Dallas, TX
Letters to the Editor — Dallas City Hall, Ken Paxton, Texas wildlife, James Talarico
Let City Hall go
Re: “A tale of another city hall — What can Dallas learn from Boston’s commitment to its own, decades-old architecturally significant building?” by Emanuel Rame, Sunday Opinion.
As a graduate of architecture and 35-year project manager evaluating space for tenants, I often advocate saving an iconic building. Regarding Dallas’ City Hall, why repair it at overwhelming cost only to have its maintenance neglected? That’s only delaying the inevitable at massive cost.
Dallas’ record of deferred maintenance is unlikely to change. Sell it and get whatever is possible, then spend the money on fitting up functional leased space that a landlord maintains.
Further, nowhere in all of the discussions and opinions has the issue of temporary space during repairs, moves, etc., been addressed. That’s a huge cost, too. Just plan for new space, and the money will go further than spending it on a poorly designed building that will be more costly to repair and maintain than a non-iconic building that functions well for city offices, council chambers, etc.
Although Dallas’ City Hall is better looking than Boston’s, it has serious design flaws and deferred maintenance that will probably cause problems again in the future. There is also a lot of wasted space in the building for the massive atrium. I would never recommend a building with that much unusable space. Let it go.
Marsha Hayes Walker, Grand Prairie
Build but maintain, Dallas
I saw a quote from acclaimed independent filmmaker Werner Herzog that made me think of the current controversy over the fate of Dallas City Hall. It reads, in part: “Whether something lasts or not has nothing to do with whether it’s made of stone or steel or wood or fabric. A house built all in wood can be a monument that lasts for hundreds of years because it seduces people to live in it, to use it and maintain it. Eternity depends on whether people are willing to take care of something … no building can be neglected entirely.”
And that’s where we are with many iconic structures in Dallas (Fair Park, anyone?). This I.M. Pei-designed building that Dallas is so fortunate to have must stand as part of Dallas history, just as the Old Red Courthouse has and Reunion Tower, to name just a few. (Is Dallas even Dallas without Reunion Tower as part of the skyline?)
Build beautiful and unique, but above all maintain. Other places do it, for centuries and millennia in many cases, yet it seems Dallas wants the new and shiny every 40-50 years.
Borrowing an opinion from the great film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, “thumbs down” on that.
Sara Miskimins, Dallas/Lake Highlands
AG spends wastefully
Re: “Paxton sues Islamic center — Filing becomes latest effort by state to stop Muslim-centric project,” Sunday Metro story.
This guy just can’t stop himself from filing frivolous lawsuits and wasting large sums of money. Money that you and I pay in taxes. If you want to look at wasteful spending, look no further than the attorney general’s office.
Myriad possibilities exist for a better use of the attorney general’s office than what this partisan politician can dream up. Can we please open our eyes to the obvious and finally get rid of him, or are we completely blinded by our political leanings?
Erol C. Orer, Dallas
Wild in Dallas, too
Re: “A little bit of Texas frightens me — On a friend’s ranch, I learned you have so many reasons to wear boots,” by Christopher de Vinck, Saturday Opinion.
I really enjoyed de Vinck’s column about the wildlife in Texas. As a Dallas native, I can relate having spent 10 years in South Texas. It seems everything either poked, bit, stung or stabbed me in the beautiful wilds of Texas.
Interestingly, I now have coyotes and bobcats in my yard in East Dallas. What’s next, a javelina?
Nancy Turner, Dallas
New Jersey has critters
De Vinck’s fine column understated New Jersey’s natural hazards. The Garden State has plenty of venomous snakes including rattlers and copperheads, plus bobcats, and one native cactus, the prickly pear. Maybe no javelinas or chiggers, but plenty of ticks, black widows and other mean little critters — and rip tides.
Also, like Texas, New Jersey still has some beautiful rural scenery and even some night skies free of light pollution.
Peter Haskel, Lewes, Del.
Get behind Talarico
All the other Democrats should get out of the race, like we did with Beto O’Rourke, watch the Republicans fight it out in the primary and let James Talarico run against the Trump Republicans. Talarico is a proven winner, and if Colin Allred and O’Rourke couldn’t beat Ted Cruz, you know the rest of the story.
Andrew Goldsmith, Irving
A job or an education?
Re: “What are they teaching?” by Rick Williams, Thursday Letters.
Williams writes that in undergraduate and graduate classes he took “math, chemistry, English, accounting and finance.” Hopefully he also took courses in philosophy, ethics, world history and fine arts as well.
Otherwise, although Texas A&M and the University of Texas gave him a meal ticket, they did not give him an education.
Holmes Brannon, Plano
Put blame where it belongs
Our president has stated that immigration is the leading cause of dysfunction in our country. I must disagree. A political policy of hatred, scorn, revenge and ignorance is the leading cause of dysfunction in our country. One must look no further than the Oval Office.
Jan Schroeder, Lucas
Wake up on age limits
The Democrats had Sleepy Joe and the Republicans have, among other things, Dozing Donald. Any thoughts for age limits for public office?
T.P. O’Mahoney, Dallas
DALLAS – Dallas police arrested a man for murder after they say he shot a couple he met through an online dating app.
