Dallas Flashes Back to 1997

Fourth Reich: More controversy erupts in Farmers Branch as the city begins a crackdown on code violations in a move officials say was requested by city residents. That news is followed by City Manager Gary Greer's decision to order several works by artist Alex Trevino removed from display at the city's Manske Library. Some of the censored works were inspired, Trevino says, by Farmers Branch's battle over its anti-illegal immigrant ordinance. In late September, the city's attorneys ask Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district to turn over the names and addresses of every child living in the city and enrolled in public schools. The moves lead some city residents to complain that the city is coming to resemble a Nazi state, a charge city council member Tim O'Hare dismisses. "Ich bin amerikanisch," O'Hare says. "Schließen Sie Ihren Mund, oder Sie werden Ihre tater tots nicht bekommen." (Very roughly translated: "I'm American. Shut your mouth or you won't get your tater tots.")

October-December

Cleaning house: Concluding a 27-month FBI investigation, a federal grand jury returns indictments against 14 defendants, among them former mayoral candidate Don Hill and his wife, alleging a wide-ranging scheme of bribery and extortion involving low-income housing developments. (Former city council member James Fantroy is accused in a separate case of embezzling more than $5,000 from Paul Quinn College, where he once served on the board of directors of Paul Quinn Community Development Corp.) At a lunchtime news conference, Hill proclaims his innocence. "I did not take one improper penny from...HEY! That damn vulture just swooped down and stole my sandwich! Man, I wish that thing would stop following me around."

Next time, try a Star of David: The parents of a 15-year-old Waxahachie High School sophomore threaten a lawsuit when their son is kept from class for wearing a T-shirt supporting the presidential candidacy of John Edwards. The school's dress code prohibits students from wearing shirts that are provocative, offensive, sexual or suggestive in nature, vulgar, lewd or obscene. School officials contend that the shirt supporting Edwards, a Democrat and former trial lawyer, falls into at least five of those categories.

Workin' on a chain gang: Dallas County Commissioner Ken Mayfield proposes assigning jail trusties in outdoor work crews to clear debris and brush from county roads. Sheriff Lupe Valdez is cool to the idea, noting that the vast majority of the jail's inmates are too weak to lift a hoe or haul trash. "There's just something about the criminal element in Dallas, I suppose, but most of our inmates are a pretty sickly lot," Valdez says. "In fact, they're really prone to kicking the bucket at the slightest provocation, like if you deny them medicine or water. What wussies."

Oh, what a lucky man: In one of the most expensive deals in team history, the Cowboys and quarterback Tony Romo agree on a six-year contract extension worth a reported $67.5 million. On an entirely unrelated note that has absolutely nothing at all to do with the large pile of spondoolicks that Romo is now sitting on, the boyish QB is romantically linked to celebrity blonde Jessica Simpson, whose recent film made $384 opening weekend. Which, alas, isn't even a joke.

Hostage situation: A marathon three-month trial of seven supporters of the Holy Land Foundation, accused of conspiring to provide material support to the Middle East terrorist organization Hamas, ends with a hung jury on all but one charge (the latter resulted in an acquittal). Jurors deadlock on the remaining charges after U.S. District Judge Joe Fish informs them that "What the fuck, can we go home now?" is not considered an acceptable verdict in U.S. courts.

Come home, Jim: Dallas voters go to the polls to decide the fate of a controversial toll road along the Trinity River. Voters are asked to cast ballots either "for" or "against" a measure that would either halt the proposed high-speed multi-lane road or allow it to go forward. We're not sure which because, frankly, the road, which officials say could cost anywhere from $1.35 to $40 kabillion, is very confusing and not the sort of issue we here at the Observer concern ourselves with—except for columnist Jim Schutze, who last we heard in early November was squatting in a homeless camp on White Rock Creek, living on squirrel meat, preaching Marxist theory to winos and threatening "to bring the revolution home to the idiot bourgeoisie whether they like it or not," which we assume means the road, favored by developers and city leaders, passed muster.

Sauce for the gander: A drive by Dallas Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway to outlaw saggin'—a style of dress in which young men wear their pants low, exposing their underwear—stirs controversy thanks to the song "Pull Your Pants Up" by local rapper Dooney da Priest that contains lyrics some consider homophobic. Earlier in the year, Caraway had proposed an ordinance banning saggin', but backed off when informed that such a law could also prohibit exposed "whale tails" and "tramp stamps." "Oh, man, nobody wants that," Caraway says.

At least they're winning now: Cowboys fans suffer a severe case of sticker shock when the team reveals that season ticket holders could pay more than $50,000 per seat for "licenses" that would allow them to purchase tickets—at an additional cost of several hundred dollars each—at the team's new $1 billion stadium in Arlington. Team owner Jerry Jones defends the high cost, saying the figures apply only to the most expensive seats in the stadium's "lower bowl." Upper-level seats will be more affordable, Jones assures fans. "Provided you have two kidneys, aren't particularly attached to one of them and are willing to travel to Mexico, live professional football will still be in your price range," Jones says.