Dallas News Blog

Sam Merten

Debra Medina in Dallas two weeks ago, after the final GOP debate

​Hard to say how seriously to take the results of today's Public Policy Polling press release that says Debra Medina's becoming quite the player in the GOP gubernatorial race; after all, this is the same company that asked America the other day, "Saints or Colts?" (Saints all the way, but of course.) Anyway. Says the release, Rick Perry's pulling 39 percent of the would-be votes, while Kay Bailey Hutchison's running a distant second with 28 percent. Meanwhile, Medina's coming up the rear with 24 percent.

Per the release, Perry's doing well with conservatives; so too Medina. KBH, alas, is a fave amongst the moderates -- which "account for only 20% of GOP primary voters," says the release, which adds:

"The big question for Debra Medina is whether there's enough unhappy voters out there for her to get into a runoff with Rick Perry," said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. "That would rank up there with the results of the Massachusetts Senate election as an early shocker in the 2010 political season."

​Longtime Friends of Unfair Park remember this picture -- it was taken a little over one year ago, just as Washington Mutual's box on Greenville Ave. was put on the market after JPMorgan Chase said, "Nah, we're good." A busto bank sitting on the former home of a strip club (The Fare) perched right next door to a pawn shop -- it was almost like ... like ... like an art project! Which it is now: Former Observer art critic and Road Agent and troublemaker Christina Rees, now on staff at TCU, sends word this afternoon that she and a bunch o' artists are taking over the WaMu February 20-21 for an exhibition called Modern Ruin.

Writes Christina:

The two-day exhibition will be the only use for the million-dollar building before the demolition process begins the following week. The bank building is a truly modern ruin -- a building that never met its purpose, and only existed as potential activity, potential economy, and hoped-for growth.

Seeking to take advantage of the space -- its social and cultural connotations, its materials, and its presence as direct and immediate evidence of the current economic condition -- 15 artists will create work inspired by and in dialogue with the building. Some artists will alter the building's materials and corporate interior, while others will stage actions and interventions within, and still others will use the background of the space as context for their work.

A full list of the 15 participating artists follows, as well as the entirety of the release.

Danny Fulgencio

​In the current paper version of Unfair Park, we detail the lengthy battle between Robert O'Donnell and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who extinguished O'Donnell's child support collection business after several courtroom victories. Despite the efforts of Abbott and his office to find O'Donnell's company non-compliant with federal law, several big-name politicos supported O'Donnell (the son of former Dallas County Judge Bob O'Donnell), including Governor Rick Perry.

Perry's May 2006 letter to former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt stressed that finding O'Donnell's practices in violation of federal law, which had been previously determined by Leavitt's own agency to be a matter best left in the hands of the state, had "the effect of decreasing competition and potentially decreases the likelihood that the custodial parent will receive their child support payment."

This placed Perry in a group of powerful folks we reached out to for comment on the story, and, to his credit, he was one of very few willing to do so. However, what we got back didn't make the cut as the best he could muster was having his deputy press secretary, Katherine Cesinger, answer a few questions via e-mail. Her response to our inquiry about whether the Office of the Attorney General does a better job of collecting child support than other states -- and, of course, why or why not -- struck us as particularly terse.

"The Attorney General's State Disbursement Unit is effectively and sufficiently collecting child support in the state," she wrote.

All photos by Patrick Michels

Matt Nix, Code 58's writer and creator, with director Tim Matheson on the set this morning

​Like I said Sunday, we'll have much more about Code 58 in the paper version of Unfair Park the closer we get to the series' debut on FOX. But this morning, I went back to Fair Park to visit with the series' creator, Matt Nix, and the first episode's director, Tim Matheson, who are one day from wrapping the premiere episode that'll introduce Bradley Whitford (Dan) and Colin Hanks (Jack) as mismatched Dallas Police officers whose routine-crimes beat is, of course, anything but routine.

Nix, creator of USA's Burn Notice, has been writing and rewriting this series for kicks for almost a decade; it was initially set in Los Angeles, matter of fact, before FOX signed off on shooting and setting its initial 13-episode run in Dallas. I asked Nix how they settled here.

Bradley Whitford's Dan is a stuck-in-the-'70s Dallas cop -- hence, the mustache and various shades of brown clothing

​"Well, it was a bit of a process," he said. "Basically, the production model for the show is, it's like doing a cable show on a network. It's a cable budget, a cable run of 13 episodes, cable everything except it happens to be broadcasting on FOX. Even in success, it can't go much beyond 13 episodes because Fair Park's only available part of the year. A [full season] 22-episode order would be too much for that. We could get it up to, like, 18.

"So you look for a city where you can shoot quick and cheap. FOX came up with a list of cities with tax incentives, the infrastructure. There are places with great tax incentives but no crews, and vice-versa. And once Dallas got on the list, I fought very hard for Dallas."

I ask him, Why Dallas?

