Dallas Morning News Archives

Why Bottomless Mimosas are Illegal in Texas

May 5, 2017

I occasionally do reporting for The Dallas Morning News‘ entertainment website, GuideLive.

One of the time-honored gay traditions here in Dallas (and across the U.S.) is brunch, so I decided to a post about the best bottomless mimosa spots in Dallas.

However, in doing my research for the article, I discovered that bottomless mimosas are illegal in Texas.

Not only that, but another publication — The San Antonio Current — did a similar bottomless mimosa article which the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission used as an enforcement hit-list.

How a dog helped a new Dallasite win his tax case

April 26, 2017

I have a new Texas tax article over at The Dallas Morning News — it’s about a New York tax appeal case involving Match Group CEO Gregory Blatt.

Blatt moved to Dallas from NYC back in 2009 after becoming the CEO of Dallas-based dating site Match.com. Prior to that, he ran the legal department of Match’s parent company, IAC.

Dallas Morning News

Early mornings

March 23, 2017

A new schedule.

My workdays start at 4 a.m. now.

After a trip to the Keurig, the Chrome tabs start flying open — I am off checking analytics, various news sites, and a myriad of Slack channels to produce the morning newsletter for The Dallas Morning News.

By 7:00 a.m., the news roundup is online and in inboxes. Next comes a round of audience emails and social media exchanges before I head into the office.

I try to leave the office by 1 p.m., but afternoon meetings make this impossible on most days. And least once a week, a late meeting or evening technical issues blow my workday past the 14-hour mark.

Daily / Dallas Morning News

Germany attacks, Walmart drama

December 20, 2016

Here’s what I’m talking about today:

1. German terror attacks: A terror attack killed 12 people in Berlin yesterday. I was able to find a German newspaper’s livestream coverage of the event, which is why The Dallas Morning News had the most up-to-date English-language coverage yesterday and today. (German is my first language.)

Dallas Morning News / Law / Texas

Texas GOP lawmakers have dramatically different business tax plans

November 17, 2016

My most recent article for The Dallas Morning News is about how Texas lawmakers plan on handling tax issues in the upcoming legislative session.

Lowering taxes is a common GOP policy goal, but the actual proposals differ dramatically.

Dallas Morning News / Law / Texas

Where Texas gets its revenue

November 4, 2016

Texas is one of the few places in the country without a state income tax. (This was a pleasant surprise when I moved from Minnesota.)

My latest post for The Dallas Morning News is about where Texas gets its revenue from in the absence of an income tax:

Dallas / Dallas Morning News / LGBT

Fall finally arrives in Dallas

October 3, 2016

Kennedy Davenport performs at Dallas Pride.

That picture sums up my September.

The past month whizzed by.

We had gay pride parades in Dallas and Fort Worth, long pool days, and trips to Six Flags Over Texas. I will cover everything in posts this month because I’ve promised myself to stop having a Truman Capote dilemma and finally start blogging again.

Dallas Morning News / Oak Lawn

Hillary and the pitbull

September 7, 2016

I got up around 4 a.m. today, wrote the morning news roundup, and then posted the newspaper’s Hillary Clinton ‘recommendation’ to Twitter and Facebook (where it would go viral.)

By 5:30 a.m., I was running for my life down Cedar Springs Road.

I came across a stray pitbull while taking the dogs to the walk-up Starbucks at the edge of Oak Lawn. We were several blocks from my apartment building when I noticed the 70-pound pitbull staring at us from behind an apartment building fence.

Ingrid, my labradoodle, barked at the pitbull and it darted toward a fence opening.

Cut to me sprinting at full-speed down Cedar Springs road with a labradoodle and a Chihuahua. It felt like a scene from Stranger Things (or at least a Dallas version of Scary Movie.)

Best Week Ever / Dallas Morning News

Rain, sororities, and the KKK

September 1, 2016

August was a strange.

Like the rest of this summer, there were far more storms than usual. The sight of a rain wall coming through downtown Dallas was a common occurrence and I got stuck outside in the rain all the time.

My weekdays are long now. I wake up around 4:30 a.m. to write morning recaps for the paper. (These will eventually become newsletters.) A long-ish dog walk happens, and then I’m in the office until halfway through the evening.

Dallas Morning News / Drag Shows / LGBT / Oak Lawn

Drag queens and buses

July 25, 2016

Last week I started my new job and it was exhausting.

Moving to The Dallas Morning News was a dramatic change for me.

Back in Minnesota, I worked on a 7,000-person suburban corporate campus. The Thomson Reuters campus was so huge that I had law school classmates who worked there for years before I ran into them. It was also common not to recognize anyone in the hallways if you didn’t work in that part of the building.

Since moving to Dallas, I worked from home and didn’t see coworkers in-person unless I was visiting a client’s office.

Now, I go to a downtown office every day. It’s nice being back in a real office because working from home started feeling like being under house arrest. I also had clients in every time zone, so there wasn’t a clear end to the work day.

Dallas Morning News / Life / memories / Thomson Reuters

A New Path

July 5, 2016

A forest path photo by Nick Scheerbart via Unsplash

I have been in Dallas for almost a year and this city exceeded my expectations.

Although the decision to move to Dallas well-informed, I am still continually surprised by this place.

Exploring downtown Dallas in summer

The crowd at the March Gay Bingo / Resource Center Event at Station 4 in Dallas.