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Two hours into Stardate 0704.09 (so sorry), and the die-hards are still putting the finishing touches on our street's entry in the annual neighborhood parade, for which everyone goes all-out days in advance till the final sprint into the wee small hours of the Fourth. What you see above is but a nearly completed piece of the from-scratch product, which is a wholly impressive Enterprise. (Seriously, that is one hell of a transporter room.)

See you Sunday-ish. Till then: Happy Birthday, America. Please drink responsibly, especially at Warp Factor Six. And don't forget the ears.

Willie Hutch

In the paper version of Unfair Park this week, I make mention of my interview with Willie Hutch, the Carrollton-born great who, during our 1998 chat at his Cedar Hill recording studio, recounted how he came to write the Jackson 5's immortal "I'll Be There." The story about The Mack, who died in Duncanville in 2005 at the age of 60, can be found here. But here are some links to versions of "I'll Be There" worth a spin during the holiday weekend.

From 1986 comes this proudly sloppy cover by The Replacements, joined during a Boston gig by the great Barrence Whitfield -- you'll get drunk just listening to the thing. Far more respectful (and tuneful) is this version recorded last Sunday night at the BET Awards, during which Tyler's own Jamie Foxx joined Ne-Yo to close the show with their take on the 1970 hit single. But most surprising and moving of all is this hard-to-find find from 1979: the Jacksons themselves, recorded during a concert in Amsterdam. Revelatory, even at this late date.

And don't miss this bonus Jacksons-related, locally connected track, which Pete pointed to earlier this week: Erykah Badu and The Roots' version of "I Wanna Be Where You Are," a hit in 1972 ... and a song later covered by Willie Hutch. Now, the circle is complete.

Lookie who I ran into last night at the Angelika

Brian Harkin

Will the jury get to hear from Mitchell Rasansky? Based on what he told us, we're going out on a limb and saying yes.

Mitchell Rasansky, who served with Don Hill on the Dallas City Council for six years and is listed as a potential witness in Hill's ongoing federal corruption trial, says any direct ties between Hill and developer Brian Potashnik weren't apparent to him because the majority of the city's affordable housing projects at the time were built by Potashnik's company, Southwest Housing. Hill is accused of accepting bribes from Potashnik, who will testify against Hill as part of a plea agreement.

Potashnik's developments were "good projects that would help the southern sector," Rasansky recalls, and they were supported by city staff. "I thought his fees were a little on the exorbitant side, but on the other hand, he was going into a virgin area with a very expensive product," he tells Unfair Park.

When Bill Fisher, a former Southwest employee who became an FBI informant in the Hill case, started seeking the council's approval for similar projects in close proximity to ones planned by Potashnik, it created an intense rivalry because only one project could be built within one mile of another.

"He went on his own, and that's the American way and the American dream," Rasansky says. "And I don't blame him for wanting a piece of it."

But other council members weren't supportive of the competition, as Rasansky claims there was "mudslinging" against Fisher at some council meetings. "I knew where that was coming from because he was a competitor, and he was jumping in there to get some," he says.

As Fisher's deals were delayed by the council (one was ultimately approved), two of Potashnik's were approved. "I got the sense that there were some people trying to kill Fisher's deals," Rasansky says. "There is no question in my mind about that."

Kimberly Thorpe

Paul Quinn College president Michael Sorrell

More questions than answers remain about the future of Paul Quinn College a week after its president announced the institution's loss of accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Michael Sorrell last Friday explained to gathered students, alumni and reporters that he would be unable to discuss specifics until he received a formal letter from SACS detailing its decision. Sorrell said only that college officials would appeal the decision, and he refused to speculate on what would happen to the Paul Quinn if the appeal were unsuccessful.

The college will have 10 days to formulate and submit an appeal after officials receive the letter.

But has the school gotten the letter? Paul Quinn's communications director, Cheryl Smith, told Unfair Park yesterday that she hadn't spoken with the president on Thursday but that "as of two days ago, we had not received the letter." Sorrell has not returned our calls throughout the week.

