Posts by Dan Koller

  • Dan Koller
    • Dan Koller
    • Managing Editor
    • Dan has been the managing editor of Park Cities People since September 2008. His previous job was with The Dallas Morning News. His first job was scooping Baskin-Robbins ice cream at the corner of Mockingbird and Abrams. Between those gigs, he probably sold you popcorn at the AMC Glen Lakes.

  • Lucy Wrubel to Spin Tunes on New Bridge

    Lucy Wrubel

    When I go to the website for Dallas City Hall, I don’t expect to see the face of Lucy Wrubel, the coolest DJ the Park Cities has ever produced. But there she is alongside Lyle Lovett, because they will both be performing at the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge celebration party on March 2.

    By Dan Koller Feb. 6, 2012 | 11:13 am | No Comments | Comments RSS

  • Kershaw Pitches in at Highland Park Presbyterian

    The Rev. Ron Scates catches a pitch from Clayton Kershaw on Thursday night. (Photo: Susan Hudson)

    Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw was the featured speaker at Highland Park Presbyterian Church last Thursday. He and his wife, Ellen, recently published a book called Arise: Live Out Your Faith and Dreams on Whatever Field You Find Yourself, and Kershaw discussed both their missions to Africa and his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

    The talk began with the Rev. Ron Scates catching a pitch from Kershaw, which isn’t as out of left field as you might think. Andrew Scates, the pastor’s oldest son, was a catcher on the HPHS baseball team when Kershaw was a pitcher for the Scots. Ron, who officiated the Kershaws’ wedding, even attended San Antonio’s Trinity University on a baseball scholarship.

    You can read more about the event in the Feb. 10 edition of Park Cities People.

    By Dan Koller Feb. 6, 2012 | 6:14 am | No Comments | Comments RSS

  • Meet Scots’ New District Rivals

    The UIL unveiled its new districts this morning. Joining the Highland Park Scots in District 10-4A for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years are Forney, North Forney, Terrell, Mesquite Poteet, West Mesquite, Carrollton Creekview, and Carrollton Newman Smith.

    By Dan Koller Feb. 2, 2012 | 9:18 am | 21 Comments | Comments RSS

  • Why Can’t HP Consolidate Signing Ceremonies?

    Today is National Signing Day, when high school athletes get to autograph letters of intent to accept scholarships from colleges and universities. Our crack staff will be covering three separate signing ceremonies at Highland Park High School this afternoon. Meanwhile, DISD has scheduled a single ceremony for all of its dozens of athletes. Let me repeat: three ceremonies for a single suburban school, one ceremony for an entire urban district. Remind me again which one is the bureaucracy.

    By Dan Koller Feb. 1, 2012 | 8:32 am | 1 Comment | Comments RSS

  • St. Mark’s Books Ben Stiller For Fundraiser

    We’ve told you previously about Jesuit booking big acts such as Randy Travis and Clint Black for its homecoming festivities. But St. Mark’s takes the cake by securing an appearance by Ben Stiller at its Celebrate St. Mark’s fundraiser. I wonder if Stiller is aware that Owen Wilson — his co-star in 10 films, including Starsky and Hutch, The Royal Tenenbaums, and the Meet the Parents series — was once expelled from St. Mark’s.

    By Dan Koller Jan. 31, 2012 | 9:23 am | No Comments | Comments RSS

  • HPISD Trustees Want to Keep Working For You

    Leslie Melson and Jim Hitzelberger, the only two Highland Park ISD trustees whose terms are about to expire, have announced their intentions to seek re-election.

    Hitzelberger joined the board in 2009 and holds the office of vice president. He is a 1974 graduate of Highland Park High School, where two of his sons are students. A third son attends Highland Park Middle School.

    “It is an honor to serve HPISD and support the educational excellence that is a Highland Park tradition,” Hitzelberger said.

    Melson joined the board in 2006 and was elected president in 2010. She and her husband, Jim, have four children who all graduated from Highland Park High School.

    “I am grateful for the opportunity to give back to my community in this capacity and consider it a privilege to impact the success of our students,” she said.

    HPISD trustees are elected at large and serve three-year terms. Municipal elections in the Dallas area will be held May 12. The deadline to file a candidacy is March 5.

    By Dan Koller Jan. 31, 2012 | 7:29 am | No Comments | Comments RSS

  • Just So We’re Clear, NASCAR is Not Coming to Park Cities

    I know one person who read Glenn Hunter’s breaking news and didn’t understand that it was satire.

    By Dan Koller Jan. 30, 2012 | 8:12 am | 10 Comments | Comments RSS

  • Does That Hurt, Scots Fans? Does It Hurt?

    I just left the Scots’ basketball game at Pearce with cub reporter Zachary Koller. (“What’s that coach doing, Daddy? What’s that noise, Daddy?”) Two banners hanging below one basket caught my eye:

    “Leave Skirts to Girls”

    “Daddy Can’t Buy This Game”

    By Dan Koller Jan. 27, 2012 | 9:09 pm | 6 Comments | Comments RSS

  • Don’t Miss Story of Warp-Speed Test Drive

    Bradford Pearson contemplates whether he has enough road to reach 88 miles per hour, thereby activating the McLaren MP4-12C's flux capacitor. (Staff photo: Alana Harrison)

    Park Place McLaren held its grand opening on Lemmon Avenue last week. To mark the occasion, we asked if Bradford Pearson could take a 2012 McLaren MP4-12C for a test drive. This is a car that’ll run you $257,000 — not $275,000 as I erroneously wrote in the headline. (And those $18,000 will make all the difference in your buying decision, right?) I highly recommend you pick up a copy of today’s paper to read Brad’s account of his ride around Dallas. Not only is it funny, it’s already prompted one reader to cancel her subscription.

    By Dan Koller Jan. 27, 2012 | 10:22 am | 3 Comments | Comments RSS

  • Academic Decathletes Earn Another Trip to State

    The brainiacs on the Highland Park High School Academic Decathlon team have done it again. The Scots finished second only to defending state champion Rockwall in the Region X tournament, which was held last weekend at Conrad High School. Highland Park and Rockwall compete in the medium school division, but the Scots’ score was much higher than the 40,209 recorded by Plano High School, which won the large school division.

    The Scots earned a score of 43,602 at the Region X tournament. That’s 889 points more than the Highland Park record established at last year’s state tournament. The Scots are ranked third among the 25 medium schools that will compete for the state championship Feb. 24-26 in San Antonio.

    Highlights at the regional meet include Bo Schuh’s win in the varsity division and Thomas Mylott’s second-place finish in the scholastic division. While Bo, Thomas, Brooks Alexander, Arya McCarthy, and Jaclyn Zhou all won separate events, contributions were also made by Jean Luc Vorster, Will Nichol, Karis Dodd, Nathan Hardenburg, Ellie Reynolds, and Meg Brawner.

    By Dan Koller Jan. 26, 2012 | 12:23 pm | 3 Comments | Comments RSS
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