Last Monday, Observer columnist Jim Schutze wrote a story in which he accused The Dallas Morning News editorial page of telling lies about Dallas City Council member and mayoral candidate Scott Griggs. Schutze suggested this was a deliberate smear campaign aimed at attacking a candidate, Griggs, opposed by the mayor…
Dallas police made two arrests in the string of robberies near Dallas ISD school campuses that have shaken up students, parents and employees over the last month Thursday. Roshun Dixon, 17, and Christopher Wade, 18, both admitted being involved in at least one of the crimes, police said. Beginning Feb…
Sunday morning, the clock on your smart phone, as it does once a year, is going to roll straight from 1:59 a.m. to 3:00 a.m., costing you an hour’s sleep and causing a small to moderate amount of pain as you struggle through Sunday and the beginning of the week…
A federal jury in Sherman found former Richardson Mayor Laura Jordan guilty of corruption related crimes Thursday afternoon. Jordan accepted cash, trips, $24,000 worth of home renovations and a job with a $150,000 annual salary in exchange for supporting for supporting a large mixed-use development near Central Expressway. Jordan, whose…
Rangers general manager Jon Daniels seems to be trying to do two things at once. He’s trying to rebuild a major league roster and farm system that desperately need it, that’s his first priority, but he’s also trying to do so without completely ruining his team’s on-field product for four…
From the outside, it’s hard to know what Texas Secretary of State David Whitley was thinking when he made his quixotic attempt to purge thousands of voters from the state’s rolls late last month. Rather than just doing his job and making sure Texas’ election machinery runs smoothly, Whitley chose…
Back in the 1980s, our own lovable, irascible Jim Schutze wrote a book called The Accommodation: The Politics of Race in an American City, laying out the history of race relations in Dallas in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement. It may now be out of print, but one…
Voting in Dallas County is going to be a lot easier this November. Tuesday afternoon, the Commissioners Court voted to switch the county from its present Election Day system, which requires voters to show up to their home precincts to cast ballots, to one that allows Dallas County residents to…
In August 2018, Texas A&M University-Commerce gave George Hale a choice: 1) Sign a loyalty oath swearing he would never join or support a boycott of Israel, 2) Lose his contract to continue working on an award-winning podcast about unsolved crimes in Texas for the public radio station associated with…
It might not matter — all the teens are vaping pot now anyway — but a bipartisan group of Texas legislators is pushing a plan to raise the state’s tobacco purchasing age from 18 to 21, making anyone who wants to look cool while slowly killing themselves wait three more…
The plan from Dallas mayoral candidate and state Rep. Eric Johnson was on its way anyway, but Friday’s developments certainly didn’t hurt. Monday afternoon in Austin, three hours south of the city that’s seen three current or former City Council members arrested since August, Johnson unveiled his plan to cut…
Monday was a weird time to be celebrating for Planned Parenthood. The venerable reproductive rights advocacy organization and healthcare provider faces attacks from all sides. President Donald Trump wants to strip the organization of millions in federal funding; multiple speakers at last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference accused abortion providers…
Airbnb is officially on Texas’ list. Not for being a menace to apartment dwellers everywhere or avoiding hotel occupancy taxes, or anything like that. Instead, Airbnb, a home-sharing app that offers an alternative to traditional hotels, is in trouble with the state because it refuses to list Israeli-owned rentals in…
David Irving’s loss shouldn’t sting as bad as it does for the Cowboys. He played in just two games in 2018, registering a single sack and a paltry four tackles. Even before the NFL handed him an indefinite suspension Friday afternoon for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy — one of…
The Dallas Morning News on its editorial page last week repeated again a flagrant and malicious lie about Dallas City Council member and mayoral candidate Scott Griggs. The lie is a window on how the old-guard leadership in the city really operates and the depths to which it is willing…
Longtime Fair Park and South Dallas City Council member Carolyn Davis accepted more than $40,000 in bribes in exchange for her support of a low-income housing project. According to a federal plea agreement unsealed Friday morning, prosecutors and Davis’ legal team have agreed to a three-year prison term. Without a…
Turns out, former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke was playing a little game when he told Oprah on Feb. 5 that he’d decide whether he’d run for Senate or president “before the end of the month.” Though the El Paso native has made his decision, according to multiple reports, he isn’t…
The only thing propping up the veneer of transparency created by the Texas Open Meetings Act is the honor system, thanks to a ruling earlier this week from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Texas’ highest criminal court. Until Wednesday morning, Texas law forbid public officials from knowingly discussing public…
With six weeks still to go before the NFL Draft, the Cowboys have already filled one of their biggest offseason needs. Jason Witten, the teams longtime Pro Bowl tight end is coming back after one year in the ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast booth. “The fire inside of me to…
Dallas’ youth curfew is going back into effect March 4 following a lengthy back-and-forth at City Hall about balancing kids’ and neighborhoods’ safety — perceived or otherwise — with equitable policing. Fines for curfew violations will be lowered from $500 to $50 and the city will give Dallas parks $500,000…
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ordered Texas to tell all 254 counties in the state not to take any action, for the time being, on the list of registered voters sent to them in late January by Texas Secretary of State David Whitley’s Office for citizenship verification. Counties can attempt…
The other night I attended a public forum where nine candidates for mayor of Dallas fielded questions from a moderator. I think I’m beginning to get the picture. But first, let’s clear the decks. From here on out, I can’t really promise you that I’m going to be objective. I…
