Posts by Eric Nicholson
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What Was That Loud Crashing Noise at NorthPark?
Landing in my inbox just moments ago, a missive from Dallas Police with may be the awesomest subject line I’ve seen in a while: “Loud Crashing noise leads Dallas Police to North Park Mall”. Classic.
So what was the commotion that so mobilized Dallas Police that they sent out a press release? Were the hammering men in that one foyer somehow sabotaged? Did a Justin Bieber sighting end in some sort of grisly chaos?
No and no. Turns out it was someone who drove a white or light-colored Ford truck through an exterior door on the south side of the mall, then smack into a Dillard’s security door at 2:43 this morning. Detectives believe they were going after two ATMs. Mall employees apparently scared them off.
No one was hurt except for NorthPark’s $10,000 glass security door.
By Eric Nicholson Jun. 28, 2010 | 3:11 pm | No Comments | Comments RSS -
Yesterday Afternoon, A Car is Jacked in Preston Center
Who could resist such a fine machine?It’s not the most likely time or place for a car-jacking–broad daylight on a Thursday afternoon in Preston Center–but that didn’t matter much to the guy who stole James Gross’s car. (Bear with me ’til the end… This gets awesome.)
Gross, a 24-year-old student at Sanford-Brown College, was walking to his car, enjoying a Jamba Juice on his way to class, when a man asked to talk to him. The man was clearly on something, Gross said, so he kept walking and got into his 1993 Honda Accord. The man proceeded to stand in the middle of the street behind the car, yelling while Gross tried to maneuver the Accord out of its parking space and around the man without hitting him. He managed to do so and pulled up behind a line of cars on Westchester Drive, waiting to turn into Douglas.
“He ran toward my car right when I’m pulling away –my windows were down because I don’t have any A/C–and he opened the door and yanked me into the street,” Gross said.
Except for the getting-pulled-out-of-my-car thing, I can relate so far: I too have a crappy car which has gone for long stretches without A/C. And I too enjoy Jamba Juice. But this is where he loses me. Instead of laying on the pavement, licking his wounds and mourning the loss of his vehicle, as I would have done, he gets up, runs back to his car, and tries to throw the carjacker out.
Unfortunately the carjacker knew how to drive a stick shift and got going quickly. So Gross, clinging to the car, punches the dude in the face several times before letting go once the car picks up too much speed. (“I’d rather not lose my life,” he explains. Of course not.) And he watches his only means of transportation speed away.
“My reaction was I couldn’t believe he got me out of my car,” Gross said. “I just shouldn’t have let happen. I mean, I’m a football player. It’s just a man thing.”
This story does have a happy ending, if not for Gross’s thigh, which suffered a pretty nasty asphalt burn, he says. But the thief was arrested last night in Euless for shoplifting, and the 1993 Accord is waiting for Gross in the Dallas Police Department Auto Pound.
I’m not saying that, if you get car-jacked, you should hang from a moving car while punching the thief in the face. In fact, it’s probably a very bad idea in most cases. I’m just saying it’s pretty awesome. Kudos to you, James Gross.
I have a call in to the Euless Police Department to get the name/mug shot of the alleged thief. Updates when/if they come.
By Eric Nicholson May. 21, 2010 | 3:49 pm | 7 Comments | Comments RSS -
ESD’s Letter to Parents Informing Them (Kinda) of Student-Teacher Affair
Well, the Morning News beat me to it–I searched high and low yesterday and, as far as I can tell, the lawsuit hasn’t actually been filed–but the parents of a former student are suing the school for, according to the article, “failing to protect their 16-year-old daughter from a sexual relationship with a teacher and expelling her ‘for being a victim.’” Former history teacher J. Nathan Campbell, who left the school in the fall, is the teacher accused in the lawsuit, according to DMN (and, if Facebook is to be believed, is the best football announcer in the history of ever).
Campbell’s home phone has been disconnected, so no dice yet talking to him. School officials are referring questions to attorney Donald Godwin, with whom I just left a message. Below, though, is a letter, dated Monday, from headmaster Stephen Swann to parents, informing them (albeit very obliquely) of the allegations against the school. “[P]lease know that ESD stands by its certain knowledge that the school acted in an appropriate, timely, and definitive manner,” he writes. (Major props to Merritt “Queen Miracle Worker” Patterson for digging this up.)
My main question: If the school found out about the alleged affair in the fall, why are parents just being informed now that a lawsuit is being threatened? Updates to come.
By Eric Nicholson May. 19, 2010 | 1:17 pm | 18 Comments | Comments RSS -
Is Your Hair Soaking Up An Oil Spill? It Could Be
Tired of your hair just, you know, sitting on top of your head? It could be doing something a bit more productive, say, helping mitigate environmental catastrophe on the Gulf Coast (not that parts of the Gulf Coast aren’t that already). Preston Center’s Salon Madrid–and from what I here several other area salons–is collecting hair, wool sweaters, nylons, feathers, anything that might soak up oil. The hair, etc. is mailed to Matter of Trust, which makes “booms” by stuffing hair into pantyhose.
Salon Madrid owner Jason Thompson said the salon has been shipping hair to Matter of Trust since opening in December, but he’s stepping up efforts in the wake of the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But the response so far has been underwhelming.
“It hasn’t been huge,” Thompson said. “I wish it was more. We send all our hair of course, but we haven’t had a huge response yet. … I don’t think anybody knows about it.”
If you need a haircut, have any hair clippings laying around, or have spare wool sweaters, feathers, or nylon stockings, drop by Salon Madrid, 6003 Berkshire Lane.
