Dallas, TX
Dallas library could be off the chopping block after public opposition
A Northeast Dallas library recommended to be closed amid city budget cuts will likely stay open after community opposition to the plan.
The Dallas City Council on Wednesday tentatively signaled support for shifting money in the coming budget to stave off shutting down the Skillman Southwestern Library, though several members expressed concern over the cash source and uncertainty over how the branch would be funded moving forward. The approval was non-binding and won’t be official until the City Council approves a final version of the nearly $5 billion budget on Sept. 18.
Council member Paula Blackmon, who represents the area and proposed moving more than $485,000 from nearly $6 million planned to go toward an incentive fund to improve infrastructure in underserved areas, said an outcry for the library at a recent budget town hall meeting helped drive her to find a way to get the nearly 20-year-old branch off the chopping block.
She vowed the community would work to improve low attendance at library events, which made it a target for closure. She added the support opened her eyes to “many people that do love this library.”
“I didn’t realize how excited and how energized the community was until you tell them you’re going to take something away,” Blackmon said. An online petition protesting the library closure idea had more than 3,100 signatures as of Wednesday.
It’s unclear how the branch will be funded beyond the next fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.
Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert last month recommended closing the library in her initial budget proposal to prevent impacts on Dallas’ almost 30 other branch locations. The Skillman site, she said, sits within roughly three miles of a trio of other libraries. The city expected to save $485,000 by closing the library, one of the city’s smaller branches. It was part of other planned library system cuts expected to save $1.9 million overall in the new budget.
Tolbert said Wednesday city officials would look into ways to find the money to keep the library open if the City Council desires.
Public library system director Jo Giudice told council members her department’s budget wouldn’t be big enough to support all the libraries being open at least six days a week if Skillman Southwestern remaining open is part of the spending plan.
“This choice enabled us to keep every other location from reducing their hours,” she said of the Skillman Southwestern closure plan. The city was proposing eventually selling the shuttered building, redistributing most of the library’s collection to other city branches, and setting up book vending machines for residents in the area.
The money to save the library could come from the city’s infrastructure investment fund, which the council approved last year to boost residential and commercial development in southern Dallas and other underserved areas. The program is funded yearly with money from expired tax increment financing districts.
Developers can get reimbursed for project costs to install infrastructure, such as water and sewer line connections, sidewalks and lighting, or related work, such as demolitions and property remediation.
Tolbert said the fund has roughly $6 million. City officials last year estimated the fund could grow to more than $199 million by 2033.
But several council members worried about taking money from a fund meant to help underserved areas. Council member Carolyn King Arnold noted the city touts using equity and data in its decisions, including in selecting the Skillman Southwestern branch for closure.
“We’re either going to stick to being data-driven, or we’re not,” Arnold said. “We can’t be selective about which data we choose to use. Either data matters or it doesn’t.”
Giudice told council members during an Aug. 19 committee meeting that the Skillman Southwestern branch typically has few visitors who stay for a significant amount of time.
Most users order items online and pick them up, the area doesn’t have a lot of foot traffic and computer usage there ranked near the bottom among libraries around the city, Giudice said during the meeting last month. She also said city data showed the library is in an area that has lower levels of poverty than other area other branch locations.
Despite that, the library is highly used, according to city data. An April memo to the mayor and City Council showed the Skillman Southwestern library branch ranked eighth out of the city’s 30 libraries in circulation last fiscal year. The number of items checked out for the first time and renewals at Skillman Southwestern more than doubled the next closest branch, the Vickery Park library, the memo said.
Giudice told council members Wednesday that the library ranks seventh in circulation this year.
Supporters of the library branch told council members the site is a treasured part of the community, more accessible than other branches miles away and vital to the development of children in the area. They suggested holding more events after work hours and on weekends to boost attendance.
“This library is important to us,” said area resident Margaret Watson. “A vending machine can’t replace it.”
