Four candidates for mayor of Dallas agree on at least this much: Homelessness is a growing problem that the city must find a way to solve. At a public forum Thursday, candidates shared their ideas for meeting that goal, ranging from partnering with the agencies and nonprofits that are already…
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot will no longer prosecute misdemeanor marijuana cases for first-time offenders, the district attorney’s office announced Thursday. Anyone arrested a second or subsequent time for misdemeanor marijuana possession will be offered entry into a pretrial diversion program that will allow them to keep their criminal…
The Senate Higher Education Committee approved a bill Wednesday that updates the state’s policy for how colleges and universities are required to handle campus sexual violence. Senate Bill 585, introduced by Sen. Kirk Watson, an Austin Democrat, would require all public and private colleges and universities in the state to…
Texas Tech University’s medical school will no longer consider race as a factor in admissions, as part of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center officials signed the agreement in February, but it was first reported this week by the Wall Street Journal…
The Texas Senate on Tuesday unanimously approved its version of a “landmark” budget bill that includes $9 billion in new money for education and property tax relief. That figure mirrors the one put forward in a budget passed last month by the House of Representatives. But the two houses differ…
The former head of a now-defunct school bus agency was sentenced Tuesday to six months of home confinement and three years of probation after pleading guilty to a single count of tax evasion. Larry Duncan, former board president of Dallas County Schools, admitted to not paying taxes on nearly a…
In some ways, maybe Lubbock dodged a bullet. Things were, by all accounts, pretty subdued there Monday night after Texas Tech’s heartbreaking overtime loss to Virginia in the NCAA national championship game. That’s not to say that everyone took the loss with grace. Currently in Lubbock, Texas: Call out “Fuck…
Josh Pippins expected to be out of college and a few years into his career by now. Instead, he’s just wrapping up his junior year at the University of Texas at Arlington. When he came to UTA three years ago, Pippins, of Arlington, had taken two years of classes at…
By the time he began teaching Japanese at Skyline High School last year, Stephen Arnquist had allegedly been posting his white supremacist views online for years. School districts routinely conduct background checks on prospective teachers and school staff before hiring them. But how likely is it that one of those…
Officials at the Salvation Army will have to wait another month before learning if they can move forward with a planned 20-acre campus in northwest Dallas. The Salvation Army hopes to build the $95 million facility to provide shelter and services to the homeless in an industrial area on North…
The University of Texas at Arlington is suspending all social activities at its fraternities and sororities, university officials said Wednesday. University officials didn’t make the move in response to a single incident, but because of “concerns regarding the culture of the fraternal community,” said university spokesman Joe Carpenter. Although the…
Lawmakers in both houses of the Texas Legislature agree that the state should invest an additional $9 billion into its public school system. Now, they need to reach an agreement on how to spend that money. At a meeting Wednesday morning, the Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved its version of…
The Texas Senate approved a bill Tuesday that would offer legal protections to those who refuse to provide services on religious grounds. Senate Bill 17 bars state license-granting agencies from denying or stripping professional licenses “based on a sincerely held religious belief” of the applicant or license-holder. Critics say the…
Days after a woman was beaten in an early-morning altercation in Deep Ellum, her lawyer said he was considering suing not only the man accused of punching her repeatedly, but also the bar where he worked. At a news conference this week, civil rights attorney Lee Merritt said High and…
Thousands of students in the Dallas Independent School District show up to school each morning not knowing where they’ll sleep that night. Under a bill in the Texas Senate, districts wouldn’t be allowed to suspend such students if they misbehave. Senate Bill 1001 would bar school districts from suspending students…
A bill that would allow licensed professionals to deny services on religious grounds advanced out of a Texas Senate committee Monday afternoon. Senate Bill 17 would bar state license-granting agencies from taking action against an occupational license holder “based on a sincerely held religious belief.” The bill passed the Senate…
