Up To Speed

Dallas trending stories revue: Ian Kinsler spews hate, hot restaurants and top shops

Need some help keeping up with what's trending in Big D? CultureMap host Maggie Flecknoe has your back. She's on the prowl for stories that Dallasites are yapping about as if the world were coming to an end.

Offering hilarious and sometimes risqué commentary, Flecknoe makes her CultureMap Dallas debut as co-host of the digital news series "Up To Speed," sponsored by Cadillac. Flecknoe, an actress, television gal and radio personality, is best known for hosting Online Dish on Houston's CW 39 NewsFix. You may recognize her witty style from her work as an entertainment, news and traffic reporter for Radio 740 KTRH and 790 The Sports Animal.

Flecknoe holds a bachelor of science degree in journalism and broadcast news and a minor in theater from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She followed that by studying at Harvard University and the Moscow Art Theatre School, where she earned a master's degree in theater.

Watch the video above to stay abreast of CultureMap's top stories. Because you want to know about scandalous remarks by a former Texas Ranger, where to grab some grub in Fort Worth and the 411 on a mega music fest coming in April.

For more intel, follow along with the full stories below:

Where to eat right now: 10 hot restaurants in Fort Worth by Teresa Gubbins
Ian Kinsler's explosive interview proves Rangers made right call in trading selfish second baseman by Matthew Postins
Where to shop in Dallas right now: 7 must-hit stores for March by Rachel Abrams
NCAA March Madness Music Festival lures Bruce Springsteen to Dallas by Teresa Gubbins

Convention Center News

Dallas City Council drops $142 million for convention center re-do

Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center has opened as a warming center in Dallas.

Courtesy photo

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The Dallas Convention Center got a big infusion of cash for its imminent makeover. According to a release, the Dallas City Council awarded more than $187 million in contracts for construction projects in the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas (KBHCCD) Master Plan.

The contracts are as follows:

$141.5 million contract to Perkins&Will and Populous for architectural, engineering, and design services for the Convention Center Expansion West of Lamar (Component 1)
$42 million in city contributions and $31 million in federal funding, including $20 million from the Reconnecting Communities grant program awarded through a partnership with the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG). This funding will be used to construct the foundations for three deck caps, as well as the capping and foundation of the Lamar crossing, near the KBHCCD.
$3.7 million to Metropolitan Infrastructure, PLLC, a Dallas-based M/WBE firm to oversee the renovation of Pioneer Plaza and Cemetery.

Convention and Event Services is leading a team of architects, engineers, and other contractors to design a Convention Center district from Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station to Old City Park that will connect surrounding communities, meet convention attendees’ evolving needs.

"The City Council has made a transformational investment to realize the vision for a reimagined Convention Center district,” said Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert. “The local and global expertise of our project partners will be instrumental in creating a facility that not only meets current and future convention demands but connects the surrounding residential community and serves downtown workers, benefitting Dallas economic growth and social vibrancy for generations."

With more than 40 conventions booked in the facility scheduled to open in 2029, the new KBHCCD expansion plans include
800,000 square feet of Exhibit Hall space 170,000 square feet of Ballroom space, including a 100,000-square-foot largest ballroom 100,000 square feet of Meeting Rooms and 2,000 parking spaces.

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