This is my first shot at something I’ve wanted to do for a while: a weekly catch-up on interesting local news. I’ve done this kind of thing for a friend for several years now, but what interests his readers isn’t always what I think would interest someone from Dallas or Fort Worth. Bear with me as I get my hands around what local news looks like to local readers.
Dallas news:
- Dallas Observer: Here’s Where Dallas’ Legislative Priorities Stand This Session. This is from last week, and may already be outdated as bills are falling quickly by the wayside.
- KERA: Dallas tries to move forward with its police pension plan — despite tension with the board. This is a step toward ending the squabbling between the city and the pension board.
- Dallas Observer: 911 Response Protocols Are ‘Outdated,’ New Dallas Police Chief Tells Council. This is about call response times, which are rising.
- KERA: 3 top Dallas officials get reviews, more money after years of waiting. The city attorney, the city secretary, and the city auditor don’t have an evaluation process or regular pay increases.
- Dallas Morning News: Dallas DA John Creuzot says office will seek death penalty in retrial of Texas 7 escapee. It’s the first case since Creuzot took office in 2019 where he’s sought the death penalty. One of the crimes the defendant Randy Halprin is accused of is a cop killing. The retrial is over antisemitic remarks made by the previous judge; Halprin is Jewish.
- Dallas Free Press: South Dallas’ long road to community-approved zoning. Explainer about the South Dallas Fair Park Area Plan.
- Two Dallas cases about Qualified Immunity were in court last week. First, in the DMN: Judge tosses excessive force suit against Dallas cops who mistook man for someone else. This is a 2021 case in federal court about Dallas PD getting the wrong man in Oak Cliff. And KERA: Texas Supreme Court dismisses lawsuit over 2018 Home Depot shooting that killed Dallas officer. This is about an officer serving a warrant while working a security job; the suspect fired on the officer and his backup, killing one of the backup officers. The theory was that an off-duty officer shouldn’t serve warrants.
- And two on private transit here in town. From the Dallas Observer: Waymo Robotaxis Are Coming to Dallas, But You Won’t Be Able to Hitch a Ride. They’ll be downtown for lessons in Dallas geography and weather, not to pick up passengers. And per Tech Crunch: Uber to introduce fixed-route shuttles in major US cities designed for commuters. This started in Dallas last week.
- Last but not least, from the DMN: Luka Doncic-signed ‘Fire Nico’ Dallas Mavericks jersey goes up for auction. No word on whether it said that when Luka signed it.
Fort Worth news:
- Fort Worth Report: Deborah Peoples sworn into Fort Worth City Council seat. ‘I love this city’. She’s the new member for District 5, elected earlier this month.
- Fort Worth Report: Fort Worth to name interim police chief as search for permanent hire kicks off.
- KERA: UT Southwestern breaks ground on $177M Fort Worth cancer center.
- Fort Worth Report: Mercy Culture backs church elder facing dueling reports on sexual misconduct allegations. Click through and read this, remembering that Mercy Culture 1. Is powerful enough in Fort Worth politics to make the city back down on enforcing zoning rules on them even when their neighbors support them. 2. Include a state representative as one of their pastors, and 3. Were planted by Gateway Church, which was founded by (alleged) child molester Robert Morris. (About whom more below).
- Texas Monthly: Their Cows Started Dying Mysteriously. Lawmakers Are Taking Notice. This is nominally about Johnson County, its PFAS/forever chemical problem, and the bill in the Lege about it, but the biosolids made into fertilizer came from Fort Worth. The Texas Tribune also has the story: Texas bill seeking to keep toxic “forever chemicals” off farmland misses key deadline. Also related is this from Jim Hightower: Amazing Discovery: Some Washington Lobbyists and Lawmakers Have Sludge For Brains.
Dallas County news:
- KERA: Texas man convicted via ‘hypnosis’ asks not to have execution date set after AG request. This is another junk science conviction out of Dallas County from back in 1999.
- DMN: Dallas County will keep its police force but no longer call it ‘county marshal service’ There’s pending legislation to keep counties from having their own police, so they’re renaming the force as “fire marshal” officers.
- KERA: Tensions rise between Sixth Floor Museum, Dallas County, over lease. Dallas County owns the building and the museum is out of its long-term lease. The county wants more information before they make a new one.
Tarrant County news:
- The hot topic is Tarrant County redistricting, about which a longer piece is coming:
- Star-Telegram: Proposed Tarrant County commissioner precinct maps favor Republicans. Quelle surprise.
- Fort Worth Report: Arlington mayor instructs city to investigate legality of ongoing Tarrant redistricting efforts. Arlington is currently in one precinct but would be split into two precincts in the new plan.
- Fort Worth Report: Tarrant residents say their voices are going unheard in fierce debate over redistricting. Also, from KERA: Tarrant County residents pack Como Community Center for contentious redistricting hearing. These are two of the public hearings the county is having on the redistricting and it’s not popular with a lot of local voters.
- Tarrant County (Republican) Commissioner Manny Ramirez op-ed in the Star-Telegram: Conservative policy has made Tarrant strong. Let’s stay on track by redistricting | Opinion.
- DMN: Partisan politics can be a tough sell in nonpartisan elections. Local political reporter Gromer Jeffers, Jr. on the heavy hand of the Tarrant County GOP.
