The Dallas Morning News does much good work, and everybody of course makes mistakes. But if you’re going to go behind a paywall with much-ballyhooed “exclusive” content, you’d better have credible info– or, failing that, you’d better be nimble enough to revise or correct stories quickly. Which is why this weekend’s DMN article (subscription required) on area political campaigns–including the mayor’s race in Addison–was so curious.
The report says that Addison Mayor Joe Chow can’t run again because of term limits and that former city councilman Todd Meier has announced as a candidate to succeed him–period. So, readers of the big-circulation Sunday paper would never know that Addison Mayor Pro Tem Don Daseke resigned as pro tem on Jan. 17 and filed his papers for the mayor’s race the same day. Seems like a pretty substantial omission regarding a prominent Addison businessman/community leader but, so far, no online “update” has been forthcoming.
An alert FrontBurnervian sent me a note complaining about the Morning News‘ use of the moniker “Old East Dallas.” There is no such thing, said he. And he was inclined to believe that the paper demonstrates a bias in how it thinks about that part of town.
Meh, I don’t know about any bias. But I do know that when I googled “Old East Dallas” and “Dallas Morning News,” I found the very story my correspondent was complaining about. It’s about an apartment fire. Only now, the headline puts the first in “Far East Dallas.” Look at the URL for the story, though:
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/dallas/headlines/20110213-three-alarm-fire-burns-at-old-east-dallas-apartments.ece
That fire was in Old East Dallas when the headline was written. Seems the Morning News caught its mistake.
Dear lonely hearts, please don’t take the big, disgusting smoggy cloud hanging over downtown this morning as a sign that today is going to be soul-crushingly awful. It’s just another Monday, even if it is the Lord Voldemort of holidays. Speaking of, thanks for the tulips, Mom.
First things first. Guys, if you have a special someone and you haven’t made dinner reservations, you should probably do that. Right now. I don’t care if she told you not to. Do it anyway. SideDish has helpfully compiled a list of restaurants with special menus for you. Ladies, Raya over at ShopTalk has tons of V-Day spa and shopping specials as well as the best place for lingerie.
Remember this eight-track museum that “opened” in Deep Ellum on Christmas Day? Maybe not — it was a blue light special. But ever since then, owner James “Bucks” Burnett has been searching for a permanent place to house his beloved collection of over 3,000 eight-track cartridges (along with other forgotten music formats like the wax cylinder). He found his niche in the Deep Ellum Foundation building, and the museum is holding an opening reception tonight. Local band The O’s will perform.
Be kind to the people you love, try not to hate the person in your office sprouting what looks like an entire botanical garden on their desk, and find more things to do this evening right here.
In the comments to that earlier post, Lt. Dan passed along some links to pics that Deion took of really bad water damage at his $21 million Prosper house during Super Bowl weekend. Ouch.
http://twitpic.com/3wih7o
http://twitpic.com/3wccoo
http://twitpic.com/3wccrl
http://twitpic.com/3wih3y
This might not be news to you. The post went up nearly a week ago. Move.com has pics of the two places Deion has on the market. Looking to live way north of town and price is no object? His Prosper mansion is listed at $21 million. If, however, you want to live near downtown Dallas and you’re on a budget, his Azure condo is listed at $7.5 million.
One is tempted to speculate as to why Deion would be looking to sell at a time when real estate prices aren’t exactly at their peak.
I am now apparently the clearinghouse for all bobcat sightings. So I must inform you that this cat was spotted in East Plano, near the intersection of Parker Road and Coldwater Creek. Run for your lives!
Last October, at the Pecha Kucha Night at the Wyly held in conjunction with Idea Week, I got a chance to experience Elizabeth Wattley’s show-and-tell performance about Paul Quinn College’s Farm for Good Farm. Really quick: since eliminating its football program, PQC turned its former football field into a farm run by students, the harvest from which is sold on campus and in local markets, and also distributed in the nearby area, which has traditionally had a low supply of fresh produce. It’s an awesome idea awesomely executed.
Which brings me to this Friday. On Friday, the 18th, from 10-4 they are getting the farm ready for winter planting. You can help them out. You should. All the relevant info is right here.
Judge May Sue City Over Dismissal. I only know what I read in this Dallas Morning News story about dismissed municipal judge Staci Williams, but I can’t imagine why a judge would need her own armed bodyguard at work. So the word “paranoid” springs to mind, an impression bolstered by the fact that her staunch supporter on the council is Dwayine Caraway.
State Legislature Looks to Cut Crime Victim Services. If someone in your family were murdered, or if you had been sexually assaulted, I imagine you would be interested in the status of the perpetrators’ jail sentence. That’s why the state offers a variety of services that help crime victims obtain peace of mind, including a hotline that allows you to find out just that. Most of these services, however, are likely to be cut as the Legislature looks to trim its $27 billion shortfall.
Looking For Cash, State Turns to Gas Guzzlers. Texas is considering levying a $100 surcharge on vehicles that don’t meet federal fuel efficiency standards. It’s all part of the state’s ongoing efforts to find money under the floorboards and in the mattresses. Another likely more popular proposal: allow liquor sales on Sundays.