West Nile 2023 has claimed its first Dallas victim per Dallas County Health and Human Services staff. This is the first human case of West Nile virus this season.
The Dallas man was diagnosed with West Nile neuroinvasive disease (WNND) – a more severe variant of the disease.
West Nile 2023
West Nile virus (WNV) is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the continental United States.
The most common form of infection is from the bite of an infected mosquito. Cases of WNV occur during mosquito season, which starts in the summer and continues through fall.
Fortunately, most people infected with WNV do not feel sick.
Almost one in five people who develop the infection develop a fever and other symptoms. About one in one hundred fifty infected people develop a serious, sometimes fatal, illness.
There is no vaccine for West Nile virus.
This time last year health officials were following a case of monkeypox that arrived in Dallas through Love Field.
Mosquito Protection Options
Dress in long sleeves and long pants when outside. You can also spray thin clothing with repellent for extra protection.
DEET: Make sure this ingredient is in your insect repellent.
Drain standing water in your yard and neighborhood: Mosquitoes can develop in any water stagnant for more than three days.
Brad Namdar dismissed is more than a headline. It may be an epitaph on a once promising political career for the young GOP operative.
Dallas court documents show that Namdar’s suit against the Dallas Morning News is being dismissed. It also appears he will be held responsible for court and defendant fees.
Namdar filed suit earlier this year against the Dallas Morning News and Lauren McGaughey over a story published last year. The story said Namdar had solicited sex from an escort and in at least once case not paid her.
One question which is not clear is why Namdar filed suit.
Numerous local political watchers thought Brad had made a mistake, but he was being wise by biding his time.
The argument was if he stayed out of the light the stories would fade and he could run for office again.
One local conservative said privately ‘Brad Namdar dismissed himself from any future consideration.’
The source went on, “Brad can’t run again. He ruined his and Pia’s reputation while seeking sex from escorts he didnt even pay.”
Namdar’s attorney Ryan McClendon Moore stated Namdar was being shunned by local political operatives and organizations.
Brad’s wife Pia Namdar is the face of the nonprofit Adelante Texas. Pia Namdar has been publicly silent on the accusations against her husband.
Namdar has been working as General Manager of the Denton Diablos. Per the order from the court Namdar can not refile his suit and is responsible for legal fees owed to the Dallas Morning News.
Current Revolt scores for Texas voters with the resignation of now former state representative Bryan Slaton. The Dallas based media company was the first to drop details about Slaton publicly.
Bryan Slaton is a former pastor and now former politician. Slaton resigned from office on Monday trying to head off an expulsion vote which happened anyway unanimously removing him from office.
Slaton represented the 2nd District in the Texas House of Representatives from 2021 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Slaton also works for his family business, Slaton Financial Services.
Issues started for Slaton when Tony Ortiz’s Current Revolt began investigating rumors that Slaton had an affair with a nineteen year old intern in his office.
Since that time, Current Revolt has not been credited with being the original reporter of the story on Slaton. They have been accused of spreading rumors – which they clearly substantiated before going to press.
This was clearly a win for a free press to look into the behavior of elected leadership.
The one angle that still exists right now is that Current Revolt may have its eyes set on another state legislator for the same issue.
It would be an awkward position to vote to expel a member if you were guilty of the same or similar behavior.
The committee report on general investigating of the Slaton issue is below.
First responders are taking longer to get to 911 calls due to last Wednesday’s ransomware attack on the City of Dallas.
Firefighters are currently navigating to incident locations with personal phone GPS systems since the city system is down.
They are also having to work with dispatchers manually dispatching units instead of the automated system that would prioritize the closest available unit.
Jim McDade, President of the Dallas Firefighters Association, said “there are some major safety concerns.” He then went on to say the “the outage is not catastrophic for residents.”
He continued, “there’s really not too much of an impact on service delivery,” but regularly DFFA says seconds count when units are responding.
The mixed messaging has some citizens concerned they aren’t getting the whole story.
Dallas firefighters routinely lobby for more staffing and stations. The usual refrain is seconds matter in emergencies. It is clear the ransomware attack is not an emergency for union officials.
Ransomware Impacts
The ransomware attack is one more in a long line of IT problems for the City of Dallas.
Can you keep a secret and are you ready for the hottest ticket in town this fall? Then you need to register for the experience on the Diner en Blanc page today.
Diner en Blanc started in Paris in 1988 when François Pasquier and a handful of friends chose to meet up for an elegant picnic. They chose to show up in all white since they did not all know one another.
Now, thirty-five years later, the experience has become a world wide phenomenon.
In June 2018, Le Diner en Blanc de Paris marked its 30th anniversary. A record 17,000 guests from Paris and around the world gathered at the Esplanade des Invalides.
Under the helm of Dîner en Blanc International this secret posh picnic has been celebrated in over 120 cities in 40 countries around the world.
The principle fueling this fantastic event is simple: guests dressed in all white gather at a secret location. The sole purpose of sharing a gourmet meal with good friends in one of their city’s most beautiful public spaces.
Can You Keep A Secret – The Details
Details are still quiet, but an insider confirms that this year’s event will return sometime early this fall.
The host team has already assembled a group of forty plus volunteers.
Rumor has it that these volunteers were interviewed and selected after the host team sorted through hundreds of applications. Other Side Dallas is told volunteers are already undergoing training to make this event great.
Previous locations have included the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, the Dallas Arboretum, and South Fork Ranch.
This year’s location of course is a secret, but Other Side Dallas hopes for an invite to what promises to be a great night.
Same Stuff Different Day is the moniker for Dallas after an abysmal turnout in yesterday’s city and school board elections.
Incumbent mayor Eric Johnson and D12 city council member Cara Mendelsohn won uncontested races – though Johnson had almost 7 percent of his races voters go to write in candidates.
