Snarky Friday comment
Says here that Ft. Worth is becoming a gay mecca. Bishop Iker will not be pleased to hear this.
By the way...
I have to put this on here. The Diocese of Ft. Worth is currently in convention considering amendments to disassociate from the Episcopal Church. They have been put on notice by Presiding Bishop Katharine. Sadly, it is best to get this over with, charge Iker with abandoning communion, and let the property battles commence. The lawyers are licking their chops. Father Jake has more.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Memo from my D-Spot (blush)
A couple of notes from downtown Dallas:
The downtown Chase Bank retail branch reads Now Open this morning! This is the only retail bank branch downtown per the DMN story, with the exception of a couple of credit unions. Up through yesterday the signs were taunting me with "coming soon." Yes it is silly to get excited about a bank branch in Dallas. They are on every corner in other parts of town. But downtown is becoming more residential and needs services like this and the adjacent new (and large) CVS.
The Christmas tree went up this week in Pegasus Plaza. I guess they have to get it up before they light it, and I assume the lighting will either be over the Thanksgiving weekend or at the December 1 Neiman Marcus Adolphus Children's Parade. But it still seems too early for Christmas trees. I plan on lamenting the early signs of Christmas every year until I'm too senile to care. By that time Frosty will be marching in the St. Patrick's Day parade.
Neimans is working on their window displays for Christmas. I would try to be a man's man and pretend I don't notice these things, but they come up with some pretty creative window displays there, so I'm curious as to what they will do this year.
The downtown safety patrol has been much more visible in the past couple of months, which is great for the neighborhood. This visible police presence helps make downtown feel like a safe place to be, which is important especially for residents and new businesses. These guys and gals are much more help to the area than the officer in the patrol car who gave me a traffic ticket for walking across the street on red back in February. (Seriously, that is a way to make downtown unwelcoming to pedestrians.)
The strange "where's your D-spot" campaign is in full swing, with brightly colored polka dots adorning empty store fronts. I'm not sure if the idea is to highlight that downtown has lots of empty store fronts or to attract trendy tenants who will think that odd question is cheeky and hip. But they are noticable. I guess we should hope the D-spot question is interpreted correctly by prospective tenants. Did Austin Powers work on this ad campaign? Just curious.
That is all for now. TGIF.
The downtown Chase Bank retail branch reads Now Open this morning! This is the only retail bank branch downtown per the DMN story, with the exception of a couple of credit unions. Up through yesterday the signs were taunting me with "coming soon." Yes it is silly to get excited about a bank branch in Dallas. They are on every corner in other parts of town. But downtown is becoming more residential and needs services like this and the adjacent new (and large) CVS.
The Christmas tree went up this week in Pegasus Plaza. I guess they have to get it up before they light it, and I assume the lighting will either be over the Thanksgiving weekend or at the December 1 Neiman Marcus Adolphus Children's Parade. But it still seems too early for Christmas trees. I plan on lamenting the early signs of Christmas every year until I'm too senile to care. By that time Frosty will be marching in the St. Patrick's Day parade.
Neimans is working on their window displays for Christmas. I would try to be a man's man and pretend I don't notice these things, but they come up with some pretty creative window displays there, so I'm curious as to what they will do this year.
The downtown safety patrol has been much more visible in the past couple of months, which is great for the neighborhood. This visible police presence helps make downtown feel like a safe place to be, which is important especially for residents and new businesses. These guys and gals are much more help to the area than the officer in the patrol car who gave me a traffic ticket for walking across the street on red back in February. (Seriously, that is a way to make downtown unwelcoming to pedestrians.)
The strange "where's your D-spot" campaign is in full swing, with brightly colored polka dots adorning empty store fronts. I'm not sure if the idea is to highlight that downtown has lots of empty store fronts or to attract trendy tenants who will think that odd question is cheeky and hip. But they are noticable. I guess we should hope the D-spot question is interpreted correctly by prospective tenants. Did Austin Powers work on this ad campaign? Just curious.
That is all for now. TGIF.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
I'm a Schutze fan and a Fat Tire man
OK, you all know by now that I'm a Jim Schutze disciple. I haven't stalked him though, swear. (Yet.)
