Gripes

Two oil employees walk into a Plano bar.

The D Magazine world headquarters are closed this week. I should be unplugged, resting, recharging. And yet there I was this morning at Top Golf, reading, between turns, this important, well-reported, balanced story by the Observer’s Eric Nicholson (don't feel too bad for me). I'm afraid there are too many people this week similarly unplugged, people who will miss this story, city officials who will therefore not feel the appropriate heat on their heels. The short version: Trinity Watershed Management continues to be the worst city department in Dallas. Trees continue to be bulldozed. The forest continues to be degraded. And no one is held accountable. Every couple of months, we hear another story like the one Nicholson brings us today. And the city responds: "A contractor screwed up. We've got the problem corrected. It won't happen again." It has happened too many times. No one ever gets fired. All the mismanagement, it all ultimately falls at the feet of City Manager A.C. Gonzalez. It's time for change.

The Meadows Building on Central Expressway is going to have one of its wings "amputated.

You're going to have to bear with me. I need some space here to collect my thoughts and grieve. I learned yesterday that one of my favorite bars will shut its doors forever at the end of this month. I'm referring to the White Rock Sports Bar, which we regulars still refer to by its original name, Shady Side. Actually, its full name when it opened in 1998 was the Shady Side Cafe, but "cafe" fits the place like a wedding dress would fit my dog. A man named JD, a neighbor of mine, owns the place. He changed the name a number of years ago in a misguided effort (in this drinker's humble opinion) to deal with the arcane rules governing dry areas and private clubs and the food-to-beverage ratio of sales numbers. JD tells me that his lease is up October 31. His liquor license expires even sooner, this Sunday.

The Barnett Shale is Off-Gassing More Greenhouse Gasses Than Previous Thought: The EPA botched its initial estimates, and as it turns out, fracking in the Barnett Shale is responsible for 64 percent of all methane in our local atmosphere. The good news: most of those emissions are the result of human errors and mechanical failures. Let’s Put Those Increased Violent Crime Numbers in Perspective: The Dallas Morning News breaks down the much-reported 10 percent increase in violent crime. The takeaway? Glass half-full, glass half-empty. You could argue the increase reflects a return to a historical norm. And if violent crime continues at pace through the end of the year, murders will be at the same level they were 2013 and 2012, while aggravated assaults would only see a 0.4 percent increase over last year.