Dallas, TX

Letters to the Editor — Dallas mayor, Prop U, DART, abortion care, political parties

Published

12 months ago

November 12, 2024

Press Room

Letters to the Editor — Dallas mayor, Prop U, DART, abortion care, political parties

Dallas mayor invisible

Re: “Mayor Eric Johnson Let Dallas Down — We needed his leadership; we got an op-ed,” Sunday editorial.

I just finished reading your editorial concerning Mayor Eric Johnson. I agree wholeheartedly with this opinion. Johnson shows he has no concern for Dallas and its residents. He seems completely preoccupied with his next political move and position.

He has been invisible on so many issues involving the city. I was initially so excited about the prospect of Johnson and voted for him. Huge regret on my and my relatives’ decision to support him.

He did not step up and speak up about these propositions. He actually hasn’t spoken up much about Dallas. He speaks about national issues. Good riddance!

Becky Autrey, Dallas

I voted for Proposition U

Your pages state that the passage of Proposition U is the result of poor leadership from Mayor Eric Johnson or an uninformed electorate. I disagree. I voted for Proposition U. I researched this issue in advance, read your coverage on the propositions and gave ample thought and reflection to my voting decision. I was not tricked or uninformed.

I have lived in Dallas for eight years and for the entirety of that time, the Dallas Police Department has struggled to be fully staffed, the Dallas Police and Fire Pension Fund has been underfunded, and politicians and city officials have pledged to do better. Yet here we are.

While violent crime statistics may show improvements, the reality is Dallas citizens do not feel safe. I know that the requirements of Proposition U will put enormous strain on the city, the city may fall short and the requirements of Proposition U may be unrealistic, but we have to start somewhere.

The vote for Proposition U is a statement by citizens that among the many vital functions that our city government must perform, keeping its citizens safe (and feeling safe) is paramount to all others rather than the result of an uninformed and gullible electorate.

Douglas MacMahon, Dallas/Bluffview

Addison paid plenty to DART

Re: “Suburbs miscalculate DART expenses — Cities get more for their money than they think,” by Patrick Kennedy, Sunday Opinion.

I see at least two things wrong with Kennedy’s column. If you go back nearly 40 years ago when Addison started paying into the contributions for DART, all they received in their decades and hundreds of millions of dollars or perhaps more, and amid myriad complaints was bus service from Preston Road to Marsh Lane along Belt Line Road.

The mayor of Addison and many members of the City Council expressed disgust over the lack of better service and delay of the Silver line. Had it been started earlier, the costs would not have been anywhere near a billion dollars and not anywhere near the $2 billion that appears to be the final figure with many cost-saving “benefits” to the service removed by DART.

The other is that Kennedy is one board of directors member among the 15 members who easily spend millions of DART dollars, and what do they get in return?

Better service to Addison would have created more restaurants and entertainment, especially for conventions, and more tax revenue for DART. Hindsight is 20/20.

Kenneth D. McLintock, Dallas

Doctor sets record straight

Re: “Lifesaving care for women in Texas is perfectly legal — Scaremongering about state abortion ban isn’t helping patients — or doctors,” by Sudheer Jayaprabhu, Sunday Opinion.

I was so glad to read this column on the legality of lifesaving care for women in Texas. Despite the lies in many political ads, pregnant women do legally receive treatment in problem pregnancies.

Two members of my family did — one after having a miscarriage and the other in the early delivery of a child after a health scare.

Thank you, doctor, for setting the record straight.

Julia Davis, Plano

Parties seal their fates

Re: “Here’s what makes America great — Rather than throw up your hands, marvel that our founders created a system that still works,” by Abby McCloskey, Nov. 3 Sunday Opinion.

As I read McCloskey’s opinion piece, a recurring thought came back to me. We just went through a big election and now there is relief that it is over and hope that maybe things will be better.

But then reality will set in and we’ll discover the winners are not interested in making things better, just in pushing their agenda as far and as fast as they can. Doesn’t seem to matter which side wins, the result is the same.

So we swing back and forth, left then right and back again over and over. Neither side ever realizes that most of the populace doesn’t want to push that far or that fast.

People are willing to move but in smaller increments with time to digest if the changes make things better or worse. Then they will decide how to move the next time. But the parties keep pushing too far and the voters rebel again.

The parties seal their own fates.

James C. Nolen, Terrell

Narrow election identity

McCloskey states that the prevailing identity of this election is that of traditional values, faith, marriage and family, and nationalism. If that was the case, the people wouldn’t have voted for Donald Trump. The only portion of the described identity that aligns with him is that of nationalism.

Victor Kaplan, Plano

Waiting on lottery suit

Re: “Lotto scheme games system,” by Dave Lieber, Sunday Metro column.

Regarding this column on lotto schemes, Attorney General Ken Paxton, do your job. Sue someone, anyone.

Peter Lehmann, Euless

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

Car belonging to Dallas woman missing for over a year found, police say

Published

8 hours ago

November 5, 2025

Press Room

Car belonging to Dallas woman missing for over a year found, police say

Updated on: November 5, 2025 / 10:56 AM CST
/ CBS Texas

The vehicle belonging to a Dallas woman who has been missing for over a year was found this week, according to police.

