Today Bill White announced his 6-point border security plan, laying the groundwork for how he will effectively to secure the border and stop gangs, drug traffickers and human traffickers.

“For almost 10 years we’ve seen empty promises and election year rhetoric from Rick Perry. Perry has failed,” said White. “Texans don’t need any more Perry photo ops and press releases. I will take action, fight hard and effectively for federal resources and work with leaders and law enforcement along the border.”

White will:

• Fund an additional 1000 local law enforcement positions and 250 state troopers using federal grants, state appropriations and additional drug forfeiture dollars.

• Obtain all available federal funding to support border security and direct sufficient discretionary funding to border security efforts.

• Use state appropriations more effectively.

• Establish a formal partnership with local and federal law enforcement agencies and other leaders along the border to promote public safety.

• Revamp the Department of Public Safety to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

• Assist local law enforcement agencies in adopting Secure Communities, a program that ensures that criminals in the U.S. illegally are identified and turned over to federal authorities.

More details are available on the candidate’s website.

Skyline is the lone Dallas ISD 5A team with realistic hopes of reaching and winning the state championship on a year in year out basis. Being one of the nation’s largest schools (over 5,000 students) and stocked with some of the nation’s best talent will create those expectations. This all makes for an enticing tilt in the 4-game set of high school football games scheduled  for Monday at Cowboys Stadium.

In other contests set for a fantastic day of football action, Shiloh Christian, Arkansas (ranked #1 MaxPreps) takes on Euless Trinity (ranked #1 USA Today) in the opening game set, with high-powered Denton Guyer taking on perennial contender Cedar Hill at 4:30 p.m. and the nightcap at 7:30 p.m. featuring a classic match up between pass-happy (state ranked #8) DeSoto and the balanced offense of (area top 10 ranked) Arlington Bowie, who destroyed Odessa in their opening game last weekend.

Skyline’s 1:30 p.m. kickoff against Ft. Lauderdale St. Aquinas (nationally ranked #22) will be the second game for Skyline against a Florida opponent, this time in their own backyard. Last week’s opening 6-0 loss at Bell Glades Central will surely have Coach Reginald Samples and his team focused and in a get even mode.

Though this game has little or no bearing on Skyline’s state title hopes, you can be sure Samples wants to rep Texas in what is sure to be a fan-friendly affair on Monday.

In observance of the Labor Day holiday, Monday, September 6, DART will operate on the following schedule:

Bus and light rail services will follow a Sunday schedule.

The Trinity Railway Express commuter rail will not operate.

The following High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes will be closed:  the HOV lane on   I-30 (East R.L. Thornton) and on I-30 West (Tom Landry Freeway); the reversible         S-ramp at the southern end of the I-35E (Stemmons) HOV lane; the reversible HOV ramp between the US 75 and the I-635 HOV lanes; and the section of the I-35E/U.S. 67 (South R. L. Thornton/Marvin D. Love) HOV lanes from downtown Dallas to Loop 12.

The remaining portion of the Stemmons HOV lanes, the HOV lanes on LBJ Freeway, the US 75 HOV lanes, and the HOV lanes on I-35E/U.S. 67 from Loop 12 to Camp Wisdom Road will, as usual, be open 24 hours.

DART Paratransit services for customers with disabilities will operate on a Sunday schedule. The Paratransit Scheduling Center will be closed on Labor Day. Customers may call Thursday, September 2, to book their trips through Monday, September 6, and Friday, September 3, to book their trips through Tuesday, September 7. Customers may call Tuesday, September 7, to book trips for Wednesday, September 8. X-Press Booking is also available.

DARTs administrative offices, Customer Care, and Lost and Found will be closed. Customers with questions about schedules may still contact DART Customer Service at 214.979.1111 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. DART route and schedule information is always available at www.DART.org along with information on special holiday destinations served by DART

Methodist Health System hosted a standing room only turnout recently for a luncheon program keynoted by Dallas civic leader and real estate legend Ebby Halliday. The program was sponsored by the Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce.

Ebby Halliday (center) at an Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce luncheon program she keynoted Aug. 26 at Methodist Dallas Medical Center: Methodist Foundation Board Member Warren Rutherford, Methodist Board Member Danell Lichtenwalter, Methodist Dallas Medical Center President Michael A. Mayo, Dallas County Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield, and Oak Cliff Chamber President Bob Stimson.

As she nears her century mark birthday, Halliday is still a fiery public speaker as well as a pioneering Texas female entrepreneur legend. She moved her rapt audience from uproars of laughter to wise reflection, with commentary on everything from the upcoming Super Bowl in North Texas, to national politics, a lengthy list of Texas’ economic and other strengths, and business success to work-life balance.

