Articles for February 7th, 2012
Uncle Barky Reports Carolyn Mungo Named News Director for WFAA
According to Uncle Barky, Carolyn Mungo, formerly of Houston’s KRIV, will head up WFAA’s newsroom. UB reports that first choice Kurt Davis of San Antonio’s KENS evidently said, “Thanks but no thanks” when offered the job.
This development means a grand slam for females holding the news director positions at the area’s four major television stations.
Craig James Promises Not to “Let God Down” By Dropping Senate Bid
The Associated Press has a profile of the long shot candidate for Senate. In it, James says he thinks his two college football scandals have plagued his campaign, preventing him from talking about the conservative talking points he’d prefer. Most importantly, though, is this:
James dismisses a suggestion he’s considered a long shot and believes he was called by God to run for office.
“That doesn’t mean God says, ‘You’re going to win, Craig,’” he said. “But I would far rather have done this than let God down and not do what he had called me to do.”
Protest Outside Komen Headquarters
Because nobody involved seems to want this story to stop, today there was a protest outside the local headquarters for the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure. The DMN’s Bruce Tomaso breaks the news of James Ragland covering the very small protest here. Unfair Park has much more here.
Just as, in the wake of the policy “reversal” and the resignation of Komen vice president Karen Handel, the anti-Planned Parenthood crowd is accusing Komen of bowing to pressure from the left, now the actual left is vowing to make sure Komen doesn’t bow to pressure from the right, asking the foundation to promise it will not cut funding to Planned Parenthood after next year. So much vowing and bowing. Makes me want to watch a Kung Fu movie.
Randy Travis: Common Bat or Buffy Vampire?
Randy Travis is the guy in the middle, in case you didn't know.
Reuse Jeans sent out an email today to share pictures from the Jan. 21 grand opening of its new store at the Shops at Park Lane. In the email, they were sure to note how grateful they were that country singer Randy Travis had been able to stop by (see photo above.)
This new photo, and Mr. Travis’ recent Denton County Sheriff’s Department mugshot, have sparked an intra-office disagreement.
Settle the argument: Does he look more like a vampire bat or a vampire from the TV shows Buffy and Angel?
An Analysis of Attributions in the Spring 2012 Issue of Patron Magazine
Once upon a time, Terri Provencal was the publisher of Modern Luxury Dallas. She resigned in 2008 to launch something called the Provencal Consulting Group. Then, last winter, she started a quarterly magazine called Patron, which I believe is not pronounced like the tequila. According to its website, Patron is direct-mailed to 15,000 households, and it reaches 240,000 arts patrons (!). A hint as to how the magazine is able to reach that many people can be found here: “Beautifully printed on an oversized format, our sophisticated readership will be treated to a definitive insider’s looked [sic] at our flourishing arts scene.” I will need to discuss this with our circulation department. Printing your own readership? Genius.
Anyway, I missed the first issue, published in winter 2011. But I just got a chance to read the spring 2012 issue cover to cover. And here’s what I love about Patron: rarely does anyone ever say something in its pages. No, profile subjects enthuse. Sources add. They acknowledge. When it comes to attributions, Patron is not afraid to get creative.
Herewith, a tally of every single attribution from the spring 2012 issue of Patron, for your perusal:
What Dallas Can Learn From Portlandia
It’s foolish, certainly, to read today’s final article in the Dallas Morning News‘ three-part series on the growth and development of North Texas and come to the conclusion that Dallas-Fort Worth should absolutely adopt the same approach as Portland, Oregon. (The Portland area collectively sets a boundary beyond which urban development is forbidden.)
But, man, it sure makes sense that the many municipalities and the counties that comprise a region should, you know, work together:
Planners expect the population of the entire Portland area to double in the next few decades, just like North Texas. But Portland’s growth will accompany only an 11 percent increase in land.
Here, space is prized more as a tool for redevelopment than a vehicle for expansion. The high-tech giant Intel houses its Hillsboro campus in a former industrial field. A Chevron gas station in nearby Beaverton also functions as an electrical power plant. And permanently stationed food trucks fill vacant Portland parking lots with everything from poached Thai chicken to pork schnitzel.
The urban growth boundary prevents cities from spreading outward, so they’re forced to look inward. “It has led to a realization that everything is related to everything else,” said Ethan Seltzer, a professor of urban studies and planning at Portland State University. “This notion that you’re all in it together, it leads to a willingness to cooperate.”
