City News Roundup

Richard Branson battles Bentley the Ebola dog for Dallas superstardom this week

This was a historic week in Dallas, as the Wright Amendment was finally lifted, allowing passengers to fly nonstop out of Love Field beyond Oklahoma to wherever their whims take them. A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel has become a rock star, and Dallas will get access to all the CBS sitcoms it wants.

Here are the highlights of Dallas news this week:

Sir Richard Branson rocks
Virgin America wins for best fanfare surrounding the end of the Wright Amendment. The airline, which has launched service from DAL to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington National and La Guardia, celebrated with trademark flair by flying a plane full of local VIPs from DFW Airport to Love Field. The flight would ordinarily take a few minutes but they stretched it to an hour, with a champagne toast from Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson and a performance by guitar-strumming singer Kacey Musgroves. Virgin also cut a fat check to KIPP DFW's Destiny Elementary.

Bentley the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is also a rock star
Ebola victim and nurse Nina Pham is in a hospital in Maryland, but whither Bentley, her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel? Bentley is becoming a celebrity. The dog, who is healthy and under the care of Dallas Animal Services, is quarantined for 21 days at a temporary residence at the Hensley Field Services Center on West Jefferson Boulevard. He'll be featured on Fox News' On the Record with Greta van Susteren on October 17 at 6 pm.

In response to an outpouring of support from around the world for Bentley, the City of Dallas has partnered with Dallas Companion Animal Project to establish a fund whose donations will help Bentley and other pets in similar emergency situations in the future. Dallas Companion Animal Project is a non-profit dedicated to strengthening the connection between people and animals. To donate, visit DallasAnimals.org and click on “donate.” Choose the Dallas PETS fund.

Oak Lawn tear-down
A real estate developer wants to tear down a two-story house off Turtle Creek Boulevard facing Lee Park and replace it with a 10-story tower. The house was built in 1940 and is owned by Poston Real Estate and Poston Capital Corp. They already have the required zoning for the house, but they need to get the front and side yard rezoned too, just so they can build that tower right out to the curb. The Dallas Board of Adjustment will entertain testimony at a meeting on October 20 at 1 pm at Dallas City Hall.

Katy Trail ramp opens
Just across the way from that last house standing at Lee Park, the Friends of Katy Trail held a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the new pedestrian ramp connecting the park to the Katy Trail. The ramp runs down a hillside slope and was designed to be an airy, floating link for walkers, runners, cyclists and strollers.

New library
A new Highland Hills replacement Branch Library will open at 6200 Bonnie View Rd. with an event on October 18 at 10 am. Entertainment includes a visit from McGruff the Crime Dog, giveaways, snacks and games for kids, as well as information on literacy, Cease the Grease, recycling and library card signup. Speakers include city officials Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins, director of libraries Jo Giudice and office of cultural affairs interim director David Fisher.

Dallas gets to pay for CBS
CBS unveiled an Internet subscription service for 14 markets in the United States, including Dallas, where you can watch thousands of current and past shows on demand. "CBS All Access" costs $5.99 a month and is the first time a network offers programming over the web.

Bentley, whose owner, nurse Nina Pham, has contracted Ebola, is quarantined and under the care of Dallas Animal Services.

Courtesy photo

Bentley, whose owner, nurse Nina Pham, has contracted Ebola, is quarantined and under the care of Dallas Animal Services.

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Texas shocks as America's No. 3 least safe state in 2026 report

Photo by Hiroshi Kimura on Unsplash

Texas ranks as the 48th "safest" state — out of 50.

While no state is invulnerable, some do more to protect their residents than others. And a new study has declared Texas one of the five least safe states in America.

WalletHub's "Safest States in America (2026)" report examined all 50 states for their emergency preparedness and for residents' personal and residential, financial, workplace, and road safety. Factors that weighed into the rankings include specific crime rates per capita, the share of the population that is uninsured, road quality ratings, workplace injury statistics, and more.

Texas ranked at the bottom of the list as the 48th "safest" state — or the third least safe state. It's joined by several other Southern states, like Mississippi (No. 50), Louisiana (No. 49), Florida (No. 47), and Arkansas (No. 46).

According to WalletHub, Texas specifically ranks third to last in the nationwide "emergency preparedness" category, which was determined based on the prevalence of climate disasters causing $1 billion or more in damages from 1980-2024, and the loss amount resulting from those disasters.

The Lone Star State also ranked 40th (or 10th worst) across three safety categories: personal and residential safety, financial safety, and road safety. The report additionally found that Texas has the highest rate of uninsured residents nationally.

Texas' "workplace safety" was the state's highest-ranking category, landing 30th nationally.

Additional rankings that determined Texas' overall safety include:

No. 30 – Assaults per capita
No. 32 – Fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 full-time workers
No. 32 – Sex offenders per capita
No. 35 – Murders and non-negligent manslaughters per capita
No. 36 – Fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel
No. 41 – Loss amounts from climate disasters per capita

According to the report, the five safest states in America are all located in the Northeast. Vermont leads as the country's safest state in 2026, followed by Massachusetts (No. 2), Maine (No. 3), New Hampshire (No. 4), and Connecticut (No. 5).

Though every state has varying levels of safety, WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo asserted that the safest places in the U.S. categorically invest in protecting their residents. Top-ranking states have low crime rates and diligently maintain their road infrastructure, and other states that prioritize their residents' safety have "strong economies and job markets that prevent people from falling into dangerous financial situations."

"[The safest states in America] have high levels of occupational safety and disaster preparedness, too," Lupo said. "In addition, states are made safer by efforts that individual residents take, such as forming a neighborhood watch or working in firefighting and EMT jobs at high rates."

safety texas wallethub reports