Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 23, No. 30, Ed. 1 Friday, December 8, 2006 Page: 6 of 84
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localnews
DV
POLL
Cast your vote online at DallasVoice.com
Is a LGBT retire-
ment community a
viable project for
Dallas?
1 Yes
■ No
1 Not sure
Equality Texas
hires applicant
from Dallas
DeLeon to serve as
director of development
From Staff Reports
Paul E. Scott, executive director of
Equality Texas, announced this week
that the organization has hired
Marianne DeLeon as the new director
of development for Equality Texas
and the Equality Texas Foundation.
"I am thrilled that Marianne has
decided to join our organization, and I
know that we have found in Marianne
someone with the skills, experience,
and passion to increase the capacity of
Equality Texas to work across the
state to accomplish its mission," Scott
said.
DeLeon served as development
director for the Resource Center of
Dallas since September 2005, where
she was responsible for directing the
fund development programs, includ-
Break-ins
for ATMs
threaten
corner store
Police note slight increase
in Oak Lawn burglaries
By Beth Freed Staff Writer
The Oak Lawn Mart may close
because of repeated burglaries target-
ing its stand-alone ATM machine,
according to the owner
Shaukut Khoja and his wife, who
run the store, asked their landlord to
install security bars on the windows of
the store, but this request has been
declined, said Khoja.
"We feel very insecure," he said.
"I'm not sure if we're going to stay.
We may have to shut down the store.";
A 1989 Chevrolet Suburban
crashed through the front of the con-
venience store at Congress and Oak
Lawn at 4:20 a.m. Dec. J. According
to police reports, the stolen SUV,
license plate W45YCM, rammed back
and forth against the machine, before
the driver gave up and left without any
stolen booty.
The convenience store owners had
bolted the machine to the floor after
Silver Hope Project reaches dead-end
^ • /
M
<
m
Marianne DeLeon has served as director of
development for the Resource Center of
Dallas since September 2005
ing grant writing, events and donor
development. DeLeon worked with
Scott, the former executive director of
the Resource Center of Dallas, until he
left that position in February 2006 to
take over the top spot at Equality
Texas.
"Throughout my career I have
worked with nonprofit organizations
that provide direct services to people
See DELEON on PAGE 8
LGBT retirement center
plans shelved indefinitely
By David Webb Staff Writer
Plans for constructing a nonprofit
gay and lesbian retirement facility in
the Metroplex are at a standstill,
according to the coordinator of the
project.
Robert Voelkle, who promised in
April 2003 that the Silver Hope
Project was on the brink of happening
said this week that progress stopped
two years ago. He initially had esti-
mated construction would begin with-
in about two years.
The project's board of directors no
longer meets, and its Web site is no
longer on the Internet.
"We were never able to connect
with the people in Dallas who are
movers and shakers in the gay world
and the ones who have money and are
interested," Voelkle said. "None of my
country cousins in our double-wides
are able to attract them. We have some
good ideas, but we just don't have that
See SILVER HOPE on PAGE 9
Burglars used a stolen SUV to ram back and forth through the front of the convenience store at
Oak Lawn and Congress streets on Dec. 1 in an unsuccesful attempt to steal the ATM machine.
Two weeks earlier burglars used a crowbar to enter the store and stole the ATM.
someone had stolen another ATM
machine on Nov. 17 this year. Those
criminals used a crowbar to gain
access to the store at 2:21 a.m.
Security tapes of the incidents have
been turned into the police for review.
According to Officer Keith Allen,
stand-alone ATMs have become a
common target for thieves. Usually, an
SUV or van will ram through the front
to grab the ATM machine. Even
though the Khojas lucked out in the
second attempt to steal the machine
from their store, bolts have been
known to fail when rammed with a
vehicle.
"It's the stand-alone ATMS that are
the honey to the bee, if you will," said
Allen. "It's not up to us to get involved
in anybody's private business prac-
tices, though."
The couple had just invested $280
in new locks, but to no avail. On the
morning of Dec. 1, the front doors of
the store were smashed to bits, the
metal frame was bent askew and junk
food and sodas were scattered across
the floor.
"They did not use any bars this
time," said Khoja. "They just used the
van."
The second attempt at criminal
activity at the store yielded more dam-
See ATMS on PAGE 12
IrREVSTONf
"A
Robert Voelkle, left, coordinator of the Silver Hope Project, internationally known Dallas archi-
tect Dr. Frank Rees and prominent real estate agent Lory Masters were confident in 2003 that
construction would begin on a gay and lesbian retirement community in Dallas within two
years. They acknowledged this week the project has stalled, and its future appears bleak.
Time Warner Cable adds
Logo to digital lineup
Here! switches from pay-per-view feature
to component in monthly subscription package
By David Webb Staff Writer
Time Warner Cable's North Texas
Division announced this week it has
upgraded its LGBT programming to a
level that now exceeds what the previ-
ous cable provider offered.
The local cable company that serv-
ices Dallas and surrounding suburbs
added Logo this week to its Digital
Classic lineup. Logo, a gay-themed
channel, is produced by MTV
Networks.
Time Warner Cable officials
described the new network's content
as "authentic, smart, inclusive and
open-minded."
"Here!, another LGBT channel that
was available only as a pay-per-view
feature on the cable company's
demand service, is now available as a
monthly subscription.
The upgrade represents the cable
company's commitment to diversity in
programming, said Gary Underwood,
director of communications for Time
Warner Cable's North Texas Division.
"We're increasing the variety of
programming in North Texas to better
meet our customers' needs,'1
Underwood said.
Underwood noted that the upgrade
of Here! to a monthly subscription fee
represents a savings for customers.
The cable company made the change
to provide its customers with the most
cost-efficient service, he said.
When Time Warner Cable took
over the area's cable service from
Comcast on Aug. 1, LGBT consumers
discovered they could no longer
access Logo and Here! on the demand
service. Here! became inaccessible for
10 days because of a technical prob-
lem, and Logo was not available
because Time Warner Cable lacked a
contract to show it.
That led to complaints and some
cancellations of service from gay and
lesbian Dallas residents, and cable
company officials announced plans to
acquire more LGBT programming
options.
The new network that went up this
week offers a library of 300 gay and
lesbian films, including "Mulholland
Drive," "Kissing Jessica Stein," "High
See CABLE on PAGE 12
6 I dallasvoice.com I 12.08.06
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Nash, Tammye. Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 23, No. 30, Ed. 1 Friday, December 8, 2006, newspaper, December 8, 2006; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth238938/m1/6/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.