Breaking News Ch. 11 Fires News Director

This just in...

Robert at the Observer says that Channel 11 gave the boot to Regent Ducas, the now-former News Director. Ducas lasted all of five months.

This is great news! I know of multiple community groups that have been disappointed because Ch. 11 reporters have not been allowed to cover community stories since he got here. I also got a lot of behind the scenes dish over the last few months of newsroom and staffing changes which weren't well received. The first five minutes idea was flat-out awful. Ed Bark says that the general manager ordered it stopped earlier this week.

Scott Diener is now the News Director, and we wish him good luck. I look forward to having Channel 11 return to the community to highlight positive events.

Grand Hotel to be Restored

Randall Turner of Harvard Companies reports that the old Grand Hotel, which has been shuttered for years, has a buyer. The site is located at Commerce and St. Paul (map). With companies like Comerica moving to downtown Dallas, this is good news for a downtown that is working its way back to prominence.

Does Minyard's Care about the Community?

The Minyard's Food Store at Marsalis & Illinois (map) was robbed at gunpoint at closing time on Tuesday night.

It would seem that Minyard's would have armed security or off-duty police officers available at closing time to make sure their employees are safe. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Then again, when you look at the quality of the food at the Marsalis store compared to the Minyard's-owned Carnival at Westmoreland & Illinois you can see how much the care about the neighborhood. It seems like every other Minyard's or Carnival except for this store has been redone in the past few years.

According to records, this Minyard's was built in 1967. City records show that only $23,825 in work has been done to the store since 1976, and $15,000 of that was to put in a refrigerated case was back in 1993! In other words, no cosmetic work or updating has ever been done to the store. For those of you that haven't seen the store, have a look.

I know of many seniors that will not shop at Minyard's. I wish they would sell the store to a chain that will care more about its customers and the neighborhood.

UPDATE: Apparently there have been other issues with security at other stores Minyard's. Check this article from the Observer in 2005 courtesy of Zac at D Magazine. It focuses on the now-closed Lakewood market.

Dallas South Sports Open for Biz

Shawn Williams of Dallas South has a new sports blog that is now up and running. Check out Dallas South Sports when you get time. Shawn is focusing on local sport events like the Oak Cliff Super Bowl that's coming this weekend. Great stuff!

Dallas County Commissioners Restore Tax Breaks

Today, Dallas County Commissioners reinstated the over-65 property tax exemptions for seniors. What caused the sudden change of heart?

I think a lot of the credit can be attributed to Sharon Boyd of DallasArena. Right when it happened, she implored the citizens to really examine this fiasco. And once Sharon's army gets going with their calls, faxes, and e-mail, it's on. Even the DMN attributed the commissioners' change of heart to "commissioners (being) inundated with e-mails and phone calls from angry seniors."

Once the deluge started, something was going to be done. You could feel it. I was thrilled to get the e-mail from Sharon saying that the Commissioners' changed their minds.

Seniors don't get many breaks. Most seniors live on a fixed income while property taxes and appraisals continue to skyrocket. I'm glad they still have a gift coming from the County.

For Users of Feedreaders

For people that use feedreaders and other website aggregators, you probably have been looking for Dallas Progress and drawing a blank.

The kinks have been fixed. You should delete your old feed and re-subscribe.

This can be done by clicking the feedburner icon in this post and resubscribing to the Dallas Progress feed.

Also, you can get on the e-mail list by entering your E-mail in the box below and clicking the subscribe button.

Thanks for your patience.

RSS Feeds

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We are experiencing technical difficulties with our RSS & Atom feeds. It should be cleared up in a few days.

My Annual Rant about Southwest Center Mall

My Annual Rant about Southwest Center Mall

Why has SW Center Mall (aka Red Bird Mall) continued to fall off? Not much has changed since last year's post.

Three reasons:

• Store quality
• The lack of upgrades in the common areas (the mall looks tired). You may also need a front-end alignment after driving through the parking lot.
• The perception of safety. I know Northpark technically has more crime but would you let your wife go to Red Bird at night? The lighting is terrible. The drive-by shooting at the Whataburger and the everyday nonsense at the Shell station at 67 & Camp Wisdom doesn't help either.
  

The funny thing about Northpark is that I always see my Oak Cliff neighbors at the mall. Why? They have the stores, and it's a pleasant place to shop. True to their roots, the owners of SW Center Mall have continued the mall's descent to a bazaar-like operation.

