Dallas News Blog

​ABC News has posted a longer sneak preview of tonight's 20/20 segment about the battle over 4949 Swiss Avenue; the video's here, while the story's here. (Mark McCay and Justin Burgess, to whom Mary Ellen Bendtsen signed over the house shortly before her death in 2005, declined to speak to ABC.) And, in case you were unaware, the house is currently on the market: for $849,000.

Something like this Rough Brothers-designed greenhouse is what the State Fair of Texas has in mind.

​Earlier this afternoon, I noticed on the Landmark Committee's Fair Park Task Force meeting agenda for Wednesday a most intriguing note: Someone has applied for a Certificate of Appropriateness to build a "7,600 square foot Greenhouse and 6,000 square foot growing area" in the Midway at Fair Park. And by someone, I mean Errol McKoy, president of the State Fair of Texas.

Took a little bit of digging to find out that much: First I called Willis Winters, assistant director of the Park and Recreation Department, who said he'd only just seen the notice shortly before I called. "We don't know who the applicant is," he said. "We're trying to find out now, because it surprised us." He recommended I call Bob Hilbun, senior vice president of maintenance at the State Fair. He wasn't in, but no matter: A State Fair staffer told Unfair Park that the application had been submitted to the city by Ned Durbin, director of construction and maintenance.

I reached Durbin on his cell as he was walking the fairgrounds.

"I would love for you to be able to talk to Errol," he said "It's his baby. He's been the energy and brains behind our landscaping upgrade. We're in the preliminary stages. I have to talk to Landmark about it, and we'll see what they say, but we don't even have estimates in from the vendor. Because we're on a tight schedule, I wanted to get the ball rolling."

McKoy did call a little while ago -- during the four minutes I was away from my computer all day. I've tried several times to get him back on the phone, with no luck. However, that doesn't mean we don't have details. Because we do. You'll have to jump for 'em, but do mind the miles' worth of glass panels.

​A Friend of Unfair Park forwarded along the link to this shindig scheduled for next week at the Fair Park Music Hall: Elevate Dallas, a "leadership event" that, from the looks of this promotional video, is piggybacking on the Sojourners-sponsored Justice Revival also on the calendar next week at Dallas Market Hall. At the Justice Revival, Mayor Tom Leppert will join the likes of Jim Wallis, Rev. Zan Holmes and others in calling for "at least 25 congregations [to] establish solid, lasting partnerships with their neighborhood schools," and the creation of "700 additional units of permanent supportive housing by 2014," per the city of Dallas's homeless-assistance wish list.

Elevate Dallas, on the other hand, looks more like a get-motivated event; its speakers include "leadership gurus" and self-made millionaires. So yesterday I sent Chris Heinbaugh a note asking how the mayor got involved and what, exactly, he's expecting to talk about. To which the mayor's chief of staff just responded: "They asked him to participate. We told them he could do a quick welcome. He is not one of the keynote speakers." Which means, Sam, you're off the hook.

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We first told you about Randall's plans to expand Simon David on Inwood Road back in August, shortly before the grocer took its case to the City Plan Commission. Randall's says the 25,225 square foot store, which has been perched on the property since 1984, is just too small -- needs to be, oh, 42,203 square feet now. And, well, that'll mean realigning Robin Road between Wateka Drive and University Boulevard and demolishing a few houses to make room. To which 12 City Plan Commissioners said, No way, much to the delight of longtime residents of the neighborhood absolutely opposed to its further encroachment on the area.

Outgoing plan commissioner Neil Emmons says the CPC denied the motion because it was willing to make other compromises to allow for the Simon David expansion, such as reducing the width of sidewalks behind the property and allowing Randall's to eliminate three rows of parking. But so far, Randall's refuses to budge.

"No way or no how will they discuss it," he says. "But the site's worthless to them without a grocery store. The neighborhood people are still reeling from what was demolished to make room for the original store in 1961, and they came out solidly against it. The only ones for it were folks in neighborhoods that aren't adjacent, like Greenway Parks. It was not a tough call for the plan commission. Cases like this shouldn't get off the ground. It forces the citizens to fight each other and duke it out."

