Dallas, TX
Dallas moved city workers into an unpermitted building. So why is the truth so elusive?
We had hoped that the Dallas City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on General Investigating & Ethics would get to the bottom of how city permitting workers were moved into an unpermitted building. What council committee members received from city staff was obfuscation, incomplete timelines and conflicting explanations. Quite properly, committee members have asked the city auditor to investigate.
Inexplicably, city officials didn’t obtain final occupancy approval for Dallas’ new permitting office along Stemmons Freeway before workers moved into the 11-story tower late last year. Employees were ordered back to their old office in Oak Cliff months later, and the new building was closed after fire and safety violations were revealed.
But last week, Assistant City Manager Majed Al-Ghafry provided a different reason to the council committee, one that fails the smell test. Al-Ghafry said he decided to close the building and return staff to their former offices after a few employees wandered from their floor to other unfinished floors. He said the building had a valid temporary certificate of occupancy and that the employees weren’t in an unsafe building. “In full transparency and confidence, there wasn’t any life and safety issues that caused me to do this,” Al-Ghafry told the committee.
Well sort of. Only the fifth floor where the permitting employees were located had a temporary occupancy permit, but final approvals from the fire department and other inspectors weren’t obtained before employees moved in. Al-Ghafry previously said employees were warned not to roam beyond the first and fifth floors. However, Development Services Department Director Andrew Espinoza said employees had been working on the second and third floors between January and March. Espinoza also said no employees were disciplined for being on other floors.
Consider this revisionist history. Development Services employees began moving into the building in December. In January, an employee’s spouse filed a complaint with the state fire marshal’s office alleging a series of safety issues with the facility. In February and early April, city fire safety inspection reports discovered fire code violations. Al-Ghafry said employees started moving out of the building on April 9 after it was determined that the fire alarm didn’t sound on all floors.
Al-Ghafry, however, didn’t mention roaming employees in his email to the mayor and council on April 9. Instead, he wrote that “this move [from the new building] is the result of additional facility improvements recently identified at their current location.” He specifically cited additional work needed on the fire suppression system, IT equipment, connectivity, elevators, and other improvements.
It is embarrassingly ironic that the city’s permitting unit, long criticized for failing to deliver construction permits in a timely manner, failed to properly obtain permits for its own building before moving employees into it. More distressing is that grossly inadequate, misleading responses continue to keep us all in the dark about what happened and why, an all too common pattern at City Hall when mismanagement occurs.
Accountability is necessary. The city auditor must unravel the truth and do it quickly.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Guerrocastillo was taken into custody without incident and charged with Prohibited Weapon, a third-degree felony; Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon, a class A misdemeanor; Possession of Marijuana under two ounces, a class B misdemeanor; and Public Intoxication, a class C misdemeanor.
“Foot patrols are a foundational part of policing, and our Deep Ellum Task Force officers are making great arrests and providing increased security by walking a beat,” said Deputy Chief Devon Palk, who is commander of the Central Patrol Group. “Having our officers on foot, on horseback, and in our new Polaris utility vehicle puts officers exactly where we need them during peak hours in the area.”
Thousands of Croatia supporters turned downtown Dallas into a sea of red and white ahead of Croatia’s World Cup group-stage match against England. The parade featured cowgirls and groups in horse-drawn wagons and a 100-metre Croatian flag.
Published On 17 Jun 2026
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