Articles for January 5th, 2011
Wade Phillips Just Might Have a Job, Ctd.
The Houston Chronicle just reported that Wade Phillips has been hired as the defensive coordinator for the Houston Texans. He will be the third person in six years to hold the position.
Ebby Steers Toward 100, More Gingerly Now
It’s unlikely that mega-Realtor Ebby Halliday will toss the coin at next month’s Super Bowl in Arlington, as she’d been hoping publicly for awhile. (The local host committee says it recommended her for the job. But the NFL, which calls the shots on such things, is expected to tap a bigger name.) Even so Ebby won’t be sitting around on her hands, with her 100th birthday coming up in March and two big bashes planned to mark it. Plus, there’s just a lot to deal with when you’re 99 and one of the region’s business icons.
This week, for example, she’s being photographed for the cover of GrandLuxe magazine. She’s still recovering from a cracked rib that happened in her office a while back, when her swivel chair went crazy and sent her crashing into a metal wastebasket. She’s getting used to being just a passenger in her car–not the driver. Driving ended after she pulled out into Preston Road a few weeks ago and totaled her Cadillac; luckily, no one was hurt. And, through it all, her grand passion remains the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. “That’s what keeps her going,” says Betty Turner, Ebby’s assistant. “She rushes home to watch the Mavs.”
Seattle Introduces Market-Based Parking
I have long argued against the city’s outdated and counter-productive parking codes. In Dallas, if you want to run a catering service, you must have one off-street parking space for every 200 square feet. If you’re a lithographer (is anyone still a lithographer?), you need one space for every 300 square feet. if you want to built a church, you are required to provide “one space for each four fixed seats in the sanctuary.”
In Seattle, city officials are starting to think a little more creatively. They are introducing variable pricing for on-street parking, “charging more on the busiest blocks at the busiest times, and less at times when extra spaces tend to be available.”
Seattle officials hope variable fees will inspire a quicker turnover of precious parking spaces, boosting commerce and reducing carbon burning. In some U.S. urban neighborhoods, as much as 30 percent of all traffic is caused by people who circle the blocks looking for an opening.
(H/t: Marginal Revolution)
Chase Does the Arts District
I’ve gotten a couple e-mails asking about what’s filming in the Arts District today. A cop down there told me it is Chase. They are using the interior of the Winspear. For what, I don’t know. Nor do I know how this sweet lowrider will figure into the script. But it looks very Rica y Chato to me.
The News New Digital Strategy, Ctd.
Wilonsky interviews Jim Moroney over at Unfair Park. What I like about Moroney’s approach is his willingness to experiment. An excerpt:
These are our best customers — the people who pay $360 a year to take The Dallas Morning News — and making these things available to them at no additional cost is a way of saying I’d like to see what their engagement is. How often do they use a tablet, a smartphone? They’re already our most engaged users — the people who subscribe to the paper. Part of this is to see how their digital reading behavior changes. And maybe the app is as good or better than the print edition. There’s that possibility, and I think we’ll have have to wait and see.
Seryn and Telegraph Canyon to Rock “FrontBurner Live” on January 27
Can I interest you in some live music? How about some tasty vittles? No? Your interests do not include tapping your foot nor tickling your palate? Then what do you say to some free vodka? Now I gotcha.
On January 27, we’re throwing a party at the Granada to thank you, our dear FrontBurnervians, for your thoughtful contributions and unwavering support of our online efforts. Or, you know, for your expletive-laden, hateful comments that we are forced to moderate. Whichever. In any case, FrontBurner Live will feature performances by Seryn and Telegraph Canyon. Because your ears can’t listen on an empty stomach, we’ll have food for you from several of the restaurants we named the best of 2010. Confirmed so far are: Nova, Brownstone, Urban Taco, and Meddlesome Moth. Because you’ll need something to wash it all down, Kru 82 vodka will be flowing like water — if you’re accustomed to water being about 80 proof and flowing down a chute made of ice.
Let’s see. What else do have planned to delight you? Oh, yes! A big projection screen on which you will be able to comment on a live blog of the evening and have those comments seen by all. And maybe something involving paint ball guns. Not sure about that last part. Working on it.
