City News Roundup

Preservation notches wins and more heroic tales in Dallas news

The Victorian-era "Browder House" gets saved.

The conversation in Dallas this week centered on debates about what we should do with the things we have: Fair Park, a Victorian home, and the Meadows building. These were the top stories in Dallas news:

Future of Fair Park
On January 26, there was more talk about what to do with Fair Park at a panel discussion hosted by the Dallas Architecture Forum. The level of interest is high; the event drew a full house.

Comments from attendees, including those who live in the surrounding neighborhood, wondered why it is gated off to the public. Opening it to the public is a painful reminder of the deteriorating condition of the buildings; renovation will require big money. Its sole user, the State Fair of Texas, isn't much help, but people have ideas such as a blues festival or children's programs.

Mayor Mike Rawlings is promoting the idea of privatizing it, which will be on the agenda at a discussion on February 8, from 5-7 pm, in the Hall of State at Fair Park, Margaret and Al Hill Lecture Hall.

Old house saved
Time Warner Cable comes to the rescue on the Victorian home off 30 near the Ramada Plaza Hotel it was planning to demolish. Take that, U-Verse! Time Warner will pay to move the house to another location, described by Landmark Commission director Katherine Seale as the "perfect fit." She won't yet reveal which benevolent developer is providing the land — so coy — but his or her identity will be revealed at the Landmark Commission meeting on February 1 at 1 pm. Such mystery, such intrigue, who could it be.

Meadows building
That Landmark Commission meeting is going to be a hot event, because also in attendance will be GlenStar Properties, the new owners of the Meadows Building, off 75 near Lovers Lane. GlenStar will explain why it is a good idea and not a bad one to demolish the two-story annexed portion of the building, in order to make room for a driveway.

According to an email from a GlenStar representative, the integrity of the Meadows Building complex has been considerably diminished over the last 25 years, most evident in the annex building. The company says the demolition of the building is part of a program of "thoughtful restoration and preservation."

$25 BlackBerry
A January 22 audit found that the city does not follow appropriate procedures when it comes to outgoing council members and the stuff they take with them when they go. In the most recent graduating class, some left owing money, others left with electronics and furniture they got at a cut-rate deal.

At the time of the audit, Tennell Atkins and Vonciel Jones Hill left office with water bills pending, and Sheffie Kadane still owed $837.14 in property taxes. (Everything's paid up now.) Vonciel got off with a BlackBerry for $25, and Jerry Allen scored an iPad 3, for which the audit could find no record of payment at all.

city-news-roundup

income analysis

This is the family income needed for one parent to stay home in Texas

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

With costs to raise a child soaring over $20,000 a year in Texas, some households might decide to have one parent work while the other stays at home to raise their child.

The cost of raising a child has ballooned in major metros like Dallas-Fort Worth, forcing many families to weight the choice between paying for child care or having one parent stay home full-time.

A recent analysis from SmartAsset determined the minimum income one parent needs to earn to support their partner staying at home to raise one child in all 50 states. In Texas, that amount is just under $75,000.

The study used the MIT Living Wage Calculator to compare the annual living wages needed for a household with two working adults and one child, and a household with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child. The study also calculated how much it would cost to raise a child with two working parents based on factors such as "food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, incremental income taxes and other necessities."

A Texas household with one working parent would need to earn $74,734 a year to support their stay-at-home partner and their child, the report found. If both parents worked in the household, it would require an additional $10,504 in annual income to raise their child.

SmartAsset said the cost to raise a child in Texas in a two-working-parent household adds up to $23,587. Raising a child in North Texas, however, is slightly more affordable. A separate SmartAsset study from June 2025 determined it costs $22,337 to raise a child in Dallas-Fort Worth.

In the report's ranking of states with the highest minimum income needed to support a family with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child, Texas ranked 32nd on the list.

In other states like Massachusetts where raising a child can cost more than $40,000 a year, the report's author says families will look for ways to reduce any financial burdens.

"This often includes considerations around who’s going to work in the household, and whether young children will require paid daycare services while parents are occupied," the report said. "With tradeoffs abound, many parents might seek to understand the minimum income needed to keep the family afloat while allowing the other parent to stay home to raise a young child."

The top 10 states with the lowest minimum income threshold to support a three-person family on one income are:

West Virginia – $68,099
Arkansas – $68,141
Mississippi – $70,242
Kentucky – $70,408
North Dakota – $70,949
Oklahoma – $71,718
Ohio – $72,114
South Dakota – $72,218
Alabama – $72,238
Nebraska – $72,966

texas income smartasset family

City News Roundup

Preservation notches wins and more heroic tales in Dallas news

Ambitious Indian restaurant Jashan opens at Plano's Legacy North

Rodeo Dallas bar takes party to Uptown Dallas at new location

Colorful Mexican chain bringing tacos to McKinney leads week's top stories

income analysis

This is the family income needed for one parent to stay home in Texas