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Oncor: Trees Caused Most Snowstorm Outages

In the past few things have gotten folks predictably riled up around here like the way Oncor goes about pruning overgrown trees. Well, guess what? Whether it’s handled “sensitively,” or like a chainsaw-wielding maniac who’s had too much Red Bull, trimming back helps–especially in emergency situations. Oncor says that during the recent record snowstorm, a whopping 70 percent of the Dallas-area outages were caused by trees.

But when it came to “distribution feeders”–major electrical circuits serving the most customers–those feeders that had undergone pruning in the last four years experienced about one-third the number of outages as those feeders that hadn’t gotten a haircut lately. That’s a nugget from a report on the snowstorm that Debbie Dennis, Oncor’s VP for Dallas customer operations, will deliver to the Dallas City Council this week.

Kay Bailey Hutchison Keeps ‘Em Guessing

On the Mark Davis show Friday, she apparently came up with a new timeline for when she might resign her Senate seat. She now says it will be “before the November election.” Todd Gillman over at the DMN Trailblazer blog says this is her fifth iteration. I’lll trust him on that, since I lost count.

To you and me, whether she resigns in one month or six months may not matter so much. But there are a host of would-be United States Senators out there, including our own illustrious mayor, waiting for the moment when they can jump into a special election race. While Kay Bailey flips this way and that on talk radio, they have to be going a little stir crazy.

Leading Off (3/1/10)

1. The federal pen time has been divvied up. Don Hill: 18 years; D’Angelo Lee: 14 years; Sheila Farrington-Hill: 9 years. Enjoy.

2. Things you don’t text a 17-year-old boy when he is your student no. 142: “Hey Baby – I just wanted to say hi before I go to bed. Good night baby! I’ll meet you in our dreams. I miss you baby! Muaah!” It really won’t ever get easier for DISD, will it?

3. Last month I was a little peeved that our state leaders gave the president the cold shoulder when he came around trying to throw billions of dollars at Texas high speed rail. On the DMN’s opinion blog, Mike Hashimoto points to some of the second guessing going on in California (who got the cash), and wonders if the numbers really don’t add up for high speed rail travel. As for me, I couldn’t care less about cold feet in California. Sure I’m irrational, but I think high speed rail is so cool I would support it even if there was complete and utterly undeniable proof it would bankrupt the entire universe. So I’m still sticking with my grudge against Austin.

Who Are Those Early GOP Primary Voters?

Turnout has been huge for the gubernatorial race.  According to the Quorum Report [sub. req.], Democratic polling firm Opinion Analysis finds that in the five major counties, 16.7 percent of the Republican vote is coming from people who voted in the Democratic primary in 2008 (in Travis County, it’s 28 percent). The report notes that these are not regular primary voters. Key quote:

“Is this crossover good news for Kay Bailey Hutchison?  Not necessarily, but I doubt that they are crossing over to stand up and be counted for Rick Perry.”

A Lie is Addressed in the Spotlight at Limbs For Life Gala

SweetCharity reports on Limbs For Life’s Co-founder Craig Gavras‘ admission last night to years of living a lie and puts in her two cents’ worth.

Energy Future Holdings Under the Media Spotlight, Ctd.

Yesterday it was the Wall Street Journal. Today it’s the New York Times. And this story has more teeth when it comes to analyzing Energy Future Holdings’ (EFH) enormous debt:

Today, the TXU deal is unwieldy and unpredictable. The buyout was, in effect, a gargantuan bet that natural gas prices would keep climbing; instead, plunging prices coupled with a hobbled national economy have cut into the cash the company generates. …

TXU, rechristened as Energy Future Holdings when the deal closed in October 2007, is hardly the only private equity bet suffering these days. Many other deals from the height of the buyout boom are mired in problems, as companies buffeted by the weak economy or overwhelmed by once-plentiful and oh-so-cheap debt are struggling to stay upright.

“There is no doubt that these are good companies with bad balance sheets,” says Colin C. Blaydon, a professor at Dartmouth’s business school who specializes in private equity. But some of the companies, he says, are so deeply buried that an economic rebound might not be enough to let them pay their debt.

“The cash flows are not going to be strong enough to let them fully recover and dig their way out,” he says.

