Can’t say for sure how long the former fire station on Walnut Hill Lane near Marsh has looked like this, only because I haven’t taken Walnut Hill to work since Monday, when it did not look like this. (I’ve been taking Marsh to Lemmon to Inwood to Maple, if you…
The video you seesaw above till it was unceremoniously yanked this afternoon was made by Michael Marco on behalf of Tracy Locke on behalf of Downtown Dallas Inc., which had intended to show downtown’s makeover at its annual meeting held at the Omni a couple of weeks ago. Alas, it…
In Dallas and across the country, the astronomical number of deportation orders issued by immigration courts is at last beginning to fall. President Obama’s new strategy focuses on intelligent enforcement and prosecutorial discretion. Translated: We’ll show bad guys the door, but the undocumented student brought here as a child can…
I’m hesitant to tease a PETA protest scheduled to take place at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Akard and Main only because all the other ones have been so underwhelming. (So much so I forgot till using what passes for our search engine that PETA was just at the same spot…
It’s been close to five months since Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins went after Mortgage Electronic Registration System over what Watkins claimed were “tens of millions in uncollected filing fees owed to the citizens of Dallas County.” But since then little has been said about the suit, which was…
At the end of yesterday’s lengthy, heated debate over hopping into a bed made of tax-free bonds with Uplift Education, Mayor Mike Rawlings delivered the passionate testimonial Jim and I referenced. Several Friends of Unfair Park have asked to hear the entire thing, the “Our Poor Kids” speech, so I’ve…
Ray Mali dresses neatly in a collared cotton shirt, jeans, clean sneakers and a bulky leather jacket that doesn’t keep him quite warm enough. It’s eight o’clock on a January morning. He takes his last few gulps of tea and leaves for work, his muscles aching even before he steps…
In the end, the posting to the Dallas Police Department’s Facebook page, made moments ago, probably comes as no surprise. But as of today, Stormy Magiera is no longer a Dallas Police officer. The announcement comes days after the officer, decorated by Chief David Brown in November for saving the…
At the end of the week Joe shot up the flare: The Greenville Avenue St. Patrick’s Day Parade is in danger of getting adiosed, unless the Greenville Avenue Area Business Association can raise $40,000 to cover the ever-escalating costs of the event. Since then a few fundraising sites have popped…
Amongst all the maybes, could-bes and one-days downtown, one development’s as close as it gets to a Sure Thing: 508 Park Avenue, which First Presbyterian is in the process of turning into The Museum of Street Culture to be curated by blues historian Alan Govenar. At this very moment, in…
You may recall that back in October we told you Fair Park had been named a Great Public Space by the American Planning Association. Well, during the council’s lunch break today, just after he got emotional about the children, Mayor Mike Rawlings gathered with the city council, Parks Board chair…
This was a good day — such days do occur — to study democracy in action at Dallas City Hall. The city council engaged in a smart debate on a proposal to help a charter school organization sell bonds to build more charter schools. The mayor and council decided not…
Jim will be along shortly with his take on the passionate discussion surrounding Uplift Education’s efforts to get the city to assist with the selling of bonds to help with the charter school’s expansion. I’ll just note this: During his closing remarks on the subject, just before council voted to…
A Friend of Unfair Park who knows of my affection for local relics, myself included, sends word: The Texas Rangers are selling off the outfield bleachers pulled out of the Ballpark in Arlington to make way for those $11.5-million renovations set to debut in a matter of weeks. And, turns…
At this very moment the city council members are discussing whether they’d like to get into the bond business to help Uplift Education with its plan to sell tax-exempt bonds to help open a new charter school in the former Baylor offices Deep Ellum. (Sounds, so far, like the item…
The leadership of the Thomas Jefferson High School student council (sniff), guests of Ann Margolin at this morning’s meeting of the Dallas City Council, got quite the treat this morning: a parade of public speakers once again thoughtfully, kindly but also forcefully berating Mayor Mike Rawlings for not signing that…
One month ago Dallas Area Rapid Transit released its 2011 Customer Satisfaction Survey, with nine out of 10 riders insisting they would recommend DART to others. But Pages 19 and 20 of the 23-page report are filled with concerns over security aboard DART buses and trains: Only 78 percent of…
Earlier today Rudy posted an explainer to the City Hall blog about those so-called “conduit bonds” Uplift Education hopes to sell with City Hall’s backing. But long story short, per a Los Angeles Times piece last year, they “allow private entities to tap into low-cost municipal bond financing for projects…
We started this morning by noting Brett Shipp’s piece from last night suggesting the Texas Education Agency is threatening to withhold Dallas ISD from close to $80 million in federal funds birthed by No Child Left Behind. The reason, says Commissioner of Education Robert Scott: Only 40 students out of…
It probably hasn’t escaped the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation’s notice that an awful lot of people are very, very unhappy with the organization lately. Just to drive the point home a little further, reps from MoveOn.org, CREDO Action and UltraViolet announced they’d be hand-delivering a MoveOn petition…
With its budget shrinking and shrinking over the past several years, the Dallas library system has an acute need for a Daddy Warbucks. Several, actually. More specifically, branches need deep-pocketed donors who can pick up the public book-houses by the boot straps, smack them in the behind and propel them…
The city’s main website is OK, though every time I visit it — which is way too often — I do wonder when City Hall’s going to begin planting those Seeds of Change it’s been promising since December. But the Dallas Parks home page is truly awful; it was outdated…
