Back Talk Far North Dallas

Council subcommittee considers a smoking ban in bars, billiard halls

A city council subcommittee is considering expanding the city's current smoking ban from restaurants and workplaces to bars, billiard halls and within 15 feet of entrances to publicly accessible villages, according to the DMN. A majority of the six councilmen on the subcommittee seem to be leaning in favor of the proposal, according to the News story and more comments on its blog.

I have to admit that when the city council first decided to restrict smoking in restaurants and other public places a few years ago, I had my doubts: It seemed like a draconian measure, and it seemed likely to drive business out of Dallas. Today, though, I haven't seen a single study indicating that significant business was lost to the more smoking-friendly suburbs, and the air in most places I go these days is cleaner and clearer.

Recycle your election signs

Don't trash out those election signs just yet. Do the green thing and recycle them. The city will accept them if you drop them in the blue recycling bins--or if you've got one of those mini-billboards, you can take it to one of the four collection sites now through Wednesday, Nov. 26.

Halloween blood and food drive

The folks at the RE/MAX Premier office at the corner of Preston and Belt Line are hosting a Halloween party this Thursday from noon to 4--and they're asking neighbors to bring food bank donations, or to donate blood at the on site Carter Blood Care bus.  You can swing by there with any nonperishable food items you'd like to donate--or if you'd like to sign up for a specific blood donation time so you don't have to wait, call 972.991.1616.

Dallas home resale price drop is minimal compared with other U.S. cities

Another of the many stories in the good news/bad news vein these days: The DMN headlines its latest residential real estate story "U.S. home resale prices dive 16.6% as Dallas' dip 2.7%." Further good news for our area from the story: Among the 20 major U.S. cities tracked in this particular study, our area had the smallest decline in home prices compared with sales in August 2007, while Phoenix and Las Vegas both reported drops exceeding 30%. More bad news nationally was that the results from 13 of the 20 markets surveyed had worsened from the month before, including the Dallas-Fort Worth area (but by a pretty negligible 0.2%). Bottom line: Things aren't great in the rest of the country, but we're doing pretty well here on a relative basis. I couldn't find the DMN link for its story, but if you want to look at the actual study, click here and then download the August study pdf.

Now what's going to happen to those retail banks on every corner?

Quick quiz: You see construction at a key neighborhood retail corner, and you wonder what's being built.

For the past few years, the answer would have simple: Another bank! But those days are over now, thanks to the multi-billion-dollar bailout of the banking industry, which has been leading to mergers galore the past few weeks.

Tom Leppert: 'Doesn't give a darn about the citizens of Dallas'

So, do you think Mayor Tom Leppert cares about the citizens of Dallas or not? Councilman Mitchell Rasansky tells the Observer Leppert doesn't care — "doesn’t give a darn about the citizens of Dallas". Rasansky goes on to mention that Leppert was on the board of directors of Washington Mutual even as that financial institution bit the dust, saying Leppert's comments about WaMu's financial health a few weeks prior to its bailout — “the feeling is that there's sufficient capital and good things ahead" — is indicative of Leppert's go-for-broke actions with the convention center hotel, regardless of a possible pending referendum on the project and a disintegration of the bond market. It's worth clicking on the post, written by Sam Merten, because it has a whole list of interesting information and story links. As for me, I tend to think that it's not that Leppert doesn't care about the rest of us. I think he just believes he knows better than everyone else what's good for us. Come to think of it, that was the prevailing attitude on Wall Street for a few years, too, and look what happened to those guys...

Pop culture: How Hank Hill deals with the McMansion issue

I usually try to catch "The Simpsons" and/or "Family Guy" Sunday nights on Fox (no doubt we all needed a little laughter after watching our football team's wheels fall off yesterday).

"King of the Hill", for whatever reason, is not usually on my radar. But last night I managed to catch an episode that turned out to be worth a watch. It caught my attention because it delved into a subject we get really hot about around here — McMansions (or as Hank Hill most-colorfully describes them, “Jackass McMansions”).

When a developer tries to build a big castle on a tiny lot, Hank and his buddies get pretty agitated and end up trying to fight it at city hall. The “speculation home” has no yard, is made from cheap materials, and it blocks sunlight out of the neighborhood. Then a rain storm nearly tears it apart before a mob of angry neighbors finish the job … and that’s just the beginning. I guess they have teardown-McMansion issues in Garland, I mean Arlen, too. 

You can watch the entire "King of the Hill" episode, Square-footed Monster, here. 

This weekend: Arapho Fall Festival and Parkhill garage sale

You've likely noticed the dip in the temperature, and if you're anything like me, that puts you in an autumn state of mind. If you feel like digging out the sweater and sipping some cider, head to the Fall Festival at Arapaho United Methodist Church this Saturday, Oct. 18, between 10 a.m.-4 p.m. There will be all sorts of baked goodies, food, a craft fair, a pumpkin patch and pumpkin painting, carnival-style games and prizes, and a bounce house. Admission is $5 at the door, but that gets you a wristband that's good for all the activities all day.

Or, if you'd rather make the most of that weather by hitting up the neighborhood garage sale circuit, you could head over to Parkhill Junior High. That's where the PTA will be putting on one massive garage sale going on all day. There will be all sorts of trash-to-treasure finds, as well as some crafts, and of course, plenty of good bargain deals.

Car crashes into UTD apartment

Last week a driver traveling down Waterview Parkway lost control of her car and crashed into a UTD apartment. The driver was not hurt---and neither was Crystal Layman, the UTD senior who lives in that apartment. In fact, she was making a sandwich in the kitchen when that car came crashing through her back door. "I heard a loud crash, and glass flew in my sandwich," she told the UTD Mercury. UTD police say there is more than $10,000 of damage to the apartment.

Crime alert: door-to-door scam

According to the Highlands North HOA website, there's a new door-to-door scam in the area that neighbors need to know about. There have been reports of a man has been knocking on doors, claiming that he's a UTD communications student who is selling books so he can raise money for studying abroad. A neighbor called UTD and it turns out the university doesn't have any sort of communications department--and there is no such book sale program. If you or your neighbors come across the scam, let your neighborhood crime-watch groups know about it.