Eric Johnson, Texas House District 100 Candidate raises over $60,000 in June

Posted on July 7, 2009 by Shawn Williams

Eric Johnson may be new to politics, but he seems to already have one of the key elements down: fundraising. Johnson reports that his campaign raised over $60,000 in monetary contributions between June 5 and and June 30, 2009.

Eric Johnson is the guy on the right

“I am humbled by the level of support we received from our friends and family,” says Johnson who co-founded the Si Se Puede Political Action Committee with his wife Nakita. “I think a lot of people genuinely appreciate the fact that I have been working for years on issues that are important to the residents of House District 100,” he says.

In addition to the $60,000 in monetary contributions, Johnson’s campaign received nearly $5,000 of in-kind contributions in June. And he’s using a familiar strategy from the 2008 campaign, a large number of people contributing small amounts. Over 300 individuals have supported Johnson thus far, and 70% of those individuals contributed less than $100.

Eric Johnson is running against Democratic incumbent Terri Hodge for the Texas District 100 House seat.

JoAnn Karr Crime Watch in Southeast Dallas get update from Dallas Police and Pleasant Grove Historian

Posted on July 6, 2009 by Shawn Williams

BY KAY LEAKS

At its recent monthly meeting, the JoAnn Karr Crime Watch group heard crime stats from the Dallas Police Department. Since our Neighborhood Police Officers (NPOs) have been transferred to another department, their supervisor (Sgt. Grant) will report to the group until replacements are announced.

Sgt. Grant encouraged members to report anything suspicious they may observe. He gave an example of how a neighbor in another area saw some men running from a pawn shop and got the license plate number of the car in which they left.

Figuring this spelled trouble of some kind, she gave the number to the police, and it turned out the men had killed the employee of the pawn shop. Thanks to the neighbor’s quick thinking, one of the men was arrested the next day based on the license plate number.
Members were cautioned to always secure yard equipment when going inside to rest or get refreshment. Often people think they’ll just be gone a minute, even though that’s not always the case. Upon their return their lawnmower, edger, etc. have disappeared.

Additionally, members were encouraged to keep a close eye on elderly or disabled neighbors during excessive heat and ozone days to be sure they are cool and well hydrated. The group was also advised of work the DPD is doing with Code to stop unlicensed food, produce, and ice cream vendors in the area. Any sightings of these should be reported.
Local historian Frances James also made a presentation during the meeting. Ms. James has lived in the Pleasant Grove area and studied its history for many years. She said that many people are confused about what actually constitutes Pleasant Grove. That may sound strange until one realizes that most people define Pleasant Grove as everything south of I-30, east of 175, and west of Balch Springs.
View Map of Pleasant Grove Area

Actually, Pleasant Grove began at the crossing of Buckner Blvd. and Elam Road and extended in a one-mile radius. North of that one mile radius is the Piedmont/Scyene neighborhood and then Buckner Terrace.
Ms. James and others have worked with the newspapers, Radio, and TV stations over the years to encourage them to report accurately when stating where a crime occurs. Interestingly, the very next day after the meeting, one of the members heard a report on the radio about a crime around the Fair Park area and the reporter finished by saying, “actually in Pleasant Grove.”

The member immediately called the newsroom and provided the correct information; however, the misstatement was not corrected over the air.

Other interesting points made by Ms. James included:

The first public cemetery is on Buckner Blvd., next to the Pleasant Mound Cemetery. Burials are no longer allowed. The Pleasant Mound Methodist Church established the Pleasant Mound Cemetery next to its own site. From the cost of burial, $5 went to the church. That is how the First Pleasant Mound Methodist Church which is now at Bruton and Pleasant Mound was built. In the public cemetery, the markers were made of Bois D’arc trees, some of the hardest in the world. There are a few of those markers still in the cemetery.

The first train stopped in Dallas in 1872 in the area of what is Gaston and Central today. There were about four cars on that train. One was for the passengers and the others for materials.

The T&P Railroad was originally scheduled to run along the 32nd parallel through Corsicana; however, John Lane got legislation through the Texas Legislature to have it come through Dallas at Browder Springs which is in the area of Old City Park. Money was paid to appease the citizens of Corsicana.

