Dallas’ ‘Pop Up Camp’ Seeks to Erase Kids’ Coronavirus Woes

Water balloons, rockets, snow cones and slime get top billing in most kids’ pantheon of summer vacation favorites. Luckily for children in Dallas’ high-poverty Frazier neighborhood, they now get to experience mainstays like those every Wednesday. After the pandemic hit, multiple Dallas nonprofits teamed to throw Pop Up Camp, a…

Dallas County Jail Inmates Given One Disposable Mask Per Week

The Dallas County Sheriff’s Department has fumbled a few times with its COVID-19 protocols. First, employees were told not to wear masks because that would frighten the inmates. Then, the department started issuing its employees one disposable mask per week and told them to sanitize them with alcohol or Lysol…

Composer’s Racist Views Spark Debate in Music Theory Community

Since this summer’s resurgence of Black Lives Matter protests began, calls for racial justice have reached far and wide. Now, the music theory community is reckoning with its own white supremacy issues following a controversy stemming from the University of North Texas. Up for debate is the legacy of late…

Will DART Survive the Pandemic?

Earlier this year, 200 people packed into Old Parkland to hear city leaders talk about the future of Dallas Area Rapid Transit. DART had some pretty big projects coming up, like the overhaul of its bus system and the D-2 downtown subway, and they were working toward major public transit…

North Texas Bar Owners Continue to Fight Back Against Abbott, TABC

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission slapped 18 club owners with suspensions after they participated in Freedom Fest, Saturday’s statewide bar protest that aimed to challenge the governor’s latest pandemic shutdown order. Organizer Chris Polone, who owns The Rail Club Live in Fort Worth, said he’s also under the gun. This week,…

Missing Masks: Costume Store Owner Demands Answers from Denton County Sheriff

Annemarie Aldrich is hunting for answers. At the coronavirus pandemic’s outset, her store, Denton’s Rose Costumes, began sewing masks for inmates and staff at the Denton County Jail. Dubbing the effort “Project Mask Makers,” Aldrich said volunteers delivered thousands of handmade cloth masks that were tailored to jail officials’ specifications. Then,…

Rep. Louie Gohmert Tests Positive for Coronavirus

East Texas U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, who has shunned mask-wearing during the pandemic because he’s Louie Gohmert, has tested positive for the coronavirus. Gohmert was due to travel back to Texas on a campaign trip with President Donald Trump on Wednesday, but a pre-screening test for that trip came back…

Freedom Fest Bar Protest Went Down Smoothly, Organizer Says

There weren’t any hiccups in Freedom Fest, Saturday’s statewide bar protest, according to its organizer. More than 300 bars said they would be joining the demonstration by hosting benefits that day in defiance of an order from Gov. Greg Abbott closing bars on account of the pandemic. Organizer Chris Polone,…

Don’t Wanna Be Sedated

In 2016, Tony Timpa had a run-in with the police. As he stood outside a porn shop on Mockingbird Lane, Timpa called the cops, telling them he was scared, off of his medication and suffering from mental illness. By the end of the night, the 32-year-old Timpa was dead, dying…

U.S. Mayors Say They Need More Money and Flexibility From Congress

U.S. cities are experiencing budget shortfalls amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Although Congress has greenlit about $3 trillion in coronavirus relief, Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams said most American cities have been left behind. “Cities have been on the front line of the battle, and we are being hit hard,” he said…