Dallas, TX
Letters to the Editor — North Texas growth, Dallas County jail, agency cuts, mental health
Embrace density, efficiency
Re: “Promise or Peril? Initiative tracks key indicators as area transforms,” Sunday news story.
Metrics tell us a lot about what North Texas must do to thrive in the future. But culture drives a lot of those numbers. Sufficient energy, water and transportation resources are critical.
The predominant culture in North Texas embraces a 1950s aesthetic: single-family houses with lawns and cars as the primary mode of transportation.
When we moved from North Dallas to Uptown, we adopted a more energy- and water-efficient lifestyle. Because I walk and take public transit, I drive many fewer miles than I used to.
The quality of life in this densely populated neighborhood is fantastic. Density can be added without damaging existing neighborhoods, but it must be served by transit and have ground-level retail and services that encourage walking.
Too many people resist that type of change. Low-density, car-centric Plano is trying to cripple, if not destroy, our public transit system. Planning for the future should mean more resources for DART, not fewer.
Resource supply is only half of the story. A culture change that embraces density and its efficiencies to conserve limited resources, including the money needed for infrastructure, would be the truly conservative pro-growth strategy.
Ann Drumm, Dallas/Uptown
Stop wasting water
Texas needs to conserve water. I can’t imagine how many thousands of gallons of water are wasted in restaurants. All restaurants should be forced to ask customers if they want water. The only reason a glass of water should be on a table is if the patron requested it.
Many people over-water their yards. They don’t pay attention to the rainfall or if it is going to rain within a few days. Most people who have sprinkler systems think that their yard will not get watered if it has rained. This is not true. The only time a system won’t water (unless the system is turned off) is if it is raining while the system is watering. The system doesn’t know if it rained 15 minutes ago or is going to rain in a half hour.
Building reservoirs is not necessarily the answer if we don’t conserve.
Deborah Greenlee, Arlington
One reason jail is full
Re: “Jail hits capacity again — Tech issues in urgent need of addressing in crisis, DA says,” Thursday news story.
One of the reasons that the Dallas County jail is full is the Texas law that makes it a felony when a person in a mental hospital or any hospital intentionally or knowingly causes physical contact with another when the person knows or should reasonably believe that the other will regard the contact as offensive or provocative. The hospital staff does not have to be injured at all. They just have to say that the patient touched them.
When people with a mental illness are a danger to self or others, where do they go? They usually go to a hospital to be safe. If the hospital changes or reduces their medication that they need to be stable, an unstable person may touch a staff member while walking away or if the staff member is blocking them in and yelling.
One hospital in the Dallas area is known for charging people who are very unstable in a behavioral health hospital with a crime. Some spend a year or more in Dallas County jail since the jail may not give medication for a week or more after arrival. Then, the inmate can be declared incompetent to stand trial. It is a long process to be declared competent again. It is hard to get medical help in jail.
Joy Bergmann, Plano
Are troops coming?
Considering the high occupancy of Dallas jails, will we see National Guard troops being stationed in Dallas?
James J. Horn, Carrollton
Turn to clean energy
My home insurance premium has skyrocketed partially due to the rising cost of natural disasters. We have in recent years also personally suffered from severe storms, flooding and tornadoes.
Many types of natural disasters are made worse by climate change. People and governments around the world understand this, and therefore the world is decarbonizing and moving toward clean energy.
Now is not the time for us to roll back funding for research on clean energy, weather prediction and adaptation. We need to preserve critical science and research around our changing climate.
Robust funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA and the Department of Energy is essential to strengthen U.S. energy leadership and competitiveness. We do not want to lose our energy dominance to, for example, China.
I am asking my U.S. representative, Beth Van Duyne, and Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz to reject the recently proposed cuts to these agencies.
Thomas Wikman, Dallas
Evaluate mental health
Every time another mass shooting makes the headlines, we hear the same tired refrain: “thoughts and prayers,” followed by little to no action.
One commonsense step we continue to ignore is implementing mental health screenings and social media checks as part of the gun purchasing process. We require vision tests to drive a car, background checks to work with children and even credit checks for renting an apartment. Yet, purchasing a firearm often involves less scrutiny than getting a driver’s license.
