Dallas, TX
Here’s what’s happening on the old Pearl C. Anderson property
This summer Watermark South Dallas will celebrate three years of Sunday services and five years since we purchased the former Pearl C. Anderson Learning Center. Watermark’s involvement in South Dallas started over 15 years ago with various Watermark members serving alongside South Dallas leaders through several nonprofit organizations. Then, in 2019, after DISD placed several shuttered schools up for public auction, Watermark acquired the current property in the “as-is” condition as the only bidder. The next year was spent removing about 70 cubic tons of debris and conducting significant environmental abatement and repairs.
So far, we’ve finished about 24,000 square feet of the 190,000-square-foot property. We have worked to honor the legacy of Pearl C. Anderson in the South Dallas community through the ways we have preserved certain aspects and designs within the building. The heart of our campus is the original cafeteria from the Pearl C. Anderson Learning Center, which will hopefully feel familiar to all former students and faculty who visit.
Our first church service was on June 20, 2021. Three years later, we welcome about 120 adults and 60 kids and students each Sunday. Throughout the week, we hold men’s and women’s Bible studies, host community events, and try to be good neighbors by serving our surrounding areas with initiatives like trash cleanup days and summer day camps for kids.
Beyond church services, our goal has been to use the space to meet the needs of the surrounding community through providing meeting spaces for Young Life, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and other organizations. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, the Dallas Tigers host youth sports games, and our fields are filled with the sounds of players, coaches and fans taking part in a time-honored Texas tradition: football. Two ministries, Watermark Community Development Corporation and Watermark Health, operate consistently at our church as well.
Watermark Community Development Corporation provides services to financially empower the community, including financial education, matched savings programs, job placements, career training workshops and business owner support. So far in South Dallas, Watermark Community Development Corp. has had the privilege to work with 152 participants to purchase 12 strategic assets such as homes, vehicles, educations, or business assets, and gain access to $87,800 in matched funds to further economic opportunities. We’ve seen 154 job placements through our Job Connection Program, pairing each career seeker with a mentor who walks with them through their first six months of employment for support and encouragement. Forty-one local businesses have participated in the Business Cohort, a 10-week class for entrepreneurs, and we have invested $192,000 of cash, in-kind services and grant funding to help see these businesses continue to thrive and contribute to the community.
Watermark Health operates a mobile clinic on our campus twice a week, providing care for urgent and chronic medical conditions such as treatment for cough or cold, minor injuries or pain, various infections, school physicals and hypertension management.
Most recently, Watermark Health has been able to offer a vision clinic with free lenses for students as they return to school. In partnership with Texas Health Resources, we have added a blood pressure kiosk to our lobby to allow residents the ability to take their blood pressure regularly and connect with services for follow-up care. All services are provided for free, with no insurance required.
To date, over 2,000 patients have been cared for through our mobile clinic in the South Dallas area as we seek to treat our neighbors’ physical needs and care for them spiritually and emotionally. A secondary goal of the mobile clinic is to help keep our city’s emergency rooms from being overcrowded with non-emergent needs. More than 30% of patients indicated they would have gone to the ER if Watermark Health’s services weren’t available, and 36% said they would have had no access to care.
Over these last five years, we have learned much from the South Dallas community and are so grateful for the patience, hospitality and partnership many have shown us. We have had the opportunity to host weddings, funerals, trainings and networking events on our campus, and met with dozens of community and church leaders and local non-profits to continue to find additional ways to collaborate.
During community meetings over the last few years, South Dallas residents consistently identified four major community needs: healthcare, jobs, food, and youth development.
To those ends, from 2022 to 2024, we pursued a zoning change to adapt our building for additional uses to meet some of these needs – specifically zoning that would allow us to provide a more robust approach to medical care and food access as well as vocational training and job opportunities.
While our zoning request was ultimately denied in early 2024, we plan to meet the same needs the community identified, but within a more limited scope.
