Arlington

Arlington Is Hellbent on Keeping Armed Libertarians -- and Little Leaguers -- Off Its Streets

Over the summer, U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor sided with Open Carry Tarrant County's Kory Watkins and struck down as unconstitutional an Arlington city ordinance banning people from distributing literature -- in his case copies of the Constitution -- to passing motorists. According to a brief p ... More >>

Meet the Arlington Libertarians Who Spend Their Nights Chasing and Filming Cops (Video)

OO.ready(function() { OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer', '9xN25zcDo4RGqLK5slCjHWCvBDn5IjRd'); });Please enable Javascript to watch this video Tomorrow morning, the Observer's Sky Chadde will have a long story about a group of Arlington "cop watchers" who spend their nights following the suburb's patr ... More >>

Arlington's City Council Won't Abolish Red Light Cameras, But Its Citizens Might

Arlington City Council member Robert Rivera can rattle off scores of reasons why his constituents think the city should pull the plug on its red-light cameras. They worry about Big Brother's growing omniscience and the privatization of policing, or object to the government making a revenue grab whil ... More >>

Dallas Police Department Will Host a Class for Officers on the Rights of Citizens to Film Cops

Less than two weeks after three people were arrested for filming Arlington police officers conducting a traffic stop, the Dallas Police Department announced Wednesday it will offer a class for law enforcement officers on people's rights to film them in public spaces. Also, the department, along with ... More >>

Cop Watchers Have to be Cooler than the Cops, or Cop Watching Will Never Be Cool

I really want to be on the side of the cop watchers. I do. Ferguson makes me think the more eyeballs we can put on police incidents the better. But I watched the YouTube video on the people arrested in Arlington over the weekend, and there's no way they were in the right. What I saw on the video wa ... More >>

Never Try to Take Public Transit to DFW Transportation King Michael Morris' House

Michael Morris, as Schutze mentioned this morning, is arguably the most important man in local transportation. As transportation director for the obscure but powerful North Central Texas Council of Governments, he has an outsize say in how transportation dollars get divvied up across 16 counties and ... More >>

Open Carry Advocates Win in Court, Will Celebrate by Freaking Out Kids at Six Flags

According to Arlington law, demonstrators can't hand out literature to drivers who are not parked. It would seem, then, that distributing anything -- even pocket copies of the U.S. Constitution -- at busy intersections is out of the question. But earlier this year, that's exactly what members of Ope ... More >>

Open Carry Group Sues Arlington Over the First Amendment

Before Open Carry Tarrant County members and their rifles set foot in a Fort Worth Jack in the Box earlier this month, setting off a series of increasingly absurd showdowns between open-carry gun activists and national restaurant chains, its members were standing on Arlington sidewalks handing out c ... More >>

Finding Bourdain's Kulcha at Tandoor in Arlington

Anthony Bourdain's recent culinary tryst to India for his show on CNN, Parts Unknown, left me in a bit of fit. Much in the same way it left Scott Reitz craving for kulcha, I too had dreams of freshly cooked naan (or kulcha) straight out of a tandoor. I also wanted to dance like the waiters, sing lik ... More >>

Arlington, Targeted By Open-Carry Activists, Bans Guns at City Council Meetings

The so-far bloodless battle between open carry advocates and the city of Arlington continued Tuesday evening with a debate over whether guns should be banned at City Council meetings. Open Carry Tarrant County members, who showed up at Arlington City Hall by the dozens, said no. The Arlington City ... More >>

Globe Life Pledges to Make Arlington Proud, Remove Garish Blue Sign from Rangers Ballpark

The Texas Rangers' decision to rechristen their stadium the Globe Life Park in Arlington was easy enough to ignore. However lame the name might be -- and it's really, incredibly lame -- no one could stop fans from calling it Rangers Ballpark. The blue-and-white Globe Life sign facing outward from t ... More >>

The Best Arlington Bars for Drinking During the NCAA Final Four

So we hear there's a little basketball tournament in town this weekend. Every hotel room in Arlington is sold out. Jerry World will be hoppin'. It's a commendable salute of solidarity with your alma mater. And we know you're going to want to really make the most of your vacation in the fine city of ... More >>

Arlington Cops, Open-Carry Advocates Go Toe-to-Toe Over the Constitution

Arlington, like many other cities, has a law banning people from handing out leaflets, or anything else for that matter, to passing cars. To wit: No person shall stand or walk on or in any manner occupy a shoulder, improved shoulder, sidewalk, median or public right-of-way for the purpose of distri ... More >>

Your 2014 Guide to Eating in Arlington Before and After Texas Rangers Games

Each year we dust off our mitts and head over to great temple in Arlington to stuff our faces with two-yard hot dogs and the like. At this time, we also like to look at what's going on in the Arlington food scene for pre- or post-game eating. There've been some comings and goings. Three new-ish re ... More >>

An Arlington Couple Pulled Off What May Be the Largest Sorority-Pin Heist in History

