24 Hour Dallas has a night shift survey. The link for shift workers who are employed overnight is here.
The survey is supposed to take three minutes and is designed so that 24 hour Dallas can better understand the needs of those who work overnight in and around Dallas.
24 hour Dallas’ Night Shift Survey and More
The group aslo invites everyone who lives, works, or visits Dallas to also offer their thoughts via the survey also.
24 Hour Dallas has been working to identify multiple issues with service workers in Dallas. They recently also held a discussion on race and the economy.
Street racing continues to show Dallas Police leadership exposed as unable to handle crime on any level. There is some focus on the data showing crime increasing beyond last year’s ten year record rate, but minor crime is rising too.
Per City Council Member Cara Mendelsohn “Chief Hall has been here for three years. She’s had opportunity and support to produce plans and produce results, I don’t think we’ve seen that.”
It is said nothing will happen until someone dies, but that does not seem to be the tipping point. In February, a Pleasant Grove man was pronounced dead after being hit by a car that was street racing. The crash happened on S. Masters Drive and Cushing Drive in Southeast Dallas. Police said 45-year-old Kendrick Lyons was ejected from his vehicle and died.
In April, more than 200 citations were issued during one weekend of street racing, but the problem of racing and stunt-like driving has caused multiple fatalities.
Last May, Olivia Mendez, an 8-year-old girl in Pleasant Grove, was killed when a racer struck the car she was a passenger in.
On Christmas Eve, an off-duty Dallas police officer, Joseph George, died after he lost control of his 2015 Ford Mustang while racing with another car, according to police. He was a four-year veteran of the department.
Murder Rate and Street Racing Symptoms Of Larger Problem
Council Member Mendelsohn cited 128 homicides in 2020, one more than the same time last year when Dallas has its worst year since the 1990s. Aggravated Assault not related to family violence is nearly 28% higher in Dallas this year compared to last.
One area of improvement: property. Property crimes are down in Dallas significantly. Some estimate this is due to COVID19 and the nuhmber of people staying home.
Higher taxes due per the new budget. The Dallas City Manager has released the 2020-2021 budget and it raises taxes by %5+ despite funding Visit Dallas at more than $25M. Other Side Dallas will continue to update.
Higher Taxes Due Now – Change In City Hall and Dallas Police Not Budgeted
Mayor Eric Johnson had suggested a rolling descrease in salaries with city employees making the most money taking the biggest salary hits. The Mayor’s idea does not seem to have made its way into the financial document.
The City Manager’s Office is budgeted an additional $267000 over the previous budget – or almost 10%.
Another major note from the budget is the fact the Dallas Police Department is not being defunded in any way. In fact, despite the multiple injuries from less lethal weapons the Dallas Police appears to be getting more of those dollars. We are waiting for statements from City Council Members at the forefront of the Defund movement.
Dallas Police have a long history of improperly using weapons including less lethal weapons on and off duty. This includes at the George Floyd protests. Community Police Oversight Board member Jose Rivas inquired of Chief Reneé Hall about her use of less lethal force during the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge event where tear gas was deployed despite her assurances it was not.
Budget: Eviction Protections vs. Homeowner Protections
The Executive Summary of the budget states that it will “alleviate financial hardship through an eviction diversion program that connects tenants facing eviction to resources ranging from housing assistance and direct legal services to financial education” yet it is unclear how higher taxes on landlords will make evictions less likely.
Revenue Predictions
It is not clear what basis the City Manager’s Office is using, but the revenue statement says the expect a sales tax revenue rebound in for the year immediately following this budget. This is despite a one third drop in GDP in the second quarter of Calendar Year 2020 nationally.
Additionally, local employer American Airlines warned of 25000 potential furloughs In July and travel is down due to COVID19.
Do not expect much from the Visit Dallas contract either. The proposed budget notes that “HOT (Hotel and Occupancy) revenues are historically volatile; therefore, actual collections may differ significantly from the budgeted amount.” Convention and Event services are budgeted at $85M despite events being forbidden by local COVID19 restrictions on large gatherings.
Higher Taxes Due And Few Services
The full budget can be seen here and Dallas City Manager TC Broadnax’s promotional video for the tax increase is below.
In a Thursday Facebook broadcast, the Texas Ram Club including their Event Chair Nathan Abrams indicated they were still confused about how their Back The Blue event on Sunday, August 2, 2020 was misunderstood at the predominantly African American Friendship West Baptist Church.
They then defended the event by stating Pastor Dr. Frederick Douglas Haynes, III misrepresented whether or not they could be there after stating they were late to the “pit stop” they had scheduled and agreed to for the Sunday car parade.
