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CITYSCOPE

By KIT BAUMAN |

Scratch one rumored entry from the list of possible candidates for next year’s Dallas City Council election: Lee Cullum, whom many political observers have long expected to run for local office. It’s not something she’s willing to rule out, Cullum says, but next year doesn’t look like the year One reason, she says, is that it’s beginning to look as if the two at-large incumbents-Annette Strauss and Jerry Rucker-may be running for reelection to thost: seats, and she’s not interested in challenging either of them. However, should Strauss decide to run for mayor Cullum can expect to be asked to run for her council seat. Cullum is regarded by many in the local political community as an attractive candidate for a variety of reasons. She’s achieved considerable visibility through her media activities (she’s a former editor of D magazine, a former contributor to the Dallas Times Herald, and one of the early mainstays of Channel 13’s fondly remembered “Newsroom” show.

Cullum also has good connections in a variety of political circles, including family ties to the old business establishment leadership. As a past chair of the Cable Television Board, she’s not unfamiliar with the workings of City Hall. Those who have been talking her up would like to see her challenge Rucker, but she’s just not interested…



“Featherweight” rail? If you haven’t heard the term yet. you probably will soon. That’s the label that DART”s technical team has applied to the rail system that sources say is likely to be proposed as “the political solution” to the system’s quandary: how to introduce rail transit as soon as possible, and to as many potential customers as possible. “It’s so close to being a trolley system that it might as well be called that,” says one DART source. “It would run in mixed traffic, on rails, on existing city streets.” Light rail appeals to some of DART’s technical people for financial reasons-DART wouldn’t have to expend large amounts of money to purchase land for rail lines. Add those savings to the lower equipment costs, and you’ve got a rail system cheap enough to be introduced more rapidly to more areas than present plans call for. However, some of those involved in the discussions believe the system needs more than a political solution; they’re sticking to their guns in pushing for a “technical” solution even if it costs more to deliver. They argue that some of the routes laid out along rail lines in the existing service plan are not conducive to any kind of passenger rail. They say that other alternatives, such as special HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes, ought to be examined. The debate has been kept behind closed doors up to now…



Last November voters approved $1.2 million in bond funds for the relocation of the Museum of African-American Life and Culture to Fair Park. The museum, with its unique collection of historical and archival materials, has been housed for several years in the basement of the Zale Library at Bishop College, where almost nobody knew it existed. The move to Fair Park seemed like the answer to the museum’s problems. Supporters of the move also believe it would help diminish long-standing hostility toward Fair Park by low-income minority citizens displaced by the park’s expansion.

What seemed simple in November, however, doesn’t seem so simple now. For one thing, there’s a dispute about just where the facility should be located. Park and Recreation Department officials like a spot immediately west of the Margo Jones Theater, just inside the west gate where Grand Avenue enters the park. Previous studies say that’s a good location for future development, and it’s especially appealing to some supporters of the museum because that’s roughly the site where the Hall of Negro Life building sat during the 1936 Texas Centennial. Objections have been raised, however, by the folks at the State Fair Music Hall, who would lose some one hundred parking spaces if the museum were to be located on the site. They like the original plan, which would put the museum at the eastern end of the ceremonial drive that divides the Hall of State and the Centennial Building. Park and Recreation staff members, on the other hand, prefer a more “monumental” building (the museum is planned for a compact 20,000 square feet) to complement the existing architectural treasures. Which brings up another point: design for the museum had already been completed by the time of the bond election, but it was so contemporary in look that many felt it would clash with Fair Park’s art deco theme. The museum’s trustees have gone back to their architect to see if he can come up with something more compatible. It’s also possible that the location problem can be resolved peacefully, since the park board is working patiently to see that everybody’s happy with the final choice. And that should be the end of the story-but it’s not. Still to be heard from is the board of the State Fair of Texas, which operates Fair Park under a contract with the city. It’s rumored that at least some members of that body don’t want the museum in Fair Park at all. Many political leaders are hoping the museum squabble doesn’t become public…

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