First, came the coronavirus pandemic. Then, came the latest wave of Black Lives Matter demonstrations. Many health experts feared the protests against racial injustice would usher in a landslide of new COVID-19 cases, but some doctors are now saying it’s unlikely. “For the most part, we’re not going to see…
Chris Polone woke up on Friday to around 100 phone calls. The owner of The Rail Club Live in Fort Worth said they all asked the same thing: Had he heard about Gov. Greg Abbott’s order to shutter the state’s bars? Polone said he was shocked when he learned of…
Dallas County’s new coronavirus cases continues to rapidly climb. June 1, the county counted 220 new cases. Sunday, the number jumped to 570. The disturbing trend prompted Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins to write a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday. In it, he urges Abbott to impose statewide…
Dallas hair salon owner Shelley Luther has cannonballed her way into the national spotlight. Her brash act of political defiance flung heaps more mud into the already murky debate surrounding safety mandates amid the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, the University of Houston released a poll indicating that Luther’s peers disapproved…
It was good while it lasted. Dallas County’s eviction moratorium ended June 15, effectively halting certain protections for thousands of North Texas tenants. Tuesday, DeSoto City Council member Candice Quarles delivered a bleak forecast for Dallas evictions during a virtual town hall meeting on Zoom. She said considering the county’s…
Expect to breathe in some dusty, African air when you step outside this weekend. A Saharan dust plume is traveling more than 7,000 miles to touch down in Dallas. The cloud is a bone dry, dusty mass of air that forms over the Sahara Desert in North Africa, said Juan…
Kevin Tarver wants justice. Months before the world learned the names George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks and Breonna Taylor, Denton police shot and killed his son Darius. A 23-year-old University of North Texas student, Darius Tarver was a criminal justice major and on the dean’s list. He was part of the…
Despite last week’s record number of new COVID cases statewide, many Texans have ditched wearing a mask out in public. It’s no wonder: Recommendations from health officials are being consistently subverted by some government authorities. Friday, Dallas County Commissioners approved an order that requires businesses to enforce mask wearing for…
The U.S. Supreme Court has been busy settling landmark cases this week. Monday, it ruled that gay and transgender people are protected from workplace discrimination under the Civil Rights Act. Thursday, it upheld the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which shields certain undocumented immigrants from deportation. Considering the court’s…
The numbers don’t look good for North Texas’ long-term care facilities, where the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on elderly residents and staff. Monday, 19 members of a Plano memory care facility were hospitalized after exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, according to The Dallas Morning News. Since mid-April, Dallas nursing home…
In 2017, Mansfield ISD suspended art teacher Stacy Bailey for being gay. The two-time teacher of the year winner lost her job after she showed her elementary-aged students a picture of her fiancee. In February, a federal judge ruled Bailey’s suspension unconstitutional. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court echoed that…
It’s a moment 21 years in the making for Willie Hudspeth. Since the late ’90s, the activist has been protesting Denton’s Confederate monument, which stands in front of the town’s courthouse. Now, the statue is finally being removed. On Tuesday, Denton County Commissioners unanimously voted to apply for its relocation…
As America burns and the revolution-within-a-pandemic rages on, many entertainers have spoke out about their support for social justice reform. Run the Jewels dropped its fourth album early, with critics heralding it as the “soundtrack of the George Floyd protests.” Doja Cat donated $100,000 to the Breonna Taylor fund to…
During quarantine, many people have tons more time on their hands to turn inward. To help combat coronavirus-induced anxiety, some are picking up meditation, learning yoga or spicing up their reading with self-help books. Dallas songwriter Ward Richmond’s way ahead of the self-improvement curve. The former partyer-turned-yogi broaches personal growth…
With racial tensions across the United States already at a rapid simmer, the recent killings of George Floyd, Tony McDade and Breonna Taylor have raised them to a rolling boil. Since late last week, thousands in North Texas have taken to the streets to protest police violence against black people…
Last week, Jimmy Fallon apologized after a video of him in blackface went viral on social media, sparking outrage nationwide. The offensive practice has also reared its ugly head in North Texas. The Observer has obtained photos of Tami Tobey, a member of the Midlothian ISD Board of Trustees, dressed…
Saying goodbye to a loved one is always hard. Grieving during a pandemic is even harder. Ever since the coronavirus hit North Texas, people have had to change the way they mourn, says North Dallas Funeral Home director Kyle Ko. Staff now have to supervise funerals to ensure guests maintain…
Nobody expected that three months into 2020 we’d be locked in our homes thanks to an insidious global pandemic. Not me, not you and definitely not community-supported nonprofit organizations. Like us, nonprofits everywhere are having to come to grips with this new dystopian reality. Many are reevaluating their game plans…
Raptors and Triceratops and T. rex will now be created in North Texas. But not like that eccentric guy with the hat did in Jurassic Park. Billings Productions, Inc. is the nation’s leading manufacturer of dinosaur animatronics, and this summer it’s migrating to new digs in Allen. Vice president of…
It looks like Russian spies aren’t the only ones who’ve discovered a way to break Facebook. Last week, the budding Dallas band Learning Names released a music video for its first single, “Be Quiet,” that quickly attracted over 15,000 views between Facebook and YouTube, two-thirds of which came from the…
You’ve probably seen the viral video by now. Last week, an exotic dancer from Addison named Genea Sky was caught falling from a 15-foot pole. Without missing a beat, Sky rebounded and continued to perform her routine. Her injuries were extensive. She suffered a fractured jaw and broken teeth, as…
According to the Chinese zodiac, 2020 is the Year of the Rat, a time of wealth and abundance. It’s also shaping up to be a time of redemption and retrospection for North Texas megastar Jessica Simpson, who joins power blondes Taylor Swift and Paris Hilton in setting their demure (dare…
