Here’s a couple of weeks’ worth of interesting items from the news here in North Texas. No musical accompaniment this time, though we did spend a lot of time today listening to the late, lamented Asylum Street Spankers.
From Dallas:
- The Dallas Morning News is selling itself to Hearst. Check out the difference between the headlines across outlets. DMN: DallasNews Corporation agrees to merge with Hearst; KERA: Hearst buys The Dallas Morning News, ending 140 years of local ownership; D Magazine: Morning News sells to Hearst; Dallas Observer: UPDATE: Dallas Morning News Sold to Hearst, Staffers Respond to the Shock. One of these things is not like the others. Also, check out this D Magazine post: A little peek at the DallasNews share price, which explains that the DMN is valued at $14 a share by Hearst and quite a bit less by the stock market.
- KERA: Suspect dies in DPD custody after alleged robbery, police say. Not great, but it turns out the suspect had been released from a local hospital for a drug overdose earlier in the same day.
- Candy’s Dirt: Dallas Municipal Court Sustains Rain Damage on All Floors. It apparently was closed for about a week, though I can’t find a mention of its reopening. The garage underneath this building is where Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald in 1962.
- Somewhat related, in the Dallas Observer: Dallas Flooded Over 100 Years Ago. Here’s Why That’s Not Likely to Happen Again. Dallas had killer floods in 1908 and 1995 and has done some flood control since then.
- DMN: Affidavit: Dallas police officer allegedly steals nearly $38,000 worth of Apple products. He was working off-duty overnight security for Apple Stores and the Apple people busted him and his wife for selling the goods on Facebook marketplace.
- DMN: Leader of South Dallas nonprofit Bonton Farms steps down. Bonton Farms is a Big Deal name in local food.
- Dallas Free Press: Dallas judge weighs: Can the City deny a resident’s right to apply for a public hearing? This is about local activist Janie Cisneros and her ongoing efforts to close the GAF shingle plant in West Dallas. Specifically this case is about the city stalling Cisneros’ effort to close the plant for nonconformance and the cost to the city ($36 to $45 million), which the city absolutely doesn’t want to pay. Related, from KERA: ‘Toxic Twins’: Dallas climate activists campaign for city to close shingle plants. This is the GAF plant and the TOMKO plant near Joppa in South Dallas.
- By contrast, here’s a news story impacting North Dallas neighborhoods (including my own, but not me personally). Candy’s Dirt: Plan to Kill Alleyway Trash Pickup for Some Sparks Outcry in Dallas. Also in the Dallas Observer: Trash Service Changes Are Coming to Dallas. People Are Pissed. The Observer guesses there are about 26,000 people with alley trash service. Their houses were built with alleys that are too narrow for large garbage trucks. At the same time, many of those houses aren’t equipped to bring the trash around the house instead of through it. So there’s a legitimate problem, but not on the level of shingle plant pollution.
From Fort Worth:
- Fort Worth named former Dallas PD Chief Eddie Garcia a finalist for the Chief’s job in Fort Worth. The most interesting story on the subject is from the Star-Telegram: Fort Worth council member questions late application by ex-Dallas police chief. That’s Chris Nettles, who was also unhappy with the way the city handled the hiring of City Manager Jay Chapa. Also related, in the Star-Telegram: LA deputy police chief pulls application for top job in Fort Worth department. She was one of the four finalists from a long list of 51 and a short list of nine; LAPD promoted her. The remaining finalists are the interim chief in Fort Worth and a former assistant chief from Dallas. One of my takeaways from the two former Dallas cops who applied is that Dallas PD, and probably the entire city administration, is toxic right now.
- Fort Worth Report: Here’s how Fort Worth-area officials try to prevent a Central Texas floodlike disaster. Fort Worth’s historic flood was in 1949, and there was another record-breaking flood in Arlington 2008.
- In somewhat related news, also in the Fort Worth Report: Texas A&M to open $24.5M emergency management hub in east Fort Worth. It’s part of a statewide plan to have supply distribution and an emergency operations center within three hours of every Texan.
