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    City News Roundup

    Shipping container housing complex makes this Dallas news extra colorful

    Teresa Gubbins
    Jan 29, 2021 | 12:40 pm
    Shipping container housing
    They also come with a little patio.
    Photo courtesy of Merriman Anderson/Architects

    In this weekly roundup of Dallas news, the city is trying to dig itself out of a big backlog in construction permits, and is also wading through a COVID-19 vaccine cluster. There's a new "affordable" housing development, and Dallas' new police chief is taking care of business.

    Here's what happened in Dallas this week:

    Home sweet shipping container
    There's a cool new apartment complex made of shipping containers being built in southeast Dallas. Called the Lomax Container Housing Project, it converts old shipping containers into affordable housing for Dallas residents.

    The first, located at the intersection of South Malcolm X Boulevard and Louise Avenue, consists of 19 one-bedroom apartments, 300 square feet each, including living area, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom. Rent will be $906 per month, including utilities. The units are reserved for renters who earn 60 percent or less of the area's median income.

    The complex is from Nonprofit CitySquare Housing, in partnership with Merriman Anderson/Architects. The containers are built off-site and then installed by Falcon Structures. The project is a prototype, with other shipping container housing projects coming to other locations around Dallas-Fort Worth.

    Permitting delays
    Dallas has always had issues with its building permit department, and COVID-19 has made it gravely worse, causing massive backlogs for businesses and homes that want to do construction.

    According to Fox 4, the backlog started when the pandemic forced the process to move from in-person to online.

    To get the process back on track, the city will spend $5 million to hire three outside companies. It's a mystery to all since other cities are not facing the same delays despite the pandemic.

    "After getting the same complaints so many times, it is embarrassing," said City Council member Adam McGough. "It takes a few days in Richardson and Garland. In Dallas, it takes six to eight weeks."

    Vaccine cluster
    There've been some bumps in the road with the deployment of the COVID-19 vaccine, which is still in limited supply and therefore available to some but not all. There were originally plans to administer by zip code, but that interfered with the directive that it should be available to anyone. There have also been accusations that it's not reaching minority populations.

    On January 29, a group of Dallas leaders — including Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, Dallas County Commissioner Dr. Elba Garcia, and Dallas Council members Casey Thomas, Adam Medrano, Chad West, Omar Narvaez, Adam Bazaldua, Paula Blackmon, and David Blewett — held a press conference urging people to register for the COVID-19 Vaccine Wait List, to assist in planning for future allocation of more doses when available.

    Hillcrest Village Green Park
    The city of Dallas will celebrate the opening of Hillcrest Village Green Park, a uniquely constructed green space at 6959 Arapaho Rd. that was once a strip mall parking lot. The 1.5-acre park will be the centerpiece surrounded by revitalized stores and restaurants, and is being credited with renewing this north Dallas area. Hillcrest Village was acquired and is being re-developed by Shop Development, with the park being a partnership with the city. There'll be a ceremony on January 30 at 12 noon.

    DPD chief
    Dallas' new police chief Eddie Garcia has passed his Texas Commission on Law Enforcement exam and firearms training course, and is now a certified Texas peace officer. He'll be sworn in when he begins his job February 3, and wearing a Dallas Police uniform, perhaps learning a lesson from the hubbub over his predecessor Renee Hall, who took more than four months to take and pass her TCOLE exam and was not in a Dallas Police uniform when she was sworn in. Garcia was previously chief of the police department in San Jose.

    Election guide
    The Reform Dallas website has published an election guide for the upcoming elections in May, which includes a list of candidates running for Dallas City Council, not unlike the list published on CultureMap — which makes sense since writer Micah Moore did them both — plus a calendar and list of rules.

    politicscity-news-roundup
    news/city-life

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    Animal News

    Advocates find false info being fed to Texas legislators on pet store law

    Teresa Gubbins
    May 8, 2025 | 10:30 am
    Puppy mill dogs do not have a great life.
    Puppy mill dogs do not have a great life.
    undefined

    A national pet store chain has been implicated in a dishonest campaign to try and influence Texas lawmakers on an upcoming bill making its way through the legislature.

    The pet store chain is Petland, and they're engaged in a battle against The Ethical Pet Sale Bill (SB 1652 / HB 3458), which would encourage pet stores to stop selling at-risk animals from puppy mills and support shelters and rescue groups instead.

    The Ethical Pet Sale bill has support from rescue and animal groups across Texas, who are all grappling with a glut of animals on the streets and in overcrowded shelters. That pet overpopulation problem gets even worse when pet stores import more animals from puppy mills in states like Missouri and Ohio.

    If Texas passes the bill, it will join a growing number of states and cities who've already passed similar laws including Dallas, Austin, Bryan, College Station, El Paso, Euless, Fort Worth, Houston, New Braunfels, Pasadena, San Antonio, The Colony, Sherman, and Waco.

    Most reputable pet store chains such as PetSmart and PetCo do not sell cats and dogs. Petland does. The company operates 84 stores in the U.S., and fights bills like this by hiring lobbyists to discourage legislators from supporting these bills.

    Phony list
    In this case, a two-page summary was distributed to some Texas state senators listing reasons why they should oppose SB ("The evidence from other states, especially California, demonstrates that these types of bans do more harm than good"), plus a list of organizations that are opposed.

    Most of the organizations opposed to the bill profit directly from animals, such as Petland and Puppy Dreams, a North Texas chain that also sells animals.

    But the list also had surprising names including PetSmart, PetCo, and Pet Supplies Plus — the three largest pet store chains who all have a history of supporting adoption of shelter animals.

    Their presence on the list caught the eye of animal advocacy groups such as Texas Humane Legislation Network and Humane World For Animals, who've worked with the big three in the past.

    "We became aware of Petland Inc.’s lobbyist apparently sharing the attached document with legislators, claiming the listed pet and pet product industry leaders are opposing this legislation," said a spokesperson from Humane World of Animals (HWA). "We checked in with contacts at Petco, Petsmart, and the American Pet Products Association, and all of them deny opposing this legislation or giving Petland permission to list them on this opposition letter. It’s very possible others listed in this letter also did not give their permission to be included — we only connected with the those listed above at this stage."

    CultureMap also contacted the three major pet store chains and received similar responses that they had not been consulted nor did they issue a rejection of the bill, although none wanted to be quoted.

    The misrepresentation is concerning because it muddies the water with false information at a time when the bill is still under consideration:

    HB 3458 — the version going through the Texas House — passed a House Committee with a 10-1 vote and has been moved up the chain towards passage.

    SB 1652 — the version going through the Senate — still needs to get through the Senate Committee, Calendars, and a floor vote.

    "By creating a false narrative about the position of the above industry leaders, this letter has the potential to sway lawmakers at a critical juncture in the legislation’s journey," the HWA spokesperson says.

    Two Petland stores in the Dallas area — in Frisco and Tyler — have been the subject of undercover investigations. Petland Webster recently settled a lawsuit with several families that the store allegedly sold sick puppies to, and several lawsuits have been filed against Petland Woodlands in Texas, claiming the store sold sick puppies. One pet owner told the House Committee that he'd spent $20,000 on medical care of a puppy he bought at a pet store.

    "Banning the retail sale of puppies and kittens is a common-sense solution to protect both animals and Texas consumers," said Dean Senator Judith Zaffirini of Laredo, who filed the bill. "My SB 1652 would help reduce pet overpopulation, promote responsible breeding practices and prevent families from unknowingly purchasing sick animals. With varying local ordinances in place and further action at the city level now restricted, it is important for the state to provide a clear and consistent approach that prioritizes both animal welfare and consumer protection."

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