Which is precisely what's on the schedule for Monday: The city council's meeting addendum has just been posted, and added to the agenda is a public hearing concerning Randall's application to super-size Simon David.

Update: The item has been pushed off next week's agenda. The council will now hear from the public the second week in December.

Al Armendariz

​Al Armendariz, a research associate professor in SMU's Department of Environmental and Civil Engineering, was on National Public Radio earlier this week discussing health issues suffered by folks living near the Barnett Shale; said Armendariz of airborne toxins discovered by researchers, "the oil and gas production industry around Fort Worth is a major contributor to both local and global air pollution problems." Around the same time, the engineering professor was posting to his personal Web site a note addressing rumors that he was about to be tapped as the Environmental Protection Agency's new regional administrator over Texas: "I am honored to have the endorsement of several area Democrats for a federal appointment within EPA. If selected, it would be a privilege to serve the country in this capacity."

He has been selected, of course, and Downwinders at Risk are tickled by the appointment, according to a statement received by Unfair Park:

"Dr. Armendariz is exactly the kind of person you'd want to have this job, but seemingly never gets it. Because of what's at stake and the fact that Texas is the belly of the polluter beast, this may be one of the most important, far-reaching appointments the Obama Administration makes. Downwinders at Risk is proud to have been the group that first utilized Dr. Armendariz's expertise in 2005 for our cause of cleaning up the Midlothian cement kilns. That work led directly to his becoming the premier 'citizen's scientist' in Texas on air pollution, and paved the way for his much larger influence on the state scene. Congratulations to both Dr. Armendariz and the EPA."

​Like we said Friday, once upon a time the city had hoped to turn the Continental Bridge into a streetcar-pedestrian park mash-up -- that conceptual rendering you see above didn't come outta nowhere. But one anonymous $10-million donation later, and, as Jim noted upon his return from City Hall yesterday, that streetcar option's looking less viable than ever -- maybe the Houston Street or Commerce Street bridges, from the sound of it. So just you never mind that streetcar alignment map we showed you last month. Move along.

Not surprisingly, that's not sitting too well with Jason Roberts, whose Oak Cliff Transit Authority's has long pushed for a connector between downtown and West Dallas and Oak Cliff.

"We need to make sure this isn't Arts District-only," Roberts tells Unfair Park today. "My fear is if we do that -- keep the streetcars in the Central Business District -- it'll only be used at specific times of day and not appeal to the greater community at large. Streetcars spark economic redevelopment, and when you think about what needs that, it's West Dallas and North Oak Cliff. Of course, I am biased; I live in the area. But I see the benefits. It could spark some incredible small business opportunity. I think we just keep hammering our council members to fight for this."

Photos by Kimberly Thorpe

Whatever you do, do not look at the video board behind you.

​On my commute to work this morning, I noticed something peculiar about Victory Park Plaza. Standing over the dull pavers, corralled Longhorns grazed on a bit of straw, while two men on horseback watched over. Turns out, it was a promotional stunt for the Texas Stampede rodeo scheduled for the AAC November 13 and 14. The money raised will go to Children's Medical Center.

"We brought nine Longhorns this year," said Wes Sander, moving out of the way of his horse while it relieved itself on the plaza. The cattle normally wander his ranch in Woodward, Oklahoma. "We were going to bring more, but the rain flooded the park."

Like last year, this year's promotional "cattle drive" was scheduled to take place at Trammell Crow Park at the Trinity River. But that whole area is under a few feet of water, so Texas Stampede organizers had to improvise.

Sam Merten

Ann Margolin and Angela Hunt

​Yesterday, just after Angela Hunt posted her lengthy essay titled "Ethics Reform at City Hall," Jim wrote that "we can thank council members Hunt, Ann Margolin and Linda Koop for adding the only real teeth in this poor gum-smacker." So happens that on Monday, Margolin also weighed on the subject (and last Wednesday's meeting that ended up in a pile of straw) on her occasionally updated Web site -- and her item's a two-parter. First part's titled "Ethics Reform: What Happened"; the second, "Ethics Reform: What We Did." An excerpt or two, in advance of the November 9 council vote:

These ordinances are not simple. It may sound simple to say we should register lobbyists but you have to carefully define lobbyist or you risk including neighborhood associations that talk to their council member about a zoning case.

