Articles for February 12th, 2013
Dallas Stars Eye Fort Worth for Training Camp
Jim Lites
The NHL’s Dallas Stars have held their training camps in some pretty exotic locales over the years, including Vail, Colo., and Prince Edward Island. More recently the week-long sessions have been at the team’s practice facility in Frisco. Some of the team’s coaches didn’t like that location, though, because the players who live in North Texas couldn’t separate themselves sufficiently from family concerns to focus on preparing for the season.
So now, Stars President and CEO Jim Lites wants to take the annual, week-long scrimmage/on-ice sessions to Fort Worth’s convention center, which he says has the only ice rink in Tarrant County that’s able to accommodate the activity.
Lites and his people have been talking about the potential move with the Fort Worth mayor’s office, the Stars exec said in Dallas today during a panel discussion with other sports executives presented by the North Texas Commission. It makes sense to hold the training camp on the western side of Dallas-Fort Worth, Lites said, because it would keep the session within the team’s market area and help build up the Stars’ fan base in Cowtown. But, will it be far enough away there to satisfy the coaches who were unhappy with Frisco? “Yeah,” Lites said with a laugh after the panel discussion. “Just so the guys can’t run home to their wives and be bugged by the honey-do’s.”
Zeus Comics Will Not Carry New Superman Comic, Due to Author’s Anti-Gay Beliefs
Photo: INTV Gene, via Flickr
DC Comics announced today that the new digital-first Superman series will be written by Orson Scott Card, who, in a 2004 essay argued that if same-sex marriage was legalized “our civilization will collapse or fade away.”
The decision has drawn strong criticism, and led to at least one petition arguing against DC’s choice of Card. Richard Neal, owner of Dallas’ Zeus Comics, announced his shop would not be selling the Card-authored installments:
Zeus Comics will not be carrying the print edition of writer Orson Scott Card’s Superman.
Card sits on the board of the National Organization of Marriage which fights against marriage equality. His essays advocate the destruction of my relationship, that I am born of rape or abuse and that I am equated with pedophilia. These themes appear in his fiction as well. It is shocking DC Comics would hire him to write Superman, a character whose ideals represent all of us.
If you replaced the word “homosexuals” in his essays with the words “women” or “jews,” he would not be hired. But I’m not sure why its still okay to “have an opinion” about gays? This is about equality.
Two People Are Fighting in the Middle Of I-30
Don’t know anything more than this right now, but if you’re heading by could you snap a photo and send it in? Thanks a bunch.
UPDATE:
@dmagazine Update: Deputies have pushed both vehicles off the freeway to the access road. Everything is currently 10-4. (Just for you, DMag)
— DFW Scanner (@DFWscanner) February 12, 2013
Rawlings Announces March 23 Rally Against Domestic Violence
Dallas’ alpha males assembled today at the Dallas Museum of Art’s Horchow Auditorium to join Mayor Rawlings in formally announcing his 10,000 Men Rally Against Domestic Violence, which is scheduled for Saturday, March 23, at 10 a.m., at Dallas City Hall Plaza. Flanked by city councilmen, faith leaders, school officials, business leaders, and local celebrities—including Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith—Mayor Rawlings indicted a culture that tolerates violence against women and called for men to stand together to bring about change.
Rawlings echoed statements he has made over the past month, declaring domestic violence “a men’s issue because men are the ones doing it” and demanding a “zero-tolerance” approach to abusers, whom he called “cowards” and men with a “caveman-like attitude.” Zero-tolerance means ostracizing abusers, Rawlings argued, for this is the way to change a societal mindset that dismisses violence against women as “a joke.” He called on men of all ages, races, and professions to participate in the March 23 rally, but he emphasized that fathers should bring their sons in order to make the rally a “teaching moment.”
Cuban: ‘Owning a Team Is Unlike Owning Any Other Business’
Professional sports teams exist to make money. Secondarily, they exist to give a community something to rally around, something to cherish. Mark Cuban understands that probably better than most owners, and that’s why he’s always getting fined and yelled at and has Shark Tank. This morning, Cuban shared the more emotional side of being an owner by releasing some of the emails he’s received over the past few weeks. Dry eyes, be gone:
A friend of mine gave me your email. I have a friend who has a 15 year old boy with an inoperable brain tumor. He left MD Anderson today after the doctors telling him there was nothing else they could do for him. We are from OK and they are on their way home tonight. They are attending the game tonight. I called the head office and was able to get him in the “high five line”! He’s making his bucket list on the drive home and the first item on the list is meeting ****** Is there anyway you could make this kid have a great evening after this horrible day? He’s a great kid with a very positive attitude and has just been handed his death sentence. Thank you so much for your time in reading this!!
Read the rest of them here.
Things To Do In Dallas Tonight: Feb. 12
Emphasis on fat, probably.
I’m all for nostalgia. Well, sort of. But I’m drawing the line when it comes to this ridiculous false-mourning of Crystal’s Pizza. I’m from Irving. I lived there my entire life right up until I went to college and I played just about every team sport the YMCA offered and then some. And at no time, no birthday party, no post-season celebration, did I ever consider that place “fun” or the pizza “fine.” I mean, even bad pizza is still pizza, I guess. But the final straw was a weird “lock-in fundraiser” my freshman year of high school, a time when I was desperate not to spend my nights at home. Crystal’s was so disgusting that I called my mother to come pick me up early. Goodbye to that childhood house of horrors.
