Our Austin correspondent says that the Abramoff scandal is mainly a "gambling scandal" and that Texans should avoid turning to more gambling to solve the state’s school finance problem.

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Today’s endorsement by the ayem paper of Vic Cunningham for the Republican nomination for district attorney came as a surprise. First, it seems early. I know -- the election is March 7, a scant five weeks away. However, the campaign really has yet to develop. Some more reporting on the race from the DMN news staff would be nice.

The editorial page picked Cunningham over Toby Shook because Cunningham, a judge, is an “outsider,” whereas Shook has been top deputy to D.A. Bill Hill. The idea is that the D.A.’s office needs a clean break with the past. The News does say it was a “close choice,” throwing a bone to Shook as a “highly respected career prosecutor.” Cunningham, meanwhile, was a felony prosecutor before he went on the bench 10 years ago.

I, for one, thought Shook might be the favored candidate in this race -- on the strength of his experience as top deputy in the D.A.'s office and for some high profile prosecutions -- not to mention he's winning the yard sign war in the Park Cities and North Dallas. 

There’s more shootout to come – not just between the candidates but the battle between the city’s most prominent political consultants. Rob Allyn represents Cunningham and Shook’s campaign is being managed by Carol Reed, who calls him her candidate right out of “central casting.”  Expect dueling direct mail pieces. 

In contrast, the DMN did use experience as a prosecutor as its reason for endorsing  Larry Jarrett for the Democratic nomination over Craig Watkins, who came within 10,000 votes of defeating District Attorney Bill Hill two years ago. Jarrett is a former Marine and a former prosecutor in both the D.A.’s office and the U.S. attorney’s office. Meanwhile, Watkins and the third candidate in the race, B.D. Howard, are defense attorneys with no experience in putting criminals in jail. The endorsement could help Jarrett among Democratic voters who don’t know any of them.

Now that we've seen where the ed board is coming down, let's hope we see some news coverage of candidate forums, joint appearances and some in-depth profiles in this important race for D.A.  What would really be interesting is what folks at the courthouse think about the two Republicans, since both are coming out of that environment.

The Department of Commerce reported yesterday that the savings rate for Americans in 2005 was minus .5 percent.  The  savings rate has been in negative territory for a full year only twice before--in 1932 and 1933 during the Great Depression.

By Trey Garrison

Some relief for the more than 9,100 homeless of Dallas County could be coming in an innovative new development downtown, but it is more than two years off. And acquiring the building may cost about three times the value at which the building is currently appraised.

The Central Dallas Community Development Corporation is proposing a $16.8 million project to turn the vacant 15-story tower at 511 N. Akard into a mixed-income single-room occupancy and retail center for low and no-income residents.

The project, dubbed City Walk at Akard, would provide about 200 single-room occupancy, long-term residences, with monthly rents ranging from $384 to $1,050. (A few of the larger units would be rented at market prices to help generate revenue.) The bottom two floors would be set aside for offices and limited retail, including Central Dallas Ministries' administrative office, a public interest law firm, Central Dallas CDC offices, job training offices for tenants and other like uses.

The project cost breakdown is about $6.3 million for the property acquisition, with the balance going to the rehabilitation and renovation of the property. The vacant building at 511 N. Akard is currently owned by a private, limited partnership based in Ontario.

Despite the quoted acquisition price in the CDCDC's proposal, according to the most recent Dallas Central Appraisal District evaluation of the property at 511 N. Akard, the property is appraised at only $2 million.

Proposed funding for the redevelopment will come from low-income housing tax credits, historic tax credits, and about $2 million from the City of Dallas. The first step for CDCDC is securing the tax credits.

Councilman Leo Chaney, chairman of the Quality of Life Committee, said while details need to be worked out before his committee can vote on whether to recommend the project to the full city council, he is excited about the project.

"This isn't about 'affordable housing' it's about 'obtainable housing' - something in short supply especially in downtown and uptown Dallas. It's a major step in the right direction for serving this community," Chaney said.

