Is Dak Prescott done in Dallas after signing a $31M contract?
The NFL Network reported that Prescott turned down a deal worth at least $33 million per season, with $100 million guaranteed. The 26-year-old instead will play on a franchise tag, which will pay Prescott $31.4 million next season, but all is not happy at The Star.
After Wednesday’s deadline passed without the Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott agreeing on a long-term extension, the quarterback’s older brother made his anger and disappointment public.
This may be a precursor of things to come. As of today, the tweet is still up two days later despite massive fan reaction and media attention.
Dak Prescott
Prescott has started every game for the Cowboys since being drafted in the fourth round pick in 2016. He earned the reigns to the starting job after both Tony Romo and Kellen Moore we injured in 2016. He has led the team to a pair of playoff appearances, throwing for a career-high 4,902 yards and 30 touchdowns last season.
Prescott is 40-24 in the regular season, but 1-2 in the playoffs. Other Side Dallas predicts he is gone after no more than two years.
Dallas ISD Schools are closed until Labor Day for in person instruction per an order by Dallas County Health Department Medical Director Philip Huang.
An early September return to school still seems optimistic per many teachers and parents who have begun a #NotMyKid campaign to keep their children home.
This move by the Dallas County Health Department seems to preempt next week’s Dallas ISD Board of Trustees meeting.
Labor Day Option
The Dallas ISD Calendar has been up in the air since the Texas Education Agency stipulated students must return to class despite parent and educator objections. This would seem to be one more nail in the coffin of a Fall 2020 football season making its way onto the Dallas ISD Calendar as children’s COVID19 cases continue to spread.
Adults over 18 can pick three free bottles at 921 S. Haskell Ave. in South Dallas.
More Free Titos
Tito’s has been producing hand sanitizer since late March, donating bottles to frontline workers at more than 500 organizations in Central Texas and to 30 other states as part of the response to COVID19. As COVID19 cases continue to be more than 1000 new cases per day in the Dallas area health officials continue to encourage thorough and regular hand washing.
More than 1300 people have been infected. Of those, 894 were staff and 441 were children. The cases came from 883 child care facilities that are open in the state, DHHS said.
These new cases mark an almost six fold increase in cases from June 15. Then there were 210 reported cases from 177 facilities — including 141 staff members and 69 children.
On May 15, Texas reported a total of 59 cases from 53 child care facilities. At that time, 36 staff members and 23 children were infected.
Pediatric COVID19 Cases In Other School Systems
In Maryland there is an estimate that twelve hundred students and nearly one hundred staff members would die from COVID19. This estimate is only of the ten biggest jurisdictions in Maryland and factors in a 0.0016% death rate.
Using this same rate and Dallas ISD numbers, Dallas would experience approximately 240 student deaths and roughly 30 staff casualties. While the Dallas ISD Calendar is not yet confirmed these numbers would indicate a giant red flag for members of the Board of Trustees to consider.
In one school district in Missouri the district is requiring parents to sign a waiver in case children who participate in sports or other activities become infected with COVID19 and die.
The document asks parents to acknowledge that COVID19 is a public health crisis and to relinquish their rights to hold the district responsible even if a student’s death is “caused by the negligence of carelessness” of school staff.
The Dallas rich keep getting richer. The City of Dallas Eviction Moratorium is over and worse – the Coronavirus Dallas Rental Assistance Program is pushing money into districts with higher socioeconomic status.
The Coronavirus Dallas Rental Assistance Program was put into action to try and help citizens in need. It was expected the program would be up for at least a month with applications being processed daily. The system was overwhelmed by applicants by the second day both the hotline and website were shut down, not accepting any more applications.
COVID19 brought many fears to the City of Dallas. One of them was how to work with Shelter in Place orders. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in Dallas tripled from 4.6 in March to 12.3 in May 2020 similar to the spiking COVID19 numbers.
Mayor Eric Johnson took to Twitter to announce that only 9,996 applicants were eligible for the second phase of the program. After the website shut down it was reported at least another 15,000 applicants were not able to finish. This is without taking into account the many people had no idea of this rental assistance program or the many immigrant communities who don’t qualify for the program.
