s a book signing this Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble on South University Drive in Fort Worth.
Recommendation for New GM of the Dallas Cowboys: Crowdsourcing
Even though Jerry Jones would not listen, Everyone Ever was of the opinion, and shared it via sports columns, blogs, radio shows, and pretty much everywhere else possible, including inside the wrappers of Bazooka Joe chewing gum, that Jerry should fire Wade Phillips and replace him with — well, Everyone wasn’t sure. Maybe Jason Garrett, maybe Joe DiCamillis. Maybe Jerry? Anyway, Everyone was torn, but eventually decided that, yes, Garrett (aka Red Ball, aka Garrett Top, aka Captain Checkdown, aka Billy Ocean) was the best choice. And clearly, Everyone has been proven right, with Garrett’s 3-1 record as coach, and the only loss coming on a heartbreaker against the defending Super Bowl champions.
Then Everyone decided that Marion Barber was not suited to be the starting running back for the Cowboys any longer. Again, Jerry bristled at the suggestion that Everyone was making. But Everyone would not be denied, again and again demanding that Tashard Choice be given many of Barber’s carries. And then Barber got “injured” — still think that was too convenient — and Choice got those carries, then only responded with the best performance by a Cowboys RB this season. Again, Everyone Ever was right.
So, Jerry. Save some money and get a Twitter account. Because then you could figure out how to run the team and also follow @FakeSteveBlow.
Nasher Goes a Bit Heavy on the Wet Stuff
Here’s the scene on Harwood, where the Nasher Sculpture Center is getting a bit aggressive with its sprinklers. As a helpful reminder, here’s the city’s ordinance governing such over-watering. 
Dallas Chamber Proposes Two Easy DISD Reforms
By a majority vote, the board could effect these reforms immediatley. The first is to do away with annual elections. Not only does the frquency reduce voter turnout, it costs the district $300,000 a year. The second is to change the election date to November, which not only reduces costs but substantially increases voter participation. The Legislature changed the election law to allow for the change. For more, read Chamber president Jim Oberwetter’s recent letter here.
Simple as these reforms are, they could meet big resistance. The system was designed to minimize voter turnout so that incumbents could more easily be re-elected. So what if annual elections meant that the board was focused more on itself than the students? The board was there to protect patronage, not to foster education.
But that was then. This is now — with the exception of Carla Ranger. (Hi, Carla! How will you vote on these?)
Harold Simmons and Waste Control Specialists Race To Make Texas the Nation’s Nuclear Waste Dump
This week, down in Austin, an important public hearing by an obscure commission will go a long way toward determining whether West Texas will become the nation’s nuclear waste dump. It appears to matter not that the appropriateness of the site itself to accommodate such waste has yet to be determined to everyone’s satisfaction. Our own Laray Polk explains what’s at stake:
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The Race for Waste Space
Or: Why Worry About the Next Billion Years When There’s Money To Be Made Right Now?
By Laray Polk
It has been almost a year since D Magazine published “Dallas’ Evil Genius: How Harold Simmons Plans to Make His Next Billion Dollars.” The article is centered on Simmons, but, more important, it is a glimpse of the complex political calculus that has made it possible for his most recent venture, Waste Control Specialists (WCS), to land the first licenses in the state of Texas to dispose of radioactive waste. So what is the occasion to revisit this subject matter? I defer to a headline from a recent story in the New York Times: “Texas Proposal Spurs Race to Dispose of Nuclear Waste.” The waste in question is from state sources; the D article dealt with waste from federal sources.
Someone asked me soon after the story came out why I hadn’t covered the state waste. I replied, “Because it’s like the children’s fable about the race between the hare and tortoise. My allotted word count only allowed coverage of one or the other.” To which he asked, “Is the federal waste the hare, and the state waste the tortoise?” I answered, “I’m not sure. Only time will tell.”
The difficulty in discernment, when the analogy is applied to the situation at WCS, is attributable to the absence of any meaningful character study. Although, like the original version, the nonfiction fable that is to follow will have everything to do with the errancy of assumption as it concerns the velocity at which things are traveling.
Things to Do in Dallas Tonight: Dec. 7 (Day of Infamy Edition)
You remember, not so long ago, when the Dr. Seuss masterpiece How the Grinch Stole Christmas came to TV but once a year? Now it’s on, it seems, daily between Halloween and New Year’s. As a result, we’ve lost something as a country, haven’t we?
What kind of future are we leaving to our children, asking them to grow up in a nation where hearing “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” is no longer a rare treat?
Thankfully, you can make the experience special all over again. The stage-musical version of the greatest-secular-Christmas-story-ever-told comes to the Winspear Opera House tonight. It runs through Sunday, but don’t wait too long. You’ve still got to fit in your Congressionally-mandated annual viewing of It’s a Wonderful Life too.
Is your heart two sizes too small for all this holiday cheer? Fine. Here are other things to do in Dallas.
Gary Cogill, I Have Your Copy of ‘The Ghost Writer’
As you may have heard, Gary Cogill has left Channel 8. As far as I know, he has not joined D Magazine or People Newspapers. Nonetheless, a copy of Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer was delivered to our office via Federal Express, and it was addressed to:
Gary Cogill
D Magazine, People Newspapers
750 N. St. Paul St., Ste 2100
Dallas, TX 75201
Gary, if you want to come by and pick it up, we’ll be here.
Rebecca Aguilar and FOX4 Square Off in Court
Uncle Barky has left his television set temporarily. He’s down at the courthouse covering the trial of Rebecca Aguilar’s wrongful termination lawsuit against her former employer FOX4. Expected to last four to six days in Judge Jim Jordan’s courtroom, the trial is likely to have Rebecca taking the stand as well as some FOX4 reporters and managers.
Talk about reality TV!
Notre Dame Wins National Women’s Soccer Title
Five of the title winners are from the Dallas area: Courtney Barg (Plano West), Jazmin Hall (Highland Village), Melissa Henderson (Berkner), Jessica Shuveiller (Plano West), and Jordan Snyder (Ursuline).
As someone who spent half of his adulthood watching various Allisonettes play soccer in the driving snow and 110 degree heat, I congratulate not only the players, but their long-suffering parents.
To the left, Jordan Snyder holds the trophy.
Leading Off (12/7/10)
1. Millions of $100 bills are in Fort Worth waiting to be inspected, because a printing error left them with creases. The inspector? This guy.
2. In this story about the convention center hotel being “just shy” (or $900,000 — it’s really six of one, half a dozen of another) of its bookings goal for 2012, I found this detail: “Developer Jack Matthews has found a tenant for a new three-story, 30,000-square-foot office building to be built just east of the hotel along Lamar Street. Gonzalez declined to name the new tenant but said it is a business that assists in filling the hotel.” So guess what, you guys? We’re getting a brothel.
3. I really know nothing about livestock and wild animals and so on, but were 75 deer killed just on the possibility that maybe at some point in the future they would get a disease that might harm other animals, potentially? That’s kind of messed up.
4. This is probably more messed up.
5. You rascal.
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