It mentions other private equity bets. But this story is all about EFH, and it can’t make the company or its owners happy.

Energy Future Holdings Under the Media Spotlight

On the front page of the Wall Street Journal’s Money & Investing section today, you’ll find a story about Energy Future Holdings (EFH). The piece has a look at the company’s finances (”debt heavy”), its penchant for hiring former Bush administration bigwigs, an its increasing spending on lobbyists. It’s an interesting read.

Charity Co-founder to Address his Years of Deception at Gala Tonight

Photo provided by Brinker International

Tonight’s Limbs for Life gala has had a new item added to its program. LfL executive director/co-founder Craig Gavras (pictured) will address his years of lying about his being a law enforcement office officer and losing his leg at the hands of a mob.

UPDATE: SweetCharity is reporting that the Limbs for Life foundation issued a statement regarding Craig’s deception yesterday. Evidently they knew the Morning News‘ Tanya Eiserer was hot on the trail.

Elaine Agather Steals the Show at Planned Parenthood Luncheon

As Tim mentioned earlier, Dallas was the place for protesters today, and the Planned Parenthood of North Texas luncheon at the Hilton Anatole was no exception (Dallas Dirt’s Candy Evans and I made it through the back entrance and avoided abortion protesters). Once inside, guests were treated to a charming introduction by Elaine Agather of JPMorgan Chase; the Kay Bailey Hutchison supporter seemed a bit surprised to be there herself—she quipped that last year someone asked her to write a check, and this year she was the emcee. Conservative politics aside, Agather said she recognized the need for Planned Parenthood when she realized that more than 50 percent of her company’s employees were women, many of whom needed access to basic health services. Keynote speaker Anna Quindlen gave a heartwarming speech with one sour note that offended a few of the well-heeled ladies: She asked attendees to take a look at the lovely suits they were wearing, consider how much the ensembles cost, and donate at least that much to the nonprofit.

Bryan Garner to Pen “On Language” Column in New York Times

Our good, close, dear friend Bryan Garner will guest author the New York Times‘ “On Language” column in this Sunday’s paper. Get excited.

Giant Tree Attacked Dallas Mayor’s Car

Count Mayor Tom Leppert among the “victims” of Dallas’ recent record snowstorm. In a talk today to the Dallas Friday Group, the mayor recalled how he was driving his wife, Laura, to dinner that weekend when they encountered a downed tree in the street. Leppert veered sharply to avoid the tree and wound up off the road, mired in the muck and slush. At that, he said, “I did what any guy would do: I started gunning it.” Didn’t work. Then he threw the vehicle in reverse, but that didn’t do it, either.

Just then, Leppert said, a “giant tree” fell on top of the car–”and Laura thinks we’re under attack.” A policeman pulled up next, looked in the window and said, “Oh shoot, it’s the mayor.” (Only he didn’t say “shoot.”) Then a couple of guys in a big truck stopped and tried to pull the car free, to no avail, Leppert said. So they produced a chainsaw to hack at the trees–only to watch the saw’s chain fly off. Finally, though, the samaritans brought out handsaws and proceeded to rescue the mayor and his wife and “the world went on,” Leppert concluded. He added that the experience “was probably easier on us than it was on the poor policeman.”

Fruit Cake Magnate Bill McNutt Arrested by SMU Cops

This is a very strange story. Bill McNutt was arrested on February 15 by SMU police for trespassing. You know McNutt from his famous Collin Street Bakery, which ships fruitcakes all over the world (he’s on the board, and I think it’s his brother Bob who handles the day to day). He is also chairman of the Texas Commission on the Arts. Students had complained about McNutt, and he’d been told not to visit the campus for any reason. SMU officials released a statement saying: “This action was based on SMU’s receipt of multiple student complaints against Mr. McNutt alleging behavior that violates University policy, such as offering alcohol to minors.”

Some questions: first, the Dallas Morning News story says that SMU confirmed on Wednesday that McNutt had been arrested. Why is the story not being reported until Friday? Second, students complained about someone offering them alcohol?

