C'mon Get Happy

What's in a name: In an homage to the Mavericks June run at an NBA championship, DeSoto resident Kimberly Weimar names her newborn son Maverick Wade Weimar-Rice. The Mavs go on to blow a two-game lead to the Miami Heat in the playoffs—after a controversial decision by the city to begin planning a victory parade early—losing the championship series in six games. Weimar later files court documents seeking to legally change her son's name to "Chokey McChokerstein Weimar-Rice."

Second-time charm:

Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez passes a state law enforcement exam on her second try in late June. Valdez, who has come under increasing criticism for her management of the troubled, underperforming Dallas County jail, failed on her first attempt to pass the exam in April, scoring a 66, four points below a passing grade. "There were some really tricky questions that threw me the first time," Valdez explains. "Apparently, tossing criminal suspects in a stinking hole to rot and die in their own filth is not an accepted method for dealing with prisoners in Texas. Boy, was my face red on that one."

Fake guns don't kill people: Dallas City Council members begin consideration of an ordinance banning the sale or public display of realistic-looking toy guns in the city. Work on the ordinance is delayed as city lawyers sort out the proper wording, but backers plan to push ahead with the measure. "I don't want my kid walking the streets of Dallas with a plastic popgun," one concerned parent says at a council meeting. "If you're going to let your kids out in this city, they need to be packing some real heat, or the next thing you know, someone will be offering them an illegal car wash."

Over the limit: An investigation by The Dallas Morning News reveals thousands of questionable purchases by DISD staffers using district-issued credit cards. News reporters uncover lax oversight, a failure to collect and maintain receipts and hundreds of dollars spent on items such as Blockbuster gift cards, moisturizer and even one charge to an online dating service. In response, DISD administrators vow an immediate overhaul of the credit card program and an end to unwarranted purchases. DISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa expresses shock at the newspaper's findings. "Who knew that passing out hundreds of free credit cards to unmonitored, underpaid public servants could lead to a scandal?" Hinojosa says.

Mommie dearest: In a move that sends shock waves through local politics in July, Mayor Miller announces that she will not seek re-election next May, citing her intense desire to spend more time with her three children, or as she calls them, "the boy, Whozit, the girl and that other one, who I believe also is a girl."

Muffin men: Dallas police in late July discover an indoor marijuana farm at an SMU-area condominium complex. Narcotics investigators say they were tipped to the operation after residents complained that teachers and staff from Lake Highlands High School were showing up at the condo unit at all hours. "Midnight on Saturdays looked like a freakin' teacher in-service day around this place," a neighbor complains.

Quality construction: In mid-August, Dallas officials announce they are seeking new bids on construction of the 40-story "signature" bridge over the Trinity River after initial bids come in at more than twice the anticipated $57 million cost. Bids for the Woodall Rodgers bridge, designed by famed architect Santiago Calatrava, came in at $113 million, well above the $65 million budgeted. In October, Houston-based Williams Bros. Construction submits a $69 million bid for the project. Critics question how the company was able to slash their earlier bid by nearly 40 percent. "We got a really good deal on Super Glue, baling wire and duct tape," an unnamed company spokesman says. "God knows I wouldn't drive over the damn thing, but then who would?"

Butt ugly: DISD trustee Ron Price calls on the Dallas City Council to pass an ordinance banning the wearing of saggy pants and exposed underwear on city streets. "As I was saying to Dr. Bill Cosby on the phone just the other day—we chat every now and then, you know—the sight of these boys walking around with their behinds exposed is just plain disrespectful." City council members vow to take up the proposal as soon as they have "nothing freakin' better to do with their time than tell kids to pull their drawers up." Only Councilman Mitchell Rasansky objects. "Yo, dawg, when you got mad junk in the trunk like I got, you gotta share it wit' the world," Rasansky says.

September-December