After the demise last summer of its bookstore, BookEnds, now the site of the madhouse that is the Office of Vital Statistics on the first floor of its downtown branch, the Dallas Public Library turned to moving its surplus stock with biannual clearance sales. The summer sale is set for Aug. 12 and 13 at the J. Erik Jonsson central branch, the library announced today.
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There’s an interesting read over on newgeography.com by John Sanphillippo, a San Francisco-based writer and developer who visited Dallas a few years ago for what sounds like the Congress for the New Urbanism, though I could be wrong. He writes about the challenges of urban renewal in places like Deep Ellum – places that, on the surface, seem primed for the kind of small-scale, mom-and-pop, “placemaking” developments that make cities feel welcoming and vibrant. In Deep Ellum, Sanphillippo discovered more than the average amount of opportunity. Not only are there historical, human-scale buildings and pedestrian-friendly streetscapes, but the effort to tear down the elevated highway — I-345 — that ravaged the neighborhood and disconnected it from downtown when it was constructed in 1973 holds the potential of unleashing lots of land and economic potentiality for large-scale urban redevelopment.
If only urban renewal were so easy. The problems start, Sanphillippo argues, when you start running the numbers on the land and creating projects that are marketable in a car-driven society:
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The mayors of Dallas and Fort Worth, along with the mayors of Texas’ three other largest cities, are conspicuously absent from a list of city leaders meeting with Gov. Greg Abbott this week, the Austin-American Statesman reports.
Mike Rawlings and Betsy Price were among the 18 mayors to sign a letter last week asking to meet with the governor, “whose specific concerns with Texas cities” have been characterized as a war on local control. More than a few issues on the agenda for this special legislative session, including proposed caps on municipal spending and other bills aimed at local ordinances, have pitted leaders in Texas’ blue cities against conservative state lawmakers.
Abbot, however, will not snub every mayor who requested a meeting. He’s set to speak with the mayors of Galveston, Corpus Christi, and San Marcos today, Lubbock, Amarillo, and El Paso on Thursday. Next week Abbott will sit down with the mayors of Arlington, Frisco, McKinney, and Irving. Maybe they can put in a good word for their neighbors in Dallas.
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Here we go again.
Yesterday on Facebook, Dallas City Councilman Scott Griggs shared drafts of the documents that would establish the Local Government Corporation (LGC) to take control of the Trinity River Project. The council will be briefed on the documents on August 2, but this is the first look at the legal structure and authority that the new entity may have. I’ve uploaded the three documents for your perusal (the Term Sheet, Bylaws, and Certificate of Formation), and I would suggest looking at them in detail. I’ve spent the morning attempting a close read, and I’m left with a few questions.
I’m not necessarily opposed to the idea of Local Government Corporation taking over the business of managing, designing, and improving the Trinity River Watershed. That said, in this post back in April, I laid out some considerations and stipulations that would go a long way toward reestablishing public trust around the Trinity River Project by creating an entity that was both transparent and responsive enough to ensure that the public’s — and the Trinity’s — best interests. Does the LGC laid out in these documents meet those expectations? Yes and no. Let’s dig in.
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Speaking Monday night to thousands of Boy Scouts at the National Scout Jamboree in West Virginia, President Trump asked early in his remarks: “Who the hell wants to speak about politics in front of Boy Scouts?”
Evidently, Donald Trump does. Flanked by Energy Secretary and Eagle Scout Ricky Perry and Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, Trump addressed some of his favorite subjects, including fake news, winning, his 2016 election, and the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. The atmosphere appeared similar to a vintage Trump campaign rally, complete with an enthusiastic crowd and chants of “USA.” (There was, fortunately, no “lock her up” routine.)
The speech also provoked criticism for bucking the long tradition of U.S. presidents avoiding politics when speaking to Boy Scouts. The Irving-based organization responded this morning with a statement distancing itself from partisan politics.
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Last week, I wrote about how I believe much of the new construction in Dallas — and particularly multi-family construction — leaves much to be desired, aesthetically speaking. In the combative comments section to that post, I was accused of advancing a subjective value assessment of the current state of Dallas building that naively misunderstood the delicate economics that make new construction possible. But what if the aesthetic quality of a building possesses a value that supersedes financial considerations and conventions of taste? What if ugly buildings were actually bad for your health?
That’s what critic Sarah Williams Goldhagen argues in her new book Welcome to Your World: How the Built Environment Shapes Our Lives. Interviewed on CityLab, Goldhagen argues that part of what has led to a glut of ugly building is a split in cities and in the real estate industry between the disciplines of building and architecture:
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In the latest sign that he may be out of (good opportunities), a warrant has been issued for the arrest of Lucky Whitehead, TMZ Sports reports.
The Cowboys wide receiver and kick returner enjoyed a stroke of (fortuitous occurrence) last week when his missing and allegedly kidnapped dog, Blitz, was returned by a rapper named Boogotti Kasino. Fortunes turn quickly, however. Before that, Whitehead was evidently arrested and charged with shoplifting on June 22 in Prince William County, VA. A Virginia court issued a warrant for Whitehead’s arrest after he failed to make a July 6 court date, which seems less like (a bad twist of fate) and more like the result of old-fashioned chuckle-headedness. Failure to appear has been stacked on to the shoplifting charge.
This furthers the case that Whitehead, who has been a nonfactor as a wide receiver and a largely unexceptional kick returner for the Cowboys, may not be long for the Dallas roster. Fourth round draft pick Ryan Switzer is untested in the NFL, but the return specialist from North Carolina is surely thanking his (favored) stars that he’s sitting right behind Whitehead on the depth chart.
It’s more tough news for the Cowboys, who also learned today that their Super Bowl hopes have been jinxed by the August cover of D Magazine. But only if you believe in jinxes, and hexes, and (chance). The Cowboys can still make their own (destiny).
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