2012 January Oak Cliff

Subject: crime

Your

Social Studies

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editors

KERI MITCHELL

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EMILY TOMAN

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RACHEL STONE

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designers: JEANINE MICHNA-BALES, LARRY OLIVER, HANNAH DWORACzYK

contributing editors: JEff SIEGEL, SALLY WAMRE

contributors: SEAN CHAffIN, BILL KEffER, GAYLA KOKEL, GEORGE MASON, BLAIR MONIE, ELLEN RAff, MEGHAN RINEY

photo editor: CAN TüRKYILMAz

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photographers: MARK DAVIS, BENJAMIN HAGER

interns: ALI LAMB

A ch A nce encounter

Digital news can’t compete with the surprises newsprint offers

It’s cold and wet and windy outside, and brownish-red leaves whip through the yard. Can I complete the dash without becoming soaked as rain pounds our driveway, bouncing up on the porch?

It’s probably only 60 feet, the distance from our front door to the sidewalk, but this early in the morning, with the darkened sky strangling the light, there might as well be a mile between me and the three rolled-up newspapers on the lawn.

I’m waiting, knowing full well that everything in the Dallas Morning News, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times can be found online, but I still like to feel paper between my fingers as I sift through yesterday’s news looking for things that still have meaning today.

Today, I’m virtually a loner on this trip — the neighbors’ lawns are mostly empty. In fact, given our headlong flight to electronic information, I’m almost embarrassed to be seen with newsprint.

Years ago, if something big happened, we might have been teased with information on television or radio, but we would have waited for the newspaper to make sense of it all. We may have had opinions, but we couldn’t do much with them — sure, we might have wanted to remind Donald Trump he’s an idiot or tell Lindsay Lohan to quit screwing up her life, but by the time we hand-wrote our thoughts and found a postage stamp, the energy driving the hate was pretty much gone.

We don’t have that problem anymore, because in seconds I can join the many thousands on Lohan’s Twitter account or Trump’s Facebook page letting them know exactly how disgusted we are with their antics. No matter if tomorrow I’m not so hot under the collar and maybe even wish I’d held my digital tongue; there will be some-

thing else fueling my anger by then.

Social networks and the internet are doing a lot of great things in our neighborhoods these days, as you’ll learn from our cover story this month. Neighbors are finding each other, cops are tracking criminals, pets are being found, stores are selling stuff; while waiting for our monthly magazine, you can even find daily news updates for our neighborhood at advocatemag.com or on our Facebook page or Twitter feed.

The internet makes all things accessible instantaneously, so there’s no wait to have questions answered or information found, as long as you know exactly what you’re looking to find.

But for me, a newspaper on newsprint still offers something more — the opportunity to stumble across something I didn’t know I needed to know. Like the story I read the other day about the death by brain damage of a 28-year-old Minnesota hockey

player, or the story about why Army wound up beating Navy for the 1944 college football championship. These stories are on tablets or smartphones, too, but they’re harder to find because we have no reason to look for them.

I could survive without that random knowledge. But the information itself, stumbled across as I randomly flipped newspaper pages, offers something to ponder, to the extent pondering something is possible anymore.

Anyway, the rain finally has slowed to a drizzle, so I’m going to scurry down the steps, across the lawn and out to the street where the newspapers lay coiled in plastic.

I’ll enjoy them as long as I can, because like all of us, their time will end. Sooner, it appears, rather than later.

i

looking for things that still have meaning today.

Properties as distinct

AROUND DALLAS

An Omni-present issue

Advocate blogger Scott Chase recently wrote a post praising of the new Omni Dallas Hotel, saying the new taxpayer-funded structure Downtown would be “a boost for Oak Cliff shops and restaurants.” Soon afterward, Advocate publisher Rick Wamre commented with his conflicting two cents, and a backand-forth began, with other neighbors joining the discussion, too.

WAMRE: “I hope you’re right about the new hotel rejuvenating Downtown, Scott, but I continue to have my doubts. … I think it’s a mistake for city money to be used to essentially compete with private hotels. There are a lot of places around the city that could use city funds, if the goal is to jack up private investment — figuring out a solution to parking in Bishop Arts is just one. Putting all of our eggs Downtown seems like a shortsighted, economic mistake.”

CHASE: “I admit I voted for the hotel, primarily because I think it will increase convention business and not take away revenue from other hotels. But that wasn’t the reason for my post. The hotel is unique in Dallas and deserves to be acclaimed for its uniqueness … We all profess to believe in the ‘shop local’ movement, and the hotel offers works from local artists and vendors. That’s good for our tourism industry. Let’s celebrate it, just for awhile anyway.”

Read the full post and comments online: search Omni or scan this code to read it on your mobile.

Q&A: Gay Revi

Soon after Gay Revi made Oak Cliff her home about five years ago, the Dells District resident began writing opinions, local news and restaurant reviews for her blog, grannygeek.us. revi has lived all over the united States and has family and friends from Connecticut to California, so she first started blogging as a way to keep in touch with them. Her blog also offers helpful information and insights for Oak Cliff residents and people all over the city.

Where are you from, and why did you move to Oak Cliff?

We chose Oak Cliff as a retirement community, but I’m originally from Western Pennsylvania. My son has lived here for about 18 years, so we moved here to get closer to him.

Why did you start the Granny Geek blog?

I started it a long time ago when I was living in Missouri. I just feel it’s very important to talk about what’s going on in my neighborhood. Local things often get overlooked by the media — zoning issues, neighborhood businesses, parties, whatever. Those kinds of things are interesting to local people.

How did you get the name Granny Geek?

My kids gave that name to me. I bought my first computer in 1982, and I got my first Mac in 1984, and I’ve never looked back. I’m a big believer in Mac products. My kids would call me for tech advice, and they gave me that nickname. I can’t do very many grandmotherly things. I don’t crochet. I’m a loss at sewing. I can cook some, but I’m a whiz with software. I’ve spent so much money on software, I think dope would’ve been cheaper.

Was software your business?

No. My husband and I started doing digital archives in the ’90s, and we did that for years. I’m retired from it now, but we were doing it before it was common. We also ran an internet radio station back when Live365 was free, back in about ’98. We played music from my iTunes, which had about a thousand songs, and we would put in local service announcements. And then, over the years, I’ve run a lot of websites, probably about 30, mostly for nonprofits. I helped Turner House before they had a website. I was in the Peace Corps in the ’60s, and I ran a site for my Peace Corps class for years. Now I do the website for my neighborhood association, the Dells District. Just about anyone who has a cause I like, I’ll put up a website for them.

