Articles for April 15th, 2011
Thousands of Commuters Will be Late For Dinner
Trains are sitting nose-to-nose on the tracks downtown. I just boarded an Orange Line train that my fellow riders report has been sitting at St. Paul Station for 15 minutes. The DART website has a brief statement about power outages. Meanwhile, the guy standing next to me is holding an i Fratelli pizza box. It may be time to make a new friend.
Congratulations, Mike Rawlings, the Only Viable Dallas Mayoral Candidate
When we (Tim) wrote in the January issue that Ron Natinsky will be the next mayor of Dallas, we (Tim) also wrote: “a viable candidate will still need to raise about $1 million.”
Therefore, Dallas now has one (1) viable candidate to become the next mayor: Mike Rawlings.
David Kunkle, Edward Okpa, and Natinsky are well short.
Should we book it?
Wildfires Makes Dallas Air Hazy
A nature-loving FrontBurnervian points us to an explanation of why the air is so blechy today.
Update: Here’s an even better map. The satellite imagery makes it look as if Texas has sprung a couple of leaks.
Walkable DFW: The Heat’s Not the Problem
Our Urban Affairs columnist Patrick Kennedy argues that it’s not the weather that keeps life from being lived outdoors most of the year in Dallas:
How many cities have as many 70 degree and sunny days as Dallas does? San Diego? LA under a shroud of smog? The list pretty much begins and ends right there. Yet if it is anything but precisely that we bitch and moan and build a city around climate controlled environment at all times.
If Dallas was built to be in Dallas would we have so much paving, radiating more heat, and creating the dreaded “heat island effect?” Would we have so many mirrored glass buildings reflecting sunlight onto the unshaded sidewalks below amplifying ambient temperatures? Oh, I forgot that reflective glass is supposedly green in the facile world of LEED construction. Would everything be so far apart, thereby abdicating the role of a designer to create micro-climates that are comfortable since we never have to be outside of air conditioning? Can we afford to make those trips as gas prices round $4/gal. and head for $5 despite being already incredibly deflated via a cadre of subsidies?
I think that he undersells just how terrible the heat gets in July and August, especially those summers when we rack up dozens of 100-degree days. But I also think he’s got a point.
Things to Do in Dallas This Weekend: April 15-17
I made it to a late showing of Bill Cunningham New York, the documentary about the veteran New York Times photographer, last night. Boy, am I glad I did. Peter’s FrontRow review is spot on, and you should go see it ASAP – if only for the incontrovertible proof that it really is possible to love what you do every single day of your life.
Friday
So, I already told you what I think you should do tonight. However, the documentary is playing at the Angelika through next week, so I suppose you can save it for later since both the DMA and the Crow are offering after hours fun this evening. I’m always up for an opportunity to play Night at the Museum, so I suggest making the Crow Collection’s free OHM After Dark your first stop for newspaper origami and bubble tea. Around 8 pm, the museum is turning off the lights and passing out glow sticks for a black light Energetic Vinyasa Flow yoga session, which could be just the pick me up you need to head over to the DMA’s Late Night in time for a peek at the Gustav Stickley exhibit and live music from the Marshall Ford Swing Band.
If yoga is not your thing, the main stage performance over at the DMA starts at 8 pm, too, and features the Dallas-based Singapore Singers. The band performs original arrangements of two-steps, rags, fox trots, and waltzes from the early 1900s. You’ve been warned: there will be dancing. To keep it all within walking distance, fit in dinner at any one of the Arts District restaurants – go Americana with Screen Door, or keep with the Crow Collection theme and gorge yourself on soba noodles at Tei An.
Dallas Readies For Redistricting
From City Hall comes word that it’s Redistricting Commission time again. Has it been 10 years since the last decennial figures were released? Time flies, friends. Time flies.
If you have some definite opinions on precinct boundaries, click here for a list of meetings. See you there. At all of them. Bring cookies.
Crazy Long-Toed Mexican Boots Invented in Dallas?
An alert FrontBurnervian points us to the video below. Stop whatever you’re doing, and watch it right now. Seriously. And then realize that a Mexico City DJ in the video says that he first saw these crazy boots in Dallas, at Far West.
Senate Bill Says Underage Sexting Not a Felony
The proposal, which has passed the Texas State Senate, allows those 17 or younger to be charged with a misdemeanor for sending sexually suggestive images, rather than a felony.
But the bill does have a loophole for dating teens, which seems reasonable. In those cases, the action probably should just be deemed stupid, rather than criminal. Â From the bill text:
(e)AAIt is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
(1)AAdepicted only the actor or another minor:
(A)AAwho is not more than two years older or younger than the actor and with whom the actor had a dating relationship at the time of the offense;
(e)AAIt is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the visual material:
The bill is now headed to the House for consideration.
Own a Picture of Nolan Ryan Punching Robin Ventura
Groupon hasn’t excited me much lately, but today’s offering is solid: a framed, signed pic of one of the best moments in sports history.
Forensic Science Commission Report on Willingham Case Draws Similar Conclusions as New Yorker
As the Texas Tribune points out, the long-awaited report from the Texas Forensic Science Commission on the Cameron Todd Willingham case doesn’t rule specifically on whether fire investigators were negligent in their duties. That question is being left to the state attorney general.
But, whether there was negligence or misconduct or whatever, the findings show that much of the scientific “evidence” cited during the trial that led to Willingham’s execution in 2004 was faulty:
For example, in the early 1990s, many fire investigators including those in the Willingham case relied on a so-called “V-pattern” on a wall to indicate the origin of a fire. “Scientists now know that the ‘V-pattern’ simply points to where something was burning at some stage of the fire, not necessarily the origin,” the report states. The report notes that other incendiary indicators once thought to conclusively demonstrate an arson – pour patterns, flashover indications, “low burn” and “deep burn” patterns, “spalling”, “crazed glass” and “burn intensity” – “are subject to numerous variables that require study and evaluation.”
Those of us who first really learned about the case from the New Yorker, are entirely unsurprised. The New Yorker spells out the conclusions, but this report implies the same bottom line.
SMU to Launch Fireworks This Afternoon
If you live or work near SMU, prepare yourself for loud, colorful explosions in the sky. Also, help yourself to some “Peruna punch.”
Leading Off (4/15/11)
Two Questions for Friday. If you were about to lose your sight forever, what would you want your last sights to be? And secondly, do you have enough Kleenex this morning? I ask because if you read this story about 8-year-old Zach Thibodeaux, you’ll need them.
Terri Hodge Is Halfway There. Â Former state representative Terri Hodge was released from federal prison yesterday, and entered a halfway house in Dallas after being greeted by friends bearing yellow roses. For those of you playing the home game, Hodge is the first person convicted in that whole city hall corruption brouhaha to leave prison. She says she’ll continue doing things for the people, because “public service is my middle name.”
Rangers Pitcher Derek Holland Has a Zit. You can learn this and many more things from his Twitter feed.
In Shocking Turn of Events, Lawyer Recommends Lawsuit. Grapevine lawyer Kern Lewis said that he feels part of Texas law – Texas Family Code. Section 41.001, to be specific – would allow parents of bullied children to sue the parents of bullies.
Hungover, or Just Sleep Deprived? So, FrontBurnervians, how are your heads? Did you take advantage of Gloria’s 25 cent margaritas last night (I was told by a friend that a waiter told her to bring a dollar and cab money)? Did the storms keep you awake? Are you prepared for the weekend? What’s on tap?
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