"One thing was Fair Park," he said. "To say the city was film-friendly would be a wild understatement. Fair Park makes it possible to put so much more awesomeness on the screen it's not even funny. The other thing is, the look of Dallas. It's important it be a cosmopolitan enough city to justify a wide variety of crime. And, this is a throwback to the classic cop shows, and Dallas has the look of those shows. I kept saying to people, 'If we shoot this in the suburbs, it'll look wrong. We need power cables.'"

Patrick Michels

​A few weeks ago, you may recall, I asked with Dallas Area Rapid Transit spokesman Morgan Lyons why DART wasn't expanding service for the NBA All-Star Weekend. Said Lyons at the time, there just wasn't the need. DART has since rethought that policy.

"We just looked at it some more, and as we got closer to the event and all the things going on, we decided it would be easy to extend the service, and we'll see how it's received," Lyons tells Unfair Park this afternoon. That's good news, I told him. "Glad to make you happy. I get up in the morning and think, 'How can I make the Friends of Unfair Park happy?'" Damn right.

Lyons says they're adding trains, upping frequency and extending some light-rail service till 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday. You can get the full schedule for yourself on DART's Web site. Says Lyons, "We'll see how it works out."

One of three John Sirigo originals from the '39 Texas Centennial being sold on the eBay

​I'm at Fair Park this very moment -- c'mon, you know why. But speaking of, Friend of Unfair Park PeterK -- who clearly spends more time on eBay than should be allowed, God bless him -- has come across this magnificent find: three original photos of the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition taken by none other than Official Photographer John Sirigo, whose images from the event remain among the most iconic photos ever taken of Fair Park. They're a steal at $9.99, though I don't expect them to remain at the nice price for long.

Update at 12:50 p.m.: Seriously, someone should give Peter a commission. Bidding's now up to $51.

​One of the more intriguing concerts scheduled around the NBA All-Star Week is a Saturday-night Haitian-relief benefit at the Palladium featuring Erykah Badu and Jamie Foxx. A couple of Friends of Unfair Park have asked how they can buy tix. Problem is, the event's more or less sold out; I was told this morning there are but a handful of tickets left at $75. So, here's the deal: You really want to go, you let me know and I'll pass along your info to the appropriate officials within the Mavericks organization, who've said they'll see what they can do. ...

I happened across the Fair Park calendar and noticed a few All-Star events scheduled on the grounds, among them the Ruff Ryders All Star Celebrity Car+Bike Show on Saturday. (Mommy, what's an "adult video super star"?) Also scheduled at Fair Park: the invite-only Zo & Magic's 8-Ball Challenge -- those being Alonzo Mourning and Earvin "Magic" Johnson, naturally. ...

And here's the official catalog of All-Star Week apparel, which features the $30 shirt pictured here. Too subtle for my taste.

No doubt you're familiar with the work of Tony Bones (aka Soler aka Solyer aka Goya). Maybe you recall, if nothing else: My old pal Zac Crain had the graffiti artist provide the cover for his campaign comp waaaay back when. But here's the rare chance to see Tony at work -- in an intriguing, and apparently controversial, spray-paint promo done inside the local Oink Art LTD warehouse.

​A judge ruled last week that the owners of U.S. Global Exotics aren't getting back a single one of the 27,000 animals seized from their Arlington warehouse in December. Hence, the current exotic-animal diaspora: The Detroit Zoo's taking 1,100 of the animals (among them five wallabies, four sloths, three agoutis, two ring-tailed lemurs and two coatis, none of them named Mundi), while Petco's giving away almost twice as many starting today at 22 Dallas-Fort Worth locations via Wild Rescue Inc. of Texas. So, if any of these critters are on your wish list, get in line:

The rodents, reptiles and amphibians up for adoption include: green anoles, geckos (common, golden, leopard and Tokay), firebelly toads, garter snakes, green iguanas, hermit crabs, long-tailed grass lizards, fancy mice, hamsters (Chinese, robo, Russian and white winter) and white tree frogs.

You'd best hurry, because, as I understand it, Carmine Sabatini has ordered Clark Kellogg to deliver any unwanted animals to Larry London for a "special event."

​Since the Sports Business Journal story is subscriber-only, we'll go with Convenience Stores News's recap: Center Operating Company, which runs the American Airlines Center, is finalizing negotiations with nearby neighbor 7-Eleven to open a convenience store in the arena -- a first for the Dallas-based company. It's a 10-year deal with options that'll have a 1,400-square foot store taking the place of a private entrance for big-ticket holders and will stock "Slurpees, snacks and other items not offered at the arena's 36 concession stands." Alas, "Beer will be available for takeout sales only." Hope this works out better than the Chili's deal.

And, speaking of American Airlines ... did you see that beginning May 1, the airline will charge eight bucks for a pillow and blanket in coach during domestic trips? AA spokesperson Andrea Huguely tells the Associated Press the new price tag's because of the economy, stupid: "American evaluates all aspects of the business to ensure that economic decisions are prudent and strategic for the long-term success of the company."