Jerry Killingsworth had lots to say while on the stand as a witness in the City Hall corruption trial — including how distrustful he was of FBI informant Bill Fisher — but his uneasy demeanor made us wonder what the city’s housing department director was trying to keep secret. Turns…
A silver bracelet dangles from her wrist as she clasps her cell phone in her left hand. She wears sparkling gold sandals, which reveal freshly painted maroon toenails. Her black sleeveless blouse and pressed blue jeans look recently laundered. Denise Way looks nothing like the stereotypical homeless person—soiled, weathered, beaten…
The city council this morning approved three-year contracts totaling $5.3 million with 14 area nonprofit groups — including The Salvation Army and Central Dallas Ministries — to provide assistance to those on the verge of becoming homeless and folks recently finding themselves homeless. The council’s Quality of Life & Government…
Texas Workforce Commission chairman and Dallas resident Tom Pauken has informed the offices of Governor Rick Perry and Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst of his interest in running for U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison’s seat. “I’m taking a look at it, but I’m a long way from making a decision to…
The city’s Dallas Convention Center Hotel Development Corporation unanimously agreed this afternoon to issue $479.8 million in revenue bonds for the hotel project, locking in an interest yield of 4.69 percent — well below the parameters of $514 million and 5.5 percent authorized by the city council. Most of the…
Once again, we found former council member Al Lipscomb in the courtroom at the City Hall corruption trial yesterday, and he predicted the jury will “dump” the case. “The jury’s gonna say, ‘You’ve taken our time up on all this crap here. There’s a hell of a lot of involvement…
Moments ago, folks standing outside the Earle Cabell Federal Building and Courthouse got a sneak peek at the prosecution’s next witness in the City Hall corruption trial: former Dallas Mayor Laura Miller, accompanied by her husband, former State Rep. Steve Wolens. Finally.Federal prosecutors continued to gain little traction Wednesday in…
As the city’s hotel development corporation prepares to sell what is now $505,230,000 in revenue bonds to build the convention center hotel, Moody’s Investors Service has issued an A2 rating to the financing — a decent, but unspectacular rating — which will be funded by more than $459 million in…
As mentioned earlier, Governor Rick Perry gave us the Heisman when we tried to get a response to his boasts this afternoon about balancing the state’s budget and tucking away $9 billion for a “rainy day,” conveniently leaving out that nearly all of that $9 billion and the dough used…
Governor Rick Perry touted the Legislature’s ability to balance the state’s budget while stashing away $9 billion in “rainy day” funds during a Dallas County Republican Party fund-raiser this afternoon at Edison’s. “That is the type of government that America is looking for,” he told a crowd of approximately 125…
After sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays sandwiched in between two important series wins against the Los Angeles Angels, the Rangers seemed destined to head into the All-Star break on a serious roll, especially as the team finished up with a four-game series in Seattle. Texas already had a 5-0 record…
Low-income housing developer Brian Potashnik appeared frustrated and confused Monday in the federal City Hall corruption trial as a trio of defense lawyers rattled the prosecution’s star witness while attacking his previous testimony. Near the end of a long day on the stand, he asked and answered his own question:…
After serving eight years as a city plan commissioner and another eight as a council member representing some of North Dallas’s more upscale neighborhoods, 72-year-old Mitchell Rasansky is no longer roaming City Hall when he’s most needed. Replaced last month by Ann Margolin because of term limits, Rasansky now must…
Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm informed city council members in a missive today that projected property tax values increased by approximately $9 million after certified tax rolls from Dallas and Denton counties and updates of tax roll data from Collin and Rockwall counties showed a 3.5 percent decline compared to…
The second full day of testimony from affordable housing developer Brian Potashnik strengthened the prosecution’s case against former city plan commissioner D’Angelo Lee in the City Hall corruption case, but federal prosecutor Marcus Busch concluded his direct examination of Potashnik Thursday without directly linking former Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill…
Shortly after Intern Alex wrote this strong piece, we wondered what had become of the Timbercreek Apartments on Northwest Highway and Skillman. Schutze exposed the city council vote in May 2006 when Mayor Laura Miller stood alone in opposing new zoning that kicked families, trees and wildlife to the curb…
Nearly all of the 16 jurors grabbed their notebooks and focused on Brian Potashnik as the prosecution Wednesday morning called the witness expected to provide the most damning evidence in the City Hall corruption case. But while Potashnik’s testimony raised concerns about the ethics of some of the five defendants,…
An admittedly nervous Steve Williams spent all of Tuesday afternoon on the stand discussing his eight-year tenure as Don Hill’s administrative assistant, pushing the anticipated debut of developer Brian Potashnik to this morning. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham paused his redirect examination of Williams as U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn…
While Ian Kinsler’s bat — the first player with both a lead-off and walk-off homer in the same game — last night gave the Texas Rangers a momentary pulse, let’s talk about the future of a dominant arm down on the farm. On his blog yesterday, ESPN’s Buster Olney made…
The spending gap between the two convention center hotel campaigns predictably didn’t mimic the narrow margin at the polls, as Harlan Crow’s $5.2 million anti-hotel effort dwarfed an otherwise impressive haul of more than $1.9 million by three pro-hotel committees. Nearly all of the funding for Crow’s campaign came from…
Much to the chagrin of the half dozen city attorneys attending this morning’s Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee meeting, members voted 5-1 to postpone a decision on a new ordinance regarding the demolition of structures in historic districts. The motion to postpone, made by vice-chair Ann Bagley, also urged Preservation Dallas…
Dallas two-step: Buzz has been a crime victim four times in Dallas: one car break-in, two break-ins of a shed and one home burglary that cleaned us out. The number of times Dallas police have been at our house? Zero. Now, Buzz is a realist, so we understand that the…
