Editor Staff – Page 10 – The Other Side Dallas

November 11, 2020November 11, 2020

Did “We Did It”?

“We Did It” was the message of the Dallas County Democratic Party, but local election results are not as clear. The Dallas party seems to be claiming wins that do not exist.

The winning message came out just hours after US House Candidate Candace Valenzuela conceded defeat in her run for Congress (TX24) and local results were not much better.

As noted last week, it took hours for the circular firing squad to begin as to why Joanna Cattanach and Brandy Chambers won their guaranteed races. Additionally, while Texas Democrats said they would be putting Texas in play for Joe Biden, one of their designates for the Electoral College is former tax fraud felon Terri Hodge.

“We Did It” In TX24 Doesn’t Get Across Finish Line

After days of tallying votes across three counties, Democrat Candace Valenzuela has conceded the race for Texas’ 24th Congressional District.

In a concession speech posted on YouTube, Valenzuela said she is ending her campaign “after a thorough count of the votes.” She thanked supporters for helping to build momentum around her campaign, which came close to flipping this historically red district.

“Most importantly, we have forced the gatekeepers of the political process to reimagine who belongs at the table,” Valenzuela said.

November 5, 2020November 5, 2020

Dallas ISD Moves To Limit Public Participation

Public participation is being limited per a proposal on the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees Agenda for November 17, 2020. You can see the document below.

DISD Public Participation Download

It is not clear why public participation is being proposed to be limited to two minutes from three, but it had an immediate reaction from both current trustee Joyce Foreman and trustee candidate Nancy Rodriguez who garnered the most votes for District 2 in the November 3 election.

Trustee Foreman said “DallasISD is trying to limit members of the community speaking at Board Meetings. They want to reduce the time from three minutes to two minutes with only an hour for agenda items and 40 minutes for non agenda items. If you signup for agenda item and speak on something else during that time they can cut your [mic] off. They also can remove you and keep you from speaking on an agenda item if they remove that item from the agenda.The voters just granted the District over 3 billion dollars in Bond funds and now they don’t want to hear from you. I will not be supporting this. My constituents have the right to speak.We meet twice a month which is once during the day and once in the afternoon. There is no reason for this.”

Rodriguez posted on Facebook: “If the speaker portion is taking two or three hours it’s because the public is likely dissatisfied or concerned about an issue or multiple issues. That should tell the Board and the administration something. In typical DISD fashion, rather than address the problem, they want to silence the voices of the community.”

Public Participation Changes Again

Rules for public participation in Dallas ISD Board of Trustees meetings were changed in September 2019.

November 3, 2020November 3, 2020

Election Day Polls Are Open

Election Day polls are open across Dallas County.

Races up this election include President/Vice President, US Senator, US Representative, Railroad Commissioner, Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, Justices to the Court of Appeals, State Representative, District Judge, Criminal District Judge, Sheriff, County Tax Assessor-Collector, County Commissioner, and the Dallas ISD Bond Package.

Election Day Polls Information

If you are looking for voting center locations, it can be found at this link or this list via the Dallas County Elections website.

October 28, 2020October 28, 2020

Halloween 2020 Drive Thru Events

Halloween is happening for Dallas. Dallas Parks & Recreation is hosting a Drive Thru Halloween event at Campbell Green Rec Center and several other sites this coming Friday night.

DPR is hosting the safe, fun drive thru Halloween Spooktacular Zone at rec centers across Dallas. They promise to be full of surprises with all the ghost, goblins, witches and monsters.

The full list of Dallas locations can be found on the Parks Calendar.

Halloween 2020

Halloween bags filled with candy, popcorn and trinkets for everyone who drives through. All guest must remain inside cars to participate.

October 16, 2020October 16, 2020

College Testing Continuing Despite COVID19 Explosion

College testing will go on in Dallas ISD next week as planned despite COVID19 cases in multiple Dallas ISD high school campuses and many colleges making test scores optional for college admissions.

COVID19 cases forced County Judge Clay Jenkins to raise the threat level to Red this week and Dallas ISD COVID19 cases tripled in one week and are currently at more than six times the original number after less than two weeks.

College Testing

College tests such as the ACT or SAT have been used for years to assist with admissions decisions, but this year, numerous colleges and universities are making tests optional for admission due to COVID19.

The ACT and SAT entrance exams are the proverbial Coke and Pepsi of college admissions. Both exams are widely accepted by U.S. colleges, which often prompts the question: Which test should I take?

The answer to that question lies in understanding the differences between the two tests.

Both college admissions exams are wildly popular. In the class of 2019, a reported 2.2 million test-takers completed the SAT while 1.8 million students took the ACT. It is unclear how many students took both, but some experts say it has become more common for test-takers to complete both college testing batteries.

The SAT takes three hours, though with an optional 50-minute essay, the time adds up to almost four hours total. The ACT lasts two hours and 55 minutes, though a 40-minute optional writing test stretches it to a little more than three-and-a-half hours.

The SAT features 154 questions vs. 215 for the ACT. Broken down by test components, the SAT has a reading test that takes 65 minutes, a 35-minute writing and language test and an 80-minute math section. The ACT is comprised of a 35-minute reading test, 45-minute English test, 60-minute math section and 35-minute science test.

The SAT does not include an independent science section but incorporates science questions throughout the exam.

The scoring for each test also differs. For the SAT, total scores range from 400-1600; for the ACT, the composite score runs from 1-36. Those ranges do not include the optional essays, which are scored separately from each exam

October 10, 2020October 10, 2020

Pocketbook Over Party?

Is pocketbook over party the campaign theme of Senate primary run off loser Royce West? West has also been exposed as being business partners with a major Trump donor. Readers will also remember John Cornyn appeared to be actively campaigning for Royce West back in the summer.

Given this context it is easy to understand why West was recently quoted saying he will not vote for MJ Hegar.

“MJ Hegar has my cell phone number. She has not called to ask for my support.”

During the primary runoff both candidates had pledged to support the Democratic nominee. This is the type of Democratic infighting that has some concerned that down ballot races will feel the hang over effects of a party that is not united going into the final weeks of the election. It appears West is simply voting his personal business interests – pocketbook over party.

Pocketbook Over Party Or Squadron Wingman

West’s actions have created a response as one group put together a video supporting MJ Hegar and asking why he is not on board with the Democratic nominee.

Their video includes a link to an ActBlue fundraiser.

October 7, 2020October 7, 2020

Editor’s Note – Update the Candina S Heath Story

We need to update the Candina S Heath previous article. Ms. Heath was linked to Erin Neely Cox’s office webpage.

Ms. Heath was in the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas. She is currently in the Washington DC offices of the Justice Department. The Public Information Officer for the Northern District of Texas did not respond with this information until late afternoon so this is our first opportunity to correct this information.

Update the Candina S Heath Story

We expect to provide more background on this story in the near future. We await a denial from Ms. Heath about her presence in the videos or the other allegations made by third parties.