What does it mean to register? What are the reporting requirements? Do contacts with staff have to be reported or just council members? What are the fees? If you are going to prohibit contributions from a developer during a zoning case, when does the zoning case start? Each of these questions needs careful consideration.

The Dallas Morning News contributed to this sense of urgency and implied that council members were resisting and dragging our feet. I promise you that I was not and I don't believe this was true for the huge majority of the council. We had our first full briefing on the subject on October 19, nine days before it came to the council as an agenda item. ...

Before I explain what we did, I want to be clear that nothing we did or can ever do will stop corruption if an officeholder is willing to be bribed.

There are laws that landed Don Hill in a courtroom. They were in place and did not stop corruption. We are now passing stricter ordinances. They make an important statement. They will shed light on who speaks with whom and prohibit certain contributions. In the end it comes down to each public official.

​Dallas has developed a growing reputation as one of the few cities in the country to treat prostitutes as victims, whether through unique programs for under-age targets of human trafficking or specialty courts that help convicted sex workers create new lives. And so, two years after the Dallas Police Department started its Prostitute Diversion Initiative -- which, as noted here, will soon add DNA testing to its arsenal -- city officials kicked off the first National Prostitute Diversion Conference this morning at the Old Red Courthouse.

Before an audience of about 150 (many of whom came from out of town) at 8 this morning, county and city officials lauded Dallas's multi-agency effort to help prostitutes as a national example. And many acknowledged Sgt. Louis Felini, the man who initiated DPD's new approach to prostitution. "This developed organically from the ground up because Sgt. Felini saw that our approach wasn't working and really did it on his own," said Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle. "We really believe this is a model for cities across the country."

Dallas County Commissioner Maurine Dickey called the initiative an example of "a well-oiled, good working partnership" that includes the police department, the Dallas County Sheriff's Department, Parkland Hospital and The Bridge.

Mary Ellen Bendtsen signing a new will in a video that will appear on 20/20 Friday night

​Perhaps you recall Lee Hancock's multiple-part series in The Dallas Morning News in 2006 concerning The Battle for 4949 Swiss; a riveting read for those in need of a refresher. On Friday, the local story goes national: ABC's 20/20 has prepped a piece on Mary Ellen Bendtsen and asks, as Hancock did, whether the one-time model was the victim of elder abuse at the hands of antiques dealers Mark McCay and Justin Burgess, to whom she signed over the house shortly before her death on May 2, 2005. ABC News just posted a sneak preview of the piece, in which Bendsten, 88 at the time, is seen signing over the house to "the boys."

Flickr user: Dallas1200am

​Speaking of the Trinity River ...

Bad news for those expecting to fish the river this week for cash and prizes: We got word from Dallas City Hall late last night that the Trinity Commons Foundation has canceled the Carpe Diem Classic Fishing Tournament and Fun River Paddle, which was on the schedule for Friday. The reason?

Due to the continued rain and high water level in the Trinity River, event sponsors canceled the 2009 Trinity River Carpe Diem Fishing Tournament and River Paddle that was scheduled for Friday, November 6, 2009. "The safety of the participants is of paramount importance to us, and we are concerned about the high water in the Trinity River and the speed of the flow," said Mike Wyatt, event founder and executive director of Cushman & Wakefield of Texas, Inc. The high water levels combined with the extremely wet condition of the Dallas Floodway were the determining factors in canceling what promised to be another exciting event along 14 miles of the Trinity River.

As you can see from the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge Construction Camera ... oh, wait. It's still stuck on September 30. Never mind.

This morning's quiz: a conceptual rendering of the Standing Wave project in the Trinity River, or a hotel-room painting?

