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Investigative journalism in the public interest. That’s what we focus on in Dallas-Fort Worth and throughout Texas. Join the conversation. Help us expose the problems and provide solutions. March 2010
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Another Rick Perry appointee charged with misbehaving around youth; latest case at SMU Dallas mogul 'lived modestly,' writer says Update on Dallas investor/arts kingpin Eric Brauss: He claims to be chilling out in South America Hot Links: AT&T buys Dallas art center name Problem Solver: Improvements at Pioneer Plaza Problem Solver: Pioneer Plaza still shabby Problem Solver: Carnival misses ports Hot Links: Gov. Rick Perry's wide, vast reach Categories
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February 26, 2010
The latest mess involves businessman Lee William "Bill" McNutt III (right), whom Perry named Texas Commission on the Arts chair in December. McNutt has since been arrested for trespassing at Southern Methodist University, reports Lori Stahl of The Dallas Morning News. SMU says it warned him to stay away in 2008 after getting "multiple student complaints against Mr. McNutt alleging behavior that violates University policy, such as offering alcohol to minors." McNutt, 54, graduated from SMU and was founding president of its Young Alumni Association, a governor's press release said. He worked in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and the first President George Bush, according to the arts commission. McNutt has resigned from the commission, The Daily Mustang is now reporting. He's also a deacon at Highland Park Presbyterian Church. The previous Perry-appointee mess involved Catherine Evans, a former Dallas County state district judge. Perry named her Texas Youth Commission ombudsman in September. Several weeks later, she was charged with trying to smuggle a knife, a cellphone and prescription drugs into an East Texas TYC facility. Please let me know if you get more information about what's going with either of these matters. ![]() ![]() The entry "Another Rick Perry appointee charged with misbehaving around youth; latest case at SMU" is tagged: Bill McNutt , Catherine Evans , chairman , George Bush , George H.W. Bush , Highland Park , Highland Park Presbyterian Church , Lee William "Bill" McNutt III , Lori Stahl , minors , ombudsman , Rick Perry , Ronald Reagan , SMU , smuggling , Southern Methodist University , Texas Commission on the Arts , Texas Youth Commission , trespassing , TYC , University Park , Young Alumni Association December 10, 2009
That was "an unfair depiction of a couple who lived modestly compared to their wealth," says Sara Marotto of In that light, check out this video tour of Eric's home in Addison (right), which is now for sale. The original list price of $2.9 million has been cut to a cool $2,495,000. Eric is listed as a million-dollar donor to the new performing arts center in Courts are now trying to sort out what went wrong with and what will become of the Brausses' real-estate empire, as The News' Gary Jacobson reported recently. ![]() ![]() The entry "Dallas mogul 'lived modestly,' writer says" is tagged: Addison , AT&T Performing Arts Center , Eric Brauss , for sale , movie , slasher , The Dead Don't Scream , Today Realty Advisors December 8, 2009
Some commenters pointed toward Brazil. Now Dallas Morning News reporter Gary Jacobson is finding some evidence of that in court documents. One filing in Dallas state court quotes a Nov. 17 email from Brauss as saying he was on a "very primitive tour in the Amazon rainforest." And a Nov. 20 email from Brauss to one of his investors purportedly said: "Sorry I did not get back to you until now, but needed to wait for my lawyer's directions...Until we come to an agreement with you...I need to stay here in South America." As The News reported last week, Brauss' Today Realty Advisors, which invested in hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of projects, has closed its Far North Dallas headquarters. In court, several investors seek restitution of what they allege are millions of dollars in diverted funds. Gary's working on a longer story now. Among the questions he's trying to answer: Has Brauss already made good on his $1 million donation to the new performing arts center in Downtown Dallas?
