Tom Leppert’s having none of Jim Schutze’s negativism. At a private wingding last night to unveil the $500,000 Trinity River Corridor Project model, the Dallas mayor (at left) dismissed the Observer writer’s latest column, which basically says the project’s a big mess that’s going down in flames. “Teddy Roosevelt used to say there are a couple of different types of people,” Leppert said. “The people that take risks and get things done, and the people who criticize them.” Leppert, a former construction exec, said the Trinity is facing the usual delays and regulatory hurdles–“nothing out of the ordinary”–just like all the big projects he’s handled. A little earlier Jeff Morris of Alon USA, which paid for the Trinity miniature, said it happened thanks to fundraising maestro Bill Lively. “Bill Lively taught me that you’ve got to have a model to raise money,” Morris said with a laugh. Yeah, but … don’t a lot of designers throw in the “model” for free?
