As long as we’re campaigning

Re: “Vote for the candidate, not the party — I’m a Democrat who’s voting for a Republican, because he’s the best for the job,” by Sam Eppler, Thursday Opinion.

In Eppler’s column, he picked the wrong race to use as an example of picking individuals over parties. Dallas College Trustee Catalina Garcia, the incumbent, is the better and more experienced candidate.

Eppler tells us to vote for individuals over parties. However, individuals are not elected to represent their own interests; rather, individuals are elected to represent their constituents. In the Dallas College trustee race, we must look at who is best for the community.

Garcia has extensive experience working with higher education. Her opponent is a Dallas ISD trustee. Garcia has worked with higher education policies, college students and college faculty. He has not.

For years, Garcia has supported her alma mater, UT Southwestern Medical School, advising them on diversity matters and helping them with recruitment of qualified medical students. She has mentored numerous students through college, and she has participated in countless Career Days throughout the community, encouraging students to continue their education.

Garcia is a co-founder and former officer of most every major women’s organization and Hispanic organization in our community. She has the record, the experience and the community commitment to do the job.

Carol Donovan, Dallas/Lakewood

Distressing lack of details

Re: “Prop G could fire up growth — $72.3 million initiative would give city the tools to lure economic development,” April 25 news story.

Proposition G requests $72 million for “growth and development” in Dallas. The word “could” appears in this story 10 times with respect to what the $72 million “could” provide.

“Could” is defined in the Cambridge dictionary as being “used to express possibility, especially slight or uncertain possibility.” Is it irresponsible to request $72 million without concrete details, uses and benefits of expenditures? How did anyone decide that $72 million was the amount needed without those details?

The story also states that there is no list of projects that are “shovel-ready” and “it’s hard to predict when it’s going to actually result in shovels in the dirt.” The phrase “a couple of years down the road” does not inspire confidence, does it?

When compared to the detailed lists of improvements and renovations in Propositions A, B, D, F, and J, perhaps it would be wise to regroup and request $72 million when citizens are aware of more specifics as to how the money will be used to “fire up growth.”

And thank you, Cara Mendelsohn (April 14 opinion column), for your insights on bonds, debt, interest and taxes. It certainly presented food for thought.

Cheryl Ann Ballou, North Dallas

Was this an official trip?

I was shocked but not surprised to see on the news Attorney General Ken Paxton sitting in the row behind former President Donald Trump at his criminal trial. I was not aware that New York City is part of our Lone Star State. And I’m sure our taxes are covering all the expenses in this trip to the far northeast tip of Texas. Will this nonsense ever stop?

John Wyckoff, Palmer

Problematic pairing

It was sad to see, on Tuesday’s front page, a story about campus protests with a photo of protesters being pepper-sprayed next to a story about Gov. Greg Abbott saying to ignore a law. The two are different, but the law is still the law.

One is students doing what students have always done: protest. The other is regarding a governor who is on a short list to become either vice president or attorney general saying ignore the law.

Stuart Johnson, Red Oak

Never a dull moment

Much to the chagrin of a few hard-right congressional representatives and the relief of just about everyone else, legislation to fund the Ukrainian military has been passed. It is not without great peril to House Speaker Mike Johnson, however.

With a willingness to work alongside Democrats, he may very well lose the speakership. Democrats in the house are now in the awkward position of saving the speaker or running the risk of a new hard-right member taking the gavel. The plot thickens.

Johnson, it seems, has become something of a maverick (remember that term?) and someone with whom Democrats seem to get along, to a degree. Time alone will tell how this plays out, but for now, let’s all celebrate the shared victory of someone in power standing on principle and willing to pay the price for doing so. This is how it’s supposed to work.

David Seay, Plano

A new Churchill?

Re: “Our ‘nice, quiet sleep’ in Ukraine won’t last — In an echo of the late 1930s, America can be a Chamberlain or a Churchill,” by John C. Médaille, April 23 Opinion.

Médaille’s op-ed should be required reading for every American. History does repeat itself and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s likeness to Adolf Hitler is obvious. Now is not the time for isolationism.

We must elect statesmen to serve us in Congress, and then we must hold them to account. I have not been a fan of House Speaker Mike Johnson, but in this case, he has shown his true mettle. He had the courage to stand up to the far-right Republicans at great political cost.

I even believe that he is well on his way to being a Winston Churchill. I hope that others will follow his lead and get this country back on track. Our very democracy depends on it.

Kay Martz McKinney, Dallas/Little Forest Hills

… And an annoyed party

House Republicans were enthusiastic about Rep. Mike Johnson’s ascension to speaker — until he showed willingness to work with both parties. Today’s GOP wants no part of cooperative leadership or representative government.

Michael Coldiron, Dallas/Prestonwood

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

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott won’t face criminal charges related to a woman’s accusation of a 2017 sexual assault, as Dallas police investigators found “insufficient evidence” to support the case, a police official told The Dallas Morning News on Thursday.

In January, attorneys representing a Fort Worth woman sent an email to Prescott requesting $100 million in exchange for not disclosing or pursuing criminal charges related to her allegation, according to a partially redacted court filing. Prescott responded March 11 by filing and announcing a $100 million defamation lawsuit in Collin County against the woman

Prescott is additionally pursuing criminal extortion charges in Prosper, where he lives.