​The city wasn't kidding around about fast-tracking the Trinity Standing Wave whitewater-maker: Less than two months after the $3-million project resurfaced in a Trinity River Corridor Project Committee presentation, the city council's gearing up to award the construction contract. That'll happen on November 9, according to this morning's sneak peak at the agenda, and the $3,376,359 contract will go to Ark Contracting Services out of Kennedale, which will be charged with installing "standing wave structures, kayak launch, access trails, parking and access road for the Trinity Standing Wave located at 1900 East Eighth Street," just beneath where the Santa Fe Trestle Trail's supposed to go. And now we know how the project will be paid for: out of 1998 and 2006 bond funds. No word on when construction's set to start, but as Trinity River Corridor Project director Rebecca Rasor (formerly Rebecca Dugger) told us in late September, they'd hoped to start digging this month.

Speaking of, Schutze'll be at this morning's meeting -- he missed his Trinity River Corridor Project Committee. Guess he's interested in the checklist of repairs made to the unacceptable Trinity River levees -- 105 of 198 of which have been completed thus far, according to this memo to the council. Alas, April 10 is inching closer; so too is Schutze.

Tony Salazar

​On Friday, Karl Zavitkovsky, head of the city's Office of Economic Development, mentioned to Unfair Park that The Real Estate Council had hired St. Louis-based housing developer McCormack Baron Salazar to evaluate the potential for development along the DART Green Line in Fair Park-South Dallas and the section of the Blue Line running along the Ledbetter corridor. We tried to get more info out of Tony Salazar, one of the firm's namesakes, but he was actually on a plane back to Los Angeles from Dallas on Friday; he graciously returned our call this morning.

Alas, Salazar didn't want to say too much about what he's up to -- after all, The Real Estate Council's footing the bill, and the report's not due till first quarter of next year, after which point it will also go to the Dallas City Council. That's when we'll know more. He also suggested we talk with TREC president Michelle Corson, with whom messages have been left. Still, we spoke long enough to merit a Q&A -- and Salazar did say something that resonated: MBS is not working on a plan for South Dallas. Why not? "Becausethe consensus in Dallas is there have plenty of plans -- stacks and stacks of plans and pretty pictures." Jump for it, but mind the optimism.

​It's been a couple of months since last we heard of the city council's plan that would require rent-house owners to register with the city for a fee, but it's still very much alive and well at Dallas City Hall and moving forward with a briefing to the entire council this Wednesday. And, if all goes according to plan, the council will vote on the new ordinance at its December 9 meeting; it would then go into effect two months later, with Code Compliance in charge of the ordinance's enforcement.

Best I can tell, tenants will be popped if they let the outside of the house go to seed; owners will be cited for "structural violations," or if they've failed to properly register the property. But there will be some modifications to the original proposal, chief among them: The city likely won't require rent-house owners to attend so-called "Safe Complex Symposiums" (originally, those who skipped the annual meeting were going to be fined $600), and, after meeting with stakeholders, the city's considering offering "provisions to promote good operators by granting free registration in subsequent years for operators with no confirmed violations." Question is: Does Dave Neumann still think the proposed ordinance is a "$2 million tax on a business element" and "an overreach of government"? Guess we'll find out Wednesday.

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Well, at least now we know what they're planning to build on the site of the former Loews Cityplace, which has been shuttered for almost two years: It's slated to become a Kroger. So says this morning's briefing to the council's Economic Development committee, which now has to wrestle with the fact that the grocer wants to stock its coolers with alcohol ... only problem is, see, the Kroger will be "within 300 feet" of Alex W. Spence Middle School, and Dallas City Code (and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code) says you can't sell booze that close to a school. Now, the council could vote to allow for a variance if, per the briefing, it "determines [an exception] is in the best interest of the community." So we'll see. On a related note, I'm pretty sure attending Spence in the early 1980s is what led me to start drinking in the first place.

​Sam's all booked up Tuesday morning -- got himself a Trinity River Corridor Project Committee meeting to attend. But speaking of, I did want to direct your attention to one agenda item of note: a presentation on the design for the Continental Bridge, which, as we mentioned last month, is being turned into a pedestrian bridge courtesy an anonymous $10-million donation. I'm a bit underwhelmed, but only because a Friend of Unfair Park was kind enough to send us sneak peeks at earlier plans for the bridge, which suggest both streetcars and Starfleet Academy. You wanna see 'em? Then beam over to the jump.