I remember that a couple of years ago I was in a meeting with some community development folks and I said that they should demolish the mall and build a lifestyle-type center. They laughed.

Now, what is Uptown Village?...a lifestyle mall being built in Cedar Hill.

When Dillard's & Macy's move to Cedar Hill's Uptown Village, the mall is done. The SuperTarget is going in at Wheatland & I-20, so that opportunity has passed.

They should run it over and start new. Last year, only two new closed-in malls (like SW Center Mall) were built in the US. It's a dinosaur.

It's going to be a tough job to change the perception and bring a good shopping venue into the community.

Does Carona Have Competition?

Does Carona Have Competition?

I've been hearing that Texas Senator John Carona will have a serious Democrat challenger in next year's Senate Race for District 16 (map).

The only Democrat challenger he's faced since he became senator in 1996 was the late Jan Erik Frederiksen in 2002, who pulled 34% of the vote in the general election.

John Carona has a ton of money, both personally and in the election coffers. Running as a Democrat in a district that includes the Park Cities and most of North Dallas will be a challenge for anyone, so I remain skeptical. Drop me a line or post a comment if you know of any rumored challengers to the throne.

Kirk-Ching! Former Dallas Mayor Tops TXU money List

Kirk-Ching! Former Dallas Mayor Tops TXU money List

As I have mentioned before in this column, Ron Kirk was a major lobbyist during the TXU merger buyout saga. Well now it turns out that he was the top money-getter for pushing this deal, earning over $350,000 for his efforts (link).

I'm not naive enough to think that employing lobbyists isn't a part of politics. But it rubs me the wrong way when you see a name like Kirk's at the top of the list, at the same time that he thinks that we will believe him regarding the Trinity Project.

It's never about the people with him...it's about the money. But how much is enough? At what point does greed not take over at the expense of the common good? And if you're in it for the money, admit it and move on. But don't change sides when it's convenient.

What did he do for African-American communities as Mayor of Dallas? I can't tell. Maybe someone can clue me in at a later date. Last week on DallasBlog, Rufus Shaw noted a glaring fact:

Former Mayor Kirk will assuredly find himself defending his own record regarding southern sector economic development.

and

However, every mayoral candidate in the recent mayoral election touted southern sector economic development as one of their top priorities. So why didn’t one of the major mayoral candidates ever reference Ron Kirk or his administration as a symbol of southern sector economic success?

The cat is out of the bag. That dog will not hunt this time around.

Big Plans for Dallas iMedia (DCTV)

Big Plans for Dallas iMedia (DCTV)

Today at City Council, several citizens spoke on the need for funding for Dallas iMedia. Dallas iMedia is the new name for DCTV. I got the chance to sit next to and talk with Lisa Hembry, the President & CEO for Dallas iMedia Network. As you know, Ms. Hembry has been the President since March and previously served as Dallas County Treasurer.

Ms. Hembry said that Dallas iMedia has big plans to reach even further into the community and provide new shows and outlets for the citizens of Dallas. They are now located inside of the Dallas Library's Downtown branch.

You can tell that the enthusiasm and vision that Ms. Hembry has for Dallas iMedia is truly genuine and an inspiration to other people that work at the network. She also has more plans to use the internet as a way to provide access to the network to citizens without cable.

Funding for Dallas iMedia was cut out of the proposed City Budget. However, in today's session multiple City Council members spoke in favor of restoring funding and finding a way to support this great institution.

Every great city has a strong community-based TV station and those stations are supported by all local branches of government. Dallas should be no different.

Random News Updates and Thoughts

Random News Updates and Thoughts

There was so much odd news over the last couple of days that I figured I would offer a wrap-up.

*Terrell Bolton's suit was thrown out (link from the guy that had this first). Good. Can we move on? Bolton was like two Chiefs ago. It's always funny how this guy gets no blame for anything police related that happened under his tenure. Sometimes it's racism, sometimes it's not.

*Light rail is still better than tollroads and highways (link). If you've ever actually used the DART train in the last two years you would know that it is beyond full during the rush hour commutes. People are sick of riding on tollways.

* I went to the famously secret Fajita Rita last weekend (if you don't know...well). The reputation was well deserved.