Halliday offered repeated praise for the Dallas area and extended North Texas community as part of a can-do philosophy. She shared the motto, “Do something for someone every day” as a keystone to her daily life and something that can guide anyone in personal and professional success. She explained that it was her beloved late husband’s favorite guiding principle.

A brief video presentation on her life of 99 years established her strident belief that keystones in living are family, faith, and business – in that order. In thanking emcee President Bob Stimson and the Oak Cliff Chamber for sponsoring the program, she quipped, “The chamber is almost as old as I am!” and added, “I’m crammin’ for the finals – I’ll be 100 in a few months.”

Halliday explained that her business career in Texas began when she arrived in 1938 and “stepped off a train and thought I’d gone to heaven” from all the exciting growth and opportunities she saw around her. She parlayed a $1,000 savings nest egg into $12,000 by following advice from a physician friend and investing in lucrative cotton futures. That success allowed her to leave a position as the ladies hat department manager with a downtown department store to open her own millinery shop. The husband of one of her millinery customers was beginning to promote a new idea in steel reinforced cement houses and told her one day, “maybe if you can sell those crazy hats, you can sell my crazy houses.” She did, and the rest became history.

As she nears her 100th birthday, Halliday says she is often asked about her secret to success. She cites is promptly, firmly, and with a twinkling eye: as simply this “Hard work.” As she noted that she looks forward to North Texas hosting the Super Bowl, and her 100th birthday in a few months, she stated that retirement is not in her plans.

It is well known that continued enrichment during summer months boosts a student’s academic learning. But according to studies pulled from more than a century’s worth of academic observations, the lack of high-quality activities and educational studies during the summertime is responsible for the tremendous learning gap now seen in lower-income students.

To combat this growing problem, the Heart of a Warrior Foundation (HOAW) was formed in 2007 to help less advantaged children overcome the learning slump during summer.  In July, HOAW celebrated its third graduating class from the Young Warrior Learning Institute summer program; bringing essential summer learning programs to 155 students aged 8-15.

According to Gail Warrior Lawrence, founder and chairwoman of HOAW, each child participating in the Learning Institute receives hands-on tutoring through qualified instructors from Group Excellence, a leading supplemental educational services company in Texas. The curriculum is designed to help them improve their basic skills in math, science and language. In addition, students get access to practical training in such topics as Spanish, volunteerism and general life skills, along with enrichment field trips that add to their quality-of-life experiences.

“Our mission is to provide a safe environment where children are encouraged to learn and be productive leaders in the community through tutoring and education-based summer programs,” said Gail Warrior Lawrence, founder and chairwoman of HOAW. “Our program isn’t the typical arts and crafts projects of summer camps past. Instead, the Young Warrior Learning Institute is designed to help underserved area-children bridge the gap in education and life skills that many would not otherwise have access to.”

Harris Cooper, an education expert affiliated with Duke University, has done extensive studies examining the methodology of learning in children.   The Cooper study concluded that the average student loses about a month of progress in math skills each summer, while low-income students may slip three months or more in reading comprehension or similar skills. A second major study conducted by Johns Hopkins University concluded that low-income grammar school students fell nearly three grade levels behind middle- and upper-income kids, and that summer was the biggest culprit. By ninth grade, the studies concluded that summer learning loss could be blamed for roughly two-thirds of the achievement gap separating income groups.

Even more important, Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Summer Learning revealed that 60 percent of all parents struggle to find high-quality summer programs. This problem is compounded in low-income areas where students don’t have access to the variety of enrichment experiences – such as attending museums, concerts and field trips — which their more economically advantaged counterparts have.

According to Seandell Phillips, executive director of HOAW, the Learning Institute is staffed with trained professionals who provide hands-on instruction Monday through Friday for three hours a day. “Each child not only receives basic math, science and language instruction, but the program is also supplemented with field trips and enrichment experiences that help stimulate the love of learning.” This most recent graduating class, for instance, participated in several outings to the Viking Culinary Institute, the Air Museum, and Lockheed Martin.

According to Phillips, this year’s graduating class comprised of students from the Willie B. Johnson Recreation Center, Juanita J. Craft Recreation Center, and St. Philips School & Community Center. The graduation ceremonies took place on July 30 in the Baylor Diabetes Health & Wellness Institute at the Juanita J. Craft Recreation Center in South Dallas. Students were addressed by Ms. Warrior Lawrence, the Honorable Dallas City Councilmember, Carolyn R. Davis, and educational entrepreneur, Carl Dorvil, president and CEO of Group Excellence.

