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Re: “Opposing ForwardDallas isn’t racist or snobbish — It’s a zoning policy regardless of what City Hall says,” by Jim Schutze, July 21 Opinion.
I oppose ForwardDallas 2.0 with the same sense of danger this proposal brings to our American and Texan way of life as I did with the presence of short-term rentals in our single-family neighborhoods.
Why must we continue to defend these incursions on the character of life in our neighborhoods? Neighborhoods are America’s home. The backbone of family life. The places of choice to live peacefully, raise our children and retire.
ForwardDallas 2.0 pillages the American idea of home where the conviviality of neighbors, a child’s freedom to roam and the pride in homeownership are weakened for want of higher density. And why, when there are other solutions?
ForwardDallas 2.0 is so ill-suited to fostering family life that the word forward in its title is a misnomer for planning. While the proposal purports to carry Dallas forward, it will destroy enough of our city’s character as to decidedly take us two steps back.
I call on the Dallas City Council to protect our neighborhoods. Protect our Dallas. Vote for an exemption for R-zoned, historic/conservation and planned development districts, and neighborhood stabilization overlays.
Dennis C. D’Amico, Dallas/Caruth Hills
The most important and hard-fought outcome of ForwardDallas is completely missing from much of the media frenzy zeroing in on single-family housing. Downwinders at Risk and front-line neighborhoods have been fighting, negotiating, persuading and winning major environmental justice gains in ForwardDallas since its first soft launch in 2019.
The communities we fight for do not have stable neighborhoods because they are constantly at risk of industrial development as a result of planning efforts undergone in the ‘60s and ‘80s.
Where were the protectors of single-family neighborhoods when Floral Farms was being dumped on leading to Shingle Mountain? What about today as GAF threatens single-family neighborhoods in West Dallas or TAMKO Building Products factory in Joppa?
I wish I saw the same passion from concerned citizens fighting for their neighbors living next to cancerous factories as I’ve seen them fighting against a hypothetical duplex.
ForwardDallas is the first city-led plan that acknowledges this history and provides meaningful recommendations that will move the needle forward. It is not perfect, but planned unit development staff should be commended for making this policy impactful regarding environmental justice.
Evelyn Mayo, Dallas
I was wondering which members of the Dallas City Council and the City Plan Commission reside in a historical district or conservation district and thus would be protected from the provisions of the proposed ForwardDallas initiative.
Further, which members have significant holdings in rental properties that could be extended into currently protected single-family zoned neighborhoods if ForwardDallas guidelines are imposed.
Noble Hetherington, Dallas/Oak Cliff
Re: “Handing developers the keys,” by Anne Stone and “Gatekeepers, protect our city,” by Mike Sundin, July 19 Letters.
These letters seem very concerned with protecting the culture of Dallas by maintaining widespread single-family zoning. Not to be rude, but when people think of Dallas-Fort Worth, they don’t think of culture. Maybe traffic.
Medium- to high-density buildings dominate the world’s great cities. New York, Paris, London, Tokyo and Rome are all not known for their suburbs.
Similarly, skyscrapers surround the cultural centers of Dallas, such as the Bishop Arts District. This is no coincidence. Culture arises when people come together. More people means more culture.
Single-family zoning puts everyone in a separate box to drive their car everywhere. Medium-density mixed-development spaces encourage walkability and intermingling of people while maintaining human-scale architecture.
If that’s not convincing, then consider that single-family zoning requires higher property taxes.
Thomas Urech, Richardson
What a Sunday Opinion section you published July 14. I read about two Russian dissidents now in the U. S., the housing crsis and a respected past Dallas mayor criticizing Joe Biden.
After considerable examination of public policy and economic inequality, I have come to the conclusion that the experts who have identified the housing crisis in America as the No. 1 factor in economic inequality are absolutely correct.
The approaches to correcting the crisis are multiple and varied, but doable. It is not acceptable to have housing eat up 60% or more of one’s wages.
The nation’s No. 1 economic priority must be to lower housing costs for working Americans to the 20% range. It’s doable, not pie in the sky.
Furthermore, much of the anger and desperation experienced by so many will dissipate. Our leaders must make this a priority. They need to educate the public why this is so important and how all of us are part of the solution.
Jerry Frankel, Plano
Re: “Stop hogging the houses, boomers — Millennials don’t stand a chance against empty nesters controlling a third of the market,” by Dallas Cothrum, July 7 Opinion.
It has been alluded to that property taxes are higher if you move and mortgage rates are also higher.
To elaborate, I, too, live in a four-bedroom, two-story house with pool on a creek. I’d love to downsize.
But as a 72-year-old, my taxes in Collin County have been frozen — thank you so much. They are wonderfully low.
Thanks to Gov. Greg Abbott , they are even lower. If I move, I’ll pick up the tax rate of the smaller home whose owner didn’t benefit from the seven years of frozen taxes. I estimate that’s a $300 monthly hit.
Further, while many boomers are mortgage free, I am not. A new mortgage would have a 5.5% rate, compared with my current 3.5% — a further $300 monthly increase. See why I can’t afford to move?
