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 budget season for the cities and counties, with some facing hard choices and others dropping tax rates; what’s up with Dallas city governance; Dallas HERO, like the bad penny, is back again; the Dallas County Jail is overcrowded and may cost us a bunch of money; who’s going for hand-marked and hand-counted ballots this year; what may happen if Fort Worth ISD is taken over by the state; how SB840, the housing law that limits zoning out apartments, is affecting North Texas; 2026 candidacies and the latest on how local and statewide redistricting are affecting them; and more.
This week’s post was brought to you by the music of Darragh Morgan, a modern classical violinist with electronic vibes who is new to me. It’s for folks who enjoy high-pitched electronic and analog ambient but fair warning: one of my cats was disconsolate the entire time I was listening to her.
- Here in Dallas, it’s still budget season (it’s always budget season). In addition to everything else, Candy’s Dirt speculates that Dallas’ Brutalist City Hall might be up for sale. City Hall opened in 1978 and it’s extremely distinctive, but it’s not a protected landmark and it hasn’t been maintained. Candy doesn’t see the potential problem I do, but I’ve watched Houston and Dallas and Austin knock over distinguished buildings too many times not to worry about the possibility of redevelopment.
- New D11 council member Bill Roth is positioning himself as a budget hawk. He just sent a memo around about cuts to the city budget he wants, including “the Office of Community Police Oversight, the Ethics and Compliance office, public art, cultural service contracts, climate action planning, community care services, affordable housing, economic mobility programs, Southern Skates, and Vision Zero”. He will be back later with more cuts aimed at “bolstering police and fire services, repairing aging infrastructure, restoring library funding and providing property tax relief to residents.” Just so we’re clear on his priorities.
- Candy’s Dirt also has the lowdown on Council assignments and what they mean. Meanwhile the Dallas Morning News updates us on Mayor Johnson’s renaming of Council committees and the ban on virtual attendance. Also worth reading: Jaime Resendez on Mayor Johnson’s own attendance issues.
- Meanwhile, Dallas HERO made it clear they’re here to stay and will be pressing the city not only on the number of police officers they’re supposed to be hiring under Prop U, but the starting salaries, which HERO thinks ought to be higher. Look for a(nother) lawsuit depending on how those budget numbers shake out.
- As you know, everybody in North Texas is looking at their DEI efforts, either because federal funding is hanging on them more or less officially or because the people in charge want to get rid of them anyway. Here in Dallas, the city is hearing from the citizenry and specifically some of the folks who asked for DEI measures in the first place. D Magazine linked to this Dallas Weekly piece which is worth reading for its history and questions about diversity and funding in Dallas. Meanwhile, the arts community is also trying to figure out what’s going on and how changes to DEI will affect their application process for grants and how they receive them.
- More on the Inspector General issue: You may recall that we had to fire our most recent Dallas Inspector General because the city charter now requires that job to be held by an attorney and the most recent hire was not one. Oops. Now the city’s first IG, Bart Bevers who held the position after it was created in 2021, is suing the city for wrongful termination and reinstatement to his position. He claims the city retaliated against him after his reports questioned the city’s procurement processes and noted possible overspending. Bever, by the way, is an attorney and meets all the other charter requirements for the position.
- And away from the horseshoe, the DMN went down to Deep Ellum to find out what its real problems are: a drop in business, small crime, and road construction along with the general tenor of the economy. And the closure of Rodeo Dallas, the subject of lawsuits, has helped.
- Dallas County is also having budget woes including traffic infrastructure costs. The Dallas County Jail is also overstuffed and taxpayers may find ourselves paying higher rates over that. Meanwhile, the county has lost federal health funds and is having to let private charity pick up the slack.
- The Dallas County GOP (Chair: Allen West) is considering whether to hand-count paper ballots for its March primary next year. Dallas County would become the largest US jurisdiction to adopt hand-counting if the GOP pushes the measure through. It’s worth clicking through to read the details of what the GOP can and cannot force the county to do, and what financial requirements the GOP can and can’t dump on the county.
