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City Hall reporter Rudolph Bush provides political junkies with in-depth features, breaking news and off-beat tidbits through lively coverage of Dallas government. February 2010
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Dallas CM Tennell Atkins: Bishop Larry McGriff has died Mayor Tom Leppert, Sen. John Cornyn, Fed president Richard Fisher to speak at roundtable Friday Steve Blow: Ugly split over Fair Park railroad museum Dallas South News: Bishop Larry McGriff suffers aneurysm, on life support Crime blog: More questions about Dallas police crime reporting Dallas CFO Dave Cook says goodbye to City Hall A few more details on Dallas' crackdown at the Fair Park railroad museum U.S. Census Bureau hiring in Dallas, says Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Pauline Medrano Crime Blog: Did Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle misstate the law to City Council? Recent Comments
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February 18, 2010
Council member Tennell Atkins tells our Sam Hodges that Bishop Larry McGriff, of the Church of the Living God, has died. Atkins said that McGriff died about 11:30 a.m. after being rushed to Baylor Hospital. "In a lifetime, you might have five friends. He was one of my friends. You could call him at four in the morning, and he wouldn't ask why, he'd just show up," Atkins said. Jump for Sam's report.  Comments (1) Leave comment
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Tomorrow at noon, prior to a Dallas Regional Chamber luncheon, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn will host an economic outlook roundtable featuring Mayor Tom Leppert and Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher. Cornyn's office just sent out a release about what's on the table: Alas, I won't be there. Comments (0) Leave comment
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This morning, Steve Blow weighed in on the city's fight with the Museum of the American Railroad. Last Saturday night, when Valentine's Day and the NBA All-Stars had Dallas restaurants and bars packed like never before, you won't believe where city health inspectors and state alcohol regulators were. In an old railroad dining car in Fair Park. On that night of all party nights, three health inspectors and two Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents were hassling "Dinner in the Diner," a quiet fundraiser for the Museum of the American Railroad. Total attendance: 36. "That's all the dining car will seat," explained museum president Bob LaPrelle. A divorce is always painful to behold, but especially when it turns petty. And it looks like we've got one of those nasty breakups on our hands as the City of Dallas and the railroad museum part ways. Calling in the health inspectors and booze police? Really? You probably know the museum by its old name, the Age of Steam. It has been a fixture in Fair Park for 47 years. But the Museum of the American Railroad is leaving for a spiffy new site in Frisco. And jilted Fair Park is ready to be rid of it right now. Talk about a marriage with a lot of baggage, however - 37 multi-ton railroad cars and locomotives. Comments (2) Leave comment
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| E-mail entryThe entry "Steve Blow: Ugly split over Fair Park railroad museum" is tagged: Dallas , Fair Park
Shawn Williams is reporting that Bishop Larry McGriff suffered a very serious aneurysm is currently on life support. McGriff is an influential southern Dallas pastor who is well known at City Hall. Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway has been with McGriff and I am trying to reach him now. As you can see from the photo above, McGriff recently married in a ceremony covered by Ed Housewright. Caraway was the best man and Mayor Tom Leppert assisted in presiding. Comments (0) Leave comment
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From Steve Thompson on the Crime Blog, more questions about the consistency of DPD's reporting on crimes and how the statistics are gathered. Dallas police Chief David Kunkle told the City Council's public safety committee this week that his department follows Texas law, not federal UCR guidelines, when classifying assaults for statistical reporting to federal authorities. This reduces the department's violent crime stats. What about when it comes to burglaries? Following Texas law instead of the federal guidelines when classifying burglaries would raise the department's crime stats, not lower them. Comments (0) Leave comment
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From today's paper, a story on the retirement of longtime Dallas Chief Financial Officer Dave Cook. And I know the Dave Cook/Dave Cook photo gag is getting a little stale. But just one more time? Please? And in good times and bad, the City Council and top management have looked to chief financial officer Dave Cook to crunch the numbers and provide the straight story on Dallas' financial standing. Cook, who was named CFO in October 2000 and has quietly become one of City Hall's most respected figures, will retire this week after 28 years of public service. His retirement comes after a grueling budget season last year that saw the city slash services to balance sharp declines in revenue. This year could be even worse, but Cook - who gave notice of his plans months ago - is leaving now because the time has come personally more than professionally, he said. He has given many weekends and nights to City Hall; his two sons have only a few years left at home, and he wants to spend that time with them. "The budget we've just gone through was the toughest we've ever had," Cook said. "But even in good economic times, there's no such thing as an easy budget because there isn't and won't be enough money to do all the good things people want done. There's always competing interest for the limited dollars."
