Jennifer Myers – Page 2 – The Other Side Dallas

January 25, 2021January 25, 2021

Business and Community Lenders Threatening BUILD Grantees

The Business and Community Lenders nonprofit is accused of threatening a local nonprofit with withdrawing a grant made by the City of Dallas when the grantee asked process questions that were not identified in the initial proposal submission. In the taped conversation the Director of Entrepreneurship, Brian K Marhshall, is heard saying “if you don’t stop asking questions we will just withdraw the grant.” (The conversation provided to Other Side Dallas has gone to a notary for transcription for legal purposes.)

In November, the City of Dallas advertised the B.U.I.L.D Small Business Grant Program. As of late December applicants had not heard from city staff.

As the city advertised, B.U.I.L.D. (Broaden Urban Investments to Leverage Dallas) launched the B.U.I.L.D Small Business Grant Program to assist small businesses impacted by the economic downturn caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. The program will provide businesses in the city of Dallas that have fewer than nine employees, or a 2019 payroll of less than $250,000, with a one-time grant of up to $3,000.

As we reported in the middle of January, several businesses expressed concern about issues with the grant. Their complaints ranged from the city missing its own deadline of late December notifications and not also changing standards after the application period.

BUILD Grantees Not Only Ones Concerned

In addition to the threats and changing standards, it is not clear who is funding this program. The City of Dallas who advertised the program has denied funding the program and referred the issue to JP Morgan Chase. Their media relations staff say they did not fund this program either.

Further, City of Dallas staff stated they had no responsive documents when asked about how BUILD grantees’ applications were scored and decisions made, that the decisions were for funding, etc.

Dr. Eric Anthony Johnson, Director of Economic Development for the City of Dallas has refused to respond to numerous requests for comment about his BUILD grantees program. Additionally, Tennell Atkins, Chairman of the City Council Economic Development Committee has refused multiple requests also.

The BUILD grantees fiasco comes as the city has shown no answers to the economic issues of South Dallas and continues to try to fund projects for millionaires.

January 21, 2021January 21, 2021

Dallas COVID19 Politics Gone Bad

Locally, Dallas COVID19 politics have gone bad during the Inauguration – a day which is supposed to signify national unity.

Earlier this week the Dallas County Commissioners Court voted 3-0 with two abstentions to allocate COVID19 vaccines by zip codes. The effort spearheaded by Commissioner JJ Koch was stated to prioritize vaccine distribution by race.

It was attacked by County Judge Clay Jenkins as potentially illegal and now Texas has agreed.

In a strongly worded email to Commissioners, Texas health officials said, “While we ask hub providers to ensure the vaccine reaches the hardest-hit areas and populations, solely vaccinating people who live in those areas is not in line with the agreement to be a hub provider,” wrote Imelda Garcia, an associate commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services.

She continues, “If Dallas County is unable to meet these expectations, we will be forced to reduce the weekly vaccine allocation … and no longer consider it a hub provider.”

In addition to the state action at least two attorneys were preparing motions to stop the new vaccine rollout.

COVID19 Politics At 1500 Marilla

Meanwhile, Mayor Eric Johnson sent a terse memo to City Manager TC Broadnax regarding city vaccination rollout and individual council members seeking vaccine registration hubs.

The Mayor’s memo was immediately attacked as another COVID19 politics power grab by Adam Bazaldua in both personal posts and posts to the Other Side Dallas Facebook group.

The two City Council colleagues have been described by another City Council member as “the two boys in the sandbox who can’t get along because neither gets enough attention” from their mother.

“They both just complain about the other and neither does his homework,” the source said.

January 20, 2021January 20, 2021

Dallas County COVID19 Discrimination

Dallas County Commissioner’s Court recently authorized what amounts to COVID19 Discrimination in their vaccination distribution plan. Commissioners openly stated the decision was based on race in designating eleven zip codes to receive the vaccine on a priority basis.

