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City Hall reporters Rudolph Bush and Steve Thompson provide political junkies with in-depth features, breaking news and off-beat tidbits through lively coverage of Dallas government. Readers are encouraged to join the conversation. March 2010
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How will Dallas City Hall save $8 million in debt payments next year? So glad you asked Some progress in Fair Park railroad mediation and an agreement to meet again Dallas City Hall Daily: Friday, March 5, 2010 Some Dallas residents none too happy about moving their cans to the curb Oncor to ask state regulators today for independent testing of 'smart meters' Dallas Park and Rec Board approves more cash for 'standing waves' in Trinity River Dallas City Hall Daily: Thursday, March 4, 2010 Some Dallas library phone lines are out Dallas City Council meeting: Oncor calls communication during storm an "opportunity area" Recent Comments
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March 5, 2010
It takes time, determination and will to get big things accomplished, and Dallas shouldn't give up on the Trinity, Kirk said this afternoon. "Don't lose faith," said Kirk, who was keynote speaker for an annual luncheon of the Trinity Commons Foundation, a non-profit group that supports the project.
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|  E-mail entryThe entry "Worried about the Trinity project? Maybe the Sydney Opera House can inspire you, says former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk " is tagged: ron kirk , trinity commons foundation
On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council agreed to issue $330 million in bonds that under ordinary circumstances would have added several million dollars to the city's already very hefty debt payment schedule. How hefty? Well, this year's total debt service is $283 million or more than half what it costs to run the police department. The council agreed to the bond issue for two reasons. First, it funds bond projects that enhance the city and provide jobs. Second, about half of the $330 million - $158.25 million to be precise - will be used to refinance old debt at a better rate. Good stuff. But even with the better rates, the bond issue would have raised the city's total debt payments next year versus this year, something that very much bothered council member Angela Hunt. These, however, are not normal circumstances, and this will not be a normal bond issue. Comments (0) Leave comment
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| E-mail entryThe entry "How will Dallas City Hall save $8 million in debt payments next year? So glad you asked" is tagged: Dallas , Dallas budget , Dallas City Hall
Yesterday, attorneys for the city of Dallas and the Museum of the American Railroad sat down for a court-ordered mediation to see if there's any way they can get on the same track. I spoke to both sides today and fair to say the meeting was neither boom nor bust. Neither side discussed details of the meeting before an independent mediator, but both indicated it was time well spent. The parties have agreed to meet for another mediating session next week and likely will push back, at least for a little while, an injunction hearing requested by the museum. "We've worked together the last 50 years so we just need to hold hands and get this done. We both have the same goal of getting the museum to Frisco," said William J. Brotherton, the museum's attorney. First Assistant City Attorney Chris Bowers said the mediation had "narrowed our differences somewhat." Still, major disagreements between the city and the longtime Fair Park resident remain. Trial may be inevitable. Comments (0) Leave comment
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| E-mail entryThe entry "Some progress in Fair Park railroad mediation and an agreement to meet again" is tagged: Dallas , Fair Park , Museum of the American Railroad
Your daily dose of news and views from in and around Dallas City Hall: • The standing wave project in the Trinity River's going to take a bit more scratch, Steve Thompson reports. Speaking of dollars running into the Trinity, Jim Schutze was none too happy about the city's plans to front the federal government money for a feasibility study on the project. • Also unhappy? Residents whose trash was moved from the alley to the curb. • Bad wiring caused a fire that took down historic buildings on Lower Greenville. • Is a very strapped City Hall getting a little too liberal with the ticket books, Tim Rogers wonders. • There will be no permit issued for urinating behind a bar 301 S. Carroll, the plan commission has decided. Oh wait, there will be no permit for a bar at 301 S. Carroll. Urinating apparently is a, uh, go, Daniel Rodrigue reports
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| E-mail entryThe entry "Dallas City Hall Daily: Friday, March 5, 2010" is tagged: Dallas , Dallas City Hall March 4, 2010
For the most part, City Hall's roll-out of once-weekly garbage pick-up has been smooth, except for in the bumpy, narrow alleys of old Dallas neighborhoods where residents have been told they must move their cans to the front curb after decades of getting the trash picked up behind their homes. This morning, about 20 residents of the Peninsula neighborhood overlooking White Rock Lake told city officials that the shift from alley to curb simply won't work in a historic neighborhood with gravel driveways and no sidewalks. "Every house in this neighborhood is designed and built to have garbage brought to the alley. They're forcing us to change infrastructure built 70 and 80 years ago," said Rick Rozas, a resident since the 1980s. Inside the 8-foot wide truck, the alleys of the Peninsula felt like tiny tunnels with a hair's breadth between the doors and trees and power poles. Comments (27) Leave comment