- Star-Telegram: Oil spill cleanup could cost Fort Worth $5 million. Who will foot the bill? The leak dropped 2,600 barrels of crude into Lake Arlington back in May. Energy Transfer of Dallas, founded by Kelcy Warren (as in Klyde Warren Park), owns the pipeline.
- Fort Worth Report: Trinity Metro On-Demand van rideshare service limited after vehicle recall. Chrysler vans they use are subject to a recall for side airbags.
- Fort Worth Report: Catholic Charities Fort Worth reverses course, will lead Texas Refugee Services through 2026. They had originally planned to end working with the feds in October and have extended their work for a year until the current federal contract ends.
From Dallas County:
- We have a new execution date for Robert Roberson: October 16. From the Texas Tribune: Judge sets Robert Roberson’s execution date for Oct. 16. Thanks, Attorney General Ken Paxton.
- Also note this from D Magazine: Dallas Morning News’ poor word choice highlights an issue in Roberson case. which is about this DMN story: Texas’ Robert Roberson gets new execution date in ‘shaken baby’ case. Specifically, in addition to the bad science around the “shaken baby” issue, Roberson’s affect was an issue for jurors. He’s since been diagnosed with autism, which explains his apparent reaction. Yet another reason Roberson should be retried if not just plain released with an overturned conviction.
- KERA: Kansas City Chiefs’ Rashee Rice pleads guilty in 2024 Dallas crash, gets 30 days in jail. This case was from a year ago in the spring when Rice and another former SMU player were drag racing on Central Expressway at 2 AM. They crashed into multiple cars and fled the scene. In addition to the 30 days, Rice got 5 years of probation and restitution. He’s also settled one civil suit and has another still pending. The case is notable to me because State Senator Royce West is his attorney.
From Tarrant County:
- Fort Worth Report: Tarrant GOP leaders stand behind Bo French after social media backlash. Lest we forget, he put up a poll about whether Muslims or Jews were the biggest threat to America. Even Dan Patrick wasn’t willing to back him. But we knew when Patrick rebuked French that the next big thing (the Kerr County floods and the special session) would draw everybody’s attention and nobody would be willing to do anything to him. So here we are.
- KERA: Tarrant County historical commission gets 5 new members after LGBTQ controversy. Republican commissioner Matt Krause appointed four of them; Democratic commissioner Alisa Simmons appointed the other one. All of the new commissioners are actual party activists or employees or current or former elected officials.
- DMN: Texas officials report first West Nile cases of the year, urge mosquito precautions. One of the first two cases this year is in Tarrant County.
- Star-Telegram: Tarrant juvenile detention officer fired for improper conduct involving detainees. The officer was stalking and/or helping another detainee stalk a teenage girl detainee.
- Star-Telegram: Federal judge dismisses lawsuit alleging ‘drugs run rampant’ in Tarrant jail and the Fort Worth Report: Federal judge dismisses lawsuit over fentanyl death in Tarrant County Jail custody. This is following on the fentanyl overdose death of Trelynn Wormley in 2022 at the Tarrant County Jail. Worth reading the whole thing at the Fort Worth Report if you’re interested in the ongoing saga of jail deaths. There’s a lot of meat about the lack of investigations and the many failures that don’t add up to a pattern the judge thinks the County is liable for.
- Star-Telegram: Tarrant County’s bid to revoke tax exemptions for out-of-town housing groups denied. This is a tax scheme where companies buy land in Tarrant County, claim affordable housing tax credits, then lease the land to apartment operators. Worth reading for the analysis of HB 21, which is supposed to close the loophole that these companies are exploiting.
From the suburban cities and towns:
- The big news is in Keller, which wants to partner with ICE. Pick your version of the story from the news outlet of your choice. DMN: Keller could soon be largest Texas city to formally partner with ICE, mayor says; Star-Telegram: Tarrant County city considers joining ICE’s immigration enforcement program; KERA: Keller seeks to formalize partnership with ICE through local law enforcement. Apparently Keller is already handing folks they arrest over to ICE; they just want to formalize it and get federal money through the 287(g) program. Also, while advocates for the program like Keller’s mayor claim it only affects criminals, not everyone who goes to jail is a criminal.