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| E-mail entryThe entry "Dallas CFO Dave Cook says goodbye to City Hall" is tagged: Dallas , Dallas City Hall , Dave Cook February 17, 2010
After yesterday's report that City Hall sent inspectors to a weekend fundraiser at the Museum of the American Railroad at Fair Park, Robert Wilonsky notes today that the city is throwing yet more coal on the fire. Indeed, City Hall has informed the museum that it will no longer pay for electricity and water - something the museum has been getting free for some time it appears. The city attorney's office explains that other museums at Fair Park have arranged for electricity and water payments through their lease agreements, which the city says the railroad museum has refused to sign. The museum disputes that, saying City Hall's lease offers amounted to ruin. Also, today, a quick clarification on yesterday's item. The museum was not cited at this weekend's fundraiser by the Texas Alcohol and Beverage commission; it was warned. From an e-mail I received from the TABC: (T)he museum was selling alcohol without a permit. As a 501c3 they are allowed to pull a temporary license in order to facilitate their event. It should cost around $200.00. It appears the city had warned the museum regarding their concern. The city asked us to assist them and we did. The museum was given a warning ticket for selling without a permit. It is certainly not our intent to harass anyone. Additionally, we try to do the right thing in every case and it appears that our agents have acted within reason on this case. The museum was cited by the city's health inspector because a caterer hired for the event failed to keep salmon that was to be served cool enough prior to its preparation. For background on why the city and the museum are at odds, have a look here. Also, check tomorrow's paper and the blog for an update with Museum president Bob LaPrelle's response. Comments (6) Leave comment
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The City Council got its latest update on Census 2010 today. Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Pauline Medrano, who sits on a key advisory committee, again urged anyone and everyone to pitch in to help Dallas get a complete count of residents. Medrano also passed along word that the Census Bureau is hiring even if no one else is. Enumerators, office managers, recruiters, the whole shebang. Call 866-861-2010 if you're interested, she said. Comments (0) Leave comment
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Dallas council member Linda Koop, a key transportation advocate in North Texas, said she was "delightfully surprised" the city won a piece of the highly competitive TIGER grants. The grant of $23 million was a little less than half the $48 million Dallas sought for its street cars, but it will go a long way toward helping plan construction of the city's first street car circulator. Koop said Dallas' long term planning and commitment to building a walkable city were critical to winning the funding. "It's a different paradigm in transportation now, and you've got to have sustainable communities. It starts with big cities," she said. Koop also offered high praise to U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, who she said was integral to Dallas being selected for the grant funds. Because the likelihood of getting the grant seemed so low, City Hall had already crafted a plan to build a downtown streetcar system with city funds. That plan would have excluded Oak Cliff - at least in its initial phase. The receipt of the TIGER grant appears to require that Oak Cliff be included in the first phase of an eventual system. "We're going to reevaluate the alignment now because in the TIGER grant the alignment was to go into Oak Cliff. But obviously the connection to downtown is paramount," Koop said. Getting federal money is surely welcome at City Hall, but it does have a downside. The city's plan to build a line on its own could have been completed as quickly as three years. Working through the federal funding process is certain to take considerably longer. Comments (0) Leave comment
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People should be extra careful. Just im
Lets' see, you're a renter in a house I
Недвижимость доска объявлений с фотогра
Former member of the Southwest Historic
Бесплатная доска объявлений с фото. Бес
My heart goes out to the McGriff family
Apparently Mr. Blow does not read other
@II - Talk to us about grandstanding in
All well and good and grandstanding, bu
Oh, I forgot to mention.......during th