• Home
  • popular
  • Events
  • Submit New Event
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • News
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Home + Design
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • Innovation
  • Sports
  • Charity Guide
  • children
  • education
  • health
  • veterans
  • SOCIAL SERVICES
  • ARTS + CULTURE
  • animals
  • lgbtq
  • New Charity
  • Series
  • Delivery Limited
  • DTX Giveaway 2012
  • DTX Ski Magic
  • dtx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Your Home in the Sky
  • DTX Best of 2013
  • DTX Trailblazers
  • Tastemakers Dallas 2017
  • Healthy Perspectives
  • Neighborhood Eats 2015
  • The Art of Making Whiskey
  • DTX International Film Festival
  • DTX Tatum Brown
  • Tastemaker Awards 2016 Dallas
  • DTX McCurley 2014
  • DTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • DTX Beyond presents Party Perfect
  • DTX Texas Health Resources
  • DART 2018
  • Alexan Central
  • State Fair 2018
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Zatar
  • CityLine
  • Vision Veritas
  • Okay to Say
  • Hearts on the Trinity
  • DFW Auto Show 2015
  • Northpark 50
  • Anteks Curated
  • Red Bull Cliff Diving
  • Maggie Louise Confections Dallas
  • Gaia
  • Red Bull Global Rally Cross
  • NorthPark Holiday 2015
  • Ethan's View Dallas
  • DTX City Centre 2013
  • Galleria Dallas
  • Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Homes in Dallas Texas
  • DTX Island Time
  • Simpson Property Group SkyHouse
  • DIFFA
  • Lotus Shop
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Dallas
  • Clothes Circuit
  • DTX Tastemakers 2014
  • Elite Dental
  • Elan City Lights
  • Dallas Charity Guide
  • DTX Music Scene 2013
  • One Arts Party at the Plaza
  • J.R. Ewing
  • AMLI Design District Vibrant Living
  • Crest at Oak Park
  • Braun Enterprises Dallas
  • NorthPark
  • Victory Park
  • DTX Common Desk
  • DTX Osborne Advisors
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • DFW Showcase Tour of Homes
  • DTX Neighborhood Eats
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • DTX Auto Awards
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2017
  • Nasher Store
  • Guardian of The Glenlivet
  • Zyn22
  • Dallas Rx
  • Yellow Rose Gala
  • Opendoor
  • DTX Sun and Ski
  • Crow Collection
  • DTX Tastes of the Season
  • Skye of Turtle Creek Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival
  • DTX Charity Challenge
  • DTX Culture Motive
  • DTX Good Eats 2012
  • DTX_15Winks
  • St. Bernard Sports
  • Jose
  • DTX SMU 2014
  • DTX Up to Speed
  • st bernard
  • Ardan West Village
  • DTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Taste the Difference
  • Parktoberfest 2016
  • Bob's Steak and Chop House
  • DTX Smart Luxury
  • DTX Earth Day
  • DTX_Gaylord_Promoted_Series
  • IIDA Lavish
  • Huffhines Art Trails 2017
  • Red Bull Flying Bach Dallas
  • Y+A Real Estate
  • Beauty Basics
  • DTX Pet of the Week
  • Long Cove
  • Charity Challenge 2014
  • Legacy West