- KERA: Arlington mayor holds first of 5 town halls, discusses budget challenges and city services. A big part of the problem is that two-year appraisal cycle Tarrant County is currently using.
- Fort Worth Report: GM moving production of Cadillac Escalade out of Arlington in 2027. They’re moving production to Orion Township, Michigan, which is about 40 miles from Detroit.
- KERA: Denton shelter drops 24/7 services in favor of long-term help and ‘doing better with what we have’. This is the shelter for unhoused people, who will now no longer have a place to go other than in bad weather. Instead the shelter’s beds will generally be reserved for people in its transitional housing program.
- DMN: Trial date set for Karmelo Anthony in fatal stabbing at Frisco track meet. His trial for murder will start on June 1, 2026.
- D Magazine: City of Garland Accidentally Plows Through Protected Forest. Spring Creek Forest Preserve is one of only two sites in Texas recognized by the Old-Growth Forest Network. Sigh.
- KERA: Irving’s spending $2.9M on a domestic violence shelter, but some want it for homeless services. There are points on both sides of this conflict but what I see is the theme that cities don’t have enough money to do everything necessary.
- Dallas Observer: Dallas Suburb Named the Best City in the U.S. for Renters. It’s McKinney.
- Candy’s Dirt: Controversial McKinney Airport Expansion Breaks Ground. McKinney embargoed the news to avoid protestors.
From the suburban counties:
- The biggest story the Alvarado incident, where an officer was shot outside of the Prairieland ICE detention facility on July 4. The early news is best typified by this article from the AP: 10 held in Texas immigration detention center shooting that was ‘planned ambush,’ US attorney says. The most recent news is featured by in this KERA story: FBI captures former marine reservist in connection with Alvarado ICE facility shooting. Benjamin Hanil Song was the 14th person arrested; 12 including Song for the incident, and two additional people for helping Song evade arrest. If you, like me, knew nothing about Prairieland, the Star-Telegram has an explainer: What we know about Prairieland, the ICE detention center in Fort Worth’s backyard. It was opened in 2017, it’s the closest facility to the Metroplex, it had a transgender ward when it opened that no longer operates, and detainees report that it’s overcrowded and unsanitary but it’s still better than other facilities.
- The latest news from on the EPIC City development and the associated harassment of the Plano mosque organizing it is from KERA: Abbott says EPIC violated funeral rules. Regulators are still looking for ‘credible information’. The Texas Funeral Service Commission is letting the East Plano Islamic Center conduct various burial rites again after Governor Abbott tried to shut them down. Meanwhile the Dallas Observer has updated their timeline again on July 8: UPDATE: A Timeline of the EPIC City Controversy.
- KERA: Divorce between Ken and Angela Paxton will proceed outside public view, reports say. The Collin County state district judge who’s overseeing the divorce has sealed the records.
From throughout the North Texas region:
- In DART news, we have two items. In the DMN: Mayors petition Abbott to revive DART funding, governance bills in Texas’ special session. And, locally, in the Dallas Observer: ‘We Are People Too’: DART Riders Oppose Drastic Changes At Six Hour Meeting. Unsurprisingly, nobody at the July 8 meeting spoke in favor of the impending cuts in service. Also in Community Impact: Residents, elected officials voice concerns about proposed DART service cuts.
- WFAA: Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer will stay on the tracks a little longer after a year’s worth of funding is approved. I’ve taken this service up to Oklahoma City. It would be a shame to get rid of it instead of improving it.
- Fort Worth Report: North Texas experienced 7 days of unhealthy air quality levels since April.
- DMN: Homebuilding is slowing in D-FW, even with more buyer incentives. Here’s why. Supply, including speculative housing, is too high, and demand is low. It’s the economy, stupid, and the consumers feel bad about it.
- We have two stories on local fixture Dr. Phil. From KERA: Dr. Phil to launch new media network weeks after Merit Street bankruptcy filing. Also in the Hollywood Reporter: Dr. Phil Returns: Launches Envoy Media Co. in Comeback Bid, which says the new network will feature news, entertainment, and citizen journalism. Meanwhile, there’s another lawsuit about the old network per the DMN: Professional Bull Riders hit ‘Dr. Phil’s’ Merit Street Media with $181M debt claim. The bull riders broke with Merit Street last fall because they weren’t getting paid.