Gary Tutt, McKinney
Dallas Cothrum, you missed the boat on this one. I, for one, would be happy to see a young family in our too-big-for-us house in Lake Highlands. But where would we go?
As a boomer, I am looking for a smaller home, a newer build to reduce maintenance, one story, a lot with trees that still is small enough not to require extensive yard work — all in the city of Dallas.
I’ve been looking on and off for seven years. The problem, as I see it, is a total lack of inventory. Houses being built today are huge and multistory. Who is building houses designed for boomers?
Jenine A. Bucker, Dallas
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
Don Stone, a Dallas civic leader and strong supporter of the arts, died on Sunday. He was 96.
Angela Stone, Don’s youngest child, said her father was one of a kind, a rare mix of sweet and tough.
“He was just the most wonderful man I ever knew, just generous to a fault, smart, charming. He influenced so many people,” she said.
Stone gave widely across North Texas, including $500,000 to endow college scholarships for musically gifted Dallas ISD students. Stone also held leadership positions at several North Texas arts organizations, including the Dallas Public Library, Voices of Change, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Fine Arts Chamber Players, Orchestra of New Spain, the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra, Shakespeare Dallas and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.
“He just believed that all of our lives would be so much poorer without music, art and theater. He said in our country we have the freedom to support whatever we want and that we needed to support the arts so that they would continue to exist,” Stone said.
Stone, a businessman who lived in Turtle Creek, worked for Sanger Harris, which later became Macy’s. He was a 2018 TACA Silver Cup Award honoree for his arts and culture advocacy in North Texas.
Maura Sheffler, president and executive director of The Arts Community Alliance (TACA), said in a statement that Stone’s legacy will continue to inspire the local arts community.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Don Stone, a devoted champion of the arts whose leadership and generosity,” she wrote.
Stone’s wife of over 72 years, Norma, died in June. She was the one who first got her husband involved in the arts, according to their daughter Angela.
Michelle Miller Burns, the DSO’s president and CEO, said the Stones had a profound impact on the DSO.
“It is with such a heavy heart that I received news of Don Stone’s passing earlier this week. Don was a devoted patron, a donor and a board member of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and his leadership and generosity really have helped shape the Dallas symphony across five decades,” she said.
In 1980, Stone served as DSO’s chairman of the Board of Governors and helped launch efforts to raise $80 million for Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center and secure architect I.M. Pei.
In 1997, the Stones launched the Norma and Don Stone New Music Fund and committed $1 million to continuously support new works. Some of the works supported through the fund include this year’s world premiere of Angélica Negrón’s requiem For Everything You Keep Losing. The fund also supported a Grammy award-winning violin concerto by Aaron Jay Kernis co-commissioned with the Seattle Symphony, Toronto Symphony and Melbourne Symphony.
“I think it is rare for a couple who so firmly believes in the future of classical music and creating opportunities for new musical voices to be heard to really put support behind that in a meaningful way to fuel that process, to ensure that it can come to fruition,” Burns said.
She said the DSO will continue the Stones’ legacy by commissioning new works through the Norma and Don Stone New Music Fund.
Stone is survived by his children Michael, Lisa and Angela, six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. The family will have a private funeral.
Arts Access is an arts journalism collaboration powered by The Dallas Morning News and KERA.
This community-funded journalism initiative is funded by the Better Together Fund, Carol & Don Glendenning, City of Dallas OAC, Communities Foundation of Texas, The University of Texas at Dallas, The Dallas Foundation, Eugene McDermott Foundation, James & Gayle Halperin Foundation, Jennifer & Peter Altabef and The Meadows Foundation. The News and KERA retain full editorial control of Arts Access’ journalism.
Where is Cade Cunningham in the MVP conversation?
Following the Pistons’ big win over the Boston Celtics, Omari and Bryce break down the improvements they’ve seen from the franchise star player.
DALLAS — A late comeback attempt fell short for the Detroit Pistons.
They fell to the Dallas Mavericks in overtime, 116-114, after recovering from a third-period 18-point deficit. A dunk by Anthony Davis gave the Mavericks the lead for good with 1:32 to play in overtime.
Cade Cunningham (29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists) missed a short jumper with 7 seconds left that would’ve tied the game at 116, and Jalen Duren (17 points, 13 rebounds) couldn’t convert two offensive rebounds into a tip-in basket. Davis corralled the rebound with 0.9 seconds left, and the Mavericks called timeout.
The Pistons fouled Davis after the inbounds pass with a foul to give. Daniss Jenkins, who scored 11 points after halftime, stole the second inbounds pass with 0.6 seconds left but didn’t have enough time to get a shot off.
The Pistons trailed by 18 points with five minutes to play in the third quarter. Their bench unit was instrumental during a 31-11 run that gave the Pistons the lead again, 99-97, midway through the fourth quarter. They held Dallas to 38.5% shooting and forced nine turnovers in the second half.