- Wandering on over to Tarrant County, we have the Texas Tribune on both the county and the congressional redistricting that leaves the county’s officeholders whiter and more Republican than the diverse population suggests. KERA also has a similar story from a local perspective.
- In a completely different story that is absolutely related, Tarrant County Sherriff Bill Waybourn says he won’t send anyone to Commissioner’s Court to brief them on jail deaths when the briefing is requested by Commissioner Alisa Simmons. Waybourn, who is white, is an ally of County Judge Tim O’Hare. Simmons, who is Black, is O’Hare’s frequent foil and the target of the county redistricting this year.
- Also on the “we don’t give a damn what our constituents want” front, Commissioner Simmons tried to get Tarrant County to reinstate some Fort Worth-area polling locations on Election Day but the measure was voted down on partisan lines. Tarrant County’s polling site cuts also made Talking Points Memo this week.
- Two versions of this story for you, and notice the difference between the headlines. Fort Worth Report: Tarrant County commissioners disagree on cutting property tax rate. Star-Telegram: Tarrant County likely to lower property taxes. Here’s how much you could save. Nuff said.
- A pro-Palestinian activist is facing hate crimes charges in a Tarrant County Court over anti-Israel graffiti. In an early test for SB326, which the governor signed into law back in May, we’ll find out whether Raunaq Alam and two of his fellow activists are going to spend 10 years in jail and whether SB326’s broad definition of antisemitism is going to stick in court.
- You may recall that in the recent legislative session, the state decided to limit the power of faculty senates. The Fort Worth Report rounds up how Tarrant County universities and colleges are dealing with the law.
- Here’s a Tarrant-centric look at the water supply problem in North Texas.
- Here’s another one of those stories where the headlines tell you as much about the source as the story. Fort Worth Report: Arlington City Council passes first vote to suspend anti-discrimination ordinance, adjust Unity Council goals. Star-Telegram: Arlington votes to erase DEI language, protecting $65 million in federal funds.
- Following an executive order about ballot papers that use barcodes or QR codes, Collin County will join two central Texas suburban counties in ditching touchscreen machines in favor of hand-marked ballots.
- KERA has an analysis of what redistricting may do in Collin County in the light of demographic changes. I’m glad Collin County Democrats are feeling more feisty and bringing forward good candidates, but I don’t forget that Frisco and parts north, where white flight went as Plano developed more diversity through both in-state movement and bringing in international companies like NTT, are still part of the county and likely to still be very red.
- One more “this is what those federal funds you’re losing really do” story: what closing the Institute of Museum and Library Services may cost Denton libraries.
- Fairview, which you may remember from greatest hits like “that Mormon Temple’s steeple is too high for our small town”, is launching a task force to mitigate the effects of McKinney’s new airport expansion. Not in our backyard!
- Hood County is considering a third power plant to power Bitcoin mines despite the protests of residents of Granbury and nearby unincorporated areas.
- Hurst taxpayers will pay 3.34% more in property tax next year and face water and wastewater increases of about $2 a month to meet increased city costs.
- You may recall that the Sherriff of Johnson County was accused of sexual harassment and retaliation last month. Unsurprisingly a number of his constituents don’t believe the allegations and are praying, protesting, and contacting legislators and officeholders to get the charges thrown out.
- The city of McKinney is dropping its tax rate by about half a cent next year but based on property values, most homeowners will still pay more. The city also approved a $942 million budget including 60 new positions.
- Plano, meanwhile, is planning for a $788 million budget with stable tax rates. While McKinney is a second-ring suburb with strong growth, Plano’s growth rate is slowing.
- And in Southlake, the proposed 2026 budget will lower the proposed tax rate again.
- Moving on to schools, the Dallas Observer reports that North Texas districts are overcomplying with SB13, the library law filed by State Sen. Angela Paxton and passed in the recent regular legislative session. The law requires some schools to create an advisory council for purchases, complicating and slowing the ability of school libraries to make purchases. Denton, Plano and Coppell ISDs are already putting together advisory councils; Dallas ISD will be giving the job to the board of trustees. If you’re interested in school library systems, this one is worth a read. I learned about both this (bad) law and the school library purchase system.