The Dallas Police Department said 88-year-old Myrtle Polk’s vehicle was found in the 5600 block of South Lancaster Road, near Five Mile Creek, on Tuesday. Her body was not in the vehicle.

DPD said search teams will deploy in the area to continue the search for Polk.

She was last seen in early June along Indian Creek Trail, driving her Lexus sedan. At the time, a Silver Alert was issued, given her age and medical history, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Myrtle Polk known as a pillar of her community

Polk is a devout member of her church, according to her family. When she didn’t show up for service on June 9, 2024, they said they knew something was wrong.

Also affectionately known as “Mama M” or “Aunt Myrt,” Polk is living with dementia. But her niece Tawana Watson said — as late as the day before — the family did not indicate that anything was wrong.

“She was a very good driver, she knew where she was,” Watson said last June. “I talked to her that Friday [and] she was in her right mind.”

Watson does not believe the matriarch left home on her own.

“She was such a trustworthy person, I believe that Aunt Myrtle met somebody that she trusted, she let them [into her home] and they hurt her,” she continued.

Myrtle Polk is approximately 5-foot-2 and 120 pounds, with white hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or the Dallas Police Department at (214) 671-4268.

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Dallas, TX

A ‘shared calling’ unites team at Top Workplaces honoree First Baptist Dallas

Published

1 day ago

November 4, 2025

Press Room

A ‘shared calling’ unites team at Top Workplaces honoree First Baptist Dallas

Nov. 4, 2025

Updated Nov. 6, 2025 at 8:16 p.m. CST

A four-alarm fire at First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas, destroyed its historic, red-brick sanctuary last year, and reconstruction of the edifice won’t be completed until Easter 2028. In the meantime, the destruction has taught the nonprofit institution a lot about its workplace as it has navigated the crisis.

Staff members were “scattered” after the fire, and as of August, permanent power still hadn’t been restored to the church offices, said Ben Lovvorn, First Baptist’s senior executive pastor. So, keeping everyone updated and encouraged during the rebuilding effort has been a priority.

“We’ve been very purposeful about communicating with our staff — and our congregation — so that they know and understand what’s going on, and that they are a part of the process,” he said. “At other organizations, this situation would lead to tremendous turnover, but our entire team has stayed intact. That [in turn] has provided consistency and encouragement to our 16,000 church members.

“Another lesson we’ve learned is making sure you have the right people in place so you’re able to handle a crisis like this,” he continued. “Finding those right people — and getting them in the right seats on the bus — is key to tackling whatever obstacles you’re presented with along the way.”

Fortunately, First Baptist has had those team members in place for a while. That’s because the staff has a biblically based, “shared faith and shared calling” that gives their work purpose, Lovvorn said. “Whether they’re a minister or work in our accounting department or in the facilities department, they’re part of something greater.”

That greater meaning is emphasized regularly, whether through monthly all-staff leadership luncheons — they brought in Babe’s Chicken for the one in August — or at “staff chapel,” where workers step away from the daily grind and pray together. Throughout its more than 155 years in downtown Dallas, “there have been good times and difficult times” for First Baptist, Lovvorn said. “But God has always been faithful in providing for us and seeing us through every season.”

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Dallas, TX

Dallas Stars to host NHL’s 2027 Stadium Series game at AT&T Stadium

Published

2 days ago

November 3, 2025

Press Room

Dallas Stars to host NHL’s 2027 Stadium Series game at AT&T Stadium

The NHL is heading to Jerry World to see if outdoor hockey can get even bigger in Texas.

The Dallas Stars will host the 2027 Stadium Series game at AT&T Stadium on Feb. 20 of that year against an opponent to be named at a later date. The announcement was made Monday night before the Dallas Cowboys hosted the Arizona Cardinals.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to be having a game here hosted by the Dallas Stars in this amazing, amazing stadium,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told ESPN, seated alongside Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on the sidelines.

The smashing success of the 2020 Winter Classic prompted the NHL to bring another outdoor game back to Texas. The Stars defeated the Nashville Predators 4-2 in front of 85,630 fans at the Cotton Bowl in that event – the third-largest crowd ever to take in an NHL game.

The league record is the 105,491 fans the NHL drew for the 2014 Winter Classic between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The capacity at AT&T Stadium could exceed 100,000 fans depending on ticket demand and how much of the venue’s standing areas are used.

“Five years ago, the 2020 NHL Winter Classic was a celebration of the growth and success of hockey in the Lone Star State, which was the third-highest attended outdoor game in league history,” said Stars owner Tom Gagliardi. “We have no doubt that our upcoming Stadium Series game will be met with the same enthusiasm and passion from our fan base.”

The Stars are coming off three consecutive trips to the Western Conference Final and are off to a 6-3-3 start this season.

While the opponent for the Stadium Series game hasn’t yet been confirmed, Bettman hinted it could be a Central Division rival.

“I’m not prepared to tell you who the opponent is yet,” Bettman told reporters Monday. “It’ll be appropriate, it’ll be good. It’ll be a team that the fans will have an interest in seeing the Stars play.

“We’ll announce that at a later date.”

The Stadium Series game is scheduled to be broadcast on ABC in prime time.

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