On February 1, 2021 those eleven zip codes – 75149, 75150, 75210, 75211, 75215, 75216, 75217, 75227, 75228, 75241, and 75243 – will receive the vaccine. Persons outside those zip codes will not.

Judge Clay Jenkins stated this “will stop shots for everyone else for ‘foreseeable future’.”

The decision is based on data from Parkland Hospital and a new layer on top of existing prioritization. Parkland Hospital reported hundreds of tests stolen this summer due to poor security procedures prior to Dallas becoming a pandemic hot zone.

COVID19 Discrimination

Jenkins also said, “I’m sure we’ll hear from the state of Texas and every suburban city in Dallas County as well as parts of the city not in those 10 ZIP codes.”

January 13, 2021January 13, 2021

Dallas Economic Development Bait and Switch

Can the City of Dallas expect more Economic Development bait and switch from the department led by Dr. Eric Anthony Johnson? It appears so when it comes to offering grants and then making the checks impossible to obtain.

In November, the city launched the BUILD grants program offering $3000 microgrants to small businesses and nonprofits hit hard by COVID19. The notice said checks would be out by December 28, 2020. Until we inquired last week through a Public Information Request no one had received notice.

One education based nonprofit noted they received notification Friday and were then given one businesses day to agree to additional terms and conditions not originally outlined in the program. Their reaction to this bait and switch was outrage.

In an email to Carolyn King Arnold the group noted they are already doing the city and county’s job by providing for homeless students who are not receiving services through City of Dallas.

Bait and Switch – Again

The bait and switch grant issue is particularly hard because the City of Dallas provided $3M to a South Dallas grocer with almost no strings attached. It reeked of the economic devlopment problems of the old South Dallas/Fair Park Trust Fund.

The issue is particularly relevant as six different entities contacted Other Side Dallas to complain about process and response.

One person noted this is another example of the City of Dallas giving away dollars to politically connected friends of city council members. In October, city staff tried to sneak through a proposal to give the Lorenzo Hotel nearly $2M. It was only stopped when Council Member Cara Mendolsohn (D12) asked questions.

To date there has been no response to emails from several city council members including Tennell Atkins who spearheaded the $3M to the now closed Save U More grocer, and has been a major recipient of campaign cash from Save U More’s representatives.

Ditty Mayor Eric Johnson who also received sizeable contributions on the repeated failings of Economic Development.

Ditto Casey Thomas (D3) who also has been silent on the matter.

Ditto Adam Bazaldua (D7) who has ignored several requests to discuss this issue and the South Dallas/Fair Park Opportunity Fund Board from current and former board members.

The issue has not escaped notice though.

Calvin Johnson, a candidate for the D7 city council seat in May said,”When it comes to city programs that help small business we have to be better organized on announcing all the requirements upfront.”

“We must set achievable timetables and follow through effectively on the back end when the assistance is approved and granted,” he continued.

It is unclear why his opponent Bazaldua has not taken this opportunity given his progressive public profile for slashing the police budget in favor of social programs.

Ditto North Dallas. Council Member Lee Kleinman (D11) who has been arguing against the Dallas Police Department’s mounted unit for years – which costs the city roughly $125000 annually – had no comment about either the Save U More issue or bait and switch grant programs. Kleinman is term limited and

January 3, 2021January 3, 2021

Who Made Call To Rescind?

Who made the call to rescind yesterday’s memo about Dallas Police dispatch and who made the call to issue it unsigned? Those are the questions Dallas is asking this morning.

The second day of the New Year was a communications debacle as an unsigned memo came to light stating several calls with potential for violence would not be dispatched. Among them were burglary of a motor vehicle, runaways, and incidents involving child custody.

Rescind Statement And Investigation

Council Member Jennifer Staubach Gates issued her own statement against the dispatch orders stating the matter was internal and draft in nature. She said it was “premature for DPD to initiate these changes before briefing the Public Safety Committee and before the new Chief begins.”