Here is another winning column from the award winning columnist. And it's pure Schutze. It's funny, asks good questions, and it makes me feel good to be part of Cool Dallas, even if my neighborhood is just in close proximity to Cool Dallas.
This week in the continuing post-vote saga of the Trinity toll road, we learn that the Dallas Morning News suppressed information about the city possibly having to kick in more money for the road, per the chairman of the NTTA. The road that Mayor Leppert says will be paid for entirely with outside funding, save for a measly $84M from the original 1998 bond package. The DMN saved this info for the day after the vote, after sitting on it for a month.
But my favorite part of this column is in Schutze's life affirming "reverse snobbery" description of "cool Dallas:"
Here is another winning column from the award winning columnist. And it's pure Schutze. It's funny, asks good questions, and it makes me feel good to be part of Cool Dallas, even if my neighborhood is just in close proximity to Cool Dallas.
This week in the continuing post-vote saga of the Trinity toll road, we learn that the Dallas Morning News suppressed information about the city possibly having to kick in more money for the road, per the chairman of the NTTA. The road that Mayor Leppert says will be paid for entirely with outside funding, save for a measly $84M from the original 1998 bond package. The DMN saved this info for the day after the vote, after sitting on it for a month.
But my favorite part of this column is in Schutze's life affirming "reverse snobbery" description of "cool Dallas:"
-----------------------------------------------
For one thing, Dallas has something in common with my native Detroit. It's not a destination destination. At least among those of us who have come here from elsewhere, it was never because we had always dreamed of living near the Trinity River. We came here for work, business, opportunity. This is a making-it city, not a scenic city.
So we got here, and then we collided with this odd and charming local culture–sort of Old South, kind of Midwest, tiny bit cowboy but always with one eye on New York. We met all these locals who have deep-rooted culture and good manners. And somewhere out of our collision, from the sparks and smoke a Dallas emerged that is cool.
------------------------------------------------
Cheers to that, Jim!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Green building standards coming to Big D
We need some good news, folks. And I read some yesterday in the Dallas Business Journal. The first snippet of the article is here (the rest is only for print subscribers so la-di-da).
But you get the gist from the first bit. The city is going to implement green building standards city wide for new commercial and residential building. There is a task force that is studying the issue and will be reporting back to the city council in March. Let's hope we get some standards that will really make a difference and not something watered down.
Of course there is concern that regulations like these will make Dallas less competitive with our neighbors for new construction. That may be the case short term, but in the long run we will have a leg up on everyone else as this becomes standard. And believe it or not, lots of companies actually want to be officed in sustainable development. There is one architect quoted in the article who has been promoting sustainable design who believes that this would be an immediate advantage for Dallas.
And when we get some type of carbon tax - and that's more likely a when not if - Dallas will be poised to take advantage of the system with new energy efficient building already in place.
It pains me greatly to say this - Good leadership on this issue, Mr. Mayor.
But you get the gist from the first bit. The city is going to implement green building standards city wide for new commercial and residential building. There is a task force that is studying the issue and will be reporting back to the city council in March. Let's hope we get some standards that will really make a difference and not something watered down.
Of course there is concern that regulations like these will make Dallas less competitive with our neighbors for new construction. That may be the case short term, but in the long run we will have a leg up on everyone else as this becomes standard. And believe it or not, lots of companies actually want to be officed in sustainable development. There is one architect quoted in the article who has been promoting sustainable design who believes that this would be an immediate advantage for Dallas.
And when we get some type of carbon tax - and that's more likely a when not if - Dallas will be poised to take advantage of the system with new energy efficient building already in place.
It pains me greatly to say this - Good leadership on this issue, Mr. Mayor.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Emerging political voice in the East
I have written about the silver lining surrounding the defeat of the Trinity toll road referendum a little. I'd like to explore that a little further. First, take a look at this precinct map. What do you see? - a sea of blue in East Dallas. East Dallas was the soil of this grass roots campaign (at the risk of extending a metaphor too far). This populist voice that is emerging in the city appears to have it's heart in East Dallas.
