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Back in September, senior editor S. Holland Murphy, staff photographer Elizabeth Lavin, and I hopped on a flight to Botswana to visit an elephant orphanage built by Debra Stevens, a Dallas art framer. Holland and Elizabeth told the incredible story in the May issue, which, if you don’t already have it, you should pick up on a magazine rack near you. I was so moved by the whole thing that I wanted to try to find a way to help.

Here’s what I came up with: I’d like to invite you to spend an intimate evening Saturday, June 1 at my home with Holland, Elizabeth, and the founders of Elephant Havens, Debra and her husband, Scott Jackson. While they regale you with tales of baby elephant rescues and lion invasions, I’ll serve you South African G&Ts and a sit-down Botswanan feast. I only have room at my table for 12 subscribers, so spots will go fast. All of the proceeds from the event will go directly to Elephant Havens. (The cost of food, gin, and South African wine is my own contribution.) Get your tickets here.

What’s included for $350 per person:

6 p.m.: Sitatunga Sundowner

When the sun begins to dip behind the acacia trees in the Okavanga Delta, it is time for a safari sundowner. The now ubiquitous happy hour tradition started in the 18^th century, when British officers decided to add a little pomp and circumstance (and gin) to their daily medicinal quinine consumption.

For our version, we’ll be enjoying a selection of salty snacks, from caviar to nuts, paired with G&Ts prepared with your choice of one of South Africa’s top gins. Or, if you prefer whiskey, we’ll also be serving a signature legapu cocktail (or mocktail).

As we gather around the evening fire, Debra and her husband, Scott, will share their story of how Elephant Havens came to be and provide updates on their current brood of elephant babies.

7 p.m.: Dinner Under the Baobab Tree

To be fair, in this case it’s a Texas pecan tree, but we will re-create the magic of an alfresco Botswanan dinner under the stars. Holland and Elizabeth will give you a behind-the-scenes look at what it was like to spend a week at Elephant Havens and report on what is sure to be an award-winning story. The traditional grilled braai feast will include Texas beef, authentic Boerewors sausage, Botswanan sides, and a selection of South African wines.

8:30 p.m.: Tsamaya Sentle

Peruse a selection of limited-edition signed prints by Elizabeth that will be available for purchase (with all proceeds going to Elephant Havens) and take advantage of her big-game (photo) shooting tips while enjoying coffee or an Amarula cream liqueur digestif with your coconut and cardamom cake.

Bond Package Overwhelmingly Approved. All propositions got at least 70 percent of the vote, even with vocal pushback on two of them from a council member and one from an activist group.

Stars and Mavs Advance. Thanks to goals from Wyatt Johnston in the first and Radek Faksa in the third, the Stars took down the defending Stanley Cup champs in Game 7. If I am reading this correctly, the Stars face off against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver on Tuesday, the same night the Mavs begin their second round series in Oklahoma City, after they defeated the Clippers on Friday night. We will get you set up for all of that on StrongSide.

Fair Park First Reverses Decision; CEO Brian Luallen Now on Paid Leave. The nonprofit’s board had a special meeting on Sunday and changed course. Instead of going their separate ways, as a result of the meeting Luallen is now on a 45-day paid leave of absence while he undergoes a performance evaluation. Alyssa Arnold, Fair Park First’s chief impact officer, is acting CEO. None of this makes the goings on over there any less curious.

Michael Irvin Out at NFL Network. He’d been there since 2009. I believe we can find a desk for the Playmaker at D HQ.

Editor’s Note: The story below was written after midnight on May 5, when the only available election data for Collin County was not complete. The story below has been updated to reflect that 1,882 voters in Collin cast a ballot for propositions C and H . Prop C received 44 percent support and Prop H received 37 percent, which meant Collin voters did not approve each proposition.

It was a very late night (or an early morning) for bleary-eyed Dallas poll watchers Saturday. By 10 p.m., less than 4 percent of the city’s vote centers had reported returns. 

But it almost didn’t matter. The main event—10 bond propositions totaling $1.25 billion—had such a commanding lead after early voting that bond proponents were already claiming victory well before the 10 p.m. newscasts started.

By midnight, every bond proposition had at least 70 percent of the vote among city voters within Dallas County. Some had upwards of 80 percent. Dallas voters living in Denton and Collin counties approved most propositions, but voted against storm drainage (C) and housing infrastructure (H). They also weren’t as bullish on propositions that addressed arts and cultural facilities.

In 1980, a few years before he became the architecture critic for the Dallas Morning News, the late David Dillon asked a bold question in our pages: Why is Dallas’ architecture so bad? Near the end of the story, he quoted Henry Cobb, one of the architects of One Dallas Center.

“Dallas is now at a crossroads in its development. On the one hand, it has to avoid purely arbitrary invention, mere thingery; on the other, it has to avoid creating dozens of homogenized buildings that are simply dropped onto a site and left. The goal is to create a true urban context.”

