City News Roundup

Macy's folds two stores in North Texas and more Dallas city news

Look for Mayor Mike Rawlings on Saturday at the Southwest Center Mall.

Photo courtesy of Labelscar.com

The Dallas City Council is back after a break through the holidays, with bonds to delay and neighborhoods to scrape. There's also an opportunity to see your mayor in action. Here's what happened in Dallas news this week:

No streets for you
A majority of the city council voted to delay a bond referendum that would have fixed Dallas streets. Scheduled for May, the referendum will be voted on in November instead.

Pushing for the delay, Mayor Mike Rawlings claimed that Dallas' fiscal shape was a higher priority. But Dallas Observer columnist Jim Schutze speculates that there’s another agenda, quoting Rawlings who said, "I have been in really close contact with those financial supporters that have traditionally raised money for this, and they said they will not be supporting this in May." Fixing our streets doesn't offer the same profit potential as bonds for toll roads.

Fair Park plans
A number of suitors have offered proposals for the rehabilitation of Fair Park. After a plan to hand off the task to a Park Cities conclave was found to be illegal, the process was opened to the public. At least two parties expressed interest, including local developer Monte Anderson, and an unidentified international group.

West Dallas gentrification
A coalition of landlords is suggesting a new approach to deal with West Dallas, where gentrification looms. HMK, the Kraish family; Topletz Properties, led by Dennis Topletz; and First Orion Properties, led by John Carney, propose that poor neighborhoods be stabilized so that they can stay in the area, while new residents move in. The result would increase mixed-income and diverse communities in Dallas.

The developers for Trinity Groves are OK with it, and so are the residents of West Dallas. There's no sign as to whether Mayor Rawlings will give the idea a shot. But meanwhile, Democratic state Rep. Eric Johnson intends to propose a bill that can protect low-income homeowners in West Dallas from climbing property taxes.

See your Mayor
Following a disappointing holiday shopping season, department store Macy's announced it will close up to 68 stores in 2017, including the Macy's at Southwest Center Mall, formerly the Redbird Mall, which will close in the spring. In a show of support, Mayor Mike Rawlings will join Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Erik Wilson and Council Member Casey Thomas on Saturday at 10 am at the mall when owner Peter Brodsky will give a community update. The Macy's at the Collin Creek Mall in Plano is also closing at the same time.

Jan Pruitt RIP
Jan Pruitt, former president and CEO of the Texas Food Bank, died on January 2; she was 63. She was diagnosed with cancer in 2015, and left her job in December to spend time with family. Services will be held at First United Methodist at 1928 Ross Ave. on January 7 at 2:30 pm.

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Texas ranks among worst states to have a baby, new report says

Photo by Camylla Battani on Unsplash

The best places to have a baby are in the Midwest and the Northeast, not the South, according to the report.

Texas might be a family friendly state, but it certainly isn't baby friendly, according to a new WalletHub study.

Texas earned a dismal rank as No. 45 in WalletHub's 2026 report "Best and Worst States to Have a Baby," which compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 31 "baby friendliness" metrics, such as affordability, health care accessibility, infant care costs, and others.

The top five best states to have a baby, in order, are: Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.

Texas ranked 7th worst overall in the U.S. because of how expensive it is to have a child in the state, and because of its low prevalence of healthcare professionals for mothers and children relative to other states.

Across the four main categories in the report, Texas landed 47th nationally for its medical costs, 42nd in healthcare quality, and its baby- and family-friendliness both ranked 34th best in the country.

WalletHub says the average cost for a conventional delivery in the U.S. comes out to more than $15,700, and families with health insurance have an average out-of-pocket cost of about $2,600. The report doesn't break down state-by-state charges, but it ranked Texas 35th and 36th respectively in the national comparisons of states with the lowest costs for hospital cesarean and conventional deliveries.

The cost of childcare is another factor bringing down the state's overall performance, as WalletHub says Texas has the 23rd "best" annual cost of early childcare on average.

Here's how the report broke down the rest of Texas' ranking:

No. 27 – Parental leave policy score
No. 27 – Infant mortality rate
No. 28 – Rate of low-birth weight
No. 44 – Midwives and OB-GYNs per capita
No. 36 – Pediatricians and family medicine physicians per capita
No. 33 – Childcare centers per capita

According to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo, expecting families should consider living in the states that "minimize costs while providing top-notch care for both newborns and their mothers."

"[The best states] also continue to be good environments for parents even long after the birth, with high-quality pediatric care, affordable and accessible child care, and a strong economic environment that makes providing for a child easier,” Lupo said.

Mississippi (No. 51), Alabama (No. 50), Florida (No. 49), New Mexico (No. 48), Nevada (No. 47), and South Carolina (No. 46) all join Texas at the bottom of the list as the worst states to have a baby.

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