STREET TALK

Get to the newsstands early this April, because that month’s issue of Vogue magazine may be a rare commodity around here. Sociological writer Stephen Birmingham, best-known for Our Crowd, The Great Jewish Families of New York and Real Lace Americans, The Irish Rich, has written a travel/sociological piece about Dallas.



The political clout of neighborhood groups may be even more important in the months ahead, as some fairly powerful Dallasites are working on forming a Preservation Political Action Committee. Several neighborhood groups have expressed interest and will no doubt offer support – both with money and with manpower.



.. .and speaking of neighborhood clout, a good example of this force was visible on Beacon Street in East Dallas late last month. In an effort to dramatize the possible effects of a proposed widening of that street, area residents strung campaign flags along the proposed line of the widening and marked the trees that would be destroyed.



There’s more news on the battle between Zorina Corporation and the City of Dallas. For months, the two groups have been battling over the corporation’s rights to tear down the south facade of the old central fire station downtown, with a threat of a lawsuit from the city. Now, the corporation is applying for national and local historic designation for the building. If it is granted, Zorina will be eligible for the city’s new tax benefit for historic buildings. Bill Kuhn, attorney for Zorina, says the application is just one of several of the corporation’s plans to solve the matter.