10 million people were evicted in the years following the 2008 financial crisis. Some have suggested we may see an eviction rate as high as 8% or 28 million people being evicted in the just the next few months.
Dallas Rich District Landlords Receive Most Rental Assistance Income
Some districts most affected by the coronavirus were left with little to no help from the programs set up by the city. An example, District 5 accounted for only 3% of applications and several residents said they heard nothing about the program from City Council Member Jaime Resendez. While accounting for only 3% of program applications, none were approved for District 5 and local residents are bewildered by Resendez’s attitude towards their needs.
The South Dallas sector ended up receiving less than 20% of the funds. This is a bad look for city leadership and management that talks about equity, but usually fails to deliver.
COVID19 Tests were stolen from Parkland Hospital delaying both testing and results for many in South Dallas.
This has been confirmed to NBC News that thieves struck their COVID19 testing site overnight, stealing both equipment and supplies.
The testing site at The Salvation Army’s Pleasant Grove Corps Community Center at 8341 Elam Road, which is maintained and managed by the Parkland Health & Hospital System, was to open for the first time Monday after moving from the Inspired vision Compassion Center over the weekend.
The guidelines include attendance, prevention, and mitigation guidance.
ATTENDANCE
It’s what everyone already expected. Students are still required to attend 90% of the course days to receive credit. Parents can choose if they want their child to attend online or on-campus learning. If a student is unable to attend online, the school must provide daily on-campus learning. A student wanting to attend online is allowed to enroll in another school if the original school can not provide an online option.
Schools may limit access to on-campus instruction to those who are able to learn online. This is on a temporary basis, but is sure to impact the Dallas ISD Calendar.
PREVENTION
Schools are required to screen any adult that enters their building. Screening per the Texas Education Agency means checking temperature and asking a “Yes or No” question for COVID-19 symptoms at a minimum.
The school may also screen students if they want. If someone has a temperature of above 100F or shows COVID-19 symptoms, that individual is presumed to have COVID-19. They will be immediately isolated.
In order to return to back on campus the individual must remain at home for 10 days minimum and 3 days after their fever has passed (without the use of medication), they must also have had an improvement in COVID symptoms. Alternatively they may also show a medical professional’s note clearing the individual, or two separate confirmations (at least 24 hours apart) that they are free of COVID. Locations for these confirmation tests are found at https://tdem.texas.gov/covid-19/.
If someone tested positive for COVID-19 they must notify the Dallas ISD school. The school must close off and disinfect areas heavily used by the individual.
MITIGATION
According to the Texas Education Agency, hand sanitizer should be everywhere. Every entrance, every classroom, and every bus should have it. People are encouraged to use it at least two times a day.
Schools should also increase airflow by opening windows. The should be allowing outside air to circulate the building and buses.
Texas Education Agency also requires schools to comply with Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order regarding mask usage. Everyone will have to wear some sort of mask (TEA accepts the use of non-medical masks or mere cloth) to cover their mouth and nose at all times (excluding athletic activities and eating).
Whenever possible people should be 6 feet apart. Campuses must plan for entry, exit, and transition procedures that reduce large groups. Teacher, staff, and student meetings should be banned or less frequent. Extracurricular activities are allowed to continue at district’s discretion.
According to Hinojosa the problem isn’t so much the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) as much as it is the implementations of the procedures that the Texas Education Agency recommends. “If you have a mask on can you be closer than 6 feet? Initially we thought “yes”, but now we are hearing “no”. So there are a lot of complexities about how we keep students and employees safe in this process”.
Further details about how Dallas ISD would reopen, will be addressed in a board meeting on July 23rd. Until then, nothing is set in stone for the Dallas ISD Calendar.
Texas Education Agency
The guidelines released by TEA can be found here. It is expected that these standards may go through multiple evolutions between now and the start of the school year.
Hot hits 100°F today in DFW Weather. Per the National Weather Service the Dallas-Fort Worth are can expect their first 100°F degree day of the year today.
