$25 million kids Deion Sanders’ Cowboys contract may be in jeopardy, but another, equally controversial, if underreported Deion deal–this one with Dallas’ prestigious Greenhill School–is on solid ground. Deion’s daughter has made the Greenhill cut. Parents learned the news last week when teachers called to alert them that security would…
Miller wins Mencken prize; McVea takes NABJ honor Observer columnist Laura Miller has won the coveted H.L. Mencken Writing Award, given by the Baltimore Sun. The award, which includes a $5,000 cash prize, is presented annually to the newspaper writer whose opinion column “best captures the power of Mencken’s public…
Tuesday’s cartoon in the Chihuahua city paper showed President Ernesto Zedillo bustling toward a particularly frazzled-looking Mexican Everyman, saying, “I must recognize those who have paid the costs of the economic crisis.” The frazzled citizen wearily sticks out his hand to say “Muchas…” and then is left alone saying “…gracias”…
Desert storm Your article entitled “Desert Rat” (by David Pasztor, October 5, 1995) is excellent, except for your description of Arabian Shield Development Company, which is not accurate at all. To date, Arabian Shield has discovered and proved 7.2 million tons of commercial, mineable ore reserves containing copper, zinc, gold,…
On a sweltering hot day in early September, a red-haired woman with manicured fingernails is scrounging around the dirty floor of my two-car garage. She thinks she has spotted pocket change. “O-o-o-o, this is good,” Helene Glazer coos, picking up some coins and slipping them into her pocket. “When I…
It had come from lobbyist Don Lee, of the urban counties association; and the Texas Municipal League (TML) wasn’t far behind. As chairman of the County Affairs Committee, Lewis had a longstanding close relationship with the local government groups. Shanna Igo, 35, a former Senate aide among nine TML employees…
In mid-September, The Dallas Morning News reported the demise of a giant in Texas public education. Joseph Jones “J.J.” Pearce, 88, the superintendent “who guided the Richardson school district’s transformation from a single rural campus into one of the top urban school systems in the state,” had died, reporter Selwyn…
Lest we forget the s.o.b. The Dallas school board is seeking names for more than a dozen schools. Upwards of 50 suggestions have been submitted, including Arthur Ashe, Cesar Chavez, and Anne Frank. But Buzz figures that if the purpose of naming a school is to offer students a moral…
Quick thaw Lest anyone feel comfortable trusting the august Dallas Morning News to do the right thing, BeloWatch will briefly revisit the tale of The Little Investigative Series That Couldn’t Get Published. Faithful BeloWatch readers will, of course, recall last week’s column about the Howard Swindle-led investigation of U.S. Rep…
On what passes for the left in this country, the debate is about the damage being done by Newt and the Newtzis. Not damage control, just damage. There’s an extent to which liberals have been crying “Wolf!” for a long time now. (Actually, the left doesn’t cry “Wolf!,” it cries…
Sidekicks’ identity crisis I don’t know where you guys get off criticizing The Dallas Morning News for their puny coverage of the Sidekicks’ win over Pittsburgh [“Best of Dallas,” September 28]. You’ve done exactly the same thing. The Observer ran a great story about the Sidekicks [“Tatu tightens his belt,”…
He is the single most controversial black political figure in the nation. He is adored, deplored, revered, and feared. And last week, Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan looked down on the 2,500 African-Americans gathered in a South Oak Cliff church with a warm and loving smile. “Powerful black man,” breathed a…
Yemen is a meager country, cobbled together from rock and sand on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula. A sporadically volatile confederation of tribes that predates recorded history, Yemen still is not sure of its exact borders. It is a bit player in the Middle East, a political punk…
Matthew McQuater has lived in quiet obscurity for more than two decades in a modest, slightly run-down home in a modest, slightly run-down section of Oak Cliff. It’s a quiet enough neighborhood, sandwiched in between beautiful homes and a golf course to one side and shotgun shacks on the other…
Media reports of a DISD trustee’s comments offended an entire city. His exact words are even worse Editor’s note: What follows is the full three-page transcript of comments by Dallas school trustee Dan Peavy–remarks that have scandalized the city, even though few people have had the opportunity to actually read…
Part-time Jew, fulltime kvetch You remember, of course, back in August when city council member Paul Fielding sent Mayor Ron Kirk a scathing memo complaining that a meeting had been scheduled for the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. “It saddens me, this insensitive policy,” Fielding wrote, putting the needle to…
Colin Powell’s popularity doesn’t mean we’ve made progress on race issues The media, having created the Colin Powell Bubble, are now having a wonderful time bouncing it around. Recall, if you will, the heady spring of 1992, when all the polls showed that the leading contender for the presidency was…
Chief impostor This is in regard to your recently published article “Lost tribe” [September 21]. You are to be commended for exposing a true impostor along with other impostors. Based on the information outlined in your article, it is quite obvious that these gentlemen know very little and could care…
Investigation on ice A major investigative project by The Dallas Morning News’ top guns–now slated for imminent publication–has been sitting on ice for months, producing a slow burn in the paper’s newsroom, BeloWatch has learned. The project reportedly probes the banking and real-estate dealings of U.S. congressman Ralph Hall, a…
In a move that seems to disregard citizen crime concerns and the complaints of the city’s police union, the city of Dallas will turn down $2.85 million in federal funds for additional police officers. Dallas was in line to get $5.25 million as its share of the federal Cops-Ahead program…
Henry Clayton is a short, plump man with a sharp, angular nose. He wears a pearl-button western shirt, a beaded necklace and ties his hair back in a pony tail. He looks, at least, like what he claims to be–the chief of the largest Indian tribe in Texas. A 48-year-old…
It’s been too much for one poor man to bear. First, David L. Park watched the city of Dallas twist itself into knots trying to build a new downtown sports arena. Then Park decided to put the city out of its misery by offering to give Dallas a brand spanking…