Chief Garcia is scheduled to start work sometime in February and the next Public Safety Committee meeting is scheduled for January 11, 2021 at 1:00pm.

January 2, 2021January 2, 2021

Call Diversion Memo Rescinded

An internal call diversion memo intended for Dallas Police Department dispatch personnel was rescinded today after social media outrage.

The memo for 911 Call Center staff regarding KPMG’s recommendations to divert certain Priority 4 calls to the Dallas Online Reporting System (DORS) or an Expediter was released to the public on social media.

The memorandum was sent prematurely per Dallas Police. The department is still in the evaluation phase on this item and will have further dialogue on recommendations and next steps. Therefore, the actions set out in the memorandum have been rescinded at this time.

The controversy comes less than a week after Chief Eddie Garcia was introduced to the public in his first press conference.

Call Diversion Memo

The internal memo showed several types of calls which would go undispatch in most cases by Dallas Police.

There are several call types listed for nonresponse including runaways and interference with child custody that propensity for violence.

December 28, 2020December 28, 2020

Outrage Over David Finn Post Shared By DA Creuzot

A David Finn post on Boxing Day – December 26 – has people angry, but Dallas District Attorney John Creuzot sharing it has them ready to rumble on social media.

Finn is representing Philip Baldenegro in the criminal trial related to the robbery and murder of Carlos Arajeni-Arriaza Morillo. The case against co-defendant Zephi Trevino recently had Jamie Lee Curtis take out a full page ad in the Dallas Morning News.

Finn accuses Trevino of engineering the robbery despite her family protests she is a victim of sexual trafficking.

Finn’s post appears to be defending his client on the court steps as opposed to court chambers, but the real outrage came when DA Creuzot shared the David Finn post on his personal Facebook account page.

Texas code forbids prosecutors from speaking about cases against minors so how close this skirts this prohibition is yet to be determined. This case does appear to be tarnishing the Hollywood reputation of Creuzot who has won national ink for ‘prosecution reform’.

Creuzot also appears to have a battle on his hands with the local Democratic Socialists of America chapter.

Several members of the group or supporters attacked and questioned Creuzot. One went so far as to say his career was “over.”

Trevino is scheduled to have a certification hearing next week on January 4, 2021 to determine if she can stand trial as an adult.

The David Finn Post

The full David Finn posts are below. While he has openly disclosed his home address, we have redacted that over threats of violence Mr. Finn has received.

December 26, 2020December 26, 2020

Chief Campaign Issue

A chief campaign issue in the 2021 Dallas City Council elections is going to be the Dallas Police Department if comments about the appointment of Eddie Garcia as the new police chief are any indication.

Garcia beat out nearly forty other candidates, including current Dallas commanders. He will be tasked with leading a department that has seen a visible rise in violent crime and a lack of trust from members of the black community.

Tramonica Brown is the founder of Not My Son, a nonprofit group aimed at addressing racial injustice.

She said she wants open communication and says, “I want somebody that’s not afraid to have a dialogue with the community. We’ve lost trust.” Brown said.

“My hope is that this chief is going to come in and really do some things that I know he probably said in those interviews,” she continued. Brown is a candidate for Dallas City Council D7 against incumbent Adam Bazaldua.

Bazaldua meanwhile has had defunding DPD as his chief campaign issue since late May. He was part of the group that promised sweeping reform and a plan to defund DPD, but never attempted to get accountability from Chief Hall for her lack of leadership during the June George Floyd protests or specifically for the use of tear gas during the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge incident where Hall stated no tear gas was used.

In September, Bazaldua and others only defund action was to re-allocate $7M from overtime into other projects like bike lanes and solar panels.

Additionally, Bazaldua’s appointee to the Community Police Oversight Board posted in a social media post, “I’m confident he will serve and protect the residents of Dallas, while remaining open to reasonable and responsible police reforms that benefit the residents of Dallas and our police officers. I am supportive of those balanced goals. Doing > Talking.” He did not reference who was doing versus who was just talking, but this could be a hint of where things will go if public safety is the chief campaign issue across the city and not just D7.

