Articles about boom!

Leading Off (5/13/13)

Where Do Saturday’s Elections Leave Hispanic Dallas City Council Representation? The answer, in short, is not in a good way. In a newly drawn district that is 74 percent Hispanic, incumbent Scott Griggs defeated Hispanic incumbent Delia Jasso. In another new district drawn to give Pleasant Grove single representation at the horseshoe (the neighborhood was previously split between multiple districts), candidate Jesse Diaz is headed to a runoff with white candidate Rick Callahan. If Callahan wins, then there will be one less Hispanic representative on the council than previously, whereas the redistricting was seemingly designed to add one Hispanic representative. In other news, Farmers Branch got its first Hispanic City Council member.

Arlington Man Throws Homemade Bomb at Neighbors: Michael Alex Johnson, 32, allegedly lit an eight-gallon bucket of gasoline on fire and threw it at two vehicles in a neighbor’s driveway. Luckily, another neighbor saw the incident and immediately called police. No one was hurt. Other bomb making materials were found in Johnson’s home, and Johnson’s mother described her son as “mentally ill.”

State Rep Wants to Build Bullion Depository: I don’t know why storing gold that belongs to the University of Texas Investment Management Co. out of state is a big deal, but apparently Giovanni Capriglione of Southlake is afraid the Yankee state may seize it when Texas declares its independence, or something like that. That’s why he wants the state to fund the construction of a Texas depository for the roughly $1 billion in gold bars. Rick Perry is, of course, on board: ““If we own it,” Perry said, “I will suggest to you that that’s not someone else’s determination whether we can take possession of it back or not.”

Worst Son In the World: Gonzalo Lopez: The night before Mother’s Day, Lopez killed his mother.

Dallas: G Things Happen Here

Photo: Liberal_Texan, via Reddit

Photo: Liberal_Texan, via Reddit

If you spot a B somewhere around town, email me immediately. Also:

Is Anyone Going to the Sweet Sixteen, Ctd.

Earlier in the week, I asked if anyone was going to the Sweet Sixteen, out in Arlington. The response, mostly: I wish it was in downtown.

Well, if you listen to KERA, it can be. During BJ Austin’s report this morning on Dallas’s new slogan — “Big Things Happen Here” — she interviewed a gentleman, asking him what BIG things happen in Dallas:

So what big things are happening here?  The first thing that came to James Eitzen’s mind was sports.

“We’ve got the Sweet Sixteen coming this weekend to American Airlines Center,” Eitzen said, also mentioning the Dallas Cowboys.

A boy can dream.

Here Are Some More Best of Big D Winners, Ctd.

 photo Romo_zpsc0f3029e.jpg

Thanks to Neal K. for scouring the internet today to help root out these cheats.

As Seismic Activity Mounts, Texas Ignores Connection to Drilling

A map from a study by University of Texas scientist Cliff Frohlich shows the proximity of injection wells to earthquakes near  DFW airport in 2009. Source: National Research Council.

A map from a study by University of Texas scientist Cliff Frohlich shows the proximity of injection wells to earthquakes near DFW airport in 2009. Source: National Research Council.


Energy Wire:

Nine months after a National Academy of Sciences panel said oil and gas regulators should take steps to prevent man-made earthquakes, officials in key states are ignoring quake potential as they rewrite their drilling rules.

Two major drilling states, California and Texas, are overhauling their drilling rules without looking at the seismic risks linked to deep injection of drilling and hydraulic fracturing wastewater. New York regulators dismissed earthquake concerns in their drawn-out process of updating drilling rules.

Texas has had some of the best-documented seismic activity around brine wells. Researchers have linked injection to earthquakes in the Haynesville Shale in east Texas and the Barnett Shale in the Dallas area. Chesapeake Energy Corp. shut down two wells linked to quakes near the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.

The Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas production, is doing a large-scale revision of its rules without looking at man-made earthquakes.

“The geology of states vary greatly, and Texas has a long history of safe injection,” said Gaye McElwain, spokeswoman for the Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees oil and gas, not trains. “Our staff also are closely following various studies that are being conducted to determine possible man-made causes of recent seismic events.”

(h/t Texas Sharon)

Davis Building Lit Up in Honor of Marriage Equality

Photo: Jack Hatler

Photo: Jack Hatler

And it will stay this way all week.

Photo via.

 

First Baptist Unveiled Its New Fountain Last Night

“Comments are disabled for this video.”

Dallas Businessman Robert Rowling Donates $25 Million to UT-Austin’s Business School

Robert Rowling

Robert Rowling

Robert Rowling — owns the 90th-most expensive home in Dallas; is personally worth $4.9 billion — has donated $25 million to UT-Austin’s McCombs School of Business. The gift will be earmarked for the construction of the 458,000-square-foot Robert B. Rowling Hall, which will house the graduate programs of the business school.

“My family and I are passionate about the state of Texas, the University of Texas and creating educational opportunities in our state. Texas is the best place in the country to do business, and we hope this gift will encourage the best and the brightest to come to Austin to get their MBAs and be part of the phenomenon that is Texas,” Rowling said in a statement.

Rowling is the owner and chairman of TRT Holdings, which owns Omni Hotels & Resorts, Gold’s Gym , Tana Exploration Company and various other assets. In 2005, he was inducted into the McCombs School of Business Hall of Fame. Robert and his wife Terry, as well as their son Blake, are graduates of the school.