The Houston and Texas Central crossed with the T&P in Dallas. Thus, a thriving metropolis was born.

There really is an Elam Springs (remember Elam Road) and is located in what is now the Trinity River Audubon Center on Loop 12, West of Jim Miller Road.

There’s so much more history about Pleasant Grove that Ms. James shared at the meeting. In next month’s column, we’ll share more interesting facts.

Fair Park Fourth brings Cotton Bowl another great event

Posted on July 6, 2009 by Shawn Williams

Call me a sucker, but I really enjoy fireworks. We’ve had a chance to catch 4th of July shows at Lone Star Park, in DeSoto, and even on the Trinity River in years past. This year we decided to check out Fair Park Fourth.

It was pretty easy getting out to good old F.P. Saturday night. We parked in an $8 lot right across the street from the Women’s Museum and walked right in. Since we made it a little bit before eight, we didn’t have a lot of time to spare, so we headed straight for the Cotton Bowl.

There were many people gathered in lawn chairs leading up to the stadium, and even more people waiting in line at the bottom or the steps for State Fair like goodies. Tickets were being sold for $1 in order to purchase food as well as to ride the Texas Skyway. Though I was in the mood for a funnel cake, the line was too long so we went inside.

I asked one of the ushers where we would get the best view of the fireworks, and she told us in the end zone (opposite the Jumbotron), the newest part of the Cotton Bowl which is where we also watched the P.V./Grambling game. This part of the stadium also has the shortest lines because most folks still don’t realize that there are concession stands over there.

Twenty-five dollars worth of tickets got us a hot dog, extra long corn dog, two bottles of water, two chills (lemon and strawberry) and a bag of chips, making it a $33 outing with parking. I would have been willing to kick in an extra 3 bucks for a funnel cake but that’s in the past now.

After some great performances (including a dazzling Old Man River), the fireworks started promptly at 9:30 p.m. The show was good, maybe real good, but not great. In these tough economic times, maybe we didn’t get the best of the best in pyrotechnics (I give the nod to a show that I saw in Ft. Smith, Arkansas last year) but the overall presentation was..well…good.

I can see the Williams Family working Fair Park Fourth into the rotation. It’s another great use for the Cotton Bowl and another date to bring folks down to Fair Park. Next year we’ll take DART’s Green Line in and avoid the traffic involved in leaving South Dallas after the show.

As the stadium goes, I figure booking 6-8 solid dates would give the Cotton Bowl the same type of traffic as college football stadiums around the country. With OU/Texas, Grambling/PV, and Fair Park Fourth, you’ve got three locked down. The other football games scheduled -Harvey Martin Classic and Lone Star Classic- will need to draw at least 15,000 (hopefully many more at some point) before I consider those dates “locked down”, but it sure is good to have them booked.

Texas Tech and Baylor will play in Fair Park on October 9, 2010, rotating the game between Cowboys stadium each year, and that’s a lock. Get a bowl game booked to replace the “Cotton Bowl” and we’re in business. I’m not mad at the State Fair folks for getting their hustle on, and Dallas taxpayers can feel good about the money that has been spent on the renovated Cotton Bowl. I can attest to the fact that it made for a nice place to catch a fireworks show this past weekend.

Thursday’s Bloggers Bunch interesting to say the least

Posted on July 3, 2009 by Shawn Williams

Thursday’s Bloggers Bunch on CNN was interesting to say the least. One of the bloggers on the show was Lurita Doan of EyesOnGov.com. Lurita went out of her way to criticize the President, and Black folks seemingly, during our discussion of race. I wanted to follow up to a couple of her points during the show, but I had no such luck. I like it better when there are three guests on instead of four because we get a little more time to establish our points. Let me know what you think.

Caught in Monday’s Police Chase, I Now Wonder is it worth it

Posted on July 2, 2009 by Shawn Williams

On Monday afternoon I made a snap decision, as I’m known to sometimes do. Heading south out of downtown, I thought it would be cool to take my son to Celebration Station in Mesquite, so we headed East on Interstate 30. I set the budget at…well cheap, and figured we’d get in and out pretty quick. But a funny thing (not so funny in hindsight) happened on our way there.