Now that I’ve said my piece on that, it’s Fat Tuesday and of course the Granada is throwing a party. Head to Sundown for New Orleans tunes, jambalaya, and two dollar Hurricanes. As I told Carol yesterday, that last one sounds especially dangerous. And for those of us who do not care so much for seafood, there’s the rest of their veggie and vegan-friendly menu to chose from. Seriously, I can’t praise this place enough for offering a gluten-free flat bread crust that doesn’t taste like I’m chewing a shoebox. Hammered goat, here I come.
Also this evening, the storytelling series Oral Fixation rolls on with a pre-Valentine Day’s “R-rated” show at the McKinney Avenue Contemporary. In case you were wondering, that’s code for, get ready to get uncomfortable. The personal essays revolve around the theme “playing the field.” And while you’re in Uptown, you have a good reason to check out Belly and Trumpet, the new place from the folks at Oak. It opens for dinner this evening in the ex-Bowery, ex-ex Lumi Empanada spot on McKinney. I am pretty excited about this new restaurant.
For more to do this evening, go here.
Listen to Tim Get Angry On KERA Today
Texas Monthly recently released its 40th anniversary issue, one that looked at Texas, how it’s changed, and where it’s going. Current and former D Magazine employees/contributors (deep breath) Tim Rogers, Sarah Hepola, Brian Sweany, Jason Sheeler, Skip Hollandsworth, and Ben Fountain all pitched in pieces.
Tim, Sarah, and Star-Telegram scribe Bud Kennedy will all sit down for the second hour of Think today to discuss the issues raised by the issue (point!), and the identity of Dallas-Fort Worth. Starts at 1 p.m.
DART Committee to Vote Today on Domestic Partner Benefits
After delaying a vote in January, DART’s administrative committee is expected to vote on domestic partner benefits today. The proposed plans, according to the Dallas Voice:
The first of the three proposed plans would extend benefits to same-sex domestic partners and their children. The second would extend benefits to both same- and opposite-sex domestic partners and children. And the third would extend benefits to same- and opposite-sex partners, children and another family member, according to the DART presentation materials.
The reason for the January delay was an evaluation of the costs for this shift; DART officials told the voice those have been ironed out. “DART’s consultant originally estimated adding DP benefits would cost $105,000 to $210,000, but the estimated costs on the proposal show $6,742 on the low side for the plan that covers only same-sex partners and their children to more than $1.6 million on the high end of the third plan that would also include a family member,” the paper writes. If the committee votes on the measure today, the full DART board could hear the topic by Feb. 26.
Jump for the full presentation:
Manhunt Continues For Miami Prisoner Who Escaped in Grapevine
A Miami man escaped police custody in Grapevine last night, in the midst of a strange journey from Miami to Houston to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, with a final — and yet-to-be-reached — destination of Las Vegas.
Alberto Morales allegedly stabbed a Miami-Dade County officer in a Walmart parking lot in Grapevine, fleeing while another officer was in the store. He was being transported from Miami to Las Vegas for a court hearing. From a news conference held by Miami police this morning, according to the Morning News:
…it’s still unclear how Alberto Morales escaped two of his officers at a Grapevine Wal-Mart last night. He also identified the officer currently recovering from multiple stab wounds at Parkland Memorial Hospital: Jaime Pardinas, a 28-year veteran of the Miami-Dade police force. His family is currently en route to Dallas, where the officer is in serious but stable condition following last night’s stabbing.
According to Patterson, Pardinas and his partner David Carrero, a seven-year veteran, are part of the department’s extradition unit, which was tasked with transporting Morales from Miami to Houston to Las Vegas, where he was due to be incarcerated following a sexual battery conviction in Nevada. But they never made it: According to Patterson, the prisoner became “very agitated and … erratic” during the plane ride from Florida.
“He began bumping his head against a passenger’s seat,” Patterson said, “crazy, unusual things that disrupted a lot of the flight.”
The plane landed in Houston, where airline officials refused to allow Morales back on the plane. The officers decided to drive to DFW to meet another officer, then continue on to Las Vegas, driving the rest of the way. Morales allegedly stabbed the officer with a broken pair of eyeglasses.
Grapevine schools are on heightened alert, and anyone who spots Morales is encouraged to call 911.
Overpasses Packed as Chris Kyle Funeral Procession Makes Its Way to Austin
If you don’t feel like crying, don’t watch the streaming video of the procession, from NBC-DFW. If you do, have at it, and watch regular citizens take time out of their days to stand in a cold rain, clench American flags, and honor a man they never knew.
Park Cities Kids Do The Harlem Shake
I’m not going to get into the race politics of a group of rich white kids doing the Harlem Shake, because I know this is just a meme. Anyway, it’s fun to see these kids crash into a Tom Thumb and, I think, a Mi Cocina.
Leading Off (2/12/13)
Councilman Sheffie Kadane Demonstrates His Cluelessness. For its current exhibit by sculptor Kenneth Price, the Nasher put up temporary glare-blocking panels on its ceiling that, yes, appease insurers but, no, do not present optimal sculpture-viewing conditions nor protect the plantings outside in the garden. Yet Councilman Kadane, who sits on the board of the Police and Fire Pension System, which owns the reflective Museum Tower, thinks the panels are awesome. “It seems like it should be permanent,” he said. I get the impression that Kadane uses a lot of duct tape at his house.
Mayor Rawlings, Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman To Lead Rally at Klyde Warren. There will be a press conference today. At the pres conference, the aforementioned dudes will announce a rally aimed at curbing domestic violence. Said rally will likely happen at Klyde Warren Park. Stay tuned.
SMU Fraternity on Double Secret Probation. It’s not yet clear at all what happened, but an apparent hazing incident was serious enough that the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity has been put on temporary deferred suspension (paywall).
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