As climate change exacerbates extreme heat, organizations across the city are looking for solutions to mitigate its effects. Advocates say a relationship of trust with the community needs to be built for these solutions to be effective.
Dallas, TX
Texas Trees a five-year plan to make South Dallas more green
Anamelia Jaramillo has lived in Jubilee Park for almost 20 years and is concerned about the heat getting worse every summer.
She fears her air conditioning system failing because her husband has diabetes and can be vulnerable to extreme heat.
“I wish we didn’t have to have the A/C running all day long, but it is impossible to survive in the summer without it,” said Jaramillo, 54, after attending a Zumba class at Jubilee Park on Nov. 11.
In 2023, more than 20 people died in Dallas and Tarrant counties from heat-related illnesses as Texas saw record heat waves and triple-digit temperatures, according to the counties’ medical examiners. The lack of trees and green spaces, such as community gardens and parks, in an urban area contributes significantly to the ‘urban heat island effect,’ as buildings, roads, and other hard surfaces absorb and retain more heat.
Dallas’ District 7, where most of the neighborhoods participating in the South Dallas Greening Initiative are located, was ranked the third-highest priority for tree canopy, according to the Dallas Tree Equity Mapping Report published in 2022 by the Texas Trees Foundation.
Districts 4 and 6 ranked as the first and second highest priority for tree canopy, and the organization has been deploying some of their programs to plant more trees in these areas. Early this year, the Texas Trees Foundation released its plan to tackle the lack of trees in the Southwestern Medical District as part of its initiatives to combat the urban heat island effect.
Texas Trees, through the South Dallas Greening Initiative, also is working in the Jubilee neighborhood to address the area’s lack of trees to combat the extreme heat affecting residents’ health and quality of life. The nonprofit is providing thousands of trees to the almost 50,000 residents of Fair Park, Mill City, Queen City, Wheatley Place and adjacent neighborhoods over five years. Jubilee Park is just below Interstate 30 and north of Fair Park.
Chandler Stephens’ father, Calvin W. Stephens, has owned two vacant lots in South Dallas since the 1980s. The younger Stephens has been talking with the nonprofit Texas Trees about working together on his vision to create a community garden.
Stephens dreams of having a green space in every corner of South Dallas to improve residents’ quality of life.
“I can see [the initiative] as something that will prolong the community’s livelihood. Not only with addressing the urban heat island issue but just by providing greenery,” Stephens said. “Plants and our health is so linked to the health of the earth and the planet.”
The Dallas Comprehensive Environmental Climate Action Plan established protocols for adapting to climate change challenges in 2020. It states that Dallas needs approximately 735,000 trees to reach a goal of 37% tree canopy cover and, specifically, mitigate the urban heat island effect.
Since Its founding in 1982, Texas Trees has planted an estimated 1.5 million trees across the Dallas-Fort Worth region. In 2023, the Dallas-based nonprofit secured a $15 million grant from the Reduction Act through the U.S. Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry program for the South Dallas Greening Initiative.
The project, however, is part of a long-term solution to extreme heat, and many of Jubilee’s residents want to see more.
“I am in favor of the initiative and for them to plant more trees in the area, but we also need help with how to pay the electricity bills,” Jaramillo said.
In any community, including South Dallas, trees may not be at the top of each resident’s list of the needs they see for their community, said Elissa Izmailyan, chief strategy and operations officer with Texas Trees.
“We are showing up with a commitment to help and the ability to offer trees and urban forestry education but realize that we’re entering a landscape where there are a lot of other needs and priorities,” Izmailyan said.
“So first, we need to be sensitive to that broad range of priorities and capacities. Second, we need to think about how our offering intersects with other needs in a way that’s additive.”
The project will have several components beyond planting trees in the community, Izmailyan said.
The first phase has been to reach out to the community and work with nonprofits and organizations in South Dallas to establish a trusting relationship and understand the community’s needs and wants.
That’s where partnerships with local organizations come into play, as well as involvement with community leaders.
The Jubilee Park and Community Center is a nonprofit that works to restore equity and resources for the 3,000 residents of the Jubilee neighborhood. The community center has been around for almost 30 years and offers education, health, food access and after-school programs.
Emily Plauche, Texas Trees’ community greening manager, said the initiative includes an educational component that teaches residents about trees, their benefits, how to care for them, green jobs, and other measures that can be taken to combat extreme heat.
“So there’s always going to be other needs or things that arise, too, and we can’t necessarily, with our money, purchase that. But we can help advocate and get the city involved and bring other people to the table who have some of these potential solutions,” Plauche said. “We are deeply committed to the well being of the community.”
