2013 August Lakewood

How to Present Remodeling Ideas to a Designer

One of the most enjoyable phases of any remodeling or construction project happens before you set foot in a design studio. It’s the creative process of discovery, of finding what inspires you, of collecting images, narrowing down, and prioritizing what matters most. By doing this, when you meet with specialists in design and architecture, you’ll provide the tools they need to execute your vision to your satisfaction.

Build a Portfolio of Images Online:

Houzz.com is an amazing repository of over 1,500,000 beautiful and inspiring images of homes, inside and out. Start by creating an “Ideabook” for your upcoming project. Search by room, and then by related subcategories. Add each image you like to your Ideabook. You can even enter notes to remind yourself if you chose the image for a particular detail.

Pinterest is another great source of inspiration and images. Search by key words, find an image you like, then “Pin it” to your board. You’ll be guided by Pinterest to other boards with the same picture. That will often lead you to similar images, and as your collection builds, cohesive design themes will emerge. Pinterest links with Facebook, so you can easily share images with friends or your designer.

HGTV.com keeps getting better. Check under “Rooms” in the navigation bar. You’ll find not only images, but videos, guides, articles and more to inspire and inform your next project. You’ll learn about practical design considerations here as well.

Take Your Own Photos:

You’ll be surprised how many quality photos you can accumulate with your own camera. There’s nothing like being present in a home to see the impact of design in 3-D and to experience the functionality of each element. Note the features you may want and snap away. You can start by visiting model homes around the Metroplex and friends in our local area.

Create a Digital Photo Binder: Try applications like Google’s Picasa, Apple’s iPhoto, or set up a free account with Flickr. Each has innovative methods for collecting, organizing, and sharing your photos.

Don’t worry; they’re all easy to figure out and fun to use.

Create a Real Photo Binder:

You’ll want a keepsake to remind you of how your dream came to be. So why not get pictures developed and put them in a physical binder? You can clip magazine images to go along with the ones you’ve taken. Many of our customers even draw their own sketches.

Just as your home will be a reflection of your personal preferences, so will the way you present remodeling ideas to your designer. No matter which methods you choose, the more you enjoy the process, the more likely you are to love the final outcome.

Viva Dallas Burlesque

Who holds the power of sex in Dallas’ recently revitalized burlesque scene?

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Pursuit of happiness

Former Channel 8 film critic gary Cogill made a big career change two years ago. Will his leap of faith pay off? launch

18

Power of the people New District 14 City Councilman Philip Kingston says he believes in the power of listening to people.

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cover Current events

It lights up our lives, connects us and moves us — this month, it’s all about power.

To express or not to express Kathy and tom Lind are big believers in the power of self-expression, which is why they fill their house with it.

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Aboretum parking woes ... the saga continues. Could a parking garage help?

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The heroes around us

I’ve had a busy summer so far.

Jamie Foxx, Channing Tatum and I figured out a way to prevent world nuclear annihilation, although the White House and D.C. in general didn’t fare too well.

Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer and I tried to eliminate crime and robber barons from the Old West. We did pretty well, although as I think you know, our efforts to stamp out corporate greed in America really only slowed things down a bit.

Spock, Kirk and I also traveled somewhere light-years away to prevent Earth from being destroyed. That was pretty fun, too.

They weren’t putting their lives on the line because it was their “job” or because their boss told them to get in there and do it or because their shift hadn’t yet ended.

No, a sense of civic duty or corporate responsibility wasn’t the driving force behind their super-human efforts. Instead, they were motivated by something more personal.

Channing Tatum wanted to rescue his daughter from criminals, and he wanted to redeem her view of him as a father.

Armie Hammer wanted to avenge the death of his brother and rescue his brother’s wife and son, while Johnny Depp was motivated by a mistake he made as a child that he needed to rectify.

The Star Trek guys had all messed up in the past, and they were motivated to show everyone they really could do the right thing at the right time.

You could argue they performed their crazy feats of heroism because they believed in the greater good, or they felt as if they owed their neighbor a better life, or they simply were willing to risk their lives so the rest of us could live in peace and freedom.

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Superman and I haven’t gotten together yet, although I feel as if I already know the guy and his story. And I haven’t seen any of those touch-feely foreign language films yet. Maybe next month.

What have I learned from my summer adventures? Well, I know they’re only movies, but I was struck by the fact that the heroes weren’t getting shot and stabbed for the love of country, although there was a lot of flag-waving during the action scenes.

And you wouldn’t be all wrong. But every hero (real and celluloid) has a back story, as they say in the movies, and every back story begins with some driving personal motivation or ambition, the need to impress someone or prove something to someone else.

The good news is that the movies aren’t the only places for back stories or heroism or honor.

We write about neighborhood heroes breaking free of the daily grind here in our magazine and every day in our online daily news update at advocatemag.com. We can see them all around us every day, if we just pay attention.

And if we look really hard, even without 3D glasses, we can even see a little bit of heroism in ourselves every once in awhile.

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contributors: GAYLA BROOKS, SEAN CHAFFIN, GEORGE MASON, BLAIR MONIE, ELLEN RAFF

photo editor: DANNY FULGENCIO

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Suite 820, Dallas 75214; or email rwamre@advocatemag.com.

Summer blockbusters aren’t the only place to find people fighting for the greater good

You could argue they performed their crazy feats of heroism because they believed in the greater good, or they felt as if they owed their neighbor a better life, or they simply were willing to risk their lives so the rest of us could live in peace and freedom.

Half Price Books makes big plans for the 6 acres next door to its flagship

Search: Half Price Books

A new shopping center is coming to the northeast corner of Northwest Highway and Shady Brook next door to Half Price Books, writes editor Brittany Nunn. Developers are eyeing local and national retailers.

The neighborhood across the street and down the street is not the greatest buy them out first then build. —frack

So in other words more strip mall garbage. —Los_Politico

Please enlighten us on what new retail at such a busy intersection should look like? Some late-Victorian flats with apothecaries, haberdasheries and various other curio shoppes at street level? Strip mall is about as good as it gets for that corner, and it’s way better than dilapidated buildings that have been vacant for over a decade.

—Lord Fauntleroy to Los_Politico

ThingS from our webSiTe

Kids + crushed granite + fountain = new patio at Cane Rosso White Rock

Search: Cane Rosso

The patio design at Cane Rosso White Rock may not have been the best idea, writes editor Keri Mitchell. The decomposed granite tempts children to treat it as a sort of sandbox. “It never occurred to me people would want to throw that stuff,” owner Jay Jerrier says.

So instead of teaching your kids how to behave in public, much less a nice restaurant, let’s just make changes to the restaurant’s aesthetic designs because parents don’t know how to discipline anymore. Great idea! And parents, don’t even get me started — I see plenty of well-behaved kids and plenty of badly behaved ones, so don’t make a comment that kids are kids. —xt

How annoying to the other diners! What is wrong with parents today? Geeze. Teach your kids some manners and respect. Glad you sound so light-hearted,

lakewood

Jay. I’d have to put a child leash law into effect or start banning parents.

—Bonnie

They are kid-friendly; however, parents should be concerned how their children behave. Stop thinking you and your children are privileged enough that rules and manners don’t apply. There are plenty of places that you can allow the little angels to run amuck. *sigh*

—Lakewood 4Rest

Zöes Kitchen a possibility for Snow Pea location?

Search: Zöes Kitchen

Rumor has it that Zöes Kitchen is eyeing the old Snow Pea location in the Lakewood Shopping Center. The restaurant hasn’t confirmed the information yet, but here’s what our readers had to say about it.

Yea, that location needs some warming up — windows would help. I’m a little bit underwhelmed by the rumors of Zöes Kitchen though. I don’t know the menu looks, for want of a better word, a bit dull ... —Jeff

Meh. I’d prefer another offering other than Mediterranean food already adequately handled by Ali Baba.

—Lakewood Resident

No comparison to Ali Baba other than they both have hummus on the menu. The Mediterranean is a huge area with diverse food. Zöes rocks! —foodie

Stay in the know. For daily news updates, visit lakewood.advocatemag.com. Also follow Lakewood-East Dallas Advocate on Facebook and @Advocate_ED on Twitter.

Talk to us. Go online to comment on our stories, and your words could appear in the magazine. Got story ideas for us?

EmaiL EDiTOR BRiTTany

bnunn@advocatemag.com

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Q&A: Philip Kingston

On June 24 Philip Kingston, an attorney specializing in commercial litigation, was sworn into office as our new District 14 councilman, replacing longtime city council lightning rod Angela Hunt, who served her maximum of four consecutive terms in the East Dallas district. Kingston represents a sizable section of East Dallas, from Northwest Highway past La Vista. Kingston says he believes in the power of city politics, although not in the way you might think. “I think everyone has visions of elected leaders as being powerful people who say what should happen and that’s how it goes, but that is not what a city council person does or should try to do,” he says. Instead, Kingston is a big believer in hearing everybody out and finding consensus, which is something he’s learned from years of listening to city leaders before him, including his predecessor, Hunt.

Why was it important to you to run for city council?

I knew I could do this job well. I don’t mean to sound arrogant about it, but I’ve spent an awful lot of time prepping for this, in doing neighborhood volunteer work and in engaging with the city staff and city political bodies. I recognized that I’d honed a set of skills that allowed me to really take grassroots concerns and convert them into outcomes — that’s what people want.

And by “grassroots concerns,” you mean … “Grassroots concerns” is such a shortcut term. It means details of life, and that’s a big part of what the campaign was, that we wanted to improve basic quality of life for our citizens. It’s a really simple concept, but there are a million details that go into that. It’s not real easy, and the first thing you have to do is reach a political consensus on what that means and which of those concerns have priority. Where are we going to spend our money, where are we going to spend our time and our resources? Those are all political questions that take a lot of time to figure out, to get everyone’s input, and everyone needs to be heard. And if you don’t take the time to get it right, then you won’t be giving people what they want.

Philip Kingston: Chris Arrant

If you could describe your leadership style in one word, what would it be?

I’m going to hyphenate and claim it’s one word: consensus-seeking. Everybody needs a seat at the table. Everybody needs to be heard. It doesn’t mean that everybody gets everything they want all the time. Obviously that can’t happen, but that’s not the point of the process. You win some, you lose some, you compromise. That process is really healthy, I think.

What’s your vision for East Dallas?

Dallas at its best attracts the most capable, creative, effective people from around the country to come and live in these neighborhoods. When you draw in people like that and you give them great places to live, I think people who want to serve those people — businesses and investors follow along, and you get this terrific cycle of growth. In East Dallas, in terms of detail, I think that means we’re going to see continued improvement of our established neighborhoods. They need stability and protection. They need excellent public safety. That’s really a given in any neighborhood, but people are very concerned about that in East Dallas. They need their infrastructure improved. The infrastructure is really poor in East Dallas, and we’re going to address some of that. This last bond package has a lot of streets money in it, and a lot of drainage money in it.

Could you briefly sum up why you were endorsed by Angela Hunt?

The short answer is, we have a similar philosophy for city government. All of that blather that I just gave you about my vision for East Dallas, I didn’t come up with that on my own. Angela might’ve put it in different words — those are my words — but those are things that I learned from her and a hundred neighborhood leaders here over the last 14 years. She has a real strong commitment to that smallscale, from-the-bottom-up view of how a city ought to serve its citizens, and that includes an energetic pursuit of transparency and accountability at City Hall, and that’s where she’s developed some of her reputation as a fighter.

Do you plan to follow in her footsteps, or do you hope to deviate from her style and establish your own?

Yeah, I’ve been asked that a lot. The main

Dr. Simon Says ...

difference between us is just the calendar. She was, I think, 32 when she ran for office the first time. You know, I threw her first fundraiser in my backyard. I’m 40, so I’ve had eight more years of doing this stuff at a lower level than she had, where I’ve been in neighborhood meetings, where I’ve worked hundreds and hundreds of hours, listening to my neighbors, figuring out how you do this kind of leadership.

You mentioned infrastructure earlier. Is that something pretty high on the agenda?

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The second half of the bond package has some of the streetscape improvement in it. Now some of that streetscape improvement looks better than we anticipated because my wife, with the help of a lot of our neighbors, talked Walmart (on Lower Greenville) into providing more in terms of landscaping and site improvement then they already were required to do, and frankly, thanks to them for that. But we’ll be implementing that as fast as possible. They’re already selling those bonds now, so that money should become available fairly quickly. Henderson got the most of any single street project in the city, I believe, and that is going to be fantastic. It is going to be a massive improvement, just to drive down it, not to mention better pedestrian access.

What about some of Hunt’s leftover projects, like the trail system? How involved do you plan to be in that?

Trail connections are a huge priority. This connector trail inside the levee in the Trinity is a hugely frustrating issue. The city announced it, everyone agreed to it, the money is there and city staff just flat won’t do it. What is the explanation for that?

Angela had threatened to withhold her portion of the bond funding if they won’t do it right, and I have to say I agree with that. That’s what I’ll do as well. But there are plenty of other things we can do. The downtown circulator system is a big priority. It’s set to start in August or September. John Crawford (the president and CEO of DOWNTOWNDallas), and I have some concerns about making sure it’s successful. If that thing works right, you suddenly have transit options that link East Dallas, Uptown, Downtown, all the way down to Oak Cliff because that trolley will eventu-

ally start running.

We broke ground on the Mockingbird Pedestrian Bridge at the Katy Trail. That’s another project that has taken forever, and again, that is another project I’m very dedicated to. Angela was just desperate to get the ground breaking done before she left office. The more we link those trails up, the more utilization we’re going to see because when they serve not just as a recreational resource, but also as an actual transit option, there’s going to be — I think just an explosion in the use of them. I’m going to try to bike into City Hall as much as possible.

Looks like McMansions are making a comeback, which is an issue close to many East Dallasite hearts. Do you have anything to say about that?

It’s not a matter of saying this style is good, this style is bad; it’s a matter of a responsible builder, and there are a lot of them looking at East Dallas, and it’s for each neighborhood to figure out on their own. I would always prefer to see a neighborhood come together and say, “Here’s what we, coming to a consensus, want.”

Do you have any major projects in your sights?

This is a really broad thing to say, and it’s going to result in a to-do list of a lot of smaller items on it, but refocusing our budget priorities. I’ve said that so many times, I’m afraid I’m boring people with it, but it continues to be an issue. The way a city budget should work is: Pay for all the stuff we need, as in public safety, transportation and infrastructure, drainage and utilities, maintenance on the stuff we already own. Pay for quality-of-life stuff first, and then if we have anything left over, let’s talk about doing other kinds of creative things with city budget, or let’s talk about a tax break. We have the highest tax rate in the North Texas region. I guess I feel like a radical saying I feel like we need to exercise some sort of household budgetary restraint.

