At some point in the weeks ahead, Congress will commit the nation to an immense investment in Houston and Beaumont/Port Arthur. The opening bid from the White House last week was almost $8 billion in federal funds, probably a mere fraction of the ultimate disbursement. The country should view this…
For eight hours or so Monday morning, self-help guru John Carpenter Dealey went missing, and police labeled him “a danger to himself and others.” Dealey is the great-grandson of legendary former Dallas Morning News publisher George Bannerman Dealey. The Dallas Police Department issued an alert just before 11 a.m: “On September…
After almost a week of waiting and preparation, the city of Dallas finally, started receiving a steady stream of evacuees from the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey on Thursday night and Friday. The travelers aren’t coming from Houston, according to Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings. Instead, they’re coming to North Texas from flooded-out southeast…
A Dallas County Schools bus caught on fire around 4 p.m. Friday, blowing the hood off its engine compartment and scorching the front half of the vehicle. The driver was able to pull the bus to a stop off the Greenville Avenue exit on LBJ Freeway, where she escaped uninjured,…
The NFL Players Association preemptively sued the NFL in federal court late Thursday, seeking to vacate the NFL’s suspension of Ezekiel Elliott if it’s upheld by Harold Henderson, the former league executive appointed to hear Elliott’s suspension appeal. Elliott’s suspension is based on a series of domestic violence allegations made…
Oh, no. Guess who’s back? Uncle Bob. Can somebody tell him we can’t see him now because we just got run over by a bus? No, I know. Probably not. Bob knows that one by heart. We discussed Uncle Bob in this space not quite one year ago. Bob is my…
As of today, Sept. 1, Texas police officers can pull people over and give them tickets for texting and driving. Those busted will face fines of up to $99 for a first offense and $200 for a second offense. Advocates against handheld phone use say the new law will save…
Every end-of-the-world movie starts with a single thing, something out of place or not quite right. The protagonist sees it and ignores it, but the audience knows better. Our morning-drive hero doesn’t wise up until a pattern emerges: that open car door in the neighbor’s yard, the emergency broadcast tone…
U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel of Austin temporarily blocked a new state of Texas law Thursday that would’ve banned the most commonly used procedure for second-trimester abortions. Yeakel ruled that without the temporary restraining order, women in Texas could be denied access to the safest abortion procedure available to them…
Lines stretched around the block at North Texas gas stations Thursday morning as drivers made desperate efforts to fill their tanks following a decision to shut down a major pipeline on Wednesday evening. The shutdown compounds issues already being faced by Dallas’ gas suppliers, which were already feeling the pressure…
Major portions of Senate Bill 4, Texas’ just-passed “sanctuary cities” bill, will not immediately become law after U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia blocked significant portions of it from taking effect. Garcia’s ruling, handed down late Wednesday, stops a portion of the law the would require all local law enforcement agencies to comply…
Hurricane and Tropical Storm Harvey has brought destruction that federal, state and local governments have not been able top keep up with. Private citizens, non-profits and businesses have sprung into action, spurred by the now-ubiquitous “Texas Strong” rallying cry that swept in with the storm. Other, less noble creatures have…
New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie is accusing Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of hypocrisy over disaster relief, which does make for a certain kind of show. But here in Dallas we could tell people a thing or two about that show. Forget mere hypocrisy. The real show is way…
Along with the devastating, still largely unknown human and property costs of Hurricane and Tropical Storm Harvey on the Texas coast, the state’s dogs and cats have also born the brunt of the storm. Some have been left behind by owners, forced to fend for themselves as the rains rolled…
This week, largely ignored in the face of Hurricane Harvey, one of Dallas municipal politics’ biggest worms turned again when Mayor Mike Rawlings announcing a new date for the vote on the immediate removal of Lee Park’s Robert E. Lee statue. The City Council will decide the issue Sept. 6,…
Like you, I woke to more news of Hurricane Harvey and the thousands of people whose lives have been ripped apart in Houston. It’s almost more than the heart can bear. But just when I was about to start feeling sorry for my heart, I read my email and saw…
Dallas’ Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center is ready for guests, Mayor Mike Rawlings said Tuesday morning, whenever they arrive. Over the last two days, city of Dallas employees and volunteers have converted the first floor of the convention center’s air-conditioned parking garage into a 5,000 capacity shelter capable of housing…
Eric Hauser, author of The Adventures of Pepe and Pede, won’t be keeping any of the meager profits reaped from his book. Hauser, a former Denton ISD assistant principal, released his book Aug. 1. Its themes and imagery — which include Pepe, a frog, and Pede, a centipede, draining the…
Luca, a search-and-rescue dog, had been retired for more than two years when he saved a man with dementia from drowning in the Trinity River. Officer Cole Brock of the Fort Worth Police Department bought Luca when the pup was just 8 weeks old. Soon after noticing how smart he…
Thirteen Satanists form a crescent moon shape in front of a makeshift altar in the backroom of a local bar and restaurant in Deep Ellum. They’ve gathered this Sunday evening in late August, a day before the total eclipse, to celebrate summer’s end and the growth of their new Satanic…
Whenever Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been asked questions about the state’s lack of preparedness for the catastrophe now eating Houston, he has deflected to expressions of gushing admiration for the bravery of all Texans. And he’s not wrong about Texans. Particularly among rural Texans, there is a powerful all-hands-on-deck…
“I’m tired of running from hurricanes,” storm evacuee Daphne Griffin says. Griffin and her family linger this Monday afternoon outside the Walnut Hill Recreation Center on Midway Road in Dallas. She’s seeking shelter from Hurricane Harvey while experiencing flashbacks of her run-ins with Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Ike. Like many…
