Dallas, TX
East Dallas artist to publish works about city's history, personal spaces & cat sitting – Lakewood/East Dallas

Brad Ford Smith in his East Dallas studio, by James Khattak for K.Co Press.
East Dallas artist and art conservator Brad Ford Smith is gearing up to release three publications this fall.
Where To Find A Ghost, House of Giller and Nine Days With LiHua are expected to come out in October.
According to a press release: Where To Find A Ghost is a new chapbook collection of drawings and stories depicting locations around Dallas where “historic events of calamity and tragedy” have occurred. House of Giller is composed of drawings Smith drew over several years of the home of the late local artist and his friend Susan Giller. A new edition of Nine Days With LiHua chronicles nine days of cat-sitting a mysterious feline in New York City.
“I draw sites of local forgotten history and calamity, often following trails I find in old newspapers. The experience of drawing on site generates a personal connection to my city, the people who lived here and the landscape,” Smith said in the press release. “On the other hand, I draw just about any time I sit down. Without pencil and paper, I’m the guy sitting next to you at the lecture who can’t stop fiddling with the program. So, I’ve drawn a lot of lectures, a few plays and a lot of documentaries on TV! This also extends to feeding my friends’ cats. I can’t just dash in, serve up the fish and leave. For the wellbeing of the kitty, I have to hang out for a bit. This often results in a few drawings… and maybe a silly song or two.”
He continued, “I tend to work within project frameworks that form a body of work. I see each drawing as an individual and I love it when an original work of art finds a new home. But it’s also sad because the drawings will never be together again. By publishing all the art together, the complete story can be shared and experienced over and over.”

Drawing from House of Giller by Brad Ford Smith
Alongside the releases, Smith’s work will be featured in an exhibition entitled, “Where To Find A Ghost and Other True Stories” at Tin District gallery Ro2 Art, which is west of Downtown Dallas.
Smith’s books will be published through K.Co Press in Dallas.
“Brad’s ink drawings are created with fine lines and limited palettes but contain deep, meaningful subject matter,” K.Co Press publisher Stephanie Khattak said in the press release. “When we were introduced to Brad’s work, we immediately saw the value in these books, not only for their visual interest and story, but for the emotional connection they will inspire in readers. We are very proud to represent Brad and know that his work will resonate with many.”
K.Co Press will also release a narrative cultural history of Deep Ellum’s Kettle Art Gallery by Jason Hensel in December.
You can buy Where To Find A Ghost separately or in a box set with House of Giller and Nine Days With LiHua. Preordering will be available in September.

Dallas, TX
Former Dallas Cowboys starter at position of need signs with Titans

The Dallas Cowboys have plenty of talent at defensive back, but injuries have plagued to position in recent years. All-Pro cornerbacks Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland have struggled to stay on the field at the same time, and Diggs will likely miss the start of the 2025 NFL season after suffering a season-ending knee injury for the second straight year.
Dallas drafted East Carolina star Shavon Revel in the third round of this year’s NFL Draft, but he is also coming off a torn ACL that prematurely ended his college career.
Last season, ball-hawking cornerback Amani Oruwariye got the opportunity to start in six games for the Cowboys because of injuries, and he made the most of it.
MORE: 6 Cowboys players in contract years entering 2025 NFL season
Oruwariye recorded 29 tackles, one interception, and three passes defensed. Unfortunately, he will not be back with Dallas this season.
According to FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz, Oruwariye has agreed to a one-year deal with the Tennessee Titans.
Tennessee also added linebacker Amari Burney off waivers this week, so it is clear the Titans are revamping the defensive roster.
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Dallas, meanwhile, has had plenty of roster shakeups of their own this offseason, so it is going to be interesting to see how everything plays out throughout the year.
And, in case you were wondering, the Cowboys do not face the Titans in 2025, so there will be no “Oruwariye revenge game.”
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Dallas, TX
US DOJ, John Cornyn starts investigation into Muslim community, Epic, tied to East Plano Center

The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a federal civil rights investigation into a Muslim-centered planned community around one of the state’s largest mosques near Dallas, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said Friday.
Cornyn requested the federal probe of the development last month, citing concerns it could discriminate against Christians and Jews. He announced in a post on X that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi had notified him of the investigation.
The developers of the proposed planned community tied to the East Plano Islamic Center, which has not yet been built, have said they are being bullied because they are Muslim.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment or to confirm Cornyn’s announcement.
A federal probe would further escalate pressure on the proposed EPIC City, which is already facing mounting criticism and multiple investigations from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and other GOP state officials who claim the group is trying to create a Muslim-exclusive community that would impose Islamic law on residents.
Among its chief critics is the state’s hard-right Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is challenging Cornyn for his Senate seat in 2026.
“Religious discrimination and Sharia Law have no home in Texas,” Cornyn, of Texas, wrote in his post on X. “Any violations of federal law must be swiftly prosecuted, and I know under (President Donald Trump’s) administration, they will be.”
Dan Cogdell, an attorney for EPIC City who defended Paxton in his 2023 impeachment trial when he was acquitted by the state Senate, said the developers have “done nothing illegal and we will cooperate fully with all investigations-regardless of how misguided and unnecessary they are.”
The state investigations include whether the development is violating financial and fair housing laws and whether the mosque has conducted illegal funerals.
Cogdell has said none of the investigations would be happening if the community was planned around a church or temple.
The attacks on the project about Islamic law and other claims “are not only completely without merit and totally misleading but they are dangerous as well,” Cogdell said Friday. “These folks are US Citizens, law abiding and Texans.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations in the Dallas area also has criticized the state probes as bullying the Muslim community and a violation of constitutionally protected religious expression.
Plans for the mixed-used development include more than 1,000 homes and apartments, a faith-based school for kindergarten through 12th grade, a community college, assisted living for older residents and athletics fields.
EPIC City would be near the community of Josephine, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Dallas.
Dallas, TX
Dallas-based bookstore leading fight against Texas bill

Dallas-based Half Price Books is helping lead the fight against a bill being considered in Austin.
The bill would allow bookstores to be sued for selling or even displaying harmful material to minors.
Supporters say it’s needed to protect children, but critics call it censorship.
Workers at Half Price Books love reading but reading every book that comes through its doors, President Kathy Doyle Thomas says, is unrealistic.
But that, she says, is what her stores would be expected to do under a bill proposed by Republican State Rep. Nate Schatzline of Fort Worth.
“How do we know in all of these books that we have in all of the stores across the state — We don’t know what’s inappropriate. [They] could be inappropriate in Corpus Christi compared to Dallas, Texas,” explained Doyle Thomas.
HB 1375 would hold bookstores liable for “damages arising from the distribution, transmission, or display of harmful material to a minor.”
Rep. Schatzline told a House committee last month that it provides parents with the option to sue those who expose children to obscene content.
“As lawmakers, we have a duty to protect families and children from exploitation and from the unchecked spread of harmful spread of harmful materials in our communities and online,” said Rep. Schatzline.
Doyle Thomas says titles in the romance, mystery and self-help sections would be at the top of the list of those at risk of being targeted.
“When I saw the bill, I was just frustrated and mad and I thought we have to do something about it,” she said.
In a recent letter to lawmakers, Doyle Thomas wrote that HB 1375 is “a threat to all booksellers” and asked them not to interfere with their ability to do business in what’s seen by critics as the latest chapter in book censorship.
“Someone is trying to decide what I can and can’t read and my children can and can’t read and we do not think that’s fair or appropriate,” said Doyle Thomas.
The bill remains in a House committee.
The Texas legislative session is scheduled to end on June 2.
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