It is not clear if the group made this broadcast in order to respond to media stories, including ours, about the event, but they complain throughout the video about “communities” who are agitating to make this story bigger. They also make reference to unconfirmed reports that George Floyd had fentanyl in his system at the time of the arrest and that is the reason for his death. It is unclear what medical experience Nathan Abrams has other than an oblique reference to his brother’s “medical work” in the US Army.
Texas Ram Club
Nathan Abrams, the Texas Ram Club Event Chairman, admitted in the broadcast that the event “was a cluster.” He also admitted that Friendship West Baptist Church had denied the Texas Ram Club ‘invitation’ to be the eastern pit stop for the event along with three other locations.
Abrams in the video also says his changing accounts of events happened because “the information I thought I knew was different.”
The full video is below. We have reached out to Nathan Abrams multiple times and he has yet to respond.
Want a Dallas ISD Jobs offer? One Dallas ISD teacher posted about the district’s need for substitute teachers.
Out of work? Behind on rent? Dallas ISD needs subs…
Edit to add: I thought this would helpful for out of work service industry people – people who would risk exposure to work in bars (but now can’t) could work in classrooms instead. If you are passionate about social distancing OR making lots of money – this is not the job for you.
The reaction has been overwhelmingly negative per a second post.
Comments in the thread include people complaining that they had applied, but could not make it through Dallas ISD’s Human Capital Management maze. This elicited a response that insinuated the poster should consider just sending invoices to Dallas ISD – a reference to the audit scandal that has yet to be answered.
Another set of comments seemed to indicate subs do not make enough money or are scabs because teachers are striking. (Note: In Texas teachers do not have the right to strike.) These comments frequently came from persons parroting statements from GOP politicians that because they do not make enough substitute teaching they should collect unemployment instead.
The final group of posters indicated teaching was mostly babysitting and they weren’t interested in being around dirty children.
“Risk my life for 85 dollars a day in a closed enviroment with children, well known for their cleanliness? I’ll pass.” The interesting part about this comment was the poster states in their Facebook profile they are a journeyman electrician, i.e. why would they be able to substitute teach?
Dallas ISD Jobs
The arguments for or against substituting not withstanding, interested parties can find the substitute information here from Dallas ISD.
As previously reported, the Dallas ISD Calendar is set in stone, but it is unclear if Dallas ISD is regular for the first day of school.
Did North Texas Jeep Club sucker punch Ram? According to one internal document the Texas Ram Club had the wool pulled over its eyes during the Sunday, August 2, 2020 for the Back The Blue car parade which ended at Friendship West Baptist Church. In a document obtained exclusively by Other Side Dallas, Texas Ram Club says North Texas Jeep Club claimed to have permission from Rev. Dr. Frederick D. Haynes, III. They did not.
In the document the Texas Ram Club admits they were initially denied as a rest stop location, but claim they later had permission.
Representatives of the group say they initially did not see the Black Lives Matter sign hanging from the church, entering the parking lot from a different direction, or they would not have entered given the recent interaction between the Dallas Police and members of the African American community.
They also state they noticed one driver who was displaying the confederate flag and asked that driver to remove it which the owner would not so they demanded he leave the lot. A second driver was approached about a Trump flag, but left before leadership could remove him. Accounts on scene indicated that there was more than one driver with either the confederate or Trump campaign flag, but those accounts are not addressed in this document.
Ram Club Comments, Code of Conduct, and Screesnhots
This is the Texas Rams Club Code of Conduct and photos from event.
Dallas Police
It is still unclear what role Dallas Police played at this event. Statements from the department indicate they knew this was a potential hotspot and had stationed undercover officers on site.
We will continue to report on issues with the Dallas Police Department as we did Sunday when this event first occured.
Hensley Field is located in the Southwestern part of Dallas, adjacent to Mountain Creek Lake and Grand Prairie. It used to be a US Navy Air Station. Now, it mostly serves as a storage unit for the city’s unwanted police vehicles and confederate statues. In the future, the Dallas Economic Development Committee, hopes the field can be transformed into something more useful.
Which means its going to be your typical progressive mini-paradise. The council plans to have things such as solar panels, bike lanes, water-based green spaces along Mountain Creek Lake, and more. The goal is to hopefully turn Hensley Filed into a ‘diverse and carbon-neutral community’ that relies more on walking and public transit than driving.
The Designing of a New Hensley Field
Muller, Austin, Texas serves as the model for what Dallas will try and replicate in Hensley Field. In fact, McCann Adams Studio Team, who oversaw the redevelopment of Muller, is listed as the preferred vendor for the redevelopment of Hensley Field.
A draft of what Hensley Filed might look like is shown below.
COVID19 budget concerns for the local economy mean everything is subject to change. The current budget is $2,000,000. This project is in its begging stages and still has 18 months to before any City Action can be taken. For any updates be sure to check out Other Side Dallas.