As we started getting closer to Jim Miller Road, I noticed Dallas County Constables parked at the off ramps and standing outside of their cars. When I looked up and saw helicopters, I started putting two and two together and figured there must be a chase in progress.

It was about that time that I started hearing a police siren. Looking in my rearview mirror, I saw that it wasn’t a law enforcement vehicle approaching from behind, but a grey colored Nissan that was followed by a lone squad car. I really didn’t have much time to react as I drove in one of the center lanes, but both vehicles passed us to the right.

“They didn’t seem to be going very fast for a chase,” I told my son, as I estimated that they were traveling a little less than 70 miles per hour. After seeing the video later I saw that that was the only time the suspect Shane Michael was driving less that 80. We started a conversation about why someone may be chased by police and followed by helicopters, when I started to hear more sirens.

This time when I glanced in my mirror I saw a slew of squad cars. It seemed to me that there were about 9 cars barreling down on us. “What do I do,” I thought in the 8 seconds or so that this second portion lasted. “Should I move right?” Because we were coming around a curve it was hard to judge exactly which lane they were in. “Should I slow down?” It felt like they would run right through me if I did.

I can’t say what I did, but I know that some cars went right and some went left as motorists around me seemed to struggle with the same questions. After these cars passed I figured that the suspect was probably headed towards Rockwall County by now until I saw the helicopters headed north.

I started taking a deep breath (all while my son played Nintendo DS in the backseat) and replaying the situation in my head when Act III began. By now we were just about to get onto 635 South in Mesquite when I looked back and saw three more cop cars headed in our direction. I don’t even want to speculate how fast these guys were driving.

The problem at this point was that motorists were in the process of selecting one of the 635 exits there was no time to process where the squad cars were headed. It seemed like the three cars were headed at us from every direction. They all passed on the left and then made their way right to the 635 North exit. One had to go all the way out to the far left lane and make his way back right in order to make the exit.

After they passed, a motorist next to me and I looked at one another like “What’s next?” I sat still on the shoulder for about 10 seconds looking around before I continued on our trip. I sent out a Tweet asking for help on the status of the chase my Facebook friends kept me up to speed, up until this final comment:

OMG! HE WRECKED!!!! OMG!!!! HE RAN THRU A RED LIGHT AND A INNOCENT DRIVER IN A TRUCK HIT HIM! PLANO RD AND WALNUT STREET IN GARLAND/RICHARDSON.

I may not have revisited this scenario were it not for a story filed by Rebecca Lopez on WFAA 8 a couple of nights ago regarding police chases. She contrasted the Dallas Police Department’s current chase policy where they have stopped chasing nonviolent criminals to Dallas County Constables who do.

Lopez reports that this has resulted in a decrease from 354 police chases in 2005 to 39 police chases in 2008. The number of people injured in DPD chases also went down from 77 in 2005 to 10 in 2008. Dallas Police figured that the danger posed to motorists and officers by chasing nonviolent criminals was too great.

I can’t say what the correct call is for Dallas County Constables and State Troopers, but I can say that Monday’s chase presented a dangerous situation. A panicked driver could have easily make a wrong move and caused a chain reaction, even miles behind the actual chase. On the surface, it seems like adopting the Dallas Police Police -or something close- would be a no brainer for Dallas County.

Image from wfaa.com

Martin Luther King Center offers Dallas Residents Financial Assistance with Utility Bills

Posted on July 2, 2009 by Shawn Williams

Dallas residents who need assistance with their utility bills and live in a 752xx Zip Code may contact the Martin Luther King Social Services program. Residents in need may receive up to $600 towards their bill.

Individuals may call 214-670-8416 to make an appointment on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays starting at 9 a.m. The Social Services Program Staff will take calls until slots are filled for the day. Those over 60 years of age may also call on Tuesdays (9AM).

The Martin Luther King Center is located at 2922 Martin Luther King Blvd. Residents in other parts of the City of Dallas, or hose in need of help with utilities and/or food can call the city’s Community Help Line – 211.

