Confederate memorial closer to removal, Richardson mayor bribery trial: Your Tuesday morning roundup

The Confederate War Memorial, located near Dallas’ City Hall, is one major step closer to coming down.  [Morning roundup]( 03/05/2019 By Mallorie Sullivan Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines as we start the day. 🌞 Weather: Mostly sunny but cold. High of 45. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [her]( The Confederate War Memorial at Pioneer Park Cemetery in Dallas. (Nathan Hunsinger / Staff Photographer) DALLAS [Confederate War Memorial removal gets Landmark Commission's blessing]( The Confederate War Memorial, located near Dallas’ City Hall, [is one major step closer to coming down](. The city’s Landmark Commission on Monday voted 10-5 to approve the removal, upholding the City Council’s view of the monument as "non-contributing to the historic overlay district" of Pioneer Park Cemetery — adjacent to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center — where the memorial has sat since 1961. The decision essentially gives the city a green light to bring the statue down, but that might not happen anytime soon; an interested person can appeal the case to the City Plan Commission within 30 days. And whoever loses that case — the city or the interested person — could file a lawsuit in district court. But the Landmark Commission was a significant hurdle. The City Council made its sentiment known last month, but preservationists have looked favorably upon the 123-year-old memorial in a landmark cemetery. Here's the buzz: A Dallas Republican [has partnered with dating app Bumble]( on a bill that would punish people who send unwanted lewd images online. Also: Irving and Las Colinas were lauded by Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday [after the state won an award for business](. ADVERTISEMENT COURTS [Star witness in Richardson mayor’s bribery trial was herself a thief, defense alleges]( Defense attorneys for Richardson's former mayor and a developer accused of buying her votes [presented evidence Monday that a key government witness had a motive to lie]( her alleged corporate embezzlement of about $1.2 million. Sarah Catherine Norris stole the money, the defense claims, from Sooner Management, which she owned equally with Mark Jordan before she ended their business partnership in 2014. And Norris approached the FBI about Mark Jordan's relationship with the mayor to deflect attention from her own misdeeds, the defense attorneys said. Mark Jordan is on trial with the former Richardson mayor. He is accused of bribing Laura Jordan with cash, gifts, expensive trips and sex in 2013 and 2014 when she was mayor and a supporter of his controversial Palisades development off Central Expressway. The couple say love was their motivation, not a bribery scheme. They married in 2017 after divorcing their spouses. Also: A defendant testified Monday [he made too much money growing pot to kill a McKinney man for hire in 2015](. And: Dallas ISD students at four Oak Cliff campuses [have been the target of armed robberies in recent weeks]( officials say. COMMENTARY [After 14 years on Greenville Avenue, Good Records moves next week to Garland Road]( From city columnist Robert Wilonsky: Saturday afternoon, around 4 p.m., I was cc'd on the following tweet: "Good Records is moving to Garland Rd. Great job, people of Dallas, for officially ruining everything great on Greenville Ave," wrote Lee Cothran. Say what now? I texted co-owner Chris Penn for confirmation, and sure enough. "Yep. March 11th. Steve Earle first instore new spot." Then came another: "Time to reset the chakras." Shortly after that a text thread turned into a phone call. But, yes. It's true. [Good Records, which turned 19 last month, is moving to its third location]( this time to Garland Road -- 9026 Garland Road, to be exact, in the space currently occupied by its offshoot boutique and event space The Good Pagoda. Which also happens to be next door to the always-packed Lounge Here, whose co-owner is Julie Doyle, co-founder and member and manager of Polyphonic Spree, which is fronted by her husband Tim DeLaughter, who, along with Doyle and Penn owns Good Records. Also: Jeff Tweedy [played a distracting, yet enchanting, solo show]( at the Majestic Theatre in Dallas. And: Jon Bon Jovi and his son came to town [to celebrate the Texas launch of their new]( wine]( with a rooftop party at the Joule. ADVERTISEMENT EDITORS' PICKS - Everything is fine: William Jackson Harper, Garland-native star of 'The Good Place,' [will lead a literary event Tuesday at Wild Detectives]( in Oak Cliff. - Sweet! The founder of Pizza Patrón [has launched a new Texas restaurant with a different kind of pie](. - Getting in formation: The Dallas Cowboys [are making a shared-office play at The Star]( in Frisco. Nicole Small, president of Lyda Hill Philanthropies, poses for a photograph at her office in Dallas on Friday. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) FINALLY... ['Project Runway' episode is part of Dallas foundation's $25M push to make 100 female scientists famous]( Lyda Hill Philanthropies is [spending $25 million to promote the work of women scientists](. At a splashy kickoff at the American Museum of Natural History in New York on Monday night, the Dallas foundation announced an initiative to dramatically boost the visibility of women scientists in society, including in schools, in museums and on television. "Picture us as a talent agency for women in science," said Nicole Small, president of Lyda Hill Philanthropies. The If/Then initiative will recruit 100 women scientist "ambassadors" who will receive media training to share their stories with groups such as Girl Scouts of the USA and Teach For America, with museums and zoos, and on a new Saturday morning television show. A special episode of Project Runway in April will feature women coders and developers. 👋 That's all for this morning! For up-to-the-minute news and analysis, check out [DallasNews.com](. Share the love! If you like this newsletter, please forward this email to a friend and [check out our other newsletters here](. Do you have feedback? Send your thoughts, questions, praise and corrections to [newsletters@dallasnews.com](mailto:newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com?subject=). 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