* Where have all the Dwaine Caraway haters been since the election? Where are the writers of all of the random shots by people with anonymous names on blogs and stupid articles about how there was "no new blood" in the City Council election? Somewhere with their mouths shut as he has delivered the first two in a series of community teen summits with important issues, helped to close two more motels, demolished drug houses, and put together a tour of top City officials to show them the problems first hand. Remember who you listen to the next time they lie to you. Oh yeah, tell them that I said it.

Too many smash and grabs are happening at night in the Dallas area. One way to catch these guys: better cameras! You can't make out anything on most of the cameras in these stores, and the crooks know it.

Dallas Gas Explosion Update

Dallas Gas Explosion Update

Paul Adrian of Fox 4 did an in-depth expose on the gas explosion that rocked downtown Dallas. It's a must read and must watch.

It seems that some of the owners and executives of Southwest Industrial Gases are blaming "disgruntled workers" for talking about the lack of training at the company that preceded the explosion in July. Several people were badly burned in the blaze.



I never realized how close this plant was located to I-35 until about a week ago (map); it's 10 feet from the highway! Like most drivers, I keep my eyes focused on the highway when driving I-35 which is a must so you don't get pummeled by one of Dallas insolent "I'll merge when I want to because I drive a big SUV or an uninsured hooptie - not when the traffic flow allows" drivers. Last week, I had the pleasure of being driven around Dallas by my beautiful wife and that's when I saw what was left of Southwest Industrial Gas.

I was horrified.

I thought about when I watched the explosions and fire on TV. I never thought that something that dangerous could be allowed next to a highway. We are blessed that none on those canisters or fireballs reached I-35. Many people could have died.

Southwest should be commended for hiring people that were formerly incarcerated. I'm not condoning the fact that the workers lied to OSHA because they feared for their jobs. But it is flat-out wrong for the company to blame them for exposing the lack of safety measures and training at the plant.

A telling paragraph from this story.

Despite the criminal past of the former workers, safety expert Bill Mizell believes their stories are credible. "Just by the way they were talking about not knowing the hazards and what they were doing, you can tell they had no training. So you can say what you want, but their past record has nothing to do with what they were doing out there... and what their employer was making them do."

Investigators said mechanical failure of pig-tailed acetylene cylinders was to blame for the blasts at Southwest Industrial Gases. Paul's story also includes Dallas Fire-Rescue's investigative report with worker accounts (ADVISORY: some profanity in that report).

We have to find a way to get these business out of that corridor and away from major highways.

Two More Hot-Sheet Motels Go Down

Two More Hot-Sheet Motels Go Down

On Monday, the Board of Adjustment voted against two motels. Both motels are in the same block as the Urban League in South Oak Cliff.

The Sunset Motel was ordered to close immediately. It's located next to the Urban League and across from the Dallas V.A. Hospital (map). We proved that they let anything and everything go on, including prostitution of 11-year old girls. More about the Sunset Motel here.

The Southern Comfort (right next to the Sunset-map) was found to be in violation and and a closing date will be set in October. More about this motel here.

Dr. Beverly Mitchell Brooks, Bishop Larry McGriff, ACORN, and others were very instrumental in achieving this goal.

Thanks to all of the citizens (almost 100!) that came down in support, as well as the Board members that realize that closing such places down should be a top priority.

PPT wins Dallas Observer Award

PPT wins Dallas Observer Award

Local hip-hop supergroup PPT has won the 2007 Dallas Observer Music Award for best hip-hop group. The award show was last night.

Shouts to my fam Pikahsso, Picnic, and Tahiti on a job well done. It couldn't happen to a better bunch music group or a better bunch of people.

Katrina Aid Funds Luxury Condos

A fine example of your tax dollars at work, courtesy of the Chron. As the Chron's John White writes in his blog piece titled "New Orleans flooded and all I got were these granite countertops," it's not illegal but it is galling.

Somewhere, Don King is laughing and saying "Only in America."

Maybe I'm a little jaded today because we had a bunch of people at our motel hearings yesterday claiming that a hot-sheet motel was "a good business." I may tell you all about it soon.

Oak Cliff Drug Houses Come Down

Sometimes, the thanks from the community are everything. Dwaine Caraway, Tom Leppert, and other City and County Officials found that out today.


