Old hippie, nanny-state, fault-finding, problem-centric, negative-minded, knee-jerk liberals -- and I speak only of myself -- were quick enough to jump all over Highland Park school district last week for banning seven books from the high school curriculum. Now I guess we're under some kind of oblig ... More >>
"There's nothing sure. The rich get rich and the poor get poor. In the meantime, in between time, ain't we got fun?" "Ain't We Got Fun," Van and Schenck, 1921 Hate that lyric. Always did. Don't think it's true. The most recent big upward mobility study found that, while mobility in the U.S. isn ... More >>
The saga of Highland Park Presbyterian Church and gaydom reached another milestone last week when the church agreed to pay its too-gay national church body $7.8 million in order to break away and join a new no-gay version of Presbyterianism, a Protestant denomination which traces its name from the G ... More >>
Highland Park ISD plans to launch an elementary-level Spanish learning program next year. It's a project that most in the district are embracing -- after all, multilingualism is linked to dozens of developmental benefits. Bilingual individuals are often smarter, better listeners and in later life m ... More >>
Over the objections of their Park Cities neighbors, the Dallas City Council voted this afternoon to approve a zoning change that will allow for the construction of a new luxury mid-rise apartment building on Cole Avenue site currently occupied by the Saltillo Apartments. See also: Highland Park, Fi ... More >>
What kind of rich people would be more fun to have living along the Katy Trail -- family-oriented rich people who prefer short buildings, or fast-paced rich people in high-rises? The current property on 4719 Cole Ave. is not habitable for any type of rich people. The Saltillo apartments building w ... More >>
The first Highland Park police officer to fatally shoot a suspect on duty is now also the first Highland Park police officer to be cleared of criminal wrongdoing for shooting a suspect while on duty. The officer, who has not yet been identified but presumably will be at a Highland Park Department o ... More >>
One-time barista Liz Goulding drinks coffee around Dallas so her head doesn't hurt and so she can help keep yours from hurting, too. Got a place to suggest? Leave it in the comments. I didn't think I'd like Number One for a few reasons, namely its address in the Park Cities (because I'm a Bizarro S ... More >>
Opening quietly just over two weeks ago, Le Bilboquet has confidence that can only come from experience, which makes sense, since the restaurant is actually a transplant from the Upper East Side in New York City. The original in New York is expanding, and expanding quite far to boot, since it's made ... More >>
Highland Park police say they shot and killed a man Tuesday after he escaped from handcuffs while locked inside a patrol car, shot out the back window of the car, attempted to escape and got into a gun battle with them on a crowded shopping center parking lot where other cars were hit by cross-fire. ... More >>
So many questions remain unanswered regarding the fatal shooting of a motorcyclist in police custody Tuesday evening. Who is he? How did he manage to bring a gun into the back of a Highland Park police SUV, and to fire it after he'd already been placed in handcuffs? What we do know is incredible. A ... More >>
In the wake of Margaret Thatcher's death last week, the Morning News took the opportunity to plumb its archives to remind us of the British prime minister's surprisingly strong ties to Dallas. She was something of a regular here, making frequent trips to Highland Park to visit her son Mark and her t ... More >>
Highland Park's city council has decided to ban fake plastic grass from the town's front yards, a scourge which according to one city official has overtaken at least three (3) properties. The Morning News reports that council members voted on the new ordinance on Monday. Artificial turf will stil ... More >>
Over on the News' ice cream blog, Robert Wilonsky reports that North Dallas was baffled last night by an unexpected firework display, allegedly to help celebrate the new clubhouse at the Dallas Country Club. But we all know that a little clubhouse opening isn't enough to warrant fireworks in the Pa ... More >>
Tomatoes in winter dull the spotlight in Highland Park.
Simple Mediterranean-inspired plates designed for Park Cities palates.
