You remember Craig Hall, right? He’s the developer who’s been talking since forever about building something fancy in the Arts District — like, say, that stalled-out tower where presently there sits a parking garage on Ross. Only, remember, he and the city got sideways over unpaid lease monies and TIF-for-tats,…
A rig in ArlingtonThe New York Times ran an interesting story Thursday on the growing reluctance of banks to grant mortgages to owners of properties that have been leased for gas drilling in the northeast. Landowners often aren’t giving banks a heads up before signing on the dotted line, and…
This morning, we received word of a new report released yesterday: the American Express OPEN Independent Retail Index, which was done in conjunction with Austin- and Chicago-based Civic Economics and looked at 15 big cities, Dallas among them, ranking each based upon the number of independent restaurants and retailers in…
As a bulldozer chipped away at the sides of a hideously blighted cinder-block building in South Dallas this morning — forward, reverse, forward, reverse — a crowd of community members and Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity employees and supporters stared ahead with childlike gazes. And then, finally, the ‘dozer delivered…
Perhaps by now you’ve seen Rudy Bush’s item about Frank Luntz, one of two speakers lined up to address the city council at its Arboretum retreat today. Among pols and media folks, Luntz is a pretty well-known guy — after all, he’s the man who, in 2003, told George W…
I was in the KERA studios earlier this week, the guest of station contributor and Friend of Unfair Park Rawlins Gilliland as he bravely plowed through a 10-hour marathon pledge drive on behalf of the station. We did our segments in the KXT studios, where, for the first time, I…
Speaking of Southlake …Huffington Post this afternoon directs our attention to something called the Southlake Journal, which, turns out, is actually the Star-Telegram, which pointed out on Monday that Glenn Beck’s Mercury Radio Arts production company, which employs ’round 100, is eying the former Gateway Church building on Southlake, which…
The Southlake City Council Hall, once packed from floor to gallery with residents for whom gas drilling in town was either a looming menace or a windfall, had only a smattering of attendees a little after 11 last night. Many had already wearied of the debate, which had raged since…
Years ago, when writing about efforts to revitalize a neighborhood near Fair Park, I came across the building you see above: the former Pete’s Sandwich Shop at 4702 Baldwin, sandwiched between Starplex and Julia Frazer Elementary. At the time, Habitat for Humanity was building new homes nearby, on Jamaica, but…
Earlier today, an item appeared on The Poynter Institute’s website in which Mark Medici, vice president of audience for The Dallas Morning News, is quoted as saying that within the next three years, “we won’t have a seven-day paper.” Medici allegedly delivered that shocking bit of news during a conference…
This morning the Dallas Contemporary was closed to the public, but a bunch of reporters were inside taking first looks at the most exorbitantly priced, publicity-getting items, otherwise known as the Fantasy Gifts from Neiman Marcus’s 2011 Christmas Book. Eight of the nine items on display will give some portions of their…
Here’s the boring truth behind Stephen Colbert’s WFAA rant last night: The reason our ABC affiliate didn’t air Colbert’s Super PAC spot about the NBA lockout was “garden-variety human error,” according to the station’s veep, Dave Muscari. Nothing more, nothing less. “The spot,” he tells Unfair Park, “wasn’t rejected.” Matter…
Several Friends of Unfair Park have pointed out, in the comments below and via email, that Stephen Colbert last night tackled the NBA lockout … and, while he was at it, WFAA-Channel 8, for refusing to run his latest Super PAC ad in support of NBA owners working hard to…
Last night, in the comments below, a Friend of Unfair Park mentioned that Tom Leppert made Keith Olbermann’s “Worst Persons in the World” round-up for his End Occupy website. Sure enough — finally, some national pub for the former Dallas mayor and candidate for U.S. Senate, for whom a crazy-lefty…
Over the weekend I espied the deconstruction site you see here, across from Bachman Lake at Northwest Highway and Marsh. The new Sam’s right there took me by surprise — so too did the disappearance of the landmark Whirly Ball, which I knew was coming … but, still. It’s never…
Today was supposed to mark the grand opening of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge — today, October 14, 2011. Alas, wind, rain, ice and other long-ago weather issues pushed back the date till March 2, when, as we noted but two days ago, those with $200 in hand will be…
Just heard a little-girl yelp coming from Schutze’s office; he must have received the same email I just did concerning the opening-weekend ceremonies scheduled March 2-4 for The Santiago Calatrava Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge to Ray’s. We’ve known this was coming for a while now, and there’s another press conference…
Saw this heads-up for the first time last night. As it turns out, according to DirecTV’s website, the satellite provider and Belo Corp. are engaged in a tussle over broadcast fees. Belo, which signed its agreement with the carrier in February 2001, says DirecTV isn’t paying enough for the rights…
On Friday we took a ride down Cedar Crest Boulevard over the Trinity, which the city’s spending millions to makeover as a half-vehicular, half-hike-n-bike bridge — but not before Jason Roberts and the Better Block-ers set up a temporary show-and-tell one week from Saturday, this one billed as the first-ever…
Speaking of walking along bridges over the Trinity River …Yesterday, members of The Trinity Trust, the Trinity Commons Foundation’s board and a few city officials were invited to take a walk along the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, which is scheduled to have its grand opening during a three-day-long wingding in…
In December of last year, the city of Dallas put out the call: Design firm needed to draw up pedestrian and bicycle enhancements for the Cedar Crest Bridge over the Trinity River. In May, the Trinity River Corridor Project Committee was told that 13 firms had stepped forward with proposals…
Brett Shipp was among those who attended Jerry Haynes’s funeral Saturday afternoon. The WFAA newsman was accompanied by his father, Bert, who was a familiar face on local television long before his son stepped out of his shadow. Bert and Jerry went way back — they were among the first…
