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No, Kyrie Did Not Call Luka a ‘Handsome White Stud’

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The dynamic duo on May 11 Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić are becoming known as the best huggers in the NBA. Just watch this embrace after their Game 6 victory over the Thunder. That’s the kind of hug that will bring a grown man to tears. Do you see the way Luka gives Kyrie the three pats on the back that signal “This hug is about to wrap up,” but then Kyrie doesn’t let go, refuses to wrap up, just snuggles up even closer to Luka’s cheek, getting even more hug? I would pay a lot of money to get in on that hug. Fantastic hug.

Maybe some of that hug still had my brain in a warm and fuzzy state this morning when I scrolled past a video clip on Twitter that made me do a double take. Kyrie and Luka are doing a post-game interview together, and Kyrie says, “LeBron has one of his rings because of me, and now I’m trying to get a ring for this handsome White stud sitting next to me.” Really? Huh. Watch it for yourself.

Then I got a minute after lunch and figured I should see what people were saying about Kyrie’s intentions and his description of his hugging partner. I was surprised to find nothing. The same clip is on YouTube but there was no commentary anywhere. So I went back and tracked down the tweet and waded into the comments and—oh. Yeah. That’s AI.

So here’s your friendly reminder: find someone you love like Kyrie and Luka love each other, and give that someone an extended cheek-to-check hug. It will make you happy. And watch out for AI, folks. It’s only going to get scarier.

A memo to the City Council revealed Monday that the city of Dallas will have three more leadership roles to fill, including one of its top spots.

Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert told the Council that Deputy City Manager Jon Fortune and Chief of Staff Genesis Gavino informed her that they planned to leave their posts. In her Monday memo, she says that Fortune’s last day will be June 7, and Gavino’s last day will be May 31. Both are headed to Austin to work with former Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax. Fortune will fill a vacant deputy city manager seat, and Gavino will be a special assistant to Broadnax, a memo to the Austin City Council said Monday.

Fortune joined the city in 2017, first as assistant city manager and then as deputy city manager—a title also held by Tolbert before she was appointed interim city manager. He oversaw Dallas Fire-Rescue, the Dallas Police Department, the City Marshal’s office, Dallas municipal courts, the Office of Emergency Management, and the Office of Integrated Public Safety Solutions. He also implemented a market-based pay structure for police and firefighters and the Rapid Integrated Group Health (or RIGHT) Care program that paired first responders with mental health professionals during psychiatric calls.

“Jon led the implementation of transformative programs and helped shepherd the City through various challenges and crises,” Tolbert said.

This is Conference Finals Week. The Mavs will tip off their series against the Minnesota Timberwolves tomorrow night; the Inside the NBA crew all likes Minnesota. The Stars will find out their opponent (Vancouver or Edmonton) tonight, and then face off on Wednesday. Hopefully those series continue to be on alternating days, just to give our StrongSide crew a fighting chance at getting a tiny bit of sleep.

Early Voting In Runoff Races Begins Today. Probably the biggest contest on the ballot is incumbent Dallas County Sheriff Marion Brown against her predecessor Lupe Valdez.

Man, It’s a Hot One. But that cannot surprise anyone.

From the NY Post: “Republican Congressman Files for Divorce Amid Rumored Relationship With House GOP Colleague.” That colleague would be Beth Van Duyne, the former mayor of Irving. And from the Daily Mail: “One GOP member told DailyMail.com they had seen McCormick and and Van Duyne, 53, ‘holding hands under the table’ at the weekly Republican Study Committee lunch within the last three to four months and had seen him ‘grab the small of her back’ on the House floor during votes.”

Here’s a reminder to everyone reading this to open a private tab on your phone before you google “Republican Study Committee lunch.”

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Podcasts

Mark Melton Fights Illegal Evictions

Tim Rogers
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Matt Goodman wrote a story in the May issue of D Magazine about a lawyer who keeps landlords in check. No one else in the country is doing what Mark Melton does with his Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center. He’s an interesting cat who worked as a bouncer before becoming a partner at Holland & Knight. As you can see in the above photo, he’s got a Zalat Pizza tattoo on his arm. That’s how much he loves pizza. Check out this episode of EarBurner to learn about your city and the foot infection that almost killed Mark. (Does that sound gross? It’s a little gross.)

Scottie was arrested last night. Everyone knows this already. OK, but that V neck orange shirt? Come on, Louisville. You can do better.

Scottie Scheffler Detained in Louisville by Police. Louisville Metro Police took the world’s No. 1 ranked golfer into custody as he tried to drive into the entrance of the Valhalla Golf Club without following their instructions early this morning. A shuttle bus had struck and killed a man around 5 a.m., and Scheffler tried to get around the scene by driving on a median. An officer pulled the Dallas native out of the vehicle, put him in cuffs, and arrested him. He’s charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic. His tee time is 10:08 a.m. EST and he’s still in jail.

The NRA Is In Town. Gov. Greg Abbott and former President Donald Trump will visit the NRA convention on Saturday, with the latter delivering the keynote. Police expect hundreds of gun-law reform protesters and upwards of 70,000 attendees at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.

Summer Is Here. Hope you enjoyed the last gasp of spring yesterday, because we’re now living in the 90s and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere. There’s a low chance of scattered thunderstorms today with highs in the low 80s. The high tomorrow leaps to 91 and Sunday’s will be 92. Cloudy and sunny weekend ahead, folks. Use it to prepare for the blast furnace we’re about to be living in.