And, on related note, anyone know why the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge Construction cam's still stuck on a photo from September 30? Oh. Right.

Kimberly Thorpe

Mayor Tom Leppert at the DCVB meeting this morning. In case you couldn't tell who this is.

​The annual meeting of the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau kicked off with drama and class -- a few notes played on a grand piano, a few notes sung from an opera. If you're going to take in a meeting at the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, might as well not waste it. But five minutes later the sturm und drang died down, and it was back to Big Business.

This was, of course, the first DCVB meeting since the contentious convention center hotel vote and subsequent groundbreaking, and after a few words from Mark Nerenhausen, CEO of the AT&T Performing Arts Center, and Mayor Tom Leppert, Phillip Jones, the DCVB's president and CEO, thanked all present for their support.

"First of all, it was because of you that we were able to win this election to build the Dallas Convention Center hotel," Jones said. "However, there's still a big challenge left out there, and I want to leave you with that challenge this morning." 

The challenge, of course, is raising money to help market the city. But Jones has in mind something that's not yet a reality, a plan that will involve the writing of new legislation.

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Last week we mentioned the handful of would-be venues slated to open in Deep Ellum, among them the still-mysterious joint rumored to be taking over the former Articles space on Elm Street and Good Latimer Expressway. Today, we have a few more details, only because I noticed on the City Plan Commission's bare-bones agenda for next week that there's a specific use permit hearing scheduled involving that very spot. And now we have the names of the applicants: Justin Nelson and Tyson Buck, collectively known as Buck Naked Nelson LLC.

Nelson, per his outgoing voice-mail message, is the owner of Onyx Hookah Bar and Oxygen Lounge in Hurst. He couldn't be reached, but Buck tells Unfair Park that, yes, they're looking to turn the space into an ultra lounge -- "more of an upscale place, somewhere nice to go and listen to music and have a drink," as he puts it. And they are indeed planning on calling it The Vault. But, despite persistent rumors that the lounge will also serve as an eatery, that's yet to be determined. "We're still working on that," Buck says. "We're not sure what we're going to do with the restaurant yet." City staff is recommending the twosome get their SUP for a two-year period, pending OK of the plans.

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When I was talking to First Assistant City Manager Ryan Evans yesterday about the city's decision to deny parking-citation scofflaws their vehicle registration, I also asked him about the old Bama Pie building across from Fair Park. No real reason why, except that three looong years ago, Evans had mentioned that the city was considering taking administrative and/or legal action against Derrick Mitchem, who got a total of $364,000 from the city -- in South Dallas/Fair Park Trust Fund money, in Housing and Urban Development community development block grants, in  Southern Dallas Development Corp. dough -- to turn the building into something called the Motorsports Museum, which former city councilman Leo Chaney once swore to us would be open by Christmas 2005, hah. I hadn't spoken with Evans since the city declared the project "terminated" last February -- after some $200,000 had been sunk into project without a cent's worth of progress to show for it -- and I wanted to know what in the wide, wide world of sports was going on with it.

Evans said he thought the city had taken possession of the building, or was close to it, but he said Karl Zavitkovsky, head of the city's Economic Development department, would know better than he. Zavitkovsky tells Unfair Park this morning that, no, the city doesn't own the historic building ... not yet, anyway. But documents are being "sifted through," and options are "being weighed." Says Zavitkovsky, "We're just evaluating what we want to do next. Because the question is: What do you do with it?" In other words: Yes, the city will likely take back the building in foreclosure, but there's really no rush to own a historic question mark in Fair Park (where Clyde Barrow once worked, matter of fact).

Truth is, says Zavitkovsky, the city's hoping it will get some kind of an answer early next year, when St. Louis-based housing developer McCormack Baron Salazar hands over to The Real Estate Council and, eventually, the Dallas City Council a study it's currently conducting to evaluate the potential for development along DART's Green and Blue Lines -- specifically in the Fair Park-South Dallas area and along the Ledbetter corridor. (The Bama Pie building sits almost adjacent to the light-rail track running in front of Fair Park.) The study, says Zavotkovsky, was paid for by The Real Estate Council and with other private donations.

