The Mayoral Race and Education

Rufus Shaw has an interesting article on Dallas Blog titled The Mayoral Education Problem. It's a thought-provoking read, and talks about the Mayoral Race and how education should fit in with the rest of the other issues.

First off, the DISD board right now is a joke. Other than Ms. Ranger, Leigh Ann Ellis, and Dr. Blackburn this board is spineless. Superintendent Michael Hinojosa hides behind public relations people and does whatever he wants. Great teachers are stymied and discouraged until they retire or go to another district or community college to teach. Good luck to the next Mayor.

I like this quote in the aforementioned article:

"At no point did I consider my success or potential failure a result of white racism and this was during a time when the entire school board was white."

My parents taught me to read at 2 years old BEFORE I got to school, and my parents were constantly up at school making their own meetings regardless of what the teachers said. But yet, I had to physically fight my way onto the subway because I went to the "nerd school" but lived in the so-called 'hood. I'd like the next Mayor to make it safe for kids to go to school, and then work on the education system itself.

The mayor can set policy, but none of the candidates will attempt to set a real detailed agenda because it's too much of a hot potato. It seems like this race is about quiet campaigns with vague platforms.

By the way, Cosby is on a new round of town meetings right now. Regardless of what you may think of Cos, at least he's giving it a shot and using his notoriety for something other than getting endorsement contracts. See what Cos is up to here.

Why I Write what I Write

(In light of the increased readership of Dallas Progress, I wanted to publish one of my first pieces.)

Do you See what I See?

People ask me why I write what I write. Do you know why? It's because our communities have a LONG way to go.

I have seen prostitutes with no upper-body clothing walking up and down the street in the daytime, while school kids walk home.

I have seen grocery stores that look like a bomb hit them. Overpriced dated meats sold by understaffed stores that take your money only because they have no choice.

I see shopping center owners (of all races) getting rich while they allow thugs to congregate and harass working people, kids, and seniors.

I see motel owners that allow full-scale prostitution, dope dealing, you name it.

I get pissed every time I hear about a kid caught in the crossfire. Why? Because my 5-year old sister was killed in a gang crossfire when my Mother was 8 months pregnant with me. That was in 1973 and NOTHING HAS CHANGED!

Where I'm from, I'm used to elected officials in the 'hood being outraged enough to hit the streets themselves and lead protests and put real laws on the books ... not to cry about 'the man' and 'the media', but against the knuckleheads and thugs that treat the community like its personal toilet.

A lot of people in power treat the community in the same fashion.

I am optimistic. I KNOW it can change, but only if some major changes go down. Who cares if we have a shiny new building if Grandma is scared to walk down the street to go check it out?

I'm sick of everyone saying it's North Dallas vs. South Dallas, this group vs. that group. It's the media....it's the police chief... it's about everybody but the person in mirror. Good grief - it's about right and wrong. Open your eyes! Do you see what I see?

And that's why I write what I write.

Texas House Committee Assignments

We break stories around here. Hot off the press are the Texas House of Reps committee assignments. Check out who got busted down and who got upped based on their rewards for supporting Craddick.

One beef: Craddick's minions used a scanned PDF instead of an actual searchable document. Great. I guess you'll have to download the document and read it page by page like me.

Texas Senators Hate Poor People

As reported by Texas Kaos, Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison both voted to filibuster the minimum wage bill that recently sailed through the House. But hey, these are the same chumps that likely voted to increase their own salaries last year. Other notables that voted against this bill include Presidential wannabe John McCain (noted) . Somewhere, Strom Thurmond is smiling.

Last fall, KBH's commercial said she "had a heart as big as Texas." I guess, maybe she doesn't?

Heartless Utility Providers

Glenn Arbery of People Newspapers writes about his awful experience with an unnamed electricity provider. It confirmed my fears about some of these fly-by-night operations.

Lately, I've been looking into switching providers. But there is almost no information available. Read Glenn's story, Our Own Private Ice Storm and judge for yourself. Glenn, if you're out there, drop me a line. I'll keep the provider confidential.

If anyone has their own stories about alternative providers (bad or good), please post a comment.