Photo by Can Türkyilmaz

What do you like about blogging?

It’s a great outlet for hissy fits. About a year and a half ago, we started one called Dallas garage sales from hell, and the City Council passed an ordinance on garage sales, so obviously, it was a worthy hissy fit. I consider it a pretty major win for a pretty major hissy fit. In fact, I (met) with the City Council (last month) to talk about how the ordinance has helped curb garage sales in our neighborhood. I also like doing restaurant reviews. People are always offering to give me free food, but I refuse to take payment or any considerations for anything I do. I’m 72 and I can’t be bought unless there’s a lot of zeros in the number.

Do you use social media?

I had a Facebook account for a while, but I don’t like it. I don’t want to see all that information about people. I don’t want to know who’s sitting in an airport bar. I can see the advantage of it because I do check the Dallas police page or the Dallas City Hall page, but I just don’t bother with a Facebook page. Also, I think it’s too easy to spend too much time on it, so I feel like it’s a waste of time, so I don’t do Facebook. I’d rather read a book.

How many readers do you have?

The blog gets between 200 and 400 visits a day. I have about 40 or so RSS feeds. One day, I got about 2,000 hits on something I wrote about George Bush because dailykos.com linked to it, and that was the most hits I ever got in one day. I’ve gotten requests from TV stations to use pictures off my blog, and of course, I’m always willing to do that. Garage sales from hell was wildly popular. That got picked up by Sean Hannity. He said we were undermining capitalist rights by restricting garage sales. Obviously, he didn’t understand the issue. But it brought a lot of people to the website that day.

How often do you post to your blog?

Are you social media savvy?

Do you get the power of online advertising? Do you want to help local businesses succeed?

Advocate Publishing is looking for an ONLINE MEDIA SALES REP who can help lead local businesses into the next stage of their comprehensive advertising campaigns.

WORKING FOR ADVOCATE PUBLISHING PROVIDES YOU:

—Rachel Stone

I try to post once a week, but I don’t always. When George Bush was president, I posted more often because I had more hissy fits then.

Out & About

January 2012

Jan. 11

Art with a View: Cabe Booth

The Belmont Hotel hosts a 6-9 p.m. opening reception for local artist Cabe Booth, whose work will be on view as part of Bar Belmont’s “Art with a View” series. 901 Fort Worth, 214.393.2300, belmontdallas.com, free

more local events or submit your own

OAKCLIFF.ADVOCATEMAG.COM/EVENTS

JAN. 3, 10, 17, 24 & 31

Tuesday Night Trash

Texas Theatre presents a free series of awesomely terrible B movies every Tuesday night in January. Shows begin at 9 p.m. 231 W. Jefferson, 214.948.1546, thetexastheatre.com, free

JAN. 14

Michael Henderson at Mighty Fine Arts

Enjoy an opening reception for artist Michael Henderson from 6-9 p.m. The exhibit continues through Feb. 19. 419 N. Tyler, 214.942.5241, mfagallery.com, free

JAN. 27

An Evening with Shelby Lynne

The Kessler presents “An Evening with Shelby Lynne” at 8 p.m. Awarded the “Best New Artist” Grammy in 2000, Lynne is an artist whose Southern roots influence her unique pop sound.

The Kessler, 1230 W. Davis, 214.272.8346, thekessler.org, $25-$30

JAN. 14

Neil Hamburger

Watch comedian and musician Gregg Turkington transform into Neil Hamburger, a standup comedian with an unsettling style. Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson, 214.948.1546, thetexastheatre.com, $12

Delicious Soup

ENO’S PIZZA TAVERN

407 N. Bishop 214.943.9200 enospizza.com

PRICE RANGE: $3.50-$6 FOR SOUPS

AMBIANCE: RUSTIC

HOURS: SUN. NOON-10 P.M.

TUES.-WED. 11:30 A.M.-10P.M.

THURS. 11:30 A.M.-11P.M. FRI. 11:30 A.M.-MIDNIGHT SAT. NOON-MIDNIGHT CLOSED MON.

TIP: SOUPS RUN OUTDAILY, SO STOP BY EARLY.

Fabian Chavez starts his mornings at Eno’s Pizza Tavern making the soup of the day with fresh local veggies and herbs. “Our recipes are simple,” says Chavez, Eno’s head chef a.k.a. Kitchen Boss. “You don’t have to throw in the whole kitchen sink to get a good product.” Although the charming Bishop Arts establishment is known for its pizzas, the soups sell out by the end of the day, especially during the winter months. Popular flavors include the tomato basil, chicken tortilla, mushroom and roasted bell pepper. Each is served with toasted bread. Chavez can’t reveal any of his secret ingredients except this one: “It’s the love we put into it.”

—Emily Toman

Tomato bisque. Photo by Mark Davis

| MORE SOUP SPOTS | 1 Gloria’s

The hearty chicken soup is topped with fresh avocado, and the portion size leaves plenty left over for a second meal at home.

600 N. Bishop 214.942.1831 gloriasrestaurants.com

2 La Calle Doce

There are five soups to choose from. If you’re feeling adventurous, try the sopa de mariscos with shrimp, clams, mussels and octopus.

415 W. 12th 214.941.4304 lacalledoce-dallas.com

3 Hattie’s

The tomato bisque comes with a mini grilled cheese on the side for the perfect light combo.

418 N. Bishop 214.942.7400 hatties.net

FOOD AND WINE

Visit oakcliff.advocatemag.com/dining

Do you have missing teeth? Do you have loose dentures? Do you have difficulty chewing food due to loose, painful teeth or multiple missing teeth? CALL

Don’t let another day go by without taking this important step in restoring your confidence and your smile.

Hattie’s is a cool place to warm up with a bowl of soup.

Photo by Molly Dickson

Dr. Marneni

cheap thrills

Pacific Rim Dry Riesling ($10), Washington

The world of cheap wine is in flux as we celebrate the Advocate’s 10th annual Cheap Wine extravaganza and $10 Wine Hall of Fame. Cheap wine is more popular than ever, but the wine industry — and especially the wine writing part of it — seems to resent cheap wine more than ever. Their reasons aren’t quite clear, but chalk up much of the backlash to the fact they’re tired of cheap wine, and want to get back to making and writing about the expensive stuff. We can be a bit snobbish, no?