Please share this information with anyone who may be helped by this service.

The Allen Group releases statement regarding NCTCOG Southern Dallas Development Plan

Posted on June 30, 2009 by Shawn Williams

The North Central Texas Council of Governments Transportation Department has released a Master Plan Initiative regarding development in Southern Dallas County. This is not the same thing as the Master Plan that Dallas County Commissioners were attempting to institute some months back. Below is a statement by The Allen Group, one of the main developers in Southern Dallas’ Inland Port.

The Allen Group has been asked to provide its position statement concerning the NCTCOG’S CONCEPT of a new S. Dallas County Master Planning Initiative as set forth in the NCTCOG’s PowerPoint Presentation below.

North Central Texas Council of Governments PowerPoint Presentation.

The Allen Group SUPPORTS THE NCTCOG’S CONCEPT of the new S. Dallas County Master Planning Initiative as follows:

Consistent with the NCTCOG’s PowerPoint Presentation below, TAG’s position is that the Planning Initiative should:

focus solely upon roads, water, sewer, and storm water;

be coordinated and directed by representatives of ALL of the entities with land use development authority, and who have land impacted by the Plan, on all oversight committees or similar bodies that will make decisions that will impact the cities and/or land within their jurisdictions;

include, without change, previously adopted comprehensive plans whether initiated by Cities or landowners, developers, business owners, etc. (including Master Water Plans, Master Wastewater Plans, Master Thoroughfare Plans, Master Storm Water Drainage Plans, and Future Land Use Plans) and zoning of all of the cities;

exclude model codes and zoning and development standards, which are or become, pre-qualifiers or conditions to receiving funding for infrastructure improvements from the NCTCOG or any other committee/body which might otherwise be created as a result of this initiative;

The Initiative should also:

include the entire 234,000 acre ULI study area, including ALL of the cities south of I-20 to the East, West, and S. Dallas County line and include representatives of ALL of these cities in the coordination and direction referenced in Item 2 in the preceding paragraph;

be adopted through the standard NCTCOG process, (i.e., it comes before the STTC and the RTC, and then the Interlocal agreements are sent to the city councils allowing each city with land in the jurisdiction of the Plan to be a party to the process so that the process is open and transparent); and

be adopted under circumstances where there are several town hall meetings PRIOR to final consideration of the Planning Initiative by the RTC so that the public has continuous input.

Any committee created should solely function in an advisory capacity, and should have no power or authority over any of the participants’ jurisdictions.

This position is compatible with the North Central Texas Council of Governments S. Dallas County Master Plan proposal which was presented to the S. Dallas County cities on June 16, 2009 at a meeting hosted by the City of Lancaster (please see below), and TAG supports the concept of the proposal presented by the NCTCOG to the cities consistent with the bullet points above.

Paul Quinn’s accreditation loss is loss for the whole city

Posted on June 30, 2009 by Shawn Williams

Paul Quinn College is not dead, but the grim reaper is walking out the door and headed in that direction.

While most of us were following the developments in the death of Michael Jackson, a local story has gotten somewhat lost in the mix. Paul Quinn lost its accreditation from the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools after two years on probation. During those two years, President Michael Sorrell has instituted a number of fresh approaches to try to save the school, but the Southern Association says it’s not enough. Sorrell and Paul Quinn have appealed the decision.

Michael Davis of Dallas Progress makes a great point on why the accreditation is so important. “Because students at an unaccredited school can’t get financial aid” says Davis in a recent post about Paul Quinn.

I’ve got three questions for people reading this post.

#1 Do you care whether or not Paul Quinn is able to survive?

#2 If you answered yes, have you ever donated money (even $5) to Paul Quinn?

#3 If you answered yes, have you donated to P.Q. in the last year?

It all boils down to financial solvency. That goes for all of the black institutions that are struggling and in danger of fading away. I’m not suggesting throwing good money after bad. On the same hilltop in Southern Dallas, Bishop College was lost because they couldn’t pay the bills, and now the same thing could happen to Paul Quinn. But Sorrell has been a steadying force of the Purple and Gold, and the stability that’s been created is worth investing in.

