Duncanville

The North Texas School Districts That Still Allow Corporal Punishment, Mapped

Since allegations surfaced that NFL star Adrian Peterson abused multiple children at his Texas home, debate has swirled between pro- and anti-spanking parents. For the majority of North Texas schools, though, there's no question: Spare the rod, spoil the child is official district disciplinary polic ... More >>

Duncanville Is Suing Its Own Mayor

There's something rotten in Duncanville city government. Twenty-four of the past 30 months spent without a permanent city manager, a City Council bitterly divided, and now this: The city of Duncanville is suing Mayor Deborah Hodge. Yes, that is a thing that can happen. The lawsuit was filed on Wedn ... More >>

Redflex, DFW's Favorite Red Light Camera Company, Is Accused of Passing Bribes in Texas

For the past year Redflex Traffic Systems, Inc., one of the two big players in the red-light camera industry, has been embroiled in a bribery scandal in Chicago. The company, according to news reports, treated a senior transportation official to lavish vacations and had an unusually close relationsh ... More >>

Carroll ISD is Quitting Federal School Lunch Program, Because Healthy Food is Gross

Even when the USDA rolled out the new, healthier, Michelle Obama-approved version of the National School Lunch Program last year, there were grumblings. Kids complained that the new menu, which includes generous helpings of fruits and vegetables while capping meat, carbohydrates, and overall caloric ... More >>

Scott Cannon III, Duncanville Councilman, Arrested for Exposing Himself at the King Spa

The folks from the Dallas Police vice squad had an interesting Thursday, going undercover at the apparently lovably bizarre King Spa and Sauna. And they netted themselves an interesting fish: Scott Cannon III, a longtime Duncanville city councilman with a history of letting it fly. Police announced ... More >>

Sylvan Thirty to Include "Culinary Incubator" for Local Artisans and Chefs

iheartsylvanthirty.com​Catty-corner from The Belmont Hotel in Oak Cliff is vast emptiness. The remnants of the Alamo Hotel were swept away long ago, save the vintage sign along Fort Worth Avenue, which serves as a stark reminder of what were once better times for the area. That could change n ... More >>

And Now a Very Verbose Interview with Oak Lawn's Drag Queen Turned Reality TV Star

Chad Fitzgerald owns Cake Guys, a cakery with locations in both Dallas and Duncanville. He's also a constant on season two of TLC's Next Great Baker, which premiered Monday night. (Fitzgerald was part of the night's winning team). The next day, we got with Chad and talked to him about the show's pre ... More >>

TLC's Next Great Baker Starts Tonight With Two Homegrown Contestants

The second season of TLC's Next Great Baker premieres tonight, and two bakers from the metroplex are among the baker's dozen vying for a chance at the grand prize of $100,000, a spread in Brides Magazine and an opportunity to work with the show's host Buddy Valastro in Carlo's Bakery, in Hoboken, Ne ... More >>

Labor Day 2011: Let's Work This Out

​One of the best things about being a sportswriter? Getting paid to go to games. One of the worst things about being a sportswriter? Working on holidays. Not that I'm complaining. I've got lots of media friends who are without full-time jobs, and there's nothing more stressful than trying to ... More >>

Another Heat-Related Fatality. Another Preventable Death?

R.I.P., Korey Stringer​It was 10 years ago that Minnesota Vikings' offensive lineman Korey Stringer dropped dead on the team's training camp field, a victim of a heat stroke. I covered the Vikings' first game in the wake of their teammate's death, a pre-season game played right here in ... More >>

Reflections of a sportswriter on being a Texas Ranger fan... pretty much since birth.

Labor Day Memories: Where I've Worked

​Labor Day, Schmabor Day. Yeah, I'm flying my flag today. But I'm also in here and on the radio at 105.3 The Fan. At work. And not complaining. Considering I've got friends who've been on unemployment going on a year now, I feel fortunate to have a gig - much less two - that I love. And cons ... More >>

Black Students Are Leaving DISD And Heading For Suburban Schools. Is That Such A Bad Thing?

Idol Rich: We Bid a Charitable Farewell to Smiles McTUrban

First off: Yes, it's true. After encouraging viewers to contribute, President Obama really did say, "And to this year's finalists, as Randy says, 'You're all my dawgs.'" Now that that's out of the way, ​I'll refrain from commenting on the few questionable performances by seasoned bank-earning ... More >>

Idol Rich: The NTX Two Get Schooled By Miley Cyrus...Um, What?

