This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think.
This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, it’s a big old grab bag with Ken Paxton, Clarence Thomas and Harlan Crow, problems in Tarrant and Dallas counties, Fort Worth ISD news (including book bans), a lot of trouble with heat in north Texas, the law about whitetail deer, immigration news, Texas history and food including the Big Tex Choice awards, and the Perot Museum’s paleontologists are unearthing a mosasaur.
This week’s post was brought to you in part by the music of Nick Rhodes (of Duran Duran) and Wendy Bevan. Recommended if you like “planetarium music”, which sounds sort of new agey to me, but in a good spacey way. The rest of it was brought to you by the music of Tangerine Dream. It’s a long post.
- Starting off with local Ken Paxton news: the usual hard right suspects are threatening anyone who votes against Ken Paxton. Some of the usual suspects are spearheading the revenge of the right-wingers: Jonathan Stickland and Lauren Davis, who ran unsuccessfully for county judge here in Dallas County last year. They were chatting with Steve Bannon about how they were going to ruin both any anti-Paxton Republican senators and the House impeachment managers.
- In somewhat related news, the DMN has a puff piece on retired local judge Lana Myers, who’ll be assisting Dan Patrick as he runs the Paxton circus starting next week.
- Speaking of the county judge, Clay Lews Jenkins gave his state of the county speech this week, and the state is “a mess”. You’ve read about the payroll software and I’ve mentioned the problems with the juvenile courts as well. I like Clay J but he’s right: we deserve better.
- Following up on the Tarrant County Appraisal District executive who was caught lying to the media: he was suspended on Monday and got the sack on Wednesday. I usually side-eye everything coming out of Southlake, Keller, and Colleyville, but this time they’re on to something.
- Reported without comment: What gets you banned from Fort Worth City Council meetings? Calling the mayor a slur.
- Tarrant County and UNT Health Science screwed up their COVID vaccine rollout and how taxpayers are on the hook for $7 million after the feds refused to reimburse the county.
- It’s time for one of my favorite reports: six degrees of our old friend Clarence Thomas. He’s in the news this week for his 2022 disclosure form and his updated disclosures from previous years, including those trips with Harlan Crow that ProPublica busted him for not reporting and the sale of his mother’s house in 2014. Talking Points Memo has the national coverage.
- Fort Worth ISD had a couple of items of interest this week. First, their libraries are now open and they banned 100 books. I skimmed the list and it’s mostly the culture war queer book-banning stuff but also includes some classics like Slaughterhouse Five. Sort of related, FWISD is working on a new sex ed curriculum. If you’re interested in sex ed in the schools, you should click through and check it out.
- Another roundup of heat-related stories from the hellish summer of 2023:
- A UPS driver died after collapsing a few days before in the heat. I’m glad those folks are getting AC in their vans.
- Plano West high school closed for two days while their AC was out. The Onion picked this story up with a savage headline.
- The Dallas Observer canceled Brewfest, a big local event, because it’s supposed to be 102 that day and Brewfest is outdoors in the heat. As someone who’s been ill after day drinking at the Texas Renaissance Festival on a triple-digit day, I think this is a wise decision.
- The North Texas Fair & Rodeo did go on but its revenue and attendance were down due to the heat.
- The minimum security federal prison in Seagoville is overheated and understaffed. Interior temperatures are over 100F.
- House Democrats are unhappy about state prisons with no AC and that means us here in Texas. They’re calling for an investigation. Texans who signed on include Jasmine Crockett from here in Dallas and Greg Casar of Austin.
- This Guardian story about peach farming under climate change is focused on South Carolina, but as a lover of Hill Country peaches, I read it with dismay.
- Noted in passing: Aaron Dean is appealing his manslaughter conviction in the death of Atatiana Jefferson. Say her name.
- A couple of environmental justice items in Dallas, neither of which is about Joppa for a change. First, Negotiations Have Stalled Between Shingle Factory and West Dallas Community. The factory owner wants to stay for six more years and the local residents want them out in three. West Dallas is gentrifying slowly, and part of the issue is a change of zoning the landowner wants after the factory is closed. And in southeast Dallas, it turns out that the Shingle Mountain site, from which the city removed tons of debris two years ago, is also contaminated with lead. The city will be removing the lead over the next couple of months.
- You may remember the trouble the Dallas Zoo had earlier this year with a thief who released some animals from their habitat and stole some others. The thief has been found incompetent to stand trial and remanded to a state hospital.
- This story on the legal wrangling surrounding a whitetail deer herd in Kaufman County was fascinating. The breeding herd is infected with CWD, a terminal, untreatable disease closely related to scrapie and mad cow. The state and the CDC want to destroy the herd, which is state property under state law. Quote from the article that sent my eyebrows toward my hairline: “Throughout the last year and a half, the rancher has repeatedly said that CWD is more of a political disease than a real threat”.