By Eric Nicholson May. 12, 2010 | 3:38 pm | 1 Comment | Comments RSS -
Father’s Day May Be A Month Away, But Anytime’s A Good Time for Shameless Self-Promotion
Man, that is one cute baby.Moms, you’ve had your day in the sun. Mother’s Day was two whole days ago. Time to start thinking about the other cog in the parental machine. The Plaza at Preston Center already is. The University Park shopping center is searching for Dallas’ “Most Deserving Dad” in honor of Father’s Day, which is barely a month away.
So, if there’s an incredibly awesome father or father figure that you know of (must be areal person), submit an essay (no more than 500 words) or post a video on YouTube (five minutes or less) explaining why said father deserves recognition. And prizes. Send essays and video links to mediateam@pharrpr.com. For updates and details, check out the Plaza’s Facebook page.
But be forewarned: Judgments may be harsh, meted out by a panel of celebrity jurists that includes yours truly (please, those seeking autographs head to the back of the screaming throng, for fairness’ sake). Sure, I may have never competed on Iron Chef America, a la fellow judge Kent Rathbun, nor do I run a award-winning morning radio show like Gene Gates. But I did contribute no fewer than half the genes to the adorable guy you see above (No, no. That’s me! I mean the one on the right).
One final note: As a judge, I am, unfortunately, not eligible for the contest. So think of the second most deserving father out there, and get to typing/videomaking. Deadline is June 11.
By Eric Nicholson May. 11, 2010 | 2:09 pm | 2 Comments | Comments RSS -
Ethics Commission’s Verdict on HP Community League Using Town Hall Addy: Depends
You know, by now, that the address for the Highland Park Community League reflects its civic commitment. And it has since at least 2004, when one Stephen Rogers was HPCL treasurer, according to documents filed by the group with the Texas Ethics Commission, which regulates campaign finance and political advertising. But beyond appearances, is there anything illegal in a political group listing Town Hall’s digs as its purported headquarters?
That would depend on whether Highland Park officials/employees authorized spending public funds or used town property to distribute political advertising, said TEC spokesman Tim Sorrells. There’s nothing wrong with using Town Hall’s address per se. All that matters is whether public officials were involved.
Sorrells wouldn’t speak directly to the HPCL case or whether, say, having a town employee answer HPCL’s phone calls constituted an expenditure of public funds. That would be up to judgment of the TEC commissioner if a complaint were filed and an investigation launched.
By Eric Nicholson May. 4, 2010 | 4:31 pm | 4 Comments | Comments RSS -
On the Hilltop, Another Homage to Caruth Family
At SMU this afternoon, school officials, trustees, and representatives from the Communities Foundation unveiled the four-floor, 64,000-square-foot Caruth Hall. Adorned with neoclassical columns, a golden cuppola, and a tasteful red brick facade (surprise, surprise), the building sits on the site of an original Caruth Hall.
The name only makes sense, as construction was funded in large part by the $7.5 million donation from the W.W. Caruth Foundation at the Communities Foundation of Texas (that’s not counting the $5 million given for the establishment of the Caruth Institute for Engineering) and $2 million from the Hillcrest Foundation, which was founded by Earle Clark Caruth. Not to mention that the availability of the Caruth homestead played a large part in convincing the Methodist Church to located their national university in Dallas, said SMU president Gerald Turner.
“Most of you here who know the history of this university know that we would not be where we are today without the Caruth farm,” he said.
Turner, SMU alumnus and $4 million donor Robert Palmer, and Bobby Lyle, for whom the engineering school is named, and others addressed the crowd gathered around a concrete amphitheater on the eastern side of the building, which will house the computer science and engineering management, information, and systems departments.
Caruth Hall joins the Junkins Engineering Building and Embrey Engineering Building, opened in 2002 and 2006, respectively, on the engineering quad (or triangle, whichever).
By Eric Nicholson Apr. 16, 2010 | 5:09 pm | 2 Comments | Comments RSS -
Bon Jovi Hearts HP Girls Lacrosse
Photo by Marco Antonio Medina
You know by know that Jon Bon Jovi is a fan of helping the homeless. He’s also, apparantly, a fan of high school girls lacrosse. The rock star, in town for a sold out, two-night stint at the American Airlines Center, made an unexpected appearance at last night’s showdown between ESD and Highland Park at Highlander Stadium.
“I don’t know why he was there, but I’m not complaining,” says Highland Park coach Amanda Walker.
But in case you’re wondering what the venerable rocker is doing stopping by random high school sporting events, word is that he was there with guitarist Richie Sambora visiting friends Shy and Charlotte Anderson (daughter of Jerry Jones), whose daughter plays for HP.
Bon Jovi’s magic didn’t quite wear off on HP. ESD won the game 20-9.
By Eric Nicholson Apr. 13, 2010 | 11:19 am | 6 Comments | Comments RSS -
Whitman Out As Hockaday Headmistress
Hockaday sent word yesterday that Headmistress Jeanne Whitman will step down effective June 2011. The board of trustees is busy forming a search committee, which will be headed by alumna Talley Dunn, who owns Dunn and Brown Contemporary and chairs the board’s finance committee.
“I love this job, especially the daily lessons and wisdom that I gain from our girls,” Whitman said. ”I also know that this is the right time to plan for a transition. We have accomplished much together; I can’t wait to watch and, hopefully participate in, the next generation of the Hockaday legacy.”
By Eric Nicholson Feb. 25, 2010 | 10:52 am | 1 Comment | Comments RSS
