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Alleged accountant to the “Merchant of Death,” former Richardson resident Richard Chichakli In recent months, Jesse Hyde’s written a considerable amount about Richard Chichakli — who, in August, Jesse called “the mysterious accountant who spent 19 years in Richardson but is now living in exile because of his alleged connections…

Late yesterday, Dallas-based ice-maker Reddy Ice announced that on Wednesday, its offices had been raided by federal authorities for undisclosed reasons. The release says only that “federal officials executed a search warrant at the Company’s corporate office in Dallas on March 5, 2008” and that “the Company is cooperating with…

Thanks to the Friend of Unfair Park, who this morning snapped this photo on his way to work whilst driving from northwest Richardson to Mockingbird Lane and Stemmons Freeway. Says our Friend, “This poor guy was on northbound Harry Hines in the FAAAARRRRRR left lane. Not sure what came out…

In case you missed Channel 8 last night, Frisco’s Mark Richter — who goes by the name “FluteMark,” and, really, the moniker is self-explanatory — blew the WFAA foursome out of its 10 p.m. newscast with his snowbound video, set to the tune of, right, “Let it Snow.” Few things:…

Obama and Me, by Todd Spivak, February 28 The Audacity of Us Whose grand idea was it to distribute this as journalism all over Dallas, with a red-eyed Obama on the cover, days before the primary? Visuals aside, however, this whole piece came off as whiny—like a disgruntled journalist who…

Workin’ for a livin’: Buzz caught excerpts from a Hillary Clinton speech to Ohioans this week in which she was all charged up about helpin’ workin’ folk. She talked just like that because, you know, hourly factory workers are incapable of pronouncing a hard “G,” a fact she no doubt…

When Kat Truitt walks to the neighborhood Central Market at Lovers Lane and Greenville Avenue, she passes the Signature Pointe Apartments, which face her condominium complex on Milton Street. These apartments once housed Hurricane Katrina evacuees who brought significant crime into the neighborhood, Truitt says. Signature Pointe is now vacant,…

On the first Tuesday of every month, Phil Brantley hosts a conference call. He never knows who will be calling in, or from where. Brantley, a retired liquor store owner and one-time manufacturer of surge suppressors from Maggie Valley, North Carolina, took the baton from his mentor, self-made millionaire Jimmy…

Kris Andersson as his more profitable persona, Dixie Longate About six years ago, Los Angeles actor Kris Andersson donned a gingham dress, a blue apron, a red wig and size 10 heels and started peddling Tupperware as the character Dixie Longate. His R-rated selling parties evolved into a stage show…

Lew Calver’s “Hole in the Ground,” his entry in the Bush Library design contest Last week, we made note of The Chronicle of Higher Education posting some 20 entries it received for its Design the Bush Library contest. Turns out, one of the entries comes from a Dallas resident –…

Courtesy Scott Dorn The Signature Pointe complex, which is indeed complicated In last week’s paper version of Unfair Park, Jim Schutze described his day at the annual meeting of DowntownDallas, or, as Jim calls it, an unofficial fief of the Belo Corporation. The story talked about the unveiling of the…

New York Times food critic Frank Bruni has yet to announce where he ranks Fearing’s on his list of “Intriguing New Restaurants Outside of New York”; sure, it’s in the Top Five, but in which exact spot he’ll say “in coming weeks,” if you can wait that long, and you…

Forbes has just released its latest list of “The World’s Billionaires,” all 1,125 of ’em — 42 of whom live in Texas. And it takes all of 29 spots to get to the first local: Fort Worth’s Alice Walton, daughter of Sam Walton, who’s worth all of $19 billion. Then…

Yesterday, the Sherry Lane-based ad agency charged with selling DowntownDallas’ year-old DSpot campaign — which has caught on like whatever the opposite of wildfire is — posted to YouTube its two promotional videos thus far. They’re new to me, but perhaps you’ve seen them already. Perchance you’ve already been hypnotized…

Maya Angelou, left, and Tim Seelig, far right, at the Meyerson on Saturday Meant to write this up earlier in the week, but we clearly tripped on a poll and fell on your caucus. So, then, back to Saturday, if you don’t mind, when some 2,000 formally dressed folks streamed…

The AFI Dallas International Film Festival kicks off March 27 and runs through April 6 — and the list of stars scheduled to attend is top-shelf. Among those on their way to town for the shindig: Robert De Niro and director Barry Levinson (with the Sundance Film Fest’er What Just…