The only overt sign of community support for Paul Quinn has been the Bishop 5 revival, which ran in the ’90s and made a brief comeback late last year. Without that type of support -from individuals and businesses- I fear that 3837 Simpson Stuart Road will become a black college memorial, a place dedicated to remembering the past instead of preparing students for the future. Paul Quinn will only go as far as the people of Dallas want it to.

Dallas Business Journal response to Dallas South post on 40 under Forty Awards

Posted on June 26, 2009 by Shawn Williams

Here’s a message that I received from the Dallas Business Journal regarding yesterday’s post on their 40 under Forty Awards.

Dear Shawn,

We couldn’t agree with you more about the need to highlight talent in our community that’s often overlooked by the general media, and we’re glad that Dallas South is doing just that.

We share in your vision, and that’s why last year the Dallas Business Journal launched two programs – the Minority Business Leader Awards and the Women in Business Awards – both of which recognize outstanding achievements by entrepreneurs and corporate executives.

But our commitment to covering the diverse talent that makes up our business community would be disingenuous if it were limited to these award programs. It’s not: We want to cover news about successful and innovative business leaders — no matter their ethnicity or gender — daily online at dallasbusinessjournal.com, weekly in our Friday print edition — all year long. That’s why we’ve reached out to many minority and women organizations like the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce, the African Chamber of Commerce, DFW Minority Business Council , Women’s Business Council-Southwest and others to build partnerships.

Thank you for highlighting this issue. We encourage your readers to make nominations in any of our awards programs by visiting
http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/nomination/

And we’re always looking for news-making entrepreneurs and executives to profile in Dallas Business Journal’s Enterprise Zone section in our weekly print edition. Our copy editor, Debbie Bolles, will be happy to provide the guidelines; just e-mail her at dbolles@bizjournals.com.

Thanks for helping to spread the word!

Christine Perez
Assistant Managing Editor (and project editor of the 40 Under Forty special publication)
Dallas Business Journal

Dallas Business Journal 40 Under 40 void of Young Black Business Talent

Posted on June 25, 2009 by Shawn Williams

I find it odd that the Dallas Business Journal has compiled a list for their 40 under Forty Award that has zero African-American Males and zero African-American Females. I wasn’t able to get my hands on a physical copy of the journal which dropped yesterday (sold out), but I did click on all 40 names listed which included pictures, and there was no (visible) African-American representation on the list.

I find it interesting that D CEO has executive Gail Warrior-Lawrence (Warrior Group) on this month’s cover for their Super Entrepreneurs issue. Warrior doesn’t look a day over 30, but I’m not revealing her age. The point is there are black business people out there to highlight in such a way.

Maybe DBJ is holding out some of their good young candidates for the Minority Business Leader Awards. I can’t tell you, I’m just reporting what I saw when I clicked on the award winners.

According to the Dallas Biz Journal Website, they are already looking for solicitations for next year’s list. Here’s the call as it appears on the site:

In 2010, the Dallas Business Journal will once again seek highly accomplished executives and entrepreneurs under the age of 40 for our 40 Under Forty Awards program.

To qualify, candidates must be 39 years old or younger as of June 30, 2010, and have a proven track record in both business and community involvement.

We are looking for executives who really shine — innovators, dealmakers, influential leaders who excel in their respective companies and industries, and show dynamic leadership in their communities.

Apparently there were no Black innovators, no Black dealmakers, no Black executives that “really shine” and are under 40. Or maybe there were no black folks nominated. I know of at least one person who was, but I guess they didn’t make the cut.

Am I offended by the Dallas Biz list? Not really. But it further illustrates the need for places like Dallas South that helps folks see the overlooked portions of our community.

And it illustrates what’s being lost in the dire state of Black media outlets like Ebony and Jet. So stop emailing me about how I’m racist for having a site dedicated to the positive portrayal of African-Americans.

Anyway, look for a list from Dallas South that will highlight the under 40 business scene. If you have anyone you would like to nominate, comment on this post and we will consider them.

DALLAS BUSINESS JOURNAL 40 UNDER 40