- Star-Telegram: Tarrant homeowners would see annual tax appraisals under this Texas bill. This is reversing a Tarrant County policy and it’s passed the House, so it’s still alive.
News from the suburbs and suburban counties:
- The biggest story is the ongoing harassment of EPIC City:
- Three stories on the federal investigation initiated by Senator John Cornyn. KERA: Department of Justice announces investigation of Muslim EPIC City; AP: Sen. Cornyn of Texas says federal probe started into Muslim-centered community near Dallas; and Candy’s Dirt: DOJ Targets EPIC City With Housing Investigation.
- Dallas Observer: DOJ Opens Investigation Into EPIC City in Latest Development for Muslim Community. This one has a timeline in case you need to catch up.
- Star-Telegram editorial: Scrutiny of Texas Muslims’ planned town over sharia concerns is political bullying | Opinion. They’re not mincing words, but this is what everybody thinks. Some people are just OK with the bullying.
- Fort Worth Report: Arlington police use drones when responding to some calls. Now the program is getting an expansion. This is for when cops are on the way; they’re not just sending the drones out there alone. Originally it was for holiday fireworks, but now they’re going to send drones out for shootings, domestic violence, burglaries, missing persons and other crimes.
- KERA: Carrollton Police launches new security camera program with controversial vendor. This is integrating security cameras, like your doorbell, into the police feed. On why Flock, the vendor, is controversial, check out 404: License Plate Reader Company Flock Is Building a Massive People Lookup Tool, Leak Shows. Also from last year, on KERA: Surveillance company skirted regulations as it expanded across north Fort Worth HOAs ( Oct 9, 2024).
- Star-Telegram: Meet Japanese, New York investors who own thousands of suburban Fort Worth homes. Yamasa Co Ltd. and Pretium, an investment firm, together own about $1 billion in market value, according to last year’s county appraisals. Click through to see where they’re located.
- DMN: ‘Failure is fully mine’: Leaked recordings prompt apologies from Frisco council member. Tammy Meinershagen is in a runoff with an Indian (South Asian) candidate and she made comments about Indian residents not assimilating into the neighborhood. We had family in Plano from the mid-90s when I married my husband up until a few years ago, and it’s gone in that time from the suburb where the white flight was going to the suburb that the white flight is from as south Asian and east Asian residents have moved in following jobs. It’s unpleasant but unsurprising to hear this kind of racism in Frisco.
- KERA: Irving’s Ethics Code could change the city’s public comment process. Starting July 1, you’ll have to tell the city if you’re paid to testify in a public comment.
- Texas Tribune: The fastest-growing city in the U.S. is in Texas, and it’s not the one you’re thinking of. It’s Princeton, an hour northeast of Dallas.
- Fort Worth Report: Arlington Cemetery can sell plots again after 30 years. First, the city needs new rules, guidelines. The city took it over in 1995 and has been figuring out how to get it out of abandonment under state law.
- Texas Observer: Harrison the Huckster. A profile of State Rep Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian).
Regional news (including some stories from the Lege):
- WFAA: Political consultant says May election results should send clear message to Republican lawmakers. The message is something like “stop lying about our schools”.
- D Magazine: Bills to watch in Texas this year. The database is Dallas-centric, but unlike the Observer story, it has the current status of each bill and updates as it changes.
- DMN & ProPublica: How a ‘We Buy Ugly Houses’ franchise left a trail of financial wreckage across Texas. The franchise was a Ponzi scheme.
- KERA: Casino-backed Texas reps leave anti-gambling amendment out of rezoning bill, prompting criticism. This is about getting that casino that the Sands people want in Irving.
- Dallas Observer: Lord Buffalo Cancels European Tour After Drummer Detained at DFW International Airport. The drummer is a green card holder and ICE grabbed him on the way out of the country. Also in the Austin Chronicle: Lord Buffalo Drummer Yamal Said, a Legal U.S. Resident, Detained by Border Officials.
- D Magazine: How Much Is a Joint Replacement in North Texas? Apparently they’re more expensive here in part because you’re more likely to have the surgery done inpatient instead of outpatient or at a surgery center. Also, that’s a lot of money.
- DMN op-ed: Parkland CEO: What Medicaid cuts really mean for American health. That stuff they’re labelling fraud? It’s not.
- Dallas Observer: Not Your Surgeon’s Bariatrics: The Rise and Risks of Dallas’ GLP-1 Craze. Apparently bariatric surgery is down by 50-60% as patients turn to drugs to lose weight.
- DMN: One man’s fight for answers from a North Texas water district. DMN’s watchdog publicizing the North Texas Municipal Water District’s refusal to provide public information to the public.
- KERA: Robert Morris asked Gateway Church for millions as part of his retirement. The church said no. Finally a piece of good news from the Gateway scandal.
- DMN: Daystar: Colleyville PD closes child sex abuse investigation with no charges. Also KERA: Colleyville Police close child sexual abuse probe into Daystar TV, no charges filed. Daystar is a TV network featuring evangelical pastors. The son of the founder claims a relative abused his daughter; his (remarried) mother, who runs the network, forced him out and the implication is that the suit is revenge. Under Texas law, there is no statute of limitation on cases of sexual assault by a child; if more evidence, including a statement by the victim, comes out, the case might be reopened.