This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think.
This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth: news from the Lege that will affect traffic and transit in north Texas; things the city is doing in Dallas; where is our Dallas Mayor?; more on DPD hiring; a second death at the Tarrant County Jail; a Muslim-centric neighborhood plan in the exurbs draws our governor’s ire; Fort Worth ISD news and opinions; a Fort Worth area civil rights hero has passed; Patriot Mobile does Black history; McSweeney’s mocks UNT Denton; and new baby (well, young) capybaras at the Dallas Zoo. And more!
This week’s post was brought to you by the music of Hilary Hahn, a classical violinist whose work I have always enjoyed. I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing her in person, but I always have high hopes.
The biggest and most unfortunate news in the Metroplex has already been covered by our host yesterday: there’s measles in the Metroplex. Rockwall, the county seat, is a second-ring suburb on the eastern side of Dallas out I-30 past Rowlett, which is a little closer to home than this eastern Dallas resident likes to contemplate. I’m waiting to hear back from my doctor about what steps I should take as an older woman with autoimmune issues who had the one-shot version of MMR as a child.
Meanwhile, our public health authorities are preparing for the spread of measles in north Texas. As mentioned in this article, the case in Rockwall County came from abroad and they don’t think the individual had a lot of contacts while contagious. The DMN is both using the news of the west Texas cases to encourage folks to get vaccinated and telling you whether you need the booster and the Star-Telegram is telling Fort Worth what they need to know, which is more factual and less editorial. Maybe that’s more convincing to their readership. Anyway, let’s all hope that many of the folks who are vaccine-hesitant for unscientific reasons get over it and get themselves and their kids vaccinated.
In other news:
- Let’s start with the Lege: the DMN has a list of 19 bills filed about toll roads that could dramatically change toll road policy in Texas. This is a big deal for those of us here in the Metroplex where there are too damn many toll roads.
- Dallas suburbs are going after Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) at the Lege, with bills filed in the House and Senate to reduce contributions. The D Magazine article linked in that short piece is pretty scary for DART; it looks like Plano and Irving are ready to talk about withdrawal elections next May. The article does not note Plano DART representative Paul Wageman’s conflict of interest; he’s an Uber lobbyist. (Yes, I’m going to talk about that every time.) Since they’re talking about replacing DART with an Uber-like service that’s a huge conflict. Meanwhile, DART is unsurprisingly worried. The loss of funds from a 25% reduction in contributions could reduce DART’s budget for capital projects by half.
- Dallas is taking the next appeal to allow it to enforce its short-term rental ordinance. I continue to think the ordinance is a good idea and that it’s what a lot of folks in Dallas want and that we’ll never get it because unimpeded greed is more important in Texas case law than being a good member of your community. Also, screw blue cities as long as Republicans hold the power in Texas.
- The DMN has an editorial about how nice it is that the City Council is going to adopt a formal performance review process for appointees like the City Manager. Also my tax dollars at work: Mayor Johnson failing to take a leadership role in this process and leaving the council session early with the matter still under discussion.
- Speaking of Mayor Johnson not doing his job, the DMN would like to know where he is in the effort to save the downtown Neiman Marcus store. I haven’t been writing about this saga because there’s some new twist every day, but the gist is that the Saks folks are closing the storied downtown Neiman’s at the end of March for reasons. The closure is breaking the spirit of Dallas; its wealthy and influential boosters are trying to save the store, but every time they fix some problem, another magically appears. The DMN is complaining that Johnson can’t be bothered to do anything to save the downtown store. Johnson has to be doing something, but mayoring here in Dallas doesn’t seem to be it.
- More news about the Dallas PD hiring situation and the money we have vs the legal requirements under Prop U: City Council has dropped their recruiting request back to 300 new hires, which is what DPD said they could handle without affecting current staffing and coverage. No word yet on who’s going to sue the city about that, but it’s coming. Meanwhile, KERA notes that the city is considering moving $7.7 million of COVID money to hire new officers. $5 million of that would come from the Office of Community Care, including from mental health services, family violence prevention and food insecurity aid.
- I regret to report that we’ve got another death at the Tarrant County jail, the second for this year. As I said the last time I had to talk about the jail, check the differences between the DMN’s take and the Star-Telegram’s take.
- Tarrant County Appraisal District are reconsidering some of their radical appraisal changes from last year including reappraising every two years and limiting the increase in value to five percent. School districts facing cuts from the appraisals are spearheading the drive to roll the changes back. You may remember there were also questions about the legality of the changes from the Lege; there’s also a bill to require annual appraisals in this session.