Members of the Tri Delta sorority never technically own the diamond-studded star-and-crescent pins they are given upon initiation. They are merely caretakers, required to return the badges to the national organization upon their death, unless the executive board grants a special exception. That exp ... More >>

Riding Broncs for Bucks

Snakes on the Plains

Arlington Won't Name a Street for MLK, But Says New Sign Toppers Honor His "Can-Do Legacy"

Naming a street for Martin Luther King Jr. is perhaps the easiest way a city can express its approval of the civil rights movement. Aside from whatever pittance is required to update maps and street signs, it's completely painless, particularly since it doesn't require any actual effort to address s ... More >>

Bowled Over By Booze

Arlington Passed an Ordinance to Promote a "Festive Image" during the NCAA Final Four

With thousands of fans expected to flood Arlington in April for the NCAA Final Four, there couldn't be a better time for you to finally open that ticket-scalping business you've always dreamed of, sell your famous canned chili dogs to random people on the sidewalk or try hosting an Occupy Protest te ... More >>

Nashville Hit-Maker Chris Young Honed His Skills in an Arlington Honky-Tonk

In 2005, Country music hit-singer and songwriter Chris Young was fronting the house band at Cowboy's Dancehall in Arlington. But by the spring of 2006, it seemed as though the number one smash-hits would be just around the corner for the Tennessee-born and raised crooner after he easily took home th ... More >>

Open Carry Advocates Marched with Rifles in Arlington, Scared a Moms-against-Guns Group

Open Carry Texas has two main reasons for existing. One is to advocate for the open carry of firearms, which it does primarily by marching around in public wielding rifles and shotguns. The other is to troll liberals, which it does by marching around in public wielding rifles and shotguns. They have ... More >>

An Important Message From A Silver Fox

A Steroid-Using Arlington Cop Has Pleaded Guilty to Tipping Off His Dealer

The big surprise that emerged from this summer's arrest of Arlington police officer Thomas Kantzos wasn't that he'd been using steroids, nor that he'd once had them delivered to his squad car, nor that he repeatedly tipped off his dealer as a local drug task force was preparing to move in. It was th ... More >>

The Hippies vs. Code Enforcement

When a tiny hippie co-op refused to clean up its yard, the city of Arlington came down hard -- and brought the SWAT team with it.

Arlington, Now with a Single Bus Route, Loses Crown as Largest City Without Mass Transit

Arlington is celebrating this morning. After decades as the largest U.S. municipality without mass transit, the city now has a bus service. So park your Ford Excursion and prepare to retire your warmed-over gibes about Arlington as the ultimate suburban wasteland. All done? OK, now bring them back ... More >>

Nobody’s Called Me A Herper Since College

Halo Halo, Filipino Home Cooking and Exotic Flavors at Shojimoto in Arlington

Just south of UTA on Cooper in Arlington is a new-ish small strip mall that houses about four or five different businesses. Two are restaurants, which might offer the most diverse range of food options of any strip mall in the county. One is a place called Viet-Italia, which, yes, serves Vietnamese ... More >>

Loose-Lipped Locals

Qariah Is Making Some Bang-Up Chicken Sandwiches

I want to love the shawarma at Qariah, but they don't sell enough of them. If you've ever seen the vertical spit at Bachman Lake Taqueria spinning full tilt, you know it's a sight to behold. The meatsicle sizzles as it twirls, spitting fat at the burners, which hiss and pop. But when business is slo ... More >>

Arlington PD Should Probably Start Testing its Officers for Steroids

Update: Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson agrees. Original post: There were a lot of surprising details that emerged as the feds were filing criminal charges against Arlington police officer Thomas Kantzos. There was the casual way Kantzos tipped off his steroid dealer, scuttling another agency's ... More >>

Police Are Looking for the Man Who Carjacked and Murdered an 83-Year-Old Arlington Woman [Update]

Updated on June 5: The Fort Worth Star-Telegram identifies the victim as Leona Swafford, who was described by relatives as "frail and very religious." The carjacker remains on the loose. Original post: A neighbor saw the scene unfold: an 84-year-old woman pulls her 2010 Lincoln into the driveway o ... More >>

Arlington Police Would Like An Exemption From State Rep's Proposed Anti-Drone Law

Last year, the Arlington Police Department bought a pair of teeny tiny adorable drones, which the FAA gave them the go-ahead to fly back in March. The APD was stoked, dubbing their new toys their "Aviation Unit" and issuing an FAQ about how the drones would never be used for "routine patrols and su ... More >>

Kenny Mills Expands His Smoky Empire with Chop House Steak and Seafood in Pantego

Chef Kenny Mills knows a thing or two about running a steakhouse. His resume includes The Capitol Grille, Sullivan's and Dallas Chop House. But a few years ago, Mills grew tired of the Dallas scene and took a chance on a burger joint in a pretty nondescript strip mall in central Arlington. He didn't ... More >>

