The Cole Manor Motel is a Charles Dilbeck-designed motor court on Harry Hines that opened in 1946. According to city attorneys, it's also a dangerous place where the removal of the fantastic 1960s-era sign isn't the only crime to have taken place at the old motel. www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...

The council approved the first H-E-B in Dallas by a vote of 14-1. The only no vote was Bill Roth, who voted against HIS OWN MOTION to support the project with H-E-B's proposed deed restrictions. And that was only after his initial motion to kill the project failed. Very serious people.

It’s gonna be infuriating and embarrassing if the Dallas City Council votes to kill the (first-in-Dallas) proposed H-E-B at Hillcrest and LBJ Freeway. Watch if you can stomach this “discussion.” dallastx.new.swagit.com/views/113#co...

Maybe sending a season's greeting to City Hall's future owners?

Maybe I'm just turning into Jim Schutze -- it's possible, if not likely -- but what's the deal with all the Dallas city staffers today wearing Mavericks-color-schemed sweatshirts to "holiday sweater" day?

Friday morning, I turned in a piece about how Charlie Brown has escaped the storm tunnels beneath Harry Hines, where he'd lived for 5 years. Then Garrett Boone, Container Store co-founder and one of Dallas' last true civic leaders, told me Charlie was missing. www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...

For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure: The Who wasn't scheduled to play Dallas on the "Who's Next" tour. But on Nov. 28, 1971, this ad ran in the Times Herald. Only 54 minutes from that show survive, including "Won't Get Fooled Again." Play loud. tinyurl.com/4f78cc8p Setlist: tinyurl.com/4tpn22c6

Years ago, I edited a Dallas Observer column by Jim Schutze in which he quoted someone who said that even if you built housing down in The Bottom, no one would come. On Saturday, I drove him down here, to the land between the highway and the bluff and the levee. www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...

For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band at Reunion Arena, Born in the USA Tour Nov. 25, 1984: When they played "Atlantic City" and "Nebraska": tinyurl.com/yc24mn2c Nov. 26, 1984: "Factory" makes its tour debut and a legendary "Jungleland": tinyurl.com/3efjcdfz

"It’s not only a blatant disregard of a vital moment in the history of American musical culture, but it should be a big deal in Dallas.” - Author David Ritz “But it is a museum. That’s just how our museums look over here.” - South Dallas rapper D.J. Smith-Rhodes www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...

Wilonsky | Pastor Austin Anetekhai and I discussed at great length what went very wrong with a plan for a garish high-rise that would have swallowed blocks of South Dallas. The Winners Assembly on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard now eyes housing rather than a 25-story hotel with a helipad.

For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure: Van Halen played Reunion Arena Nov. 18-19, 1982. This week, remastered soundboard recordings of both "Hide Your Sheep Tour" shows appeared online. Everybody wants some. First Night: www.youtube.com/watch?v=idmt... Second Night: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTaJ...

The Winners Assembly on MLK went to the plan commission last month to push for a 25-story luxury high-rise. CPC killed the proposal with ruthless efficiency. A church leader wanted to discuss what happens next -- and how this whole thing went so terribly wrong. www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...

Good piece about the very weird place Dallas's streetcars are in.

In the fall of 2017, after MUCH discussion and debate, the Dallas City Council approved a route that would have connected the Oak Cliff/Bishop Arts and Uptown/downtown streetcar lines. The work was supposed to be completed by 2023. But here we go again. Again. www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...

Three days ago, the Dallas City Council voted on a resolution that could include the sale and redevelopment of the City Hall site downtown. On Monday, this is on the agenda for the council's Ad Hoc Committee on Professional Sports Recruitment and Retention meeting. Let the speculation commence!

For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure: Two weeks into the tour for "Vs.," Pearl Jam pulled a local back-to-back, playing Denton on Nov. 11, 1993, then SMU's Moody Coliseum the next night. The concert that made me a convert. Come for the Neil Young; stay for the Dead Boys. archive.org/details/Pear...

Long story short: Dallas might be a slightly better town when it comes to historic preservation if city officials actually worked with folks who own honest-to-God official Dallas landmarks, like this one in South Dallas, rather than sue them for code violations. www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...

If we have a half empty library and there's not enough space at City Hall for all of City Staff, it seems like there's a pretty obvious solution here. Convert some library space to offices and move services to the Library (e.g. Oak Cliff Municipal Center).

“Many of the building’s key systems, such as electrical, plumbing and elevators, are beyond their expected useful life, [and] the longer they go without upgrade and replacement, the more likely they are to fail.” No, this was not a quote about Dallas City Hall. www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...

This "Open Letter from Patrick Dumont" just landed in the inbox. Long story short: Fired Nico.

I remember when we had mayors who delivered their annual State of the City speeches in public. In front of, like, people.

The Future of City Hall is on the Dallas City Council's agenda this Wednesday. Here's the resolution. I just assume someone made a mistake when they left out the part where it says, "For the Dallas Mavericks."