- Don’t read this one while you’re eating: Texas med schools increasingly turn to unclaimed bodies for student education. There are ethical questions about how this happens, especially since some people donate their bodies to science.
- Noted because it’s Atmos, my least favorite local utility: Atmos’ 4-hour response time stalled efforts to beat Cantina Cadillac bar fire, report says. Because Atmos didn’t turn the gas line off, the historic building in the Stockyards burned and firefighters had to concentrate on saving the surrounding buildings.
- Another North Texan arrested for breaching the Capitol on January 6.. I note these stories mostly because there are so many of them from this part of the state.
- A heartbreaking story from the Guardian about abortion practice in Texas after SB8.
- Because there’s nothing better for him to do, Ted Cruz is complaining about the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Here’s the culture war sausage being made: Apparently the director took an interview with the Daily Mail and when asked about the US recommendations compared to Canada, suggested that the US might reduce the recommendation to two drinks a week, same as Canada. Number one, this is not an official policy, just a hypothetical answer that the director gave in an interview. Number two, there’s a reason why they say “friends don’t let friends read the Daily Fail”, which is that it’s a British culture war rag. Number three, even if the NIAAA recommended we all drink no more than two a week, that’s not a law, just a health recommendation. The reason Cruz is interested in this culture war BS is that complaining about nonexistent health recommendations is more popular than any of the policies his party is currently pursuing.
- My state senator, Nathan Johnson talked to the Dallas Observer about the property tax cut deal. As always, he has sensible things to say and I’m glad I voted for him.
- That high-speed Houston-to-Dallas train line also has a potential extension to Fort Worth along I-30. There are some open houses to discuss it, half of which will have already happened by the time you read this on Friday. The Dallas open house will take place on September 7.
- As long-time friends know, I used to work for an immigration lawyer, so I notice immigration news. A few interesting items have come through this week:
- Texas and 20 other Republican-leaning states are suing the Biden administration over the use of parole in the CHNV Pathway program. The details of the suit get off into the weeds, but the gist of it is that the program harms Texas because it has to fund services for the immigrants and that the executive branch program undermines Congress’ immigration authority. Look for a ruling in about a month.
- An NPR explainer about work permits for asylees and refugees that touches on the politics as well as the economic and human issues.
- The Biden administration is fighting a family separation lawsuit. This case is a result of Trump policies; as with anything that has to do with the enforcement side of immigration, the story is appalling. I know intellectually that the feds have to defend the suit. It still makes them sound like jerks.
- The DOJ is suing SpaceX for employment discrimination against asylees and refugees on the basis of export control for some of their technologies. DOJ press release.
- Here’s a very Dallas story: a nonprofit is running a charity home showcase in Preston Hollow and the locals don’t want the punters coming through. The charity had cut back on the planned showcase and planned to use a nearby church parking lot to run shuttles; the latter plan has been nixed since I marked this story for a roundup. I know the neighborhood because my in-laws used to live a couple of miles away, so I’m not at all surprised to see the neighbors trying to keep out the hoi polloi.
- Turning now to some Texas history. First we have an story about a WWI-era shipwreck in the Neches River that was exposed by this summer’s drought. I’ve read several pieces about the wreck. This interview with a marine historian was the best.
- Here’s a story about the Fort Worth Stockyards’ drovers. If that sounds interesting to you, you should check out the Fort Worth Herd’s Instagram.
- The National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum may have to relocate or go virtual because of rent increases. This museum has been on my list for a while. Looks like I better get on it.
- In food news, the Big Tex Choice Awards have been made. It’s the (controversial, as you may recall) deep fried pho for the savory; Biscoff Delight for the sweet; and bourbon banana caramel sopapillas for the most creative.
- When we were in Austin and went to Lockhart on the regular, we knew all about the Black family’s barbecue feud. Now we have to know about the Hutchins family feud. Both of the joints are on our list but we haven’t eaten at either yet.
- Good Morning America is having a taco contest and two local joints taco-ed off to advance in the contest. I haven’t eaten at either Taco Milagro or Mami Coco, but I’ve heard good things about both. That said, I wouldn’t be looking for the best tacos in Texas here in Dallas.
- Speaking of tacos: last week we talked about that terrible taco ranking list, and this week Texas Monthly explains why it sucks.
- And last but not least: a local amateur fossil hunter found a mosasaur near the North Sulphur River, about 80 miles northeast of Dallas. The Perot Museum’s paleontologists have been unearthing it this summer and will be returning this fall to get the rest of it out of the ground. It’s a pleasure to see local paleontologists doing their thing.