Chief Campaign For New Police Chief: BLM and Race Relations

National headlines regularly highlight the strained relationships between big-city police forces and persons of color, but the San Jose/Silicon Valley NAACP branch has recognized Chief Eddie Garcia with its annual Cesar Chavez Award for his visibility and accessibility in the city’s neighborhoods.

Jesuorobo Enobakhare is chairman of the Dallas Police Oversight Board. Some critics suggest Enobakhare worked too closely with Chief Hall – interfering in his ability to provide proper oversight. Similar internal allegations came from officers within the department about Chief Hall and Dominique Alexander. It is unclear where Chief Garcia will draw the line.

Enobakhare said, “We can’t just think that a new police chief is going to come in and magically wave a wand and fix things that are wrong in the city,” he said. “It’s going to take leadership from the city council. It’s going to take the leadership of a lot of other entities in order to work together to solve some of these problems.”

Meanwhile D Magazine played grammar police to Chief Garcia’s statement noting he was “humbled by the thought of wearing the DPD uniform.” They described his statement as false modesty and suggested different emotions he should have used, but had no suggestions on lowering the crime rate.

Chief Campaign Issue for Mayor Johnson?

Mayor Eric Johnson’s office issued the statement below. While public safety was not a chief campaign issue prior to his election, he has re-focused attention after winning office.

“I spoke this afternoon with our new police chief, Eddie Garcia, and congratulated him on his selection by the city manager. I hope the people of Dallas will join me in giving him and his family a warm welcome. He will join us after spending four years as the police chief in the 10th-largest city in the country, and he was highly regarded by my counterpart in San Jose, Mayor Sam Liccardo.

“We should celebrate the fact that Chief Garcia will become our first Hispanic police chief. This truly is an historic moment for Dallas.

“But we both understand that what truly matters now is the work ahead of us: making our communities safer and stronger. I expect that he will immediately begin developing plans to fight the unacceptable violent crime increases we have seen in Dallas. We will need our communities’ help in those efforts. Too many lives have been taken in our city. Too many families have been devastated by violence. And too many people in our neighborhoods feel unsafe.

“Law enforcement alone cannot solve the challenges we face, but the hardworking men and women of the Dallas Police Department are integral to combating violence, which disproportionately affects people of color in our city. As policymakers, we must give Chief Garcia the tools that his officers need to keep people safe and continue to push for solutions — such as the programs recommended by the Mayor’s Task Force on Safe Communities — that can prevent crime without placing additional burdens on the police department. The people of Dallas deserve a city government that puts public safety first.

“I want to thank all the candidates who embraced the challenge of working for the City of Dallas. I look forward to seeing Chief Garcia’s new strategies in action in the months ahead. Working together, we will strive to make Dallas the safest major city in the United States.”

December 21, 2020December 20, 2020

Zephi Trevino

Zephi Trevino, is a Texas teen is accused of Capital Murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a man that occurred when she was 16. Dallas District Attorney John Creuzot intends to charge her as an adult pending a January 4, 2021 hearing.

John Creuzot's office will prosecute Zephi Trevino

Her mother and other advocates, including Jamie Lee Curtis and Kim Kardashian West, say she is a victim of sex trafficking, not a killer.

Kim Kardashian West tweet defends Zephi Trevino

Zephaniah Trevino, now 17, is one of three people charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting of Carlos Arajeni-Arriaza Morillo, 24. He was killed in a Grand Prarie apartment in August 2019.

Alleged murderess Zephi Trevino's victim. — Murder victim Carlos Arajeni-Arriaza Morillo

Another defendant, Philip Baldenegro, then 18, admitted to fatally shooting Morillo and shooting and injuring another man as part of a robbery attempt. He and Jesse Martinez, then 19, are all charged in the case.

Attorney David Finn represents Baldenegro.