Maybe, if you’re a certain sort of person, the bit about the food trucks makes you roll your eyes. And perhaps setting a strict regional growth boundary would be a terrible mistake, causing housing prices to skyrocket to the point that it would prevent affordable pricing for decent housing in the core of the city. I’m not sure of the net effect. I’ve heard smart people argue differing sides.
Sports Parents Need to CHILL
For the past couple of months, I have been helping coach my son’s basketball team. The kids are 7 and 8 years old, they play in the YMCA White Rock league, they’re called the Wildcats, and they are awesome. Not that the Y will formally acknowledge it, but they won the league this year, only losing one game in the process. The boys — many of whom I had coached for the past three years — work hard, and they’re real sweethearts. I love ‘em all. Also, as I mentioned before, they are 7 and 8 years old.
I waited until the season was over to write this, because I didn’t want to cause any undue stress on either the players or their parents. But now seems like an OK time.
Super Bowl Smackdown: Host Indianapolis Makes Dallas-Fort Worth Look Like a Bunch of Chumps
As the Super Bowl XLVI broadcast came back from one commercial break, NBC’s Al Michaels said something like (paraphrasing): “What’s so great about Indianapolis as a Super Bowl host is that it’s one of the places where everything is within walking distance.”
Sitting, as I was, in a living a room amidst the exurban sprawl of Frisco on Sunday, that comment stung. I mean, he wasn’t talking about North Texas, and yet he was.
And Michaels isn’t alone. Indianapolis is getting rave reviews for its hosting of the NFL’s championship extravaganza. Having been blessed with unseasonably pleasant weather this year (as opposed to the ice and snow we greeted fans with in Dallas for Super Bowl XLV), there’s already speculation about how soon the capital of Indiana will get to host another. It’s very unlike the “Will North Texas Ever Get to Host Another?” headlines that followed our region’s turn.
Much of the praise for Indy is about its compactness. Whereas North Texas had some activities in Fort Worth, others in Dallas, and the game in Arlington, with driving required to get anywhere, Indianapolis was walkable. Sports economist Patrick Rishe wrote a column for Forbes yesterday where he noted that “Bigger is not always better” — another slap in the face of Texas?
Things To Do In Dallas Tonight: Feb. 7
The only thing that could possibly cheer me up right now is the news that Live From Daryl’s House plans to add Dallas to their meager tour schedule. It is wildly apparent, however, that the booking gods have better things to do than smile on me.
How to make this evening better than this sorta-kinda gloomy morning? Riverdance. Obviously. The Riverdancers have had a good two-decade run. But alas, their Irish step-dancing time must come to an end, much like our beloved Greenville Ave. parade if somebody doesn’t pony up that $40,000. Bid the troupe adieu at the Music Hall at Fair Park tonight, presented by the Dallas Pops. (As a kid, I thought the Dallas Pops only existed on the Fourth of the July, but that’s neither here nor there.) Riverdance, with all its whirling and twirling and high-kicking, will blow your mind.
Also this evening, songstress Brandi Carlile is performing an acoustic session with Lucy Wainwright Roche at the House of Blues. I’m a fan of Wainwright Roche’s half brother and sister, Rufus and Martha, so I figure she’s worth a listen. And since you’ll be downtown, you can try the Chesterfield for food, or just drinks. Some people like it. I like the idea of their fancy ice shapes, since a) it reminds me of the reusable fish ice cubes my neighbor used when she made pitchers of Kool-Aid and b) it makes for an excellent science project that could probably be recast as a drinking game.
For more to do tonight, go here.
How Do People FEEL About Khloe Kardashian Odom?
Tim linked to Khloe Kardashian Odom’s interview with NBC Channel 5 in Leading Off, but in his usual quest to make a sex “joke,” he skipped over basically 98 percent of the content of said interview. Including:
“I got Mason chaps, a suede vest, a cowboy hat,” she said. “I got Mason a ton of stuff. Robert and I got two cowboy hats.”
Mason will surely blend right in. More interesting, for our purposes:
“Coming here, I can honestly say I have never felt more genuinely loved,” she said. “It’s not phony. People are just genuinely nice to you. They really just want to be helpful or hug you — but hug you not in a creepy way. It’s the Southern hospitality.”