How would your family or close friends describe you?

I really don’t know. My wife describes me in all kinds of different ways, depending on her mood. I will say nobody was really surprised when I decided to run for office.

—Brittany Nunn

The power of self-expression

Have you ever looked at a piece of art and thought, “I don’t get it,” or, “My 7-year-old could’ve made that”? You know the stuff we’re talking about: the kind of art that’s often distinguishable by almost-alien creatures with disproportionate body parts and/ or deranged facial features. If you’ve ever thought one of those two phrases, there’s a pretty good chance the piece in question, whether it be a painting or a sculpture or something in between, could be categorized as “outsider art.” Outsider art is raw and emotional, and often possess a childlike quality, which is exactly what people like Kathy and Tom Lind on Swiss Avenue enjoy about it. “When you buy something, it’s because you see it and it means something to you; you connect to it. It feels good for you to buy it, to have it and see it every day,” Kathy Lind says. Outsider art exists

in a domain outside of mainstream art. It exists because the artists who create it can’t not create it, because they have some sort of emotional, psychological, physical or spiritual turmoil they must express. But outsider art does more than just exist; it embodies sometimes-subtle, sometimespowerful messages of emotional vulnerability. “Outsider art is artists who haven’t had formal training — for the most part,” Kathy explains. “They feel called upon by some higher being to express themselves through their art.” When you look at outsider art, there’s a sense that you’re peeking into someone’s journal, like the artist is sharing something very private with you that they desperately need to share but can’t express with words. A lot of art is powerful, but there’s a unique kind of power in outsider art because of the raw

and, at times, intensely emotional images. Outside art collector Julie Webb, who owns a gallery in Waxahachie with her husband, Bruce, says “power” is a word often associated with outsider art. “These artists are not trained artists who are creating art for art’s sake. They’re driven to create because, in some cases, the art is what gives them the power to survive in whatever circumstance they’re living — whether they be disabled or handicapped or economically struggling or whatever,” she says. The Linds’ house is full of outsider art — some of which people identify with, and some of which leaves people scratching their heads, but that’s the nature of the genre. “They couldn’t really care less about what the public is thinking or feeling or saying about their art,” Kathy says. “They do it for themselves; they don’t do

it to sell art.” The Linds began collecting outsider art about 20 years ago. Their first piece, which hangs above their bed, is a collage of faces inside a sort-of patchwork quilt of colors. “We bought it because it spoke to us,” Kathy says, looking the piece over. “We bought it and didn’t really know what outsider art was, but we thought maybe it was something we’d like to start collecting.” Over the years the Linds have accumulated hundreds of paintings and sculptures from all across the globe, and they’re always on the lookout for their next favorite piece. “Anytime you bring something into your house, like a piece of art, you’re introducing something that is outside of your own perspective,” she says. “It’s powerful because it’s someone else’s energy.”

—Brittany

Nunn

JESSICA LANG DANCE

SEPTEMBER 14, 2013 • WINSPEAR OPERA HOUSE

CANADA’S SCRAP•ARTS•MUSIC

NOVEMBER 22, 2013 • WINSPEAR OPERA HOUSE

PILOBOLUS

JANUARY

Tom and Kathy Lind collect hundreds of pieces of outsider art at their home on Swiss: Chris Arrant

TITAS in association with AT&T PERFORMING ARTS CENTER presents

Back to School Special

Sneak preview

Before the grand opening, Trader Joe’s store captain Karen Campbell will give us a sneak peek inside. Look for the story online Aug. 7. Visit lakewood.advocatemag.com and search “Trader Joe’s.”

We’ll be live-tweeting from the front lines on opening day Aug. 9. Follow @Advocate_ED on Twitter and look for the hashtag #traderjoesopening.

5602 Willis Ave

Coming Soon

Courtney Miles: Danny Fulgencio

Will a garage ease Arboretum’s parking woes?

Dallas Arboretum attendance is at an all-time high, and the muchanticipated Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden hasn’t even opened.

To ease its parking woes, the Arboretum has proposed an overflow garage across the street on Garland Road with an underground walkway to access the gardens. Right now, the paved lot provides extra space for employees and volunteers.

“We have a critical need for parking,” says John Armstrong, the Arboretum’s vice president of property development. “This handles the occasional surge so there’s not a chance that parking could bleed into the neighborhoods.”

Although the plan meets zoning requirements for the area, neighbors are “cautiously suspicious” — in part because they haven’t forgotten last year’s Winfrey Point controversy, in which the Arboretum tried to use public parkland as a temporary overflow lot. Activists even uncovered plans to pave the area.

“The whole way the Winfrey Point issue was approached was horrifying,” says Kelly Cotten of Little Forest Hills. He’s not completely opposed to the garage, though.

“We’re not NIMBYs. We understand that it needs to go somewhere. We’d rather it go here than at the lake.”

However, neighbors are concerned about the missing-in-action,

taxpayer-funded study that was supposed to answer important questions about Arboretum parking.

“We haven’t seen the report,” says Forest Hills resident Anita Childress, a lawyer who recently moved from Swiss Avenue. “We don’t know how private or public [this project] is.”

Last August, the city paid Desman Associates almost $80,000 worth of parks department funds to study whether the garage alone would meet the Arboretum’s need for the next 20 years. The original plan suggested funding the garage with city revenue bonds.

The Arboretum has since opted to seek a hefty private loan instead, deeming the Desman study irrelevant. Barbara Kindig, assistant director of the parks department, says nonetheless she will release the study in mid-July (it had not come out at press time, July 19) — even though it’s clear that the Arboretum will move forward with its plans regardless of what the report reveals.

“I purchased the study, and I’m going to get the study,” she says. “People seem to think it’s some kind of smoking gun. It’s not.”

The Arboretum unveiled early designs of the parking garage at a June meeting for three neighborhood associations: Forest Hills, Little Forest Hills and Emerald Isle. Backing up to a residential street, Angora, the garage includes two levels underground and four levels aboveground, with capacity for about 1,200 cars. The

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terraced building peaks at 34 feet — below the maximum height the planned development district allows. A 100-by-150-foot lot adjacent to the garage will provide additional surface parking.

The Arboretum still must apply for a special-use permit to build the underground walkway. Garland Road is a state highway, and TxDOT has indicated support for the project.

Last year, about 1 million people visited the Arboretum. The new 8-acre children’s garden, opening Sept. 21, can hold about 1,500 visitors and is expected to turn over twice a day at peak season. Right now, there are 1,260 parking spaces throughout the grounds.

Armstrong would not give a specific number for just how many parking spaces the Arboretum needs in the future — only that this garage would bring it closer to the goal.

On bODy tExt is absOlUtE limit On tExt. wE will nOt cOUnt aDDrEss, Etc.

“I think the numbers are important,” Cotten says. “Do they have a plan that will meet their demand? Is this the end? Or do they still have their eye on the lake?”

—Emily Toman

The Dallas arboreTum will call a press conference this month, announcing more details of the proposed parking garage. Follow our ongoing coverage at lakewood.advocatemag.com.

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Parents got those summertime blues? back to school is already at your Dallas-lake Highlands Once Upon a child. Don’t forget tax free weekend 8-9-11. store hours: 9am - 7pm m-F, 10am - 7pm sat and 1pm - 6pm sun 6300 skillman st #150 214.503.6010 onceuponachildlakehighlands.com

baby bliss

get ready for school with the coolest gear from soyoung. monogram these bags to make them your own! $20-50

6721 snider Plaza 469.232.9420 shopbabybliss.com

Arboretum’s parking woes: Danny Fulgencio

Out & About

Send

Aug. 10

Trees please

August 2013

Big Thicket at White Rock Lake (near the Corinthian Sail Club, north of the Bath House Cultural Center), 430 E. Lawther, whiterocklake.org, 214.660.1100, free

more local events or submit your own

lA kewood. A dvoc AT em A g.com/evenTS

Through Aug. 10

Summer reading club

It’s not too late to join the Mayor’s Summer Reading Club. Regular reading throughout the summer vacation keeps academic skills sharp, inspires curiosity, enhances comprehension and vocabulary, and starts a habit for young people to become lifelong readers and learners. In an effort to encourage the whole family to read, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings hosted the Mayor’s Summer Reading Club, an eight-week program powered by community participation and featuring weekly incentive prizes. Registration opened May 19.

All 29 Dallas Public Library locations as well as the Dallas Public Library’s Bookmobile, dallaslibrary.org, 214.670.1671

Through Aug. 18

Summer Adventures

Summer Adventures, the brandnew amusement park at Fair Park, is open daily from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Also, your ticket gives you access to rides, the Texas Discovery Gardens butterfly exhibit, live entertainment, and the Children’s Aquarium.

Fair Park, 4101 S. Fitzhugh, fairparkfun.com, 214.428.8000, $29.95 for adults, $24.95 for children and seniors, free for children 2 and younger

AUG. 1

Back to school fair

Join other parents for the 17th annual Mayor’s Back To School Fair, presented by Walmart and Sam’s Club, for one-stop shopping for all your needed school supplies from 8 a.m. -2 p.m. The event is open to the public.

Fair Park, 1300 Robert B. Cullum Blvd., mayorsbacktoschoolfair.com, call 311 for information, free

Aug. 24

Butterfly release

Join the Miracle Players Foundation at Flag Pole Hill from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for its third annual Peace, Hope, & Butterflies family fun and music festival. The event features music from up-andcoming Dallas bands, activities for kids and the young at heart, including a petting zoo, obstacle course, pirate ship, arts and crafts, giant slide and more. The day also features local art vendors, as well as several food trucks.

Flag Pole Hill, 8100 Doran, miracleplayersfoundation.org, 972.743.6416, $15 for adults, $10 for children 13 and under, sponsor a butterfly for $15

Through Aug. 25

Summer by the pool

Enjoy the hot summer days by the pool at Tietze Park, open Thursday through Monday 1-8 p.m.

Tietze Park, 2700 Skillman, 214.670.1380, $2 for adults, $1 for children 11 and under

Through Aug. 31

Wonderland

Featured daily in Pecan Grove at the Dallas Arboretum, four topiary flower houses continue to bring scenes from the popular Lewis Carroll novel to life. Fall through the rabbit hole into the worlds of the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts and the Cheshire Cat. Plus, the costumed characters during Family Fun Fridays will enchant you.

Dallas Arboretum, 8525 Garland Rd., dallasarboretum.org, 214.515.6500, admission $10-15

Through Sept. 29

Nature art

Walk through the “Nature in my Art: Recent Artwork by Pavlina Panova” exhibition at the Bath House Cultural Center at the White Rock Lake Museum. The exhibition, which consists of intricate pieces created from elements of nature, such as leaves, bark and wood shavings, is on display through Sept. 29. Bath House Cultural Center, 521 E. Lawther, bathhousecultural.com, 214.670.8749

G ROWING FAMILY TREES ACROSS N ORTH T EXAS .

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Satin Patel, MD | Single-Cycle IVF Package | $5,495

Board-certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility cash-pay option only

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Doctors on the medical staff practice independently and are not employees or agents of the hospital.

Delicious

Cool treats

There is no place quite like Frutería Cano. The locally owned chain of fruit markets sells whole fruits and veggies, plus fruit plates and cups. But there is so much more. Liquados ($5), the Mexican version of a smoothie, is a blend of milk, ice, fruit and sugar. It’s a drink served only for breakfast in Mexico, owner Jose Cano says, but he found that Americans like it any time of day. The mangonada ($6) is a slushie made with fresh mango. The “Russa” ($5) is made with grapefruit soda and ice, topped with chopped pineapple, jicama and cucumber, plus a dash of chile to accentuate the sweetness of the fruit. But to really go big, try the nonalcoholic piña colada ($5) served in a whole pineapple. They use hand drills to carve the fruit out of its husk and serve the drink with whipped cream and a cherry on top and — what else? — a little umbrella. Frutería Cano started out as a small shop in Old East Dallas 13 years ago and became so popular that the owners have expanded to seven stores in Dallas, Garland and Irving. They also have concession stands that operate on weekends at Traders Village flea markets in Grand Prairie, San Antonio and Houston, and at Summer Adventures at Fair Park. “Fruit is cheap and healthy,” Cano says. “And people of any age love it.” Frutería Cano also serves sandwiches, elotes, sno cones, energy smoothies, strawberries and cream, banana splits and “mango sticks,” pieces of mango placed artfully on a stick to resemble a flower. Cano’s son Luis Cano says the menu is expanding constantly. “We think of something new all the time,” he says.

frutería cano

800 S. Beacon

214.370.4945

11255 Garland Road

214.321.4128

AMbiAncE: MARKET/cOUnTER SERVicE

PRicE RAngE:

$3-$6

HOURS: 8 A.M.-9 P.M., MOnDAY-SUnDAY

—Rachel Stone

(Right) non-alcoholic piña colada. (Top) fruit plate with kiwi, mango, cucumber and jícama: Eliott Muñoz

1 Yumilicious

In line with the do-it-yourself trend, Yumilicious lets you fill your own cup with yogurt, add whatever toppings you want and then pay by weight.

yumi-licious.com

2 Paciugo

Can’t decide which gelato flavor you want? You don’t have to. At Paciugo Italian gelato you can squeeze up to five flavors in your cup.

2113 Abrams 214.828.8777

paciugo.com

3 TC’s Shaved Ice

Possibly one of East Dallas’ best kept secrets, right across the lake. the perfect way to cool your jets on a hot day. Cash only.

10999 garland

214.327.2421

August Specials!

only: Pasta $9.99 on Sun., Mon., Wed. & Thurs. Now Open for Sunday Brunch! 11am-2:30pm including egg dishes

Highland

Choose with your eyes. Enjoy the homemade flavor. Enjoy the healthy feeling. Enjoy the Price. Enjoy the live piano music. Meeting rooms and catering available. Open from 11-8 everyday. A Dallas original since 1925.

Mangonada

S ha p e You r L i f e

Skillman Live Oak 1920 Skillman Street sunstoneyoga.com

Sunstone_sxthV_08-13

Summer sips

Pepi California Pinto Grigio ($8)

This is the time of year that requires wines that are lighter, whether red or white, and that can be served cool or sometimes colder — even with an ice cube or two. In other words, porch wines, which are perfectly suited for summertime sipping, whether you’re on a shaded porch or indoors, with the air conditioning on and glad you’re not on the porch.

Porch wines don’t have the big alcohol or tannins (that puckery feeling in the back of the mouth) that heavier wines do. In this, they’re more refreshing and don’t make you feel even more uncomfortable than the heat already does. Doubt that premise? Then taste one of the ones suggested below, and then taste a cabernet sauvignon with 14.5 percent alcohol. You’ll be amazed at the difference.

