There was never much to Bankersmith, Texas — little more than a post office and general store at its peak — but it wasn’t a ghost town. Maggie Montgomery made sure of that. Maggie — she promptly disabused me of the notion that I would call her Mrs. Montgomery when…
And no, it’s not Facebook, so don’t worry your pretty little anonymous head. You will still be able to fire-hose the general populous from the cave of privacy afforded by your clever screen name. You will just be able to do it faster, and hopefully with fewer quirks. The new…
Yesterday evening, the Dallas Morning News reported on its business blog that it had purchased “hyperlocal online news provider Pegasus News.” The news was surprising because Pegasus has been at the periphery of the local media scene for nearly a decade, never standing out as much of a competitor or…
While the big white bridge across the Trinity River promises an economic boost for West Dallas, it’s been a test of the will of La Bajada. The neighborhood, mostly composed of Latino families, has quietly existed for decades without much bother until now. After being ignored for so many years,…
The Observer is always looking for college interns to contribute to Dallas’ award-winning newspaper and web site. Specifically, we’re looking for students (any major will do) with a demonstrated interest and some experience in journalism, non-fiction creative writing, social media, multimedia, photography, filmmaking, joke-telling, or woodworking. (We’ve always wanted a…
The Dallas Observer is always looking for talented freelance writers, photographers, videographers and other content creators to contribute to our newspaper, web site and four blogs, Unfair Park (news), DC-9 at Night (music and nightlife), City of Ate (food and restaurants), and Mixmaster (arts and culture). Prospective contributors should spend…
The Dallas Observer is always looking for talented freelance writers, photographers, videographers and other content creators to contribute to our newspaper, web site and four blogs, Unfair Park (news), DC-9 at Night (music and nightlife), City of Ate (food and restaurants), and Mixmaster (arts and culture). Prospective contributors should send…
Back in April, the DMN, noted that John Kirtland had snapped up both the Tower Petroleum Building and Corrigan Tower downtown. There weren’t many details then, just that Kirtland planned to do something with the two vacant art deco structures, but now we know exactly what. Kirtland, who in addition…
The Houston Chronicle tried yesterday afternoon to prove that Houston is better, or at least sucks less, than Dallas. Tried and failed. Sorry to piss on your parade, Alyson Ward, but that debate has been settled: Houston blows way harder than we do. Ward says that Houston has a better…
There are probably many reasons Victory Park hasn’t lived up to expectations, declining in value by an average of 11 percent ($169 million) each year since 2008, according to city figures. You might subscribe to the notion that the project was flawed from the get-go, that it is “all the…
Neighbors have pretty much given up on saving the vaguely octagonal white-and-blue building at the corner of Zang and Beckley that housed a long-departed Humble service station. Developers Jay Song and John Chong plan to demolish the 1929 structure to make way for a convenience store. It’s going to happen…
Just when you thought the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge had been thoroughly feted, the Trinity Trust sends word that the celebration’s not quite over yet. On June 13, WFAA will premiere Bridging the Trinity For the Love of the City, a half-hour homage by local filmmaker Judy Kelly. From Trinity…
Last week, when Mayor Mike Rawlings announced he had hedged his support for the Trinity toll road after receiving additional data, it seemed like a victory for City Council members Scott Griggs, Angela Hunt, and Sandy Greyson, the project’s opponents. The figures Griggs rustled up from the Texas Department of…
Mayor Mike Rawlings was a bit late for his 9 a.m. speech at this morning’s “Building South” presentation at the Oak Cliff Chamber. I knew it was Mayor Mike because OC Chamber director Bob Stimson, waffling for time, kept saying things like “I was told if I started and talked…
Having a wife, an almost-3-year-old and another on the way (child, not wife), I’ve shackled myself to a life of uneventful domesticity, at least for the next 18 years. It’s a comfortable setup, but one that can induce restlessness, so when fate put me in Dallas a full week before…
That’s right: Tonight, during an open house and public meeting at the Dallas Convention Center, you can crop-dust NTTA with all your brilliant ideas to save the Trinity River flood plains from the dreaded pavement monster, only to see your suggestions treated like the things my wife leaves at the…
Dallas may be inhospitable to hipsters, but we’re apparently a city filled with porn enthusiasts: Men’s Health recently ranked Dallas 15th in a list of the 100 “smuttiest” American cities (Orlando won. Those perverts.) MH based its rankings on the number of adult DVDs purchased, rented or streamed, square footage…
Longtime NBC 5 anchor Jane McGarry got popped for DUI over the weekend. She was stopped early Sunday morning in a 2007 Porsche, WFAA reported, after failing to use her signal on the tollway. She refused to take a breathalyzer and was booked into Dallas County jail, where they apparently…
Yesterday was First-Quarter Earnings Day for Dallas Morning News parent A.H. Belo, or as we call it in the newspaper business, So How Many of Us Are Getting Whacked on Christmas Day? Day. The news was pretty predictable: Total first-quarter revenue was $105 million, down 7 percent over last year…
There was a day when I might have come up laughing at the big investigative package in yesterday’s Dallas Morning News on University of Texas Southwestern Medical School ex-president Kern Wildenthal and his expense account madness. It’s not just that the News “buried the lede,” as we say in the…
FrontBurner carried a little news earlier today that may interest some of you: Eric Nicholson will be joining the Dallas Observer as the lead reporter on Unfair Park. Eric was born and raised in Dallas and graduated from UTD, although his collegiate career did some admirable winding, through Montana and…
Before we decamp for Le Bar: If you haven’t been following the spat between the Nasher Sculpture Center and the owner of the Museum Tower project — which happens to be the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System — Schutze had a thoughtful, balanced take on the matter last week…