​This week's theme was Billboard Number Ones. A valid theme for American Idol if there ever was one. Props to Lee Dewyze for kicking out the Box Tops jam "The Letter" even though, sadly, no one mentioned the recently late lead singer of said group, Alex Chilton. Not saying DeWyze did the song any ... More >>

North Carolina, Meet John Wiley Price

After we watched the county commissioner's temper tantrum yesterday (again and again and again), Patrick "Buzz" Willliams declared it awfully "bush league." We talked about how it was like one of those council meetings you see excerpted on newscasts across the country during which the anchor stares ... More >>

Whitt's End: 11.13.09

​Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *OK, so let it be known that my buddy and Ticket founding father Mike Rhyner has been/is calling for a Cowboys' appearance in this year's Super Bowl. This, after 14-plus years as president of the a ... More >>

The Top 10 Reasons Austin is Better Than Dallas

Different vibe in Austin, sayeth this T-shirt for sale on South Congress. Born in Oak Cliff. Raised in Duncanville. Citizen of Dallas.​ But every time I go to Austin - like this past weekend when I skeedaddled from Cowboys' Camp in San Antonio for a quick getaway - I feel like I belong ther ... More >>

He'll Be There: Every Time You Hear That Song, Remember, Willie Hutch Wrote It

Willie HutchIn the paper version of Unfair Park this week, I make mention of my interview with Willie Hutch, the Carrollton-born great who, during our 1998 chat at his Cedar Hill recording studio, recounted how he came to write the Jackson 5's immortal "I'll Be There." The story about The Mack, who ... More >>

The Top 10 Most Notable Sports Deaths of Our Era

Patrick Michels An old Michael Jackson poster at last week's candlelight vigil in Duncanville. I grew up with Michael Jackson. Had his Off the Wall album cover tacked - that's right, tacked - to my bedroom wall. As a senior member of the 1982 Duncanville Panthers' basketball team - district 9 ... More >>

Picture Show: Remembering MJ at Zubar

Gloria LevarioWe already mentioned the candlelight vigil for Michael Jackson in Duncanville Thursday night here on DC9. Later that night, though, Dallas DJs did their part to keep the pop legend on everyone's mind, while plenty of folks turned up in their vintage MJ-wear.As Tyrone Smiley & DJ Ni ... More >>

Pitcure Show: Last Night's Michael Jackson Candlelight Vigil in Duncanville

Patrick MichelsFrom left, Blanca Martinez, Giles Prather and Marcus Smith with candles and Michael Jackson memorabilia last night in Duncanville.Last night in Duncanville, at the corner of Westmoreland and Wheatland, in the parking lot for a shuttered old Albertson's grocery store, K104 DJ Cat Daddy ... More >>

T.O. Talks About the Cowboys. Well, Sorta.

I'm sure he'll have more to say when he arrives in town later this month for his annual summer camps down in Duncanville, but former Dallas Cowboys' receiver Terrell Owens talked a little about his former team this week with 105.3 The Fan host Greg Hill. The raw, unedited audio is here, and it' ... More >>

Last Night: Snoop Dogg at House of Blues

Snoop Dogg with Johnny Ringo & the Hustle BoyzHouse of BluesMay 5, 2009Better than: Rollin' down the street smoking Indo, sippin' on gin and juice.Roger CaldwellFor more pictures from this show, visit Roger's slideshow here.Four words: This show was packed. Usually, you find scalpers trying to s ... More >>

Running The Rock

In 1990 I finished the White Rock Marathon. And it almost finished me. This year, I get my revenge: Back then I was a 26-year-old flatbelly, just a couple years removed from competitive cross country and a full-speed dork who would precede Saturday morning flag football at The Village Country C ... More >>

What's In My Closet? Steroid-Free Baseball Edition

Found these two old pics over the holidays. In the one above I'm 7 at some rinky dink field in Duncanville; after the jump I'm 37 at a home-run contest at The Ballpark in Arlington. In each I'm a Rangers' fan, consumed not with steroids and HGH but rather batting glove night, Minyard bat night and ... More >>

It's the Year of the Ox! Is that Good for the Mavs?

Don't know how I missed it - maybe it's because I'm from Duncanville - but Monday was the Chinese New Year. And 2009, as if you didn't know, is the Year of the Ox. In the name of Wang Zhi-Zhi, what could that possibly mean for our Dallas Mavericks? *So far it means this: The Mavs are undefeat ... More >>

BREAKING NEWS: Luis Yanez Making Pro Boxing Debut at AAC

I do weird things while (only technically, it appears) on vacation. Like, for example, wonder if the sport of boxing is alive and wonder if Duncanville fighter Luis Yanez is well. The answer: Yes. And Yes. A lil' boxing birdie whispered to me this morning that Yanez - who flamed out amidst ... More >>

Cherry Pit Trial Is, Apparently, Not About Sex At All. Right. OK, Then.