• Grocery store pinot noirs that cost about $10, such as Mark West from California or the Chilean Cono Sur Bicicleta, are soft, fruity red wines with lower alcohol, and chilling them a little doesn’t ruin them either.

• Italian producers churn out millions and millions of cases of cheap pinot grigio, most of indifferent quality. But some are more than that, including Bollini ($10). Pepi ($8), from California, also is a fine value.

Approved as is Approved with corrections

August 3 FREE Admission

Thank you for your business!

Art Scavenger Hunt 10 am – 2 pm

Children’s Art Activity 10 am – 12 noon

Art in Action Sculpture Demo 10 am – 12:30 pm

Please proofread carefully: pay attention to spelling, grammar, phone numbers and design. Color proofs: because of the difference in equipment and conditions between the color proofing and the pressroom operations, a reasonable variation in color between color proofs and the completed job shall constitute an acceptable delivery.

Family Tours

Hourly from 10:15 am – 12:15 pm

Yoga in the Garden 11:30 am

Presented by YogaSport (weather permitting)

Creative Writing with The Writer’s Garret 12 pm

Storytime with Dallas Public Library 12:30 pm

NasherKids Live! 1 pm

Dance Council of North Texas

Presents 8&1 Dance Company

NasherKids Meal at Nasher Cafe 11 am – 2 pm

NasherSculptureCenter.org

• Vinho verde means green wine in Portuguese, and these wines have a greenish tint (and a little fizz, too). Most are $8 or less, with low alcohol and sweetish green apple fruit. This year, the Sonalto was one of the best, and you may also see it labeled Santola (made by the same producer, but for a different retailer).

—Jeff Siegel

Ask the wine guy

What does it mean when a wine is hot?

That the alcohol is not in balance with the fruit, acid and other parts of the wine. Both red and whites can be hot; you’ll notice an unpleasant feeling in the back of your mouth or even in your nose. —Jeff

Siegel ASK The

Wine Guy taste@advocatemag.com

Yoga & Hot Pilates

with your wine

Chickpea burgers

Serves four, takes about 20 minutes

Chickpeas, also called garbanzos, are one of those things that much of the world loves (hummus, falafel) but aren’t as popular here. These are light and easy to make, and they’re a nice change from burgers or hot dogs on a hot August evening. Serve on buns or in pitas. A vinho verde would pair quite well.

Grocery List

2 cups cooked chickpeas (well drained if canned)

4 green onions, trimmed and sliced

1 egg

2 tablespoons flour

3-4 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 clove chopped garlic

1 teaspoon ground cumin salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. Place chickpeas, green onions, egg, flour, cilantro, garlic, cumin, and salt and pepper in a food processor. Pulse, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides, until a coarse mixture forms that holds together when pressed. It will be moist, but workable. Form into four patties.

2. In a large nonstick skillet over mediumhigh heat, warm the olive oil. Add patties and cook until golden and beginning to crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully flip and cook until golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes more.

POWERTOTHE

PEOPLE

Most of us don’t think about electricity outside of two scenarios: our monthly bill is due, or our power goes out.

We’ve lived with power lines so long that they’ve become a part of the landscape. We no longer notice them running down our streets or along our highways.

Our entire modern lives rely upon the energy grid, yet we don’t know much of anything about it, even though it runs right through our neighborhood.

What is it?

Where is it? What if something happens to it? Could we run out of power?

This month, while our air-conditioners are running full blast, might be a good time to find out.

Story by Keri Mitchell • Photos by Danny Fulgencio

Where exactly is the energy grid?

We’ve heard about it and vaguely knoW it’s responsible for ensuring that our DVRs record our favorite shows, our laptops and mobile phones can be recharged, and our air-conditioners continue humming to stave off the summer heat. (Plus it powers our lights, refrigerators and other such minor things.)

But where is the energy grid? It sounds obscure, but it’s actually in plain sight all around us.

“It’s not a grid in a sense of square grid,” says Bill Muston, a neighborhood resident who is the manager of research and development for Oncor, which delivers electricity to Dallas homes. Muston instead describes the grid as “radial.”

Those giant high-voltage transmission lines around the city, the kind near White Rock Lake along Lawther, for example? Power generated by gas, coal, wind and other sources at 550 plants throughout the state travels through lines like those and into Dallas.

The high-voltage transmission lines carry up to 345,000 volts and can transmit anywhere between 50 and 500 megawatts of energy at a time, which power between 10,000 and 100,000 homes at peak demand. That power then “goes through transformers to step it down to 12,500 volts, and those are called substations,” Muston says. Neither Oncor nor other electrical entities publish maps of the grid flow or substations for security reasons, but “there’s no secret,” Muston says. A large grouping of metal poles and wires in a gated area is hard to miss.

For example, there’s a substation by the boat houses at White Rock Lake, another near Ridgewood Park just north of where the DART tracks cross Abrams, one in Hollywood Santa Monica at a low point near the train tracks and one where Matilda runs north past Mockingbird and turns into Greenville.

Where did Texans’ energy come from in 2012?

NaTural gas 44.6 percent

Coal 33.8 percent

NuClear 11.8 percent

WiNd 9.2 percent

Hydro, biomass, solar

aNd sTorage 0.6 percent

The substations then transmit the power to various “districts” around the city and deliver it to the transformers and utility lines near our homes. One transformer — what looks like a cylindrical tube attached to a utility line — serves between four and eight homes, Muston says. The transformers convert the electricity into either 240 volts, powering electric stoves or dryers, or 120 volts, powering just about everything else in a home.

The high voltage transmission grid is networked across the state, so “if you lose one segment of it, it just keeps going,” Muston says.

“The outages occur more at the district level where you have trees fall onto lines or drivers hit poles.”

Source: electric reliability council of texas, Inc. (ercOt)

Why does Texas have its own electric grid?

Story by Kate Galbraith, The Texas Tribune

TexaS’ SeceSSioniST inclinaTionS do have one modern outlet: the electric grid. There are three grids in the Lower 48 states: the Eastern Interconnection, the Western Interconnection — and Texas.

The Texas grid is called ERCOT, and it is run by an agency of the same name — the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. ERCOT does not actually cover all of Texas. El Paso is on another grid, as is the upper Panhandle and a chunk of East Texas. This presumably has to do with the history of various utilities’ service territories and the remoteness of the non-ERCOT locations (for example the Panhandle is closer to Kansas than to Dallas, notes Kenneth Starcher of the Alternative Energy Institute in Canyon).

The separation of the Texas grid from the rest of the country has its origins in the evolution of electric utilities early last century. In the decades after Thomas Edison turned on the country’s first power plant in Manhattan in 1882, small generating plants sprouted across Texas, bringing electric light to cities. Later, particularly during World War I, utilities began to link themselves together. These ties, and the accompanying transmission network, grew further during World War II, when several Texas utilities joined together to form the Texas Interconnected System, which allowed them to link to the big dams along Texas rivers and also send extra electricity to support the ramped-up factories aiding the war effort.

The Texas Interconnected System — which for a long time was actually operated by two discrete entities, one for northern Texas and one for southern Texas — had another priority: staying out of the reach of federal regulators. In 1935 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Federal Power Act, which charged the Federal Power Commission with overseeing interstate electricity sales. By not crossing state lines, Texas utilities avoided being subjected to federal rules.

“Freedom from federal regulation was a cherished goal — more so because Texas had

no regulation until the 1970s,” writes Richard D. Cudahy in a 1995 article, “The Second Battle of the Alamo: The Midnight Connection.” (Self-reliance was also made easier in Texas, especially in the early days, because the state has substantial coal, natural gas and oil resources of its own to fuel power plants.)

ERCOT was formed in 1970, in the wake of a major blackout in the Northeast in November 1965, and it was tasked with managing grid reliability in accordance with national standards. The agency assumed additional responsibilities following electric deregulation in Texas a decade ago. The ERCOT grid remains beyond the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which succeeded the Federal Power Commission and regulates interstate electric transmission.

Historically, the Texas grid’s independence has been violated a few times. Once was during World War II, when special provisions were made to link Texas to other grids, according to Cudahy. Another episode occurred in 1976 after a Texas utility, for reasons relating to its own regulatory needs, deliberately flipped a switch

and sent power to Oklahoma for a few hours. This event, known as the “Midnight Connection,” set off a major legal battle that could have brought Texas under the jurisdiction of federal regulators, but it was ultimately resolved in favor of continued Texan independence.

Even today, ERCOT is also not completely isolated from other grids — as was evident during winter 2011 when the state imported some power from Mexico during the rolling blackouts. ERCOT has three ties to Mexico and — as an outcome of the “Midnight Connection” battle — it also has two ties to the eastern U.S. grid, though they do not trigger federal regulation for ERCOT. All can move power commercially as well as be used in emergencies, according to ERCOT spokeswoman Dottie Roark. A possible sixth interconnection project, in Rusk County, is being studied, and another ambitious proposal, called Tres Amigas, would link the three big U.S. grids together in New Mexico, though Texas’ top utility regulator has shown little enthusiasm for participating.

Bottom line: Texas has its own grid to avoid dealing with the feds.

The 48 contiguous states have only three electric grids — East, WEst and Texas.

Whoever invents the energy battery will be a gazillionaire

Trying To deTermine how much energy Texans need is not an exact science, but it’s close.

“No one can predict perfectly how much electricity the people in Dallas are going to use at 4:15 this afternoon,” says Bill Muston, manager of research and development for Oncor. “You can predict pretty well, but it’s never perfect.”

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas [ERCOT] oversees the main power grid in Texas and tracks the generators — coal, nuclear, natural gas, wind and otherwise — that feed into the grid. In ERCOT’s control room outside of Austin, employees act as traffic cops of the grid, determining which of the 550 generators should be in use, and where the power generated should be delivered along 40,530 miles of high-voltage transmission lines.

If it’s a windy day in spring and the turbines are hard at work, ERCOT may take some of the coal or natural gas plants offline and direct more wind energy from West Texas into Dallas and other cities. If a generator shuts down because of technical problems or extreme

weather, ERCOT will green light a different generator to fill the energy void.

Whatever energy being generated at a given moment is the energy available to use. There’s no way to store energy for a rainy day, so to speak.

“Batteries are about the best way to store energy, and they’re expensive,” Muston says. “As consumers, for our laptops, our cell phones, whatever, the dollars are small enough that we’ll do it.”

However, a battery that powers a home or business is cost-prohibitive for most people, he says. Some homes that use solar power have a battery backup, which allows the home to continue using electricity through its solar energy during a power outage. Those usually cost several thousand dollars.

The average U.S. home uses 1,000 watts, or 1 kilowatt, at any given time. A typical coal plant or large wind farm simultaneously can generate 500,000 times as much power. No one so far has created an efficient way to store that kind of energy.

Rolling blackouts happen on purpose

mosT power ouTages are accidents a power line affected by a tree limb falling, a car crashing, a lightning bolt striking. But the “rolling blackouts” that Texans experienced Feb. 2, 2011, were no accident.

The problem wasn’t simply the record lows — 14 degrees in Dallas, with a high of only 21 — that caused heaters to work overtime. (More than two-thirds of Texans’ heat is powered by electricity, according to the state comptroller’s office.) The problem was that generators were failing.

“It was not only cold many days in a row, but the wind was blowing, and generators were getting into some freezing problems,” says Bill Muston of Oncor.

The freezing, which Muston compares to “a frozen pipe at your house,” forced coal and

How powerful is Texas?

74,000

Megawatts of energy that the ERCOt power grid can produce at any given moment

200

Homes powered by one megawatt during peak demand

68,305

the record for megawatt peak demand on Aug. 3, 2011 during the record heat wave

Source: ERCOT

natural gas plants to go offline; wind turbines also were suffering from ice on their blades. All in all, 75 generators were out of commission that day, and ERCOT foresaw that Texans’ demand for energy would overreach the supply.

“If ERCOT has done all the generation it can and all-calls to neighborhoods to cut back, then neighborhoods go in the dark,” Muston says.

As a result, Dallasites experienced what Oncor describes as “the longest-lasting and farthest-reaching emergency load-shedding in Texas history.” For more than eight hours, as many as 275,000 Oncor customers at a

time experienced rotating outages, each lasting about 15 minutes.

It was better than the alternative, Muston says — a system crash that would be unpredictable and would likely mean much longer blackouts.

“You don’t want to have a blackout like in the San Diego area a few years ago or in New York in 2003,” Muston says. “No one believes it, but it’s in your interest that they cut your power at your house for a few hours. What happened in that event was some really good planning that was executed well.”

“No one believes it, but it’s in your interest that they cut your power at your house for a few hours.”

Q. Whom should I call when the lights go out?

A. Oncor*, most likely, which is the company that delivers our electricity. It can be confusing, though, with all the different players in texas’ energy grid. Here’s a cheat sheet:

Generators: texas has 550 generating units across the state that create energy from natural gas, coal, nuclear, wind and other sources.

Electric Reliability Council of Texas: ERCOt is an independent organization that manages the wholesale electricity market in texas. When a rolling blackout happens, it’s because ERCOt mandated it.

*Transmission and delivery companies: In Dallas, there’s only one company — Oncor — that funnels power from the state’s generators through transmission lines and into homes and businesses. During a power outage, Oncor employees are the ones who can restore it. Call 888.313.4747 to let them know (even though your smart meter may be able to notify them more quickly).

Retail electricity providers, or retailers: these are companies such as tXu Energy, Reliant, green Mountain Energy and others that track and bill for electricity use. they contact Oncor to turn on electricity when you move into a new house, for example, or to shut it off when you aren’t paying your bill. Retailers don’t have anything to do with outages caused by storms or power line damage.

50

Retail electricity providers in the competitive areas of texas

250+

the number of plans offered by retail electricity providers (details at powertochoose.org)

Source: ERCOT and TXU Energy

A. Nope. Coal, natural gas and nuclear power are still being pumped through your transmission lines and into your home, most likely. But you are guaranteeing that the amount of renewable energy you are paying for will be piped into the power grid.

“Regardless of which retail electricity provider a customer chooses, there is no way to separate electricity on the power grid based on how it was generated,” says Juan Elizondo, a spokesman for TXU Energy. “When a consumer purchases a retail electricity plan with renewable electricity, that amount of renewable energy is put onto the power grid. It may or may not be the power that reaches that customer. Those consumers are ensuring that renewable power is put onto the grid, and they are supporting the further development of renewable resources.”

