City News Roundup

KERA angles for city-owned classical music station and more Dallas news

Who listens to classical music on the radio?

This roundup of city news includes the latest chapter on redistricting of Dallas, plus property tax cuts, plus maybe free DART for schoolkids, plus a proposal by radio station KERA to take over a radio station owned by the city of Dallas.

Here's what happened in Dallas this week:

Redistricting, next step
The Redistricting Commission came up with a final map for drawing new districts following the 2020 Census, which revealed shifts in population and ethnic makeup in neighborhoods. The final draft is called 41B, a variation on the original 41, with the most dramatic changes coming to District 2 (Deep Ellum), District 7 (southeast Dallas), and District 8 (Lakewood). Districts 6 and 13 also have some changes including a consolidation of some of the richest areas in the city: Midway Hollow, Preston Hollow, Bluffview, and Devonshire.

It will now to go the Dallas City Council for approval, and the Commission meeting in which the final draft was hammered out was described as an "ugly, bloody meeting" by some watchers, so the city council meeting is sure to be a lot of fun.

Property tax breaks
In a quiet state-wide election on May 7, Texas voters passed two propositions intended to lower property taxes for homeowners. According to the Texas Tribune, Proposition 1 cuts school district property taxes for homeowners who are 65 and older or disabled. Proposition 2 raises the homestead exemption from $25,000 to $40,000. A home worth $300,000 will save around $175 on their annual property tax bill. But the cuts come at a cost to public schools. Gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke offered suggestions on how to bring in more tax revenue including legalizing marijuana, casino gambling, and sports betting.

KERA and city radio
KERA has applied to take over WRR 101.1 FM, the barely-listened-to classical music station owned by the City of Dallas. According to a release, KERA has submitted a proposal in an open procurement process and has a contract to operate WRR, which the Dallas City Council will vote on in June. The only other applicant was the Dallas Symphony Organization.

The station would still be owned by the City of Dallas, but a spokesperson says that the city will not be paying KERA.

According to the Friends of WRR, whose board consists of many Park Cities elders, the station is not "at the expense of taxpayers" but operates "as an enterprise of the City of Dallas, a self-supporting government fund that sells advertising and sponsorships to generate revenue to cover its expenses."

But the release says that WRR municipal radio enterprise fund's expense appropriation is $1.8 million, and revenues last year were approximately $1.3 million. IE, not covering its expenses. Confusing.

KERA currently has a local music spinoff station, KXT 91.7 FM. KERA is also part of the Dallas Media Collaborative, a network of organizations that includes the Dallas Morning News, Al Día, Dallas Doing Good, D Magazine, Dallas Weekly, Texas Metro News, and Advocate Media. And in 2021, KERA and the DMN formed The Arts Journalism Alliance, in which the two began jointly publishing and sharing content.

Free DART for schoolkids?
At its May 11 meeting, the Dallas City Council approved a resolution in support of the development and implementation of a Student Transit Program offering free fares for kindergarten through 12th grade students on DART's bus and rail transit system. In a release, DART Board Chair Michele Wong Krause said that the agency will examine the pros and cons of a variety of student fare subsidy programs as part of a comprehensive fare policy study.

Food trucks and water parks
For the first time ever, food trucks and food trailers can set up at select City of Dallas aquatic centers, including the Coves at Samuell-Grand, Fretz, and Crawford parks. Food truck owners can call Dallas Park and Recreation at 214-670-8740 or go to bit.ly/3xXY56L to apply.

Kroger job fair
The City of Dallas and Kroger Co. are hosting a grocery delivery hiring event for the southern Dallas fulfillment center. Kroger is looking to hire 100 associates in Dallas as it prepares to bring Kroger Delivery to all Dallas residents this summer. The fair will take place at Highland Hills Library, 6200 Bonnie View Rd., on Saturday May 14 from 9 am-1 pm. The grocery retailer plans to hire talented individuals from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. Kroger Delivery is recruiting drivers, logistics, and human resources.