  • Wildflower
  • Stillwater Capital
  • Tulum
  • DTX Texas Traveler
  • Dallas DART
  • Soldiers' Angels
  • Alexan Riveredge
  • Ebby Halliday Realtors
  • Zephyr Gin
  • Sixty Five Hundred Scene
  • Christy Berry
  • Entertainment Destination
  • Dallas Art Fair 2015
  • St. Bernard Sports Duck Head
  • Jameson DTX
  • Alara Uptown Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival fall 2017
  • DTX Tastemakers 2015
  • Cottonwood Arts Festival
  • The Taylor
  • Decks in the Park
  • Alexan Henderson
  • Gallery at Turtle Creek
  • Omni Hotel DTX
  • Red on the Runway
  • Whole Foods Dallas 2018
  • Artizone Essential Eats
  • Galleria Dallas Runway Revue
  • State Fair 2016 Promoted
  • Trigger's Toys Ultimate Cocktail Experience
  • Dean's Texas Cuisine
  • Real Weddings Dallas
  • Real Housewives of Dallas
  • Jan Barboglio
  • Wildflower Arts and Music Festival
  • Hearts for Hounds
  • Okay to Say Dallas
  • Indochino Dallas
  • Old Forester Dallas
  • Dallas Apartment Locators
  • Dallas Summer Musicals
  • PSW Real Estate Dallas
  • Paintzen
  • DTX Dave Perry-Miller
  • DTX Reliant
  • Get in the Spirit
  • Bachendorf's
  • Holiday Wonder
  • Village on the Parkway
  • City Lifestyle
  • opportunity knox villa-o restaurant
  • Nasher Summer Sale
  • Simpson Property Group
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2017 Dallas
  • Carlisle & Vine
  • DTX New Beginnings
  • Get in the Game
  • Red Bull Air Race
  • Dallas DanceFest
  • 2015 Dallas Stylemaker
  • Youth With Faces
  • Energy Ogre
  • DTX Renewable You
  • Galleria Dallas Decadence
  • Bella MD
  • Tractorbeam
  • Young Texans Against Cancer
  • Fresh Start Dallas
  • Dallas Farmers Market
  • Soldier's Angels Dallas
  • Shipt
  • Elite Dental
  • Texas Restaurant Association 2017
  • State Fair 2017
  • Scottish Rite
  • Brooklyn Brewery
  • DTX_Stylemakers
  • Alexan Crossings
  • Ascent Victory Park
  • Top Texans Under 30 Dallas
  • Discover Downtown Dallas
  • San Luis Resort Dallas
  • Greystar The Collection
  • FIG Finale
  • Greystar M Line Tower
  • Lincoln Motor Company
  • The Shelby
  • Jonathan Goldwater Events
  • Windrose Tower
  • Gift Guide 2016
  • State Fair of Texas 2016
  • Choctaw Dallas
  • TodayTix Dallas promoted
  • Whole Foods
  • Unbranded 2014
  • Frisco Square
  • Unbranded 2016
  • Circuit of the Americas 2018
  • The Katy
  • Snap Kitchen
  • Partners Card
  • Omni Hotels Dallas
  • Landmark on Lovers
  • Harwood Herd
  • Galveston.com Dallas
  • Holiday Happenings Dallas 2018
  • TenantBase
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2018
  • Hawkins-Welwood Homes
  • The Inner Circle Dallas
  • Eating in Season Dallas
  • ATTPAC Behind the Curtain
  • TodayTix Dallas
  • The Alexan
  • Toyota Music Factory
  • Nosh Box Eatery
  • Wildflower 2018
  • Society Style Dallas 2018
  • Texas Scottish Rite Hospital 2018
  • 5 Mockingbird
  • 4110 Fairmount
  • Visit Taos
  • Allegro Addison
  • Dallas Tastemakers 2018
  • The Village apartments
  • City of Burleson Dallas

