Residents of central Dallas who celebrated the “death” of the controversial Trinity Parkway with a mock New Orleans style funeral are still wary.  The controversial proposed $1.5 billion toll road would have created a major highway between the Trinity River levees running through central Dallas. The toll road had been planned as a 9-mile road which would connect Interstate 45 and State Highway 183.  The road was planned as part of the Trinity River Corridor Project, which aims to create a large urban park with lakes, recreational areas and trails in the now largely vacant space between the levees.  The road has been approved by Dallas voters twice; first in a 1998 bond package for the larger corridor project and again in a 2007 election that unsuccessfully sought to block its construction.

Opponents have questioned the wisdom of the first ever freeway to be built inside of a river levee as well as the impact on the planned parks and existing wildlife along the banks of the channelized river. And the list of opponents seems to be growing.   But Dallas Morning News columnist Steve Blow is arguing for Dallas to keep the toll road on the table.  Blow believes that the river can accommodate both recreation and transportation.

“I especially urge anyone wrestling with this question to get down between the levees and get a feel for how vast that space is. I was there a few weeks ago and was struck again by the size. It’s so enormous that you could easily enjoy a soccer game, a picnic or a bike ride on the west side of the river and barely even know that a major roadway was way over on the east side. Above all, let’s do the sensible thing and simply keep our options open. Let’s see what the final plan brings. Let’s hear from anyone with better fixes to our transportation bottleneck.”

Lebanese-American porn star and University of Texas at El Paso graduate Mia Khalifa apparently wants her own Whataburger franchise.  If you have ever been to a Whataburger in a small Texas town, you probably noted the photos on the wall reflecting the local population and history. One can only wonder at what might be adorning the walls at a Khalifa-owned burger shop.  At any rate, the company appears disinterested in fulfilling Khalifa’s dream.  The Houston Chronicle reports:

“Mia Khalifa .  . . has skyrocketed to fame in the last few weeks, earning news stories in national media outlets like Newsweek creating an international firestorm that drew death threats and rising to the top of her profession.  But it seems there is one thing the 21-year-old Khalifa — listed as the most popular porn star on Pornhub, which is the 71st most popular website in the world (in front of the websites for the New York Times and CNN) — wants that she can’t have: her own Whataburger franchise.

According to the actress’ Instagram and Twitter profile, which is totally NSFW, she is a ‘future Whataburger franchise owner.’ A statement released to the San Antonio Express-News by Whataburger’s Corporate Communications office Thursday regarding the actress’ desire for ownership suggests otherwise.  ‘We are not adding any new franchisees in any of our existing or new markets,’ a representative said in an email.”

Irving Texas has been rocked by 11 earthquakes in the last few days.  The strongest has been 3.6 magnitude.  Experts say that it takes 4.0 magnitude temblor to create any real damage.

7:37 a.m. Tuesday                    2.3 magnitude

3:10 p.m. Tuesday                    3.5 magnitude

6:52 p.m. Tuesday                    3.6 magnitude

8:11 p.m. Tuesday                     2.9 magnitude

8:12 p.m. Tuesday                    2.7 magnitude

9:54 p.m. Tuesday                    1.7 magnitude

10:05 p.m. Tuesday                  2.4 magnitude

11:02 p.m. Tuesday                   1.6 magnitude

12:59 a.m. Wednesday             3.1 magnitude

8:34 a.m. Wednesday               2.6 magnitude

9:57 a.m. Wednesday               2.7 magnitude

See full story at http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Earthquake-Felt-in-Fort-Worth-Dallas-Irving-287697091.html

Image from http://www.commondreams.org

The Galveston Daily News reports that a local plumber has received threats after a photo of one of his old company pickup trucks was shown in a video posted by Islamic militants in Syria.

“A local plumber is being flooded with phone calls — and some threats — after a picture of one of his old company vehicles being used by Islamist militants in Syria was posted on Twitter.  The picture was posted online by the Islamic extremist brigade Ansar al-Deen Front, according to a CBS News report. It shows a black pick-up truck with a Mark-1 Plumbing decal on the door and an anti-aircraft gun in the bed.  Mark Oberholtzer, who has owned and operated Mark-1 Plumbing in Texas City for the past 32 years, confirmed it was his pickup truck in the picture. He said he no longer owned the vehicle and had no idea how it ended up in Syria.

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to take a case involving Texas’ denial of a specialized license plate to the Sons of Confederate Veterans who petitioned to have a Texas license plate emblazoned with the Confederate Battle Flag that many regard as a symbol of the South’s racist past.

The Dallas Morning News reports:

“A state motor vehicle board rejected the application because of concerns the Confederate flag would offend many Texans who believe the flag is a racially charged symbol of repression. But a panel of federal appeals court judges ruled that the board’s decision violated the group’s First Amendment rights. Texas offers more than 350 specialty plates, the group said in its court filing. They include plates that say “Choose Life,” “God Bless Texas,” “Fight Terrorism,” as well as others in support of Boy Scouts, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, blood donations, pro sports teams and colleges. The state said in its Supreme Court appeal that the decision to reject the Sons of Confederate Veterans’ license plate was not discrimination because the motor vehicle board had not approved a license plate expressing any view about the Confederacy or the battle flag.”

The case absolutely raises First Amendment issues regarding whether the state can award some groups a specialized plate while denying the plate to others because of their political or other beliefs.  For example, could the fundamentalist Mormons petition for a plate that calls for legalization of “plural marriage”?  Or could the Reconquista movement petition for a plate calling for the return of Texas to Mexico?  The matter of line-drawing in First Amendment cases is never easy.  Which makes one wonder why the Supreme Court agreed to hear this case after rejecting similar appeals from other states.

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20141205-texas-battle-over-confederate-flag-license-plate-headed-to-supreme-court.ece

From the annals of brain-dead collecting.  The Remington 700 6mm rifle used by Charles Whitman to shoot some of the 17 people he killed in August 1966  in the UT Tower Massacre is up for sale.  For only $25,000 this piece of American mass-killing history can be yours.

According to the Houston Chronicle:.

“There is a pending offer on the rifle of over $25,000 right now,” said [Donald] Weiss, a gun collector in his own right. That offer is from an Orange man, Weiss said.Weiss has seen the weapon used at a North Texas gun range and confirms it is in working condition. The buyer likely would want the rifle for its historical significance, and not for its inherent morbidity, Weiss said. “I think that people who have an interest in this will be shooters or gun collectors. It will be bought for collector value,” Weiss says.

August 1, 1966 is a day I will never forget.  My father was at a travel agency on the Drag just about 30 minutes before the shooting began.  I was playing in the backyard with a friend when my Grandmother came out. “Someone’s taking potshots at people from the Tower.” Unfortunately they were not pot shots.  Whitman was a trained marksman and displayed it that day.  We watched the event unfold live on KTBC which had a camera trained on the Tower.  The Tower was turned from a place of majesty and pride into a fearful monstrosity that day by an insane egomaniac.

Quote from the Ballad of Charles Whitman by Kinky Friedman.