Street TALK

Fete Accompli



The presidents of Mexico and Uruguay, American presidential candidates and thousands of Hispanic leaders from around the country are expected at Dallas’ Infomart in September for the national convention of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce-but the city almost lost the event. “The Infomart kept changing the rules on us,” says DELIA REYES, the chamber chairman. “This [is] a big trade show, but the Infomart treated us like we were only a party.” When frustrated chamber heads threatened to yank the convention from Dallas, Reyes got on the phone to Mayor STEVE BARTLETT. Whatever he did worked. Shortly thereafter, the chamber and Infomart reached an agreement. Infomart, however, says it had no problems in its dealings with the chamber.



Red-Ear Special



Speaking of STEVE BARTLETT’S s phone skills, he was on the receiving end of a particularly blistering call when the City Council was considering dismantling the Wright Amendment. American Airlines chief ROBERT CRANDALL took to the phone himself to not-so-delicately remind the mayor that American would flood Love Field with AA flights if the amendment were abolished.



What A Card



One of the wittiest business cards we’ve seen belongs to JOHN BRADSHAW, the former state district judge who now fills in for vacationing judges or those with overcrowded dockets. His card reads, “Have Gavel, Will Travel.”



Klan Couture



While taping a video on racism titled “Hate Mail1’ that centers on radio host BOB RAY SANDERS’ experiences, local filmmakers BART WEISS and MARK BIRNBAUM made a bizarre discovery: The Waco branch of the Klan is famous for its sewing skills. In fact, it supplies Klan robes for much of the U.S. as well as Germany, the Netherlands and South Africa. The half-hour video, underwritten by the Irving Community Television Network, was shown in July on Irving cable and at the Dallas Museum of Art.



Remember the Mane



“Today” show co-anchor KATIE COURIC is notable for, among other attributes, her short hairdo. And it was Channel 4 news producer LISA GREGORISCH who got the formerly blond, formerly long-maned Katie onto the chopping block. Years ago, both worked at a Miami station where Gregorisch had the job of polishing the novice reporter into a pro.



Feeling His Oats



Governor ANN RICHARDS apparently wasn’t looking for a mild-mannered replacement to fill PAUL MEEK’S seat on the Public Utility Commission. Among those she considered was STEPHEN GARDNER, the consumer advocate who until last year was an assistant attorney general in Dallas. The often-abrasive Gardner, known for attacking far-fetched health claims by such companies as Kellogg’s and Quaker Oats, is now in private practice. He didn’t get the PUC job (it went to Houston’s Karl Rubago) and offers this reason: “I told them up front I wouldn’t move to Austin… There’s people who think that if you don’t want to live in Austin, there’s something emotionally wrong with you.” Gardner has found other ways to keep busy. He’ll be a visiting professor at SMU’s law school this year.



High Perot File



Although The New York Times Magazine was “flabbergasted” when Texas writer LAWRENCE WRIGHT turned in a ROSS PEROT profile four times the length originally assigned, story editor Robert Vare allowed 16,400 of the original 23,000 words to remain, making the June 28 piece “the longest single story that has ever run in the magazine.1’ The piece was so hot, Vanity Fair tried to buy it right out from under The Times, offering Wright more money and space.



Overdrive



Bumper stickers in town are looking more like personal ads every day. This one was spotted on a Nissan: “Blessed 36-24-35-and Intelligent.”

1,200 Jars of Stuff on the Wall



Dallas artist TRACY HICKS and his pals have been scavenging at garage sales and flea markets for 1,200 old glass jars to use in Hicks’ installation in September at Diverse-Works, a Houston art gallery, The jars, to be filled with tomatoes, rusty nails, butterflies, seashells and other remnants of childhood, will line the walls of a dreamy storeroom Hicks will build in the gallery. The artist is seeking an NEA grant to help pay part of the $6,000 cost of the work.



Milestones in Publishing



“We don’t know if it’s going to be Vanity Fair yet,” says MIKE SHROPSHIRE, a longtime Dallas writer and now editor of the new Texas Lone Star Lottery News Magazine. Available at convenience stores, the slick magazine gives information on how to play the games plus odds, stats and features. Lottery News is published by CHARLES GALBRAITH of McKinney and is supported mainly by ads from race tracks and bingo halls. The magazine may add a Spanish edition.



Black Widow Watch



The beautiful, thrice-widowed SANDRA BRIDEWELL continues to fascinate observers ever since she left Highland Park under a cloud of suspicion about the murder of her third husband, Alan Rehrig. In California, say Sandra-watchers, she “floats” from place to place. Literally. Bridewell dwells on a friend’s yacht anchored in the Pacific Ocean off San Francisco. Police in Oklahoma City say the 48-year-old Bridewell is their only suspect in the death of Rehrig, who was found shot to death near OKC in 1985.



Street Talk writers are Paul Coggins, Jocelyn White, Glenna Whitley, Loren Steffy, Elizabeth Robbins and Alice McLean.