Hedge Fund Clearly Planning One Hell of a Fourth of July Throwdown

That’s because New York-based hedge fund GSO Capital Partners LP announced this morning it’s spending about $1.1 billion to buy Dallas-based Reddy Ice. And stockholders in Reddy Ice stand to make a decent haul from the buyout: Says the comapny’s release, they’ll cool down with $31.25 per share in cash…

“We Lost a Little Battle…”

Yesterday, the Senate tossed out President Bush’s immigration bill that had been crafted to appease both side of the aisle. Today, Unfair Park spoke with Arnulfo De la Cruz, local political director for the Service Employees International Union, about what the bill’s demise means in the context of an immigrant-rights…

Our First and Last iPhone Post Ever

We don’t need a reason to hang out at NorthPark, but those who chose the mall rather than Knox-Henderson to wait till the 6 p.m. iPhone frenzy made the right move. Like our new Friends, Justin and Bobbie at left. Today, some of us formed a lunch posse and hit…

It’s Official: We’re a “Major Disaster”

So says the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency, which just issued a press release announcing that federal disaster aid has been made available to the counties in Texas affected by June’s horrific weather (though, oddly, it covers only people affected by weather “during the period of…

O, Lord, Trouble So Hard

If I’ve seen a motif in the numerous interviews I’ve done for the Sherman Allen story, it is human wreckage. A trail of broken marriages. Shattered parental bonds. Severe emotional distress; even claims that folks have gone crazy. And, most of all among the people who’ve tangled with Allen in…

Wick ‘n’ Jim

In case you needed proof that the whole Jim Schutze-Wick Allison feud is entirely staged, WWE-style, and intended solely to drum up biz for the blogs, here’s a pic from last weekend’s shindig celebrating the hitchin’ of D mag’s Paul Kix and Daily Candy’s Sonya Castex. That’s Wick in the…

Best Podcast Theme Song Ever

Really don’t know how I missed out on the DallasGayPod; seems like something I shoulda been hipped to months ago. But now that I’ve discovered it, I want to direct your attention to its theme song, which you can download as a ringtone should you so desire it. And you…

Kidd Kraddick Now Owns Kidd Kraddick

This morning we were notified that, thank God, David “Kidd” Kraddick’s not only gonna be on KHKS-FM (106.1) for, like, ever, but that he also took full ownership of his syndicated-in-60-markets radio show. Clear Channel, which owns KISS FM, was also a part-time player in Kraddick’s recently launched syndication network…

See, Houston Does Want to Be Like Dallas

Important Moments in Dallas-Houston History: Doug Cosbie says hi to Dan Pastorini. At least, Houston wants to be like us when it comes to the success (more or less — sorry, Ed Oakley) Democrats have had at the polls in recent elections. Reports the Houston Chronicle this a.m.: Democrats in…

Cuban v. Nellie, Round Two

Former Mavs coach Don Nelson says Mark Cuban owes him millions in back pay — $6.6 million, to be precise, in a legal battle that just got a little uglier. Reports the San Francisco Chronicle today, Cuban’s firing back at his former head coach by claiming in a countersuit that…

Out of the Blue, Constable Mike Dupree Resigns

If nothing else, Mike Dupree will now have extra time for things like, ya know, sailing, so he’s got that going for him, which is nice. He might have survived a rape charge in 2002 and his own admission that he deported his Honduran lover four years later, but Dallas…

Eee-ooh-eee-ay-eee-ay-yo. Repeat.

For those who care about such things (I know, I know), my review of last night’s Police show at the American Airlines Center can be found here; you’re so welcome, right? But someone has dutifully posted the highlight from the band’s short trip through town. Notice: It’s 40 seconds long…

Blockbuster Closing 282 Stores. Didn’t Know They Still Had ‘Em.

Blockbuster and Netflix may have settled their year-old online patent lawsuit — details confidential, natch — but Dallas-based Blockbuster has other, uh, blockbuster news: The company’s about to shutter 282 stores in order to “improve operating margins and expand domestic share,” according to an Associated Press piece that just came…

What Pickens is Pickin’

During his latest wheelings and dealings, T. Boone Pickens said no to coal. (Which makes Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, very happy on The Huffington Post today in an anti-coal piece datelined Dallas.) But Pickens also said yes to Halliburton (and a bunch of other stuff). Actually,…

Waste, Want Not

A Friend of Unfair Park points us to this press release from the Trinity River Authority of Texas, posted this afternoon, in which the TRA spills some bad news involving the river and the rain. The headline says it all: “Heavy Rainfall Produces Wastewater Collection Line Over Flows.” A highlight:…

Donnie Doolittle

Despite the rumors about Kevin Garnett and the whispers about Kobe Bryant, don’t expect the Dallas Mavericks’ roster to look noticeably different than the one that first-round flopped a couple months ago. That means no blockbuster trades. No mega-free-agent signings next month. And no fireworks in tonight’s NBA Draft. The…

You Can Live Here and Still be a “Homesick Texan,” Dang It

Last night’s Top Chef was a bland bust: Abacus’ Tre Wilcox disappointed again (bottom three in the Quickfire Challenge, blamed on his lousy selection of shellfish — yeah, OK), and Shinsei’s Casey Thompson disappeared again (she got but a few seconds of screen time). So we’ll avoid any recapping; don’t…

Sandra Brown Writes Some Crazy Friggin’ Books

On her Web site, New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown doesn’t quite give away the plot of her forthcoming book, Play Dirty, which arrives in bookstores August 14. The Arlington-based, Simon & Schuster-published, Texas Medal of the Arts-winning novelist drops a few hints here and there: It’s about a…