FrontBurner

Last July, Ashley Brundage led the first of many rallies in which she called on the city to fund affordable housing in this year’s bond. Her group, the Dallas Housing Coalition, pushed for a $200 million spend. The bond wound up allocating about $70 million for help with financing and infrastructure improvements near affordable housing. Even though it fell short of the more ambitious ask, this is still a significant achievement for housing advocates, if only because the city of Dallas has never viewed a bond program as a way to directly invest in creating more places for people to live.

This month, Brundage was announced as the new leader of the Dallas chapter of Habitat for Humanity, one of the region’s largest homebuilders. She’s spent the last 19 years with United Way, and, for the last 17, was the organization’s executive director of housing stability. That meant, during the pandemic, Brundage helped raise and disburse $40 million of rental assistance that helped people stay in their homes.

Habitat has had a rough go of it in recent months. The former CEO, William Eubanks III, parted ways with the organization after a Dallas Morning News investigation found that his wife earned a $24,000 commission on land purchased by the nonprofit. (Eubanks denied wrongdoing.) Too, the City Plan Commission denied Habitat’s plan to build 30 homes on an old ballfield following pushback from the community.

Brundage sees her role as rebuilding trust with the communities Habitat serves—it owns land in Joppa and Pleasant Grove, and is working in Irving and Kaufman County—and using her knowledge and background to position Habitat as a thought-leader and policy advocate. Too, the organization’s finances are in a much different place than they were in 2018, when the News floated that the organization “might be failing” following years of losses.

Philanthropist Mackenzie Scott, the ex-wife of billionaire Jeff Bezos, gave the organization $9 million in 2022. “That allows me to be able to come in and not feel like we’re in any kind of crisis,” Brundage says, which will allow her to hire her team and create a new strategic plan.

With early voting on the bond ongoing through next Tuesday, April 30, Brundage talked about the need for housing, her vision for Habitat’s Dallas chapter, and how important community involvement is for the organization’s projects. The conversation below has been edited for length and clarity. (Afterward, head here to read our guide to the bond package. It includes details about the housing allotments.)

Roosevelt High Students Shot Off-Campus, School Closed. Dallas ISD says it discovered a “credible threat” directed at Roosevelt High School in Cedar Crest and closed the school for the day. Two high school football players were shot and hospitalized following a drive-by shooting near the Cedar Crest Golf Course yesterday evening. They were riding home with the team’s coach when a car pulled up next to them and started shooting. One player was shot in the arm and the other was hit in the neck, but both are stable and expected to recover.

Tarrant County Commissioner Calls for Federal Investigation Into Jail Deaths. Two people have died following medical emergencies over the last four days while in custody at the Tarrant County Jail, in Fort Worth. Sheriff Bill Waybourn calls the incidents “horrific” while Commissioner Alisa Simmons has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to launch an investigation into conditions at the jail. A 31-year-old man died in a medical facility after being sprayed with pepper spray during a fight with a detention officer. A 42-year-old was found unresponsive in his cell on April 18.

Rain Is Coming This Weekend. Meteorologists expect as much as three inches of rain this weekend, beginning this afternoon. Hail, damaging winds, and possible tornadoes are all in the cards, so keep your eyes on the forecast.

Yesterday, the Dallas City Council sent off outgoing City Manager T.C. Broadnax during what is likely his final council meeting in Dallas. He’ll start in Austin as its city manager on May 6. His resignation is frequently tied to his relationship with Mayor Eric Johnson, which has been marked by attempted firings, arguments, and poor communication. 

But to hear the mayor tell it, the media is the real reason everyone thinks that Broadnax and Johnson can’t get along. The council recognized Broadnax yesterday morning, and Johnson’s remarks were, well, interesting.