In this week's paper I tackle Bistro 31, the new Highland Park restaurant by Lombdardi Family Concepts. While researching the story, I spent time reading about Bistro 31 and the other restaurants in the group on well designed websites for each location. One line on Bistro 31's website stood out: ... More >>
On June 10, 2010, I wrote a column for the newspaper about an official complaint brought to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by two Dallas developers alleging a decades-old pattern of racial discrimination and fraud by the city of Dallas, the county and other local entit ... More >>
Great trick-or-treaters last night on my street. Some years we just get kids from the block. They're great. But last night we got spillover from the Halloween gala on Swiss Avenue a block away. When that happens, we get an even bigger window on the festival. Got me thinking. Check me on this ... More >>
The Green Bay Packers were supposed to practice at SMU. Yeah, not so much. Instead, they wound up using the Highland Park Scots' relatively new indoor practice facility, which, from the looks of this glowing press pack, is worth every penny of the $4.5 million spent. From The Packers' Official Te ... More >>
Two You Dallas offerings this morning, both guaranteed to put a smile on Robert Jeffress's face. At top is our pal Justin Terveen's Crèche Crawl -- "from Lakewood to Baylor Hospital to Highland Park," and points in between. Prematurely aged for your pleasure. And on the other side: the bright Chris ... More >>
Bobby JindalMeant to be sung to the tune of this Squeeze single ...Remember Hiram Walker Royall? Sure you do -- he's the Highland Park developer who sued anyone who wrote, reviewed or pretty much read Carla Main's 2007 book Bulldozed: "Kelo," Eminent Domain and the American Lust for Land, which d ... More >>
Some places we covered this week are punching above their weight, for better or for worse, and others are aiming purposefully low. The best of City of Ate this week covers a handful of spots toying with a new social place.The Week in Review(s): Your own Dallas Observer: Dave tries slumming it at ... More >>
Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *Barring a trade, the Cowboys won't make their first pick (51st overall) in tomorrow's NFL Draft until around 9:30 p.m., a good six hours after the thing kicks off. But it's worth it to tune in early.  ... More >>
A traffic heads-up for tomorrow: Unless you're planning on protesting George W. Bush's move to the '229, you may want to avoid Mockingbird Lane at N. Central Expressway between the hours of 4 and 7 p.m. That's when Code Pink of Greater Dallas is planning on celebrating Inauguration Day by holding a ... More >>
Athletes tackle the White Rock Marathon
When you think Highland Park, think wealth. And butlers. And Matthew Stafford. And, apparently, tennis. The Cowboys of the ’90s? Southlake Carroll of the ‘00s? They have nothing, and I mean nothing, on this local sports dynasty. Five state championships in six years. A record of 138-1 si ... More >>
If you live between Lemmon Avenue, Kings Road, Maple Avenue, the Denton Drive cut-off and Inwood Road, the city has a favor to ask you. Like, could you please, pretty please, stay inside tomorrow night -- say, between the hours of 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.? Swell. Nothing big -- just a mosquito spray-down ... More >>
Begin panicking ... now. Because, according to the City of Dallas' Web site: Dallas County announces West Nile Virus found in Highland Park: The City will increase collections and urges residents to take precautions Don't worry, though. Mosquitoes are only .... Man's Deadliest Foe! --Robert Wilonsky
You could always go to this "blog for the Park Cities," but we might have to charge you first. Park Cities peeps like to keep their distance from Dallasites. This much, we know. But who would have ever guessed that Highland Park would discuss tolling Mockingbird Lane in order to keep the “outsider ... More >>
Hey, Grimes -- looks like another former Dallas Observer-er likes absinthe: Sarah Hepola. And not only does our ex-music editor write today about the Green Fairy for Salon, where she's now the deputy Life editor, she's also appears in a taste-testing video. Looks like Sarah's putting her Highland Pa ... More >>
We were debating on whether or not to wish Highland Park native Angie Harmon a "Happy 35th Birthday" today, till we saw this way too detailed item celebrating the momentous occasion. Like, her politics don't really do much for us -- she's been the GOP Babe of the Week, at least in Joisy -- but, like ... More >>
A reason to like Ron Perlman
Of course they're putting up nothing but "towering structures" in Highland Park. It's easier to crap on the rest of us when you're higher up. There's an Associated Press story from this afternoon about how some folks in Oxford, Mississippi, are trying to get their neighborhood designated as a histor ... More >>
When I was in high school, the school participated in a program called Shattered Dreams just before prom season. It's meant to instill fear of drunk driving in the hearts of binge-drinking high schoolers who may imbibe on their magical evening. The point is to create a shockingly real, disturbing ca ... More >>
Cafe Pacific may not resemble San Francisco much, but it's still pretty good
Buzz sheds a tear for 2003
Believe it or not, it's 2003 in Highland Park, too
Find out Who's Who at Romano's latest venture
Highland Park Christmas lights tour
Plush, Purple Orchid
Dallas Museum of Art
Highland Park officers would like to get rid of their chief, if they could only figure out how
Highland Park ISD's expansion plans target the homes of the district's less affluent residents
Cafe Highland Park brings The Bubble down to earth