We will continue to host weekly church services and community events and operate Watermark Health’s mobile clinic. We also intend to expand the Watermark Community Development Corporation’s involvement through job training, financial services, and economic empowerment initiatives. Our most immediate project is to renovate an additional 10,000 square feet of the property to accommodate more space for current and future ministry activities.
So, after five years of being a neighbor, we want to say thank you to South Dallas. It’s truly been our joy to learn from other churches, ministries and nonprofits who have been a part of the community for so many years. We have witnessed firsthand the way so many of our neighbors reflect the love of Christ to serve one another and their community.
We’re honored to work collaboratively with you. We hope to continue together for many more years to come.
Todd Anders, Timothy Ateek, Ben Caldwell, Mickey Friedrich, Blake Holmes and Rob Thomas are the elders of Watermark Community Church.
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Dallas, TX
Public frustration grows as Dallas leaders debate billion‑dollar City Hall fix or relocation
Cardi B, one of hip-hop’s most outsize personalities — and one of its most reliable hitmakers — is coming to Dallas.
The New York City-born rapper broke through in 2017 with the hit single “Bodak Yellow,” launching a chart-topping run that soon included “I Like It” and the blockbuster hit “WAP.” Her Grammy-winning debut album, Invasion of Privacy, cemented her as a defining voice in contemporary rap, blending brash humor, confessional storytelling and club-ready production.
The 33-year-old’s success helped boost the profile of women in a genre long dominated by men, encouraging record labels to sign more female rappers. She has frequently teamed up with rising female artists, including GloRilla, FendiDa Rappa and “WAP” collaborator Megan Thee Stallion.
Cardi’s stop at American Airlines Center is part of the arena run supporting her second studio album, 2025’s Am I the Drama? Recent shows in the “Little Miss Drama Tour” have leaned into spectacle, with elaborate staging, surprise guest appearances and a set list that spans her entire career.
Fans can expect a high-energy performance built around booming trap beats, pop hooks and Cardi’s signature unfiltered banter — the same mix that has helped her sell out dates across the tour and turn concerts into party-like events.
DETAILS: March 7 at 7:30 p.m. at American Airlines Center in Dallas. Tickets start at $334.10, but some verified resale tickets are cheaper. ticketmaster.com.
Pop legend Diana Ross performs March 7 at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma.
Sarah Hepola
OTHER CONCERTS
Bluesy psychedelic rock band All Them Witches performs March 7 at House of Blues Dallas.
Travis Pinson
ALL THEM WITCHES March 7 at 8 p.m. at House of Blues Dallas. ticketmaster.com.
DIANA ROSS March 7 at 8 p.m. at WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla. winstar.com.
RICH BRIAN March 7 at 8 p.m. at The Bomb Factory in Deep Ellum. axs.com.
TRACE ADKINS March 7 at 10 p.m. at Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth. billybobstexas.com.
AFROJACK March 8 at 3 p.m. at It’ll Do Club in Deep Ellum. eventbrite.com.
LITHE March 8 at 8 p.m. at House of Blues Dallas. ticketmaster.com.
CONAN GRAY March 10 at 8 p.m. at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. ticketmaster.com.
MATISYAHU March 10 at 8 p.m. at the Granada Theater in Dallas. prekindle.com.
OUR LADY PEACE, WITH THE VERVE PIPE March 12 at 8 p.m. at Tannahill’s Tavern and Music Hall in Fort Worth. ticketmaster.com.
PAUL WALL March 12 at 9 p.m. and March 13 at 10 p.m. at Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth. billybobstexas.com.
The fiercest legislative primary fights Tuesday in North Texas were inside the GOP.
In Dallas County, two moderate GOP incumbent representatives faced challengers after being censured by their own county party.
In Collin County, several Republican state House members were fending off rivals running to their right.
The Dallas Morning News will provide live election results this evening when the polls close at 7 p.m. Results will be updated throughout the evening for statewide races and Dallas, Collin, Denton, Ellis, Kaufman, Rockwall and Tarrant counties.
