Voting Primer - Dallas County Election Information

Each week of the election, I will republish this information to keep you up to date. Through Sunday, 66,262 people have voted according to the Dallas County Elections Department. Won't you join them?

Here's all the info you need to vote in Dallas County.


*List of all Elections (link)

*When and where to early vote (link)

*Check on your registration - You also can view your ballot ahead of time (link)

*State of Texas Early Voting Rules (link)

*Demonstration of Touch Screen Voting Machine (Flash player required) (link)

*Services Available to Voters with Special Needs in Texas (link)

*League of Women Voters' Online Voters Guide (link)

A Change at the Dallas City Plan Commission

Kudos to Betty Culbreath! Ms. Culbreath, known to most of us as Miss Betty, is the Chair of the City Plan Commission (CPC). She introduced a plan to move the City Plan Commission meetings to 6:30 PM, starting in 2007.

As I have stated in previous blog posts (link), a lot happens at Plan Commission Meetings. They start in the early afternoon and can last into the evening. Changing the meeting times would give working people the opportunity to attend meetings and let their voices be heard. Many working people do not have paid time off, and have to make a serious financial sacrifice to attend. If an item gets postponed, they have to take another day of vacation. And so on. That is not fair.

Ms. Culbreath has listened to the voice of the working person, now it's up to you!

If this passes, citizens MUST show up at the CPC meetings in higher numbers. Your neighborhoods are at stake, stand up and be counted!

Is the City Guilty of Lowball Tactics?

Emily Ramshaw at the DMN has a great article (link) on the old Lincoln Theatre on Bexar Street in South Dallas (map) , and the City's attempt to buy the property from Jacquelyn Bilal. Mrs. Bilal is the widow of Lee Bilal, one of Dallas' Black icons and one of the first Black police officers in Dallas.

It appears that the City is using tried and true tactics like questioning the Bilal's title to the property and giving low-ball offers so they can move forward with their redevelopment project. That's not fair.

If we can afford to give David Dean a bunch of extra free money, surely we can do what's right and pay Mrs. Bilal a fair sum based on the future value of what Bexar Street commercial property will be worth.

You may not care what goes on in South Dallas, but just remember...if it can happen to Mrs. Bilal it can happen to your property anywhere in the City.

Fuel for Champions

OK, the wife and I live in Oak Cliff. Since the move, I've been going through La Duni (link) withdrawal. I can't get my favorite desserts down here (or any Carne Asada Arrachera, for that matter). Those who love La Duni know exactly what I'm talking about.

You can't fight the power without the proper fuel, so....

My wife actually made her OWN Cuatro Leches cake from scratch. You gotta love it!

(yeah, I have it THAT good).

Enough Talking, how 'bout some Doing?

If you scan recent local news, you will read about Texas' high school dropout problem. I have also heard about recent statistics about DISD's dropout issues. I heard that more than 50% of Blacks and Latinos that start 9th grade will not graduate.

You'll read about little symposiums, meetings, and various "experts" doling out equal parts opinion and blame.

In other cities, they tackle the problem head-on. Read this article (link).

Read the piece again. This short article says it all. Courtesy of the Pennsylvania State Legislature, $2 million is on the way to focus on the seven worst high schools in Philadelphia (according to dropout rate), as well as select middle schools. That funding is in addition to other monies that are regularly allocated towards dropout prevention.

How much did the DISD allocate to its Dropout Prevention and Community Outreach program in its 2005-06 budget? A whopping $1.2 million.

It's a big blame game. The cities can blame the State and the State can blame the Federal Government all day long.

It's time to ante up. Enough meetings. Enough symposiums. Enough with the think tanks already.

Cut the check, and get to work.

Voting Glitches???

Rod Davis (no relation) over at FrontBurner (link) points out that a number of voters are being affected by glitches with the voter registration system. If you registered recently, read up and protect your vote.

Dallas Morning News and Annoying Ads

Getting away from politics for a minute...I saw an article in the business/tech section of today's paper. It talked about getting rid of pop-ups and annoying browser ads (link).

The funny thing is that if you've surfed the DMN or WFAA online as I have in the past month, you have been inundated with annnoying browser ads from the likes of Strayhorn and others.

But I appreciate the help on getting rid of the annoying ads from the writer's own company....I guess.

First Day Election Observations

As usual, I early voted for the upcoming election. I was prepared for the usual bombardment of campaign workers with flyers in hand and their attempts to sway my votes to their candidate.

Surprisingly, a trend I saw in May has continued.

