Coronavirus News

Dallas hosts online town hall for small businesses affected by COVID-19

Small businesses are feeling the brunt.

VioletaStoimenova/Getty Images

It's hard to say who's been most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but small businesses are definitely right up there at the top of the list.

Small businesses are the bread and butter of our economy, keeping lots of people employed, but often on margins too tight to withstand a calamity as big as the coronavirus.

The federal government is currently working on a $2 trillion stimulus package that includes proposals to help small businesses such as forgiveable loans, payroll tax credits, and expansions in unemployment insurance.

On a local level, the city of Dallas has scheduled a "TeleTown Hall" meeting for small businesses impacted by COVID-19, which will be held on March 26 at 6 pm.

According to a release, during this TeleTown Hall, Dallas City Council members and City staff will provide updates on resources available to small and local businesses.

Participants can register before the call by clicking on the following link: bitly.com/businessresourcemeeting.

Residents can also listen in live on the call by dialing 1-888-400-1932 (English) or 1-888-400-9342 (Spanish). It's an opportunity to spend your lockdown learning new things about city government.

This is not an official meeting of the city's Ad Hoc Committee on COVID- 19 Economic Recovery and Assistance. No official action will be taken.

Residents are encouraged to visit dallasecodev.org/562/COVID-19-Info-for-Small-Businesses to access current resources regarding the ongoing efforts at the City of Dallas to assist local and small businesses with COVID-19 recovery.

health

happy go lucky plano

Dallas neighbor dazzles on new list of happiest cities in America

Photo courtesy of Visit Plano

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A new happiness study has ranked Plano one of the happiest cities in America this year, and it once again landed on top as the happiest city in Texas.

Plano has moved up on the list and ranks as the 16th happiest U.S. city in 2026. Last year, it was 17th.

WalletHub determined the happiest cities in America based on 29 relevant metrics based on "positive-psychology research" across three main categories: emotional and physical wellbeing, income and employment, and community and environment. As with most WalletHub studies, it compared the 182 most populous U.S. cities.

Fremont, California claimed the top spot as the happiest city nationwide for another year. Bismark, North Dakota and Scottsdale, Arizona, respectfully, rounded out the top three.

Here's how WalletHub ranked Plano across the three key dimensions:

No. 15 – Emotional and physical wellbeing
No. 22 – Community and environment
No. 72 – Income and employment

Plano and its residents have continued improving their city year after year, whether its through opening new bakeries and restaurants, inviting fun pop-ups for locals, or having a strong job market.

Plano's happiness far outshines the rest of North Texas; according to WalletHub, Irving is the 70th happiest city in the country, the third-happiest in Texas, and the second-happiest city in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro. Garland ranked farther behind as No. 92 nationally, and more DFW cities ranked even lower: Grand Prairie (No. 106), Dallas (No. 111), Fort Worth (No. 113), and Arlington (No. 119).

The report additionally found that Dallasites spend the third-most amount of time at work in the nation. The city ranked No. 180 in the national analysis of U.S. cities with the "fewest work hours."

WalletHub also emphasized that money doesn't buy happiness — after a certain point.

"For decades, researchers have explored the science of happiness and identified several core factors, including mental well-being, physical health, strong social ties, job satisfaction, and financial stability," the report said. "Still, income has its limits — studies show that earning more than $75,000 a year does not lead to greater happiness."

Six-figure earners in Plano aren't necessarily as happy as those who don't make as much, as a separate financial study from SmartAsset revealed these big earners are only taking home about $72,653 after taxes and adjusted for the cost of living.

This is how other Texas cities ranked in the report:

No. 39 – Austin
No. 128 – Houston
No. 135 – Lubbock
No. 137 – El Paso
No. 140 – Laredo
No. 143 – Amarillo
No. 150 – Brownsville
No. 154 – San Antonio
No. 155 – Corpus Christi

wallethub plano reports