As we already mentioned, John Wiley Price filed to run for re-election the first day he could. Now comes word that he actually has a Democratic challenger – one who will be a very familiar name to a lot of people: Betty Culbreath.
Culbreath is currently on the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport board, and has worked for the county for a couple of decades. She also regularly blogs here.
Brand new Texas Observer reporter (and competitive eating enthusiast) Patrick Michels has the interesting tale of how Neon Deion got into the business of public education: “The most novel aspect of these charters,” Michels writes, “May be the private funding sources they’ll depend on to round out their $10 million-a-year budget: not usual suspects like Bill and Melinda Gates or the Walton Family Foundation, but big brands Sanders has endorsed or worked with over the years, which he name-drops regularly when talking about the school.”
An alert FrontBurnervian brings our attention to the fact that Dena Miller, Mrs. Highland Park, says on her Facebook page that over the weekend she was mistaken for not only Miss World but Miss America, too. That’s a good weekend indeed! (Here’s an introduction to Miller that you might find as helpful as I did: “Formerly a glam rock scene Diva, Dena is now a Socialite on the Dallas philanthropy scene, specializing in Polo events that benefit women’s and children’s causes. Dena rules the North Texas Polo scene now, as she ruled the ’80s rock scene from Texas to L.A. in it’s heydey.”)
Remember how less than two months ago Ellen Terry’s high-end residential-realty brokerage merged with Dave Perry-Miller’s operation under the Ebby Halliday banner, and vowed to go snap up more luxury agents for Ebby from rival outfits like Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty? Well, there’s been a slight change of plans. Terry said today that she’s decided to throw in with … Briggs Freeman. RealPoints has the scoop.
The ladies in the office this morning were all talking about the Lauren Scruggs story. Scruggs is the founder of the online magazine LOLO. Yesterday, after flying around over North Texas to see Christmas lights, she walked into the propeller of the private plane and was severely injured. The story has now made its way to the online part of the Daily Mail, whose penultimate paragraph reads: “The pilot was not injured.” The ladies in my office all wanted to know how such an accident could happen. It’s a good question. One best posed to that pilot.
When people ask about the company I work for, I can do a passable job of describing what it is that I do at D Magazine (answer hypothetical questions from Zac (“Who would be the best partner in an intra-office chicken fight?”)). And I can kinda even talk sorta knowledgeably about the work that goes on at D CEO, D Home, and our People Newspapers. But then there’s this division of the company called D Custom. Sometimes I say something like “They tell clients’ stories across all media” and sometimes I say something like “They’re kinda like SPECTRE, only not evil.” Depends on the nature of the particular cocktail party at which I’ve been asked about the company I work for.
All of which is to say that I’m happy D Custom has created this snazzy video to explain themselves. Now, when people ask me, I can just pull out my phone and show it to them.
Last year it “took on a life of its own,” Robert Jeffress told me recently. The church was trying to find a “fun way to make a serious point that Christmas is unique.” But a lot of people — many local Evangelicals included — didn’t think it was so fun. When Jeffress started the site GrinchAlert.com, it made national headlines and, as Jeffress put it, “caused more of a controversy than the Muslims or the homosexuals or anything else that I have talked about in the last few years.” He said he was genuinely surprised by the strong reactions, especially from Christians. This is what Jeffress told his congregation about it at the time. This is what he told CNN. The “Naughty List” was never supposed to be about boycotting. He still takes his family to Mi Cocina, even though the local chain appeared early on the list, Jeffress explained. “I just check my enchiladas twice.”
Either way, this year: no list. The site, as you can see, is down. It would appear that, for at least a few people, Christmas has come early this year.
I don’t watch Boardwalk Empire, but I gather last night’s episode was a doozy. And what a coincidence– the Eighteenth Amendment was repealed 78 years ago today, for which I’m sure we’re all truly grateful.
To celebrate this little bit of trivia, The People’s Last Stand in Mockingbird Station hosts a “Repeal Day” party, featuring prohibition era-appropriate cocktails, giveaways, jazz, and drink specials. The decent-sized bar is tucked up on the other side of Trinity Hall, and still feels like a bit of a pop up operation even though it officially opened in September. It probably has something to do with the concrete floors, white walls, and the fact that it was so cold in there I kept expecting to see Luke Skywalker ride in on a tauntaun. However, what the bar lacks in “cozy” and “den,” it makes up for in cocktail. They’re pretty good. Plus, there’s a salad with giant blobs of goat cheese. If you know me at all, you know that I’m sold.
And yes, it’s gross out. Driving long distances could get treacherous. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Amphibian Stage Productions closes out their 2011 season tonight at the Modern in Fort Worth with a staged reading of Christopher Hampton’s Treats. I consistently love the plays Amphibian chooses for this series, and Hampton is excellent. You know his film work: scripts for Dangerous Liaisons, Atonement (starring that green dress and Kiera Knightley’s back) and most recently, A Dangerous Method (also starring Kiera Knightley). Treats is a 1975 stage comedy about a love triangle that ends miserably for everyone involved. I find this fitting, as we head into a holiday season rife with manufactured romantic angst.
Quick update: Fans of the Dallas Opera’s world premiere of Moby-Dick might want to check out the company’s round table discussion tonight on creating new works for the musical stage. Like the last panel, FrontRow’s own Peter Simek will moderate. Unlike the last panel, it’s free and open to the public.
For more to do with your gloomy Monday evening, go here.
Snow? Yep, keep an eye out. We might get some, but likely only out west.
Scam Rents Out Foreclosed Homes: The Agee family moved into a house in Rockwall only to be evicted a few weeks later. As it turns out, the house had already been foreclosed upon and was the property of Fannie Mae and not Dan Blackburn from Housmart Inc, who listed the house on Craigslist and had no authority to rent the home.
Baseball Heads to Dallas For Winter Meetings: Dallas (not Arlington) will become the center of the baseball world this week as representatives from teams around the MLB head to the Hilton Anatole for the winter meetings where they will wheel and deal for talent. I’m not sure if the location gives the Rangers any kind of home field advantage, but ESPN DFW notes that Jon Daniels and company have cultivated a reputation for making the best of the annual off season swap meet. Here’s their preview.