We did, however, hear from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

"The letter has been sent," Tom Benberg, chief of staff of the Commission on Colleges at SACS, tells Unfair Park. He says the letter went out earlier this week, but he adds he can't be certain of the exact date because he's traveling. Of this much, though, he's quite certain: Benberg says Paul Quinn College has been on probation since June 2007, and at the end of the two-year probation period, says Benberg, "they did not meet the commission standards for institutional effectiveness and financial resources." (Those can be found on Pages 25 and 30 in this document.)

Beginning in 2006, 'round the time Rex Tillerson replaced Lee Raymond as CEO of Irving-based ExxonMobil, the company said it would cut funding to public-policy groups whose policy it was to deny in public the existence of climate change and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Last year, matter of fact, the company was very open about the break-up with some of those denial groups; in a Corporate Citizenship Report, Exxon said it would "discontinue contributions to several public policy interest groups whose position on climate change could divert attention from the important discussion on how the world will secure the energy required for economic growth in an environmentally responsible manner." An Exxon spokesman told Reuters in May '08 that those groups included the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, Frontiers of Freedom Institute and the Institute for Energy Research, all of which sound like organizations Chris Buckley might have invented.

But in recent days, the English and Australian press, fueled by a British researcher's outrage, have noted that Exxon hasn't broken up with all its girlfriends. Bob Ward -- policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute, based out of the London School of Economics -- thumbed through Exxon's financials and discovered it's still giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to groups who spread what Ward calls "misleading and inaccurate information about climate change." One of those groups, matter of fact, is the hometown-based National Center for Policy Analysis, whose "Global Warming" homepage warns that "while the causes and consequences of the earth's current warming trend is still unknown, the cost of actions to substantially reduce CO2 emissions would be quite high and result in economic decline, accelerated environmental destruction, and do little or nothing to prevent global warming regardless of its cause."

Megan Feldman

When you're riding a clear bike path near Rochester Park, just remember who to thank.

On a 103-degree day like today, most people stick to air-conditioned buildings or poolside recliners. Not 19-year-old Jonathon Jackson.

With a crew of a dozen other teens, the South Oak Cliff High graduate spent the afternoon trudging through the Great Trinity Forest in snake chaps and a work helmet to help restore a three-mile bike trail near Rochester Park. It's but one of several projects championed by the Student Conservation Association's summer conservation crew program, which pays 30 students around $1,200 each for six weeks of trail maintenance, bridge construction and invasive plant removal. The program also provides environmental education, job-readiness seminars and a camping trip.

This is Jackson's fourth summer with the conservation crews after he found out about them through a cousin in 2006. "I'm an outside person," Jackson tells Unair Park. "When I was growing up, I was always out in the yard with my dad and granddaddy -- I like being out here and learning new things."

He pointed to the dirt trail that cut behind him though a cluster of oak and pecan trees.

"We widened it about three feet, made it so bikes can roll through easily," he said. "We're just making sure it's wide enough and there's nothing in the corridor so no one gets hurt."

Tom Petters

First there was Bernie Madoff; then, Alan Stanford. Then came Minnesota's Tom Petters, who, as The Wall Street Journal documented in April, was popped by federal authorities who claimed he operated a $3-billion Ponzi scheme built upon his taking investors' hard-earned scratch to buy flat-screen TVs and other electronic whatchamacallits that he would then resell to Big Box stores like Sam's Club and Costco. Seemed awfully, dunno, GoodFellas -- but, look, it really didn't matter anyway, because "there were no such purchases or resales," said a December federal indictment that went largely unnoticed since, at the time, a $3-billion Ponzi scheme seemed awfully penny ante compared to Madoff's $50 billion and Stanford's $8 billion scams. Petters instead used the dough to live quite the high life, though he's since traded in the $7.8-million home for something a little cozier.

