September 1999
STRAIGHT STUFF
Utilities Restructuring
Is on the Way, Like It or Not,
and Tom Baker Says You Will
It may take some getting used to, but the choice of power will be yours when 2002 arrives. Addressing the August SPJ meeting at the Fort Worth Petroleum Club, TXU's Tom Baker provided a preview of things to come when the state's electric utilities undergo restructuring.
Baker heads TXU's Distribution Business Unit, which includes TXU Electric & Gas. He described a situation where, for the most part, providers will share existing lines into homes and businesses, with the major difference stemming from generation sources and contacts for customer service.
It is unclear how much of a rate battle will ensue, but you can bet that deals are in the works to get your business. Baker said TXU rates will remain constant until the restructuring law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2002. After that, they will drop 6 percent and hold at that level for at least six years.
Texas has learned from other states, principally California and Pennsylvania, the difficulties of opening the doors to competition, Baker said. Now more than half the country is in the process of restructuring, and he's optimistic about the advantages for both consumers and the electric companies.
"The main thing to remember here is the word 'choice,' " he said. "Competition should make things very interesting."
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Great Food, Great Band, Great Time -- Soon in a Great Backyard Near You
Chapter VP Wanda Conlin's Enchilada Extravaganza and Outdoor Officer Swearing-in Soiree unfolds Saturday, Sept. 25. Long-range forecast is for fair skies in the immediate vicinity of Wanda's Meadowbrook manor at 1755 Martel near Channel 5. (Actually, rain would feel good.)
Back because they're just the best will be FoxWell, the two-woman band with the no-limit range -- a little blues, a little jazz, a lot of Nashville. Combining country roots with sweet harmony vocals, the singer-songwriter duo are regulars at the White Elephant Saloon and at an eclectic range of venues, from Mayfest and Chisholm Trail Days to Poor David's Pub in Dallas. They entertained at Wanda's last year.
You have no excuse to miss this one. Unless, of course, because of the sunny weather, you're a news photographer on a mission to find that last kid on a swing who has never been in the paper.
* Time: 7 p.m.
* Date: Saturday, Sept. 25.
* Place: 1755 Martel on Fort Worth's East Side.
* Directions: I-30 to Oakland exit, south on Oakland a couple of blocks to Barnett Street, west on Barnett to Martel; Wanda's house is at the intersection.
* Cost: $20 SPJ members, $25 non-members, $10 students and professionals with two years or less experience.
* Menu: supreme Mexican dinner catered by Coburn's, beer, wine, iced tea, soft drinks and libations crafted in the Margarita Express.
* RSVP by Sept. 23: (817) 877-1171.
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PEOPLE & PLACES
Karl King Taking Orders for WWII Book
The ink is about dry on longtime chapter member Karl King's "The Alamo of the Pacific," with delivery of the first 1,000 copies expected in a couple of weeks. Libraries in Dallas and Arlington already have requested copies. The 250-page hardcover book, with maps and photos, is Karl's account of American leathernecks who plagued their Japanese captors with sabotage during World War II. "It tells the story of the siege of Bataan and Corregidor," Karl says, "and how Marine POWs continued to fight from behind barbed wire." To order, send $24.95 check or money order to "The Alamo of the Pacific," P.O. Box 11241, Fort Worth, TX 76110. Cost includes shipping and handling. E-mail Karl at kingalamo@aol.com.
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Travels with Dorothy
Former chapter president Dorothy Estes and husband Emory toured western Europe this summer with the UT Arlington Jazz Orchestra. She has hours of stories. Herewith a minute and a half.
"The Paris hotel with its small, dark rooms and folding chairs was near the pervert palaces of Pigalle. Dining room had dead flowers and queasy cuisine. Got athlete's foot taking a shower and a crick in my neck from the funny pillow. Elevator to our sixth-floor garret broke several times a night, usually when we were loading and unloading suitcases. Paris was more beautiful than ever, though, possibly because of our squalid living arrangements.
"After the Paris guide's lecture warning us about prostitutes and pickpockets, I noticed that a member of our merry crew, quite the dignified academician (from TCU), had grabbed his crotch and his pocket without realizing it. His wife said, 'I think we should go to our rooms, lock the doors and sleep in shifts.'
"Our guides knew less about the cities we visited than anyone on the trip. We spent all but 45 minutes of our Brussels three-hour stop trying to find the city center. Made several bypasses around the city dump searching for it.
"Ah, but what a summer of sensory excess: UTA jazz musicians lifting cars to the sidewalks on two narrow, one-way streets so our bus could pass ... angry Parisians admiring this American ingenuity with blaring horns and screaming obscenities ... the tour of Reims Cathedral that left all 44 of us in awe; later, the trip to opulent Versailles, the Sun King's favorite residence.