Nevertheless, the 2012 Hall of Fame added seven wines, and dropped only four: Anne urgau and the Vinum Cellars chenin blanc , which are scarce around here, and the Toad oir Rose. It’s especially sad to drop the Toad has been a fixture since the Hall started. But tage, for whatever reason, is more white ziné, and it doesn’t meet the Hall’s standards.

ew wines are Pacific Rim Dry Riesling, a ich has been in and out of the Hall several ek Fume Blanc, a stellar sauvignon blanc a; Chateau de Riviere, a French red; La lciano d’Abruzzo, a classic Italian red; the Torrontes, an Argentine white; and the Ses brut and rosé sparkling wine from Spain. s the rest of this year’s Hall of Fame: a white wine from Sicily, which ents the couple of dozen Sicilian wines have enjoyed over the past four years. Lity. I have not had a bad Sicilian wine in four , and most of them have been $10 Hall ity.

s from California’s Bogle yards, and especially the old vine zinfanthe Spanish sparkling wine, h comes in brut (dry), extra dry (sweeter brut) and rosé.

1-liter boxed sauvignon c from Chile.

White blends southwestern France, including Doe Tariquet, Domaine Artigaux and Doe Duffour.

—Jeff Siegel

SIEGEL’S WEEKLY WINE REVIEWS r every Wednesday on oakcliff.advocatemag.com

Ask the wine guy

How popular is wine in the United States?

Depends on whom you ask. We drink more wine than anyone else in the world, but our per capita consumption is very ordinary. Wine and beer have been trading off as the most popular alcoholic beverage in the country, but very few of us drink that much wine: Just 20 percent of the U.S. adult population accounts for 91 percent of all wine consumed. —Jeff

Siegel

ASK THE WINE GUY taste@advocatemag.com

with your wine

Sweet and sour cole slaw

Cole slaw exists in an infinite number of variations, and this version tweaks it yet again. Serve this on New Year’s with black-eyed peas and your favorite $10 wine.

GROCERY LIST

1 Tbsp white sugar

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp mustard powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp celery seed

DIRECTIONS

BEE

2 Tbsp canola oil

1/4 c distilled white vinegar

1 lb green cabbage (about half a medium cabbage)

1 large carrot, peeled

1 small white onion

1/2 bell pepper

1. Whisk together the first eight ingredients in a microwave safe bowl, and heat in microwave until just about boiling.

2. Shred cabbage and carrots. Slice onions and pepper.

3. Add vegetables to the bowl with the dressing. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour; longer is better.

Serves 8, takes about 2 hours

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SPOTLIGHT

214.560.4203 to advertise in this section.

Burguesa Burger

Try our signature burger “La Monumental” or get a Burguesa, Fries & Drink for only $6.50. We are open Monday - Saturday from 11:00am to 10:00pm / Closed on Sundays. You’ll love our Burgers!

GLOSSARY

TWITTER

Tweet (n) tweeting, tweeted (v) A tweet is the message you post to share with your followers. Tweets can be only140 characters or shorter. After you’ve posted your tweet, you’ve “tweeted” or “were tweeting.”

Follow (v) The action of clicking the “follow” button on another Twitter user’s profile. This allows you to easily view that user’s tweets in your Twitter timeline.

Follower (n) A Twitter user who is following another’s tweets.

Hashtag (n) This is the # symbol used to mark keywords or topics in a tweet. For instance, if you want other Twitter users in the world to find your tweet about the baskteball game you’re watching, you might include “#nba” in your tweet. Followers who click on “#nba” in a tweet will find all the tweets on Twitter that contain the same keyword, including yours.

FACEBOOK

Profile (n) A user’s personal presence on Facebook. From here you communicate with Facebook friends, display photos, share favorite news articles and post other actions.

Friend (n) A Facebook user with whom you have connected. Friendships on Facebook are initiated by one party with a friend request and confirmed by the second party.

Page (n) It looks like a personal profile, but pages are the Facebook presence for public figures, organizations or business brands.

Fan (n) A user who has clicked the “like” button on a Facebook page. When you “like” a page, it connects you with entities you find important or enjoy, such as a retail store, politician, media outlet or TV show.

Group (n) Private or public, small or large, groups are spaces where users can gather to communicate about anything specific, such as hobbies, interests or causes.

Status update (n) This is a message that Facebook users can post for their friends to see.

iCommunity

Remember the dark ages? Back in the olden days, maybe a decade or two ago, when PTA members dialed phone trees to blast messages about field trips, dress codes and communicable illnesses. Neighborhood association presidents hand-delivered newsletters from door to door. And when a pet lost its way, owners plastered the neighborhood with “lost” fliers.

Some of those methods linger on, but now, in the digital age, social media has become an easy and effective way for neighbors to communicate.

Social media, of course, is nothing new. We’ve been using Facebook and other social media to find long-lost classmates and connect with new crushes or business contacts for what seems like ages now, although it was more like 2008 for most users.

In the past year or so, however, Facebook has become the new front porch, a portal for community. Neighborhood associations, local businesses, police and schools use social media to stay in touch, spread news and stay organized.

Neighborhood resident Amy Cowan, the dynamo behind Oak Cliff Mardi Gras, Cliff Fest and many more neighborhood events, says she can’t remember life before social media. A real estate agent friend tells her clients to “friend” Cowan on Facebook to stay hip to what’s up in North Oak Cliff.

“Your Realtor may have told you to subscribe to the community newspaper five years ago, but those days are gone,” Cowan says. “People want instant information.”

Cowan, who is a co-founder of Go Oak Cliff, says she thinks social media is more effective in reaching people than email or any other source. Emails go ignored, fliers are tossed, and newspapers are left unread. But social media is a way to “infiltrate” and get information to people who might not otherwise see it unless it’s in their Facebook or Twitter feed.

“Social media allows groups of people of similar interests to congregate without ever interrupting their regular schedules,” she says. Using it allows her to check the latest on city council redistricting before she even gets out of bed, and to find traffic information on Twitter while sitting at a red light, for example.

The information she shares and receives via social media from recommending a good dentist in Oak Cliff to learning the details of a friend’s job interview — is not always critical. But as a whole, it’s the fabric of community.

