Deadline for Statler Hotel Contest is Today

Today is the last day for submissions for The Statler Competition, which is a contest to design a temporary facade cover of the first two stories of the Hotel formerly known as the Statler Hilton.

While limited to AIA Dallas members, the good news is that there have been many submissions despite the short time frame.

Here is a link to photos of the Statler facade in its current state. As you can see from the attached picture, it also doesn't look so hot from a rooftop point of view.

The goal is to have the structure or artwork in place for the opening of the Main Street Gardens. The jury for the contest will convene on Thursday.

Before You Kill Someone with your FedEx Truck...

To the FedEx Express truck driver that was driving in downtown Dallas on this beautiful afternoon:

Your license plate number is 01DTT7. Your VIN is 4UZAANBW41CJ22310, and is registered to the Olypmic Drive FedEx office in Dallas. Whether or not this info is 100% accurate, I'm sure that FedEx can confirm such information since they use GPS (based on the info below).

If I had a better pic, your truck number would be posted. I hope you can be identified from the information that is provided.

You drove south on Akard St, crossing Main Street and made a left onto Commerce at about 3:06 PM. You made a left turn onto Ervay from Commerce at about 3:07PM. (The second pic is at the corner of Main and Ervay, across from the Wilson building.

Except that while you drove wildly you almost hit several pedestrians and vehicles in the process, especially when you dived into the left lane from the 2nd lane trying to turn onto Ervay. Bonus: they're both left turn lanes, or maybe you didn't see the signs either.

I am putting the exact information in the hopes that a FedEx executive reads this blog and will take appropriate action.

People that drive like you, and think that your delivery is more important than safety of people that obey the traffic laws are the type of people that almost killed my Mother. See, Mom wasn't as lucky as some of the people that were walking today. A few months ago, she got hit by a truck making turns in the same manner that you did and nearly got a brain injury.

In the future, I hope that you consider your actions and remember that the next time you drive like that you could kill someone.

City Council Committee Leadership Announced

The Chair and Vice Chair positions for the Dallas City Council Committees are as follows:

Public Safety
Chair: Dwaine Caraway, Mayor Pro Tem
Vice Chair: Delia Jasso

Finance, Audit & Accountability
Chair: Jerry Allen
Vice Chair: Ann Margolin

Economic Development
Chair: Ron Natinsky
Vice Chair: Tennell Atkins

Transportation & Environment
Chair: Linda Koop
Vice Chair: Sheffie Kadane

Housing
Chair: Steve Salazar
Vice Chair: Carolyn Davis

Trinity River Corridor Project
Chair: Dave Neumann
Vice Chair: Steve Salazar

Quality of Life and Government Services
Chair: Pauline Medrano, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem
Vice Chair: Vonciel Jones Hill

Marketing Task Force
Chair: Dwaine Caraway, Mayor Pro Tem

State Legislative Ad Hoc Committee on State Priorities
Vonciel Jones Hill, Chair

Ad Hoc Committee on Judicial Appointments
Chair: Angela Hunt

The High-Speed Internet Gap in Southern Dallas

Jim Mitchell of the DMN has an interesting post on their Southern Dallas blog this morning. It talks about the broadband gap, which is defined by Mitchell as "easy access to high-speed information services for some and little or no access for others based on geography, income and population density."

This is definitely an issue South of I-30. In Council District 4, we have entire neighborhoods that are not served by DSL service, much less a service like U-verse or FIOS. This is despite the fact that we have some neighborhoods of affluence in our District.

I have a friend in Oak Cliff that actually bought the outrageously expensive DirectWay satellite internet service because he works from home and needed high-speed service. The broadband gap is why every computer in the library at places like Kiest library (map) is always reserved for hours in advance. Beyond the library, there are not many ways available to lower-income residents to search for jobs.

I know that President Obama has spoken about the "broadband gap" on occasion, which is also encouraging. Locally, this is an issue that we hope to address in Dallas, and I hope that we can bring companies like AT&T to the table to do so. To limit neighborhoods to dial-up access in 2009, is astonishing. It's also bad for business.

Extreme Makeover Chooses Lt. Carlton Marshal for New Home!

Lt. Carlton Marshall, who was shot in the line of duty in October 2007, has been chosen by ABC's Extreme Makeover for a new home! The home is being built as we speak.

Cheldan Homes is the builder that is involved with this project. This is one episode that we're really looking forward to watching!

Cliff Cafe is Closed

As reported by several news and blog outlets, the Cliff Cafe is closed until September.

After recently having lunch with a friend there, I had already been back to eat again. I tried going for one last meal yesterday, but the windows were already covered with a friendly sign posted on the door.

Now they are undergoing a renovation and "will debut as brand-new concept this September," according to the press release. The new concept will be managed by the owners of Oak Cliff's Bolsa Market & Cafe and local chef Tim Byres, who recently served as executive chef at Stephan Pyles.

Cliff Cafe seemed to draw a good crowd; This will likely give the new place a good head start once they reopen.

I request that they leave the grilled chicken sandwich on the menu, as well as the mac & cheese. See you in September!