The mayor said that he and Broadnax actually agreed about “90 percent” of the time. “That’s not a secret,” he said and then claimed that the media didn’t write about the “wins” that happened while he and Broadnax were at the helm. He pointed to several policies and moves the city has adopted over the past five years, including its racial equity plan, its approach to environmental issues, economic development opportunities, the importance placed on parks, and improvements in crime rates. Those things, he argued—incorrectly—didn’t get attention from journalists. 

“The media is going to feast on those times when we’ve not agreed,” he said. “But I am going to acknowledge that there have been times that we haven’t, that 10 percent is real. I believe that the times we’ve disagreed have been very much overblown and very much exaggerated and played up for various reasons.”

He continued: “I get what people have to write to get people to click on stories in a dying industry. You got to write what you got to write to try and keep food on your family’s table. But I deal in the reality of public policy making. I’ve been doing it for 14 straight years.”

Let’s dissect that. For one, the current narrative that the mayor and the city manager’s relationship had grown so dysfunctional that they could no longer effectively conduct city business came from six of his colleagues. They took the extraordinary step of drafting the announcement (which you can read in its entirety here) that Broadnax would step down at the council’s request.

The NYT today dropped a wonderful story that you should take the time to read. It’s about Will Evans, of Deep Vellum (the bookstore and publisher), and Javier García del Moral and Paco Vique, of Wild Detectives. Too busy right now? Just want the tastiest part? Says the paper:

Today Dallas is home to one of the most dynamic, international literary scenes in the country, inspired in many ways by the infectious, D.I.Y. energy of Deep Vellum, now one of the country’s largest publishers of translated literature, and Wild Detectives. Their fates have been twined from the start, and this past weekend they threw a joint 10th-ish anniversary celebration at the bookstore that lasted three days and felt more house party than book party.

Orchestrated by García del Moral, it was vintage Wild Detectives. D.J.s pumped up the swaying crowds that grew wilder as the evenings wore on. Tattoo artists set up a corner table; a barbecue pit set up outside. Dallas’s first poet laureate, Joaquin Zihuatanejo, held the packed house spellbound as torrential rain cascaded down on Saturday with a reading from his latest book, Occupy Whiteness, published by Deep Vellum.

Pretty cool, right? If I were a gentleman, I’d leave it there and go back to trying to understand why some people get so excited by the NFL draft. But, well, picking nits is more fun than thinking about the draft. So let me bring up one problem I have with the NYT story.

The top of the story talks about how Evans, when he moved in Dallas and attended lit events, would post about them and include a hashtag that generated some ridicule. But then the guys at Wild Detectives started using the same hashtag. The story says: “Soon, they picked up the #literarydallas hashtag, too. So did the Dallas Morning News. Suddenly the idea was no longer a laughing matter, but something real, willed into existence.”

Not so fast.

When Evans came up with the idea of naming a poet laureate for Dallas, in 2022, here is how the News began its editorial on the subject:

Poets are a rare and precious resource. Dallas needs more of them, especially now.

On Wednesday, we will learn the identity of our city’s first poet laureate, an office created by the Dallas Public Library, the Office of Arts and Culture, and Deep Vellum Publishing. Last year, announcing the creation of that program, Deep Vellum founder Will Evans said confidently, “There is no doubt that Dallas, is, and has always been, a literary city.”

We have our doubts.

Dallas is a business city, a successful city, a can-do city. But it’s not always a poetic city.

Mention this editorial to Evans, and he’ll get animated. He’ll sarcastically shout, “We have our doubts! Dallas is a business city, not a literary city! We doubt it!” Evans has that editorial tacked to a board above his desk at work so that it can inspire him to greater heights.

I learned about this editorial and its place in Evans’ life when I interviewed him for a Q&A in the May issue of D Magazine, which isn’t yet online. The occasion of the Q&A was Evans’ receiving a knighthood from the French government. You, of course, know it as the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. There may or may not be a party at the Wild Detectives on May 17. Stay tuned, mon ami.