In a nod to Caligula, we bring you this from down in Bryan, Texas.

To visit a 1,000-year-old Croatian-style winery carved from bedrock and overlooking a 50-acre lake, you'd have to travel to, well, Croatia.

Or, if you wait two years, you can get a pretty close approximation a few miles north of Dallas in McKinney, Texas. According to GlobeStreet.com, John Wales, owner of the Wales Manor label, will operate the soon-to-come commercial winery and vineyard in Adriatica, a 45-acre, Euro-style residential and retail village in McKinney's Stonebridge Ranch development.

Simon CowellAmerican Idol

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National Treasurer of the American Conservative Union calls for shake-up of the Republican Party in the wake of Tom Delay’s resignation as House Majority Leader.

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The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) in a 10-5 party line vote, removed itself from membership in the National Association of State School Boards (NASBE). The motion was put forth by member Terri Leo of Spring who said that many of NASBE's policies are "out of touch with mainstream America and that NASBE has taken positions with which the majority of the SBOE disagrees."

Stating that NASBE's policies continue to gravitate to left, Leo cited three current policy decisions which she feels do not reflect a proper balance.  First, Leo questioned the NASBE October 2004 publication on citizenship education. "Under the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, the publication listed only the words 'Separation of Church and State,' a phrase that does not even appear in the Bill of Rights. Thomas Jefferson used the phrase 'separation of church and state' eleven years after the Bill of Rights was passed; he was writing to allay the fears of the Danbury Baptists who had heard a rumor that a national religion was going to be established."   

Leo asserted that NASBE should promote correct information and not misinformation. "Why didn't NASBE mention the rights guaranteed in the First Amendment for peaceable assembly, freedom of the press, and the petition of the government for redress of grievances? Are these no longer important for students to learn?"

Leo continued by saying, "Why should we entrust NASBE with developing and funding a national curriculum on civics education when the editors of the NASBE publication think that 'separation of church and state' is a proper condensation of what the Bill of Rights says?"

Leo also mentioned that NASBE's policy statements support comprehensive sex education, "an approach which the majority of Texas voters do not support.  Texas has a law that requires abstinence-only education, a law which the majority of Texans support; yet the SBOE is paying more than $40,000 in NASBE dues and travel expenses to attend NASBE meetings which promote positions with which we do not agree."

A third point of contention raised by Leo was that NASBE continues to push State Boards of Education to implement policies on 'bullying' that have a special victim category for homosexuals. She noted that at the October 2005 NASBE symposium, the organization constantly referenced state bullying policies which she state are vehicles for social engineering promoted by the Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender/Questioning (GLBTQ) lobby.

"Bullying is wrong -- period," Leo said. "All bullies should be punished equally and all victims dealt with compassionately. I don't want a homosexual student bullied any more than I want a short chubby child bullied," Leo said emphatically. "Elevating homosexuals by giving them special rights has been used to silence freedom of speech from teachers and students who respectfully disagree with homosexuality. The NASBE position violates the concept of equal protection under the law."

Leo stated that NASBE's push for this type of bullying policy introduces the concept of "thought crimes" in which someone's actions are "more" illegal based on their thoughts or beliefs. Leo stated, "I know very few people who want to deny gays and lesbians the basic civil rights that the rest of society enjoys, but many people have a big problem with public schools forcing the gay agenda upon teachers and students."

Texas pays the highest NASBE dues ($40,600 per year) along with California and New York because NASBE bases its annual dues on student population. "It's not right that Texas is footing a large proportion of the bill, but Texas has really no more representation or say-so in policy decisions than the states which pay a much smaller amount. NASBE only pays half the cost for one member of each state to attend its annual convention. It seems to me that NASBE needs Texas more than Texas needs NASBE, so why are we paying them over $40,000? That is not wise stewardship on the part of the SBOE."

The Fish will make you feel better about the Mavs' Erick Dampier when he scans the rest of the NBA for other 7-foot-tall "bags of hair'':

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