Dallas, TX
Letters to the Editor — State Fair, Dallas Mavs, religious freedom, CBS, school funding
Lower State Fair prices
Re: “Ending on a down note — Officials say ICE fears, weather may have hurt attendance,” Thursday news story.
I took my 5-year-old granddaughter to the State Fair of Texas this year and was appalled at the cost of rides on the midway. One kiddie ride was $6, multiply that by three kids and it’s $18 for one ride. Families cannot afford to attend. Plus, what child is satisfied with one ride?
The State Fair of Texas must do better if they want to serve our middle-class population.
Theresa Francis, Dallas
Park free for Minnesota fair
As a former Texan for 60-plus years who recently moved to Minnesota to be closer to our immediate family, I’d like to offer how the state fair here in Minnesota helps residents afford attending.
The fair is open only two weeks but offers free parking and transportation from over 15 locations in the Twin Cities. Local churches and other nonprofits staff and get paid to allow residents to park free and board free buses for transportation to the fair. Buses leave every 15 to 20 minutes. Returning home is just a matter of boarding a bus.
Our local church staffed our parking lot from 8 a.m. to midnight. We received around $6,000 from the fair. A win for our church and fairgoers.
Jon Johnston, St. Paul, Minn.
Put Mavs’ home in Fair Park
As someone who’s grown up in the city of Dallas, I’ve been a lifelong Mavs fan and currently have season tickets. Similar to other Dallasites, the State Fair has been another constant presence in the city. It’s been challenging to see the struggles Fair Park has experienced as a pillar of the city’s history and culture.
I can’t help but notice the significant amount of similarities between what the Mavs are looking for in a new arena site and “entertainment district,” and what Fair Park has been desperately needing for years.
With seemingly ample space for all the needs and opportunities of Fair Park that have been highlighted by The Dallas Morning News’ recent stories covering it, I’ve been surprised Fair Park hasn’t been raised as a legitimate contender as a potential choice for the Mavs.
I’m sure the complexities of such a development are immense, and buy-in from the community is paramount, but I can’t think of a more Dallas site for the Mavericks than Fair Park.
Bobby Ladtkow, East Dallas
Center fights religious persecution
Re: “Baptist confab seeks to inspire action — Religious persecution is a worldwide problem; what can we do from Dallas?” by Randel Everett and Knox Thames, Oct. 19 Opinion.
The work of the Center for Global Religious Freedom is extremely important, and I support it wholeheartedly. While the persecution of Christians around the world is real, it can overshadow the suffering of people of other religions in their home countries.
The center is right to have the attitude that Christians are not really free if their non-Christian neighbors are not. In India, the non-Hindu minority religions of Islam, Christianity, Sikhism and others are harshly persecuted, causing loss of places of worship, mob violence and death. Some Hindus oppose this treatment. The persecutors are not free if they maintain the “superiority” of their religion by force. They are slaves to violence and religious hatred.
To work for the religious freedom of all, not just those of our own religion, is what loving our neighbor is all about. In the United States, Indian Americans are working together, regardless of their religion, to educate and end religious persecution in India, as neighbors.
Paula W. Keeth, southeast Dallas
Opening journalism’s doors
Re: “Is new CBS News boss a counterbalance or a thumb on the scales?” by John McCaa, Oct. 19 Opinion.
Hope rises again! I’ve been a supporter of the Free Press since its beginning and can report that the style and content Bari Weiss provides is not only refreshing in the topics covered, but liberating in its openness.
Weiss, through the Free Press, has also hosted several debates on burning cultural issues in major cities, including Dallas.
Hopefully CBS will be open to free thinkers and will open wide the doors of journalism and reporting. If it does, every Fourth Estate outlet worth its salt should take notice and follow suit.
There is wisdom in the totality of wide-ranging public opinion. Media should listen and learn.
Betsy Whitfill, Dallas/Lakewood
Prop 16 on IDs not needed
Regarding Proposition 16, Texas already has voter ID requirements. What would an additional law do to ensure the voter is a lawful voter when: the minimum requirements to vote in person in Texas are to present one of the following forms of photo ID: Texas driver’s license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety, a Texas election identification certificate issued by DPS or a Texas personal identification card issued by DPS?
Steven Chavez, Dickinson, N.D.
Fund by school enrollment
It’s time to rethink how Texas funds its schools. Right now, school districts are funded based on average daily attendance rather than total enrollment. This system unfairly penalizes schools for factors often beyond their control — illness, transportation challenges, family hardships and more.
Attendance-based funding disproportionately impacts districts serving lower-income families, where absences are often tied to health, housing instability or caregiving responsibilities. Schools with higher needs should receive more support, not less.
Switching to an enrollment-based funding model would create stability, allow districts to plan effectively and better serve students. Texas children deserve a fully funded education regardless of whether they are present every single day. Punishing schools for absences only widens inequities and shortchanges the very students who need help most.
Lawmakers should act now to ensure that every school has the resources to educate every child — attendance should never dictate opportunity.