- In protest news, we have the Good Trouble rallies in the DMN: Group gathers in Dallas to honor civil rights leader John Lewis — and protest Trump; and the Star-Telegram: ‘Good Trouble’ rally in downtown Fort Worth spreads message of justice. And a different protest is in the news at KERA: North Texans protest defense contractor Raytheon amid Israeli strikes, starvation fears in Gaza. I knew the Good Trouble protests were coming, but even though the Raytheon protest was in Richardson, I didn’t hear about it until I read this story.
- In things worth protesting, from the Dallas Observer: KERA Set to Lose $2.7M From Federal NPR Funding Slash. That also includes local classical station WRR and Gen X/our household favorite KXT.
- Also in the Dallas Observer: What To Know About North Texas Detention Centers. This isn’t just Prairieland in Alvarado, but the other three centers where folks are sent from the Dallas ICE office and how to find out if someone you’re looking for is in one of them (through their A number).
Local editorials and op-eds:
- DMN editorial: Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson seems like the mayor of Somewhere Else. This is the Powers That Be in Dallas saying the quiet part out loud: Johnson is already auditioning for a role in the Trump administration or its business subsidiaries when he gets term-limited out of Dallas instead of running the city he’s in office for. More on this with some details from D Magazine: Dallas Morning News calls Eric Johnson ‘the mayor of Somewhere Else’.
- Dallas Observer: What The Dallas Morning News Sale Means to a Dallas Times Herald Staffer. Subhead: “Revenge served cold still tastes pretty damned good.” The Morning News bought the Times Herald and shut it down in 1991.
- DMN editorial: DART shouldn’t cut service for those who need it most. As this editorial notes, the folks who are going to get hit hardest are folks in Southern Dallas and folks with disabilities.
- A related DMN op-ed: Defunding DART will hurt North Texas. Let’s not turn a blind eye. The writer of this one is a DART board member and he talks about things the suburban mayors who want the governor to bring the DART legislation back omitted from their version of the story.
- Star-Telegram: Freezing billions in education funding now isn’t efficient. It just wreaks havoc. Per the editorial, of the $7 billion in freezes announced June 30, $667 million was allotted to Texas and $10 million for Fort Worth schools. So six to eight weeks before school is starting, districts with an already tight budget found out they’re losing even more money.
- The Star-Telegram’s Bud Kennedy: Greg Abbott has $86 million. Texas Democrats don’t have a candidate. Here’s why. This is a depressing but pretty good analysis of why we’re going to have a hard time unseating Abbott. The money helps, but the part where he can play the sane executive next to Lt. Governor Dan Patrick makes him easy for people to vote for.
And miscellaneous news (including museums and zoos):
- Some news that makes more sense of the Marvin Nichols reservoir brangle. In the DMN: Texas water supply storage tops 80% for first time since 2021. Related, in the Fort Worth Report: Above-average rainfall keeps drought at bay, fills lakes as North Texas temperatures rise. The elephant in the room is the statewide rains that brought on the fatal flooding near Kerrville over the July 4th weekend.
- 19th News: She helped get rid of measles in her county. This is her advice on stopping its spread. She is Katherine Wells, director of the Lubbock Health Department. Definitely worth a read, and I share her concern that we’re going to see measles bounce back once the school year begins.
- WFAA: Oak View Group CEO indicted for bid rigging in Texas university arena project, feds say. Oak View is the group that the city of Dallas just kicked out of managing Fair Park. The venue is Moody Center, which replaced Frank Erwin Center as the big basketball and music venue on the UT Austin Campus.
- Fort Worth Report: Sen. Phil King predicts legal victory as Texas schools begin displaying Ten Commandments. King (R-Weatherford) is the author of SB 10, which is the subject of lawsuits because it’s prima facie unconstitutional, even though the courts may rule wrongly on it.
