Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert resigns

Photo: Jim Mahoney/Staff Photographer

City Hall blog: Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert resigns, effective Friday.
Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert announced his resignation, effective Feb. 25, at Wednesday's Dallas City Council meeting.
By RUDOLPH BUSH
Staff Writer
In a speech that recalled the sharp divisions of his tenure and foreshadowed his expected run for U.S. Senate , Mayor Tom Leppert told the Dallas City Council that he will leave office at the end of the day Friday.
In a 13-minute speech, Leppert praised the city council as a group of dedicated and passionate people who care deeply for their districts and the city.
But he also revisited the difficult fights over raising the city's tax rate and defeating two politically-tied contracts at Love Field airport.
At one point breaking up, Leppert said he always tried to represent the whole city and to do what was best for Dallas now and into the future.
“The measure for me has always been what is best for the entire city and not just today but in the decades to come,” he said.
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Dallas City Hall Blog
Amid snow and taxi strike, DFW Airport suffers critical taxi shortage

11:40 AM Fri, Feb 04, 2011 | Permalink
Steve Thompson / Reporter Bio | E-mail | News tips



According to striking cabdrivers, DFW Airport officials sent out an urgent message to cab companies asking for more taxis.
The email forwarded to me by the cabdrivers, which follows, said the shortage was critical.
DFW Airport is experiencing a disruption of taxicab service. Taxicab companies are requested to send any and all additional drivers and vehicles to the airport. Vehicles must be permitted at DFW Airport however drivers with a valid City of Dallas or City of Fort Worth driver permit are being allowed to operate at the Airport." However we are in a CRITICAL state and any taxi you may have will be welcomed.
DFW Airport spokesman David Magana said that he couldn't immediately confirm the authenticity of the email, but the shortage is real.
"This is what we normally do when weather hits or when there's a shortage of taxis in the queue," Magana said. "Our normally contingency plan is to call the cab companies in town and tell them that we're relieving the permit requirements for the day, and that any cabs that they have can come to the airport and roll through the queue."
But Magana said striking cabdrivers cannot take the blame or credit.
"It has more to do with the snow really," he said. "Before the snow was here, we were functioning just fine. There was never a shortage or a disruption in service."
Cabdrivers, on the hand, say it shows their strike is taking a toll.
"This is clear evidence that the work stoppage is having an effect," said Dallas NAACP board member Anthony Bond, who is supporting the cabdrivers.
UPDATE: Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway had asked cab drivers to postpone their strike during the Super Bowl and promised that, in exchange, he would work to bring them back to the table for discussions with the city.
Caraway said he wasn't advocating for changing the city's "front of the line" policy, but said it wouldn't hurt to hear the cabbies out.
"I'm saying let's bring it back and let's allow them fair opportunity to discuss it, to put their views out and let's hear them. Nothing is guaranteed," he said.
Apparently, leaders of the cab strike weren't interested in that proposition as the strike continues.
The entry "Amid snow and taxi strike, DFW Airport suffers critical taxi shortage" is tagged: DFW Airport , taxi
Categories: Dallas City Hall, Steve Thompson
Source: http://cityhallblog.dallasnews.com
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asking for justice

Cabbies arrested after protests over rule letting natural-gas cabs to cut in line at Love Field
By RICHARD ABSHIRE
Staff Writers
Published 31 January 2011 10:47 PM
Eight cabdrivers participating in a protest over a Dallas taxi ordinance were arrested Monday evening for blocking traffic at Dallas Love Field.
Dallas police spokesman Senior Cpl. Kevin Janse said that cabbies had left at least 50 taxis parked in a pickup lane at the airport and that those who were arrested face misdemeanor charges of obstructing traffic.
Access to the airport was blocked for 20 to 30 minutes to clear the way for wreckers that towed seven of the cabs before the rest of the drivers moved their cars.
The demonstration was part of a dispute over an ordinance that allows natural gas-powered cabs to cut in line at Love Field.
Independent drivers and small cab companies say that’s unfair because only large companies can afford the fuel conversions.
Mayor Tom Leppert has argued that favoring natural gas over gasoline can help improve air quality. A judge ruled in favor of the ordinance in September.
The drivers’ protest began Monday morning when about 300 of them marched outside the Super Bowl XLV media center in downtown Dallas, police said.
Later in the day, a caravan of cabbies jammed traffic on North Central Expressway and LBJ Freeway, traveling about 35 mph in what Janse called a “rolling protest.”
The Association of Taxicab Operators has threatened to boycott the Super Bowl if the policy isn’t changed. The city has said a boycott shouldn’t have a big impact because there are more than enough cabs.
“We’ve been on strike since Thursday,” said Mirza Sajid, an association spokesman. “We want justice, not Jim Crow back-of-the bus. We want first come, first serve.”
rabshire@dallasnews.com;
tbenning@dallasnews.com