To understand just how badly City Hall has bungled its stewardship of the section of the Great Trinity Forest sandwiched between the Trinity Forest Golf Course and the Texas Horse Park, you can visit the delicate wetland pond the city illegally let a contractor drain last month for “dust control.”…
You could see the dark clouds gathering Monday morning. Word had come down from somewhere near Michael Morris’ Arlington compound that someone from the North Central Texas Council of Governments was going to make a contribution to the city’s interminable discussion about regulating Uber, Lyft, Yellow Cab and any other…
Hunched over a table at a Jack in the Box, Kevin Woods doesn’t look much like a cowboy. No hat, no belt buckle, no boots, not a horse in sight. Here, tucked between a cluster of warehouses and a bustling urban highway, is about as far from the open range…
Amid the storm of fast-food worker protests for better pay, Democratic candidate for governor Wendy Davis announced late last week her plan to boost Texas’ minimum wage to $10 per hour, which is generally how much national cost-of-living studies say is necessary for struggling workers to have improved quality of…
City Hall has done its part to make Patriot’s Crossing a reality. Over the past five years, it’s handed developer Yigal Lelah $4.4 million and promised another $1.3 million in HUD funds. It has endorsed him in three unsuccessful attempts to win lucrative, highly competitive low-income housing tax credits from…
City Council member Dwaine Caraway might be having a bit of trouble abiding by his own “Pull Your Pants Up” initiative after losing 15 pounds since the start of his Councilman Caraway Wellness Challenge three weeks ago. Caraway checked in at 300 pounds at the press conference announcing the challenge,…
I’m sitting next to a well-dressed home-schooled high schooler from just outside of Lafayette, Louisiana, watching failed Senate candidate and former HP CEO Carly Fiorina talking about the dignity of jobs that don’t pay a living wage. Why Fiorina is speaking at Defending the American Dream isn’t really clear. She…
The irony that Americans For Prosperity’s Defending the American Dream summit is being held in a hotel paid for with taxpayer funds can be a little overwhelming. Everyone you talk to opposes regulation and taxes with a religious fervor while at the same time praising the setting and the glory…
Friday and Saturday, the Omni Dallas hosts Americans for Prosperity’s “Defending the American Dream” conference. Featured speakers include Governor Rick Perry, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Jeb Hensarling and Indiana governor Mike Pence. We sent two of our reporters to get the full experience. Political rhetoric on both sides has the…
Friday and Saturday, the Omni Dallas hosts Americans for Prosperity’s “Defending the American Dream” conference. Featured speakers include Governor Rick Perry, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Jeb Hensarling and Indiana governor Mike Pence. We sent two of our reporters to get the full experience. This is one of their dispatches: Unlike…
The city-owned Dallas Executive Airport has a new website. It’s slick, a vast leap forward from the static, text-heavy site that seemed a relic from the dial-up era. Just in time, too, since the airport is on the cusp of a major expansion. There, amidst bold-faced promises of Dallas’ “world-class…
Since the 2013 controversial passage of House Bill 2, which placed restrictions on abortion clinics and prompted the closing of more than half the clinics in the state, Texas has gained a reputation outside the state as one of the worst providers of women’s health care the country. See also:…
There’s a fundamental tension baked into Dallas’ plans for the Trinity River corridor. On the one hand, it wants to open the vast, unconcreted lands of the Great Trinity Forest for people to enjoy — average folks, too, not just the naturalists and horsemen and gonzo hikers hearty enough to…
You might have seen the above map making the rounds recently among those opposed to the controversial voter ID law, which first passed in 2011 and was upheld in 2013. It requires voters to present an up-to-date photo ID to election officials. The map, and maps below, were first put…
On Wednesday, book lovers from across the city showed up in force at the Dallas City Council meeting. It was the first time council members were able to throw amendments at the proposed city budget for the next fiscal year. And supporters of Dallas Public Libraries wanted them to carefully…
Oscar Ramirez looks older than his 30 years. He is reserved and wears a simple blue button-down shirt and jeans. His skin is weathered, and crow’s feet frame his dark brown eyes. His nails are bitten down, and his arms are sporadically etched with small, thin scars. Life has been…
Last week, we told you about 13-year-old Gaby, who was given an order of deportation from immigration Judge Michael Baird. Gaby is from Honduras, and will be sent back this fall after having been in the United States for less than a year. Her court appearances will have taken place…
In February, Mayor Mike Rawlings created a task force to fight against what he calls Dallas’ “barbell economy.” Dallas is a wealthy city, experiencing 68 percent GDP growth between 2000 and 2012, but it is also a city with pockets of concentrated poverty that promote blight and toxic stress for…
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott rejected a request from Republican state Representative Jason Villalba to investigate Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins’ use of asset forfeiture funds to make good on a February 2013 traffic accident Watkins caused. Abbott told Villalba that he can’t initiate an investigation based solely on…
A line of people was snaking around the back of the office building by the time Catholic Charities staff rolled in at 7 on Saturday morning. Most were teenagers and young adults accompanied by their families. Several were alone, here to solve their substantial legal troubles on their own. Some…
An analysis of data compiled and released by The New York Times surmises that, despite the hopes and claims of groups like Battleground Texas, Texas is unlikely to become a Democratic stronghold, or even a consistent battleground, anytime soon. The reason? Unlike other southern states that have seen swings in…
He’s still in his 20s, but Amarildo Gonzalez has worked construction in the Dallas area for several years now, traveling the metro area repairing foundations and doing other work. He’s worked through rain and ice storms, but the brutal Texas summers are by far the worst — especially with Texas’…