For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure: 39 years ago tonight, Neil Young + Crazy Horse turned Reunion Arena into A Rusted Out Garage, a solid gag that produced this keepsake filled with old favorites and "Life" previews. Hey hey, my my, play loud. tinyurl.com/3h4aeewn Setlist: tinyurl.com/5tjkpfky

Walnut Hill Methodist opened during the first year of the Eisenhower Administration. It will close its doors following Christmas Eve services, celebrating a birth with a funeral of sorts. Below, a eulogy for a church that did a LOT of good for its neighborhood. www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...

After six hours of testimony and discussion, the 12 members of the City Council present -- none of whom were the mayor -- unanimously concurred with the chief that Dallas police will NOT partner with ICE. Their final act was to table the subject indefinitely so it will never reach a council agenda.

The joint committee meeting, called by Mayor Eric Johnson, is now hearing from public speakers -- nearly every one opposed to this partnership. Said one speaker, "Eric Johnson is not known for making good decisions for our city." Council discussion to follow. dallastx.new.swagit.com/views/113

Spends Ray Hunt's money, apparently.

I woke up this a.m. to discover that the Dallas ISD on Tuesday canceled its application to demolish Adamson High School, an official Dallas landmark. I spoke this morning with DISD trustee Ben Mackey, who said it was likely filed as a result of "miscommunication." I've updated the column accordingly

Put this one on upset watch. This is a Trump +20 district.

A column about the DISD wanting to raze a 1915 historic landmark, Dallas' eagerness to auction off City Hall to someone whose name probably rhymes with Adelson and a late mayor whose Goals for Dallas included preserving what little history we have in this new city www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...

So nice they showed it twice

Beautiful shot of the county jail

Today’s phrase that pays: “a series of unknowns,” said the city’s head of facilities. But sure. Let’s rush the decision. Sure seems like council members are eager to sell City Hall.

Updated presentation on the "State of Dallas City Hall" is not inspiring confidence in the motivations behind the recent push to sell city hall.

I regret not buying the Brobocop shirt when I had the chance during its VERY limited-edition run in 2011. Because I'd totally wear it to tomorrow afternoon's City Council committee meeting about the "State of Dallas City Hall," aka OCP HQ. "Halt, bro," indeed. dallascityhall.com/government/c...

Dallas’ chief of police responds to the mayor’s demand that the council consider taking the feds’ ICE money. Read the full memo: dallascityhall.com/government/c...

For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure: The Rolling Stones' Halloween 1981 Cotton Bowl concert was drenched by rain. The next day's show was much drier, a little longer and a LOT better: tinyurl.com/cexenc25 Setlist: tinyurl.com/yztt3fzf Local TV filmed the first 3 songs: tinyurl.com/3xknx3b9

Tomorrow night’s treats. Seems appropriate given, ya know, *waves arms* everything.

I don't have anything insightful to add other than shame on the so-called leaders in DC who play with people's lives.

A Facebook post about an Oak Cliff man selling potatoes out of a trailer went viral this week. So I spent Wednesday with The Potato Man and his many, MANY customers, including a SNAP recipient who told me, "It’s always about the wealthy and to hell with the poor.” www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...

"Zevon, who was born to a Jewish father and a Mormon mother, had a religious sense that was — as his hero Greene once put it — 'a troubled, paradoxical faith.'" One of my favorites (@bobmehr.bsky.social) on one of my heroes, Warren Zevon.

On Sept. 4, City Hall announced the Nighttime Economy & Responsible Hospitality Division. Two months later, I can't tell you who works for it. Or what it does. Or if it exists. Perhaps a press conference on Friday will sort out the mess of Dallas' own making. www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...

Dallas' leaders have squandered Downtown's geographic advantage for decades by systematically pushing development north while disinvesting in the immediately adjacent areas. The trends are against us: it will take a stunning improvement in leadership to turn the ship around.

For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure: On Oct. 28, 1978, Queen opened the Jazz Tour -- and shot the "Fat Bottomed Girls" video -- at Memorial Auditorium, debuting 5 new songs. Someone in the balcony made this (pretty decent) keepsake: tinyurl.com/y7nukkw4 Setlist, photos, etc: tinyurl.com/4pum6dsd

Long column short: With AT&T, Comerica, the Stars and Mavs eying exits, with nearly 30% of the CBD's towers vacant, there’s no vision for downtown in 2025, just landowners concerned about their corners of the CBD and a city manager trying to stop the bleeding. www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...

When you have bad rules on the books; eventually, someone somewhere, is going to use them to create problems where there are none. Let's fix the dumb rules (like no cover charges for bands???)

I found out why Dallas City Hall is suddenly siccing code compliance on The Free Man in Deep Ellum, Revelers Hall in Bishop Arts and even The Libertine Bar on Lower Greenville. And it's every bit as confounding, idiotic and infuriating as you probably thought. www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...

I’m old enough to remember when Morath was a Dallas ISD school board member who ran on a “pledge to do everything in my power to work with fellow trustees and the administration to move the district forward.”