Articles for September 16th, 2011
Congratulations, Thomas Jefferson
Again, not the dead president, although I suppose being a president and one of the framers of the Declaration of Independence and stuff is probably something for which one should be congratulated. And he built a really cool house. And other stuff.
But no, I mean Thomas Jefferson High, and specifically, the football team. The Patriots tonight broke a 36-game losing streak by winning 19-16 over Fort Worth Diamond Hill Jarvis High. It was also homecoming.
Breaking a streak feels good, doesn’t it?
Plano Balloon Festival Has Our Intern Airborne
We sent intern Megan Falconer on her first hot air balloon ride this morning. Then she wrote about it. To wit:
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The thought of cruising more than 500 feet in the air, kept from falling to my death only by a wicker basket did not send a calming feeling over my body when I awoke this morning. Yes, hot air balloons have been around since the 1700s and mine would be manned by a professional crew and pilots, but in my head I was wondering if I was going to be on the 5 o’clock news or the newest episode of I Survived on the Bio Channel.
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Here’s Our New Map of Dallas, Incorporating Your Feedback
Thanks, everyone! Very helpful comments. Your new map is after the jump. ENJOY.
Things To Do In Dallas This Weekend: Sep 16-18
Oh, hey. You were looking for something fun to do on your lunch break today? Take a wander downtown, where you’ll see all sorts of cool set ups for Dallas’ Park(ing) Day. Between Main Street and Ervay, you’ll see a few familiar faces. D has teamed up with Dirt, Half Price Books, and JD’s Tree Service to create a reading forest. It’s the perfect spot to swap out all the books you read over the summer for new material. Bring the kids around 5:30 pm for story time and other activities. Krista has more details here. Mosey on.
Friday
As I’ve mentioned in prior posts, this is a bank-breaking month for music. Broken Social Scene is here tonight with TV on the Radio at the House of Blues, and weirdly, the show is not yet sold out. One of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me is skip a BSS concert to pick me up at the airport my freshman year of college when I came home on a homesick whim. I’ll never forget that guy’s sacrifice. Anyway, it’s your last chance to catch them in our great state for awhile unless you’re making a pilgrimage to ACL. And if that’s the case, you’re already on the road, and why are you reading this?
Now that the Arts District museums are coordinating their late night activities, they can put together something like this Dallas Arts District Crawl. Basically, they’ve mapped out an itinerary that includes food trucks (expect plenty parked on Flora until 9 PM), the outdoor Explosions in the Sky concert, and stops at the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nasher, and the Crow. Personally, I’d use this as an opportunity to check out the Nasher’s new Tony Cragg exhibit. FrontRow’s Peter Simek has taken a peek, and while his review isn’t up yet, I think it’s safe to say he liked it. (more…)
Julie Schults, Charlene Dizon, Candice Benjamin, and Christina Cewe Need Your Votes
Remember Julie Schults? Momma to twin girls, model on the side, and jewelry designers? She needs your votes. Get to it.
Remember Charlene Dizon? Exotic beauty, software trainer, bacon lover, and UK native? She needs the click of approval. Go.
Don’t forget Candice Benjamin. She’s our good news reporter, girl about town, Dallas diner, and family girl. Vote for her.
Recall Christine Cewe? Adventure addict, momma of two, and former American Idol finalist. She needs your vote. Get going.
Don’t forget to vote over the weekend. Every vote makes a difference. Come back Monday for one final day of voting.
Visit Our Parking Spot Downtown
Today is Park(ing) Day Dallas. A stretch of Main Street is being converted, parking spot by parking spot, into a better place. With some help from the fine folks at Dirt, D Magazine changed its parking spot (pictured) into a book exchange. Swing by on your lunch break. Bring a book you’ve finished. Pick up one you’d like to read. You’re welcome.
The Other Side of Russell Armstrong
Awhile back on this blog, we posted kind comments about Russell Armstrong written by an old friend of his who grew up with him in Carrollton. Armstrong, of course, was the husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Taylor Armstrong. He hanged himself, the theory went, because of what the show had done to his life.
In Latin, the phrase is nil nisi bonum. Do not speak ill of the dead. Unless, well, the dead did a bunch of bad stuff. An alert FrontBurnervian points us to a lengthy Daily Beast story by Diane Dimond titled “The Real Grifter of Beverly Hills.” Fascinating story. And it looks like Taylor Armstrong herself still has some legal troubles to deal with.
Alternate Jurors Would Have Ruled Against ESD
Ace reporter Claire St. Amant was supposed to join me and some of her other People Newspapers colleagues at the Rangers game last night. But closing arguments in the Episcopal School of Dallas lawsuit extended into the evening, and Claire was too beat by the time they wrapped up to drive to Arlington. Oh, well – at least she got some exclusive interviews with the dismissed alternate jurors out of it.
Dallas Is a Job-Creating Machine
Ryan Avent looks at Perry’s “Texas Miracle” and finds that it is a product of our four major cities. Dallas was second to New York in creating jobs in the last year. Dallas and Houston alone accounted for 10 percent of all new jobs in the U.S. One reason is energy, of course. Another reason is our tight government regulation of home financing (yes, government regulation!). But the third is our availability of housing and our openness to newcomers, wherever they come from:
Yet the big secret to success is Texan cities’ willingness to capitalize on their advantages through an extraordinary openness to growth. Relative friendliness to immigration is one source of strength. Between them, Dallas and Houston welcomed over 600,000 new residents from abroad over the past decade. That welcoming spirit extends to other Americans attracted by low housing costs.
That may explain Dallas, Ryan, but what about New York, which beat even Dallas in job creation? Top cities for job growth after the break.Â
Leading Off (9/16/11)
Oh, The Places You Shouldn’t Go. Hey, is your inspection sticker out of date? Has your insurance lapsed? Have any outstanding warrants out there, waiting to bite you in the keister? Then you probably don’t want to be driving around until you get all that cleared up, since Dallas police are now randomly setting up checkpoints to look for such things.
Dallas Stars Sell Team. Your Dallas Stars will now be owned by some Canadian dude, pending all that bankruptcy stuff, the courts, and NHL approval.
Crack Is Whack, Part I. Thanks to the drought, the city of Dallas has been forced to close about 20 athletic fields because of ginormous cracks that could injure people if they unwittingly stepped/ran/fell into one. OK, maybe the last one is improbable for people, but…
Crack Is Whack, Part II. This tiny puppy fell into a drought crack and the fire department came and said, “WATER! WATER MAKES MUD!” And then they watered the crack and it fell apart and they rescued the puppy.
Happy Homecoming, Patriots! As I mentioned before, rooting for the winless Thomas Jefferson Patriots is now my new thing. Tonight is homecoming. If you wish to root them on in person, be there tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Couch Stadium. They’ll be playing the Diamond Hill Jarvis Eagles.
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