by Karen Smith Welch
Amarillo Globe News

Steep stakes mean deep digging for Amarillo city officials working to ensure that a matchmaker's suggested partner is the right one to lead downtown redevelopment.

The firm under consideration, Sugar Land-based Wallace Bajjali Development Partners, is accustomed to the legal scrapes of high-dollar deals and what CEO David Wallace called the "blood sport" of politics.

Amarillo City Commissioners are awaiting a report retracing the research steps of the matchmaker - revitalization nonprofit Downtown Amarillo Inc. - and offering a deeper look into Wallace Bajjali by an independent Dallas law firm hired by the city. (full story)