Dwaine Caraway on YouTube

For Dallas City Council District 4, the best choice is Dwaine Caraway. He's been active in his District even when there was no election occurring. While I am a consultant for his campaign, I have seen first hand how he is on call 24/7 for his District.

Read more at the links below.

Dwaine on YouTube

Website (revamp coming soon): www.dwainecaraway.com

Perry Asked to Ax Head of TXDOT

The Austin-American Statesman reports that Senator John Carona wants Rick Perry to replace Ric Williamson as the head of TxDot. Carona is the chairman of the Texas Senate's transportation committee. (shouts to Sal Costello for spotting the article)

This quote says it all:

Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, said Williamson's "abrasiveness" and single-minded commitment to toll roads and privatization as the solution to traffic congestion "has worn out his welcome in many communities across the state."

The article is a must read. With high-ranking officials in his own party calling for a change in TxDot leadership, maybe it's time that Perry listens.

Bill Blaydes = Out

Reports have surfaced that Bill Blaydes is out of the 2007 City Council Election.
According to Dave Levinthal at the DMN and Adam McGill at DMag, Blaydes is citing family, health, and business dealings as his reasons for not seeking another term.

That makes seven seats that will be vacated due to term limits or people running for Mayor. This includes seats 3,4,5,7,8,9, and 10. Along with having a new Mayor (!), there will be at least eight new representatives at City Council. And Angela Hunt better end up being at least Deputy Mayor Pro Tem.

I bet Blaydes turns up as a consultant on the Inland Port or something like that. Mark it.

I've appreciated his help with some issues, and I've disagreed with him on others. I wish him the best.

Trans-Texas Corridor. What more can be said?

Apparently a whole lot, according to the Fort Worth Weekly. The Fort Worth weekly has an interesting article about the fight against the Trans-Texas Corridor. It's even more of a disaster than I thought. Read the whole article, in the meantime here are some juicy morsels to chew and choke on in the interim:

The executive summary of the bill describes a statewide network of transportation facilities that sounds pretty much like business as usual in the road-building game.

The plan, made public only after 175 Freedom of Information Act requests were filed by citizen groups and news media, describes a 1,200-foot-wide corridor to be leased to private companies who will design, build, and maintain their specific sections, setting and collecting all tolls for contract periods ranging from 50 to 75 years. Sections of existing roads that coincide with the corridor — all of I-35 from San Antonio to Laredo, for example — will become part of the toll road. Additionally, motels, gas stations, and stores built within the corridor will be part of the private company’s holdings — and part of their profit package.

and...

Who gets to decide what tolls to charge on these new roads? Cintra. In the contract, TxDOT agreed that toll prices will be set “at what the market will bear.” A TxDOT news release suggested they would be in the 12- to 24-cent range per mile for autos. Opponents think they’ll more likely be twice that. In other words, the San Antonio-to-Dallas trip could cost a motorist anywhere from $32 to $118 in tolls, plus gas.

plus...

Maybe you figure that if the tolls are too high on the TTC and the exits won’t let you get where you’re going very well, you’ll just stick to the old roads. Well, good luck. The TTC legislation forbids improvement of any road that runs parallel to the TTC corridors beyond what’s already in the works. That means no beautification, no widening, no new exits or entrances for the life of the contract — 50 years in this case. “Imagine if you live in a little town on a two-lane farm-to-market road that runs parallel to this thing,” suggested former Fort Worth City Council member Clyde Picht. “And then a subdivision gets built, and suddenly you’ve got 3,000 homeowners and cars fighting for space on that two-lane road. Well, you need to widen it to accommodate people. But your hands will be tied.”

Having fun yet?

Rep Garnet Coleman of Houston tried to stop the Toll Roads last session but was rebuffed by Mike Krusee (also the author of the bill that created this mess) who wouldn't let the bill out of committee.

“The only solution is a moratorium on not only the TTC but all toll roads, statewide,” said Rep. Coleman. “This is about cronyism and creating Lexus lanes and paying pals. To invest [this] kind of money ... in a superhighway when we could invest it in high-speed rail is ridiculous.”

Coleman said he also believes TxDOT is sitting on road construction that’s already been authorized, in order to keep traffic congestion bad in Houston. “I believe they’re doing it so that people will get so fed up with congestion that they’ll welcome toll roads and the TTC,” he said.

