According to the editorial page of the city’s only daily newspaper, the new mayor of Dallas failed to strike the proper tone Monday after a masked gunman attacked the federal building in downtown Dallas. “Leadership is usually defined in moments of crisis,” the newspaper said, giving Eric Johnson a sort…
Before this week, Dallas residents hoping to file a police report had a couple of options. If they had the time after, say, their house was burglarized, they could call 911 and have the Dallas Police Department come to their home to take their report. The only hope for a…
When Mike Rawlings took his spot at the center of Dallas City Council’s horseshoe-shaped table, the 2011 World Series had yet to break local sports fans’ hearts, Rick Perry was still governor of Texas and Deep Ellum was still Deep Ellum. By remaining mayor until Eric Johnson took the oath…
The Texas Legislature passed 1,429 bills in 2019. Lawmakers took swipes at problems that have plagued the state for decades, like Texas’ public school finance system, and problems that don’t exist, like doctors who regularly get away with committing infanticide. They passed many bills, the effects of which won’t be…
Photos and videos from a Facebook page apparently belonging to Brian Isaack Clyde, the 22-year-old man identified by federal officials as the person who shot up downtown Dallas’ Earle Cabell federal courthouse, show the suspected shooter handling a rifle that looks similar to the one he was with which photographed…
A suspect remained in custody at a local hospital after a brief shootout with federal officers downtown Monday morning as the Dallas Police Department bomb squad checked his car for explosives. According to DPD, no one was injured in the incident besides the suspected shooter. Video tweeted by a KDFW…
First Baptist Dallas Pastor Robert Jeffress took to the airwaves Friday to make one thing clear: He and the rest of President Donald Trump’s evangelical backers aren’t being used by the president. “I agree 100 percent that no pastor should be a stooge for a political party or for a…
On a clear day last week, about 100 people gathered in the chapel of Lott’s Mortuary on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in South Dallas to mourn the death of Sheila Davenport Sanders. Sanders, 56, was shot in the back June 2 in a crossfire at Jim’s Car Wash two…
Texas’ Driver Responsibility Program, perhaps the most loathed program administered by the state, is no more. Friday afternoon, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill immediately putting the program to the sword, clearing the path for about 1.5 million Texans to regain their driver’s licenses. The program imposed surcharges on…
This may come as a shock to those unfamiliar with East Texas, but the people there, especially those in many of its small towns, really, really don’t like abortion — so much so that they’re willing to make national spectacles of themselves just to show everyone how much they hate…
Kendrell Lavar Lyles frequently looked for prostitutes near the area where police believe he shot and killed Muhlaysia Booker on May 18, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. The affidavit, released Thursday afternoon, details the investigation that led Dallas police to Lyles. Police believe that he committed two additional murders…
Dallas ended up paying dearly for banning porn conventions from the city in 2016. On Wednesday, the City Council signed off on paying J. Handy $650,000 to settle the suit he brought against the city in February 2016. Handy, founder of the Exxxotica pornography and adult industry expo, sued the…
Thanks to an addendum to the Dallas City Council’s agenda Wednesday, we now know who felt flush enough to pay a million-and-a-half for Dallas’ recently toppled tribute to the treasonous Confederate general, Robert E. Lee. According to council documents, the high bidder in the city’s online auction for the statue,…
Everything goes back to Detroit, I guess. Well, not me. I was thinking more about the Dallas chief of police. Again. Yesterday, the Dallas chapter of the National Latino Law Enforcement Organization joined a growing chorus of critics calling for Chief U. Renee Hall to be canned. The NLLEO is…
Dallas police have arrested the man they think killed Muhlaysia Booker on May 18. Kendrell Lavar Lyles, 34, has been charged with murdering two additional, yet to be identified people in May as well. DPD Maj. Max Geron said that police began investigating Lyles after an anonymous tipster told Dallas…
If he’s anything, Dallas mayor-elect Eric Johnson is an ambitious guy. He’s got degrees from Harvard, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania, and took his seat in the Texas House of Representatives before turning 40. In the legislature, he’s sought out high-profile fights, sparring over things like criminal justice reform,…
Editor’s note: Casey Miller served as a member of the jury that last week found Brenda Delgado guilty of capital murder in the contract killing of Dallas dentist Kendra Hatcher. Delgado will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole. Miller offered the Observer this essay about his experiences…
Without the fanfare of a signing ceremony or public statement, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott legalized industrial hemp and products derived from the plant this week, bringing Dallas’ many CBD shops out of murky legal waters and into the light. House Bill 1325, which passed overwhelmingly in both the Texas House…
A Bryan Place apartment building that was damaged when in a deadly crane crash Sunday afternoon will be closed, according to Dallas Fire-Rescue. Greystar Properties, the management company that owns the Elan City Lights apartment complex, determined the building is “totally unusable for residential purposes,” said Jason Evans, a spokesman…
Dallas Police Chief U. Renee Hall sounded a lot like a woman on the ropes Monday as she did her best to address Dallas recent spike in homicides and other violent crime in front of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee at City Hall. She told council members that the…
Residents of a Bryan Place apartment complex where a crane fell over the weekend were able to return to their homes to gather a few things before heading back to the hotel rooms where they’re likely to be living for at least a few weeks. Shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday,…
Watching the results roll in Saturday night in Dallas’ municipal election, one would be excused for being a little surprised, especially if she’d been paying attention to what the Observer reported over the last couple of weeks. State Rep. Eric Johnson was almost 20 points ahead of Dallas City Council…