    Life Is Good in Dallas

    Dallas residents say city is tops for shopping, culture and jobs

    Claire St. Amant
    Jun 17, 2013 | 1:05 pm

    Dallas residents aren't exactly known for being modest about their love of the area. And why should we be? The 2013 City of Dallas Community Survey gives us a collective pat on the back for a wide range of quality-of-life issues.

     

    Most of the 1,431 residents who took the survey rated Dallas as a good or excellent place to live, work and do business. City Manager Mary Suhm says overall satisfaction with services in Dallas is 15 percent higher than the national average for large cities, including New York, Houston, Seattle and San Diego.

     

    A whopping 86 percent of residents rated Dallas' shopping opportunities as excellent or good, and 80 percent of residents said the same of the city's arts and cultural offerings.

     

     

      Dallas has improved its rating by 5 percent or more in 13 categories since 2011, including job opportunities and family friendliness.

     
     

    The lowest levels of satisfaction went to Dallas' sense of community, with 45 percent of residents rating it as fair or poor, and air quality, which 51 percent of residents said was fair or poor.

     

    Thirteen city services received higher than 50 percent satisfaction, including emergency services, trash and sewer services, and traffic signal timing. Customer service from city employees, code enforcement and infrastructure maintenance had lower ratings.

     

    The survey spanned all 14 city council districts, which all enjoyed roughly the same level of satisfaction with Dallas. "The City of Dallas is setting the standard for service delivery compared to other large cities," the survey reads.

     

    Fifty-four percent of residents believe Dallas is headed in a positive direction, compared to just 35 percent of residents of other large U.S. cities. Dallas also rates significantly higher than the national average in knowledge, responsiveness and courtesy of city employees.

     

    The survey says that most other large cities saw decreases in satisfaction ratings during the economic recession, but Dallas continues to maintain high marks. In fact, Dallas has improved its rating by 5 percent or more in 13 categories since 2011, including job opportunities, family friendliness, retirement appeal and safety.

     

    In the same time period, residents satisfaction with six categories has decreased by 5 percent or more. Notorious issues include neighborhood street maintenance and lighting, fire prevention and education, and the quality of the city's cable TV channel.

     

    The survey gives street and infrastructure maintenance the highest priority for improvement, followed by police services, code enforcement and water-related issues.

    A whopping 86 percent of Dallas residents rated the city's shopping opportunities as excellent or good.

    Shoppers at NorthPark Center in Dallas
      
    Photo courtesy of NorthPark Center
    A whopping 86 percent of Dallas residents rated the city's shopping opportunities as excellent or good.
    unspecified
    news/city-life

    Flood News

    More Dallas victims identified from deadly Texas floods

    Associated Press
    Jul 7, 2025 | 5:25 pm
    Death Toll Rises After Flash Floods In Texas Hill Country
    Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images
    undefined

    Two 8-year-old sisters from Dallas who had just completed 2nd grade. A beloved soccer coach and teacher. An Alabama elementary school student away from home. These are a few of the dozens of victims lost in devastating flash floods in central Texas.

    The flooding originated from the fast-moving waters of the Guadalupe River on Friday, killing at least 89 people. Authorities say search and rescue efforts are still underway, including for campers missing from a summer camp for girls.

    Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence
    Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence were 8-year-old sisters from Dallas who were among the victims killed by the flooding at Camp Mystic. The girls had just finished second grade, their parents said.

    “Hanna and Rebecca brought so much joy to us, to their big sister Harper, and to so many others,” John and Lacy Lawrence said in a statement. “We will find ways to keep that joy, and to continue to spread it for them. But we are devastated that the bond we shared with them, and that they shared with each other, is now frozen in time."

    David Lawrence, the girls’ grandfather and former publisher of the Miami Herald, said “it has been an unimaginable time for all of us." He said the girls gave their family, including their sister, joy. “They and that joy can never be forgotten,” he said in a statement.

    University Park Elementary School, where Hanna and Rebecca attended, said on its website that “numerous” students were in the Texas Hill Country during the flooding and had to evacuate. The school did not immediately respond to a message left Monday morning.

    “We are deeply saddened to report the loss of multiple students, and our thoughts and prayers are with all of the families deeply affected by this unimaginable tragedy,” the school said on its site.

    Reece and Paula Zunker
    Reece Zunker was described as “a passionate educator and a beloved soccer coach” by Tivy High School in Kerrville.

    “His unwavering dedication to our students, athletes, and the Tivy community touched countless lives and will never be forgotten,” the school posted online Sunday.

    Paula Zunker was a former teacher at the school. “The care and impact she shared with her students continue to be felt, even years later,” the post said.

    The couple’s young children, Lyle and Holland, were still missing, the school said. The family had been staying at a river house in Hunt.

    Dick Eastland
    Among the dead is Dick Eastland, the Camp. Mystic’s director. Paige Sumner, a former camper, described him in a column in the local paper, The Kerrville Daily Times, as “the father figure to all of us while we were away from home.”