“Think of the electric grid as a giant bathtub

that is constantly being filled from many different faucets, and each one represents a different electricity generation source such as coal, natural gas, nuclear, solar, wind, etc.,” says Katie Ryan, spokeswoman for Green Mountain Energy. “Each time you use electricity, you drain a little water from the bathtub. As the demand for electricity from renewable sources increases, more of the clean water goes into the tub — and less of the dirty water from fossil fuel sources is needed.”

Q. Is there any way that renewable energy could grow so popular in Texas that customer demand would overtake supply?

A. Yes, in theory.

“The demand for renewable energy is what makes it grow,” Ryan says. “When demand exceeds supply, renewable energy gets built.”

Q. If I sign up for a ‘green’ electricity plan, does that ensure the power reaching my house is produced by wind, solar or another renewable energy?

Wind energy blowing into urban Texas

3,000

Miles of transmission lines built or repaired since 2008 to deliver wind power from the Panhandle and West texas to big cities

$6.7 billion tax dollars funneled into wind energy transmission lines by the Public utility Commission (PuC) of texas’ Competitive Renewable Energy Zones project

$2 million slice of the CREZ project allocated to Oncor, which delivers electricity to Dallas, to build 1,000 miles of transmission lines in its service area

1 texas’ rank in the nation as a wind energy-producing state

10,929

Megawatts of energy texas’ wind turbines are capable of generating at any given time (One megawatt equals 1 million watts; Colorado and Iowa, in second- and third-place, can generate 4,570 and 4,536 megawatts, respectively)

9,481

Megawatts produced by texas wind on Feb. 9, 2013, the state’s wind generation record

27.8

Percentage of the state’s energy load the wind carried on that record-setting day

200

Homes powered by one megawatt during peak demand

Oncor’s tree trimming practices

Bob Curry, chairman of the city’s Urban Forest Advisory Committee, spends his life protecting trees from developers. Like many residents of old, tree-lined neighborhoods, Curry probably cringes when Oncor staffers come around to chop branches away from power lines, right? Wrong. Find out why this die-hard tree advocate is perfectly satisfied with our electric provider’s pruning practices on lakewood.advocatemag.com.

Plant a tree for free

Because Oncor sponsors the Arbor Day Foundation, Oncor customers (that’s all of us) can sign up for up to two free trees to plant in their yards. Starting Aug. 19, visit energysavingtrees.arborday.org to qualify for the trees, which are first come, first served. The site also advises where to position the trees on your property to avoid power lines and maximize the energy efficiency potential of the tree.

Sources: Oncor, ERCOT and the American Wind Energy Association

How to make the electric company pay you

ElEctric rEtail providEr tXU pays M Streets resident Rick Green for solar power generated by his house.

Green doesn’t make a profit from TXU. He still has a monthly electric bill, but it’s significantly lower now than before he installed the solar panels on his roof.

He lives in a 2,800-square foot duplex on Ellsworth, and about a year ago hired a company called SolarCity to add the 8-by30 feet of solar paneling. Green paid roughly $12,000 for both the installation and to lease the panels for 20 years, “which is better than owning because they still have responsibility to maintain them,” he says.

The panels are guaranteed to generate at least 10,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of power every year, so assuming that electricity costs 10 cents a kWh, Green figures the panels save him roughly $1,000 a year.

DDS

Dr. Colter specializes in comprehensive dental care for infants, children, teens and children with special needs.

“It’s like I pre-paid my electric bill for 12 years,” Green says. After that, any solar energy produced would be free.

Dr. Colter and her staff want children and their parents to feel comfortable about their visit to the dentist in the warm, caring and inviting office of All About Kids Dentistry.

Green’s home itself was built in 2008, so it’s fairly energy efficient, but “we have a lot of stuff in the house that has a fairly substantial electric draw,” including five refrigerators. (Green keeps a beer fridge next to his recliner, for example. He’s all about saving energy.)

He estimates that his home uses an average of 2,000 kWh every month. Before the solar panels, that would have meant a monthly bill of about $200, he says, not including fees.

“ We recognize every child is unique and we strive to make sure his or her dental visit feels like it’s tailored just for them.”

J Diane Colter, DDS

That’s a big difference from his April bill $74 and some change. The biggest portion of his bill now is taxes and fees; his electricity use accounted for less than half of the bill.

The energy created by the solar panels on Green’s house is first used to power his home. When his home isn’t using all of the solar energy created, it goes back into the grid, and TXU tracks and pays him for that energy.

“I have a two-way meter, and if you look at it, if it’s a sunny day at noon and the A/C isn’t on, you can see that my meter runs backward,” Green says. “Let’s say both of the A/C units kick on, it will start running the other way slowly.”

The way TXU’s “distributed renewable generation” program works is threefold. Because Green participates in the program, TXU charges him a higher rate — 12 cents per kWh — for any additional energy he uses from the regular power grid during the hours of 6 a.m.-10 p.m. TXU pays him 7.5 cents per kWh for any excess solar energy his home produces during those hours. And between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., TXU doesn’t charge Green for any energy used.

He receives an email each week with his usage report and a breakdown in every bill. In April those hours were split pretty evenly — he used about 500 kWh from the grid and about 500 kWh during the nighttime hours, and received a credit for about 500 kWh of solar energy his home produced for TXU.

“It’s complicated, but once you figure it out, it’s essentially self-maintaining,” Green says. “I never have to think about electricity again, other than every once in a while

Solar panels atop Rick Green’s home

when we have power outages.”

He doesn’t have the kind of system that continues to run when the power grid is down. That would require a battery backup system.

Green is glad that his solar panels are hard to see from the street. It’s not a situation where “it’s nice to save $100, but, man, does it make the house ugly,” he says.

“There’s one spot about 300 feet down the block you can kind of see them shining through the trees in the light,” Green says.

The panels don’t produce as much energy in the winter because it’s cloudier, but during a summer month, they might produce as many as 1,200 kWh, he says.

“We’re kind of spoiled in Texas because of the refineries here and such, so much lower electricity costs, but still, one of the things we do have a lot of in Texas is sunshine,” Green says.

He’s a self-described “outdoors guy,” so using the available sunlight to power his house is satisfying. Just as satisfying are the dollars he saves.

“The bottom line is saving money and doing the right thing,” Green says, “not necessarily in that order.”

Are renewable energy plans the easiest way to be green?

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A look at two neighborhood homes

It’s common for most people to heat and cool their entire home. Or you could just control the temperature of the room in which you are sitting.

Margie Haley and her husband decided to do exactly that. They installed mini splits in their house near White Rock Lake, which allows them to heat and cool only the rooms they are in at the time rather than waste energy.

A mini split is, essentially, a heating and cooling system for a single room. There is no ductwork involved, so the air does not flow to other rooms. At night, the only room in the Haleys’ home that requires air conditioning or heating is their bedroom.

“It’s on a timer. We just condition the rooms that we are in,” Haley says. “We do have central heating, but we don’t use it unless we have people over.”

The couple bought the home in 1981 because Haley grew up around the lake so it was “like home” for her. In the ’90s, the

couple began installing different energy efficient systems.

Now, pretty much everywhere you turn in the house, you see something ecofriendly. Along with the mini splits, the couple installed skylights so when the sun comes up, they rarely have to use lights. The house utilizes solar panels for heating and a photovoltaic system, which uses solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity. Outside, the couple has containers to collect rainwater from the roof.

“Compared to some of our neighbors, our energy bill is probably one-sixth of theirs,” Haley says.

Once Haley’s interest in reducing her carbon footprint was piqued, the couple started their steady green conversion. The Haleys also helped form the non-profit Sustainable Dallas. Now, Haley evangelizes the information that convinced her to make the change to green living in the first place.

— Victoria Hilbert

Minisplit in the Haley Home

TWO. A tornado-proof ‘green’ house

Want to protect your home from a tornado? Build it with Styrofoam.

Little Forest Hills resident Anna Clark hired Alan Hoffmann to build her energy efficient home six years ago because being “green” is a huge part of her lifestyle. She found, however, that by building her home with insulated concrete, it would withstand tornadoes when other houses do not.

Insulated concrete involves pouring concrete into a Styrofoam-like material. The Lego brick-type construction creates a solid air barrier so that very little air leaks out of the house, conserving heat in the winter and cooled air in the summer.

Clark’s home was one of the first in Dallas to earn LEED certification. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a rating from the U.S. Green Building Council that scores homes on efficiency. The lower a home scores, the more efficient it is. Scoring begins at 100, and a house must score 70 or less to be LEED certified. Clark’s home scored a 46, according to Hoffmann.

In addition, she participates in a 100 percent wind power electricity plan. Annually, Clark says, she reduces greenhouse gas admissions by six tons.

“Many people are energy illiterate,” Clark says. “I think [education] happens one customer at a time.”

Clark wrote the book “Green, American Style” and speaks about energy efficiency. She credits a strong relationship with her energy company, Green Mountain Energy, in impacting her to eventually build a home that met LEED standards.

“The LEED certification was very important to me,” Clark says.

Before building her new home, Clark paid a monthly $400 energy bill for an 1,800-square-foot house. Now, her home is nearly double that size, and she pays $140 per month. She hopes to rely on the energy grid less and less by incorporating things such as solar energy.

“Green homes like mine appraise for more. Now that solar has become more accessible, it’s actually very viable to go offthe-grid,” says Clark. —Victoria Hilbert

A new kind of ‘fuel’ station at restaurants and movie theaters

Two years ago, iT was difficulT to find an electric car charging station in Dallas. These days, they’re all over the place.

Some of the more common are Blink charging stations, installed by parent company Ecotality. The company has installed more than 350 chargers in DFW in a little over two years, says area sales manager Dave Aasheim.

“We try to find locations where people are going to park their cars for an hour, maybe two hours,” Aasheim says. “We’re not putting them in places like gas stations. We’re putting them in places where you want to be.”

Shopping centers, libraries and parks are some of the spots Ecotality has chosen. It also has formed a partnership with Kroger — the Mockingbird and Greenville store has a charging station — and soon plans to place chargers at the Frisco Ikea store.

Ecotality began seeking out locations in 2009 when it was awarded a $99.8 million EV Project grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to help build the charging station infrastructure. The company has spent $115 million on infrastructure in addition to the grant, Aasheim says.

One of the deterrents to people driving

electric cars is “range anxiety,” or fear of running out of charge in the middle of a drive. The electric Nissan Leaf, for example, can travel only 75 miles on a full charge.

So one of Ecotality’s goals is to provide plenty of charging spots for current customers.

“Most people are going to get a majority of their charge at home, but [charging stations] give them some range,” Aasheim says. “Every hour you’re plugged in puts about 12 to 15 miles of range back onto your battery — similar to if you see your cell phone getting low on charge, you plug it in for a few minutes to give it a boost.”

Blink station customers spend $1-$2 per hour to charge their cars.

The Hotel Palomar at Mockingbird and Central sought out a Blink charging station in 2011. The hotel’s director of sales and marketing, Sam Tucker, read an article about the EV Project noting that Dallas would be a focus area.

“We’re always looking for ways we can cut our carbon footprint and be first in industry in terms of earth care,” Tucker says.

Following the Blink installation, Tesla Motor Group called asking if it could install a modification and another charging station at

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smart meters Oncor has installed since March 1, 2009, replacing 50-year-old technology with meters that show electricity use in real time (view your usage at smartmetertexas.com)

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the Palomar for Tesla drivers.

“The first year we had one guy come up from Houston with a Tesla, and now everybody in town who has a Tesla knows we have a charging station,” Tucker says.

Palomar guests can “fill up” at the charging stations for free, and so can Exhale Spa visitors and Central 214 diners. Between summer 2012 and summer 2013, a little more than 30 electric cars charged up at the Palomar stations.

“A guy who’s the chairman of a financial company always parks here and eats here because he knows we have it,” Tucker says.

Half Price Books was the first retailer in Dallas to install a charging station in September 2010. It purchased its own before the grant money was more widely available.

“We’ve always considered ourselves a very green company, and when the Chevy Volt was first coming out, we thought people obviously need incentives to use these cars, so we decided to lead the way and hope other retailers in Dallas would follow suit,” spokeswoman Emily Bruce says.

Thirty people used its charging station in 2010, Bruce says, “and so far this year, we’re up to 409. I think that now more electric vehicles are readily available, so there’s more of a need for it.”

Half Price Books doesn’t charge customers to use its station. It takes four hours for an electric car to charge completely, Bruce says, and most Half Price Books customers aren’t shopping that long, “but they can stay for an hour and get enough of a charge to get home or wherever they’re heading.”

Ecotality is collecting data on its Blink chargers to find out which chargers are used most. Right now, it appears that restaurants, movie theaters, grocery stores and similar “destination locations” are most popular, Aasheim says.

Ecotality is seeing an overall 11 percent increase in usage of public stations since this time last year, he says, and that number will only rise. For the last couple of years, only two electric cars — the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf — were major players in the market, Aasheim says, but by the end of 2013, drivers will be able to choose from 23 electric cars.

Taking electricity to the streets — and the lawn

To say ForesT Hills residenT neal Farris has a passion for electric may be an understatement.

For Farris, it all began when he wanted to resume one of his past hobbies: restoring cars. This time, however, the thought of a typical restoration bored him, so he decided to take a more environmentallyfriendly approach.

“I thought, if I do some old European sports car, all I have is some old European sports car,” Farris says.

While converting his Volkswagen Golf to run on electricity, Farris and his wife, Patty Goya, bought a Nissan Leaf two years ago. Their switch to electric did not end there, however. The family has since accumulated five electric scooters and an electric John Deere mower that Farris converted himself.

To hear Farris talk about it, their family helped launch the electric vehicle trend in Dallas.

“Neal likes to say we are the first ones in Dallas to own a Leaf,” Goya says.

Despite the number of vehicles the family plugs in at their house, they say they have seen virtually no increase in their electricity bill. Farris says the couple has saved “thousands upon thousands” of dollars since going electric. He estimates that the Leaf costs about $2 to charge, and a single charge yields about 75 miles. They pay about $25 a month to charge their vehicles at home. The couple does still keep

one gas car for road trips with their two elementary-age kids.

The Leaf has needed maintenance only a couple of times, and once was a simple cabin air filter replacement. So far, the only major downside Goya has experienced is what experts call “range anxiety.” When going electric, many people fear they will run out of charge in the middle of a drive. Goya always maps out where she is driving and how much charge it will require before she leaves the house.

“I can’t just get up and go. I really have to think about it,” Goya says.

Farris now serves as the vice president of the North Texas Electric Automobile Association, NTEAA, which works to educate Dallas residents about alternative fuels. The group promotes not only electric vehicles but also other technology such as solar panels and wind energy. He has been a member for five years now, attending monthly meetings and events around the city.