Back then, the downtown Arts District was just a proposal. Famed architect I.M. Pei had already built City Hall and Cobb was responsible for One Dallas Center while working for Pei’s firm. Philip Johnson had Thanks-Giving Square, but much of downtown Dallas was designed by local architects. Dillon writes in his story that about 20 percent of the 900-acre “central core” was undeveloped. “The city is up for grabs architecturally.” He says, “Although there is an estimated $300 million in new construction in downtown Dallas, there are few good buildings.”

He leads with the positive, the shimmering Hyatt Regency, a “clear statement about the city,” “chic, glittery, futuristic” that calls up images of affluence, high fashion, and self-confidence.” Who was responsible for it? Seattle native Welton Becket.

This sentence from Dillon could have been written last year: “A city that gives tickets for jaywalking and sleeping on benches in front of City Hall and forces street vendors to sell food prepared and wrapped in some sanitary kitchen 10 miles away doesn’t really understand urban life, however well it may understand ordinances.”

As could this: “Like most southwestern cities, Dallas has developed an unnatural dependency on the automobile, generally at the expense of street life. Historically, downtown Dallas was a highly urbane place, with shops, hotels, and offices organized into a tight, cohesive fabric. At the moment, Dallas is mainly a series of towering glass boxes interrupted by parking lots. Visitors are constantly surprised to find sidewalks suddenly playing out in mid-stride, or else being sliced in two by a major traffic artery.”

Now let’s jump 44 years into the present. The current News architecture critic, Mark Lamster, dwelled on a similar topic just last month: “How to Make Dallas Architecture Less Boring.” He landed on the idea that the city needs its own architecture school, perhaps housed in one of our now-empty office towers that Dillon wrote about in 1980.

We still have a parking dependency problem. It still is an awful experience walking around downtown, all of which Lamster—and we at D Magazine—have explored in recent years. There have been positive strides, too, perhaps most notably the transition of downtown surface parking lots into parks and greenspace. “You can count on the fingers of one hand the number of downtown commercial buildings that acknowledge the existence of a pedestrian public,” Dillon wrote.

“Why Is Dallas Architecture So Bad?” is one of the 50 greatest stories we’ve ever published, in part because it is both time capsule and warning, one that we have heeded in some ways and ignored in many others. Nearly half a century later, and the newspaper’s architecture critic is still pulling at the same threads Dillon did in our pages.

The kicker of his story lines up with Lamster’s recent piece. I’m going to spoil it for you.

Louis Kahn, designer of the Kimbell Art Museum, once described a city as “a place where a small boy, as he walks through it, may see something that will tell him what he wants to do his whole life.” Perhaps in a few years, if the choices that are made now are enlightened instead of expedient, a small boy will look up at the Dallas skyline and decide that he wants to become an architect.

On May 1, 2024, at 2:35 p.m., I posted this blog about an open records request I had filed with the city and Dallas Police Department back on November 18, 2022.

On May 2, 2024, at 4:06 p.m., the timing absolutely coincidental, I am sure, I received this message from the DPD open records unit:

“The Dallas Police Department has reviewed its files and has located responsive records to your request. Your payment for your open records request has been received and the documents are ready for release.”

Along with that, I got a 429-page PDF that I am starting to make my way through this morning. So, while I am still very much interested in the license plate-reading cameras, especially after reading this thread from one Eric Fiedler of Orlando, the open records portion of the matter is closed, for now.

Saturday is the last opportunity for Dallas voters to weigh in on the 10 propositions that comprise the $1.25 billion bond package. Very few have taken advantage of this opportunity.

According to Dallas County Elections, the city has 666,742 voters who are eligible to vote in tomorrow’s election. Early voting started on April 22 and ended Tuesday. Of those registered voters, 18,973 have voted—2.84 percent. 

Depending on where you live, your ballot may present three Dallas Central Appraisal Board seats and Dallas ISD and Dallas College board seats. But the big one is the bond.

Dallas’ May ballot presents 10 bond propositions worth $1.25 billion for streets, flood control, libraries, parks, and more. Potholes, the lack of nearby parks, the new library a neighborhood wishes it had, and even whether your road floods during storms are just some of the things that this election could impact. 

Read our guide to the bond for more details on each proposition. (After you do so, consider taking our brief poll.)

Fair Park First CEO Is Out. We don’t know whether Brian Luallen was forced out or resigned on his own, but the nonprofit responsible for managing fundraising and operations at Fair Park is now without a leader. We broke the story two weeks ago that Luallen had advocated for an audit of the managing partner’s finances, basically alleging that fundraising dollars had been used inappropriately. Watch this one closely.