But there are a whole bunch of locals who do care about this case, chief among 'em people who invested with Petters via Dallas-based SSR Capital Partners. Courthouse News today provides us with the lawsuit the Cole Avenue-based firm filed in Dallas County District Court, in which SSR claims that $24 million of the $3 billion Petters lost belongs to its investors. Petters, indicted on 20 counts ranging from wire fraud to conspiracy, is due to stand trial in September.

Green Eggs and Ham, Theodor Seuss Geisel

This is very good news -- big news too, especially for those who, during their travels to Los Angeles, found themselves spending an afternoon at Storyopolis in Sherman Oaks after it moved from its original Robertson Boulevard location. Come July 17, Storyopolis Fine Art makes its official Dallas debut with the opening of a Theodor Seuss Geisel exhibition. And while the Dallas location on Fairmount Street won't have nearly the extensive kiddie-book collection that made the L.A. location an award-winning, bold-faced hang, it will contain most of the whimsical artwork that used to hang on the walls.

Jordan Roth -- gallery director of The 4th Wall, which opened May 21 and is part of the 5,000-square foot Storyopolis complex -- tells Unfair Park today that 'round the time the Dr. Seuss exhibit makes its bow, Storyopolis should have on display works by the likes of Tim Burton, Berkeley Breathed, John Marciano (of the Madeline books) and other artists familiar to parent and child alike. The 4th Wall, which began as owners Matthew and Kristine Abramowitz's online endeavor, specializes in more adult-centric fare; it's currently hosting a Justin Bua exhibition, for which 300 people showed opening night on June 20.

"Within a few months of starting The 4th Wall, Matthew realized it needed to be a real gallery," Roth says, and having decided L.A. has plenty offering the kind of art in which The 4th Wall specializes, the Abramowitzes decided to open their gallery in Dallas. "Matthew really likes Dallas as it is, and he realized this was the ideal spot for both Storyopolis and The 4th wall," Roth says. The couple will move here two days before the Seuss exhibition opens.

"We've held off on the launch of Storypolis because it's almost a no-brainer," Roth says. "We wanted to do the difficult part, which was opening The 4th Wall. So we're launching with Dr. Seuss, and it's exciting -- really exciting. And people will see something different every time they come in, because when you step back and look at the work, it's all figurative and tells a story."

Earlier today, the Fort Worth Police Department sent out the following press release in response to Saturday night's raid on the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth. In short, the FWPD's temporarily breaking up with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission till both agencies figure out how the raid on the newly opened gay bar got so out of hand so quickly, resulting in the hospitalization of Chad Gibson:

Fort Worth Police Department Chief of Police, Jeffrey W. Halstead, has suspended all operations with the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission (TABC) until we gain a better understanding of the events that occurred at the Rainbow Lounge.  Furthermore, Chief Halstead desires to learn about the historical relationship between the TABC and the Fort Worth Police Department.

In the coming weeks, Chief Halstead will conduct meetings with TABC officials in an effort to establish clearly defined roles and responsibilities of each organization with the intent to better serve the community in conducting inspections.  He also extends an invitation to community leaders to meet with him in order to gain their input on how the Fort Worth Police Department can deliver improved service to all who live in, work in, and visit the City of Fort Worth.

As a measure to educate current and future Fort Worth Police officers, the chief will collaborate with the City of Fort Worth Human Resource department to ensure that up to date multiculturalism training will be provided to all police employees, specifically in consideration to the GLBT community.

Moments ago, TABC sent out its own response, which reads, in full:

TABC Administrator Alan Steen supports Chief Halstead in his efforts to determine how best to serve the community. Mr. Steen and Chief Halstead have been in contact with each other this week, and they share the same goals -- to establish the facts surrounding the incident at the Rainbow Lounge, to hold accountable any employees who violated policy or the law, and to determine the best way to serve the people of Texas moving forward.

And while we're on the subject of the TABC, Pete's got a follow-up concerning Club Dada's visit from TABC agents last night.