Same Stuff Different Day Not New For Dallas
Incumbents won across the board leaving only open races to be decided.
City council members earn two year seats during elections whereas the mayor will fill a four year term.
District 1
Chad West beat both Mariana Griggs who ran a campaign without fundraising and Albert Mata, a political newcomer and data engineering professional.
Outgoing city council member Casey Thomas publicly endorsed Zarin Gracey to replace him and Gracey will go to a run off with Joe Tave. Gracey is a pastor and served on both the City Plan Commission and the Dallas Public Facility Corporation.
Tave is a retired teacher and talk show host.
The two held off a field of five.
District 4
District 4 voters will continue to have Carolyn King Arnold speaking for them on the record. She handled first time challenger and accountant Jamie Smith for her fourth election victory.
Ms. Arnold also serves as Mayor Pro Tem on Dallas City Council.
District 5
Jaime Resendez, the former school board member and lawyer, easily beat Terry Perkins and Yolanda Faye Williams.
The two have previously faced Resendez – always coming up short in the Pleasant Grove district.
District 6
Like District 5, Omar Narvaez beat a familiar opponent. This is his fourth election to city council and fourth time beating former city council member Monica Alonzo.
Narvaez has also been selected to serve as Mayor Pro Tem.
District 7
Adam Bazaldua narrowly avoided a runoff election against Tracy Dotie Hill, a local real estate broker.
The four person race finished with Bazaldua just over the fifty percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff.
Bazaldua previously challenged Tracy Dotie Hill for Democratic Precinct Chair 1084 – losing that race almost two to one.
District 8
Tennell Atkins continues on city council. He beat Subrina Lynn Brenham and Davante Peters for his second fourth term.
Atkins was elected in 2007 and served through 2015 when he was term limited out of office. He was then elected again in 2017.
Atkins is a perfect example of the same stuff different day Dallas mentality.
District 9
Former Chief of Staff to Mayor Mike Rawlings Paula Blackmon was re-elected to her third term.
Her district includes White Rock Lake and far East Dallas.
District 10
The former Uptown Dallas Inc. executive director Kathy Stewart won this four way open race without a run off.
Other candidates included former city community development commissioner Brian Hasenbauer, online news site publisher Sirrano Keith Baldeo. Baldeo had previously run for the seat.
Outgoing city council member Adam McGough had endorsed Kathy Stewart in the race.
District 11
Perhaps the ugliest race this year was in D11 where three time candidate Candy Evans lost to Jaynie Schultz.
Schultz won her second term and Candy Evans lost her third race for the seat in six years. She previously challenged Lee Kleinman in 2019 and didn’t make the runoff in 2021.
District 13
Like in District 11, Gay Donnell Willis won her second term.
She was opposed by rental property manager Priscilla Shacklett.
District 13 includes large swaths of northwest Dallas and wraps the Park City area.
District 14
Paul Ridley, a retired lawyer, staved off two opponents in District 14.
Amanda Tenpenny Schultz, a real estate broker, and Joseph F. Miller, a retired transit engineer, combined could not keep Ridley from winning without a runoff. Schultz is a former park board member.
All in all it appears city voters were unmoved by crime numbers and exploding property taxes enough to get out and vote.
Per some though her worst sin is her politicism of the seat.
“Incumbent Jaynie Schultz has also abandoned half her voters in her district trying to make this a red-blue partisan race in a nonpartisan district,” said one former Democratic Party precinct chair.
“Jaynie just needed to take care of her constituents the past two years…”
“…instead she lived up to the bad hype: she ran to be something, not do something.”
She went on, “Jaynie has been a disaster on housing. She created quality of life issues for those living in area and hasn’t helped the homeless.”
“Jaynie isn’t even protecting staff trying to clean up these encampments.”
Voters complain Schultz has repeatedly promised weekly clean ups of encampments under I-75, but they don’t happen.
The Dirty D11 Race
Some political onlookers say it appears the low voter turnout has Schultz worried.
There is no top of the ballot reason to get out and vote and Jaynie doesn’t motivate people with her “vanilla service.”
Her staff started emailing out – at taxpayer expense – almost every other day “reports” of district successes and information. The emails could have easily come from a targeted campaign flyer though.
Election day is Saturday, May 6, and right now roughly three percent of eligible city voters have gone to the polls.
Allred to tackle Cruz? A rumor circulating in both Dallas and DC circles this weekend is that Collin Allred will challenge Ted Cruz in 2024.
Colin Allred was a NFL linebacker and then civil rights attorney in the Obama administration.
After Beto O’Rourke’s loss against Greg Abbott and John Cornyn the path forward seems tough. It begs the question: How does Allred tackle Cruz in a statewide race?
Allred beat Pete Sessions in 2018 – the son of former FBI Director William Sessions. The senior sessions was the first FBI Director removed from office.
The 32nd Congressional District is also a safe Democratic seat after redistricting. It is unclear Allred’s long term plans given the uphill nature of the battle in front of him.
Since his election, Allred has reportedly been a prolific fundraiser and has brought dignitaties to Dallas, but his record is otherwise thin on accomplishments.
Russian Porn owns ReformDallas site through this morning. Former candidate John Botefur reported the news on our Facebook group.
The site takeover started yesterday around noon and so far the site is still up and pumping views for Dallas RD faithful.
For those so inclined you can see Reform’s website here.
Russian Porn Owns ReformDallas – Other Side Dallas Not Involved
At least one person suggests Other Side Dallas was involved with the hijinks. Other Side Dallas categorically both denies involvement and finds the episode funny.
Other Side Dallas does fight with scam linkers regularly who attempt to gain search engine advantage by posting links to similar sites.
It is unclear how Reform Dallas caught the attention of this site or its operators.