EXCLUSIVE: Study Says Super Bowl XLV to Have $611M Impact on North Texas

The official study contracted by the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee has found that more than $611 million in revenue will come to the region as a result of the game being played on Feb. 6, 2011, in Arlington. That’s far higher even than the more-than-$500 million figures we’ve heard from the event’s organizers in recent months. If accurate, that would indeed be a record–outperforming the $500 million that some credit Super Bowl XLII with generating.

The number was determined by Marketing Information Masters, a La Mesa, Calif.-based firm that has conducted economic impact studies for previous Super Bowls, as well the 2007 NHL All-Star Game and the 2010 NBA All-Star Game in North Texas. Their work was sent to the Texas State Comptroller earlier this month for review.

The report states that $611 million is the estimate of “direct spending” by all non-local residents during a two-month period leading up to game day. That seems high compared to the direct spending figures I’ve seen for previous games (more in the ($125-$300 million range) so I asked the Host Committee about whether that includes any indirect spending or multiplier effect–or to make any comment on the report. Their spokesman said it’s premature to comment on these numbers, since the committee doesn’t consider them final and official until after the Comptroller’s review of the data (due to be complete by March 8). There could be adjustments to this information at that time.

For more tidbits from the report, take the jump. We’ll start with how Dallas may make out better than Arlington in this deal.

Continue reading "EXCLUSIVE: Study Says Super Bowl XLV to Have $611M Impact on North Texas"

Good Time or Bad Time to Enter the Dallas Real Estate Game?

Great question you pose there in leading off, Jason, with that nice link to Steve Brown’s story on how we maybe shouldn’t jump for joy that D/FW foreclosures have fallen to their lowest levels in three years. (There’s a four million dollar foreclosure not too far from moi!) There are programs out there trying to keep folks in their homes, like the Mortgage Banker’s Association’s new forbearance program I wrote about yesterday. First American CoreLogic reported yesterday that one out of every four Americans is underwater in their mortgage. Well, I was at a Metrotex Association of Realtors event last night and learned, thank you Jesus,  we are not as bad as the national stats: about 12 to 15% of D/FW homeowners may be underwater, but our days on the market are far shorter than the national average. Then there’s all this confusing data coming in — our values are up, our sales are down. There’s a few other things to consider as well, so stay tuned to DallasDirt -- I’m trying to make sense out of all of it and, of course, get you some decent House Porn.

John Yoo to Draw Protesters to Belo Mansion?

There are some guys who “protest” outside our building nearly every morning. They’ve got a beef with the Canadian Consulate, which is a few floors down from us. These guys are horrible protesters. They stand around in day-glo vests, listening to music with earbuds in or talking to each other. When someone walks by, the protesters silently offer a flier that explains their grievance. These are some seriously low-energy, ineffective protesters.

All of which I offer as background so that you’ll understand why I’m pumped up for John Yoo’s speech today at noon at the Belo Mansion. Depending on where you sit, Yoo is either a) a patriot who, as a Bush administration lawyer, courageously fought in the war against terror or b) Dr. Waterboard. Some contend he committed war crimes in issuing memos on what our soldiers were allowed to do during interrogation. Last summer, the Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) concluded that Yoo committed “intentional professional misconduct” when he “knowingly failed to provide a thorough, objective, and candid interpretation of the law.” The OPR recommended a referal to the Pennsylvania Bar for disciplinary action, and Deputy Attorney General David Margolis let Yoo off the hook just last month. His Wikipedia page is fun to read.

Yoo has book out called Crisis and Command: The History of Presidential War Power from George Washington to George W. Bush. That’s what brings him to the Belo Mansion today. And I expect some protesters to greet him — some real protesters. I mean, like, I want to hear chanting. I want to see actual protest signs. Maybe even a fake waterboarding for the TV cameras.

Don’t disappoint me, people.

Leading Off (2/26/10): Want Ads Edition

1. Run for City Council? Apparently there are some perks to the gig. But those can get you into trouble. Don Hill will find out today just how much.

2. Is it a good or bad time to enter the real estate game? The experts says that the latest foreclosure numbers are artifically low.

3. Teach? Shape young minds? Mold the leaders of tomorrow? And try not to get discouraged by a rise in crime and violence in the schools?

