City News Roundup

Don't forget the runoff election next week and more news around Dallas

Mike Collier is one of the candidates running for Lieutenant Governor.

Courtesy photo

In this roundup of Dallas news, there's more intel on the redistricting process, yay. Plus news from a nonprofit workspace, news about electric buses, and news about an upcoming election.

Here's what happened in Dallas this week:

Redistricting update
The Dallas City Council got a briefing on May 18 on the finalized map outlining new district boundaries, recommended for adoption by the Dallas Redistricting Commission, necessary to enact following the 2020 census.

The council now has 45 days, until June 29, to approve or modify the plan. The redistricting commission's plan will be approved if council members do not adopt it or a modified plan before the deadline.

The proposed plan and any amendments may be considered at the council meeting June 8. Any council members wanting to make amendments must do so by June 1. Changes require a three-quarter vote by council instead of a simple majority. A final action taken by council is expected to come no later than June 22.

More electric buses
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is evaluating a series of electric bus models from various manufacturers that included stops at four locations — Addison, South Garland, J.B. Jackson, Jr. Transit Center, and DART Headquarters — to engage with DART riders and include their requests in the evaluation process.

DART currently has seven Proterra Catalyst 35 zero-emission electric buses that are in service on DART Bus Route 28, and almost 700 CNG clean fuel buses, which the agency says has cut bus emissions by 68 percent over the last decade, and that doesn't even include light rail.

Nonprofit office space
Water Cooler at Pegasus Park announces six new tenants — ChildCareGroup, Lone Star Justice Alliance, The Nature Conservancy in Texas, OneStar Foundation, Principal Impact Collaborative (PIC) at UNT Dallas, and SWAN Impact Network — joining the unique community of nonprofit and social impact organizations.

Pegasus Park is a 25-acre, mixed-use office campus designed to bolster biotech, social impact, and corporate innovation. It's located at 3000 Pegasus Park Dr., between the Dallas Design District and the Southwestern Medical District.

Water Cooler at Pegasus Park is a social impact hub for nonprofits with flexible office space, now home to more than 26 organizations, making it among the largest nonprofit shared space communities in the U.S.

Voting news
The Primary Runoff Election Day is Tuesday May 24. Early voting started on May 16 and ends Friday, May 20. Voters will decide on Democratic and Republican primary races that were left undecided after the March 1 election. The winners will go on to become the candidates in the November general election.

In Texas, the ballot includes runoffs for Attorney General with Ken Paxton trying to defend his position against George P. Bush; plus two Democrats — Michelle Beckley and Mike Collier — vying for the Lieutenant Governor slot so they can run against Dan Patrick.

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Unhappy holidays

Porch pirates pilfer nearly $2B worth of Texas packages, study shows

Porch Pirate Person in Glasses Steals Packages

Getty Images

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’Tis the season for porch pirates. If past trends are an indicator, the Grinch will swipe close to $2 billion worth of packages delivered to Texas households this year, with many of those thefts happening ahead of the holiday season.

An analysis of FBI and survey data by ecommerce marketing company Omnisend shows porch pirates stole more than $1.8 billion worth of packages from Texans’ porches last year. Porch pirates hit nearly one-third of the state’s households in 2024, according to the analysis.

Omnisend’s analysis reveals these statistics about porch piracy in Texas:

30.1 million residential package thefts in 2024.
An average household loss of $169 per year.
An annual average of 2.9 package thefts per household.

“Most stolen items are cheap on their own, but add them up, and retailers and consumers are facing an enormous bill,” says Omnisend.

Another data analysis, this one from The Action Network sports betting platform, unwraps different figures regarding porch piracy in Texas.

The platform’s 2025 Porch Pirate Index ranks Texas as the state with the highest volume of residential thefts, based on 2023-24 FBI data.

Researchers at The Action Network uncovered 26,293 reports of personal property thefts at Texas residences during that period. The network’s survey data indicates 5 percent of Texas residents had a package stolen in the three months before the pre-holiday survey.

The Porch Pirate Index calculates a 25.8 percent risk of a Texas household being victimized by porch pirates, putting it in the No. 5 spot among states with the highest risk of porch piracy.

The Action Network included online-search volume for terms like “package stolen” and “porch pirates.” Sustained spikes in these searches suggest that “people are actively looking for guidance after something has happened. Search trends serve as an early warning system, revealing emerging-risk areas well before annual crime statistics are released,” the network says.

Tips to avoid being a victim
So, how do you prevent porch pirates from snatching packages that end up on your porch? Omnisend, The Action Network and Amazon offer these eight tips:

Closely monitor deliveries and quickly retrieve packages.
Schedule deliveries for times when you’ll be home.
Use delivery lockers or in-store pickup when possible.
Ask delivery services to hide packages in out-of-sight spots outside your home.
Install a visible doorbell camera or security camera.
Coordinate deliveries with neighbors or building managers if you’ll be away from your home when packages are supposed to arrive.
Request that delivery services hold your packages if you can’t be home when they’re scheduled to come.
Illuminate the path to your doorstep and keep porch lights on.

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