If the voters of East Dallas are as united on other issues as they have been on the Trinity toll road, and I think that could happen, then there is a new political force in this city. And it's already a voice that has drawn 47% of the voters. The blogoshpere has already labeled this area of town as the People's Republic of East Dallas, or alternately the Eastern Bloc, for the area's more liberal leanings. I think a more endearing term would be Little Austin. Some residents have suggested seceding from Dallas (only half-joking).
We hear a lot about North Dallas as the conservative business minded vote. We know that South Dallas is a political force to be reckoned with, and Vote No did a much better job of turnout in South Dallas. I'll bet in the next election - whatever it is - you'll hear a lot more about which way East Dallas will swing.
Where does that leave my home, Lake Highlands, on the borders of North Dallas and East Dallas? We're somewhat of a mixture. A lot of the area seems to lean toward the North Dallas mindset, and that will probably predominate for the foreseeable future. We also have lots of folks that are there for the proximity to White Rock Lake and value the public spaces we do have in this city and are perhaps a little more ecologically aware. But it appears that most of Lake Highlands followed the lead of North Dallas rather than the influence of our neighbors to the South.
Let's fast forward to the next mayoral election. Let's say Angela Hunt enters the race. She is clearly the most visible local politician next to our current mayor. Her star will continue to rise at every toll road delay or cost overrun or problem with the Army Corps of Engineers or North Texas Tollway Authority. She's going to look smarter and smarter. People from other parts of town will start to warm up to her. And East Dallas could usher her into the mayor's office.
Matt Pulle at the Observer says that East Dallas will always be the lovable losers in this town (last paragraph). I think he underestimates the future potential of a progressive voice in Dallas. He's part of the alternative media, though, and so it's in his interests to be anti-establishment. If his side won, he'd be pro-establishment and that would just be too weird! It's just as weird that I'm being optimistic about Dallas. But I've decided to make my home here so optimism is the way to go for me.
By the way, my favorite term to come out of the post vote chatter: Pop-up Morning News. One visit to their web site will tell you why.
If the voters of East Dallas are as united on other issues as they have been on the Trinity toll road, and I think that could happen, then there is a new political force in this city. And it's already a voice that has drawn 47% of the voters. The blogoshpere has already labeled this area of town as the People's Republic of East Dallas, or alternately the Eastern Bloc, for the area's more liberal leanings. I think a more endearing term would be Little Austin. Some residents have suggested seceding from Dallas (only half-joking).
We hear a lot about North Dallas as the conservative business minded vote. We know that South Dallas is a political force to be reckoned with, and Vote No did a much better job of turnout in South Dallas. I'll bet in the next election - whatever it is - you'll hear a lot more about which way East Dallas will swing.
Where does that leave my home, Lake Highlands, on the borders of North Dallas and East Dallas? We're somewhat of a mixture. A lot of the area seems to lean toward the North Dallas mindset, and that will probably predominate for the foreseeable future. We also have lots of folks that are there for the proximity to White Rock Lake and value the public spaces we do have in this city and are perhaps a little more ecologically aware. But it appears that most of Lake Highlands followed the lead of North Dallas rather than the influence of our neighbors to the South.
Let's fast forward to the next mayoral election. Let's say Angela Hunt enters the race. She is clearly the most visible local politician next to our current mayor. Her star will continue to rise at every toll road delay or cost overrun or problem with the Army Corps of Engineers or North Texas Tollway Authority. She's going to look smarter and smarter. People from other parts of town will start to warm up to her. And East Dallas could usher her into the mayor's office.
Matt Pulle at the Observer says that East Dallas will always be the lovable losers in this town (last paragraph). I think he underestimates the future potential of a progressive voice in Dallas. He's part of the alternative media, though, and so it's in his interests to be anti-establishment. If his side won, he'd be pro-establishment and that would just be too weird! It's just as weird that I'm being optimistic about Dallas. But I've decided to make my home here so optimism is the way to go for me.
By the way, my favorite term to come out of the post vote chatter: Pop-up Morning News. One visit to their web site will tell you why.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Ideology trumping kid safety at CPSC?
I meant to post this last week, but you know how it goes.
