Dallas City Hall

Trinity East's First Mistake Was Trusting Dallas City Hall

Who at Dallas City Hall Put the Severed Horse's Head in a Businessman's Bed?

You own a business and the land it's on. You get a letter from the city. It says the city needs your property for a project. Stuffed in the same envelope is a little pamphlet explaining how the city can force you to sell even if you don't want to. It's called "eminent domain." That's serious. Righ ... More >>

Muni Courts Battle Isn't About Race, Except Maybe in a Good Way

The big City Hall racial blow-up over a reform of our very screwed up municipal court system -- subject of a sort of weird editorial in The Dallas Morning News this morning -- is probably a harbinger of worse things to come. Which is probably good. In all its attempts over the years to paint over a ... More >>

Council to Get Sneak Peek at Muni Building Redo, Update on UNT's Downtown Law School

​Mighty kind of Dallas City Hall to offer all these briefings wrapping up a few loose ends before I get up outta here. First Sylvan Thirty, then the old Dallas High School, then the Cotton Bowl, and now Old Dallas City Hall, which one day should become the University of North Texas at Dallas Colle ... More >>

While Dallas City Hall Debates Ethics Reform for the 72nd Time, Let's Storm the Castle, Eh?

So the city council is actually going to put itself through another ethics reform debate. They do this every year. It keeps coming around again on a regular cycle like some kind of unpleasant bodily function. Ask me. I know why. It keeps coming up again because it's absolutely lipstick-on-a-pig fu ... More >>

City Hall Wants Your Cell Phone Number So It Can Warn You About Emergencies. Riiiiight.

​A few years back Dallas City Hall made a big push for folks to sign up for its Reverse 911 Emergency Notification System, which called you when danger was near. Or, at least, that was the idea. But this morning the city sent a heads-up: Reverse 911 is dead, long live GeoCast®Web, which is suppos ... More >>

Since You Gotta Spend Money to Make It, City Looks Outside For Help Growing Small Biz

​Far as Dallas City Hall's concerned, it's hard out there for a small start-up, which is why it's spent years loaning and granting money to businesses via, say, the South Dallas/Fair Park Trust Fund and the Southern Dallas Development Corporation, both of which have suffered their share of sputter ... More >>

Go Ahead, Be a Turkey ... and Trot

"Let's Focus on Great Expectations, Not our Limitations": Mayor Mike's Inaugural Speech

Photo by Mark Graham​Leslie's already summed up Mayor Mike's first-ever official speech as Dallas mayor, which was given at this morning's swearing-in of the new council. And she's up shortly with a recap from the ad hoc gas drilling committee vote, which took a bit of a twist; she'll let Scott Gr ... More >>

How Much Will the Mavericks Victory Parade Through Downtown Cost Mark Cuban?

Photo by Mike Mezeul​This just in from Dallas City Hall: One week after last week's Dallas Mavericks victory parade rolled from the Dallas Convention Center to the American Airlines Center, the city's done totaled up the receipts and is ready to submit an invoice to Mark Cuban, who said he's happy ... More >>

Roddy Beaubois, Caron Butler Get Into Mavs Starting Lineup For Letterman's Top 10

Some of the staff's already downtown for the parade -- along with the thousands already on hand both at Victory Park and behind the barricades stretching back to the Dallas Convention Center starting point. And, this just in from Dallas City Hall:Accommodations will be made for people who are handic ... More >>

The View From the Convention Center. And: Dallas PD Has Already Closed Victory Plaza.

Photos by Nick Rallo​Nick and Patrick are at the convention center; another photographer's embedded with the Mavs inside the barricades; another is posted at the American Airlines Center. That said, we won't beat you down with all-day posts from today's parade; only when it's appropriate and when ... More >>

Sure, Traffic Will Suck Downtown Tomorrow. On the Plus Side: Muni Court's Canceled!

​Down below, a few Friends are arguing the pros and cons of tomorrow's downtown shutdown courtesy Your Champion Dallas Mavericks. But this surely has to fall into the good-thing column, no? From our friends at Dallas City Hall: "Municipal Court canceled for tomorrow." The details, such as they are ... More >>

City Sues Texas Attorney General to Keep From Releasing Trinity Project Docs We Requested

All your solar-powered water taxis are belong to us, says Dallas City Hall.​OK, now we're really curious. We're talking to you, Dallas City Hall, about those Trinity River project emails and memos you're fighting to keep us from seeing. What, has someone been unduly candid in his or her assessment ... More >>

Today, City Hall Bleeds Blue. Go, Mavs!

