Community leaders in Dallas have urged for peaceful demonstrations as protesters prepare to take to the streets Saturday for the No Kings events that are expected across the nation.

At a Friday afternoon news conference at Dallas City Hall, Diana Flores, a member of The Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Dallas College Board of Trustees, invited community leaders to stand together behind the podium. Flores opened with a prayer for families who have been affected by deportations around the country.

Trump signed an executive order on the first day of his second term, calling for the Homeland Security secretary to rapidly deport migrants. In May, plainclothes federal agents began detaining people who showed up to Dallas’ immigration court for their scheduled hearings to put them on a fast track for deportation.

Flores said the reason for the leaders’ gathering the day before the weekend protests was to emphasize the need for demonstrators to remain peaceful.

Earlier this week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced he had deployed over 5,000 Texas National Guard, as well as 2,000 Texas Department of Public Safety troopers across the state. According to a news release, they had been deployed to respond to any potential criminal or violent activities occurring at the planned protests this Saturday.

“We do not want Dallas to be militarized,” Flores said. “We encourage everyone who feels they have to speak out and to engage in their constitutionally protected rights of free assembly and free speech, not to be provoked. Do not let anyone provoke you into any act of violence.”

Dallas police Chief Daniel Comeaux said Friday he did not confirm the national guard is in Dallas, but said that if additional troops are needed, the department can ask for their assistance.

Dallas City Council member Jaime Resendez was also at the conference, as well as nine organizations, all echoing the same message of encouraging peaceful protests. Roman Palomares, the National President of the League of United Latin American Citizens, emphasized that the use of the National Guard was only meant to intimidate those engaging in protests and agitate young protesters.

“They don’t need the National Guard,” Palomares said. “The police department can handle it. I think if the young and those that are protesting are given instruction, they have the right to do that under our Constitution. We can protest. We encourage protests, civil protests, and make sure that they’re done orderly.”

Juan Hernandez, who serves as the president of the National Latino Law Enforcement Officers Organization, said protesters should stay off the streets.

Other organizations at the conference included the Regional Hispanic Contractors Association, Hey Chica, the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas Dallas Chapter and others.

Community leaders also emphasized the need to represent those who cannot protest in a positive light, in order not to lose the intended message. Flores emphasized that due to the ongoing chaos ensuing at protests across the country, she feels that many have lost sight of the issues.

“We’re all harmed because we’re all painted with the same brush,” Flores said. “That’s the strategy, to distract and get off the real issue.”

Separately on Friday, Catholic Diocese of Dallas’ Bishop Edward J. Burns expressed support for immigrants and refugees in a statement.

“The Church is called to do what is right and just, and we do support legal reform that is compassionate and humane. We call for policies that uphold both the rule of law and the sanctity of the family,” Burns said.

“Let us also pray for our leaders, that they may be guided by wisdom, courage, and mercy,” he said.

Staff writers Aaron Torres, Suryatapa Chakraborty and Kelli Smith contributed to this report.

The city of Dallas is another step closer to a new convention center. A measure was approved Wednesday, giving the green light to begin demolition along Lamar Street.

This also paves the way for what will be the International Broadcasting Center during the FIFA World Cup games.

The grand vision and master plan were laid out for the future of downtown Dallas’ Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in 2021. It’s coming to fruition one strategic step at a time.

City leaders took another step in that direction this week. The council approved $259 million for construction services to soon begin demolition along either side of Lamar Street.

Outgoing Councilmember Omar Narvaez witnessed the project go from an idea to action.

“It was probably four years ago, five years ago that the talk became real,” said Narvaez.

He’s part of the current council that gave the green light on funding for demolition to begin west of Lamar Street, splitting the convention center, with one side soon to become a hub for one of the world’s most talked-about events.

“Everything behind me right now is where the International Broadcast Center that FIFA will be moving into at the beginning of January, they’ll get started,” he said.

Visit Dallas Chief Marketing Officer Jennifer Walker said some 64 conventions are on the books for the new center already.

“That represents 1.6 billion in economic impact with another 109 conventions just waiting in the wings,” Walker said.

As for the east side of Lamar, she called it a game-changer.

“With the IBC being in our own backyard, that really gives us the opportunity to tell the Dallas story of today, and why we are a thriving emerging global city,” she said.

Transformation is on the way.

“The entire globe of reporters and folks that are calling the matches and everything, they are all going to be in this building for everything. So, 24/7, this place will be rocking and rolling and moving,” said Narvaez.

Information on the Kay Bailey Hutchison master plan is available online.

You’ve heard of smart TVs, fridges and vacuum cleaners, now get ready for smart trash cans.

Though you may not have noticed them, a set of high-tech garbage bins has appeared in downtown Dallas through a pilot program carried out by the city, Downtown Dallas Inc. and the Child Poverty Action Lab.

The pilot is funded by CPAL and will run for a year, said Mike Hunter, chief of Parks and Public Space at DDI. The goal is to assess the cans’ effectiveness for improving sanitation efficiency. Full steam ahead to finding out, we say.

Three cans are placed in the area southeast of City Hall and another three are at sites around Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s West End station and West Transfer Center, city documents show. Those are high foot-traffic areas and should serve as great test locations.

But how could a trash can make sanitation more efficient, you ask? These monitor their own trash level and keep sanitation workers informed about when they need to be emptied.

In the core of downtown, there are sanitation workers who go from can to can by foot, checking on them during the day, Hunter said. The Central Business District alone is home to more than DDI 50 cans, he said.

The new cans are likely to help most in the further-flung areas of downtown, where supervisors currently have to drive trucks to each bin to check on them, Hunter explained. The smart bins notify DDI by text or email when they are 80% full, hopefully making it possible to avoid unnecessary trips, saving valuable time that can be used for other sanitation efforts, he said.

There are other desirable features too. The tank-like cans have a fully enclosed design, preventing wind and weather from sending rubbish flying, and keeping rummaging hands and paws out of the bins.

DDI’s sanitation teams already do a good job keeping downtown’s street trash under control. Just spend a few minutes in the Central Business District and you’ll see them hard at work. If these swanky cans can make their jobs easier, the pilot goes well and the cost makes sense, we say go for it.

Surely it’s wishful thinking, but could we be forgiven for hoping just a little bit that residents and visitors will be more likely to throw their own trash into a fancy bin? DDI does great work, but we can all do better cleaning up after ourselves.