Here to Serve

An Item in Which the Phrase "Something Sticks" Has a Whole New Meaning

Brian Harkin Jim Trulock, co-owner of Duncanville's Cherry Pit, has been arrested on TABC violations, as has his girlfriend and co-owner Julie Norris. This week's paper version of Unfair Park, with the cover story about The Cherry Pit, is barely on the streets, and already this update: Duncanville ... More >>

Swingtown

Local swingers think life is a bowl of cherries, but Duncanville wants to spit out the Pit

Over The Weekend: Forever The Sickest Kids and Saturday Night Skate Jam

Back to the Future With Bill Clinton

Brian Harkin Bill Clinton, campaigning for his Hillary in Grauwyler Park on February 26 More backward-glancing from the national media this a.m.: Just as The Washington Post revisited Barack Obama's visit to Duncanville last week, The Los Angeles Times retraces Bill Clinton's footsteps through the ... More >>

Bush for Obama! Bush for Obama!

Sophia, the one Bush we can get behind this election season As usual, a few election-related items of note this a.m. -- these involving famous faces not running for office. A Friend of Unfair Park with impeccable taste points our attention back toward the University of Texas at Dallas -- where, only ... More >>

Tomorrow's Headlines Today

This just in from the Liberty Legal Institute: Today, 'round 1:45 p.m., Kelly Shackelford's legal eagles will swoop down on a barren-looking section of Duncanville's Main Street to announce that it's taking legal action against the city "for discriminating against [a] Hispanic church." The church ap ... More >>

Yule Love this News Round-Up

Many things to do before tonight's traditional meal of dumplings and Dan-Dan noodles. But for those seeking a little light-news snack beforehand, a few stocking-stuffers. Like, this story about a San Antonio software developer named Ben Adams who used eBay to find his stolen 1949 Chevy truck. T ... More >>

Hoops Du Jour, With a Side of Pigskin

So, what are you more intrigued by tonight: the basketball showdown at the American Airlines Center? Or the one up the street at Moody Coliseum? In a rare clash of national high school titans, Duncanville (Class of ’82, thank you very much) meets perennial power Oak Hill Academy at 8 p.m. at SMU. ... More >>

Far As One Guy's Concerned, The Cherry Pit Will Come Out on Top

Over at OnPoint, a legal issues blog from the Courthouse News Service, Matthew Heller argues that Duncanville's gonna have a very hard time swallowing The Cherry Pit. As in: Even if Duncanville can defend the scope of its ordinance, it still is unlikely to show that its interest in prohibiting sex c ... More >>

Children of Dallas, Keep Your Bra Straps To Yourselves

This morning, Salon's Broadsheet contributor Catherine Price posted an item on the excellent ladyblog about a recent push in Dallas-area schools to crack (hah) down on sexual harassment. In the item, Price asks, "Is it sexual harassment when a 7-year-old at a school in Duncanville, Texas, tells a cl ... More >>

Blasts From The Past ... Er, Present ... Um, Future?

Hmmm, whatever happened to ol’ whatzizname? Um, ya know, Ben Grieve? Seems the former Arlington Martin High School stud and 1998 American League Rookie of the Year is still swatting homers, but settling for winning the home run derby at charity events like this one on Saturday in Frisco. Hmmm, wha ... More >>

Suspicious Minds

Duncanville gets caught in a trap

Metroplex Monopoly

We always forget Greg Ostertag went to Duncanville. Then, we always forget Greg Ostertag. Teardrop. In December, Cedar Hill and Southlake Carroll swept the high school football championships in the state's two largest classes. Last week Fort Worth Dunbar and Rockwall nabbed the girls' two biggest cl ... More >>

Schadenfreude, Anyone?

Romancing the Stone

This is Noah Bailey, and he is "throwing the stone." We have other pictures of him "passing a stone." We kept those to ourselves. Sunday afternoon my compatriots and I found ourselves driving toward Duncanville in the middle of a raging thunderstorm. Why, you ask? Olympic dreams, that's why. You se ... More >>

Blonde Jokes

We're actually rooting for the three bears

One Guess

Popular sandwich meat, rhymes with Moroney

Puff Tank

New eatery Jaden's Restaurant & Bar coming in November

Best Place to Eat in the Southern Dallas Dining Wasteland

Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen

Best Ice Rink

Duncanville StarCenter