06/11/04  What put Dallas on the Map?  Not the Cowboys!

This week, I got into a discussion at lunch with a co-worker, who asked me, "What Put Dallas on the Map?"  I said, "Not the Cowboys!" 

It was The TV show and Neiman-Marcus, neither of which cost Dallas taxpayers a red cent.  They actually brought money into the economy. 

Stanley Marcus (who I had the pleasure of meeting and visiting with several) really did uphold the tradition of giving back because it was the right thing to do.  Not for the tax write off, not for the business image -- just because it was the right thing to do. 

My co-worker violently disagreed.  He said it was the Dallas Cowboys who made Dallas famous.

They cost us money and were not even in Dallas during the hey day!  Sadly, what the Cowboys did most for Dallas was make us think they were our friends.

Changing subjects for a moment --

Congrats to Mayor Miller and the Council for reducing the Fire Department's contributions to MS by 90%!  Bravo! 

Thanks to the ill-conceived panhandling ordinance (I won't even mention the smoking ban in restaurants and its impact on economic development), bums are still on street corners!  Police officers who helped the Mayor get into office will not enforce the ban as a protest against her!

I digress.  Over the past several years, the DFD has raised an average of $300,000+ in their Fill the Boot Drives.  That's $300,000 each year.  Since the panhandling ban includes them, the best projections  for their campaign this year is around $35,000.  Thank goodness North Park Shopping Center agreed to let the DFD solicit on their property. 

Other centers in the city are corporate entities owned by "out-of-towners" who have existing charitable arrangements with other groups and by contract or policy cannot partner with our Fire Department.

The Big Deal is that the annual $300,000 raised by DFD in our area remained in our area,  providing programs and services for local people with MS and their families.  Our Council could FIX this snafu if they wanted to, but their vanity and mean spiritedness are more important than admitting they went too far.

Maybe the Mayor will do the honorable thing and remember her own words about if she lost sight of why she was there.