![]() ![]() The entry "Update on Dallas investor/arts kingpin Eric Brauss: He claims to be chilling out in South America" is tagged: Amazon , AT&T Performing Arts Center , Brazil , Downtown Dallas , Eric Brauss , Gary Jacobson , investor , mogul , performing arts center , philanthropist , real estate , Today Realty Advisors September 15, 2009
1. I used to think that the beautiful new complex rising up downtown (right) was called the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. That's what the group's Web site says, after all. But today I read Michael Granberry's story in The Dallas Morning News and learn that AT&T is paying to put its name on the thing -- and that the word "Dallas" is gone. What's the price tag? No one will say. 2. I used to think that DART's new Green Line was going to improve mobility downtown. But today I read Michael Lindenberger's story in The Dallas Morning News and learn that some trains are now sitting still for up to 10 minutes during rush hour. Do you have a tip about the arts? DART? Send me an e-mail and let me know. Or join the conversation by commenting below. If you're on Twitter, follow our blog at DMNInvestigates. You can also check us out on Facebook. ![]() ![]() The entry "Hot Links: AT&T buys Dallas art center name" is tagged: AT&T Performing Arts Center , Dallas Center for the Performing Arts , DART , Green Line , light rail , Mark Nerenhausen , Michael Granberry , Michael Lindenberger , naming rights , rush hour , trains September 2, 2009
The Texas Trees Foundation has now installed most of the lighting. Only the trail boss sculpture still needs to be illuminated. "They're pole lights that light up the whole sculpture," said Janette Monear, executive director of Texas Trees Foundation. "It's beautiful. It's dramatic. It lights the sculpture and enhances the safety of the area." The foundation also put out a bid for new bronze signs, but the cost was too steep at $52,000. So the group plans to re-bid, asking for signs out of a different material. On the downside, rain foiled an attempt to shore up the footpaths with gravel. The fix worked for a few weeks, but the last storm washed much of the gravel down to the bottom of the sculpture site. In addition, an irrigation head opened, causing even more erosion and ruts, so footing is still uneven. Some of the sculpture pedestals also are still unearthed, and it looks like it wouldn't take too much to cause them to topple. Fortunately, a bid to put in patterned concrete as a permanent solution to the erosion has been accepted. Work is expected to begin after Labor Day.
![]() ![]() The entry "Problem Solver: Improvements at Pioneer Plaza" is tagged: Problem Solver; Pioneer Plaza; art; cattle sculptures July 14, 2009
A recent tour of the second-most visited site in Dallas showed that the light was still broken and was topped with a milk crate and traffic cone. The trail was so eroded that wiring and sprinkler lines were exposed. Some of the sculpture pedestals looked dangerously unearthed. There was graffiti on the trash can. The water fountain was out of order. And cigarette butts and beer bottle tops peppered the ground. Weirdly, there was also a pair of pants resting on the trail. You'd think someone would need those. ![]() ![]() The entry "Problem Solver: Pioneer Plaza still shabby" is tagged: Pioneer Plaza; sculptures; cattle; art; Problem Solver July 6, 2009
But it didn't. The ship went out into the Gulf of Mexico, basically parked, then sped back to Galveston one day early, the couple said. Because of the change in itinerary, Carnival says it has refunded each passenger his or her $40 in port taxes and will offer 50 percent off a future cruise as a "goodwill gesture." "Our first experience was so horrible, I don't know if I want to spend another week on a ship," Kathy Lynn Dieken said. "We were essentially lied to." ![]() ![]() The entry "Problem Solver: Carnival misses ports" is tagged: Problem Solver; cruise; Carnival; ports; medical emergency June 15, 2009
1. One backdrop to Texas A&M president Elsa Murano's resignation is an emphasis among Perry friends and associates in commercializing research, the Austin American-Statesman reports. Perry, an A&M alum, is said to exert influence in other ways. This increasingly upsets the faculty members "by what they perceive as a command-and-control management style" by the Perry-picked chancellor and Board of Regents. 2. The state Insurance Commissioner, Perry appointee Mike Geeslin, will decide how much State Farm Insurance owes -- if anything -- as part of overcharging complaints on homeowner policies. The options: The state consumer advocate's office says $785 million plus interest; the Texas Department of Insurance says $250 million plus interest; and State Farm says zip. Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know. ![]() ![]() The entry "Hot Links: Gov. Rick Perry's wide, vast reach" is tagged: chancellor , Elsa Murano , homeowners , insurance commissioner , Mike Geeslin , Mike McKinney , overcharging , policies , president , resignation , Rick Perry , State Farm Insurance , Texas A&M , Texas Department of Insurance June 3, 2009
1. More public servants in legal trouble: News broke late last night that two Dallas police officers are under criminal investigation for allegedly beating up a prisoner in the city's drunk tank, Tanya Eiserer reports. They were apparently caught on video, too. 2. Transportation officials blame the increase in wrong-way driving deaths on the Dallas North Tollway primarily on drunks behind the wheel, Scott Goldstein tells us. They're taking safety measures, but a MADD rep says it's not enough. What do you think? 3. The Texas Department of Transportation is a frequent whipping boy of residents and politicians frustrated over congestion and construction. Sometimes it's deserved, sometimes it's not. But Michael Lindenberger's story raises the question: What happens if the agency can't be rescued from closure? Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know. ![]() ![]() The entry "Investigates Hot Links: Wednesday, June 3, 2009" is tagged: alcohol , assaults , closure , crashes , Dallas North Tollway , Dallas police , DPD , drunk tank , drunken driving , fatalities , Sunset Commission , Texas Department of Transportation , TxDOT , video , wrong way June 1, 2009
"The ground has become so seriously eroded that walking from the lower area up to the top alongside the cattle is now very dangerous. There is a spot where pipes have been exposed at the narrowest part of the path, and if someone were to slip/trip there, they would run the risk of impalement," reader John Anderson said. In addition, an electrical box at the southwest corner of the pool also is a hazard, he said. Anderson asked for help in getting repairs done to the popular tourist site. "I haven't gotten a definitive response from anybody," he said. ![]() ![]() The entry "DMN Problem Solver: Sculpture erosion" is tagged: arts , cattle sculpture , Dallas , Pioneer Plaza , problem solver , tourism May 22, 2009
2. State lawmakers are bogging down as they try to reform eminent-domain laws allowing property seizures for, among other things, economic development, Marcus Funk reports. 3. The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts -- the shimmering new home to the opera, ballet and theater shows -- may not get a $1.7 million public subsidy as soon as it hoped, City Hall reporter Rudy Bush blogs. Question: Does the center need the subsidy at all, given the city's budget woes?
