As always, DFW proved quite quotable in 2017. Whether it was the rhetorical war over the fate of Dallas’ Confederacy-tied monuments, Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price’s trial or Jerry Jones’ repeated failure to steer the Cowboys away from controversy, there was no shortage of hot air putting wind in…
Dallas has three great shots at getting big things done in 2019, all of which will require us to take a hard turn away from Trumpism. Notice I didn’t say hard turn left or hard turn right. I don’t even know any more. We have to turn away from tribalism…
What a difference a day makes, especially for expectant mothers this time of year. For mothers-to-be with babies due about now, inducing labor before the stroke of midnight New Year’s Eve can be a money saver, especially for those with high insurance deductibles that reset Jan. 1. Pregnant women with…
As the Dallas City Council continues to battle over its newest plan to address panhandling in areas of the city with the most foot traffic, the Dallas Police Department is consulting with the city attorney’s office about which of the city’s panhandling ordinances can still be enforced after constitutional challenges…
From former Observer Editor-in-Chief Joe Tone, back in town for a visit, comes this photo showing a lovely East Dallas home that’s been, to coin a phrase, LimeBiked for the holidays. Here’s hoping it’s the start of a trend. Perhaps instead of environmentally unfriendly and difficult-to-remove toilet paper, teenagers and…
The Dallas Morning News editorial page took a truly bold step this week by announcing that one of the finalists for its annual Texan of the Year award is Richard Spencer. He’s the Dallas native and St. Mark’s School graduate who has become the public face of American white nationalism…
It isn’t easy to get around Dallas without a car. It’s a mantra and a statement of fact for those who live in and visit the city. Thanks to the heat in the summer, unwieldy bus system and commuter-focused light rail service, not to mention the sheer size of the…
One of the biggest positive steps for marijuana reform in Texas in 2017 happened here in Dallas. On Dec. 1, the city began issuing citations, rather than making arrests, for possession of less than 4 ounces of marijuana. Those busted are still subject to the same penalties as they were…
The season to be jolly is over now, right? At the end of this year, I had a big awakening, and, no, it was not from a nap. True, I’ve been at this an awfully long time to be having awakenings just now, but this has to do more with…
Like the 2008, 2010 and 2015 Cowboys, the 2017 Cowboys were supposed to be different. They’d learned the lessons of a largely successful yet bitterly disappointing 2016 and were ready to play in the Cowboys’ first NFC Championship Game since the 1995 season. They weren’t different. The 2017 Cowboys, doomed…
As Christmas approaches, the legacy of the 2017 Dallas Cowboys is still in flux. If the Cowboys win their two remaining regular-season games and get some help, they’ll qualify for the playoffs, completing the resurrection of a season that appeared dead on Thanksgiving. If they miss the playoffs, this year’s…
As Dallas and the rest of Texas crept slowly to the Christmas vacation Thursday afternoon, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton addressed a matter of religion for many Texans. State law, he said, allows for people with licenses to bring their handguns into places of worship, unless a church, synagogue or…
Oh, right, I’m so offended by all those terrible bike-share bikes showing up around town, polluting the landscape by their unaesthetic presence. No, I’m not. You know what does offend me? Cars. Trucks. Last time I checked, bikes weren’t giving kids leukemia. Check it out. The regional nonprofit clean-air advocacy…
A Dallas County judge awarded Ryan Crawford temporary custody of his 8-year-old son Wednesday afternoon after the boy’s 34-year-old mother was accused of faking his illnesses. Kaylene Bowen-Wright is accused of taking their son to doctors’ offices and hospitals in Dallas and Houston more than 300 times and putting him…
At least U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold had someone who wanted him to seek re-election. Unfortunately for the retiring Texas GOP congressman, alleged sexual harasser and world’s worst boss, the people in his corner were the Texas Democratic Party. The Democrats sued the Texas GOP on Wednesday afternoon to keep Farenthold,…
This case was different. The murder conviction this week of off-duty Farmers Branch police Officer Ken Johnson only happened because fellow police officers worked hard to make it happen. The lead community activist, seeing that a conviction would depend on good police work, worked equally hard to make sure his…
The estranged mother of 11-time NBA All-Star and Lincoln High School graduate Chris Bosh faces felony charges. Police say Freida Bosh allowed drugs to dealt from a DeSoto home owned by her son. Freida Bosh, who was living at the home, and her ex-roommate, Johnathan Brown, are charged with exploitation…
Robert Jeffress, pastor at First Baptist Dallas, committed himself to Donald Trump and his presidency in 2016, positioning himself as the evangelical face of Trumpism. This year, for better and worse, Jeffress has reaped the consequences of that commitment, repeatedly finding himself at the center of the Trump universe because…
Two stories in the local news cycle this week are significant for what they have to say about our city: One, the dog that bit a kid in the face won’t be exterminated but will be sent to Austin instead, and two, the new headquarters of The Dallas Morning News,…
After nearly two days of deliberations, a Dallas County jury found a former Farmers Branch police officer guilty of murder and aggravated assault Tuesday afternoon. Ken Johnson, 37, shot two teenagers in March 2016 after he caught them breaking into his Chevy Tahoe at his Farmers Branch apartment complex. Sheriff’s…
Chief Deputy Marian Brown, former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez’s third in command, will serve as interim sheriff until voters elect a new one in November. Valdez is stepping down to run for governor. Brown, a 29-year law enforcement veteran in her fourth year with the sheriff’s office, is running…
The Dallas Morning News, Dallas’ daily, built on the rock of truth and buttressed by piles of Belo cash, has a problem — a festering, creeping affliction eating at the institution’s very core — since the paper moved from its longtime home on Young Street to its new digs in…