The demolitions occurred in the 2500 of Crest Avenue (map). This is an area where the dope dealers literally sit in folding chairs outside the houses and sell drugs. One house that came down was the scene of a murder where the victim was shot and killed and the house was set on fire. In his first week in office, Dwaine pushed to have these houses taken down. Six weeks later, that hard work paid off.

Many other elected and appointed officials also attended. They included Councilmembers Jerry Allen and Linda Koop, Sheriff Lupe Valdez, members of ACORN, and Asst Chief David Brown.

The look on the residents' faces said it all. Some have lived in that area for over forty years. I think of the two families that live directly across from the corner house. If we can give hope to people by showing follow-through on campaign promises, we're halfway there.

Dwaine is already working to identify the next set of houses. Another example of executing the 20-point plan to clean up District Four "A Block at a Time."

Dallas Blog article: (link) Please read for neighbors' insight and reactions.


Channel 11 coverage:



Channel 8 coverage:


Additional pictures:

DA Craig Watkins Responds to the DMN Reporting

Last week, the DMN published an editorial that claims that the DA's office didn't prioritize or think through its funding requests when asking for 68 new positions.

Today, on DallasBlog, Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins responds to the DMN Board. One quote sticks out:

What critics of our request fail to realize, is that with this new administration, it is not business as usual. Our current budget request reflects the bare necessities. Our office actually needs much more than we asked for, but in light of where we are fiscally, we asked for what we absolutely must have to operate efficiently.

Here is Craig's response, unedited.

Dirtbag Landlord Leaves Tenants Hot

People like this give landlords a bad name. Channel 11 reports that tenants at the Grove Village Apartments (link) on Loop 12 near Jim Miller in Pleasant Grove (map) don't have air conditioning; in fact some tenants haven't had air for weeks. These people deserve better!

Not surprisingly, the owner (Guardian Management) is based way out of state in Portland, Oregon. They also own a complex around the corner from Grove Village called Pleasant Village (map). I'm sure the landlord is nice and cozy in their Portland high-rise while their tenants sweat away the summer.

They got $6.2 million in housing tax-credits from the State of Texas for Grove Village, and $6 million from the State of Texas for Pleasant Village. You'd think after getting $12.2 million in tax-credits last year that they could kick in for a few A/C units.

Stella Payne from Channel 11 reports.

Newspaper Reporter (not) Invited on Neighborhood Tour

I have an issue about this post on the DMN Metro Blog implying that one of their reporters was "along for the ride" for Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway's neighborhood issues tour.

Dwaine wanted me to let this slide but I felt that it's important to let citizens and City staff know that this movement is not for press coverage, it's all about improving our City.

I want to clarify something. The DMN reporter was not invited; he likely overheard a conversation or someone tipped him off that it was occurring. That same person told the reporter the time and/or schedule of the tour. And how would I know such a thing? Because unless it comes from Dwaine's direct staff, the City's media team or Dwaine himself, I handle his press coverage.

We don't invite newspaper reporters to neighborhood meetings. We want residents to feel safe in knowing that they will be anonymous when they come to City Officials with concerns. We also want City staff to feel comfortable as well.

The TV reporter was invited by someone other than the Councilperson, and therefore had a right to be there. Ken Kalthoff of NBC5 is one of the best reporters in this city, and made sure his cameraperson didn't tape faces of the community residents that spoke.

Basically what the DMN reporter did was compromise the safety of residents and tip off areas that will be addressed. He also compromised staff that may think that this tour was set up to get press coverage.

When Scott Goldstein of the DMN went on a tour, he was invited. Big difference. Scott was eager to learn about Oak Cliff and South Dallas so he could gain more insight, and we appreciate it. He did it the right way by asking for his own tour that didn't involve residents.

I hope other reporters at the Dallas Morning News do the same and use more discretion in the future.

Neighborhood Violence Costs Everyone

Yesterday, I mentioned an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about youth violence and it's affect on funeral directors. Here is a short video of a roundtable conducted during the National Black Funeral Directors convention. Video by Samantha Templeton of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Federal Trinity River Funding Approved by House

Just got a memo from Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson's office saying that the House has passed the 2007 Water Resources Act. This bill includes $298 million for the Trinity River Project, which is the federally-funded portion of this project. Please reference a previous Dallas Progress article for the particulars regarding this Bill. The Bill now awaits approval from the Senate.