Dallas Parks and Recreation will distribute 25,000 all-access passes that give Dallas teens free admission to cultural and recreational attractions across the city throughout July.
Passes will be available beginning June 29 on a first-come, first-served basis at City of Dallas recreation centers.
The program, now entering its fifth year, is open to Dallas residents ages 13 to 17. City leaders say the initiative, which launched in 2021, helps promote positive engagement opportunities for teens and reduce crime during the summer months.
Teens must register in person and provide proof of Dallas residency to receive a pass.
The city says the program is made possible through partnerships with local cultural, recreational, and entertainment organizations.
Participating attractions include:
- African American Museum
- Bahama Beach
- Bath House Cultural Center
- Latino Cultural Center
- South Dallas Cultural Center
- Oak Cliff Cultural Center
- Dallas Museum of Arts
- Community Art Pop Up Cultural
- Dallas Arboretum
- Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum
- Dallas Park and Recreation Summer Fitness
- Dallas Zoo
- Frontiers of Flight Museum
- Golf Dallas
- Reunion Tower
- Shakespeare of Dallas
- State Fair of Texas
- Southern Skates Roller Rink
- Texas Discover Garden
- The Sixth Floor Museum At Dealey Plaza
- Trinity River Audubon
A full list of participating attractions and recreation centers distributing passes is available at DallasParks.org
At least four people were injured after a vehicle drove into a crowd of people in Dallas on Thursday evening.
Dallas police responded to an “Assist Officer call with an Ambulance” at approximately 7 p.m. in the 300 block of West Davis Street.
Authorities learned that a vehicle drove into a crowd, injuring multiple people. At least four have been taken to a local hospital for treatment. Police said no one was in critical condition.
The driver of the vehicle was arrested at the scene, police said. Authorities are still working to determine if this driver could have been drunk or if this could have been a medical episode.
According to police, there is no indication that the crash was terrorism related.
The investigation is ongoing.
This story will be updated as we learn more.
Dallas, TX
FOX’s Kasper Schmeichel compares England to Dallas Cowboys, so who are their other sports analogs?
Scottish World Cup fans reportedly drink Boston dry
Dana Perino announces that Scottish World Cup fans have caused an unprecedented beer shortage in Boston, emptying bars and liquor stores. Jesse Watters playfully observes that Europeans visiting America seem to “love it,” despite negative media portrayals, while Greg Gutfeld adds a satirical comment about “liberal mayors” and local resource management, contrasting Boston’s beer woes with LA’s water and Chicago’s Bears.
FOX Soccer analyst Kasper Schmeichel came prepared for this year’s World Cup on American soil.
The former Danish goalkeeper may not be from around these parts, but that didn’t stop him from dropping an eerily accurate comparison between two overconfident but long-suffering sports programs.
With England and Croatia warming up inside AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, Schmeichel decided he would roast two fanbases with one stone, comparing the Cowboys to the Three Lions with a hilarious one-liner.
Funny, but also painfully true if you’re a supporter of either team.
COWBOYS LEGEND DIGS DEEP INTO THE TEAM’S MISSING ‘FIBER’ THAT’S RESULTED IN SUPER BOWL DROUGHT
I made a comparison last week between the English national team and Notre Dame, but Schmeichel got me thinking, who are the sports analogs to England from the four major North American leagues (NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA)?
Today, I will be doing exactly that, including giving a slightly better NFL comp than the Cowboys (shocking, I know).
Without further ado, let’s piss off our neighbors from across the pond.
FROM 4 STRAIGHT SUPER BOWL LOSSES TO JOSH ALLEN’S PATRICK MAHOMES PROBLEM, BILLS MIGHT BE CURSED
NFL – Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears helmets are displayed before the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nev., on Sept. 28, 2025. (Kiyoshi Mio/Imagn Images)
While the Dallas Cowboys are a fine comparison for the English national soccer team, I think I can do one better.
