Back Talk Lakewood/East Dallas

Home prices: A tale of the headlines

We follow home prices quite closely here, whether it’s a national report, regional news, or our analysis of home prices in your neighborhood. So this week’s news that Dallas-area home prices declined another 3.2 percent, according to the respected S&P/Case-Shiller survey, is worth noting.

But what may be even more interesting is how this story gets reported. Is it any wonder the subject is so confusing?

Woodard Auto bites the dust on Ross Avenue: Hunt explains why

The city council's vote to deny a 20-year SUP extension to Woodard Auto on Ross Avenue is a couple of weeks old now, and if you've been following the issue, you know the Woodard family has run its automotive repair business there for about 80 years. And you also know that as part of the city's efforts to reclaim Ross Avenue from auto dealers, repair shops and bars, virtually all of the auto-related businesses (more than 30, I believe) have been denied SUPs to keep them on Ross or have been rezoned to force them to move — that's part of the process of turning Ross (or maybe Cesar Chavez Avenue?) back into the gateway to East Dallas and Lakewood it once was. Anyway, Angela Hunt posted a thoughtful commentary on her vote to deny the Woodard's request for the 20-year SUP extension (she also explains the issue better than I can). Agree or not, it's interesting reading on the difficulty of applying city zoning decisions to multiple businesses with different and sometimes compelling stories, as well as the meandering path of trouble that can be created if you don't.

Ross Avenue rename: So that's what a smoke-filled room looks like

Interesting take on the Cesar Chavez/Ross Avenue renaming process in the Observer's blog today, as Sam Merten walks through the backstage theatrics of how we arrived at a point where some city street — maybe any street except for Industrial — apparently has to be named to honor Chavez and to save face for the council's Hispanic politicians. Among the interesting points: Apparently the city's Trinity River Corridor Project committee got together before the street name vote, decided to link the two votes together (one to rename Industrial, the other to rename Ross) and then essentially traded votes among the group to ensure that everyone supported everyone else's agenda — as one Observer commenter point out, isn't there a requirement for open meetings to keep this stuff from happening? Mayor Tom Leppert continues to pull his invisible man routine on this issue, failing to provide some public leadership on a way out of this politically idiotic tradeoff. Maybe he's in Italy looking for another steel supplier for the bridge...

Sarcastic cop ticketing cyclists near White Rock Lake

Cops are enjoying a sunny day at the lake, ticketing cyclists (and cars of course) who ignore or roll through stop signs, according to a report on the DMN Crime blog. A good practice, no doubt — let's keep everyone safe out there.

But is the following commentary really necessary?:

The officer quoted in the post says, "No one can get along here. Cars hate cyclists; cyclists hate the walkers, and walkers hate the cyclists."

Talk about a Dark Cloud on a bright day. I'm sure the comment was in jest but come on, officer — we need to be fostering better feelings amongst the users of the lake, don't we?

Don't get me wrong, I actually think the police are on the right track —we need to raise awareness about rules and etiquette around the lake and encourage folks to follow it (if that means writing tickets, so be it). But being nasty to each other won't get anything accomplished and it certainly won't bring order to an increasingly crowded public park. Are there a lot of neighbors who share Officer Giron's jaded point of view? If so, there is something seriously wrong out there.

Hit and run kills woman near White Rock Lake

A passing DART bus driver alerted police to the body of a 26-year-old woman near Ferguson Road and Forest Hollow Park in the general White Rock Lake area at about midnight last night. Apparently the victim was hit and dragged by a car and left for dead. Names have not been released pending notification of the victim's family, and police are investigating the incident, according to a report this morning on NBC5. If you saw anything, please call the Dallas Police Vehicle Crimes Unit at 214-670-5817.

A Labor Day respite: Free Day of Yoga

Yoga studios across the metro area are offering free yoga classes this coming Monday, Sept. 1. The goal of the event is to allow people to try yoga for the first time, try a new instructor, or try a different type of yoga. (I had no idea how many types there were until I read this incredibly helpful Real Simple article — and this list isn't exhaustive.)

The complete schedule includes plenty in our neighborhood — try one at Dragon Fire Yoga on Garland, White Rock Athletic Club on Buckner, BKS Iyengar Yoga Studio on Dyer,  American Power Yoga across from Mockingbird Station, Exhale in Hotel Palomar, Yoga Power in Lakewood Shopping Center and Bikram Yoga Dallas in the Tom Thumb shopping center.

The day ends with a giant sun salutation class in the new One Arts Plaza downtown. Namaste.

Briefing: Did you get yours?

I raced out the front door this morning, and was shocked –– shocked –- to discover that Dallas' Only Daily Newspaper doesn’t consider me affluent enough for its new free paper.

This is the day that The News starts throwing Briefing, which it's delivering to what it describes as "200,000 upscale households not already taking the traditional newspaper." What a disappointment for me. To think that I have worked so hard all these years to make something of myself, to eventually own a house in one of Dallas’ nicest neighborhoods (75214 ZIP code!) and to make a living that my accountant insists is quite nice -- and not to make The News’ cut.

I’ll try to find a Briefing (maybe drive over to the Park Cities and swipe one?) and report back later today.

Technorati Tags: Dallas Morning News,newspapers,Briefing

Wine review: Koster-Wolf Riesling Trocken 2006

Dallas in August. Hot weather. Glaring sun. So why do so many people insist on drinking heavy red wines?

I don’t know. Instead, I drink wine like the Koster-Wolf (about $10 for a 1-liter bottle, available at Central Market) — light, low in alcohol, lemony, and cheap. Plus, it’s both food friendly and well-made enough to drink on its own. Think chilled, sitting on a shaded back porch in the evening just before the sun goes down. Or serve it with grilled or boiled seafood.

Trocken is the German  designation for a dry wine, but don’t be confused. It’s not nearly as dry as Americans are used to. But this doesn’t mean that it’s unduly sweet. Rather, it’s balanced by the acidity in the wine – as this one is, with the lemony flavor.

DART's $60,000 fiasco: No employees fired in accounting mess

Here's an update on the DART jewelry scandal discussed here on Back Talk awhile back, as the Morning News reports that DART's internal review has concluded and no DART employees will lose their jobs even though the mismanagement in this fiasco is breathtaking.

According to the DMN story, the problems — which involve a DART employee group that allowed employees to purchase jewelry from a vendor through payroll withholding — go well beyond simple mistakes. Instead, the review found that money wasn't withheld from paychecks, and it appears that hundreds of tickets sold by the committee to pay for a party were never paid for/invoiced.

Whole Foods webcam: Lots of action there this week

Have you driven by the new Whole Foods location at Gaston & Abrams lately? Contractors have punched so many holes in the facade — presumably for new windows and natural light — you might not even recognize the front of the building anymore. And on the Richmond side of the building, even more slots for windows/doors are evident behind the big security fence cordoning the site. All in all, things are moving along. Check out our live 24/7 Whole Foods webcam if you want to see what has been happening or keep up with the daily changes.