Kung Fu Saloon isn’t admitting it discriminated against anyone, but it has agreed to takes its lumps. The bar and arcade chain has been dogged by multiple accusations of ethnic discrimination over the past five years, including several at its Dallas location in Uptown. Earlier this year, the accusations led…
Somewhere in the midst of his presidential campaign, Texas’ junior senator and Simpsons fan Ted Cruz took the time to audition for the Simpson’s roles vacated by the recently retired Harry Shearer for Buzzfeed. The results are equal turns amusing and horrifying. Amusing, because Cruz as Mr. Burns is just…
A government agency has two basic ways to slow down or avoid a legitimate public information request. It can either refer the request to the Texas Attorney General’s Office, forcing Ken Paxton’s employees to issue an opinion as to the request’s validity and potentially pushing the date the request is…
First Baptist Dallas’ Robert Jeffress’ reaction to the Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage across the United States was bound to be homophobic. That was inevitable. And the smart money said he probably wouldn’t offer up the most rational, thoughtful response. Why start now? What he said Sunday, though? Hoo-boy. Following…
An emergency stay issued by the U.S. Supreme Court Monday will keep 10 Texas abortion clinics open at least until the court’s fall term. The clinics were set to close following the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in June to uphold a Texas law that requires any health…
Sunday, ahead of what should be the first full day of Texas County Clerks signing marriage licenses for same-sex couples, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton gave cover to those officials whose personal religious dogma is more important to them than following the U.S. Constitution following Friday’s Supreme Court ruling legalizing…
It took more than five decades, but George Harris, 82, and Jack Evans, 85, got married Friday morning. Harris and Evans received Dallas County’s first same-sex marriage license from Dallas County Clerk John Warren, who acted in defiance of a Thursday message from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton telling county…
Dallas County has not issued it’s first same-sex marriage license yet, but it appears it’s only a matter of time. County Clerk John Warren is meeting now with staff from the District Attorney’s Office, but he has reportedly said he could begin issuing licenses within an hour or two, defying…
Remember back in February, when newly inaugurated Governor Greg Abbott decided to remake Groundhog Day as Chris Kyle Day, purportedly to honor the anniversary of the death of the author of American Sniper? That seemed strange, as typically holidays celebrating individuals occur on or near their birthday, rather than the…
As bad things so often do, a West Oak Cliff woman’s run-in with a not-really-a-dentist dentist started with a medical consultation on Facebook. The woman was in pain and needed some dental work done. Tiffany Gonzalez was happy to help, Dallas police say. Gonzalez set the woman, identified by The…
However one might feel about the law, without doubt, the Affordable Care Act has helped Texans. As of March, the state’s percentage of uninsured residents, still the highest in the United States, has dipped almost 8 points to 16.9 percent. The drop can be almost entirely attributed to people buying…
Dallas police and the county prosecutors are testing the city’s 4,140 backlogged rape kits. That’s good. What’s less good is the strain the inevitable DNA matches the tests find will place on District Attorney Susan Hawk’s office. To prepare, Hawk announced Wednesday she’s expanding her office’s sexual assault unit, adding…
In this week’s Dallas Observer we profile 20 of the metro area’s most interesting characters, with new portraits of each from local photographer Can Turkyilmaz. As a rule, convicted sex offenders don’t get much empathy, and usually for good reason. Often, cities don’t think twice about creating laws that restrict…
In this week’s Dallas Observer we profile 20 of the metro area’s most interesting characters, with new portraits of each from local photographer Can Turkyilmaz. It meant everything, even though it would accomplish nothing. The Texas House of Representatives was not going to pass anything that could be construed as…
Dwaine Caraway’s “big announcement” Tuesday, to borrow a phrase from Dennis Green, was what we thought it was. Caraway is going to run for Dallas County commissioner Place 3. You know, the one that’s been held by John Wiley Price since 1985. Before we even get to Price, let’s talk…
Maybe it’s because Mike Miles’ cutting ties with Dallas ISD has felt inevitable for so long, but the reaction to his Tuesday-morning resignation has been largely muted, at least in tone, even from his harshest critics. Bill Betzen, a former Dallas ISD teacher who now fancies himself a district watchdog,…
Dallas ISD’s embattled superintendent gave up the fight Tuesday morning, resigning his post after almost three years on the job. In May, Miles survived an attempt by the Dallas ISD board to remove him from his post, but there were signals at the time that he may have held on…
In case you missed it — something that’s entirely possible given the average Dallas resident’s level of municipal engagement — Dwaine Caraway is no longer on the City Council. It’s a shame, too. Caraway, whether he was railing against plastic bags, imitating his eminently imitable colleague Vonciel Jones Hill or…
File this one under things we aren’t smart enough to understand. Sunday, the photo of first-term Texas Senator Ted Cruz you see in the embedded tweet made the social media rounds. It is an Associated Press photo, taken at a Cruz campaign event at a gun range. Many Cruz supporters…
Darryl Hamilton, the man who played center field for one of the most important teams in Texas Rangers history, was shot to death near Houston sometime Sunday afternoon. According to the Pearland Police Department, Hamilton and Monica Jordan were found dead after officers responded to a 911 call at 4:45 p.m…
Jordan Spieth is halfway to doing something no golfer has ever done before. With a one shot victory at Chambers Bay Golf Course near Tacoma, Washington, the Dallas-bred Jesuit grad won the U.S. Open Sunday, following up his record-setting win at the Masters in April. The 21-year-old became the first…
There was about a half-decade stretch, covering roughly the back half of the ’00s, when Mike Ribeiro was one of the Dallas Stars two best players. He was also, alleges a Collin County woman who babysat for Ribeiro and his wife, a handsy drunk who sexually assaulted her as she…