Dallas County, House District 108
Republican Morgan Meyer, first elected in 2014, was challenged by attorney Sanjay Narayan in a district that includes the Park Cities, Oak Lawn and Preston Hollow.
Narayan criticized Meyer for backing renewable energy expansion and for being censured by the Dallas GOP last year.
Meyer was among House Republicans targeted after disputes over the House speaker vote and chamber rules. He and other lawmakers called the censure effort unconstitutional.
In the campaign, Meyer focused on property tax relief and emergency preparedness after the Camp Mystic tragedy.
Small business owner Allison Mitchell is unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Dallas County, House District 112
Republican Angie Chen Button, who has represented the district covering parts of Dallas, Richardson and Garland since 2009, drew three primary opponents.
Button has highlighted her support for small businesses and public schools and her bipartisan record. A senior member of the Ways and Means Committee, she would play a key role in the state’s property tax debate if reelected.
Dallas-area delegation in the Texas House of Representatives on Sunday, May 30, 2021, showing State Rep. Angie Chen Button, R-Garland, in the chamber.
Bob Daemmrich / Bob Daemmrich/CapitolPressPhoto
Opponents Chad Carnahan and Tina Price attacked Button for being censured by the Dallas GOP last year, a move she and other lawmakers have criticized as an internal party power struggle.
Carnahan, a businessman, said he wants to lower property taxes and prevent Shariah in Texas.
Price said she would improve public schools and spur the re-use of old buildings. Also in the GOP race: Perry E. Barker Sr.
Democrat Zach Herbert was unopposed.
Collin County, House District 61
Two Republicans are seeking to represent the district that covers most of McKinney and parts of Frisco and Celina.
Incumbent Keresa Richardson, who was elected in 2024, and former state Rep. Frederick Frazier both support eliminating property taxes.
Richardson, an entrepreneur, said she would expand the Texas voucher-like program for education.
Frazier, a former police officer and McKinney City Council member, was more cautious about expanding the program.
Frederick Frazier speaks as Rep. Keresa Richardson looks on during a candidate forum for Republicans in Collin County ahead of the March primary election at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, Tuesday, February 10, 2026.
Anja Schlein / Special Contributor
Two political newcomers, Jackie Bescherer and Brittany Black, are running in the Democratic primary. Both oppose Texas’ voucher program and vow to increase public education funding.
Collin County, House District 67
Republican Rep. Jeff Leach, first elected in 2012, faces Matt Thorsen in a district that includes parts of Plano, Allen, McKinney and Melissa.
Leach has highlighted his conservative record, including legislation barring Shariah in Texas courts. He also served as a House impeachment manager during Attorney General Ken Paxton’s 2023 trial, a role he has defended amid backlash from activists.
Thorsen, a small business owner and former youth pastor, helped lead the effort to censure Leach last year. He has criticized Leach’s impeachment role and accused him of siding with Democrats on House rules.
Both support eliminating property taxes, expanding education savings accounts and oppose the development formerly known as EPIC City. Two Democrats are also running, though the district has leaned Republican.
Collin County, House District 70
Three Republicans are competing for the nomination to run against incumbent Democrat Mihaela Plesa, who is running unopposed in her party’s primary.
Democrat Mihaela Plesa responds to questions during a District 70 Candidate Forum hosted by Raise Your Hand Texas at Plano ISD Academy High School in Plano on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022.
Liesbeth Powers / Staff Photographer
George Flint, a former district judge and Collin County Republican Party Chair, emphasized eliminating property taxes and securing the border in his campaign.
Jack Ryan Gallagher, an attorney, said he would attract companies to North Texas, improve public schools and partner with local law enforcement if elected.
Michael Hewitt, an attorney, said he would gradually lower property taxes and work to keep Texas a business-friendly state.
The district includes parts of Plano, Richardson and Far North Dallas.
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