The New York Times reported that Nancy Nord, the head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, has asked Congress not to increase their authority and funding to protect the public. Here's the Times editorial.
Congress is taking this action in the midst of week after week of toy recalls, most of which have lead paint from China. If you are a parent you know that probably 95% of toys are made in China. And there is no way to know if the toys you are buying are safe.
The CPSC has one toy inspector. One. Almost all of our toys come from overseas and there is one full time inspector.
So now the head of the agency is about to get resources to better protect Americans and she writes a note that she'd rather not. She has a number of objections, some of which may even be defensible, but instead of working with the lawmakers to craft a workable solution, Ms. Nord is joining with industry lobbyists to oppose the legislation.
OK - the commission's WHOLE JOB is to protect the public. They are understaffed and unable to carry out their function in a land full of imports and new consumer products. And now Nancy Nord is effectively lobbying against the interests of her own agency and the public she is supposed to serve.
This is what happens when you put "starve the beast" ideologues in positions of power. You get the guy against international law as Ambassador to the UN, you get a toothless EPA, and you get the head of the CPSC that doesn't want the resources to be able to better protect the public. Heckuva job, Nancy.
The New York Times reported that Nancy Nord, the head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, has asked Congress not to increase their authority and funding to protect the public. Here's the Times editorial.
Congress is taking this action in the midst of week after week of toy recalls, most of which have lead paint from China. If you are a parent you know that probably 95% of toys are made in China. And there is no way to know if the toys you are buying are safe.
The CPSC has one toy inspector. One. Almost all of our toys come from overseas and there is one full time inspector.
So now the head of the agency is about to get resources to better protect Americans and she writes a note that she'd rather not. She has a number of objections, some of which may even be defensible, but instead of working with the lawmakers to craft a workable solution, Ms. Nord is joining with industry lobbyists to oppose the legislation.
OK - the commission's WHOLE JOB is to protect the public. They are understaffed and unable to carry out their function in a land full of imports and new consumer products. And now Nancy Nord is effectively lobbying against the interests of her own agency and the public she is supposed to serve.
This is what happens when you put "starve the beast" ideologues in positions of power. You get the guy against international law as Ambassador to the UN, you get a toothless EPA, and you get the head of the CPSC that doesn't want the resources to be able to better protect the public. Heckuva job, Nancy.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Notes from loser-town
My thoughts last night were this: Dallas hasn’t changed; we’re still rooting for Goliath (RIP Molly Ivins). I think that’s true in some respects, but I really do believe that the city is changing for the better. Looking at the precinct results, I’d say the cool people live in East Dallas. Props to them and to Angela Hunt and all the Prop 1 supporters who ran this campaign and elevated this issue.
A few people were quoted in the DMN as saying that the petitioners wasted $2M of taxpayer money to have this election. That’s not very gracious of them – just be happy you won. 91,000 people signed the petitions to get this on the ballot and give the city a chance to decide if we really want this. I was hopeful but now we know – the city wants a highway in its floodway. If you want to talk about wasting taxpayer money, let’s talk about the $1.3B (and rising) road you want to build.
Schutze is munching sour grapes this morning. I think he’s right: This project is too dumb to build. But they’ll try like mad to do it.
If this road does get built, they might as well scrap the park. You won’t be able to get to it and once you’re there you’ll be situated next to a truck route. And one day – it may be decades from now – but one day we’ll be ripping that sucker out of there and wondering “what were we thinking?”
A few people were quoted in the DMN as saying that the petitioners wasted $2M of taxpayer money to have this election. That’s not very gracious of them – just be happy you won. 91,000 people signed the petitions to get this on the ballot and give the city a chance to decide if we really want this. I was hopeful but now we know – the city wants a highway in its floodway. If you want to talk about wasting taxpayer money, let’s talk about the $1.3B (and rising) road you want to build.
Schutze is munching sour grapes this morning. I think he’s right: This project is too dumb to build. But they’ll try like mad to do it.
If this road does get built, they might as well scrap the park. You won’t be able to get to it and once you’re there you’ll be situated next to a truck route. And one day – it may be decades from now – but one day we’ll be ripping that sucker out of there and wondering “what were we thinking?”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