This session, he plans to reintroduce both his toll road moratorium bill and a bill to prohibit TxDOT from advertising the TTC. “This whole TTC has to be stopped. And people are beginning to get it, that it must be stopped. I believe we’re making headway on this issue.”

But Coleman's closing line is my favorite:

Can a project with this much momentum and political clout behind it be stopped?
“Anything can be stopped.” he said. “It just takes the will of the people.”

Some of this info is probably known by my downstate readers who are more effected by the TTC than us folks in Dallas. But with Loop 9 coming to circle the Dallas area, what happens in the current legislature regarding toll roads is more important than ever.

A Short Thought about MLK

When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's birthday arrives each year, I usually take time to reflect and work on my personal goals and for those of my community.

Keep in mind that Dr. King was only 39 when he died. He made an impact on the world at a relatively young age, beginning to write high-quality social papers and scholarly thoughts at the age of 19.

Dr. King's legacy is much more than the "I Have a Dream Speech" or Montgomery Bus Boycott. While those events are the most well known, he fought for many causes throughout his life and chose to impact the world in a manner that has not been seen since his passing.

Cheers to a fellow college alum, and to a man whose work should be dutifully carried on by the leaders of today. There is a little Dr. King in all of us; whether or not you choose to utilize it is your choice.

Texas Senate Committees Announced

Here are the committees for the Senate of the 80th Legislature. For those of you into that sort of thing, check it out. (pdf format)

Rick Perry Deserves Credit for...What?

I just read this article about Rick Perry, and couldn't let it go. The writer of the article is right. Rick Perry does deserve some credit.

Perry deserves credit for:

*The Trans-Texas Corridor which will be pimped off to a foreign entity via a no-bid contract.
*Taking big donations from TXU while pushing unwanted coal plants down our throats.
*Barely winning an election with 39% of the vote (Thanks Kinky!).
*Slapping toll roads all over the major metro areas, with no set date for making them free roads (a la I-30 in Dallas-Ft. Worth).
*Cutting funding on CPS while kids die weekly in dangerous foster homes.

That's all I can think of for know...feel free to submit your own.

Mobile Home Park Residents Catch a Slight Break

Mike Orren at Pegasus says that the residents of the Ash Creek Mobile Home Park have been granted an additional 60 days to move. Good news.

Community Heroes

Yesterday, a middle school student was attacked by a stray pit bull. This occurred near Atwell Middle School in Oak Cliff.

There was a mystery woman that pulled the pit bull off of the child, sustaining nerve damage in her hand as a result. Other neighbors then ran to her rescue and strangled the pit bull. Thankfully, the child was not severely injured.

I wanted to take a minute to thank Melvin Watkin and the rest of the community heroes that helped save this student. Check out their story, which was covered by NBC5.

The County is slowly Moving out of the Stone Age

The DMN reports that you will finally be able to see Dallas County Commissioner' financial statements and conflict-of-interest reports online.

Did the County experience some sort of catharsis? No, it's because a law was passed during the last legislative session requiring government officials make such info available.

Commissioner Ken Mayfield wants the County to extend the requirement to other Dallas County elected officials and appointees, but will anyone actually propose it in Commissioners' Court and make it a reality?

It's about time; I called for such disclosure 5 months ago. It would be nice for the County to do it voluntarily instead of waiting for a state law to take hold.

Midweek Rant

I learned a new definition of courage vs. cowardice of elected officials on my first trip to the Texas Legislature on Tuesday.

So... people may finally get indicted for DISD Credit Card Fraud. Only 18 months too late. But Allen Gwinn of Dallas.org discovers that the bill for using high-paid lawyers at an estimated $500 per hour to is approaching $1 million. Allen appropriately raised the question as to why costly lawyers are chasing down credit card receipts.

Tim Rogers at Frontburner reports that Gary Griffith (or at least the people that set up his website) may not know who is the police chief. Wasn't Ben Click like two Chiefs and 7 years ago? Even better is the warm, fuzzy, snippy reply he got from a guy working on GG's campaign. The rumor that this is a picture of said consultant in his campaign office is unconfirmed as of press time. Me...I would've said "somebody screwed up," gave TR a tip-o-the-hat and moved on.