“Our big thing is education,” Farris says. “We try to go to events where we can show people what electric cars are all about.”

Farris has one astonishing fact he likes to tell people when convincing them to switch to electric.

“A 747 [plane] is more efficient than a SUV” in terms of emissions, Farris says. “With an SUV, the power it takes to go to work could power your entire home for a day.”

—Victoria Hilbert

Neal Ferris and his family’s fleet of electric vehicles

Vi Va Dallas Burlesque it’s a question as old as the act itself: Who holds the power of sex?

Story by Brittany Nunn | Photos by Danny Fulgencio

The lights come on at Lakewood Theater, and burlesque dancer “Lillith Grey” takes the stage like a thunderstorm. Her audience is enraptured, every eye trained on the layers of her candy-green garments as she expertly twirls and occasionally flicks the fabric aside to expose various levels of undress underneath. Boisterous music blares from the loudspeakers while Grey saucily stomps around the front of the stage to the beat of the tune, sucking on a fake cigarette and gesturing to the audience for feedback, which they immediately answer with whoops, cheers and whistles. In a moment of exaggerated mischief, Grey sashays off the stage and — with a wink and a smile — helps herself to a long swig from the beer of an unsuspecting audience member. The crowd rewards her antics with hoots of raucous laughter, and then the music transitions, and Grey finishes her act to the lazy tune of “Ganja Babe” by Michael Franti. “Ganja babe, my sweet ganja babe, I love the way you love me and the way you misbehavin’,” Franti sings as Grey seductively unwinds, slowly losing her costume, piece by glittery piece.

There’s no denying there’s power in sex. It permeates our music, packs our movie theaters, lines our bookshelves, and sells everything from toothpaste to beer to cars. The media is rife with it — both using sex and defining what is and is not “sexy.” Everywhere that there’s sex appeal, which is basically everywhere, a question seems to follow closely at its stiletto-clad heels: Who holds the power of sex — the provider or the consumer?

Burlesque in particular, which is a form of underground entertainment that has gained increasing momentum in the past decade, seems to flirt with the line between sexual vulnerability and sexual empowerment. Right now, Dallas is leading in the world of burlesque, and Lakewood’s own Viva Dallas Burlesque, where performers such as Grey entertain guests on the first

and third Friday of every month, is one of the biggest shows in the nation.

There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to burlesque, says Shoshana Portnoy, the founder and producer of Viva Dallas Burlesque. “I think the word is scarier than it actually is,” she explains. Those who’ve been around Dallas for a while know that Dallas is no stranger to the burlesque scene, but burlesque disappeared for a while, and now it has re-emerged with a whole new face. But to fully understand what burlesque is today, first you have to understand what it was.

The naughty nightclubs of yesteryear Burlesque originated in Europe and then trickled over to the United States during the 19th century. It started as a satire, poking fun at popular plays that the upper class enjoyed and common folk couldn’t afford. At the time, burlesque was merely a sideshow; it didn’t start becoming the main attraction until the 1940s.

The 1950s were what many consider the

pinnacle for burlesque in America, and Dallas was a leading force in the world of burlesque. Downtown Dallas was heavily populated with these nightclubs, and like most gentlemen’s clubs today, it was a maledominated world. Big-name producers Abe and Barney Weinstein and their competitor Jack Ruby, who later became infamous for shooting Lee Harvey Oswald, were the kings of burlesque. The Weinsteins and Ruby allegedly were involved in rival mob groups, and they made a killing off of beautiful women with big hips and tiny waists baring all — or, at least, almost all. At the time stripping everything off was illegal. The barest a woman could get was pasties and a G-string, but even that was somewhat rare. Even though burlesque was considered a questionable business, talented striptease artists were A-list celebrities. Stories about Candy Barr, the most famous dancer in Texas, or national stripper Lili St. Cyr, often appeared in the gossip columns of the tabloids, and like today’s celebrities, they endorsed makeup brands or showcased the latest fashion trends on the glossy pages of glamour magazines.

By the ’60s, the shows were growing raunchier and raunchier in order to compete with television and the general rise of the modernday sex culture. In the ’70s, burlesque lost the limelight to bare-all gentlemen’s clubs and HBO. For more than two decades, burlesque became a thing of the past.

rediscovering the art of tease

Within the last 15 years, burlesque has re-emerged with the renewal of America’s seeming fascination with all things retro, but this time around burlesque ain’t your grandfather’s strip club.

These days, Dallas is once again leading, at third in the country for largest amount of burlesque audience members and performers. Lakewood’s Viva Dallas Burlesque brings in anywhere from 400 to 600 guests every other week, and usually 60 to 70 percent of those audience members are wom-

en. Yep, women.

So, what’s happening on the other side of that box office that’s drawing throngs of women to a show where woman after woman loses her apparel? The answer lies in the unofficial characteristics of today’s burlesque, called “neo-burlesque.” Though it offers a polite nod to the burlesque of old, neo-burlesque is a show entirely its own, differing from both the burlesque of yesterday and the strip clubs of today. It’s those differences that bring hundreds of women and their male counterparts through the doors, and it’s also the reason why burlesque performers insist that they, and not the audience, hold the power of sex. Sex objects or sex goddesses?

Around 7:30 p.m., a line begins to form outside the Lakewood Theater to see Viva Dallas Burlesque’s production of “Dirty, Sexy, Funny,” and heading up the line is burlesque superfan Robert Hammer. “I think I’ve maybe missed one show since [Viva Dallas] started,” says Hammer, laughing.

To him, burlesque is the perfect storm of entertainment and sex appeal. “I enjoy performance art,” he explains. “This is real art involved, rather than a stripper on a stripper pole. A lot of people think it’s the same thing.” The biggest difference is that, for most performers, burlesque is a hobby and not a career, he says. “The performers get just as much a kick out of it as the audience.”

Not only is burlesque a hobby, but it can be a very expensive hobby, according to Portnoy. Most of the dancers are lucky to break even with what they make versus what they spend on costumes and props.

Very few women (or men) make a living from burlesque, unlike the dancers of old, who often danced to survive.

“I genuinely enjoy performing,” says Michelle Mashburn, the production manager at Viva Dallas and the managing editor for Pin Curl magazine. “I’ve always said if it ever gets to the point where it stops being fun, then I’ll stop doing it.”

Mashburn says she’s always been intrigued with the power structure of burlesque.

“Some people think it’s not a good environment for women. They think it’s demeaning or demoralizing for women, but that couldn’t be further from the truth,” she insists.

Each performer is in complete control of her own routine, Mashburn says. No one tells the performer what to do. She brainstorms and orchestrates each part, deciding if it’ll be witty and upbeat, slow and sexual, or somewhere in between. The performer also determines how much clothing she will or will not take off, Mashburn points out. Also, burlesque performers are not working for tips, so no amount of extra skin is going to earn them extra cash.

“The giant difference between then and now is that it was very male-dominated and male-run, and now it’s female-dominated and female-run,” Portnoy explains. “There’s women making decisions now.”

Women empowering women

Today’s burlesque also holds one other key, differentiating factor close to its sequined heart. One commonality between yesteryear’s burlesque and today’s gentlemen’s clubs is the size and shape of the dancers: busty girls with thin waists, round

“Jerry Fedora” (not his real name) receives a birthday surprise during the show “Dirty, Sexy, Funny.”

hips and long legs. But not in neo-burlesque.

“We abide by the belief that all shapes and sizes are beautiful,” Mashburn says, “as long they’re entertaining.

“You’re almost completely naked on stage, so of course there’s a level of vulnerability,” Mashburn says. But some performers say the beauty of burlesque is that it teaches women to embrace sexual vulnerability and train it into sexual empowerment. In turn, the performers help the audience members embrace their own sexuality.

“We don’t want anyone to leave feeling less pretty than when they walked in,” Portnoy explains. “Whatever your body flaw or insecurity is, there is someone on the stage who has that same thing.”

So, who holds the power of sex?

The stage lights fade out, and the house lights come on as audience members begin to pack up their belongings and clean up their trash. It’s well past 10:30 p.m. by the time lines of people begin filing out the doors of the theater. In the hallway, some of the performers have booths set up to sell handmade take-aways, such as pasties, boas and mini top hats. The rest of the performers stand around chatting with any audience members who care to meet them, snap a photo or get their autograph.

“Ursula Undress,” who traveled from Atlanta to be the headliner for the night, is particularly popular among lingering audience members. She was easily one of the best performers of the night, not the least bit shy about showing off her big-girl curves.

“As a performer, I do feel powerful,” she says. But the performance is for the audience, so the audience does hold a certain amount of power over the performer, she says.

“The performance is like sex. You can’t do anything without each other,” she explains.

“The audience has its own power, because if nobody reacts then I feel pretty powerless on stage. But then at the same time, I have the power because I am telling them what they get to look at.”

It’s a balancing act, she says, between the provider and the consumer.

“I think, when it comes to power, each side holds it.”

Ron Obenhaus, REALTOR®

To see more phoTos of ViVa Dallas Burlesque at the Lakewood Theater, visit lakewood.advocatemag.com and search “burlesque.”

The power to chase dreams

Gary Cogill made a big career change two years ago, from a job he loved to a job he loves even more

East Dallas neighbor Gary Cogill’s new office Downtown slightly resembles a shrine to the film industry.

“It’s kind of a man cave, basically,” Cogill quips as he shows it off. The walls are decked out with memorabilia — from old movie reels to signed posters to letters and notes from world-famous actors. Each piece has a story, something to reminisce about.

“I found this the other day,” he says, holding up an envelope. “It’s a letter written to me by Wayne Newton. Who gets a letter from Wayne Newton?”

Cogill undoubtedly had a rich and colorful career as a film critic at WFAA-TV for 24 years. The Emmy Award-winning journalist traveled the world, reviewed more than

10,000 films, and chatted it up with about 30,000 actors, writers and directors. Decades ago, landing the job as a film critic with Channel 8 was a dream come true for Cogill.

“It was what I really wanted to do,” he remembers. “I got into reviewing films because I didn’t like film critics. I thought they were really weird, and they served themselves and not the film.”

But as much as he loved his job — and you don’t have to be psychic to recognize he obviously loved his job — Cogill switched gears two years ago from reviewing films to producing them with Lascaux Films. His first film, “Words and Pictures,” is coming out late this fall or early 2014, and it’s been quite a journey for Cogill.

Gary Cogill: Chris Arrant

“I’m absolutely fascinated every day,” he says. The dream of becoming a movie producer had been hovering in the corner of his mind for a while, and three years ago, he finally decided he was ready to take the leap of faith.

“It’s empowering for me. Power to me is not power over someone; it’s the power to do what you’re convicted to do,” Cogill says. “If my true conviction is to make movies, I don’t want to go to my grave saying I never even tried to do that. Now I know what it takes to do it. I also know I’m in and out of the fetal position about everything every two or three weeks because that’s what it takes to do it. All I can say is: You got to put your big boy pants on and go.”

So he went. He finished out his contract with WFAA in 2010, and then dove headfirst into producing films with Lascaux. He originally thought it would take a while to find a screenplay — and producers shouldn’t even attempt a film without a good screenplay, he says — but it all came together surprisingly quickly with “Words with Pictures,” which is a film about a charismatic English teacher and a stoic art instructor battling a crippling case of arthritis. They rival over which is more important, words or pictures. Both are equally important, and the unlikely pair fall hopelessly in love.

Lascaux snagged international actor Clive Owen for the English teacher and Oscarwinning Juliette Binoche for the artist. Between that and director Fred Schepisi, Cogill figures they’re poised for greatness. “Here’s how this goes: An English actor, a French actress, an Australian director,” he says. “We’re making a film that takes place on the east coast of Maine that we shot on the west coast of Canada, filmed by 19 people from Dallas, Texas. That’s just crazy enough to work.”

Lascaux is also producing a documentary called “The Stark Project,” about the creation, evolution and fall of the Stark Club in Downtown, and they’re working with the young creators of “Beware of Christians,” which has been a Netflix favorite, on their next movie, a Christian comedy called “Believe Me.”

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“I was in a wonderful, wonderful career, but what I really wanted to do was test myself and find out if I could do this,” Cogill reflects. “And the answer is yes. It’s magical. When we get to actually see this in the movie theater, it’s empowering.”

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Spanish House is a Spanish immersion school for children ages 3 months - Kindergarten. Our new location at 4411 Skillman opens in August for preschool and Kindergarten. Our Spanish immersion nursery program (3 months - 2 yrs) starts in September at 5740 Prospect Ave. We offer half-day and full-day programs, with extended care available from 7:30am - 6pm. We also offer after-school and Saturday classes for PK and elementary-aged students, both on- and off-site. Additionally, we have an adult Spanish program for beginning, intermediate and advanced students.

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wisdom. Accredited by ISAS, SAES, and the Texas Education Agency

WhiTe rock norTh school

9727 White rock Trail Dallas / 214.348.7410 / Whiterocknorthschool. com 6 Weeks through 6th Grade. Our accelerated curriculum provides opportunity for intellectual and physical development in a loving and nurturing environment. Characterbuilding and civic responsibility are stressed. Facilities include indoor swimming pool, skating rink, updated playground, and stateof-the-art technology lab. Kids Club on the Corner provides meaningful after-school experiences. Summer Camp offers field trips, swimming, and a balance of indoor and outdoor activities designed around funfilled themes. Accredited by SACS. Call for a tour of the campus.

Zion luTheran school

6121 e. lovers ln. Dallas / 214.363.1630 / ziondallas. org Toddler care thru 8th Grade. Serving Dallas for over 58 years offering a quality education in a Christ-centered learning environment. Degreed educators minister to the academic, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of students and their families. Before and after school programs, Extended Care, Parents Day Out, athletics, fine arts, integrated technology, Spanish, outdoor education, Accelerated Reader, advanced math placement, and student government. Accredited by National Lutheran School & Texas District Accreditation Commissions and TANS. Contact Principal Jeff Thorman.

69%

of our readers say they want to know more about private schools.

to advertise call 214.560.4203

Education

In an effort to get a jump on problems spotted later down the line, the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees voted in June to allocate $5 million to the Early Childhood Education Department $2.75 million of which will go toward parent education. The goal is to get more students reading on grade level by the end of second grade. The funds will aid in literacy programs, including Home Instruction for Parents of Pre-School Youngsters (HIPPY) for parents of 3- to 5-year-olds and AVANCE for newborns to 3-year-olds. Coaches will hold biweekly sessions on basic literacy practices. DISD also wants to increase the opportunities for prekindergarten services by growing the number of classes offered by the district, entering into more partnerships with daycare providers, providing transportation and making sure more families know about said opportunities. The board recently approved the 2013-14 budget of $1.2 billion, including about $27 million from the state. Teachers will receive a raise for the first time in three years.