“She brought the guys to the apartment and set the whole thing up,” said Finn.

Zephi Trevino’s parents and Baldenegro’s attorney agree the men were there to have sex with Zephi, but Zephi’s parents claim Baldenegro was forcing their daughter to have sex for money.

Baldenegro’s attorney says his client admits he pulled the trigger, but he is not a pimp.

“She is no victim. My client Philip Baldenegro is 19 and I think she was 16 at the time. They had a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship that is born out on my client’s cellphone,” said Finn.

“She engineered, organized, executed the entire plan,” Finn said.

Alleged murder Zephi Trevino reported accomplices Philip Baldenegro and Jesse Martinez — Murder suspects Philip Baldenegro and Jesse Martinez

Zephi Trevino Background

Zephaniah, or “Zephi” as she’s known to friends and family, was a typical teenager in her Grand Prairie, Texas community. Kind, outgoing, and the youngest of four siblings raised in a loving home, she was involved in activities from her church worship team to pitching for her high school softball team.

Trevino’s mom, Crystal Trevino, told local media her daughter was offered a plea deal that would give her 10 years in prison, but declined.

Crystal said her daughter played sports and was involved in her church before she fell in with the wrong crowd, saying the plight of her daughter Zephi Trevino is “a mother’s worst nightmare.”

Zephi Trevino Case

Crystal Trevino says her daughter was offered a ten year plea deal, which she declined. She faces up to 40 years in prison. Trevino’s case has caught the attention of numerous celebrities.

Civil rights lawyer Justin Moore is helping the family and helped get the attention of Jason Flom, a founding board member of The Innocence Project.

Flom says he thinks Dallas District Attorney John Creuzot should take a closer look at the case.

“On what planet does it make sense that we are going to charge her with capital murder? It’s a disastrously failed social policy,” Flom said.

The Innocence Project, has helped secure the release of hundreds of wrongfully convicted people.

Zephi Trevino, John Creuzot, and Dominque Alexander

The case also presents an interesting challenge for Creuzot.

Recently, former Chief of Police Reneé Hall was reported to be in an inappropriate relationship with convicted felon and local activist Dominique Alexander. The public report hastened Hall’s exit as police chief and her depature was announced less than twenty-four hours after the report.

Creuzot has not been seen out front on sex trafficking issues unlike the local US Attorney’s Office who recently arrested a local man for sex trafficking. Additionally, like Reneé Hall, Creuzot is known to be friendly with Dominque Alexander and there are multiple sources who indicate Creuzot made a nonprosecution with Alexander and Next Generation Action Network in return for not endangering his election campaign with Alexander’s activism in certain neighborhoods.

John Creuzot and his office are prohibited from speaking about the Trevino case, but he is noticable silent on relationships with both Alexander and Judge Audrey Moorehead, recently arrested for DWI.

December 17, 2020December 17, 2020

Shingle Mountain Fix

Dallas City Council Member Tennell Atkins reports the Shingle Mountain fix is starting. Per a statement by Atkins issued regarding removal of shingles at 9505 S. Central Expressway: “The removal of shingle material at 9505 S. Central Expressway today marks a new era in Southern Dallas.”

The City’s contractor, Roberts Trucking, will move the shingle material to McCommas Bluff Landfill. The landfill is prepared to receive this type of material, and plans to recycle it. The contractor anticipates the removal process will be complete by the end of March 2021.

The removal process is being supervised by Modern Geosciences to address environmental concerns associated with the removal. Air monitoring will occur on and off site to ensure air quality meets appropriate standards to protect human health.

Shingle Mountain Fix Is Still A Legal Issue

The city statement goes on saying,“While the City has settled with one of the property owners, the City remains in litigation with the remaining defendants.

“We are nearly at the end of a two year journey, involving the tireless work of the City’s legal team and various City departments. We are hopeful this process will alleviate concerns from surrounding community members and emphasizes the City’s commitment to a clean environment.”

Single Mountain has been a long term problem for the city,