Schmeichel mentioned that England “won it once and have never stopped talking about it,” and although the second part of that statement applies to both, the Cowboys are five-time Super Bowl champions, having won it most recently in January 1996, a good three decades after England.
If you really want a team that more accurately mirrors the hard luck of the English, it would have to be the Chicago Bears.
3 HISTORIC NFL FRANCHISES FIND THEMSELVES IN SAME BOAT SINCE TURN OF THE CENTURY
They have one Super Bowl win to their name, which came 40 years ago, and really don’t have much else to show for it.
Also, having lived in the DFW area for the better part of a decade, I can confidently say Cowboys fans are a little too arrogant and cocky to be compared to the English.
Sure, England will say things like “it’s coming home,” but they are far more self-deprecating and aware of their faults, even nihilistic in some cases.
The Bears hang onto their history because they know things will inevitably go bad for them on the biggest stage.
Speaking of which…
NHL – Toronto Maple Leafs
Spencer Carbery, assistant coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, looks on from the bench during the third period against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ont., on April 14, 2022. (Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)
The Toronto Maple Leafs actually line up with England more closely than either fanbase would like to admit.
While the Leafs have a litany of Stanley Cups to their name, their most recent win was back in 1967, less than a full year after England won their first and only World Cup.
As far as expectations go, both constantly go into their respective tournaments with the weight of the world on their shoulders, only to come crashing down in the most horrific ways imaginable.
For the Leafs, it comes in the form of blowing big leads in the playoffs, while English fans and players alike can’t even hear the words “penalty kicks” without having a mental breakdown.
England and Toronto are both long-suffering cities, but their fans keep showing up expecting a different outcome.
Insanity? No, just sports fandom.
NBA – New York Knicks
Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks celebrates a three-point basket with Karl-Anthony Towns during Game Two of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, on June 5, 2026. (Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)
This one would have been an even better comparison if the New York Knicks hadn’t gone and won the whole damn thing this year, but these two sports teams are still eerily similar.
WHY THE KNICKS, DISRESPECTED BUT CLAWING BACK, TOUCHED A RAW NERVE IN NEW YORK CITY AND ULTIMATELY THE COUNTRY
Think of the Knicks’ 2026 NBA Championship run as a window into what it would look like if England captured a World Cup (on American soil, no less).
Before this year, the Knicks famously had not won a Larry O’Brien trophy in over 50 years, yet they were still considered one of the “blue bloods” of the NBA.
Decades of heartache didn’t change that; it only made their fans more insufferable, but their triumph earlier this month in the NBA Finals exorcised all those demons.
THE ATHLETIC BEWILDERINGLY CELEBRATES ‘ZOHRAN MAMDANI SPORTS SUMMER’ AFTER NEW YORK KNICKS WIN NBA FINALS
A win in the World Cup Finals would probably do the same for England fans, as you could probably feel that sigh of relief from the other side of the Atlantic.
MLB – New York Mets
New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto reacts after scoring a run on an RBI double by infielder Bo Bichette against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on April 2, 2026. (Robert Edwards/Imagn Images)
Hello again, New York.
The Big Apple certainly has its fair share of winners, but it also has plenty of franchises that are aching to make a trip back down the Canyon of Heroes, none more so than the Mets.
Year after year, the Mets are near the top of MLB in terms of spending, with little to show for their efforts.
WATCH THE WORLD CUP FINAL ON FOX ONE
They won a World Series back in 1986 and have been chasing that high ever since.
The common thread between England and the Mets (along with all the other teams on this list) is expectations relative to results, and it seems like the Mets are sort of a Schrödinger’s baseball franchise in that regard, expected to both compete for a World Series with their high-priced talent and flame out in spectacular fashion all the same.
FOX ONE’S NEW WORLD CUP VIEWING EXPERIENCE
England always has flashy players heading into World Cup play, but the results haven’t been there, and they’ve often been sent home in brutal fashion, offering a great parallel to the Mets’ clockwork-like midsummer swoons and late-season meltdowns.
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