As Matt mentioned in his earlier post about Interim City Manager Kim Tolbert locking down Chief Eddie García, the press release included a football analogy that, depending on your taste, was a bit much. Tolbert said: “If this was [sic] NFL Football, we were able to keep Chief García on the Dallas Team; he’s the right quarterback to lead our police department. We certainly didn’t want to lose him to free agency.”

For my taste? Tolbert didn’t go far enough. If she really cared, if she actually wanted to become our permanent city manager, here’s the press release she would have given us:

“If this were the national league of football, we are like Howie Roseman, the general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles. I know everyone in Dallas hates the Eagles, but you have to admit that Howie has done a wonderful job of balancing current needs with the needs of the future. DaVonta Smith. Need I say more? Let me say more. I see Chief García as the city’s middle linebacker. The other team, the one I’ll call the Bad Guys, they try to run all over Dallas. Not with García patrolling the middle of the field. He knows how to call the right defensive formations to stymie the Bad Guys. And, like Howie Roseman signing C.J. Uzomah to a one-year contract, we made a move to keep our tight end room operating at full strength. I know that’s not the same thing as a linebacker, but it’s still football, and I just want you to know that Dallas is all in. One final note: Zeke Elliott? Seriously?!”

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Local News

City of Dallas Reaches Three-Year ‘Agreement’ With Police Chief Eddie García

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Dallas Police Chief Eddie García, photographed in a conference room at headquarters in 2022.

The city of Dallas has reached an “agreement” with the police chief to keep him here for at least the next three years. The news was announced through a carefully worded press release from Interim City Manager Kim Tolbert that refers to this arrangement as a “plan” and a “commitment” but not a “contract,” which is something the city charter wouldn’t allow.

Dallas’ city charter defines department leaders like Chief Eddie García as at-will employees, meaning they’re welcome to walk and the city manager is welcome to fire them. That also makes them targets for other cities looking for a new top cop. The release says the “agreement” is “an addendum to the chief’s initial offer letter” and was signed Thursday afternoon. The new terms include a twice-annual $10,000 retention bonus and a commitment to remain in Dallas until May 2027. If he gets fired, he’ll get a full year’s salary, worth $306,440.40. If he resigns or is convicted “of an offense of moral turpitude or a felony criminal act,” he won’t receive anything.

“To live and work in Dallas is to love Dallas,” García said in a statement. “This is the right place to complete my service, and I know your police officers are honored to serve Dallas residents. We will keep doing our jobs with excellence and results.”

García became big news last week with sudden police chief openings in Houston and Austin. Former Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax is now running the show in the capitol city, and the close relationship he had with García alarmed City Hall about possible wandering eyes. Houston Mayor John Whitmire has been rumored to want García in the state’s largest city, particularly after implementing a violent crime reduction plan that’s showing results.

Dean Loses Appeal. Former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean lost his bid to have his 2022 manslaughter conviction reviewed by the state Court of Criminal Appeals. Dean was convicted of manslaughter in the 2019 shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson, who was up late playing video games with her nephew. Body camera footage showed that Dean never identified himself as an officer before the shooting and only gave Jefferson seconds to comply with a command to put her hands up.

New Children’s Campus Gets Big Donation. Mack Pogue, the late founder of Lincoln Property Co., and his wife Jean donated $100 million to Children’s Health and UT Southwestern Medical Center. The money will go toward the new $5 billion, 2 million-square-foot pediatric hospital set to open in about seven years. It’s not only the largest donation yet to the campus, but it’s also one of the largest philanthropic gifts publicly announced in North Texas history, Children’s says. The green space around the 33-acre site will be named Pogue Park.

Docu-series About Alleged North Texas Serial Murderer Streaming Now. Paramount+ is airing Pillowcase Murders, a series examining Billy Chemirmir and his alleged crimes. Chemirmir was convicted of killing two women but is suspected of killing many more. The majority of the murders happened at senior living facilities, where they were smothered with pillowcases. The perpetrator would then steal their jewelry and pawn it.

Prepare for a Soggy Day. It’s 73 degrees, and there’s a 30 percent chance that it’s already raining. If it’s not, it will be—the National Weather Service predicts an 80 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms after 10 a.m. It’ll drop to about 60 percent this evening and taper off overnight into Friday.

Publications

What Happens After Eating 50 Burgers in Two Months?

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Heim's burger. Scott Semler

Every great hamburger starts with the bread. It’s maybe not the most important element, if you had to single one out, but the bread is the first thing to meet your lips and teeth. Plus you couldn’t pick the thing up without the bread. Above all, a burger is a sandwich.

Nick Rallo, a Dallas writer with an artery-clogging death wish, tackled this month’s cover story for D Magazine. I got to wondering how many burgers he ate for the assignment and how he survived it. Here’s what he said:

Southlake Families Call for Carroll ISD to Cooperate. The Department of Education has invited the district to negotiate a resolution on four claims that kids had been subjected to race and gender-based discrimination and that the district did not respond. Federal investigations that substantiate discrimination claims generally result in the district agreeing to some sort of action plan. Now, parents are urging Carroll ISD to come to the table and negotiate in good faith.

First Quarter Sees Hike in Apartment Demand. More than 5,000 units filled up in Dallas-Fort Worth during the first three months of 2024, which is the highest quarter since 2019. Rental rates had fallen for six months in 2023 as more and more new units came online, but analysts CoStar report seeing small increases that reflect the higher demand. About a third of the growth happened in Frisco and Prosper, Allen and McKinney, and North Fort Worth.

Walmart Wants Dallas Workers to Move to Arkansas. The company is shifting its corporate staff, remote and office workers, to headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. to use its new corporate campus. Walmart canceled its plans to open clinics in many of its stores and had already asked Austin workers to office out of its Sam’s Club innovation center in the West End.

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