Community

Shared FUEL is hosting a photo contest as a part of its ongoing Litter Project to help eradicate the litter issue at White Rock Lake. Each week, the best submitted picture will be posted to its Facebook page. If you see litter next time you’re out at the lake, snap a shot and email it to Alison Parker at alison@sharedfuel.org.

People

Rusty Fenton, founder of Rusty Taco and co-founder of Uncle Julio’s, has died. The 53-year-old married father of four passed away June 24 of kidney cancer. Fenton began the Uncle Julio’s Fine Mexican Food chain with the original restaurant on Greenville Avenue across from Moss Park in 1986, and then opened Rusty Taco on Greenville in 2010. Fenton leaves behind his wife, Denise, and daughters Kara (22), Katie (20), Emma (17) and Ellie (11).

Gabby DeRouen won the Schmidt and Jones Award on May 23 for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her portrayal of Erma, the gangster’s moll, in “Anything Goes,” the Spring Musical at Woodrow Wilson High School. The Schmidt and Jones Awards honor excellence in high school musical theater and are sponsored by Lyric Stage, Dallas County’s only locally produced professional musical theater company. A panel of judges views the productions of the accepted applicants, makes nominations and then votes. Winners in the Best Actor/Actress in a Leading Role categories go on to the finals of the National High School Musical Theater Awards, the Jimmy Awards, in New York City.

HAVE AN ITEM TO BE fEATurEd?

Please submit news items and/or photos concerning neighborhood residents, activities, honors and volunteer opportunities to editor@advocatemag.com. Our deadline is the first of the month prior to the month of publication.

BAPTIST

LAKESIDE BAPTIST / 9150 Garland Rd / 214.324.1425

Worship — 8:30 am Classic & 11:00 am Contemporary

Pastor Jeff Donnell / www.lbcdallas.com

PARK CITIES BAPTIST CHURCH / 3933 Northwest Pky / pcbc.org

All services & Bible Study 9:15 & 10:45. Trad. & Blended (Sanctuary),

Contemporary (Great Hall), Amigos de Dios (Gym) / 214.860.1500

RIDGECREST BAPTIST / 5470 Ellsworth / 214.826.2744

Sun. Life Groups 9:30 am, Worship 10:45 am / Wed. Nights 6:00 pm

Pastor Greg Byrd / www.rcbcdallas.org

WILSHIRE BAPTIST / 4316 Abrams / 214.452.3100

Pastor George A. Mason Ph.D. / Worship 8:30 & 11:00am

Bible Study 9:40 am / www.wilshirebc.org

DISCIPLES of C HRIST

CENTRAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH / 4711 Westside Drive / 214.526.7291

Sunday Worship 11:00 am ./ Sunday School 9:45am

Wed. Bible Study 5:00 pm./ www.cccdt.org / ALL are welcome

E AST DALLAS CHRISTIAN CHURCH / 629 N. Peak Street / 214.824.8185

Sunday School 9:30 am / THE TABLE Worship Gathering 9:30 am

Worship 8:30 & 10:50 am / Rev. Deborah Morgan / www.edcc.org

HIGHLANDS CHRISTIAN CHURCH (Lake Highlands) 9949 McCree Rd. 214-348-2805 / www.highlandschristianchurch.com

Sundays: School 9:45 am / Worship 11:00 am / Rev. Paul Carpenter

ECKANKAR

HU CHANT CLASS / A Love Song to God / expand awareness, experience divine love, bring peace and calm / August 8, 7:15 pm Lakewood Library / 972-820-0530 / meetup.com/Eckankar-Dallas

L UTHERAN

CENTRAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, ELCA / 1000 Easton Road

Sunday School for all ages 9:00 am / Worship Service 10:30 am

Pastor Rich Pounds / CentralLutheran.org / 214.327.2222

fIRST UNITED LUTHERAN CHURCH / 6202 E Mockingbird Lane

Sunday Worship Service 10:30 am / Call for class schedule. 214.821.5929 / www.dallaslutheran.org

m ETHoDIST

L AKE HIGHLANDS UmC / 9015 Plano Rd. / 214.348.6600 / lhumc.com

Sunday Morning: 9:30 am Sunday School / 10:30 am Coffee

Worship: 8:30 am & 10:50 am Traditional / 10:50 am Contemporary

mUNGER PLACE CHURCH / Expect Great Things.

Worship Sundays, 9:30 and 11:00 am / 5200 Bryan Street 214.823.9929 / www.mungerplacechurch.org

WHITE RoCK UNITED mETHoDIST / www.wrumc.org

1450 Oldgate Lane / 214.324.3661

Sunday Worship 10:50 am / Rev. George Fisk

P RESB y TERIAN

NoRTHPARK PRESBy TERIAN CHURCH / 214.363.5457

9555 N. Central Expwy. / www.northparkpres.org

Pastor: Rev. Brent Barry / 8:30 & 11:00 am Sunday Services

NoRTHRIDGE PRESBy TERIAN CHURCH / 6920 Bob-O-Link Dr.

214.827.5521 / www.northridgepc.org / Welcomes you to Worship

Summer Worship: May 26 - Aug. 18 / 10:00 am / Childcare provided.

ST. ANDREW ’S PRESBy TERIAN / Skillman & Monticello

Rev. Rob Leischner. / www.standrewsdallas.org

214.821.9989 / Sunday School 9:30 am, Worship 10:45 am

UNIT y

UNIT y of DALLAS / A Positive Path For Spiritual Living

6525 Forest Lane, Dallas, TX 75230 / 972.233.7106 / UnityDallas.org

Sunday services: 9:00 am & 11:00 am

From the mouths oF babes

Maybe

“What

do you want to be when you grow up?”

It was the kind of question you ask a 3-year-old granddaughter. Her answer wasn’t the kind of you expect from a 3-yearold granddaughter who loves dressing up as fairy-tale characters and dreams of all things Disney.

“I want to be a better person,” she said. No, really. I know you think I am putting words in her mouth to make a better story the way preachers are wont to do. Or you may think it’s the kind of answer an oldest child, parent and grandparent-pleasing kid gives when she knows that her father, mother and grandfather are all ministers. But, honestly, she did.

I imagine my spiritually-intuitive, morally-advanced granddaughter has no real idea of what becoming a better person entails. It may have to do with being more like Cinderella than her conniving stepmother and stepsisters. It may involve becoming more like the beauty, Belle, who is so sweet to the ugly Beast that he becomes the handsome prince he was always meant to be. Maybe there is a Jesus story behind it something about a little boy who shares his five loaves and two small fish so that other hungry people can eat, or returning kindness to someone mean.

Who knows?

It was on the Fourth of July that I asked. Which made me think not only of how we all might become better persons but how we might become better Americans by becoming better persons.

An adage always misattributed to the French observer of early American culture, Alexis de Tocqueville, is nonetheless true enough of this country and any: “America is great because she is good; when she ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.” Becoming a better person means to

grow in goodness, something that is far too low on the list of usual dreams of children and adults alike.

We dream too much of status, stuff and security. We want to distinguish ourselves from others by becoming famous or important. We want to have enough possessions to live in comfort until we lie down for good under green pastures. We want to keep away anyone who would take our stuff or threaten our life of leisure. We call

these things freedom — freedom from the masses, from want and from danger.

But be careful what you want, Emerson once said, for you shall surely get it. Becoming good is partly about training our desires to worthy ends. Since we will all die one day, and on that day our status, stuff and safety will be no more, we might consider what will endure. What remains, St. Paul said, are faith, hope and love — each of which is focused outward.

In philosophies and religions alike, the answer to what it means to be good can only be found in seeking your neighbor’s good. Goodness is never a solitary virtue; it is only found in relation to others. This is why President Kennedy was right in calling us to “ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

When our deepest joy is found in the gladness of another, we are on our way to fulfilling a 3-year-old’s ambition, our Maker’s intention and America’s vision.

we’ll all be ‘better’ when we grow up

I know you think I am putting words in her mouth to make a better story the way preachers are wont to do.

George Mason is pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church. The Worship section is a regular feature underwritten by Advocate Media and by the neighborhood business people and churches listed on these pages. For information about helping support the Worship section, call 214.560.4202.

Business Buzz

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

Send business news tips to livElocal@advocatEmaG.com

Half Price Books develops land next door

Half Price Books plans to develop the six acres next door to its flagship location at 5803 Northwest Highway. Just to clarify, the flagship store will not be moving — leadership is just trying to freshen up the neighborhood with a brand-new, bustling shopping center, says executive vice president Kathy Doyle Thomas. The property in question is the space around and including the Starbucks at the northeast corner of Northwest Highway and Shady Brook. Half Price Books, which operates 113 stores in 16 states, had been buying up the land in pieces for several years, and it finally secured the entire six acres with the purchase of the Starbucks in 2006. The time wasn’t right in 2006, but now that the economy is picking up, Thomas says they are ready to move forward with the development. Thomas and her team have been talking with national retailers and restaurants about options for the space, although she says she isn’t ready to reveal which stores her team and Lincoln Property Co., which is their broker for the project, are talking with just yet. She does know that they’re not interested in cheap fast-food joints, and that they’re open to talking with local retailers or restaurants. “The goal is to put in some great neighborhood restaurants and stores,” Thomas says. For more about Half Price Books’ plans, visit lakewood. advocatemag.com and search “Half Price Books.”

Promise of Peace garden changes plans

Change of plans for the Promise of Peace community garden. Founder Elizabeth Dry decided to move to a different parking lot in Little Forest Hills and broke ground on that parking lot during the “love in” in June. The parking lot still belongs to the White Rock United Methodist Church, but it’s the back parking lot, instead of the one across the street from the church on Oldgate. Dry says she thinks this will be a much better fit for the garden than the parking lot across the street. The chosen space is hedged on three sides by the back side of the church, a playground and a clump of trees, giving it a cozy, private feel. “It’s so much better,” Dry says.

Personal Touch Tree Service moving

Personal Touch Tree Service is moving from 6818

More business bits

Garland to a new location farther east off Samuel Grand across from Oak Grove cemetery. Owner Jim Breaux says it won’t happen until sometime this fall (if he’s lucky) since the city must plat the land at the new site to allow for an office building. He’s settling in for what he expects to be a time-consuming process with the city. Personal Touch has been in the tree-service business for 21 years, specializing in trimming and pruning as well as dead tree and stump removals. A certified arborist also is on hand for tree care and treatments. The landowner, Jack Keller of Keller’s Drive-in, has no specific plans for the Garland Road site once Personal Touch leaves but says he’d like to see a restaurant there that caters to the neighborhood and those visiting the Dallas Arboretum. He says the Arboretum has approached him with a “minor inquiry” about possibly buying the property, but that doesn’t seem to carry much weight for Keller, at least right now. “We’ve had a lot of inquiries about it. We seldom sell anything.” There’s no correlation between that and Personal Touch’s decision to move. Breaux says the rent simply became too high.

Kid-mom haven opens in East Dallas

Three East Dallas moms opened Bake and Play Café in the shopping center at the southeast corner of Mockingbird and Abrams during the last days of July. Bake and Play has a large baking room where kids from age 3 to teens can make everything from cupcakes to pizzas. There also is a craft area where the kiddos can decorate their aprons and chef garb. Bake and Play will also host themed kids’ camps, featuring cooking classes and crafts of all kinds, and they’re considering hosting date-night events on Friday and Saturday night, where parents can drop their kids off for a relaxing night out. And that’s just the half of it. Under the same roof is a cafe where, during the week, parents can grab a cup of coffee and a cupcake or some other delicious baked good. The kids can run off to play with other kids in the playroom while mom or dad mooches off the WiFi. The playroom will feature several “play stations,” such as dress-up or a train track. In the cafe, Bake and Play serves a full menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Half Price Books

214.379.8000

HPB.com

Promise of Peace

7446 East Grand 214.240.9220

PromisEofPEacE.us

Personal Touch Tree Service

214.328.7213

PErsonaltoucHtrEEsErvicE.com

Bake and Play Cafe

6434 mockinGBird

214.801.2584

facEBook.com/BakEandPlaycafE

The Wine Therapist 1810 skillman

214.821.9463

tHEwinEtHEraPist.com

East Dallas Developmental Center

1926 skillman 214.821.7766

Eddc.nEt

Gallery Central 1918 skillman

214.827.3431

Pei Wei 9540 Garland 1.877.782.6356

PEiwEi.com

Urban Spools 1152 BucknEr 214.324.5775

urBansPools.com

El Rancho Supermarket 4201 Gaston 1 (800) 880 0924 Ext. 104 ElrancHoinc.com

1 Wine Therapist, which has occupied the corner of Skillman and Live Oak for nine years, is relocating. 2 The east Dallas Developmental Center (eDDC) is moving across Oram into the old Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage building in September. 3 In April Gallery Central opened at its new location behind the shopping center at Skillman and Oram. They moved to make room for Austin-based coffee shop Houndstooth, which at this point is not going in, although the door isn’t closed, says landord Stonelake Capital Partners

4 Pei Wei Asian Diner has completed the foundation for its new building in Casa Linda. Michael Hale with AmREIT says the design for the new building is “going to feel more like a Pei Wei, but it’s going to incorporate some of the more earthy tones you see out there.”

5 Urban Spools, a sewing lounge that recently moved to Casa Linda Plaza from Lake Highlands Village, opened at 1152 N. Buckner, a level lower than Another Broken Egg Cafe, in mid-May and hosted its official ribbon cutting in June. 6 At the time of publication, construction for Garlandbased grocer el Rancho Supermarket at 4121 Gaston appears to be right on schedule as finishing touches are being added to the exterior of the grocery store. If all goes as planned, the store should open late July.

Patriotic Pup

“Eight-week-old chocolate lab, Maggie, is one patriotic puppy,” says her mom, Andee Pittman, who shared her photo with us on Facebook during the Fourth of July photo share.

BBULLETIN BOARD

EvEnts

Masked paraders

The theme of the auction party that kicks off this year’s 37th Annual Lakewood Home Festival was unveiled at the Lakewood Fourth of July parade. The black and white masquerade theme was revealed via a float adorned with glittering masks and elaborate black and white decorations.

ChildCarE

LOVING, CHRIST-CENTERED CARE SINCE 1982 Lake Highlands Christian Child Enrichment Center Ages 2 mo.-12 yrs. 9919 McCree. 214-348-1123.

ClassEs/tutoring/ lEssons

ART: Draw or Paint. All Levels. Lake Highlands N. Rec. Ctr. Jane Cross, 214-534-6829. Linda, 214-808-4919.

