I was following behind a man driving in Downtown Dallas yesterday that had the following four bumper stickers plastered across the back of his car: A.C.L.U - Atheists Communists & Liberals United Censure Jimmy Carter Leave The U.N. Now! A True American Hero: Ronald Reagan What kind of car was he driving?  A Suzuki, of course.

Today in a News Release, Southwest Airlines announced changes that will be made as a result of the bill passed in Congress repealing the Wright Amendment.  The bill was passed on September 29, 2006, and then written into law by President Bush.  The Wright Amendment has restricted flights in and out of Dallas Love Field since 1979. Southwest will serve an additional 25 destinations from Dallas Love Field with one-stop/same plane service as a result of the new legislation.  After eight years, Southwest and other airlines will be able to provide non-stop flights to airports outside the formerly restricted areas.  New destinations for Southwest include Baltimore/Washington, Chicago Midway, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, Phoenix, and San Diego. According to the news release, Southwest will offer a $99 one-way introductory fare between Dallas Love and their 25 new destinations.  Apparently, Dallas travelers are now truly free to move about the country.

I would like to go on record officially endorsing all twelve propositions of the 2006 Dallas Bond Program, which will be on the ballot on November 7. In August, I attended a briefing with my City Councilman Ed Oakley, and I recently walked through the 100 page, itemized breakdown of the Projects By Proposition.  Now, after viewing the city's official cheerleading piece at Vote Yes! It's Our Future, I feel pretty comfortable with the billion-dollar outlay. One thing that worries me is that the council didn't put the program in as an all or nothing vote, but allows voters to pick and choose which proposition they want to support.  There will be an option to cast one vote for all 12 propositions, (like voting a straight party ticket), which is what I'm asking all my Dallas readers to do.  I can't help but think that Props 7 & 8 may be in for a close vote, but that's probably the conspiracy theorist in me.  By passing this Bond Program, the average priced home in Dallas ($145,266) will see an annual increase in property taxes of $24.81.  Citizens over 65 living in an average priced home will see an annual increase of $11.15.  This is a no-brainer for Dallas citizens, as anyone can see that the city is ...

The sight has become all too familiar in recent months.  One day you are sitting down for a meal with family.  The next day you may be ordering drive thru.  Maybe you are shopping at a local grocery store.  Drive by a day later and the place is boarded up and out of business. Yesterday I was driving up Highway 67 North, and as I exited Kiest and looked to my right, I noticed that the Grandy's at 67 and Polk had been boarded up.  I could have sworn I was there like 3 weeks ago getting a Chicken Fried Chicken meal.  There was a time that I would have marked the closing with little more than a passing note, but now I look at the building and see more erosion of the city's tax base, namely Southern Dallas.  As the gap between tax revenue in Northern and Southern Dallas continues to widen, these store closings only exacerbates the issue. Grandy's joins Chili’s at Camp Wisdom and 67, and Kroger on Westmoreland near Illinois, as retailers that have shut down since I moved to Dallas last year.  Pretty soon, I'm sure you will be able to add Chili's to the used to be list of ...

Today as I rolled through the streets of North Texas, flipping around the presets on my radio, I landed on the City of Dallas Classical Radio Station: WRR 101.1.  I'm not sure why WRR is one of my presets, but nonetheless, I heard chatter and banter rather than the soothing sounds of Bach, Beethoven or Chopin.  I often forget that the Dallas City Council meetings can be heard on 101.1 on Wednesdays.  I tuned in to the meeting just in time to hear the council approve a raise for City Manager Mary Suhm.  After a nationwide search a couple of years ago, the city decided to hire from within, and promoted Ms. Suhm to City Manager.  She came into a pretty rough situation, but she has done an admirable job up to this point.  On her watch, (as well as that of Asst. City Manager Ryan Evans) Victory Park has begun to sprout hotels and apartments, The Mercantile Building is being renovated, and Dallas is poised to pass the largest bond package in its history. Ms. Suhm's salary will increase from $267,750, from $255,000. 

Tuesday October 10 is the final day to register for the November 7 election.  Early voting for the November election begins October 23.  There are a number of notable races on the ballot, including Dallas County District Attorney, City of Dallas bond package, and the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives. Please visit Project Vote Smart which has a number of voting related resources, including links to registration documents, instructions for obtaining an Early Voting Ballot, and a handy zip code generated list of your state and national representatives.  It is a little disheartening to see the number of Republicans that represent us here in Texas....but anyway.

If the City of Dallas is interested in families relocating here, it will be important to provide services prospective suburb dwellers are looking for.  Upgrading the Parks and Rec System is an obvious need.  However there are other little amenities that families look for that are often overlooked.  Starting soon, the city will address one of these areas with an expanded recycling program.On January 2, 2007, Dallas will initiate its Too Good to Throw Away recycling program.  This will be a twice-montly pickup of recyclables in a Bib Blue 96-gallon roll-cart provided by the city.  They will continue to pick up the clear blue plastic bags that are handed out for free at Dallas Public Libraries.  I've tried the clear bag system, and it is too much trouble, even for those of us with the best of intentions. Dallas residents can sign up for the Big Blue cart here, or call Dallas 311.  Often it's the little things that count, and for me recycling has become cumbersome, and newspapers were starting to stack up in the garage.  This is a move in the right direction for environment conscious citizens.

As I scanned the Sports Day in today's Dallas Morning, I quickly noticed that there were two black writers featured "above the fold."  Calvin Watkins, who I first knew as the DMN boxing reporter, was covering the much-anticipated return of T.O. to Philly this weekend.  And to his right, Jean-Jacques Taylor has a column where he dishes out advice to Texas Rangers GM Jon Daniels, as he searches for a new manager. This is all part of the recent Dallas Morning News Buyout  (For a comprehensive list of those who left, check out this Buyout List at The Texas Blog).   A number of my favorite writers chose to cease their tenure at the Dallas paper; including Ed Bark, Cathy Harasta, Gerry Fraley, and Phillip Wuntch.  Unfortunately, longtime Sports Columnist Kevin Blackistone was also one of the 111 Morning News employees who took the buyout.  Blackistone was one of only 22 black sports columnists nationwide.  I guess that number holds with JJT stepping in.  He was never afraid to play the race card, a trait that wasn't lost on me.  There are times when things need to be questioned, and situations should be looked at from different perspectives.  Columnists get paid for their opinion, and Blackistone's opinion was that of a black sports fan in America.  I could only shake ...

I would think that by now, most of you know that neither major party, Republicans, nor Democrats, deserve the blind faith of African-American voters on Election Day.  After decades of loyalty that black voters have shown the Democrats, there is little to show in the form of tangible progress provided by the Dems.  Not even the first so-called "Black President", Bill Clinton is blameless. So I'd suggest that each of you vote the ballot, and not straight ticket.  In Dallas County, there are a number of Black Republicans running for various offices.  I will give a recap in the coming weeks.  Don't take this message as a sign that I am a Republican (the thought makes me ill), but in all cases, the best candidate should be elected.