PAINTING WITH A TWIST

Express your inner artist! Instructors lead attendees in creating paintings with a featured piece of art, bring nothing more than your imagination,wine or beverage. Perfect for Private Parties as well. 5202

ORNAMENT

The Advocate Foundation’s limited-edition, numbered, and hand-painted ornament; perfect gift for the new home owner or Dallas transplant. Sales benefit neighborhood organizations. 214.292.0486 foundation.advocatemag.com

THE GOODS

More than 200,000 sets of eyes are checking out these items right now. Get your specialty items or featured products in front of your neighbors that love to shop local for unique items.

“Your Realtor may have told you to subscribe to the community newspaper five years ago, but those days are gone. People want instant information.”

“Social media allows groups of people of similar interests to congregate without ever interrupting their regular schedules.”

Amy Cowan

Go Oak Cliff

iCrime Fighting

facebook.com/DallasPD

A heavyset, bearded man recently went on a robbery spree in Dallas. A security camera captured the guy holding up a Game Stop clerk. A few hours later, the Dallas Police Department had shared the video with its 400 YouTube subscribers, 8,000 or so Facebook fans and 7,000 Twitter followers. The police also posted the suspect’s image and other useful information about the search on Nixle, a nationwide network that alerts residents to public safety threats via text, Twitter or email (anyone can register free for Nixle alerts by zip code).

“I saw this guy at the train station,” wrote one Facebook user.

“He sure is ugly,” wrote another.

Though it gives them a certain amount of junk to sort through, and the Game Stop robber at the time of publication had not been caught, police say enhanced communication can only help an investigation and encourage more people to help.

“It’s a way of getting involved without getting too involved,” Sgt. Israel Herrera says about both social media tools and the relatively new crime-fighting tool iWatch. The smart phone application allows users to give anonymous tips to police. The Dallas Police Department reports that since its launch last January, it has received about 1,135 iWatch tips, many leading to arrests.

Dallas Police YouTube Channel

youtube.com/

DallasPoliceDept

Dallas Police post surveillance videos of crimes on the DPD You Tube channel. The popular video-sharing site allows police to seek the public’s help in identifying suspects as well as locating missing people and solving various types of cases.

iWatch App

dallaspolice.net

The iWatch appprovidesthree options: Send in a text only, send in a text with a picture, or send an anonymous tip. You can also text a tip by typing DPD plus your tip to 274637, or you can call 214.671.4TIP.

“It’s a way of getting involved without getting too involved.”

iReligion

Neighborhood resident Catherine Dodge used social media to spark more interest in her church, Kessler Park United Methodist Church, among younger people. She joined the church in 2008, and even though she liked its progressive beliefs, she lost interest quickly because she didn’t make friends. The church has programs for children, families and seniors, but as a young single woman with no children, she found no niche for herself in the church.

That’s what she told Rev. David Carr after he took over as pastor last year.

“He said, ‘What can we do to bring more people your age in? Because I know there are people like you who have had the same experience,’ ” Dodge recalls.

Her solution is called Generation Next, a social media push to introduce the church to younger, tech savvier people.

Without an online presence, “the church kind of didn’t exist for us because we find everything online,” she says. “You’re not really communicating with this large number of people.”

Without

online pres-

In just one year, Generation Next has resulted in a vibrant and active group of diverse members.

She started by updating the church’s website, which hadn’t been touched in about six years. She created a Facebook page, and she checks in on Facebook every Sunday to let her friends know where she is. Most people ages 25-40 won’t take an organization seriously if it doesn’t have an active website. And they are unlikely to find a new website unless it comes across their Facebook or Twitter feeds.

Catherine Dodge Kessler Park United Methodist Church’ s Generation Next

Dodge’s social media efforts paid off quickly. In just one year, Generation Next has resulted in a vibrant and active group of diverse members. Nowadays, most visitors say they find the church through Google searches. Best of all, reviving the church’s membership this way was inexpensive. Social media is a smart way to publicize a nonprofit that lacks funds for other forms of advertising, Dodge says.

an

ence, “the church kind of didn’t exist for us because we find everything online. You’re not really communicating with this large number of people.”

iNeighborhood

Several Oak Cliff neighborhood associations have used the same tactics. Winnetka Heights Neighborhood Association, for example, has kept an up-to-date website with chat forums several years now. But the neighborhood association’s Facebook page, which has been active for less than year, is a way to drive neighbors to website. Hits to the site have increased significantly since the associastarted using Facebook, Winnetka Heights Neighborhood Association president Lee Ruiz says.

“People are on Facebook so often so regularly that information reaches people right away,” Ruiz says. the other hand, they have to think about going to the neighborhood web page.”

Ruiz often posts links to informaon the website regarding neighborhood parties, contests, and city and zoning issues, for example. Neighbors use the association Facebook page to alert neighbors to lost pets, property crimes, suspicious activity and more.

In Kings Highway, neighborhood association leaders have used social

Social media is the first place to look to find out what’s going on in the neighborhood.

Jonathan Braddick Kings Highway Conservation District

facebook.com SEARCH: Kings Highway Conservation District

media to organize workdays and fundraisers. A tag sale in September drew shoppers from all over the city, thanks to social media blasts.

Neighbor Jonathan Braddick says social media is the first place to look to find out what’s going on in the neighborhood. But, he says, it’s a mistake to go away from print media advertising entirely.

“If we have the money, we will go with tried and true print media,” he says. “If we can afford it, which usually we can’t, we like to do direct mail.”

GLOSSARY FOURSQUARE

Foursquare (n) A location-based mobile check-in service. The mobile app uses the GPS on your phone to help you check in at coffee shops, restaurants, bars, libraries, parks, events and other locations. Your Foursquare friends can view the places you’re hanging out, and some businesses offer specials to customers who show on their phone that they’ve checked in on Foursquare. You also can earn points and virtual badges for different check-in adventures.

Check in (v),check-in (n) The act of telling a location-based mobile service like Foursquare, Yelp or Facebook where you are, usually with that service’s smartphone app. Check-ins let your friends and followers see where you are and where you like to hang out. Used in a sentence: “Hang on, I’m going to check in on Facebook before we order drinks.“ “Hey, cool; I earned the Great Outdoors badge with that last Foursquare check-in at the park.”