“Since the formation of Heart of a Warrior Foundation in 2007, the program has gained awareness and recognition, which has allowed us to grow. From our first location with 60 students in the Willie B. Johnson Recreation Center, the program has expanded to three locations in just three years.”

And Phillips adds that with word of the program spreading, more and more students are signing up for classes.  “We are already looking at establishing new locations, and are exploring new classes for 2011. With a growth rate of 121 percent, we are confident that the summer program’s popularity will bring even more students into the program next year.”

The Foundation is solely funded by charitable donations gifted or raised throughout the year. “We believe the Young Warrior Learning Institute is one of those important bridge-building organizations that will help bring opportunities for learning and growth to all students, regardless of economic status,” said Warrior Lawrence. “It is in all our interest to support the future of our children, and the HOAW aims at giving young students the tools they need to be successful in life.

The Oak Cliff Foundation has officially handed the keys to the historic Texas Theatre over to Aviation Cinemas, Inc., a newly formed movie theatre company with the expressed goal of renovating the theatre by installing a 35mm changeover system, tweaking the existing digital projection system to meet I-Cinema compliance, and installing a new adjustable 40 foot screen. This will allow the theatre to screen movies of various exhibition formats, utilizing state of the art equipment. The large screen will be moveable to allow for other kinds of entertainment including plays and concerts.

The old school style film changeover system will allow the Texas to screen repertory film prints that would not normally be allowed to be spliced together on a platter. Additional exhibition for small format films and filmmaking will be supported by the addition of 16mm and Super 8mm projection. Plans also include constructing a concession stand and a separate full-service bar in the main lobby and soundproofing the area between the theatre and the bar.

“Phase one is to get the theatre in good working condition in order to exhibit films in traditional and digital formats,” said Barak Epstein, President and CEO of Aviation Cinemas. “Long term goals to restore the theatre to its original condition still exist; but in order to realize those goals we’ve got to be on par with competing theaters. Attracting audiences is the only way this theatre will survive.”

Aviation Cinemas, named in honor of billionaire Howard Hughes, who financed The Texas Theatre in 1931, is the brainchild of award-winning independent filmmaker, Barak Epstein. Epstein has been scouting potential spaces in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for several years. Following the Oak Cliff Foundation’s involvement with the Texas Theatre led him to his first opportunity.

Award-winning Independent film producer, Adam Donaghey, is Vice-President and CMO. “Barak and I have been looking for the next project to team up on,” said Donaghey, who’s produced several films alongside Epstein, “and when the opportunity to be a part of a movie theatre with the kind of history the Texas has, I jumped all over it.”

Creative Director for The Oak Cliff Foundation, Jason Reimer, will stay on as a part of Aviation Cinemas, continuing to head up programming and book shows. “When Barak came to us with his ideas for the Texas Theatre, “ says Reimer, “I knew instantly he was the right fit. Coupled with Adam’s ability to scout the latest and greatest on the indie film market, will make for some quality programming.”

While the theatre has content booked through the rest of the year, beginning in October, including the Texas Blood Bath Film Festival in November, the grand opening of the new Texas Theatre is scheduled in January 2011. Following the grand opening, phase two will consist of remodeling the balcony by possibly turning it into two additional screens (similar to the Inwood Theater in Dallas), remodeling additional areas for lounge space and installing a digital cinema 2K and 3D projector.

The Texas Theatre is currently booking independent films, concerts, theater programs, parties and events. Book your event by calling: 940-391-5899

“We are on the right side of history! We are on the side of individual freedoms and liberties and, dammit, we will reclaim the civil rights moment. We will take that movement — because we were the people who did it in the first place.”

Glenn Beck, May 26, 2010

“When you start saying you’re going to reclaim the civil rights movement that’s not even coded, that’s a blatant attempt to highjack a movement that changed America”

Al Sharpton, August 27, 2010

“Had there been more very worthy applicants in my district, then I probably wouldn’t have given it to the relatives.”

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, August 29, 2010

All three of the quotes listed above  are related to  top stories from this past weekend……  The Glenn Beck “Restoring Honor”  rally in Washington D.C., the Al Sharpton led Glenn Beck counter rally and reports of  Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson awarding scholarship money provided by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation to several relatives and the children of  a top aide, which is a violation of foundation requirements.

The Glenn Beck/Al Sharpton story is interesting but I believe totally irrelevant.  Why do so many Black folks care what Glenn Beck says?  If you don’t like Glenn Beck and what he stands for don’t listen to his talk show.  When will African-Americans stop reacting to everything?