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Coffee News

Black Sheep Coffee from the U.K. comes to U.S. with debut in Dallas

Black Sheep Coffee

Black Sheep Coffee, coming from the U.K.

A coffee shop from the U.K. with celebrity ties is opening its first U.S. location in Dallas. Called Black Sheep Coffee, it's a growing chain based in London with a renegade stance: to champion the robusta coffee bean, one overlooked by most coffee snobs.

Black Sheep was founded in London in 2013 by friends Gabriel Shohet and Eirik Holth, who loved coffee and wanted to start their own business. They've built it into a chain with 60-plus locations including cafés and take-out shops across England, Scotland, Wales, France, and the Philippines.

The Dallas shop will open at 6240 E. Mockingbird Ln., in a shopping center in the Lakewood neighborhood. Shohet says it'll open in late spring.

Dallas came onto their radar after they formed a partnership for the U.S. expansion with Kristaps Porzingis, a professional basketball player who was playing for the Dallas Mavericks. He's since been traded to the Washington Wizards, but Shohet says Dallas still seemed like the perfect place to launch.

"I love Texas, it's a great state and a lot of people are moving there," Shohet says. "There's so much growth and Dallas has a good vibe. Kristaps became a good friend and ended up investing. He moved to Washington but we'd gotten this great location on Mockingbird and we're building a local team."

They'll make Dallas their headquarters, with a plan to open another half dozen locations, plus franchise opportunities as well (email franchising@leavetheherdbehind.com).

One of the non-coffee drinks at Black Sheep Coffee is a peanut-butter hot chocolate.Black Sheep Coffee

Shohet and Holth built the company brick by brick, starting out doing pop-ups before moving into brick-and-mortar locations. Their goal is to break the wall between specialty coffee and the mass market.

"We've always been about the coffee," he says. "We source the beans from plantations in southern India, Papua New Guinea, Brazil. We get the best beans in the world: specialty-grade, shade-grown, and hand-picked."

"But our premise was also, How can we bring great quality coffee to the mass market, by providing the best coffee but not making people feel like they're disturbing the coffee sacks?" he says. "Our baristas know their coffee, but if you just want to get your drink quickly and want caramel syrup, then go for it. We make it inclusive."

Their most radical act is their use exclusively of the robusta bean, whose stronger, less delicate flavor profile has seen it relegated to uses such as instant coffee and pre-ground cans, while arabica has been the bean favored by the discerning coffee crowd. But some roasters have begun to reject the narrative that robusta is inferior to arabica.

"We're the only coffee company in the world to focus 100 percent on specialty robusta," he says. "Everybody is always touting arabica, but if you can find a great robusta that’s not commercial grade, you have a cool product."

Robusta has twice the amount of caffeine, and he says the growers they work with are more enviro-friendly, requiring less water with more cherries per bush.

"Robusta is thicker and richer, and has an amazing crema when you brew it as espresso," he says. "It's also less acidic, so it's easier to digest on an empty stomach and has more body. It might have less flavor notes than arabica, but that extra body punches through the milk. Robusta is a great bean for drinks made with milk. It's unfair that it has a bad reputation."

Their championing of a bean that others forsake goes with their entire ethos. They also eschew plastic.

"When everybody’s doing something, we do something different," he says. "That’s what our slogan is about: 'Leave the herd behind.'"

In addition to coffee, their shops have exotic lattes, smoothies, and a signature peanut-butter hot chocolate. They do a small selection of food including bagels, "toasties," and Norwegian waffles, a signature.

"But we don't want to be a restaurant — we'll offer the pastries and items that go with coffee, but we just want to focus on making the best coffee."

openings celebrities coffee

City News Roundup

KERA angles for city-owned classical music station and more Dallas news

Coffee News

Black Sheep Coffee from the U.K. comes to U.S. with debut in Dallas

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