Dallas, TX

Dallas needs more neighborhood parks

Published

2 years ago

January 18, 2024

It’s been more than a year since Mayor Eric Johnson announced a plan to convert vacant lots across the city into parks — a plan that is now bearing fruit and that deserves applause for helping bring valuable green space to neglected parts of the city.

As our colleague Sharon Grigsby reported earlier this month, the first five spaces have been identified for transformation. They are in pockets of the city where there isn’t adequate access to the sort of community parks where families can take the kids to run around and play outside.

We have supported this plan with the caveat that the city must ensure that it can fund the ongoing maintenance of new parks without letting existing parks get less attention.

Park Board President Arun Agarwal has offered assurances that the city has a good plan in place that will see the parks kept in the condition that makes them assets and not liabilities to their neighborhoods.

Johnson deserves credit for laying out this vision, but there is plenty of credit to go around for those who are making it a reality. That includes Robert Kent and the Trust for Public Land where he is associate vice president and state director, as well as Johnson’s “greening czar” Garrett Boone. The Lyda Hill Foundation and the Meadows Foundation have have also generously contributed.

Johnson speaks often of the important role parks played in his childhood, and we praised his focus on getting back to basics in his recent state of the city speech. Parks should be viewed as a basic element of city work.

Dallas has benefited in immeasurable ways from the blooming of our parks system in recent years, especially from the opening of the downtown parks and the expansion of the trail system.

The downtown parks system is now mature, and while it has already paid dividends, we are really only at the beginning of understanding what the ongoing contribution will be.

The economic and quality of life boost that the trails have created for Dallas is massive, meanwhile. People all over the city depend on trails for exercise, socializing and mobility. It’s hard to imagine that just a few years ago, those weren’t available in many places. A great deal of work and investment remains to bring the trail system to full maturity, but we are confident the city is on the right path.

But Johnson rightly identified the sort of spaces between, the little neighborhood green spaces, as a place where we need to get better.

The difficulty is ensuring that we don’t build what we can’t maintain. These five parks are modest enough that we are confident they can be folded into the broader parks budget.

As this plan develops, deeper budgeting work will be necessary to ensure the whole parks system has a sustainable maintenance plan.

Great parks make great neighborhoods. Building them is one thing. Making certain they are excellent is just as important.

We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here. If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com

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Dallas, TX

McAllen Welcomes Texas Hockey | Dallas Stars

Published

5 hours ago

May 29, 2026

Press Room

McAllen Welcomes Texas Hockey | Dallas Stars

DallasStars.com is the official Web site of DSE Hockey Club, L.P. The Dallas Stars primary logo is a registered trademark and the Stars name and secondary logos are trademarks of the Dallas Stars. NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup and NHL Conference logos are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks as well as all other proprietary materials depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective NHL teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. Copyright © 1999-2026 DSE Hockey Club, L.P. and the National Hockey League. All Rights Reserved.

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Dallas, TX

At least three dead after fire destroys Dallas apartment complex

Published

17 hours ago

May 29, 2026

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At least three dead after fire destroys Dallas apartment complex

NewsFeed

A large fire destroyed an apartment complex in Dallas after crews responded to reports of a gas leak. Authorities say at least three people, including a child, were killed. Other residents are unaccounted for.

Published On 29 May 2026

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Dallas, TX

North Texas doughnut shops named among best in U.S.

Published

1 day ago

May 28, 2026

Press Room

North Texas doughnut shops named among best in U.S.

Jarams will always be top in our hearts.

Lauren Drewes Daniels

Arguments about the best doughnut shops can get heated. We have our own personal top 10 favorites. And we have issues with DoorDash’s list below. So, let’s dive right into this sweet, round confection with a hole in the middle.

For National Donut Day, which is Friday, June 5, for all those who celebrate, DoorDash has a roundup of the top 100-rated small and medium-sized donut shops on DoorDash. The list includes local businesses across 86 cities and 25 states.

To be considered for the Donut Day Dozens list, the bakery must be small or medium-sized, have fewer than 10 stores, and have at least 1,000 reviews. The shops with the highest average consumer ratings from April 2025 to April 2026 were chosen.

Of the 21 donut shops chosen across Texas, 13 are located in North Texas.

North Texas bakeries named best doughnuts

Morning Donuts – Dallas, TX
Baker’s Dozen Donuts – Cross Roads, TX
Busy B’s Bakery – North Richland Hills, TX
Donut House Plano – Plano, TX
Donut King #3 – Fort Worth, TX
Eagle Donuts – Crowley, TX
Earnest Donuts – Lewisville, TX
Four Seasons Donuts – Irving, TX
Jin’s Donuts – Farmers Branch, TX
Master Donut – The Colony, TX
Stacy Donuts – McKinney, TX
TWISTY DONUTS MANSFIELD – Mansfield, TX

A few misses

There are some obvious big misses here. Like La Rue in Trinity Groves, which apparently was left off because it has fewer than 1,000 reviews. We awarded this chef-driven shop Best Doughnuts in 2025 for pushing out top-tier confections every morning and a seasonal menu that will both win you over and break your heart. They’re also using only beef tallow in the fryers now.

And no Jarams? The shop on Preston Road has a 4.7 average rating on DoorDash, and it appears 4.8 was the cutoff. The family-owned Jarams is one of the best shops in Dallas.

As is Detour Donuts in Frisco. This is run by an ambitious young baker who draws long lines for themed doughnuts and a rotating menu.

Beyond North Texas …

The rest of the awarded donut shops were mostly located in Houston, with a sprinkle in San Antonio. Shops were listed in alphabetical order, and not with any sort of numbered ranking system.