The woman names Prescott as a defendant in a Collin County lawsuit alleging sexual assault. The News does not typically name victims of sexual assault.

“Unfortunately, it takes victims a while to come out, and that makes these cases hard to prosecute,” said Yoel Zehaie, the accuser’s attorney. “But we thank DPD for their efforts. However, we are still moving forward with our counterclaims. …They have been giving us the run around on setting a court date because their lawsuit was a pure PR stunt. They know the truth, and it will come out in this suit.”

Prescott has vehemently denied the woman’s depiction of the interaction. In the March court document, attorney Levi McCathern characterized her claim as “heinous” and “with no basis in reality.”

Dallas police said the interaction in question occurred Feb. 2, 2017, in the parking lot of Dallas strip club XTC Cabaret, where she worked.

“I want to thank the Dallas Police Department and Dallas County District Attorneys’ office for their thorough investigation of the allegations against Dak Prescott,” McCathern said in a statement to The News. “As we knew they would, they found nothing in their extensive exploration of the facts that would support a criminal prosecution. We are confident that at the end of law enforcement’s investigation into the extortion case that they will find the accuser and her attorneys just as guilty as Dak is innocent.

“As I have said from the beginning, Dak is a great football player, and an even better human. He would never assault any woman. These false accusations were brought up seven years after the alleged events for one reason and one reason only: to line the pockets of the accuser and her attorneys. Their behavior is an affront to all the true survivors of sexual assault.”

The criminal statute of limitations in Texas for sex crimes against adults varies, depending on the offense’s severity. State law set the criminal statute of limitations in Texas for sexual assault against adults at 10 years and civil statute of limitations at five years.

Staff writers Lana Ferguson and Kelli Smith contributed to this report.

Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

LOS ANGELES — Jason Kidd’s decision to draw up a play for Kyrie Irving on the first possession of Game 5 set an intentional tone for Wednesday’s blowout victory over the LA Clippers.

Long before Irving’s two-way highlight that led to one of his most impressive plays of the first round, he opened scoring for both teams by using the same shot that helped the Clippers trounce the Mavericks in Game 4 as he threw up a floater over the outstretched arms of Terance Mann and Ivica Zubac.

On the next possession, Irving threw an overhead pass to a cutting P.J. Washington for an easy dunk. The next time Dallas scored derived from an alley-oop connection from Luka Doncic to Derrick Jones Jr. Irving had another score inside the paint a couple of possessions later.

The Mavericks’ diverse offense, coupled with several possessions of suffocating defense, led to a dominant 123-93 victory in what could have been the Clippers’ last home game at Crypto.com Arena. The 30-point blowout began with the early assertiveness from Irving, who had typically waited to look for his shot until after the first quarter.

“I think it sends a very direct message, not only to my teammates and me, but to the other team that we see a mismatch out there,” Irving said. “We see something that we can take advantage of. It’s no disrespect to who we’re playing against … when your number is called, you just gotta be ready to stay aggressive. I felt pretty good and confident that J [Kidd] threw some plays my way and I was able to get it going.”

A glance at Irving’s stat line of 14 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals probably wouldn’t mean much to the casual fan. His 40-point explosion through the final three quarters in Game 4 may appear more impactful. However, his five shot attempts in the first quarter were his most through any first quarter in the series, which required the Clippers to send double-teams earlier than usual.

As a result, Dallas’ athletic group of forwards and centers had more freedom to cut to the rim for lobs and easy baskets. Doncic, who played through injury and illness, also had his most efficient outing of the series with 35 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists with a plus/minus rating of 28. Irving led the team with a plus/minus of 35 — the highest of any player through the series.

Since his acquisition last season, Irving’s been lauded in Dallas for serving as a leader and a co-star next to Doncic. Irving is typically known for his offensive abilities, but he’s embraced the challenge as a defender as well.

“You gotta have great conditioning to be able to make an impact on that end,” Irving said. “We have so much firepower in here, I don’t necessarily have to rely on my offensive abilities to get me going. I really take pride in it and it carries over to my teammates.”

Despite giving up a couple of inches, he’s been the primary defender of James Harden. The two former teammates from Brooklyn have swapped baskets on each other throughout the series.

“Kyrie was playing great defense and pressuring [Harden] the whole time,” Doncic said.

Irving had two steals Wednesday, including one from Harden with eight minutes left in the third quarter. The crafty veteran used his elite ball-handling to go from one side of the court to the other, but the combination of a right-to-left crossover into a behind-the-back dribble allowed Irving to keep a defending Norman Powell on his toes.

Irving finished a layup through contact with his off-hand, putting the finishing touches on a play that garnered attention from several notable names, including LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Isaiah Thomas. He credited his AAU coach, Sandy Pyonin, for challenging him to keep his head up while dribbling at full-speed.

“Not a lot of people can go from A to B and make five moves while they’re running,” Irving said. “I think that’s something that separates me from a lot of different guards in the league. … Some of the moves just come out of the creative air. It feels good that I was able to finish it, but I knew it was a bigger play than just the highlight.”

The play was a momentum shift for the Mavericks, who will return to Dallas looking to close out the Clippers in six games. Before the series began, Doncic was asked about what separates this Mavericks team from the groups who lost to the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs in 2020 and 2021.

“We have Kai,” Doncic said.

Twitter/X: @MikeACurtis2

Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.