Photos by Patrick MichelsThat reflecting pool at City Hall looks extra enticing this morning.​Those lightweights at Dallas City Hall didn't go full-frat with, say, a blue-painted bare chest workday to support the Mavericks before tonight's big game. But with a few gallon jugs of pond water-tint te ... More >>

Want to Be on Dallas's Gas Drilling Task Force?

​After council member Angela Hunt pushed the city council to form the gas drilling task force Dave Neumann only talked about, it's time to assemble the dream team: Moments ago, Dallas City Hall sent word that it's taking applications from those interested in serving on the task force. For those wh ... More >>

Dallas City Hall Gets Its "S" Straight

Photos by Jesse Sidlauskas​After Chris Heinbaugh's heads-up yesterday about the city repairing its broken seal, Intern Jesse stopped by Dallas City Hall toward Wednesday's end to check that "S" out. I showed the photo to the boy this morning before he left for school. He grinned and demanded a hi ... More >>

Hey, City Hall, You Might Wanna Get Off Yer "S" and Fix That Thing Before Visitors Arrive

​This morning, the 7-year-old who lives in my house and I got way tangled in downtown traffic -- hundreds, if not thousands, of anti-choice protesters filled the streets, with Dallas police officers blocking off every other intersection between the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe and t ... More >>

The City's Giving Away Shepherd Composting Bins. Say, Can I Borrow Your Christmas Tree?

​Over on the city's Official Website there's a list of the four Christmas tree recycling stations accepting your yule logs till January 14. Says nothing about Hanukkah bushes, though, which is a bit of a bummer, since City Hall just sent word it's added an incentive to this year's recycling effort ... More >>

The Public May No Longer Park at City Hall

The memo, just in from Dallas City Hall, speaks for itself. Meters or private lots only. Well, hell, read it for yourself. Weekend listening tomorrow morning. Me, I'd start with this.Parking at City Hall Memo

Watch As Dallas Animal Services and Sanitation Crews Free Deer From a Fence Near White Rock

As you'll see in this video just posted by Dallas City Hall, a six-point buck got stuck, then put in a truck. At the end, a Texas Parks and Wildlife game warden explains what happened, but long story short: The city was called out after TPWD received reports of two deer seen fighting in a street wit ... More >>

High Above the Calatrava in an RC Spy Plane

​As Friend of Unfair Park Ed D. notes in the comments below, Dallas City Hall just posted to its Facebook page six photos of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge taken by -- let's see if I get this right -- "remote control plane." Oh, so that explains why I saw Schutze with this yesterday, giggling.

Tired of Getting Your City Hall Updates From Unfair Park? I Hope Not. But If You Are ...

​Frank Librio, the fine PIO at Dallas City Hall, just sent word: The city's introducing E-Alerts today, intended to keep locals "connected to City Hall," which I assume isn't some kind of a threat. Says the memo, all you gotta do is go to the city's website, where, at the top right-hand corner, yo ... More >>

Your First Look at the Dallas Bike Plan's Bikeway System Draft Network Map

Let's be honest: Even if you embiggen this you won't be able to read the proposed downtown bike plan. It's ginormous.​Whilst, below, some of you debate who's more dangerous -- drivers or cyclists or bears, oh my -- this just in from Dallas City Hall: The maps showing the proposed paths for the new ... More >>

Fun Fact About Calatrava Construction Cam

​So, back on Wednesday, when it was, ya know, raining, more than a few Friends of Unfair Park wondered: Why, whenever it rains, does the city's Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge construction-cam revert to a dry, sunny day -- in this instance, August 29? I asked Frank Librio at Dallas City Hall, What the w ... More >>

Freedom Isn't Free

Up in the Air, On Top of the Calatrava Bridge

Dallas City Hall Facebook page​Alas, Rudy beat me to it in pointing out that someone at Dallas City Hall posted to the city's official Facebook page this morning two pics taken from the very tippy-top of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. But Rudy opted for the view of the city (I can see my office fr ... More >>

Free Lunch and a Show at City Hall

Photos by Evan Clinton​Because an intern's always up for a free meal, we sent ours to that PETA lunchtime giveaway in front of Dallas City Hall -- where, from the looks of things, meatless weenies were quite the draw. Another two looks on the other side, with, no kiddin', a slide show to follow.

Irony Alert: Council's Trinity River Committee Gets Some Bad News

Frank Librio, in the Public Information Office at Dallas City Hall, just forwarded along the following memo sent today to the members of the city council's Trinity River Corridor Project Committee:​

City Hall, City Hall, How Does Your Community Garden Grow? Oh, It Doesn't.