Mental health evaluations could help identify individuals who are struggling and should not have access to lethal weapons. Social media checks could reveal red flags — violent threats, extremist ideologies or signs of radicalization — that too often are ignored until it’s too late.
This isn’t about taking away rights. It’s about using the tools we already have to keep our communities safe. Responsible gun owners should support measures that prevent firearms from falling into dangerous hands.
If we can agree that not everyone should own a gun, then we must be willing to identify who shouldn’t, and act accordingly.
Eric Stengel, Richardson
FC Dallas returns home this weekend looking to build off last week’s road result as Real Salt lake comes to town for another important Western Conference matchup. With the schedule beginning to pile up before the summer World Cup break in June, grabbing points at Toyota Stadium feels more important than ever right now.
RSL arrives with one of the more balanced attacks in the conference and enough pace to punish mistakes in transition. For Dallas, this one is about staying organized defensively, controlling the midfield battle, and continuing to find consistency in the final third. If those three items can be checked off this weekend, there’s a real opportunity to keep the momentum moving in the right direction before a long summer road trip.
Let’s dive into some notes, predictions, and more.
TL;DR: Match Preview
Quick hits before kickoff.
- Score prediction: FC Dallas 2 – 1 Real Salt Lake
- Key player to watch: Petar Musa – To make the World Cup roster later this month for Croatia, Musa has to continue scoring here and guide the team to a big home win.
- Why this game matters: The next two are at home and after that there are nine straight road games. Dallas has to bank some points at home while they can before the long summer road trip.
FC Dallas Notes:
All-time vs RSL: FC Dallas holds a 24-15-13 all-time regular-season record against RSL. Dallas has scored 79 goals against Salt Lake. RSL has scored 63.
Home record vs RSL: Dallas has a solid 14-2-8 at home against RSL in regular season meetings. Dallas has scored 44 home goals against RSL. Salt Lake has scored 23 goals at Toyota Stadium versus Dallas. Dallas last won at home versus RSL on April 16, 2023. Jesús Ferreira and Bernanrd Kamungo scored for Dallas that night.
Homegrown clock: Homegrown keeper Michael Collodi was the only HGP earning minutes this season until Nolan Norris joined him on the field. Collodi has played the full 90 in each match, while Norris has been in and out of the lineup. Norris also has one goal on the season. Caleb Swann also made his debut off the bench in New York. Together, they have played 1595 minutes. To add more perspective here, Dallas HGPs only accounted for 1683 minutes in 2025.
What to Watch For: FC Dallas vs. Real Salt Lake FC Dallas returns to Toyota Stadium riding momentum from a historic road win in New York, but RSL arrives with one of the most dangerous young attacks in MLS. Here’s what to watch when the Burn host the Claret-and-Cobalt on Saturday.
Notable season stats:
- FCD is 7th in crosses in MLS with 144.
- The Burn are 6th in total distance covered in MLS with 286.24 km (800 miles).
- FCD is third in MLS in aerial challenges won with 171.
- FC Dallas is 9th in MLS in xG with 18.81.
- FCD is 8th in MLS in shot efficiency with 1.19.
- Musa is 4th in MLS in xG with 7.77. He also ranks tied for 4th in MLS in shots with 40.
Potential FC Dallas Lineup:
With another three-games in seven days stretch coming up, Eric Quill will likely go with as strong of a lineup as possible in these next two home games.
Formation: 3-4-3
Projected Starting XI
Availability & Disciplinary Report
⚽
Disciplinary Report
Suspended: none
Suspended with next yellow card: none
Suspended with next two yellow cards: Osaze Urhoghide, Nolan Norris
🗒️
Availability Report
Season-ending injury list: Kaka Scabin
Out: Anderson Julio (Lower leg), Bernard Kamungo (lower leg)
Questionable: none
On Loan: Tsiki Ntsabeleng (Mamelodi Sundowns FC), Enes Sali (Al-Riyadh), Malachi Molina (Nashville SC), Geovane Jesus (North Texas SC), Enzo Newman (North Texas SC)
Unavailable (off-roster): Daniel Baran, Jaidyn Contreras
International duty: none
Real Salt Lake Notes:
Key player for RSL: Diego Luna
Scouting Real Salt Lake: What FC Dallas Needs to Know 🔎 A detailed scouting report on RSL ahead of FC Dallas’ 2026 showdown, breaking down formations, key players, tendencies, and tactical edges.