Photos by Kimberly Thorpe

​Usually there's nothing to see at the locked-up West End Marketplace save for the giant cowboy-boot-wearing lizard, a remnant from Planet Hollywood days, which ended in 2001. And he's seen better days -- so too has his tail, the tip of which has vanished. Today, though, we saw a rare sight in that part of downtown: people. Which is to say, a person.

Tom Persch, vice-president of asset management for ECOM Real Estate, walked briskly in and out of the building, too busy to keep on his suit jacket, fielding one call after the next. In just a few weeks, a new tenant is moving into the building: Bodies...The Exhibition. Seems appropriate: transient, carved-up cadavers taking up space in a cavernous tomb.

Their arrival comes not a moment too soon. Persch has been scratching his head for ways to redevelop the property since it officially closed in June 2006. There's been some interest, he says, but even the estimated 5,000 residents now living in the Central Business District, according to DowntownDallas, haven't provided much of a draw.

"We're looking to see what the redevelopment opportunities are -- and we've been looking at it quite a while," Persch tells Unfair Park.

​Seems Tamara Lowe, one half of the couple behind Monday's Get Motivated! sell-or-be-sold hoedown at the Fort Worth Convention Center, isn't too keen on the coverage of the event. Her peoples have sent word that Lowe wants to right the media's wrongs: Per the press release freshly landed in the Unfair Park in-box: "President George W. Bush delivered an inspirational, articulate and engaging speech at a Get Motivated seminar in Fort Worth, Texas on Monday afternoon. The crowd of 15,000 gave him a standing ovation, yet media coverage continues to caricature his performance."

She's lookin' at you, Jon Stewart. You too, Stephen Colbert. You too, Washington Post. You too, Star-Telegram, for reporting that Tamara and Peter Lowe "launched Tampa, Fla.-based Get Motivated Seminars Inc., after Success Events International shut down in 2001, owing millions in unpaid bills and facing complaints from attendees of false advertising." And ... well, you get the idea. Hence, Lowe has made herself available for interviews tomorrow; we've cleared our schedule accordingly.

​We're still waiting on the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission's investigation report that's supposed to "address the issue of the agents' use of force at the Rainbow Lounge"; it was due a few weeks ago, but it's now overdue. Till then, in the aftermath of the June 28 raid on the gay bar in Fort Worth, the TABC just sent word that it's going to work with Resource Center Dallas "to provide diversity training for agency employees around the state." And, says the agency, that means all of its employees -- the 300 certified peace officers and the 400 civilians working for the TABC. And what, precisely, will that training involve? Per the TABC:

The course objectives are:

• Supporting a quality and inclusive workplace for TABC employees
• Building awareness of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community
• Supporting positive relations between TABC and the GLBT community.

Moments after the TABC sent its release, the Resource Center followed with a few comments of its own. Here's one from Cece Cox, the center's associate director for GLBT community services: "This training is designed to assist TABC in its day-to-day dealings with members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) communities not only in the workplace, but also in professional interactions with the public."

Daniel Iacofano

​Daniel Iacofano -- the "I" in MIG, Inc., which the city hired to develop the latest downtown master plan -- was at the Dallas Convention Center a couple of weeks ago collecting wish-list items from stakeholders and civilians; more than a few Friends of Unfair Park have offered suggestions since then, for which he's grateful. But, of course, there's much to be done: Downtown Dallas 360, which joins Dallas Central Business District and Visions for Dallas and Dallas Downtown Plan and myriad other studies and suggestions done since the early 1960s, won't be turned in till June 2010. And until that due date, Iacofano and his team of urban planners, architects and economists will be in and out of town meeting with downtowners; their next visit is in a matter of days, matter of fact.

Iacofano spoke with Unfair Park a few days ago to discuss the plan's progress -- and, more to the point, what he's learned about the city during his travels to and fro in recent weeks, and how that intel gathering will impact the plan he'll present to City Hall next summer. And so a Q&A with Iacofano follows. Jump for it, but mind you don't knock over the stack of binders.