Admittedly, I don’t know much about the Kardashians, but whenever they’ve been mentioned on FrontBurner, the reaction in the comments is, let’s say, divisive, especially regarding Khloe. In the office, however, she seems to be pretty much universally liked, if not loved. And according to her, that’s the reaction she gets around town. So, though I know how this will go, I’ve made a poll, to make this all scientific-like. It’s after the jump. If you don’t feel like voting, here is Beyonce’s “Love On Top.” Just because.
Should the Texas Rangers Re-sign Josh Hamilton?
Even before Josh Hamilton had his relapse with alcohol last week, the Texas Rangers were faced with having to make a tough decision this year regarding his future with the team. Hamilton can become a free agent at the end of the coming season. He’s already established himself as one of the greatest players to ever wear a Rangers uniform, and naturally that makes him one of the most popular players on the Rangers roster.
But his injury history gives one pause. Plus he’s going to turn 31 this season. The overwhelming body of evidence in baseball suggests that most players peak between the ages of 27 and 29, which means that Hamilton is past his peak and will see his skills decline from here on out.
Which isn’t to say that he won’t still be a valuable player this year, and for a few more years yet. If he’s looking for something like the 10-year deal that Albert Pujols got from the Angels this offseason, that seems unlikely (and would be incredibly unwise.) Last November, Adam Morris of Lone Star Ball argued that the Rangers should let Hamilton walk after 2012. In January, Grant Brisbee of Baseball Nation called Hamilton’s situation “The Most Difficult Contract Decision in the History of Baseball” and argued that Hamilton is worth a big money-short term deal.
So does what happened at Sherlock’s last week change anything at all? (more…)
DeGeneres Flap Making J.C. Penney Look Cool
Jason mentioned a while back the changes that new CEO Ron Johnson is bringing to J.C. Penney, including hiring Ellen DeGeneres as a spokesperson. Seems that decision didn’t sit too well with a group called One Million Moms, which thinks Ellen shouldn’t have the job because she’s a lesbian. Bill O’Reilly locked horns with a Million Moms sympathizer on Fox News Channel last night, and wound up defending Penney’s right to hire whomever they want. Given the dust-up, Johnson’s move seems more than ever like a genius one, positioning the Plano-based department store as hip and diverse and cutting edge. (J.C. Penney: cutting edge?)
Komen Vice President Karen Handel Quits Over Planned Parenthood Controversy
The AP reports that Karen Handel, a former Republican candidate for governor in Georgia who became vice president of public policy for the Susan G. Komen Foundation and was blamed by many for being heavily involved in the organization’s recent decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood, has resigned:
A source with direct knowledge of decision-making at Komen’s headquarters in Dallas said the grant-making criteria were adopted with the deliberate intention of targeting Planned Parenthood. The criteria’s impact on Planned Parenthood and its status as the focus of government investigations were highlighted in a memo distributed to Komen affiliates in December.
According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions, a driving force behind the move was Handel, who was hired by Komen last year as vice president for public policy after losing a campaign for governor in Georgia in which she stressed her anti-abortion views and frequently denounced Planned Parenthood.
Leading Off (2/7/12)
Could the St. Paddy’s Parade Move Downtown? Jacquielynn Floyd asks that question in her column today (sub. req.). As you know, the Greenville Avenue version of the parade is financially strapped and might not go off. Floyd herself winds up admitting that her idea couldn’t work, but I’ll go ahead and say: that idea won’t work. Please, Greenville Avenue merchants, I implore you. Get organized, and get this thing funded. As this man so wisely put it a few years ago, it is one of the best things that Dallas does.
Dallas Police Department Gets Hacked. The DPD has taken down www.dallaspolice.net after hackers stole some officers’ usernames and passwords. No doubt Zac is already working on the Rica y Chato script.
Golfer Stabbed With Club Shaft in Brawl. If you haven’t yet read the story about the guy who was nearly killed on the Eagle Mountain Lake course, you ought to. Because it’s insane.
Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom Are Having Sex. That’s not the way she put it, but in an interview that NBC Channel 5 aired on its 10 o’clock newscast last night, she said she and Odom are trying to have a baby. I inferred the part about the sex, simply because that’s the cheapest way to get a baby.
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