Candidates aren't getting their money's worth. Most of the campaign workers were standing around talking to each other instead of voters. At one polling place, the workers were sitting on benches and yelling at us from 50 feet away (even though we were far enough from the poll to be approached with literature).

I got a total of one flyer for a judge. It wasn't for District Attorney or Governor or anyone else. Either the candidates are taking voters for granted or your consultant took the money and ran.

Candidates, if you're paying your hard earned cash you may want to get a refund. You either need a better field manager, better workers, or both. Having a lazy person working your campaign is as bad as having no one at all.

The most ridiculous sign placement of the day goes to Rose Renfroe, who had a sign affixed to the outside of a trash dumpster fence at the Records Building. Given her campaign strategy, maybe it was a fitting place for the sign.

The best part of Renfroe's sign is the last-minute Rose "Rosita" Renfroe attachment to the bottom of the sign, an obvious fake attempt to appeal to Latinos that has been well documented by other news sources.

Voting Primer

Here's all the info you need to vote in Dallas County.


*List of all Elections (link)

*When and where to early vote (link)

*Check on your registration - You also can view your ballot ahead of time (link)

*State of Texas Early Voting Rules (link)

*Demonstration of Touch Screen Voting Machine (Flash player required) (link)

*Services Available to Voters with Special Needs in Texas (link)

*League of Women Voters' Online Voters Guide (link)

Two Realities in the City of Dallas

On Thursday night, CBS ran a story titled City Of Dallas Experiencing Economic Boom (link).

I beg to differ. Just because sales at NorthPark Mall are up and a few people in southern Dallas can buy a new house doesn't mean much.

The article boasted of people buying million-dollar condos and the like. For sport, one non-rich person was thrown in as a new homeowner.

The reality is that a lot of new homes are bought by people that turn them into Section 8 houses. Trust me, I know. They'll be packaged in a year or two and sold in blocks to future slumlords. Other than Unity Estates in Oak Cliff, most of these new developments do not have HOAs (Homeowner Associations) and it shows. Many are crime ridden before they even sell out to new homeowners.

We have large-scale slumlord complexes such as Chaucer Village (link), Canterbury Village (link), and Broadmoor (link) where the good citizens live like prisoners. These slumlords rent to anyone breathing no matter what criminal record they have to increase occupancy rates and then re-sell the complexes at a profit to buyers who don't care about renter safety.

Then the story touts the low unemployment numbers. I have always looked at unemployment numbers as total b.s. Everyone knows that those numbers are based on who is actually filing. How many people exist whose benefits have run out or have just given up on getting unemployment? Thousands.

We have a County Commissioner that has abandoned the southern sector of Dallas for his new friends in Desoto, Duncanville, and Lancaster. The Justice of the Peace court is overcrowded with people that can't afford to pay tickets and citations. The Inland Port is nice but it doesn't mean a damned thing to a senior citizen that is living behind burglar bars and can't afford to pay her electric bill.

The only new community grocery store that I know about is Chi's Grocery at Denley and Morrell (link) . Instead of a plaque someone should buy him an M-16 to protect his store.

There seems to be no limit to the amount of high-income property that can be built between downtown Dallas and Preston Hollow. If that's your definition of a comeback I guess Big D is booming.

I guess it depends on which side of the river you live. I know that if you exit I-45 or I-35 anywhere south of I-30 in Dallas there is a different reality. Drive on Corinth Street, Sunnyvale, Ledbetter, or on Martin Luther King boulevard and tell me where "Big D is booming."

Come take a ride with me...I'll show you the other side of Dallas.

Max Wells is Running for Mayor.

As reported for a while by Rufus Shaw and Trey Garrison on FrontBurner, another hat is thrown in the ring.

My reaction... so what. My sources tell me that he was one of the most anti-minority councilpeople we've had in the last 25 years.

I guess that means he'll actually have to get off an exit on I-35 south of I-30.

Mary Kay Foundation Fights Domestic Violence with $3 Million



According to the Dallas Business Journal, the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation (link) is giving $3 million in grants this year to shelters and safe houses that help victims of domestic violence.

The foundation, funded by Addison-based cosmetics company Mary Kay Inc. and Ash's family, will give each shelter a $20,000 grant as part of National Domestic Violence Month.

Are Motel Owners trying to Strong-Arm the Protestors?

I believe that it's true.

Among other things, can you believe that the motel owners actually hired a lawyer to protest our fee waiver? Wow, they must really believe they're up a creek.

Stay tuned, I'll have more to post soon.

