The Dallas Morning News Co.

The Dan Marino Restaurants

The 13 restaurants that nearly made our 30 essential Texas restaurants list.

30 Essential Texas Restaurants

Eat here before you die.

[VIDEO] Woman Suing Texas State Troopers After Roadside Body Cavity Search

I get that cops have a difficult job. I really do. But when two women are pulled over on Texas highway and have their body cavities searched because the officer said the car had the "aroma" of marijuana, something is just wrong. According to the report from the Dallas Morning News and the Daily Mail ... More >>

50 Rad Things Now on the Sig's Lagoon Walls

Within the past month, the walls of Sig's Lagoon have been transformed into a sprawling pop-culture collage of posters, photos, newspaper clippings, magazine covers, picture discs and cardboard cutouts courtesy of former Sundance Records owner Bobby Barnard. Since the longtime San Marcos music stor ... More >>

Tyler Stoddard Smith: Whore Stories

Comment of the Day: Does the Chron's Sports Coverage Suck?

We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula involving wit ... More >>

HISD Likely Cheated On Standardized Tests, Study Says

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has published a massive project studying standardized-test scores across the nation in the wake of a scandal in that city. Their analysis showed, the paper said, "that test scores in hundreds of cities followed a pattern that, in Atlanta, indicated cheating in multi ... More >>

Texas Pop Festival Finally Getting Historical Marker

Mike PorterBathe, hippies, bathe!​Rocks Off can't do anything about the drought, but this weekend we will be breaking our own personal drought and returning to the Austin City Limits Music Festival after taking 2010 off. But long before ACL, there was another massive musical gathering in Texa ... More >>

Five Reasons Why Texas A&M Needs to Elope to the SEC

​Hey, Texas A&M and the Southeastern Conference: Get a room already! Then get married or whatever because this idle flirtation, which has been going on for years, is getting tired. For the past few weeks, a potential move by A&M to the SEC has become a hot topic, especially after the A&M Boar ... More >>

Zoo Station: A Noah's Ark Of 75 Animal Songs

And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee ... More >>

Rick Perry Asking Other Governors to Pray And Fast For A Day, Including Chris Christie (Updated)

Fast for a day, Chris Christie: the power of Perry compels you!​There are few t hings more annoying than the stranger who asks you if you've accepted Jesus, but Governor Rick Perry has became That Guy with a letter to the 49 other state leaders in the U.S. He's asking them to come to Houston ... More >>

85 MPH on Texas Highways: Why the Hell Not? (Five Houston-Area Spots That Should Be Considered)

We can all indulge our inner Racer X​The Dallas Morning News (behind a paywall but AP report is here) noted a small clause in a transportation bill passed by the House in Austin this week -- if approved by the Senate, it allows speed limits to be raised on some Texas highways to 85 mph, the hi ... More >>

Arts vs. Grannies: Texas Lege Axes Culture

What would Stingo say?​The state's budget crisis is making for some stark choices in the legislature, clear-cut votes that lay things out for all to see. One of them came today, when House members voted on whether to budget $3.5 million to the Texas Commission on the Arts (enough to keep it a ... More >>

Wall of Shame

CNN, USA Today, and other media organizations got fooled.

Super Bowling for Dollars

The great American game is another chance to foist false research on a gullible media

Prison Pays

Despite a history of abuse and bad conditions, private prison corporation GEO keeps getting contracts from the state.

TCEQ Gets Slammed: Feds Take Powers Away From Texas' Air-Pollution "Watchdog"

TCEQ step aside, feds say​Is an agency a "watchdog" when it doesn't watch? Apparently the feds don't think so. In a bold move today, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it was taking over the job of issuing greenhouse-gas permits in Texas because the Texas Council on Environmental ... More >>

Sex With Clients: Texas Lawyers Continue Their Brave Battle To Have It

Still plenty of action at the State Bar of Texas​Texas lawyers have always been allowed to bone (or be boned by) their clients. No prohibitions, no scolding from the State Bar, no penalties.Everyone's happy, right? And it's not a barter system at all -- in all cases, it's true love between a heroi ... More >>

Sampler Plate: This Week In Food Blogs

Each week, we put together a sampler plate of the most interesting links from both local and national food blogs. Know a blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below. The Mighty Rib: Kevin's been on the road lately and reviewing restaurant far ou ... More >>

Daniel Silva: The Rembrandt Affair

Former intelligence agent Gabriel Allon is drawn back into the spy game once again

Feds To Texas' Environmental Regulators: Good God, You Suck (UPDATED With Rick Perry Saying No, You Suck)

Feds come to the same conclusion we did​The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency smacked the hell out of Texas environmental regulators earlier this week, announcing that the feds will begin taking control over the issuance of operating permits to chemical plants and refineries because the s ... More >>

To Keep Your Daughter Out Of Jail, What Not To Name Her Is Crystal-Clear

​The other day, Hair Balls was discussing the case of Crystal Sosa with a friend.Sosa is a young prostitute. Two years ago, her dead infant was discovered stashed in the freezer of the motel where she was staying with her boyfriend. She was eventually convicted of nothing more serious than attempt ... More >>

Which Classy Texas Congressman Shouted "Baby Killer" Last Night? (Updated)

Last night's historic health-care vote was an emotional event on both sides of the aisle. Only one side, however, showed the class it takes to yell "Baby Killer!!" at a colleague.And all signs point to a Texan doing the deed.Anti-abortion Democrat Bart Stupak got up to speak late in the evening, exp ... More >>