    Sumner spent one summer working in the camp office, balancing accounts for the commissary, where campers bought snacks and other essentials like stamps. She wrote that her desk was outside Eastland’s office.

    “He still put campers first in every situation,” wrote Sumner, who is now the head of philanthropy at a community center in Kerrville. “If an issue of any kind that needed attention came over the walkie-talkie, even a camper with a minor injury or the dreaded snake in the river, he would bolt out of the office and jump in a golf cart to get there as fast as he could.”

    Eastland’s grandson, George Eastland, wrote in an Instagram post that his grandfather showed him what a strong Christian man looks like.

    “If he wasn’t going to die of natural causes, this was the only other way, saving the girls that he so loved and cared for,” he wrote.
    In her column, Sumner noted that the camp had plans for rain.

    “Usually,” she explained, “it means they deliver a special breakfast of sweet rolls to each cabin or singing songs in the Rec Hall. This level of flooding was unprecedented.”

    In a brief telephone call as she grappled with the flood's aftermath at her own office, Sumner was reluctant to add more than she wrote in the column, saying the camp wanted privacy for the families.

    “We are still holding out hope,” she said. “They are broken; they are in shock.”

    Chloe Childress
    Chloe Childress was among the counselors at Camp Mystic who died in the devasting floods. Childress, 19, “lived a beautiful life that saturated those around her with contagious joy, unending grace, and abiding faith,” her family said in a statement.

    “Returning as a counselor to the place she loved so dearly, Chloe was looking forward to dedicating her summer days to loving and mentoring young girls at Camp Mystic,” her family said.

    Childress had just graduated from the Kinkaid School in Houston, which praised her as deeply invested in her community.

    “Chloe had a remarkable way of making people feel seen. She was wise beyond her years, with a steady compassion that settled a room,” Jonathan Eads, the head of the school, said in a letter to the school's community on Sunday. “Whether it was sharing her own challenges to ease someone’s burden or quietly cheering a teammate or classmate through a tough day, Chloe made space for others to feel safe, valued, and brave.”

    Janie Hunt
    Janie Hunt, a relative of Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, was just 9 years old.

    Her mother, Anne Hunt, confirmed her death to CNN, while her grandmother Margaret Hunt confirmed it to The Kansas City Star.
    The Chiefs franchise declined to comment. But Clark Hunt’s wife, Tavia Hunt, posted on Instagram and urged people to rely on their faith.

    “If your heart is broken, I assure you God is near,” Tavia Hunt, wrote in the post. “He is gentle with your wounds. And He is still worthy — even when your soul is struggling to believe it.

    Tanya Burwick
    The last time Tanya Burwick's family heard from her was a frantic phone call about the floodwaters as she headed to work at a Walmart early Friday in the San Angelo area. When Burwick didn't show up for work, her employer filed a missing persons report and sent a colleague to look for her.

    Police investigating the 62-year-old's disappearance found Burwick's unoccupied SUV fully submerged later that day. Her body was found the next morning blocks from the vehicle.

    “She lit up the room and had a laugh that made other people laugh,” said Lindsey Burwick, who added that her mom was a beloved parent, grandparent and colleague to many.

    She and her brother Zac said the day was especially difficult because it happened on July Fourth as they were working at a fireworks stand that's been in the family for generations. As word of Tanya Burwick's disappearance spread, people from from Blackwell, a small community of about 250 people, showed up to the stand that's run out of a trailer painted orange.

    “People came to our aid,” Lindsey Burwick said.

    Police in San Angelo said more than 12,000 houses, barns and other buildings have been affected by the floods in the community of roughly 100,000 people.

    “We ask that the public continue to keep the Burwick family in their thoughts and prayers as they navigate this heartbreaking tragedy," the San Angelo Police Department said in a Facebook post.

    Jane Ragsdale
    Jane Ragsdale, 68, devoted her life to the Heart O’the Hills Camp, a summer camp for girls in Texas Hill Country. She was a camper and counselor there herself in the 1970s before becoming a co-owner. By the 1980s, she was director of the camp in Hunt.

