Airport News

Dallas-Fort Worth Airport gains a coworking space with standing desks

This is a desk you can stand up to.

Photo courtesy of Varidesk

A company known for stand-up desks is making an interesting expansion that will potentially benefit travelers going through Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

Varidesk, which makes height-adjustable standing desks that are designed to promote a healthier and more productive workspace, installed a free, unique coworking space in at DFW Airport in Terminal C.

The space was installed in 24 hours and features Varidesk groupings of standing desk workstations, casual meeting tables, 75 power hubs for charging, and free WiFi.

There is even a private space featuring movable walls and a conference table for groups to meet and work together.

The space is designed for business travelers to accomplish work quickly and efficiently.

Varidesk marketing rep Sean Scogin notes in a release that business travelers are often "left out of the office workspace equation."

"Our new coworking space at DFW Airport is a great way to make the most of their time at the airport and also gives us a way to showcase our brand by letting customers touch, feel, and experience our active workspaces," he says.

Is calling this a coworking space perhaps taking liberties with the definition of coworking space? Would "marketing tool" be a more accurate label? Maybe. But "coworking" is more hip. (In fact, it's hip enough to warrant posting the release here.)

And there is some value in that they're letting people try out their desks for free. Besides, if people are working in the space alongside other people who are working, then it's coworking, right?

Varidesk's "Active Workspace at DFW Airport" is the first of its kind and the company is looking at adding additional ~~marketing tools~~ coworking spaces in other airports across the country.

technology transportation

Politics News

Dallas narrows down field for new city manager to 4 candidates

Photo by R K on Unsplash

This is an Dallasite's sign to launch that small business they've been dreaming of.

After six months without a city manager, the city of Dallas has narrowed down the field of replacements to four semifinalists including one serving as current interim city manager, plus candidates from Fort Worth, Michigan, and Georgia.

Dallas has been without a city manager since May, when previous city manager T.C. Broadnax left to take a job with the city of Austin. Since that time, Broadnax's former chief of staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has served as interim city manager.

The city retained Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to recruit and compile candidates. (Baker Tilly famously erred in the brochure it created for the position by featuring a photo of the Houston skyline instead of Dallas; they've since replaced it with Dallas.)

A spokesperson for Baker Tilly did not respond to inquiries but according to D Magazine, an email listing the candidates has been sent to the Dallas City Council.

The semifinalists include:

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Dallas’ current interim city manager
William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth
Mark Washington, the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zachary Williams, a county chief operating officer in Georgia

All have more than 25 years' of public administration experience and have worked in similar capacities in their respective cities.

Before working in Fort Worth, Johnson was Baltimore’s transportation director and Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer and public works commissioner.

Washington worked in Fort Worth and Austin before becoming Grand Rapids’ city manager.

Williams has mostly worked in Georgia at the county level, including serving as county manager in Fulton County and chief operating officer in DeKalb County.

Tolbert began working for the city in 1998, first as the city manager’s assistant and later in the aviation department. Broadnax hired her as his chief of staff in 2017.

Unlike the Mayor and the Dallas City Council, the city manager position in Dallas is not elected but is instead appointed by the city council, and is tasked with executing policies, overseeing the annual budget, and managing staff at city hall.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee will choose finalists, introduce them to the public, and make an offer in early 2025.

politics