![]() ![]() The entry "Investigates Hot Links: Friday, May, 22, 2009" is tagged: ballet , Carla Ranger , Dallas Center for the Performing Arts , Dallas County Community College District , Dallas ISD , DCCCD , DISD , eminent domain , opera , property seizure , subsidy , theater May 18, 2009
Dallas Museum of Art boss Bonnie Pitman (right) is our first subject. She has refused for months to answer basic financial questions about the King Tut exhibit, which closed yesterday. It fell far short of attendance projections, as Dallas Morning News reporter Michael Granberry reported. The News had to file a series of formal records demands just to get the taxpayer-subsidized DMA to claim that it and the city of Dallas would lose no money on the deal. But the museum won't let us see any records to back that up. Why? Pitman and her staff say they promised the exhibit's for-profit organizers absolute confidentiality, as I reported yesterday. Museum officials say they can't even tell us how many people saw Tut for free. Pitman initially said she'd do an interview for Granberry's story but backed out at the last minute. Too busy, her PR lady said.
![]() ![]() The entry "They won't talk: Dallas Museum of Art" is tagged: attendance , Bonnie Pitman , Brooks Egerton , City of Dallas , Dallas Museum of Art , DMA , exhibit , King Tut , Michael Granberry , records , taxpayer-subsidized , Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs May 15, 2009
1. Oh, wait. Hold on. Looks as though the government has reconsidered and decided it will investigate the collapse of the Cowboys indoor practice facility that injured about a dozen people and left one coach paralyzed permanently. The agency conducting the review still isn't saying much to Brandon Formby and Brooks Egerton. 2. You see this? The much-hyped King Tut exhibit has drawn only 600,000 visitors, considerably below hopes of 1 million. The Dallas Museum of Art blames the attendance on the economy, Michael Granberry writes. I don't remember other major entertainment attractions, like sporting events, having such problems. 3. The Texas House is tightening ethics rules -- targeting lobbyists and political-action committees -- and directing state auditors to oversee how federal stimulus dollars are spent, Emily Ramshaw reports. Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know. ![]() ![]() The entry "Investigates Hot Links: Friday, May, 15, 2009" is tagged: bills , collapse , Cowboys , Dallas Museum of Art , ethics , exhibit , House , indoor facility , investigation , King Tut , lobbyists , PACs , state accountability office , stimulus May 14, 2009
1. Dallas' venerable Majestic Theatre is in deep trouble, Channel 8 reports. DSM Management Group is punting control back to the city at a time when the overall economy stinks and the Majestic is about to face new competition from the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. 2. Worried about those bus/train drivers who love their cell phones too much? Massachusetts is cracking down after a trolley operator who was texting his sweetheart injured nearly 50 people in a crash. Should DART follow suit? Did I miss a good story? Or do you have a tip? Send me an e-mail and let me know. ![]() ![]() The entry "Investigates Hot Links: Thursday, May 14, 2009" is tagged: Boston , bus , cell phone ban , crash , Dallas Center for the Performing Arts , DART , DSM Management Group , Majestic Theatre , public transit , texting , train , trolley May 1, 2009
Spokesman Jason Shockley said that auditors in certain states didn't understand its pricing structure and arrived at mistaken conclusions. In some cases, public institutions continued to accept Office Depot bids for new supply contracts. I followed up with officials who performed the state audits. They told me that they stood by their findings. ![]() ![]() The entry "Office Depot gets business despite state probes" has no entry tags. |