Dallas, TX

Dallas is installing digital kiosks on sidewalks. What could go wrong?

Published

8 months ago

June 16, 2025

Dallas is installing digital kiosks on sidewalks. What could go wrong?

If you live or work in Dallas, you spend your days dodging potholes on the road and maneuvering wretched sidewalks on foot.

And soon enough, you may awaken to find monoliths on city sidewalks reminiscent of the ones from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Except these will have a touchscreen! What a time to be alive.

People in this city want smooth streets and safe sidewalks. Some of us will settle for enough clearance between the poles or the signs and the curb to walk by without brushing traffic. No one was clamoring for as many as 150 digital kiosks on what little real estate pedestrians have. But Dallas, that’s what we’re getting.

You can thank the City Council. Yes, the council that has vowed for years to make this a more walkable city. On Wednesday, the body voted 11-4 to approve IKE Smart City as the preferred vendor to install and maintain 8-foot digital kiosks all over, even though civic groups and developers have said they don’t want them.

The hook is that the city will get an estimated $29 million in revenue for the agreement over the 10-year contract. Each kiosk — a display for ads and “wayfinding,” plus a Wi-Fi hotspot — is expected to generate $20,000 in annual revenue.

There are two five-year renewal options. According to city staff, the estimated revenue over the entire 20 years is $67 million.

Council members are looking for cash in a tough budget year. But we shouldn’t sacrifice our city to make a quick buck. We know from experience — Fair Park, anyone? — that deals that sound too good to be true usually are.

We entered into a contract for static kiosks 20 years ago, and look how that turned out for us. Monstrous cylinders protruding from sidewalks, making the streets hostile to pedestrians, all so City Hall can collect $637,500 a year, a drop in a $5 billion budget.

Sure, the new kiosks are sleeker, and city staff said the license agreement, which goes to the council in August, will have better protections. For example, kiosks can only be installed in rights of way that are at least 8 feet wide.

If you’re near a sidewalk that wide, why would you want to share it with a giant smartphone? You have one in your pocket already.

Local chambers of commerce have supported the kiosks, and we can see the appeal for them. Visit Dallas paid for ads that showed in an IKE digital kiosk next to Houston City Hall. That didn’t go over well in Houston. Perhaps we’ll see ads for H-town here soon.

We also read reports of a digital kiosk in Houston displaying a Chevy ad feet from a light-rail line, marketing a truck as “Houston’s massive transit system.” Same in Atlanta.

That would be awkward here in Dallas. Randall Bryant, vice chair of the board of Dallas Area Rapid Transit, is registered as a lobbyist for IKE Smart City.

We don’t understand why Dallas wants to commit to a 10-year deal. Who knows what the future will look like then? We could all be hooked up to the Matrix.

Would that be so terrible? Maybe in our simulated worlds, council members listen to their constituents and our sidewalks are free from clutter.

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Dallas, TX

Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Dallas merchandise released: Where to buy gear

Published

7 hours ago

February 17, 2026

Press Room

Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Dallas merchandise released: Where to buy gear

article

DALLAS – North Texas soccer fans can begin gearing up in style now that FIFA has released official Dallas-themed merchandise through its online store, spotlighting the city’s role as one of the top host sites in the United States, for what will be the largest FIFA World Cup in history.

Dallas merchandise unveiled

What we know:

FIFA on Monday unveiled a Dallas-specific merchandise line through its online store, highlighting the city’s role as one of the marquee U.S. host sites for the expanded 48-team tournament.

The newly unveiled collection features “FIFA 26 Dallas” branding across a range of apparel and accessories, including unisex and youth hoodies, T-shirts, caps, scarves, pins and magnets.

Several items incorporate green and blue colorways and stylized “26 Dallas” graphics alongside the FIFA World Cup Trophy emblem. Prices range from $12 for accessories such as pins and magnets to $100 for adult hooded sweatshirts.

2026 World Cup Schedule: Matches at Dallas Stadium

Big picture view:

Dallas Stadium, the temporary tournament name for AT&T Stadium under FIFA’s sponsorship-neutral branding policy, will host its first match on June 14, when the Netherlands faces Japan.

The city’s full group-stage schedule is set as follows:

Sunday, June 14: Netherlands vs. Japan
Wednesday, June 17: England vs. Croatia
Monday, June 22: Argentina vs. Austria
Thursday, June 25: Japan vs. Ukraine/Sweden/Poland/Albania
Saturday, June 27: Jordan vs. Argentina

With 104 matches spread across the United States, Mexico and Canada, the 2026 World Cup will be the largest in the tournament’s history. In total, Dallas Stadium will host nine matches, including five group-stage contests, two Round of 32 games and one Round of 16 match-ups. Officials have also confirmed that a semifinal will be played in Dallas, further cementing the city’s prominence in the tournament.