4. Maybe Vandelay Industries is still looking for a great latex salesman.

Appearing Live in Mesquite: Pastor Melissa Scott

Next Tuesday night promises some of the most, uh, interesting entertainment imaginable around here. No, I’m not talking about the election and all the after-parties. I’m talking about one Pastor Melissa Scott, who is scheduled to appear that evening (and Wednesday night) at the Family Cathedral of Praise in Mesquite. According to the big ads in The Dallas Morning News, this will be Pastor Melissa’s “only Texas appearance” this year.

You may have run across the willowy brunette who claims to speak 20 languages on religious TV. She’s the widow of the late Dr. Gene Scott, a super-wealthy “shock jock” televangelist from L.A. who used to sit in front of a chalkboard and transfix audiences with bat-crazy rants about the Bible, UFOs, and his ex-wife. But, here’s the kicker: Pastor Melissa, according to news accounts, was once a porn star known as Barbie Bridges. She adamantly denies that, though, and doesn’t like to talk about the subject. So, since she’s sometimes surrounded by a dozen bodyguards, I wouldn’t recommend bringing “Barbie” up, if you attend the free services next week.

There’s No Pleasing Local Agricultural Bankers

In December I noted that the bankers of North Central Texas surveyed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in its quarterly agricultural credit report were pleading for rain (!)

This quarter’s report presents a very different picture in the comments:

We have gone from one extreme to the other. Wet conditions are hindering the completion of the harvest as well as cattle feeding.

Perhaps they’re more sedate because rural land values didn’t drop nearly as much (scroll down)this time around. Though they’re still down.

Meet The Man Who Saved The Stoneleigh Residences

Scooped them right out of bankruptcy, has already sold the penthouse. I’ve dubbed him Saint Stoneleigh on DallasDirt.

Mother Jones Tackles the Rainbow Lounge Raid

In the latest issue of Mother Jones, Adam Weinstein writes about the TABC raid on the now-famous gay club in Fort Worth called the Rainbow Lounge. Says Weinstein:

They say everything’s bigger in Texas, and that includes absurdity in law enforcement. Most states and towns have public intoxication laws that allow peace officers to pick up the drunk and disorderly. But in the Lone Star State, the nation’s broadest PI law lets cops go virtually anywhere and arrest anyone for drunkenness — even if they’re quietly nursing a beer in a bar.

Aside from the “everything’s bigger in Texas” trope, it’s a piece worth reading. Careful readers will also recognize one of Weinstein’s sources: DPD Officer Nick Novello, who was a source for Trey Garrison when he wrote about a story for us in 2007 about a ring of cops who broke the rules to inflate their arrest totals. (Novello was also a defendant when those cops sued D Magazine for libel.)

Update: From a MoJo blog post from Weinstein, I got the impression that he didn’t enjoy his time in Dallas (he worked at DS News, which, oddly enough took over our old space on Oak Lawn when we moved downtown in October). I asked Weinstein if my impression was accurate that he didn’t cotton to Dallas. “You can say that’s true,” Weinstein said. “Dallas didn’t meet my expectations. Which were low to begin with, since the last city I’d lived in before that was Baghdad. (Long story. Check out www.adamweinsteinwriter.com for that.)”

Leading Off (2/25/10)

1. There will be a community meeting tonight to discuss turning the old Ramada Plaza Hotel on Akard Street and Interstate 30 into a homeless shelter. If the plan comes together, there will be 200 rooms made available to the homeless. All the developer has to do is get the community on board. Piece of cake.

2. This is an unfortunate case of she said, they said. Habitat for Humanity built Mattie a home. One stipulation for the home was that Mattie not move in as a single person. She said that’s fine, because her grandkids lived with her. But she said they only lived with her for a year, and she says they come back often. Even if that can be proven, it looks like it might not be enough.
How did this issue come to light? It appears that when the title was drawn up for the lot Mattie lives on, someone accidentally also included the neighboring lot (which it looks like Mattie’s not paying for). So Habitat needs that title to build another home. They’re offering to buy it for $10.
Here’s the way I look at it: if you didn’t really own the lot and you never spent money on the lot, but now you’re being offered $10 for it, take the deal! That’s a win. Of course, the whole being pushed out of your home because you didn’t meet the requirements thing is a loss. So best case scenario? Mattie breaks even. Kind of.

