No air as HVAC systems broke down at schools in Dallas ISD less than a week after voters provided the district with $3.7B in new bond money.
School officials did not receive a response from administration on when fixes might occur, but teachers were asking parents for assistance via fan donations and other equipment. It was not clear when repairs would occur, but this is an ongoing issue at numerous campuses across Dallas ISD.
No Air By Phone Or Microphone Either
Dallas ISD did not return phone calls, but earlier this month did publish an agenda item intent on limiting future public participation. It appears some in administration want to take the air out of the opposition.
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.
Democrat insiders response to Dallas County election 2020 results were fast and the response was painful.
As noted in July there were several obstacles to flipping Texas blue, but the biggest obstacle per some Dallas County Democrats is party leasdership.
Local Congressional Democrats won their races easily, including first term Rep. Colin Allred who is facing an ethics inquiry and Rep. Marc Veasey who withstood an independent challenge from his left by Carlos Quintanilla, but state house races expected to flip the state house blue never materialized.
Hope MJ Hegar would help flip Texas blue also ended quickly election night, but many point to state senator Royce West’s unwillingness to publicly support his runoff opponent until too late in the process.
Democrat Insiders Blame Candidates and Carol Donovan
Carol Donovan was the focus of one East Dallas Precinct Chair’s ire.
“Donovan continues to promote certain candidates which have been tried and tested and failed,” said the precinct chair.
“She does not know how to get our of her own way and get a serious ground game organized” the precinct chair continued.
These references were not obligque though. Both this precinct chair and another in Dallas called out the party focus on Joanna Cattanach and Brandy Chambers as examples of where the party had gone wrong.
The two candidates have combined for five races with zero victories outside the primary cycle.
Per Dallas County Elections, Cattanach has lost the 2020 race to Morgan Meyer her three time opponent. She underperformed Beto O’Rourke’s 2018 race locally and the margin of loss grew again in 2020 when Democratic turnout was higher than ever.
As recently as a month ago, one precinct leader noted that Cattanach had returned campaign contributions to a Democratic fundraiser because he had worked for a primary opponent previously despite being in a race which would be close.
In Garland, Brandy Chambers second race has narrowed to what will be a 200 vote loss to Angie Chen Button out of nearly 69,000 votes cast.
Chambers meanwhile was described as a “lazy, day drinker” by a former field staffer. Her campaign team was seeking a primary opponent against her prior to the December 2019 primary filing deadline per another source.
County Judge Clay Jenkins reported 1500 new COVID19 cases in Dallas on Monday. Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 1,517 new COVID19 cases in Dallas for a cumulative total nearing 100,000 confirmed cases, including 1,119 confirmed deaths.
For the 477 new confirmed cases, 375 came through the Texas Department of State Health Services’ electronic laboratory reporting system and one is from March.
The provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases (by date of test collection) for CDC week 43 has increased to 652 — the highest daily average of new cases since July – when Dallas was considered in the hot zone for infections.
Dallas ISD has had a significant increase in COVID19 infections also. They nearly tripled their caseload in only the first week. A provisional total of 587 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in school-aged children (5 to 17 years) during CDC week 43 – over twice the numbers of children diagnosed in this age group 4 weeks earlier (CDC week ending 9/26/2020).
Most Of 1500 New COVID19 Cases Coming From Clinics
“The large amount of cases today can be attributed to this data dump representing cases that were performed over a 15-day period,” explained Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins in a statement. “This is not really a backlog, but rather a bulk upload from outpatient clinics that have ramped up antigen testing this month. With the numbers that we are seeing, it is increasingly important that we wear a mask and avoid crowds. You know what to do, we just need to all do it.”
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.
Four Dallas Police Officers were attacked Halloween night around 7:00 PM while assisting a motorist near Mesquite.
Two Dallas police officers along with two other officers from Mesquite were targeted, according to Dallas Police Association President Mike Mata. All four officers were in uniform at the time of the shooting.
“They were waiting on a wrecker and directing traffic when all of the sudden bullets are coming their way,” said Mata.
Immediately following the initial shot, four or five additional shots were fired at the Dallas and Mesquite police officers forcing the officers to take cover.
The officers were able to safely run toward the area of the gunshots in an attempt to locate a suspect or suspects. As officers were running, they heard screaming coming from 8300 La Prada Drive.
Mata said a 19 year-old believed to be the gunman was found and arrested for unlawful carrying of a weapon. His gun is now being tested to see it was indeed the weapon used in the shooting.
An investigation is proceeding.
“…it absolutely was intentional and unfortunately, it’s a narrative that’s being carried across the country by a very small percentage, but vocal amount of people,” Mata said.
He said across the country, there’s several recent examples of unsuspecting officers targeted for no reason. One high profile example of this includes the attack on officers in California in September.
Additionally, there have been multiple calls by candidates to defund the police and/or remove weapons from them. One candidate even suggested officers should be armed only with a flashlight and radio.
Dallas Police Officers Attacked
The shooting is a reminder of the attack on officers on July 7, 2016.
An Oak Cliff man is facing Sex Trafficking charges in Dallas after being arrested for selling a nineteen year old to a man in South Carolina for purposes of sex.
Alfonso Orozco Juarez, 35, and Robert Hubert, 66, were charged via criminal complaint with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. Mr. Juarez was arrested at his home in Dallas and made his initial appearance in court in Dallas on Wednesday; Mr. Hubert was arrested at his home in Roebuck, SC, and made his initial appearance in court in Greenville, SC last week.
In a statement, US Attorney Erin Neely Cox said “This victim endured horrific abuse at the hands of these defendants. It’s unthinkable and frankly, difficult to learn that this type of thing is happening in our District.”