Texas Trees will work with some of the area’s schools to boost green spaces and tree planting on the campuses. The organization already runs a program across the city focusing on schools needing more canopy.
907 Bank Street in Dallas on November 11, 2024.(Steve Hamm / Special Contributor)
Marissa Castro Mikoy, president and chief executive officer at Jubilee Park, said over the years, Texas Trees has helped plant over 150 trees on their campus, and they can see the benefits to the community, from providing shade to beautifying the park.
Benefits of trees
In April, Dallas shared findings from a study that identified at least 10 neighborhoods as ‘urban heat island spots.’ Some of these spots have less green space, and the temperature is 10 degrees hotter in these areas than in other parts of the city.
Trees can help reduce the urban heat island effect and improve people’s and the environment’s health in several ways.
They provide shade and block incoming solar radiation, lowering temperatures by several degrees. They also release water vapor, which can help cool temperatures. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, trees sequester carbon from the atmosphere in their wood and roots, absorb gases and provide a place for harmful air particles to land.
At the same time, according to the U.S. Forest Service, trees provide mental health benefits such as stress reduction, improved mood, and a sense of well-being due to increased exposure to nature.
Cities across the country and the world have documented the long-term effects of planting trees strategically in urban areas.
In Chicago, Illinois, according to studies, neighborhoods with higher tree canopy cover have experienced temperature reductions of up to 2.7–3.8°C compared to areas with little or no tree canopy.
Similarly, in Medellin, Colombia, temperatures fell by 2°C in the first three years of their program installing green corridors, and officials expect a further decrease of 4 to 5C over the next few decades, even taking into account climate change, the Secretary of Environment of Medellin reported.
Limitations
Trees are one solution that can help residents in South Dallas combat extreme heat, but Castro Mikoy said the initiative needs to be combined with other solutions to the area’s problems.
Displacement, making ends meet, and food insecurity are some issues facing South Dallas residents that make heat waves even more damaging for them.
Silvia Herrera, 48, a Jubilee resident, avoids turning on lights and household appliances during the day in the summer to keep her home cooler and reduce her electricity bills. She said her bill is around $500 in the peak summer months.
“You have to make decisions such as when you turn on the A/C and what things to avoid to spend less energy so the bill [electricity] is not too high because then I can’t pay for it,” Herrera said.
Planting trees and having the ecosystem to purchase, transport, and maintain them can also be expensive. The South Dallas Greening Initiative was able to come to life because of the grant Texas Trees secured. Not all cities or organizations can afford this type of solution, which is a limitation to replicating this program everywhere.
Community First
Through the five-year plan, Brittani Hite, strategic director of Ethos Equity Consulting, which is working with Texas Trees on the initiative, said there should be no surprises for the residents.
The project is for the community and by the community, said Hite.
“We understand that the solutions are already within the community,” Hite said. “South Dallas residents know what they want. They know what they need, but because of environmental and ultimately systemic racism, unfortunately, we lack green spaces, trees and other basic necessities in our city’s Black and brown neighborhoods.”
From Hite’s perspective, the conversations of the Jubilee moms after the Zumba classes to Stephen’s dream of having community gardens that work with the wants and needs of the South Dallas community will have an impact on finding the right solution.
María Ramos Pacheco wrote this story as part of a climate solutions fellowship with the Solutions Journalism Network. Did you know that what you just read was a solutions journalism story? It didn’t just examine a problem; it scrutinized a response. By presenting evidence of who is making progress, we remove any excuse that a problem is intractable.
DALLAS – The warm and muggy weather will give way to much cooler temperatures in the Dallas-Fort Worth area over the next few days.
Thursday Forecast
According to the FOX 4 Weather team, rain chances return on Thursday as a disturbance moves through the Plains.
The best chance for showers and storms will be north of Interstate 20. There’s a marginal risk for severe storms for the areas northwest of DFW and along the Red River.
A southwest wind will also keep things very warm throughout the day. Expect highs to climb into the upper 70s to 80s. Wind gusts may reach as high as 25 to 30 mph.
Weekend Forecast
The next cold front swings through on Friday afternoon. Ahead of it, there are rain chances, especially southeast of DFW.
Behind this front, noticeably colder air moves in for the weekend. Expect lows in the 30s and afternoon highs in the 50s.
7-Day Forecast
A slow warm-up is expected heading into early next week.
The Source: The information in this story comes from FOX 4 Weather Meteorologist Ali Turiano’s weather report.
Justin Sourdif gave Capitals fans one of the most fun individual efforts of the season, recording five points and scoring his first career hat trick against the Anaheim Ducks on Monday. Sourdif had fantastic chemistry with Connor McMichael and Ryan Leonard in their first game together.