- You may recall that we have Walmart delivery drones in the North Texas suburbs. North Richland Hills has just signed up for another three years of drone delivery.
- Federal job cuts hit home: Dallas’ EPA headquarters has lost eight employees so far. Meanwhile, they’re proceeding with work on a South Dallas superfund site where leachable cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury have been found in soil in the area and cancer deaths are common.
- Earlier this month the East Plano Islamic Center announced plans for a Muslim-centric neighborhood near Josephine, which is on the border between Collin County (north of Dallas) and Hunt County (to Collin County’s east). Unsurprisingly they’re getting a lot of pushback from the usual suspects, including Governor Abbott, who had time to post about it on Xitter but didn’t reply to a request for comment from the DMN.
- More details about the suicide of eleven-year-old Jocelynn Rojo Carranza in Gainsville, near the Oklahoma border, earlier this month: apparently she was being “touched inappropriately” but didn’t report it, and had reported the bullying of other students to school authorities, but not her own. Other students reported on the threats to her. Meanwhile over the weekend hundreds gathered to mourn her. According to the second story, Gainsville schools are rife with bullying.
- Fort Worth is working through its options for school closings to deal with its demographic and budgetary problems. The Star-Telegram and the Fort Worth Report cover recent community meetings where possible closures were discussed.
- The Star-Telegram also has an editorial about how the new superintendent was selected: no shade to Karen Molinar, but they think the process was not transparent.
- Ponder ISD, just west of Denton, is moving to a four-day school week in the 2025-2026 school year. They’ll be lengthening the school day to meet state requirements, and offering childcare for younger children on Fridays. KERA also has the story.
- A Dallas biopharmaceutical firm is developing immunotherapy for multiple sclerosis patients based on research at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Undoubtedly this research was funded by federal grants.
- Last week the Texas Observer found an ICE prosecutor here in Dallas with a racist Xitter account. The story has now gone national on CBS and Congressman Marc Veasey is calling for an investigation. The Texas Observer has more on Veasey and other congressional follow-up on their reporting.
- In case you were wondering (I wasn’t), Mark Cuban is not running for president in 2028.
- I don’t read Reason Magazine on the regular and haven’t read it much at all since the ancient warblogging days, but their article on the Sally Mann photo seizures from the Modern in Fort Worth is pretty good.
- A small plane crash injured two in Azle, northwest of Fort Worth. The DMN and the Star-Telegram have the details.
- The Star-Telegram has a fluff piece on their solution to egg prices driven up by bird flu: eggs from local farms. That’s great until the bird flu gets into those flocks.
- A Dallas Bishop has been named to lead the Tyler Diocese after Pope Francis removed his controversial predecessor in 2023.
- I’m sorry to report the passing of Judge Clifford Davis, who helped desegregate Fort Worth schools after Brown v Board of Education. His death has been marked not just by local outlets like the DMN, the Star-Telegram, and the Fort Worth Report, but also by Texas Monthly in a really nice story that doesn’t hide the ugliness of the history of desegregation in Texas. A remembrance by Tarrant County Commissioner Roderick Miles Jr. is also worth your while. What a remarkable man. Rest in power, Judge Davis.
- And in case you want the other side’s story of Black history, Star-Telegram columnist Bradford William Davis went to a Patriot Mobile-sponsored discussion in Bedford titled “Factual American Black History”. The presenter was the (Black) father of one of the candidates for Dallas City Council’s open District 8 seat. Read it and weep.
- McSweeney’s has roasted UNT Denton’s bad curriculum choices: Changes Our University Is Making to Pre-Comply With Possible Future Regulations. Click through their link to the The American Association of University Professors statement. And, from back in November, KERA on the story behind that story.
- Dallas, like Houston, has a bad track record around saving its cultural treasures. Here’s Matt Zoller Seitz in D Magazine on the future of the Inwood Theatre or the likely lack thereof.
- According to a study, DFW’s airport baggage claim is the most lawless in the US, aka you’re at the biggest risk of someone stealing your luggage. Unsurprisingly, DFW officials say it ain’t so. I travel carry-on only these days, so I can’t say.
- And in the return of baby animal news, the Dallas Zoo has three new young capybaras. They come from the San Diego Zoo. Enjoy these photos and this short video on the zoo’s Instagram.