Articles for May 16th, 2011

Oklahoma Sports Writer Is Completely Right

The Oklahoman has one fine sports columnist in Berry Tramel. From personal experience, I also know he’s a fine dancer, and rivals Bud Kennedy and Evan Grant for knowing the most places you need to go eat at no matter where you are. The three of them? They’re like Yelp with inkstains.

So you all need to marvel at Berry’s ability to deliver bad news to Thunder fans, and also at his ability to be completely and totally right, as the Mavs head into this series with the Oklahoma Thunder.

posted by Bethany Anderson | May 16th, 2011 7:17pm | filed under Local News | 1 Comment »

Farmers Branch Voters Say No To Own ISD

Back in December, Farmers Branch Mayor Tim O’Hare said he’d like the city to have its own school district, instead of being a part of the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD or (depending on where you live) sending your kids to a Dallas ISD school. That idea made it onto the ballot,where it was defeated.

O’Hare says the blame probably lies with the fact that his city has a lot of old people, who don’t have his vision. How exactly that vision would’ve been carried out is a little up for discussion, too, considering you need 8,000 students to form a new district, and there are only 4,000 in the whole CFBISD.

posted by Bethany Anderson | May 16th, 2011 3:58pm | filed under Local News | 13 Comments »

Qantas Impact Could Be $200M Annually

Qantas Airways’ move to launch direct service between Sydney, Australia, and DFW Airport, which was 10 years in the making, is all about boosting business in both the U.S. and Australia. The four-times-weekly service, which kicks off today, could have a $130 million-plus direct impact on the North Texas economy annually, airport CEO Jeff Fegan said this morning. The figure that could rise to $200 million when and if daily flights are inaugurated, he added.

Fegan was attending a World Affairs Council breakfast addressed by Kim Beazley, the Australian ambassador to the United States. In an interview afterward, Beazley said the Aussie airline’s decision on daily service would be triggered by “load factors,” as well as the availability of Boeing’s often-delayed 787 Dreamliner plane (Quantas is currently using Boeing’s extended-range 747 for the flights).

Beazley also said that while Houston now enjoys the lion’s share of Texas business with Australian companies, the new service here will make North Texas more attractive to small and medium-sized Aussie firms, especially in the high-tech sector, and to Australian investors, who have a ton of cash to deploy. “This will sort of rub a lot of noses in opportunity,” he said.

posted by Glenn Hunter | May 16th, 2011 1:58pm | filed under Business, Local News, Transportation | 7 Comments »

Which Candidate Spent the Most Per Vote?

Over at the Dallas Morning News, Rudy Bush does some math for us and figures out how much each winning candidate spent per vote. The most frugal? Ann Margolin, who retained her Preston Hollow and Northwest Dallas seat by spending only 18 cents per vote. The most spendy (mayoral races included) was her neighbor, Monica Alonzo, who spent a whopping $60.05 per vote to take Steve Salazar’s seat (Salazar was out because of term limits).

One could argue that if you won,  you got bang for your buck. But I am not certain $60.05 is a wise expenditure when the net is only 634 votes.

posted by Bethany Anderson | May 16th, 2011 12:52pm | filed under Local News | 8 Comments »

Things To Do in Dallas Tonight: May 16

Another clear-cut victory for democracy. Steven Jones, who, unlike most people in Irving, doesn’t even bother to pretend that he’s not a giant racist, has won himself a place on the district school board. Jones is the founder of Lyric Stage, which just goes to show you that theater people can be creepy, too.

Speaking of, I hear Lakeside Community Theater in The Colony is holding auditions tonight and tomorrow for The Evil Dead: The Musical. This is without a doubt the worst show I’ve ever seen Off Broadway, on Broadway, or anywhere so far away from Broadway that it might as well be outer space. The first two rows of the audience are a splash zone for the absurd amount of fake blood. However, there’s a Tony Danza pun, and maybe a talking moose head. And it did make me laugh. Honestly, I’d audition if I wasn’t tone deaf. Someone more talented than I, go try out and give me a better reason than misplaced nostalgia to see it again in July.

Personally, I think Dallas Theatre Center company member Liz Mikel is one of the hardest working people in Dallas. She’s gearing up for her turn as Dorothy in the summer production of The Wiz, and somehow has found the time to put on a blues concert every single Monday evening over at South Side on Lamar. Tonight’s themed show, “A Pigfoot and a Bottle of Beer,” is especially fun, however, because the singer will pay tribute to the Chitlin’ Circuit (venues acceptable for African-American performers during segregation, like the Apollo Theater) and a few of the bigger names to come out of it. Her set will include songs from Martha and the Vandellas, Gladys Knight, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, and Stevie Wonder, and awesomely, it’s free. UPDATE: Apparently, I was given next week’s set list. Tonight, Mikel will perform music by blues legends Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith along with an homage to Jackie “Moms” Mabley, a stand up comedian. Still free, of course.

Also free and awesome: the final installment of FrontRow’s film series at the Texas Theatre. Check it out. Plus, don’t forget to vote in the Best of Big D services survey, which kicked off this morning.

For more things to do in around town tonight, go here.

posted by Liz Johnstone | May 16th, 2011 11:40am | filed under Things to Do in Dallas | 13 Comments »

Oh, Yeah — The Mavs Are Still Playing.

Nine days after their last game, Your Dallas Mavericks will return to the court tomorrow night, against the Oklahoma City Thunder, in the first game of the Western Conference Finals. The extra rest will come in handy, probably, since the schedule for this I-35 series calls for games every other day. A few questions, before it gets going.

(more…)

posted by Zac Crain | May 16th, 2011 10:59am | filed under A D Magazine Guess-tigation, Sports, Super Heroes | 1 Comment »

Vote Now in the Best of Big D Readers’ Choice: Services Poll. Once an Hour Through May 29.

blog_postI told you, on Friday, what to expect.

Now’s your chance to live the dream.

VOTE.

Only you can determine who takes the title of “Best of Big D” and appears in the August 2011 issue of D Magazine.

posted by Jason Heid | May 16th, 2011 10:25am | filed under Best of Big D, Business, Shopping | (0) Comments »

Leading Off (5/16/11)

Brace Yourself For Five Exciting Bonus Weeks of Mayoral Campaigning: As expected, the dullest mayoral campaign in Dallas history is now even longer. The candidates are back on the trail. And yes, Tim’s string-pulling to make Rob (Ron) Natinsky the next mayor failed. The Dallas Morning News, however, is anointing Natinsky kingmaker (sorry Tim), but with his supporters wavering between concerns about Rawlings’ Democratic leanings and Kunkle’s marriage-happy life, my guess is they just forget to vote in the runoff.

Kidd Most Ironically-Named Player Left in Playoff Race: Yesterday, the OKC Thunder beat the Grizzlies to become the team that will lose to the Marvericks in the Western Conference Finals. If you need to get psyched up again for the playoffs, check out this New York Times feature on Jason Kidd’s quest to be the oldest point guard to win an NBA title in league history.

Handicaps Be Damned, Married Downs Couple Lives Out Normal Life: Grab the nearest hankie before you click through to this story about Austin Davenport and Christi Hockel, a married couple with Downs Syndrome living in East Dallas.

posted by Peter Simek | May 16th, 2011 7:38am | filed under Awesome Things, Let's go Mavs!, Local Government, Local News, Police | 8 Comments »