What’s next:

The merchandise release marks another visible milestone in the countdown to kickoff, offering supporters in North Texas their first opportunity to purchase Dallas-branded gear ahead of the June 14 opener.

The Source: Information in this article was provided by the FIFA Store.

FIFA World CupDallasTexasArlingtonSports

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Dallas, TX

Massive Dallas-area warehouse will not be used as an ICE detention center, developer says

Published

19 hours ago

February 16, 2026

Press Room

Massive Dallas-area warehouse will not be used as an ICE detention center, developer says

Updated on: February 16, 2026 / 2:40 PM CST
/ CBS Texas

The owners of a million-square-foot warehouse outside of Dallas said in a statement Monday they would not sell or lease the building to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

Leaders and citizens of the small city of Hutchins have been on edge in recent weeks after The Washington Post, Bloomberg and other news outlets reported that the warehouse was among about two dozen nationwide that the Department of Homeland Security identified to possibly convert into detention centers for tens of thousands of people detained in immigration enforcement operations. A detention facility in the Hutchins warehouse could reportedly hold up 10,000 people, dwarfing the city’s population of 6,000.

The warehouse is located along I-45 about 12 miles southeast of Downtown Dallas.

The Hutchins City Council heard from concerned residents earlier this month, with Mayor Mario Vasquez saying that the federal government had not contacted the city or attempted to obtain any necessary permits. A group of state and local officials also held a news conference decrying the reported plans.

There were even rumors that the warehouse had already been sold. Concerns among residents persisted, even as the DHS said there were no new detention centers to announce.

On Monday, Majestic Realty Co. confirmed in a statement to CBS News Texas that it had been “contacted about the potential sale” of the building but the company “has not and will not enter into any agreement for the purchase or lease of any building to the Department of Homeland Security for use as a detention facility.”

“We’re grateful for the long-term relationship we have with Mayor Mario Vasquez and the City of Hutchins and look forward to continuing our work to find a buyer or lease tenant that will help drive economic growth,” the statement said.

In:

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Dallas, TX

Ken Paxton sues Dallas over alleged failure to fund police as required by Proposition U

Published

1 day ago

February 16, 2026

Press Room

Ken Paxton sues Dallas over alleged failure to fund police as required by Proposition U

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced he has filed a lawsuit against officials in Dallas, alleging the city failed to properly fund its police department as required by a voter-approved public safety measure.

Paxton, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, accused Dallas of unlawfully refusing to comply with Proposition U, a public safety measure approved by the city’s voters in 2024.

Proposition U requires that 50% of all new annual revenue the city receives be directed toward police and fire pensions. The measure also mandates that the city maintain a minimum of 4,000 police officers — roughly 900 more than the department had in 2024.

SAN ANTONIO ENDS ITS ABORTION TRAVEL FUND AFTER NEW STATE LAW, LEGAL ACTION

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a lawsuit against officials in Dallas for a lack of funding for its police department. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The lawsuit, announced on Friday, names Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert and Chief Financial Officer Jack Ireland Jr. as defendants.

“I filed this lawsuit to ensure that the City of Dallas fully funds law enforcement, upholds public safety, and is accountable to its constituents,” Paxton said in a press release.

“When voters demand more funding for law enforcement, local officials must immediately comply,” he continued. “As members of law enforcement across the country increasingly face attacks from the radical Left, it’s crucial that we fully fund the brave men and women in law enforcement defending law and order in our communities. This lawsuit aims to do just that by ensuring Dallas follows its own charter and gives police officers the support they need to protect the public.”

Ken Paxton, Texas attorney general, accused Dallas of unlawfully refusing to comply with Proposition U. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Paxton alleges Dallas officials under-calculated the total of excess money the city had in its current budget to put toward safety measures in Proposition U. The additional revenue for the 2025-2026 fiscal year should be $220 million, according to Paxton, but the city only reported approximately $61 million in excess revenue.

The lawsuit also accuses Dallas of failing to hire an independent third-party firm to conduct an annual police compensation survey, as required under the measure.

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The lawsuit accuses Dallas of failing to hire an independent third-party firm to conduct an annual police compensation survey. (HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

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The complaint demands that the city properly allocate the excess revenue towards police pensions, officer pay and increasing the number of officers in accordance with Proposition U.

Dallas city leaders have taken action to comply with Proposition U, according to Fox 4. In December, the city council approved a 30-year, $11 billion dollar pension funding plan for the police department.

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