We are expected to have multiple days ahead above 90 – which is the temperature used to measure “Extreme Heat.”
Extreme heat means your body will work extra hard to maintain normal temperature. That can lead to death. Heat is responsible for the highest number of annual deaths among all weather-related hazards. Please keep in mind that Extreme heat can occur quickly and without warning. Older adults, children, and sick or overweight individuals are at greater risk from extreme heat conditions.
IF YOU ARE UNDER AN EXTREME HEAT WARNING:
Find air conditioning.
Avoid strenuous activities.
Wear light clothing.
Check on family members and neighbors.
Drink plenty of fluids.
Watch for heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Never leave people or pets in a closed car.
HOW TO STAY SAFE WHEN EXTREME HEAT THREATENS
Prepare NOW
Find places in your community where you can go to get cool.
Keep your home cool:
Cover windows with drapes or shades.
Weather-strip doors and windows.
Use window reflectors, such as aluminum foil-covered cardboard, to reflect heat back outside.
Add insulation to keep the heat out.
Use attic fans to clear hot air.
Install window air conditioners and insulate around them.
Learn to recognize the signs of heat-related illness.
Be Safe DURING
Never leave a child, adult or animal alone inside a vehicle on a warm day.
Find places with air conditioning. Libraries, shopping malls and community centers can provide a cool place to take a break from the heat.
If you’re outside, find shade. Wear a hat wide enough to protect your face.
Wear loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing.
Drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated. If you or someone you care for is on a special diet, ask a doctor how best to accommodate it.
Do not use electric fans when the temperature outside is more than 95 degrees, as it could increase the risk of heat-related illness. Fans create air flow and a false sense of comfort, but do not reduce body temperature.
Avoid high-energy activities.
Check yourself, family members and neighbors for signs of heat-related illness.
More 100°F Facts
Given the suggestion to curtail activity, Other Side Dallas has weather trivia you can enjoy over your ice cold drink. Dallas-Fort Worth experiences eighteen (18) days of 100°F heat annually. The average date for a first 100°F temperature is July 1. The last date is August 26.
In 1911, the Dallas-Fort Worth area experienced their first triple digit day on March 9. These big temperature days can happen late in the year too like on October 3, 1951. In 2011, we had 71 triple digit days.
The new COVID19 cases may be the tip of the iceberg. In Houston, the busiest hospitals are increasingly telling emergency responders they cannot safely accept new patients as hundreds of coronavirus patients crowd emergency rooms, and hospitals scramble to open more intensive care space.
Houston hospitals have been forced to treat hundreds of COVID-19 patients in their emergency rooms — sometimes for several hours or multiple days — as they scramble to open additional intensive care beds for the wave of seriously ill people streaming through their doors. The increase in ambulance diversions, coupled with the spike in patients being held indefinitely in emergency rooms, are the latest indicators that Houston hospitals are straining to keep up with a surge of new coronavirus patients.
Last week, ProPublica reported that Houston hospitals were running out of COVDI!9 treatment medications. Locally, there are two similar unconfirmed reports from separate medical systems.
John Cornyn came out swinging in Facebook ads against MJ Hegar prior to their Tuesday, July 14 run off. It appears Cornyn is semi-actively supporting Royce West who is business partners with major Trump donor, Brint Ryan. Some have asserted Cornyn would rather face West as an easier candidate to beat.
The post by the GOP nominee for US Senate and attacks by Royce West seem to be putting Hegar on the defensive. She has had to repeatedly respond to issues about voting in the 2016 Republican primary and that her points about West’s financial dealings are racist.
John Cornyn
US Senator John Cornyn continues to outpace both MJ Hegar and Royce West in multiple polls showing gaps of between 8 and 13. National and Texas Democrats say Texas is in play, but it isn’t clear how much yet.
Tuesday, July 14, is the runoff election date to vote in the Democratic primary to determine which candidate will face John Cornyn in November. You can look up your precinct voting information via Dallas County elections.