Dallas’ IT Chief Calling It Quits. Bill Zielinski, who has worked for the city for almost four years, says he’s leaving for a private sector job. Zielinski oversaw the city’s response to a massive ransomware attack and the fallout from an employee deleting millions of electronic police records. The city’s chief information security officer, Brian Gardner, will serve as interim director. 

Judge Forced to Call Mistrial in Murder Case. Judge Nancy Mulder, who oversees Dallas County Criminal District Court 6, granted Jorge Esparza a mistrial after she made comments about him on a courtroom livestream. Mulder said she has apologized to Esparza and recused herself from two cases involving him. Esparza has pleaded not guilty in connection to a 2020 shooting that killed an alleged romantic rival.

Student Killed in Shooting at Arlington’s Bowie High. Police said that an 18-year-old student was fatally shot by a 17-year-old student Wednesday outside the campus’ portable buildings. Police believe the two knew each other but have not released further details. The school was placed under lockdown for about three hours and will remain closed today.

Not Great, Bob. How did the Stars do last night? The Knights extended their Western Conference first-round lead by another game, and the Stars fell 3-1. We’ll have more on StrongSide in a bit.

The Weekend Will Be Soggy. The National Weather Service’s Fort Worth office says it’ll be pretty muggy today before storms roll in this evening. There is a chance of rain through Tuesday.

Early voting for municipal elections began Monday, and a $1.25 bond package will be on your ballot in the form of 10 propositions. 

Voters are asked to give the city permission to borrow that money with interest, which will address everything from the city’s aging streets to improving drainage, adding new parks, and funding a new police training center. Those projects—all 800 or so—are scheduled to begin at some point over the next five years.

It’s important stuff that you’ll see in your neighborhood. It might be a new library, new spraygrounds, or a better road. We dug into the projects and the bond language to create this guide to help voters better understand what they’re voting for—or against.

With that in mind, we’re asking our readers to weigh in by taking the poll below. Let us know what you think, and stay tuned for the results. Early voting continues through April 30. Election Day is May 4.

Mavs Beat Clippers. It was a nail-biter, but the Mavs pulled it out 96-93. (Paul George hit a meaningless buzzer beater, so really it was 96-90.) Here’s the poorly written lede from the game recap story in the Los Angeles Times: “They finally are whole, the return of Kawhi Leonard from right knee inflammation that kept the Clippers’ best player out for 23 days making them complete. But for the Clippers to defeat the Dallas Mavericks again in a Western Conference playoff series, Leonard was going to need his teammates to carry most of the weight until he gets his game and physical condition back to the high level he’s accustomed to. They could not.” Here are the dangly earrings that Kyrie wore to the press conference after the game. And here’s what Iztok and The Looch had to say about the game, over on StrongSide.

War Protest at UTD. About 100 students staged a sit-in outside the university president’s office. They want the school to divest itself of investments in the companies making the materiel being used against Palestinians.

Foxtrot Markets Close Suddenly. The nationwide company closed all four of its Dallas locations without warning. Not sure where we’ll get coffee now.

Voters are being asked to give Dallas permission to borrow $1.25 billion to address everything from the city’s aging streets to improving drainage, adding new parks, and funding a new police training center. Should the bond’s 10 propositions pass, roughly 800 items will be started in tranches over the next five years. City staff triages projects based on various factors, including urgency and equity. 

While the total amount of money for each proposition is set, the project list could change. The city’s Bond and Construction Management Department said last month that the Council could also modify the scope of specific projects or adjust the money allocated for those projects. 

That’s what happened in some cases with the 2017 bond. Voters approved borrowing $1.05 billion across 10 propositions that included many of the same buckets as this year’s bond election. City staff says that about 96 percent of the 1,400 projects on the 2017 list are either complete or have been put out to bid. Some of the remaining projects were slated to begin bidding and construction in 2023, the final tranche of the last bond. 

Some projects were canceled (such as plans for 35 rental units in the Bonton neighborhood), and the city will reallocate that money for similar projects that fall under the same scope. Other projects were slower to complete because of pandemic-era supply chain disruptions and labor shortages. With the May departure of City Manager T.C. Broadnax, a new chief executive at City Hall will be charged with overseeing the program’s implementation.

