Dallas, TX
Major changes may be headed for Dallas trash collection

DALLAS — The way that trash is collected in Dallas could be undergoing a major change. City leaders are considering phasing out alley pickups in favor of curbside.
For around 100,000 Dallas homes, trash day means hauling bags into bins in their alley for pickup. But city leaders say it’s a practice that can be dangerous and costly. A proposed change would transition more collection from the alley to the curb.
Dallas alleys vary in length and condition. Some are only 8 feet wide, which makes it difficult, if not impossible, for sanitation trucks to get through.
City officials said the ideal alley width is 10 feet with a 15-foot right-of-way. About half of alleyway pickups are in alleys that are narrower than that.
The city said those alleys pose a danger of injury to sanitation crews and damage to city vehicles, utilities, and private property. They also said that the operating and labor costs of alley collections are higher than curbside ones.
Neighbors in the Hillcrest Forest community of North Dallas said they understand the concerns, but hope the wider alleys can maintain the status quo.
“I think that the infrastructure in this neighborhood supports the alley pickup,” said resident Debbi Stahl. “The homes here have these super long driveways, things like that, that I think would just be an inconvenience for most of the neighbors.”
“It’s a long pull to the front of the house, and quite often those cans are really heavy,” said resident Mark Pfeifer. “I can do it. But some of the neighbors who live around here are a lot older than I am, so I don’t actually know how they would do without someone else’s help.”
If it’s implemented, the transition to curbside collections would take about two years, starting with the narrowest alleys first.

Dallas, TX
Former Dallas Cowboys starter at position of need signs with Titans

The Dallas Cowboys have plenty of talent at defensive back, but injuries have plagued to position in recent years. All-Pro cornerbacks Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland have struggled to stay on the field at the same time, and Diggs will likely miss the start of the 2025 NFL season after suffering a season-ending knee injury for the second straight year.
Dallas drafted East Carolina star Shavon Revel in the third round of this year’s NFL Draft, but he is also coming off a torn ACL that prematurely ended his college career.
Last season, ball-hawking cornerback Amani Oruwariye got the opportunity to start in six games for the Cowboys because of injuries, and he made the most of it.
MORE: 6 Cowboys players in contract years entering 2025 NFL season
Oruwariye recorded 29 tackles, one interception, and three passes defensed. Unfortunately, he will not be back with Dallas this season.
According to FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz, Oruwariye has agreed to a one-year deal with the Tennessee Titans.
Tennessee also added linebacker Amari Burney off waivers this week, so it is clear the Titans are revamping the defensive roster.
MORE: Dak Prescott disrespect continues, named ‘most tradeable’ NFL QB
Dallas, meanwhile, has had plenty of roster shakeups of their own this offseason, so it is going to be interesting to see how everything plays out throughout the year.
And, in case you were wondering, the Cowboys do not face the Titans in 2025, so there will be no “Oruwariye revenge game.”
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Dallas, TX
US DOJ, John Cornyn starts investigation into Muslim community, Epic, tied to East Plano Center

The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a federal civil rights investigation into a Muslim-centered planned community around one of the state’s largest mosques near Dallas, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said Friday.
Cornyn requested the federal probe of the development last month, citing concerns it could discriminate against Christians and Jews. He announced in a post on X that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi had notified him of the investigation.
The developers of the proposed planned community tied to the East Plano Islamic Center, which has not yet been built, have said they are being bullied because they are Muslim.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment or to confirm Cornyn’s announcement.
A federal probe would further escalate pressure on the proposed EPIC City, which is already facing mounting criticism and multiple investigations from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and other GOP state officials who claim the group is trying to create a Muslim-exclusive community that would impose Islamic law on residents.
Among its chief critics is the state’s hard-right Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is challenging Cornyn for his Senate seat in 2026.
“Religious discrimination and Sharia Law have no home in Texas,” Cornyn, of Texas, wrote in his post on X. “Any violations of federal law must be swiftly prosecuted, and I know under (President Donald Trump’s) administration, they will be.”
Dan Cogdell, an attorney for EPIC City who defended Paxton in his 2023 impeachment trial when he was acquitted by the state Senate, said the developers have “done nothing illegal and we will cooperate fully with all investigations-regardless of how misguided and unnecessary they are.”
The state investigations include whether the development is violating financial and fair housing laws and whether the mosque has conducted illegal funerals.
Cogdell has said none of the investigations would be happening if the community was planned around a church or temple.
The attacks on the project about Islamic law and other claims “are not only completely without merit and totally misleading but they are dangerous as well,” Cogdell said Friday. “These folks are US Citizens, law abiding and Texans.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations in the Dallas area also has criticized the state probes as bullying the Muslim community and a violation of constitutionally protected religious expression.
Plans for the mixed-used development include more than 1,000 homes and apartments, a faith-based school for kindergarten through 12th grade, a community college, assisted living for older residents and athletics fields.
EPIC City would be near the community of Josephine, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Dallas.
Dallas, TX
Dallas-based bookstore leading fight against Texas bill

Dallas-based Half Price Books is helping lead the fight against a bill being considered in Austin.
The bill would allow bookstores to be sued for selling or even displaying harmful material to minors.
Supporters say it’s needed to protect children, but critics call it censorship.
Workers at Half Price Books love reading but reading every book that comes through its doors, President Kathy Doyle Thomas says, is unrealistic.
But that, she says, is what her stores would be expected to do under a bill proposed by Republican State Rep. Nate Schatzline of Fort Worth.
“How do we know in all of these books that we have in all of the stores across the state — We don’t know what’s inappropriate. [They] could be inappropriate in Corpus Christi compared to Dallas, Texas,” explained Doyle Thomas.
HB 1375 would hold bookstores liable for “damages arising from the distribution, transmission, or display of harmful material to a minor.”
Rep. Schatzline told a House committee last month that it provides parents with the option to sue those who expose children to obscene content.
“As lawmakers, we have a duty to protect families and children from exploitation and from the unchecked spread of harmful spread of harmful materials in our communities and online,” said Rep. Schatzline.
Doyle Thomas says titles in the romance, mystery and self-help sections would be at the top of the list of those at risk of being targeted.
“When I saw the bill, I was just frustrated and mad and I thought we have to do something about it,” she said.
In a recent letter to lawmakers, Doyle Thomas wrote that HB 1375 is “a threat to all booksellers” and asked them not to interfere with their ability to do business in what’s seen by critics as the latest chapter in book censorship.
“Someone is trying to decide what I can and can’t read and my children can and can’t read and we do not think that’s fair or appropriate,” said Doyle Thomas.
The bill remains in a House committee.
The Texas legislative session is scheduled to end on June 2.
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