Now the question becomes – Can the Young Guns 2.0 keep it up against a usually-stingy, defensively stout Dallas Stars team?
With Tom Wilson and Aliaksei Protas out again due to injury, Brett Leason will make his season debut with the Capitals. Meanwhile, Dylan McIlrath will remain in the lineup.
The Stars come into on a six-game losing streak. Casey DeSmith will start in goal over Jake Oettinger while the Capitals will counter with Logan Thompson.
Puck drop for today’s game is scheduled for a little after 7:00 pm. The game’s national and on TNT.
I’m dedicating my work tonight to Callie. I love you, my sweet girl. 💔
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More Info
Lines
Washington Capitals
Beauvillier
Strome
Ovechkin
McMichael
Sourdif
Leonard
Dallas Stars
Duchene
Johnston
Rantanen
Tunnel shenanigans
1st Period
Puck is dropped. McMichael-Sourdif-Leonard and Fehervary-Carlson get the start.
Ilya Lyubushkin to the box for holding Jakob Chychrun at 2:44.
Stars’ Radek Faska goes 1 on 3 shorthanded and scores after Logan Thompson loses sight of a rebound. WHAT WAS THAT.
🚨
1-0 Dallas Stars
SHG: Radek Faksa (2). Assists: E. Lindell (14). Time: 3:06
Back to the power play and… Justin Sourdif gets tossed from the faceoff dot, starts screaming at the official, Connor McMichael comes in, says something, and he gets an unsportsmanlike doncut penalty, killing the rest of the team’s power play. You can tell Carbery is fuming.
The two teams are now playing four-on-four.
Puck bounces over Dylan Strome’s stick on a wide-open net down low after a great setup by John Carlson.
Stars are outshooting the Capitals 5-0, 5:30 into the first period.
Apparently Beck Malenstyn has returned to the Capitals because one of the commentators said he just made a play. Lmao. No one on the Capitals even wears no. 47.
Sam Steel ailing and holding his left arm after a big hit by Ethen Frank.
At intermission: The Stars lead 1-0. The Caps didn’t really do anything in the first period. They were there. They existed. But that was about it. Shots on goal are 10-8 Dallas.
2nd Period
Puck is dropped.
Ilya Lyubushkin and Brandon Duhaime throwing punches at each other after the play at 1:12. Lyubushkin is going down the tunnel due to a cut on his nose.
John Carlson… just watching a pass through the paint to his man, no stick lift or anything, just chillin.
🚨
2-0 Dallas Stars
Goal: Sam Steel (7). Assists: T. Harley (14), M. Duchene (6). Time: 2:37
Ryan Leonard fakes a dump-in and almost scores with a crazy shot to the far side from center ice.
Brandon Duhaime and Ilya Lyubushkin drop the gloves right off a faceoff at 12:53. Duhaime punches Lyubushkin about 5 times hard in the back of the helmet. Hope his knuckles are doing okay. The Caps crowd is finally into it, though.
Logan Thompson stops Roope Hintz on a two-on-none breakaway after Nic Dowd fails to get the puck deep. Caps look awful.
Mikko Rantanen slashes Justin Sourdif at 15:55. Caps going back to the power play.
At intermission: The Stars lead 2-0. Dallas leads in shots on goal 20 to 13.
3rd Period
Puck is dropped.
Anthony Beauvillier takes it hard to the net, and gets two opportunities but can’t whack the puck through.
Nic Dowd to the box for hooking at 4:57. The Caps look awful. Just listless. Can’t get anything going. A lot of standing around.
4 shots by the Stars on the power play. Thompson keeping the Caps close.
McMichael ices the puck at the end of the kill.
Caps have one shot on goal through the first 7:03 of the third period.
Jason Robertson rips one hard off the post. Thompson is flopping all over the place to keep the puck out.
McMichael and Duchene trade opportunities down the wing off the rush.
Beauvillier sends a horrible pass backwards to Matt Roy in the defensive zone, turnover to the Stars’ Steel, and Wyatt Johnston scores easily in front of the net. YIKES.
🚨
3-0 Dallas Stars
Goal: Wyatt Johnston (24). Assists: S. Steel (9). Time: 2:37
Caps pull Thompson with 2:26 remaining. Why not?
Alex Ovechkin scores his 915th career goal via a one-timer at the top of the left circle.
🚨
3-1 Dallas Stars
Goal: Alex Ovechkin (18). Assists: J. Carlson (23), J. Chychrun (17). Time: 17:41
Capitals pull Thompson again.