The All Lives Matter movement proved today they did not believe their own moniker. The Dallas Police Department provided a police escort to members of the North Texas Jeep Club and the Texas Ram Club who paraded their vehicles through the parking lot of the Friendship West Baptist Church.
At least two eyewitnesses reported the vehicles were flying both Blue Lives Matter and Confederate flags through the predominantly African American congregation church parking lot. Additional reports state that the police blocked in congregants who were then not able to leave the area.
It is unclear what role Dallas Police Department played in today’s “protest” or whether or not anyone on Dallas City Council is willing to take on City Manager TC Broadnax or Police Chief Reneé Hall.
“All Lives Matter” Per Dallas Police
According to one regular Black Lives Matter protestor, Lee Daughterty, this fits history.
Daugherty said in a Facebook post that “…the cops and the Klan will always be hand in hand.”
No one from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (representing both Jeep and Ram) has responded to requests for comments about the presence of North Texas Jeep Club .
*** UPDATE ***
Joyce Foreman, District 7 Trustee for the Dallas Independent School District, posted that a protest will begin tonight at 6:00 PM in front of the police department at 1400 S Lamar Street, Dallas, TX.. We will continue to update details as they become available.
Carpe Noctem is the ethos of 24 Hour Dallas. For too many it comes with strings attached. On Monday, August 3rd, 24 Hour Dallas will be hosting a Zoom conversation about racism and its effects on the Dallas night time economy.
Interested participants can register for the Zoom meeting thru the 24 Hour Dallas website or via this link.
Night Time Dallas Impacted By COVID19
The first U.S. case of coronavirus originating from China was reported in the United States on January 16, 2020. The first COVID19 case in North Texas was March 9th and by March 12, 2020, Dallas County officials declared a local disaster in response to the COVID-19 pandemic after 13 people were infected in North Texas.
Within a week, the City of Dallas and Dallas County ordered all bars, lounges, taverns, gyms, and theaters to close. Restaurants were required to shutter their dining rooms and only provide takeout or drive-thru service. And Dallas County saw its first death due to the highly contagious virus.
By June 3, Dallas County would have 11,000 diagnosed cases of COVID19 and 250 deaths.
The pandemic fired a direct hit into Dallas’ sociable economic drivers — restaurants, hotels, cultural organizations, special events, and tourism. As these industries recover, 24HourDallas will help restore and advance those aspects of urban life that have been most damaged.
Downtown Dallas and Dallas night life has been impacted both by COVID19’s spread and multiple issues with Dallas Police.
Birth of Carpe Noctem
In 2015, a coalition of bars in Dallas’ Uptown social district contacted the Texas Restaurant Association (TRA) in Austin, Texas.
The Uptown commercial corridor had, in recent years, seen rapid residential growth in and next to what had long been a bar and restaurant destination.
Some bars were beginning to face pushback about parking, noise, increased crime and other neighbor complaints. In the absence of a representative association of their own, bar owners inquired with the TRA about any assistance they might be able to provide.
The TRA referred the bar owners to the Dallas-area chapter of the state association, the Greater Dallas Restaurant Association. Bar owners met with the GDRA’s executive director and its recently contracted public affairs consultant.
The GDRA representatives recommended that the bars create “good neighbor agreements” as used in other U.S. markets and take steps to manage noise concerns. Instead, the bar owners decided to organize a business association and help pay for additional security in the district.
A Dallas Police Officer Charged With Child Sexual Exploitation by the US Attorney for Northern Texas. Officer Daniel Collins has been charged with uploading sexually explicit images of children using the City of Dallas’ employee internet, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.
“Law enforcement officers take an oath to protect and serve,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox. “This defendant allegedly undermined that vow, preying upon our most vulnerable. The Department of Justice will not tolerate the exploitation of children – especially by our public servants.”
A complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Like all defendants, Mr. Collins – who has been placed on administrative leave by the police department pending the results of an internal investigation – is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Child Sexual Exploitation Case
According to court documents, Mr. Collins allegedly uploaded sexually explicit photos of prepubescent girls to his various Google accounts via the City of Dallas’ internet network.
Google flagged the images – one uploaded on May 13 to an account tagged “Dan Collins” and two more uploaded on June 29 to an account tagged “John Smith” – to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which filed a Cyber Tipline report with the Dallas Police Department. In the report, they noted that one of the profiles included a photo of a man in a police uniform, later determined to be Mr. Collins.
A Dallas IT specialist traced the IP addresses used for the uploads to the City of Dallas internet network. Investigators determined that the same Google accounts were also accessed from Mr. Collin’s residence.
In an interview with federal agents, Mr. Collins allegedly admitted to accessing the Google accounts and saving child pornography.
If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Dallas Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem is prosecuting the case.