    “She was the heart of The Heart,” the camp said in a statement. “She was our guiding light, our example, and our safe place. She had the rare gift of making every person feel seen, loved, and important.”

    Since the camp was between sessions, no children were staying there when the floodwaters rose. The camp’s facilities, directly in the path of the flood, were extensively damaged and access to the site remained difficult, according to camp officials. The camp has been in existence since the 1950s.

    Camp officials said Ragsdale would be remembered for her strength and wisdom.

    “We are heartbroken. But above all, we are grateful,” the camp said. “Grateful to have known her, to have learned from her, and to carry her light forward.”

    In a 2015 oral history for the Kerr County Historical Commission, Ragsdale, whose first name was Cynthie, but went by her middle name Jane, talked about how her father was also a camp director and how much she enjoyed her experiences.

    “I loved every minute of camp from the first time I stepped foot in one,” she recalled.

    Videos of Ragsdale strumming a guitar and singing to campers during a recent session were posted in a memorial on the camp’s Facebook page: “Life is good today. So keep singing ’til we meet, again.”

    Sarah Marsh
    Eight-year-old Sarah Marsh from Alabama had been attending Camp Mystic in Texas, a longtime Christian girls camp in Hunt where several others were killed in the floods. As of Sunday, afternoon, 11 children were still missing.

    Marsh was a student at Cherokee Bend Elementary in suburban Birmingham.

    “This is an unimaginable loss for her family, her school, and our entire community,” Mountain Brook Mayor Stewart Welch said in a Facebook post. “Sarah’s passing is a sorrow shared by all of us, and our hearts are with those who knew and loved her.”

    He said the community — where about 20,000 people reside — would rally behind the Marsh family as they grieved.

    Her parents declined an interview request Sunday “as they mourn this unbearable loss,” the girl’s grandmother, Debbie Ford Marsh, told The Associated Press in an email.
    “We will always feel blessed to have had this beautiful spunky ray of light in our lives. She will live on in our hearts forever!” Marsh wrote on Facebook. “We love you so much, sweet Sarah!”

    She declined further comment. U.S. Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama also noted the girl’s tragic death.

    “We continue to pray for the victims’ loved ones, the survivors, those who are still missing, and our brave first responders as search and rescue efforts continue in Texas,” she said in a post on social media platform X.

    Blair and Brooke Harber
    Sisters Blair and Brooke Harber, both students at St. Rita Catholic School in Dallas, had been staying alongside the Guadalupe River when their cabin was swept away, according to the school.

    Pastor Joshua J. Whitfield of St. Rita Catholic Community, which shares a campus with the school, said the girls' parents, Annie and RJ Harber, were staying in a different cabin and were safe. However, their grandparents were unaccounted for. Annie Harber has been a longtime teacher at the school.

    “This tragedy has touched every corner of our hearts,” the church said in a statement Sunday.

    Blair, who was enrolled in advanced classes, was involved in numerous school activities from volleyball and basketball to speech and drama. Brooke was a rising sixth grader and a student athlete in volleyball and lacrosse, among other sports. She also participated in speech and drama, according to the church.

    Both were remembered for their kind hearts and warm personalities.

    “We will honor Blair and Brooke’s lives, the light they shared, and the joy they brought to everyone who knew them,” Whitfield wrote in a Saturday letter to parishioners. “And we will surround Annie, RJ, and their extended family with the strength and support of our St. Rita community.”

    The church held a special prayer service Saturday afternoon and offered counseling.

    “Please keep the Harber family in your prayers during this time of profound grief,” Whitfield wrote. “May our faith, our love, and our St. Rita community be a source of strength and comfort in the days ahead.”

    deathsweather
    news/city-life

    most read posts

    Sandwich shop with high-end po'boys to open in Dallas' Preston Center

    State Fair of Texas leaks semifinalists for '25 Big Tex Choice awards

    9 best things to do in Dallas on 4th of July weekend

    Loading...