GET YOUR FILL

of neighborhood

iDallas

FOUR CITY HALL WEB FUNCTIONS YOU PROBABLY HAVEN’T USED (BUT SHOULD)

CHECK OUT library books to your mobile device.

dallas.lib.overdrive.com

Not only does the Dallas Public Library have a thorough and useful app (with the swipe of a finger, search the catalog, place items on hold or renew items checked out) but it also has an extensive selection of eBooks available to borrow. Options range from New York Times bestsellers (John Grisham’s “The Litigators”) to classics (Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”) to popular nonfiction (Michael Pollen’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”). We tried it, and in less than 10 minutes, we were reading on our iPhone. A helpful guided tour takes library cardholders through the process.

FIND OUT whether your favorite restaurants passed inspection.

dallascityhall.com/code_compliance/restaurant_food_scores.html

They wouldn’t be open if they hadn’t, but the section located at this lengthy web address allows you to see whether the places you frequent are receiving high scores or barely making the grade. A quick search by name reveals how a restaurant fared on its most recent inspections.

RUN INTO Mark Cuban, Ebby Halliday or the Cowboys cheerleaders.

happytrailsdallas.com

These local celebs are a sampling of the famous names and faces the Dallas Park and Recreation Department recruited to promote its recent trail etiquette campaign. Other than watching the amusing video, website visitors can view an interactive map to find the exact layout of Dallas trails (both current and planned) in relation to streets, rec centers and other local landmarks.

LEARN which park pavilion beat out Cowboys Stadium as the 2009 “Best of Show” award recipient from the AmericanInstitute of ArchitectsDallas chapter.

dallasparks.org

This little-known fact is touted in the online brochure “The Park Pavilions of Dallas,” which highlights 44 of the city’s shade-giving structures. Thirty-two of them were designed by respected architects who were charged with making the pavilions “contextual within the surrounding community and embraced by the neighborhood,” among other criteria.

CONNECT WITH THE ADVOCATE

iBusiness

Social media is not just a pastime for neighborhood resident Porsha Thomas. It’s her business. The 25-year-old operates public relations firm Zora Ellison Writing Co., and she says about 80 percent of her work is social media. Local companies and organizations, including the Bishop Arts District Merchants Association, pay her to post social media updates about them.

“There are people who know they need Facebook, but they don’t understand it,” she says. “My clients are either people who understand it and don’t have time, or people who don’t understand it.”

She often designs event posters that are never printed. They’re used only on Facebook. Posting pictures and interacting with customers in social media is a valuable service, Thomas says. When she posts pictures for one of her clients, The Gypsy Wagon, people who “like” the page often post to ask whether it comes in their size.

“They don’t even call the store,” Thomas says. “They just ask on Facebook if we have it.”

Most trendy businesses in Oak Cliff maintain a steady presence on social media. Lockhart Smokehouse’s Twitter followers are the first to know when the barbecue joint offers its beef ribs special. Oak Cliff Bicycle Co. can showcase its latest gear on Facebook, and its page serves as a touchstone for the cycling community. Use Foursquare to check in at the Texas Theatre and get $1 off a large popcorn.

Oddfellows restaurant uses social media to promote events such at happy hour and “taco Tuesdays.” Cowan, who is an Oddfellows co-owner, says she thinks the restaurant was popular immediately because the owners used social media to promote it long before it opened. They showed the community, through Facebook, how they were transforming the space and creating the menu.

“My clients are either people who understand it and don’t have time, or people who don’t understand it.”

“People watched us transform a space and grow a business via social media,” she says. “They felt like they were part of the process.”

Lockhart Smokehouse

twitter.com/DallasLockhart

Oak Cliff Bicycle Co.

Facebook.com

Search: Oak Cliff Bicycle

Texas Theatre

Foursquare.com

Search: Texas Theatre

Oddfellows

Facebook.com

Search: Oddfellows Cafe

Spreading the word

when mailing printed newsletters was the most efficient way to update your neighbors, members and customers? Today it’s easier than ever to reach your group fast and free (or at least on the cheap). With all the social media services and online tools now at our fingertips, there’s something that makes sense for every type of communication. Visit our blog to find out how the Advocate uses social media and to get tips on options that could meet your group’s needs. Scan the code above or search: Advocate social media at oakcliff.advocatemag.com.

Socialize facebook.com/oakcliffadvocate twitter.com/advocate_oc twitter.com/rachelstone6 youtube.com/oakcliffmag

foursquare.com/advocate_oc

Instagram photo sharing app for iPhone (Android coming soon) Visit followgram.me/ advocate_mag_dallas for app info and to view our pics.

Stay connected

advocatemag.com/newsletters advocatemag.com/apps

Porsha Thomas Zora Ellison Writing Co.

Photo by Johnny Seale

Remember when:

Advocate Radio archives

There was a time when Advocate Magazinewas just Advocate magazine, but over the last few years, we’ve evolved into Advocate Media, comprising blogs, podcasts, videos, Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter and enewsletters. Some of the aforementioned items concerned us, and in fact, Advocate editors had trouble becoming accustomed to using social media in our daily routine.

Below are excerpts from a 2009 podcast featuring our first web director, Kris Scott — the voices belong to her, editors Christina Hughes Babb, RachelStone and Marlena Chavira-Medford, and photo editor Can “Turk” Turkyilmaz. We admit: The audio on this thing is truly awful. And we introduced the podcast with a song. It’s supposed to be funny, but we have a weird sense of humor. We had fun with the podcasts in those days, because we were pretty sure that none of you listened.

Listen to the entire show.

CHB: Today’s topic is Advocate in the age of social media … I guess. I actually just made that up Kris Scott has been leading the Advocate’s social media effort, so I’ll start by asking her, “Why are you making us do this?”

KS: I read recently that people are spending half their time on Facebook and, less so, Twitter than on destination websites, such as Advocatemag.com. So those who were once going to our website might be

spending that time on Facebook now. I kind of think of Facebook as the Yellow Pages of yesteryear, in that, if you want to learn something about a business, you go almost immediately to Facebook, so we needed to have a presence there for that reason alone.

CT: And it’s free.

CHB: And pretty easy to use.

KS: We used to be a monthly magazine and people read it and then put it down. This way, we can be in your face all the time.

MCM: And people can now see our faces, on Twitter, rather than just our names and our bylines.

KS: And your pictures are all pretty cute.

CHB: Thank Turk for that and we get to see our readers’ faces and get to know you.