Big Blaze Hits Dallas' Lower Greenville Strip

Photo by Jim Schutze​The Lower Greenville Avenue portion of Dallas is one of the city's more enjoyable areas (Caveat: We haven't been there in a while; maybe it's become Douchebag/Yuppie Central.) (And yes, we know the response to that is "Well, it is in Dallas.") A four-alarm fire engulfed a chu ... More >>

HISD's New Hire Leaves Questions Behind In Dallas

​The Houston school district announced a major reorganization yesterday, naming three top officials to oversee elementary, middle school and high school education.Two of the three came from out of the district, including David Simmons, who will supervise high school policies.Simmons had been super ... More >>

A Neapolitan New Year

Murder, betrayal and conspiracy - what a wonderful way to start 2010

The Tug of War

Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison are locked in a pitched battle over the soul of the GOP. They are also running for governor.

Hutchison Staying In Senate Until She Wins The GOP Gubernatorial Primary (If She Does Win)

​More stumbles for Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison in her attempt to take out Governor Rick Perry: After saying for months that she would quit the Senate around now to go all in on the gubernatorial race, she has just announced she won't leave until after the GOP primary.Why? Bad poll numbers leading ... More >>

U2 and Muse Set Lists from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington Monday

Pete Freedman/ DC-9 at NightIndependence Day in Arlington? Nah, just U2's ginormous 360 "Claw" stage.​ It's a little less than 36 hours and counting until U2's 360 Tour stops at Reliant Stadium, and Rocks Off is starting to get excited. Really excited. Bono and the boys were in Arlington at Cowboy ... More >>

Pudge Ends His Career As An Astro, Chron Readers Learn Eventually

Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher​At noon yesterday, the long rumored and speculated-on demise of the Houston Astros baseball season was officially confirmed. Not so surprisingly, approximately five hours later, the long rumored and speculated on demise of the Houston Chronicle as a news-gathering or ... More >>

Hard To Believe, But Texas Is Fouling Up The Process Of Distributing Food-Stamp Relief

​It's taking longer for people to get their food stamps these days, and that's because so many people are trying to get food stamps. (INSTEAD OF GETTING A FREAKING JOB, as KTRH listeners are no doubt saying after reading that sentence.)Two civil-rights groups have sued the Texas Health & Human ... More >>

Artania Isn't Easy In Texas, Russian Troupe Finds Out

Photo courtesy ArtaniaArtania, a Russian horse-show, has certainly had its ups and downs in Texas.Their first shows in April, at Sam Houston Race Park, ran into the kind of severe weather we have here every spring.Then, as we reported back in April, the trick-riding show, which got extravagant prais ... More >>

Chron's Matt Stiles Lands On His Feet, Next To Texas Monthly's Evan Smith

Photo by Kyle Jameson Matt Stiles, one of several high-profile Chronicle reporters who survived the spring job cuts only to quit the paper, has landed on his feet.The former City Hall and Austin-bureau reporter will be on the staff of the Texas Tribune, which describes itself as "a non-profit, ... More >>

Southwest Airlines Offering Some Really Cheap Seats

Photo by ACommentSouthwest Airlines has created a huge amount of buzz among low-fare junkies this morning with the announcement of a two-day sale where all tickets cost either $30, $60 or $90 one-way.As the Dallas Morning News' aviation blog puts it: Southwest calls it "one of the biggest fare sales ... More >>

Rick Perry's Biking Accident Somehow Leads To Outbreak Of Hair Jokes

The news day is nearly done, and we can begin to total up the Official Rick Perry Hair-Joke Count.As you likely know, Perry broke his collarbone while riding a bike. If you didn't know, then you were, apparently, one of the few people who didn't head directly to the web to make a hair joke.Google ri ... More >>

Swine Flu Can't Beat (A Carefully Wrapped) God

The Compak CompaniesWith what is surely the Black Plague of the 21st Century bearing down on all our souls, the last place anyone wants to worry about swine flu is church. So some institutions, like the Austin Diocese, are suspending or altering communion.The story in the Waco Tribune includes a let ... More >>

Statewide Smoking Ban For Bars: Coming Soon?

Photo by Daniel KramerIt's been tried before, but this time there may be some possibility of a statewide smoking ban in Texas.Two bills address the subject, (one by Houston's Rodney Ellis) and the Texas Restaurant Association has announced it can support a ban.Although the TRA says it has "som ... More >>

Abstinence Education, (Not) Propaganda and Sugar Land

Trees Have Been Killed: The print edition of the blog debuts

Dooney da Priest: "Pull Your Pants Up"

Dallas struggles with saggy drawers

Swift Meatpacking Plant and Illegal Immigrants

Swift & Company pitted employee against employee when it replaced injured workers with illegal immigrants

Saint Matthew's Churches, Inc.

Christians send in money for prayer requests which may just go up in smoke

Salad Days

La Colombe d'Or

Tale of Two Cities

Kid-Care's former leader says the attorney general is playing favorites

Pimpin' Ain't Easy

Tension mounts at the Chronicle

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Bloody Sunday

Yet another weekend newspaper magazine bites the dust

The First Shuttle Crash

Hoax or Hidden Mystery?

Way Out There

A new TV news operation is coming to Houston. More or less.

Fresh Air, Times Square

Death in the Morning