What we know:
Investigators say 26-year-old Noah Trueba shot and killed a 57-year-old woman on Friday morning in Northwest Dallas. Dallas Fire-Rescue responded and pronounced one of the individuals, 57-year-old Guadalupe Gonzalez, dead at the scene.
The second victim was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
According to an affidavit, Trueba drank and used drugs with the two, who called themselves husband and wife. Trueba later told police that the couple tried to sexually assault him, so he opened fire.
A police drone located him hiding along a nearby highway, after he ran from the scene.
What’s next:
Trueba was arrested at the scene. He is currently booked in the Dallas County Jail and being charged with murder.
This is an ongoing investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Brewster Billings at 214-671-3083 or at brewster.billings@dallaspolice.gov.
The Source: Information in this article was provided from documents provided by the Dallas Police Department.
Sunday was another frustrating game for Dallas Cowboys fans who had to watch the secondary miss one tackle after another against the New York Giants.
In addition to the poor angles and inability to wrap up, the defensive backs couldn’t consistently stop an aerial attack that was without their top two players. That sums up the season for the Dallas defense, which is why Matt Eberflus being relieved of his duties feels like a foregone conclusion.
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From there, the question turns to who will replace Eberflus. While there’s no shortage of options available, here’s a look at some of the top candidates if Dallas made fixing the secondary their primary goal.
Daniel Bullocks, DB Coach/Pass Game Specialist, San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers have one of the most impressive coaching trees. While Robert Saleh didn’t excel as a head coach, he returned to his role as defensive coordinator and continued to excel. They’ve also seen DeMeco Ryans do an extraordinary job in Houston as a head coach, with a staff loaded with former 49ers assistants.
That’s why looking at their staff is a wise move. One name to consider is Daniel Bullocks, who has been an assistant with San Francisco since 2017. He currently serves as the safeties coach and pass game specialist. While they haven’t been elite this year, his unit is usually among the best in the NFL.
Aubrey Pleasant, Assistant Head Coach/Pass Game Coordinator, Los Angeles Rams
Aubrey Pleasant has been a name to watch for years, even interviewing for multiple defensive coordinator vacancies. He’s been with the Los Angeles Rams since 2023, and was promoted to assistant head coach in 2024.
Cory Undlin, Pass Game Coordinator, Houston Texans
DeMeco Ryans was mentioned earlier as a great coach to come out of San Francisco. One assistant he brought along with him is Cory Undlin, who has been a pass game specialist for the 49ers (2021-2022) and now the Houston Texans (2023-present).
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Houston has a vicious defense led by hard-hitting safeties and physical cornerbacks. Undlin deserves credit for helping develop their young talent and could help Dallas get back on track in the secondary.
Al Harris, Pass Game Coordinator/DB Coach, Chicago Bears
Everyone who follows the Cowboys knows, and loves, Al Harris. He was part of Dan Quinn’s defensive staff and was credited for developing ballhawks such as Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland.
Harris left this offseason and while the Cowboys fell apart, the Chicago Bears began to generate turnovers at a high rate. We’ve seen enough to know Harris should have been kept.
Raheem Morris, Head Coach, Atlanta Falcons
Raheem Morris was fired after two seasons as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad coach. Morris remains one of the more well-respected defensive minds in the NFL, even winning the Super Bowl in 2021 as the Rams’ defensive coordinator. That was his second Super Bowl ring, as Morris earned one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following the 2002 season. That year, he was a defensive quality control coach for Jon Gruden.
Morris excels at coaching defensive backs and brings extensive experience to the table. He may be exactly the kind of hire Jerry Jones would feel comfortable making, and one Cowboys fans could believe in.
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The Dallas Cowboys wrapped up their 2025 season on Sunday and will now turn all of their attention to offseason work in the name of not finding themselves out of the playoffs this time next year. Obviously that is much easier said than done.
This upcoming offseason is one of the most important and critical in recent Cowboys history as they have multiple first-round draft picks for the first time since 2008. With the Cowboys now officially done for the season, we know where they will be picking come the 2026 NFL Draft.
Updated 2026 NFL Draft order
Here are the first 12 picks of the draft, through the Cowboys selection at number 12 overall, courtesy of Tankathon.
If all of this sounds familiar it is because it is… the Cowboys held the 12th overall pick last year and used it to select Tyler Booker. They also used it in 2021 to select Micah Parsons, more on him in a moment, although they picked it up after trading back two spots. For what it’s worth the Detroit Lions held the pick in consecutive seasons beginning the year after and landed Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs, so hopefully that type of success is what the Cowboys find.
While we know where the Cowboys are picking, it is still unknown exactly where their other first-round pick will land. Dallas holds Green Bay’s selection in the 2026 NFL Draft and the Packers are currently set to visit the Chicago Bears in the Wild Card Round which means we are all rooting for Chicago to take care of business.
Updated rundown of Cowboys Draft Picks
Keep in mind that Dallas has also already dealt away 2026 draft capital as well.
The Cowboys are projected to receive a couple of compensatory picks as well, potentially in the fifth-round, but those are not fully known at this time.
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