Sarah Cockrell's bridge, which replaced ferry service across the Trinity operated by John Neely Bryan (sorry John)
Something has been bothering me about the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge ever since I read this post by Jason last week. In it, Lynn McBee, a “super-fundraiser” who is helping with this weekend’s opening celebration for the new Calatrava-designed bridge, compares the impact the bridge will have on the western portion of the city to that of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Trinity River Project Backers Find New Ally in Sen. Cornyn: No matter who wins Sen. Kay Bay Hutchison’s senate seat, backers of the Trinity River Corridor Project will have Sen. John Cornyn stepping up to take her place as the project’s champion in Congress. Cornyn, clearly not speaking with Jim Schutze in mind, told the Dallas Regional Chamber Friday that “there is a lot we can do with the Corps of Engineers and with the regulatory part of this to help remove obstacles and help expedite the Trinity River Corridor Project.” I hope those “obstacles” don’t include the corps’ general opinion that building a toll road in the river bed is a really dumb idea.
Will Dallas ISD Teachers Follow Through With Sickout? This Wednesday is supposed to be the day when Dallas teachers bang-in sick en masse to protest the school board’s decision to extend the teachers’ workday. But will the educators keep their nerve? On the blog Teachers for Change, the anonymous organizer writes, “I am disappointed in how many of you are giving in to the fear.” It is illegal in Texas for employees to strike or organize work stoppages against school districts.
Animated Short Doesn’t Get Into USA Film Festival, Goes On To Win Oscar: Last night’s Oscar winners included Deep Ellum-based Reel FX’s co-founder (and Traveling Man co-designer) Brandon Oldenburg’s animated short, “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.” Curious fact: the Oscar winning short was rejected from the USA Film Festival.
Photo by Scot Miller. Look for many more lovely photos of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in the upcoming March issue of D Magazine.
The Dallas Morning News added up the full cost for the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge and found that it’s greater than $182 million. That number is higher than earlier estimates of about $117 million. Â The city’s share seems to have been about $28 million, which is “in the ballpark of earlier estimates,” according to the (paywalled) story today.
Large Marge is about to have her grand opening on March 2. (And West Dallas is hosting its own happenings the same weekend – called Bridge-o-Rama – not part of the official Trinity Trust events.)
A little while back I had breakfast with Lynn McBee, the super-fundraiser and volunteer who was heavily involved in planning the bridge’s opening celebration. She’s most excited about Saturday, March 3, when the Trinity Trust expects 30,000 people to come to the bridge for a street fair.
What does she believe we’re getting for our $182 million?
Mayor Reveals Southern Dallas Plan Today: Lots to sort through regarding Mayor Rawlings’ new Southern Dallas initiative, “GrowSouth,” which he will formally announce this afternoon at South Side on Lamar. The Dallas Morning News praises it in this editorial as “exactly the kind of enthusiastic and bold approach we’ve been seeking,” while News reporter Rudy Bush notes (paywall) South Dallas plans are a staple with mayors while actual progress remains elusive. Still, there are some tangibles in the plan, like $600K for tearing down dilapidated and abandoned houses. The mayor also wants to help promote new neighborhood associations, “adopt” four schools, and has identified nine “opportunity areas,” such as Jefferson Blvd., which he called “our complete street . . . Let’s just make this thing come to life.” In other words, the vocab sounds right, but the challenge, as always, will be getting investors and competing interests on the same page.
Fort Worth Girl Kidnapped By Mother Found: Daughter and mother, who was feared to be mentally ill and suicidal by relatives, were found near a National Park in New Mexico. Both were tired and hungry, but safe.
Credit Agency Fitch Fears American Airlines Layoffs Impact on DFW: In a message released last Thursday, the credit agency Fitch suggests the 13,000 jobs AA plans to eliminate may have a detrimental effect on the airline company’s home region, where it employs 25,000 people. But the agency did throw in a caveat: it “anticipates limited negative effects to individual cities given the breadth of the employment base.” So there’s that.
Derek Holland’s Harry Carry: Funny or Obnoxious? The Rangers’ pitcher brought his Harry Caray impression to WFAA, where, accompanied by Dale Hansen’s cackles, he delivered Mavs and Stars news. Funny or not? You decide.