Cox continued: “I am grateful that our North Texas Human Trafficking Task Force was able to act swiftly and aggressively. The Northern District of Texas and its partners in the District of New Mexico are committed to ending the scourge of human trafficking, one brutal case at a time.”
In September 2019, Juarez advertised the woman as a sex slave for sale on a fetish website, authorities said. A user going by the name “The Darkest Lord” replied to him, offering $5,000, according to court records.
Authorities said they obtained text messages in which Juarez and that man — later identified as 66-year-old Robert Gene Hubert of Roebuck, S.C. — arranged the transaction.
According to court documents, Juarez said that homeless women were “willing to do anything” for good food and shelter. “My dream is to have a house full of service sex slaves and like a pet adoption I will find them good homes,” he allegedly wrote.
He referred to the woman as “the property” and said she was completely dependent on him, according to the documents.
“I will take the slave,” Hubert said, offering a $50 deposit, the complaint says.
Juarez took the woman to a gas station near his home and told her she would be going to South Carolina with a man and needed to “obey him,” according to the complaint. She said she saw Hubert, whom she described as a “biker dude” with tattoos and an eye patch, give Juarez $5,000 in cash.
The woman said Hubert put a metal collar around her neck once she was in his truck and told her he wanted to brand her buttocks with a logo, according to the complaint. There was another woman with Hubert, she told authorities, and when they got to Hubert’s home, she saw bruises, burn marks and cuts all over the woman’s body, as well as a brand on her hip.
Sex Trafficking Charges
Sex trafficking charges can sometimes be hard to prove. Juarez’s attorney, Ezekiel Tyson, said he wanted to see “what actual evidence they have of criminal activity by my client.” Sex-slave relationships can be “very consensual” and aren’t necessarily criminal or worthy of a sex trafficking charge, he said, adding that there are plenty of activities that don’t cross the line into criminality, such as having someone agree to clean your house in the nude.
Both Juarez and Hubert remain in custody and face up to life in prison if convicted. Hubert did not have an attorney listed in court records.
Multiple cases have come out of the Dallas US Attorney’s office related to sex crimes and sexual activity in recent months. They include a Dallas police officer implicated in child sexual explotation while on the job and a former US Attorney who had been based in Dallas implicated in amateur hotwife porn.
Local Neo-nazis painted a swastika in Dallas late last week at the top of a city owned parking garage earning the attention of the Dallas FBI Field Office, Dallas Police, and Mayor’s office.
Joey Zapata, an assistant city manager, emailed Mayor Eric Johnson and members of City Council on Monday after the crime was initially reported to DPD by citizens who saw it from the Reunion Tower observation deck. Local and federal law enforcement are investigating the vandalism which will cost $4,000 to remove in addition to more funds to secure the unused parking garage.
City Council woman Cara Mendelsohn wrote in a statement Wednesday night the act wasn’t “just graffiti, it’s a disgusting display of hate and intimidation.” Ms. Mendelsohn is one of two Jewish members on City Council.
“It breaks my heart to see it in Dallas, where we welcome people of all races and religions.”
Swastika In Dallas Just Latest
Earlier this year a Boogaloo Boy Philip Archibald was charged by the US Attorney’s office with illegal steroid sales after threatening to hunt antifa in Dallas.
Additionally, Tennell Atkins appointee to the Permit and License Appeal Board made remarks on social media suggesting moving from rubber bullets to real ones when responding to antifa among other pro violence comments.
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.
Rats have taken to the streets of Chicago, again, but Dallas falls one spot to sixteenth rattiest city in the nation. Orkin released its Top 50 Rattiest Cities List today, and for the sixth consecutive time, the Windy City takes the top spot. New to the Top 10 this year is Baltimore, taking the eighth spot, and moving into the Top 20 is San Diego, rising 13 spots to secure the #19 ranking.
The Issue: Rats
In an unprecedented year, the visibility of rodents has increased, creating concern for homeowners and business owners alike. As reported in the Spring, the pandemic-driven closure of restaurants forced rodents to find new food sources. Without food waste to consume, these pests were seen scavenging new areas and exhibiting unusual or aggressive behavior. The presence of rodents became so relevant that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued Rodent Control guidance on ways to keep rats and mice out of homes and businesses.
As we approach colder months, rodent activity will only continue increasing as these pests seek shelter in warm areas with available food and water. As the U.S. population spends more time at home this season, residents should pay extra attention to the attractants that entice rats and mice.
“Rodents are experts at sniffing out food and shelter, and they’re resilient in their ways to obtain both,” said Ben Hottel, an Orkin entomologist. “Residential properties offer the ideal habitat for rodents, and once they’ve settled in, they’re capable of reproducing rapidly and in large quantities.”
Rodents are known to cause severe structural damage with their strong jaws and burrowing skills. They have oversized front teeth for gnawing, and they have check teeth, which are adapted for chewing a variety of items, including electrical wires, water pipes and gas lines. “Unfortunately, rodents can cause great damage in and around homes,” said Hottel.
Beyond structural damage, there are multiple health issues associated with rodents, and during a time of heightened awareness around virus transmission, preventing rodents and the harmful pathogens they carry is critical. Rodents are capable of contaminating food through pathogens that can cause food poisoning or Leptospirosis. They can also spread diseases such as Hantavirus and Plague, specifically in the Western U.S., both of which while uncommon, can be fatal.
The good news is, a rat infestation is preventable. To help residents avoid the potential health and safety risks associated with rodents, Orkin recommends the following tips to help prevent rats and mice in and around the home.
The Orkin report comes just a few months after the City of Dallas said they would cut back on bulk trash pickup.