Disciplinary Report
Suspended: none
Suspended on next yellow card: none
Availability Report
Out: Jesus Barea (knee), Emeka Eneli (knee), Ari Piol (Achilles)
Questionable: Juan Jose Arias (groin), Justen Glad (groin), Lukas Engel (hip)
International duty: none
Big game this week for FC Dallas. Before we get into it, members have the full scouting report, projected lineups, and injury report. If you want to go into Matchday actually knowing what to watch for, now’s the time.
→ Join Big D Soccer
A mystery trust bought one of the most expensive homes in Texas this week — just months after buying another multimillion dollar property nearby.
The Lost River Trust bought the mansion at 4815 Saint Johns Drive in Highland Park from Dallas entrepreneurs Melbourne and Jamie O’Banion on May 5, according to county records. The final sale price is undisclosed, but the sellers had the home listed for $24.9 million at the time.
The six-bedroom, eight-bathroom home spans 11,433 square feet on a 0.6-acre lot, according to the listing. It was built by Mark Molthan and designed by Tom Weber. They listed the home on March 23 for about $2,200 per square foot.
Allie Beth Allman, founder of the eponymous brokerage, represented the sellers. Damon Williamson with The Agency represented the buyer, according to Redfin.
Just two Dallas homes last year sold with listing prices higher than $25 million, though both sold for well below what they asked. The trust of the late Fortress Investment Group CEO Josh Pack sold his former home at 6601 Hunters Glen Road for $30.5 million after asking $35 million, and manufacturer Guinn Crousen sold his home at 4000 Euclid Avenue for $25.5 million after asking $33 million.
Only six homes in Texas are asking a higher price, according to Zillow. Two effectively tie with the home on Saint Johns Drive: a spec mansion on Strait Lane that’s asking $25 million, and another new construction at 4 Lana Lane in Houston that’s asking $25.5 million.
The Lost River Trust bought another luxury home just six months ago. On Nov. 14, the trust purchased the home at 3709 Euclid Avenue, a four-bedroom, six-bathroom, 5,845-square-foot house that was asking $14 million when it withdrew from the market in September. It’s about half a mile south of the home on Saint Johns Drive.
Melbourne O’Banion is the CEO of Dallas-based tech startup Bestow, which produces software for life insurance companies. His wife Jamie O’Banion is the founder of Dallas-based cosmetics company BeautyBio.
The Crespi Estate at 5619 Walnut Hill Lane, listed by the Cox Family for $64 million, remains the most expensive home on the market in Texas.
Read more
Dallas entrepreneurs Jamie and Melbourne O’Banion list Highland Park mansion for $25M
Estate of late Dallas plastic surgeon Sam Hamra sells historic Highland Park teardown to mystery buyer
Robert Vaughn buys University Park spec mansion that asked $26M
DALLAS – Thunderstorms will roll through parts of North Texas on Friday. Thankfully, none should be severe. Mother’s Day could be a different story.
Friday Forecast
According to FOX 4 Weather Meteorologist Berkeley Taylor, a cluster of thunderstorms will work their way east across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex on Friday morning.
Everything is well below severe limits, just with lots of lightning!
Scattered showers and thunderstorms will move in and out through the day on Friday. Coverage is about 20%.
An isolated strong storm or two can’t be ruled out, but the overall threat is low.
Temperatures will be in the 50s and 60s for the morning, before climbing into the 80s by the afternoon.
Weekend Forecast
Saturday will look similar, with even lower coverage expected.
Sunday presents the best chance to find rain and storms – about 50% as a cold front moves through North Texas.
North Texas is under a Level 2 out of 5 risk for severe weather. The biggest concerns will be with wind and hail.
Timing-wise, the front looks to move through in the afternoon/evening.
7-Day Forecast
Once the front is south of North Texas on Mother’s Day, the rain should come to an end, and it will stay dry into next week.
Temperatures will start to warm into the upper 80s and low 90s by midweek next week.
The Source: The information in this story is from the FOX 4 Weather team and National Weather Service.
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