A rush of rental bikes and the ensuing backlash against ‘urban litter’ have again raised the question of whether this city can handle two-wheeled lifestyle choices. They’re everywhere. And bright. They’re maybe not the color you’d pick for your own, but that’s the whole point of these bike-share rentals in Dallas. They stick out on…
Politics
Unexpected Acts of Kindness
Among the horror we’ve witnessed over the last several weeks, it’s been amazing to see tiny glimmers of awesomeness during hurricanes in Houston, Florida and Puerto Rico. In Las Vegas, where strangers put their lives at risk to help others as a gunman rained down bullets on country music fans. These senseless acts of violence…
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
After a long holiday weekend, I hit the snooze button for 37 minutes, the amount of time I had allocated for the morning workout I detest. I overslept and skipped the gym, hardly the way I want to start a new week. That’s because no good deed goes unpunished. I’m already down, having dashed my…
Problems with Texas Texting Ban
With all the hubbub in Texas over bathroom bills and whatnot, one bill that quietly swooped into place is a statewide ban on texting and driving. It goes into effect on September 1. It’s not hard to see us go from texting ban to deportation from Texas for some unlucky undocumented immigrants. Gov. Greg Abbott…
Texas Legislature Takes on Craft Beer
Texas has cultivated a love affair with craft beer, but that doesn’t extend to the Texas Legislature, which recently passed a bill that beer advocates are calling grossly anti-competitive. House Bill 3287, aka the “taproom bill,” says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer on-site, they must 1)…
How to Protest your Property Taxes in Dallas
If you’re a homeowner in the DFW area, you recently got a shocker in the mail: a 2017 appraisal of the value of your property that probably went through the roof. The value of homes in Dallas County rose 9.9 percent this year, with the value of homes in the four major counties around Dallas,…
Texas Betting on Trump to Block Planned Parenthood
The state of Texas is on a mission to box Planned Parenthood out, and is hoping the current Presidential administration will aid and abet its plan, even if it results in the further decline of health services to Texas women. That’s right. Texas is betting on Trump to block Planned Parenthood. In 2013, Texas gave…
Don’t Thank Dallas Mayor for Pension Resolution
Following months of uncertainty, some progress is being made to divert one of the biggest potential crises for the city of Dallas: the disposition of the massively troubled Dallas Police and Fire Pension. But we don’t have Mayor Mike Rawlings to thank for it. Due to gross mismanagement, the pension fund has acquired a debt…
Pastors Now Can Preach Politics from the Pulpit
President Donald Trump has become known for the large number of executive orders he’s signed since he was elected, but one he signed on May 4 involving religious liberty has even some faith organizations scratching their heads. What the order does is essentially remove a gag on pastors that previously prevented them from preaching politics…
Why You Need to Vote
It feels like things are really getting bad in Texas. That we’re living in a dystopian HBO drama where there is only one flavor of opinion — vanilla. Tolerance is nonexistent, sprinkles aren’t allowed. Don’t even think about chocolate. It’s embarrassing enough that a federal judge has ruled, yet again, that our voter ID law…