Megan, of course, attended George W. Bush's coming-out as a motivational speaker Monday at the Fort Worth Convention Center; we've also got the slide show to prove it. Last night on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart weighed in; the Star-Telegram's reporting on the Get Motivated! founders gets a brief shout-out. And, by way of a bonus video, after the jump you'll find, as promised, Rachel Maddow's follow-up piece on The Lodge's close encounter with Newt Gingrich. Says reporter Kent Jones, "Best assignment ever."

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
George W. Bush Hits the Lecture Circuit
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

The Lily Pad cafe and the light-sculpture canopies, part of the Main Street Garden scheduled to open next month

​More than a few Friends of Unfair Park have asked privately and in the comments of yesterday's Main Street Garden sneak peek how the city expects to deal with the homeless. So happens, that was one thing Willis Winters and I discussed toward the end of our tour (along with the state of future park programs scheduled for downtown). So, then, his answer:

DowntownDallas's Safety Patrol Officers will keep watch over the park, as will Dallas Police officers; there will also be six security cameras perched above Main Street Garden. But Winters says he really doesn't expect the park to be a magnet for the homeless: "Homeless people don't like to congregate where there's a lot of activity, and we think there are so many things going on in the park -- the dog run, the tot lot, the cafe, the garden shelter, the students from the University of Texas law school going into the old Municipal Building -- and the trends suggest they probably won't be hanging out."

He says the homeless will "absolutely not" be asked the leave the park: "So long as they obey park rules, as we ask everyone to do," he says, "they're welcome to be here."

Jump for news about the other downtown parks, but mind the construction.

​Courthouse News brings us the interestingish case of Mary Kemp v. the Texas Department of Transportation over ... one dollar. Our story starts on November 4, 2007. The Wichita Falls resident was on State Highway 121 -- the Sam Rayburn -- and about to take the Denton Tap Road exit near Coppell when she realized she didn't have any change for the toll. Nor did she have a TollTag. So, according to her lawsuit filed Monday in Dallas federal court, "she decided to pay for use of the tollway through the video toll." Only, she thought she would just get a 60-cent hit; instead, "she was also charged a $1.00 invoice fee that was not disclosed to her at any point during the use of the tollway or when she exited the tollway."

Kemp and her attorney, Thomas Corea, are looking for all comers with similar complaints; they want this sucker to turn into a class action. Because they insist the ZipCash option -- which, at least back in '07, no one bothered to pay anyway -- goes against the Texas Constitution: "Defendants lack the statutory authority to charge the fee." Furthermore, they insist, TxDOT and TexasTollways -- the North Texas Tollway Authority is not named nor ever mentioned in the suit -- "only have the authority to charge fees to individuals that establish a toll tag account, which Ms. Kemp did not do." I wouldn't chuck that TollTag out the window just yet, but as the Startlegram reminded earlier this month, Kemp could probably find a few folks willing to jump into her suit.

Update at 10:32 a.m.: Sherita Coffelt, spokesperson for the NTTA, says the reason it's not named in the lawsuit is because it didn't take control of State Highway 121 till September 2008. It became the Rayburn in May of this year.

Just noticed this on the council's meeting addendum for tomorrow:
​I called Crenshaw, who served on the council from 1993 till '95, to find out the details of the complaint, but a friend of hers answered the phone and offered this rather stunning news: "Her mother died Thursday, and her father died this morning." Unfair Park, of course, offers our condolences. The city secretary and city attorney also were not available. Stahl, of course, served on the Dallas City Council from 1980 till '83, and is currently a mediator. He too was out of the office. More details tomorrow.

Update at 4:06 p.m. October 29: For anyone still reading this item, I now see at whom the complaints are aimed: council member Tennell Atkins and City Attorney Tom Perkins. There's a preliminary hearing scheduled for Monday afternoon.

