In the year-plus since the West fertilizer plant explosion, the tragedy has made its way to where it was always destined: the courts. Around 200 plaintiffs, mostly people who had family members killed or property destroyed, have filed suits. El Dorado Chemical Company and CF Industries are two fertilizer suppliers…
Local protests have increased in recent weeks against the expected influx of thousands of unaccompanied Central American children, part of an unprecedented surge of kids fleeing poverty and violence in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. As resources are stretched at the border, at Lackland Air Force base and other shelters,…
Last month, Dallas Independent School District held its annual job fair to fill roughly 2,000 open positions for the 2014-2015 school year. The fair at Conrad High School was stuffed to the brim with eager college graduates, jaded career changers and Dallas newcomers. By mid-morning nearly half the positions had…
On any given day, the 10th floor of the Earle Cabell Federal Building in downtown Dallas is filled with men, women and children waiting to appear before an immigration judge. On certain days, like yesterday, many of them are Central American children, having arrived at the United States border, alone,…
Blame it on the Texas heat, summertime relocations or more cash-strapped Dallasites: Whatever the root cause, local pet owners are increasingly giving their animals up to shelters. And during the summer months, more animals tend to escape from their homes and are brought to the shelter as strays. Between the…
Forget the measles and chikungunya. If you’ve perused the Children’s Medical Center website in the last few weeks, you know that there’s another, more troubling outbreak threatening to undo us all: selfies. The hospital has devoted itself of late to the psychology of selfies. Doctors there are worried about their…
The Colony has steadily moved up in the prestigious ranks of best DFW suburbs, and it’s been designated as a “Playful City USA,” which means the Humana Foundation thinks there are lots of playgrounds here. But the suburb’s idyllic veneer was cracked this week when 14 johns, seven escorts and…
And we’re not just talking about the unaccompanied Central American variety. A new report by the Center for Public Policy Priorities zeroes in on a national study ranking child well-being. Several factors come into play, including health care, education, parental employment, and standard of living. See also: – It Really…
In Dallas, the political atmosphere for payday lending reform is optimistic. After three years of ordinances limiting lending practices, the local movement has spread to 17 other cities across the state. Today, Dallas City Councilman Jerry Allen went before the Amarillo City Council to try and recruit that city to…
Governor Rick Perry today announced his intention to deploy up to 1,000 Texas National Guard troops to the Texas-Mexico border. While Perry cited criminal and cartel violence as his reason, the move comes following the recent surge of Central American children into Texas. Some 60,000 undocumented and unaccompanied kids are…
The Mary Kay convention has been gracing Dallas for the last 40 years, and by now the lipsticked ladies have become a staple of the Dallas summer, known for pumping millions into the local economy. The money just doesn’t spill into servers’ wallets. Over the decades, the Mary Kay attendees…
It’s been a few weeks since Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins’ startling announcement that Dallas would help shelter the influx of Central American kids. Initial reaction was, in general, positive if riddled with questions. Faith groups across the area have been busy raising funds and holding food and clothing drives…
One year ago yesterday, Governor Rick Perry signed into law one of the country’s most restrictive abortion laws. It’s been a little over a year since Wendy’s Davis’ landmark filibuster, and it would be another few months before the bill withstood legal strutiny in federal courts. But here we are…
Republican Senator John Cornyn and Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar this week were heralded, by The Dallas Morning News among others, for their proposal to hire scores of new immigration judges to begin ruling on child migrant cases within a week or so of their arrival, as a show of force…
Last year, like so many years, Texas’ attempt to adopt new science textbooks was clouded by controversy, as creationists tried once again to cut out teaching of evolution. This year it’s social studies’ turn. And while experts say the state board, the elected and highly political body that governs textbook…
With Central American kids streaming across Texas’ border and nothing but partisan posturing on the horizon, Dallas County, under the leadership of County Judge Clay Jenkins and in partnership with the feds, is preparing to shelter thousands of unaccompanied minors from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, starting as soon as…
Dr. Nicolas Padron was a Dallas physician with a moderately successful practice, Padron Wellness Clinic. Located near the edge of White Rock Lake, the clinic must have been an idyllic setting to operate a drug distribution ring, at least until the feds showed up. Authorities say Padron was part of…
If you are a Plano resident, you probably received a letter recently that patted you on the back for your water conservation. And you were also probably informed of an upcoming Water Holiday. Plano’s yards have been baking under water restrictions aimed to cut consumption by 15-20 percent. City spokesman…
When the Sandy Hook school shootings occurred in December 2012, Jason Villalba had one toddler and one child in kindergarten. Like all parents, Villalba felt an urgent need to offer better protection for his kids. Unlike most parents, Villalba had just been elected to his freshman term in the Texas…
Lamar Alternative Education Center used to be Lamar Elementary. It’s part of the Grand Prairie Independent School District, and it officially closed its doors at the end of the 2013 school year because of low attendance. Today, the school sits empty in a working-class neighborhood, and looks the part of…
Ju Weng and Yu Con Weng are two brothers who have been living the dream life in Dallas, reaping the benefits of a very successful start-up business. The two have built a veritable Chinese buffet empire throughout the area: Together, they own and manage the Yes Buffet, Crown Buffet, Win…
We already knew that North Texas’ air is terrible. The ground isn’t much better. And according to the EPA, school buses may have a lot to do with that ground pollution. A school bus can emit nearly twice as much pollution per mile as a semi-truck, and it doesn’t help…
