I’ve made a mistake. I have been exchanging e-mails with Frank Librio, the director of the city’s Public Information Office, concerning the $1.54 million that has been added to the cost of an environmental impact study of the Trinity River Toll Road. Librio wrote me: “The funds came from the…
This blog item, apparently, will be on the test. On Wednesday I posted two items on Unfair Park about a fairly hefty new sum being charged to the City of Dallas for the design of the Trinity River toll road. You know the story. Mayor Tom Leppert ran for office…
Here is what you need to know about DART, the regional transit agency whose recently resigned chairwoman turned herself over to the cops recently on document-tampering charges: You don’t know nuthin’. And you’re not going to know. For instance, after news broke of the charges against DART chair Lynn Flint…
Dear Mexican: Why do you suppose Mexico has such a hard time getting its act together? It has vast natural resources, good climate, natural ports, super-generous and good-looking neighbors and plenty of laborers who seem to be willing to do all sorts of crappy jobs. But instead of having a…
So, a couple of items down below, I wrote about a story posted on The Dallas Morning News’ Web site, which says the North Texas Tollway Authority is about to bill Dallas an extra $1.54 million for design of the Trinity River toll road. I suggested it might be about…
A little while ago, Dallas Morning News transportation writer Michael Lindenberger posted a story on The News’ Web site that says, “The North Texas Tollway Authority will bill the city of Dallas $1.54 million for higher-than-expected planning and design costs for the Trinity Parkway toll road.” His story says the…
Well, thank goodness, I got a long irate e-mail from a friend this morning, so I know I’m not totally nuts. She started off: “Just when I thought I could no longer be shocked and amazed by the DMN, I read that they are endorsing Huckabee, the nimrod who doesn’t…
The decline and imminent death of daily newspapers is always on my mind, for reasons that should be understandable since I spent the first 25 years of my working life at them. But last week was especially devastating. Sam Zell, the white knight of Tribune Company, announced a very un-white-knightly…
At least this brand-new photo of Lynn Flint Shaw won’t go to waste. Lest we begin feeling too terribly sorry for former Dallas Area Rapid Transit chairman Lynn Flint Shaw, who did the perp walk today at Lew Sterrett calaboose when she turned herself in on forgery charges, we might…
In this world anybody can propose ethics reform. Jeffrey Dahmer can propose ethics reform. I can propose ethics reform. And everybody supports it. Duh. The big stop-the-presses headline for me will be the day somebody comes out publicly against ethics. Being for it is easy. The hard part is doing…
Dear Mexican: My parents were Greeks who legally immigrated to the United States in 1920. When it became harder for Greeks to immigrate, they began to jump ship in New York. My father referred to them as “bananas—fresh off the boat,” but it was mostly an affectionate name. The Greek community took care…
One of the more laughable lawyer moments I have witnessed in my too-long reporting career took place yesterday at the meeting of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Board of Directors. Bottom line? Apparently it’s O.K. for DART board members to scoot around the corner from each other and collect some…
Tomorrow at 1 p.m. the audit committee of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit board is going to hear a 15-minute presentation from DART’s general counsel concerning “DART’s External Financial Auditor’s January 22, 2008 Communication Regarding Independence Matters.” Translation: How come Deloitte Touche, the external auditors for DART, had a $20,000-a-year…
Wow. I always thought Dwaine Caraway was a pretty good-looking guy, but there must be something nasty and scary about him. He sure put the fear of God in the school district last week. After Caraway and a bunch of pissed-off parents jaw-boned the city’s public school system for two…
Dear Mexican: After working with Mexicans for years, I have noticed that Mexican men have a double standard when it comes to homosexuality. Why is it that the “giver” is not regarded as being just as equally gay as the “receiver”? —El Vaquero Dear Cowboy Gabacho: I think all heterosexual…
Former DART board member Joyce Foreman The current city council, with only one exception I can think of, is not bloggy. It’s not a question of their not being tuned into blogs. From what I have observed, it’s more likely to be a question of their not knowing what a…
Joyce Foreman, the council’s pick for DART board chair? Story I get from normally plausible sources is that former Dallas City Manager John Ware, the mayor’s candidate to replace deposed and disgraced former Dallas Area Rapid Transit board chair Lynn Flint Shaw, is now “off the table.” A growing cadre…
Lots of sturm und drang around the Dallas Area Rapid Transit board. Reliable sources say Mayor Tom Leppert is continuing to call other city council members, reading them his little list of votes on the council in favor of appointing former city manager John Ware to replace disgraced and deposed…
Dallas Area Rapid Transit was conceived in sin. Dallas wanted to father a light rail system, but in order to get the money to pay for it, Dallas married its first cousin, Suburbia. Now DART, the progeny of this cynical union, is sadly, uh…not quite right. DART announced in early…
Dear readers: Mucho feedback from ustedes regarding recent questions about archetypical Mexican dogs and the propensity of wabs to D.U.I. Let’s empezar with the doggies: You’re right about Chihuahuas. Crazy, tough dogs. I’m a dog rescuer (www.geocities.com/st-roch), and we once found a Chihuahua in a box by the side of…
Former Dallas City Manager John Ware — now, apparently, the mayor’s pick to replace DART board chair Lynn Flint Shaw Dallas Area Rapid Transit board chairman Lynn Flint Shaw’s resignation today is the first public eruption of a whole hell of a lot of fire and brimstone going on beneath…
DART board of directors chairman Lynn Flint Shaw I saw Dallas Morning News reporter Rudy Bush at yesterday’s meeting of the city council’s Transportation and Environment Committee, and, you know, just trying to make small-talk, I said, “Hey, when are you guys going to do your Lynn Flint Shaw story?”…