Timeout Washington with 1:20 remaining.
Comment below. Refresh for live updates during the game. The thread will be closed shortly after the game is completed.
Dallas, TX
Brandon Williams’ game-winning 3-pointer tops Kings, breaks Mavericks’ road losing streak
SACRAMENTO — The Mavericks were shorthanded the last time they fell to the Kings.
That fact remained true Tuesday night without P.J. Washington, but they brought reinforcements back to Sacramento with Anthony Davis and Brandon Williams, a duo that missed the last meeting at Golden 1 Center just 11 days ago.
When the Mavericks needed him most, Williams delivered. He drilled the go-ahead 3-pointer with 33.3 seconds left to help the Mavericks to a 100-98 win in front of a national audience.
“Just shot it with confidence,” Williams said. “I could kinda see it in Cooper’s eyes that he was gonna get off of it so I just had to be ready to shoot. Regardless of what my percentage says, I’m always ready to shoot.”
The Kings had three chances to take the lead following Williams’ clutch triple, but Dennis Schröder and Russell Westbrook went cold and missed 3-pointers. Sacramento regained hope when Naji Marshall missed a pair of free throws with eight seconds left, but DeMar DeRozan couldn’t convert on a running triple at the final buzzer.
It appeared as if rookie Cooper Flagg would be the one to save the day once he connected on a turnaround bank shot, but DeRozan temporarily stole the moment away from the Mavericks rookie by drilling a contested midrange jumper over the outstretched hands of Marshall.
The shot appeared to be the one for Sacramento to sandwich a five-game losing streak with another rare win. However, Williams’ shot proved to be the difference maker and the Mavericks escaped with their first road win since Dec. 1.
Williams entered the night shooting a career-worst 18.8% from beyond the arc. He only had three conversions out of his last 18 3-point attempts since Dec. 18, but he was relieved once he saw the ball snap through the net on his final attempt of the night.
“It’s been a minute since I hit a 3,” Williams said. “It kind of felt good for the ball to go in. It was like 30 seconds left so we had to finish the game out for me to really feel good.”
Dallas trailed by as many as 12 points, but rallied after halftime to force their 28th clutch game thanks to its 30-point third quarter.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd pointed to turnovers and the Kings’ shotmaking ability as primary reasons why his team suffered a 113-107 loss on Dec. 27. It was a game that marked the Kings’ last victory, which was followed by six straight losses.
Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) yells back towards a group of fans after the Mavericks win over the Sacramento Kings in an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Sacramento, Calif.
Scott Marshall / AP
It appeared to be the same story for Tuesday’s defeat as Dallas coughed the ball up 17 times, which led to 19 points for Sacramento.
The Kings (8-29), who sit at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, aren’t the best team but for some reason they have the Mavericks’ number through the first two meetings of the season. Sacramento will visit American Airlines Center for the season finale on Feb. 26.
Tuesday marked the first of a three-game road trip for the Mavericks, who snapped their seven-game losing streak in opposing arenas.
The Mavericks were led by Flagg, who played through an injury scare and finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Davis added 19 points and 16 rebounds. Williams added 18 points off the bench, but none were more important than his rare triple that gave the Mavericks the edge for good.
Flagg, who’s already one game shy of the 37 he played as a freshman at Duke, has been quite durable despite minor bumps and bruises throughout the season. That appeared to be in jeopardy in the third quarter when his left knee collided with the left knee of Kings forward Precious Achiuwa.
Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg lays on the court after suffering an injury to his knee against the Sacramento Kings during the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Sacramento, Calif.
Scott Marshall / AP
After going through a series of tests to assess the strength of his knee, Flagg returned to the game, which was the best case scenario for a Mavericks roster who’ve had more than their fair share of injuries this season. Washington missed Tuesday’s game with a right ankle sprain suffered in Saturday’s win over Houston. Flagg said his knee was a little swollen, but assured that “it’ll be alright.”
Davis provided a much-needed boost on the boards along with Daniel Gafford, who finished with a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds. Davis has seen his fair share of shooting struggles so he’s familiar with what Williams is going through this season, but he said a game-winner is a confidence booster.
“That’s when you find it,” Davis said. “Those are the shots that lead to carryover shooting and carry over confidence for the rest of the season, so even if he was lacking confidence, which we know that he doesn’t, plays like that…you find confidence in plays like that.”
The Mavericks will look to build on their momentum Thursday against the Utah Jazz. Williams also missed the last loss to the Jazz on Dec. 15, so he’s looking forward for the opportunity to avenge that loss as well.
On Twitter/X: @MikeACurtis2
Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
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