I went to a Hip-Hop Club...and didn't get Shot!

Yes, contrary to public belief this happens all of the time. Young minorities do like to party and socialize in peace in a positive environment.

On Friday, I decided to check out the Daiquiri Dump, located on Commerce Street in Deep Ellum.

The Fresh2Def party is hosted by my people Rob Howard and Ron King of DallasPeeps, as well as Deville and C-Hawk from PartyChaser.

It was a great time. They have a DJ on the inside and on the patio.

I got to talk to the owner a little bit. One of the ways he keeps it safe is to focus on an older crowd. He's also tried to be a part of the community by joining the Deep Ellum Association.

They have plenty of security, but it's a positive crowd anyway so you really don't have to worry about anything jumping off.

The Daiquiri Dump is located at 2612 Commerce Street (map), near Commerce and Good Latimer. It’s definitely a spot you should check out.

What Part of the Game is this?

Sharon Boyd at DallasArena has a hot piece this morning about an Assistant News Editor at the Dallas Morning News that contributed to the campaign of a current judicial candidate.

The piece, entitled DMN News Editor's Political Donation, is quite a hoot. It involves the race of Judge Faith Johnson and her challenger Tracy Holmes for 363rd Criminal District Court.

Sharon also includes ethics policies of the DMN. This is a very important story. It's not really about which party you support (or if you're an independent); it's more about raising the ethical questions. This is our only daily newspaper; they must be held to a high standard.

Read Sharon's article here (link).

Unlicensed Group Homes a Problem in Dallas

Brandi Grissom of the El Paso Times has a disturbing article about unlicensed and unregulated group homes across the state (link).

According to the article, Oak Cliff has at least a dozen unlicensed group homes, some of which have up to 15 residents. They are constant source of calls for the Dallas Police.

Let's see if anyone steps up to address this issue.

I Hate Graffiti (and Perps that Run from the Police)

On Saturday, my wife and I participated in the Graffiti Abatement Day.

Spearheaded by Angela Hunt (link), this is a project where citizens team up to paint over unsightly graffiti. On Saturday we focused on parts of Angela's district such as East Dallas, Greenville Avenue, and near Mockingbird Avenue.

The City staff (Code Compliance and I think some other departments) did a great job of coordinating all of the workers and making sure the day ran smoothly. Carrabba's was kind enough to donate food for the event, and Dallas Police Department allowed us to use the East Dallas storefront as a station post.

Angela informed me that she is working on a comprehensive plan based on the one in Phoenix to effectively battle graffiti.

You can really see the effects of graffiti when you drive around Dallas. I never realized how much graffiti was in Dallas neighborhoods until we were trying to paint over the tags of these knuckleheads.

Sanctioned murals are one thing, but running around and tagging people's homes, businesses and apartment buildings that they work hard to preserve is something else. It should be a felony crime.

Before I go I must give a shout-out to the Dallas DPD. While we were finishing up a wall. I saw Dallas' finest chasing several suspects with guns drawn on a few perps that refused orders to surrender peacefully in Lower Greenville. I think one ran into a house and started a mini-standoff. I didn't stick around to find out, but it looked dangerous. They have a heck of a job, and whatever support they need should be given by the City and its citizens.

Police Officers Remain in Danger...while David Dean Lives it Up

Today in Oak Cliff, an arrested murder suspect in the back of a squad car kicked an officer and injured her in the shoulder (link).

It's an atrocity to think that in this day and age, that Dallas can pay for "business advisers" to live it up (link) while the Dallas Police Department doesn't have protective shields in all of its cars.

In Houston, two weeks ago a similar situation cost an officer his life (link). Is that what it's going to take for city officials to get the message?

How in the world can we pay consultants like David Dean hundreds of thousands of dollars, but we can't make sure that Dallas' finest are safe from the perps that they apprehend?

By the way, Police Vehicle Barriers cost around $920.

Where are our priorities?

Is the State coming for Red Light Camera Cash?

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee is studying to see if they can come for their cut of the dough (link).

This is an interesting development. A lot of red-light cameras were approved based on projected revenues, and if Austin comes calling it could be an entirely different value proposition.

Stay tuned.

Tuesday is the Last Day to Register to Vote!

If you care at all about Texas, you must vote in November. That's it.

Registration forms can be picked up at local Department of Public Safety offices, local libraries and at the Secretary of State's office. Residents also can sign up at a local voter registration office.

Applications are available online here (link).

The applications must be either hand-delivered to the county voter registrar or postmarked by Tuesday.