The memo is after the jump.

CHAIRWOMAN JOHNSON APPLAUDS HOUSE PASSAGE OF WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

Measure includes key Johnson provisions which will benefit Trinity Corridor Development and the entire State of Texas

Washington, DC - (Wednesday, August 1, 2007) Today, the House passed legislation, originating in Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson’s Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee, which authorized approximately $21 billion for about 900 water resource project and studies nationwide. Specifically the measure authorizes $298 million for development within the Trinity Corridor in Dallas. The measure goes to the President once it wins final approval from the Senate.

Congresswoman Johnson was one of the principal authors of the legislation, known as the Water Resources Development Act or WRDA, and served as a conferee with the Senate. She gave the following remarks upon final House consideration of the bill:

“The clock is working against the infrastructure of our country.

The seven years we have waited to enact a Water Resources Development Bill have lead to significant increases in costs to adequately address the nation’s deteriorating water resources and flood control infrastructure.

I am delighted that we, as conferees, have come to an agreement on the issues of independent review, environmental infrastructure, and individual projects that have, up until now, prevented us from crafting a final conference report.

We do right by this country when we invest in its infrastructure.

Enactment of a Water Resources bill this year is critical to economic prosperity, job creation, protection of the environment, and public safety.

Since Congress last passed a Water Resources Development Act, we have seen Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastate the Gulf Coast and my home state of Texas , flooding cities, damaging economies and businesses, and threatening public health.

No water resources bill has been enacted since the year 2000 – the entire term of the current administration. I deeply regret that the Administration has decided to turn its back on a bill that will put Americans to work with good paying jobs, protect lives and property, and bolster our nation’s infrastructure.

A recent report by the Texas Section of Civil Engineers assessed my state’s infrastructure and rendered a dismal, cumulative grade of below average. The assessment of the state’s flood control faired even worse, with the state receiving a failing grade of D minus.

Over the past decade, Texas has experienced 15 federally declared disasters, most involving flooding. Moreover, Texas leads the nation in terms of dollars paid for flood claims, second only to the State of Louisiana .

The population of Texas is expected to double in the next 30 to 40 years. Development in and near floodplains can be expected to increase, as developers continue to build near the State’s rivers, lakes, and coastline.

In my district the Dallas Floodway accepts 1,600 square miles of Trinity River watershed runoff and safely moves the floodwaters through the City of Dallas by virtue of levees that form both sides of the 2,000-foot wide floodway. The Floodway levees protect the downtown Dallas vicinity from a potential flood damage loss to properties and infrastructure of $8 billion or more.

The 23 miles of levees for the Dallas Floodway were originally constructed by local interests in 1932 and reconstructed by the Corps in 1960. Since 1960, the upstream watershed has experienced exploding population growth that was not expected, which has significantly increased runoff, overwhelmed our antiquated interior drainage pumps, and greatly reduced the flood protection afforded by the Dallas Floodway levees.

My district’s flood control needs are great, and like other communities across the nation, they are anxiously anticipating the resumption of a predictable, consistent, and two-year WRDA cycle.

I am glad our work here today brings us one step closer to that reality.

The bill before us authorizes a number of studies and projects, particularly for the restoration of coastal Louisiana , the restoration of the Florida Everglades, and the restoration of the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway System.

Again, we do right by this country when we invest in its infrastructure. Communities across the country have been waiting seven long years to begin their noteworthy flood control and water infrastructure projects.

I am pleased that we have been able to put our heads together and once and for all advance this vitally important and long overdue legislation for the American people.

The time to act is now.”

An Unexpected Consequence of Youth Violence

I came across this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about youth violence and it's affect on funeral directors. It features perspectives from many directors which are in Philly for the National Black Funeral Directors convention.

Too often, funeral directors are tasked with making young bullet-riddled bodies presentable for burial. It causes amazing stress and physical danger for people that are often considered pillars of the community. Some have to get security just to hold a funeral and have been shot at themselves.

Many of these directors participate in anti-youth violence campaigns which show troubled youth the entire process of preparing a body for burial.

There needs to be a program like this in Dallas. It is a cornerstone of programs like "Don't Fall Down in the Hood" in Philadelphia and "This Could be You" in Gary, Indiana. I wonder how many kids in Dallas would pick up a gun after a visit to the funeral home to see the prepping of a young body.