KS: It is an amazing dialogue. And it helps you guys do your jobs, too, because, say you are covering neighborhood seafood places, you can get on Facebook or Twitter and get feedback from neighbors about their favorite places. and we are going to be giving out free things so follow us friend us?

CT: Friending is on Facebook and following is on Twitter.

RS: Yes, and Twitter is a good place to find breaking news, right?

MCM: We learned about Bliss restaurant’s new location on Twitter, and we announced that In–N-Out Burger is coming to Dallas on Facebook.

KS: And you can use it for fun stuff, like those photos we posted of the best-dressed fire hydrant.

BUSINESS BUZZ

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

Send business news tips to LIVELOCAL@ADVOCATEMAG.COM

Bishop Arts Winery to open soon

The Bishop Arts Winery is expected to start serving wine and food around the middle of January. Owner EliasRodriguez has been open, serving coffee and bagels for several months while he waits for approval so sell and manufacture wine. The shop, in a former art gallery at Davis and Tyler, will specialize in Texas wines. Rodriguez plans to make wine at the shop as well. His vision is similar to Times Ten Cellars. Chef Ericka Vazquez is planning a menu that includes cheese boards, soups, salads and desserts.

OC Smokehouse gone in the night

OC Smokehouse on Davis at Clinton has been locked and boarded up. The barbecue restaurant opened in a converted gas station as Luckie’s Smokehouse in February 2011, the same month Lockhart Smokehouse opened a few blocks away. The owners of Luckie’s sued each other this summer, and the restaurant closed for awhile, but owner Naht Ngo reopened as OC Smokehouse soon after, with basically the same menu.

Wine shop, ‘culinary incubator’ coming to Sylvan | Thirty

Matador Meat & Wine is the second business announced for the Sylvan | Thirty development. Plano-based Matador butchers to order and offers pork, sausage and chicken, as well as freerange beef raised without artificial hormones or antibiotics. The shop offers more than 75 wine labels and home delivery. Matador will occupy a

More business bits

3,000-square-foot space connected to anchor tenant Cox Farms Market. Chef Sharon Hage, formerly of York Street, will helm a “culinary incubator” at Sylvan | Thirty. Culinary upstarts can pay a fee in exchange for access to a shared commercial kitchen and retail space, “giving them the opportunity to craft and sell their food products without the initial expense of building out and equipping their own space,” according to a media release.

Lockhart Smokehouse hosts Smoke Camp

The pit masters of Lockhart Smokehouse are sharing their tricks of the trade at “Smoke Camp,” Jan. 17 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. For $75 Lockhart experts will teach eager, meat-loving students how to choose the right meat, dry rub vs. wet rub practices, smoking techniques, proper trimming and carving, plus the “art” of burnt ends. Class includes dinner, beer and a T-shirt.

Dan Beer and Wine is now open on West Davis at Polk. Another store, North Oak Cliff Beer and Wine, is coming soon to the space on West Davis at Clinton, adjacent to Urban Acres. Metro Paws Animal Hospital has broken ground on the lot next to Smoke on Fort Worth Avenue. Chef Omar Flores, executive sous chef at Kent Rathbun’s Abacus, will head the kitchen at Driftwood.

Bishop Arts Winery

838 W. DAVIS

214.941.9463

BISHOPARTSWINERY.COM

Matador Meat & Wine

MATADORMEAT.COM

Lockhart Smokehouse 400 W. DAVIS 214.944.5521

LOCKHARTSMOKEHOUSE.COM

Dan Beer and Wine

WEST DAVIS AND POLK

Metro Paws Animal Hospital

DALLASMETROPAWS.COM

Driftwood

642 W. DAVIS

Sylvan | Thirty 214.760.8770

SYLVANTHIRTY.COM

IHEARTSYLVANTHIRTY.COM

LockhartSmokehouse pit master Tim McLaughlin is teaching his smoked meats secrets.

Art for the record

Patricia Rodriguez of Kings Highway is a freelance artist, blogger and graphic designer. The 35-year-old was born and raised in Oak Cliff, and she has been working full-time as an artist for more than a year. Visit oakcliff.advocatemag. com and read our Q&A to learn about her hand-painted record albums.

Submit your photo. Email a jpeg to editor@advocatemag.com.

BBULLETIN BOARD

Classes/TuToring/ lessons

TUTORING All Subjects. Elem-middle School. Algebra 1, Dmath. Your Home. 25 + Yrs. Dr. J. 214-535-6594. vsjams@att.net

Business opporTuniTies

I’M LOOKING FOR A BILINGUAL BUSINESS PARTNER for expansion of 55-yr.-old start-up co. BJ Ellis 214-226-9875

serviCes for You

CONFUSED? FRUSTRATED? Let A Seasoned Pro Be The Interface Between You & That Pesky Computer. Hardware & Software Installation, Troubleshooting, Training. $60/hr. 1 hr min. Dan 214-660-3733 or stykidan@sbcglobal.net

What’s old is new

The Real Estate Council held a fireside chat at Eno’s Pizza Tavern in the Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff to discuss the topic “Everything Old is New Again.”

Pictured: Larry Good , Good Fulton and Farrell, moderator and sponsor; Royce Ring , co-owner and designer of Bolsa; David Spence , founder of Good Space, Inc., Rick Garza , chair of the Bishop/Davis Land Use and Zoning Study steering committee; and Jason Roberts , president and founder of the Oak Cliff Transit Authority, originator of the Better Block Project and co-founder of the Art Conspiracy and Bike Friendly Oak Cliff.

to advertise call 214.560.4203

professional serviCes

Website Design Flash Demos

Graphic Design RibbitMultimedia .com 214.560.4207

Mind, BodY & spiriT OakCliff-LMT.com 214.558.8454 massage by RENEE BOORAS LMT #114040

peTs

Metro Paws Animal Hospital is coming soon to Oak Cliff! (next door to the Belmont Hotel) 214.887.1400 Visit our website or Lakewood location today. dallasmetropaws.com 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

esTaTe/garage sales

ESTATE SALES & LIQUIDATION SERVICES

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

real

people

David Spence received the 2011 Ruth Chenoweth Conservation Achievement Award from the Old Oak Cliff Conservation League for his work restoring old, rundown homes on Eighth Street. Spence has made a living renovating and managing Oak Cliff properties since the mid-1990s.

Damarcus Offord, a 20-year-old 2011 graduate of Lincoln High School, is running for the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees District 9 seat, which represents part of Oak Cliff. Bernadette Nutall currently holds the seat and plans to run for re-election.