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| E-mail entryThe entry "Some Dallas residents none too happy about moving their cans to the curb" is tagged: Dallas , sanitation
Dallas-based Oncor is to ask state regulators today to develop a program that independently tests the accuracy of its smart meters. Customers have complained about getting high bills after getting the new meters. State Sen. Troy Fraser, chairman of the Senate Business and Commerce Committee, urged in a letter to the Public Utility Commission that the regulator halt the installation of smart meters to study their accuracy. You can read our Eric Torbenson's report on it here. At yesterday's Dallas City Council meeting, Mayor Tom Leppert asked an Oncor official to address the concerns, which were raised by a woman in public comments at the start of the meeting. The video above is the response from Debbie Dennis, vice president of Dallas customer operations with Oncor. The video below is of the Dallas woman making her comments. Comments (1) Leave comment
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| E-mail entryThe entry "Oncor to ask state regulators today for independent testing of 'smart meters' " is tagged: debbie dennis , oncor , smart meters
The Park and Rec Board approved more cash today for two "standing waves" in the Trinity River, raising the price tag by $322,800 to just over $4 million. The change is needed, city staff said, because a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers review has required additional erosion control and river bank stabilization. To create the standing waves, the city will reroute the river channel, alter its slope and put rocks under water. The result will be whitewater for kayakers to do their thing in. Comments (2) Leave comment
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| E-mail entryThe entry "Dallas Park and Rec Board approves more cash for 'standing waves' in Trinity River" is tagged: dallas , joan walne , park and recreation , paul dyer , standing wave , trinity , wayne smith
Your daily dose of news and views from in and around Dallas City Hall: • On Greenville Avenue yesterday, there was determination to rebuild as demolition crews, utility workers and insurance adjusters gathered to remove charred debris and assess the damage. Read our Selwyn Crawford's report here. • It might turn out that Texas lost some 50,000 more jobs last year than current data indicate, and most of those appear to have been in the Dallas area. Read our business reporter Brendan Case's report on that here. • In county news this morning, our Kevin Krause writes about a report that says Dallas County Constable Derick Evans may have abused his office by requiring his deputies to fund his re-election campaigns by selling raffle tickets. Have a news tip? We want to hear from you. E-mail Steve Thompson, at sthompson@dallasnews.com, or Rudy Bush, at rbush@dallasnews.com. Follow us on Twitter by clicking here. Comments (0) Leave comment
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| E-mail entryThe entry "Dallas City Hall Daily: Thursday, March 4, 2010" has no entry tags. March 3, 2010
If you're trying to call your local library branch and not getting through, there's a reason. Some lines will be out for a couple of hours. The library recommends you call 214-670-1400 for assistance. Here's the likely explanation for the outage from someone at City Hall who knows. Announcement: CIS will be conducting emergency maintenance for VOIP services which impacts multiple remote sites throughout the city. The work will not impact City Hall, Jack Evans, Central Library, OCMC, Convention Center or Canton Street Complex. Intermittent service interruption will be experienced by the remote sites for the next 2 hours. Comments (4) Leave comment
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| E-mail entryThe entry "Some Dallas library phone lines are out" is tagged: Dallas , Dallas City Hall , Dallas Public Library
In a briefing to City Council today, Oncor officials said they were proud of having quickly and safely restored widespread power outages during last month's snowstorm, but that their communication with the public during the storm remains, er, um, an "opportunity area." "You all know as well as I do our communication process didn't work very well during the storm," Debbie Dennis, an VP of Oncor's Dallas customer operations, told Council. In one frustrating scenario laid out by the Oncor official, the automated call taking system put customers on hold, asking them meanwhile for their "Easy ID." If you don't happen to know your Easy ID, you're not alone, apparently. Turns out it's somewhere on your power bill. Customers were left wondering if the power provider knew their power was out and how long it might be before it was restored. Council members say they've gotten an earful on that subject from their constituents, some of whom voiced complaints to the full council as today's agenda got underway. Comments (15) Leave comment
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| E-mail entryThe entry "Dallas City Council meeting: Oncor calls communication during storm an "opportunity area"" is tagged: dallas , oncor , power , power outages , snowstorm |
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I think there is alot of complaining ab
I agree -- During the summer, 90% of th
Our alley has 10 feet wide pavement wit
I live in Little Forest Hills, and I to
My biggest complaint is that trash pick
Mary Nix pretends to know more about sa
The demons that live in the mind of peo
My alley didn't shrink, my landscape di
It's President Bush's fault....
People need to get off their butts and