Archive for July, 2008

Plano-based Electronic Data Systems (EDS) announced today that it’s shareholders approved acquisition by Hewlett-Packard (HP).

Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP has been planning to buy the technology services company for about $13.9 billion, or $25 per share.

The deal still requires some non-U.S. and non-E.U. regulatory clearance before it can close; however, the company expects the agreement to be completed during the third quarter.

A Denton day-care center has been shut down by the state after a 5-year-old boy walked out an open door there last week, crossed a busy street and was discovered half an hour later at a Hooters restaurant.

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services ordered Imagination Station in the 2300 block of San Jacinto Boulevard to cease operation Wednesday.

On July 23, the 5-year-old boy walked out the back door of Imagination Station sometime after 4:51 p.m., according to a timeline prepared by Denton police. The boy entered a Pep Boys auto parts store, took a pack of gum and left. He then crossed Dallas Drive, a busy entranceway to the city from Interstate 35E, and entered a RaceTrac convenience store. Store security video showed him taking more gum from the front counter there and then walking to the back, where he took a root beer from a refrigerated case.

The boy left the store after about four minutes and walked west to Hooters, a restaurant and bar. The child walked in, looked around as though he were lost and quickly left.

Employees called police at 5:20 p.m. They said they followed him outside and found him at the I-35E service road.

Police say the employees of Hooters saw the boy about to cross the service road to the interstate and quite possibly saved the child’s life.

Snoop Dogg and his entourage on his tour bus are currently south of Dallas on I-45 being questioned by the police. Seems they were pulled over for expired tags.

So far, two people from the bus have been arrested and are en route to the Navarro County Jail (Corsicana)….Snoop is not one of those. He is expected to be able to continue on to his gig here in Dallas tonite.

The Angelika Film Center is offering you the chance to win $100 in Cinemoney just for being creative with your grocery bag!

BAGHEAD, a witty, tongue-in-cheek horror story from PUFFY CHAIR writer-director duo Mark and Jay Duplass, centers on a stalker whose favorite method of enforcing terror is no more complicated than lurking around with a brown paper bag covering his face.

The folks at Angelika think that there is genius in simplicity, and that said, have launched their very own Baghead contest.

They are basically looking for a photo or video of the most creative Baghead you can think of. Wear one to work, shop at the grocery store, recite a poem about your groceries - whatever you want to do. Just remember, they can’t be held responsible for any less-than-desirable reactions!

Send your submissions to angelikasubmissions@gmail.com by 11:59pm on Thursday, August 7th for a chance to win, and become an Angelika blog star! (Albeit, if you’re following the contest rules, no one will know who you are…) And oh yeah…the winners will be selected by the Duplass brothers themselves!

Talk radio host Russ Martin went back on the air Monday and is expected to stay on the radio for the foreseeable future, according to David Henry, the general manager of KLLI-FM (105.3).

Martin was arrested July 18 on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection with a July 14 altercation involving a 27-year-old woman at his Southlake home.

The woman, whose name has not been released, says she was engaged to Martin. She told police that he became enraged after phoning home and learning she had failed to follow up with an IRS agent about a package delivery.

Martin and his attorney have declined to comment on the substance of the allegations against him.

He left the airways after his arrest. He was originally scheduled to return last Tuesday, but the station decided to hold him off the radio.

Monday, he returned to the air, speaking primarily about local news events. A co-host joked about his arrest, but Martin did not comment about his legal troubles.

This morning in a terrible show of corporate responsibility, Bennigan’s contacted their managers at 7:30a and told them to be on a conference call at 8a. They were told in no uncertain terms, ‘We’re closing. Lock up and go home.” The managers were told to furlough all employees and leave — for good and oh, by the way, don’t talk to the media.

The parent company of Bennigan’s, Ponderosa and Steak & Ale is Plano based Metromedia Restaurant Group. The company has filed for Chapter 7 - rather than Chapter 11 which allows for reorganization. A few weeks ago, as we reported on this blog, Bennigan’s had quietly shuttered most of their locations in the Florida market. Now, it’s nationwide.

Metromedia is supposed to be issuing a statement later today.

This move places hundreds of Dallas area workers on the unemployment line.

In late May, Clay Dover, president and chief executive of Metromedia, quit abruptly after about six months on the job saying he and the owners could not agree on “the strategic direction for the company.”

Days later, the company denied a report in The Wall Street Journal that it had prepared a bankruptcy filing, but admitted that it was “currently in the process of formulating a proposal to present to its lenders to restructure its indebtedness…”

Due to the recent economic situation, restaurant business is down across the nation approximately 35%.

NOTE: Links were not included in this posting because all related sites to Metromedia / Bennigan’s are off line.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is one of at least three potential buyers who still has a chance to purchase the Chicago Cubs and historic Wrigley Field, according to a person involved in the process.

The price tag is said to be near or above $1 billion.

Several bidders offering current owner Tribune Co. between $700 million and $900 million for all the properties have been excluded from the second round, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of nondisclosure agreements governing all talk about the bids.

A Tribune spokeswoman said the baseball team would not have any comment on the status of the sale, which also includes the team’s minority stake in a Chicago regional sports TV network.

Besides Internet billionaire Mark Cuban, others in the second round include the Ricketts family, which founded the brokerage that is now TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.; and a group led by Sports Acquisition Holding Corp. that includes former baseball home run king Henry Aaron and former Republican Congressman Jack Kemp. The last group is believed to be teaming with another bidder who submitted an offer in the initial round.

All three of the reported potential buyers refused Thursday to comment publicly. However, the person involved in the bidding provided to The Associated Press an outline of the conditions for the second round.

John Canning, the chairman of private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners LLC, which had been treated as the front-runner, did not make the initial cut, according to the person, who said Tribune is not letting any bidder eliminated after the first round submit a new higher proposal in the second round.

Canning is a minority owner of the Milwaukee Brewers and close friends with Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig. Any successful sale must be approved by three-quarters of the owners of other major league teams.

The bidders still in the running will get more detailed financial information on the Cubs, Wrigley and the sports network before they are required to submit a new proposal.

A person familiar with the Ricketts family bid confirmed that it is one of those invited back.

The Cubs — lovable losers who haven’t won a World Series in 100 years — are expected to fetch more than the record $660 million paid for the Boston Red Sox, their ballpark and 80 percent of their TV network in 2002 by a group headed by Florida commodities trader John Henry.

Tribune paid $20.5 million for the team in 1981. It is now seeking to sell the team and its stadium to help pay off the $8.2 billion cost of going private last year.

The value of Wrigley Field apparently has been harder to quantify, since it may require hundreds of millions of dollars in renovations.

The state-run Illinois Sports Facilities Authority offered about $400 million to buy Wrigley using taxable bonds that would be repaid with lease revenue. Those talks broke down in May over how the ISFA would finance renovations and improvements at Wrigley, the second-oldest ballpark in the country behind Boston’s Fenway Park.

Former Gov. Jim Thompson, who is chairman of ISFA, said his agency estimated the cost of improving the stadium structure and the player and fan amenities between $400 million and $600 million.

Tribune has said it is willing to sell the properties individually.