“Bob Rowling already has served his alma mater at the highest level of volunteer leadership, and with this gift, he and Terry enter the pantheon of the university’s most historically significant supporters,” UT-Austin President Bill Powers said in a statement. “This building itself will embody many traits that are key to business success — flexibility, common areas for interaction, and the ability to take advantage of evolving technology. And we are proud to have Bob Rowling’s name on it.”

Fort Worth Bridge Implosion Felt in Dallas



If you haven’t seen this video of the Weatherford Street bridge implosion yet, get on it. Bridge to gravel in about a second. What’s more interesting is the fact that TxDOT officials apparently planned to keep part of the implosion from the public. Star-Telegram:

Before the blast, TxDOT spokeswoman Jodi Hodges had said: “There may be some small explosives, but we’re not advertising that to the world. It’s very controlled and very minor. We’ve certainly talked with all the local fire department and police and all that, but mostly it’s just demolishing that bridge and hauling off the debris.”

Then the blast was felt throughout DFW, with folks flooding 911. Well played.

Leading Off (3/18/13)

Cruz In Control: Say what you want about Ted Cruz, the guy’s a freshman Senator getting presidential buzz in March, three years before the next presidential election. This guy is not going away anytime soon:

Fracking Fuels Boom Towns: Gas production is driving the rebirth of tiny towns throughout rural Texas.  But don’t worry, fracking has nothing to do with this:

What is Going on With This Fracking Water?

Bigfoot Not Spotted in Fort Worth This Weekend: Bigfoot hunters descended on Fort Worth this past weekend for the Texas Bigfoot Conference. Unfortunately, Bigfoot was a no show.

George P. Bush Removes Beyonce’s ‘Halo’ From Campaign Announcement

The Texas Tribune has the scoop this morning:

The video announcing Bush’s run for Texas Land Commissioner on Wednesday was set to a familiar tune: the back-track to Beyoncé’s hit 2009 single “Halo.” The campaign’s decision to use music from a prominent supporter of President Obama’s, someone who sang at his inauguration, attracted media attention from around the country.

As of Thursday morning, that video was no longer publicly available on YouTube; it’s now “private.” And on Bush’s campaign web site, the video was swapped out overnight with one featuring similar, but markedly different, music.

The Tribune quotes campaign spokesman Juan Roberto Hernandez as saying that the singer did not complain, and that the switch has made for “consistency” reasons. “Consistency” in this case meaning “Beyonce was probably going to say something at some point because she’s clearly not a fan of the Bush family.”

Cyclists Now Have a Safe Way to Enter Downtown

One of the few (only?) positive side effects of the Houston Street viaduct closure is the installation of segregated, bike-specific lanes for cyclists heading to and from downtown from Oak Cliff. Jonathan Braddick of Bike Friendly Oak Cliff took the new lanes for a spin Monday. He hits them at about the 1:35 mark, if you’re impatient.

Dallas Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle Tells Reporters to ‘Go F— Yourselves’

From this morning’s media scrum:

How else could it be described but endearing?

Giant Chair Appears in The Colony

Photo: Mary Duggan

Photo: Mary Duggan

Got a Big Ol’ Chair. More details:

- It’s at State Highway 121 and Plano Parkway
- It’s for Nebraska Furniture Mart’s 560,000-square-foot retail showroom and 1.3 million-square-foot distribution center
- Nebraska Furniture Mart will anchor Grandscape, a 3.9 million-square-foot monolith that will probably have the capability to detach from Earth and self-sustain, should the need arise

Last point: the first person to snag a picture of themselves in the chair will win a free year’s subscription to D Magazine. I will pay for it myself, since I can’t imagine our marketing team is too keen on the idea of a contest where I tell folks to trespass. And I don’t mean next to the chair, or one of those photos where your fingers look like they’re smushing the chair. IN IT.

Get to snappin, and send the photo to bradford.pearson@dmagazine.com.

UPDATE: I assumed an email like this would land in my inbox today. From Jeff Lind, chief strategy and development officer for Nebraska Furniture Mart:

“I’m contacting you because safety is a huge priority for Nebraska Furniture Mart and I believe this could put someone at needless risk of injury.  I’m sure it was for fun but I can’t bury my head in the sand when safety is involved.  Any action you could take to cancel the ‘contest’ could potentially help avoid an injury.  I hope you will consider this course of action and I encourage you to do so.  Thank you very much.”

So, contest off. It was fun (?) while it lasted.

Fort Worth Couple Raffling Off Their Unborn Daughter’s Middle Name

This baby's middle name could be all yours.

This baby’s middle name could be all yours.

Fort Worth real estate agent Drew Myers and his wife already have the first name of their daughter picked out. Ily will come into the world in August, with an abbreviation for a name: Ily = I Love You. Problem is, they don’t have a middle name for their daughter. That’s where you come in.

The couple’s had difficulties conceiving in the past, unsure if they’d be able to have another baby to team up with their son Crash. Then Tanya got the good news — pregnant — and they started counting their blessings:

TK and I are thrilled that God blessed us with another child, but we’re also excited that we get an opportunity to use this name, which carries so much significance for us.

So…with our daughter’s first name taken care of – we’ve shifted gears to the middle name.

Go on.

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