So how can you attend? We’re inviting a select number of commenters that we’ve come to know and love (or hate) over the years. A certain number of — ahem — prominent Dallasites will receive special invitations. (Big Bob Wilonsky, yours is in the mail!) But we’ve reserved space for others, too. So if you’re not a regular commenter or an enormous bald Jew who favors vests and motorcycle boots, just register after the jump. We’ll do a random(ish) drawing for 100 or so free tickets to the gig. Hope to see you there.
Things to Do in Dallas Tonight: Jan. 5
Add this to the never-ending list of things Google has taught me: Peter Cetera’s hair is suspiciously blonde for a 66-year-old. If you’re unfamiliar, Cetera was the longtime bassist and singer for Chicago, and while he’s moved on to other things, his old bandmates are in town to play a show with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra tonight. Much like Mr. Cetera’s golden locks, Chicago has undergone a few “adjustments” over the years – only four of the seven original members remain – but they’ve got more platinum albums than I’ve got fingers, so that has to count for something, right?
But maybe 70s-era soft rock isn’t your thing, or maybe you tried (and failed) to find tickets for the show, and you’re looking for a way to drown your sorrows. Then you want to head to the State & Allen Lounge, where they’re having their weekly Wine Down Wednesday and Double Happy Hour. Wine is 25% off, and you can buy $2 domestics and $3 wells during their two happy hours, from 3 to 7 pm, and then again from 10 pm to midnight.
Still not satisfied? Find more here.
Are Hispanics a New Republican Power Base?
Michael May in the Texas Observer explores a little-understood religious phenonmenon in the Texas Hispanic community and its impact on state politics. Key point:
The conventional wisdom is that the Hispanic electorate, the so-called “sleeping giant,” will start voting en masse and sweep the Democrats back into power. Hispanic voters may not play along. According to a 2006 survey by the Pew Hispanic Center, Hispanic evangelicals are twice as likely to identify as Republicans as Hispanic Catholics or mainline Protestants.
Despite that inclination, they aren’t pushovers for the GOP either:
There’s no doubt that devout Hispanic Catholics and evangelicals are socially conservative. But despite the Republican focus on abortion and same-sex marriage, Hispanics voted Democratic—even the approximately 35 percent of those who self-identify as “conservative.” That’s because both Catholics and evangelicals tend to place liberal issues like universal health care, immigration reform and higher taxes for more social services at the top of their priorities.
Frisco, Keller, Haslit On Fastest Growing Cities List
The Gadbury Group, an information data service, has released a list of America’s fastest growing cities. Once again, our region tops the list, with two Fort Worth suburbs and one Dallas suburb. Nice to know people are still moving here in droves. I hope we can provide the infrastructure to support them. (H/t: DBJ)
Mark Cuban Starts Catfight With Phil Jackson
This is hard for me to understand. Caron Butler gets hurt, and Phil Jackson observes that not having him for the rest of the season will really affect the Mavs. To which Mark Cuban replies, “Oh, yeah? Well, Phil is the boy toy of Jeanie Buss.” Buss is the daughter of the guy who owns the Lakers. She’s dating Jackson. How is that an insult? Phil Jackson ain’t a youngster. Calling him a boy toy is like carding me when I buy beer. It’s not an insult; it’s a compliment (as Jackson himself pointed out). And Jeanie Buss is a rich, good-looking woman. Being her boy toy doesn’t sound so bad. Cubes needs to work on his insult humor. Advantage Jackson.
Leading Off (1/5/10)
1. This is a sad day for Dallas. DMN reporter Kevin Krause describes yesterday’s meeting of the Dallas County Commissioners Court, now controlled by Democrats for the first time in more than two decades, as a “love fest.” The weekly Commissioners Court meetings used to be dysfunctional, rancorous, and reliably entertaining. Now, according to Krause, “Court members spent several minutes exchanging various kudos and pleasantries.” One speaker yesterday even commented to the Court that the proceedings were boring. People, we can do better. Throw the bums out.
2. A teacher at Plano ISD’s Shepton High School was arrested on felony charges of having improper relations with a student and indecency with a child. I don’t know how many times we’ve said it. But it bears saying again: you people need to move out of the suburbs and back to the city, where the public schools are safe.
3. Looks like the Rangers will sign Adrian Beltre, who is not Cliff Lee.
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