​Showed up at Room 5ES in Dallas City Hall this morning at 9 a.m. to cover an officially posted hearing of the Dallas Zoning Ordinance Committee on community gardens. Sat there. Alone.After a span of time I am not willing to divulge, I snapped to the fact that something wasn't right. City Hall bri ... More >>

Well, There Will Be Another Budget Shortfall, Most Likely, and Every Penny Helps

Spike Johnson​Earlier this morning, a picture you might have espied on FrontBurner a little while ago showed up in the Unfair Park in-box with the subject header, "Dallas City Hall for sale - a steal for 900k." At about 9:45 a.m. I spoke with the guy whose number is on the sign, and he claimed to ... More >>

Brent Brown, Who Rebuilt Congo Street, Will Head Dallas CityDesign Studio in City Hall

Brandon ThibodeauxBrent Brown​Couple of weeks back we debuted the Dallas Urban Design Studio, a Trinity Trust-funded endeavor that'll get its own office in Dallas City Hall in order to "elevate the design consciousness and culture of Dallas, while working to balance social, economic, environmental ... More >>

Now That Don Hill's Been Found Guilty, What About "Business as Usual" at Dallas City Hall?

Sam MertenDon and Sheila Hill and attorney Victor Vital after the jury handed down its guilty verdicts today in the Dallas City Hall federal corruption trial​So, it turns out Patrick "Buzz" Williams was right. No matter how you do the accounting, how you structure the contracts, how you interpret ... More >>

Are the Plans To Build A Green, Sustainable Building of Tomorrow Smack in the Heart of Downtown Dallas Some Pipedream or A Reality?

In About an Hour, We'll Have An Idea How Suhm Cut $190 Million From City Budget

Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm​Unfair Park might be a little slow-going 'round 1:30 this afternoon, when I'll be down at Dallas City Hall to pick up the executive summary of City Manager Mary Suhm's final budget proposal for the coming fiscal year. Media attending this afternoon's shindig won't be ... More >>

Caraway: If You Vote Against the Hotel, Dallas Will Look the Same "50 Years From Now"

We missed the pro-convention center hotel wingding in front of Dallas City Hall last night. Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway did not. Here's his pitch for the hotel, and it apparently has something to do with ... cell phones?

Bring a Towel, as Mark Davis is Set to Explode with Righteous Indignation

Last night's Passover seder no doubt kept some of you from attending the Dallas Tea Party planning session in advance of next Wednesday's rally in front of Dallas City Hall, scheduled from 5 to 9 p.m. -- and, do note, the time's been changed as the group says it's "been notified that a national news ... More >>

Why Corporate America Loves Dallas

The short film below, posted to YouTube by Frank Librio at Dallas City Hall, isn't actually a city-made production. Rather, Librio tells Unfair Park, Destination Dallas is a Quin Matthews Films production made for the Dallas Citizens Council, which touted corporate relocations to the city during a r ... More >>

Some Folks Trying to Turn Out the Lights on Extending the Juvenile Curfew Ordinance

'Member how, last month, the Dallas City Council's Public Safety Committee started talking about changing the Juvenile Curfew Ordinance to include daylight hours as well? Turns out, a group's done sprung up to oppose such an alteration: the Citizens Against the Dallas Daytime Curfew, which IDs itsel ... More >>

Scenes from the Protest Redux

Our correspondent for yesterday's anti-Prop 8 protest at Dallas City Hall had last-minute business to attend to, but plenty of folks among the thousand-plus on hand captured the event for the YouTubes. Probably the best of the video lot comes courtesy TreyCruz.com, where there's but the slightest hi ... More >>

Economic Development Committe to Hold Special Meeting Friday. You're So Invited.

You know who's all for the city getting into the hotel business? Ron Natinsky. Shortly after posting Sam's item about yesterday's closed-door meeting of the city council's Economic Development Committee, during which the council members decided it was in the taxpayers' best interest to run a hotel, ... More >>

The Emperor's Checkbook

Dallas City Hall finances could be our own little Enron

Mr. Mayor, Meet Your Nightmare

Frustrated, fed up, and ready to fight, Laura Miller trades muckraking for a run at City Hall

Mommie dearest

Why I'm trading my typewriter for diapers and drool cloths

Should Paul Fielding go to jail?

He's violated the public trust and betrayed his own ethical standards. But is Dallas' perpetually annoying councilman guilty of fraud, perjury, and extortion?

Combat zoning

Lincoln Property and Ray Nasher play it down and dirty with homeowners

Clueless

For city Councilman Al Lipscomb, taking handouts from power brokers has become a way of life. Is there a problem?

BeloWatch

Wide open town

Unlike Big D, Houston thrives on open government

Blowup in City Hall

Councilman Duncan summons city staff for personal errand