- The Fort Worth Report shows you seven charts to help you figure out whether state control has improved other Texas districts (read: Houston ISD). The reason they want to know is because, as you may recall, Fort Worth ISD is on the bubble for a takeover. The Dallas Observer tells you what will happen if the Texas Education Agency does take over Fort Worth schools.
- The Heritage HOA lawsuit against Keller ISD, one of the remnants of the failed attempt to split the district earlier this year, has been split in two. The Tarrant County lawsuit to keep the board from trying to split the district again is on pause; a second lawsuit in Johnson County seeks to remove the ‘rump board’ and focuses on their violations of the Open Meetings Act.
- Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating Plano ISD for antisemitism over alleged pro-Palestinian lessons in schools and excused absences for pro-Palestinian walkouts.
- Dallas Area Rapid Transit is in the middle of sorting out service cuts to fund a general mobility program that was developed to satisfy the City of Plano after Plano threatened up to a quarter of its income. Now Plano may refuse to participate in the general mobility fund. The reason: the city would have to agree not to lobby to redirect more DART funds or call an election to leave DART, or give back the money.
- There’s been a lot of local coverage of SB840, the new state law that limits municipal zoning authority to encourage the building of apartments. A sample:
- The Texas Tribune: Texas suburbs resist new state law allowing more apartments, which focuses on DFW suburbs like Frisco, Plano, Arlington, and Irving.
- Candy’s Dirt: SB 840 Goes Into Effect, Limits Municipal Zoning Authority
- Fort Worth Report: Fort Worth faces major changes to zoning, housing design rules due to new Texas laws
- Candy’s Dirt: Realtors Who Hold Public Office Share Insights at MetroTex Forum
- So far this year, North Texas has had 19 Ozone Action Day alerts. Eight were in August, which is fewer than the thirteen we had last August. Click through to read about why that’s bad and what the current administration is planning to do about it.
- I thought when I left Austin, I wasn’t going to see any more scorpions. More fool me: there are scorpions in Frisco after this year’s wet summer. Thanks, but no thanks. I had my lifetime supply of scorpion stings as a child!
- In local opinion pieces and editorials: the DMN would like Texas Democrats to know they might have a chance to win something statewide in the unlikely event they don’t blow it; over at the Star-Telegram, columnist Ryan J. Rusak would like you to know that the feds taking a stake in Intel, increased federal control of elections, and squelching free speech are not conservative positions; and the Dallas Observer on why local country hero Charley Crockett is right about the double standard in country music where Beyoncé is concerned.
- It’s now campaign season for 2025, but some people are looking ahead to 2026. The DMN’s Gromer Jeffers, Jr. has a Trump-focused overview that also covers statewide races. He’s also a co-author of another analysis focused on the Cornyn vs Paxton Senate primary. And here’s a third story focused on the Democratic members of Congress in the area and where they’ll end up under the new redistricting scheme. Meanwhile, the Star-Telegram is focused on the Democratic side of the governor’s race, where we have no declared candidates yet.
- As of September 1, Texas has expanded its medical marijuana program, the Texas Compassionate Use Program, to include chronic pain patients. That’s me, and I was interested to read how I might be able to get a prescription.
- The Dallas Observer has updated its list of every mass shooting in Texas in 2025. It scares me that I look at a list this long and think, well, that’s not too bad.
- State Fair tickets this year cost as much as $29 or as little as $7 depending on which day you go. Prices are for buying online; the fair opens on September 26 and we’ll know what gate prices will be then.
- The Dallas World Aquarium, which is as much of a small indoor zoo as an aquarium, will be showing a full set of ten rare 1983 Warhol prints of endangered animals for the next year.
- And last, but not least, Gordon Ramsay’s new season of Hell’s Kitchen will feature a Battle of the States, and Dallas restaurant Evelyn will represent Texas. This is a place with a $150 martini so I’ll be interested in hearing what Ramsay thinks it needs to do.