"One afternoon, we saw the special exhibit of Monet paintings at the Orangerie. The show, which featured his work from 1895-1926, left us enchanted with the life force reflected on the canvases. The next day we strolled through the Luxembourg Gardens in a soft summer rain. Still damp, we trudged to Sainte-Chapelle to hear a chamber orchestra play Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons' in the Upper Chapel. Surrounded by stained-glass windows portraying more than a thousand religious scenes in a kaleidoscope of colors, we surrendered to the magic of the music and the beauty of the room. ... "
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COMINGS & GOINGS
John Yearwood, formerly with The Dallas Morning News, has joined the Fort Worth Star-Telegram as assistant city editor for government ... Ray Buck has joined the paper's sports department as lead Cowboys writer ... longtime Texas journalist Dick Reavis is in FW S-T features, replacing Larry Bingham, who moved to The Baltimore Sun.
Arlington Morning News: Pennie Boyett to weekend city editor. The AMN is five months into its fourth year, and Pennie has been there for every issue.
Fort Worth Business Press: Bob Hamilton has been named publisher.
Also at the Star-Telegrams, Fort Worth and Arlington: Jessamy Brown, now Class Acts coordinator ... Schuyler Dixon, now sports editor, and Damon Marx, now assistant sports editor, NE Sports Zone ... Eric Celeste to features editor ... Patricia Rodriguez to travel editor ... in the Arlington Sports Zone, UTA Shorthorn ex Tobias Lopez, new agate editor ... Les Jacobs, new to the FW design desk, and Spenser Skelley, new to the NE design desk ... in business, Lila LaHood, covering retailing and some real estate, and Andrea Ahles, reporting on technology.
Exits ... Veronica Puente (Salinas) hopes to still freelance with the S-T even though she's leaving to teach third grade in the Fort Worth public schools ... Laura Vozzella will be closer to her family as a staff writer with the Associated Press/Boston ... chapter member Kellie Gormly, another UTA Shorthorn grad, has left the NE Hometown Star for master's journalism study in Illinois.
Visits ... FW S-T recently hosted representatives from Nikkei Weekly and the Asahi Evening News. Given their national fascination with technology, hope someone showed the Japanese journalists the pneumatic ice cream dispenser in the Four-Star.
Debuts ... William Cameron Cowle arrived two weeks early, Aug. 10, weighing in at 8 pounds and 20 1/2 inches. Parents are Tracey and Camille Cowle. Tracey, formerly of FW S-T sports, has joined the Dallas Morning News copy desk ... Sawyer West Blackman, July 18, 8 pounds 7 ounces, 20 3/4 inches. Mom Dorothy will be returning to Arlington S-T ad sales; dad Mike, formerly chief of the FW S-T editorial page, is freelancing and still part time downtown.
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BEYOND S.P.J.
Dr. Gay Wakefield, director of the Center for Productive Communication in TCU's M.J. Neeley School of Business, will discuss "Creative Thinking" at the Sept. 14 IABC luncheon meeting at the Petroleum Club, downtown Fort Worth. The presentation is billed for those with lagging zeal and dried-up creative juices. RSVP by noon Sept. 11: Shelley Buttgen, (817) 569-4511.
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OVER & OUT / John Dycus
Paul Sturiale and his Regian & Wilson/Grey creative team -- Kristi Scott, James Madsen, Hal Reeves -- designed a killer invitation for this backyard bash, then donated their work. These are good and talented people. Speaking of the Conlin backyard, it's chapter tradition to hold the September meeting there, so we shifted to October a panel on possible conflicts of interest in the Belo Corp. buying 12 percent of the Dallas Mavericks. Sparks should fly. The date likely will be an evening Oct. 16-23. When we're sure, you'll know.
Our newsletter is growing -- three pages at 12.5-point in the printed version this time vs. two pages 14-point last time, with a circulation approaching 200 -- and comments have been uniformly positive; my favorite: "works for me. y'all done good. a hell of a lot easier to read an e-mail than it is to open one of those damnable envelopes." Let's do this: Send me e-mails of people you think would gain from being in this loop, and the newsletter will magically appear in their computer. Then submit news items -- get the word out on upcoming events or personnel moves. Have an opinion? Write a letter. Remember, even though the E-Chaser is a bulk send, no one sees any recipient's e-mail address -- all the addresses are hidden.
Good job, Tom Baker. A guy who can keep people with full stomachs interested in power delivery should have his own show. And for the seven among us who reserved a plate of that fine Petroleum Club food but couldn't attend, SPJ had to buy those meals. The noble response now is to shoot the treasury $20. Knowing that's the kind of folks you are, thanking you in advance.