Spoonfed Tribe Prepares Their Eighth Genre-Exploding Album

Spoonfed Tribe's music has served as a master class; a kind of Bob Villa-esque how-to in creating nebulous sounds within the infinite possible combinations of ethnomusicology and American pop genres from the last 15 years. Their sound throughout that timeframe has evolved and shifted, maturing and n ... More >>

Arlington High Suspends Student for Tweeting STAAR Test Photo, Inspires Predictable Backlash

Texas has never played around when it comes to its standardized tests, and the STAAR exam, the new assessment whose rigor is currently the center of debate in the state legislature, is no different. As one of the primary ways the state evaluates educational outcomes, and thus ensures accountability, ... More >>

Arlington PD Answers All Your Questions About Its "Aviation Unit," Which Consists Entirely of Two Drones

The Arlington Police Department recently got permission from the FAA to use the two small, battery-operated drones they purchased last year using grant money from Homeland Security. Presumably, the drones will mostly be used to hover over Jerry Jones while he's at work, clipping him in the head with ... More >>

A Cyclist Was Struck and Killed in Arlington This Afternoon

If it's not already there, add Pioneer Parkway in Arlington to the list of places it's probably wiser not to ride your bike. As you can see above, the two lanes are broad and straight, perfect for cars to pick up speed, with only a narrow shoulder that disappears to basically nothing at intersection ... More >>

Campo Verde in Arlington, Inside a Kaleidoscope of Crazy

No, that's not a picture from inside a kaleidoscope. That's actually from inside a restaurant, one that is bejeweled within an inch of its life in hundreds (perhaps thousands) of strands of lights and tinsel. How festive, you say? Yeah, I took that picture last week. In what might be called an Arl ... More >>

Arlington Cracks Down on Sidewalk Advertising, Ignoring Veterans Who "Fought and Died" for Right to Wear Sandwich Boards

It's a business practice that's as old as commerce: Pay some poor soul a few bucks to stand on a corner as a cartoonish chicken urging passersby to eat his crispy, fried brethren, a somber Statue of Liberty leading the masses to freedom, opportunity, and a great deal on a tax return, or, simply as a ... More >>

North Texas Cities Are Trapping Feral Hogs and Selling Them as Bacon. Mmm, Bacon.

Feral hogs are, by all accounts, a pain in the ass. They're voracious. They obliterate crops, gardens and natural vegetation. They can do a helluva lot of damage to your front fender. And mostly? They're just dicks. In Texas, their prevalence has prompted all sorts of countermeasures. One legislato ... More >>

Arlington Finally Invents a Public Transit System Voters Can't Reject: A Single Bus Route

In 2002, Arlington voters considered a proposal to establish a public transit system. The system would have been funded through a modest quarter-cent sales-tax increase that had the support of the City Council and every major business group in town but not, as the News reported at the time, the Con ... More >>

DIGG's Taco Shop Opens Near UTA

DIGG's Taco Shop has opened its second location in Arlington (445 S. Pecan St.) near UTA as part of the College Park Development, which includes a 7,000-seat stadium/center and 27,000 square feet of retail space. In addition to the Baja-style taco spot, there's also a Pho Xpress, Smiling Moose Deli, ... More >>

Chop House Burgers Announces Second Location, Plus Check the 12/12/12 Burger

Chef Kenny Mills of Chop House Burgers in Arlington (1700 W. Park Row Drive) is busy busy BIZ-EE! Last week we reported that he's expanding with a steak and seafood restaurant in Arlington. And today Mills signed a lease for a second Chop House Burgers, this one in Mansfield. See also: Don't Confu ... More >>

Kick Some Grass

Torchy's Tacos Is Coming to Arlington, Meanwhile Babe's Chicken Files Suit with Dallas-based Investment Firm

An article in the Star-Telegram reported a financial brouhaha between Dallas-based investment firm Southwest Securities and their dealings with the Arlington Babe's Chicken Dinner House and the recently renovated Arlington Music Hall, which is next door. Sandra Baker writes: "A state district jud ... More >>

Stonerpiphany: Pink Floyd + Lasers = Righteous

Midwesterners Take Heart: Maid-Rite is Now Open in Arlington

So, the deal with Maid-Rite is it's really old (85ish) and their meat is loose. And apparently the funny naming homophones are simply attributed to the original founder's inability to spell -- not that I'm throwing stones, seeing how my own house is kind of glassy there. Maid-Rite is a Midwestern s ... More >>

House of Blues' Chris Spinks: "Venues Should Be Able to Help Each Other, Rather Than Fight Tooth and Nail"

Chris Spinks' folks raised him on a strict diet of classic rock. His friends upgraded that diet to all things Epitaph and Fat Wreck Chords when he got a little older, starting with Social Distortion's Live at the Roxy. From there, he played in a pop-punk band or two, landed a gig at the Vans store, ... More >>

The Yu We're Looking For

I woke up this morning on the hunt for video of Yu Darvish's Arlington gem from last night, for those who may have missed it. The numbers don't do it justice (although with 10 Ks in 8 1/3, the numbers are great). The guy just looked like an ace last night, in total control of what seemed to be about ... More >>