My homie Blair at Pegasus appropriately turns up his BS meter when lamenting on the sad state of weather reporting in DFW.

While Tony Romo got 99.9% of the blame in Dallas' loss, this guy fumbled on Dallas' 1-yard line, causing a safety and cost the Cowboys the game as well. And who called that play anyway? To wit, my hometown squad looked like geniuses for this midweek move. Go Eagles!

Police stats are great, but where I live people are dropping and disappearing like flies.

Craig Watkins is our DA. And will be for the next four years. So at least give him a shot.

(Sidebar: Nobody is this dense, right?)

The sentences are coming down for the Aggtownz Fights DVDs case. Two guys are looking at life in jail. The lesson: don't mess with Tarrant County.

The Dallas County Jail system proves that getting locked up for minimal charges, spending four days in jail, and being scared for your life is an equal opportunity deal. 76-year olds get treated like everybody else. On KRLD's Ernie & Jay show, this poor woman detailed her jail stay which included (among other things) hiding under a blanket to escape the backflow that spewed out of the toilet.

My buddy Trey Garrison left DallasBlog to become a contributing editor at D Magazine. Trey was the first writer/blogger to do video blog interviews in Dallas, now everybody's doing it.

Thank you to all of the bloggers all over Texas who have supported me and linked to Dallas Progress. There's strength in numbers!

Dallas Progress at the Texas House

I went to Austin to celebrate the swearing in of Barbara Mallory Caraway for House District 110.

As we all know by now, Craddick won his bid to continue as Speaker of the House by a 121-27 vote.

While I give kudos to all 27 courageous voters, I really appreciate two reps: Barbara Mallory Caraway of Dallas and Borris Miles of Houston.

These two reps are brand new to the House. As you may know, both fought entrenched incumbents, and WON. I helped Barbara in her race and have rooted for Borris from afar.

Both are starting from zero and as new reps have no pull in the Lege. But yet they followed their campaign promises to not "go along to get along" even though they knew they would lose this battle. I'm sure there are other rookies that voted no, so I want to give them a special shout as well.

I don’t know what burned me up the most, water carriers like Will Hartnett (who killed any chance for Pitts to win with his amendment to temporarily withhold ballot stats), or the dems that sold out their districts to keep cushy chairmanships. Or the guy who compared delayed balloting records to the Alamo. Okay dude, whatever.

Here is the entire list of 27 courageous reps:

Roberto Alonzo, D-Dallas
Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth
Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio
Garnet Coleman, D-Houston
Yvonne Davis, D-Dallas
Jim Dunnam, D-Waco
Craig Eiland, D-Galveston
Juan Escobar, D-Kingsville
Joe Farias, D-San Antonio
Jessica Farrar, D-Houston
Pete Gallego, D-Alpine
Juan M. Garcia, D-Corpus Christi
Ana Hernandez, D-Houston
Abel Herrero, D-Corpus Christi
Terri Hodge, D-Dallas
David Leibowitz, D-San Antonio
Barbara Mallory Caraway, D-Dallas
Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio
Borris Miles, D-Houston
Paul Moreno, D-El Paso
Rick Noriega, D-Houston
Dora Olivo, D-Rosenberg
Solomon Ortiz Jr., D-Corpus Christi
Richard Raymond, D-Laredo
Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin
Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston
Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth

Hamilton Park: Developers Knock but will Residents Listen?

Last night, I read the Dallas Morning News article regarding the possible interest of in Hamilton Park. Hamilton Park is near the intersection of 75 & Forest in Northeast Dallas. The neighborhood is roughly bounded by Forest Lane, Schroeder, TI Boulevard, and 635. There are a few streets west of Schroeder (behind the Post Office), which include the area of the actual park and the Willie B. Johnson Rec Center.

I am intimately familiar with Hamilton Park, having family members that are original homeowners and are still alive and living in the neighborhood. I have heard many great things about the neighborhood, the Hamilton Park Pacesetter Magnet School and the programs they’ve tried over the years.

From what I have heard, every so often an investment group comes into the area seeking to “buy the whole neighborhood.” I believe that these efforts first started in 1985. Of course, people will listen when a potential profit is involved. Who could blame them; the development that has occurred around Hamilton Park has made the property very valuable.

