Texas’ Coronavirus Abortion Ban Back in Effect

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s coronavirus abortion ban is back in place thanks to an emergency stay from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The stay, according to the court, was issued so that it can give full consideration to an emergency appeal from the Texas attorney general. The ban…

Dallas Paid Sick Leave Blocked, Just in Time

Until Monday night, Wednesday was going to mark a sea change in Dallas civic life. For the first time, Dallas workers were going to be guaranteed paid sick time — one hour for every 30 hours they worked. It’s couldn’t have come at a better time, either. Then the courts…

Abortion Still Legal in Texas After Judge Slaps Paxton, Abbott

Despite Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton’s best efforts to make hay while the coronavirus spreads, abortion remains as legal in Texas as it was before the virus hit, following a temporary restraining order issued by U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel. A little more than a week ago,…

Your Dallas Coronavirus Update for Monday, March 30

State and federal officials are setting up a pop-up hospital at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas to help expand the number of hospital beds available as the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 continues to grow. During a news conference Sunday, Gov. Greg Abbott said the…

Meanwhile in Granbury: A Nurse Says She Was Fired for Wearing a Mask

There’s a crisis within the coronavirus crisis hitting hospitals and medical facilities around the country. Personal protective equipment — the gloves, masks and gowns needed to protect front-line healthcare workers — is in short supply in many U.S. hospitals. Private companies and nonprofits are pitching in, trying to get the…

Abortion Rights Groups Sue Texas Over Coronavirus Abortion Ban

If you’re looking for some normalcy during the novel coronavirus pandemic, here it is: Texas, now as has been for the last decade, is getting sued over an abortion restriction. This time, no big surprise, it’s Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on all abortions that don’t save the would-be mother’s life,…

Dallas County Jail Hit With First Positive Coronavirus Test

An inmate at the Dallas County Jail has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday morning. The inmate is no longer housed at the jail, according to the sheriff’s department. No further information was immediately available about how the person who tested positive came in…

COVID-19 Is Not Like the Flu. Not in Dallas County. Not Anywhere.

The thought is a lot like the novel coronavirus itself. Dangerous, malicious and hard to stymie. The coronavirus isn’t that bad, it starts out. It’s just another kind of flu, maybe a little nasty, but not that dangerous. It’s ridiculous that we’re all having to stay inside. You hear it…

Dan Patrick’s Coronavirus Solution? Kill Granny.

Coronavirus isn’t the real threat to the American economy. At least, not according to Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. The real threat to the American economy is Granny. Your granny, our grannies, everybody’s granny. If they’d just stop being so sensitive, we could all go back outside, according to the…

Lockdown: Tarrant, Collin* Counties Order Residents to Shelter in Place

Tarrant and Collin counties issued their own shelter-in-place orders Tuesday morning. Tarrant County’s is lot like Dallas County’s. Collin County’s has a hole in it big enough to drive a truck through. Dallas and Tarrant counties’ orders require residents to stay home unless they are working at an essential business.

Texas’ Worst Reactions to the Coronavirus

How’s everybody doing? We are, collectively, about a week into a unique experience. The sun’s still — when it isn’t raining at least — coming out. Dallas’ crappy infrastructure is still crappy, but it hasn’t fallen apart. We’re still walking our dogs and getting our kids outside as often as…

Dallas County Ordered to Shelter in Place, Beginning Monday Night

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins has ordered all county residents to shelter in place until at least April 3. All nonessential business in the county must close at 11:59 p.m. Monday. “It makes me sick that we are at this point,” Jenkins said. “God-willing, (shelter-at-home) and the mass production of…

Texas Unemployment Picture Is as Stark as Stark Gets

As the novel coronavirus slowly turns all of our lives into a dreary hellscape, one of the few bits of good news for workers in Texas has been Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to make the state’s byzantine unemployment insurance system a little easier to navigate. It’s about the least he…

Texas Gov. Abbott Shuts Down Dine-In Restaurants, Schools Statewide

All Texans are now living in the same world Dallas residents have been inhabiting for a couple of days now. Effective midnight Friday, all bars, restaurants, health clubs and schools in the state must shut down until at least April 3. Restaurants can still provide takeout, drive-through and delivery service…

Dallas County Reports First Coronavirus Death

A Richardson man in his 60s has died due to the effects of the coronavirus, Dallas County health officials reported Thursday. The man, who was not identified by health officials, did not have any high-risk health conditions. He was one of 20 new cases of the COVID-19 reported by Dallas…