Whales are becoming an endangered species in Dallas.
Since 1999, a giant painting of blue whales covered two sides of an office building in downtown Dallas, courtesy of renowned Laguna Beach marine artist Wyland, who has done over 100 such super-sized murals across the world to raise awareness for conservation.
In mid-May, the murals began to disappear, with crews covering the art with blue paint.
Local reports said there were plans to install new art on the building to commemorate the upcoming World Cup. The city’s hosting nine matches for the soccer tournament, which starts in a month.
The move has drawn the ire of locals, as well as Wyland, who said he wasn’t told about the plans to remove the artwork ahead of time. City organizers called it an oversight.
“This was a gift to the people in Dallas,” Wyland told the media last week. “A fifth grader can figure out that it’s probably not good to paint over a work of art that the community loves.”
The iconic, original Newport Beach location of the Crab Cooker restaurant, which opened in 1951, typically gets more attention than its Tustin counterpart. Artist Bradford Salamon’s ‘Monday at the Crab Cooker’ painting, part of the Hilbert Museum collection, is set at the Balboa Peninsula location, and was featured in last year’s Pageant of the Masters.
Recent weeks, however, have seen the Tustin spot, at the Enderle Center retail plaza just off the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway grab the headlines, with long lines of crowds waiting for a table.
Locals are trying to get one last meal in at the casual seafood restaurant, which closes at the end of the month.
“While we have loved calling Enderle Center home, we are excited to return to our roots in Newport Beach and bring the very best possible dining experience to our patrons there for our 75th anniversary,” Jim Wasko, Crab Cooker owner, said last week.
More closures at Enderle Center had been expected, with plans for a big residential development moving through the city the past year. But last week saw Newport Beach’s Burnham-Ward Properties announce plans to buy the plaza, with an eye on keeping retail a focus. The Zov’s location at the soon-to-be revamped center will remain and get a revamp. See Emily Santiago-Molina’s story on page 14 for more.
It’s been almost one year since loanDepot (NYSE: LDI) founder Anthony Hsieh returned to the CEO role at the Irvine mortgage lender. “I am home and I am feeling good,” Hsieh said last month in a LinkedIn post.
While shares in the $415 million-valued company are flat over that time, amid high interest rates, Hsieh says the company is primed for a rebound. “Our house is now in order.”
Hsieh, a noted sports fisherman, last month drew crowds in South Florida, with nine yachts he owns, including the 175-foot Bad Company super-yacht, featured at a media event.
His annual War Heroes on Water fishing tournament will return to Newport Beach this September. About 50 yachts are expected for the event, which honors injured military members.
