Five stories that have North Texas talking: A Horned Frog returns; the imminent demolition of “Tent City” will leave 250 homeless without a viable Plan B; preservationists hope to save Plano’s pre-Civil War Era house; and more.
Jamie Dixon, 50, who played for Texas Christian in the 1980s, returned to Fort Worth Tuesday after 17 years with the Pittsburgh Panthers. He started in 1999 as an assistant with Ben Howland and graduated to head coach in 2003.
TCU hopes Dixon will help the team recover as its 22nd coach from a less-than-great run under the leadership of Trent Johnson, who started in 2012 and was fired two weeks ago. According to The Associated Press: “Johnson won only eight Big 12 Conference games and went 50-79 overall in his four seasons.”
Dixon is leaving Pitt after a couple of disappointing seasons, himself, but here’s what his overall record looks like with the Panthers, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
Dixon comes to TCU with a 328-113 record (.727) in 13 seasons at Pitt. That accounts for more wins than any previous Horned Frogs coach. He was the Big East coach of the year in 2004, the Naismith coach of the year in 2009, the Jim Phelan coach of the year in 2010 and the Sporting News coach of the year in 2011. Dixon’s 2008-09 Pitt team earned the school’s first No. 1 ranking.
Jamie Dixon earned All-SWC honors as a Horned Frog in 1987. #DixonComesHome pic.twitter.com/Xtss9DGaf8
— TCU Basketball (@TCUBasketball) March 22, 2016
And here’s what Dixon looked like as a player from the Star-Telegram:
“Dixon played on the 1985-86 TCU team that shared first place in the Southwest Conference and the 1986-87 team that won the league. He hit a last-second shot to win a game against Texas in 1986. Dixon is a North Hollywood, Calif., native who was an all-league player at Sherman Oaks (Calif.) Notre Dame High School. He was an all-conference and all-academic player at TCU in 1987, leading the team in assists. He was drafted in 1987 by the Washington Bullets and played professionally in the CBA and in New Zealand.”
[Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Associated Press]
Coach Dixon showing players his SWC Championship rings from his playing days. #DixonComesHome pic.twitter.com/zc8hIF4cVX
— TCU Basketball (@TCUBasketball) March 22, 2016
- DFW airport took security precautions following bombings in Brussels Tuesday. A spokesman for the airport said the facility would maintain “heightened vigilance,” in light of the attacks. Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported: “A statement from Fort Worth-based American Airlines says the check-in area for American is in Row 8 of the airport and the explosions did not occur there.” American Airlines issued a statement that its 751 flight from Brussels to Philadelphia was canceled. WFAA reported: “Inside DFW International Airport, an officer patrolled with an AR-15 rifle in the hours after the attacks. K-9 units were also seen combing through areas outside security checkpoints, including trash cans and ticket counters. Officers on bicycles, on foot, and in patrol cars also monitored the airport throughout the day.” Read more. [WFAA, Fort Worth Star-Telegram]
- The City of Dallas has decided to deconstruct “Tent City,” the sprawling homeless community underneath I-45, leaving 250 residents wondering what’s next. After recent violence, officials plan to disband the makeshift campsite on May 4. The housing options for the homeless are slim: Relocate to smaller communities within neighborhoods, which could anger permanent residents or try to squeeze into bursting homeless shelters. Texas Standard reported: “The city and homeless advocates face challenges with the move in May. At least 11 people living in Tent City had already secured vouchers for Texas’s version of Section 8 housing, but they couldn’t find anyone to lease to them.” Read more. [Texas Standard]
- City Council could soon decide the fate of the oldest house in Plano. The 155-year-old Collinwood house started as a humble log cabin built before the Civil War. KERA’s Stephanie Kuo reported: “But like many North Texas homes, it’s gone through numerous renovations and has seen its surroundings transform over generations. The house today sits on 124 untouched acres of land between Preston Road and the Dallas North Tollway.” As of last month, the house is on Preservation Texas’ Most Endangered Places list, and preservationists are researching the property in order to find concrete justification to save the house from destruction. None of the private offers to buy the house satisfied the City, and the plan is to move the structure elsewhere. If no progress is made by Sept. 1, the house will be demolished. Read more. [KERA News]
- A Dallas startup that created an on-demand healthcare app took second place in a SXSW pitching competition. MEND, an app that coordinates on-demand house calls, competed with companies around the globe at ReleaseIt, the March 11 pitch competition in Startup Village at SXSW Interactive, CultureMap reported. The company, launched by emergency physician Jonathan Clarke, M.D., in March 2015, was only bested by San Francisco's Inteliclinic Inc., which created a device for better sleep, according to CultureMap. Read more. [CultureMap]