If any proposition fails to pass, the city won’t be able to legally issue a certificate of obligation to fund projects in its category for the next three years. That could create choppy waters if, for instance, a storm destroyed a library after voters shot down Proposition D, which will pay for two new libraries and improvements on nine others. The city would likely have to pay for such an emergency through the general fund. 

Early voting began April 22 and runs through April 30. Election Day is May 4. Head here to find your polling place. Below, we walk through each proposition to explain what you’re actually voting for. 

James Faust has spent the last year watching 400 features and short films, which he and his team winnowed down to the 145 films that will run from April 25 to May 2 as part of the Dallas International Film Festival. Last year, DIFF made its triumphant post-COVID return to the Violet Crown theater in the West Village. But this year has an even more pronounced feeling of what Faust described as “we’re back-ness,” which includes major premieres, opening night at the Majestic Theater, and a Texas music showcase at the Texas Theatre in Oak Cliff.

We met James at DIFF sponsor Four Corners Brewing to chat about this year’s edition of DIFF. Below the player, I’ve included some more information about the films we discussed..

Protesters Cited for Blocking Road in West Dallas. Janie Cisneros, whose Singleton United/Unidos has led the fight to force the shingle factory GAF to vacate her neighborhood, got a ticket along with four other protesters for blocking access to the plant. The five demonstrators tied their protest to Earth Day, raising awareness of what they say is too slow a timeline to vacate the neighborhood. GAF says it plans to relocate the plant by 2029. The official citations were for “pedestrians in [the] roadway.”

Man Arrested in Connection With Fatal Party Shooting. Christopher Jones, 28, was charged with deadly conduct and possession of methamphetamine days after a shooting at a party on Collins Avenue killed a 21-year-old woman and wounded another eight people. Cops were called a little before midnight, but the party broke up. Shots rang out after 1:35 a.m. after their departure. Police are investigating their response.

Plano Bans Short-Term Rentals. Existing Airbnb and VRBO operations are grandfathered into the city’s new regulations, but new rentals are no longer allowed. The Plano City Council has been debating the ordinance for over two years, which was prompted by the same concerns and frustration as in Dallas last year. Dallas was sued after failing to grandfather existing operators into its plan.

Stars Drop Game 1 to Knights. The 4-3 loss means that the Stars give up their home-ice advantage against the reigning Stanley Cup Champions. It took less than two minutes for the Las Vegas Golden Knights to notch a goal, and they never lost their aggression. Mike and the team will have more on StrongSide today. Game 2 is tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. (The Mavs tip off in their second game tonight at 9 p.m.)

James Harden (above photo) is wearing a PE (player edition) of his own signature shoe, the Adidas Harden Vol. 8. I didn’t see that this had its own name so I’m going to call it the Harden Vol. 8 “Barney,” because it is puffy and purple, and I was instantly sick of seeing it and him and kind of basketball in general. Maybe this colorway is a nod to his time in Houston and some of its residents’ proclivity for purple drank? Probably not. But maybe? Might also call these the Rob Liefelds after the Deadpool comic artist who couldn’t draw feet.

Tim Hardaway Jr. is wearing a PE version of the Jordan Tatum 1s, the Jordan Brand signature for Boston’s Jayson Tatum. As near as I can tell, they take at least some of their inspiration from the early 1990s colorways of the Nike Air Raid, the shoe his dad was the face (the foot?) of, starring in Spike Lee-directed commercials and so on. This continues THJ’s late-season tribute to his pop, in which he has been playing every game as if he is a 57-year-old. I’m going to call this colorway the Jordan Tatum 1 “Ordell Robbie” (for the scene in Jackie Brown in which Samuel Jackson’s character asks Luis, his friend and former literal partner in crime, “What happened to you, man? Your ass used to be beautiful.”).