Thank the Lord every once in a while the American political system churns out a Wendy Davis, the 48-year-old Senate freshman from Fort Worth who filibustered Rick Perry’s legislative session to a soggy grave in the wee small hours of Monday night. The Perrypublican fury over Davis’ act isn’t merely…
Osama Bin Laden is dead. But the fight — and the hefty price — to fend off terrorists around the globe lives on. Just yesterday, for example, eight more American soldiers were confirmed dead in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Sad, but let’s face it, we’ve become numb to the numbers…
On May 12 I wrote a column quoting Dallas City Attorney Tom Perkins on why he had decided to write a proposed new ethics law for the city council. The new law he wrote was adopted unanimously by the council. It greatly relaxed restrictions on how soon after a city…
Whether you’ve reached the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt’s End: *Hey, remember the shooting incident involving former Richardson Berkner High School football star Aqib Talib that I told you about in March? So does a Dallas County grand jury, which…
For the elite few among you allowed entrance to The Dallas Morning News behind-the-pay-wall pages, I recommend a piece in today’s paper by Roy Appleton about Oak Cliff. He quotes neighborhood activist Jason Roberts, pushing for bike lanes and stuff, as saying North Oak Cliff really isn’t asking for big…
Dear Mexican: I’m a Spanish court interpreter in Santa Barbara, California; I’ve also worked in Los Angeles courts. I just read your most recent column regarding the promotion of the learning and practicing of English by Latinos in the United States. Generally, I agree with your view. But my question…
On May 5 I wrote a column about the city’s bungled “whitewater feature” in the Trinity River — a fake rapids for kayaks that cost $4 million to build — and I included the following observation about a so-called safe bypass around the fake rapids for canoers: “One powerful current…
Yesterday’s city council committee briefing on restoring Dealey Plaza was all very well. The well-intended and the well-heeled have joined together to raise money for a well-designed refurbishing of the place where President John F. Kennedy was … well, you know … shot. I’m sure it will be well done…
Welcome to Local Music ‘Mericans , where we meet some of the people behind the local music scene — those who aren’t necessarily members of local bands, but more the people who make the scene move. Mike Ziemer is a lot of things — a promoter, a manager, a marketing…
We all need to splash our faces with cold water in this matter of the superintendent of the Dallas school system leaving town for a job as superintendent of schools in Cobb County, Georgia. What the hell do we expect? Governor Rick Perry and the Tea Party are charging ahead…
As you saw here yesterday, Dallas mayoral candidate David Kunkle has made releasing financial data on the Trinity River Project a plank in his platform — well, a stick, anyway — in part in response to stories he has seen here about it. Kunkle is making ethics a theme in…
*Darren Oliver (1-5) gets yet another loss. And that’s two blown saves for Feliz on consecutive nights after 19 straight closes. *Durant’s dunk: Awesometown. Peja’s expression: Priceless. *Watched cyclist Tyler Hamilton snitching on Lance Armstrong in the 60 Minutes clip. Not buying it. He’s a two-time drug loser with darting eyes, wordy…
Apparently a whole lot of people around the country took a look at the very strange campaign advertisement for Debbie Georgatos that Wilonsky posted here Sunday morning — a video to promote her unsuccessful campaign for chairman of the Dallas County Republican Party. Judging by the comments, most people focused…
Soon the Reign of Dwaine will end. My life will change. But the city will not. Next month, by law, a new mayor of Dallas must be sworn in, and the curtain must fall on this brief, unlikely and delightful chapter in the history of City Hall. Acting Mayor Dwaine…
Dear Mexican: What happened to my friend? She is white (Irish—her only aunt was a Catholic nun!), she grew up in Pico Rivera (so most people think she is Mexican with green eyes), she is converting to Judaism, and guess what? All she meets are Mexicans! And all she likes…
Yesterday on Unfair Park Patrick Williams posted an item reporting that the city of Dallas is going to court to sue rather than follow the instructions of the Texas Attorney General to release basic information to the Dallas Observer about the money the city has spent so far on the…
Welcome to Local Music ‘Mericans , where we meet some of the people behind the local music scene — those who aren’t necessarily members of local bands, but more the people who make the scene move. In some ways, Chelsea Callahan is kind of like the mayor of our local…
The Oak Cliff secession movement in 1990 was one of Oak Cliff’s very few expressions of political will in the last 30 years, and even that weak attempt at assertiveness was based on the region’s profound inferiority complex. Its ethos was sort of: If you’re going to treat us like…
Whether you’ve reached the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt’s End: *Went and watched the American professional debut of Cuban defector/Rangers’ prospect Leonys Martin last night in Frisco. In a word, wow! With his father and agent in the stands at Dr…
Dear Mexican: I can’t help thinking of Mexico as a Tea Party paradise. Mexican taxes are very low. There are few regulations, and environmentalists, socialists and liberals are few and far between. There is no Obamacare, and Mexico is the home of Carlos Slim, the world’s richest man, a tribute…
People hate lawyers and lobbyists. Not me. I hate people. If you wonder why, I offer you last week’s outlandish hearing on city council “ethics.” Back in April, the city council passed major revisions to its ethics code, loosening the rules that restrict companies from showering City Hall with money…
Southern Dallas, especially the ministerial leadership, seems to be pretty locked up behind mayoral candidate Mike Rawlings. In explaining that to myself, I do allow for Rawlings’s charismatic personality and his track record on community issues. He’s got things going for him. (Well, maybe not today.) But there is also…