ARTISTIC GATHERINGS

Casa Linda Plaza. Art Classes & Drop In Pottery Painting For All Ages. 214-821-8383. Tues-Sat 10am-6pm

DRUM & PIANO LESSONS Your location. UNT Grads, Betty & Bill. View BucherMusicSchool.com or call 214-484-5360

GUITAR OR PIANO Fun/Easy. Your Home. 9 to Adult. Prof Musician. UNT Grad. Larry 469-358-8784

JEWELRY Making Parties at Art Gallery. BYOB & creativity. All else included! jewelrymakingparty.com or 1-855-254-6625

VOICE TEACHER with 38 years experience. MM, NATS www.PatriciaIvey.com 214-769-8560

EmploymEnt

CREATE INCOME From The Internet. One On One Coaching & Group Support. www.MonthlyResidual.net

PET SITTERS, DOG WALKERS Email Recruiting@pcpsi.com

sErviCEs for you

$18/MONTH AUTO INSURANCE Instant Quote. Any Credit Type. Get The Best Rates In Your Area. 877-958-7003

AT ODDS WITH YOUR COMPUTER? Easily Learn Essential Skills. Services include Digital Photo Help. Sharon 214-679-9688

CONFUSED? FRUSTRATED? Let A Seasoned Pro Be The Interface Between You & That Pesky Computer. Hardware & Software Installation, Troubleshooting, Training. $50/hr. 1 hr min. Dan 214-660-3733 or stykidan@sbcglobal.net

sErviCEs for you

profEssional sErviCEs

ACCOUNTING, TAXES Small Businesses & Individuals. Chris King, CPA 214-824-5313 www.chriskingcpa.com

BOOKKEEPING NEEDS? Need Help Organizing Finances? No Job Too Small or Big.

Call C.A.S. Bookkeeping Services. Cindy 214-821-6903

ESTATE/PROBATE MATTERS Because every family needs a will. Mary Glenn, J.D. maryglennattorney.com • 214-802-6768

HOLLOWAY BENEFIT CONCEPTS Benefit strategy for area businesses. www.hollowaybenefitconcepts.com 214-329-0097

INDEPENDENT STYLE CONSULT Amanda. 214-533-9000. Menswear. Amanda.preston@jhilburnpartner.com

September DeADLINe AuguSt 7

Photo by Debbie Jordan

Lakewood Fourth of July parade float: Debbie Jordan

Elizabeth Dry and her granddaughter soak up some sun during the Okra Palooza the Promise of Peace hosted to raise money for the new Imagine Garden in Little Forest Hills.

Okra palooza

Several chefs, including chef Graham Dodds (pictured), of Central 214, cooked up recipes out of okra for the okra competition during the Okra Palooza on June 29.

Poetry slam

Combining visual art and the spoken word, six artists bared their souls on stage during the poetry slam show 6ix Confessions at the Bath House Cultural Center on June 29. Artist and fashion entrepreneur Rhianna Mack curated the show.

Mind, Body & SPirit

to A dvertise c A ll 214.560.4203

Pet ServiceS

POOP SCOOP PROFESSIONALS Trust The Experts. 214-826-5009

BULLETIN BOARD

Dallas’ First Doggie Daycare Featuring “Open Play” Boarding

• 14,000+ sq. ft. Play Area Inside • 5,000+ sq. ft. Play Area Outside • 15 Lux Suites w/ Webcams

• Grooming All Breeds

• Training & Obedience Classes 6444 E. Mockingbird at Abrams www.deesdoggieden.com • 214-823-1441

In-Home Professional Care Customized to maintain your pet’s routine In-Home Pet Visits & Daily Walks

“Best of Dallas” D Magazine Serving the Dallas area since 1994 Bonded & Insured www.societypetsitter.com 214-821-3900

Buy/Sell/trade

TOP CASH FOR CARS Any Car, Truck. Running or Not. Call for Instant Offer. 1-800-454-6951

TEXAS RANGERS FRONT-ROW BASEBALL TICKETS

Share prime, front-row Texas Rangers baseball tickets (available in sets of 10 games) during the 2013 & 2014 season.

Prices start at $105 per ticket (sets of 2 or 4 tickets per game available). Seats are behind the plate and next to both the firstand third-base dugouts. Other great seats available starting at $60 per ticket. Entire season available except for opening day; participants randomly draw numbers to determine draft order so the selection process is fair for everyone.

E-mail rwamre@advocatemag.com or call 214-560-4212 for more information.

Moving, Retirement, Downsizing. One Piece or a Houseful. David Turner. 214-908-7688. dave2estates@aol.com

6ix Confessions at the Bath House Cultural Center: Brandy Barham

Nari Home improvemeNt

Bob McDonald Company, Inc. BUILDERS/REMODELERS

• 30 Yrs. in Business • Angie’s List

• Major Additions • Complete Renovations

• Kitchens/Baths

214-341-1155

www.bobmcdonaldco.com

Your Professional Remodeling Solution

• Design

• Build

• Remodel

214.773.5566

ChrisBlackConstruction.com

Fifer Renovations, L.L.C.

1&2 Story Additions Whole House Renovations Custom Homes 214 727 7075

aC & Heat

AIR CONDITIONING & HEATING Repair, Service, Replacement. Honest & Affordable. JB Maintenance. 214-404-1457 LIC# TACLB 17612E

CHAMNESS SERVICES A/C & Heat Sales & Service. Res/Com. Serving Dallas 21 yrs. 214-328-0938 TACL003800C

LAKEWOOD HEAT & AIR Servicing Dallas 20+ years. 214-682-3822 TACLA28061E

NORTHAVEN AIR & HEAT Affordable Quality, Jim. 972-365-1570

Full AC/Heat System $3,899. TACLA46391E

aC & Heat

214.526.8533

Installation & Repair

QuigleyAC.com

#TACLA23686E

972-216-1961

TACL-B01349OE www.SherrellAir.com

appliaNCe repair

APPLIANCE REPAIR SPECIALIST

Low Rates, Excellent Service, Senior Discount. MC-Visa. 214-321-4228

JESSE’S A/C & APPLIANCE SERVICE TACLB13304C All Makes/Models. 214-660-8898

CarpeNtry & remodeliNg

BO HANDYMAN Specializing In Historic Home Renovations & Pro Remodels. Custom Carpentry, Doors, Kitchens, Baths & more. 214-437-9730

D SQUARED Specializing In Assisted Living Modifications For Your Home. 214-213-2716

HANDY DAN “The Handyman” To Do’s Done Right! www.handy-dan.com 214-252-1628

RENOVATE DALLAS

renovatedallas.net 214-403-7247

SQUARE NAIL WOODWORKING

Cabinet Refacing, Built-ins, Entertainment/ Computer Centers. Jim. 214-324-7398 www.squarenailwoodworking.com

GREAM LLC

• Complete Renovations

WWW.BGRONTHEWEB.COM BRIANGREAM@YAHOO.COM

CleaNiNg ServiCeS

MAID PRISTINE House Cleaning For Perfectionists. Refs. Reliable. Leticia. 972-971-1571

MESS MASTERS Earth friendly housecleaning. 469-235-7272. www.messmasters.com Since ‘91

THE MAIDS Angie’s List Award! Deep cleaning specialists, Eco-friendly supplies. 972-278-6000

WANTED: HOUSES TO CLEAN

20 yrs. exp., Reliable, Great Prices, Excellent Refs., Free Estimates. No Crews. Sunny 214-724-2555

WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134

Serving your Neighborhood Since 1993

823

2629

CarpeNtry & remodeliNg

ATLANTIS DESIGN-BUILD, LLC

Complete Remodeling. 40 Yrs Exp. Additions. 1 & 2 Story. Kitchens, Baths. Small Jobs To Entire House. Renovation & Design. Full Time Supervision. Licensed/Insured. Free Estimates. 281-761-4648

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS, LLC

Complete Remodeling, Kitchens, Baths, Additions. Hardie Siding & Replacement Windows. Radiant Barrier, Insulation. Bonded & Insured. www.blake-construction.com 214-563-5035

COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL RENOVATION & REPAIR

PayPal ® 214.341.1448

WWW.OBRIENGROUPINC.COM

• Bathrooms

• Kitchens

• Renovations

redoguys.com 214 / 803. 4774

CleaNiNg ServiCeS

AMAZON CLEANING Top To Bottom Clean. Fabiana.469-951-2948

CINDY’S HOUSE CLEANING 15 yrs exp. Resd/Com. Refs. Dependable. 214-490-0133

MAID 4 YOU Bonded/Insured. Park Cities/M Streets Refs. Call Us First. Joyce.214-232-9629

ComputerS & eleCtroNiCS

BILL’S COMPUTER REPAIR

Virus Removal, Data Recovery. Home /Biz. Network Install. All Upgrades & Repairs. PC Instruction, No Trip Fee. 214-348-2566

COMPUTER PROBLEMS SOLVED Great Rates! Keith 214-295-6367

CoNCrete/ maSoNry/paviNg

BRICK & STONE REPAIR

Don 214-704-1722

BRICK, BLOCK, Stone, Concrete, Stucco. Gonzalez Masonry. 214-395-1319

BRICK, STONEWORK,FLAGSTONE PATIOS Mortar Repair. Call George 214-498-2128

CONCRETE, Driveway Specialist Repairs, Replacement, Removal, References. Reasonable.

Chris 214-770-5001

EDMONDSPAVING.COM Asphalt & Concrete Driveway-Sidewalk-Patio-Repair 214-957-3216

FLAGSTONE PATIOS, Retaining Walls, BBQ’s, Veneer, Flower Bed Edging, All Stone work. Chris 214-770-5001

Swimming Pool Remodels Patios Stone work • Stamp Concrete 972-727-2727

Deckoart.com

ElEctrical SErvicES

4 U ElEctrical SErvicE, llc We will be there 4 U. 972-877-4183

aNtHONY’S ElEctric Master Electrician. TECL24948 anthonyselectricofdallas.com

Family Owned/Operated. Insd. 214-328-1333

EXPEriENcED licENSED ElEctriciaN Insd. Steve. TECL#27297 214-718-9648

laKEWOOD ElEctrical Local. Insured. Lic. #227509 Call Rylan 214-434-8735

MOriN ElEctric New/Remodel.Com/Res. Panel Changes/Full Services. All Phases. All Service Work. 469-230-7438. TECL2293

TEXAS ELECTRICAL • 214-289-0639

Honest, Quality. TECL 24668 CCs accepted.

tH ElEctric Reasonable Rates. Licensed & Insured. Ted. E257 214-808-3658

WHitE rOcK ElEctric All Electrical Services. Lic/Insd. E795. 214-850-4891

FEncing & DEckS

Northlake Fence and Deck

Locally owned and operated by the Mccaffrey family since1980

214-349-9132

www.northlakefence.com

FirEplacE SErvicES

cHiMNEY SWEEP Dampers/Brick & Stone Repair. DFW Metro. Don 214-704-1722

Flooring & carpEting

ALL WALkS OF FLOORS 214-616-7641 Carpet, Wood, Tile Sales/Service Free Estimates

BEAR FOOT HARDWOODS 214-734-8851

Complete Hardwood Flooring Services

DallaS carPEt OUtlEt Carpet/Wood/Tile. dallascarpetoutlet.com 214-342-1100

FounDation

rEpair

• Slabs • Pier & Beam

• Mud Jacking • Drainage

• Free Estimates

• Over 20 Years Exp. 972-288-3797

We Answer Our Phones

garagE DoorS

ROCkET GARAGE DOOR SERVICE -24/7. Repairs/Installs. 214-533-8670. Coupon On Web. www.RocketDoorService.com

UNITED GARAGE DOORS AND GATES Res/Com. Locally Owned.214-826-8096

glaSS, WinDoWS & DoorS

A FATHER, SON & GRANDSON TEAM Expert Window Cleaning. Haven 214-327-0560

CLEARWINDOWSANDDOORS.COM

Replacement Windows & Doors Free Estimate 214-274-5864

HouSE painting

1 AFFORDABLE HOUSE PAINTING and Home Repair. Quality work. Inside and Out. Free Ests. Local Refs. Ron 972-816-5634 or 972-475-3928

#1 GET MORE PAY LES

Painting. 85% Referrals. Free Est. 214-348-5070

A+ INT/EXT PAINT & DRYWALL

Since 1977. Kirk Evans. 972-672-4681

A1 TOP COAT Professional. Reliable. References. TopCoatOfTexas.com 214-770-2863

ABRAHAM PAINT SERVICE A Women Owned Business 25 Yrs. Int/Ext. Wall Reprs. Discounts On Whole Interiors and Exteriors 214-682-1541

all tYPES Painting & Repairs. A+ BBB rating. Any size jobs welcome. Call Kenny 214-321-7000

BENJAMIN’S PAINTING SERVICE Quality Work At Reasonable Prices. 214-725-6768

BILL’S PAINTING 214-697-7611

20 Years References.Interior/Exterior.

BLAkE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS, LLC

Complete Painting Interior/Exterior, Stain Etc. Custom Finishes, Custom Texture, Custom Trim www.blake-construction.com

Fully Bonded & Insured. 214-563-5035

’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11 CONSUMERS CHOICE AWARDS

Making Homes Safer One Call at a Time

TECL20502

972-926-7007

arrowelectric.net

Phones Answered 24/7

FEncing & DEckS

#1 COWBOY FENCE & IRON CO. Est. ‘91. 214-692-1991 www.cowboyfenceandiron.com

4 QUALITY FENCING Call Mike 214-507-9322

Specializing in Wood, New or Repair.

A FATHER, SON & GRANDSON TEAM

Fences, Gates, Decks. Haven 214-327-0560

AMBASSADOR FENCE INC.

Automatic Gates, Iron & Cedar Fencing, Decks. Since 1996. MC/V 214-621-3217

HANNAWOODWORkS.COM Decks,Doors, Carpentry, Remodeling 214-435-9574

kIRkWOOD FENCE & DECk

New & Repair. Free Estimates. Nathan Kirkwood. 214-341-0699

LONESTARDECkS.COM 214-357-3975

Trex Decking & Fencing, trex.com

All Wood Decks, Arbors & Patio Covers

DALLAS HARDWOODS 214-724-0936

Installation, Repair, Refinish, Wax, Hand Scrape. Residential, Commercial. Sports Floors. 25 Yrs.

HASTINGS STAINED CONCRETE New/ Remodel. Stain/Wax Int/Ext. Nick. 214-341-5993. www.hastingsfloors.com

N-HANCE WOOD RENEWAL. No Dust. No Mess. No Odor. nhance.com. 214-321-3012.