3. Awhile ago, Tim said he was disappointed that the Cowboys weren’t breaking the law the way they used to. Then Jason told you about Michael Irvin getting accused of allegedly raping a woman in Hollywood, which was the second Tim-worthy, law-breaking incident by a Cowboy (ex-Cowboy, whatever). So Jason deemed that a trend and said that Tim Rogers cursed America’s Team. Well, it looks like the curse is off as no charges are going to be filed against Irvin. Apparently, the lady made the whole thing up. Find someone else to blame if next year’s season doesn’t go well. Here’s one suggestion.

Why Kay’s Kid Gloves on Social-Service Screwups?

The Texas Tribune’s Emily Ramshaw has an interesting piece today asking why Kay Bailey Hutchison has steered clear of attacking Rick Perry for the state’s multiple “social-service” debacles. We’re talking about powerful messes involving children such as that sex-abuse scandal at the state’s youth prisons, a fighting ring at a state institution for the disabled and, worst of all, fatal screwups at Texas Child Protective Services.

It’s a great question. Early last year, top Hutchison advisers predicted that Perry’s lousy appointments–and more importantly the incompetence and worse they led to at agencies like these–would be a key feature of her campaign. Didn’t happen; call it a major missed opportunity. Guess Kay’s decision to lay off also supports the assertion that she has ignored the good advice of those around her and is living now with the consequences.

The Banks Now Control Modern Luxury

The New York Post is reporting that the founder of Modern Luxury Media, Michael Kong, has been pushed out of his role with the company. The Post says Kong was “an apparent victim of a superheated expansion that could not be sustained in the recession.” What this means for Modern Luxury Dallas is anybody’s guess, so here’s mine: operations at the Dallas outpost will come under intense cost-cutting pressure from the banks that funded Modern Luxury Media’s expansion. Dallas is not a top performer in the the company’s chain (which includes pubs in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Manhattan, and Houston, among other cities). The Post says the company is carrying $120 million in debt, with annual payments running around $15 million. The debt holders—Credit Suisse and New Star Financial—are now calling the shots.

(A personal note: Modern Luxury competes for advertising dollars with us. In that respect, I’d be happy to see it wither. But I know people who work there. I’m intimately familiar with the pain that can come from keeping your finances in line. I empathize with those who will suffer from Michael Kong’s ambitions. No cheering and clapping here.)

More on Collin County’s Bikini-Babe Voyeur Video

Since Tim raised the subject again in “Leading Off” this morning, I decided to take one more opportunity to write that sensational headline.

I contacted GOP state house candidate Wayne Richard after my original post and asked him a few questions about the video. He explained that it was posted on his company’s YouTube account by “an individual with authorized access” but without his knowledge. This person added the company’s logo to the video, but Richard says “it was never meant to be available for public viewing.”  I asked him to explain why a video was posted on YouTube if it weren’t meant for public viewing, but he did not respond to that e-mailed question.

A few days later, he issued a press release to address some of the allegations and announce that he’s reposted the website for his company FUBIOV! (Forget U Buddy I’m On Vacation) to demonstrate that it was merely meant as a place for people to share vacation photos and videos. Not a place for voyeurs to swap videos of women in bikinis. “I may decide to keep the site live as a result of the free publicity it is receiving,” Richard stated.

Chicago Newspaper: Dallas Police Refuse To Help Crime Victims Because It’s “Too Dangerous”

A suburban Chicago paper called the Daily Herald reports that some cheerleaders from Chi-Town visited Dallas recently for a competition that was held at the Convention Center. While the girls were tumbling and herky-ing on Saturday, someone stole eight bags from them that were left behind a stage. One of the girls used a laptop to track a GPS-equipped cellphone in one of the bags, but when the location of the bag was given to police, the Daily Herald reports, the cops refused to go to the area because it was “too dangerous.”

Two things: 1) when you track a phone with GPS like that, you get a rough estimate of the phone’s location. Maybe an area the size of a couple of blocks. So I’m not sure how helpful that would be to police. And 2) I don’t buy that the cops said it was “too dangerous.”