Kate Baltau, Frisco
Dallas, TX
New video of Lake Dallas explosion draws focus on order decades ago to remove old plastic pipes
The search for the next general manager or president of basketball operations of the Dallas Mavericks has begun. They terminated Nico Harrison in November, which was about nine months too late, and gave any available candidates clear notice that they were open for business.
The plan was always to wait until after the season to start the search. While names popped up as the season reached an end, they didn’t begin turning over the staff until the Monday after the season ended. However, Dallas Mavericks fans are not going to like how the team is going about the search.
Patrick Dumont Leading Search for General Manager
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Mavericks are not hiring a search firm in their hunt for a new lead executive. Instead, team governor Patrick Dumont is “acting as his own point person.”
This is an… interesting decision, to say the least. Dumont is not a basketball person whatsoever, and most organizations usually hire a search firm. The Chicago Bulls hired one as they look for their replacement for Arturas Karnisovas. Just because a firm is hired doesn’t mean a team will listen, though.
The Mavericks hired a firm in their last search for a GM. They let Donnie Nelson go in 2021 after a long tenure with the Mavs. Instead of listening to the firm, though, Mark Cuban ignored it to hire Nico Harrison, who had no previous NBA front office experience. Harrison had been an executive with Nike, which gave him connections with players like Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and plenty of others.
For a while, that seemed to be working out okay. While he still had some questionable transactions, such as trading for Christian Wood and letting Jalen Brunson walk in free agency, they were still able to make a run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Then, he blew it all up, trading away Luka Doncic for an older and injured Anthony Davis, and the team hasn’t been the same since.
It’s imperative that the Mavericks get this hire correct. The interim Co-GM setup with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley has performed admirably, but the 2026 NBA Draft is important for the Mavs to get right. It’s their best chance to pair Cooper Flagg with another young star, as they don’t own their first-round pick again until 2031 after this.
Hiring the right GM could help bring in more draft capital by bringing in bad contracts or flipping veterans into picks.
Dumont was able to convince Rick Welts, a Hall of Famer, to come out of retirement to be the CEO and lead the charge for a new arena. Maybe Dumont pulls another rabbit out of his hat for the GM.
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For a moment, it looked like FC Dallas was on its way to another statement win at home tonight.
Petar Musa scored two first half goals, to extend his Golden Boot leading tally to nine goals. But after Dallas grabbed control, the Galaxy found a way back before halftime with goals from Lucas Sanabria and Joseph Paintsil.
The second half brought more chances and more frustration for Dallas, which finished the night with 13 shots to LA’s nine. In the end, the point stretched Dallas’ unbeaten run to five games, though just like last week, it felt like another match where Dallas left points on the table.
Key Moments
7’ – GOAL! After a poor pass back by a LA defender, Petar Musa was free to go one-on-one with the LA goalkeeper. After a touch to get ahead of a defender, Musa slotted home his eighth goal of the season from outside the penalty box.
21’ – Offside! Joaquin Valiente sent a floating ball over the Galaxy defense, where Musa was able to get behind the defense and make an easy play for what appeared to be his second goal of the night. The play was called offside despite a fairly lengthy review period.
38’ – GOAL! This one counts! Musa gets his second of the night off a great ball from Chris Cappis. Logan Farrington picked off the ball in the midfield. He then played Cappis wide to the left of the penalty area. Cappis immediately played a ball back across the goal for Musa to slide in and finish for his ninth of the season.
43’ – Goal LA. Lucas Sanabria got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He took a couple of touches to get outside the penalty box before firing a shot that beat Michael Collodi at the near post.
45+4’ – Goal LA. Gabriel Pec got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He pulled the ball back a bit, which caught a pair of Dallas defenders. This allowed Joseph Painstil to get free behind the Dallas defense as Pec played him through inside the penalty area. Pec immediately smashed home a shot above Collodi to tie the game.
75’ – Another offside goal. This time on a corner kick for Dallas, after a scrum in the penalty box, Kaick hammered home what looked to be the go-ahead goal. But after a few seconds the flag was raised due to a deflection on Osaze Urhoghide, who was in an offside position.
Instant Reaction
Yeah, this is another disappointing result for this team. In a real way, it felt like the first half against Houston from last month. Dallas grabbed the lead, looked in control, but some defensive miscues opened the game up for the visitors to climb back.
With a double-game week coming up, this will certainly be another game where Dallas will wonder ‘what if’ more than anything else…especially when you factor in the two goals called off for offside.
About the Subs
Eric Quill went to his bench for the first time in the 66th minute, as he brought on Santiago Moreno for Logan Farrington. Quill went to his bench again 81st minute with Ran Binyamin and Nolan Norris coming on for Sebastien Ibeagha and Deedson. The final sub came during stoppage time with Herman Johansson and Joaquin Valiente coming off for Sam Sarver and rookie Nick Simmonds, who made his MLS debut.
Man of the Match
No question about it tonight, it has to be Musa.
Where does this fit into the season
As of this writing, the draw puts Dallas into a three-way tie for 5th place with Real Salt Lake and Seattle. Both are in action right now and look firmly in control of their games. I’d expect Dallas to be in 7th place by the end of the night.
What’s next for FC Dallas
Dallas wraps up a three-game homestand next Wednesday night as they host Minnesota United.
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