After the FBI busted Hosam Maher Husein Smadi last week for trying to blow up Fountain Place, Dallas County Republican Party chair (and the Observer’s 2009 Best Politico) Jonathan Neerman found himself the victim of a pretty sick joke. Seems as though his GOP and CIA ties made it too…
So says former Observer’er Matt Pulle, who shares my obsession with state Senator Royce West. Pulle forwarded along a nice bit of reporting by ESPN’s Elizabeth Merrill regarding the holdout of former Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree, in which West is identified as a member of Crabtree’s “inner circle.”…
It’s not often that world-renowned architects like Santiago Calatrava find their way to Big D, so we pounced on the opportunity to fire a question or two at the man behind the design of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge and not-yet-funded Margaret McDermott Bridge. Or just one, as it turns…
Megan just returned from the outskirts of a crowded courtroom for the arraignment of Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, the 19-year-old arrested and charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. Smadi asked for an Arabic translator, but one wasn’t available. The public defender assigned to Smadi, Richard Anderson,…
Muddy conditions in the floodway prohibited today’s big announcement from taking place near the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge (complete with a scheduled “steel signing”), so instead the $10-million donation aimed at converting the Continental Bridge into a pedestrian bridge was unveiled by Mayor Tom Leppert at the office of the…
OK, now that the Dallas City Hall corruption trial has wrapped up and landed in the hands of the jury, it’s time for everyone to weigh in. And, to make it interesting, Robert has generously ponied up a fabulous prize so this isn’t just about fun and yuks. That’s right,…
After 13 weeks and 45 trial days, jurors begin deliberations this afternoon in the Dallas City Hall corruption trial, determining the fates of former Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill, his wife Sheila, former plan commissioner D’Angelo Lee, community activist Darren Reagan and car dealer Rickey Robertson. I’m glad the end…
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Saldana continued her disjointed closing argument in the Dallas City Hall corruption trial this morning, focusing on the prosecution’s belief that former Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill and others masked the alleged bribe payments from affordable-housing developer Brian Potashnik. Saldana asked: What kind of legitimate business…
Governor Rick Perry and U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison are sure to grab most of the headlines between now and the March 2 primary elections as they trade insults while seeking the Republican gubernatorial nomination, but Kinky Friedman spices up an otherwise bland field of Democratic candidates. The author and…
As Don Hill took the stand earlier this month in the City Hall corruption trial, we checked in with his wife’s attorney, Victor Vital, to find out if Sheila would also testify in her defense. Vital told us that she was in fact one of his witnesses, claiming she aimed…
It took Mayor Tom Leppert approximately two years to accomplish what no one else in Dallas could: begin building a convention center hotel. And hundreds of assorted politicos, city officials, business leaders and supporters were on hand Tuesday afternoon at the site of the Omni Dallas Convention Center Hotel to…
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison criticized Governor Rick Perry in a speech to the local Republican Jewish Coalition this afternoon, claiming Texas has the country’s highest property taxes, an education system with the worst dropout rate in the nation and a government growing faster than the federal government with more than…
We caught up with Sheila Hill’s attorney, Victor Vital, after the cross-examination of Don Hill Wednesday afternoon in the City Hall corruption trial, to find out if he had any concerns about putting his client on the stand. “Oh, not at all,” he says. “Don did wonderfully today. The truth…
As testimony concluded yesterday in the City Hall corruption trial, it appeared as though the prosecution would begin its cross-examination of Don Hill after Doug Greene, D’Angelo Lee’s attorney, finished what is expected to be his relatively short questioning of Hill, especially after Victor Vital told us he had no…
Don Hill’s third day on the stand in the City Hall corruption trial began with his attorney, Ray Jackson, asking about statements he made in wiretaps about fairness concerning developer Brian Potashnik’s decision to reject bids from Ron Slovacek and Andrea Spencer because they were too high. Hill says the…
After speculation Thursday followed by a statement from Judge Barbara Lynn this afternoon regarding a potential appearance by defendant Sheila Hill as a witness in the City Hall corruption trial, we asked her attorney, Victor Vital, if she will take the stand in her defense. Vital tells us he indeed…
Attorney Ray Jackson resumed the direct examination of his client, former Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill, this morning at approximately 8:45 a.m., as Jackson continued to ask Hill about his accomplishments as a Dallas City Council member. Hill says former council member Maxine Thornton-Reese urged him to accomplish two goals:…
Of course, Hill couldn’t actually answer the question as he’s restricted from speaking to the media, but this photo we snapped during the media frenzy that followed today’s testimony from the former mayor pro tem tells the story. Sure, it was merely a verbal “Wikipedia entry” as Robert described, but…
As expected, former Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill has taken the stand to defend himself against charges of corruption and extortion, as U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn reminded him that he has a constitutional right not to testify, which he waived. His attorney, Ray Jackson, just asked him to introduce…
In this week’s paper version of Unfair Park, Schutze uses two of Mayor Tom Leppert’s top political consultants — Carol Reed and Mari Woodlief — to explain why the mayor is hardly the “Angel of Ethics” despite the new lobbying rules presented (per some council members’ requests, behind closed doors)…
The city’s Landmark Commission on Tuesday afternoon upheld an August 12 decision by its Central Business District Task Force, unanimously denying a request by Colby Properties to tear down 508 Park Avenue based on its “imminent threat to public health and safety.” The commission also denied Colby’s application to raze…
With the role of consultants in the city under the microscope because of what we’ve learned in the Dallas City Hall federal corruption trial, it seemed like a good time to check in on newbie Tanya Watkins, who started Grassroots Strategies in March, seeing how she’s the wife of the…