- KERA: Democratic state Sen. Nathan Johnson announces run for attorney general. Also in the Dallas Observer: Dallas Sen. Nathan Johnson Becomes First Democrat to Join Attorney General Race. And in the DMN, Texas Sen. Nathan Johnson launches campaign for attorney general, in which Johnson talks to DMN political writer Gromer Jeffers, Jr. I don’t know enough about Joe Jaworski to say whether he’s significantly better than Johnson, who’s currently my state senator, but I do know that Johnson has done a good job in a district that was ugly red until Johnson beat Don Huffines in 2018 right after I moved here. Johnson would make me happier if he were further to the left, but even when I don’t agree with him, I don’t think he’s a hippie-puncher for the sake of punching hippies, as it were. If he’s our nominee, and if he wins, he’ll do a good job.
- WFAA: North Texas Republican says Trump’s tax and spending bill isn’t all beautiful. Congressman Keith Self is probably on the MAGA bad list for saying this.
- KERA: UNT professor awarded $725,000 in settlement against university. This is an unpleasant story circling around the Journal of Schenkerian Studies, which UNT music theory professor Timothy Jackson edits and publishes for the school. Jackson got into an academic spat with a Black professor in New York who criticized Heinrich Schenker, the music theorist for whom the journal is named, saying Schenker’s politics and personal attitudes reinforce a framing of musical theory that disadvantages BIPOC students. Jackson fired back with some cultural criticism in a special issue of his journal that critics maintain is racist. There was an effort to force Jackson out, Jackson sued, and five years on, this is the result. This case is notable because former Texas Solicitor General Jonathan Mitchell was one of the plaintiff’s lawyers. It’s part of the larger Trumpian effort to force universities to toe the right-wing political line.
- WFAA: Some Texans may be suffering from ‘warning fatigue’ amid flooding, Blue Alerts, data shows. I believe this. I was sitting in a restaurant with family when the Blue Alert for the Alvarado ICE shooting suspect went off and nobody paid it any mind. And of course I remember when we got the middle-of-the-night wakeup call because a cop had been shot in Abilene. I’m not surprised 30% of Texans have just turned those alerts off.
- Fort Worth Report: Documentary about Fort Worth’s renowned artists Daniel and Dennis Blagg is in the works. They’re landscape painters and co-founded a major art space in Fort Worth.
- Dallas Observer: New Law Means Dallas Food Trucks Can Hit the Open Road. They only need one permit to operate statewide starting next summer following the passage of HB 2844.
- DMN: Saddle up! The Texas Black Invitational Rodeo is returning to Fair Park in South Dallas. This weekend Fair Park will celebrate the history of Black cowboys.
- Some stories about local museums:
- DMN: Over 35 years later, African American Museum of Dallas continues Black history classes. Their heritage extends further back than the 1960s but they’re still relevant today, especially with “DEI” being pushed out of Texas public schools.
- Bugs and STEM Education at the Perot Museum. This one is about the new Bug Lab exhibit, which spouse and I visited during early members hours just after it opened. It was a lot of fun for me as an adult, but I imagine kids would have had an even better time. Also interesting: the bugs are from Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, and the second language on the exhibit is Maori.
- DMN: At the Amon Carter Museum, two exhibitions explore the American West. One is an exhibit of Richard Avedon pictures celebrating the 40th anniversary of his major exhibition at the Carter; the other celebrates Asian-American art and art history. I haven’t been to either exhibit yet but they’re now on my list.
- Dallas Observer: 3 Dallas Influencers Make Time’s Top 100 Creators. I’m old; the only one I knew was Keith Lee.
- DMN: Some Redditors think Dallas is devoid of culture. Tell us what you think. Our local paper is not above hanging a Reddit link out to generate comments. I read the Reddit post before I saw the DMN version of the story and yes, Dallas was the number one answer to the question about which US city has the least culture. My take is that the city has a lot to offer if you get to know it, but it doesn’t have an overall vibe the way other Texas cities do: Austin is a music town (or a tech bro town, depending on who you talk to); San Antonio is full of Mexican culture; Fort Worth is Cowtown. Things are run by people with money so that’s the vibe people have about it. The same could be said of Houston, but it’s developing a reputation as a foodie town.
- Last, but not least in the Star-Telegram: Fort Worth Zoo celebrates hatching of rare ‘amazing animal’ third year in a row. They’re gharial crocodiles and you can see them on the Zoo’s Instagram feed.