Johnny Brewer was honored by the Dallas Police Department on Nov. 22, the 48th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Brewer was a clerk at Hardy’s Shoe Store on West Jefferson and called police to report Lee Harvey Oswald, who behaved suspiciously in the store.

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.

AC & HEAT

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

BLUE RIBBON HEAT & AIR Lic#TACLB28522E Best Service - Best Prices 214-823-8888

CARPENTRY & REMODELING

Home Remodeling and Construction Experienced, Licensed, Professional

FENCING & DECKS

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

4 QUALITY FENCING

Specializing in Wood, New or Repair. Free Estimates. Call Mike 214-507-9322.

CREATIVE METAL SOLUTIONS LLC

214.526.8533

#TACLA23686E

CARPENTRY & REMODELING

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

BO HANDYMAN Kitchens, baths, doors, cabinets, custom carpentry, drywall & painting 214-437-9730

G&G DEMOLITION Tear downs, Haul. Interior/Exterior. 214-808-8925

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

KEN’S RESIDENTIAL REMODELING 214-886-8927. kenscontracting.com

O’BRIEN GROUP INC. Professional Home Remodel. Shannon O’Brien. 214-341-1448 www.obriengroupinc.com

PREVIEW CONSTRUCTION INC.

HardiPlank 50 Yr. Cement Siding, Energy Star Windows. Kitchens-Baths-Additions & More. 214-348-3836. See Photo Gallery at: www.previewconstruction.com

RODZ HOME IMPROVEMENT All Home Repairs, Add-Ons, Rehabs. 214-952-8963

Call 972-822-7501 For Free Consultation www.CuttingEdgeRenovationsLLC.com

Automatic Gates, Fence, Stairs, Stair/Balcony Railings, Wine Cellar Gates. 214-325-4985

EST. 1991 #1

COWBOY

FENCE & IRON CO.

214.692.1991

SPECIALIZING IN Wood Fences &Auto Gates

cowboyfenceandiron.com

HANDYMAN SERVICES

A+ HANDYMAN KARL Home Repairs, Remodels & Restoration. 214-699-8093

BO HANDYMAN Kitchens, baths, doors, cabinets, custom carpentry, drywall & painting 214-437-9730

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

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

INSULATION/ RADIANT BARRIER

LANDMARK ENERGY SOLUTIONS

214-395-9148. Radiant Barrier, Insulation. Free Quotes

CLEANING SERVICES

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

CLEAN FREAKS Since 2005. Free Estimates. DallasCleanFreaks.com Call Today! 214-821-8888

WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM

Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134

COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS

CONFUSED? FRUSTRATED? Let A Seasoned Pro Be The Interface Between You & That Pesky Computer. Hardware & Software Installation, Troubleshooting, Training, $60/hr. 1 Hr. Min. Dan 214-660-3733 Or stykidan@sbcglobal.net

ELECTRICAL SERVICES

ANNA’S ELECTRIC Your Oak Cliff Electrician Since 1978. tecl25513. 214-943-4890

ANTHONY’S ELECTRIC Master Electrician. TECL24948 anthonyselectricofdallas.com

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

"You Know Us"

Locally owned and operated since 1980

www.northlakefence.com

214-349-9132

FLOORING & CARPETING

STAINED & SCORED CONCRETE FLOORS New/Remodel. Res/Com. Int/Ext. Refin. 15 Yrs. TheConcreteStudio.com 214-320-2018

WORLEY TILE & FLOORING Custom Marble Install. 214-779-3842

Willeford

hardwood floors Superior Quality: Installation Refinishing Repair Cleaning&Waxing Old World Hand Scrape 214-824-1166

GARAGE DOORS

GARAGE DOOR & SPRING REPAIR

972-672-0848 TexasGaragePros.com

20% off with “Advocate Magazine”

GLASS, WINDOWS & DOORS

Energy Costs through the roof? We can help.

call today...972.379.9530

Best Quality. Best Prices.

INTERIOR DESIGN

CUSTOM DRAPERY Window Treatments, Blinds & etc. Linda. 214-212-8058 dblinda86@msn.com

HAND CARVED STONE fireplaces, fine art, architectural stone & restoration. DavisCornell.com 214-693-1795

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

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

STONE AGE COUNTER TOPS Granite, Marble, Tile, Kitchen/Bath Remodels. CJ-972-276-9943 cjrocksthehouse1@verizon.net

‘07, ‘08, ‘09, ‘10 CONSUMERS CHOICE AWARDS Making Homes Safer One Call

LANDMARK ENERGY SOLUTIONS

TECL20502

214-395-9148. Specializing In Replacement Windows/Doors. premium quality custom shower doors & enclosures 214-530-5483 showerdoordallas.com

es

Residential Renovations by John Gilley

Residential Renovations by John Gilley

Kitchens Baths Whole Home 214.336.2228

edinburghcustomhomes.com

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

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

Castro’s Tree Service

Jeff Castro

214-337-7097

214-725-1171

jridefree@aol.com

Tree Shaping, Cutting and Removal

Locally harvested wood!

JD’s Tree Service

RESPONSIBLE TREE CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Firewood/Cooking Wood Full service trimming & planting of native trees. 214.946.7138

PEST CONTROL

A BETTER EARTH PEST CONTROL Keeping the environment, kids, pets in mind. Organic products avail. 972-564-2495

PLUMBING

# M37740 Insured. Any plumbing issues. 24 Hours/7 Days. plumberiffic@yahoo.com

*Joe Faz 214-794-7566 - Se Habla Español*

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

POOLS

LEAFCHASER’S POOL SERVICE

Parts and Service. Chemicals and Repairs.

Jonathan Mossman FREE ESTIMATES 214-729-3311

REPAIR SHOPS & SERVICES

NAWCC #64444. House calls gladly made. Jim.

ROOFING & GUTTERS

A+ BBB RATED ROOFING CO. Ehlers Roofing. New/Repairs. 214-699-8093. Est. 1960

Re-Roofing/Repairs/Green Options. Free Estimates. www.guarantyroof.com

Allstate Homecraft Roofing

Roofing

SKYLIGHTS

972-263-6033

www.skylightsolutions.com

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.

TAUGHT BY TWO WINE EXPERTS IN YOUR OWN HOME two wine guys

Juicy bits

Little pieces of neighborhood history, courtesy of you

Comment. Visit oakcliff.advocatemag.com/backstory to share your thoughts.