​Michael Precker, who rather famously swapped a gig at The Dallas News for one at The Lodge, sends word the Dawn Rizos-Newt Gingrich saga has reached its conclusion: Newt's people returned the $5,000 check (along with a check "for the value of two nonrefundable plane tickets" to D.C.), and she's going to spend the dough on a heated and air-conditioned shelter for rescued animals. "They're mostly pit bulls," says Precker, who notes that the shelter will actually be built for Animal Guardians of America up in Celina.

Oh. And the shelter has a name: Newt's Nook.

Course, that's the sign on the left. And it'll be on MSNBC tonight, when Rizos is scheduled to make a second appearance on The Rachel Maddow Show. Kent Jones, a former writer for The Daily Show, was in town yesterday for the Get Motivated! wingding in Fort Worth and figured he'd stop by for a follow-up. As for how quickly Gingrich's people returned the check, turns out it was right away: Says Precker, "They couldn't wash their hands of us fast enough."

Less than one month from now, this very spot will be where the city plants Thomas Balsley's 60-foot-tall Christmas tree.

​Willis Winters, assistant director of the city's Park and Recreation Department, was kind enough to give Unfair Park a tour of the $17-million Main Street Garden this morning -- and by "garden," I mean mud pit and swimmin' hole. Hence, Winters's acknowledgment that, yes, it's quite likely the garden -- the first of several planned downtown parks -- won't be quite ready for its November 13 official debut, especially with more rain in the forecast for week's end.

"The rain is killin' us," says Winters. "We were originally shooting for November 5, and actually there will be quite a bit done by November 5. It will be presentable by November 13. We're trying to prioritize what will be finished right now. There's a slight chance that date will change. But that's due to scheduling, not construction." He's referring to the fact several council members are scheduled to attend the National League of Cities convention in San Antonio that week.

Park and Rec's assistant director, Willis Winters, standing where the stage will be in Main Street Garden

​Still, he says, the park's "in good shape" for the November 20 City Lights Christmas-tree lighting ceremony, when DowntownDallas will debut New York-based landscape architect Thomas Balsley's 60-foot-tall tree. (Addison-based Excitement Technologies, which has done work at Cowboys Stadium, is handling the lighting and production, says DowntownDallas's Kourtney Garrett.)

"As you can see, we're trying to work around" the mud and water, Winters says. "All the activity today is on the perimeter, and we're trying to scrape the mud to the center. That's the easiest thing to finish at the last, so now they're just using it as a staging area."

After the jump, Winters walks us through the park's amenities. But first question's first: Will the Lily Pad, the city's first foray into the eat-and-drink business, serve alcohol? "They want to," he says, mentioning beer and wine and the TABC. So, with that out of the way ... jump, but watch the mud.

Photos by Danny Fulgencio

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, among those praying for motivation in Fort Worth Monday. Check out more photos in our slide show.

​Despite the Monday-morning rain that littered surrounding freeways with wrecked cars, by 8 a.m. yesterday the Fort Worth Convention Center was packed with some 15,0000 people who'd paid less than $5 -- $19.95 for the whole office! -- to get a one-day dose of inspiration at Get Motivated! There were couples and entire families, secretaries and sales teams, Realtors and would-be entrepreneurs, and organizers appeared unprepared for the throngs, who spend hours screaming and pumping their fists while columns of fire shot up from the stage and songs like "Thriller" blared from the sound system. Before the first speaker took the stage -- and the line-up included the likes of Rudy Giuliani, Colin Powell, Terry Bradshaw and The Man Called Dubya, making his first Big Appearance since moving back to Dallas -- workers were setting up rows of folding chairs in the overflow spaces in the furthest reaches of the arena.

Given the program's lean to the right, the event could best be summed up as Fox News Channel meets QVC: Attendees were pitched on the concept of Winning Through Faith!, while also being sold motivational tapes and books. Powell, a longtime speaker for Peter and Tamara Lowe's national seminar business, drew cheers and applause as he talked about the leadership principles he learned in the military and as a member of successive presidential administrations.

"The people who get it done aren't the leaders, it's the followers," he told the crowd. "You as a leader must focus all your passion and all your intensity into inspiring your followers. Everyone has to have a purpose in life, and every organization has to have a larger purpose."