WILLEFORD HARDWOOD FLOORS 214-824-1166 • WillefordHardwoodFloors.com

LAkE HIGHLANDS GLASS & MIRROR custom mirrors • shower enclosures store fronts • casements 214-349-8160

ROCk GLASS CO Replace, repair: windows, mirrors, showers, screens. 214-837-7829

HanDyman SErvicES

#1 AT BIG JOBS. NO JOB TOO SMALL. 40+ years exp. Ron Payne 214-755-9147

A HELPING HAND Repairs, Redo’s & Remodeling.No Job Too Small.Chris 214-693-0678

A R&G HANDYMAN Electrical, Plumbing, Painting, Fencing, Roofing, Light Hauling. Ron or Gary 214-861-7569, 469-878-8044

MANNY’S HOME PAINTING & REPAIR Int./Ext. Sheetrock. Manny 214-334-2160

raMON’S iNt/EXt PaiNt Sheetrock, Repairs. 214-679-4513

VIP PAINTING & DRYWALL Int/Ext. Sheetrock Repair, Resurfacing Tubs, Counters, Tile Repairs. 469-774-7111

WHITE ROCk PAINTING

References. Mark Reindel 214-321-5280

BRIAN GREAM

PAINTING & RENOVATIONS LLC

• Interior/Exterior • Drywall

• Rotten Wood • Gutters

All General Contracting Needs

PayPal ®

214.542.6214

WWW.BGRONTHEWEB.COM

25+ Years Experience

all Star HOME carE Carpentry, Glass, Tile, Paint, Doors, Sheetrock Repair, and more. 25 yrs. exp. References. Derry 214-505-4830

BO HANDYMAN Specializing In Historic Home Renovations & Pro Remodels. Custom Carpentry, Doors, Kitchens, Baths & more. 214-437-9730

HaNDY DaN “The Handyman” To Do’s Done Right. www.handy-dan.com 214-252-1628

HaNDYMaN SPEcialiSt Residential/ Commercial. Large, small jobs, repair list, renovations. Refs. 214-489-0635

HOMEtOWN HaNDYMaN All phases of construction. No job too small 214-327-4606

HONESt, SKillED SErvicE With a Smile. General Repairs/ Maintenance. 214-215-2582

WANTED: ODD JOBS & TO DO LISTS

Allen’s Handyman & Home Repair 214-288-4232

Your Home Repair Specialists Drywall

BRIANGREAM@YAHOO.COM

Exterior & Interior Painting Professionals Call Local (Toll Free) NOW

For a FREE estimate 877-212-4076 www.protectpainters.com

intErior DESign

A LADY’S TOUCH WALLPAPERING Free Estimates. 972-832-3396

cUStOM DraPErY Window Treatments, Blinds,Shades,Upholstery. Linda 214-212-8058

DESIGN BY kIMBERLY VAUGHAN

It’s About You And The Way You Live designmeover.com 214-458-5057

TLC DESIGN INC Refresh your interiors/ remodels.Over 15 Yrs Exp.972-922-6483 ticdi.com

Kitchen/Bath/ tile/Grout

ALL SURFACE REFINISHING 214-631-8719. Tub/Tile/Refinishing. allsurfacerefinishing.com

BATHTUB, COUNTERTOP & TILE

Resurfacing: Walls, Tub Surrounds, Showers. Glaze or Faux Stone finishes. Affordable Alternative to Replacement! 972-323-8375. PermaGlazeNorthDallas.com

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS LLC

Complete Kitchen And Bath Remodels

Tile, Granite, Marble, Travertine, Slate Bonded And Insured. 214-563-5035 www.blake-construction.com

FENN CONSTRUCTION Any Tile Anywhere. www.dallastileman.com 214-343-4645

HANDY DAN “The Handyman” Remodels Done Right. handy-dan.com 214-252-1628

MELROSE TILE James Estrello Sr.-installer,40 Yrs. Exp. MelroseTile.com 214-384-6746

TOM HOLT TILE 30 Yrs Experience In Tile, Backsplashes & Floors. Refs. Avail. 214-770-3444

lawns, Gardens & trees

RED SUN LANDSCAPES • 214-935-9779

RedSunLandscapes.com

RONS LAWN Organic Solutions. Not Environmental Pollution. Landscape & Maintenance 972-222-LAWN (5296)

SERIOUSLY METICULOUS Verdant Grounds. 214-763-0492

TAYLOR MADE IRRIGATION Repairs, service, drains. 30+ years exp. Ll 6295 M-469-853-2326. John

TEN55 DESIGN Landscape Design ten55design.com, 214-208-4366

THE POND MAN Water Gardens

Designed & Installed. Drained & Cleaned. Weekly Service. Jim Tillman 214-769-0324

TRACY’S LAWN CARE • 972-329-4190 Lawn Mowing & Leaf Cleaning

U R LAWN CARE Maintenance. Landscaping. Your Personal Yard Service by Uwe Reisch uwereisch@yahoo.com 214-886-9202

WATER-WISE URBAN LANDSCAPES www.TexasXeriscapes.com 469-586-9054

WHITE ROCK TREE WIZARDS Professionals, Experts, Artists. Trim, Rmv, Cable Repair, Cavity-Fill Stump Grind. Emergency Hazards. Insd. Free Est. 972-803-6313 JUST

lawns, Gardens & trees

30% OFF All Trees With This Ad. August Only. Not Valid With Any Other Offers. Like Us On FB. Walton’s Garden Center 9652 Garland Rd. Dallas 75218. 214-321-2387

A BETTER TREE COMPANY • JUST TREES

Complete tree services. Tree & Landscape Lighting! Fence & Deck, install/repair. Mark 214-332-3444

AYALA’S LANDSCAPING & TREE SERVICE Call the Land Expert Today! Insured. 214-773-4781

BRUMLEY GARDENS Visit us on Facebook

Landscape Maintenance, Installation & Design 214-343-4900 www.brumleygardens.com

CHUPIK TREE SERVICE

Trim, Remove, Stump Grind. Free Est. Insured. 214-823-6463

COLE’S LAWN CARE • 214-327-3923

Quality Service with a Personal Touch.

COVINGTON’S NURSERY & LANDSCAPE CO. 5518 Pres. George Bush Hwy. Rowlett 972-475-5888 covingtonnursery.com

DALLAS K.D.R.SERVICES • 214-349-0914

Lawn Service & Landscape Installation

DFW LAWN CARE Call Today. 972-898-2705 dfw-lawncare.com

HOLMAN IRRIGATION

Sprinkler & Valve Repair/ Rebuild Older Systems. Lic. #1742. 214-398-8061

ORTIZ LAWNCARE Complete Yard Care. Service by Felipe. Free Est. 214-215-3599

PARADISELANDSCAPES.NET · 214-328-9955

Installations of Fine Gardens, Patios, Paths & more!

MovinG

ALL-TEX MOVERS Free Estimates. 11Yr. BBB Member. www.all-texmovers.com 214-869-6566

Pest control

A BETTER EARTH PEST CONTROL

Keeping the environment, kids, pets in mind. Organic products avail. 972-564-2495

McDANIEL PEST CONTROL

Prices Start at $85 +Tax for General Treatment

Average Home, Interior, Exterior & Attached Garage Quotes for Other Services

214-328-2847

Lakewood Resident

PluMBinG

A2Z PLUMBING 214-727-4040

All Plumbing Repairs. Slab Leak Specialists. Licensed & Insured. ML# M36843. ANDREWS PLUMBING • 214-354-8521 # M37740 Insured. Any plumbing issues. plumberiffic69@gmail.com

Sewers • Drains • Bonded 24 Hours/7 Days *Joe Faz 214-794-7566 - Se Habla Español*

ARRIAGA PLUMBING:

Faucet, Sewer, Sink Repairs. Water Leaks. Water Heaters, Gas Testing. Remodels, Shower Pans, Stoppages. Insured. Lic 20754. Since the 80’s 214-321-0589, 214-738-7116

M&S PLUMBING Quality Work & Prompt Service. Jerry. 214-235-2172. lic.#M-11523

REPAIRS, Fixtures, General Plumbing, Senior Discounts. Campbell Plumbing. 214-321-5943

Pools

ADAIR POOL & SPA SERVICE

1 month free service for new customers. Call for details. 469-358-0665.

DFWPOOLCHEMICAL.COM Never Pay Retail Again. Chemicals, Parts, Motors, Etc. LOCK’S POOL SERVICE - 469-235-2072

40 years experience. Pool Electrical TICL #550

MICHAEL’S POOL SERVICE

Maintenance & Repair 214-727-7650

Sept. DeADLINe Aug. 7 214.560.4203 tO ADVeRtISe

ADVOCATE PUBLISHING does not pre-screen, recommend or investigate the advertisements and/ or Advertisers published in our magazines. As a result, Advocate Publishing is not responsible for your dealings with any Advertiser. Please ask each Advertiser that you contact to show you the necessary licenses and/or permits required to perform the work you are requesting. Advocate Publishing takes comments and/or complaints about Advertisers seriously, and we do not publish advertisements that we know are inaccurate, misleading and/or do not live up to the standards set by our publications. If you have a legitimate complaint or positive comment about an Advertiser, please contact us at 214-560-4203. Advocate Publishing recommends that you ask for and check references from each Advertiser that you contact, and we recommend that you obtain a written statement of work to be completed, and the price to be charged, prior to approving any work or providing an Advertiser with any deposit for work to be completed.

The handbag and headphones vanished.

The Victim: Mackenzie Crannell

The Crime: Burglary of a motor vehicle

Date: Wednesday, June 26

Time: Between 7:45 p.m. and 8:15 p.m.

Location: 8000 block of east Mockingbird Lane

Mackenzie Crannell is a dog lover. She and her blue heeler often visit the White Rock Dog Park. The leashfree park is a nice place to let your dog play in a relaxing outdoors atmosphere.

That Wednesday was just like any other day at the park. She usually stayed about an hour with her canine companion, but she planned a bit of a shorter stay that night.

“She left for about 15 or 30 minutes, and when she came back, her car was broken into,” says her father, Dan Crannell.

Someone had smashed in her window and made off with her headphones, handbag and wallet — a loss of more than $500. Crannell says that his daughter had to cancel all her credit cards and that the entire event has been a real pain. However, his dogloving daughter will probably be back at the dog park soon, just not leaving anything in her car.

The car break-in was one of several at the dog park and nearby White Rock Lake Park during the month of June. Officer Joe Schultz of the Dallas Police Northeast Patrol Division says the large majority of auto thefts occur when people leave their vehicles unsecured with expensive belongings in plain sight.

“A burglary of a motor vehicle is one of the most preventable offenses simply by not leaving anything of value in the vehicle,” he says. “It’s important to remember this is a crime of opportunity and can be executed extremely quickly.”

If a criminal sees an empty car, he will often move on to an easier target.

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer and author of “Raising the Stakes”, obtainable at raisingthestakesbook.com. If you have been a recent crime victim, email crime@advocatemag.com.

crime numbers

Day in June when Bryan Bradford was assaulted outside of Swiss Avenue Place Apartments near Swiss and Peak; at the time of publication, Bradford was still in critical condition

Amount of money Crime Stoppers is offering for information that leads to an arrest

The number to dial if you witness any suspicious behavior or have any information regarding the crimes, or in an emergency dial 911 Source

Ms. Manager retires

Look closely, and you’ll see a letdown-littered legacy

Comment. Visit lakewood.advocatemag.com and search Mary Suhm here to tell us what you think.

How will Dallas ever survive without departed city manager Mary Suhm? After all, she has been compared — and quite favorably — to Jesus Christ; has been recognized as perhaps the smartest person ever to work at City Hall, and certainly smarter than slobs like you and me; and has even been feted by the city’s richest and most powerful on the news that she was leaving. Or, as Dallas’ Only Daily Newspaper phrased it: Suhm, who will retire in September, had “a remarkable eight-year career.” How will we survive? Quite well, actually.

that we don’t need and can’t afford. In between, she lied to the city council, which would have gotten her fired in a lot of other places but earned her the Jesus adulation here, and fostered an agenda favored by the Downtown and Park Cities elites at the expense of the neighborhoods. If you doubt that, try driving more than a couple of blocks without hitting a pothole. But we do have a deck park.

In dollars and cents, we spent about the same amount of money on city services (adjusted for inflation) in 2012-13 that we did in Suhm’s first budget as full-time city manager in 2005-06. All it took was a 6.7 percent property tax increase during the worst recession in almost 40 years and gutting our libraries and parks to perform that magic.

tion, written in wonderfully boring bureaucratese. Imagine what it was like to attend a town hall in a crowded high school gym in a Dallas August, with the air conditioning straining to get anywhere close to cooling the room and everyone fanning themselves. Talk about lulling the audience into a stupor.

Then, if someone did have a pertinent question and managed to articulate it, we got The Answer: “You have to understand. We don’t control the budget. The city’s resources depend on what’s going on with the national economy.” This was always a treat to hear, given how smart the city staff was supposed to be. What would they have said if they weren’t so smart? And I always wondered what would happen if I used that excuse on my bank — “Sorry, can’t make my mortgage payment this month. I don’t control my budget. It depends on what’s going on with the national economy.”

Suhm’s legacy as the woman who really ran Dallas for almost a decade — brushing aside the mayor and council in the process — is broken budgets, failed police and fire protection, and a fanatical devotion to building a toll road

Nothing demonstrates the smoke and mirrors that defined Suhm’s tenure better than the annual budget process, which reaches its climax this month with town hall meetings across the city. The town hall meetings are supposed to let us know what’s going on with the budget and allow us to offer our take on what the city should spend money for. Suhm’s town hall meetings, on the other hand, were designed to do just the opposite obfuscate and confuse. Can’t let the taxpayers know what’s going on, can we? Then we can’t build bridges that no one uses.

First came the PowerPoint presenta-

One of the most depressing moments in my reportorial career came a couple of years ago at a Lakewood town hall meeting. That’s when library supporters, who had suffered through draconian cuts in the previous budget because they thought they had been told all would be made right the next year, found out that the system doesn’t work that way. The cuts would continue, and there was nothing they could do about it. The looks on their faces — shock, disbelief, betrayal — have stayed with me to this day.

Not that I begrudge Suhm an enjoyable retirement. I know the taxpayers will enjoy it — because if we can’t do better than Suhm, then we need to close Dallas and move to Manhattan.

Try driving more than a couple of blocks without hitting a pothole. But we do have a deck park.

Jeff Siegel, a neighborhood resident, writes a monthly opinion column about neighborhood issues. His opinions are not necessarily those of the Advocate or its management. Send comments and ideas to him at 6301 Gaston, Suite 820, Dallas 75214; fax to 214.823.8866; or email editor@advocatemag.com.