This Week's Hot Headlines

Response to governor's mask decision tops this week's 5 hottest Dallas headlines

Editor's note: A lot happened this week, so here's your chance to get caught up. Read on for the week's most popular headlines.

1. Dallas doubles down on mask mandate, Fort Worth takes them off. Dallas and Tarrant County officials are taking divergent paths following the controversial decision on March 2 by Gov. Greg Abbott to reopen the state for business and rescind the requirement to wear masks, effective March 10. Abbott's announcement leaves the decisions to counties and in North Texas, it's one yes for masks (Dallas) and one no (Tarrant).

2. Dallas contractor in Nusr-Et Steakhouse lawsuit has lengthy litigious history. Nusr-Et Steakhouse, a glitzy new restaurant from famously colorful Turkish restaurateur Nusret "Salt Bae" Gökçe, has finally opened in Uptown Dallas, despite a pair of lawsuits between the restaurant and the Dallas contractor who oversaw its construction. Gökçe is no stranger to lawsuits. But in Dallas, he's met his litigious match in Jim Benge, a contractor who specializes in restaurant construction and who's been involved in at least two dozen lawsuits with such restaurants as Mellow Mushroom, Haymaker, Stocks & Bondy, and TNT/Tacos & Tequila.

3. Longtime Dallas radio DJ Russ Martin found dead at Frisco home. Longtime Dallas DJ Russ Martin was found dead at his home in Frisco on February 27; he was 60. According to a police report, Frisco police responded to a call at Martin's residence in the 6300 block of Douglas Avenue in Frisco, after a friend found him unresponsive. Martin, who was born Russell Dale Martin on October 4, 1960 and grew up in Pleasant Grove, was a Dallas radio personality for more than 30 years.

4. How the winter storm could affect Texas' bluebonnets and wildflowers in spring 2021. Now that Texas has thawed out and we're back to shorts-weather, the question on every wildflower watcher’s mind is: What'll happen with our bluebonnets? Texans needn't worry. The state flower is still going to blanket fields, parks, and roadsides this year. We'll just need to be patient, experts say, because their grand entrance could be delayed.

5. Celebrity-famous turkey leg restaurant plans pop-up for Dallas. A restaurant that's nationally famous for its turkey legs is bringing them to Dallas: Turkey Leg Hut, a mom-and-pop from Houston, will host a food truck event in Dallas where it will serve its signature turkey legs and assorted Gulf treats. Details on the exact timeframe and location are still to come.

This is how you'll look in Dallas.

Photo by Thomas Garza

This is how you'll look in Dallas.

put it on santa's amex

Well-to-do Dallas suburb lands on top-10 list of holiday big spenders

Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

Flower Mound residents have the No. 7 biggest holiday budgets in the U.S. for 2024.

It looks like Santa Claus is going to be competing with residents in Flower Mound to see who brings the most lavish holiday gifts this year.

Festive Flo-Mo ranked No. 7 in WalletHub's annual report on U.S. cities with the biggest holiday budgets in 2024.

Residents in this well-to-do Dallas suburb are expected to spend $3,541 on their Christmas gifts this year. But tsk-tsk: That's down $56 from the $3,485 they were ready to drop in the 2023 ranking — bumping them down two spots from their previous ranking at No. 5.

The U.S. Census Bureau says that Flower Mound's estimated population of 79,445 had a median household income of $154,471 in 2023. No wonder they have the extra cash to spare.

Flower Mound consistently makes the list of the top 10 U.S. cities with the biggest holiday spenders, outshining its nearby neighbor Frisco, which took a precarious drop this year from their previous high ranking of No. 3 in 2023.

They've now fallen off the top-10 list altogether. The average holiday budget in Frisco is still an exorbitant amount – $3,412 – but that only garnered the city No. 11 in the overall ranking out of 558 U.S. cities. You gotta spend to stay on top.

The No. 1 city in the U.S. for biggest holiday spenders in 2024 is Newton, Massachusetts, a wealthy suburb right outside of Boston, where the median income measured in 2022 was $176,373. Slots 2 through 5 were all cities in California's Silicon Valley: Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Milpitas.

Seven additional North Texas cities landed in this year's top 100 biggest holiday budgets, including:

No. 18 – Allen ($3,070)
No. 32 – Plano ($2,658)
No. 45 – North Richland Hills ($2,484)
No. 52 – McKinney ($2,386)
No. 76 – Richardson ($1,980)
No. 81 – Carrollton ($1,932)
No. 92 – Lewisville ($1,848)

Meanwhile, Dallas landed at No. 213 this year with an average holiday budget of $1,406, and Fort Worth ranked No. 359 with a budget of $1,082.

Each year, WalletHub calculates the maximum holiday budget for over 550 U.S. cities "to help consumers avoid post-holiday regret," the website says. The study factors in income, age of the population, and other financial indicators such as debt-to-income ratio, monthly-income-to monthly-expenses ratio, and savings-to-monthly-expenses ratio.

Whether a Dallasite's holiday budget is under $200 or more than $1,000, it's better to prioritize remaining within that budget instead of racking up the credit card bill, according to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

"There are plenty of ways to enjoy the holidays and show you care without spending much money, like hosting potlucks or giving handmade gifts," said Lupo.

Other Texas cities that made it into the top 100 are:

No. 13 – The Woodlands ($3,395)
No. 15 – Sugar Land ($3,214)
No. 23 – Cedar Park ($2,930)
No. 25 – League City ($2,897)
No. 39 – Round Rock ($2,538)
No. 60 – Pearland ($2,223)
No. 87 – Austin ($1,905)

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