TV, movie and music star Demi Lovato buys first car from Park Place Motorcars Dallas Disney star Demi Lovato turned 17 last August, but she couldn¹t really celebrate because she was in Canada filming ³Camp Rock 2² with the Jonas Brothers. The film recently wrapped and Demi returned home to her family in Colleyville. One of her first stops was to visit her uncle David De La Garza, and to pick up her first car: a new 2010 Mercedes-Benz E350. ³At the very top of her list was a trip to the Texas DMV,² reports De La Garza, Finance Director at Park Place Motorcars. ³She wanted to have a Texas driver¹s license rather than a California one. And she would only buy a car from Park Place MotorcarsŠ for obvious reasons.² David De La Garza¹s brother Eddie is Demi¹s stepfather and manager. Demi¹s mom Dianna is a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader and singer. Demi¹s younger sister Madison De La Garza plays Juanita Solis (Eva Longoria’s daughter) on ABC-TV¹s ³Desperate Housewives.² Her oldest sister Dallas Lovato is an actress and singer as well. Demi got her start on the locally produced ³Barney & Friends² TV show. ³She ordered the 2010 E350 back in July,² said De La Garza. ³The car is as loaded as you can get a car. It has absolutely everything: a high-end sound system, iPod kit, Parktronic, etc.² Best known as Mitchie Torres in the Disney Channel Original Movie ³Camp Rock,² and Sonny Munroe in the Disney Channel¹s TV series ³Sonny With A Chance,² Lovato is also a solo music artist. Her first album ³Don’t Forget² debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 in September 2008. Lovato released her second album, ³Here We Go Again,² last July. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, selling over 108,000 copies in the first week. ³I have a firm commitment from my brother that all their luxury car purchases will be through Park Place,² says David De La Garza with a smile. ³He knows there will be family trouble if they don’t.²

The highlight of the lunch, though, was when a brisk breeze swirled through the courtyard at One Arts, toppling two large shade umbrellas. One fell on empty tables. The other, which was shading our table, fell onto a two-top across the aisle from us, smashing a glass full of red wine, and threatening the lives of the two gentlemen there seated. They surely would have been decapitated if not for the quick thinking of my good friend Jaap, who lunged backward in his chair and, with his baton hand, managed to steady the sickle-like umbrella before it could do further damage. Bravo!

(Did I mention that I was over-served?)

Kit Chambers, Evolution’s executive VP, says the outfit has signed letters of intent to open two Dallas stores–at Travis/Knox and Lemmon/Oak Lawn–and is aiming to acquire other fueling stations in Alabama and Mississippi. In addition, says Kit (pictured), a new entity called Evolution Resources will launch soon with an ambitious plan to “repurpose existing assets to produce cellulosic ethanol.”

Guess it all makes sense. While the biofuels biz in general has had its problems, ethanol is one biofuel segment that the government seems intent on propping up.

But can we all agree that today’s San Antonio Express-News front is just awful? Maybe papers should set some sort of guideline. Something that says ads will be omitted from the front when they’re running a two-line, six-column head?  Or when the lead story has a major body count?

Quick two-part question: How is a mock strike different than a real strike? Follow-up: Can you explain that again?

Dr. Armendariz is exactly the kind of person you’d want to have this job, but seemingly never gets it. Because of what’s at stake and the fact that Texas is the belly of the polluter beast, this may be one of the most important, far-reaching appointments the Obama Administration makes. Downwinders at Risk is proud to have been the group that first utilized Dr. Armendariz’s expertise in 2005 for our cause of cleaning up the Midlothian cement kilns. That work led directly to his becoming the premier “citizen’s scientist” in Texas on air pollution, and paved the way for his much larger influence on the state scene. Congratulations to both Dr. Armendariz and the EPA.

Congrats, too, to SMU. Armendariz will keep his faculty appointment while serving at the EPA.

2. Yes, these Frisco students probably weren’t going to act on their threats to kill a teacher, posted on Facebook. But senseless violence like what happened at Fort Hood yesterday reminds us why it’s a good idea to err on the side of caution. And maybe teach kids other ways to “vent their anger.”

3. Planting a yard of artificial turf makes just as much sense as pouring time, energy, gallons upon gallons of water, and chemicals into maintaining a sparkling green lawn in the wilting sun of Texas. And if you want to paint a baseball diamond on there, fine by me. If the spirit of Shoeless Joe Jackson shows up, well then, all the better.

There are many wonderful things about this city, not least the DSO and their acoustically miraculous home, the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, but downtown shopping is not one of the highlights of a visit here.  I walked for several blocks with only the ghosts of former stores in evidence until, finally … there was something to buy across the street.

Check out what he found to buy.

Correction: Yes, Hough will hear the DSO. But he’ll also perform with the orchestra. Says Stacie Adams, PR maven for the symphony:

We won the Grammophone award for our recording with Stephen in 2005. He is amazing. And he is performing the same piece, my all time fave, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Rachmaninoff, tonight and through the weekend.