Dallas Looking at Victory to Deep Ellum Shuttle

The Dallas Morning News reports that a free weekend shuttle connecting the Deep Ellum entertainment district to American Airlines Center may begin operation as soon as December.

Reports indicate that the new shuttle service would run from 6:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, with the possibility of Thursday service.

It would connect hotel guests and residents of the W and future high-rises with the restaurants and clubs of Deep Ellum. Hopefully, it will cut down on some of the car traffic as well.

This is a great idea - downtown has some very unique pieces that surround it and we must do what we can to make sure that all of its businesses remain viable.

DISD Student Dies during Gym Class

Channel 8 reports that a student died at TW Browne Middle School in Southwest Oak Cliff (link). According to the report:

"Neri Hernandez, 13, was running sprints and doing drills called a "suicide" for about 30 minutes. A fellow student said they were all struggling with the exercises, but that the strenuous drills proved too much for the overweight boy."

Several key statements in the news report are alarming:

*The parents signed a form saying that he had issues with intense exercise.
*The whole class watched the boy die.
*Students said the gym teacher was on the phone when the student passed out.
*Neri had previously passed out in class while exercising.

DISD officials said they are investigating the death.

UPDATE: More info from students in the class, and the teacher involved has been placed on leave (link).

911 STILL has a Long Way to Go

Although I wrote about this topic last week (link), it needs mentioning once again.

Driving Dallas' highways, you see it all the time. People following each other way too close, speeding in right hand lanes, and treating our local highways like the latest installment in the Fast and the Furious Series.

Yesterday at sunset on I-30, there was a terrible accident that happened right in front of us. The kind that makes your stomach turn when you see and hear it. Glass and car parts flying, the whole nine. We had to swerve out of the way to avoid it and then called to report the accident.

Then we get transferred to Dallas Fire Rescue. After (you guessed it) a two-minute hold time, we told them what happened. However, it seemed like the operator was more interested in finding out why we weren't on the scene of the accident than dispatching help to the injured. Finally, after 2-3 minutes of harassment, help was on the way.

What's wrong with this picture?

I believe in DPD Chief Kunkle. I believe in Dallas Fire Rescue Chief Eddie Burns. You can't change the system in a day. But somehow we've got to get the 911/311 system under control.

I'm just hoping that someone is listening.

Ron Kirk and the Dallas Bond Election? Is it true?

And just when I said things were getting slow around here…

Rufus Shaw over at DallasBlog is saying that Ron Kirk is not participating in the promotion of the Dallas Bond election because a crony of Kirk's was not given the contract to promote the bond package. Check out Rufus' article (link).

I believe that his thoughts are on target.

If such a thing is true and this bond package overwhelmingly passes, it will signal another blow to the old guard that has been holding the Southern Sector back. It will also show that the people that a lot of powerful rich people north of the Trinity are getting wiser about spending their money when contributing to elections.

In my opinion, to speak out against a project or not support an important project that will benefit Dallas just because you can't get paid will always be wrong.

Rufus said it best:

What to watch for now is not only the passage of the bond program but maybe the beginning of a new way of doing business in the Black political community.

I second that.

I am glad that other prominent people in the community are standing up the powers that be, and showing them that the Southern Sector will not be held hostage by those that don’t have their best interests in mind.

A Slow Week in Dallas Politics

There hasn't been much to report in Dallas politics over the last couple of weeks. A couple of strange proposals may be on the horizon, with the City looking into putting oil drilling sites around Dallas (won't happen) and the Dallas Housing Authority contemplating the sale of the Little Mexico Village housing project. Little Mexico Village (map) is around the corner from the American Airlines Center.

For one, selling the Little Mexico Village would be a greed move on behalf of the Housing Authority. Several million dollars was invested in this project a few years ago. It has a low crime rate, and is also home to the Little Heroes Baseball Field (link).

Don't you want a housing project to be: safe, clean, and have a sense of community? To consider selling this project just because residents don't want to be faced with the reality of (gasp) seeing poor people on the way to Victory Park and developers are willing to buy the property, is asinine. People that work in schools and make that crappy minimum wage that many legislators refused to increase earlier this year live...in...the... projects. You can't gentrify out reality.

Considering that the Dallas Housing Authority refuses to deploy the resources to address crime-ridden developments like the Forest Green Manor highrise in Northeast Dallas (which is called New Jack City by area residents, and for good reason), maybe their brainpower could be better focused on other aspects of their operation.

12/6/06 NOTE for readers of Unfair Park and Frontburner: If you want an update on this issue, click here.