There are more than enough issues to deal with, but we get so distracted with what other people say and do that we can’t come close to formulating  solutions.  There are lessons to be learned from Glenn Beck and the Tea Party movement about setting agendas, organizing and towing the company line.

But African-Americans would have to first  come up with a company line.  It would probably take years to fight over who would be in charge of coming up with the company line, then we would have to fight a few more years over what items would go on the agenda, and then………….well you get the idea.

As I initially stated the Glenn Beck/Al Sharpton story was interesting, but in my opinion not very important.  What really got my blood boiling was the Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson story.   The good congresswoman has seen fit to award scholarship money, for several years,  to her relatives and the children of one of her top aides.   Monies that were intended for children that reside in her district.

How did the congresswoman respond? By saying that if there were more qualified applicants in her district she would not have had to give the money to relatives. I don’t think anyone at the Glenn Beck rally made any statements as incendiary as that one!!

For those of you who don’t know the 30th Congressional District of Texas, Congresswoman Johnson’s district,  includes Downtown Dallas, Fair Park, Oak Lawn, Old East Dallas, Pleasant Grove, and South Oak Cliff, all of Balch Springs, DeSoto, Hutchins, Lancaster, and Wilmer, and parts of Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Ferris, Glenn Heights and Ovilla.  Qualifying for one of these scholarships must be like trying to get into the  Ivy League.

Well, not so much.  Students simply need to have a 2.5 GPA, reside or go to school in the district of the Congressional Black Caucus member that is awarding the scholarship, not be a relative and submit an essay.

It doesn’t matter what Glenn Beck and the Tea Party movement does.  We are doing a terrific job sabotaging our own progress in this country.  This recent incident involving the Congresswoman is a prime example.

The Dallas Morning News will start charging for a portion of online content including reports by paid staff writers as well as Dallas Cowboys news. The new charge-to-view (or block if you don’t pay) format will begin within the next six months reports News and Tech. The good news is seven-day-a week subscribers will be allowed to view all of the online content for free.  The bad news is to become a subscriber you need to pay anywhere from $33 – $37 a month, some of the highest circulation rates in the country according to News and Tech.

In a recent Nielsen poll, consumers said they would like free content to remain free but would be willing to pay for some online content including content they generally pay for anyway: movies, music, games and current television shows. Consumers were less likely to pay for “homegrown content” including blogs, podcasts, and social communities. Although those polled said they would consider paying for radio, magazine or newspaper content, “much of their content has basically become a commodity, readily available elsewhere for free.” In addition, those who said they’d be willing to pay believe online content must exceed what is currently available online for free. However, the Dallas Morning News is hardly the first paper to try a pay wall (the Wall Street Journal has one in place and The New York Times is instituting one soon) and if it works locally, expect other media sources to follow. But as one blogger pointed out, “This, of course, is the deepest flaw in any online-subscription theory: that equivalent coverage is available for free, a click or two away.”

The problem with the pay wall is that it only takes one blogger (or Google or CNN etc.) to pay for content and disseminate to the masses. And if that blogger is reputable, which ChickTalkDallas.com is, you don’t need to pay for the content. And I don’t have to plagarize or violate copyright laws. I’m simply attributing to the source and making it easier for you! Yes, bring on this pay wall model. As a local blogger/writer, it’s the best way to drive readers my way. Because as a “home grown” site, all of my content is online and that’s the only place you can find it. ChickTalkDallas.com does offer “between the lines” content including (see above) links to helpful information like Nielsen polls. If this model works, expect newspapers to net some profits, yes, but the readers thrown away will simply be soaked up by other sources. And I want one of those sources to be me! Thanks, DMN. ChickTalkDallas.com will remain free. Tell your friends.

I am proud of the work that I have done for the 30th District of Texas. As a public servant, I have vowed to represent my constituents to the best of my ability.

I have never and never planned to restrict my help to only Texans who reside in my district. My district lines have constantly changed and since I am the only Democrat in the entire North Texas Region, surrounded by Republicans, I have made myself accessible for nearly two decades. Much of my district office casework benefits people outside my constituency. While I am not ashamed of helping, I did not intentionally mean to violate any rules in the process – CBCF Scholarship Rules in particular.

As previously stated, I was unaware of being in any type of violation and never intentionally violated the CBCF’s rules. Further, to rectify this matter immediately, I will reimburse the funds by the end of this week. Additionally, I have reinstituted a non-biased third party objective review committee to evaluate applications and put forth recommendations for future CBCF Scholarships. Going forward, this will eliminate conflicts of interest and consistently remain in compliance with CBCF Scholarship Rules.

At present, I am home convalescing from major surgery. However, I am diligently working to resolve these issues as they are very important to me.

Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson