You can’t celebrate the Fourth of July without fireworks. Here are some of the area’s best shows, along with a little extra in the form of parades and celebrations.
“Please do not park your vehicles on the freeway,” asks DPD.
Officials are hoping to prevent traffic gridlock this weekend like that of this past New Years Eve with a new holiday weekend traffic plan. Starting at 9 p.m. tonight, there will be road closures around the FIFA Fan Fest and the fireworks at Fair Park. At 9 p.m. tomorrow night, closures will be focused around Klyde Warren Park. The Highland Hills and Dixon Circle neighborhoods will have a greater police presence, too, as folks got the most rowdy in those areas last year. Oh, and no celebratory gunfire, please.
Teachers want to be hot, too!
Former Crowley ISD principal Gerardo Moreno Mendez is accused of selling prescription GLP-1 weight loss drugs to at least three school employees despite not being licensed to prescribe medication. He is currently free on bond and due back in court next month. Lesson of the day: tirzepatide is not the new apple.
Downtown Ross Tower could be yours.
For a light $99.1 million or so. That’s what the Dallas Central Appraisal District estimates the building and its land are worth now that it’s for sale, though the listing price has not been disclosed. The Cushman & Wakefield director revealed in a LinkedIn post that they’ve been given the task of advertising the building to potential investors.
Y’all can kiss my Dallas.
The World Cup has brought me a lot of joy this year. The kilt-bearing Scots getting some much-deserved love out in Boston really warmed my heart, and the emergence of Erling Haaland on my TikTok feed has surely changed the trajectory of my life. The Norway football star went viral this week after visiting the downtown Wild Bill’s Western Store and posting a picture in a “Y’all can kiss my Dallas” shirt. It’s fantastic.
Very good new Weston McKennie mural in Little Elm.
Huge thanks to Chobani for helping to bring this massive mural (much larger in scope than the 2022 Bishop Arts one) to life at Tinman Social in Weston McKennie’s hometown of Little Elm. The Team USA midfielder came up through the FC Dallas Academy.
I know this is technically an ad for yogurt, but in the immortal words of the World Cup’s official restaurant sponsor, I’m lovin’ it.
Federal report says Oak Cliff gas line not clearly marked.
A report from the National Transportation Safety Board says that the gas line that was hit last month before an Oak Cliff apartment building exploded was not marked before drilling began. The preliminary report does not yet explain why the line was not marked, and it could take more than a year to wrap up the investigation. Families of those killed and displaced residents say Atmos Energy did not repair repeated leaks and did not replace aging pipes. Atmos says the explosion is the responsibility of third parties.
Plan your September WFH days.
Work downtown? Go ahead and plan those work-from-home days now, because Donald Trump announced this week that the GOP will hold a rare mid-term national convention in Dallas on September 9 and 10 at American Airlines Center.
Metrocare in financial trouble.
Dallas County commissioners this week approved spending $600,000 to hire an interim chief financial officer for Metrocare. The move comes as Dallas County Auditor Timothy Hicks alerted the Court that the agency, which provides mental health services for more than 55,000 people each year in the county, is projected to lose $18 million this year and needs between $10 million and $15 million to survive. Early discussions are reportedly underway to see if Parkland Health can take over Metrocare.
Several North Texans in Chron.com’s list of 250 influential Texans.
In honor of the country’s 250th birthday, Chron.com created a list of the 250 most influential Texans. Dallas and North Texas acquit themselves quite well, with the list including George W. Bush, modern microchip inventor Jack Kilby, Jerry Jones, Ross Perot, H.L. Hunt, and Nolan Ryan making the top 25. The list also includes Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bonnie and Clyde, Mary Kay Ash, and Stanley Marcus.
Patrick Williams, editor-in-chef of the Dallas Observer, retires today after nearly 29 years in various roles at our alt weekly. He’s written a farewell column that sums up his attitude to the job, starting with the headline, “Screw you guys, I’m going home.” His real feelings are hidden only a little ways down: “We’ve stirred up some shit, kicked a few bullies in the shin, exposed lies and inanity. That was fun. We’ve also provided some comfort to the afflicted, brought attention to the ignored and did our part to show what a great city Dallas might be and sometimes is.”
Truth is, that rhetorical two-step sums up Patrick pretty well. He likes to project the image of a hardened newspaper cynic who hates the universe and everyone within. But among those who work for him, his heart is no secret. He fought for his writers and editors against relentless corporate downsizing pressures, and constantly reassured and complimented us. He is, in real life, as soft-spoken and kind and good a listener as his persona appears not to be.
There’s a rumor that he got promoted to editor in chief because he didn’t want to be in charge. I’m not going to fact check that, because it’s too good. Even if untrue, it gets at the broader emotional truth of his humility, reluctance to take the spotlight, and sheer skill at his job.
When things got weird—and this is Dallas, so that was often—Patrick was there to remind us that we were the normal ones. Early on in my food writing career at the Observer, a food writer from out of town (OK, fine: Pat Sharpe from Texas Monthly) asked me to join her at a certain restaurant. So we went. The next day, the leader of the restaurant’s PR company called Patrick directly at the Observer offices. The PR exec demanded to know why I went to the restaurant. Patrick, of course, was busy running a newspaper, not my social calendar. The exec began pleading: please don’t let me write an article about the meal, they’re not ready to be reviewed yet, if the Observer doesn’t review them now then the PR company will be sure to give us an exclusive scoop when the new menu drops. Patrick somehow hid his seething irritation long enough to say, “sorry, not interested,” then shielded me from the exec. I never faced the fallout, and I never went back to the restaurant.
While we’re talking about me: Patrick is more or less responsible for my career in food writing. He shepherded me through my first year of stiff prose, judgment errors, and gimmicky article ideas. He encouraged the good tendencies he saw and wasn’t too mean about the bad ones. He didn’t fire me after I wrote “FREE ICE CREAM” in allcaps. When I interviewed for the Observer’s food editor job in late 2015, he walked me to the parking garage and confided that they had found “an actual journalist” for that job (I think he said “we can’t believe she’s interested in us“), and asked me to take over the restaurant reviews instead. The actual journalist was Beth Rankin, who’s been my friend and hero ever since and is now a leader at the Denver Post. Doing reviews worked out OK for me, too.
There are still days where I feel like the last 11 years of my life have been carefully orchestrated by the city’s gentlest, least scheming person. It’s not just me. Here’s Pete Freedman: “Through encouragement and knowing prodding, he shaped my career and voice completely, whether he intended it (he didn’t).” Here’s Jim Schutze: “the perfect newspaper editor…everything going for him except maybe a tiny bit of shrapnel tragically lodged somewhere in the brain.”
One more compliment for Patrick, so that he really hates me. He is a superb sender of emails. I’ve never known anyone who sends better emails. If he wants a part-time retirement gig, I would pay $5 a month to get emails from Patrick.
I just searched through my inbox for some examples. From 2015, subject line “Friday crapola from Patrick,” salutation: “Hello, everyone: This’ll be shorter, with fewer references to drug addictions and death.”
Here he is disciplining me on a bad writing habit. Subject: “to be honest.” Message: “I’ll take it as a given that when you’re writing something for us, you’re being honest, so there’s really no need to ever type these words again. ‘To tell a big, fat, freaking lie …’ is OK, if you’re inclined to do that. It’ll give me a heads up.” Another subject: “colonoscopy.” Message: “You guys use a lot of colons.”
Have a grand, long, relaxing retirement, Patrick. Enjoy your liberation from the grind. Delete all the local politicians and PR flaks from your memory storage. Send us emails sometimes.
CPAL forges partnerships to create benefits screener.
Last week, I hopped on a quick call with Ashley Flores, Chief of Housing at Child Poverty Action Lab, to talk about a new report that is probably one of the most enlightening reports on evictions in Dallas produced so far. But something else emerged in our discussion: How incredibly expensive it is to be poor. One of the reasons? Many of the public benefits that low-income or economically fragile families could use to help them stretch their budgets are complex and hard to find and navigate.
This week, CPAL announced it was partnering with MyFriendBen, a free, anonymous benefits screener that utilizes AI, to create the Texas Accelerator. It’s a statewide effort that started in Tarrant County. So far, the Accelerator is working with organizations like the Center for Transforming Lives and First Step Staffing, with hopes of adding more to that roster. CPAL will host a full-time MyFriendBen director to manage pilot programs and outreach efforts, which will include beefing up the roster and including Texas health organizations, schools, and other community groups. So far, more than 115,000 households statewide have used the platform to locate roughly $58 million in public benefits, tax credits, and assistance from nonprofit programs.
“The Accelerator will provide shared infrastructure, a testing and learning agenda, and support to help partners of all sizes — community-based organizations, health systems, school districts, faith communities, staffing agencies, and more — adopt MyFriendBen quickly and effectively,” a press release said.
I know that you don’t take me seriously. You’re like “Bethany is the person on FrontBurner who reports actual news, while Tim is the guy who goofs around and says the city should hire 900 police dogs.” Meanwhile, you don’t even know who Holland is because she never posts anything. I digress.
Listen to me. This is serious. I have a British friend who is apoplectic about the new Deep Ellum pub called Queen’s Head. For him, this is a massive own goal. It should be called The Queen’s Head, with the definite article. In a lengthy email to me, this Brit yammered on and on about how Tate used to be called The Tate, until they hired a PR firm that changed the name to Tate. Point is, articles make a big difference.
Stay with me here.
What if Dallas officially changed its name to The Dallas? As my Brit friend noted, you’ve got The Big Apple. But otherwise, no American city carries an article with its name. By simply rebranding as The Dallas, we would signal to the world that we’ve leveled up. Obviously other cities would soon copy us. The Cleveland and The Oklahoma City would soon follow, but we would be the first. It’s like the period in The Wall Street Journal. Why the hell is that period there? Why is it The Dallas? No one knows. But it’s awesome.
First we replace the Pegasus with the Woofus. Then we rebrand as The Dallas. Oh! The 900 cop dogs. We have to do that, too. But after we do those three things? World-class city.
Just like Patrick Mahomes, my husband got a little preview of the much-discussed kid-centric theme park opening in Frisco today. But more importantly, he took a bunch of the park’s target demo (3- to 8-year-olds), got their feedback, and wrote a pretty comprehensive guide to navigating the park.
The internet has been roasting this theme park for 3 to 8 year olds. But let’s face it, your kids are still going to want to go. Here are some pro tips to get you through.
Two things about Dallas City Hall happened in Dallas yesterday.
Yesterday, I spent three hours unwillingly in Muskogee, Oklahoma, because the AC decided to stop blowing cold air about two hours into an 8-hour road trip. During that time, two things happened in Dallas.
The World Monuments Fund added Dallas City Hall to its “Irreplaceable America” list compiled in honor of the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding. The list also includes Bartram’s Garden in Philadelphia, which is the oldest surviving botanical garden in the United States, as well as the city of New Orleans, colonial homes in Newport, Rhode Island, the Mission Churches of Acoma and Laguna Pueblos, New Mexico, and the African Meeting House in Boston, the oldest surviving Black church in the United States.
The city announced that most of its nonuniform workers would be furloughed for three days this summer because of a $30 million budget shortfall. That last one happened right about the time the guy next to me in the garage waiting room started talking about how he had a friend who left for Mexico two weeks ago and hasn’t been heard from since. I don’t know how that story ended because I am a professional and did what any professional would do when possessing two thumbs and a sudden blessing of three hours in Muskogee: I started emailing and working my contacts to see what else I could divine about the decision.
What I’ve heard is this: staff were a bit blindsided by all of this. Managers and news outlets got word nearly simultaneously, which is probably not ideal. Several city council members said they feel the matter should have come before them first, too. The first furlough happens in a week. You’re not going to be able to go to the library or reach anyone in code compliance on those furlough days. Anyone at City Hall who is an assistant director or above will be required to take two additional furlough days.
I’ve reached out to the city to ask whether they could share the dollar amount Dallas will save from the furloughs, but I have not yet received a response. But that’s an important question to ask because of the discussion around the fate of City Hall. Listen, I’m not saying anything one way or another about where I land regarding the fate of City Hall. I would like to see a true accounting of whatever numbers we have for leasing, finish out, and moving to new digs compared to a gradual repair of a roughly 50-year-old building that was built to last eight times that tenure, as well as what we could get for selling the joint after we account for the fact that half of the revenue we get will have to go into the pension. But I also can’t quite understand the all-fired hurry either. I have never heard a really great explanation for why the city is moving ahead with redevelopment discussions when the reason for urgency—keeping the Mavericks in Dallas—has dissipated.
The Council voted 9-6 last week to spend $3 million to research where to move City Hall operations and how much the city could get for the land at 1500 Marilla. In light of yesterday’s news, I’m also reminded of the time I sat at a light at Northwest Highway and Preston and a panhandler came to my window, which was down for reasons I don’t recall now. I told him I didn’t have any cash, and then my phone rang, and I answered it. “OH, YOU HAVE IPHONE MONEY!” he yelled as the light changed. And that’s kind of where I’m at right now. Obviously, the panhandler’s frustration was a little misplaced—I didn’t say I was poor; I just said I didn’t have cash on me. But the sentiment remains: We are furloughing employees, but we have iPhone money to spend on something that doesn’t even have to happen right this second.
The Council is off on its July break, but come August, it will begin working on next year’s budget. That body will need to decide—and fast—what priorities will be met.
In a joint press release, the owners of USL Championship club Atlético Dallas announced that they’ve acquired upstart women’s soccer team Dallas Trinity FC. The merch is going to be killer.
OK, some World Cup stuff.
Eight people have now been arrested for attempting to sneak into of the Dallas Stadium matches without a ticket. Four of them actually made it in!
Dallas to furlough city workers.
On July 10, September 4, and September 28, non-uniform City of Dallas employees funded by the General Fund will have to take a leave-without-pay day. It’s an effort to address Dallas’ current $30 million budget shortfall.
Over the weekend, the Arts District played host to Flora Street Live, billed as a “walkable, multi-venue experience” along Flora Street that showcased much of the art you find downtown, whether performing or visual.
The vertical dance company Bandaloop performed twice, including this videoed performance, in which the audience at Sammons Park watched the dancers perform on the side of the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre. Disasterfilm, who shared the video, notes that the video playback is at 2x speed: “They’re not actually spinning sideways that fast!
I, for one, applaud them. As someone known for her motion sickness, the fact that they are dancing while hanging from the side of a building, spinning, and not barfing is a talent that goes beyond artistry.
Dallas Jury Finds For Women Who Accused Developer Bill Hutchinson of Sexual Assault.
A Dallas County jury last week awarded damages to two of three women accusing developer Bill Hutchinson of sexual assault. The jury deliberated for hours following a trial that lasted two weeks. The two women were awarded a combined $860,000.
The women said that they were assaulted in the summer of 2020 at the Dallas Virgin Hotels and Dunkirk apartments, which Hutchinson was affiliated with. Hutchinson is also a registered sex offender who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl at his Laguna Beach vacation home. (The official charge was misdemeanor sexual battery.)
“We are glad to see some vindication for our clients who bravely came forward against a rich and powerful man who clearly thinks the rules shouldn’t apply to him,” Michelle Simpson Tuegel, who represented the three women, said in a statement. “This was an extremely hard-fought case, but our efforts were well worth it to have a jury believe our clients and further validate Hutchinson’s record of sexually assaulting vulnerable women.”
In 2021, we wrote about the accusations leveled at Hutchinson and the reactions of those who knew him well. At the time, he had stepped down as CEO of Dunhill Partners. He’s now CEO again. You can read that story below.
As developer and reality show star Bill Hutchinson faces accusations of sexually assaulting young women, he has lost control of his carefully crafted persona.
Permits have been filed that would allow the banking firm to put signage on the downtown Fountain Place tower, where it could set up shop while it waits for its own Uptown high-rise to be built. Last week, the City Council approved $18.5 million in incentives to lure Morgan Stanley’s regional hub. Take that, Plano.
‘Morning News’ opens pop-up newsroom at SMU.
It’s part of the paper’s efforts to build trust with readers. We at D Magazine are also trying to build trust in the community, which is why I did a pop-up magazine editor’s desk yesterday at Queen’s Head Pub, in Deep Ellum. One community member brought me a Scotch egg, and I think a genuine connection was established.
Mutts Canine Cantina closes.
After 15 years, the Uptown dog park and human hangout announced yesterday that it was closing immediately. Bummer, man. A few months back, I did a pop-up magazine editor’s desk at Mutts and established some pretty solid community trust there.
It’s hot.
From the National Weather Service in Fort Worth: “The overall weather pattern won’t change much through midweek. Expect another couple of hot summer afternoons with highs in the mid to upper 90s and heat index values generally between 100 and 105 degrees. Breezy south winds will continue today before becoming lighter later in the week.”
A first look at the nearly $200 million Klyde Warren Park expansion.
After years (and years) of planning, the nearly two-acre expansion of our downtown deck park is finally coming into view. The Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation has announced that construction on the $200 million addition will begin right before the end of 2026. The expansion, which will extend the park west toward Field Street, includes The Jacobs Lawn, a 37,000-square-foot multi-use green space that can transform into an ice rink during winter months, and a glass-and-steel pavilion that will serve as a climate-controlled event space. To tide us over, feast your eyes on these romantic watercolor renderings of Klyde Warren’s future.
Are you a fan of the TV show Friday Night Lights? Plex (where the show streams now) and ATX TV are bringing some of the actors from that show on a five-city Friday Night Lights Roadshow this summer because it’s been 20 years since the show started, which can’t be right at all. The tour’s Dallas stop will be July 9 at the Alamo Drafthouse in The Cedars, bringing with it Adrianne Palicki (Tyra Collette), who will introduce her favorite episode (“Underdogs”) and then answer questions from the audience with fellow cast members Stacey Oristano and Derek Phillips (Mindy and Billy Riggins).
Organizers say there might be another surprise guest, too. Maybe it’s Landry, and he and Tyra can talk about that really dumb plotline where they killed someone and then never mentioned it again. Or maybe it’s Tim Riggins, and they’ll explain why he always appeared to be in desperate need of a good shampooing.
You can get tickets here. For what it’s worth, I think the special guest is probably Buddy Garrity (Brad Leland, who played football in Plano) or Smash’s mom, Corrina “Mama” Williams (the legendary Liz Mikel).
Clear eyes … full hearts … can’t lose: Put your best guess in the comments.
Saks Global announced Friday that it has officially emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy leaner, meaner, and with a brand new name: Exemplar Luxury Group, which doesn’t sound at all like this. The company says it reduced its debt by 75 percent and culled stores, including (sadly) the flagship downtown Neiman Marcus store.
Hazy shade of summer.
If the sky looks a little hazier than usual, it’s because a plume of Saharan dust has moved into North Texas. The TCEQ says that it will increase fine particulate levels in DFW, which could be unhealthy for some “sensitive groups.” It should improve after Tuesday.
No party rocking with Airbnb.
Airbnb says it’s instituting its “anti-party” system again for the July 4 weekend in a bid to tamp down massive house parties that generally earn the ire of the neighbors around a short-term rental. “In 2025, our defenses helped to blocked or redirected over 20,000 people from booking entire home listings in the US over this holiday weekend,” the company says.
Trash truck hits Lake Highlands house.
Dallas City Councilmember Kathy Stewart says that a disabled Dallas sanitation truck hit a Lake Highlands house after it detached from a tow truck and rolled away. Nobody was injured, and a structural assessment is underway. In my unscientific opinion, based on the photos in this story, it looks like it smacked the house moderately well, and it’s probably not great news if a garbage truck hits your house. But also, at least it didn’t pick up from the curb? (Too soon?)
Well, it’s a hot one.
Like seven inches from the midday sun. Remember how it rained just a little bit every day for like two weeks? We’re getting none of that. Prepare for highs in the high 90s and feels-like temperatures in the 100s for the entire week. Someone, please, tell the Norwegian soccer team they’re going to need so much sunscreen.
Lately, the relationship between the Dallas City Council and the people who attend the body’s meetings to comment has been disheartening at best. Some are actually calling it abusive and rude.
Dallas Zoo’s tiger cubs predict winner of Argentina-Jordan match.
Argentina (which, yes, means Lionel Messi) will face off against Jordan this evening at Dallas AT&T Stadium, but ahead of that, the Dallas Zoo had its two baby tigers predict the outcome.
The Zoo already tested the soccer prowess of some of its animals, but this time Rina and Serasi, along with their mom Suki, were released into their habitat to choose from the Jordanian flag or the Argentine flag. Zoo officials say that the four-month-old Sumatran tigers waited for their mom to enter the habitat and give the all-clear, and then Rina, the girl, was the first to pounce. Zookeepers say she is the bold one, while Serasi is more cautious and prefers to wait a minute before joining in. When they entered the habitat, they found frozen milk popsicles, giant soccer balls, and cardboard flags. Despite the wind knocking the latter over, the two cubs spent a lot of time with Argentina’s flag, making a beeline for it first. (Serasi also spent some time tearing into the Jordanian flag.)
It was a cute moment, but it’s also an important one. The two cubs are part of a Sumatran Tiger Species Survival Plan—there are only 400-600 Sumatran tigers remaining in the wild. They’re also the first mother-reared cubs in the Zoo’s history. You can see more of them in action here, and see their World Cup pick below. For all our World Cup coverage, head to our 2026 World Cup page.
Kataeya shared the Lewisville Fire Department’s duckling rescue in Leading Off this morning, but they’re not the only fire department saving ducks. Wylie firefighters also had a hand in rescuing a duckling from a storm drain. They were able to remove the baby under the watchful eye of mama duck, who remained nearby. Watch to the end so your heart can grow three sizes when you see the baby duck run up to its mother, who seems to be giving him a good stern talking to as they waddle off.
If you have a dog friend at home, you undoubtedly know that July 4th is a stressful time thanks to the fireworks and noise. For instance, Loretta, our 70-pound lap dog/house hippo, would very much like to go out and fight them. She wants to Kool-Aid man out the back door and throw down, despite all of us explaining that there is nothing to actually fight. (Much like humans, dogs can be both extremely smart and extremely dumb at the same time.) We distract her with pets and scritches, but to get any sleep, we have to get her so high she just eats Beggin’ Strips and dozes.
Now imagine hundreds of dogs in one place collectively freaking out over fireworks. That’s what Dallas Animal Services deals with, and it’s why a few years back they began inviting people to come keep the dogs company and distract them on Independence Day. (They later included New Years Day as a second event.) They’ll be doing that again this year, from 9-11 p.m. on July 4.
The shelter is constantly over capacity, thanks in part to the fact that the facility was never meant to be an adoption center. If you have room in your heart and your home for a friend that expects you to pick up their poop and carry it with you on walks and will stare at you intently while you eat sandwiches, you should think about heading over. Loretta and our other friend, Conrad Bain, both came from shelters—Loretta from DAS and Conrad from the SPCA. Both arrived house trained and with proper leash etiquette, pretty seamlessly fitting in to the Erickson household. On July 3, DAS will have a First Friday event from 5-8 p.m., where you can meet some puppers. But you can also help by fostering or even taking a dog out for the day to help them become better socialized and adoptable. Details here.
Yesterday morning, 15 people were hospitalized for minor injuries after a DART bus drove over a “hole” in the road on Harry Hines Boulevard. Dallas Fire-Rescue and DART officials explained that a metal plate covering active road construction had shifted, causing the bus to partially enter the construction excavation area. Watch your step, everyone.
BOLO for Dallas Stadium lurkers.
Arlington Police are looking for a FIFA fan who “eluded capture” after entering Dallas Stadium for the Argentina vs. Austria match without a ticket. Four ticketless gamegoers—one hailing from Plano—were arrested for their trespasses, and the fifth suspect remains at large as officials review security procedures at stadium entrances.
Like a duck to water (overflow drains).
A loudly quacking duck near a water overflow drain caught the attention of Lewisville firefighters yesterday, who soon after discovered three small ducklings stuck at the bottom of the drain. Heroically, the firefighters jumped into action, quickly reuniting the ducklings with their worried mother and sending them waddling off together. And don’t worry—to ensure more ducklings can’t fall in, the firefighters created a rock barrier around the drain.
JPMorgan Chase to lay off 244 Plano employees.
That’s about 2 percent of the more than 12,000-person workforce at one of the bank’s largest hubs outside of New York. The layoffs, which will primarily impact fraud specialist roles, are scheduled to begin August 21. The move follows their decision to discontinue inbound call center operations for fraud and customer protection services within its consumer and community banking division. Affected employees will be eligible for severance benefits, and some may also qualify for relocation assistance.
I feel like I’m writing this post specifically for Matt Goodman, who left us and often mentioned the PriceMaster. However, for the other fans of the legendarily zany videos, KERA has a fun story about artist David Bayon. He is the proprietor of Thug Emporium, an online store that is described as “a Denton-based art house that blends collectible design, event culture, and weird nostalgia into one ongoing creative experiment.”
Among the many things sold on the site are action figures created by Bayon. Only we’re not talking GI Joe: Bayon’s action figures are familiar pieces of Denton lore, like the Tiger Head Keyboard Guy, Bonsai Tree Lady, and The Goatman of Old Alton Bridge. Bayon’s work also includes a bit of pure Denton that turned a garage sale into performance art in 2001 when the late Nathan Austin dressed in a red balaclava with a golden mask, a silver jacket, and puffy red pants to become the PriceMaster.
You can read the KERA story here. Earlier this year, Austin Zook wrote about the PriceMaster on the eve of its 25th anniversary. You can read that below.
Dallas City Hall on Preservation Dallas’s list of most endangered places.
Every year, Preservation Dallas releases its list of the 10 most endangered places in the city, and this year is no exception. In fact, this year, it’s kind of more than 10, and Dallas City Hall is at the top of it.
“This list is in no way exhaustive,” the nonprofit said in its announcement. “In fact, it was particularly difficult for us to narrow down all of the at-risk structures across the city down to just 10 sites.” Preservation Dallas said they grouped the Dallas ISD schools into one entry and the city-owned or supported historic properties into another “because we know there is more work to be done.”
You can read more about some of those structures in our 2025 story, “Poor, Poor Dallas.”
The city has grand plans for its convention center redo. In the meantime, its existing portfolio is crumbling—and nobody knows what it will cost to fix.
The Dallas City Council voted 9-6 on a measure that will ultimately interrupt traffic coming in and out of downtown from the Oak Cliff area by rerouting the traffic from the Houston Street and Jefferson Street viaducts. Originally, the new Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center was designed to be tall enough to allow traffic from the viaducts to flow underneath the building, but cost cutting measures lowered the building by two stories. The Council voted Wednesday to keep the lowered version of the building, despite outcry from Oak Cliff and points south.
Karmelo Anthony gets high-profile legal team for appeal.
Frisco teen Karmelo Anthony, who was convicted of murder in the death of another Frisco teen, Austin Metcalf, earlier this month, will appeal his conviction and 35-year prison sentence. He’ll be assisted by a legal team that includes Michael Ware, who helped create Dallas County’s conviction integrity unit, former Dallas County prosecutor Russell Wilson, and Texas NACCP president Gary Bledsoe.
DART slowing trains due to heat.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit announced this week that it was hot enough to require the transit agency to slow down light rail trains during the worst of the heat. Passengers should expect a slight delay and allow extra time to make any connecting rides. This happens every summer because extreme heat can potentially cause derailments or cause the overhead lines to sag and become damaged. (Fun fact: Air travel is also impacted by higher temperatures.)
See things from the 1994 FIFA World Cup at Fair Park.
First things first, this Dallas Morning Newsheadline is just rude: “1994 FIFA World Cup artifacts, more on display at Fair Park in Dallas.” Artifacts? 1994? See? Rude. (Later the story mentions there are also “historical documents” from 1994, which is also rude.) Anyway, North Texas hosted the World Cup in 1994. Iif you want to see 1994 World Cup treasures that are not actually all that old at all, the Dallas Historical Society has some on display at the Hall of State in Fair Park, which is actually old enough to be an artifact.