Zoning Proposal Punts Industry from Floral Farms. Floral Farms is the southern Dallas neighborhood that once held Shingle Mountain, and they’ve been fighting for their community ever since. The City Plan Commission this week approved a zoning change that would eliminate heavy industry but still allow some light industrial uses. The neighborhood would like to see all industry pushed out.

Opal Lee Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom. The 97-year-old Fort Worth lifer is one of 19 recipients of the award this year, following her work to make Juneteenth a national holiday. This is the highest civilian honor, and Lee, who has spent her life advocating for racial justice and the recognition of our country’s history, couldn’t be more worthy.

Mavs, Stars Have Big Games Tonight. The Mavericks tip off at 8:30 p.m. The Stars hit the ice at 9 p.m. I don’t have links for you, just hope. Both are up 3-2 and can close their series out.

A little before 11 a.m. Wednesday, Ben Wright sat in an Academy camping chair on top of a blue tarp and read. A couple dozen students surrounded the history professor inside the Liberated Zone, known most days as Chess Plaza, at the University of Texas at Dallas. Wright’s speciality is abolition studies, and the Liberated Zone is what the protesters named their short-lived encampment at the intersection of two main campus thoroughfares. Wright led a read-in with students who, like others across the country, had gathered to demand their university divest any assets from companies that profit off the war in Gaza.

“We’re reading an article about the destruction of universities in Gaza,” Wright said.

Six hours later, Wright was arrested with at least 18 others, mostly students, as a throng of law enforcement officers from five different agencies, including an Allen PD SWAT team, dismantled and disposed of barricades and tents that made up the Liberated Zone. Three history professors were among the arrestees who were held overnight at the Collin County Jail. Each was charged with criminal trespassing. Wright could not be reached for comment on Thursday morning because he was still in custody waiting to see a judge.

The protesters who filled the encampment at UT Dallas did not commit an act of violence, express any hate speech, or destroy property. The group of students, faculty, and community members chose to deliberately occupy a public space on a public university campus as many social movements have done throughout American history, an action deemed a step too far in the eyes of the university and authorities.

Here’s a hypothetical for you: let’s say you own a sports bar in Dallas, Texas. You’ll obviously have both the Stars and Mavs on TV tomorrow, as the two teams will be playing simultaneously (basketball at 8:30, hockey at 9). But what do you do about the sound? Which game gets primacy on your speakers?

My suggestion: put two pickle jars on your bar top, one labeled for the Stars, the other for the Mavs. Whichever jar contains the most cash determines which team gets the sound. Recount the cash every 15 minutes. Servers divide up the booty evenly.

You’re welcome. Go, sports!

This is a bit embarrassing for me to admit, but I think the North Texas Tollway Authority radio commercials are total bangers. One in particular makes me turn up the volume each time I hear it. You ready? Crank your work computer for “Save Like That,” a jingle that will have you singing out loud as you run through a wall to get a toll tag and save some cash:

Each of the three current NTTA radio ads comes with “album art” featuring Muppet-like characters who are totally saving money by using toll tags. “Save Like That” is a pop song. Is R&B more your speed? Then check out “Savings Don’t Stop”:

Or how about the hip-hop tinged “Double the Thrill”? Let’s go:

I sent a note to the NTTA’s media relations manager, Michael Rey, telling him how much I dig “Save Like That” and asking him who is responsible for these tunes. He began his reply with: “Assuming you’re serious, but one never knows with a Tim Rogers production. …” I assured him I was serious. Again, not real proud of it. But that’s where I’m at.

Rey tells me that the NTTA’s agency of record, TPN, made the spots with an assist from the local music production company Fresh Squeezed. I salute them both. Let me know when these artists play the Kessler.

Big Sports Night. Last night was a big sports night for Dallas, and both the Stars and the Mavericks took the lead in their respective series. This, of course, means Friday night will also be a big sports night: the Stars will face the Knights at 9 p.m. in Las Vegas, and the Mavericks will face the Clippers at 8:30 p.m. at home. StrongSide will have more on both shortly.

Good Chance of Yuck. If you are like me, you woke around 2 a.m. when a giant bolt of lightning lit up the sky right above your house, and the thunder that followed rattled your house. Expect more rain and storms for the rest of the week and through Monday.

Mansfield Gets a Pair of Earthquakes. Police say they fielded several calls about two quakes that shook the Mansfield area Wednesday afternoon. The U.S. Geological Survey says they were 3.0 and 3.2 on the Richter scale. There were no reports of injuries or damages.

Fosters Needed. Dallas Animal Services is at 143 percent capacity after 112 dogs were surrendered last Saturday alone. Fosters are needed for orphaned kittens and dogs 40 pounds and larger—there are currently 428 dogs sharing 300 kennels.

Dallas Loses Noltemy to LA. Dallas Symphony president and CEO Kim Noltemy will leave to head up the Los Angeles Philharmonic in June. She’s been in her current post since 2018 and is regarded as one of the best arts administrators in the city.