No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg gave his Mavericks the lead, 110-109, with under 20 seconds to play with a midrange jumper. Isaiah Stewart was fouled by Davis on the other end with 3.4 seconds left, and he split the trip to the line to tie the game at 110. Klay Thompson missed a floater at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.
Down 86-68 with 4:57 to play in the third quarter, coach J.B. Bickerstaff looked to the end of his bench for a spark. Jenkins, Marcus Sasser and Paul Reed checked into the game for the first time in consecutive order, joining Ron Holland and Javonte Green. The Pistons have a Dallas-centric roster — Holland, Sasser and Jenkins are all from the city, and Cunningham is from nearby Arlington.
They led an 11-3 run to cut the deficit to 10, tallying four steals during the stretch — two for Green and one each for Jenkins and Reed. Cunningham checked in for Green to open the fourth quarter, and the run continued. A 3-pointer from Jenkins, coast-to-coast layup by Holland and midrange jumper from Jenkins extended the run to 21-7, cutting the deficit to 93-89 with under 10 minutes to play.
As he has done several times this season, Jenkins rose to the moment in the final period. An entry pass from Jenkins to Holland created an open layup to slash Dallas’ lead to two, and Jenkins made a layup over three Mavericks defenders to tie the game at 95 with 7:46 remaining and push the Pistons’ run to 27-9.
With 59 seconds left in the fourth, a pair of free throws from Jenkins extended the Pistons’ lead to 3, 109-106. He played 11 minutes and 32 seconds in the final period, second only to Cunningham, and overtime.
The Pistons lost Thompson — their primary defender on Flagg — midway through the second period after an exchange with an official.
With 5:09 remaining before halftime, Thompson tied up Mavericks guard Ryan Nembhard under the rim and was whistled for a foul. Thompson didn’t like the call and got in the ref’s face, and was instantly ejected. NBA rules make it an auto-ejection when a player makes physical contact with an official.
It was a strong start for Thompson prior to the ejection, as he had eight points, two assists, two rebounds and a steal in nine minutes of play. Stewart entered for him in the second quarter.
In all, it was a rough night for the Pistons regarding the officials. Cunningham was whistled for a tech late in the second quarter after disagreeing with a call, and Bickerstaff was whistled for a tech during halftime after arguing with an official.
With 11:08 to play in the third quarter, Robinson suffered a knee-to-knee collision with Mavericks wing Naji Marshall. Robinson limped off of the floor and was initially ruled “questionable” to return until he was downgraded to “out” in the final period.
Robinson finished with two points and two rebounds, shooting 1-for-7 overall and 0-for-5 from 3. He missed two games in early December with a right ankle sprain.
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PHILADELPHIA – It was evident in July and August that Dallas Goedert was going to be a big part of the Eagles’ offense in the red zone. It felt that way most summers, but this time, with first-year offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo in place, the Eagles are dialing up plays for the tight end.
“I think when I get a ball in my hand down there, I’m tough to tackle, I can find my way in, fight my way in,” said Goedert. “It’s just that our red-zone philosophy has changed a bit. We used to run a lot, a lot of quarterback sneaks, things like that down there. We’ve tried to find ways to get me the ball, which is really cool, and I’m gonna keep trying to make them work.”
So far, Goedert has nine touchdown catches. According to NFL Research, five of his touchdowns were thrown behind the line of scrimmage this season, the most by a non-running back in the Next Gen era.
“He’s such a physical guy,” said Patullo. “His determination to just get yards and have an impact on anything, whether it’s in the pass game, whether it’s gadgets, whatever it may be. He’s really dynamic with the ball in his hands. So anytime you can get the ball in his hands, obviously, that’s what we’re going to try to do.”
However, the touchdown math didn’t add up for Goedert. He thought eight was the magic number to break the record for most TD catches by a tight end in franchise history, owned by Pete Retzlaff, but Retzlaff had 10 in 1965, meaning Goedert needs one more to break that dusty, 60-year-old mark.
“I thought it was eight, but I was wrong, so I thought I already had it,” he said.
Reminded that he would have had it already had he not dropped a wide-open throw to him in the end zone on Sunday, which would have given him a career-high three in one game, he winced, then answered.
“Yeah, scars right there,” he said. “That one hurts.”
With three games left, and with his heavy involvement in the red zone, it is reasonable to expect that the record will at least be tied, perhaps even broken.
“It’s pretty cool,” he said. “Anytime you can break a record, obviously things are going well for you. Obviously, winning is the most important thing and I want to do whatever I can to help win. If they’re giving me the ball down there, I’m gonna try to score. It would be a cool thing to have.”
Goedert’s production in the low red zone is a reason the Eagles lead the NFL in red-zone success, converting close to 70 percent of their trips (25-for-36) inside the 20 into touchdowns. The tight end has nine of those 25 red-zone TDs.
“We’ve had different things for me in the red zone throughout my career here, a lot of them just haven’t got called,” said Goedert. “Once they started calling them, I tried to make sure they worked so they could keep designing and calling other ones. Any time you go in the huddle and hear that play, knowing you have the opportunity to get in the end zone, it gets you kind of excited, for sure.”
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