One of the many perks of writing this column each month is the great people I meet and the great stories they share, to add to my own Oak Cliff experiences and stories from my parents. And readers who comment on the column online toss in their 2 cents worth as well. I also have my “sources.” Some of the stories you’ve shared aren’t lengthy enough for a full column but are interesting nevertheless. Here are a few:

• Ray Lancaster (Sunset ’56) told me that in October 1953 an “incident” took place at Red Bryan’s Smokehouse on Jefferson (now El Ranchito). According to the Dallas Morning News, 10 police squads were called to control the 1,000-student, egg- and orange-throwing, snake line dancing brawl. Though it sounds like a scene from “Rebel Without a Cause,” participants represented arch rival schools Adamson and Sunset. Eleven students were arrested. And … one parent!

• Ever heard of the Cliff Queen movie theater? Me neither. But while having lunch with one of my school friends, Suanne Carr Blalock (Kimball ’64), I learned about it. “It’s on the internet,” she pointed out. And it is. The theater was located close to the East Jefferson and Lancaster intersection, and it closed in 1948. When I asked my dad about it, he answered, “Sure. Mama and I used to go there all the time.” I thought I knew all their old haunts. Evidently, not.

• When Embelyne Cook Bye (Adamson ‘40), told me about boys always sitting on her front porch railing during the Depression years, naturally, I assumed the guys were hanging out in hopes of a chance to visit with either Embelyne or her sister, Doris. I was wrong. The Cooks lived near the corner of Zang and Beckley, and when trucks driving north on Beckley slowed as they approached the corner, the boys flagged them down to hitch a ride across the viaduct and into Down-

town, thereby saving themselves the streetcar fare (which they probably didn’t have anyway). Injecting some irony into the story: Embelyne lived at 1022 N. Beckley, next door to what would later become the address of Lee Harvey Oswald.

• Michael Edwards, who commented online on my column about Oak Cliff streets, pointed out that Colorado Boulevard is not named for the state but for the Colorado River (in Texas). As he pointed out correctly, Colorado Boulevard intersects the other Texas “river” streets in northeast Oak Cliff, except for (which he also pointed out) Guadalupe and Rio Grande avenues — which are close to the corner of Cockrell Hill Road and West Kiest.

• After my story about the all the unusual items in the 1950era Oak Cliff Woman’s Club Christmas pilgrimages, Vicki Mebane Porter, a college friend who was raised in Snyder, Texas, commented that her mother and aunts used to decorate tumbleweeds for her West Texas home’s Christmas décor. To a North Texas city girl like me, that was a new one.

• Before the Wynnewood Theater was demolished in 2000, according to 1969-70 Wynnewood Village manager Bill Melton, the owners wanted to turn the place into a multiscreen theater. However, the mandatory “adjoining” parking space count fell short by 13 spaces. At the time, the Montgomery Ward store (directly across the street) was open late only on Monday and Thursday evenings, leaving all those spaces available on the other five nights. And the Ward lot was hardly ever full anyway. But the argument wasn’t enough to sway the Dallas City Hall decision makers. “Needless to say, everyone was shocked,” Melton states. “With all of the parking places in Wynnewood, the decision did not make sense.” The owners did divide the theater into two screening areas, putting a partition down the middle of the theater. But according to Melton, “The idea was never successful as seating seemed cramped, and you could hear the show in the adjacent side of the theater. Thus, slowly but surely, the Wynnewood Theater slipped into oblivion. All because of 13 parking places!” With the arts resurgence in Oak Cliff, the iconic Wynnewood Theater would have been the perfect venue.

Keep those cards and letters comin’, folks!

Oh, sorry. I forgot. It’s 2012. Email me.

Gayla Brooks Kokel can date her neighborhood heritage back to 1918, when her father was born in what was then called Eagle Ford. She was born at Methodist Hospital and graduated from Kimball High School. Kokel is one of three co-authors of the recently published book, “Images of America: Oak Cliff”, and writes a monthly history column for the Oak Cliff Advocate Send her feedback and ideas to gkokel@advocatemag.com.

SOMEONE RIPPED OFF THE PANELING.

The thief knew what he was doing and was quite adept at concealing his work. Andrea Hefley says someone kicked in her rear gate to gain access to her detached garage. And rather than break through the garage door, the thief stayed behind the garage and pulled off exterior paneling to get inside. The thief was so meticulous that he repositioned the motion sensor lights to aim toward the sky rather

The Victim: John and Andrea Hefley

The Crime: Theft

Date: Sunday, Nov. 6

Time: Between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Location: 200 block of Edgefield

than illuminate his theft. He made off with power tools, a gas can and even a propane tank from the family’s outdoor grill —which Hefley says seemed a bit bulky for a thief to carry.

Hopefully, the thief may already have been taken off the streets. Police called the

family that night saying they had arrested someone in the area trying to steal a car, but there was no way to know whether it was the same person.

The Hefleys experienced another crime about two months ago at their Winnetka Heights home. A friend had all the gasoline siphoned out of his car.

“It was more of an inconvenience than anything,” she says of the theft. “We’re new to the area and just kind of wondering what’s going to happen next.”

Dallas Police Lt. Gil Garza of the Southwest Patrol Division says thieves will do anything to avoid detection including using lookouts, and moving or removing lights altogether.

“They will even attempt to disarm alarms and power going into a particular location by cutting the phone and electrical lines,” he says.

Some homeowners add wireless alarm systems, along with traditional alarms, as a backup in case burglars cut the phone or electrical lines. Garza says propane tanks are not frequent theft targets, but occasionally are taken to be sold or for personal use.

Number of incidents that occurred in a one-month period around Winnetka Heights in the area bound by West Clarendon, South Hampton, West Jefferson and South Tyler, including: 11 3 car burglaries 1 assault 2 thefts

We gave Coach new knees and lowered his handicap.

When old knee injuries began threatening Bob’s golf game, the retired football coach teamed up with Methodist Health System to devise an offensive strategy. Coach first attended the Methodist Joint Academy, where the game plan was to mentally and physically prepare him for the best possible results and a faster return to the links. He then underwent minimally invasive joint replacement procedures on both knees at Methodist. Immediately following surgery he was back on his feet, and after minor rehabilitation, Coach’s life has been all fairways and greens.