The only issue that I have heard about is a random act of crime, but crime problems are a reality for nearly every resident of Dallas.

Hamilton Park is very unique. Its place in Dallas history cannot be debated. Most of the people that I see are so friendly, I find myself waving to them as I drive through the neighborhood. The residents still speak to each other and care about each other’s well being.

Of course, time breeds change. Neighbors pass on, and all of the new generation may not feel the same connection with history. Some of the original homeowners may want to cash out and move to another area.

I’ve seen this strategy play out in other cities and neighborhoods. The developers will attempt to buy multiple houses on every street, then immediately demolish them to create holes all over the neighborhood. The emptiness of those streets will destroy the fabric of the neighborhood and the other neighbors will be compelled to sell. Whoever is doing the demolition will certainly make the process of holding out as unbearable as possible. For those that remain DCAD will be sure to up their values for the land portion of their property, making it more expensive to keep up with taxes until the homes in the neighborhood are selling for ‘lot value only’. This is happening right now on many streets in Lakewood and East Dallas, as well as the Love Field/North Park area.

I can’t be upset at anyone that wants to sell their property. It’s certainly better than losing your property to eminent domain for a stupid football stadium like those poor folks in Arlington (due to Federal law, such a thing could not happen in Hamilton Park).

I do believe that it’s disingenuous for the real estate companies involved to not discuss selling prices until people have signed listing agreements.

I’m not sure there is a buyer. It seems like the real estate companies want to secure as many listings as possible and then try to get a group interested in buying the property.

While I realize that market forces may ultimately cause residents to sell their houses, I hope that residents decide that history is more important than money. Hamilton Park is one of only a handful of North Dallas neighborhoods that are primarily African-American. Once it’s gone, there won’t be another.

However, in a situation like this I always side with the residents. It will be interesting to see how this situation plays out.

Changes at the Dallas Housing Authority*

*For the better! Betty Culbreath is the new Chair of the Dallas Housing Authority Board.

Miss Betty is a fighter and a woman who truly cares about people. She has an impeccable record, and I look forward to having her look out for the residents of the DHA.

New Whole Foods in Lakewood

The DMN is reporting that Whole Foods has bought the Lakewood Minyards. That store, located here will be demolished and replaced with a new 50,000 square foot Whole Foods. As a result, the Lower Greenville Whole Foods will close once the new location has opened.

This is great news for those of us that shop at the LG Whole Foods. One less Minyards, one bigger Whole Foods. Nice.

Minyards will close on Feb 6th. The new Whole Foods has a projected opening for December of this year.

The DMN article has some interesting quotes from Michael Byars, the new CEO of Minyard's. Byars states that they are evaluating all of their stores and some will be either closed or remodeled.

In this news article, published in May of last year, Minyards swore up and down that no stores were up for sale. Now, we learn that anything not turned into a Carnival will likely be sold.

Does this mean that the Minyard's at Illinois and Marsalis will be closed? What about the locations at Polk & Camp Wisdom or the Fair Park location, both of which have been up for sale in the past year? Considering they tried to sell the land at 67 & Polk to a company that wanted to build a self-storage unit instead of building a promised supermarket, anything is possible.

Subdivided Airs Tonight on KERA


Robert Wilonsky at Unfair Park reminds us that Dean Terry's film Subdivided premieres tonight at 8PM on KERA. Even if you prefer to watch the Sugar Bowl, take time from booing Notre Dame to watch a great independent movie that was filmed right here in Dallas. As I've said before, it's a great film.

For more insight, John Meyer at Pegasus News has an interview with Dean. It's a good read.

Jerome Garza, We've Got Video*

*Actually, Allen Gwinn of Dallas.org has the video.

This is the video proof surrounding the issue of ripping off my School Board District that I originally wrote about a month ago in my post entitled DISD Board Member Engages in Sneaky Tactics. Garza used your tax money to mislead fellow trustees and to play Tom Delay games with the DISD voters.

So, for all of you that thought we were making this stuff up, watch this clip on Dallas.org and let me know what you think.

I have the stats. Allen has the video. This is an open and shut case of abuse of taxpayer monies, plain and simple. Here's hoping Garza finds out how safe his own trustee seat is in the next election.